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

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Pirat to Last?the Trnth t New??Edi
torlal??Advertisements
Member ot ta* Audit Bureau ?? CtroalausM
?'?? ? I I ' I ' ?,-T.? ? *!?
FRIDAY, MARCH 12, HMO.
Owned an? t-ubllshed daily by New Ter* THta-M
uav. a New York Corporation. C-jrden Seid. Prest
dsnti ' O. Temor Heien. Ylee-Prastdentt Helea
Rogers R*M, Secretary; a E. Maxfleld, Treasurer.
Address. Tribun? Building. 134 Nassau ?tras*. New
Tara*. Telephon?, Beekmta S00?.
acBacaamos ratbs?By asan, taetadtag
Pestag?. IN IHR TJNTTXD STATE? AND
CANADA. .,
One ?Sut One
Tear. Months. Month.
Defty and ?Sundsy.$11 o? $t.0t $1.??
Dally only . $.00 4 00 .?5
Run?! ay enly .,. 4.00 2.00 .40
Sunday ?nly, Canada. 8.00 8.25 .55
FOREIGN RATES
Rally and Sunday.$26*0 $18.3? $2.4?
ally only . 17.4? S.T? L45
BuB?sy only . 9.75 6.12 .*?
Ratsred a? the Postofso? at New Teak aa Ssaava?
Clsss Man Mattes
GUARANTY
Va? sas) par?base merehandit? advertised ta TUB
TRIBUNE with absolut? lately?1er W sissartifaa**
tlos results la any sue THE TRIBUNE tuarantaas
ta ?ay yeur menty back apea request. Ne red tat?.
Na ?ulbbllns. We maks lead promptly It the
advertiser does set.
MEMBER OF TffE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Assi?.-l*?rrd Press ?a excluslfcly eutltled to the
as? for repiib!li:a(lon of all news dispatches credlte?
to It or not otherwise credited In this paper sad
siso the local news of spontaneous origin published
.herein.
All rights of republtcstlOB of all other saatUr
herc-.o also ars r?serr?d.
One ?and One Only
Senator Borah has not been re?
garded as a boaster or as a filcher
of repute. At home he looks on the
mountains, and they inculcate can?
dor. The Senator is a frank West?
erner who disdains wearing stolen
plumage. .
So the effort to parade him as the
chief treaty killer is scarcely made
with his consent. He might be will?
ing, even delighted, to have such dis?
tinction, but he knows it is not his.
His bow and arrow were early in
action, but, after all, his is only one
of the ninety-six votes of the Sen?
ate, and though he has diligently
labored for a year he has converted
only about a dozen colleagues to his
views. Serbia might as well claim
to have won the war as for Senator
Borah to notoh the stock of his
blunderbuss.
If the treaty is defeated the
credit, or discredit, will be else?
where. The poison cup whose con?
tents wer? poured into the Senate
as often as it appeared that sixty
four Senators were about to get to?
gether is plainly marked "W. W."
As G. W. said on a momentous occa?
sion that he did it with his little
hatchet, so his successor may say:
"I did it with my little fountain
pen."
The responsibility will not be
multiple, but single. Senator Borah
helped, but alone would have had
practically no influence. If the
White House had not studiously de?
voted itself to making ratification
difficult the "irreconcilables," per?
ceiving the futility of opposition,
would long ago have subsided. The
opportunity offered to Senator
Borah was made the most of, but he
did not create the opportunity.
Therefore the report that the "ir
reconcilables" are disposed to pin
medals on themselves is not credible.
A desire to keep history straight
will lead them to declare that only
one decoration should be awarded.
One can imagine the group gathered
on the White House lawn and rais?
ing voices in the chorus "Thou, and
thou alone, did it, and art entitled to
the praise."
At the Threshold
A generation of continuous effort
was required to get blackmail and
graft out of New York*B Police De?
partment. It was one of the tough?
est joba of housecleaning any com?
munity ever carried through. But
it succeeded. The policeman's star
has become a decoration of honor.
New York has been growing to love
her police force, with its bravo and
courteous officers and men.
