New-York tribune. [volume], January 16, 1920, Page 10, Image 10

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1920.
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Out of Siberia
Oar government was never clear
in its own mind as to what it meant
to accomplish by sending into
Asiatic Russia the American soldiers
now to be withdrawn.
Their appearance there suggested
an act of war against somebody.
But against whom? They were
never allowed to fight the troops of
the Russian Soviet government and
degenerated finally into railroad
guards. Their presence puzzled the
Kolchak government at times. Their
departure will probably not djs
please the Japanese, who now face
the prospect of having to fight the
Soviet armies on the line of Lake
Baikal.
Our expeditionary force may
quit Vladivostok and tho Admin?
istration may wash its hands of
responsibility for preventing the
eastward spread of Bolshevist
power. But responsibility is scarcely
to be escaped so easily. We have
come out of Siberia in the same
manner that we went in?hesitat?
ingly and confusedly. We aren't
any more willing now to face the
great problem of Bolshevized Rus?
sia than we were to face it in 1918.
We are satisfied to draw aside and
let the Russian conflagration burn.
We think that we are not yet en?
dangered by the falling cinders.
This is an inert and fatalistic
policy. The world pursued it while
Germany was getting ready for a
war of conquest. The Entente
powers and the United States seem
contented to pursue it once more
while Russia is preparing to upset
ihe world with anarchy, enforced
by the sword if need be. We are
choosing the easy way, which may
in time become the costly way. No
there is a new conference at
Paris.
. ? can be no assured peace in |
the world while Russia remains a !
caldron of disorder. We say that j
peace has been achieved and the i
future will take care of itself. We !
i
don't even put a bandage on our eyes;
when we say these futile things. We
>-ay them with our eyes open.
Sensationalism and Sincerity
?Some unsympathetic critic having
accused Dr. Straton, pastor of Cal?
vary Baptist Church, of displaying
too much enthusiasm for publicity,
Dr. Straton replies that Gospel pub?
licity is precisely the end he has in
view. He admits that for this ob?
ject he has deliberately chosen to be?
come somewhat sensational, and says
all earnest, intelligent preachers who
desire to get their message beyond
the church door must become sensa?
tionalists. If Jesus, John the
Baptist and Paul the Apostle were
carrying on their ministries to-day
he is sure they would pr?vido ? front
page feature for the newspapers
every morning.
Dr. Straton is scarcely to be con
tradicted. It is easy to picture thi
"spread" the twentieth century re
porter would make of the eviction o?
the money changers from the temple
or the wonder of the miracle of th<
?oaves and fishes, with tho views
commenta and opinions of scientifh
expert?, pro and con., thereon. Bu
with regard to the others there is no
so much certainty. John cominf
into the great city, gaunt, attcnu
atcd, unshorn, eyes agiitter with th<
concentrated purpose of the zealot. t<
deliver hi? message, would surely b<
a? advertised as Dowie or Bill}
Sunday. And Saul of TariUS, furi
ottsly attacking, in the zeal of a ?ai.?
conversion, the paganism, shams am,
hypocrisies of the twentieth century
would have hi? picture in ever}
newspaper supplement.
But though thejfc things be con
ceded, it does not appear that Dr.
Straton has said all that may be said. ?
He touched on one danger of sensa?
tionalism when he acknowledged
the existence of clerical mounte?
banks whose gyrations show they are
interested in personal exploitation.
It is not easy to imagine Jesus, or
John or Paul saying: "I am going
to make a noise; to make every one
sit up and take notice." What was
foremost in their minds was Truth,
not the^ method of securing attention
to it. Their sensationalism, to use
a modern expression, was a by-prod?
uct, not the chief end. One cannot
conceive of them as subscribers to a
clipping bureau, counting the num?
ber of columns their press agent had
secured.
