THE EVENING STAB, WASHINGTON, SUNDAY February 21, 1915 THEODORE W. NOTES Editor Tke Creator Star Newspaper Compear. Bnsln?.? Offlcr. Ilth St. end PfmajlttnK ??B? New York Office: Tribune Bulldlnir. Chicago Office: First National Bank Bulldlnr. European Office: 3 Resent St.. London. England. The Brenfnr Star, tdtb the Snnday morning edition In delivered hr carriers within the eitjr at 45 cents per month: daily wily. 2f e^nta per month: Sunday only. 20 cents per month. Orders mar be sent t?r mail, or telephone Main 2440. Collection Is made by carrier ct the end of each month. Payable in advance?hy mail, poet ape prepaid. Pally. Srniday included, one month. r-0 centa. Dally. Sunday excepted, one month. 40 rente. Saturday Star. $1 year: Sunday Star. $2.40 year. Entered as second-class mail matter at the post office at Washington. D. 0. 1WZ* errw to avoid doJarn on a croon t of | prrr^rol ahNonre. Irttrro to THE STAR ahonM Dot bo ad<1rossod to any tndlvlrtnal ooniioctod tho ofice. bnt ilmply to THE STAR, or to tbc Editorial or Business Department, according to tenor or purpose. The House Leaders. Although not yet formally designated, Mr. Mann will lead the minority in the next House, and have many more men at his hack than he has had in the present House. Some of them will be new to congressional life, but others will be veterans returned after a period of rest imposed by the fortunes of politics. The most eminent of the latter ' class is Mr. Cannon, who. being a good man. cannot be kept down. In health and full of fight, the former Speaker is coming back to help put his party into shape for next year, 1 1 ?*?? ??f ?? "iiuins to the imoor tance of Mr. Clark. They will not invest him with the power that should be his as Speaker, but they show a disposition to profit by his wide knowledge as politician and legislator. The President is beginning to confer with him. The caucus the other night obeyed him. Thus will the interest be increased. As Mr. Mann's staff will be strengthened by Mr. Cannon, Mr. Kitchin's will be strengthened by Mr. Clark. The experience of a former Speaker will be available to the one side, and that of the existing Speaker to the other. The two leaders will work the harder because of the prominence of their names in the speculation about the future. Mr. Mann is mentioned for the presidency and also for the vice presidency, while Mr. Kitchin is mentioned for the Senate. As Mr. Underwood made the House leadership a stepping stone to the Senate, Mr. Kitchin, it is suggested, may try to repeat the performance. Undoubtedly, there will be some-Jevivsrv in HfttltP Thp IIUH5 UV1115 ? * ?"v ? ????? prediction is made, indeed, that there will not be a dull moment at the first session. Saving the Birds. It has been announced in the news columns of The Star that by executive order two arms of land extending from the north shore of the state of Washington into the strait of Juan de Fuca have been set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture as refuges, preserves and breeding grounds for native birds. In these government retreats for the feathered friends of men it will be unlawful to hunt, kill or disturb the birds or molest their eggs except under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Evidences of man's appreciation of the rights of bird life and of the benefit that form of life confers upon men are multiplying. The nation, a number of the states and numerous organizations of men and women are enaracred in the work of uvinr birds. The reckless indifference to birds and the wanton waste of bird life have finally awakened intelligent men to an interest in the wise uses of birds in the economy of the world. The regard for the influence of America's neutral flag is at present so complimentary as to be embarrassing. The war zone is an imaginary line which threatens to become almost as lengthy as the equator itself. Gov. Beckham and the Senate. Six years ago, as was recalled in the Senate Thursday, Gov. Beckham of Kentucky was defeated before a democratic legislature after securing instructions at a primary election for the office of United States senator. The transaction aroused a great deal of bitterness in the state, and caused the political ostracism of the men who bolted the nomination. They were not of special prominence, but lost the places they had occupied and the limited influence they had exercised. Gov. Beckham, although greatly disappointed, of course, accepted the result calmly, took up the practice of few, and bided his time. He did not doubt that his party at the first op- i portunity would rebuke his enemies i and bestow the coveted honor upon ] him. ] His confidence last year was jus- t tified. He offered for the place < again, and. after a hot primary cam- i paign, defeated his democratic oppo- j nent' for the nomination, and then, ; after a comparatively easy cam- i paign, defeated his republican oppo- 1 nent at the regular election. His i term begins March 4- i But trouble threatens Gov. Beck- s ham the second time. Kentucky is ; among the states where it is charg- ( ed, irregularities occurred in last year's senatorial campaigns and elections, and an investigation has been proposed. The matter may be t taken up when the new Congress [ meets. f At this same election Mr. Camden, , who will leave the Senate as Gov. ( Beckham enters, was chosen to fill ( the unexpired term of the late Mr. r Bradley. No objection was made to : him, nor until now had any doubt 1??t,? , been cast on ine rcguniu/ u victory in which he shared. If the proposed investigation is made, and the disclosures should prove embarrassing to the Blue Grass democracy, the result would probably affect the state campaign scheduled for this year. A full state ticket is to be elected; and while the democrats have the advantage of being in power, they are