Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], December 28, 1916, Page 12, Image 12

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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12
Barms improved
[boost NEW ENGLAND
■UtFDEN COUNTY WORK
MEASURED BY EXPERTS
Kanual Meeting of Improvement
K&Mgue With Reports of Year’s
g Accompli shin en t s—H ora c e
A. Moses Re-elected
President
Mjer bad his day Thursday
in the annual meeting pt
den county improvement
the future of this country
Uy of this section of New
pends in vital measure on
tural folks. Speakers'. of
tion told of the awakening
expanding interest in farm pro-
LEONICE KENWORTHY
nyho Told of Work of Hampden
|O County Volunteers
Mfete which is being promoted by <v-
Hfek&rhEations like the local league and
resolution from the directors of the
M^Eartnrn States exposition was read
SEkrtiich put them on record as working
MW"'»M the movement in every way
|HKl|iible. Deonice Kenworthy and
S^KStester Arnold, two 13-years-old
^H^ttiibers of the children’s department
• Bf.the league, were on hand to prove
Sr 'he important and helpful role chi!-
MW^en are playing in this sort of work.
SHHfhrace A. Moses was re-elected pres
■Hldent of the league.
K&a addition to the reports given by
Jgjjlßlcials of the league, the speakers
® 'j4t- ihe banquet in Hotel Kimball
aßxliursday included Wilson H.
■fesee of New Haven. Ct., president of
Kwlrh Western New England chamber
SKw ■commerce. Wilfred Wheeler, secre-
J^intary of the state board of agricul
®BWure. Slate Forester Itane and Her
'Myrick of this city, who ex
£ SWalned the workings of the federal
EjwSrin loan bank which Springfield ex
l^pSots to get. The meeting of the board
KtW'l directors for the election of an
E.fexecutive committee and other busl-
Oness was indefinitely postponed be-
Epeause of the prolongation of the
sE tpeech-making in the afternoon.
Ek, The choice of officers was made at
Hi the business session in the Young
■tatfl Christian association before the
^fbanquet and resulted as follows:
BKpresident. Horace A. Moses; vlee
■Pttresidents. Joseph A Skinner of Hol-
K, r voke. I. H. Page of Chicopee, Orus
KOl, Parker of Brimfield and A. H.
KiThoetting of Springfield: clerk. Elisha
|||fH. Brewster of Springfield; treas-
E ® vrer. William H. Dexter of Spring
s OSeld; directors. E. L. Gillett of West-
RiMfield. A. H. Goetting of Springfield.
M. Post of Southwick. R. c. Newell
Bfeiif Palmer, L. H. Thompson of Wales.
EC. H. B. Chapin of Tolland, A. H.
KwPmlth of West Springfield. C. P. Bolles
Wilbraham. A. E. Bolton of Rus-
B^ell. D. B. Dickinson of Granville. C.
I; A. Bradway of Monson, H. I. Carver
Haps Dudlow. T. W. Leete of Long
ymeadow, H. W. King of East Long
gSraneadow. H. H. Thresher of Hampden,
gLy 1 - P- Cobb of Chicopee, Frank Foote
SWT Chester. Clarence B. Brown of
Ewtimfield. W. H. Bodurtha of Bland-
Mjp’rd. William H. Porter of Agawam.
P Oliver L. Howlett of Holland, Elbert
jSSA- Chapin of Montgomery.
Eg, One of the interesting features of
Eg^he gathering was the appearance of
^SMiss Kenworthy and Master Arnold,
„ Who brought conclusive demonstration
how children can be interested in
S»tbis work and of the substantial re
trtiich they can accomplish.
yXeonice, who wore an attractive pink
k colored dresg which she had made
Ksdherself. and who put up over 100 cans
|S?«Bf fruit and vegetables this fall and
a member of the team which won
r^Brst prize in the sewing judging con
gest at the dairy show, spoke for thei
MjJJOOO girls of this county who are en
re&ghed in bread, sewing, canning and
Htfhbme economics clubs. She told how
ibenhe first became interested In canning
w#»t her home in Hampden and of the
f trouble she encountered in her pioneer
Ejgtefforts in canning, including the col
i; lapse of the shelf which contained the
F' ..results of her first! work and the near-
S&f' complete demolition of same. But
E-vshe won a prize just the same. Dater
ggJ’he became interested in sewing and
jwu successful in this, as her dress
1 Y Mr Wheeler outlined some of the
&»lsßslmistlc aspects of the agricultural
g^tituation in Shis state. Only one-fifth
of the state is cultivated, said Mr
-Wheeler During the last 30 years
Mttfes-number of cattle in the state has
off 100.000. the number of sheep
MgKM* thc number of hogs 400.-
The consumers are sending 75
of the money they spend for
KWOd ou* of the state. The farmers are
Eif«Hi»gan>zed. said Mr Wheeler. Mr
;/WJieeler believes that more organiza-
KMwn between the consumer and the
»^.producer and thc development of un
■MMtqctlve lands will do much to help
t ie preset t situation.
Kg® "W. Hazen of Haddam. Ct., told
Kgßf the decision of the directors of the
&i(lEard*>rn States exposition to aid agrl-
MHEra) organizations in every way
sUXASslbie and to provide funds for car
out this program. Wilson H.
spoke a good word for thc opern-
WSlops of the local league and stated
had inspired a similar league
Herbert Myrick on Farm l.oan Bank
’ iJethert Myrick, after stating that
loan bank, which he hoped, optimis
tically. would come to Springfield. He
told of Dallas, Tex., which has a fed
eral reserve bank and which has sig
nifled a willingness to give up that
bank it it could get the farm loan
bank for that district.
