Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], May 11, 1915, Page SIX, Image 6

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

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TIMES. Founded ....
? DISPATCH. Founded
18*9
1850
ibttahed *THr dny In tlie year by The Tltueit
Itelt
PuhllnlitnK Compnny. Inc. Addreaa nil
MuUestlona to THE TIMES ? DISPATCH,
>DI(patrh Pui'.tUne, JO South Ttnib Street,
Ckmond. Vc
Tfci.Rnioxis. nAxnor.rn \
bllcntloB Office 10 South Tenth Slrcet
Richmond 1020 Hnll StrceJ
tnburf 100 North Sjcnmore Street
achburc 118 KlghiN i'roet
nxsnnooK. story ?*. nnooKS, inc..
Special Advertising Hepre?ent?ittve?.
S .v?t? Tark 200 Fifth Avenof
1. rhlUdelpMfl Mtitiinl I.lfe IIulldlnK
: Chicago I*eo|ile'/i (i?? Bulldln
Three
Hot.
91 SO
1 OO
.B0
One
Mo.
9 .tin
? SB
.25
SUDSCIIU'TION KATES
V UY MATT/. One
POSTAGE PAID Year.
- Onfly and Sunday. . . .SO no
?*>ally only 4.00
Sunday .only 2.00
Hr Tfmen-ninpntch Currier Delivery Ser*r1cr In
Richmond (and Knharlin) and Pcterahiirirt
tlnlly with Snnilay. one Trcck IS centa
Trlthout Sunday, one toU 1(* centa
l^nidnT only !? cents
SI*
Blot.
?!?.OO
2.00
1 .OO
j&.~ Entered Jnnunry 27, JftO."?, nt Itlchmond, Vs., nt
J;tr<'nnd-clii*? mnttcr t.i; ;tcr not of Cosi^rrsi of
aVnrph S. 1870.
W** Mnnnncrlpft nml comniunlrntlona aulimlttci'
^?;fnr pnhllcntlon uill not lie returned unlrtt
? rccn*noanlet1 l>y ni)?tncc sfempt,
t = =
TUESDAY. MAY 11. 1015.
Keeping the Record Straight
t I "HE German official statement of the de
^ 1 struction of the Lusitania charges that
,;-;the vessel was armed with modern rifles,
^which made her. in effect, an auxiliary war
StfShip, and this statement finds echo and am
plification in the columns of the Berlin nows
|v|papers. There seems no reason to doubt it
>;.4e entirely without truth.
r : It is denied emphatically, in the first place,
.'by the officers of the Cunard Line and by
? .Dudley Field Malone, collector of the port "of
^|New York. The Lusitania was inspected by
^fcustoms officers under the direction of Mr.
^Malone before she lc>ft her dock, and they
^reported she possessed neither guns nor pun
^ mountings. Officers of the ship and passen
?; pers also repudiate the German version.
f * It is just as well to keep the record en
tirely straight.
Can This He Possible?
STATISTICIAN, who is a pessimist and
_ a most disagreeable fellow, is out with
?:-a statement that he has taken record of the
phuge armies?how he did it he does not ex
plain?and finds that fightinp patriotism is
! a sort of excuse for getting away from home.
?'* lie declares that married men are eager to
enlist, while among unmarried men there is
'?a reticence that is pushed into sullen ac
(' quiescence only by the neneral fear of being
IV frowned down by the local community.
fi'> Call it be possible, as ibis scoundrel would
" have the world believe, that married life is
S.,311 oh a burden as all that? Is it thinkable
t.hat so many men of families would gladly
?.shake their heavy burdens and take a chance
in the trenches, for the temporary freedom
j and devil-may-care life of the soldier? A'.as!
| he seems to prove it! And yet?and yet?
veil, -even the most harassed married man
J might better stand the ennain lecture and
| all the other woes of his state than listen to
J the whistling of the leaden messengers
I' through the trees.
Denying 'Km
"\A Y! my! What a hard time a Frenoh
i .'1 Journalist has when he conies to this
j ??mtry, 1b entertained socially by the elect,
? <1 proceeds to print interviews fresh from
1 privacy of ihe drawing-room!
i/ibriel Alphaud, secretary of the Paris
.. .. rs, visited President Wilson, and imine
' ? a< ^i\ thereafter appeared in the Temps .m
rj .'.civie^ on the European war. He visited
7 if niore Roosevelt, and on the liee'.s of the
K visit came a Temps interview with the illus
?r 'rioiis Roughrider a'nd founder of the
f \nanias Club. }io. ivise he visi <>d doth not
* yet appear, bift x?iN be revealed as h< others
V l'r>!low Buit and deny the intervie ws, in toto.
