New-York tribune. [volume], January 26, 1920, Page 8, Image 8

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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STeut D?rrii ?ribtttiJC
First to Lav.?the Truth: News?Edi?
tor! t\ls?Advert iwmentu
MfTow-r ot i. ? Ar<vt Bureau of OrculaUixia
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1920.
?")wr.r?J and mibUihixl -laitv by Now tork Tr?lvino
Ir.c. ? Now York Corporation Ofden Hr'.d. I*r?el
?i-.nii; G YtmoT Itugrra Vice? i 'reaidant; Hri?
I:?-Wr* lie*-.. Si i?-jn. V. \ Sutar. Treasure*,
??.id-nu. Tribune Building 151 Nasaau Street, .Sow
lira, Ttlovli-Jiio, IWAuiaa HOC?.
BTBSCMPTIO.N RATKS-Ft MAIT.. Irolutlrg
IViat.*??. IX THE L.NlllwD STATES AND
?AN'AUA
?.mes. '? i Oia
Y-ar M ? -?. Moiiih.
l'afly and SuxJay.?11.00 $" 00 il 00 :
i-'-Uj only . SCO 4."0 .T5
PueTdw cm "J . 4 00 200 40 I
SuOdaj ?Li?, Canada. tf.O'J 3.25 .54 1
FOREIGN RATES
llall? and 8uadaj.?2600 ?11.M ?2 41
I'.dr? only . It .?JO 8.70 l.fi !
Su:? lay only . i? rj 5.12 .88
C- >rrrt at Ui? rmeiofli^ at .'-'?it IV-fc u Soc-emd
Claaa Mall Ma'.tar
GUARANTY
Yet; e*n miroJm? m.-rnhapdlKi er! wtlaesj tu TKfc !
TRIBUNE with ?Ir.iI.-I* i/sty?for If rilis-itLfao- I
for raaulU |r, any c*u> THE TRiUUNE t, xnntw.?
ta pay veut neofiu> back iipwn r-qi.-est. No reu taiir.
No (julbbllne; We make gto?.: prw.if'.ly If the ?
..JrtertUar DM?] not.
MKMBiai OP TIB ASSOCIA...!) PRESS j
Cha Ajtodatad Pt?mb U aicluatraly entitled to ? el
?w for republiratlori <i all Dana <!h;.au-ti?*i ???e! ;&d j
!o It or not oth?rwl??s ra-edlteeJ In -.-,la i?a,x'r luid
.-'? tho ;<jcat :it.?a 3f fyoi.iaucHi. origin published I
. rein.
All r'.ghta of rcr?iMl-atlon of all ot. ?a- matter
he in !uo am reeetved.
The Platform Contest
On another pago this morning The
Tribune publishes, in the way of a. I
first installment, contributions to ius ?
platform or plank competition. Their
quality is excellent ami we commend
a reading of the letters to all who
take an intelligent interest in public
affairs. The heartiness of the re?
sponse indicates how lively is public
?>plnion and how it recognizes that in
many ways the country stands at the
pr.rfcing of the ways.
Recently a leading organ of Demo?
cratic opinion saw fit to express the
?pinion that the, diff?rences between
the parties have almost disappeared.
Not of tliia belief arc the corre?
spondents of The Tribune. They
clearly see lines of fundamental
divergence and feel that at thus
juncture there is great need of a
wholesome partisanship. The party
which represents the traditions of
Hamilton, of Clay, of Lincoln and of
Roose-.elt does not think it has ful?
filled its mission and lingers super
iluo.is. Its principles seem as perti?
nent as ever bef ;re; the anxiety is to
renew devotion to them and to apply
them to the problems of the hour.
A most significant feature of the
letters is what may be called their ;
progressiveness. This cross-section
of ^Republican opinion shows that the
spirit of Lincoln survives and that,
the party which sprang up under its ,
present name from the desire to en- j
large human freedom has become no
?lull worshiper at the shrine of prop
??rty and blind conservatism. Reduced
to simplest terms the submitted
planks may be summed up in one
r-entencc?namely, tho enhancement
of the life of the average man.
Equally notable is the fact that the
planks are constructive, aro practi?
cally free of mere criticism and con?
demnation.
The political campaign of 1920
promises to be one of the highest, im?
portance. It behooves every citizen
who desires to make his influence
count to join in every opportunity to
take counsel with his fellows and to
express his views.