But recently disturbing items have
cropped out in the news. There aro
smells. Tilings have happened
which suggest that the old serpent is
stirring. Nothing very bad has been
thrust on attention, and doubtless
the town gossips exaggerate; but if
there is not enough to justify alarm
there is enough to provoke inquiring
watchfulness. The question is not
as to whether graft is common, but
whether it is rebeginning.
No one has any desire to question
the integrity of Commissioner En
right's administration. The graft
issue is not personal or partisan, and
hasty charges should be scrupulous?
ly avoided. But it creates no good
impression when a member of the
District Attorney's staff presenta
definite accusations and Mayor Hy
Ian responds as he has.
What did the Mayor propose? In
effect that the department investi?
gate itself. The Mayor is, of course;
aware of the inferences to be drawn
from any attempt to revise what is
called the "army game." Judge
Malone properly administered a re?
buke which the Mayor is not so stu?
pid as to fail to understand.
What is needed is no slap on the
wrist of any graft beginning, but a
broadax blow on the neck. The
way to fight the infection is at its
start. The evil may be sporadic, but
it will not remain sporadic if spo?
radic offenders escape. Excuses are
offered for Mayor Hylan on the
ground of ignorance, but he is not
?o Ignorant as not to know that graft
wttMnc. #tld?m ?a*, to appeac
against men in uniform. This tim
orousness may be nnwarranted, but
it exista. A police investigation, if
it goes much beyond routine service
matters, must be conducted by out?
siders.
Touching police matters, as touch?
ing other matters, the public lacks
complete confidence in the Mayor. He
must take this factor into considera?
tion when his administration is un?
der fixe. If he wouU remove sus?
picions which he contends are unjust
let him desist from imitating the
groundhog and not speed for his hole
whenever he hears a bark of* a foot?
step.
Make It Unanimous
The ratification of the suffrage
amendment by thirty-six states was
never in doubt, and the dramatic re?
versal of the vote in West Virginia
only insures a prompter completion
of the reform. Washington is cer?
tain to be the thirty-fifth state, and
Delaware should follow soon. There?
upon the amendment will take effect.
What we wish to urge is that the
two remaining Republican state3 of
the country should also ratify
promptly. There suans to be little ,
doubt that in both Vermont and
Connecticut a majority of both legis?
lative houses is favorable to the
amendment. Only the accident that
the legislatures are not in session
postpones action. In this situation
We urge upon the governors of both
states the prompt calling of the
legislatures in special session for the
consideration of the amendment.
Such action may seem supererog?
atory, since by such time the amend?
ment will probably be in force. But
the record is for all time, and we
think the record of the Republican
party upon thi3 broad issue of
human freedom should be complete
and right. No Republican state has
thus far rejected the amendment.
It is only in eight Democratic states
of the South that an unfavorable i
vote has been taken. Vermont and j
Connecticut do not belong in this
group. They should not be per?
mitted to be classified with it even
temporarily.
The governors of these two re?
maining Republican spates should
look beyond the present small incon?
venience of a special session to the
larger national aspect of their stnnd.
We are confident that if they do so
their decision will be in favor of
making the grant of the ballot to
women unanimous so far as Repub?
lican states are concerned.
An Unmutilated Palestine
The map of Palestine is being
examined outside the Sunday schools.
It relates to current new3, and
names appear in the dispatches that
stir old memories.
The map, with its markings of
sea, desert and mountain, shows not
only what Palestine was, but why it
was and' what the new Palestine
must be if it is to fulfill the great
mission appointed to it these later
days.
The land of Canaan was self-con*
tained, shut off from its-neighbors
by natural frontiers of desert, sea
and mountains. Canaan was the
valley of the Jordan, with the hjlls
and plains westward to tho Medi?
terranean. So it was when Israel
divided it, and so it remained, a dis?
tinct region inhabited by a distinct
people, until the dispersion.
This integral region, wrecked and
depopulated by 2,000 years of tyran?
nous misrule, the world now agrees
should and can be restored by the
scattered sons of its descendants,
who react to a noble sentiment and
who have the resources to make
their dream come true.
But now.comes something which
disturbs the great hope. There is
danger the new state will not be
Palestine, but a truncated Palestine
?a Palestine not possessing the
economic independence essential to
resettlement and a healing of the
excoriating wounds of the past.
