Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], July 09, 1915, Page SIX, Image 6

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

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TRE TIMES, Fonndrd 1883
TUB DISPATCH, Fonndfd 18SU
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FRIDAY. JUliV S. 1915.
Tyrant Man at Work Again
IT if. greatly to be feared that Mrs. Pankhurst
and the other members of the militant
sisterhood in England will be moved to un
patriotic rage by the refusal of the British
government to enroll women under the de
fense of the realm act. The House of Com
mons has rejected a bill that would have put
the gentler sex on this equality with mere
man.
The government seems to have fancied that
if it enrolled all the men it needed to make
ammunition and fight Britain's battles, it
would be doing a pretty good job. and de
clined. therefore, to take on any more re
sponsibilities
It. is not to be assumed, however, t&at Mrs.
Pankharst and her friends will not find work
if they seek it. It may not be in the oratori
cal way. and. since the war started, the de
struction with dynamite of a suburban villa
is no longer spectacular, so that the proffered
toil may not be to the militant liking, but
there are a great many things to do. The
society should be of good heart.
Trade With South America
ONE Fourth of July happening is well
worth mentioning. On that day, for the
first time, a Peruvian merchant ship entered
Baltimore harbor. This was the M&ntaro. ot
the Peruvian Steamship Company, of Callno
The flying of a new flag in Baltimore har
bor is an auspicious event. As this paper has
pointed out before, the greatest, benefit the
war couid bring this country would be the
cultivation of closer relations with South
America Thar South America desires better
commercial connection? with the United
States than have existed in the past, many
thing? show,fand not the least the appearance
of a Peruvian ship at Baltimore. The steam
er was laden with a characteristically South
American cargo?nitrate of soda, hides, skins,
silver ore and other minerals and cotton.
Such wares have hitherto gone chiefly to
Europe, though many of them are needed in
this country.
It is to be hoped that the flag? of Peru.
Chile. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador
and Colombia will^ soon become as familiar
at Newport News and Baltimore as the
I'nion Jack.
Reason* for Grutiiude
REAT perturbation and distress of spirit
V_X havertbeen ?ccasioned in certain quarters
hereabouts "by the discovery that land assess
ments in the southprn district of Carroll
County are $12,645 leps this year than they
were last The air ha? been rent with the
lamentations of a new Jeremiah, that mourns
and refuses to be comforted
If it may be permitted us to enact the
part of an amateur Samaritan and pour oil
and wine into th<-- gaping wounds of our af
flicted brother, we would point out that
whereas uniit-r existing tax lawj the State's
loss oi re\rnue irom decreased a.^sessfments
in Carroll County is $l 2.?-I. that loss would
have been $44.2a under the laws that pre
viously prevailed if. therefore, it required
three-quarters e>f a column properly to de
scribe Carroll County's iniquity in withhold
ing $11; 64 from the Stale treasury, it would
three whole columns to
stigmatize the unlawful detainer of .?4 J 1 r>
Just think of the saving in good white paper
and then thank Heaven that the General
Assembly reduced the Stale tax on realty
from 3;> cents per $100 to 10 cent?!
We feel confident at any ra?f. that "our
readers"- realizing what they have escaped
will be properly fyrateful.
The Say villi- Wireless
HIS government's action in taking over
1 the wireless station at Sayvilta is not
we i:re afrnl,i- lo help the composition
of difference? with Germany. While the
station has been under the control of naval
officers, who acted as censors, there is no
official effort to negative the statements from
Washington that the wireless outfit has been
used in violation of the. neutrality laws of the
United States
The public is informed and permitted to
believe that the operators, in the absence of
the censors, managed in some wav to get into
communication with German submarines and
apprise their commanders of .he movements
of allied vessels leaving American shores If
these charges are true and the soil of the
United States was URed for such purpose? the
disregard of law i? clear
Nevertheless, and though the action of the
Navy Department, was demanded, it will not
be well received in Germany, it will not en
courage a more reasonable and pacific rf,?lv
to the President's last note on the sinking of
the Lusitania That, situation, which had
begun to look encouraging, appears now In n
very dubious light
"('ftrtainlj "
jn ROM F D. Nelligar. of Norfolk. Th<->
A Times-Dispatch has received a request for
information. Mr. Nelligar has pasted on a
pheet of letter paper an editorial from this
newspaper, inspired by the Holt case, and
beaded "One Madman?and OthorB," and.
side l?y side with this, a clipping from the
i New York World, quoting from a Fourth of
July oration delivered by Congressman Porter,
of Pennsylvania.
