New-York tribune. [volume], November 08, 1920, Image 10

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

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tint to Mist-?the Truth: News?Edit
to rials?Advertisement?
Mimi-vr X Um aiuIu Bur?au el L'irculattoM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1920
Owned and p\ibi'.?:i?d dill? Sj New Tork Tribun?
M?., a Ne? York Corporation, luden Rrtd. Pr?ai
?ent. O Vt-?ior Rofer?, VW President; Helta
li?t?r? K?ld. Secretary, R K Majleld. Treaauref
??dreee. Tribuna I. i] dint. 15? Naaaau Street. New
Vert. Telephone, H<r>.n.ir, 3oe?
?VBSCTUPTI' N RATJCH ? By mitt, tadudlng
rutase IN TliK IMPED STATE?.
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TRIBUNE with t i i- lafrty?t?r It dl?<atl?fao
ti?a rteuits In any ca?e THE TRIBUNE iuarantro?
I? pay >?ur monry n.? upon rcQurst. Ne red tape,
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t? It ?r not otherwise credued In Ui.e paiwr. and
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ntrnn.
A ? rlfl-.ta et r?t>ublleatleq at an ?cn?r auiu?
?j?r?ln ?it are rettf-ted.
Recapturing Politeness
Bad temper and bad manners have
so long marked the behavior ?f
political leaders that the exchange of
courteous telegrams between Presi?
dent .Wilson and President-elect
Harding seems a novelty. It seems
remarkable that the White House
was moved to offer to make Senator
Harding the government's guest in
his journey to and from Panama,
and that the answer was polite.
It is not necessary to go into the
??nestion of who first set the bad ex?
ample. It is enough to welcome the
fact that it is for once not fallowed.
Xo good cause was ever helped by
spitting at its opponents, and per?
haps a time will come when this fact
is recognized in conduct, and not
solely in won1.-.
But speaking of White House mes?
sages, there is one for which the
public has- waited in vain. We do
not refer to the fact that no tele?
gram of congratulation has been
forwarded, but to the more impor?
tant and significant neglect. There
has been no word that the verdict of
the American people is loyally ac?
cepted; no offer to place the influence
of the Administration at the dispo?
sal of Senator Harding in the hope
that he will be able to bring to a
success what the Administration
failed in.
It will be recalled that Abraham
Lincoln, when he believed that Gen?
eral McClellan would be elected,
Wrote and put in a sealed envelope
a memorandum, to be opened after
his defeat, '.'.daring that it would
be the first duty of his Administra?
tion, as it wished to save the Union,
to tender General McClellan its un?
divided support and assistance.
The Reparations Compromise
The Franco-British difference over
reparations hinged largely on the
question of outside interference with
the functions of the Reparations
Commission, The commission derived
its authority from the treaty, and
was logically bound to uphold the
latter's terms. But the governments
which ratified the instrument are not
so strictly bound. They may have
changed their minds, and thus be in?
clined to do what they can to secure
modifications dictated by new poli?
cies.
France has been holding out for
an enforcement of the reparations
clauses by the commission charged
with enforcing them. She named ex
President Poincar? a?; her member,
hoping to add thereby to the board's
prestige and sense of independent
authority. M Poincar? resigned
when he found that the commission
was being shorn of its original
powers and turned more and more
into a mere agency of the Allied
Council.
The French theory had much to
commend it. But, as a matter of
fact, each government represented
on the commission was left free to
control its delegate. So if there was
no agreement- among the govern?
ments there could be no agreement
among the commissioners, a unani?
mous vote b< ing required on most
questions. The French are begin?
ning to realize that the agencies
created by the treaty cannot enforce
the treaty. There are no sanctions
behind the document except those of
diplomatic and military pressure,
and that pressure must come from
the existing signatory governments.
The French Foreign Office has
therefore compromised with the
British. The compromise reduces
the Reparations Commission to a
secondary r?le. It will be allowed
to appoint experts to discuss with
Gern^in experts the details of repa?
ration. The experts will report not
to the commis i- n but u-> the govern?
ments concerned, am) then the gov?
ernments will confer directly. The
results of this meeting will be laid ;
before the commission, which will
fix the total due the Allies. Finally, |
the Allied governments will review
the commission's decision and guar?
antee execution.
The way is left open in this round?
about process to revise and modify
the treaty terms to a far greater ex?
tent than the commission might have
felt free to modify them. The repa?
rations sections may, in fact, be
transformed. That would be a great
disappointment to the French. But
France's representativos in the peace
conference allowed ?themselves to be
put off with the shadow of the guar?
anties which the French people ex?
pected instead of the substance.
Now the realization of reparations
contemplated in the treaty is to be?
come more or less a matter of post?
war politics.
The Girl Scouts
This is Girl Scout Week in the
United States. Organized in 1912,
?the membership has grown to 82,176,
and thousands of girls are turned
away every month because there are
not funds to meet the demands of
expansion. A sustaining member*,
ship of over a million is required to
carry on the work.
