Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/693

Rh I personally know of an instance where an innocent man was sent to the states prison on a charge of which he was not guilty; and after great efforts by George H. Williams and many of the leading citizens had failed to secure a pardon, the facts were stated to Mr. Scott. He took an active interest in the man at once—a poor man without money or position—and wrote such a letter to the governor as secured immediate action and prompt pardon. Many other instances of real sympathy and prompt assistance might be given.

Harvey Whitefield Scott was the greatest mental, moral and political force the state of Oregon, or the Pacific coast ever produced.

The annual meeting of the Oregon Historical society adopted the following memorial of Mr. Scott, December 17, 1910:

"August 7, 1910, Harvey Whitefield Scott died at a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, as the result of a surgical operation. As he was the first president of this society, and was re-elected twice, thus serving for three years, it is fitting that something more than a mere reference to him should be inscribed upon our records.

"Mr. Scott was born in Tazewell County, Illinois, February i, 1838, hence was 72 years, six months and seven days old at the time of his death. He started to Oregon with his parents a few weeks after he was 14 years old, and had the great misfortune to lose his mother, who was buried in a nameless grave midway across the continent. Upon arrival here the usual experiences of pioneer life confronted him. All conditions of this character were met resolutely and with a cheerful spirit. That was the habit of the great majority of pioneers. Those disposed to shirk or complain did not get here.

"During the years that he worked at manual labor upon the farm, and the months that he was in the volunteer service fighting Indians, the desire to acquire a classical education was uppermost in his mind. This he secured at Pacific university, without aid other than that afforded by his own strong arms, supported by a determined spirit. After graduation he studied law and was admitted to the bar. The practice of law, however, was not to his liking. The opportunity to enter the profession of journalism presented itself. It was seized, and in the forty years of his connection with The Oregonians that paper has achieved an eminence second to no other in our nation.

"Mr. Scott's unusual knowledge of world history—he was always a student—enabled him to reason from cause to effect in such a way that led many to regard him as utterly dogmatic, when the fact was that he simply reproduced in concrete form the experience of the past and placed the same before the people of his time. He was essentially a leader, yet unconsciously so for the most part.

"In his death his family, this city, the Pacific coast, and particularly this society, has sustained a great and irreparable loss. In his example, however, there are many compensations. His industry as a lad, his willingness to do with all his might whatever he found to do, his determination to secure an education within himself, his belief in the gospel of hard work as the principal stepping-stone to success—so well exemplified in his own experience—his devotion to principle as he understood it, his loyalty to his adopted state—all these qualities and many more deserve emulation in the highest degree by the young people of the present day."

Three other daily papers are now printed in the city; but their managers were found indisposed to give out any information for record in this history.

The Evening Telegram, already referred to and published by the Oregonian Publishing Company, has been issued regularly for a quarter of a century, and is firmly established. Circulation unknown.

The Daily Evening Journal was started nine years ago by Mr. C. S. Jackson, who came to Portland from Pendleton, Oregon, with some money, some