New-York tribune. [volume], March 10, 1920, Page 12, Image 12

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1920.
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Another War Message
Of the many extraordinary utter
e.nces of the White House the latest,
it will be scarcely denied, is the |
most extraordinary. Instead of re
turning physical vigor softening the
President'a weaknesses of temper,
his unreasoning acerbity seems to ;
grow.
Tliis time he seems to curse out
practically everybody. Those whose
minds do not in all details go along
wiih his own?and there are many
such?ara prima facio wicked and \
detestable. The brave men, living,
and dead, who won the war to pro
tect their homelands and civiliza
tion from a wolf that was loose,'
and who sought a peace which
would insure the chaining of the
wolf until its vulpine nature showed
signs of change, are inferentially j
condemned as imperialists who are
no better than the Gcrmans of 1914
to 1918.
In all sobriety the question may
well be asked: "What right has any
man so to pass judgment on his
fellow beings?" For any one, no
matter how placed, to assume that
refusal to accept his decisions estab
lishes blackr.ess of heart is to re
veal a narrow arrogance which is
rare in human annals.
To find a parallel one needs go
back to Omar the Caliph, who
burned the Alexandrian library on
the theory that if its books but re
peated tho Koran they were unneces
sary. Whereas, if they disagreed
with it they were vicious. Or to
old Procrustes, who placed those in
his power on his bed, chopping them
c fi" if too long or stretching them
out it' too short.
Amazement is not lessened by re
calling that this utterance is from
the same man who said prior to our
?T;try that he did not know what
the war was about. Truly he did
not know. Seemingly, he never
learned. He never was really cured
cf his "peace-without-victory" idea?
only kept silent with respect to it
for a time. Here is the source of
his error. The President is so con
stituted-as not to perceive that hope
of future peace was slight if a
trd were not made that would
:! '? r other would-be conquerors.
The net effect of the President's
diplornacy, in both its secret and
public a. pects, is to bring almost to
cxtinction the high hopes tho world
cntertained eighteen months ago.
Hia activities at Paris and since
have relighted the fires of the old
jealousies and discords. He says he
does not like the old order, but he
has perpetuated it. He declaims
against balances of power, but he
has contributed to creating a eondi?
tion that makes such balances prac?
tically inevitable.
It is not as a crusader for peace
that there is world objection to the
President, but as a fomenter of bad
feeling, and thus of war.
The Stock Dividend Decision
It happens that current stock quo
tations afford a striking illustration
of the accuracy of Justice Pitney's
words in the majority opinion of the
Supreme Court in the decision inval
idating the income tax on stock divi
dends.
The General Motors Company is
effecting a reorganization, one of
whose features is that each holder of
<<ne of its shares shall receive on sur
render ten shares of a new issue.
Stockholders wish shares of lower
denominations?to have white chips
. instead of blue. But the property
back of the enlarged stock issue is to
be identical with the property now
back of the old stock. In effect, al
though not in precise form, there is
to be a stock dividend, though the
new shares are not to carry the dol?
lar mark.
Cr. tho market both the old and
new stock are dealt in, and on Mon?
day the closing price of the old stock
was 301 and of the new stock 80%.
The ratio of value was 10 to 1, just
as was the ratio of the volume of the
old stock to the new.
Ten tenths as much equal 1 as two
halves equal 1. It is a mystery why
anybody ever thought a stock divi?
dend waa income. A partial expla
nation, perhaps, ia found in the fact
that the financial wri**Mrs sometimes
loosely speak of "meion cuttings"
and in the practice of speculators
who hold securities for a rise to seize
m any change as a "bull" argument.
But as important as the direct ef?
fect of the decision is the indirect
influence it is likely to exert. It erf
:ourages managers of property to
believe they are to have greater free?
dom in the management of business
;onfided to them. Companies, in?
stead of dissipating their resources,
may be led to invest their surpluses
in improvements, issuing stock
against them without failing under
penalty. What the public wants is
betterments, and in every way the
path thcreto should be smoothed.
