New-York tribune. [volume], July 02, 1921, Page 4, Image 4

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MIMBKR OT T?TB ARSOCIATTT? rRBFW
The Aasodatod Pre?? la exclustrely entitled to
th? uso" for rep?blica! Ion of all news dispatches
credited to It or not othejvtao credited In this
paper, and air? ?:<? local news of tphntanaous
origin published herein.
All rishts of repuMlcation of all other autttet
herein also are referred.
Peace Day
Both houses of Congress having
passed the Knox-Porter peace res?
olution, and Vice-President Coolidge
and the Acting Speaker of the House
having affixed their signatures, the
resolution will to-day be placed be?
fore President Harding for final
action.
April 6, 1917; November 11, 1018;
July 2, 1921?these are dates that
will be impressed on the minds of
young American;; for generations to
come. They will be symbols, though
the public mind to-day is not cen?
tered on what will occur at Raritan
and few will stand at attention as
the curtain descends on the war. A
practical as well as a mercurial peo?
ple, we know that the war in fact
ended long ago and are not much in?
terested in a sweeping away of its
legal remains.
But only the superficial will be de?
ceived into thinking this inattentive
ness signifies indifference to*the war
itself. As time presses on and the
years give perspective the great^con
?ict, in the nobility cf its issues as :
well as in the cheerfulness of its
sacrifices, looms larger and larger.
We have been permitted to be par?
ticipants in great matters. And as j
the President signs his name he can j
do so with the knowledge that he acts \
as the representative of a nation i
which has no reason to feel ashamed '
of its acts, and which, if a like need '
should send its summons a second '
time, would do again that which ?
dt did< _________
Fair Play Winning
With the railway employees con- j
tinuing at their posts, and with dis- j
cretionary power placed in the hands i
of a committee of five, the outlook ;
is bright that a railway strike will ?
be averted; that as the railroad men
joyfully accepted decisions which put \
wages up they will yield to one j
which says that changed costs of |
living and fairness to a public which |
pays the bilis not only warrant but j
demand a small decrease.
Congratulations may be justly ex- i
tended to the railroad men. It is
true that fair play requires accept?
ance of the cut. But men are men, j
and in an eager, pushing world, J
where it is the habit to look after
one's own interests without too nice
a regard for the rights of others, it
is a notable thing to have great j
masses of men exercise self-restraint. |
The railroad worker thinks, and
what is even better he is not deaf
to appeals to his sense of justice.
Thus, he is armed against the solici?
tations of professional agitators who
fatten on trouble. In the present
conditions he realizes he is a passen?
ger in a common boat and that he
cannot escape a wetting if he rocks it.
The Retreat From ismid
The recent fighting on the Ismid
front in Asia Minor has been fol?
lowed by a Greek evacuation of that
city. ?uch a move by Constantino
was not unexpected. It has two
merits from his point of view. If
he renews his offensive against the
Nationalist Turks he will naturally
deliver his main blow much further
south?either toward Eskishehr or
toward Afium Karahissar, Ismid is
on his extreme left flank and is of
little vaYne to him for offensive pur?
poses.
By abandoning it he also leaves
+.he road to Constantinople open to
the Kemalists. Ismid is only about
fifty miles east of Scutari, and the |
two are connected by the main line j
of the Constantinople-Bagdad rail- ;
road. It would suit Constantine per- '<
fectly to have the Kemalists advance
toward Scutari and thus threaten
the Allied occupation of Constanti?
nople.
At present there is a state of truce
between the Allies and the Angora
government. A neutral zone has
been laid out east of the Bosporus
and between the Black Sea and the
Bagdad railway. If the Kemalists
overrun it, yielding to a desire for
plunder or to instigation from Mos?
cow, the Allies will be drawn into
war again with Angora and may have
to call on Constantine to protect the
straits and the Sultan's capital. An
emissary of Tino's is reported to
have told the Allied representatives
that the Greek army would occupy
0
Constantinople if thy Nationalists
threatened it.