The Holy Land must be irrigated.
This is primary. Yet the sources
of the Jordan and the Litany, whoso
waters are indispensable, are not in
? eluded within tho provisional boun?
daries of Palestine. This would
? seem to be by accident rather than
: design. When Great Britain and
; France, to provide against pos
'? sible future wrangling, marked out
their respective spheres of influence,
the treaty commissioners, instead of
? respecting natural frontiers, fol
? lowed the artificial boundaries of
1 Turkish vilayets.
The fountains of the Jordan and
1 the Litany happened to be in the
> Turkish province of Beirut, and as
i France was to have oversight of
? the port of Beirut, the southern de?
clivities of Mount Lebanon and
i Mount Hei,\yn were assigned to
? France, although not economically
, related to Beirut. One can imagine
t the negotiators, working hastily and
i not having in mind the re-creation
> of Palestine, putting a ruler on the
? map and arbitrarily saying that the
? dividing line Bhould run straight
cast from north of Haifa.
t Engineers unite in declaring that
. regeneration will be difficult, if not
i impossible, unless the unwatered
; regions to the south *are moist
, ened by the now wasted northern
waters. The first big task of the
i new state should be to impound the
upper Jordan and the Litany. But
, this cannot well be done on terri?
tory not controlled and unpoliced.
No special reaso? is advanced why
France should refuse to revise the
boundary. The transferred streams
do not flow up hill, and thus are of
no use to Lebanon and Syria. Yet
between nations, even the most
friendly, there is displayed an un?
generous spirit. Britain's interest
in an autonomous Palestine may be
deemed by some French diplomatists
to be a reason for perpetuating
Palestine's mutilation. If any such
feeling exists, may the French gov?
ernment not allow it to control. The
warm friends of France in this
country, the elements of our popu?
lation who reject with indignation
the picture of France painted by a
misrepresentative President, join
their solicitations to those who want
the Palestine experiment to have the
freest chance to succeed, and to re
j deem, restored to human use, an area
?which once sustained many millions
! and is ?capable of doing the same
! again.
The Man in the Doorway
It is a common enough sight in our
jammed and struggling subway
crowds. When the doors open some
estimable but stubborn citizen who
wishes to ride further considers that
ho has a perfect right to stand in
tho doorway and obstruct those who
wish to get off. There is a fine scene
in consequence. If the opinionated
gentleman would only step off for
tho moment all would be well. But,
being opinionated, he will not. He
stands his ground. The harder the
shoving the harder he clings. He
holds to any available rod or,
stanchion?while the crowd shoves
and pushes and struggles around and
by. There is ever the same ending.
The crowd finally gets stubborn, too ;
and the obstruction is brushed off
the scene by main strength?good
natured strength, but strength.
It is not possible to brush the opin?
ionated gentlemaa In the White
House out of the doorway for a year.
But his behavior as he clings and
clings and clings is a fairly lifelike
reproduction of the subway episode.
And it seems to .be the unanimous
opinion of observers that the ulti?
mate brushing aside of his figure is
equally certain.
The Daniels Smoke Screen
The country promises soon to be
treated to a sight of the greatest
naval smoke screen in history. It
will not bo a screen to conceal the
advance of a battle fleet, or to aid '
the escape of a convoy of troop ?
?transports, but a murky barrier
emitted by the Secretary of the
Navy for a purpose personal to him.
The Tribune recently called at?
tention to the fact, well known in
real naval quarters, that naval pre?
paredness means that every ship !
shall be ready as a unit and that the
navy as a wholo shall be ready as a
whole.
What were the conditions of the
spring of 1917 as indicated by the
j skirmishes preliminary to the inves
I tigation of naval affairs now in
: progress? It seems that upon our
j declaration of war our unready ships
i were ordered to the navy yards to
j be put in condition to cross the
! Atlantic and that, practically speak
j ing, not a vessel, except a few de-1
I stroyers, moved against the enemy
in European waters for some weeks.
Crews needed to be recruited and <
trained and there was flagrant un
! preparedness in material and per?
sonnel.