The threefold aim of this organi?
zation is to train in homemaking,
health-building and citizenship. Non
sectarian and non-partisan, its sole
endeavor is to develop the young
womanhood of the nation. .. The
training of the average girl, aside
I from book education, is usually hap?
hazard. If she is tho home type she
absorbs certain knowledge of home
making. If she is not she manages
to evade responsibilities as irksome
to her as chopping wood is to the
' average boy. Heretofore citizenship
i has meant less to her than to the
| boy. With suffrage, all is changed.
j As for the great outdoors, only the
tomboys have reaped the benefits
; from it.
i All of this the Scout organization
? has taken into consideration. Home
| making is recognized as the big
' thing it is. Washing dishes is no
j longer a hateful task when it counts
j in the test for household efficiency.
| Child care and home nursing become
I accomplishments to be proud of.
| Citizenship means much more when
j it is translated into terms of com
i munity helpfulness at all times. And
the pleasure of having a strong and
; healthy body is so manifest that it
dees not have to be drummed into
careless young cars. In achieving
these things the teamwork and sex
loyalty, so often lacking among girls,
will broaden and deepen their under
' standing of life.
Every girl should he a Scout.
Something more than a million mem?
bers at a dollar apiece will go a long
way to make it possible.
About Postponing Purchases
Sweeping, even sensational, price
! declines have taken place, with the
I result that manufacturing activity
is at a low ebb in many places and
! trade generally is marked by dull
? ness, in striking contrast to the
j frenzied buying of last winter. The
I depression is felt everywhere, al
! though some districts naturally are
suffering more* than others.
In New England, where the hard
hit textile industry is centered, there
', is perhaps more unemployment than
[ in any other geographical division.
! In Michigan, the automobile center,
? conditions are almost equally un?
favorable, but although there are
? degrees in the effects of the read?
justment, one of its phases is eom
| mon to ail sections?namely, the pro
I nounced inclination on the part of
the public to confine purchases to
needs of the moment.
That people are practicing self
denial is commendable. Certainly no
one wished for an indefinite pro?
longation of the extravagance wit?
nessed last year. But there is as
much danger in penuriousness as in
extravagance.
The dangers are twofold: First,
that over-abstention in purchasing
will compel factories to suspend op?
erations, owing to lack of demand
for 'their products, thus throwing
more workers out of employment and
making the unemployment problem
acute, and, second, that it will react
on prices, for if production should be
heavily curtailed a great rise in
prices would surely follow when peo?
ple at last began to buy the things
the purchasing of which is postponed.
Those who are advising people to
buy only absolute necessaries are thus
not giving wise counsel. It is true
! that if every one buys as littlo as
possible prices will go lower, but it
is also true that if that should hap?
pen a good many of us wouldn't have
the money to buy even the necessa?
ries, and in the end all of us would
>ay the piper later by another ad?
vance in the cost of living.
The Small Depositor
The Brotherhood .of Locomotive
Engineers' Cooperative Bank just
opened in Cleveland seems to have
found a way to solve one difficulty of !
the small depositor by offering to re?
ceive deposits of any size.
In small cities and towns almost
any thrifty person may have a \
checking account, if only to pay fam
ily bills. There the bank is a friendly
institution, for a small depositor, ex- j
perience has shown, may become a
large one. The country bank, not
overrushed with business, can afford
to do this.
In large cities the snjall depositor
is largely lost in the shuffle. The
bank finds it costs too much to han?
dle an account whose credit balance !
is little when monthly tills are paid. ;
The amount required to open and re-1
tain an account is therefore more
than the average person has idle, j
Savings go to the savings banks, j
where they are likely to remain for j
the sake of the interest. But, the ;
checking account never gets started. !
Much of the careless spending and
extravagance In cities is due to the j
impediments to depositing on a small '
scale. Savings bank deposits arc
purposely hedged about with restric?
tions to discourage their sudden
withdrawal. Consequently, the sur?
plus of the family income, if there is
any, is kept in tho sugar bowl, to the
injury of all.
The example of the Cleveland
engineers may well be commended to
banks in general. If cooperative
hanks have an attractiveness not
possessed by others they will get the
business.
The Sevres Compact
Tho Sevres agreement of August
10 last, signed by Great Britain.
France and Italy, creates certain
spheres of influence in what is left
of the Turkish Empire. This docu?
ment was signed on the same day
as the Sevres treaty, which took
Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Mesopota?
mia and Armenia from the Sultan
and established Allied control vover
Constantinople. It is a supplemen?
tary compact intended to lessen fric?
tion in the economic development of
Anatolia and Kurdistan, which left
to themselves would be incapable of
clambering out of the primitive ruts
in which they have traveled for
centuries.
The Turkish peace settlement is
still incomplete, inasmuch as the fate
of Constantinople cannot be deter?
mined until the Russian situation is
cleared up. The Entente powers
promised Constantinople to Russia.