not so strongly intrenched as to make an investigation of last year's senatorial nominations unimportant to them. The republicans, who had gained control of the state through demo- cratic divisions and weaknesses, lost control several years ago for similar causes applying to themselves; and in 1912 the split caused by the bull moose movement gave the state to j Wilson and Marshall by an enor- t ms-voc P?ront1v liftw^vpr. th??re- e I11VUJ %/%?. A\V VVIIWIJ j ..v.. , v as elsewhere, bull mooseiy has t shown a heavy decline; and if the republicans reappear in their old form next fall Kentucky will be e strongly contested by them, even as v against the best possible democratic 1 nominations. t 1 s Vocational Training. c Vocational training is a matter which claims the attention of present day educators and looms large ? in the scheme of education which aims at practical efficiency. It is 1 vital to the national interests that youths be set in the way of making for themselves a place in the world. At a meeting of the District branch j of the Congress of Mothers that or ganization emphasized its Deiiet in vocational education in the public t schools and passed resolutions to en- c courage the board of education in t its work of laying out plans for such training. The idea of life training is an old < one, and its application has been car- t ried to success in the state or public schools of Europe, and where the system has been entered upon in i public schools of the United States < it has been productive of encouraging results. A distressing feature of the age is the count- I less thousands of young per- ' sons turned into the workaday world without skill or competency of any particular kind. They come face to face with the problem of making a living, but without knowing how to perform any specific service of use to society. There is vast con- i fusion of square pegs getting into i round holes and round pegs getting into square holes and of pegs that 1 cannot find a hole of any kind to < vet into. %?? While efficiency is the great demand of the age the world is bur- 1 dened with inefficiency. A scheme 1 which promises to reduce the ratio of 1 incompetent and indifferent work- ' ers and to turn non-workers into workers is one which holds out great promise to the country and its people. George W. Perkins continues to be quoted as being a progressive. Mr. Perkins' past performances left no doubt of his being a man with the courage of his convictions; one who could be depended on to apply standpat traditions to modern exigencies. Recent debate cannot fail to emphasize the impression that this country, whatever may be its preparedness for war,' has drifted into a state of unpreparedness for commerce. The late Frank James was a desperado, but a's compared with the "gun man" developed in densely populated communities, he was a gentleman and a social uplifter. The frequency with which Mexico City is occupied by military ought to command liberal railway concessions in the way of excursion rates. Passing of a Waltz King. The news of the death of Emile Waldteufel evoked only a passing or an academic interest, or perhaps no interest at all, among the general mass of newspaper readers. The name was unfamiliar to them. Even those persons whose toes and heels tingle to up-to-date dance music, and to whose ears the names and measures of modern composers are well known, very likely could not recall that they had ever heard the name Waldteufel, a French composer with a Teutonic name. The heroes and the favorites of one generation are often forgotten by the succeeding generation. Waldteufel was born in 1837, and as a young man made an impression on the world as a master of dance music. The grandmothers and the grandfathers of the young folk of today called him a waltz king. In many of the homes of Washington before the civil war the gay young people danced to bis music. It was 1 merry music then, bat very likely it would be classed as languorous today. His waltzes would be thought hopelessly old-fashioned, yet one sometimes hears his music today and >ften hears modern music singularly eminiscent of the Waldteufel style. \t any rate, a couple of generations igo no soiree, hop or ball in Washngton could be happy or complete without the waltzes of the French waltz king. One can scarcely pick ip a music book which grandma used is a young lady without seeing imong its yellow pages numerous impositions by Emile Waldteufel. Meridian Hill Park. A step is taken here and there oward the improvement of the pubic land on Meridian hill, and the {ratifying information has been anf\linc f rtr tV>d >)Asr?1/Sn. iuuii(.cu mat piano iut niv uvtvivj/nent of Meridian Hill Park have >een matured, and that as money is nade available these plans will be ipplied to the ground. The natural idvantages of this park site are to >c utilized to the full. The comnanding position of the land makes t readily convertible into one of the mposing residence parks of the :ountry. The plateau section lends tself well to effective landscape garlening and the crest of the hill prorides a panorama of the city and fareaching views. The hillside, slopng down to the northern limit of the >riginal Washington, presents picuresque opportunities for treatment, ["he plans which were described some ime ago seem to have called forth he best endeavors of park makers, fhis park is probably destined to >ecomc one of the most popular of he inner parks because of its ac:essibility, its vistas, its ornamentaion and its size. Large numbers of >eople will frequent it because from he eminence the eye can look upon >ne of the greatest of pictures?the :apital and its environs. New York has just witnessed an ating contest which was won by a toman who ate twenty-two lobsters. The incident threatens to complicate he question of what constitutes