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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1957)
' fclage JO Section 1 iTHE CAPITAL JOUliWAL Salem, Oregon, Tuesday, April 16, 1957 I 3 I' 9 ; Hi:; 1-5 Jordan 's Water Is Exported To Places All Over World Christ's Baptism : Took Place Here Edlior'i Note: By American definition, the River Jordan i no river at all In most parts of this country It would be called a creek. Yet In the Jordan's .muddy water occurred one of the major events of Christ's life, His baptism by John. Here's a report on how the baptismal site looks today. ' : By WILTON WVNN - JERICHO, Jordan W-Water Is exported to the ends of the earth from a muddy crock near here ' vhere John baptized Christ. : Venders display small flasks of the water for sale to visitors on the banks of the stream. Regu larly huge shipments for use in baptisms go by air and sea to the United Stales, Europe, and the Kar East. ! The wafer comes from the point on the Jordan River known as the site of the sacred baptism which occurred at the start of Christ's ' three years of public life and teaching. The site is close to the lowest place on Ihc face of the earth. Within sight is Ihc Dead Sea, 1,000 feet below sea level. I Jesus Arrived From North ' ; Jesus probably came in this spot through Ihc Jordan Valley from Galilee in the north. The modern traveler visits the area from Jerusalem. This means he drives in half an hour from .Icru. Salem's clcvalion 2,non feet above sea level to the Jordan at 1,0011 leet below, '. The road branches off aflcr Joaving Jericho and lakes Ihc traveler across a flat desert plain, ending at the banks of the Jordan. In winter this low area is com fortably warm; in summer it is suffocatingly hot. I The baptismal sile is away from Milages or olher normal human habitation. Nearby Is the Con sent of St. John the Baptist, first Jsuilt 1,500 years ago. On the bank of the river stands a Franciscan chapel and a small altar. A stone staircase loads lo the water, and licarby twn or three venders sit jiuielly beside their flasks of water wailing for visiting pilgrims. I SuiTounding this point is the ".wilderness where John the Bap- list- Old most ot his prenchini!. The Biblical term "wilderness1 must have referred lo desert, unless- Ihc Jordan Valley has changed drastically since Biblical times. The Jordan plain is green only in the few places where irri gation has permitted cultivation ;or where occasional streams wa- -ler me parched earth. Apart from .ujese vcraani spiotcnos, the vnl ley is Ihc domain of Jackals, live. nas. and wild pigs roaming over rucny son among desert shrubs. Bising on either side of Ihc Jor dan plain are the semi-desert hills of Judea lo the west and Aloab to the east. 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Bearded priests In their vestments stand In a flat-bottomed boat to say mass over the exact 'spot where they believed Christ was baplizcd. In Ihe early centuries ol Ihc Christian era the site was marked by a cross standing in the river bed. Although followers of Christ adopted baptism as a ritual for admission In the faith, the bap tism by John also has been inter preted as a cleansing ritual. For centuries afterward Christians who already had been baptized would visit Ihc silo of the sacred bap tism for ceremonial washing. On Ihc eve of the Epiphany, thou sands used to collect on the river banks, wrapped in white gar ments, and bathe in the waters. Lepers and oilier afflicted per sons washed in the river to be cured. Modern economic planning may aifect Ihe site of Ihe sacred bap- tisi i in Ihc next lew years. A vast irrigation scheme for the .Ionian Valley calls for diverting the waters of the Jordan's main tributary, the Ynrmuk, into Irriga linn canals. This probably will lower Ihc levol of tho narrow Jordan below Hie baptismal site. Religious leaders here have tried In remind world opinion that I his scheme, important as it is economically, may destroy one of t.liriKlrndtmi s mcs-t sacred silrs by leaving the place of Christ's bapl'sm a dry spot on the bank. loinnrrmt': The ".Mount of Temptation.1 High Speed Dryer with Automatic Control FtHtct drying tviry limol Auto matic Cenltel odjuttt timt and Umptiolur to individual load automatKolly. Ntw Hi'oS.Jp.od diyirta al iof, low tmpra turoi, InSG-tMix orMaHh Colors and White Trado-in Your Old laundry WASHER AVAILABLE WITH NEW AUTOMATIC SUDS RETURN SYSTEM1 Franchised Dealer Appliance Dealer 'Xnn;-rra,lU -J NiWx " J Black Patent Af yWl The ".Mount of Temptation." ff jfX Him , i lifr StdJ TrGiMSm!m0Xm 1 hn-rrt trrtr- Z : mi h 5 ' Black Patent 84-3 .h 3M 0' A a '" ""' Black Patent 8V4-3 X X 1 X --TrV ttV W. "X I VVULSIS JJ- M, rn I .nM KnnHc n t.mem XX WPtS9 Bras vy , j! saffacu0rt jtacwarWeea' rz ycav mmey oaat f 550 N. Capitol Must Diversify Iii Lumber, Says Canada Official PORTLAND tfl The Pacific Northwest Trade Assn. heard