There is another element of dan?
ger in the Constantinople area. That
is WrangeVa former Southern Rus?
sian army, which was transported to
GallipoH after the Red forces broke
into the Crimea. These troops, num?
bering about 80,000, were taken care
of by the French government. But
a few months ago the French grew
weary of feeding them, and they are
said to be infected with Bolshevism.
Nothing would please L?nine better
than to seo them go over to the Kem
alists.
Constantine has his back against
the wall in Asia Minor. Ho is play?
ing his own hand against both the
Turks and tho Allies. If he can em?
broil them he has everything to gain
and nothing to lose. He may, in
fact, be able to intervene at the right
moment and make satisfactory terms
with the victor. The Allies need a
long spoon in supping with either
Tino or Kemal. They are handi?
capped by tho fact that they are
trying to impose their will in the
Near East with insufficient military
forces.
Chief Justice Taft
In his extended career William
Howard Taft has filled four con?
spicuous official places?judge of a
Federal circuit court, Governor Gen?
eral of the Philippines, Secretary of
War and President of the United
States. And in all save one he has
served with great satisfaction to the
public.
And for clear reasons. It would
be difficult to conceive of a person
with a mind more impartial than Mr.
Taft, or better fitted to listen intelli?
gently, without prejudice or precon?
ception, to a contradictory debate
and to decide its issues justly; hence
his high repute as a judge. Nor are
there many among us more soundly
human in sympathy or more warmly
protective in the desire to help fel?
low creatures; hence his notable
success when called on to start a
backward people, preyed on for cen?
turies by an ignorant tyranny, on
the upward path. Nor has there
been in recent public life an Ameri?
can more loyal or more instinctively
a believer in team work; hence his
great value when he was Secretary
cf War and was the right arm of
President Roosevelt, who was not
averse to making decisions, in the
management and application of im?
portant policies.
If as President Mr. Taft found
himself to some degree out of his ele?
ment, it was largely because of his
possession of the very qualities of
open-mindedness, catholicity and
lack of stubborn dogmatism which
have made for his great usefulness
in other fields.
If advancing years permit, Mr.
Taft may be counted on to be a Chief
Justice of the United States up to
the standard of the most illustrious
of his predecessors. He is learned
in the law, is in hearty accord with
the bearing of our institutions which
have weathered the tests of time, ir,
a firm champion of what may be
called progressive juridical science,
and is happily free from that intel?
lectual dogmatism, akin to the vice of
theologians, that has led some emi?
nent judges to seek to over-systema?
tize the law?to dehumanize it by
treating its doctrines as absolute
and unbending.
Mr. Taft has such tact and good
humor and has so unconquerable a
spirit of fair play that he is greatly
beloved by his fellow citizens. These
gifts and this character may not be
the first ones sought for in a Chief
Justice, but even the most eminent
judges are none the worse for having
them. With Justice Taft as modera?
tor^ it is probable that not a few as?
perities that mar the harmony of the
celestial chamber, the consulting
room, will be softened, and that not
quite so often in the future will the
court divide five and four.
Interstate Road Rules
The evil of diverse highway laws
and regulations in adjoining states is
emphasized by the present bickering
between the New York and New Jer?
sey authorities. New York arrested
a New Jersey automobilist who was
driving in compliance with the laws
i of his own state but in some respect
i violated those of the state he was
I visiting. Since then numerous New
i York drivers have been arrested in
I New Jersey in the way of reprisal.
Under the reciprocity arrangement
drivers qualified under the laws of
1 one state are permitted to drive In
the other for a certain number of
days in each year. Now, it is mani?
fest that to require the driver to be
in all respects qualified under the
laws of the state he is visiting would
debar many from going out of their
own state. There are, for example,
differences in age limits, so that a
driver licensed in one state might be
debarred from the other. Again, in
rural New York no operators' li?
censes are required or issued, while
they are required in all parts of New
Jersey. IL would be a hardship to
penalize a man who drove from !