Thrift at the Top
It is useless for the government to
urge thrift on the people unless it
first sets tho example. *T.e govern?
ment is the agent of the people. It
represents them in their collective
activities. It is the hugest single
spender in the country. Why, then,
shouldn'ir it retrench before it gives
lectures on retrenchment?before it
tries to get th<> cost of living reduced
through individual action?
Senator McC'umbe.r brought this
point home forcibly the other day
when he said th?>t the people a? a
whole cannot go back to a normal
economic basis so long as the gov?
ernment keeps up "its abnormal ex?
travagance." He put tho case some?
what exaggeratedly, for the sake of
rtrnphaais, when he told the Senate:
"Government ?extravagances art
solely responsible for the high cost
ot living to-day, which, when ana
'yzeed, means nothing more or le??
than that we are indulging in a wild
orgy of spcnd'ng borrowed money.'
If Uie estimates of the depart
rr.ents f.-ir the ne\" fiscal year arc
r?ot cut the government will continue
to live en its dr-bts. Mr. McCumbei
i jvises cutting them by $2,250,000,
000. Such a pruning may seer pain?
ful to government agencies still
operating with vastly expanded par,
roll.--.. Pew department or bureau
heads want to fee their work; r. 3
force cut down. Some worthy proj?
ects must suffer from sudden re
frenchrr.ent. But the incidental in?
jury thus done is infinitesimal com?
pared with tho healing effect on the
general economic situation ?if a re?
turn to the sound policy of keeping
the government's expenditure within
Its Income,
Taxes are high. Congress knows
that it would not be justified in in?
creasing them. The high taxes i.i
for?-? impose multiplied burder
They irihV? the cost of everything
to the conBumr-r. for everybody who
ran tries to pass hin share along to
his neighbor. A reduction of Fed?
eral taxation would cause universal
relief. It would be a far <mr?"-r v.-r,y
of reducing the cost of living than
?any campfc'gn against Individual
profiteers. Yet taxes can't come
? dovra until government outlay comes
| down.
, Congress holds the key to the situ?
ation. But too many Congressmen
are afraid to use it. The problem
has a moral as well as an economic
side. Everybody in these days who
[makes an unavoidable expenditure
is doing tho public an injury. It is
?a doubly immoral thing for Con
I gross to spend money except for
?absolutely necessary purposes, for
the money is taken from those
ir.gainst whoso interest it is spent,
land at the same time its expenditure
maintains inflation and decreases
the public's ability to save and to
'support the government.
Mr. Munsey's Great Undertaking
It is not easy to overemphasize the
journalistic and public importance
of the announcement which is made
by Frank A. Munsey concerning the
futa re of his two great newspapers,
The New York Herald and The Sun,
This announcement, in brief, is that
on Sunday next, February 1, The
Herald and Tlie Sun will pass out of
existence and there will arise in their
stead, the result of amalgamation
and partaking in some degree the
character of botli of its predecessors,
The Sun and The New York Herald.
Ttis Sun was a reflection of the
genius and the character of Charles
A. Dana. No newspaper ever had a
stronger individuality than he im?
pressed on it. Even when it provoked
opposition it aroused interest in
itself. It was a marvel of piquancy,
cleverness and news selection. It
was a great delight to its intellectual
constituency. It seemed written by
one pen, held by a hand whose pas?
sion was to expose shams and to
pillory folly and hypocrisy. World
lmess (we use the word in no offen?
sive sense) was never more agree?
ably presented than in Dana's Sun,
and the old tradition has never
ceased to exert its influence.
Ttie Neiv Yon';. Herald, founded by
the elder Bennett and carried to even
greater heights by the younger Ben?
nett, made, all things considered, as
great a contribution to the life of the
world. It may almost be said tho
elder Bennett created modern jour?
nalism as the world now understands
it. Before his day a newspaper's
primary function was commonly to
exploit opinions. Since, more and
more, its major function has been to
be the collector and vender of infor?
mation. The narrowness and dogma?
tism inherited from pamphleteering
days have been largely shaken off. It
is now assumed that a reader,
given the facts with a minimum of
?guidance and interpretation, is com?
petent to do his own thinking. In all
this The Herald was a pioneer.
Now, with this past instructing
?him, Frank A. Munsey takes up the
task of combining the two streams of
influence. The undertaking is a job
of man's size and will use to the full
all his energies of mind, heart and
body. He has an opportunity to do
r. momentous thing and to impress, in
turn, his personality and his ideas on
his profession and on his times. The
responsibility is heavy, but, one may
'assume Mr. Munsey thinks little of
I this as he sees spread before him a
supreme chance to do.