The Kerensky government renounced
the gift. No one would think of
turning control of the straits over
to the L?nine r?gime or to one
equally irresponsible in the interna?
tional sense. Yet!* if Russia is not
split into fragments and manages
*-o retain the territory fronting on
the Black Sea from Odessa to the
Caucasus her vital interest in the
; Dardanelles outlet cannot be disre
; garded.
Constantinople lies on an ancient
j trade route and controls the sea com
' munications not only of southern
j Russia, but of Rumania, Bulgaria,
j the new Turkey in Asia, Armenia
I and the Caucasus republics. These
: countries have a big stake in the
| preservation of an open channel. It
; is to their manifest advantage as
well as to the economic advantage of
j Europe that the straits passage shall
I be internationalized. The power
| which administers the former Turk
| ish capital and the tiny European
\ strip of territory attached to it
: should be a trustee, not a selfish
I exploiter. Great Britain is said to
i be anxious to devolve the trusteeship
j *m Greece. But the enlarged Greek
state is still an experiment and
Greece's preferment would exasper?
ate Rumania and Bulgaria and be
! intolerable to Russia, should the lat?
ter become once more a great power.
Tho Near East is stiil chaotic.
Unity in Allied policy is required to
enforce the Sevres treaty and sup?
press disorder. Great Britain,
France and Italy haven't held to?
gether very well ip their dealings
with Germany. They realize, how?
ever, that they cannot yeL afford to
agree to disagree in the Near East.
an emotional man and what he con?
tends for in one mood he abandons
in another.
The Motor Truck's Use
Not the. Railroad's Competitor, but
Us Needed Co-]Vorl(cr
To the Editor of Tho Tribuno.
Sir: The common conception ap?
pears to indicate a feeling that be
I twetn tho railways and tho motor track
I operators there exists a condition of
' competition; of the pilfering and un
' dermining of legitimate trade of the
formar by the latter under the pro?
tection of a 'public subsidy; chat the
railways must suffer, and ultimately
succumb to thu rapidly advancing: horde
of Invading gasoleno carriers.
Casual observation encourages this
belief. Actual knowledge, study ?f
conditions and statistics prove the con?
trary to be tho case.
Moro so to-day than ever before is
the short hauHcss-tlum-carload lots
the entangling allianco which binds to
a minimum and generally defeats effi?
cient and effective solving of th? trans?
portation problem confronting tho rail?
roads and the country at large. Our
common carriers aro helpless in the
? endeavor to move this type of shipment
?conomically for either themselves or
the shipper.
The statement of Mr. C. A. Morse,
of the Railroad Administration, and
j Mr. J. J. Hill are significant:
"Considered as a unit, practically
none of the small branch railway lines
? feeding trunk lines pay expenses. The
traffic gathered by them is turned over
to the main line with a deficit attached,
which has to be overcome during the
main line movement before any profit
is mude. It would be a decided advan?
tage if this traffic could be delivered
to the trunk lino by means of motor
truck."
As long ago as 1012 the late Mr.
James J. Hill said: "I confess I have
aot yet planned a satisfactory lolutiou
to tha riddle of tho city termin/1. It
?r a puzzle that incrt.asca in com?
plexity and complication as cities
grow." Much of the condition is caused
by tho influx of "short haul traffic."
This is the shipment of commodities
| between relatively adjacent communi
I ties and includes a large .volume of
?"less than carload" freight.
Mr. R. E. Fulton, vice-president ?f
tho International Motor Company, says
relativo to public subsidy: "Motor
vehicle owners in 1918 paid $50,000,000
in automobile licenso fees to tho va?
rious? states. Including personal prop?
erty taxes levied on cars in some states,
axcisc and local charges, it is estimated
that car owners paid no lesa than $150,
000,000. In addition, motor vehicle
manufacturers paid $33,000,000 in taxe?,
or about $25 for every car built. Out
of 2,500.000 miles of highway in the
United States, only 6,250 are equal to
tho demands of heavy duty traffic.
Motor vehicles, therefore, pay a total
sum amounting to $75 a mile for every
mile of highway in the United State3,
improved oy unimproved. For every
mile capable of carrying heavy duty
motor traffic, motor vehicles pay yearly
a sum equal to $2-1,000 a mile."
Is it, then, good practice, good com?
mon sense, to endeavor to continue to
haul at a loss that which to-day tends
to thwart the attempts to retrench the
railroads financially by expediting
loading and unloading shipments at
terminals and 'way stations, so that
tho coal fields, the grain fields, tho
fruit crop and products of manufac?
tories, may receive their full quota of
cars to the end that scarcity, spoilage,
congestion and delay may be mini?
mized, if not eliminated? Thu long
haul is that upon which the successful
operation of tha railroads is predicted.
