Edwin Vincent O'Hara

“ The most thickly settled agricultural sections are the great Willamette Valley in Western Oregon (where nearly everything grown in a temperate climate thrives) , and a stretch of nearly five hundred miles of rich bottom land along the Columbia River and the shore line of the coast counties. The great wheat and meat producing section of the state is in Eastern and Central Oregon. The Columbia River Basin in Eastern Oregon is one of the best grain districts in the world. Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, and Umatilla counties produce from ten to fifteen million bushels of wheat annually. ”

“ A new era opened for Catholic education in Oregon in Oct., 1859, when twelve Sisters of the Holy Names arrived from Montreal and opened at Portland St. Mary's academy and college, which as the mother-house of the community in the province of Oregon has for half a century played an honourable part in the educational work of the north-west. In August, 1871, a school for boys, called St. Michael's College, was opened with 64 pupils. Its first principal was Father Glorieux, now Bishop of Boise. In 1875 we find the pupils publishing a college paper, The Archangel . ”

“ Here too is the location of the Levi Anderson Industrial school for boys. Occupying a commanding site on the Willamette near Oswego is the magnificent new home for orphan girls under the care of the Sisters of the Holy Names. Since 1901 the Sisters of Mercy have conducted in Portland a home for the aged, where more than a hundred old people of either sex find a home in their declining years. ”

“ The portion of this section west of the coast range is generally heavily timbered with fir, spruce, and cedar. Extensive coal deposits are found, some of which are developed and yield largely. Coos Bay is one of the best harbours on the Oregon Coast. Eastern Oregon embraces all the state east of the Cascade Mountains, forming a parallelogram 275 miles long and 230 miles wide. It is a great inland plateau of an altitude varying between 2000 and 5000 feet. The southern half of this plateau belongs to the Great American Basin, while the northern portion slopes towards the Columbia river valley. ”

“ The Catholic Women's League of Portland was organized in the interest of young women wage-earners, especially for that very large class who have come west to find positions and are without home ties. The proportion of Catholics to the entire population of Oregon has never been very great, perhaps not more than one-tenth, though recent immigration has tended to increase the percentage. ”

“ No money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious or theological institution, nor shall money be appropriated for the payment of religious services in either houses of the legislative assembly. But by recent enactment the salaries of two chaplains, one a Catholic, the other a non-Catholic, for the State Penitentiary is provided for at the expense of the State. ”

“ Western Oregon also includes the important counties west of the Willamette Valley on the coast. Southern Oregon lies west of the Cascades, between the Willamette Valley and California. It comprises the counties of Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine, and Jackson. The principal streams of this section are the Umpqua and Rogue Rivers, which rise in the Cascades, pierce the Coast Range, and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The valleys of these rivers are notable for their abundant and varied fruit production. The mountains in this section are rich in gold, which is extensively mined. ”

“ Live stock is also an extensive industry: there are in this county about 350,000 sheep (with fleeces averaging 9 1/2 pounds) and 30,000 cattle. Most of the sheep and a large proportion of the cattle of the state are raised in central Oregon which comprises about twenty million acres. This immense territory has been hitherto without any railroad communication whatever, and is at present devoted to range systems of husbandry. South- eastern Oregon, comprising Klamath and Lake Counties, is a stock and dairy section. ”

“ He refused to sell liquor to the Indians, and bought up the supplies of rival traders to prevent them from selling it. He commanded the absolute obedience and respect of the Indian population, and Fort Vancouver was the haven of rest for all travellers in the Oregon country. Speaking of McLoughlin's place in Oregon history, his biographer, Mr. Frederick V. Holman, a non-Catholic, pays him the following just tribute: Of all the men whose lives and deeds are essential parts of the history of the Oregon country, Dr. John McLoughlin stands supremely first, — there is no second . ”

“ About nine-tenths of the parishes of the archdiocese are provided with Catholic schools. An annual Catholic Teachers Institute has been held under the auspices of the Catholic Educational Association of Oregon since 1905. These summer meetings have become very popular, and are attended by all the teachers in the Catholic school of the archdiocese. Prominent educators from various sections of the country are invited to address the institute. ”

“ In Southern Oregon poultry raising has become quite an industry, and this section practically supplies the large cities on the coast.
MEANS OF COMMUNICATIONMEANS OF COMMUNICATION Oregon is bounded on three sides by navigable water: the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Columbia River on the north, and the Snake River on the east. Nine inlets on the western coast provide harbour facilities. Of these Coos Bay ranks next in importance to the Columbia harbour. Ocean-going vessels enter the Columbia, and find at Portland the only freshwater port on the Pacific coast. ”

“ The Constitution further provides that no person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness or juror in consequence of his religious opinions, nor be questioned in any court of justice touching his religious belief to affect the weight of his testimony. ”

“ No law shall be passed restraining freedom to express opinions, or the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject, but every person shall be held responsible for the abuse of this right. Persons whose religious tenets or conscientious scruples forbid them to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so in time of peace, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service. ”

“ A priest or clergyman shall not, without the consent of the person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to him in his professional character in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he belongs. ”

“ With them was associate W.H. Gray as agent, the author of a History of Oregon which was responsible for the spread of a great deal of misinformation concerning the early missionary history of Oregon.
The savage murder of Dr. Whitman in 1847 was a great catastrophe. Dr. Whitman, who was a man of highly respected character, opened his mission among the Cayuse Indians near Fort Walla Walla. His position as physician made him suspected by the Indians when an epidemic carried off a large number of the tribe. They were accustomed to kill the "medicine man" who failed to cure. ”

“ No person may keep open a house or room in which liquor is retailed on Sunday — the penalty being a fine which goes to the school fund of the county in which the offence is committed. In general it is illegal to keep open on Sunday any establishment "for the purpose of labor or traffic", except drug stores, livery stables, butcher and bakery shops, etc. ”

“ In September of that year four sisters took up their residence and opened a school at the Falls. Meanwhile two events occurred which paralyzed all missionary work for a decade. The first was the Whitman massacre already referred to, which aroused the intensest hostility to the Catholic missionaries. The second was the discovery of gold in California which for the time caused a large emigration of the male population from Oregon. This movement of population deprived the Archdiocese of all religious, both men and women. In May, 1849, a large brigade composed of Catholic families from St. ”

“ The initiative and referendum obtain, and a large number of measures are brought before the people by petition under the initiative power. The state legislature provides a subsidy for institutions caring for dependent and delinquent minors. ”