Unfreezing Railroad Values
The Supreme Court's decision rc
:juiring the Interstate Commerce
Commission to accept contempo
raneous values of railroad rights of
way and terminals when making
railroad valuations is highly im?
portant and calculated to revive the
spirits of unfortunate owners of
railroad property.
Other assessments are always on
present or existing values, but the
Interstate Commerce Commission has
ieaned to the rule that original cost
or the amount invcsted was the test.
Replacemcnt cost was sought to be
ignored, and railroad owners were
to take th8 risk of depreciation but
not to have a chance of incjrement.
Yet the railroads cannot go to equip
ment manufacturers or the rail
makers and say: "Give us new cars
and locomotives or new rails at the
price we paid for the old ones.'
But the commission nevertheless has
been trying to value railroad rights
of way and terminals not at what
it would cost to-day to replace them,
but at the original cost years ago
when labor, materials and land were
half as dear as they are now.
No other producer is asked to sell
his product on the basis of the
costs of twenty or thirty years ago.
Yet the railroads have been treated
by the commission as if their capital
value had been frozen a generation
back, and as if they were not en
titled to share in the general incre
ment caused by economic expansion
and war inflation. On the other
hand, if replacement costs were less
Lhan the investment the lower figure
was seized on.
The same mental tendency was
jlaringly exhibited at the outbreak
af the World War. On August 1,
1914, the day on which Germany de?
clared war against Russia, the com?
mission gave out a decision denying
the railroads, then in difficulties, an
increase in freight rates. To it the
war meant nothing at all. But within
three months it had to recail its re
fusal and allow a grudging increase
of rates.
The new railroad law requires the
commission to fix rates which will
permit a fair and reasonable return
on the property of the carricrs. The
act didn't prescribe replacement
value. Yet the commission has been
fighting in the courts against using
replacement as a standard, on the
ground an original cost valuation
would call for lower compensation.
The Supreme Court rejects this
pros.criptive attitude. It refuses to
put railroad property in one class,
so far as valuation is concerned, and
other property in another, so far as
cost of operation and maintenance
is concerned. Congress intended to
give the railroads a fair return on
the value of their operating property. i
But they cannot get this unless the
Interstate Commerce Commission is
cured of its illusions and learns
somehow to cob'perate in the develop?
ment of a stable and efficient rail?
road system. Such cocJperation is
not only required by equity to the
owners of railroad property, but
even more by the interests of tho
general public, whiqh wants good
railroads and cannot hope to have
them unless investment in railroad
property is made safe.
The Point of the Sims Charges
Admiral Sims yesterday reiterated
his charges of inemcient naval ad?
ministration during the war. He
drew a sharp distinction between the
"magnificent way in which the navy
functioned in 1918, after it really
got into the war," and the halting
way in which it functioned in 1917,
when, apparently, a clear war plan
was lacking.
Admiral Sims has been put
wrongly in the attitude of attack
ing individuals?even of attacking
"civilian control" of tho navy.
"Civilian control" ia unavoidable,
since the Secretary of the Navy is
the controlling power in the depart?
ment, and over him stands the Pres?
ident, who is the Commander in
Chief. The question which the ad?
miral raises is not whether "civilian
control" ought to be superseded by
professlonal cnntrol, but whether the
existing conivol had made sufficient
use of the professlonal advice avail
able for shaping a war program.
Naval operating plans must be
made ahead, juat as army operating
plans muat be. That is what general
staffs and war colleges are for. Ad?
miral Fiske gave the Navy Depart?
ment ample warning, in the earlicr
stages of the World War, that there
was little chance that the United
States could bc kept out of it. Every
intelligent naval strategist could see
the necessity of working out a
scheme of operations, to fit contin
gencies. That should have been a
matter of routlne precaution. The
question ls whether the Navy De?
partment actually did have a plan
worked out and whether it was pre?
pared to apply it with vigor from the
day war was declared.