The Tribune, soon to be the dean of
the moTiing ne^papers of New
York, welcomes the new paper with
cordiality. May it exemplify an ex?
cellence that will lead tho family it
attracts to itself, while not forget?
ting old friends, to rejoice over the
i new birth. Mr. Munsey's long and
notable career, a career which has
touched every branch of the periodi?
cal business, justifies the hope that
the results of his editorship will not
disappoint his high aspirations.
The Case of the Ukraine
One of the most important prob?
lems in connection with the Russian
j settlement is presented by the fate
of the Ukraine, also known as South
'or Little Russia. This vast country,
covering an area like that of Ger?
many and France combined, and with
; a pc pulation equaling that of Italy,
?'has since the middle of the seven
' teenth century been incorporated in
'the Muscovite Empire. Its inhabi
? tants form an independent branch of
1 | tho great Slavonic family and are
: at, a.i frequently supposed, a mere
" subdivision of Russians. They have
? ?distinctive national characteristics?
'? in contrast to the submissive and
communistic Great Russians they are
?individualists; they have a separate
'national tradition steeped in the
memor?is of the Cossack military
democracy of old; their language is
; recognized as a distinct entity by
most leading authorities, including
?the Petrograd Academy of Sciences;
? above all, they possess that articu
? late consciousness, that will to live
? their own life as a group which is, on
> tho whole, the most satisfactory test
? of nationhood. The Ukrainian coun?
try is by far the wealthiest section of
? tho old Russian Empire; it is the
greatest grain-producing area in Eu
' rope, an?} ccntains moat of the min
' eral resources of what befor.e the
revolution was known as Russia.
Altogether, the country is endowed
with all the physical possibilities to
become one of the richest common?
wealths of Europe.
If constitutional democracy had
been restored to Russia the claim of
the Russian centralists whose ranks
include not only the Czaristic resto
rationlsta but liberal? like Millukov
und even Socialists liko Kercnsky?
that the Ukraine should be reunited
?with Great Russia as an integral
j part of the Russian state would have
?carried certain weight. Even then
< the probablo solution would have
: been, not reunion, but federation.
As things stand to-day, with the
? Bolshevik government firmly In?
stalled at Moscow and Allied recog
; nition of tho soviet a by no means
| remote possibility, it would be sheer
'madness on the part of the Western
?democracies to force the violently
I anti-Bolshevik Ukrainian national?
ists, whose aim is an independent
democratic republic based on small
?freehold proprietorship, back into the
I Russian fold. On the contrary, it is
| most obviously in the interest of the
?Allies that the Ukraine should be
jcorrfe a strong independent state and
?a member of the alliance just formed
jby the Baltic states and Poland. By
I recognizing Ukrainian independence
the Allies would act in conformity
with the principle of self-determina
ition and at the same time most ef
' fectually promote the reign of that
' general justice which is the basis of
1 general peace.
1 Give ?the Railroads a Chance
The article bv Mr. Paul Shoup
i
I which The Tribune published yester
I day emphasized some cardinal points
! in the railroad problem which are
too often overlooked in Washington.
j The railroad industry is, in a very
1 real sense, the baric industry of the
! country. It underlies and serves all
I the other industries. Their eco
; nomic development and operation are
i dependent to a large extent on the
! efficiency of tho transportation sys
i tern.
There are two ways of furnishing
; the country the transportation which
? it needs. Either tho government
! must perform the service at tho cost
1 and risk of the taxpayers, making a
; profit or creating a deficit, or the
service must be intrusted to private.
enterprise, tinder some sort of gov
; emmental regulation. Wo have
! just had a painful experience with
government, operation, which has!
'vastly increased the cost of trans
! portation without increasing the
value! of the plant or benefiting1
either the shipper or the ultimate
'consumer. The Administration and;
: Congress are one in wishing to get
rid of the burden of government op?
eration.
But if the government no longer i
1 (ares to operate the railroads it must
! put it within the power of the orig
! inal owners to operate them. Tho
owners do not ask for full control.
j They recognizo the socialized public
! utility character of the enterprise
! they are engaged in. But they see
? that they cannot maintain and de
1 velop the transportation system un
' less Congress gives them the power
j to establish their credit and to pre
! vent the interruption of traffic
' through wage deadlocks with their
; employees.