real port with the question of the high :ost of living. The expensive gayeties of the seahore cities and the conditions of inlustrial communities present New ersey as a state of strange contrasts. Mexico's political activities coninue to prevent any danger of comilications because of efforts to find a oreign market for her products. No complaint has been heard in the leighborhood of Great Britain be:ause of the failure of Zeppelin craft o run on schedule. It feels like good old times to a :ongressman when he can get back to he discussion of appropriations. The loan of a flag for a few hours ? ? ?Altlw 9C ? tS 3 IJUW I tgOJUVU vutj ? MViQMUWitJT :ourtesy. A conference may sometimes be regarded as a filibuster with the muffler >n. SHOOTING STABS. BT PHIUA.VDBR JOHNSON. Determined Cariosity. "There's no use of investigating that official. He hasn't done anything." "Let's investigate him and ascertain how he dares draw a salary without doing anything." "De man dat ain' got nuffin' in particlar to say," said Uncle Eben, "is ginerally allowed to do a heap o' talkin' 'cause he ain' so liable to give offense." Friends in Heed. A friend in need Is one indeed; The motto's old and true. Some fade away When they can say, "I have no need of you." A man's wife is seldom able to cook like his mother did. But the medicine she insists on his taking tastes pretty much the same. A Reckless Sentiment. "Here is a book that ought to be in every home," said the persuasive agent. "What's it about?" inquired Farmer CorntosseL "Political economy." "It oughtn't to be encouraged. They've been slightin' appropriations so much that it doesn't look like we'd get any chance at government money out this way. What I want to see is somethin' that'll whoop it up fur old-fashioned political extravagance." Confidence. The news is most discouragin' at Pohick-on-the-Crick. The joy is gettin' thinner an' the gloom is growin' thick. But underneath the willows there's a space of ripplin' stream. Where the sunlight seems to sparkle with a soft, peculiar gleam. The birds come sweetly singin' to the hours that drift away, An' the great, big world seems peaceful an' contented for a day. You toss a line an' watch it. with your troubles all forgot. An' it doesn't make much difference if you catch a fish or not. The fish, of course, is mighty large on which your hope is set, But it keeps you interested, if a nibble's all you get. Somewhere the world is strugglin' in the darkness an' despair. An' perhaps your turn will come to lend a hand an' do your share. But we all have a notion that the future is secure, No matter what our feelin's may be called on to endure; Fur some day well have time to tie a string onto a stick An' go a-fishin' once again at fohick-on-1 he-Crick. WHAT THE GOVEi ! ' * Uncle Sam believes in encouraging j home gardening for town children as a part of the raoveHome Gardening ment to check the - rise in the cost of iortnuaren. living. Through the United States bureau of education, a home gardening survey has been begun under the direction of three specialists who have had much experience with the work and who believe that | the 10,000,000 children between the ages of six and twenty who are enrolled in public and private schools in cities of the United States can be interested in home gardening as a practical step In increasing the nation's food Bimnlv Dr. C. D. Jarvia, formerly of Cornell University, la the specialist in charge of the government's home gardening survey, and associated with him are J. R. Randall and Miss tithel Gowans, specialists in school and home gardening. The work is going on in co-operation with the National Child Welfare League, whose members are assisting the government experts in gathering information and encouraging the people in urban communities throughout the United States to get behind the home gardening movement. "The significance of the home garden as a social, educational and instructive factor is just beginning to be appreciated," said Dr. Jarvis yesterday in speaking of the movement, j "In most of the cities there are hundreds of acres of land In the form of back yards and vacant lots that might be properly used in the production of vegetables, fruits and flowers. In these same cities there are thousands of boys and girls who, with proper guidance, would be willing to utilize these nonproductive lands. Furthermore, the same cities are importing yearly thousands of dollars' worth of vegetables. iruits ana nowers tnai mignt oe raiscu within their borders, and much of the money that is sent to distant points in payment for these products might be kept at home. "The important thing to keep in mind about the home garden is its great economic value. Earnings from these gardens represent clear gain, for neither the land nor the labor would otherwise be utilised. Think what it means if the lu,000,000 children in the city schools can be interested in this movement. In many cities large numbers have already taiten up the work. If one-half of the 10,000,000 American city school children become interested in the work and raise an average of only ten dollars' worth of vegetables a year, there is an increase of $50,OOO.OtJ In food supplies and the saving of this amount of money to the inhabitants of the cities. Ten dollars is a low average, however, for the yield of a home garden, for the value of the products of many children Is from $50 to $100 in a single season." Commissioner P. P. Claxton of the bureau of education believes that one of the chief values of the school garden, outside of the large amount of agricultural wealth which can be produced by the children working under intelligent direction, will be that the gardens will supply a need of suitable, educative, purposeful and prodlictlvn Arriirtntlnn for millions of school children, who, in the cities, towns, manufacturing: villages and suburban districts now have no particular employment out of school hours. The federal commissioner of education believes that the dangers of idleness and unsuitable occupation for children can be cut down greatly if cities through the United States take up the home and vacant lot gardening idea as Intelligently as have the cities of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, Portland (Ore.) and Cleveland. Dr. Claxton suggests that the vegetables, berries and fruits grown on the home gardens should be used first as food for the children and their families: then the surplus should be marketed to the best advantage. Speaaing of the utilization of the back yards and vacant lots for gardens for the children, Dr. Claxton says: "At this early stage of the ifiovement it is difficult to estimate all the results of the home garden plan. For the children it will mean health, strength, Joy in work, habits of industry, an understanding of the value of money as measured in terms of labor, and such knowledge of the phenomena and forces of nature as must be had for an understanding of most of their school lessons. They will also learn something at least of the fundamental principles of morality: that every nmn and woman must maae his or her own living: must, by some kind of labor of the head, hand or heart, contribute to the common wealth as much as he or she takes from it." Dr. Jarvis is now furnishing lnfor itiaiiuii w uuiiuicuo ui bviiwui wun.iuo who arc asking for detailed instructions on the establishment of home gardens by school children. These detailed instructions include information on cleaning up the back yard or vacant lot, the selection of crops, the procuring of good seed, preparation* of the soil, planting, thinning and weeding, and care of the growing crop. * * * In another week the illicit traffic in cocaine, morphine and other habitforming drugs Restrict Traffic in win be closed Dangerous Drugs. down ,by gov," *^ 5 6 * ernment internal revenue agents, under the authority of tho Harrison anti-narcotic law. This measure, which was introduced during the early part of the present Congress by former Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New York, now Governor-general of the Philippines, was passed alter many delays by the House and Senate and was signed by President Wilson December 17, last. Beginning next Monday, the traffickers in habit-forming drugs will have either to conform to the federal statute or to go out of business. The Harrison law establishes a system of registering each dealer in habit-forming drugs, and each sale of the products falling under the law must be placed on record. The law applies to all persons who produce, import, manufacture, compound, deal in. dispense, sell, distribute or give away either opium, cocoa leaves or any compound. manufacture, salt, derivative or preparation thereof. In the future, when it is necessary for persons to obtain either cocaine or morphine, these drugs may be procured only on a prescription from a physician, and this prescription cannot be refilled. The prescription must be written, and in no case can a physician urder the law use the telephone to ordc for a patient any drug or solution which contains any cocaine or more than two grains of opium to the fluid ounce or one-fourth of a grain of morphine to the ounce. Although the law may appear to be drastic in some respects, it is believed that its object of checking the increase of the illicit traffic in habit-forming drugs will Justify the inconvenience to which many persons who need the drugs for a legitimate use may be put. Under the Harrison law, druggists and others selling habit-forming drugs must pay a nominal federal tax of $1. They may obtain the drugs only upon specified forms furnished by the bureau of internal revenue at the Treasury Department, and upon these must write their orders to the wholesaler. A druggist must fill out another form whenever he sells any habitforming drugs, and this form must be kept on file, subject to government inspection for a period of at least two years. It is believed by persons who for years have advocated the enactment of an antidrug law that the new anti-narcotic law, NEUTRALITY A mm the Km York World. The Gormen reply to. the American note la a paraphrase and amplification of the original war-sone proclamation. Prom the New York Tribune. Germany's reply to this government's protest against certain Implications of the "war sone" order Is more conciliatory In form than in substance. ft RNMENT IS DOING [by recording every transaction in a drug from the original importer to the ultimate consumer, will within a few years gradually decrease and in time almost eliminate the illicit traffic in cocaine, morphine, heroin, codeine and similar products. Letters are coming in to Commissioner William H. Osborn, chief of the bureau of internal revenue, by the hundreds from druggists, who are sending in requests for application forms for registration. These forms must be filled out and forwarded, together with the amount of the tax for the balance of the fiscal year, which is 34 cents. The sale of solutions containing less than two graifls of opium, less than one-quarter of a grain of morI phine. one-eighth of a grain of heroin or one grain of codeine to the fluid ounce are exempted In tne nroducts whose sale must be recorded. That there is. however, a very large amount of preparations sold with more than this amount of habit-forming drugs is indicated by a | pamphlet just put out by one of the large I drug firms, which lists nearly 300 prepara; t'ons containing more than the exempted | amount of drugs allowed by the law, and | to sell which druggists must pay a tax and be registered before March 1. Although the situation is hopeful, in view of the fact that the making of new drug