“The name of Abigail Scott Duniway is held in much reverence by these women officials, who attribute to her the honor of being the promoter of woman suffrage in Oregon.
“Many innovations have been made in the laws of Oregon during the last 50 years, a number of them being framed and mothered by women State Commissioners and signed by Oregon’s women governors. One of these acts makes it lawful for a woman to retain her own name, if she so desires after her marriage and not making it compulsory for her to take her husband’s name, so that if Miss Montmorenci marries Bill Smith, she is not necessarily compelled to assume her husband’s name of Smith, but can be known as ‘Mrs. Helen Smith-Montmorenci.’ This act has been the occasion of a number of our high-toned girls with four syllable names marrying men of plebeian extraction, so the law works well.
“The morals of the city have wonderfully improved. There is less roystering, riotousness and lawlessness than existed earlier in the century. There is no longer a Home of Detention for boys and girls, Florence Crittenden Home, a county or city jail, or a state penitentiary, all of these institutions being done away with as they were found unnecessary, expensive and not able to deal with the situation in hand. Instead, a more Christlike form of dealing with the socalled lawless element has been inaugurated and the fruits became immediately apparent. Alleged criminals were talked to like brothers and treated like brothers, the hard spot in the hearts of each melting, when, indeed, they did become like brothers. Men on the rock pile were taken by the hand by good and true men and women and made to feel that life had something in it besides crime, and all became ready and anxious to better their conditions and their morals and the Brotherhood of Man became established on earth in its truest significance.
“And so it was in handling the social evil. None were so vile but would like to leave their sins; and a revolution for the good was started which has ever since continued. And this is the reason we have no homes for criminals, for we have no more criminals. Isn’t that lovely?” and the dear old lady smiled.
Continuing, she said, “The art of ‘moving picture’ shows has given place to the science of ‘motion picture’ shows. We will say that a rendition of ‘Shylock’ is given in New York on Monday. The following Monday, the very same performance can be produced in Portland, with a counterpart of the actors’ figures, voices, stage setting, even to the minutest particular, and it would be difficult for one seeing both performances to tell which was the original and which the copy.
“Owing to the little need for an elaborate education, children are not compelled to go higher than the sixth grade, the rest of their education being made up by practical experience later in life. This, however, does not extend to those seeking professional lives who are at liberty to use their time as they choose.
“Fourth of July, 1999, was celebrated in a way that the men and women of former days would marvel at. The air was filled with vehicles of all kinds and descriptions. They all invaded the air from the little tad of four years of age, who is riding in space at a height of five feet just within reach of his parent’s arms, to the more daring air rider who soars the skies, at an elevation of 10,000 feet. There were no fireworks but there was plenty of visiting above ground and music from 50,000 phonographs was listened to. One mighty band was playing national airs, and although more than a century and a half has elapsed since the anthem was written, the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ was received in the usual way. There are some new national hymns, but the olden ones seem to be the most popular.
“The Rose Festival was celebrated two weeks prior to this event. The celebration was unique and embraced a pageant in the air, the electric parade being the feature of the day. A genuine shower of roses let fall at a given signal from tens of thousands of airships filled the air with delightful perfume and the spectators with enthusiasm. The performance was given three days in succession. A reminiscent figure of the third day’s parade was a picture made in flowers and exhibited at a height of 1,000 feet above the ground showing a picture of the first president of the Rose Festival, who was none other than our dear old friend, Ralph W. Hoyt.
“What might appear to the people of 1913 as very extraordinary, is the manner in which the streets of the city are sprinkled. A huge air bag with a rubber hose attachment is allowed to rise to a height of about 1,000 feet and water from the Willamette river is pumped up into it by the good old fire boat, David Campbell, which is still doing business.
“Attached to the air bag is a regular sprinkling machine and as fast as the David Campbell pumps the water into the bag it is allowed to fall on the city, the air bag, of course, frequently shifting its position to give all parts of the city an equal show for a rain storm. This process is used whenever there is a drought in Multnomah county, which, thank the Lord, is a seldom occurrence.