New-York tribune. [volume], January 19, 1920, Page 8, Image 8

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Neto $(rrJ? ?Tritnmc
Kirnt to. Last?the Truth: New??Edi
torials?Advertisement?
U?mr>er at the Audit Bureau ?' OrculaUoni
MONDAY, JAM ARY 19, 1920.
Owned and published dally by New Tort Tribune
Ine., a New Tfrk corporation. OgdeJi Retii. Presi?
dent: O. Vsmor ?t.-grrs. Vies-President. Helen
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Tlie Sims Charges
The grave charges made by Ad?
mira] Sims will undoubtedly com?
pel a searching investigation of the
Navy Department's war policies.
Admiral Sims accuses Secretary
Daniels and Admiral Benson, the
chief of naval operations, of mis?
management and inefficiency. Their
conduct of the war, he says, pre?
vented the navy from doing its full
share toward the suppression of the
submarine and the defeat of Ger?
many.
While the war was in progress
our War Department was the chief
storm center of irritation and
criticism. The task of expanding
our tiny peace establishment of
200,000 men into an army of
4,000.000 was heart-breaking.
Many huge blunders were made; a
good many of them were, perhaps,
unavoidable. The navy was in
vastly better shape. It was a poing
(oncern when we entered the war j
in April. 1917. It had to be ex?
panded to hardly more than twice
or three times its peace strength.
After war was declared Secretary1
Daniels seemed to have prudently'
surrendered that personal direction !
which bad previously caused so
Tii!f?h friction in the navy. The
public pot the impression that *he
had confided the conduct of the war!
to competent professional hands, ?
Few complaints were heard and i
these were drowned in the clamor
of the disputes over the War De?
partment's shortcomings.
Admiral Sims and others who
realized the navy was still suffering
from the effects of Mr. Daniels's
policy of uninstructed and excessive
civilian control were too pood
fighters to discuss such matters
while there was fighting to do. They
bore with patience the results of
what they considered indefensibie
mismanagement: But in their view
the time has now come to uncover
the Navy Department's blunders, to
fix responsibility for them and, if
possible, to prevent their recur?
rence.
The Senate Committee on Naval
Affairs will want to g? to the bot?
tom of the Sims charges. These
are. in brief, that the Secretary and
the chief of naval operations in
Washington showed lack of energy
in prosecuting the war and failed
to irive Admiral Sims proper sup?
port as commander of the American
, naval forces in European waters.
Whether they did or didn't ouirht
to tie susceptible of proof. Admiral
Sin s is nol a man who makes accu
satioi - lightly or v. h o ru n s awn y
from them after making them'
Apart from its personal aspects
the investigation will also help to
- ?' le a vital question of navy
? ol cy. When Congress created the
office of the chief of naval opera
' ? the navy hoped that it. had a<
as! acquired an instrumentality
analogous to the Army Gem ra]
; ff. Wl al v as wanted -.vas an
organ of j rofe siona! opinion, repre?
senting the intelligence of the men
who had to operate and fight the
fleet, which could held in restraint
? ? ? ofessional judgments of a
? l?an S< ci etary.
'. Daniels r ever took kindly to
* .'? ni rig of his authority. The
charges suggest that he used
the office of the chief of naval
operation?, simply as an agency to
fro/orce his own views. Thus the
'??avy Department was led into ,;.'
?srror of trying to conduct the war.
from a d?jk in Wa?hin*rton, instead
of glvlngnha commander In Euro
pean waters a free hand to conduct
it in association with the responsible
: heads of the British and French
navies.
I The committee, then, should go
deeper than any mere differences
as to particular measures of strat?
egy during the war. It should
investigate Mr. Daniels'? policy
from the beginning of his admin
. istration and its effects jn the way
; of consolidating all authority in his
own hands, thus preventing the de?
velopment within the navy of a
system of sound and authoritative
leadership in purely military
matters.
The Albany Issue
j The Tribune has received the fol?
lowing from a highly valued friend:
"I ;im much more sorry than J can
describe over the saddening sight of
The Tribune assailing the Assembly
and fighting the battle of the red flag
Socialists. Surely your editors do
not read the 'socialist' literature
if they think there are. any Socialist
I.KADERS who are 'moderate.' I
know 'Red' camouflage when I see it."
The Tribune seeks to keep in touch
i with Socialist literature, and hopes
?1 is able to detect "Red" camouflage.