• Chester Arnold, who comes from
Sixteen Acres, standing on one of the
large tables of the banquet room, re
lated some of his experiences in the
work of the league. "When the clubs
started last spring I joined for busi
ness. I took chicken raising, canning
and gardening, and athletics. At first
I didn't think canning really boys’
work, but I guess it is; boys like to
eat the preserves anyway, and it
teaches them patience and to stick to
anything. The chickens spoiled my
garden and got me discouraged. They
ate the beets, picked the carrot tops,
gathered the tomatoes, husked the
corn, leaving me only about half a
crop. I exhibited what vegetables I
had at the school exhibit on Main
street, and the board of trade gave
sl.lO and three first ribbons, one sec
ond and one third.”
State Forester Rane asked more in
telligent handling of cord wood and
timber by the farmers. There is no
sense in importing so much timber, he
said. Miss M. E? Sprague of Storrs,
Ct,, urged more co-operation between
mothers and daughters in the league
work. She told how the extension
worker can enter homes through the
vegetable garden and the kitchen.
Miss Florence Ward of the states rela
tlor ..ervice at Washington. D. C..
made a plea for a better appreciation
of the important economic factor that
woman Is. She does a most valuable
work for the league.
league Finances for Year
Despite an expenditure of over
$32,000 the past year, the league has
a balance of $167 in the treasury. The
membership has grown from 843 in
1914 to-1575 at the present time. An
other encouraging report of the morn
ing session was the word of President
Moses that the league has been aimos’
LSkured of $14,500 from the county
this comirig year, an increase of S2OOO
over last year. Mr Moses reported
growing cO-operatlon on the part of
business men with operations of the
league.
Secretary John A. Scheuerle in h's
report emphasized the service per
formed by : the league in connection
with the Eastern States exposition
project, the Dairy show, the farm
br,nk hearing and among the farm
ers generally. A forestry department
pas been added to the league in co
operation with the state department.
Mr Scheuerle urged a membership
campaign the coming year. In ah
G 961 persons are now actively inter
ested In the work of the league.
County dairymen are more and mors
coming to realize the need for stock
better fed and cared for said C. J.
Giant, agricultural advisor. Many
farmers are now feeding silage. Mr
Grant predicted a change in the
method of selling milk and urged
unity among the farmers. E. M. West,
chairman of the forestry committee,
asked for a display of the helping
hand toward tree and fire wardens.
A. R. Jenks, horticultural adviser,
put forward proofs of new interest
iii better agricultural methods. It is
estimated that 300 more farmers are
spraving their trees now than did so
four years ago. Orchard account sys
tems have been developed and 25 per
sons are now using them. About 20
people have plowed up their sod or
chards this vear for the first time.
Mr Jenks told of the orchard by
product experiment which is being
conducted in Monson at the farm of
Carpenter Bros.
The formation of an egg circle in
Wilbraham, which has done a business
of $5009 the past year was told of by
Robert P. Trask, county club leader.
The enrolment of boys and girls in
the various club projects is as fol
lows: Small flower and vegetable gar
dens. 2221: market gardens. 107;
chicken raising. 244; canning. 246;
home economics. 217; poultry. 107;
pork production. 31: potatoes. <>7;
physical efficiency. 2018. The total of
5380 makes an increase over 1915 of
1710.
Miss Minnie Price, homemaking ad
viser. told of the warm lunches pro
vided for school children. A contest
for better teeth has been started in
five towns. Many children are now
drinking milk in place of tea and cof
fee. Harrison E. Smith, head of the
laboratory and field station of the de
partment of agriculture, narrated the
outcome of two years of investigation
concerning cereal and forage insect
pests.
One million words of publicity have
been printed in Springfield newspapers
Concerning the league the past year,
stated F. D. Griggs, assistant secre
tary and editor of the Advance, the
official organ of the league. He told
of the growth of recreation work
among the children, which has in
creased fivefold the last 12 months.
Requests for information and litera
ture are constantly coming in to the
league.
A GROWING HOME INDUSTRY
Manufacture of Orchard By-Prod
ucts Proving Its Own Worth
Last sumrner the Hampden county
improvement league appropriated a
sum of money to be used by the hor
ticultural department in experiment
ing in some section of the county with
the home manufacture of orchard by
products. This was conducted by Car
penter Bros of Monson, assisted by
Lula C. Vallie. The experiment wa|s
a success 'way beyond expectations, in |
that the local market used the entire'
season’s output, thus not giving an I
opjiortunity of trying out the Spring
field market with a high-class home
made product. Miss Vallie reports as
follows: —
As an experiment, the canning busi
ness conducted at Sunset View farm
owned by Carpenter Bros of Monson,
proved quite satisfactory. With the
financial aid of the county league, and
the help and advice of both Prof
Chenoweth of Amherst and the Hamp
den county Improvement league, we
were able to begin the work this year
with more confidence than otherwise
would have been possible. Next year
we hope to make the work something
more than an experiment.
At the outset, the idea was to can
the surplus fruit grown on the farm,
but as a matter of fact, very little
Was actually canned. One reason for
this was that only first-grade fruit
cAO be used for canning If a first
class article is to be put out; another
reason wa* that our steam pressure
canner did not work in a satisfactory
manner. Second or third-grade fruit
can be used for jellies and marmalades
With as good results as when only
first-quality fruit is used. This first
year ye have used approximately 280
quarts of fruit and 140 pounds of
sugar, the various combinations re
stiltlng in about 500 jars of products.
Which Included 00 pint cans of fruit,
llflb glasses Of jelly. 135 jars of mar
malade. w» jar* of pickets and two
dq»en brittles of grape juice. Not a
large -quantity of any one variety has
j rLptlpn wttli Ifi VArffHlAa nf nlima -
THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN; THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1916
was not begun sufficiently early last
season, several kinds of jellies and
marmalades which we plan to make
next season were not put up this year
Apparently Monson is a good mar
ket for the products of which we had
the largest quantities, and we have
not regretted the fact that we had
only a small amount of canned fruit.