In this oration Mr. Porter delivered him
self of the following: "Men who make arms
and ammunition to ship to Europe are as
guilty of murder as the man who fires the
shot." Mr. Nellfgar wants to know if we
consider Mr. Porter insane. The answer,
substituting "mentally ill-balanced" for "in
sane" and assuming that this Pennsylvania
i statesman is correctly quoted, is not. difficult.
It. is:
Certainly.
It will be observed that Mr. Porter not only
convicts the munitions manufacturers of this
country of murder, but also every soldier of
every army now engaged on the battle fields
of Europe.
Ordinarily, it would require some hardi
hood to assign final guilt of this enormity to
15,000.000 men. When that hardihood is
exhibited, however, by a person who also
thinks?to quote further from the Indepen
dence Day address?that "we are helping to
prolong the war, and. doing this, the blood
of these soldiers is on our hands," it occa
sions no great surprise Taken together or
separately, the statements exhibit that
atrophy of the logical faculty to which we al
luded in the editorial that caught our corre
spondent's attention.
Ilolt and His Helpers
IT is reasonably certain that Frank Holt, or
Erich Muenter, who killed himself In his
cell in the Mlneola jail, had accomplices, who
provided the funds with which he conducted
bis extensive and expensive campaign for the
destruction of property and life. For this
reason and because his death seriously mili
tates against the capture of these accomplices,,
the gross carelessness that permitted his
suicide cannot be too strongly condemned.
It is inconceivable that a man of his narrow
personal resources, with a wife and children
dependent on him for support, could have
made Mich long ami frequent railway
journeys, rented l.ong Island bungalows and
bought high-priced explosives, in large quan
tities, ns Holt did, without financial assist
ance. Somebody else was furnishing the
cash.
This is natural. Holt's latest mania was
not peculiar to him. as we have had occasion
to say before. There are thousands of men
in this country who, to Judge from their ac
customed utterances, are not much better
balanced. The great mass of them, certain
ly. would not join in efforts to write their
hatreds in blood, but there are others besides
Holt who are subject to no such restraint.
Some of these were his partners in the con
spiracy to wreck the Capitol, destroy ocean
liners and intimidate or slay J. Pierpout Mor
gan and members of his family. Where are
these criminal maniacs? The nation will not
be comfortable until they are placed under
restraint, and. therefore, is but little inclined
to condone that carelessness in guarding Holt
which made bis suicide possible and the arrest
of his helpers much more difficult.
fn the meantime, there is cause for wonder
that a man of Holt's type, accused nine years
ago of the murder of his first wife, known to
be of desperate character, and thirsting for
revenge on society, which he fancied had
wronged him. could have pursued so long and
so entirely unmolested the course he did pur
sue. Seemingly, the very bravado of his
methods aided their success. He shaved off
the beard he wore when he was Muenter and
took another name, but he did not go to the
trouble of changing his occupation, conceal
ing his scholarly attainments or, apparently,
of avoiding old associates.
Moreover, he carried in his heart always
that passion to kill which he expressed in a
pamphlet he sent members of the Harvard
iacuit>- auer no made his escape from Cam
bridge. In that pamphlet he wrote:
The lesson that you teach me I will
execute, and it shall go hard, but I will
hotter the instruction. Without know
inc whetiter 1 was innocent or guilty,
you have reviled me. you have cast me
out. If T do not strain every n^rve to
get revenir>\ tie bloodiest. the m.*>st
brutal kind nf revenpre, let me nevr
r'-fij'CCt in;. any more. I ran never
prove my I!? n ore nee to you My only
witness is dead. Hence, If 1 could an
nihilate- all ??{ i.'hicapo and Cambridge :it
one blow, that would he. the thing to do.
You wish to annihilate me. 1 must an
ticipate you.