: Before the war railroad labor was
in a chronic state of discontent. The
Interstate Commerce Commission
compelled the companies to keep
wages down, because it refused to
make adequate allowance in in
| creased rates for increased costs of
: operation. When the government
? took over the roads it at once made
! very large increases in wages. It
? was unwilling to do what it had
? asked tho private owners to do?to
tight wage increases on the ground
: that revenues were not sufficient to
i meet them. It created huge deficits
' to bo paid out of the public treasury.
The treasuries of the railroads are
: empty and their borrowing capacity
? is weak. If they are to improve the
? service, which must be enlarged and
i extended as the country grows, they
I must have larger revenues. With
| out a safe margin of profit new capi
l tal cannot be drawn into the rail
? roads. It is just as essential, Mr.
j Shoup well says, to attract the in
j vestor's dollar into the transporta
j tion industry as it is to provide
j against the threat of a nation-wide
I transportation tie-up.
Congress seems still too much
under the domination of old fallacies
1 in railroad regulation to meet this
; issue clearly. There are two cur
| rents of opinion. One sets toward a
' slight modification of the pre-war
i system of control, allowing the roads
a fluctuating and somewhat precari
': ous income and perpetuating the
? strike system and the struggle be?
tween employees and employers for
the enjoyment of tho larger percent
'. age of the profits. The other tends
toward a fixed division of profits,
elimination of the strike menace, a
division of earning? over the stand?
ard rate of return and stabilization
? generally under a pooling and re?
gional consolidation scheme.
The first plan has the character?
istic? of a makeshift. The other ?3
at least constructive, although it in?
volves a degree of government social?
ization which Congress would shrink
from applying to any other industry.
In these disputes over methods,
however, Congress is in danger of
losing sight of the main purpose of
'? railroad legislation at this juncture.
; That is to create an efficient trans
; portation system, equal to the needs
, of ihe present and tho future. Such
\ a system must be self-supporting
i and capable of vigorous expansion.
; It cannot livo if its credit is starved.
( Tho mental attitude of the govern
i ment toward tho railroads is more
; important than any specific legisla
I tion which may be attempted at this
j time. If tho railroads aro encqur
aged to go ahead and do their work
they will do it. All difficulties can
be smoothed out eventually if Con?
gress only demonstrates by its action
that it is really willing to let the
work be done.
The Socialise Party
Mr. Walling Calls Whole Organiza?
tion Bolshevist
To tho Editor of The Tribune!
i Sir: You have done a public service in
i your editorial on the Albany inquiry.
' In distinguishing between Bolshevism
i and Socialism you quote the pro
eminent European Socialists, Kautsky
? and Bernstein, and refer to the Rus
| sian Socialist parties, against which
L?nine Is waging his bloody and ex
' terminating war. You might also havo
quoted denunciations of Bolshevism (as
?being the antithesis of democracy and
' of democratic Socialism), by such
| world-known figures as J. R- Mac
; Donald and Arthur Henderson, of Eng?
land; Albert Thomas, Marcel Sembat,
'? and Jules Guesde, of France; Canepa,
I of Italy, and Brantlng, of Sweden?
j all but the first named having been
' wartime members of the cabinets of
1 their respective countries.
But what has this to do with the
; American Socialist party? It is truo
i that former leading members of this
organization have denounced Bolshe?
vism? for example, Allen Benson,
i Presidential candidate in 1916; Charles
Edward Russell, John Spargo, Mrs.
: Charlotte Perkins Oilman, A. M.
j Simons, \Y. J. Ghent, Henry Slobodin,
J. G. Phelps Stokes, and a score of
| other Socialists of national prominence.
But each ami every one of these n.-.s
left tho Socialist party! There is not
! one single prominent member of that
organization who has attacked Bol?
shevism. On the- contrary, the whole
! party decided unanimously in their
September congress to leave the inter
I nr.tional of Kautsky, Bernstein, Hen
j derson, Branting and the others, pre
i cisely because, the Bolsheviki had left
that organization. (Even this Interna?
tional did not havo the courage either
to exclude fue Bolsheviki or to take
any action whatever against their Com?
munist International. A number of
admitted Bolshevists were seated as
delegates. ?