In some towns the canned goods might
sell better than jellies and other
things: one can find out only by Ex
perience. Next year we hope to take
orders in advance for many of the
products.
The work at Sunset View farm has |
teen done in a room fitted especially ।
and used exclusively for the putting
up of fruit. Although inconvenient in
many ways, there are great advan
tages in having a room for this work
alone, and it can be easily made more
convenient if the business Increases.
Quality rather than quantity would
be a good motto, our aim being to put
up a good article, which includes pur
ity. cleanliness and attractiveness. A
neat label, white with green lettering,
giving the name of the brand. Farm
Maid pure fruit products, and all other
necessary information helps much to
make each jar attractive. Though
confining, the work is interesting and
pleasant in most respects. If one
who goes into the work has the sum
mer vacation habit, he or she must
plan for two weeks of January or
February at the beach or mountains,
and stay on the job through the fruit
season.
BEST LAYERS YET
Storrs’s Birds Already 1000 Ahead
of Last Season
There seems to be no question but
that the hens in the laying contest
at Storrs are better birds than those
entered in previous competitions. This
is evidenced by the fact that they laid
1955 eggs last week. While this is
s'l eggs less than for the preceding
week, it is 400 more than for the
corresponding week a year ago. and in
. tneir total production since the con
test started November 1 the bird; are
I new considerably over 1000 eggs
ahead of last year's schedule. To os
sv:e. the management has sought con
tinually to improve conditions. All of
the houses were papered on three
i sides in the belief that they would be
I mere comfortable through the winter,
and yet it is not believed that these
environmental changes can quite ac
count for all of the increased yield.
A. P. Robinson's pen of white Leg
horns from Calverton. N. Y„ won first
place for the week with a yield of 43
eggs. Another pen of white Leghorns
entered bv Abel Latham of Brier
field. Eng., laid 41 eggs, thus coming
ir, for second place. A Vermont pen
•f Rhode Island Reds owned bv Hill
view poultry farm of St Albans and
a Pennsylvania pen of Leghorn?
owned by Braeside poultry farm of
Stnudsburg, tied for third with 49
egg each. Of th» 100 entries in the
contest, all but two pens of Rocks
were producers last week.
One white Wyandotte pullet was
found to be eating her own eggs and
perhaps others laid in her pen. This
is a rather vicious and. of course, un- ;
profitable habit for a hen to acquire,
not only this, but it Is sometimes hard
to cure. Hen; probably acquire this
habit by the accidental breaking of
eggs in the nest or in the pen. If a
bird is not particularly valuable the
safest and surest cure is the hatchet,
followed bv a chicken dinner. As a
precautionary measure it is well to
provide dark nests, so that the birds
would not find a broken egg. and fur
thermore it the hens are kept busy
trim morning till night thev are less
likely to acquire habits of this sort.
An English writer suggests the fol
lowing remedy: Blow out the contents
of a fresh egg. then fill the shell with
breadcrumbs and saturate with am
monia. It is said that oftentimes a
single peck at the doctored egg is suffi
cient and that inveterate egg eaters
car. be cured in this way.
ONE MORE WARNING
Farmers Urged to Get Fertilizer Early
Every farmer should realize fully
the need of getting his fertilizer order
in as soon as possible. Not only may
the price advance, but also there is
likely to be a greater shortage of cars
than at the present time. A letter
has just been received from the pres
ident of the National fertilizer asso
ciation which may be of interest to
many. It is in part as follows:—
"On September 1 there was a car
shortage in the United States of
19 000: October 1. 00.000; November 1.
108.000; December 1. approximately
150.000. with the probability that
shipping conditions will continue to
become worse from week to week.
Nearly 90 ner cent of the 4.500.000
tons of fertilizer used by the farmers
in the spring season has in past years
been congested in a shipping season
of just about six to eight weeks in
lepgth. The spring shipments of fer
tilizer require 300.000 railroad cars.
Indications point to a grestly in
creased demand for fertilizers this
spring on account of the higher prices
for farm products and the greater
profits from investments in fertilizer.
It will be absolutely impossible for
the railroads to furnish that number
of cars this spring tor moving the
fertilizers if they are congested to
such a short period of timy this sea
son as they have been in past years.
This year the co-operation of the farm
ers with the railroads and dealers is
necessary. The fertilizer shipments
will be moved promptly and will reach
the farmers in plenty of time, if orders
are made early and early shipments
started, thereby relieving the con
gestion and extending the length of
the shipping period.
The shipping of fertilizers early is
Of advantage to the farmer in other
ways. Not only will he be assured
of a supply of plant food ready for use
when needed, but he can haul It to
his farm before the rush season of
•wing work starts. In many sec
tions It is of advantage to haul on
the snow before the roads get bad in
the spring break-up When farm work
is least rushing and labor costs of
hauling are lowest, is the profitable
time for such hauling. Early order
ing will help everybody.
Littleville Fanners’ Association Suc
cessful
The Littleville farmers’ association
was organiz'd last spring to assist Its
farmer members in purchasing their
raw materials and selling their fin
ished products, the Idea being to mar
ket co-operatively maple sugar and
maple sirup products in that section.
The association did not sell any slriip
pr sugar because all had a very fine
market, arid especially good price*,
due to the npor season, and the fact
that other people besides themselves
did not get a great quantity product.
They did considerable purchasing of
sirup cans, fertilizers, apple stencils,
spray machinery, etc. They are look
ing forward to marketing their prod
ucts next year co-operatively, making
a start in this direction this year by
adopting an association label and
stamp and using this label on their
high-grade products so that the goods
have been rather extensively adver
tised. They have done nothing but
what other small groups can do. L
J. Kdso of Chester Center has been
the efficient manager for the past
ALCOHOL IN ENGLAND
THE CANTEEN SOLUTION
WOMEN ARE HARDEST HIT
। Reasons of Health, Efficiency and
Economy Are All Drawing
England Toward
Prohibition
The recent discussions of the drink
question in England, if they have done
nothing else, have at least furnished
more real knowledge of the effects of
alcohol than the investigations of
physiologists in their laboratories.