Was the organization of the Navy
Department in better shape? Sec?
retary Daniels Bent one man with
but one assistant to be our naval
commander in the war zone and to
represent this great nation on the
Allied Naval Council. He and his
staff?of one?were to study at
first hand the most intricate naval
war in history, make recommenda?
tions and command our forces in
the war zone. Upon him rested the
j responsibility for the safe arrival
of all our ? transports and supply
ships in the submarine infested
waters of France and Great Britain.
For four months he cabled and
wrote for more than one assistant.
But the department replied that no
; officers were available. He would
have to make out with his one as
j sistant. Everybody was busy put
! ting ships in order at the navy yards
and training recruits. Was the
navy's war staff adequately organ?
ized in advance? Hardly.
Secretary Daniels will scarcely
attempt to show his department was
ready. He will turn no searchlights
on. The facts might be embarass
ing. What is to be expected is
that the preeminent mismanager
of the navy will emit rf'vast volume
of smoke. It will fill the Capitol and
spread out over the nation. It will
consist of personal abuse of his
critics, of collateral actions to divert
attention from the main issue, of
bombastic generalities in which he
will "point with pride" to the colossal
and unprecedented accomplishments
of the American navy In the war,
accomplishments not brought about
by Mr. Daniels.
If Mr. Daniels can prevent it,
there will be no real investigation of
his administration, but only the un
I edifying sight of efforts to escape a
j public censure, which will strike him
if the facts are brought out.
This has been Mr. Daniels's line
of action in the past Witness his
personal attack on Admiral Fiske,
in 1916, and his recent personal
attack on Admiral Sims.
Be prepared, then, for smoke
screen tactics and bear ever in
mind the real issues. Was our navy
prepared to play instantly its part
in the great war? It had had thirty
two months of warning. Did the naval
administration use its forces cor?
rectly in the great warf The people
support the navy with life and treas?
ure as the country's first line of
defense. Was the trust reposed in
him decently administered by Mr.
Daniels?
End Wilsonism
This Is Described as the One
Supreme Issue
To the Editor of The Tribune.
' Sir: Your editorial of to-day, "An?
other War Message," is to my mind
the best of all your recent just and
stern and dignified ?comments upon
the unjustifiable behavior of the Presi?
dent, but as a fomenter of bad feeling,
"It is not as a crusader for peace that
there is world objection to the Presi?
dent, but as a fomenter of bad feeling,
and thus of war."
I am not deeply interested even in
the plank contest?though I have made
my contribution?because I think there
is one fundamental question, and only
one; for the rest the Republican party
can be trusted in this grave hour of
chastening and enlightenment. That
one fundamental issue I shall mention
frankly?it is, that we should be for?
ever freed from Mr. Wilson, his
vague policies and injurious activities.
To all who have carefully traced his
influence before, during and after our
war with Germany he is revealed as a
menace to our morale and our stand?
ing among the nations and to the well
being of the world at large. Ho has
never, except in the instance of his
declaration of war, represented the
American people. In his notes he
speaks of what "the American govern?
ment" can or cannot approve; but in
every caBe he is asserting his personal
notions, which cannot bo called "views,"
as they have neither coherence nor
consistency. He is the first President
of the United States who has ever ven?
tured to say "I am the state."
In 191G the voters made a tragic mis?
take, beca<uso they were thinking of
?small things rather than great. If the*?
love their country they are appallingly
punished.
The utterances of Mr. Taft and Sen?
ator Lodge, as published in your col?
umns to-day, on the subject of Mr.
Wilson's "decisions"' are eminently
temperate, just and true. It all comes
back to this?that in spite of the excel?
lent suggestions of your readers on the
subject of our future policy there is
just one supreme necessity?the elimi?
nation of Wilsonism.
M. C. SMITH.
East Orange, N. J., March 10, 1920.
That Scoopfu? of Coal
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Mr. Willard's illustration of
tho possible saving to the Baltimore
& Ohio?by one scoopful of coal to
every twenty by' each fireman?is all
very well so far as the Baltimore &
Ohio is concerned, but when it comes
to the- national economy, how about
the coal miner?1 Already working on
short time, there will be just that
much less demand for his labor, and)
in turn he can consume bo much less
grain; so that not only the farmer's
market will be diminished, but as a
consequence the amount of grain for
the Baltimore & Ohio to carry will
be reduced. Of course, the excess grain
I might be transported and go abroad,
but that would increase the excess
balance of trade and involve an in?
creased consumption by the foreigners
instead of the economy which we are
told they, of all men, must urgently
practice.
