The Washington times. [volume], September 01, 1917, FINAL EDITION, EDITORIAL PAGE, Image 16

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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WWNSSWE s
SEPTEMBER 1, 1917
WASHINGTON
1
WxnMms
Are You Leading or Led?
Tolerance and Freedom of Speech
The Peoole of Washington Will Know How to Restrain Violence Tfiea
the Pacifists Xect Here.
EDGAR D. SHAW. Publisher.
EDITORIAL PAGE
OF THE
Entered ai aecona cltw nutter at th Potofflc t 'Washington. P. a
Publlthed Ererr ETn!nit (Including Sundays) Br ta
Washington Times Company, Munsey Building, Pennsylvania Ave.
trail Snbscrlptlona: 1 Tear (Inc. Sunday). S7.00. i Months. 11.78. 1 MonthWc.
BATURDAT. SEPTEMBER t, MIT.
With Young Vanderbilt Rushing
By in His "White Qhost," We
Bought a Rubber-Tired Han
som From Andrew Freedman
Therefore We Criticise No Merchant Who Fails at First to
Realize That the New and Swift Thing Like
The Times Is the Best Thin?.
Yon know of Andrew Freedman, who left bis millions
to a home for poor people. He was very intelligent that is
why he left millions and sold us his ruhber-tired BrewBter
nansom.
He said to us when the automobile was a new invention:
"I am selling my Brewster carriages, want to buy one?" We
did. "We thought that the too-fast automobile would never
really take the place of the rubber-tired carriage. We
bought Freedman's rubber-tired brougham and his rubber
tired depot wagon, and, saddest of all, we bought his rubber-tired
Brewster hansom hardly used.
The rubber-tired brougham we lent to farmers of
Monmouth county, New Jersey, for their friends' funerals.
It has decorous silk shades at the windows, and they enjoy
mourning in it. We gave away the station wagon. We
still have that rubber-tired hansom, we never hitched a
horse to it, the harness is mouldy, and nobody will take it,
although it cost Freedman $1,500 and cost us more than we
care to say.
Because we did not recognize the value of the automobile
when it came in, and because we did not know enough to
refuse to buy Freedman's rubber-tired hansom, and because
.we thought the old thing was the good thing, and would
always remain the good thing, we do not blame the Wash
ington merchant who has not yet begun advertising in The
Washington Times.
It goes a little too fast perhaps for the quiet conservative
five man. Its circulation went from 29,000 to above 60,000
in less than two months. That is something like the motion
of the automobile that used to disturb the conservatives. It
disturbed us, we thought we'd never ride in it and we
bought that hansom.
Now we know that it was a mistake to stick to the han
som, and a mistake to neglect the automobile. We have
come to the quick-moving vehicle, we have a large red one
in front of this Washington Times office. And five more in
the garage. What we ultimately did in the way of buying
automobiles, Washington merchants will ultimately do in the
way of buying Washington Times advertising.
The youngest (mentally), most energetic, and quickest
will first profitably use the new high-speed newspaper just
as the young and forceful took to the motor.
When we bought that rubber-tired hansom from Freed
man, we had in the country as next-door neighbor W. K Van
derbilt, jr. He was racing around in a car called "The White
Ghost." It couldn't do more than thirty miles an hour, but
we thought him insanely reckless, and said, "How wise are
we to buy Freedman's hansom and stick to good old-fashioned
ways." But we were wrong about it.
Those that are a little slow to use the high-speed pub
licity that The Times offers them are no slower than we were,
when we looked at young Vanderbilt in his "White Ghost"
and thought him foolish.
That's why we do not repine, or ask any merchant to
hurry. The change from the respectable, softly bumping,
gently rolling, rubber-tired hansom, to the modern high
powered car, had to come.
The quickest-and best wins in a little while.
Habit Is the Most Powerful
of Giants
And a Giant Makes a Good Servant A Dreadful Master.
The lesson in this simple picture if really understood
and taken to heart, it would turn hundreds of thousands of
failures into success. We ask every earnest man and woman
who sees the picture and these few words about it to hand
this newspaper to some man or woman whom Giant Habit
leads, a victim.