a warning from a British Columbia official Monday night that the "post-war honeymoon" for the lumber industry may be over. Ray Williston, minister of lands and forests for the province, said the industry will have to diver sify to survive. He added that the big future lies not in lumber but in wood cellulose products. Another speaker, Asst. Secre tary of Agriculture Ervin L. Pe terson, told the association the farm problem cannot be solved by price supports. The nation, he declared, is just going to have to learn to live with high level farm output. Peterson is a former Ore gon director of agriculture. The association elected as its new president Ofell H. Johnson, a Seattle attorney. He succeeds W. b. npes of Vancouver, B. C. The convention was in its final day Tuesday, Eden Sits Up, Shows Steady Improvement BOSTON W Sir Anthonv Eden continued to show improve ment Tuesday in his conva lescence from major surgery Sat urday for removal of a bile duct obstruction. The 59-year-old former British prime minister was able to sit up in bed twice Monday at New Eng land Baptist Hospital as physi cians reported his early response to the operation has been good. ..A A J - &&ojoSLiAlnM, sa- PSYCHIATRIST SAYS Jokes Misleading To S ch izoph ren ic By DELOS SMITH United Press Science Editor NEW YORK (UP) -Some jokes wnicn most people consider quite funny are indistinguishable from the disturbed thinking of schizo phrenia, according to Dr. Max Levin, a psychiatrist. But he said that for healthy people the jokes serve a healthy and useful purpose. To show what he meant, he cited a schizophrenic woman who thought a former employer whose name was Smith, was her brother. She was reminded that her maiden name was Jones. Her reaction was to remark that one of her fore fathers had changed his name. ur. Levins premise was that many a professional gag writer does no better than that while working with the same structure which represents a confusion of form" with "substance." That is one of the flaws of schizophrenic thinking. Blind To Inconsistency Schizophrenic thinking (alons with that of many healthy people) is also blind to inconsistency, and in that connection Dr., Levin cited the following joke as typical of a family of jokes: I can t see why people think it so hard to give up smoking. I've done it many times." ihe schizophrenic in thinking distorts context," and so does many a very funny joke, such as: A man 'said to the doctor who had set his broken finger, "When this heals, will I be able to play the piano?" When the doctor said Yes," he exclaimed: "How mar velous! And I've never had a les son in my life! And schizophrenic thinking dotes on the negative. He cited one pa. tient who said "not ugly" when she meant pretty. When she meant ugly she said "not not ugly." Dr. Levin compared that with this joke pattern: Diner: "May I have a cup of coffee with out cream?" Waitress: "I'm sor ry, sir, we have no cream." Diner: "Then I'll take it without milk." But all these similarities be tween schizophrenic thinking and humor, "has biological meaning." said Dr. Levin in a report to the American Psychiatric Association. For instance, all kittens play and their play "sharpens the co-ordin ation of eye and limb, perfecting the skills of a predator" which are needed for cats to survive in the world. Child Plays With Ideas People have to learn to think if they're to survive. "The child learns by 'playing- with ideas, put ting them together in various com binations and sequences and see-. ing from trial and error what makes sense and what doesn't." Nature has made this pleasur able for a kitten, in both cases for a purpose. The kitten grows up and catches mice and birds with unfailing efficiency, and the child grows up and distinguishes the real from the unreal,, the true Save yourself hundreds of dollars with this amazing 1957 CAR X-RAY! What's the truth about car-values today? Now for the first time you can get all the data on all the can all the leading makes. Shows you how they are built. The weak points. The strong points. Hidden details never revealed before. It's the book that only American Motors dared to print! We will be happy to give you your copy, without any obligation. Get yours today. It may save you hundreds of dollars on your next carl Gat yours FREE today . AT 333 Center SI. from the absurd, with more or less complete accuracy. But the early trials and errors in learning to think are remem bered and become the basis for all sorts of jokes which are con sidered to be funny. The schizo phrenic, however, doesn't grow up in this sense he still is im AmtrUm lltlcn If mm Mm or Aaurttoaa SURROZ MOTORS mersed in the trials and errors which have come to form the pattern of his disturbed thinking. The bell of the Flatbush Reform ed Church in New York City hung in 1796 has tolled for the funeral of every United States President. Salem EM 3-9286 p EM 3-9191