Truth is, of course, to be made
palatable. The devil, as General
Booth remarks, should not be allowed
a monopoly of the good tunes;
nevertheless, there is something in
sound human nature which revolts
against a cheap treatment of su?
preme matters. When the emphasis
is on methods rather than on sub?
stances there are often reactions
which impede rather than pronipte
a good cause. The old masters in
painting, the writers of the miracle
plays, the .jugglers who ' danced be?
fore Our Lady, were unconventional,
even sensational, but they did not
know they were. Self-consciousness;
gives to pulpit sensationalism a re?
pellent atmosphere. And thus it
often defeats the objects of its
practitioners.
Prosecutor Turns Judge
Speaker Sweet's latest statement
seems to admit that tho five Socialist
members of the Assembly are not to
be excluded unless evidence of per?
sonal guilt is adduced against them.
The Speaker asks for ^-.suspension
of judgment until the evidence is
presented and promises a full and
impartial hearing.
Mr.. Sweet thus makes a better
impression than he did by his first
contribution to the controversy. Then
his demeanor was that of a hanging
judge. He summoned tho accused to
come before him, and seemed to
enter a verdict of guilty in advance.
It has not been brought out that
he consulted any considerable num?
ber of persons in advance of the de?
livery of his sentence. The issue was
suddenly "sprung" on the Assembly
?and no opportunity for deliberation
Was allowed. He spoke himself, but
?he would not permit others to speak.
In view of this record of seeming
jprejudgment it is hardly fair for
jhim to reproach the public for pre
j judging.
As to the future, and particularly
| as to the hearing which is to begin
?next week, the Speaker will hardly
\ deny he has shown too much the
I spirit of a prosecutor to be accept?
able as a judge. An obligation rests
ion him to stand aside as much as
possible. Yet some of the Albany
?dispatches suggest he is to be ring?
master of the circus. It is worth
?while to have no shadow of doubt
;that a big issue was met openly,
broadly and manfully.
The Tribune is of the mind of
Job Hedges?namely, that the five
should be excluded if they should be,
and should not be if they should not I
be, and that in what direction the ?
"should" is to be pointed depends on j
whether or not the suspended men, j
in any genuine sense, are advocates |
| of force and direct action?on |
i whether or not they are communist I
Bolshevists or true Socialists.
Mr. Hoover
Through his friend Julius H.
? Barnes, who may be assumed to
i speak with knowledge, if not with
full authority,'IMr. Hoover has dis?
cussed his politics and his attitude
toward a Presidential candidacy.
Mr. Hoover is a Progressive Re?
publican. He was a follower of
Theodore Roosevelt and voted for
him in 1912, as did most other Cali?
forniens. In 1916, after Mr. Hughes
was denied an opportunity to shake
: hands with Hiram Johnson, Mr.
Hoover voted for President Wilson.
This is enough to indicate the color
1 of Mr. Hoover's mind. He is a
liberal and is much interested in
. preserving America as a land of free
> opportunity and social justice, and
. also has a groat desire to have the
! j great/Republic bear her due shai-e
, of the world responsibility that in
$, these days rests on her shoulders.
,; Surely not an attractive picture!
: Ah to a candidacy, and even on
t what ticket, Mr. Hoover seems to
t have arrived at no definite decision.
? He leans to the Republican side now,
- but will decidedly lean the other way
9 ?I the Republican party, becoming
5 the victim of overconfidence, should
? permit itself to be captured by re
T ; actionaries. The Democrats, of
-chastened hopes, arc not disposed to
' investigate narrowly and closely the
i political past of any one who can be
, elected on their ticket.
' Mr. Haldeman, of Kentucky, ?aid
the other day that if Mr. Hoover had
?a fortieth courun who could be iden
?l
tified as a Democrat it would be ]
enough?that the virtue of this re- :
mote cousin would be imputed to i
his distinguished relative. So Mr. ?
Hoover may still regard himself in
danger of being kidnaped. But he
indicates he will not struggle hard if
there is a real call from the people
and the Republicans lack the vision
to see the new world.