When Holt's diseased imagination took
hold of a cause that inflamed it and fed at the
some time his blood lust, the tiger in him
gained complete? ascendancy, in his tangled
brain, probably, he conceived himself as a
destroying ancel. appointed to execute a
divine purpose That he could hide his mad
ness from his family and the world argues
his accomplices yet free to destroy, all the
more dangerous. Like him, they are mad
men with homicidal tendencies?or they are
worse They must not, in either case, he
permitted to escape.
National Prohibition
IT is time for the sober-minded people of
this country to consider the possibilities of
the prohibition agitation. Great, movements
Sometimes gain such momentum that they
' pass beyond the original wishes of their ad
j vocates and take new directions, changing
i needed reforms into disastrous revolutions,
j This may be the case with the prohibition
I wave.
The convention now i session at Atlantic
' Cltv has aroused great enthusiasm, and the
demand for a prohibition amendment to the
i 1'nited Slates Constitution will bo encrgeti
\ cally and rhetorically urged. The demand la
I an excellent illustration of the primary fault
! of many reform movements. They usually
start in communities which desire them, and
then spread to other communities. These
communities combine and attempt to enforco
I the reforms on cities and towns which do not
desire them. In this manner, prohibition
has passed from the perfectly right r.nd Justifi
able form of local option to the much less
desirable State wide prohibition, and now to
! the menacing constitutional amendfneui.
i Let people consider what such an amend
? ment will mean to the t;-\ burdened property
1 owners of the Hnited States The internal
revenue receipts from liquor amount to $2f?0,
000.000. This great eum must be raised
from some source, and if alcoholic beverages
are barred, taxes will be screwed up to meet
the deficit. Hordes this, the forcing of pro
hibition on unwilling communities, States and
1 sections would lead to widespread violation
of the law.
Perhaps it might be a good thing also to
I have the city patrol wagons provide them
selves and their drivers with indemnity bonds,
i
However it may ho brought about, it
would be a pleasant thing to get rid or a few
grade crossings withiD the city limits.
SONGS AND SAWS
Truth* of Hint or jr.
Whon George attacked the cherry tree
On which his father's hopes were set,
'Twaa not to test that hatchet he
Had found It so darned hard to get.
(Oh, no; this tale so often told
Does not the naked truth unfold )
Here Is the reason that fair tree
Fell 'neath young GeorRlc's ruthless ax:
Its limbs were bare as they could be,
And Georgle thought its morals lax.
(And so. of course, he cut it" down
To save the good name of the town.)
The Pf*?!nilii( Snys:
Hitch your wagon to a star?hut. unless you
carry accident insurance, be certain you do not
select a shootinpr star.
Pretly Clone.
Patient?So you think, dor
tor. I should take a voyage
that promises new interests.
Where would you have me
go?
Physician (whose patience
is about exhausted)?Well,
the nearest I can come to it
is to tell you to tro to the
war zone
Anything.
"Does Binks believe the whale literally swal
lowed Jonah?"
"Of course he does. Why. Pinks himself swal
lows literally the Anti-Saloon Fjeacue statistics
on the number of persons killed eaeh year by
the Demon Rum."
C'onHldfrlnur Ilcr Oricln.
The Misogynist?I consider woman a limb of
Satan.
The Feminist?You may lie rifjht. at that Ton
know woman was made from one of man's ribs.
llrnl Ftperlenre.
"What makes Jinks repard himself as a war
expert ?"
"Ho spent six months once in the National
Guard."
.last Wiilttiip.
Said the man to tho maid:
"I am sadly afraid
That within a few minutes T'U kiss you "
Said the maid to the man:
"I will wait If I can?
Do you need any one to assist voir"
THE TATTIvF-R.
' Chats With Virginia Editors
The Mathews Journal, and several other pa
pers as for that matter, tell of a meeting of
the farmers of Northampton County, which
passed resolutions "expressing indignation at
the present disastrous low price of potatoes
which they helieve is not due to lack of de
mand for stock, and calling upon the officials
of the exchange and independent buyers to
make an effort to so co-operate tn sales as to
bring about a raise." The Journal says: "They
also pledged themselves to back the exchange
and buyers in any method they might adopt.