The truth is that there can be no
such thing as universal economy be?
cause reduced consumption always
means reduced production. Real thrift
means wiser consumption and a re?
duction of ill-judged and extravagant
buying that swells inordinate profit?
by a relatively small class, which turns
these to forms of investment, euch as la
idle land, which are not at once repro?
ductive. E. J. SETRIVER.
New Brighton, S. I., March 8, 1920.
Ben Franklin and the Spirits
To the Editor of Tho Tribune.
Sir: Many people are under the im?
pression that the subject of spiritual?
ism is only of recent origin and has
never before seriously engaged men's
minds. Such of y ur readers as are
under this belief will perhaps be in?
terested in the following passage from
the "Autobiography" of Benjamin
Franklin, who at tho age of eighteen
had his mind turned toward spirit
land:
"Osborne [an intimate friend of
"Franklin's] went to the West Indies,
where he became an eminent lawyer
and made money, but died young. He
and I had made a serious agreement
that the one who happened first to die
should,- If possible, make a friendly
visit to the other and acquaint him how
he found things in that Bsparate state.
But ho never fulfilled -his promise.""
This sounds singularly like the
solemn arrangement Ella Wheeler Wil
cox made with her husband, Robert,
several years after their marriage.
HARRY SHAPIRO.
New York, March 9, 1920.
It Will Go
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sirs "May I not" suggest that the
?ver present typewriter should be in?
cluded in the removal of our President
which Mr. Ding portrayed the other
day? BERNARD S. 1IORNE.
Princeton, N. J., March 10, 1920.
The Ideal Candidate
iFrom The Washington Post)
Bill Bryan thinks a combination in?
cluding a pacifist, a colonel, a "dry," a
government ownership advocate, a for?
mer Secretary of State and a life?
long Democrat from the Middle West,
say Nebraska, ***e*old be about the
right ^fafafji
The Conning Towar
TWILIGHT i EARLY MARCH
Shadows of min!.y heliotrop?,
As the brute wind began to fail.
Crawled down along the drift-lined elope
And rested on the frozen swale.
I looked and saw an eldritch band
Joined in a wild, macabre danesi
In huddle? o'er the ?snowy land
Some would retire and some advance.
Their backs were bent, their torn hair
blew,
Their ragged mantles were outspread;
One here and there among the crew
Waved a gaunt arm or tossed a head.
I looked once more?and who were those
Here in this icy desert lost,
Contorted in their final throes
And rigid with eternal frost?
Some like fantastic mummies slept
As when, resigned, they sank to die;
Some had, as death upon them crept,
Stood arid with curses faced tho sky.
Again I looked; shocks of rich corn,
Propitious autumn's useful yield,
Unhusked and mouldy and forlorn,
Were strewn about the winter field.
\
The sheaves by wrangling winds were
heat;
Among them, lean mico found a lair;
Squirrels explored on scudding feet,
And crows cam? unmolested there.
Shadows of misty heliotrope,
As the brute wind began to fail,
Crawled down along the drift-lined elope
And rested on the frozen swale.
G. S. B.
Materialism is the government's
curse. "Dear, dear," we feel like sigh?
ing as we sign tho income tax check,
"you are a mercenary government, for
one so idealistic. Don't you know that
money ain't everything?"
As one hopelessly a slave to Ma?
terialism, it occurs to us that nowhere
is the graft so good as with those who
cater to the Impalpable.
The Diary o? Our Own Samuel Pepys
March 9?At my desk all day, and
with A. Woollcott and Miss E. Ferber
and Miss L. Fisher to dinner, very good
and very costly, too, but W. and I did
cast dice for the reckoning, which he
had to pay. To see Eugene O'Neill's
"Beyond the Horizon," which I was much
disappointed in, deeming it a far from
great play. Mrs. Louise Hale'a acting
I thought the best in the play, and of
high quality. With tho two girls in
front of B. Huebsch's window, and we
threw stones at it, and he asked us
in and gave mo a cigar; and Edna and
I walked up town together, which I en?
joyed greatly.
