Page:The West Shore vol. 1 no. 6.djvu/3

January. papers were continued for a year or more.

The third attempt at book printing was made in 1849, upon Mr. Curry's press, when Gov. Lane gave an order for copies of the act of Congress of Aug. 14, 1848, creating the Oregon Territory. Not knowing anything about arranging the matter for folding in book form, the act was printed in columns, first on one side and then upon the other, arranged for folding length-wise only. But the people were so delighted to have the act at all, after so many years of waiting, that they were in no mood to criticise the manner of its presentation.

Politics ran high about this time in Oregon, and newspapers multiplied rapidly. Oregon City had hitherto been the only centre of commercial or political importance, but in 1850 two off-shoots appeared in the newspaper line—one at Milwaukie and the other at Portland, called respectively the Star and the Oregonian. The Star, edited by J. O. Waterman, Esq., afterwards removed to Portland, and became the Times; but the Oregonian has always been a fixture in Portland. Its first editor was Thos. J. Dryer, afterwards consul to the Sandwich Islands. Following close upon those came the Statesman, established first at Oregon City by A. Bush, Esq., and removing to Salem in 1853.

The first literary production in book form was of the nature of a political drama, written by W. L. Adams, Esq., and called "Brakespeare." It appeared first in the columns of the Oregonian in 1852, occupying several numbers, and was afterwards produced in pamphlet shape, with illustrations, a few copies of which are still extant. The second was Mrs. Duniway's romance of "Captain Gray's Company," published in Portland by S. J. McCormick, Esq., in in 1859. The third was C. H. Miller's little pamphlet of "Specimens," printed in Portland by Geo. H. Himes, Esq., in 1867. The second was Mr. Miller's second attempt, "Joaquin et Al.," also printed by Mr. Himes, in 1869. The fifth was Mrs. Belle W. Cooke's little volume of poems, "Tears and Victory," printed in Salem at the job office of E. M. Waite, Esq.; and the last, Mrs. Duniway's pamphlet, called "Musings."

It would appear from this showing that book-publishing in Oregon has not yet reached the dignity of a regular trade, as, with so limited a population as ours, was not to be expected. But a more stimulating reflection is suggested by this review, viz: that it is not the absence of talent so much as the absence of opportunity which keeps Oregon literature in abeyance. The number of books written in Oregon and published elsewhere shows creditably for the literary habits of a population that hardly yet numbers one hundred thousand. Should the opportunity ever come, and with it the inevitable competition and criticism, there will be found underneath these "croppings" many leads of pure gold.

Appended is the list of books written in Oregon and about Oregon. The length of the latter makes us feel that we ought to be pretty well advertised to the world, instead of being regarded abroad as an Indian territory. The books marked with an asterisk were written in Oregon:

In addition to this list, probably somewhat imperfect, are the several publications of L. Samuel, as well as those of S. J. McCormick, from 1855 to the present date, comprising an almanac for each year, a dictionary of the Chinook jargon, and the Oregon handbooks. Mr. McCormick was also the publisher of Mrs. Duniway's novel, C. H. Miller's first two poetical efforts, and the State Directory.

From the job offices of Himes and Walling have issued innumerable pamphlets of interest only to the societies ordering their publication, indicating the business rather than the literature of the State, besides army and other reports.

To return to the early newspapers of Oregon. The Spectator was issued for four years, or until about 1850. Of the two papers started in that year, the Star was removed in 1851 to Portland, where it became the Times, edited first by Mr. Waterman, and subsequently by Mr. Hibben, followed by Mr. Russell D. Austin. It ran until 1858 in the interest of the Democratic party. The Oregonian was Whig, and has kept on the Whig side of the House ever since. Another Democratic paper, called the Standard, came into existence in July, 1854, edited by A. Leland Esq., and subsequently by Jas. O'Meara, Esq., but was not long-lived.

The Statesman removed to Salem in 1853, where it has since remained, though undergoing some changes. In 1852 a monthly magazine was started by S. J. McCormick at Portland, which had but a brief existence. It was followed the next year by the Portland Commercial, which, together with the Journal of Commerce of the same year, soon perished for lack of support. Several ephemeral publications appeared under various absurd titles, apparently intended for political effect, and doubtless very broadly humorous. Another paper that has survived the changes of twenty-three years is the Pacific Christian Advocate, published at Portland under the direction of the Methodist Conference. There was a paper called the Umpqua Gazette, published at Scottsburg in 1854—the pioneer paper of Southern Oregon. When discontinued I am not informed.

From this time periodical publications and political papers arose in every part of the Territory, having a longer or shorter existence according to party demands or to the ability of their owners to make them a public necessity.

There are fifty journals of different kinds published at present in the State. Of these sixteen are issued at Portland, viz: Oregonian, Evening Journal, Bee, Commercial Reporter, Sunday Welcome, Standard, New Northwest, P. C. Advocate, Churchman, Catholic Sentinel, West Shore, Thoroughbred Stock Journal and Record, Archangel, Helper, North Pacific, and Deutsche Zeitung. Of these three are dailies, four monthlies, one quarterly, and the others weeklies.