Let us believe in facts. Tho action
uf the motor truck in its allotted field
Is not u predatory one. If competitive,
it is with tho horse; rather it is co?
operative with the railroads The
truck with its flexibility is limited1
economically to a definite labor [t is
confined, and yet confined to an ?deal
limit. That limit is the short-haul- ;
k'us-than-carload link winch connects j
the outlying district or community
with tho rail center or focus uf in- !
dustry. Further than that, it may go I
on y under penalty of excess cost per ;
ton mile to the owner, who muy make \
this sacrifico for speed or to alleviate
an emergency. At the end of the short
kaul radius lies competition with the
railroad, which cannot be economically ;
indulged in by the motor trui Is
Motor trucks have met the test. They
saved Paris ut the Marne; London dur?
ing the railroad strikes; likewise they
saved New York. They are effocting a
saving to-day in millions to our farm?
ers by minimizing ?spoilage through
prompt transportation. They r.re sym?
bolic of progress, the co-worker in this
day of reconstruction, in this timo
when maximum production is para?
mount.
EDWARD KARLE WYMAN.
New York, Nov. 1, 1920.
Debs Has Learned
Interviewed in the -Atlanta prison
by a correspondent of The London
Morning Post, Mr. Debs makes a re?
markable admission?one he would
hardly have made to one of his fol?
lowers. "The interviewer asked him
what he would do, if he were elected,
| to put socialism into effect. Debs
| replied that his election would be a
| great calamity; and when his ques?
tioner, naturally surprised, said,
"Why?" he replied:
"Because the world is not yet
ready for socialism and its agents
are not yet ready to put socialism
into effect. Before that can be done
there must be a long process of edu?
cation. Otherwise things will bn
worse thun they are now."
This unexpectedly moderate atti?
tude on the part of Debs suggests
that he has devoted some of his
leisure at Atlanta to profitable re?
flection and the lessons of Russia's
experiment are penetrating the thick
crust of Socialist dogmatism.
Debs has the grace to become more
scientific. He seems to have made a
start toward considering man not
perhaps as he ought to be but as he
is. He recognizes that civilization
represents a long evolution wherein
effort has been to save individualism
while enlarging social functions. So?
cialism, to be successful, requires
such a growth or change as tc
amount to a transformation in
human nature, and in default of this
would be calamitous.
The Morning Post correspondent
finds that Debs's views of socialism
are not original enough to give at
length, being simply "repetitions o?
well worn arguments." But it is
worth noting that he does not advo?
cate the use of force among English
speaking people. His admiration oi
tho Bolshevists leads him to approve
their bloodthirsty policy as adapt?e
to Russians. Even so, he would not
have Americans support tho Third
Internationale, because it advocates
general armed insurrection.
That Debs, as he himself contends
is more reasonable than many whe
are not in prison is easy tt> believe,
But this does not so much acquit hire
as prove the curious leniency to dan
g?rons agitators on the part of this
Administration. But as the threat
enings of Debs are not always to be
taken at their letter, so what is clos?
to a recantation need not be. He is
Debs's Name on the Ballot
! To the Editor of The Tribune.
S:r: Could you kimlly publish an
j explanation why Debs's name could
be on the ballots? As the writer under?
stands the Constitution and the law, no
criminal or person sent to prison can
I hold public office.
Many people of, the street are dis
| cussing this point., and no one seems tc
understand. How can Debs be put on
tho ballot and poll 2,000,000 votes ">r
over when ho is in prison.for a crime?
New York, Nov. 6, 1920. F. A.
[Debs's name may have been on
the ballot in the party circle. But
nobody voted for him directly. The
Socialist votes were cast for Social?
ist state electors. They could, if
chosen, vote later for a man who is
in jail or even* dead, if they wished
to.]
Saving Trouble
i. Front The Philadelvhla Inquirer)
One gratifying feature of the elec?
tion is that Wisconsin has made it un?
necessary for the House of Represent?
atives to waste any of its valuable
tima in throwing Victor Berger back
upon his questionable constituency again.
tr?
The Conning Tower
Prohibition Mother Goose
There wna a crooked man,
And he climbed ?i crooked hill;
lie bought some crooked liquor,
i ( lose by a crooked still.
Ho told some crooked friends,
j And they filled his crooked houBe!
And they all joined together
In a little crooked souse.
! . MARCASCO.
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, bootlegger man,
Cot me some gin as fast as you can.
Ice it and pour it and mix it with glee,
I And put it in the shaker for Aleck
and me.
? ? ?
Sec-saw, Margery Daw,
Henry has got a five plaster;
I And ho shall have hut a highball an
hour,
Because he con't drink any faster.
"When I was young," said President
Lowell, "no young man wojld think of
smoking while with a woman." Tut!
tut!i Prexy! When you wero young
your sister Amy hadn't cast of? the fet?
ters of rhyme. Nor, now that you brine:
; the subject up, did tho women poets
think of smoking cigars in or out of
! men's society.