} For that is what President Wilson and his
jiredecessor once removed have done. Yes,
;? Pir, denied 'em, repudiated 'em. totally re
t fused to believe the Paris Temps, thai journal
v of progress and invention.
jls- It's mighty iough on Alphaud, because
every one who believes anything believes that
IjvAlphaud could not deliberately manufacture,
|p|Lr.d his failure to understand the difference
wbetween social conversation and interviews,
frji^or publication caused a 11 the trouble, doubt
K'less. As a matter of fact, the interviews
vwere not o.f lirst importance, because they
generalized and got nowhere. But this is a
;,bad time for prominent men in America to
Miscuss prominent events in Europe, and
^Alphaud should have submitted his story be
|Vor.e publication. The 1 azard was his own.
I'antl he took a chance.
*v ' '
Whore Does the ("liv Pome Out?
<r
NCLUDED in the various interesting bits
I goBBip, connected witi 1 the proposed mu
nicipal building and now in circulation, is
the suggestion that the ordinance passed by
Council, and to he considered to-night by the
Board of Aldermen, is equivalent to a con
Ktract between the city ;m<t the architects, and
i...that it legally obligates the city to pay archi
S'.Jtocts' fees, amounting to something liko
$30,000, ev:. though th*? structure never is
Veared.
| Whethet that interpretation of the terms
of the ordinance is, in fact, true or false, wn
jilo not. know. It is interesting, however, and
^certainly the Aldermen, who must have heard
K:of it, will want to have the point definitely
: cleared up before reaching a conclusion.
; Paying $ 8, n 0 ft for working plans, consid?>r
i ing the present state i,r the city's finances
j. ?'nd the needed works of public improvement
| that cannot be attempted, is foolish enough
| ijt itself, but definitely to employ architects
now for a building to cost somewhere be
now for a building to cost somewhere between
$800, <"'00 and $1,000.(mo perhaps more
[jtyou!d he an act of municipal folly too ex
treme for patient contemplation.
It does not appear that the alleged con
jfestion in the City Hall, of which we hear o
uch and see so little, cannot be cured or
gubotantially relieved by a readjustment of
fflces and furniture. Jt is certain rhat no
ank or otner large business enterprise in
iebmond affords so much space for a like
lUBiber of employees as?is provided bv the
pity.
i' We have present and even diro need of bet
Si?
ter and larger water mains, In order to afford
tton Z?lu u f?r ,he ",08t <*ngeste<J por
'!,e c,ty- Wo need new school build
Me "eefl more paved streets. We
must spend large amounts of money In the
, temlT, Itory- U 18 n?x time even to con
template expenditures that )he situation does
not imperatively demand.
by nil this haste, anyhow? We can't
unless we throw prudence and discretion out
Hie window?start work on this building
?unot.,?tUnf0r fiVe >ears- Why BPend any
mount of money on a project whose reallza
rtls nnteCfTarl?' iR R th,nK of the romcwhat
in? The city has the Ford Hotel
JlnifflnM Pr\aPS 8hOUld koe,) U~and tl,?
drawings of its suggested ornament are in
existence and are not going to fly away. Let
take thought. We shall not thereby add
' or e%en an inch, to our stature, but
wp may save ourselves from errors that would
cause lasting regret.
British Folly, German Guilt j
r,,A r 'ho British admiralty was grossly
negligent in not providing a convoy of
upstroyprs for the Lusitania is evident. Ger
many had announced her purpose to destrov
ip giant liner, and the property interests at
stake were amply sufllcient to have demanded
protection. The admiralty is freed of no
blame by the suggestion that the civilized
world had found it impossible to believe the
fiernian plans also contemplated the wanton
causeless and unprofitable destruction of so
many hundred innocent lives.
Hie admiralty's answer will be that it is
impossible to provide convoys for all the
merchant shipping that every day enters and
departs from the ports of the British Isles.