Westchester or Rockland County j
into Now Jersey because he did not j
possess a license which he could not j
obtain.
' It seems time for the authorities
of the states to pot together and to |
agree cither upon identical laws in
the various states or upon a system
pf reciprocity under which each ?
/
j state shall, in the languago of the
| Constitution, give "full faith and
! credit to the public acts, record? and
| judicial proceedings of every other
state." This does not mean that
each state shall recognize and accept
the highway regulations of its neigh?
bor. But certainly the spirit of the
provision should be respected. A
citizen who complies with the laws
of his own state has some right to
expect not to bo treated as a criminal
the moment he crosses an artificial
border.
Getting Together
President Wilson vetoed the army
appropriation bill last March be?
cause Congress had refused to ac?
cept Secretary Baker's judgment as
to the sum which ought to be spent
in 1921-'22 on the army. The Sec?
retary asked for $699,275,000. Con?
gress gave him $346,000,000. Rather
than take this sum the Wilson Ad
I ministration put on the incoming
j Congress the burden of passing a
! new bill. The veto blunderbuss had
a recoil. When Congress repassed
the bill it reduced the total it carried
to $328,000,000. Mr. Wilson and Mr.
Baker contributed to economy, there?
fore, in spite of themselves.
Secretary Weeks isn't satisfied
with the provision made for a fur?
ther swift reduction of the enlisted
j strength of the army. Mr. Baker
j had tried to circumvent Congress's
? retrenchment plans by over-recruit
j ing. He enlisted more men than
| there were appropriations to main
j tain, thus saddling deficits on the
! Treasury and making trouble for his
| successor. But Mr. Weeks has a
I better case. He finds an army on
I his hands which it will be difficult to
I reduce to a strength of 150,000 men
! within the next three months. Men
' who enlist sign contracts legally
I binding on them and which are at
least morally binding on the govern?
ment. The Secretary estimates that
the natural expiration of enlistments
will take care of only half the re?
duction which Congress expects to
see made. Thus, he doubts whether
it will be practicable to effect the
total reduction without summary dis?
missals, involving bad faith to the
enlisted force. ?
But because of this_ embarrass?
ment President Harding didn't see
fit to veto the army bill. Congress
had a good motive in ordering the
reduction, and he does not imitate
his predecessor in not playing fair.
The President is frank enough to
recognize the merits of the action
taken by Congress. But by meeting
Congress more than half way he
may be able to avert part of the inci?
dental mischief threatened. Possibly
enough enlisted men whose contracts
do not expire may offer themselves
for discharge to avoid a deficit in
the army pay account. But if this j
is not the case Congress will un?
doubtedly willingly provide for the
remaining temporary surplus, as the
President says he will advise it to do.
Courteous cooperation smooths
out many difficulties. The army has
unfortunately now to suffer from the
fact that under the Wilson-Baker
regime no such cooperation was
sought or wished for.
The Bent Truth
Francis P. Bent, formerly Alder- j
man from Mayor Hylau's district, |
? and now on the city's pay roll, ar> he j
? works as his honor's publicity agent, ]
has made a discovery.
He reveals the horrid truth as to i
the paternity, birth and adolescence J
of the Meyer committee. It appears
it originated in a foul and fetid con?
spiracy of the traction interests.
First, they bought Governor Miller
! by subscribing $580,000 to his cam
i paign fund. Then they brought for
; ward Senator Meyer and elected him
! so he might be readily at hand when
| needed. Not satisfied with these
i iniquities, the next step was to re?
cruit a force of bandits to range up
? and down the streets of New York,
robbing and shooting, so as to give
color to the charge that the Police
Department had broken down. In?
cidentally, the "interests," not the in?
nocent G rover Whalen, filled the
courthouse site with ashes, induced
the Mayor to become amanuensis to i
! Hettrick, gave Brindell entry to the
i City Hall, und so on down the series .
of events which led to the appoint- i
ment of the Meyer committee.