But it also sees that the Socialist or?
ganization, like others composed of
human beings, is a mixture, and has
faith that many of its members do not
accept the doctrine that democratic
institutions should be overt brown by
force. For the party's leaders little
can be said. Since the begira caused
by the party's official attitude tow?
ard the war and its issues the radi?
cals have pushed constitutional So?
cialists to the background. But not !
every Socialist is a Bolshevist.
The Albany controversy, if wisely
handled, can be made to contribute :
to a regeneration. The five excluded
Assemblymen have now disavowed
the force doctrine, being a little more
loyal to the ballot box than when on
the stump. This is no small gain, i
The Socialist press is now shouting
denials that violence ever was
threatened. This also is no small
gain?is likely to have effect when
the direct aetionists and the consti- .
tutionalists battle in future Socialisl
conventions.
Can't we afford to keen the con
stitutional Socialists? Would not
our correspondent prefer to have no j
political organization in this country !
even squint toward Bolshevism? We
have no doubt of his answer, nor
any more than other earnest Ameri-1
cans does he question the rightful- [
ness of agitation provided it is
peaceable and does not attack the
fundamentals of democracy.
The issue at Albany is simple if
looked at simply. The inquiry is to
ascertain whether or not the ex?
cluded Assemblymen are force advo?
cates. If they are, then they arc not
entitled to seats and are subject to
indictment under the laws of New
York: if they are not force advo?
cates, then their exclusion is unjusti?
fiable. The conduct of Speaker Sweet
has clouded the issue, but even he
now proclaims what it is.
As a Federalist
Turning aside from its particular,
contents to contemplate its spirit
and general tendency, the Presi-.
dent's Jackson Kay letter strikingly1
reverses American political tradi?
tions.
To modify nationalism to create a
superstate organization for peace
may be regarded as more Repub?
lican than Democratic- represents
Hamilton rather than Jefferson.
Likewise insistence <m the impor?
tance of spiritual things is Puritan
more the" Cavalier.
Robert V. Hayne, in the speech
?that roused Daniel Webster to his
immortal reply, declared that in!
i every age and country there were
two distinct orders of men?the
i lovers of freedom and the advocares
\of -power. Political history, as he
; sketched it, was a duel between the
centr^lizers and the decentralizers,
corresponding to the centripetal and
centrifugal forces of nature. One
group vividly saw the claims of in?
tegration and the other the claims
of diffusion. "Brine; all things to?
gether in enlarging aggregates,"
.-aid the one philosophy. ".No, keep
them apart," -s;i id the other, "or
liberty will perish, because authority
will be distant and beyond control."
Running through America;' ! is
tory has been this cleavage. The
elements wheh afterward came to-:
gether m the Jeffersonian party
generally opposed the adoption of
the Constitution which effectively
made us a nation. Whether the
question was internal improvements,
the protective tariff, a national cur?
rency, secession or what no!, the Re?
publicans or their predecessors stood
for solidifying the nation, and the
other party for the contrary.
So in the foreign field statesmen
of the Republican tradition have
shown greater interest in he orgai
zation of the world for peace than
statesmen of the Democratic tradi
': ?. During the seven months the
covenant has been under discussion
the r?les have seemed to many to be
? . ei ed. But if il were possible to
lake a plebiscite in which President
Wil on and immediate pr?dc liad no
influence it ?j by no means improb?
able that the vote for entry into the
leagn* of Tintions would receive a
greatfc percentage of support from ;
Republicans than from Democrats.
In many ways the President is more
a Federalist-Republican than a Jef
j fersonian Democrat. Under no other
; President has the power of the cen?
tral government grown as rapidly.
lie felt no reaction against a con?
stitutional amendment which struck
! at local police power, the bulwark of
! state independence. Think of the
long line of Democratic jurists who
; have laid it down as an axiom that
the Constitution conferred no police
! power on the Federal government
\ and that it would upset the Consti?
tutional balance if it ever did. And
I if the unopposed seizure of police
; power by the nation disturbs the
? manes of departed Democratic lead
1 ers, what must "Old Hickory" have
'. thought when he learned that the
; Federal Reserve act had been passed
? at the instance of a Democratic suc
I cessor?
Sentenced to Hear Music
Music as an instrument of reform
I is, of course, no novelty. Its sooth
j ing effect upon savage breasts was
long ago noted. But it is character
I istic of an age of uplift to hold that
it can supersede policemen and
prisons in dealing with criminals.