Mr. Hoover, both at home and
abroad, is one of the most admired
of Americans. About the only ab?
stainers from praise are those of the
agricultural interest who can't see
why wheat raisers were tethered by
a fixed price while others were al?
lowed to profiteer freely on the the?
ory that an increase in prices would
stimulate production and that the
interest of the public was in in?
creased production rather than in
low prices. How deep is this opposi?
tion to Mr. Hoover?an opposition
which if deep would manifestly af?
fect his availability?is a matter of
doubt.
The qualified and guarded discus?
sion of Mr. Hoover by his friends is
likely to induce the politicians to
watch him more closely. Already
voices are raised whose possessors
have laid foundations for claims to
be considered original Hoover men
should anything happen.
The Herald
Frank A. Munsey, the owner of
The Sun and The Evening. Sun, who
has become the owner of The Herald,
Tlie Evening Telegram and The
Paris Herald, has not yet taken the
public into his confidence with re?
spect to the future of his new prop?
erties; as to whether it is his plan to
effect a merger or whether it is his
plan to attempt to apply in New
York the policy of multiple owner?
ship which Northcliffe has applied
in London.
In the former case New York is to
see a further constriction of the
number of its newspapers of general
circulation, and in the second case
there is to be an experiment such as
American journalism has never seen
tried on a large scale. The shift is
thus not only of concern to all en?
gaged in the making of newspapers,
but to the public at large.
Under Vie elder Bennett, a supreme
newspaper genius, The Herald be?
came in many ways the most impor?
tant of American newspapers. The
volume of its business was the largest
and it was the most valuable. Under
the younger Bennett, for a long time,
premiership was maintained, but in
the end the injurious effects of
absent ownership and control became
I more and more evident. Others
pushed forward and seized leader
i ship. But The Hera Id, though dimin
j ished, still bulked large, and its
j practical elimination would leave a
; great void.
To Mr. Munsey The Tribune ex
j tends its congratulations and its
' felicitations on his new undertakings.
Gains and Losses
It makes a gloomy entrance upon
i our new plateau of the higher and
! dryer morality to learn that with
, it such a mellow and cherished old
; spot as Mouquin's of Ann Street
, is to close doors and quit for all
1 time. We know it must be for the
j best that life is to move upward
1 and onward into shining new eating
! places, with no Gallic seasoning in
I tho soup and no Gallic wine to sea
son all. But surely in counting our
gains a tear of regret for our losses
is due.
From Mouquin's, with its ancient
friendliness and immortal flavors, the
mind naturally leaps to that natural
antipodes, Kansas, where nothing is
ancient and the flavors are very
mortal. Kansas has been dry a long
while?or as nearly dry as anything
in close proximity to Missouri can
be dry. Its food is not bad, as
Middle Western food goes; and the
, cafeteria is surely the lesser of two
; evils when waiters and waitresses
' are beyond purchase in gold or
1 precious stones. But?if eating is
; anything more than inserting ob
? jects from the outer world into a
hole in the face, the same contain?
ing suitable combinations of carbo?
hydrates, proteins and so on, Kansas
i has not yet learned to eat. Neither
j has most of New York, or most of
' any part of America, barring per?
haps New Orleans in happier days.
Always excepting Mouquin?as
'. nearly a slice of Paris as this noisy,
bustling town could permit. The
trimmings and the externals were
; mostly of New York, yes. The heart
of the place, its food, its drink, its
| service, was the essence of that
! which is not to be had this side of
: Finisterre. What difference does
! the wine make? Why should its
! absence close the place? Out
i throws up one's hands as might the
incomparable Emile at the idea
A flavor is a flavor, and you cannol
take any element from it and havt
the result the same. Each flooi
?r/ic3 Mouquin had its own secrets
; it? baldheaded cronies, its peculia:
i smells. Of course it could not gi
i on without wine.