"Wo can see the way women dress on
any Boston street," continues President
; Lowell. "Our mothers would call it an
indecent way." Expert opinion on the
way Boston women dress is all toward
the idea that it is a tacky way.
Mr. Harding will be the first cigar
smoking President since (it is late, and
there is nobody here to verify this!
McKinley. What we are driving at is
this: Undoubtedly, as President, ho
will get more Christmas cigars than he
can use. . . . Does a strong party
Republican like us deserve no reward':
?Looks like an open winter.
? ' " a white Xmas.
?This dep't is for Daylight Saving
in 1921.
?'Men. Canby lias moved into his
house on Charlton St.
?Miss Cronin laid a safety razor
on our desk Thurs. It shaves o. k.
?Olin llowkmd was looking at
pictures last Monday afternoon.
?Francis Wilson the w. k. Thes?
pian is in Baltimore to-day on bps.
? -Mrs. Alma II. Rogers of Pitts
ford, Vt., was a welcome caller Fri.
afternoon.
? Crock Pemberton of here and
Emporia lias got an automobile,
Rumi ir hath it.
?Pat Enright of here had a cer?
tain party ti> the Cornell-Dartm'th
game Sat. afternoon.
?Mrs. Emma Benedict of Calif.
is visiting her nephew, Everly. M.
Davis, of Englewood, N. j.
-?Art Samuels was to Philada.
Thurs., whore he was the luncheon
guest as usual of Chas. Beck,
-?Aleck Woollcott was a pleasant
caller at this office early Wednes.
a. in. to get the news of the election.
_Miss Neysa McMein, Quincy,
Ill's., talented daughter, to borrow
an apt characterization from The
Quincy Herald, was to Philada.
Wednes. for lunch.
? Prices an- lower, the telephone
: ,- !:as improved, and the sub
wav service appears better. But
there arc em ugh flaws in the world
i clici r up say we.
Consideration of the Boy Scouts
leads to thoughts of Mr. Daniel Carter
Beard. At the age of seven we re?
ceived a copv of Mr. Beard's "The
American Boy's Handy Book." and at.
once tried to make everything dia?
grammed in the book. The only thing
we had any adroitness tn was making
shadows, in the form of animals, on
the wall. You did it, as May Sinclair
says in her later manner, with your
hands. Putting them together. Wig
glii .- the ! ngers. Bats. ButterflicB.
Snakes. Crocodiles. Till Mother turned
out the gas.
But the ability to make these shadows
is costly. Oar agile ?a'., Mistah, loves
to jump at these shadows. We enjoy
seeing him jump, so we cast them.
Hat it has ruined two" sets of wall
paper in live months.
They were close to the subway, and
that was quicker.
Norma could not talk in the packed
and swaying train, and when they
emerged at Sixty-fifth Street they had
lippery, cold, dark block to
walk. From "The Beloved Woman," by
Kathleen Norris, in The Pictorial Re?
view.
The Sixty-sixth Street station ap?
lic?is to have walked a block, also.
lie realized that the girl was the
victim of some form of poisoning and
anecdotes were administered.?Sharon,
!'a.. r/elegraph.
Stet!
(Continued)
(Continuing a notion of Arthur II.
Folwell's, in Leslie's Weekly.j
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed <>'?' in a wooden shoo,?
Sailed on'a river of crystal light
(Continue! on page SI
? * ?
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by trie sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you
may know
(Continued on paye S)
? * ?
The blessed damozel leaned out
From the gold bar of Heaven;
Her eye:' were deeper than the depth
Of water.-) stilled at even;
She had three lilies in her hand
I Continued on page 7)
r. P. A.
Boofys
By
Hey wood Broun
i
"The writing of advertising looks
I easy," says Roy S. Durstine in Making
Advertisements (Scribners). "It's one
of those jobs which every man in his
heart thinks he could do better than
the man who's doing it?liko running
a hotel, producing a musical comedy.
and editing a newspaper."
-Mr. Durstine has hit us only once
out of three shots. We mean, of
course, that we would never think of
charging for bread and butter.
Certain advantages accrue to the
man who writes criticism in a frothy
and frivolous manner. There often
arises a belief that ho is really much
smarter than he seems; that, like the
Harvard football team when it falls
short of success, he is holding back
something for the Yale game. At Cam?
bridge, for instance, I saw C. T. Cope
i land, who is a professor of English, but
also reads the newspapers. This may
be becauso he is the literary godfather
cf John Reed, Kenneth MacGowan,
Robert C. Benchley, Harford Towel
'? and scores of other young journalists.
At any rate, Mr. Copeland took me to
task a little and complained that while
: he enjoyed much of the journalist-'c
- writing of his young men, he found that
they all seemed to work in mortal ter
! ror of being seized while conveying
1 knowledge or information. He main?
tained that they rated the intelligence
of the newspaper-reading public too
lew.