The idea, like so many others which
seem original, may be traced in the
verse of the author of "Bab Bal?
lads" and the librettist of the
charming operas New York is now
1 rehearing. It is suggested by the
assertion that the enterprising
burglar in his off moments loves to
listen to the merry village chime.
But even Mr. Gilbert didn't contend
that an ear for music, properly
educated, would deter him from the
pursuit of his profession.
It may or may not be true that
no musician ever committed a crime.
So sweeping a statement at least
deserves investigation. Other per?
sons of artistic 'predilections have
not been so fortunate. Not to men?
tion modern instances, there was
Wainwright, the friend of Lamb,
who had a fancy for poisoning.
Even his excuse for removing bis j
sister-in-law, that she had such thick J
ankles, however plausible in aes- j
thetics, was lacking in ethical sound- j
ness. But musicians in most cases i
have been accustomed t.. nrusic from ;
thi ir youth. It had a fair start in
eliminating criminal tendencies. !
Newly applied to a hardened sinner, ,
could it be guaranteed to cure? It j
would be safe, in .trying the expert- I
ment, to keep the police and the j
prisons a little while longer.
There is no telling, however, to,
what, conclusions penology, which is;
now a science, may come. The ;
tli ory that you could tell a criminal ;
by the shape of his head has been'
somewhat discredited of late, and
the separation of sheep and goats
still is a matter of some difficulty.
But. if music will turn the goats into j
sheep it ought to have a fair trial. !
The good old way, the simple plan.
of dealing with criminals was to
punish them. It may have been a ;
crude method, but it worked after i
a fashion. To the reformers of i
to-day nothing so obvious appeals, j
Wh; not try music as well as other!
esoteric remedies?
The Scuttling From Siberia
A note to the .?ap??ese govern?
ment, just made public by the State'
Department, touches on the vexed:
question? of the Siberian mystery
in a somewhat reminiscent way. i
It recalls the contents of a memo?
randum presented to the Japanese
Ambassador in Washington on July
17, 1918. In that document, it is,
said, the objects of the American
expedition were thus outlined:
"First, to help the ('/.echo-Slovak,
troops, which had, during their re-i
tirement along the Siberian 'ailway,
beca attacked by the Bolsheviki and!
enemy prisoners of war in Siberia,
to consolidate their forces and effect I
their repatriation by way of Vlodi- i
vostok, and
"Second, to steady any efforts at i
self-government or self-defense in
which the Russians themselves might i
be willing to accept assistance."
The Czechoslovaks themselves
cleared the Siberian railroad from i
the Urals to Irkutsk and then
marched east of Lake Baikal to i
Chita, where they made a junction j
i with Japanese and other Allied i
troops coming north out of Man-!
churia. Before the end of the sum- I
mer of 1918 the road to Vladivostok)
was open. But the Czecho-Slovaks
didn't leave Siberia. They stayed I
on to fight the L?nine government,!
turn.,| west again, crossed the!
Urals and established themselves on
the line of the Volga. The first!
purpose of American intervention
?the restoration of communica?
tions with the Czecho-Slovaks?-was
thus accomplished more than a
y ar ago.
'I lie second purpose remained.
Was any serious effort ever made
to realize it? The Omsk govern?
ment fought L?nine for nearly eigh?
teen months. It rightly carried its
war of self-defense into old Russia.
Was any actual military aid given
govi rnmeni by the American
? dition after the clearing of the
Siberian railroad and apart from
the policing of its eastern section?
Was the Omsk government ever
"steadied" to any noticeable extent
While if. uns making its great efforts
of 1918 and 1919 to hold off the
Bol ihevists?
Fro Czecho-Slovaks, having been
rescued sixteen months ago, aro j
now- getting ready to tnke ships I
horn?. Kolchak'i government hash
been virtually destroyed and West?
ern and Central Siberia have been
overrun by Lenine's armies. It
seems an opportune moment for"
the United" States to liquidate its
| liabilities in Siberia. The expe
I ditionary force there has been of
?little value to the anti-Bolshevist
government. It is in the way of
j the Japanese, who appear to be
i ready to stem the Bolshevist in?
vasion on the Lake Baikal line.
There is no sound reason for
keeping American troops in Eastern
j Siberia unless they are to be used
J in fighting the "Red" armies. So
i they are to evacuate. Their evacu
I ation will have Japan a free hand
to prott - her interests and inci?
dentally civilization on the Asiatic
mainland.