Who that went there will forge
the bad days of the war?and th
good days ? the uniforms ? th
thrill??the fun?tho food! W
hope for the best. But we sigh witl
fear. We try to imagino Emile serv
ing sauewsca Mnntbeliard or rea
Camembert in Kansas?we mea)
America?and we fajl It had been
I
long, hard road for good cooking to
reach our shores, and we fear that
the Eighteenth Amendment has made i
the road longer and harder than ever, j
Socialists' Rights
Assembly's Challenge Threatens
Blor? at Democracy's Foundation
Tb the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The safety of a democracy de?
pends upon the ability of its citizens
to think fast and straight, even in
times of excitement, upon certain
fundamental propositions of popular
government. One of these is that
every citizen must be allowed free?
dom to try to persuade, by peaceful
methods, a majority of his fellow
citizens to think as he does in regard
to questions of laws and institutions
and to act with him in peacefully
changing such agencies of government.
I am one of those who believe that
our American system of government
is, as a whole, the best that has yet
been devised upon this earth, and I
have not the slightest sympathy witn
or faith in the tenets of Socialism.
Yet even I can think of some matters
in which I beliove our government can
be improved, and I hope during the
remainder of my life to be free to
urge upon my fellow citizens the de?
sirability of tho changes and reforms
that I think necessary to mako life
in America more just, more fair and
more happy for the average man. If
I believe this, what right have I to
deny to the man who believes in
Socialism or in a soviet government
the opportunity of endeavoring to
persuade a majority of the inhabitants
of America that a government and a
society framed according to his be?
liefs will bo best for America?pro?
vided always he confines himself to
the democratic methods of peaceful
persuasion to accomplish his ends?
The one sharp rule that must be
always maintained is that his efforts
must be confined to a peaceful appeal
to the reason of his fellows, and that
the change must come through such
a peaceful persuasion of a majority.
The organization of a political party
is understood in this country to be
the ordinary and normal method by
which such persuasion can be exer?
cised and the wishes of a majority
demonstrated and effectuated. A party
is understood to be the way In which
men holding similar beliefs unite in
order to convert and persuade their
fellows and peacefully to, accomplish
changes in our laws.
Therefore, in challenging the right
of the five Socialists to sit in our
Assembly because of their member?
ship in a political party, the mem?
bers of tho Assembly who voted to
suspend them were apparently strik?
ing a blow at tho right peacefully to
organize and persuade their fellow
citizens?a blow at the very founda?
tion of democracy. It may be that
when the men are brought to trial
facts will be adduced to show that they
are guilty of something more tnan
this; that they are proposing to use
force or fraud or some other undemo?
cratic means of accomplishing^ their
political ends, or that they have in
somo other way disqualified them
? selves for service to the state. Such
i facts, however, have not been dis
! closed to the public, and from the
statements of the proponents of the
charges sti'css seems to bo laid solely
! upon their membership in a political
| party. If this is all the basis for
?the proposed action of the Assembly
? it is, in my opinion, a lamentable rriis
jtake. Even if the prosecutors have
'evidence of real offenses, deserving of
I expulsion, under all the circumstances
I of tho case it seems clear that they
: should not have suspended these men
! until the facts had been made public
and proved at a public trial.
No worse time could be chosen than ;
to make a mistake on the fundamental
propositions which underlie this case, j
Thiir country is confronted by the j
menace of the introduction of "direct j
action" into our government. Many of j
our laboring men are being urged T>y |
radical leaders to employ industrial i
for?a to accomplish their political ;
ends, and in this way to overthrow |
majority rule and establish the will |
of an organrzed minority. Wo are !
face to face with the duty of persuad- I
ing these men that thoy must avoid '
Buch action and confine themselves to :
democratic methods of argument and
persuasion. If at such a moment we ,
ourselves transgress this line of ?
demarcation, and punish persons with
whom we disagree for resorting to the
very methods upon which the life and '
safety of our country depend, it will
be hard to undo such a false lesson.
Every "Red" agitator in tho country
will point to a suspension of these
Socialists as evidence of the truth of
his assertion that democratic methods
are ineffective and that the peaceful
Socialist has no opportunity for
success. HENRY L. STIMSON.