fiends will be largely prevented, j there is a pitiful phase in the fact that many persons already addicted to the use of the various drugs are at a loss to know what will become of them after the statute eoes into effect. Many of these | poor unfortunates have personally written letters to the Treasury Department officials and asked what measures of relief will he held out to them. In a few cases, where drugs are used for the alleviation of suffering caused by some continuous pain, such as might be caused by an old wound, it is probable that these people can be provided for by physicians' nrescriptions. The ordinary drug fiend, however, will find it hard to obtain drugs 1 V>o/*iLUSe of tho faff that a nnrann at tempting- to evade the law is subject to a maximum fine of $2,000 and a maximum imprisonment of five years, or both, in the discretion of the court. Congress appropriated $150,000 for the purpose of carrying the law into effect. * * * In a study of the distribution of typhoid fever in the states of Pennsylv a n i a , Michigan Statistics of and Minnesota exTV, Perts of the United Typhoid Fever. States publlchealth service have prepared charts and statistics indicating the ages at which the disease is most common. The report shows the prevalence of typhoid for each five-year period from early childhood until ttie "three score and ten" years have been reached. The study covers 10,520 cases of typhoid in Pennsylvania in 1913, 2,250 cases in Michigan during the same year and 1,304 cases in Minnesota. The Minnesota statistics for 1912 and 1914 were also included, raising the total number of cases considered up to 14,074. The statistics which have been compiled show that the percentage was highest in the age group of fifteen to nineteen years, while in Michigan and Minnesota the percentage of cases continued to increase after this age and was highest during the five-year period between twenty and twenty-four years. In all the states the number of cases of typhoid began to decrease after the person had reached the age of twenty~ ? ? ?J ii ? i?oi, uiupiiuiK gr?.uua.iiy uniu oia age, where the percentage of cases is exceedingly low. The study of the age distribution of typhoid is considered important, in that it shows that parents must be very careful with children between the ages of five and twenty-five years, because it is during this period that a person is most likely to contract the disease. * * * The interest of officials and employes of municipal boards of health has been attracted by the rePensioning of port of the working City Employes. ?5 York city department of health, a copy of which has just been received at the Washington office of the United States public health service. The question of pensioning employes of a city's department of health, many of whom come in almost daily contact with disease in one form or another, has been advocated by the authorities in many cities, where it is considered as desirable to pension health officials as members of the fire and police departments whose lives and health are risked in the line of duty to a somewhat greater degree. City health officials will be interested I in the report on the pension fund of the New York department of health, be! Cause the New V/%flr ' ?* ? . w. ? |/biao>Vil Oj OlCIII, which has been put up as a model, is not found to be working: well. The committee which made the report goes frankly into details and tells of the defects in the' pension plan and suggests remedies. The report shows that the New York health department pension fund is in a precarious condition and is causing anxiety to the trustees of the fund as well as to present and prospective pensioners. The income of the New York health department pension fund includes all moneys collected from fines and penalties for violation of the health laws of the city of New York, and a contributory assessment of not more than 1 per cent of the salary or compensation of each physician or employe of the department of health. For many years the income of the fund was greatly in excess of its expenditures, and a surplus which now exceeds $300,000 was thus accumulated. The list of pensioners, however, is now increasing at a rapid rate, and during* the past year the total income of the fund barely covered the expenditures. The committee making the report, after a study of the existing situation, concluded that within two years at most the expeditures for pensions will exceed the income of the pension fund and that thereafter ;the excess of expenditure over income will rapidly increase, and the accumulated reserve will speedily disappear. Persons who have given thoughtful study to the question of civil pensions will see on a glance at the report that the payment of pensions in New York city* on the present basis cannot continue unless some relief is obtained. The members of the committee making the report suggest as a remedy that the pension law should be amended so as to include, with the revenues of the present fund, an increase in the contributory assessment of members from 1 to 2 per cent of the employes' salaries and the inclusion of all moneys icwcu liuiii loauuiicc ui iranscnpis and from permits issued under the authority of the sanitary code. The trustees of the New York pension fund are now empowered to grant a pension to any employe of the department of health who has been permanently disabled, physically or mentally, as the consequence of the actual performance of his duty, without fault or misconduct on the employe's part. This pension is not to exceed one-half and is not to be less than one-fourth of the employe's salary. A pension of one-half the ordinary full pay is also given any physician or employe who shall have performed duty in the department of health for a period of twenty years or upward. This feature of the law the