Broadly, that statement is true, for British
commerce has been interfered with only
slightly?in a relative sense?by the activi
ties of German submarines, hut "liners of the
? usitama's type suggest exceptional treat
ment. Had the commander of the submarine
hat sank the Lusitania obeyed the ordinan
di eta tpp of humanity and followpd the rule of
i sea b\ gi\ ing the Cunarder's passengers
and crew a few minutes to take to the boats
nlf/m W?!11(1 haVe ,)PPn the dan?cr am> ov?n
likelihood, nevertheless, of loss of life Ry
inviting Americans and other neutrals to take
passage on the vessel, Britain assumed a
special responsibility that should have in
spired special precautions. Statements bv
officials of the line that the Lu.lt?nff and
! , Were to? neet to hp danger
j rom submarines wpre publishpd broadcast
: and produced in the minds of prospective pas
spngpis a sense of security the dreadful after
| warrant!"8 " !? havo 1,oen wlthout
I crin,inal foll-v "f the admiralty
! I nothing to do. obviously, with the degree
l of German guilt. That guilt is intensilied in
j or can minds by thp accumulating evi
I deuce that the plot was made, in part, in this
i eountrj, or at any ratp was understood and
i dlgnUarip'" ?VOPy "?tail l,y h,8h German
dignitaries, who continue lo enjov our hos
the privileges and immunit^
unit diplomacy confers.
Guilt is intensified further by the state
ment of Dr. Dernburg. the Kaiser's nonoffic al
Klinkosmaii in the I'nircl state.,. "Z?
published in full in The Times-Dispatch ves
terday. Ho had only perfunctory regret* for
j the 11 o American lives that wore sacrifices
was most unfortunate," said this irenbii
An"" 1? "f K",,"r' "" tZ fcevcr '
, Amer can ship carrying goods to England
? ip sunk with the samp notice, pre
i \I'!1'1 } J' <IS, t,lnl K'vcn ,,1C lusitania. Everv
: IsUaMo'hf. " c"rrri"s ,'?lr???<l anywhere
: an I, J T""""' *" 'ho ">?"> imalment
and that, of course, means anv American
ti destro?yD,"n BUbn,ari,,e c?nnnander decides
We confess we can see no advantage in
u?;?;:ip,r,i,i(; ,re,auons with?
,'lt ,akes this position. It is inconceiv
? do that the United States will acquit hi
ceivaldpTh'It C?ntomio"8- and equally incon
ca ,\p V (,ormany will modify them be
cause of our protests. Whatevpr else we ,'0
]. <! c'de not to do, we can at least preserve
'iignitv and sp|f-resppct by ceasing to mal-n
re~TV!}at nro cortuin
x\r \ ? iJson. say dispatches from
Cermanv'for ? ,niak? formal demand on
linn ? I absolute assurances of protec
<ion for American lives. The President is
k . of course, in allowing Germanv i?ii?
'?nportunlcy ,.Wr0?, ^
out "of Oernnnv"',*'ri!'S BCl "ur
liorta, an,I (ll?l?,?atle nl- i , ? ' f 1,18 l'',ss
???. & -Srtl
suit of the crime of the Lusitanin to
'a,n as a,iything the future holds in sto^e.'^"
Comc?l.v Clmrncler in Heal Life
EVRN in tins terrible and tragic year?tho
bloodiest year in human history?some
thing turns up occasionally to prove that
i there is yet light and merriment and hope?
something so delightfully humorous that we
forget strife and death and laugh out loud
and feul optimistic again.
For years the funny papers have printed
pictures of Sambo creeping home by moon
light with so many stolen chickens hidden
under his coat that he appeared twice his nat
ural size, but we did not know this Sambo
existed in renl life. Like Kipling's "Vam
pire." wo "never could understand."
Hut the funny papers are quite right. In
Washington recently a negro servant in a
hotel developed a strange complaint. For
several weeks he came to his work in the
i morning a very thin man, and it was noticed
that he appeared corpulent when he left at
?light. Seemingly, he had gained ten or fif
teen pounds in the course of the day. When
nuestioned, he replied that he was a victim
of dropsy, which caused him to swell up at
night and go down in the morning. Ilia
employers were so sympathetic that they de
cided to engage the best medical advice for
the man. Hut a day or two ago something
about Jackie's appearance as he was about
to quit work for the day aroused somebody's
suspicions. Jackie was searched, and there
were found on him two hams, three chickens,
twenty-seven chops and thirty-four towels.
Our friend Sambo of the comics is a real
personage.
Now that the New York Herald has gone
over to the colonel, the New York World had
bett'T h. mil expressing admiration for Wil
liam ?*.a> iloarst.
Now thv the Climbers have signed a few
expert performers at that trade, they may
be expected to crawl up a few rungs and
, justify their name.
SONGS AND SAWS
1'oor Archery.
Dan Cupid once a-scoutlng went.
To search for victims, cause* commotion;
The bow that wings his shafts was bent,
The shafts tipped with love's fateful potion.
And when a Bhaft sped from that bow
'T?hs bound to lay somebody low.
To right and left this archer mad
Dispatched hla messengers of worry, ^
Nor cared he if his aim was bad.