New York, Jan. 14, 1920.
Two Amendments
, To the Editor of Tho Tribune.
Sir: Commissioner of Internal Rev
' enuo Roper has issued a proclamation
; calling upon the clergy of the country
j to observe January 18 as "Law and
! Order Sunday," for the purpose of aid
i ing in creating public sentiment favor
! able to the -enforcement of the Eight
: eenth Amendment. ?Mr. Roper comes
! from n state that for many years has
j openly, flagrantly and defiantly vio
j lated the Fifteenth Amendment. Has
ho ever demanded national action by
the clergy in favor of enforcing that
amendment? Is not the Americun citi
. sen's right to vote of greater impor?
tance than stopping the drinking of it
harmless glass of beer or wino? What
must we think of the many thousands
of clergymen who are silent on tho
gr*at question of tho right of the
humblest citizen to cast his ballot,
but aro vociferous in favor of taking
away his right to select whut bever?
ages ha shall drink?
WHIDDEN GRAHAM.
Ntvw York, Jan. 14. 1020,
The Conning Tower
The Date or Demarcation
"I don't requin a doctor** certfleate to
tell me my girl has been doped. She hasn't
been natural since July."?Daily News.
A burglar who carelessly showed his
spoils,
Was landed fast in the law's tight coils;
He ripped and he roared at his bonehead
play
And cursed at himself for half a day.
"Ye gods!" he exclaimed, "What a boob
was I;
But I haven't been natural since July."
A guy copped a dame in a cabaret
And made quite a flash on the Gay
White Way,
Till his wife appeared, but it saved the
day
When her husband calmly aro3e to say:
"It's not in my code to falsify,
But I haven't been natural since July."
A speeder was nailed and the charge
was read
Of knocking a dosen pedestrians dead;
"Oh, Judge," he implored, "have a heart,
I pray;
It's not my intention to maim and slay?
I never enjoyed seeing people die;
But I haven't been natural since July."
And hark to the striker who gets in
Dutch;
The Red and the Landlord and others,
such
As Clothier, Grocer, and Profiteer
And all of the rest who are acting
queer;
They all are right there with the alibi?
"I haven't been natural since July."
EARL H. EMMONS.
"My capital," says Mr. Munsey, "con?
sisted of a very large stock of enthus?
iasm, a grip partially filled with manu?
scripts, and forty dollars in my pocket."
And, doubtless, a faith in the Horatio
Alger, Jr., theory of success, a faith
that found expression in some of the
stories Mr. Munsey wrote for the
Golden Argosy,?stories we liked al?
most as well as we liked Alger's.
"You loosed a larynxful concerning
Horatio Alger's recipe for success,"
writes Sib. "Most of his disciples
are now stoop shouldered, wear alpaca
coats, and sit on high stools during
business hours. It has taken us Al?
gernons many bitter years to learn
that Fortune is best stalked with a
stout club and lots of brass. By the
time we gulliblcs have discovered this,
our more alert colleagues have the old
dame pretty well cornered."
j OUR CANDIDATE SPEAKS
Sir: I thank you for your won
jderful compliment in your beautiful
column. I don't see why more
I people can't look at this matter in
?the same sense in which you and
I do.
Thanking you for allowing me
! to become your candidate, and with
?best wishes for the success of the
! ticket, I remain, H. J. ALLEN.
Topcka. Kan., Jan. 12.
-
j Next year our candidate, as Presi
! dent-elect Allen, may make a speech
jat the Contribs' Dinner.
Fresh Earthquake Destroys Another
?Mexican Town.?The Herald.
Fresh, says G. S. K., is no name
'for it.
Von Shall Xerer l>arn From V*
"Multiplication la vexation"?It was not bo
to nie,
i I shipped each day a primrose way through
Greek and history;
But, oh, J tripped. T slid. I slipped on learn?
ing's lengthy hill.
What lime I reached the dismal ditch divid?
ing SHALL and WILL.