"Why," he asked, "did none of you
dramatic critics in reviewing Richard
III mention that just as it was John
Barrymore's first venture in Shakes?
peare, so it had been Booth's and David
' Garriek's?''
I ?pi ook my head dubiously and let
him I? .ply that personally I had left
it out because I doubted whether read?
ers would be imcrested in such re?
search. I did not dare to confess to
Copey that thi3 was the first time I. had
ever heard about it.
But there are disadvantages, too, ir;
froth and frivolity. It is hard to pet
under anybody's skin with light ar?
rows. In our entire newspaper career
we have never succeeded in getting
1 anybody mad except Eva Tanguay and
' George Creel. It is not for want of
trying. There is in New York a cer?
tain popular preacher whose influence
? seems to us of doubtful good and
whose point of view about life is de?
plorable. We felt so strongly in the
matter that we hammered away at him
week after week with all our strength
At the end of our campaign we receive?'
a pleasant letter from him in which
he said that he had been vastly amused
by the articles and wouldn't we name
a day and come and have Munch with
him as he would like to have us mee!
the children.
Also, Irvin Cobb on the eve of a nets
production once begged us to write ar
unfavorable notice about his play be?
cause, he said, he had never had a suc?
cess in the theater. Unfortunately, tve
could not see our way clear to doin^
him this favor and, instead, spoke ar?
dently and glowingly about the piece
It was withdrawn in a week.
Harvard's last touchdown seemed t(
us such thrilling business that we !>c
came excited and left Commedienne
(Putnams), by W. S. Reymont, at the
top of the Stadium. Still, on the
'strength of 186 pages already dige '
i it seems safo to say that th's story
from the Polish Of the* life of a pro
; vincial troupe""*of players is vivid and
i entertaining.
After seeing Sir Arthur Quiller
; Couch's new' book, On the Art of Read?
ing (Putnam), we have decided not to
| go to Westport, after all, when we re
: tire. Botocudo sounds more attractive.
I According to Dr. Paul Ehrenreich, who
is ?looted by Quiller-Couch, "The Boto
i endos are little better than a leaderless
i horde, and pay scant respect to their
'chieftain; they live only for their im
: mediate bodily needs and take small
: thought for the morrow, still less for
the past. No traditions, no legen?!-: are
; abroad to tell them of their forebears.
'They still use gestures to express feel?
ing and ideal."
And yet, we suppose, there's no good
' in building hope too high. Probably
; they have some, gesture which means
"Botocudo first" and another to indi?
cate that a person is "100 per cent
Botocudoan."
In his lecture on "Children's Read
' ing" Quiller-Couch says of the child:
"His brain teeming with questions he
asks them of impulse and makes his
discoveries with joy. He passes to a
school, which is supifsed to exist for
the purpose of answering these or cog?
nate questions even before he asks
them, an?l behold, he ?3 not happy!"
Here, to be sure, is the chief objec?
tion to the greater part of the school
system. The child's whole impulse and
eagerness to learn is throttled because
the process by which ho has gained
most of this knowledge up to the time
he went to school is suddenly not only
checked, hut reversed. Now he must
answer questions instead of asking
them. As a matter of fact, we have
used the same system ourself, thoup-h
not for the good of II. 3d, but merely
for our own peace of mind. When he
gets into a streak of asking "How does
the lion go?" "How does the zebra go?"
"How does New York City go?" and
even "How does the go-go-go?" there's
ne stopping him except by counter
questioning. When we just can't keep
on answering for another moment we
brush aside the last question as if it
were a straw not yet on the camel's
back and say -.irmly: "Woodie, who was
George Washington?"
This is enough to down him in his
tracks and shut off completely his ques?
tioning t'.t of high .spirits. Sullenly he \
tries to turn us aside once or twice
with "1 don't know," and when we
press the point he seel.s to be trivia!
and to get by with "the father of the |
Hippadrum." "But we have already
been goaded to brutality, and we in?
sist on the correct answer until he
says, "The father of his country."
Then he will go back to his rocking
horse and let us get' on with our book,
for all children feel that there's no fun
in asking questions if you have to an?
swer them, too.
Fiume, City of Youth
The Report o? a London Times Corre?
spondent of Life Under D'Annunzio
It would be easy, very easy, to write
of Fiume in Gilbert and Sullivan
strain. Here is the Paradise* of Youth,
the wildest dreams of boyhood adven?
ture come true. Everybody seems to
be about twenty. Some of the more
staid men may be twenty-five, and
from time to time an elderly person
serves to emphasize the immaturity of
the overwhelming majority. In strong
contrast with the background of list?
less apathy furnished by the towns
peopfe, whose children have 'been
shipped away, there is among the "Con?
quistadores" an atmosphere of enthu?
siasm, of hero-worship, of self-confi?
dence, of joy of life, altogether ex
traordinary when one stops to think
that for more than a year now trium?
phant youth, bubbling over with vi?
tality, has been cooped up in this nar?
row space, without work to do or
battles to fight, without knowing how
its rrand adventure will end.