For Cupid's always in a hurry.
"if ago. not youth, receive n dart.
Why then," quoth he, "let old age smart."
His marksmanship was much at fault,
For hearts that scorned him heard love singing,
While hearts left bare to his assault?
That begged the blow that he was bringing?
ICscj'ped all wounds and mourned that he
Should leave them whole and fancy fr??.
Perhaps you've wordered in what way
Dan Cupid's victims are selected;
Perhaps you've thought sometimes that they
Had not been properly inspected.
Well, this Is why; Dan banks on chance
. And speeds his darts without a glance.
Improving Ills Opportunities.
The Guard ? What are you
trying to do with that hall?
The Convict?Endeavoring
to fit myself for an honest
life. I thought maybe I could
juggle this thing and qualify
to perform as strong man in
a circus.
'I'lie Pessimist Sny*i
Avoid the individual who thinks humanity
can be transformed by a law. He feels himself
the need of the fetters he would place on others'
limbs.
Time to Shift.
"Jinks has decided he will have to change his
opinions about the European war .situation.'
"What seemed to be the matter with his
opinions?"
"Jinks found himself agreeing with Colonel
Roosevelt, and felt at once that the views he
held must be wrong.
Wrongly Directed.
Mr. Justwed?Isn't there something Just the
least bit wrong about this ice cream?
Mrs. Justwed?It does seem a trifle salty,
doesn't It? I can't understand that at all, be
cause my recipe book said to use salt liberallv
while freezing, and I only put in a couple of
tpoonfuls.
One Uranlinrk.
The jitney is a helpful thing?
It should not get the sack?
And vet 'tis hard Its praise to sing
While it bores in your back.
THE TATTLER.
Chats With Virginia Editors
The Hampton Monitor says: "The habit of
speaking slightingly or playfully of the gov
ernment Weather Bureau continues, but without
any well-grounded reasons." One good reason
is that the bureau refuses to promise a rain.
"Over half the newspapers published in the
world are said to be printed in the English lan
i gunge,'1 says the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. Some
j are printed in rather questionable English.
i The Tazewell nepuhllcan growls as follows:
| "If, as Secretary ltedlield declares, business is
i better, may we not count as one factor in the
Improvement that a Democratic Congress is no
j longer In session?" It matters not what con
I tributed to it, just so the Improvement is visible,
j nnd it is.
Referring to the Farmers' Institute train soon
t" traverse the Chesapeake an?l Ohio Railway in
Virginia, tlie Clifton Forge Review says: "With
Commissioner of Agriculture Kolner, Governor
Stuart and the Chesapeake and Ohio Hallway
at work In behalf of better farming, there is
reason to believe that the Old Dominion will '
soon blossom as the rose in the territory in 1
which these great influences touch."
"Now that the season is open." says the Nor- ,
folk Ledger-Dispatch, "there is more spacc giv- ]
en to triple plays than to the triple alliance |
or triple entente." Well, isn't that some relief? 1
The South Hill Enterprise has found the ideal I
citizen in the ideal town in which the Enter
prise is published. It says: "He is making
money here, he is raising and educating his
family here, and he expects to live and die here.
When he has any money to spend ho flrst looks
carefully over the advertisements in this paper.
If he finds what he wants he goes there and
gives that merchant the flrst opportunity. In
everything he buys he gives the home mer
chant the preference. He occasionally buys ar
ticles from abroad, but they are cases wherein
he cannot find that which he seeks In his own
community. He believes in his home town, and
because be does believe in It and continues to
live in it he grasps every possible means of
advancing its interests by keeping his money
at home. He, to our mind, is an ideal citizen."
Current Editorial Comment
On the score of morality, hu
manity, by every canon of civil
ization, the German government
has committed a dastardly crime
thai no technically mitigating
circumstances can palliate. The
I details of the crime, ho far as they have come
I to us, the German government's obviously care
i ful preparation to commit it, the obvious plan
j she had to build up an excuse for escape from
i the consequences by publicly advertising a warn
i ing to American travelers to keep off English
! ships- all those combine wellnlgh to extinguish
I hope that she can show the United States a way
| out. If Germany can demonstrate a situation
| under which, by trying to escape, a German
i liner might justifiably have been sunk by an
English cruiser, the incident may be only the
next to the last straw. Even so there must be
positive warning that in the future not even
technical adherence to war practices shall avert
the consequences to-her of the use of submarines
with such results. Except Lincoln, no Presi
dent ever faced a situation of such gravity as
does Woodrow Wilson to-day. Tliore can bo
public clamor that would force us into war;
there can be public sanity that would realize
the full consequences, that would rely on the
I President to avert them if he can do it without
I prostitution to peace of the country's dignity
! among natlms and respect for Itself.?Baltimore
t News.