qommittee considers entirely too liberal, because at the present time an official may be rej tired at as low an age as thirty-four years. "No pension," says the report, "should be granted to an individual at an age which enables him to go out and compete with his fellow man entirely to the latter's disadvantage by reason of the former having a regular income in the way of pension allowance." RAYMOND W. PULLMAN. M) THE NOTES. From the Philadelphia Ledger. The situation is a delicate one, and the administration should, and doubtless will, deal with it in the most careful fashion. IFrom the Springfield Republican. It is to be hoped that they won't torpedo our merchant marine, for we're just a bit proud of that tuff* FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE STAR With the approach of spring fifty years ago the feeling prevailed more generally throughout Rebel Prisoners the north that the ^ , - rebellion was nearly Contented. at an end From various sources came indications that throughout the south this same feeling, however it might be concealed, was prevalent. In The Star of February 15, 1865, is the following: 'The recent movement in exchange of prisoners has developed an important fact, showing the downward tendency of rebel feeling in a most significant manner. It became necessary to sound the prisoners of war at one of our principal depots, and it was ascertained that out of 1.882 prisoners only 366 were willing: to be exchanged. The reI malnder do not wish to go south as prisoners of exchange, and they do not even stipulate, as a condition, an immediate discharge. They prefer to remain in prison to going south, and are! willing to wait the pleasure of the gov-! ernment as to the time of their discharge. They merely wish to be 'let i alone.' according to the well known declaration of Jeff Davis. "What a commentary is this upon the lie so industriously circulated by their copper-hued friends as to their treatment in our hands! Who cannot see in the above fact, which may be perfectly relied upon, the state of feeling that would be manifested in the rebel army, still under arms at Richmond and elsewhere, if only an opportunity was offered for declaring itself. Secession was a delusion: one of those fevers or infatuations which sometimes seize large bodies of people, who need only a wholesome lesson to be recovered to their senses, when they become ready to cast off their delusion'as a horrid nightmare. Let the people in reDeiaom show a disposition to return to the frovArnment o* their fathers, and they will be received by the people of the no*-th with a hearty welcome?only removing the cause of the trouble, that there shall be no renewal of the struggle." * * Desertions from the southern army continued to be reported in increasing numbers. In The Star Increasing Of February 16. 1865, is a paragraph stating that uesertion. forty-eight d e s e r t ers from Lee's army reached Washington Monday from City Point by way of Annapolis. They all took the oath of allegiance, were released and furnished with transportation to such points as they desired to go. In The Star of the next day is a paragraph based on information just received from the Army of the Potomac, including the following: "Desertions from the rebel army have been quite numerous for some nights, no less than twenty-five coming within our lines Wednesday morning. They present the usual appearance, dirty, ragged and hungry, their first question most always being, 'Where can we get rations?'" * * * In The Star of February 16, 1865, is given the text of an editorial from the Mobile Advertiser of a Significant short time before, indiFriit 'al eating that a spirit of Xidlionai. d i s c o u r agement was spreading throughout the south: "We do not attempt to disguise the fact that the Confederate cause is at this moment passing through its most dangerous crisis. Large numbers of the people?perhaps upon a fair poll a majority?are heartsick of the war and willing to end it upon terms which would have been scouted at as treasonable two years or even one year ago. Even the class of slaveholders, having the deepest pecuniary stake in the success of the struggle for independence, are ready to make sacrifices, the mention of which a short time ago would not have been tolerated. We have not a doubt that the country, including the slave proprietors, large and small, would compromise today for peace and independence on the basis of a grad ual and universal emancipation or tne blacks. We may go further and say that large numbers would be willing to give up their most cherished thoughts of independence and exchange the institution for naked peace upon terms of reconstruction. This is a great change, a wonderful revolution of popular sentiment, resulting from four years' tremendous conflict. Neither Lincoln, nor his cabinet, nor his Congress. nor his mouthpieces of the press or the rostrum have yet written or said one word upon which to found a reasonable hope, if we desire reconstruction, even on the basis of emancipation, that we could get it. We admit that at the present epoch even modern wisdom and statesmanship on Lincoln's part would secure restoration. But Lincoln has not offered it, and he does not mean to offer it." * * * Corroborative testimony regarding the hopelessness of the southern situation was received Despair in from time to time from refugees from the Bichmond. south. In The Star of February 20, 1805, is the following: "We learn from an intelligent young Marylander, who left Richmond on Wednesday evening last in company with six deserters, that the greatest consternation exists there over Sherman's movements in South Carolina, and that it is freely admitted upon the streets there that Sherman can go wherever he chooses. Our informant says that there is a belief in Richmond that the city will