In every fairy story are good and bad fairies. In every
life are a good and a bad giant, named Good Habit and Bad
Habit.
The giant Good Habit will carry your life load for you
if you let him and make him.
Aladdin brought his giant with the mere rubbing of a
lamp. The creation of giant Good Habit is not so simple.
You must control yourself before you can use and control
that giant. It takes years to build him up.
He is made up of systematic living, self-control, regu
lar hours, wise economy, and a hundred other qualities.
But just as surely as Aladdin could bring bis humble gjant
obedient to bis feet, so surely can you have the giant Good
Habit woriong lor you, u you cnoose to take the trouble.
Giant Bad Habit is more like Aladdin's riant. Nn
Itrouble getting THAT giant to come. He is ready at any
lomeni. cut aiter you nave cauea mm a lew times, vou
sh you had never seen him.
He puts the heavy load on your back and leads vou
by a string that your weakened will cannot break.
In every family in the United States, at least one indi-
idual needs this cartoon and the lesson it teaches. And the
blest, most successful man, ruling the giant H&bit for his
jbwn good, can get something from this picture if he will.
(Continued At Bottom of Last Column.)
Here is a cartoon for every human being from
childhood right to the cemetery gates. If you control
Giant Habit, he will carry your load. If Habit controls
you, Heaven pity yon, Habit will not (See Editorial.)
Mabel Dodge Writes
ON
"Who Wants Pictures?"
Buyers Don't Want Them.
Many Who Do, Cannot Buy,
Why Not Rent Them?
By Mabel Dodge.
USUALLY people -who get
rich suddenly buy a big
house and stoeeo their
walls all over -with expensive pic
tures in heavy gold frames, and
then never think anything more
about them.
THEY don't want PICTURES.
Then there's another kind of
rich person who PATRONIZES
art. He buys lots of pictures to
help along the artists. He buys
the artist not the artist's pie
tires. , . .
When he gets & pictures he
puts them up in the attic or some
where! Anyway, they disappear.
He doesn't want PICTURES!
Another rich type "collects" pic
tures. He buys only very old master
pieces by authenticated, acclaimed
and famous DEAD artists, and he
LIKES to pay for their authentic
acelalmed FAME. He doesn't
want the PICTURES.
They Have Thirst and
Taste for Art, and Small
Apartments.
The people who want PIC
TURES the largest class of peo
ple who WANT them, are the peo
ple of moderate means who have
not so much money that they have
lost their thirsts and their tastes.
Too mueh money swamps these
faculties. But to really get fun
out of life you have to have thirst
and taste and to really want pic
tures, you have to have thirst and
taste for them. If you have an at
tractive small house or apartment,
and you belong to the kind of peo
ple I am thinking of you would
give almost anything to be able to
have certain kinds of pictures on
your walls. You would really
LOVE them and enjoy them. You
would have a thrill of delight each
time your eyes fell on the pictures
wouldn't you?
Well, you see, you are the people
the artists are painting for!
To sell pictures to rich patrons
and have them disappear Isn't very
gratifying.
But you can t afford to buy these
pictures, can you? So where are
the most of the artist's pictures!
I'll tell you! MOST of them are
either in the rich man's attic or the
artist's attic!
For the artist to go en painting
pictures for attics is like talking
down a telephone with no one at
the other end.
How to get the pictures to you
who want them and can't afford
them? There's only one way, un
less the artist paints for nothing.
And, after all, he has to live.
No Artist Wants to Paint
Pictures for His Own or
Anybody's Attic.
Well, let him sell some," to go
to the rich man's attic, and let
him CIRCULATE the rest, just as
books circulate in libraries. Let
some one be a new kind of art
dealer and go between the artist
and the public and RENT pic
tures for 'small sums for any
length of time desired over she
months, or even less. They could
ask small percentage of the price
of the picture.
In this way anyone could have
pictures who wants them, and by
the best American artists, for this
would please all the painters as
well as yourself. They WANT
their pictures to circulate. They
don't want them STACKED UP!