10?To see Mr. Will Collier in "Tho
Hottentot," and found him droll as
ever, which is to say exceedingly com
ickall; and the most beautiful girl play?
ing opposite him ever I saw. To H.
Broun's, it being Woody's second birth?
day, and I tried to amuse the child,
not without success, neither. To Mis?
tress Lola's for dinner, and with her
to the Globo to seo "Apple Blossoms,"
Percival Knight much rejoicing me, and
finding it merry a little, but the musick
overstressed, and whether the songs are
dull or bright I do not know, forasmuch
as I could not distinguish four suc?
cessive words.
11?To my dentist's, who apologized
for hurting ms, bat it was far less than
he thought. Scribbling all afternoon,
and to Mis3 Leonard's to dinner.
Why the Stale of American Lyric Writing
Is Where It Is ; or, tho Capitals
Aro the Producer's
[Prom the program ot "Applo Blossoms"]
Music by FRITZ KREISLER and VICTOR
JACOBI
Book and Lyrics by William Le Baron
The Diary ef Ruth Randall begins:
"Lu vie est vaine,
Un peu d'amour,
Un peu de haine,
Et puis bonjour.
"A free, translation of this follows ?
Life la vain.
A little love,
A Uttle hat?,
And then roodby."
A less free and a better version oc?
curs In "Trilby," which the slippered
pantaloons among us recall thus:
A little work, :i little play
To keep us going?and so, good day I
A little -warmth, o little light
Of loves bestowing?and so, good night 1
1 A little fun, to match the sorrow
Of each day's growing?and so, good morrow 1
A little trust that when wo dl?
We reap our sowing. And so?goodby.
Mr. W. R. Hearst, leaving no stone
unturned to lind a sermon, points out,
through the Rev. W. H. Cawardinc, that
Mrs. Ruth" Randall's story provides its
own moral. It does; but there is no
moral that cannot be better pointed out
by a moral newspaper, especially one
to whom a primrose by a river's brim
is a skunk cabbage.
Pertinent Is the Word
Sir: Would it be pertinent to in?
quire whether Miss Theda Bara's new
play is being revamped before being
brought into New York? R, H.
The World's Berlin correspondent
notes that at the military parade "the
old Prussian anthem, 'Heil Dir im
Siegerkranz,' was played." This may
have been out of compliment to Ger?
many's ex-foes, who set store by "God
Save the King" and "America."
Yon don't Bave to hav* a ouija
board, which is why there is no Com?
mittee to Investigate Profiteering in
those highly sensitized mechanisms,
which must cost at least 8c to turn
out, and sell for from $1 to $3.
Paris has doubled its taxicab rates,
it now costing, we guess, three francs
to travel as far as from Grand Central
Terminal to Broadway and 110th Street.
Nicky not only was a Good Fellow
when He Had It, but he appears still
to have it.
To Spring: 1!>ay it with, fctrbrnger?.
* *,-*? A.
THEY DO SAY THAT THE ONLY REAL SANITARY METHOD
IS THE INCINERATOR , j
Copyrlirht. IM?, Ths Now Tork ?Trtbts-e. too.
Book
? Heywood Broun
"One of our young women," writes !
Dr. John Roach Straton in his sermon
"Church Versus Stage," "who has be?
come very active in church work and
soul-saving efforts, said to me recent?
ly: 'I have always had a conscience on
the subject of going to the theater, be?
cause every time I attended the ques?
tion would come to my mind, "Could I ?
have invited Jesus here with me?
Would I feel entirely comfortable if
Ho were sitting by my side as my
guest?" And sometimes a tinge of
shame would come to my cheek because
of something I was seeing or hearing
on the stage; and the conviction would
come to my heart that Jesus would not
feel at home and that I would have felt
terribly embarrassed if He had been
with me as my guest.' Then she added,
'So, pastor, I have given it up. I have
no time for such things. I have found
something better to do.' This young
woman then expressed to her pastor
her willingness to give her life to the
service of Christ as a missionary."