It is hoped that the movement will result in a
better price for potatoes." Tt remains to be
seen if potatoes or anythinp else can be made
more costly to the ultimate consumer by
"resolution."
"Prayer services for rain were held at nearly
every church In the county last Sunday," says
the Halifax Gazette, "and that nipht there was
a splendid shower, thus provinp that th>* peo
ple of Halifax are a righteous lot, for does not
the Good Rook tell us that "the prayers of th"
righteous avalleth much?'" It would be well
for the righteous of Halifax County to pet busy
apain. and they might be asked to extend their
prayers, for It is getting awfully dry all over
Virginia.
The Fredericksburp Star has a pood word to
say for the Negro Exposition now on in this
city. We quote; "The Nepro Exposition, or
panized by Giles Jackson, of Richmond, official
ly opened its doors at the State Fair Grounds
on the nth of this month and will continue un
til the 27th, Inclusive. It has expressed ap
proval of President Wilson and Governor Stuart,
and those in charge have had the co-operation
of many white citizens In trying to make it a
success. It i? intended to show what the negro
race has accomplished, and it will be well
worth visiting. We wish It success."
Of course, the following Is from the Norfolk
Ledger-Dispatch "Eipht years ago Woodrow
Wilson wrote to a friend, saying: 'Would that
we could do something at once dignified and
effective to knock Mr. Bryan once for all into
a cocked hat.' Now Bryan seems inclined to re
turn the compliment, overlooking, however, the
'dignified and effective.'"
The European situation Is briefly summed up
in the not-alwa vs-peaceful sanctum of the
Harrisonburg News-Record as follows: "Enp
land has got to do some real fighting or else
the allies' cause Is lost. And her allies are be
ginning to feci that she is a shirker at this
Juncture."
This cheering paragraph comes from the Bris
tol 11? raid-Courier: "The tains of last week,
ending with an all-night downpour Sunday
nipht, seriously interfered with picnics, lawn
parties and baseball gamer-, hut they were
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the
farmers of this section."
Current Editorial Comment
A contributor to the Sun grieves
When and nvr the ignorance of those who
What Ts "Mln"' ,hal "tinker's dam" is a
_ ' -0 "profane expression " A tinker's
- I'oranlty. dam. says he. was a chunk of
dough, or better used hefor? the
days of muriatic acid to keep the solder from
spreadlnp, and as the solder commonly did
spread, nevertheless, the tinkers dam was as
nearly worthless as the common expression of
d!?esteeni for it implies. He differentiates It
from the common or pard?n damn, and says:
"There Is no profanity about it." But not to
car- a tinker's dam is just as profane as not
to care a maverick damn, unhrnnded with owner
ship by tinkers or others Taking the "n" out
of damn does not take the curse off. If it Is
profane not to enre a damn, it is just as profane
not to care a whiffet, a Jabberwock. a poop, or
any other illegitimate and unsanctioned word.
When one stentoriously enunciates his refusal
to appraise the article under discussion at the
value of a damn, he is not swearing or cursing;
he is literally using bail language, for, in the
soime he mnans, there is no such noun as damn.
We know what a tinker's dam is, but what is
.1 damn'' When one says he does not care a
t* hoop, he is far more definite, for there is such
^ thlnif as a whoop. Whence arose the idea that
not earing a damn was beinp profane, and why
do persons who do not care one plume themselves
on their devillshness? It is not profane, but it
has the sound of being profane, and that is all
that l!T~nee.ded An Individual who would not
for the world have used blaspnemous language
usrn to relieve his feelings by pronouncing the
name of One of Wagner's opera6 In a tone that
caused neiphhorlng windows to fall in, and
? Gotterdammerunp" gave him as much satisfac
tion as If he had violated a commandment. And
j ,vho was the man who always swore by Charles
I G. tv Roberts and Josephine Dodge. Daskatm be
cause they sounded so profane? There is an ex
cellent Methodist in this town who severely
reprehends profanity whenever he hears It, hut
who produces all the effect of shocking blas
phemy by the embittered emphasis he lays on
the exclamation, "for government's sake!" Col
onel Roosevelt plumes himself on his abstinence
from profanity, but none of the unregenerate
over got such satisfaction out of a real cuse
word as he does out' of "By Godfrey!" No.
tinker's dom bolonga tr? the comfort-glvlng
pa lax y of profane refuses for the emotions, nnd
that Is the worst you can say of the other
damn.?New York Times.