The public has now got the whole
matter of drink into something like
It? right perspective; and the genera;
conclusion seems to be that some pre
cautionary measures must be taken
to curtail the consumption of alcohol,
but that anything like a teetotal state
er the total prohibition of alcohol by
an act of Parliament is impracti
cable.
The English pubic, however, does
not for a moment underrate the im
portance of the drink problem as it
effects munitions. The discovery that
-he allies have been short of muni
tions is not a new one. It is of many
months’ standing; and every class In
England had been discussing it before
Mr Lloyd George uttered his famous
rhrase that drink was an enemy more
terrible than Germany herself.
The fact is that many of the work
ers in the munitions of war factories,
and among them not a few women,
were drinking more strong spirits
than usual and more than was good
fer the work, and in order to bring
the whole country tn attention Mr
Lloyd George came out with the truly I
sensational remark that drink ami
»loth were reigning in the shipyards
and mines. 1t was the opening of a
mther humiliating chapter in the
British record.
Rising of the Prohibition Wave
The home office and admiralty re
ports in the white paper certalnlv
showed the need for immediate action.
Before they were issued the ship
building employer l ;' federation told Mr
Llovd George that the leading ship
building firms In th" country were
unanimous in the belief that In order
tn meet the national requirements at
ihe present time there should be total
prohibition during the war of the sale
of exc'sable liouors and not merely
restrictions in the matter of hours o'
areas of drinking. This request was
made in Anrll and it may be -up
posed that the deputation of employ
ers. anxious to remove the dangers of
: shortage of tonnage caused by Ger
man submarines, felt that It was tim"
to turn to the practical Issue of drink
and asked definitely for prohibition.
But a difficulty arose at the start.
The occasional figures that had been
nuhlished from one district were
promptly denied as being typical of
another. Mr Lloyd George had fas
tened the evil on a small minority of
the workers and upon certain districts.
The publication of the white paper
soon afterward showed effectively
where the charges should be made
against areas of drunkenness.
Take, for instance, the figures In an
iron works for March, 1915. Only 24
per cent of the men were working
more than a normal week and vir
tuallv half the men employed were
working less than 45 hours a week
That is a common case, and it is not
an especially bad case in shipyards.
In a submarine shoo whose work Is
scheduled in the white paper a loss
during the week of 24 men working
full time is cited on a roll of 135 me,,
all told.
Invitations to Alcoholism
These instances and manv others
mentioned in British reviews show the
dimensions of the evil In the war In
dustries. The cause was thought at
first to be the sudden distribution of
high wages to a minority of unskilled
workers. Subsequently when the ori
gin of alcoholism was more attentively
considered and studied the causes were
believed to be insufficient food, over
time and Sunday labor.
These influences were particularly
injurious in the case of women. Then
the absence of discinline was exceed
ingly mischievous. No rules were en
forced as to time. No food cr shelter
for the workers in munitions factories
was provided beyond what was offered
by the public house. The workers
only knew that they could come and
go when they liked, and that they i
could earn enough money on Sundays,
when the rates of pay were doubled, to
keen them for the next three days.
Mr Lloyd George then formed the
health of munitions workers' commit
tee. Sir George Newman is the chair
man. and among the members are
the highest medical and scientific au
thorities. The result of the commit
tee's work is published in a white
naper of 12 parts, covering the In
dustrial canteen, the hours of work,
the effect of explosives on the health
of the men and women, the food and
social surroundings. Everything is
considered, all the causes of alcohol
ism and excessive drinking, and the
documents throw a searching light
on the way drink governs the Ilves of
people under unusual stress and
strain. The deepest causes have never
before been so fully disclosed.
Need for Good Cheap Food
The experience of the war. runs
the report, has shown that women re
quire on an average far more suner
visicn than men. They are peculiar
lv affected by working with the ex
plosives, trinitrotoluol, tetryl and ful
minate of mercury. Season and cli
mate also affect the question. Lastly,
the predisposing influence upon the
alcoholic habit of bad feeding, mal
nutrition and long periods of work
without refreshment should be borne
in mind. There can be no doubt that
industrial alcoholism is. In part, due
to the lack of good cheap food.
As virtual dictator Mr Lloyd
George’s action will depend upon this
report, and not on public opinion,
which even now does not quite under
stand the importance of good cheap
food and. above alt. attractive can
teens. buffets and dining rooms. The
new industrial canteens are described
In Sir GSorge Newman's report,
and in reports of the local govern
ment board, of which Dr Arthur
Newsholme is the medical officer.
It is useless to establish a canteen
which is inconvenient and unattrac
tive. It should be situated In or near
the works. The effective cleanliness,
warming, lighting and ventilation
should receive careful attention and
be properly and continuously main
tained. The canteen should include
an ample dining room, with a buffet
bar attached. 10. certain districts
arid in special circumstances there
may be a case for “wet” canteens,
tainabie.'^The
quire particularly careful supervision,
and it may be necessary to impose
certain restrictions in regard to the
sale of Intoxicants.
Dictating to License
Such, in brief is Lloyd George's
scheme. It is meeting with opposi
tion. His proposals for liquor taxa
tion, as Mr Cole says in his “Labor in
War Time,” met with ignominious de
feat at the hands of the licensed in
terests. It is a queer commentary, in
his opinion, on the state of Britain
that “they should have been averted
not by the action of the workers,
whom Mr Lloyd George had insulted,
but by a handful of brewers, pub
licans and distillers."
To Mr Cole's statement it may be
answered that it will now be quite
easy for Mr Lloyd George to tackle all
parties. Dictators lead, they are not
led. by public opinion. When Mr
Cole wrote Mr Lloyd George was in
advance of public opinion, which has
lately undergone a change.