New York will, of course, be duly j
grateful to this spokesman of the ;
Mayor. He also is a friend of the ;
people. Only the black of heart will
suggest that his revelations are in j
the nature of Bent truth. He has
identified the miscreants. Now let!
us all be up and at them !
A Voice for Beauty
Dr. Ralph Adams Cram, whose:
voice is for beauty, declares that
ugliness rules us, both in the "ma- :
tcrial and psychological spheres." '
Conceding the point as to things
physical, why drag in psychology?
In its newer phases it is a young
and tender science and has never
sat to a photographer. No modern
explorer within the realm of the ?
mind has brought back pictures.
Dr. Cram would restore the old |
chapels and monasteries in their old
integrity, to serve as sanctuaries, so !
that once again, to uso his phrase,
"beauty may be lir.]:, d with life and
art given back its true perspective."
From the standpoint of human ;
habit Dr. Cram is doubtless right, i
To practice an automatic smile is i
tho right beginning to make in dis?
pelling depression, and a beautiful
environment stirs many to higher
act and thought.
But is it true, as Pr. Cram and so
many of our latter-day despondents
arc fond of declaring, that ugliness
rules US? In spite of all these
critics, who take a melancholy pleas?
ure in despairing of tho world, prob?
ably there nover was a time when it
would be possible to demonstrate the
beauty of so many lives. Stories of
crime and ugliness and unpleasant?
ness fill the press, but it is the ex?
ceptional that is news. How about
the other side of the picture?
One who is looking for heroism,
for self-denial, for genuine char?
acter, even for beauty of average
architecture, which is Dr. Cram's
specialty, and for all those miracles
of life and color that give to the
world its interest and charm, will
surely find what he is looking for
to-day, more so than at any other
period. Never has mankind given
as good account of itself as in the
era in which we have lived.
Bombing Test Success
_
A Triumph for Airplane Scouting?
Three-Plane Navy Essential
By Quarterdeck
From tho bombing of the Iowa sev?
eral important facts were deduced. The
attacking planes were required to lo?
cate the "enemy" within a sea area
200 miles long and 100 miles wide?
20,000 square miles.
Tho test was severe, yet the naval
air force, small as it is, aided by two
army "blimps," sighted and reported
the Iowa within two hours.
The radio communication between
the navy planes and their base and
with one another appeared to be per?
fect. This was a triumph in itself, nnd
it is believed that the planes would have
discovered and reported the Iowa with?
out the aid of the "blimps"?In fact,
they may actually hnve done so. The
radio returns from the mother ship,
Shawmut, will tell the story.
The next success was the concentra?
tion of twenty-five of the twenty-seven
naval airplanes within an area of 20,000
square miles off the coast in about four
hours. Surely we need no further proof
of the scouting value of air forces
against a hostile fleet.
Eighty bombs were dropped from
heights varying from 4,000 to 6,000 |
feet. There were two direct hits and
at least eighteen bombs fell within a
distance estimated at seventy-five feet
from the Iowa, It is fair to say that
tho Iowa presents a target of about
one-third the area of a super-dread?
nought. A modern capital ship, in
other words, would have been seriously
menaced by large bombs.
False deductions from these tests
must be avoided. In many respects
the conditions greatly favored the
bombers. The "enemy" did not fight
back. But the samo may bo said of
our practice with great guns.
The percentage of direct hits was
small- 2y2 per cent. But the percent?
age of hits with great guns in the
battle with Cervera's fleet was only if
per cent.
Air forces can use smoke screens and
gas screens in war. And they can drop
ruines, depth bombs and torpedoes as
well as contact bombs, They have many
strings to their bow.
The art of bombing is new. A good
telescope sight and a plan of stabiliz?
ing the plane are needed to secure
greater accuracy. These improvements
will soon be forthcoming.