The State Department's note says
that a further stay by the American
troops might involve this country
in undesirable complications. It
suggests that the easiest thing for
us to do is to retire. Yet this de?
cision, it might as well be admitted,
makes inappropriate the depart?
ment's assurances that the "United
States does not in the least re?
linquish the deep interest it feels in
! the political and economic fate of
the people of Siberia, nor its pur?
pose to cooperate with Japan in the
most frank and friendly way in all
practical plans which may be worked
out for the political and economic
? rehabilitation of that region.'"
The power which stays behind
I and rehabilitates Siberia will prob
: ably gain the chief fruits of that
rehabilitation as well as the credit
for it.
Those "Fair Prices'
Very Fine, Mr. Williams, hut Where
Con You Find Them ?
To the Editor of The Tribuno.
Sir: In an article in vour paper,
which I read to-day, 1 believe Mr Will?
iams, Federal Food Administrator, j
says for Colonel Priedsam, chairman of
the Fair Price Committee's sub-com?
mittee on clothing, dry goods and
shoes, that a woman can obtain a Cull
set. of raiment at $(!(i.2:>.
He goes on to enumerate different
articles of clothing which can be
bough! for the prices he quotes, but
when he allows 28 cents for . complete
outfit of underwear for a woman, I
simply mu^t ask him a few questions,
is. he speaking of the underwear for i n
American woman or foi a Fiji Islander?
Another, thing which is bothering
me is, in this same article, Colonel
Friedsam allows the men $1.65 for
their underwear. Why be so stingy
with the poor women? I think it is
rather mean of him to want the men
to be warmer than the women. \r..i
docs he realize that where a man ,
has only two undergarments to buy a ?
woman has three or four?
If Colonel Friedsam will kindly le*.
me know, maybe through Mr. Williams, I
where 1 can purchase my underwear
for 28 cents (underwear, of course, in?
cludes corsets), I shall always be m
debted to him.
1 see no mention in Colonel Fried
sam's list of a waist to go with the
lady's suit? Is this to be a new style
for 1920?
Maybe it would lie well, along with
the prohibition and anti-smoke bills,
to have one requiring the women to re- I
main in the seclusion of their homes i
for the winter. PERPLEXED.
New York, Jan. 1 l, 1920.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Where can Mr. Arthur Will?
iams purchase "_i*?jDjen'8 underwear"
for 28 cents, and what garment does
he mean? Surely not a union suit!
Some shopping!
Just think! He allows $22.50 for a i
9uit, $16.50 for a .1res-. $19.75 for a
coa'., $il.75 for shoes, 15 cents for
hosiery-?and 2S cents for underwear.]
Let's cut out the dress, buy just the
suit, and use the $16.50 for under
drapery - even if it doesn't show! To
think of having 28 cents' worth of
undewcar on in this weather is enough :
to chill the marrow in one's bones!
Frigidly, ELLA C. THOMPSON.
New York, Jan. 14, 1920
_
To the Editor of Tin-, Tribune.
Sir: The article in to-day's issu?,
quoting Mr. Arthur Williams, refers
to an overcoat for $19.85. Where can
such an article be purchased? And
speaking of outfitting a man, some of
us continue to wear outer shirts and
not a few indulte in a collar and
necktie. And while it is true that a
man has two hands, there should tie no:
danger of losing bis trousers. A belt
or suspenders is a great convenience.
New York, Jan. 14, 1920. . M H.A.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The article on fair price for !
outfitting a man is unfair, misleading
and inaccurate and exasperating. I
am about the city every day ami keep
my eyes open, too, particularly in
reference to men's outfitting. Over?
coats of very ordinary quality ate
$'<0 and up. Suits, ditto. My wifo ex?
perienced considerable difficulty in
buying me underwear at $6 per
and that was half cotton, half wool.
She says the information on ladies'
wearing materials is just as mislead?
ing. Imagine women's underwear at
28 cents per set! _ That item alone is
sufficient to condemn the writer as
grossly ignorant, or worse.
Now, in fairness, give us farts, not
such ridiculous stuff as that to rea !
over our breakfast' coffer.
W. K. TAYLOR.
Brooklyn, Jan, 16, 1920.