It is reported in the Lancet that a
memorial Is in preparation with a
thousand influential signatures at
tached asking the government to sus
pend all drink licenses throughout the
kingdom for the period of the war.
The appeal is based on a plea for effi
ciency—to put the nation at Its full
strength by removing “a danger which
holds back the hour of early victory
And throws a shadow over the vision
of peace.”
The Harmless Dally Ounce
With the weakening power of alco
hol removed it is believed that the
national movement against the enemy
will gather full strength. It is not
drunkenness alone which endangers
the supply of munitions, but the con
stant sapping of men’s energies by
alcohol. The suspension of the liquor
traffic during the war and the convey
slon of the public houses Into houses
Of refreshment will quicken up the
civil and fighting populations, break
ing old habits of weakness and form
ing new habits of strength.
The sapping of men’s energies by al
cohol is a commonplace, but it is dealt
with in the memorial and the commit
tee's reports in a novel manner. It
is estimated that one ounce of absolute
alcohol can be burnt up by the body
in 24 hours. It has the fuel value
of an ounce of margarine, and, in this
quantity, it is recommended in the
report as an aid to digestion and also
As a food. This shows both good
temper and sound knowledge in a
discussion of alcohol.
Such an employment of spirits at
the canteen is legitimate, and rules
will doubtless be enforced to keep con
sumption within these limits. On the
other hand, in war time alcohol is not
cheap, either as food or digestive. It
is calculated that an ounce in the
form of gin is worth ll^ pence; in
toe form of beer three pence and in
the formof cheap wines four pence, to
which 40 per cent must now be added
for fiscal reasons. These prices are
due to the government's requirements
of alcohol for munitions; the govern
ment's order prohibiting the use of
potatoes and grain as raw material in
the manufacture of spirits, and the
high duty on refined sbuff which it has
been necessary to impose. It is thus
rather obvious that the sudden cry
for prohibition may not be from pure
temperance motives or a desire to pro
tect the worker.
Intemperance Among Women
It has been necessary to take meas
ures to prevent excessive drinking by
women. This sad feature of the war
is the subject of special studies in the
Galton laboratory of eugenics in the
university of Liverpool and in an ar
ticle in the Medical Officer.
It is well known that women work
ers are increasing In most> of the
trades. They are taking the places of
men. They are the objects of especial
care; they are to have in the indus
trial canteens a diet suited to their re
quirements. a diet of hot. appetizing
food, served during the nighh, for the
shifts working at night. Now. what is
the view as to the alcohol allowance
for women?
Whatever one’s opinion as to the
food value of alcohol and the legiti
macy of the trade in normal times, at
the present Itime in England when the
efforts of every man and woman are
required either in the services or for
work of national importance, the tide
of alcoholism, exaggerated perhaps by
some, has swelled ominously among
certain classes, particularly women,
during the past two years. One rea
son is that the rules to protect men
do not affect women so much. as. for
example, the prohibition of treating,
the shortening of the hours of the
sale of intoxicants and the various
local restrictions which have been pui
in force.
More Resistance, hut Harder Cure
.Women not only have a different
way of drinking from men. but they
are differently affected. They do not
require so much food as men. and
they have an organization which burns
up' alcohol as a rule, more rapidly and
completely than the organization of
men. On the other hand, they are
much harder to cure, to control. Thus.
Inspite of the canteen, the other in
dustrial and social measures adopted,
convictions for drunkenness have but
slightly decreased, and there is stilt
a high rate of admission to reforma
tories. How enormously Important
the welfare of women workers in Eng
land is may be judged from the can
teen proposals.
Another factor is the great numbers
of men employed In the manufacture
ahd distribution of liquor, who. If not
so engaged, could be making muni
tions. This work, of making munitions
must go on night and day to secure
prompt delivery of the goods. Noth
ing is more characteristic of England
than the fuss over women workers
and the almost complete silence as to
the army of men employed In the liq
uor trade. There are at least 300.-
000 employed directly, apart from
those required for transport and dis
tribution.
England has a giant task of out
matching the Germans In the organ
ization of the women workers when
the control of alcohol is still unset-1
tied. It seems almost hopeless to i
build, tip the canteen system on the
industrial plans of Mr Lloyd George in
the midst of war. If successful ft is
destined to rank as high as an achieve
ment as any social work of the age.
The Empire state is catching It
upon all sides. The Philadelphia
North American Is the last paper to
commit it to political oblivion and
concludes its funeral oration as fol
lows: —
These are unmistakable Indications ibat
Ift the future any awuuent that national
conventions should defer to the iviH of
Naw York and accent Its undemocratic
views regarding party policies will be re
jected not only because tbnt state * con
trol of event* has been disproved, but l>e
cause men of political discernment know
now that the placing of the stamp of New
York upon a candidate or a platform will
he the surest possible means of perpetuat
ing the present alliance tietween the detn
writHf Sooth’ luxl tlie Independent, progres
sive West end >i<»nliii: the republican
Whnfa painful period—rind how long
prolonged—has followed those early
hours at election night, when Col Hy-
BALLET IN LITTLE
A RUSSIAN OFF-SHOOT
PAVLEY AND OUKRAINSKY
The Miniature Organization Which
is Showing Chicago What the
Ballet Can Accomplish
With Small Resources
Something new in the ballet has
been developed in the middle West,
says Olive M. Sayre tn the Boston
Transcript. Naturally, its source is
Russian, for Andreas Pavley and
Serge Oukrainsky, who have pobied
their efforts to form the Pavley-
Oukrainsky ballet, received their
training and early experience with
the various branches of the Russian
ballet In Europe and came to this
country in the train of Pavlova. Still,
it is the middle West —Chicago and
Indianapolis. in particular—which
has given them the shelter and the
leisure to work out their own orlglnrj l
ideas in costume and posture. And
disclosing the results of that shelter
and leisure, partly as the ballet for
the Chicago opera season, but more
extensively and more satisfactorily as
an Independent organization which
has toured the cities within striking
distance of Chicago. It is only when
they give an entire performance by
themselves that their individuality tn
comparison with other ballets Is read
ily apparent.