, "No one will help me, I shall drown"?Long
Bin's 1 had that pat,
, But never yet my stage was set to use a
phrase lileo that;
As one who Ollendorfflan-read finds small
occasion to
Reimest the Cobbler's Uncle's Child to portez
la ragout.
Oh, you, who from your eminence aeta all
the Cyrlla right.
Look down nnd lana to thte meek friend
your counsel erudita;
Assume, I beg:, the lion's rob? onca worn
by Lindley Murray,
I ehu.ll (or will) be elnkrnar noon?-Ah, bave
? heart, and hurry I Ctbii.i?a,
Late last night this column, as it1
slangily is called, went dry. There
will be no more references herein to
wines and liquors?unless, which
seems unlikely, we are able to think
up a new slant on the theme. Three
hours of continuous deliberation yes?
terday afternoon failed to evolve a
single new wheeze.
Except, of course, that booze's
place is in the home.
"If the conflict had lasted a few
?weeks longer," says Jack Kearns,* "it
?seems a certainty he would have been
in the uniformed service." Which is
advanced hereby as the ultimate in
daring assertions. Even a plunger
?like us fears, to bet against that
I statement.
? Jack Dempsoy'.i? manager.
? A pugllldt.
Zimmerman May Sign With Pitts
i burgh.?Headline.
?And although they would have to pa;
for Zlm a remarkably high rate
He'd be a bird at playing third, espe
cially as a Pirate.
Harvard may play Oregon basebal
' next spring, if the California collcg
I ?as tho Evening Sun calls th? Uni
?versity of Oregon?accepts Harvard'
! invitation.
"Don't," warns Bab, "leave oi
Heloise, Tenn.; Tab, Ind.; and Sin?
! bad, Colo."
I -
Belated Information?Giles's?fro:
the Contribs' Dinnor is to the erTei
that Ruth lives $1.60 from the Hot
Majestic,
The spirit stuff has reached to tl
point where wo expect to read sot
of tho Ouija Hoard of Education at
the Ouija Hoard of Estimate.
Not to say the editorial Ouija.
, t. P. A.
OVER THE RIVER
?Copyright. 1929, New York Tribune Inc.l
Books
Hey wood Broun
H. 3d handed me a pencil and then
stood around as if he expected me to
do something with it. I didn't suppose
he wanted me to commit myself in writ?
ing about any recent plays or books, and
I guessed that he desired something i
moro pictorial. I drew a face and i
showed it to him. It wasn't any face
in particular and I didn't know whether j
to call it the Spirit of the Ages or a \
young Jugo-Slav artillery officer. H. 3d ?
looked at it with interest and promptly j
said "baybay."
I let it go at that and was pleased ?
that he had caught the? general intent j
of the work. Unfortunately, I tried to !
show my, versatility, and the next head
was stuck underneath a pompadour and
on top of a rather elaborate gown. But
again he culled it "baybay." I added
trousers, a walking stick, a high hat, a
fierce scowl and put a long pipe in the
mouth, but he could see no difference.
It was still a "baybay."
I was put in the quandary of setting
H. 3d down as a little unintelligent or
stigmatizing my art as ineffective, until
I suddenly came upon the correct ex?
planation. These pictures of min'} were
direct, na?ve, unspoiled by any theory of
life or composition. They were the
natural expression of a creative impulse.
In them was the spirit of spring, and
freshets, and early birds, and saplings,
and "What Every Young Man Ought to
Know" and all that Bort of thing. "Bay
bay." seid H. 8d, and he was quite right.
I couldn't fool him by putting Peter
Pan in long trousers.
There is no lack of pose in Carl Van
Vochten's book of essays called "In the
Garret" (Knopf >, and more than a trace
of caddishness, but with all that it con?
tains some pleasant and amusing writ?
ing. Personally, we are fond of infor?
mality in such a work, but when the
author marks a quotation, from a critic
with whom ho disagrees, by a footnote
and invites the eye to the bottom of th(
page, where he has set down the com
ment, "O, Sugar!" we feel like refusinj
to play any longer.