British
1 Though**
of War
lives. Some ships go flown because of "an act
of Cod," but the Lusltania went down with some
! 1,300 souls because the demons themselves had
decreed it. No ingenious logic chopping about
the necessities of modern warfare can ever
remove the odium that attaches to such an
! erploit, unless civilization collapses and all out
standards revert to medieval conceptions of
Conduct. But does this mean war between Ger
many and the United StateR? By no means.
Americana must banish such a thought from
their minds. The precise issue between the two
countries needs to be carefully defined and un
derstood. We have no quarrel with Germany
because the Lusltania was attacked and sunk.
She was a British, not an American, ship. Our
grievance In this connection is that the American
citizens who lost tfieir lives did not receive
'he advantage they were entitled to under the
lsw of nations in being warned and given the
opportunity to escape from the doomed ship
I.oforc she was struck. It is farcical to urge
that the warning printed in the New York news
Nation
l.ooks to
President
No circumstances have yet been
reported to mitigate the murder
ous atrocity of the torpedoing of
the Lusltania without giving the
-.000 noncombatants aboard the
slightest chance to save their
papers on the day the Lualtanla sailed met tho
requirements of the situation. German armies
are entitled to massacre Inoffensive and unarmed
civilian populations on land, after the Htyle of
war tainted savages, if the- German navy may
slaughter noncombatants nt sea as thesi Ameri
cans m or? slaughtered when tiie Lusitanlu went
down.?Springfield Republican. - ??
? How long shall barbarism be
Germany ru,c of twentieth-century
MpitpIv war? Khali all tho laws of war
,, ? fare, all tho solemn conventions
scored among: nations, be ripped Into
scraps In order that aboriginal
savagery may make Its greatest bid for the privi
lege of ruling the world? The time Is come
when tho United States must give Its answer
to these questions. Tho case of Belgium, raped
utterly without cause or excuse; tho wholesale
destruction of Innocent and noncombatant life,
on land and on sea, in violation of all tho
treaties governing tho relations of states and
the methods of war; the use of Zeppelins to
murder the sleeping women and children of de
fenseless villages without tho zone of war; tho
employment of asphyxiating gases In the effort
to smother the last effort of civilization In Its
own defense, and now, the murder, deliberate,
premeditated, announced and advertised like a
theatrical performance, of a thousand civilians
on a merchant ship; the loss of a vast number
of American lives In this outrage against the
rights of merchant vessels on the high seas?
these things make it absolutely necessary thnt
the United States shall declare Us position In
terms that shall leave no uncertainty, shall
permit no alternative save instant assurance
that Germany is not making war on this coun
try.?Washington T1 mes.
War News Fifty Years Ago
(Prom Newspaper Files. May 11, 1565.)
General Gideon J. Pillow, of Tennessee, is said
to have requested permission of tin? United
States authorities to return to his home at Co
lumbia, and offers to take the oath of allegiance
and give bond if necessary. General l'illow. who
was one of the most gallant and dashing of Con
federate commanders, owns a magnificent farm
near Columbia, and also one on the Mississippi
River.
A Montreal dispatch says Hon. Beverly
Tucker, of Virginia, and R. G. Saunders have
left there for parts unknown, but are supposed
to have gone to Halifax, possibly with the Inten
tion of sailing to Europe.
^?xjor-General William T. Sherman, comman
der-in-chief of the Army of Georgia, and also
of the Army of Tennessee, arrived In Manchester
yesterday from City Point, accompanied by his
staff. After inspecting the camps of the Four
teenth and Twentieth Corps of his army, located
In arid about Manchester, he rode over to Rich
mond and took rooms at the Spotswood.
A report has reached Macon, Ga., that Mr.
Davis was captured yesterday or the day before.
General Wilson telegraphs from Macon that
while he believes the report to be true, it lacks
ofHcial confirmation. He says the troops in
search of Mr. Davis know about where he is.
but both they and he are far off the line of
telegraphic communication.
It has been officially announced in Washing
ton that Cieneral Dick Taylor has surrendered
to General Canby, (he same terms being granted
to him as to Generals I.ee and Johnston.
It Is now known that it is the settled policy
of President Johnson to ignore Governor Vance,
of North Carolina, the Legislature and all of
the State officials of that State.
President Johnston and the r'abiftet have fully
decided to reduce the military force of the United
States to 150,000 men, and to do it at once.