A Ballet Intime
Primarily, the Pavley-Oukrainsky
ballet is a ballet intime. It is to the
Diaghilev ballet what the miniature
is to the life-size portrait. It is con
sciously and deliberately small, not
from impoverishment, but from choice.
There is an unusual amount of-solo
work and duo work, and where larger
groups are utilized they are not called
upon to create the same impressions
as a company of 50 or 100. In a way,
the new ballet attempts much the
same feat as Ruth St Denis in her re
cent productions in this country, but
with two premier dancers, Pavley and
Oukrainsky. and a small but highly
trained and varied company, the ef
fect is never thin and meager, as It
has been too often with Miss St
Denis. Perfection within intentional
ly modest limits seems to have been
the purpose as it is the achievement
of the new ballet. A correlative of
this policy, of course, is that the pro
moters are enabled to present to the
public work of the same quality as
the more pretentiaus ballets at the
ater instead of opera prices, a fact
which may have more than casual
importance in the necessary course
of education which the general pub
lic seems destined to undergo before
America takes more than a dilettante
interest in the ballet. Next to the
intimate nature of the Pavley-
Oukrainsky ballet, its most original
feature is its comparative freedom
from sex appeal. Where the Diaghi
lev ballet fairly wallows in sex from
the raw and brutal frankness of
“Thamar” and the hot passion of
“Sheherazade” to the statuesque
eroticism of “The Faun” and the
tribal orgy of “Prince Igor.” the new
ballet for the most part contents it
self with other if no less intense emo
tions. That fact, in addition to its
moderate admission charge, may help
to spread a taste and a desire for
the ballet among people who could
not be reached otherwise except by
killing them off and permitting the
younger generation to sit in judgment
in their stead.
The Young Chiefs
Of the two guilding spirits of the
ballet, Pavley seems to contribute the
youthful fire and enthusisam.and Ouk
rainsky the guiding artistic hand. Both
leaders, however, take their turn in
the various divertissements or work
together with a happy similarity of
technical proficiency. Pavley is a
handsome creature and he knows it.
sometimes to the detriment of his
work. Oukransky has an innate air
of mystery and an inscrutable counte
nance that fit him admirably for gro
tesque and exotic parts. Andreas
Pavley did his first dancing in. this
country with Pavlova. Born in India
of Dutch and Russian parentage, he
studied his profession with Cecchetti
and Clustlne and was a guest-pupil
of Jacques-Dalcroze at Hellerau. Prior
to his first trip to this country he
made a tour of Europe at the head of
his own company, performing in Lon
don Baron Arild Rosenkrantz’s “The
Gate of Life.” and in Holland Beetho
ven's "Prometheus.” A year ago with
Oukrainsky he directed the ballet at
the festival in honor rs the last birth
day of James Whitcomb Riley and
later that season appeared as ballet
master and dancer with the Chicago
Opera company.
Serge Oukrainsky was trained as a
painter rather than as a dancer and
took up dancing after he had reached
maturity. Under his real name of
Leonides Orley de Carva he was
known for his paintings at the
Academie Julien in Paris. When Pav
lova came to Paris he offered the use
of the ballroom in his hotel for some
of her performances and thus began
an interest in the ballet that resulted
in his determination to become the first
male toe dancer to perform without
the support of the ballet slipper. Wltn
Pavlova he came to the United States,
making use of his training as an artist
to design the costumes for a number
of her divertissements, notably these
for the gavotte and the Blue Danube
waltz. It is this ability that has
given to the new ballet one of its
chief charms, a free and happy use of
color, design and texture, less straihed
and unusual, but just as characteris
tically Russian as the designs of Bakst
and the other artists who have created
for Diaghilev. Pavley. too. has assist
ed. with the costumes, especially for
hl» own dances. Oukrainsky. still un
der his real name of De Carva. has de
signed most of the scenery for the bal
। let. He has not been so successful
| with the setting for “The Poison
I Flower.” the most pretentious ballet
yet produced by the company, as he
has with the setting nf the divertisse
ments. with its strangely convention
alized trees growing out of rocks
treated In the same manner and alb of
it against an imaginative sky. : This
rirofi. hung as a cyclorama, fits ad
mirably into the spirit of the diver
tissements.
Baseball to Ramean
“The Poison Flower” was arranged by
Pavley from music by Liszt arid tells
how the flowers awake with the first
beams of the rising sun. Soon the but
terfly and the bee join them in play
until a dark storm cloud drives diem
to shelter under the flowers. .When
the storm has passed though, a
strange visitor Is In their midst, a
magnificent orchid, which has come
into being like an evil spirit during
the storm. The butterfly and the bee.
unsuspecting and trustful, make ad
vances toward the newcomer and draw
away more and more from the ■other
flowers who try also to make friends
with their gorgeously colored visitor.
i ever the poisonous exhalation of the
orchid works Its way into their
beings until one by one they wither
and droop and the poison flower is
left alone waiting for new victims.
Pavley and Oukrainsky are the bee
and the butterfly, of course. Miss Dal
mar is the orchid and she makes a
sinister figure of the part.
From the remarkably varied course
of the divertissements, two rather
distinct contributions of the new bal
let stand out. One group consists of
little genre studies, not collected but
scattered through the program. It
may be that not even their creators
saw them as a group. But taken out
of their order and lined up side by
side they show the possibilities of the
ballet in quick, incisive characteriza
tion. To this category belongs
particularly the vagabond dance by
Oukrainsky, a picture as vivid in its
imaginative touches as an etching.