Like a Pirate Piny
The pieturesqueness of the scene
makes one blush for the lack of imagi?
nation which stage directors show when
attempting to present a pirate play.
Here are Arditi della Guardia I ?
finest of shock troops- who fight virt?
ually naked, in nothing but a tin hat
and hobnailed boots, a pair of shorts
and a leather belt, carrying large clus?
ters of tiand grenades and a >rt
wide-bladed trench knife. In Fiume,
however, they sport horizon-blue put?
tees, gray jerseys and a rather becom?
ing gray tunic and rollet', collar, th<
lapels of which are covered with deco?
rations placed en ?chelon one above the
other. Their headgear is a blacl
Chechia, from which on a long cord ;
huge black tassel dangles between theii
shoulders. This costume emphasizi
rather than hides their splendid phys
ique. Besides the Arditi, there an
legionaries, grenadiers, machine gun
ners, bersaglieri, cavalrymen, airmei
and volunteers, all wearing uniform
blended according to personal taste
Then above the town, at the top of ;
steep street with staircased pavements
is the Palazzo, over which float th
flag of Italy and the purplo, gold an
blue tricolor of Fiume. From irere th
Illustrissimo Commandante Gabriel
d'Annunzio rules his tabloid state.
But it is not the comic opera settin
that counts. It is not the w*eird co;
turnes which youthful fancy has d?
vised for its own self-glorification, nc
the medals and stars that D'Annunzi
has plastered all over his legionarie
and which they value above any decor;
tTon won in war. The thing that coun
is tho force that eaves cohesion to a
this turbulent quicksilver.
It la a great mistake to undcrra'
' D'Anminzio. This man is a rea! force,
not only by what he has been in the
past, but by what he is, and stands fo ',
, to-day. No one did more to bring Italy
: into the war, a-d some of his speeches
then, like - Fiume orations now, will
endure as Ions ;>s the Italian Iai
He fought on land, at sea and in the
-\\y. il.- ??.'..? ? .-..?? " indi -?, and
', even aft?-r the loss of his right eye he
; remained in the figrht. He has always
dreamed of a greater Italy, supreme in
the Adriatic and extending its influ?
ence over the Balkans. Ho is quite
? sure that Italv has been robbed of the
spoils of victory by the "ingratitude
and egotism" of the Allies, and he ii
as ready to give his life no-w
for what he believes to be his country''
due as he was to die for her in battle
D'Annunzio possesses both construe
tive imagination and executive ability
He is an untiring worker, and has tha
divine eTft of personal rnagnetisn
which attracts the :.oya!ty and devotioi
of other men. There can be no ques
tion of his power to sway the masses
The almost religious admiration i
which he is held by the regular Italia
forces -officers and men of the arm
and navy alik" - is surpassed only b
the fanatical fervor of h:3 own foi
inoro?
Abundance Without Effort
For thirteen months Fiume has lived
without working. The wharves are
di rted, the railway is overgrown
with weeds, the factories are mostly
shut?the great Whitehead torpedo
lop, which in 1913 employed 1,800
men, now has only some 350 workers
;; nesa in the town is limited tc
supplying its needs and doing a littl?
?rade with Trieste, Venice and part;
of Dalmatia. And yet in sume total!;
unexplained fashion the soldiers an
paid, the unemployed are given boun
? es, food is plentiful and. compare!
with other Italian cities, living is cheaj
The soldiers and sailors get regula
Italian army rations, with somethin
I, and extra allowances of wine
Of everything there is an abundanci
not excepting money. Fiume is th
only city to-day where one gets re?
paro wheat bread made from tho fine:
white flour, it tastes like cake. I:
deed, the other day D'Annunzio Wi
able to sell 2,000 tons of white floi
? ? the Austrians. Another feature <
tho Fiuman puzzle, which recalls tl
miracle of loaves and fishes, is tl
enormous and never diminishing su
ply of ammunition?regulation Ita'.u
ammunition?in spite of the quantiti
used up almo-;*, every day in s'.ia
fights and training. D'Annunzio boas
ed to me of the fact that in train;!
his storm troops his men went forwa
?with live band grenades under g a
chine gun barrage twelve inches ?bor?
their heads. His casualties, rart?-,
i from orcmatare explosiona of hcnl?
irrcnades, sometime? total a dost?
day. Of course, it all provii}?! (,:,
, youthful followers with that Mc?(.
ment which is as essential *o the?
? ' a - ? hey breathe.
D ir;ng the early day? of hli cecap?.
tion o inie D'Annunzlo's whole ??.
gram was summed op !n the word"
: "Italia, o Morte!" and every pr?paration
i was made* for the defenders t? w?'?'
their lives an d-nriy <, possible ?..
, destroy the town rather than surre-"
| der it. Fiume ws< ?
and everything was made r^ady ?? 0;?'