The light touch is an engaging quality
in writing, but If it misses the nose am
falls on the wrist it hardly deserves fr
be counted among the blows landed.
However, one must forgive Mr. Va
Vechten much in reward fo?his diacov
ery of the following passage from Ell
Wheeler Wilcox's "The Worlds and I":
"I have circled the world almost twic
I and I have seen so much beauty tha
| the memory of it is like a panorama c
i glory upon glory. I have seen the wor
', ders of the drive from Sorrento 1
Amalfi; the majesty of the drive ovc
Mount Diablo in Jamaica at dawn; tl
i tropical splendors of the drive f rom'-Ct
; lombo to Kandy in Ceylon; and I ha?
I stood on the edge of glaciers in Swi
j rerland awed at the picture spread b
| fore mo. I have seen Stromboli sein
| ing a flame of llro hundreds of feet
'? the.air at night, while its river of fi
j ran down the volcano to the sen bclov
' and I hnvo sat in the old Greek theat
I in Taormina, Sicily, 8,000 feet above t
earth, and gazed on Mount Etna in t
distance lifting itself 11,000 feet ov
the Ionian Sea; I have watched the si
turn sapphiro sea and azure clouds
vermilion, ns it went down on tl
glorious scone. Theso and many mc
wonders of God'i? earth have I behe
yet nowhere have I found any otl
spot which seemed to me to combine
much beauty, comfort, convenience ?
| charm for th?j enjoyment of simple ?
wholesome life as Short-Beach-on-the- j
Sound at Granite Bay."
In his occasional fragments of dra- ;
matic criticism, Mr. Van Vechten dis- j
plays the not unfamiliar tendency to '
regard any piece of acting discovered I
at the end of an alley as immeasurably i
superior to those performances seen in
more exposed and public places. Thus, j
on the strength of the fact that he J
first saw Mimi Aguglia on 125th Street, I
in a theater hitherto unknown to him, j
he writes: "Mimi Aguglia, who I am al?
most convinced has more genius than !
any other actress on the stage to-day, if j
we except the lyric stage, has fortu?
nately eluded Broadway."
But since Mr. Van Vechten set down j
this estimate Broadway captured Miss ?
Aguglia and she appeared at the Stand- j
ard Theater in "The Whirlwind." We
are willing to admit at the outset that I
she must have been better in the Sicilian j
plays, or even in Wilde's "Salome," but ?
in "The Whirlwind" she was bo mani
festly devoid not only of finesse, but of j
fire as well, that we can be by no means ?
convinced that she belongs among the j
great of the theater. When a critic has i
gone as far as 125th Street ho is deter-)
mined to find almost anybody great
-
!
In his excellent essay on the music
of Arthur Sullivan Mr. Van Vechten
writes: "No adequate life of this musi?
cal genius has yet appeared. There have
been many biographers, but not one of
them discusses his music with any dis?
cernment or authority, not one of them
writes with a trace of literary charm."
One does not need to be a complete
Freudian to surmise that the announce?
ment of a forthcoming book of musical
biography may be expected just as soon j
as Mr. Van Vechten has a fortnight of !
leisure on his hands.
As a matter of fact, he will probably
make an excellent job of it. His essay
on Oscar Hammerstein, which is by far ;
the best pieco in his book, is a shrewd ,
and brilliant bit of work.
"It was not in Oscar Hammerstein, I j
think, to inspire affection," writes Van i
Vechten in setting down bis final es?
timate of the man. "His wny vas too
big, his egoism too colossal, his genius
too evident. These qualities made men
stand a little away from him. A few,
indeed, disliked him; a few, alas, derided
him. To some, even, who did not know
him, he was a trifle ridiculous. He was
never ridiculous, however, to those who
knew him; his dignity was too perfect;
he was even, in a sense, magnificent!