Personally, we are always somewhat
shocked whenever anybody takes it
upon himself to predict just what
Christ would do in certain circum?
stances, particularly as that prediction
almost invariably commits him to the
'most enthusiastic support of the pre?
dictor's program. Still it might
have been interesting If the young
woman had carried her supposition
still farther. For instance, when Dr.
John Roach Straton was thundering
from the pulpit that "the morals of
actors and actresses are deplorably
low" or that "the stage is the only
place where a spot upon a woman's
character seems to enhance her popu?
larity t?nd success," we wonder whether
it would have been amiss for the young
^vornan to have asked herself, "Would
'Jesus have liked this sermon?"
Within the last four years we have
heard so much of the proud past and
the glorious future of us Anglo-Saxons
it comes as a relief to find W. E. B.
Du Bois writing in his "Darkwater"
(Harcourt, Braco & Howe): "So with
some circumstance having finally got?
ten myself born, with a flood of negro
blood, a strain of French, a bit of
Dutch, but, thank God! no 'Anglo
Saxon,' I come to the days of my child
? hood."
When the trial of "J?rgen" begins
we trust that there will be an orches?
tra present to play "The last ruse of
Sumner."
To anybody who knows anything
about golf and who enjoys light litera?
ture we recommend Robert Marshall's
"The Enchanted Golf Clubs" (Stokes),
?t is a merry tale well told. In it the
hero, who has never played golf in his
life, bet? the open champion of Eng?
land that he will beat him in a thirty
six hole match after a single week of
practice. And he does. It is, we need
not add, a novel of the supernatural.
"It is alwayt? a painful and thankless
task," writes Harry Merril Hitchcock,
"to combat any one's prejudices, least
of all those of a critic, whether of
baseball, the drama or literature, or
all three. But reading your comments
on Mr. Huneker's lyrical outbursts, in?
spired by the art of Mary Garden, I
cannot resist the temptation to inquire
as to your familiarity with Misa Gar?
den's repertory. Or have you gained
your own.views from conversation with
Mr. Krehbiel, in whose eyes, ea ira -all
know, Mary Garden is utterly damned?
"Nothing but seduction? Laying
?aida *Le Vonglen? 4a Note? DamV
which yon confess is outside that cate- !
gory, have you seen her in 'Pelleas et I
Melisande," as Marguerite in 'Faust'?
Perhaps I do not see accurately, but it |
seems to me that in either of these I j
have seldom seen a more moving illu?
sion of youth, maidenly Jnnocence, >
helpless and bewildered in the grasp of i
impending and inescapable tragedy.
And is there seduction in the portrayal
j of the dying nun who was once Tha?s? |
"Of course, if you have not seen her j
in these and if you get more amuse?
ment out of your frankly avowed j
prejudices than out of an opportunity
to study the craft of a great artist, you
will carefully avoid seeing her. But it
will be your loss."
We can only reply by saying that to
us there is no illusion of maidenly in- |
nocence in the Marguerite of Mary ??
j Garden and that we have seen Thai's
die,.upon numerous occasions without
once thinking a saintly thought. But
we are by no means willing to insist
that the fault is Miss Garden's. After
all, in spite of the efforts of singer and
librettist, something of Anatole France |
i remains in "Tha?s," and it is not an !
urge to saintliness.
Of Oliver Cromwell Wilton, who was
expelled from Princeton, Mr. George
Ade writes in his "Hand-Made Fables,"
"He declined to meet the instructors
except socially, so they voted on him
| and he drew the tinware." Mr. Ade's
new volume, which is published by
Doubleday-Page, is almost but not
quite as funny as all the others, but
at the same time his limitations as a i
satirist were never more clearly evV |
dent. Satire is the natural weapon of
a member of the minority who wants
to show up the weaknesses Of the mob. ;
Tho present period of suppression of ;
thought and speech in Amor?o? ?hould 1
do much to develop satire. Things for
?which a man might go to jail may be
j said more safely and more effectively
', when disguised in the form of wit and
, humor. But Ade is not of this group.
I He is 1,000 per cent orthodox in every?
thing but grammar.
The Poor Tenant
To the Editor of The Tribu/ie.