When a man who had U In
|{?<]o<Mttliti? for railroads In general wanted
to Blv? l)olnt lo his diatribe he
? ii* j invariably exclaimed, "Kook at
Knili^ma tjlo New Haven!" For such pur
pose the New Haven Is fast
losing its point. Indeed, the time may come
when the man who wants to illustrate intelli
gence, efficiency and fair dealing in railroad ope
ration will name it among the brightest ex
amples of these desirable qualities. The other
t!ay a big gathering was held in the Mronx
Opera House, New York, at which President
Klliott and other officials received some 2.0<K)
coiiouctors, engineers, firemen, yardmen and
Ihelr wives, greeting them personally and ad
dressing them on the hopes and Ideals of tho
new New Haven Railroad. "Efficiency, safety,
economy, courtesy sind publicity" were the
watchwords given by the president, and as con
crete examples of what these words may mean
he instanced the fact that the road Is laying
new rails, has already purchased nearly 100
steel cars and is bringing the whole system up
to a new standard of reasonable speed and regu
larity of service. President Klliott is demon
strating the possibility of redeeming a railroad
that had lost the confidence of both the Invest
ing and the traveling public, by pursuing an
enlightened policy in which the spirit of co
opeiatlon is Invoked to serve the public good.
In other words. President I'll lot t has conceived
the idea that the most Important function of a
raiiroTd is to furnish safe, comfortable and con
venient transportation, nnd thus finds himself
in full agreement with his patrons. It is. after
all. a simple solution of the. problem, ami one
ivotiders why it never occurred to the former
managetnent.?Chicago Evenlns Post.
News of Fifty Years A^o
(From Newspaper Files, July 13f.fi.)
A paragraph in a Washington paper tells us
that the marble bust of Ex-President John Tyler,
which occupies a prominent position in the Vir
ginia State library, is. by military order, to be
"removed to a place of obscurity." We hope
not.
John B. Young has announced himself as a
candidate for the position of Commonwealth's
attorney of Henrico County, although his politi
cal disabilities have not yet been removed by
<h? amnesty-pardon route.
"Pickpockets'' are nowadays about as numer
ous at the public auction sales as are the buvers
and lookTS-on. The professional "pickpocket"
is something new in Richmond, and came alon*
with some of the other horrors of the close of
the war
Reports from Washington are to the effect
that, since the execution of the assassination
conspirators, there is marked improvement in
the health of the President of the United .States.
That is to say, Mr. Johnson is sobering up.
Dr. F. \V. Roddey, an eminent and well-known
physician, died at his home in this city yes
terclu y.
New? comes that there was something of a
riot at Smithtield on the Fourth. A negro ex
cursion from Norfolk and Portsmouth visited
the town and tried to take possession. The
white people objected, and there was a row.
The white natives won out. the Norfolk and
Portsmouth freedmen being hurried bark to
their usual haunts.
Great droves of beef cattle ordered by the
Fnited States government bofore the dtsband
inp of the large armies, and now not needed,
have been ordered to he sold at auction at the
vr.rious points where they have been assembled.
Tills perhaps means cheaper beef on the markets.
The reorganization of the State has bcji com
pleted. commissioners having been appointed in
:.l! of the counties, cities and towns. Governor
Pit rpont expresses the hope that everything will
be in readiness for the#holdlng of a State elec
tion by the middle of August.
Seventy applications for pardon from Vir
cinians were turned over to the President yes
terday All of the applications were from per
sons or the twenty-thousand-dollar class, and
seven of the applicants were females. Just what
a Woman wants with a pardon Is not very clear.
It is reported that Governor Holden, of North
Cr'rollna, Is so overrun with applications for
p3rdon that he finds little or no time to attend
lo i.nv other official business.