Another is the baseball game, per
formed by Misses Ludmila and Kehr
to music by Rameau, with a delicious
snirit of play but exactly and pre
cisely and with none of the roueh
edges of unthought romping about the
stage. And still another is the quaint
and smiling Dutch dance by the
bright-eyed critic. Miss Franchelli,
and Pavley, done to music by Brieg ;
The other kind of divertissements of
which the new ballet has proved itse f
master is the short and simple narra
tive as vivid and incisive as the mere
character studies named above. Miss
Ludmila does one of the simplest
numbers in this group. "L’Ephemere'
of Kreisler, setting forth in chaste
and beautiful action the single day
of the butterfly from chrysalis to
death. Another effective narrative of
simplest outline is the “Death and the
Malden” of Schubert named by Miss
Ludmila and Pavley. Perhaps the most
pretentious of this group, although
simple in comparison to one of the
Diaghiley ballets. Is the Egyptian tem
ple procession, with music by Leroux,
in which by an intense use of the
spirit of worship Oukrainsky. Pavley
and Miss Dalmar conjure up a pic
ture of a long concourse of communi
cants.
The independence of the Pavley-
Oukrainsky ballet, in its use of music
for its dances, may be approved or
condemned according to the viewpoint.
Those who assailed the Diaghilev bal
let for the free adaptation of classical
music to purposes for which it was
never written and to meanings that it
never implied will wince even more
noticeablv in the presence of the new
ballet. Music has been used with the
freedom of common property, but
nearly always, it must be said in all
justice, with a fine sense of its rhyth
mic appropriateness in each given
cate.
FANTASTIC WILDE
•—
Seen in Dramatization of the Port
manteau Theater
One of the altogether charming
things that we have fouid in Stuart
Walker’s Portmanteau theater is
called "The Birthday of the Infanta.”
a reworking of the second story in
“The House of Pomegranates," by
Oscar Wilue. says the critic of the
New York Times. The mere fact that
Wilde himself never dramatized this
magically-told tale, and doubtless
never thought of it in terms of the
stage, is no reason why Mr Walker,. In
one of his many raids on the library,
should have left it undisturbed on the
shelf. The potential play in a play
wright’s novel is often left for some
one else to write. The author of "Sa
lome" and "The Imoprtance of Being
Earnest.” did not live to se this nor
his "Picture of Dorian Gray” remod
eled for the threaten by alien hands.
Stevenson's interest in the theater was
expended on fruitless dramatic adven
tures in collaboration with William
Ernest Henley, and when he meditated
on a dramatization, it was of Dickens's
“Great Expectations.” while he left his
own "Treasure Island” and "The
Wrong Box” for other men in another
day and another land to recast for the
purposes of the stage. The author of
"Magda” left to Edward Sheldon the
dramatization of his “Das Hohe Lied,”
and was more than content —he was
deeply impressed—with the result.
Very likely Wilde himself would have
enjoyed -the little play that has been
found in “The House of Pomegran
ates.” All of which sounds disconcert
ingly like an essay by Brander Mat
thews.
Here is the story, you remember, of
t'ae little dwarf who is found in the
woods and brought to the palace so
that the Indanta. diverted by his gro
tesque face and strange, hunched
back, may be sure of a smile for her
birthday. The Mttl e dwarf, who has
heard the voice of Echo in the forest,
but never seen his own reflection in
milady’s handglass nor in the depths
of some limpid pool, misreads her sil
very merriment for friendliness and
hugging close the white rose she has
tossed to him. dreams great dreams of
her until the dreadful moment when,
for the first time in his life, he comes
face to face with a mirror. And he
dies then of a broken heart. There, in
a funny, disordered heap, the romping
children find him on the palace floor.
The little princess lifts in dainty dis
dain the hem of her gray brocade. Her
cherry lips are pouting prettily as she
turns to go. “For the future,” says
the Infanta, "let those who come to
play with me have 1 no hearts.”
In his playing as the dwarf —the
Fantastic, they call him —Gregory
Kelly conveys poignantly the heart
ache of this little tragedy. It would
be idle to suggest that all the beauties
of the original have survived the proc
ess of dramatization—or could have
survived them. Half the wonder of
"The Birthday of the Infanta” is in
the rich-woven tapestries, the studded
velvets and embroidered brocades of
description by the unrivaled master of
words. To suggest this is the task
rather of the decorators and really
they have risen to the occasion. In
the costumes designed by Mrs Alex
ander, the people of the play move
about as though they had just stepped
down from some fine, mislaid Velas
quez canvas, and in the decor, F. J.
Zlmmerer twatch this name) has re
produced charmingly the glow of the
palace and garden, reflecting well the
color that Wilde could create in such
exquisite passages as this: —
"The purple butterflies fluttered
about with gold dust on their wings,
visiting each flower in turn; the little
lizards crept out of the crevices of
the wall, and lay basking in the white
glare; and the pomegranates split and
cracked with the heat, and showed
their bleeding red hearts. Even the
pale yellow lemons that hung in such
profusion from the moldering trellis
and along the dim arcades, seemed to
have caught a richer color from the
wonderful sunlight, and the magnolia
trees opened their great globelike blos
soms of folded ivory, and filled the air
with a sweet, heavy perfume.”
PROPAGANDA AND PESSIMISM
The Opposing Qualities, Spiritual
and Otherwise of Shaw and Dun
sany
। Among the most comment-arousing
! events of the theatrical season In New
York have been the productions <u’
tie plays of the Irish dramatist. Lord
j Dunsany. by Stuart Walker in his
h-ertmanteau theater, and Gertrude
Kingston In the Nenghborhood play
house. Between Dansany and the
tetter-known show, Heywood Brown
in the Tribune draws a parrellel as
follows:—
There is always room in the theater
for another Irishman, and Shaw and
Yeats and Lady Gregory and the rest
must move up a bit for Lord Dunsany.