The s".l:?ii?;- or unseating or" the
Socialists at Afbany, important as this
question is, must be regarded as uttor
j ly subordinate to the main issue. Ts
the so-called American Socialist party
a Socialist or a Bolshevist organiza?
tion? I contend that all the evidence
will prove them lo be Bolshevist. Since
l.cnine came into power these Sociai
I ists havo given 99 per cent, of their
time and energy to the- propaganda of
Bolshevism ar,?l the remaining 1
per cent he.s been given not to oiiy
renunciation or criticism of Bolshe?
vism, but to a sufficient reassertion of
discarded former principles to serve as
a veneer for their betrayal of democ
| racy end their advocacy of "the dle
taiorship of the proletariat."
There arc at least twenty shades of
| Bolshevist "Reds." That one of them
still supports political action as 0*15
i of the means to its end is no reason
to deny its Bolshevism. L?nine has
advised his Italian Bolshevist-Socialist
?followers I.J50 members of the Italian
parliament out of fiOO) not to attempt
; their violent minority revolution this
j winter, but to continue to act as a po
j litical party until he gives tho word.
?And after the Soviets these Italians am
j the heroes of our "Socialist" meetings
! and press.
It would be a deplorable, a danger
; ous and unnecessary public delusion to
( link these American Bolsheviki with
? the European Socialist democrats and
j anti-Bolshevists, whom they have not
only denounced but with whom they re?
fuse further to associate.
It would be an equally complete re?
versal of the truth to confuse them
with the loyal and anti-Bolshevist
American Socialists who have long ago
left their organization.
Let not the democracy which these
] people have repudiated serve as a
! screen for their Sovietism.
Let us remember that Eugene V.
j Deb3 and James Maurer are the two
most popular leaders of the Socialist
party and not the more agile and
politic Hillquits and Bergers.
WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING
New York, Jan. 24, 1920.
They Brought It on Themselves
(From The Philadelphia Record)
Hungary has gone into mourning
over the terms of peace. So did
1 Austria. So did Germany. Hungary
belonged with tho free nations, for it
had fought Austrian tyranny and es?
tablished its er-ual authority. But it
had used its power to tyrannize over
Rumanians, Croatians and Dalmatian?.
Hungary, Austria and Germany havo
been uniformly oppressive of subject
races, as their recent associates, Bul?
garia and Turkey, are to this day. All
of these nations hav<> fallen into tho
pit they digged for others, and they
might as well take their ill-luck
stoically and retrain from foolish di.i
! plays of black flags and crape and
? closed theater
The Next Referendum
) (From The Philadelphia ?Evening Bulletin)
Tin college boys having failed to
; show a clear majority for any single
? course in dealing with the peace treaty,
j the Senate of the United States is once
I more thrown upon its own resources
j for the solution of the difficult prob?
lem. Still, thero is tho referendum to
the public school children of tho coun?
try, which has not yet been tried.
Gone, but Not P'orgotten
(From Tlui Philadelphia Pr?s?)
Nobody has died in this country with?
in memory who has got. such a fine, big
and general wake all around the coun?
try as the party by the namo of John
Barleycorn. His ghost, however, will
continue to stalk around In many pri?
vate collai?.
Total Perfection
(From Th* ife-tn,;>M.? CnmmirHuI .-I pjirri!)
According to the anarchists, Russia's
form of government is perfect, but per?
fectly horriblo to livo under.
The Conning Tower
Sing It
I cannot wear the old suit
I wore long years ago;
It's shiny at the shoulders,
My knees and elbows show.
But on investigation I
Discover this is true:
I cannot wear the old suit
Nor can I buy a new.
"What does tho head of tho house
do?" asked the census man. "News?
paperman," answered the kitten's cus
j todienne. "That don't go. In ho a
i editor or a writer?" "Writer."
j "Whyn't yon say 'Jolnalist'7"
Topping the 8Irte?enth Century Tower
Sir: Tho original free verse contrib was
j Geurjre Gascojme, Esquire, who Bays (In Th?
I Steele Glaa, a Satyre, published in 15
| something) :
I " . . The wall? whereof are wondrous
harde to clyma
; And much too high for ladders mada of
ryme.
'? Then since I see that rim??s can ?aldom
renche
Up to the toppa of such a statriy Towre,
By reason's force I mean? to make some
breache,
Which yet mny help? my feeble fainting
powre,
That bo at last my Muse mlpht enter in,
[ And reason rule that rime could never win."
Octopus.
If our candidate, Governor Allen,
i won't run, our next choice is Speaker
j Thaddeus C. Sweet. But whore to find a
I Cabinet? By 1921 all his choices prob
j ably will have died from too high blood
I pressure.