War with Germany didn't take the
country unawares. Diplomatic re?
lations with Germany had been sus
pended for a couple of months. A
clash with Germany had been indi
cated hjng in advance?from the day
of the Lusitania massacre. The real
point made by Admiral Sims is that
even after war was declared there
were no signs of a clear and vigor
ous offensive or defensive policy at
sea. In the first six or eight months
of the war, he holds, "the depart?
ment violated numerous well recog
nized and fundamental principles of
war."
Here is the gist of the Sims criti?
cism:
"If I am wrong and we were pre>
pared, and if we had plans before
nnd at the beginning of the war simi
lar to those announced on paper some
time after we declared war, and if
such plans were in mecordance with
the policy which waa actively and
nctually pursued at the end of the
first six or eight months of (the war,
then is it not a grave error that all
the forces, men and ships which were
actively engaged in the war zone at
the end ofthis six months' delay
were not there at.the end of the first
month?"
That is the main thing to be de
termined by tho present inquiry.
The issue rises above partisanship
and personalities. It concerns the
future of the navy and the vital in?
terests of the country to know
whether or not we have a working
system of strategy according to
which the navy can be operated
when the hour strikes to fight.
. The Head of the Family
We fear that only a celibate could
have uttered Cardinal O'Connell's
plea to males to assert their dignity
and leadership. Alas! marital dig?
nity cannot be maintained or re
stored by any such easy method as
asserting it. Can any dignity be
saved by throwing out the chest and
in the chin'and declaiming orders in
a loud, firm tone of voice? Wehave
yet to see such a result. The near
est appearance to it is occasionally
found in certain variations of the
happy home. But it is only an ap?
pearance there, an easy pretense by
which male vanity is sated and femi
nine subordination offlcially pro
claimed while the matriarchy of the
American family swishes on its cer?
tain and mistressful way unabated.
Are men therefore feminized or in
danger of becoming feminized? Is
the American mother turmng patri
archal in soul as well as in authority
and emoluments? We doubt either
peril, Cardinal O'Connell's eminent
authority to the contrary notwith
standing. By the Turk's standard
there might be something in the
criticism. The American male is a
sad decline, patriarchally speaking,
from the magnificent Turk; and the
most shrinking American woman is
a brazen, sexless monster by harem
.standards. Taking a long look at
tho processes of civilization, we sup
pose men have been gradually femi?
nized in the sense Cardinal O'Con
nell means, and women have corre
F.pondingly lost some of their utterly
feminine qualities as their uses to
society have broadened.
But has the process gone too far
in this country, far enough to de?
mand shouts of warning and the f or
mation of he-malo clubs and the ob
servation of a Fathers' Day when
i the titular head of the family is to
be worshiped in his own right? Not
I by any outward and visible signs wo
ican descry. The American mother
| does run her home very much as if
jit were her job. The children are
| largely hers to train and control in
I the earlier years. That is part of
.the working terms of partnership in
j which the American marriage usu
| ally results. It is a rather natural
i division of labor. As the children
become older the American father
i plays a larger part.
If this joint control fails to bring
' up children ideally there is some con
; solation in tho fact that other sys
1 tems seem to err quite as egregiously
| in other directions. Perhaps we are
' too optimistic, but what we have
jseen, for instance, of the British
! husband in action and the British
' child in i'naction makes us regret
? very little the American system of
| joint-stock control that at least per
i mits all hands, big and litlle, to work
| along without a bellowing foreman
to scare and obstruct and repress.
The Husband of Vesta Tilley
In a recent English by-election
?that at Ashton-under-Lyne?the
j successful candidate, who pulled
'? through by a narrow majority,
| owed his success, it is said, to his
! wife. In the words of The London
| Times, "Sir Walter de Frece re?
ceived the most valuable help from
Lady de Frece. The form in which
Sir Walter was introduced to the
constituency made much of the fact
that he is 'the husband of Miss
Vesta Tilley.'"
