The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-08-03
THE WRONG WORD USED.
Interesting Letter on the pioneer of Civil
lZation.
Editor Astorlan:-

Editor Astorian:-
The writer left Astoria on the Tele-
phons at o'clock on the 9th and about
u hours afterwards got the Sunday Ore
gonlan of the 18th at Portland contain
ing an editorial under the heading, "Iso-
lated Free Holders" which Is directly APP
Flied to that class of isolated settlers
of the timber lands of Clatsop county,
and in regard to whose life, as a class,
the article says:
Isolation of this character dogs not
conduce to good citizenship, or to any,
thing, indeed, beyond seGfish,S grovel-
ing, well-fed contentment, but it is far
less perniclous, because of its narrow
scope, than the extreme that leads peo-
pie, whether Americans or foreigners, to
require companionship at the expense Of
want, begglry and the various vices that
| wait upon the crowding to gether OF hu-
man beings in poverty.
"A desire to possess land, a place Of
abode, where no landlord can claim rent
or cause eviction for lack of payment
pushes these people In to- these wilds
The realization of this desire makes them
content to pass their lives in solitude
with no thought of the great world out
side OF their retreat, except perhaps to be
glad that they are not miserable strlvers
Tor ltS IdNOTS. SUN lives dIt tN8ueHCSS
of value set upon and a desire to pos.
sess land that comes of cramped con-
ditions unknown to Americans; of CEN
turtles of landless toll and a dettstatlon
Of landlOrdism as the most oppressive Of
all powers"
l have given the quotation In full be-
cause think every word eX-
cept the first three lines is remarkably
well written. l think 1t is mistake
to suppose that people who live In that
way are more selfish or grovelng than
citiztns of much more ample means who
live by trade in cities are found to be;
and as to the higher aims of citizenship,
| would take the back woods settler, who
seeks by self-reiiant labor an Independent
maintenance for himself and family all
the time, before the wageman of the city
who has settled down to the conviction
hat 1t is somebody's duty to provide
him with work and wages that will en-
able him TO live according to his views
of comfort and pleasure. An amount OF
se.flshness necessary to self support Is
lot only allowable but commendable In
any man and can well be applied to the
Scandinavian fishermen of the Columbia
river, who have made homes In the woods
of Clatsop and Columbia counties; not,
| think, in grovellng contentment so
much as a gcopsing upwards from the
land.ess condition OF dependence upoa
other men or the unstable water for the
means OF existence
The backwoods clearing, and the farm
OF which the clearing is the beginning,
has heretofore played too important
part In the defence OF the advancement
Of the United States on the way to great
ress to permit the application of the
words selfish and groveling' to the iso>
lad0a OF land Clearing and farm max
irg which has given the world statesmen
like Lincoln and newspaper editors like
Greeley. Even ii. w. Scott Of the Ore,
gonian has been spoken OF as having
lived fn an Isolated cdbin during a per- |
tion OF his boyhood and 1t is not im-
possible there was born in his youthful |
mind the groupings of an ambition since |
realized. 1t is nearly thirty years since |
the writer called the attention of the Ore !
gon puhic to the Nthalem valley as sn
inviting field for settlement. Now Il has |
embryo towns and postofiices, A farmers
organization recently invited Commits
sioner Dosch 10 30 and instruct them In |
horticulture. They kept him talking till |
near midnight and a paper published at q |
pace called Pittsburg, half way between
the Columbia and the Nehalem. contains |
ads Of hotels In N<halem valley towns.
The Isolated settler Is the pioneer OF the /
progress which brings these changes and |
II seems to me harsh and untrue to |
brand him as selfish and groveiing''
when ne Is oftca the pioneer OF progress
md the personal representative of
fesolute self-dependence out Of reach Of /
IsouAToR.