be evacuated, and also all the coast cities of the Confederacy, in a few weeks. The machinery of some of the large foundries in Richmond has been sent farther south, and medical stores are being removed; but as this work is generally done after night the citizens of Richmond have no opportunity to discover where they are being transferred to or the extent of the movement. Nearly every male inhabitant is compelled to do military duty, and parties in business, as soon as they take out licenses, are considered as belonging to the local defense organization and are compelled to do duty when called upon. There is much suffering in Richmond among the poorer classes, they being unable to pay the exorbitant prices asked for the necessary articles of life. Flour brings $700 a barrel, and sugar is worth $20 a pound. Confederate money. Many of the workingmen (who get but $7.50 a day) are unable to pay for boarding, and are compelled to rely on the souphouses for something to eat. The poor people of Richmond are heartily sick of the war, and each night hundreds of them run the pickets and enter the Union lines." SKIRTS. THEN AND NOW. Whene'er we took oar walks abroad Not many moons ago My love with mincl g fo tstepa trod And moved exceeding slow. Had she perchan e once toppled o'er She could ' at feebly kick Until somebody ou?d restore Her to her perpendic. When the would board a trolley car Without the help of me She found the step was much too far And hopped up like a flea. When now her walks abroad she takes In skirts no longer tight Her strides are of the sort that makes Me trot to keep In sight. Should she capslxe she'd quickly right Like that self-righting thtiy The clown who does for our delight His fllpflops In the ring. And when the trolley cars she halts Her skirts are so aloof % One would not marvel should her vanlts Negotiate the roof. ?Browning's Magazine. % ITALY AND II Italy is buffeted between two wares of public opinion?one which would maintain neutrality, the other which would adopt intervention. A dispatch from Rome quotes the Idea Nazlon&le. a Catholic organ that favors intervention, as Forecast forcasting a note which # . Prince von Buelow. Geroi Xivenis. man ambafisador. win present to the Italian government. It is alleged that the ambassador will propose that Italy intervene on the side of Germany, and that in such case Austria will give up Trent, but not Trieste. Italy to take part at once. Italy may occupy Tunis and help drive the English from Egypt. And the prince is | made to say: "Either Italy will be | friendly toward us. or we will treat her j WOTS# than ita QFA tlr.^ rk j . ? ?v at v ticaiuiB aiiKianu. ; The language attributed the German I ambassador is so little diplomatic that we are inclined to doubt the authenticity of the entire dispatch. On the other hand, a dispatch dated London, February 16. reports that Ricciotti Garibaldi declared that Italy would mobilize her army within a fortnight, and that unless the Italian government decided to participate in the war there would be a revolution. A j dispatch from Milan of same date an- ; nounced that the Italian government, acting upon reports that Austria was about to invade Roumania, had asked j the governments at Vienna and Berlin i for assurances that no attack on Rou- ! mania was contemplated. The only plausible explanation of Italy's hesitations in the present impasse has been given by Signor Preziosi. the director of the journal Vita Italiana all'estero. Signor Preziosi declares that the industrial class of Lombardo-Venitia. wihich receives considerable profits from commerce with the belligerents, is hostile to intervention. This situation has great importance with the government on the side of neutrality. But Signor Preziosi lays stress upon a situation which has not occupied the press of Italy, whatever the color of its opinion. It is a question of German control in the finances and industries of the peninsula, which is a revelation. The public does not know, says Signor Preziosi, that the financial establishment La Banca Commerciale. the most fnrmi^ahU U Tfol?. moo German capital, and today the council of its administration is entirely Germanized. The discredit which fell upon the "Consolidated Italian" at the Paris bourse the morning following the announcement of the triple alliance favored naturally the flow of German capital. "La Banca Commerciale and its correspondents," writes Signer Preziosi, "captured our greatest industries as well as navigation companies, both great and small. It permits them to live on condition that they may not go beyond certain limits, for then it would be too advantageous for the riches and national securities of Italy and would risk injury to the commercial and industrial expansion of Germany. Due to that method, Germany had captured commercial supremacy in Italy." * * * "The majority of Italians," continued Signor Preziosi, "believe that the enormous number of. affairs Germans With Germany is useful to ji | us. In reality we are vlcin naiy. tjm8 Cf a WOrk Qf Ger rrtanization facilitated by German immigrants whom the mother country liberates from all civil and military obligations on condition that they cooperate with the diffusion of German commerce. Everywhere in Italy Germans occupy important positions in the councils of administration of banks and of industries. It is charged, likewise, that the Banca Commerclale, obedient to the inspiration of its council, has put its hand on special industries, such as the manufacture of arms and munitions, and that economical undertakings are favored by the immigration of great numbers of Germans who are inscribed as residents and who have married in Italy. Many students found their way to German universities and often returned married. That infiltration in the formation of a public opinion in Italy was certain