The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-06-26
BDIToRIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

slowly southwark, the beautiful country
itself like the living panorama
that it is, exhibiting on every hand an
evidence of the thrift and enterprise
that engender health and happiness for
both man and beast. From Albany
toward ROseburg the scenery constantly
improves. The valleys broaden, the
hills grow more gracefully undulating,
the distant mountains more plaeidly
beautiful, and apparently less precipi-
tous; green fields Of waving grain answer
back the kisses OF the sea breeze that
comes up regularly from the billows of
Old Ocean laden with the OdOrs of
blessed Araby; the gladsome sunshine
has at last asserted her long-wished-for
sway, and is already turning to amber
shades the erewhile vernal aspect Of the
backward wheat heads; timothy, oceans
Of it, waves in the breezes, waiting to be
mown; fruit and vegetable gardens
prosper in the glorious air, and the
whole visible landscape rejoices in the
bounty of awakening Summer.
On Monday of last week, we met, at
Halsey, by previously attempted ar
rangement, the Rev. I. J. Wilson, with
whom we had an official appointment
as portion of a committee to amend the
constitution Of the State Temperance
Alliance. The work of the committee
xpae uhnrt- aoff,ra nj borp,oufouc fbara
being literally nothing to divide US in
sentiment or conclusions. The rever-
end gentleman is dUJdit in Parliament
ary tactics and reasonably sensible man
about everything connected with the
aristocraey Of sex. But when he comes
to the woman question, he Is an absolute
idiot. We cannot readily believe it pos
sible that a man who is as horribly
afraid Of woman's liberty as be evidently
is, could ever have had any mother ex-
cept a man. In our committee talk he
was as courteous and gentlemanly as he
knew how to be, yet he reiterated
the old fustian which any sensible
schoolgirl would deIide because of the
manifest ignorance of it, in which he
said he was "opposed to loading down
the temperance movement with any
thingso unpopular as Woman Suffrage"
1t is only wasting breath to explain to
such a mans rights ignoramus what
everybody knows who is not willfully
behind or knavishly obstinate, namely,
that the Woman Suffrage cause is in
/ finitely more popular and influential
to-day than it is possible for the tenn
perance cause to ever become until il
shall have the votes of women to aid it,.
We did not stop to argue the point at
the committee meeting, but, when the
work was done, or agreed upon, we asked
the reverend gentleman where we could
get a church for lecture. He answered
that he did not know. We had previ-
ously learned that there was no proper
public hall in Halsey, and we knew
that the reverend pastor, who was the
self-constituted protector Of God from
the women in the village, was telling a
fib for righteousness' sake when he said
he didn't know where a church could
be had. He said the trustees Of his
church lived in the country, and he had
no authority to open the church for US.
We knew that was another transparent
'whopper," to call it by its mildest real
name, for it bad been but a little while
since he had given the church to DIR.
Watts for lectures. We are too old a
worker in the missionary field to swal-
low any falsehood that any minister is
guilty of forging who tells US he has no
authority over his own church. In
every case the minister has authority,
as is always proven il he has sufficient
confidence in God to believe that locks
and keys are not required TO protect him
from the women. But Brother Wilson
evidently believed there were other men
in Halsey that were more like Jesus
than himself, for he very kindly told us
who were the trustees Of another church;
and, tired aud worn as we were with
the days arduous labors, we set oil afoOt
for the abode of one Of the nearest OF
them, about a mile distant, and, when
we got there, found it was the home OF
the wrong man. Ga our return to the
hotel we met our clerical brother, who
kindly asked what success we had met.
We replied, mot any, as yet" and that
we had about decided to obey the advice
Of Jesus to the Apostles, and shake the
dust of this place from our feet aud 20
on to the next town and see II we could
not find some Christians. He said be
was sorry we had gone to the wrong
house, and he told US Of several other
gentlemen belonging 10 the other
churches, any Of whom he must have
known were better Christians than him.
self or he would not have credited them
with better intentions than his own.
We plainly told him that we had known
better when he told US at the hotel that
he had no authority to open his church.
Thus cornered, he confessed that he
didn't want US to speak in his church,
and he gave as one reason that linen
would soil the floor with tobacco" How
that brother expects to save immortal
souls by building a church from which
everybody must be excluded except such
orthodox believers in a seven-by-nine
heaven as gather their robes about them
aud say to the unconverted, "Stand
aside; am boiler than thou" passes
i the comprehepsion of the average fem.