! up public buildings, highways, ?a-f?
| mains, wharves, piers, warehouses et
? if n<"fd should arise. The town \3 gtp
? !, but D'Annunzio knows now that
he will never be called upon to ?^
i fend it against Italian troops. Ind?c?
he ia entirely surrounded and protected
the Italian army of occup?t]?
which has been thrown forward, b?.
yond the Treaty of London '. n?, ,.?
! now occupies the heights above B
cari, where a small force o? Jrjr>
Slavs is stationed.
A Friendly Visitor
The day before I saw D'Annuniio ?.
had lunched with General Caviglii
commander in chief of the army of oc?
cupation, who had come down from ^
headquarters at Trieste to s?e tb?
commandante. D'Annunzio hir-.se"
told me that they liad Iain out on tki
crass together and talked over the de
i velopments likely in the rear future
D'Annunzio also haa ? Buppor
of Admira! Millo, commanding tki
Italian naval forces in Dalmatia, ?host
headquarters arc at Zara.
So D'Annunzio, free from the dingv
of interference, has organized thi
Corpus Separatum of Fiume, has pro
claimed its independence as the !>
ger.za Italiana del Carnaro?this be:n?
in his mind but the first step towan
forma" annexation to Italy?and ba
written fer it a constitution which i
not one of the least of the anomalies o
this wonderful place.
There may be a tragic aide to a!
this. The great captains of Italian ii
dustry believe that the preset I Italia
government is powerless
the demands of Italian labor. To us
their manrer of speech, "Italy needs
shock." D'Annunzio Is to be the:
agent. Lavishing upon him praise an
'hey urge a march on Romi
They calculate that if once he start
a Fiume there will be nothing :
impede his triumphal progress throuj
Italy. No Italian b? - raise
hand against hint, for does he ri
wear the medal of the mutilated a;:
the Cold Award of Val r the equiv,
'lent of the Victoria Cress? Maca i
the imme liate futuro of Italy nay 1
bound up in the three words D'Annunx
lias inscribed upon his banner: Qu
Contra Nos?
General Wood for Secretary ot
State
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The Tr bune ??
Elihu Roof r Se - ?'.h;, of >;&te anu
names his magnificent
for tl :?-'
It is perfectly true that Mr. Root.
even at seventy-five, is one of our
greatest statesmen, and I it he ?
ly and favorably known abroad.
But, with ?U :?? | e Trib?
une's preference, permit a reader to
? ; here . . an ther America'
whose pre | t the work;
is equal, and verj superior, to
that of Mr. Root; while the marvelous
record of th s other man and his trt
men-dous achievement in creating a aa
ou1 of nothing p! . an ad?
ra- ir and a constru tive states?
man h (ad and above any
- .
of President of th?
United Stat s requires the exerc.se of
-.. . ? talent r t?te manahip.
? ' a other man p ssesses tba
of a statesman in ; '
degree, he, more than any one else,
e choice ? . the R publicans (and.
doubtless, many Democrats) for Pre:,
dent. Now, as he is so ?m.nently quali?
fied for the highest office in the lane,
he is certainly the best man to fill tb*
next place. Taking the second bes:
man for the head of the Cabinet wber
we can have the best?well, Is that a
good business proposit
Therefore, Dr. Leonard Wood, JOB*
turned sixty years of age, bu:
with the physical vigor of a man o.
forty, is nominati ! for Secretary ?'
State now and for President fofrFy<?ars
hence. F. H. LAN G WORTHY.
Warren, Pa., Nov. 5. 1920.
No Defrauding of Go\rernment
To the lif . of Th? Tribune.
S ;?: I should ' .. i to disabase you
mind of the idea that
business people are, in the mam, dis
nest, I have been it. business tor
fifteen years In ? confidential capacity,
and never have I discovered even a hin"
of an attempt on the part of business
people to defraud the govermnt.
For his benefit, and for those others
who have any doubts in the matter, ?
will explain the working of the manu?
facturers' excise tax law. The reta.'
dealer does nut pay the tax direct to
the government. He pays ?t to th'
wholesaler from whom he purchases
the good<. The manufacturer who ?alb
any completed article on which the gov?
ernment has placed a rax rr.utt ?*'?
aside the proper amount cf the tax tot
remittance to the Commissioner of IB~
terna] Revenue on the last day of tB*
month following the month in wbi**1
the sale was made. I agree with your
correspondent that there Is a 1K**C
laxity in this department. In that th?
government's agent no longer coaif
around to inspect the records; but I
presume that if there was anything
questionable about the remittance or
a cessation of it, tho said gentleman
would he on the job.
The manufacturer passes the ta*
charge on to the dealer, whu in turn
passes it on to the consumer. Whether
or not he shows the consumer ho*
much tax he pays has very little pal?
ing en the matter. DIOGENES
New York, Nov. 5, 192*.
Back to Normal
iFrom The Philadelphia ItiquArtfl
The Tumulty and Shouting dit.