Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/895

 world.

Portland was named "The rose city" by Mr. Frank E. Beach, president of the North Western Insurance Company. It was made "the rose city" by the indefatigable labors of Mr. Frederick V. Holman, an enthusiastic rose culturist, who talked, taught and wrote all about the culture of roses for years while he practiced law and wrote history.

"The rose festival" was proposed by Mr. E. W. Rowe, who was also the first president of the Rose Festival Association ; and was made the great success that it is by Mr. George L. Hutchin, who has always been the general manager of the festival, and by Mr. Ralph W. Hoyt, now president of the Rose Festival Association, and who has devoted his time and money freely to the work of raising funds and generally promoting the success of the grand annual festival.

George Washington's birthday anniversary, February 22d, is rose planting day at Portland, Oregon, and this patriotic remembrance of "the father of his country" is thus happily united with the festival that brings recreation, pleasure and joy to the hundreds of thousands of people who lay aside all business cares to rejuvenate health and strength.

Portland has in common with all other American cities, ample means of social culture, and society dissipation. Much of this has been noticed, but the great mass of what goes under the name of social culture is foreign to the purpose of this history. Portland has its "race" days, its hunt club, golf club, boating clubs, livestock shows, kennel clubs and shows, society columns in the Sunday papers, and newspaper pictures of loving maids and lovesick swains that get married ; all of which may be an index to various sorts of people.

The county clerk gives another view to the social "swim," and reports that during the year 1909 there were 2,726 marriage licenses issued at the court house in this city ; and during the same time 420 divorces granted by the courts at the same place. In the first four months of 1910 there were 794 marriage licenses issued and 147 divorces granted at the same seat of justice; in August, 1909, there were 29 divorces granted, but in August, 1910, the number jumped to 41 ; so that the divorce court is rapidly gaining on hymen at Portland, Oregon.

And as showing the difference betwen the policy of our own country, and that of our neighbor, Canada, with a population greater than all the Pacific coast states, we quote the following official statement for 1910:

"Canada has an average of 10 divorces a year, and does not propose to let down the bars to separation scandals, such as are furnished by the United States. The Dominion will fight any proposition that savors of an attempt to disrupt homes or to check the colonization of its vast area.

Recent efforts to establish divorce courts, where persons of moderate means could secure legal separation, have met with general opposition.

At the last session of parliament, there were granted by the senate 20 di- vorces. This was an increase of three over the previous year, and this small increase was viewed with alarm as a menace to the future development of the country's social life.

During the last eleven years the senate has granted 11 1 divorces, an average of ten each year. During the last three years the average has come up to 15 a year."

LABOR UNION CONTESTS.

From sports, recreation and social interests, to industry and hard work is but a single step in the life of a western city. Trade unions are organized to control the workers in every line and item of productive industry. There are hundreds of these unions in Portland, with an aggregate membership of 8,000. As in every other city, they seek to control the day's wage and the