Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-01-26
SALEM, MODEST BUT DETERMINED

Salem Massachusetts, Salem West Virginia, and some
two dozen other unknown villages back east are dis
grnted because forsooth at least place of that
name is trying to do something to justify its being
community Salem Oregon, is the place, and in order
that it might not be handicapped in its audabe efforts
to lift the from that oblivion that has bulled IL Tor
more than centuries it asked these other namesakes
to go chase themselves get married or do something that
would change their names.
Salem Massachusetts gets real chesty over this ana
aludes to this the only Salem country village 1t
says it never heard of it. and that is easily believed 1t
is just easily believed that 1t has never heard OF the
Pendeton Round Up, or Portlands lost Woodple or
JPRen 1t probably never heard of Joe Meek or Homer
Davenport or Of the pioneers who crossed the plains IN
bull propelled pulmans and saved this greatest section
of the universe to the United States.
Why the deunct village down next to Misery island
which got it's from being near It, has been hang
ING onto the ragged edges Of the map for three centuries
ever since the Mayfower oaded the largest list OF pas
sengers that ever crossed the brny in single ship And
what has it done in all that time? Hanged, burned ana
tortured twenty innocent old because they were
witches and bewched Others and this at the behest OF
a crazy fanatic one Cotton Mather What can be eX-
pected of community that would be bewched by lot
of old women when there was plenty Oh pretty glrls
around? Does that entite that little old burg TO get
chesty and make slurring remarks about its beters
Then these same witch burners took up with Roger WI
Hams good preacher as well as good man, but when
the general court dsfranchised them for so doing they
went back on their pastor and their religion both IN
order to save some land down around Salem Neck that
wasn't worth two shillings square mile That was the
price of their religion and their friendship.
That was more than two hundred years ago. and we
defy any resident of that yankee village to show that 1t
has ever done anything since that ustes It's existence
Tt has grown to town. such it lSot nearly 0OOUO-
whose inhabitants are putting the paper In shoe soes
but with nearly three centuries to do it in there nothing
in that to make it chesy. Out West can grow town
of that size in a week or two
Salem West Virginia, also gets sWelled up because II
is asked to eace itself So far it is concerned 1t never
even burned WITCH and if it ever did anything else no
one ever heard of it. Besides before it gets the bghead
it should remember its state like the balance OF the
contabands only set free through the civil war. Then
too it has refused to pay what it owes to its old Nanny
GOOD Old Virginia. and while the federal supreme court
has decided that it the old lady some Sl5O00OOO 1t
further says cannot be collected because perhaps the
whole state Salem and ALL not worth it, and so refuses
to let the state go on the auction block No one would
bid for it. Go to- you insignificant one You never got
into the meght any other unless it was the gurghng
"moonshine"
Go ion your shadbelled namesake down east at
witch town and seek an alias to hide behind.
AS for the others one knows where they are ana
it for this reason this the and only Salem wants
them to eface themselves This Salem is going to DO
things and wants chance without some measy back east
village infringing on its patents and copyrights. inns
Salem the real has reputation to MAINTAIN 1t wants
no smell of burning witches connected with what 1t does
1t wants betrayed pastor on its conscience no repud
lated debts to its old nanny. That is why 1t wants a
fair start 1t has done things and is going to do more
1t has grown hops than any section OF the country
for years 1t is supplying the allies with prnes for the
men in the trenches and would supply the other side too
~ doll tha UiV world