It will be recalled that Nannie
Langhorne Astor revealed a most
happy faculty for the give and take
oratory so useful in election con
tests. And as Vesta Tilley was a
most popular ornament of London
music halls, there is every reason
to believe she would have.had an
equal success in the r6Ie of a pros
pective M. P. The Timea does noi
say how active her part ln tfce eon
test was, or whether she made
specches for her husband. Perhaps
the mere fact she had been Vest%
Tilley was sufficient. The Times
remarks that "the most signincant
fact" of the election is the indica
tion "of the influencc of woman ln
politics and the power of the wom?
en's vote."
The infiuence of women in Eng?
iish politics has not been disputcd.
Long before they had the ballot
they entered on canvaasing with a
zest unknown in this country.
With tlie vote, of course, their in?
fiuence is increased. American
women are now getting a taste of
politics, and they like the taste.
Those who want offices will get
them on the same conditions as men.
Others who prefer indirect power
will land their "hubbies" in Wash?
ington. There ia more than one
famous actress on the stage or on
the screen whose word in behalf of
her husband would go a long way
with the voters. <
Killing the Landlord
An Uplift Bill With a Bronmsville
? Trademark
To tho Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The Jesse ront commission
bill is a Brownsvillo Bolshevik's
dream of paradiso. As an examplo ot
half-baked legislation it is inimitablo
and would be entertainlng If it affected
a less important matter. Freak bills
are no novelty and usually receive
scant attention. It ls said, however,
that this bill is being considered by
a committee of the Assembly.
It provides for three commisaioners
who aro to bo experienced in rental
problems, but not engaged ln the busi?
ness. It ls not stated whether having
been an officer of the Tenants' Union
would qualify them. Their required
business ability is measured by a $6,000
salary. They aro to have uncontrolled
power to determine what is a fair rent
for all the dwellings and apartmcnts in
the city of New York. The only appeal
from their decisions Hes as to matter of
law.
The commission is empowered to fix
the rent rates and to make the whole
lease for the owner in respect to all
its provisions. The owner has no de
ciding voice in the matter, not even
as to the end of the term. He is com
pelled to keep his tenant indcfinitely,
but the tenant can go when he pleasr?g.
The owner's books, papers and cor
respondence are to be at all times open
to the commission and its agents, and
the duty is put on the owner to fur
nish floor plans, rent schedules and
other data to assist the commission in
determining what wages the owner
shall receive for his forced labor on
behalf of the tenant. Rent so fixed is
aot to be raised for a year. The om
nisclent drafter of this bill was able
to see that the emergency would end
on the 31st of December, 1925. Ho
also was able to see that it existed
in all the larger cities of tho state.
But the Assembly committee, it is
said, has found it advisable to limit
the emergency to New York City alone,
for reasons not stated.
The simple fact is that the three
$6,000 men who would form such a
commission could not properly per
form the duties thrusb upon them
within tho limit of their lufetimcs,
much less ln the short life of the act.
They could not even perform the ini
tial act of fixing the rent. Their court
calendora would be crowded beyond all
calculation except ns the contending
partjes, chiefly tho owners, would de
spair of gaining any redress, while the
opportunity for graft would exceed
that of all the city departments com
bined.
The bare fact that such a bill is
considered will doubtless put a stop
to tho extension of past due mortgages
and raise the mortgage Interest rate.
It will also doubtless increase the de?
mand for the Immediate payment of
principal. It will, of course, halt any
plans for building which any adventur
ous builder might have been consider
ing.
The need of New York la new build
ingg. Under such a law there will be
no new building. Rent rates are find?
ing their new level in normal fashion
and would do so without excossive fric?
tion except for tho pernicious work of
the organizers of disorder. No quack
remedy with Ihe Brownsvillo trade?
mark will have any other effect than to
make matter3 worse.