"It is subtle stuff," writes Bub, "that
the catalogue of Columbia records puts
! over when It refers to 'songs of a
, popular but humorous nature.' "
i _
COWARDICE
j A lazy restlessness
My college life has been,
Full of half-formed desires
1 And efforts left unfinished.
j
j When I see others with their goal
in view.
?Striding, with step unbated,
.Through the small perplexities of
college life.
f feel the stigma of a burning dread,
Lest I should meet the world
? With empty purpose, vague ideals,
A negative religion.
All that is mine is but a vagrant
spark
Of wasted energy, the restless
stirring
Of a soul in doubt.
j Dissatisfied with things that are,
Incapable of making what is not,
i ? pause upon tho threshold of the
world.
Tri mbling, to plunge into its whirl?
ing vortex.
Charles II. Scribner, Jr.
A good motto for contribs is discov?
ered by A. W.?in tho Bausch & Lomb
Optical Company's advertisement:
"When the halves of the Conning Tower
meet, Read tho Bange-?and FIRE!"
ra M\
? Gotham Gleanings M
?News are scarce this week.
?The subway service is bad these
?days. tf.
I - Miss Lola Fisher is back in
? Gotham.
I - The telephone service is bad
j these clays. tf.
: ?Miss Janet Wise has recovered
from the bronchitis.
?Herb Swopc is back from his
trip to the Southland, o. k. in health.
?Art Guiterman and Ringold W.
Lardner were pleasant callers Tues?
day.
?Paul Chincry Patterson of Balti
i more was a pleasant caller Thurs
! day.
? Bill Orr and Wally Eaton were
j in town last wk. to attend the Trib?
une Alumni meeting.
?Arn Bennett says he never sees
The Tribune any more. Now is the
; time to subscribe, Arn.
?Art McKeogh of Philada. was
calling on the trade Thursday. Art
1 works for Geo. Lorimer.
?Geo. Putnam and Geoff. Parsons
I were the belles of the masque ball at
, Rye Friday eve. Ask anybody.
Tho Secretary of the Navy has or
! dered that the war which this country
! entered on April 6, 1917, shall be known
i as tho World's War, but we don't like
,; that any better than wo do World's
; Series, ho we shall call it the World
j War. Or, as Sam Martin called it in
i 1914, the All Comers'.
Edmund Vance Cooke, writing a set
i of verses beginning?
I Our hero was the common sort, when
nil is said and done;
! Ho worked his head off daily, and was
out to got the MON.
I prefaces his apology, if this has been
;done before, "to whomever thought of
! the idea first, and invite you to toll
I me whom." Miss Carolyn Wells l3 the
; person whom did it first.
-
Teltow Primrose?
j The Oran?*? was on -o used in cocktails.
The I.cmnn In fizzes and such,
? And once on a Urne the sour little Lime
, Gave the Jticci a flni:,hjng touch.
' Hut (rone the delectable uses
Of Oranire and Lemon and Lime.
And, ain't it the truf T NOW they're noth?
ing but fruit,
? Which Is quite the whole roint of thi.i rhyme.
AMUBOPF. lll.l'T,',.
If the subject of apposite nomencla?
ture didn't bore u:>, wc .shouldn't ignore
the fact that (lip retail clothiers are
conferring with Attorney General Figg.
Covering 1,100 typewritten pages, or
about 83,000 words. -The Tribune.
Tho typewriter must have used 48
point.
Old timers sneer at tho ultramarine
tingo to the new jazz songs.
They point to "The Beautiful Danube
Blues" and "Tho Alsatian Mountain
Blue.."
r. p. a.
L-jUUi^? fleVTvood Broun
It was announced recently that Henry
; L. .Mencken and George Jean Nathan
: had written a play called "Heliogabalus,"
'and that arrangements were being made
' for the simultaneous production of the
I >
? drama in Berlin, Paris and, as we re
; member it, Cairo and Moscow. However,
i the play is available now to a small por
! t.ion of tho New York public in its
j printed form. Tho publication is made
; by Alfred Knopf, who announces on the
! folder: "This edition is limited to 2,(?00
I numbered copies, printed from type. The
? type has been distributed and any re
| issue in English is most unlikely."
i Tho implication seems to be that this
is a rare and magical stuff which
; Mencken and Nathan have woven, a fab?
ric as beautiful and as elusive as the
, cloth for the king in Hans Christian
; Andersen's fairy tale. You may remem?
ber that the properties of this cloth were
i such that anybody who could not see it
: was unworthy of the job which be held
; It is a great temptation to emulate the
| littlo boy in the fairy tale who finally
! broke down tho conspiracy of pretense
by shouting at the king: "He hasn'i
; got. anything on." But it would hardiy
be fair, for. though the fabric of Mencker
; and Nathan seems to us to fall far shor?
