B'j 4 GOOD-WIN'S WEEKLY '"
Hf ' dazzling star burst like a rocket, and set fire to everything, until all
H ' countries were in ruins, and all cities burned down."
H ; Then Old Fritz expressed the conviction that his dream was a
H portentious one, and that some. remarkable event would doubtless
H f happen during that night. Strange to say, Napoleon was born on that
H very night, and at about the same hour that this dream is said to have
H ' occurred; and some thirty odd years later, when told of the incident
H ' upon his celebrated visit to Sans-Souci, the great Frenchman quite
H ' naturally assumed that the dream presaged his coming and pictured
H the destruction that he had wrought upon the world.
H But this thought comes: If one will substitute Berlin for Elba,
H and an early day in August, 1914, for the 15th day of August, 1769,
H and Kaiser Wilhelm II for the first Napoleon, then may be seen the
H actual consummation of Old Fritz's strange dream. And since the
H present head of the house of Hohenzollern claims ot have been in close
H communion with his illustrious forebear all his life, may one not in- all
H ' fairness assume that he gained much of his inspiration from that
H dream ? But the dream is said to have sorely troubled Old Fritz ; the
H glory of German arms no longer impressed him; he was fearful of
H the future, and prayed that his people might have peace. Perhaps it
H was given him to see how some time later a madman of his own line-
H j age would, throwing all counsels and caution to the winds, essay the
H , role of the fallen star himself and set out on the vainglorious ex-
H i pedition of attempting to either rule or ruin the world.
H And so, as the German people today commemorate the achieve-
H ments of their beloved Frederick, they will do well to forget the
H splendor of his military exploits, and recall) instead, the example he
H set and the admonishments he uttered in his after years. If they can
H but contrast this melancholy old man, who forsook the armed camps
H for the peaceful fireside at Sans-Souci, and preferred the soft strains
H i of his flute to the triumphant swell of martial music, with the blood-
H J thirsty brute who now holds them under his iron heel, perhaps in their
i contemplations the memory of the better side of Old Fritz's nature
will prevail and impress them with the futility of prolonging the hope-
h ) less struggle. To make of the day an occasion for pledging anew
H j their allegiance to the mad military program of Kaiser Wilhelm II,
H would be but to defame the memory of the great Frederick.
H
UNCALLED-FOR CRITICISM.
H
WE wonder whether it was just a slip of the tongue or studied
sarcasm that prompted Mr. McAdoo to say in a public address
H a short time ago: "Because some quitter goes to Wall Street and
H sells his Liberty Bonds at below par, does that make your investment
H worth less? No, my friends, Uncle Sam's bond is still at par." But
H whatever the cause, it was a most regrettable remark.
H We can well appreciate how it is the Secretary's chief concern
H to hold Liberty Bonds at par, as it is the concernment of all good
Hi citizens. Also, it is his manifest duty to do everything in his power
H! i to discourage the sale of these bonds at a discount, or at any price,
H" ' and to urge the original purchasers to hold them at least until the
H1 end of the war. But surely Mr. McAdoo can't possibly hope to ac-
Hj complish this by calling some of his unfortunate fellow citizens hard
Hi ' names. If he can avail himself of no better argument in the prem-
H ises, then he ought to resign, for he isn't fit for the high position he
HE , now occupies.
H J As we recall the circumstances, when those in charge of the sev-
H J eral campaigns urged the people to buy Liberty Bonds, there was no
Ht , intimation that the owner of such bonds would be branded as a
H I "quitter," in case he later found it necessary to sell them. On the
Hit other hand, the solicitors were most profuse in their assurances that
(j the bonds were worth one hundred cents on the dollar, and that this
I price could be obtained for them at any time and in any market. And
Ej i as a further guarantee, was it not Secretary McAdoo himself who
Ipro'posed to set aside a sinking fund for the immediate redemption of
Liberty Bonds at par, for the relief of bond holders who might hap-
H i to find themselves in needy circumstances?
Iff In view of such pretensions, surely it doesn't become the Secre-
Ht tary to go about the country scolding the unfortunate individuals who
HI are obliged to sell their bonds now for what they can get. In our
li
H
opinion, such as these are gamesters instead of "quftters." Andlt
would seem that the proper way to meet the .situation would be tto f
bolster the market instead of abusing the poor devil who gets the
short end of the bargain. . (,
Mr t
THE SOLDIER'S VIEWPOINT.
.
SO the vociferous Frank Walsh, chairman of the War Labor Board,
would march United States troops into California to force the
pardon of the notorious Tom Mooney ! Thus, in the name of the fed
eral government, would he intimidate a sovereign state and level all
its bulwarks of law and order. But we hardly think that the President
can be induced to go quite that far, although he appears to be almost
as anxious to have Mooney pardoned as are the anarchists themselves.
Then one is forced to wonder what the soldiers would have to
say about such a move against the very institutions which they are
now baring their breasts to defend. Word comes across the sea that
our soldiers in France arc not feeling any too kindly towards the labogj
agitators at home, and that they are eagerly awaiting the day when
they can come back home and take a hand in the controversy them
selves not as soldiers, unless necessary, but as citizens who stand for
law and order and vested rights. Our Americans abroad fail to sense
the justification of any labor strike nowadays, unless its object be to
obtain a decent living wage. All other issues such as recognition of
unions, sympathy strikes, shorter hours, and the like, are looked upon
with contempt by the man in uniform. As he sees it, labor has way
the best of him, and has no more moral right to strike and tie up war
work than he has to desert the ranks. As one of the boys in France
tersely observed, "This is a hell of a time to strike," and that just
about expressed the unanimous sentiments of some three million
Americans who are now with the colors.
I T f T
ANOTHER MASTER SHIPBUILDER.
IT is all very well for the country to congratulate Messrs. Schwab,
Hurley and associates for the splendid progress they are making
in the launching of sorely-needed ships, and for the Administration
to assume all the credit due for this remarkable achievement, but it
should be remembered that this is not the first time this government
has had to build ships in a hurry. The outbreak of the Civil War
found the North sadly short of the ships needed to maintain the
blockade against the Southern States. The Confederacy had just as
many, if not more boats to begin with, and this, together with the
pronounced friendship of England, gave it a distinct advantage over
the Union in the early years of the war. But it is to be believed that
Americans were just as enterprising then as they are now, and in
Blaine's "Twenty Years in Co'ngress" the following story of their
achievements is found:
"By the end of the year 1863 the -vernment had six hundred
vessels of war, which were increased to seven hundred before the re
bellion was subdued. Of the total number at least seventy-five were
ironclads. It may be instanced with laudable pride that one engineer
ing man, honorably distinguished as a scientific engineer, constructed
in less than one hundred days an armored squadron of eight ships, in
the aggregate of 5,000 tons burden, capable of steaming nine knots an
hour, and destined for effective service upon the rivers of the South
west. When the contractor, James B. Eads of St. Louis, agreed to
furnish these steamers to the government, the timber from which
they were to be built was still standing in the forest and the ma
chinery with which the armor was to be rolled was not constructed."
Which narrative prompts the thought that American ingenuity
and dauntless spirit assayed just about as high in the old days as now.
Are we really a better race of men than our grandfathers who stayed
the Rebellion, all present-day advantages considered, or have we still
something to achieve before we can even equal their enterprise anf?
spirit?
Speaking of faint praise, Jimham Lewis refers to Woodrow Wil
son as "the greatest benefactor of humanity New Jersey ever sent to
mankind." Buffalo Express.
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