CHARLES E. MANIERRE.
New York, March 8, 1920.
if Only a Woman Ran Our Street
Cleaning Department
To tho Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: When an cfRcient woman is put
at the head of the Street Cleaning De?
partment, and a snow storm visits the
city, owners will be compelled to clear
their sidewalks. There also will be
constant supervision of gutters at
street corners. As things are now
there are poole of dirty water waiting
for an outletl ' It fills one with indig
natlon to see such crimlnal neglectl
WOMAN VOTER.
New York, March 7, 1920.
The Five-Day Week
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The eight-hour bill which your
correspondent Maurice Saunders re
fers to distinctly states that more
hours may be added through the week
to make a shorter day Saturday. The
outside number of hours permitted in
any one day iB nine, and Lord knows
that's enough for any work! It would
not Interfere with a five-day week.
MAUD SWARTZ.
New York, March 4, 1920.
Mercy Has Its Limits
' (From The Charleston Xews-Cmricr)
If the Allies decide to revise the
treaty every time the Germans let out
a squeal there soon won't be any
treaty left. It isn't well to be harsh
or unreasonable, but it is well to re
member that Germany Ib pretty good
?t B<rnealina>
The Conning Tower
The Faculty
(From a Studen?* NoMook)
MISS AMANDA BROWNINO
If there were ostrich eggs for floora
You could not ttcp more softly.
In your hair is an invisible feather
Long and purple, which you ton.
Your jokes are gummed and labeled
In imall neat boxei?
And every period you open one
And (how your yellow teeth at the class.
MR. EZRA LIQHTFOOT
I never knew Robespierre until now.
I never saw the Reign of Terror until now.
Ezra Lightfoot, as I pass your room,
Round and round you stamp, bellowing.
ue, woo to the unprepared!
MISS MARY RANDOLPH
There are shadows in her eyes,
She is all shadow?
Even her hands,?and yet
Her class is radiant.
DR. AONES HOLT
One day last spring
I thought I saw a bud
In her hair?but I was miitaken.
It was the tip of a red pencill
MR. THOMAS WEATHERSTONB
I can see him walking into Latiiw?
A thin, red man, with a red goatee
Covering his weak chin.
He whistles the lesson through his teeth
And the class laughs,
Then he gives ten extra lines of prostf?
Old Red Herringl
MISS KATB (3RAYS0N
What does Mias Grayson think?
? ? * * ?
She holds the pulse of the school,
And her diagnosis is unerring.
Sometimes her medicine is bittcr, but!
MISS C0RA WHITE
She has too big a heart \
To be just a mother?
i And so she teaches school.
Florence Ripley Mastin.
In an effort to shackle the B0-called
freedom of the preBB Assemblyman
Lord haa introduced a bill making it a
crime to print tho details of a murder
or a murder trial under headllnes in
larger than 86-point type or more than
one column wide. As a limit to liberty,
we aro opposed to the bill; but in view
of other possible laws we aro in favor
of it. For instance, a law making it a
misdemcanor to print Verse with long
lines in anything under two-column
measure.
If tho bill becomes a law, we shonld
like to write tho 8-column streamer, in
90-point Adstyle Italics, on the story of
the first violation: Lord Bill Defier
Jailed for Head.
We Meant "Comparatlvely Quietly"
Gentlemen: I been wondering all my
life if you gentlemen wrote your
articlcs 1 day ahead or wrote them up
in advance till I read your article
about me spending my birthday greet
ings quietly. If you had taken the
troublo to find out, here is how I
rpent my birthday. I spent my birth?
day trying to go to Mineola, L. I., and
get back to New York on the L. I. ry.
and if you will recail that was Satur?
day when they had a 2-inch ? fall of
snow, witch constitutes a blizzard as
far as N. Y. is concerned, so if you
think I spent my birthday quietly you
are making a monkey of yourself, and
when I got homo my wife as I have
nicknamed her said I wish you many
happy returns of the day, so I quietly
punched her in tho jaw. I hopo to
remain, RING W. LARDNER.