Sir: Such a wail from H. C. R., a
"poor landlord." Here is one from a
poor tenant:
Our rent has been raised four times
in two years. Few repairs are made,
principally those where there is danger
of damage from leakage. After the last
and highest raise we have had less
steam and hot water and are told if we
object to the increase we must vacate
May 1; in fact, tho owner frankly says
he would prefer to clear the house and
have all new tenants, for then he
could get a further increase of $5 to
$10 rental on each flat. What is that
but profiteering? What are we to do
whose incomes have not kept pace with
all these advances? It will lead to
serious trouble.
Even the mildest of us rebel at tho
injustice of it all. If real estate was
such a "drug on the market" as H. C.
R. states during the years from 1907
to 1917 it is strange that there were
so many holders of apartment houses,
and as a rule they were willing
to do over an apartment for a new
tenant, which is something owners will
rarely do now. On 4 or 6 per cent
many owners made money, ?and no doubt
H. C. R. did too; but in those times
they are all in league to gouge as much
as they can and ?Its as little as pos?
sible la retara. O. K. O.
Now ?ork, MarcbA 1-990,
Justice for the Maimed
i -
A Pension Injustice Called to '
the Legion's Attention
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: If the members of the Ameri?
can Legion were fully informed ?8 t?
the lack of provision made for disabled
service men the Legion would shelve
the question of a bonus and devot? iU
entire resources to establishing; a uni?
form and equitable pension or com?
pensation system.
It matters little whether the ?erric?
man was totally and permanently dis?
abled by the explosion of a shell 01
the battle front in 1917 or totally ?nd
permanently disabled on outpost duty
on the Mexican border in 1916. Thf
| fact with which he is confronted ii
j that through serviifg his country hi
has become a permanent cripple. N?
pension, compensation or cash bonus
i can ever recompense him for the sse
rifice he has made. If he be s true
1 American he will have no desiro t#
commercialize his patriotism. The
problem of the disabled soldier is not
one of recompense or reward, for this
is impossible; it is an economie'prob
Iem, and as such only should it be?wa
sidered.
In dealing with disabilities the !?*?
ernment has but one thing in mini
to what extent is the disabled mas ?re
vented from doing manual Iabort Bt-k
in 1883 the government decided that in?
capacity to perform manual Ubof
should be rated at $30 a month. Th
sat??, administered under the Jurlsd'*"
tion of the Bureau of Pensions, ?*??
still in force when we went into ta?
World War.
Congress realized that the problem
of the disabled soldier was to bo ? ??*
rious one and established the Bnre?tt
of War Risk and the Federal Bo*rd
for Vocational Training to handle the
situation. As its basis for compensa
tion the Buteau of War Risk adopted
the same rate for total disability (V'J
a month) as that paid by th? Bu??1?
of Pensions. Now let us seo whst
transpired.
When the war was over and the m?1
returned from France they org?niz?l
the American Legion. Disabled ?of*'
ice men struggling along on the $3?
compensation rate brought to the L?*
gion's attention the great discrep?t>i>*
existing between this allowance ??*
the actual cost of living.
Presenting a solid front, the I**10'
demanded the passage of the S??**
bill, increasing the rate from <$30 M
$80 a month. They made thie bill re?
troactive, dating as of April 6, tflT*
An evil condition, in so far as H **
fected men discharged from the ?err**
after our declaration of war, wa? H!a'
edied, but the Sweet bill itself w?? un*
worthy of a democracy, for it ?bo?4
rank discrimination.
It never for a moment eea?W*r**
the men awarded pensions between t?
years 1883 and 1917: It ignored the*
completely and left them to get a10"*
aa best they could with an antlq**44"
pension rate of thirty-seven year? ?I*
The Legion found this rate wholly **
adequate for its members, but *"
were service men of other d?y? ?*"""
inated from the new provision?. ***'
member we all served the ??"?? "**
for the same ideals?justice and ***?"
dorn.
ARTHUR M. VAN RENSSELAE?,
Clinio for Functional Re?ettcatwn ?*
Disabled Soldiers, Sailer? as4
Civilians.
Haw York, MaMk f, MM. ?i\i?\