At Salem there are the Willamette Farmer, Statesman, Mercury, Monthly Literary Paper, Educational Journal. A very good medical journal was published for a year or two at Salem, but could not be sustained.

At Albany we find four publications—the States' Rights' Democrat, Register, Cultivator and College Missive; at Shedd, the Flail; at Corvallis, the Benton Democrat and Corvallis Gazette; at Eugene, the Guard and State Journal; at Oakland, the Weekly Centennial; at Roseburg, the Umpqua Call and Plaindealer; at Jacksonville, Oregon Sentinel and Democratic Times; at Empire City, the Coos Bay News; at Marshfield, the Coos County Record; at Dallas, the Itemizer; at Monmouth, the Chistian Messenger; at McMinnville, the Reporter; at Lafayette, the Courier; at Hillsboro, the Independent; at Oregon City, the Enterprise; at Astoria, the Astorian; at Dalles City, the Mountaineer and the Oregon Tribune; at Heppner, the Times; at Pendleton, the East Oregonian; at La Grande, the Mountain Sentinel; at Baker City, the Bedrock Democrat.

With this enumeration of what the State has so far produced in literature and journalism these observations close, indulgence being asked for any inaccuracies that may be discovered when the article has been subjected to the criticism of the readers at their leisure.

"A CHRIST KILLER."

In this goodly town, says an exchange, a little girl of Hebrew parents, on returning home from school, said: "Father, what is the meaning of Christ killer? "Why do you ask, my daughter said the parent. "Became while one of the girls was angry at me to-day, site called me a little Christ; killer." It k needless to as to the reader that volumes arc embraced in this incident. It I illustrates in tones unmistakable, the impudence and injustice of thousands in this land of civil and religious liberty. It illus-trates the blindness of that ignorance which fails to realize the true history of the Hebrew people. It ignores the light of history. Omitting all allusion to the grand tenets of Christianity in which we are humble but sincere believers, it sinks into the oblivion:of prejudice and ignorance the grand truths of Helm, history for 1875 years. It fails to grapple with the sublime truth that to the Jewish race, more than to any other source, we are indebted for the preservation of historical archives, learning and letters, during the centuries of darkness; that to that race in Spain through hundreds of years, civilization owes its preservation, and other countries in Eu-rope debts of gratitude mountain high, in the long road from barbarism to wealth, elegance and refinement. It spits upon the fact that Jewish beggar' and drinkards are as rare as lepers. It refuses to know that that the Jewish poor in any country on earth becomes a charge to the public. It forgets that for 1875 years the Jews have with a few exceptions, been a persecuted race. It refuses to acknowledge that Jews have all this time been the friends of humanity, the patrons of science, of learning, of commerce and of liberty. It ignores-the fact that tile Israelites are the merchant princes of the world, whether we take them in Paris, Berlin, London or New York.

Despite the gibes and fling sof unthinking men, women and children, no Hebrew has any cause to hang Isis head in shame when compared with the best of any other race. A people who have introduced to the world a Heine, a Rothchild and a Disraeli, have no cause to hang their head.

"A nation without a country," they have done as much and are now cluing as much the world over as any other nation to break down the battlements of hate, and spread over the world peaceful intercourse and genuine humanity. The American Mason of to-day may go to any Masonic Lodge at the uttermost part of the earth, and enter the portals of that great embodiment of benevolence, and there as a friend and brother, tried and true, he will be heartily welcomed by the Hebrew.

These thoughts rushed upon us while reading the above incident. It is sad to realize, in this age, that thoughtless prejudice is allowed to sway the judgment of our children in matters so sternly appealing to our sense of justice and our knowledge. Flow much better to pluck the beam front our owl eye before worrying about the moat in the eyes of others.

PROPAGATORS OF DISEASE

Among the many agents for the spread of infectuous diseases are its seems, our domestic pets. For the propagation of a fever a dog is sometimes as bad, if not worse, than a drain, and a case is refered to in the Sanitary Record in which scarlet fever was carried from one child to another by a favorite retriever. The dog had been reared in a house where scarlatina prevailed, and was subsequently given to a friend of the family. Shortly after one of the child-ren in the dog's new home was attacked with malignant scarlet fever and dicsl. Disinfectants were used plentifully, and every precaution taken to prevent a recurrence of the malady, but in two months time a second child took the same disease, in its worse form, and died. As the dog had been the constant companion and playfellow of these children, its woolly coat, it is alleged, became so charged with con-tagious matter as to render it a source of diaease and death. Although it is fair to the dog to admit that the children nosy have caught the fever from other sours than his woolly coat, yet there is reason to fear that both dog and cats, especially the latter, do occasionally assist in the circula-tion of infectious illness, and where fever prevails the sooner they are lodged out of the house the better. They are, however, probably not more dangerous in this re-spect than Looks. No one who takes up a book from a library ever troubles himself or herself as to the antecedents of the volume; it may have just left the hands of a fever patient."

The need of the country—more people.