to bear fruit. In support of that situation an official publication gave a list of foreigners domiciled in the peninsula during the war; whilst there are but 3,000 English and 4,000 French, there are 80,000 GdVmans in Lombardo-Venitia and in Liguria. Another fact noted by the Italian statistician is that a great part of the Germans who left for Germany after the declaration of war are now returned to Italy to reoccupv their posts in the factories, in the industries and in the banks. There are journals at Home, such as la Concordia, lat Vittoria. la Vita and la Nazione. alleged to have been created by the Geripans. They are little read by Italians, but the fictitious dispatches dated from Bale, Bucharest or Amsterdam, sometimes some from London and Paris, found therein betray their origin. On the contrary, such grand journals of the peninsula as the Corriere della Sera, Tribuna Secolo and the Messaggero have a very clear conception of jraiys roie. L.ooKing at ine question from an Italian point of view entirely, they carry on a campaign, some moderate, others ardent, in favor of a decision by arms. The death at the front of two grandsons of Garibaldi, the patriot, has been commemorated at Rome and Genoa by public ceremonies. Sigrnor Giusseppe Canepa. deputy from Genoa and director of the journal II Lavoro. delivered the oration to the illustrious victims. Signor Canepa belongs to the socialist reformers of the chamber, where he has taken an important place by the side of his friend Bissolati, both of whom are esteemed by all, even by those who do not subscribe to all their opinions. The labor class is first in these Garibaldian manifestations, which take place every night in Rome, Genoa and Milan. There was a reunion, for example, recently in the buildings of the Universal Association at Sampierdarena Villefaubourg. situated at the gates of Genoa. That association, it may be remarked, numbers 2,500 active members and was founded in 1850 under the Mazxinian inspiration and is the dean of the many labor associations of the region. There is nothing better to show the careful manner employed by the socialist chiefs to instruct these societies in the multiple phases of current questions, which were explained with art and eloquence by the orators of the occasion in the sense of intervention. * * * There was published at Rome recently the news that an arrangement had been concluded of Church and the long: conflict apropos State to the archbtsh?Pric ot Genoa?a conflict described as the most complete and peculiar, in which were mixed the church, the state, the holy see, the Catholics of Genoa and indirectly those of the peninsula. The Osservatore Romane announced a compromise by which the exequatur WHS' QUIPS / From the Albany J-mrnsl. The voting of the war loans is easy enough, but 'twill be another story when the time for payment comes. From the Springfield Republican. Realizing that nowadays It takes a pretty big earthquake to shake the war news off the front page Mt. Lassen has given up In despair. From the Toledo Blade. Sometimes we feel as if we didn't care whether we ever speak to Europe again. From the Birmingham News. At any rate, this war has done wonders In the way of popularizing the American flag. NTERYENTION, long: time suspended by the government was Anally accorded to Mgr. ('aron. named by Pius X Archbishop of Ger.oa April 29, 1912. Now Mgr. Car on. informed of the action of the government. hastened to renounce the charge. The Pope thus in the midat of grave international preoccupations consequent upon the war, of Ugh and generous impulses which they inspire, continues to give attention to Catholic affairs. It is remarked in Italy that the Pope's appointment to the episcopate, following in that policy the course of his predecessor, has given great satisfaction. Nevertheless the people of Genoa joined together to prevent the installation of Mgr. Caron, who in some way not very clear was not sympathetic. The exequatur which had been suspended since 1912 was about to be accorded when a violent campaign was opened denouncing the ultra attitude of Mgr. Caron A note of censure . i.i addressed to the five t. at none jou*"'.ais habitually denominated the "trust." which had been prohibited fro.n Mgr. | Caron's former diocese. Thus their an- I * The alTair Caron raised the question of the relation of the church and the state in Italy with the question of the divisions existing between Catholics and serious discussions arose in the chamber. f Notwithstanding this situation, some " Catholics of Genoa protested against. # the refusal of the exequatur. They demanded that the Pope send then their archbishop without the assent ??f government, offering to assure htm his residence and his salarj*. Plus X. wishing neither to yield nor accept the responsibility of such an Initiative, consented to withdraw his interdiction: he j named a provisional administrate", 'a severe Dominican little loved h\ the people of Genoa. The provisional appointee was soon after compelled to reside in Home by his new functions of secretary of the consistory \vhl? h the death of the Pope transformed into secretary of the conclave. By one of those arrangements in which Italian diplomacy excels it was agreed that Mgr. Caron. who had never ceased to attest his patriotism, attested it once more directly and expressly to the Lallan government. The latter Hccornen ine exenuaror at once. jur. Caron thereupon declared immediately that his health, weakened by three vears of waiting. obliged him to renounce his charge. The diplomatic trick is r'ted as evidence of Pone P.encdlct's dtntomat'c ounlftv as w-?ll as hl? independence of character The matter, it eoes without saving. has crested considerably discussion and e'l parties # applaud the flpesse of the Pope. Sier. Oeiqpdo. rad'col of mark. imdeefooic