The bones of 370 Union soldiers found on the
battle field of Cold Harbor have been buried by
the military party sent out from this city more
than a week aco.
Sherman's army will commence its march to
Washington to-morrow, passing through this
city in tho forenoon, but will not attempt such
an*elaborate parade through the streets as did
the army of General Grant.
A New Orleans dispatch says that Confederate
soldiers returning to their homos in that city
from General Lee's army are forhidden by order
of General Banks to wear the Confederate gray.
Judge Meredith has been named as the presid
ing judge of the new conciliation and arbitration
court.
Queries and Answers
O.vfainl.
Please tell me who was the last of the Earls
of Oxford. ANTIQUARY.
Aubrey de Vere, twentieth earl. Mis only
child, Diana, married Charles Beauclerk, first
Duke of St. Albans, Baron Headington and Karl
of Huftord, oldest son of Charles II. and Nell
Gwyn.
\\ llllum II. Rogers.
Was William B. Rogers's "Survey of Virginia"
ever published? THOMAS R. ROWLAND.
Yes, first in 1S36.
/
( orpnrntlon Tax.
May an incorporated town Impose license tax
not Imposed by the State? M. D.
In general, yes. The charter of towns would
commonly define In larjje way what they may
and may not do.
VrrscK Wnnieil.
Will von publish the verses, "Asleep at the
8witch"? A. L, M.
Will some reader kindly send copy?
Stndent Government.
Whore may I detailed information about
the trial of student government in American
schools'.' C. If. M.
Write to the Commissioner of Education,
Washington, 1>. C.
lilcriiKf.
Am I required to take out license to pell in a
Virginian town clothing manufactured in another
St.'ite? D. S.
In most Virginian towns you would be. The
license rules vary locally, and the only safe
rule Is to consult th? commissioner of the
revenue for each town.
"My IiO*t Floy."
Can you locate for me the rccitalion, "My
Lost Boy"'.' It pictures a mother going through
the streets askinir of every one whether he has
seen her lost child. II. H. R.
i We regret that we cannot identify the "piece,"
i and shall be glad to have some reader do so.
Tlie Wnr.
j What has b<--en the. total damage Inflicted by
] submarines so far in the war? Is the navy of
j the United States equal to that of Germanv?
fiEOROR P. WILSON.
No one here has kept exact count of the losses
i ns reported in tin- press. It is tiot so regarded.
(?rent Kreshet.
Please, state the heiirht of the water In the
freshet when Mayo's Bridge was destroyed in
1870, and give the exact date.
ROBERT FLOWER.
Extreme height was reached at JO P. M., Oc
tober 1, 1P70, 2-1 feet 0 inches above low-water
mark. Mayo's Bridge went down at 3 P. M. that
j afternoon.
j
The Bright Side of Life
I'nnnturnl History.
Professor Wiser?Does that mysterious rep
I tile, the joint snake, really exist?
j Van Bibbler?Yes. Its habitat is any prohibi
tion State.?Judge.
Different Viewpoint*.
"Mow did the poker game come out?"
"I won 40 cents, Dick won 10 cents and the
rest lost proportionately."
"Rather a close game." ?
"I should say it was."?Punch Bowl.
Hi" Clinnce.
Art Editor?I'm afraid your work is too comic
for general Illustrating.
Artist?1 suppose that means I will have to
spend the rest of my life doing comic supple
ments.
"Not necessarily. You might design women's
fashions."?Life.
Clean-Up Week in the Carpathians
One of the Day's Host Cartoons.
WOULD PLUNGE NATION INTO WAR
To the Editor of The Times-Dispatch:
Sir,?The time hii8 conto for the
great American republic to an
nounce, by vigorous action, to all the
world that the people who first con
ceived the true spirit of liberty, and
never failed to serve humanity, are
still capable and eauer to avenge tho
death of its citizens, uphold the re
cognized principles of International
law, and drive from power any coun
try that nationalizes piracy and wan
tonly destroys the lives of noncom
batants In Its efforts to inflict its
teachings and powers on all civiliza
tion.
Are we still the virile, vigorous.
Justlce-lovlng people we were when
our little navy put an end forever to
piracy on tho seas? Have wo still the
same Ideals that proinptod us to open
Japan to civilization without despoil
ing her territory? Do we still hold i
to those ideals that brought us to
China In the Boxer troubles, and re
turned to that unfortunato country
nil that part of the Indemnity paid to
us not needed to satisfy the clp.lms of
the victims of tho unfortunate oc
currence? Do we still possess that
spirit of duty that impelled us to free
Cuba, prepare her for a stable govern
ment, and now civilizing the Filipinos.