They want them to be SEEN.
That's what they are painted for.
This plan has been broached to
several well-known American art
ists, and they are very enthusiastic
over the idea.
Noted American Artists
Favor This Plan of
Renting.
Arthur B. Davies is very keen
over it He says: "This idea will
create a new kind of picture I"
Perhaps he means a picture
MADE with the knowledge that
some one will get It who will LOVE
it! How novel!
Wouldn't YOU like to have a
picture or two by some of the best
known and best liked painters of
America?
We know that the artists like
this idea. Now we want your
opinion on it. Write and tell u,
and if you like it, it will be done.
(Mabel Dodge offers an inter
esting suggestion. She forgets, in
our opinion, however, that those
that want pictures, also want to
OWN them. Here and there you
find a detached soul perfectly will
ing to look at a picture without
owning it. But such a superior
one would also not DUST the pic
ture or take other care of it.
Stronger than love of art or any
thing else, so far is love of OWN
ERSHIP. The jackdaw stealing
a peacock feather, the savage
sticking a sea shell In his nose, the
young gentleman asking, "Will
you be mine forever," the peasant
cultivating on the edge of a vol
cano the piece of ground that he
OWNS, should teach our brilliant
young contributor, Mabel Dodge,
that in all philosophical writing
the passion for ownership should
be considered.
Her suggestion, none the less, is
interesting, and we have no doubt
Cat many interesting replies will
be sent to her In care of The
Washington Times.
Perhaps a circulating art gal
lery would be a greater success if
It were understood that those tak
ing the picture on a lease, might,
if they chose, save up and buy
it. A circulating picture gallery
is undoubtedly a new and Interest
ing idea. Editor The Times.)
The Mysteries of Hypnotism
and Transferenceof Thought
Tfje Former, Says Garrett P. Serviss, Noted
Scientific Writer, Is a Real Phenomenon That Has
Possibilities of Important Service to Mankind, But
It Must Be Handled Cautiously. Telepathy, in the
Shadow Land of Science, Still Has to Prove Its Case,
Although Investigators Report Apparently Well
Authenticated Manifestations of Its Existence.
By Garrett
Ii It a fact that one perion can
hypnotise another person, or Is It
Jut mere talk? Does science ap
prove of mental telepathy" O. A.
A.. Streator, III
HYPNOTISM Is an estab
lished fact, but the ex
planation of it is still more
or less obscure. It is recognized
by high authorities as a valuable
method of treatment in disorders
that are subject to mental influ
ence, but great caution and expert
knowledge are required in order
to render its employment safe.
No person should ever submit
to hypnotic influence except under
the advice of a regular physician
of the highest standing, and at the
hands of a practitioner concerning
whose motives and capability there
can bo no question. Amateur ex
perimentation with this strange
power is perilous and should al
ways be avoided.
There Is undoubtedly c great
amount of quackery abroad in con
nection with hypnotism, and while
I believe that it is capable of ren
dering immense service to man
kind, yet it is still but partially
developed as a subject of scien
tific study, and the number of
those who can be trusted to apply
it, as well as the number of ac
credited physicians who would
even undertake to apply it, is
small. But this Is not to say that
its methods when fully developed
and understood may not become a
very important branch of medical
practice.
It has been proved that the hyp
notic State can be indueed in the
majority of persons who willingly
submit to it, but it is doubtful
whether any person can be hypno
tized against his vill. A state of
complete confidence between the
operator and the patient must be
established as a preliminary. That
being done, It Is said that hardlv
10 per cent of those experimented
upon prove refractory to hypnotic
influence.
Its Value Already Proved
As Mental Remedy and
Prophylactic.
The valuable feature of hypno
tism is found in the suggestions
tending toward healthy conditions
which can be imparted to the hyp--notlzed
subject without his being
conscious of their origin after
awakening from the trance. It is
somewhat as If, by the temporary
arrest of his external conscious
ness, his body were transformed
into a mere machine, whose bent
cogs and pinions can then be re
dressed and oiled without his
knowledge, so that after he has
come to himself again and resumed
his normal life he finds the mech
anism working better.