\ of the magical properties implied, it ii
good serviceable stuff. Dramatically
sneaking, it is as sure and substantial a.'
i red flannel.
In justice it should be admittod at th?
j outset that the play has one remarkab!?
| quality. In the entire three acts th?
I word "pishposh" is used only once an?
then not until late In the evening. Th?
authors have called their piece "a Buf
foonery," and it is in effect a burlesqu
of the bedroom farce. Just how Ne\
York managers have been able to rcsis
it so far puzzles us. It seems to us tha
A. H. Woods would undoubtedly sign
contract on tha scene description of th
second act alone:
"Some time in the middle of the yea
221 A. D.
"The scene Is the cubicula nocturni
or bedroom, of the Emperor in the Pa
i ace. Time: 10 p. m.
"A rather shallow and crowded aparl
| ment, with doors at tho left and uppc
I right, and a single window at the righ
i Tho Romans, of course, did not ba\
beds of tho sort wo sleep in to-day. Tl:
I thing they used was a sort of chaisi
! longue- that is, it had no footboar
l Heliogabalus's bed is to the left of tl
j spectator, with its back against tl
j back wall and its foot facing the foo
l:gh'3. Beside it, separated by a spa?
of no moro than two feet, is the huj
bed of his wives. It. is, in design, e
actly like his own, but it is at lea
twenty feet wide. The bcdclothii
stretches unbrokenly from side to si?
of it, but ther? are separate pillows
twelve of them, each embroidered with
large monogram in purple."
The play tells of the manner in whi
1 Heliogabalus becomes enamored of
Christian i;irl named Lucia, and ho
after tlu-ir marriage, she induce-; him
banish the eleven other wives from \
'? sleeping apartment. And in tho last i
we learn why Heliogabalus finally (
: cided to rid himself of the Christian w
: and restore to favor Dacia, the beau
! ful pagan.
Mencken and Nathan have told th
? story with a great deal of gusto. T
play has a Burprislngly small amount
wit, but it is lively, good humored a
frolicsome. Compared to a burlesque
the first rank, such as Shaw's "Gr.
Catherine," it seems a pale product, 1
then there aro few enough members
' tho first rank in any school of drar
Good Kccond rate stuff is not to be
spised. Whilo Mencken and Nathan i
j somewhat less spirited than Shaw, the
j greatest gap bet wee:! "Heliogabalus"
1 and "Great Catherine" lies in the vary?
ing degree of inventiveness. There is
many a shrewd dramatic twist and turn
! in "Heliogabalus," but the material is
' essentially familiar. Moreover, al?
though it is perhaps unfair to r--;i.ire
| a burlesque to set forth some serious
1 theory of life, the fact remains that
: Shaw has done so in "Orea'" Catherine,"
and that Mencken and Nathan have at
! tempted to do s6?in "Heliogabalus." But
it seems to us that the Mencken-Nathan
theory is not sound.
We say this wita a certain hesitancy,
since the editor? of "Tho Smart Set"
havp written a great deal on the psy?
chology of love. Indeed, they are the
authors of such epigrams as: "Love is
liko war: easy to begin, but very hard
to stop"; "Love is tho delusion that one
woman differs from another"; "Ah, love,
indeed! A short preface to a long
? book!"
But nevertheless and notwithstanding,
; it seems to us that Mencken and Nathar
j have got the psychology of love ab
wrong in "Heliogabalus." The Empcroi
I tires of Lucia because she is dirficult tc
j win, and goes back to Dacia, who i:
always obedient, and whose favorit?
; phrase is, "If you want me." Tha
? doesn't sound reasonable to us.
A Disgusted Ultimatum
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: About thirty-four years ag?
when I was young and unsophisticated
! I asked a young lady, a daughter of :
i famous war governor, whether he
nance were a politician. Her mo?
emphatic answer, "Sir; I would rathe
marry a stone breaker than a politi
Jcian," puzzled me for a long time; bu
I as I grew older and wiser I camo t
understanding, because a more desp:
cable class than our professional pol:
ticians, from the highest to the lowes'
one can hardly imagine.