Or are we reduced to the Irn potency
and stjplneness of China? .lincoism?
Hah! Every advocate of a vigorous
policy In the cause of right has had
some terms of opprobrium hurled at
him, and the Americans who now will
and should clamor for prompt action
can afford to endure the Insults of the
weak-kneed, who will find many rea
sons for delay and inactivity.
Do not be impatient, and take your
time? Patience ceases to he a virtue,
ltelgian ravished: Luxemburg overrun;
Americans murdered on the high seas;
America's shipping bombed by Zeppo
linn! Yo gods and little fishes! are wo
men or jellyfish?
Entangling alliances? Of c&urse wo
want none. And \vc have acted in
international matters for over a cen
tury, havo kept, clear of them, and will
be able to do" iur duty to humanity
now without changing our policy with
regard to that rule.
Wo owe it to ourselves, to posterity,
to humanity, and to the cherished prin
ciples for which thousands of Ameri
cans cheerfully laid down their lives
to aid the allies in their endeavor to
rid civilization of all the dangers that
the present frenzied attempt of the
Teutons to drive democracy and Jus
tice from th?*lr pedestals, and establish
a world power that would bring man
to the abyss from which he was almost
miraculously saved in the Middle
A^es.
Tho success of the Teutons would
seriously and immediately threaten all
that Americans hold arid cherish as In
alienable rights and prlviif-Kes, and the
time to strike is now, when some of
those rights. In spite of protests and
warning, have been brazenly disre
garded anrl trampled on.
War! Horrible, isn't It? But for
wars wo would not now be a nation.
And but for wnrs waged by us there
would be no such terms as liberty or
democracy. If the American flag is
soon found flying among those of the
almost every other rivillzed na
tion would soon he found lighting on
the side of justice; a speedy termina
tion of the war would emme; a peace
? tliH" would assure democratizing ln
i lluencos all over tl>r> world would fol
j low, and humanity would tnke the blg
| gest forward step in history.
We have been hadeis. Are we now
quitters? 1\ J. OTTER HE IN.
I Klrhmond, May 8, ir?15.
PREVENTION OF FOREST FIRES
The State Forest or is inaugurating a
campaign against Arcs in the woods, inj
which all citizens are asked to join.
The enormous annual destruction >y
forest fires In Virginia should no longer
He tolerated, and a movement is now ]
on foot to bring about a rational solu
tion of the Arc problem. The first step
i? to get warning notices into tho hands
of people who have tlmbcrland to pro-1
toct or who wish to put them up for1
the pood of the 'cause. These notices
are of three different kinds, and are
printed in largo letters on heavy card
board, for posting indoors In store?,
post-ofllces. blacksmith shops, etc., and
on cloth for posting outdoors, alonKj
the roads and paths in the woods, etc., 1
where any one traveling Ihrorgh the
woods would see them. They explain \
the .State laws, which are strict, and
call upon all citizens to be careful not
to start a firp, and to put out, if pos- !
sibl>>. any thnt they may find burning, i
It Is estimated that forest flroa burn
up lf.00,000 worth of property each
year, on the average, In Virginia. With
the' mature timber being rapidly cut,
off, and worth several times what "it
was a few years ago, we are evidently;
approaching a timber famine. Our only
salvation is to take care of the /oung
growth, and keep out fire, which can
in a few moments destroy tho growth
of years. Already vast stretches of
land, particularly In tho mountains,
have been burned over so that they are
now covered with nothing but brush,
and are practically .a barren waste,
worth nothing to anybody. And every
time such lands are burned over, the
sprouts become weaker, and the soil
becomes poorer and thinner. The de
caying leaves and twigs, the humus
that makes soil fertile, is entirely
burned up by a hot fire, and the Tine
toots that bind the soil are burned
up. Consequently when a heavy rain
falls there is nothing to hold ttie soli,
and it washes away and tills up the
rivers* and harbors with silt. <This
silt has to be dredged out at an ex
pense of millions of dollars every year.)
Rut tiie rough, stony, or poor land will
produce crops of timber, if llres are
kept out.
There Is an Improfcslon in pome sec
tions that fires Improve the cattle
range, mi l many fires are sot out In
other people's woods by men who want
free range for their stock anil think
burning the woods will Improve the
range. This is all wronj. from e%-ery
standpoint. In the first place, no one
has any more right to set lire to some
one else's woods than t > h.s house or
barn. and In the second place tlie ranee
is Injured and not improved. Fires
burn up tho litter on the ground, and
the decaying leaves and other plant
material which constitute the humus.