He is kin to not one of them. Pos
sibly a lesser poet than Yeats, he Is
incomparably a greater dramatist
With Shaw there is always no basis
of comparison, for the men stand a*,
opposite poles. Shaw is an optimist, a
deist and above all a propagandist.
Dunsauy seldom hopes, believes little
and never preaches. Shaw is interest
ed in the future, and Dunsany in the
past. Shaw writes of cockneys, of
dentists, of American millionaires, of
chauffeurs and emancipated women.
Dunsany deals with kings and cham
berlains and camel drivers and
prophets.
Very largely Shaw is interested in
the force inside us all. He likes to
pare away the cant which people talk
and get down to the things they think.
He could not even write about Julius
Caesar without picking him apart and
showing an amazed public the wheels
which made the great man go halfway
eround the world.
Dunsany sees not the force within
n man. but the great tug from out
side. which comes God knows where
It is a mistake, we think, to read
into his plays a spiritual quality.
When he speaks of the gods it is
somewhat in the fashion of the later
Greeks, who gave names to the vari
ous manifestations of fate for con
venience rather than belief.
However, one need not go so far
back as the Greeks. The fate with
which Dunsany deals is the same
which Thomas Hardy permitted 'to
maul poor Tess about. Like Hardy.
Dunsany conceives of this fate as a
malignant force. Doom falls upon the
beggars of “The Gods of the Moun
tain” just at the moment when their
success seems assured. So, too, are
the thieves in “A Night at an Inn"
seized upon the crest. Possibly in
none of his plays has he illustrated
more forcibly the theory that there
is an outside power against which
the intent, the plan and the will of
man amounts to nothing.
It may be true that there is not
really a spiritual quality in the work
of Dunsany, but it is rich in imagina
tion. Not only is the playwright him
self imaginative, but he stimulates the
actor and the painter. Shaw stimu
lates the actor, it is true. but. whether
it be his fault or not. no Shaw play
produced in this country has Inspired
any notable work by the painter. We
rather think that Dunsany ■'gives the
artist more chance. "You Never Can
Tell" begins in a dentist's office,
"Getting Married” in a kitchen. “The
Doctor's Dilemma” in a consulting
room. "The Shewing Up of Blanco
Posnet” in a courthouse.
The author requires that the set
for “Getting Married” shall be
“spacious and clean and handsome
and healthy.” This is hardly as
promising as "Outside the king’s
great door in Zericon. Some little
while before the fall of Babylon.”
Stuart Walker and his players have
accepted not only the acting oppor
tunities offered by Dunsany. but in
even fuller measure the scenic pos
sibilities. Despite the handicap of size,
the picture presented in "The Gods
of the Mountain” is arresting, as Is
that of “The Golden Doom.”
THE ETERNAL FEMININE
Nowhere Better Exhibited Than
When Women Attempt to Play
Men’s Roles—Bernhardt’s Obses
sion
No obsession of Mme Bernhardt’s
has ever puzzled her admirers so much
as her conviction that she Is able to
play jnasculine roles, says Howard
Reamer in the New York Sun. Tn
the first place the assumption of male
characters by women is one of the
early crudities of the theater which
the progress of the art has left behind
There may be. for instance, such roles
as Oliver Twist or equally boyish crea
tions suited to portrayal by women.
But thev are few. Indeed, most of
them would be better played by cer
tain actors. As Oliver even there
would be much more Illusion about
Gareth Hughes than Marie Doro. But
the playing of men’s characters by
women dates from an uncultivated
period that delighted in the assump
tion of such characters as Othello.
Falstaff and Hamlet by women. Of
course, nothing of the kind would be
tolerated on the stage to-day.
But Mme Bernhardt has ever
thought that she could act men’s roles
in a way to deceive the public. But
she never has. Her Hamlet was Mme
Bernhardt in travesty, nothing else.
Her Eaglet was the same. So is the
French soldier in the patriotic episode.
“From the Stage to the Field of
Honor.” There is no suggestion of
anything but womanly gentleness and
pathos about the figure stretched out
against the stump of the tree. Why
such a clear-minded artist as Mme
Bernhardt should for a minute sup
pose that there is anything to lead th?
audience to believe that a man is
speaking, it is not possible to imagine
But it was ever thus with her as
sumption of masculine roles, although
Shy lock is nevertheless said to im
pend. ___________
HIGH COST OF MUSICAL PLAYS
Lack of Canvas and Dyes Boosts
Orchestra Chairs to $2.50 in
Manhattan
Owing to the increased cost of pro
duction of musical comedies the price
of seats on the orchestra floor of all
theaters in which enormously suc
cessful musical plays are being
presented has been advanced from
$2 to $2.50 apiece.
This new scale of prices includes
the Century theater, where "The Cen
tury Girl” is playing to capacity; the
Winter Garden, where “The Show of
Wonders” is the attraction; the
Casino, where Anna Held is appear
ing In "Follow Me;” the Astor, where
Clifton Crawford in "Her Soldier
Boy” is the offering and ths New
Amsterdam where "Miss Springtime”
is playing.
Since the war began the cost of
musical productions has increased
steadily. This Is mainly due to the
fact that prices of such essential
materials as canvas and aniline dyes
have leaped to extremely high fig
ures. Very little canvas is said tn be
obtainable In America at the present
I time and. since It Is an exclusively
English product, it is being retained
in England for war purposes. The
blockade of German ports has
naturally tied up our Importation of
aniline dyes and those we manufac
ture are of an inferior quality. In
addition, players In musical comedy,
encouraged ty attractive offers from
film companies, ar., demanding high
er salaries for their services.
L’ovd George’s reference to I^nc'du
was testimony to his rreatnres tn th"
eves of the world and recognition o f
hi- living Influence In the greatert of
the neutral countries. But the Brit
ish premier has put a good manv
Americans to work searching tw Ute