Watermelons have made their appearance on
th? market, though not in sufficient abundance
to get the price down within the reach of tho
average freedrnan. who, in due time, will be the
best customer of the watermelon "cart" vendor.
Queries and Answers
Old Colon.
Lists from Mrs. J. A. M., A. L. Ft., Bob and R.
L. Porter contain nothing worth selling, except
that the J2 listed hv the last sells at about J3.70
when in attractive condition.
Setf retention.
Our Mock contains fifteen white families, and
there is one color*rl family, about which I desire
to ask if it may be forced to move. \V.
It would be possible for you and your friends
to prevent the settlement of other negro fami
lies in the block, but not to cause the removal
of the present residents.
Prepiireil for AVor.
Under present conditions, how long rvould it
take for the I'nlled States to prepare for attack
by a power as strong as Germany was at the
beginning of the war in Europe?
WILLIAM R. SHIELDS.
The strength of Germany one year ago Is a
condition not exactly known to us. Taking It
at the common estimate and understanding your
opening phrase, "under present conditions," liter
ally. we fear that forty years?about the time
that Germany required?would not be too much.
Altering the "present conditions" to the proper
ones, ideal preparation might he made in three
years.
f'onKrntulnttonn.
Is it "good form" to congratulate the bride
at her wedding? READER.
Tt is not. Among the polite fictions of modern
society is that which confines congratulation to
the bridegroom on the entirely gratuitous as
sumption that he has "done himself well," with
lit tie ? regard to the character of the mntri
monial baggage on which he> has fastened his
t&c for life. The bride. In place of congratula
tion, receives her friends' best wishes for her
happiness?and generally needs them, too?while
these are scrupulously denied the particeps
erlminls, whether on the ground that, having
the bride, they will be unnecessary or unavail
ing, we could never tell.
ALL FOIt LOVE.
Oh. talk not to me of a name great in story;
The days of our youth are the days of oxu
glory;
And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two-and
twenty
Are worth all your laurels, though ever so
plenty.
What are garlands and crowns to the brow that
is wrinkled?
'TIs but as a dead flower with May-dew be
sprinkled :
Then away with nil such from the head that is
hoary?
What care I for the wreaths that can,only give
glory?
Oh, Fame! if I e'er took delight in thy praises,
'Twas leas for the sake of thy high-sounding
phrases
Than to see the bright eyes of the dear one
discover ,
She thought that I was not unworthy to love
her.
There chiefly I saw thee, there only 1 found
thee;
Her glance was the best of the rays that sur
round thee;
When It sparkled o'er aught that was bright In
my atory
I knew It was love, and I felt it was glory.
i ?Byron.
wfflco me,
rfo our.
glortoos/
Land.'.' /?
Just tmimk!
if it hadn't (
deem- for. the j
WAR. we m,g?t.(
never navc
?really knowa/j
you^
50 glad To nseet
YOU, UNCLE. DEAR '
s0rr.V > i never hat>
die pleasure
Before- beautiful
Place. vou mave '
i here; ^
SEEING AMERICA?NOW!
One of tlio Duy'u unst Cartoons.
A PERIL OF THE NATION
Atherton in Ntiw York Time*.)
As I do not belong to any of the suf
frage or other woman's organizations
in New York, may 1 way in your
columns that for the honor of my sex.
if for no other reason, 1 hope the Mn.vor
will consent to the obliteration of those
disingenuous posters addressing "Amer
ican citizens." and so cunningly worded
and slgn'-d ns to produce an impression
of representing the women of the
United States? If the people that are
spending t h ?? i r thousands so freely had
come out frankly and stated that they
wrf pro-German, and that the success
of their propaganda would mean defeat
for tlie allies, short of ammunition, and
victory for a nation that has nlne
tenths of all 'he ammunition In Europe,
then nt l*ast we shoubl have th" sheep
separuted from the goats; we could put
It down to masculine Influence over the
weaker female vessel, which at least
was trying to b?* honest, and let it go
at that.