There is no room for narrow minded
ncss or bad temper in discussing the
value of air forces in war. Overstate?
ments and exaggerations on both sides ?
must be avoided. It is not a case of
the army against the navy. It is not
a caso of tho airplane against the
dreadnought. For the present both are
needed. And the submarine i? aeeded
as well. These three foices must all i
bo utilized.
Upon these three planes and among
these three distinct and necessary
forces the money available for tho navy
must bo expended. It is an economic
and national question.
In conclusion, it is of the utmost i
importance to encourage the personnel ;
of the army and naval air forces. They j
are engaged in a brave and patriotic
service to their country. We must givo
them a chance to show what they can
do. The navy has always been pro?
gressive. It must continue to progress.
Safe and Sane Plying
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: More power to your campaign
for safety and sanity in civil aviation!
The public is at last awakening to tho
consciousness that to fly is not of it?
self dangeroin, but that the danger
comes when irresponsible, fly-by-night
pilots operate uninspected, poorly
maintained planes.
The HS-2 type of seaplane has flown
for nearly 1,000,000 miles without
casualty of any description to passen?
gers?a record that automobiles may
well envy.
In addition to rigidly insisting on
tho "safety first" creed with our pilots
and mechanics, we are building up at
our school a corps of mechanics who [
on completion of their courses will ?
go forth as advocates of the newer
thought in aviation?straight, safe
flying, without stunts.
Back un General Mitchell. He has
the right idea! HUGH D. M'KAY.
New York, June 30, 1921.
As to Submarine Piracy
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: In your issue of the 24th
Bertrand Shadvvell, of Chicago, sug- j
gests that German submarine crews
may have mutinied, killed their of- j
fleers and turned pirates.
Seems rather far-fetched. Judging
from their,records during the war, wa,
there any necessity for killing their of
?etrs or for '?turning" pirates?
MASON F. FERRIS.
Paterson, N. J., June 30, 1921.
J
Cvnlclsrn; or The Sour Grnpea of Wrath
Over tho river,
Women and men,
Over to Jersey,
And buck again.
Rush for tho ferry,
Rush for the tubo,
Hush for your seat
Like a bally rube.
Many a headacho,
Many a frown,
And Sunday papers
AU over town.
W. KAYE.
How cither of the gladiators, as the
slang phrase goes, slept last night wo
1 don't know. We aro not cvu.n faring
to Jersey City, and we don't care who
loses the fight; yet the very thought of
those brawny battlers tossing about
wide-eyed kept up, wo predict at tho
hour of yawning to press, vigilant all
last night.
If M. Carpentier lands on Mr. Demp
sey frequently, it may become evident
t) tho latter why ho is called the ap?
parently plural name of Georges.
TWO HEARTS THAT BEAT AS ONE
[From the explanatory note]
By GEORGE BERNARD SHAW v
(Who shares with Maeterlinck the reputation
of beintf the only intellectual deeply versed
in the science of pugilism).
Special cable to Universal Service
The wonder is that none of the copy
j readers referred to him as Georges
! Haw,
"The World learned last night,"
learned The World night before last,
"that an earnest effort is being made
to induce Mrs. William Randolph
Hearst to stand for public office in
America the way Lady Astor did in
England." Even to the point of em?
ploying the British "stand" instead of
the American "run"?
"Standing" for office, in America, is
a legitimate use, sometimes. Frinst,
we ?stood for Mayor. Virtunlly sta?
tionary.
THE DIARY OF OUR OWN SAMUEL PEPYS
June 30?Drove to my office in the
rain, and not without skill, neither;
and at my desk till late afternoon, and
so to II. Harrison's and had a bath,
and with him to Mistress Alice Miller's
to dinner, and Miss Ruth Hale there,
and wo nearly made a wager of $1,000,
and I am glad we did not, forasmuch ;
as I should have lost, and I have not;
so much money. Much talk of this
and that, and H. Broun told of a piece
of writing by Ralph Block, and how he
spoke of abstract sculpture, which II.
said he knew not the meaning of, and
quoth I, it is sculpture fashioned not
of concrete. Talk then of more frivo?
lous matters, such as the motion pic?
tures, Mistres3 Alice having just cornel
home from Hollywood, and told howl
she had met Charles Chaplin and lik?
ing him greatly. So home at midnight,
and drove Clarence Day to his house.