It is this humus that makes the soil
hlack, fertile and porous. without It,
trees and grass cannot get enough food
and moisture from the soli to make
pood growth. The good grasses starve
for lack of food and water, and what
Is loft makes very poor range.
It would take too tnuch space to
describe how game animals and game
birds and song birds that are busy all
day lon?r devouring injurious Insects
are killed or driven away by forest
fires, anil how the springs and streams
are drying up and low water and
freshets both becoming more severe as
a result of forest fires. The quest Ion is.
What can l?e done about it? The State
of Virginia is looking for a solution of
the problem and already has laws pro
viding fine or imprisonment for setting
lire to any one else's woods. It Is
also illegal to burn brush v ithout tak
ing all possible precaution against the
| spread of the fire, and redress can be
obtained by any one injured by such a
fire. I.ogging nnd railroad locomotives,
sawmills, etc., are required to carry
j sufficient spark arresters. Forest war
] dens may be commissioned by the Oov
crnor to enforce the tli" laws, under
I the direction of the State Forester, and
to light tires, te. Hut unfortunately
1 there has not yei been nny money ap
propriated with which to pay wardens
for enforcing the laws ami lighting
fires. The next Legislature is expected
to come to the rescue in thin emergency
and make it possible to have an effec
tive tire protection organization. In the
meantime much good can be accom
plish* d bv putting up warning notices
.nd spreading a knowledge of the fire
I laws and arousing Interest in fire pre
l ventlon. These notices can be secured
t'free of charge from the State Forester
I at Charlottesville, Va,
WHERE GERMANS GOT THEIR FLAG I
When tho present German omplre
was established by uniting tho several |
German States into one vast realm the
question arose as to what flap: the new
empire should fly. As it happened, each
State wanted its own special standard
adopted, and no two of them were
alike, though as a general thing each
was composed of two colors; thus Prus
sia had black and white, Bavaria blue
and white, Saxony green and white,
and every other State, no matter how
small, possessed a flag.
When the g.eat German empire be
came an established fact naturally it.
was necessary to adopt a banner that
would be distinctive, Include all the
States, as eviry government insisted on
being represented. A council was ap
pointed to take charge 'of the whole
matter, and the difficulty It encoun
tered in coming to a decision will be
better appreciated when it is romem
bered that there were at least forty
combinations to be made, if all were to
be satisfied with the arrangement.
The larger States, the kingdoms, pro
posed that their flags should bo united
and thus form the national flag, but
the delegates from the small princi
palities objected so strongly to tho ig
noring of their elaln s to recognition
that this plan was voted down. An
other proposition was that all
smaller States should be represented
on Jack or corner of the flag, and have
a series of stripes, each representing
the five cities or larger States. This
was also rejected as too cumbersome
an arrangement. Again it was sug
gested to have each State, large or
small, represented on tho body of tho
flag, a method of portioning out the
surface in squares, so much to each
State. This inconvenient and inartistic
plan was also rejected.
The Prussian delegates, however,
next prepared a combination of colors
and, of course, black ami while were
I not cast aside. The idea was to adopt
a flag composed of black and white
I and red, as this latter had always been
j considered an imperial color. The other
kingdoms objected fiercely to the pre
j dominance of the black and white of
I'rnssia over the blue and white and
? green and white of Bavaria and Sax
i ony, but the Prussian delegates found
allies In those from the smaller States,
i who, recognising that, there was no
hope of having the (laps of their own
'little States adopted, felt willing to
i! have the clairnR of the larger over
bearing State ignored, as well as their
own, so they voted with the Prussians,
and the black, white and red was ac
cepted.
i Then again, the smaller kingdoms in -
| sisted that each should keep its own
' (lag to fly at the head of its own par
| ticular contingent in the army. This
; proposition was voted down, as It
! was decided It would give valuable in
i formation to an enemy as to the num
i her of troops, a great mistake In wnr
times. Another proposition, that of
1 hanging the black, wliito and red
! stripes parallel to the staff, was deeifl
Ied adversely, on the ground that tho
i red, white and blue stripes of the
i French tlag, being hung in that man
I nor, the two (lags might he confused In
the midst of battle. This ended the
question, and tho Prussian (lag, with
tho addition of the Imperial red, was
adopted as the national standard of
tho. whole German empire.
Imprnctlcnhlc.
(Cleveland deader.)
A doctor recommends hot water as
a cure for snako bites. But how Is
anybody to carry hot water In a hip
I pocket?