It is a common American weakness
to boast of the American sense of hu
mor, and a common article of the
American faith that the British are
without that saline quality. On the
editorial page of the revered World
yesterday appeared this creditable
wheeze from Punch: "The rumor that
Carpentler and Dempsey, in order to
avoid further fuss and publicity, have
decided to fight it out privately, ap?
pears to have no foundatlon." In or?
der to make this plain to the Ameri?
can 8. of h., the World captions the
wheeze, "The Gate Money Forbids."
Does the pr flt on milk, butter, beef,
and pork come under the head of stock
dividends?
To stop all this argument about the
intangibility and impalpability of a
stock dividend, just let us purchase
stock in a corporation. Tho stock will
pass the dividend one day later.
OR
0 ever thus from childhood's hour
My fondest stocks would fade away;
1 never bougHt Ohio Power,
But it went down like Wabash A.
Our candidate, Governor Henry J.
Allen, has not signified his intention of
conducttng this column for a day, be?
cause, being probably like moit people,
a non-reader of this Colonnade of
Clarity, he never saw our offer. Hereby
he is wamed that if he writea "My
attention has been called," w? shall
throw our support to Hc-ofer.
The Theater Talkers
(At "Abraham Lincoln")
Young Woman: "That's a fiue play.
Really, I never knew much about
Abraham Lincoln before?except that
he never told a lie."
An Elderly Woman: "I agree, my
doar, it's a very impressive play. But
you must admit that the ending is
highly improbable."
"Director Ellis," says the Hoosier
Reel News, "sent out and got a copy
of the Paris edition of the New York
Herald and our hero reads hl3 new3 in
French, as he should." That, as the
A. E. P. will testify, would make him
more or less a hero.
In Ihe same fascinating jourual wo
read "Jack's real name is William Har
rigan Dempsey. 'Jack' ls really a nom
de guerre."
Really, iVn a nom. de ^gnvmf
VkV.A.
ITS LONG PAST EVERYBODY'S BEDTIME
(Copyrltrht, J980. New Tork Tribune lao.)
Boofas
B?
Hcyiyood Broun
"The Tail Villa," by Lucas Malet
(Doran), is a ncvel, but it may well
serve as a textbook for those who want
to know how to entertain a ghost. There
need be no question that Buch advice
is needed. For all the interest of the
present generation in psychical research,
wo treat apparitions with scant cour
tesy. Suppose a visitor gocs into a
haunted room and at midnight is awak
ened by a spectre who carries a bloody
dagger in ono hand and hn ghostly j
head in the other; does the guest ask j
the ghost to put his things down and
stay a while? He does not. Instead,
he rushes screaming from tho room or
pulls the bedclothes over his head and
dies of frighk
Ghosts walk because they crave so?
ciety and they get precious little of it. 1
Frances Copley, tho heroine of "Tho I
Tail Villa," managed things much bet?
ter. When the apparition of Lord Ox
ley first appeared- to her she did not
faint or scream. On the contrary, the
author tells us, "The breeding, in which
Frances Copley trusted, did not doscrt
her now. After the briefe'st intcrval
she went on playing?she very much
knew not what, discord3 more than
probably, as she afterward retlected!"
After all, Lord Oxley may havo been
a ghost, but he was still a gentleman.
Indeed, when she saw him later she
perceived that tho shadow "had grown,
in some degree, substantlai, taking on
for tho most. part, definite outlinc,
definite form and shapo. That, namely,
of a young man of notably dlstinguished
bearing, dressed (ln as far as, through
tho sullen evening light, Frances could
make out) in clothes of the highes.
fashion, though according to a long dis
carded coloring and cut."