July 1 ? No tall: of aught but the I
fight, all asking me what I think, but
nobody caring what I think, and truth
to say, my only conviction is that Mr. I
Dempsey will win in the sixth round i
So I choose not to go, albeit twice ij
have been bidden, but had liefer spend
the day upon the courts. Early up,
and bought a fine suit I hope to make
a brave show in, and two costly era-1
vats for J. Wise the cotton merchant,;
for his birthday. At my stint all day,!
and so to Mistress Helen'3 for dinner,
and at White Plains the night.
BAD ADVICE
Sir: In an Evening World fight story
I see that Jack is brooding over the
fact that he was badly advised during
the war. lie feels that he should have
geno, for ho was really wild to go.
I, too, more than once was badly ad?
vised. A Second Lieutenant once ad?
vised me to place my machine gun in
a position that was obviously under
direct observation from the enemy
lines.
^Another time I was advised to visit
Amiens without a pass. SCOTTY.
The Conning Tower cannot under?
take to answer telephone calls this
afternoon concerning the progress of
the fight. We shall not know the re?
sult ourself until evening, and all our
'secretaries will be at tho ringside. And,
ar, elsewhere forecast in this Amphi?
theater of Asteism, Deinpsey will win
in the sixth round.
The Forehanded Mr. Hearst
[From yesterday's Philadelphia Public
Ledger]
Wc sec by the Sunday morning edi?
tion of The New York American, which
reached Philadelphia at noon yester?
day, that Dcmpsey won the fight. The
number of rounds was not given, but
v/c assume more detailed information
will appear in Monday's edition of The
American, which should reach Phila?
delphia 3omo time this afternoon.
If M. Carpentier's famed politeness
stays with him, he is likely to land
on Mr. Dempsey's jaw with an "Ex?
cuse my glove."
The Felonious Linotyper
[From The Stamford (Conn.) Advocate]
There is ample room in the reetory
for the accommodation of the murder
of boys that will be received, and cap?
able tutors will give instruction.
"To those of us who are familiar
with the wireless telephone," says an
editorial co-slave, "one cf the most as?
tonishing things is the way in which
it reproduces the human voice." To
those of us unfamiliar with it, how?
ever, it comes like?to coin a phrase?
a bolt from the blue.
Our athaletic young man said yes?
terday that he was overjerred that
Oitle was going to cover the fight for
The Woild.
Dcmpsey or Carp, Dempsey or Carp;
We don't care which of 'em hits tho
old scarp.*
* Slang ii>r toboggan.
F. F. A.
GROWN SO LONG NOW IT WILL NEED A SCYTHE
Copyright, 1021, New York Tribune inc.
OO??S
He^Tvood Broun
-,-.
"Your discussion anent the scarcity
of children's books (there are plenty
for grown-ups) seems particularly apro?
pos for me just now, having volun?
teered to amuse children in a state
hospital one afternoon a week," writes
N. S. G. "It is rather difficult to know
just what to go armed with, as the ages
of the children there vary so from
week to week and I sometimes find not
a single familiar face. Having fallen
down on Ernest Thompson Seton and
others that I thought could not fail
to interest them al!, I finally thought
I had reached a brilliant solution in
thinking of the perennial Alice in Won?
derland. There were four children of
varying ares to be amused that day
(not counting the babies)?Gerald,
thirteen, six months in hospital with a
complication of diseases; Jimmie, in
a wheel-chair with heart trouble;
Agnes, smiling, but tongue-tied, recov?
ering frcm double pneumonia, and
Ruth, a blood poisoning victim.
"At about the middle of the third
chapter Jimmie wheeled himself and
chair off without a word. At the end
of the chapter I stopped and asked the
others how they liked it and if they
understood it.