He could and did command admiration,
udmiration for the things be accom
plished; moro than that, admiration for
the way he failed. He was not, as a
matter of fact, what is called a good
loser. He groaned and moaned over loss,
but in a few days the; board was erased
and with a clean pieco of chalk he wus
drawing a new diagram, making a new
plan. I admired him; more than that, I
liked him. He was a figure, he lived his
own life; he fashioned if sometimes with
difficulty, but he always carved it out.
j He was an artist; he was a genius. 1
j have met few men who have seemed to
I me as groat. Some day I hope his statue
1 will stand in Times Squnre. He would
like that."
A Matter of No Importance
(From The Philadelphia Print)
It is hnrdly worth while for Wilson
and Brynn to quarrel about which Bhull
be tho Democratic party; the prospects
are there wont bo any Domocratilc party
to speak of after the next election.
Wastage of Lives
What Staff Officera Knew
Several Days in Advance
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The statement made by G?nerai
Pershing in Sunday's issue of The
Tribune, denying responsibility for the I
unnecessary wastage of American live? I
by ordered attacks on the day of the ar- I
mistiee, in which ho said that he had no L
knowledge of the armistice before No- A
vember 11, 1918, does not seem compati- |
ble with information given out by offi?
cers from headquarters several days
prior to that date.
For several days prior to November 11
the 5Gth Regiment Artillery, C. A. C.
with which I served as battalion tut- aw
geon, was stationed at Remonville. TV? j
were joined there by several officer?, as- I
signed to our regiment, who had beer. I
serving previously as members of th? I
staff of the First American Army.
These officers joined us November 9
and told us that evening that the armi?
stice was a settled fact, would be de?
clared on the 11th, and that the head?
quarters of the First Army had beei.
practically dissolved in consequence, only
a few officers remaining in charge to at
tend to final duties; that the other
officers were allowed to attach them
selves to fighting units where vacancies
existed in order to go home with them.
Sureiy the headquarters of the Firf
American Army wasn't dissolved withoir
something more substantial than ramoi
Recollect that these officera Joined w
November 9, they had been Jonrneylnil
at least a day to reach our station from
the former headquarters station, and a:
least another day was neceasary for ?
decision to be reached releaainf them
and to get out their orders, so that any
information they had on the ?ubject
must have been received at those head?
quarters not later than November 7.
To prove that thrir information *??
something more than rumor or food
guessing, I might say that they told u?
further, even to detached regiment?
just what units were to compos? 0?
army of occupation. This information
was later borne out by facts, and proveo
that they were talking with authority
If this information was known to IW
discussed freely among the officera com?
posing the staff of the First Army, ho*
is it possible that the commander ?'
chief of all the American forces did n?1
know it ?
JOSEPH M. GANEY, M. D,
Formerly First Lieutenai t, M. t ?
S. A., Battalion Surgeon, W?
Regiment Artillery. C. A. v.
New London, Conn., Jan. 12, 1920.
Chant F?nebre
! To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: This is the week of doom. AfW
January 16 persons whose friendship oi;
pended upon drinking together in* j
gradually cease to be friends. Mir
motors which have depended UP??*
drop of alcohol to get started ore re.e
gated to the scrapheap. Private stoc^
are dangerous in these days ?"
j alcohol. It is a gloomy week,
phrase which has been used by *????
' sips for ages and ages. "He drinks,
lost its value as far SS the idl? *J^
teller-, are coiwarned. Some will
that success will not V worth ??*?
? without a drink. Some owe their ?uc*
1 to a stimulant now and then. ?* J
i as it may. all is ovflr. No more s con ?? ?
| friendships. No more "big deal? P
! over with the aid of liquor. ^j
In vino r? ritas. It is l??tn** t0 .
much harder to (?ot at the truth in m
future; but there may not be *? m
lies. Forget "that" thirst and P?P*"
j for purgatory. ?t is the week of do*?
! MARCEL STEINBKUGG*
| New York, Jan. 14, 1920.