All that the operator has really
done is to correct abnormal habits
by suggestions conveyed to the
nervous system of l" patient
P. S-e x v i s s
when the latter is in a state of
recepUveness freed from the dis
tractions of waking life. Mani
festly, only diseases that are asso
ciated In some decided way with
nervous action can come under the
control of hypnotic suggestion,
but such diseases are very numer
ous and of vast importance to
human comfort and happiness.
Pains, especially rheumatic and
neuralgic pains, have been relieved
in this way, and it has been
claimed that such habits as drunk
enness have been cr-ed by hyp
noUc suggestion. Morbid, nerv
ous and bodily tendencies, like in
somnia, hysteria and constipation,
also appear to be amenable to this
treatment.
It might at first slgU be sup
posed that serious mental dis
orders would yield to hypnotic
treatment, but It has been found
that they do not, the apparent
reason being that, since it Is
through the brain that the hyp
notic influence works, it is essen
tial that that organ should be in
sound condition. To vield to hyp
notic treatment is not an indica
tion of mental weakness.
Hypnosis Allied to Sleep,
Although Condition Is
Not Identical
Many theories have been pro
posed to explain hypnotism. In a
general way hypnosis resembles
sleep, and the two states are re
garded as being allied though not
identical. One explanation of hyp
nosis is that under its influence a
state of relative dissociation oc
curs among the brain cells, so that
the operator can accentuate the
activity of certain impressions
without interference through other
nervous links. This would account
for such a phenomenon as the
anesthesia of one evj of the sub
ject while the other remains un
affected. Thus if the operator tells the
subject that he cannot see with
his right eye, but only with his
left one though both eyes be nor
mal and wide open, it will be
found that the ritht eye really
does lose its power of seeing as
completely as if it were actually
blind, until the operator, by a
command, removes the disability.
Telepathy, which has been de
fined as "the conveyance of
thoughts and feelings from mind
to mind by other than the ordinary
channelb of sense," is a phenome
non not well established, like hyp
notism, by experimental evidence.
It has been associated with hyp
notism by attempts to Induce the
hypnotic state in subjects at a dis
tance from the operator. Dr.
Pierre Janet, in Franco, claimed to
have succeeded in nineteen out of
twenty-five attempts of this kind,
while Prof. Richet reported that
in nine attempts he had succeed
ed twice completely and four times
partially. I think that telepathy
has not yet got upon its scientific
legs.
MORE CARTOONS AND SPECIAL ARTICLES
IN THE SUNDAY TIMES
' By DAVID LAWRENCE.
If any group of American citizens have anything to say
about the" Government of the United States or its policies, let
them say it If other people disagree, let them say it, too, if they
have to hire a hall or make a counter demonstration to do so.
That's what freedom of soeech means. That's what the Con
stitution aims to safeguard.
The "People's Council of America," an organiza
tion with whose purposes a vast number of Ameri
cans disagree absolutely, proposes to hold a meeting in Wash
ington. They have been barred from Minnesota by the gov
ernor's proclamation, were told they were unwelcome in Fargo,
N. D., and were rudely ejected from Hudson, Wis. They want
to come to Washington where the Federal authority to protect
the right of free speech is to be tested. By so doing, however,
they impose a responsibility not merely on the authorities but
on the people of Washington.
Tolerance and self-restraint are the virtues of a democracy;
The people of this city have an opportunity to demonstrate the
absurdity of the theory that America is being Prussianized.
Listen to what the People's Council has to say and tell them
whether you agree or disagree. The men and women who
compose it, who believe in economic freedom after the war, or
a statement of American peace terms in explicit language,
or the repeal of the conscription law, or an early ending of the
war itself are conscientious in their beliefs. Cries of "German
money" have gone up, but no one has ever proved a connection,
real or apparent, between this organization and any German
funds or influence. If this had been true, the conspirators
long ago would Jiave been put in jail where they would have
belonged instead of being permitted to roam at large in public
meetings. But merely to cry pro-German is not to prove it.