Grtting Back Their Own
(From The Philadelphia Preiml
Some of the foreign new papers com?
plain that wo are "dumping our locial
scum on Europe." As the social scum
w? arc dumping on Europe was original- j
ly dumped on n* hy Europe, we can
stand thu c?tnpluint.
The Conning Tower
Landing
Their babies held high, facing home,
The steerage passengers silent stand,
With eyes that shine; the tourists run
About the decks, guidebook in hand.
We almost touch Vesuvius,
Crest purple, base pale indigo;
And there's beloved Virgil's tomb
On cypress-topped Persilipo!
. . : ?,| ?>!-? of ?.. m bei s -h-re.
They guard it close, sky-tall and
black :
Small boats with sails, bright wave
drowsed birds,
Trail saffron wings on a silver
track 1
j
?And, "Che belle/a! N'apoli!
Magnificent! Superb! Sublime!"
Then high above the rest, a voice,
Well, give me Pittsburgh every
time.
Isabel Valle.
Naples.
It is pleasant to be able to inform
Mr. Waldo Banning, who writes to the
Lit'ry Page of the need for a book of
Walter Pricbard Eaton's poems, that
"Echoes and Realities" was published in
1917 by the George If. Doran Compony.
"lalgar Lee Masters." says the Lit'ry
1 Pag\?, "finds his inspiration in the
memory of Lincoln's wife, Ann Rut
ledge." No wonder Spoon River gos
sipped.
from : Coast To: (.'oast
Sir: Although not exultant over the New
Year's Day score at Pasadena, most of us
would gleam with satisfaction if certain
misapprehensions regarding the Pacific Coast
might be corrected. Please register my cate?
gorical denial that the "University of Oregon
is situated at San Francisco. Also please
inform Mr. \V. D. Sullivan with all possible
emphasis thai by twice referring to the
Oregon team in his dispatch to the World
! of January '1 as "the men from Portland"
he has twice collaborated in the perpetua?
tion ,>f error, which I should consider,
among authorities on agonistics, as a
gratuitous perversity.
t'ori .. ti I, ! u ? Kim. mi K. Piper, .in.
"Great resort hotels and bungalows
will bouse you luxuriously- -or live in
comfort at less cost," advertises the
U. S. Railroad Administration. "On this
basis," says (I. T., "me for comfort."
?| Gotham dleanings M
***Mr. Bcrthold A. Baer went
tu a party Wednesday cve'g.
Merit Swopc left Thursday fur
a'bricl sojourn in the South.
***Miss Ruth Henderson who was
aib'ng lately is off the sick list.
***Quite a little snow fell last
week, serving no good purpo.se.
***Mr. !?'. X. ( 1'Malley had a few
words in Gco. Lorimcr's paper last
w eck.
Rollin Kirby is contemplating
a trip to Bermuda on or abouti
Feb. 23.
H:**Geo, Harrington of here is be?
trothed, Miss Elaine Sterne being
the lucky girl.
***Murdock Pemberton'a new sun.
F. P. Pemberton, is doing elegantly
for a 2 wks. boy.
Miss Elizabeth Cobb of Os
sining is the guest of Miss Avis
Html,es of E. 38th st.
***Aleck Woollcott is back from
Cleveland, O., where he went to
? make :i speech, delivering same *
** "Chris Morley is moving over l
here from Philadelphia he having
accepted a position on the Even?
ing '' ist of this place.
***Mucli speculation here abouti
who will get the Rep nomination
our guess being Gen. Wood and our
hope being Cm. Allen.
***\Ve know how the telephone
people must feel when people ask
them somebody's number which is
in the directory. Not a week passes
that somebody doesn't ask us how
it? get in touch with so-and-so, when
the name and address are in the
telephone directory all the time.
Umbrellas and goloshes may be in
order so as to protect the occupants
of the orchestra seats from the tears
of the upper tiers. (Pardon the unavoid?
able rhyme.)?-James Gibbons Hunok"r
in the World.
Pardon the unavoidable criticism, but
what's the rhyme?
It is doubted by E. S. whether any?
body ever gets enough money to sup?
press the impulse immediately to tear
the pay envelope into infinit, .sima!
pieces.
.No. \\> I nn'l Cvcn Tliink of rt Good
Headline
Sir: In Rrentano's this afternoon I asked
for "After Thirty," by Julian Street. While
wrapping the book the clerk remarked pleas
antly, "We sell a lot. of her books," und
then added. "She's one of the most popular
writ ? ." 1 didn't know ?hat to say. Do
you? _ umn
"' olonel Porter," it is gleaned from
The Tribune, "said (hat fifteen men
likely would bo attached to the stalT I
of the soon-to-be appointed supervising
prohibition agent." Vo-ho-ho, and a
bottle of rum!