From friends of the family Frances
learned that young Oxley, who had been
dead about a century and a haif, had
shot himself on account of unrequited
love. After having looked him up and
found that ho was an eligible ghost in
every particular, Frances decided to
take him up. She continued to play
for him without tho discords. In fact,
sho began to look forward to his after?
noon calls with a great deal of pleasure
Her husband did not understand her.
Sha did not liko his friends, and his
friends' friends were impossible. Ox
ley'a calls, on tho other hand, wero a
social triumph. He was punctiHously
exclusive. >Jobody elso could even see
him. When ho camo into tho room
others often noticed that tho room grew
suddenly and surprisingly chilly, but
the author falls to point out whether
that was duc to Lord Oxley's station in
life or after life.
Bit by bit the acqualntanc* between
I Frances and the ghost ripened. At first
: she never looked at him directly, but
regarded his shadow in the mirror. And
?? they communicated only through music.
t Later Frr\r-cc3 made so boid as to speak
'? to his lordfhip.
"When you first came," she said, her
voice veiled, husky, even a little broken,
"I was afraid. I thought only of my
i self. I waa terrifled both at you and
| what you might demand from me. I
; hastened to leave this house, to go away
j and try to forget. But I wasn't per
' mitted to forget.- While I was away
: much concerning you was told me which
? changed my fealing toward you and
i showed me my duty. I have come back
! of my own free will. I am still afraid,
but I no longer mind being afraid. My
desire now is not to avoid, but rather
to meet you. For, as I have learned,
we ara kinsfolk, you and I; and since
this house ls mine, you are ln a senso
my gnast. Of that 1 have come to be
giad. 1 claim you as part of my in
heritance?the most valued, the most
welcome portion, if you so will it. If
I can help, serve, comfort you, I am
ready to do so to the utmost of my poor
capacity."
Aloxis, Lord Oxley, made no reply,
but it was evident that he accepted her
oiiQV of servico and comfort graciously,
for he continued to call regularly. His
manners were perfect, although it is
true that he never sent up his card, and
yet in ore matter Frances felt com
pelled to chide him and even tearfully
implore a r^formaticn. It made her
nervoua when she noticed one day that j
he carricd in his right hand the ghost '
of the pistol with which he had shot'
himself. Agreeably he abandoned his
century old habit, but later he was able
to give more convincing proof of his
regard for Frances. She was alone in
the Tail Villa when her husband's vul
gar friend, Morris Montagu, called. He
came to tell her that her husband was
bohaving disgracefully in South Amer?
ica, and on the strength of that fact he
made aggressivo love. "Montagu's voice
grew rasping and hoarse. But before,
paralyzed by disgust and amazement,
Frances had time to apprehend his
mean ing or combat his purpose, his
coarse, pawlike?though much mani
cured?hand graspcd her wrist."
Suddenly the room grew chilly and
Morris Montagu, ln mortal terror, re
laxed his grlp and began to run for
j the door as he cried, "Keep ofT, you
accursed devil, I tell you. Don't touch
me. Ah! Ah! Damn you, keep off"
It is evident to the reader that the
ghost of Alexis, Lord Oxley, is giving
' the vulgar fellow what used to be
| known as "the bum's rush" in the days
i before the Volstead act. At any rate,
: the voice of Montagu grew fecble and
distant and died away in tho hall. Then
j the front door slammed. Fr^Bces was
i saved!
After that, of course, it was evident
to Alexis, Lord Oxley, and Frances that
they loved each other. He began to
talk to her in a husky and highfalutin
style. He even stood close to her chair
nnd pattcd her head. "Prescntly," writes
Lucas Malet, "his hand dwelt shyly,
lingeringly upon her bent head, her
cheek, the nape of her slender neck. And
Frances felt his hand as a chill yet
tender draw, encircling, playing upon
her. This affected her profoundly, as
attneking her in somo sort through the
me-dium of her senses, from the human
side, and thercby augmenting rather
than allaying the fever of her grief."