P.'tt 1 hold that such a poster, flaring
from every billboard, is a defamation of
patriotic American women, and a dls
tinet blow to the cause of suffrage. I'
will not only antagonize men. who alone
have the power to grant the fran
chise in those States still obdurate, but
disgust thousands of women not yet
won over to the cause, and far too In
telligent not to know th- precise mean
ing b'hind those lying and hypocritical
words. For if that poster were really
representative of AmTkan women, it
would mean that American women wre
traitors to their country, just as all
pro-German American men. whatever
their descent, are traitors, whether
they realize it or not What was the
catis^ of the roar of indignation that
went up all over the United State1- on
August 1? Anti-C.e.rinanism? N'ot a
bit of it. If Russia had made the dec
laration of war th?- roar would have ;
been as immediate and as loud. It was
tho spontaneous protest of the spirit
of democracy against an arrogant *u
toerucy that dared to plunge Europe
Into the war and the world Into panic,
without the ronyent of the people; th-;
manifest of a medieval power by an
ambitious and unscrupulous group over
millions of industrious, peace-loving
men who had nothing to gain and all
to lose.
Urmocruoj- Itm-lf In I'erll.
It has been pnint'-d out over and over
again how diametrically opposed are
the German and American Ideals, there
fore. It seotns Incredible that every
American who champions the catipo of
a powerful and sublimely egoistic na
tion does not realize that what he hopes
I,-, F(.f in not only the victory of the
German arms In Kurope. but the even
tual destruction of democracy, the an
nihilation of the spirit of America, ns
epitomiz'd in the Declaration of In
dependence. I have not the bast ap
prehension of immediate war with Ger
many, any more than of physical de
feat at her hands did she. with the res?
of Europe prostrate, make a raid on
our shores; but it seems hardly open
to question that with Europe Hussian
Ized, we, the one heterogeneous race,
nnfl always ready to absorb and imbibe
from the parent countries, should lose,
in the course of half a century, our
tremendous individual hustle, and
gratefully permit a benevolent (and
cast iron) despotism tnot unnecessarily
of our own make) to do our thinking,
perhaps to select our jobs and appor
tion out- daily tasks.
For that Is what it almost amounts
to now in Germany, and it is for this
reason, no less than to escape military
services, that so many millions of Ger
mans have immigrated to this country.
Unlike the vast majority of the bour
geois and lower classes a kindly, but
stupid, people, they were born with an
alertness of mind and an energy of
character which gave them the impe
tus to transfer themselves to a land
where life might bo harder, but whero
soul and body could attain/ to a com
plete Independence. Tlieiy present .it
titude is,, however, unconsciously,
hypocritical, but it is not altogether
as traitorous as that of the American
born, who has not tlio excuse of that
peculiar form of sentlmontality v\
has fermented in Germans at home and
abroad during this period of- their
Fatherland's peril. It Is this cuiluus
and wholly German brand of senti
mentality which is the cohering force
in tlie various and extraordinary . lever
devices bv which modern Germany has
been solidified. H >? ? sentimentality
capable of rising t?? real exaltation that
no other nation i.x capable of, and that,
alone should niako tho American pro
Germans pause and meditate upon a
future United States where native in
dividualism was less and less reluct
anjlv heading for the iron jaws of the
Prussianlzed American machine; and,
furthermore, upon the weird spectacle
of the real gladiatorial contest?tier
man sentimentality wrestling in a
death grapple with American down
right unpicturescine common sense.
Tbe Charm of ficriiui" Paternalism.
During the seven y#ars that I lived
in Munich I learned to Ilk- Germany
better than any stale in Europe. I
jTked and admired the German people;
I never suffered trom an act of rude
ness, and I never was cheated out of
a penny. I was not even taxed until
the year before I left because I mailo
no money out of the. country and
turned In a considerable amount In
the course of a year. When my rna.ld
went to the ItathauB to pay my taxna
(moderate enough), th<* otUclal up
ologl/.?d, saylnp that he had disliked
to r>?.nd me a hill, hut tho Increased
coat of the army compelled the coun
try to raise money in "vry way pos
sible. This? was In 1908. The. only
disagreeable ricrman I met during all
those y? irs was my landlord, and as
w?* always dodged each other In tho
hou'-e or turned an abrupt corner to
avoid encounter on the street, we
Meerrtl clear of friction And he was
th* only landlord 1 had
1 left Munich with the greatest re
gret and up to tin- moment <>f the de
claration of war 1 continued to like 0?r
many ?>etter than any country in tho
world except my own.