? -
It is expected tb?' Jumes W. Gerard
will presiib- and speak, as will Senator
Robert L. Owen, tonner Governor Joseph
W, Folk of Missouri, and others. The
Tribune.
"And'to tlie top of every tree
Promoted everybody."
St. Swilhjn emerged Friday night and
saw his shadow, presaging forty cen?
turion of drought.
V. P. A.
WHEN WE LOCK UP ARE WE GOING TO BRING THE CAT
IN, TOO?
(CopTrigtit, 1920. New York Tribun? Inc.)
It has been noted that spitball
pitchers and men who use the reverse
twist service are better in a short con?
test than a long one. The same, we
think, holds true of Gilbert Chesterton,
most expert exponent of the baffling
paradox, which has the sharpest break
of all literary devices. In other words
Mr. Chesterton can often say more in
a paragraph than in a c?apter. In hi*
"Irish Impressions" (John Lane) for
instance he marks the whole circum?
ference of the problem in as short a
space a-! this:
"It would be well if a man could
enter Ireland really knowing that no
knows nothing about Ireland; if pos?
sible, not even the name of Ireland.
The misfortune is that most men know
the name too well, and the thing coo
little. The hook would probably be a
better book, as well as a better joke,
if 1 were to call the island throughout
by some name like Atlantis, nn<{ only
r veal i n the last page that J was re?
ferring to Ireland. Englishmen would
see a situation of great interest, ob?
jects with which they could feel con?
siderable sympathy, and opportunities
of which they might take considerable
advantage, if only they would really
look at the place plain and straight, as
they would at eomo entirely new
island, discovered by that seafaring
adventures which is the real romance
of England. In short, he might Jo
something with it if he would only
treat it as an object in front of him,
and not as a subject or a story left
behind him."
Writing of Bert Williams in his
volume of essays called "In the Garret,"
Carl Van Wehten says: "Pert Will?
iams shuffled along in his hopeless way;
always the huit of fortune and al?
ways human. He reblackened his face,
enlarged his mouth, wore shoes which
extended beyond the Emits of even
extraordinary feet, but he never tran
seended the precise lines of character?
ization. He was as definite as Mans?
field, as subtle as Coquelin, Huso saw
him on one of her American tours and
promptly decided he was America's
finest actor. His pantomimic powers
were great and for their exploitation
he relied almost entirely on his eye
and his hands, with the occasional aid
of a bracing smile. In his poker game,
for example, he d< veloped a scene,
without speaking a single word, which
was enjoyable even to those spectators
who did not play cards. To have :
heard him sing '1 May lie Crazy, but
I Ain't No Fool,' 'The Phrenologist
Coon,' 'All Coin' <>ut and Nothing Com
ing In,' or the inimitable 'Nobody,'
was to have heard and ?eon something
ns Hue in its way as the contemporary
theater had to offer."
ft is curious to observe how rapidly
American criticism is outgrowing its
"..1 prejudice that whatever is popular
on the stage as in books must of neces?
sity In' of little account. In some
limit.Ts the process of changing the
point of view is not. quit<? complete.
Iho Department of tho Interior, for in- )
stance, has just issued a series of read?
ing lists, one of which, "Thirty Books
of Great Fiction," lists two novels of
James Fenimore Cooper and ignores
! Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn." The
explanation, perhaps, lies in the fact
; that Cooper has been dead longer.
But in circles more alive to life than
government officialdom, tho tendency
| has gone far in the other direction.
We arc much concerned with the liv?
ing and we are inclined to hold that
anything very popular must also have
an inherent quality of true merit. Tho
critics feel that they must explain and
justify the poularity of this song or
play or novel. They manage to save
face and preserve the function o?
criticism by saying that while it i
true that the unlettered mob likes an:
.enjoys the particular bit of popula;
art il does not utiderstand its tru<
inwardness. Accordingly, we 701
learned articles on the musical signifV
canee of Irving Berlin and Geortr?
; Cohan and highbrows work out sonn
complex theory about Charlie Chaplin
so that they can enjoy him in spue o
the fact that almost everybody elsi
does.