"Gerald remarked condescendingly
that 'it was all right?he got most of
it.' Ruth, when pressed, admitted she
would rather play games, and Agnes
kept on saying nothing -smilingly. I
decided that 'Alice' must bo a chil?
dren's story for grown-ups."
"Apropos of Mr. Horace Liveright's
? inquiry of Tribune readers regarding
j the names of books for children,"
j writes Charles Morris, "I suggest the
; following: The Slowcoach, E. V. Lucas;
j Anne's Terrible Good Nature, Lucas;
I Pepper and Salt, Howard Pyle; Ad
j ventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle;
| Jim Davis, John Masefield.
"I read these to my children several
I times. They have this merit (.not al
| ways found in children's books) that
j the father can also enjoy them, so that
I reading them comes to be a pleasure
I and not a duty.
For Legion Athletics
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Why is it that the American
Legion, with its enormous membership
of strong, young men, is so inactive
when it comes to athletics? Until re?
cently I was a member, but I wanted to
play soccer football and couldn't, so I
discontinued my membership.
Seriously, the Legion ought to go
into athletics us it went over the ?
top. What post, may I ask, is about I
to organize a soccer team? I'd join
immediately. ADAM WILSON.
New York, June 29, 1921.
Archie's Father
(From "My Brother, Theodore Roose?
velt," by Corinne Roosevelt Robinson,
in Scribnar'a Magazine.)
As we passed the table at the head
of the staircase [in the White House]
the telephone bell on the table rang,
and with spontaneous simplicity?not
ringing a bell for a menial to answer
the telephone call?he picked up the
I receiver himself as he passed by. His
face assumed a listening look and then
a broad smile broke over his features.
"No," he said. "\'o, I am not Archie.
I am Archie's father." A minute
passed and he laughed aloud and then
said: "A!! right, I will tell him; I
| won't forget." Hanging up the re?
ceiver, he turned to me half-sheepishly
lbut very much amused. "That's a good
"It is unfortunate that more good
men do not, or can not, write for chil?
dren. It seems to me that a child's
literary taste for good books can be
cultivated in this way* and quite un?
consciously."
It seems to us rather too much read?
ing for children is chosen on the basis
of giving them things they ought to
like rather than books they are going
to enjoy. Taste can take care of itself
in time. The chief thing is to get them
interested, and the greatest risk with
young readers is to bore them in the
beginning. This is tho very worst
found;;!ion for literary taste in later
life. Eagerness must como first. With?
out that discrimination is worth noth?
ing. During the week just past no
parent ought to havo had the least
difficulty in selecting reading for his
children. The news concerning the
training of Dempsey and Carpentier
has been profuse enough for every
need.
But on the whole it has been a little
disappointing. Until the advent of
Shaw the literary flavor was lacking,
and even Mr. Shaw seemed eager to
imprests his views by sheer dogmatic
assertion rather than eloquence or
logic. Mr. Dempsey's literary style is
rugged, but it lacks the virility which
we found in The Autobiography of
Jess Willard. Phrase makers have been
rare. "The orchid man," which was ap?
plied to Cr.rpentier by some Boston
sporting writer whose name we can't
remember, is rather fetching, but not
quite as captivating as "the golden
smile" and "the abysmal brute," which
were produced at Peno. And, greatest
lack of all, there has been no one to
write as Robert Welles Ritchie did in
Reno concerning the things which lay
beyond the ring.
With the gong about to sound, we
find terrific difficulty ri getting even
within hailing distance of any literary
theme. In spite of the published opin?
ions of Battling Levinsky and Bernard
Shaw, it looks to us like Dempsey.
joke on any President," he said. "You
may have realized that there was a lit?
tle boy on the other end of.that wire,
and he started the conversation by say?
ing, 'Is that you, Archie?' and I re?
plied, 'No, it is Archie's father.' Where?
upon he answered with evident disgust:
'Well, you'll do. Be sure to tell
Archie to come to supper. Don't for?
get.' 'How the creatures order one
about!"' he quoted from our favorite
volume, Alice in Wonderland, and pro?
ceeded to run at full speed down to the
breakfast room.