The reason I left was significant. I
spent, as a rule, seven or eight months
in Munich, then a similar period In the
United States. unless I traveled. 1 al
ways returned to my apartment with
mU'h Joy that if I arrived at nicht I
did not go to bed lest I forget in
?deep how overjoyed 1 was to kc'. hack
to that stately and picturesque city,
v, prodigal with every form <>( artis
tic and aesthetic gratification. Hut
that was Just tin: trouble. For as lonir
a time after my return as It took to
write the book I had in mind I worked
with the fctored American energy 1 had
within me; then for months and tn spite
of Kood resolutions and some self
anathema I did nothing. What was
the use? The beautiful German city
so full of artistic delight was made to j
live in, not to work in. The. entire
absence of poverty in that city of
half a million inhabitants alone gave
it an air of illusion, gave one the sense
of being the guest of a hospitable
monarch w ho only asked to provide
a banquet for all that could appre
cla te.
The Devitalizing Procrft*.
I look back upon Munich as the ro
mance of my life, tho only place on j
this Rlobe that came near to satisfying
every want of my nature. And that
is the reason why, In a sort of panic,
1 abruptly pulled up stakes and left it
for good nnd all It is not in the true
American Idea to be too content, it
means rutinir.tr to seed, a weakening
Of the will and the vital force. It I
remained too Ion* in that lovely land
?so admirably governed that I could
not have lost myself, or my cat, had
I possessed one?I should in no long:
course vield utterlv to a certain resent
fullv admitted t?*nclenc\- to dream and
drift and live for pure beauty; finally
desert rnv own country with the com
fortable reflection: Why all this bustle,
this desire to excel, to keep In tho
front rank, to find pleasure in indi
vidual work, when so many artistic
achievement*; arc readv-made for all
to enjoy without efr-.ttV For?here is
the point?an American, the American
of to-dav?accustomed to hlch speed,
constant' energv. nervous tenseness,
the uncertainty, and the fight, cannot
cultivate the leisurely German method
the almost scientific and impersonal
spirit that informs every profession
and branch of art. It is our own way
or none for us Americans.
Therefore. If loving Oerman* as I
did nnd with only the most enchant
ing' memories of her. I had not imme
.H.tjHv permitted the American spirit
10 iqc.ert itself last August and taken
hostile and definite stand against the ?
German Idea (which includes, by the |
w?v the permanent subjection of wo
man* I should have been a traitor, for
! knew out of the menace I had fel? j
to my own future, as bound up with
?n assured development under Insid
ious influences, what the future of mf I
countrv. which stands for the only true
progress in the world to-day, and a.
far higher Ideal of mortal happiness
than the most benevolent paternalism
can bestow, had in store for It, with
liermany victorious, and America (al
wavs profoundly moved by success ow
ing to her very practicality) disturbed,
but compelled to admire.
The Germans living here, destitute as
their ruce seems to be. of psychology
when It comes to judging other races,
must know all this; so I say that they
are traitors if they have taken the
oath of allegiance to the United States.
If they have not, and dream o! le
mming one day to the Fatherland,
then I have nothing to say, for there
Is no better motto for any man than:
? My country, right or wrong."
ItronkhnV Family Dwelling"**
(New York Sun)
HrooUlvn now has 62,120 one-family
dwellings, whereas Manhattan has but
25.32H. Manhattan must look to Hiook
lyn ami Queens for housing for
middle class which can afford to ke P
:i baby carriage and go to church Sun- .
da vs. Brooklyn has over 200 mUMOl I
water front, and most of It ornpt>, |
whereas Manhattan has little, over one- ,
fifth as much, and that too crowded
and expensive to serve commerce eco
nomically.
I''nuii?t Wanting.
(Houston I'ost.)
A Now York visitor called us .a
"hick" because wo have never seen a
game of golf, but at the same time he
confessed that ho never saw a water
melon on the vine and couldn't tell
when one was ripe. He was indig
nantly dismissed from our bucolio
presence.