While casting my vote I have alway
done my best to pick out good men an
gentlemen, and since the days of Han?
son I have voted the Republican tick?
with very fow exceptions. But no
wo have neither Republicans nor Den
ocrats, both parties apparently bavin
joined hands, and the fatal result
war (when no war exists), high cost <
living (because of greed, protiteerir
and general unstability), and final
prohibition (because of fanaticism, h
pocrisy ard an unholy desire to squee
the most ^ossiblo out of the work h
man I.
We aro burdened with taxes until o
backs break, and I know many who lil
myself, must sacrifice their savings
j order to pay taxes not only to t
j Federal government, but a! > to t
, hungry politicians in Albany and Ni
j York City. The summa summarum
j that both the so-called Republicans a
Democrats, head and tail, are fast rui
ing this once happy country of ou
Every person 1 speak to express
dissatisfaction and disgust, and as i
j myself (and much to my dislike)
shall hereafter cast my voto with a
party moro honest and reliable th
the Bo-called Republican or Democrat
A. C. II
New York, Jan. 13, 1020.
Post-War Excuses
(Fnm The Toledo Blade)
Jack Kearns claims Jack Dempi
wasn't a slacker, but would have g<
into- the service if the war had laste?
few weeks longer. That's what all
draft dodgers say now that tho Wi
over and thero is no need of dodg
anything but a bill collector.
Holland's Stand
A Defense o? National Sovereignty,
It Is ArgucJ
To the Editor of The Tribun?.
Sir: Referring to tho proposed et
tradition of William of Hohenzollera '
from Holland and Holland's refusal to
surrender him for trial, I quote the
f ?' ring clau?e iron tl e note of The
Netherlands referring to language in
the request from the peace cor.fcrer.ee:
"They emphasize the special character
of their demands, which contempl?t?
not a judicial accusation, but an act of
high international policy,"
The Dutch government carefully re
, frains in its note from rai.sirtr tha cyue?
! tion of the right of any nation or com?
pany of nations to assume to place upon
I trial tl.ii head of another government,
j even after that government has been
defeated in war and the alleged culprit
deposed. This is probably because the
Dutch government is unwilling to be?
come a party to a controversy which
would be extremely novel in the his?
tory of nations, although tho prir.cip!?
has never been disputed and has been
recognized throughout the history of
civilization, that no civilized nation
may thus interfere with the internal
policy of another nation. Were th?
n itherwise states would cease to b?
? sovereign.
Within the last six years it has beert
demonstrated beyond the peradventnri
of a doubt that tl-.;- v. irld i': not yet
; ready for internationalism. I ntil it is,
the head of a sovereign state may not
.be tried before any tribunal excepting
one errate.i by his own state (for which
; there is precedent). Even in the few
instances where such trials have been
held the result has not been that sought
or expected by the prosecutors; ln
| stead, in nearly every such instance a
party has been builded upon what was
considered to be tl e corpi e of a martyr,
and this party has persisted with won?
derful vitality, to the irritation and
sometimes to the serious harm of the
i better plans and policies of ?government
propose.1 by the party which appeared
j to have been successful. The reason
for this is that all such trials were
not judicial, but political, a? would in?
evitably be the proposed trial of th?
former Emperor of Germany or of these
associated with him in power.
If the powers are successful in bring?
ing about a trial as proposed and ***
acted in the treaty, nationalism wi"
have ceased and internationalism vu I
have taken its place. Sovereign ?state*
will at that moment become obsolete,
A precedent will have been set which
will justify any state or association of
powers to place upon trial the head e*
any nation for acts done in his capacity
as such head. Is the world prepared to
face the question as to the possibility
that such trials can be fairly conduct?*
and the result thereof be satisfactory
even to tho judges and these who?
they represent? Are* we in this country
prepared to t.ako the chances of ?sucn
trials being not only unsatisfactory
but disastrous iri their results" LaBUy,
can ur one reasoning intelligently con?
sider without the gravest concern tni
complications which roust arise if ? a
civilized world embarks upon this r-,lt''
Stripped of Its diplomatic language
does not tho note of tho Dutch ?govern*
ment mean that it cannot "associ?t*
itself with this act" becauso it recog?
niees that as n precedent it must her*?
after lead to untold confusion and t9?
justice, especially to weak nations, ?
po-mitted to be accomplished?
Unless we nre willing to concede that
the time has arrived when one natioa
or a number of nations associated ar#
competent to direct the development c'
civilization, wo must admit tho sound?
ness of the position of the governmci?
of tho Netherlands.
ANDREW COLVDf.
New York, Jan. 24, 1920k
'1