I
Our sympathies are with tho move
; ment, although we are ready to adm:
; that it has gone too far. There ma
be popularity in any one of the art
j without a justification in quality. W
j are interested and somewhat impressc
1 when some critic finds Chaplin as ii
i scrutable us the Mona Lisa, thinkir
! perhaps of Walter Pater'a cummer
j "Here's the head upon which all tl
1 pics of the earth have come and tl
; eyelids are a little weary." And v
! admit that Irving Berlin's music d
j serves serious consideration, but \
! are not willing to accept the fact
popularity a?; the sign of assured, r
[ though perhaps hidden, virtues, f
. then we shall also be compelled to i
i elude Harold Bell Wright and Same
? Shipman among the immortals.
? Duse's remark that Bert Williai
, was America's finest actor seems to
a ludicrous overstatement, and yet
can understand her saying it if 1
judgment was formed at the prec
instant that Williams finished telli
the story about Martin. It was
story of a negro preacher who lost
way one dark night and sought shelt
At a small farm he was told that '
only place available was a haun
house down the road a piece. 1
preacher had his Bible with him 1
so he went calmly enough to
haunted house and built a tire in
bip: room and sat down to read
Kood book. Suddenly a small bl
cat brushed past him.
"Isn't it nice," thought the old m
"that there is life to keep tue compi
hero in this gloomy place?" But
cat walked over to the fireplace :
ate a live coal and spit out the spin
The old man turned in constern?t 101
the Bible and began to read alo
"the fifth chapter of the Gospel
cording to St. .Mark," but before
could go further another cat ente
the room, a cat about as biff as a col
and' thig cat Walked over to the f
place and ate tw< *
1 out the spark*
"When are we g'w ri" to ' ".. i lM
I the little cat.
"We can't do nothing till ?' ??*'?
? cernes," replied the b g
Again the old negro pi i her tonga*
consolation in the !' b a, but a third
i cat entered the rooi "tie ?m
about as big as u pony an i it ate thm
live coals and spit out t ?
"When are we g i ?'' Si*<i
' the little cat, ai ? higgut
I one answered, "Vi loti eg tk.
Martin con e ?
The old man ?? put h:i
: Bible in hie t and run f?
i the door. Bui ? ? ? ' oat ^*
I said to the b Martin
: comes, y o ; ti ' . ", M
' I'se gone."
Are Amcm ans t razy?"
' To the Edit ir ?? ;
Sir: Your recent I PI
Americans Craj of M
story my fathei .a nth cen?
tury dry goods me . It toll
Shawlt in tho 118 -
cient demand i lartneal
devote It ?" ? ; , raton ??
the late A. T, Stewart to visit t*A
department ever; talk <>*?'
with the hea I del toe* ?nd
find out what itei ing *na
why not, if not ment o?
India shawls were not teif MM
cessful, ami .- tewi ri mpla a?
the variou ? _ ? ..? : askeo
why the buyi r I ? would
take in this mi ?answer "??
that *: ey were ha (*?
in England, v. ?. en, in ordr
to enc luragc the " her ne*
empire, India, h id at l " :'
wearing ?'?
what was ! md *??
ti .1 S50 ?. I] orderad
that it f;e r; ised to I
ethers in proport
surely do not
to believe that a < i 'kttr
anything of - uch paltrj '
The story goes t were ?11 *<>!<
in a week.
Is not the present craz? for i'i:
priced articles basi 1 on sot ? * "?'
similar ground, and ' ?? 11 P?"
when the pn ei ne*
aires ? ... ? r wanta fr
spent their mom y? The new rid '
? hat laj ivcrc the i i ' the >v'?r
of the Rebellion. JOB.
i? "?!. N. J.. Jai
Tired
? i : .<?
Don't you get awfully 1 . heari*f
it repeated so constant y ti kt the peo?
ple are to blame foi price ?'
commodities because they w : only k*T
commodities that are '?
Don't yon get fully I : ?'
clothing deal, rs and
their wares arc eed becaaM
people only buy (he . \ ? ./'?'?
Don't you get awfullj tired paj ng s
tho way u[i to 25 cents a poui I
sugar because t h< ro\ ci ?> : l
a high price for the I oui liai a crop ??"
lakes no steps to ?ecure the cheaper
Cuban sugar? Don't you get awfidll
tired pretending that a government thi
talks all of the time and does very litt!?
?ny of the time is efficient govarnroenv
Moat people do.