Naturally, things could not go on in
that way forever, and so Alexis, Lord
Oxley, arranged that Frances should
cross the bridge with him into the next
life. It was not difflcult to arrange
this. She had only to die. And so she '
did. All of which goes to prove that
though it is well to be polite and well
spokon to ghosts, they will bear watch
ing as much as other nren.
"The Tail Villa" is readable, though
it soems to us to deal serlously with a
theme which forever trembles can the
brink of burlesque.
A Moderate Request
(From The Kashville Tcnneaiean)
The railroaders threaten to cause
trouble unles3 Woodrow assures them
of an immediate drop in prices. Be?
fore deraanding that he repeal the
natural law of supply and demand,
why not let him start on something
easiey?have him, for instanoe, declare
the law of gravitstion unconrtrta
tionalt ,
Furlough Fare Rate I
A Sailor's Plea That It Bt
Continued
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: On February 20. when the rail?
roads were taken over by their privs:!
owners, a most favorable cvncession
which had been allowed nien of tii
army and navy was discontlnued.
This was known as the reduced ta- I
lough fare rate, permitting service rcea]
to travel to their station at the ra'.erii
1 per cent a mile, plus war tax, ?> il
leave of absence was granted.
The high cost of living, ccmbi*:
with the present low rate of pay prs
vailing throughout the service, and ti
hold-up by Congress of any increase i:
the rate of pay tend to make the h
of the service man an extremely tas
one. For instanco, we have upon ftii
ship several men whose homes are i:
Texas, two from Oklahoma and 01
from Arkansas. There are a mml :
of others from adjoining state
the first mentior.ed will be compelld
to save their pay for six months on
year before they can raise r
funds to pay the railroad fare to their
homes.
I believe the railroad officials Ki
openminded upon the subject sbs"
could be brought to see the great far::
whfch would be conferred upon serviri
men if the furlough fare rate could h
restored, or at least tried out, foi i
limited time until conditions ?" I
again normai. .
ENLISTED MAX.U.&N. j
U. S. S. Michigan, Navy Yard, PM* j
delphia, Pa., March 8, 1920.
The Relief of Vienna
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: At the last meeting of our ??
ecutive committee the report as !?**
showed that almost $10,000 had be*=
sent for tho purchaso cf clothing, W
be used mainly for the little ones '?"
the stricken City of Vienna. A ts?
sage received from the President <>'?
the Republic of Austria gives the ir
formatiori that the children below tsV
years are the chief suffercrs, and ts*
it is no uncommon sight to se?
wrapped in paper and the targtf ??"'?'
dren in burlap and in rags.
The awful need of clothing ?M -?
plies in the hospitals where so Wj
convalescent children ;ire cared ?
has prompted the relief committee
concentrate a good portion of the *?-'
to relieve the condition. i&&>
?bout ten thousand dollars have ot*
?ent through both the American &?
lief Administration and the Anwr^'
Friends Service Committee (Qaatf*'1
of Philadelphia, which is doing sP1^'
did work at present. The resjoBs**
tickets for the concert, at whfob P**\
nent operatic stars will participat* **
which will take placo on Wcrch -| '""
Patrick's Day) at tho Liedei
Hall in East Fifty-eighth Street, U***
gratifying.
Mr. Sidney Rich, a former Anw**5
Vice-Consul in Germany, ia 8ivlC*^
good portion of his time in brin*'-*
to the attention of Americans th* **?
perate needs of the children ?br>*
He has recently returned from ? P*
tracted visit abroad and has ??** r
thetic stories to relate of th*tf
ferings. i ^
Contributions of any amount,
matter how small, are gratefully
ceived and acknowledged by the A
fcan Clothing and Hospital **^
Yorkrille Bank, Eighty-fif th Street *?
Third Avenue, New York City.
AMERICAN CLOTHUfO R?lJ*,
tf?w Tork, March 8, 1920. ^