Certain Trouble
(From The Los Angele? Times)
The project for an American acad?
emy of poetry and song will not mate?
rialize without seme friction. Neither
would the institution be maintained
without more controversy. If it were
just a clearing house for poetry it
Would bo easier; but even that might
furnish argument. There is such a dif?
ference of opinion as to what really
constitutes poetry. There is a large
school willing to admit as poetry any?
thing which has neither rhyme nor rea?
son. Others who follow such purists
as Bryant and Longfellow insist that
real poetry must have both. Poss?blv
it would be best to compromise on a
home for bards and let them tilt before
a non-partisan committee fo? admis?
sion. Even a hall of fame for piwc?
might start a ?ghi.
! Sea Engineer's importance
Major Factor in Steamship Opera*
tion?Master of Machinery
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I read with mingled amazement
and amusement the letter by "Old Ship?
master"?very old, I should judge, per?
| hap- a reincarnation of some skipper
of Phoenician days, who gloried in rul?
ing his Tyrian galley-slaves with a ropa
of thongs.
The art of navigation is the sama
now as it was hundreds of years ago*
! The celestial bodies still retain their
place in tho heavens as of yore, de
j viating not from their appointed
i course. My grandfather, who was a
j shipmaster, could navigate a modern
| vessel without requiring to go to school
| to learn anything new, but an engineer
? who cares for his profession and wishes
I to march with the times must be for
i ever studying tho new inventions and
! improvements that from time to timo
: emanate from the fertile br?in of the
? inventive though (according to "Old
: Shipmaster") despised engineer. In
? modern times the shipmaster comes up
| the ladder from quartermaster through
! the successive ratings of deck offices
] to master, just as the engineer officer
graduates from the stokehold to tha
engine-room and its chances of promo?
tion.
Any one visiting a modern engine?,
1 room must be amaze.', at the knowl?
edge a marine engineer must have ta
; understand the intricacies of its mani?
fold and complicated gear. The deck
officer requires no such knowledge, t
think the millionaires and people o?
leisure, not to mention more humbl<i
citizens, would wish "Old Shipmaster"
anything but well should ocean trans
ation revert to the motive power
and mentality of galley-slaves. Whern
but for the engineers who designed
them and the engineers who run and
? repair them would the "greyhounds*
; of the Atlantic be? Are the engines
: in these liners or any modern ship
| "minor parts"? Is the steam steering
?gear a minor part? Engineers are noi
only "starters" and "stoppers" ? they
?must be skilled in their profession ta
i keep a modern engine doing its duty,
?SON OF ANOTHER OLD 8HIP
I MASTER.
Brooklyn, June 29, 1921.
Blaming the "Old School"
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: May I say a word or two about
the "condition of mutiny" mentioned
by "Old Shipmaster"? If we ran
ships after the fashion advocated bv
; this relic of a bygone day we would
i have a riot on beard ship from one end
| to the other.
Who started the seamen's union*
land all the other unions? Who matt?
i the La Follette law possible? I would
! like to say that these ??odern adjunct?
to the American merchant marine are
the direct outcome of the policies ad?
vocated by this "Old Shipmaster." The
strict and small-minded master and
his assistant, the "bucko mate," did
the work that aroused the long suffer
! ing reaman and his "friends" and
?saddled on us a set of marine laws
| and restrictions that all but choke oif
the little discipline remaining on our
ships.
The "Old School," of which this
shipmaster :s so proud, was a mean o?d
school that starved sailors and made
serfs of free men.
We are entering upon a new era and
tl engineer is here to stay. Whether
he will eventually command the v<
lepend?nt upon his ability, remains
to be seen. The new shipmaster wi ',
? to take his departure from the
old ideas if he is to maintain his
mastership. THROTTLE VALVE.
New York, June SO, 1921.