Most of us, indeed, believe that the Government can be
expected to work for economic freedom after the war because
the American people will demand it in due time; most of us
think the repeal of the conscription law would be fatal and
that a premature peace would only mean another war as soon
as the belligerents could recuperate sufficiently to resume hos
tilities. But none of us ought to be so bigoted as to shut the
door to those who disagree with us, unless of course, we are
not interested in any discussion, in which case we need not
worry about the meetings at all.
For it really doesn't matter what views the pacifists are
expressing. They have a right to hire a hall and air their
views. And people who do not want to hear them need ndt
waste time doing so. They can employ themselves better per
haps in visiting the training camps of troops nearby, where
the men, ready to sacrifice their lives for the nation, will ap
preciate the stimulus of a visit. The point is that free speech
should mean free speech, especially in the National Capital.
There should be no cheap heroism, such as broke up Baltimore's,
meeting a few months ago. And above all, soldiers and sailors
should not sully the uniform by mob tactics.
What would the people of Berlin say if they read that
a public meeting had been suppressed or broken up by violence
in the Capital of the United States? What would the Russians
think? T .
Clearly, the duty of Washlngtonlans Is to let the "People's
Council" say what it pleases, provided the speakers keep within
the law. And the question of whether they keep within the
law is one for the officials of the District government to de
termine and not the mob. In a war being fought for democracy,
let no one permit so worthy a cause to be tainted with
hypocrisy. And most of all should the residents of Washing
ton take to heart the fact that they may want some day to ex
press rather freely their own opinions about the Federal Gov
ernment in matters of "far nearer and more delicate concern"
to them in the District of Columbia. Free speech is a precious
right, one that is too sacred to be left to the whims of a petulant
mob or the intolerance of a few notoriety-seeking individuals.
Washington will know how to treat its visitors courteously.
Habit Is the Most Powerful of Giants
(Continued From First Column.)
He can learn, for instance, that the habit of SELF-APPROVAL,
following success, is one of the- most dangerous
of all This country is flooded with men of great reputation
now doing NOTHING. They are so pleased with themselves,
their past performances, and their own greatness, that thev
no longer criticise themselves, question themselves, or demand
Better worlc of their brains.
The truth of this cartoon is illustrated in some of the
greatest lives. A hundred good habits rolled into one power
ful giant made Napoleon conqueror of Europe. In his youth
he had the habit of concentrated solitary thought. He stood
aside in a corner at the military school, brooding, thinking.
He had always the habit of self -analysis and self-criticism.
He had especially the habit of direct thought. He took noth
ing for granted. They praised him for crossing the Alps in
winter, "nonsense said he, "l deserve no credit except
for not believing the fools who said it could NOT be done."
That is why Napoleon beat the Austrian generals so
easily. He wasted no time and allowed nobody to waste
his time. When they woke him at 3 in the morning to tell
him of victory, he said: "Never wake ME to tell me about
victory. Anybody can attend to that. Wake me only when
there is defeat. That requires MY attention."
He acquired the habit of always seeing clearly the thing
before him. As he stood on the hill watching the enemy
fleeing across the ice, he turned to the gunners with this
word, "Shoot at the ice." Immediately the big cannon ball.
broke through the ice, and the Seeing soldiers leu through,
and were drowned or captured.
But, one bad habit was enough to destroy the giant k a- ,
poleon. HE ATE TOO FAST. He thought it foolish to
spend more than ten minutes at a meal. What destroyed
this military giant destroyed also the railroad giant of this
country, E. H. Harnman.
Fast eating ruined Napoleon's stomach, and a disor
ganized stomach conquered his nervous system. When he
reached Russia he had no energy, and wasted days and
weeks in a half doze. The Russians crot him. If he had
had the brains and the STOMAOH of Napoleon of twenty
five, there would have been no retreat from Moscow and no
glorious Waterloo for Great Britain.
Young men, take giant Habit for your servant, put the r
load on his back. He will carry it. r
If you don't, he will lead you by the nose, and you will
carry the load. No man escapes giant Habit. You must be
his slave or his master.