The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], January 26, 1913, EDITORIAL SECTION, Page 29, Image 29

About The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950

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MEN WHO HAVE MADE ALABAMA—M. * W. ABERNETHY—By B. F. Riley, D. D.
ONE act is sufficient to/ dis
tinguish a man if it be 6f suf
ficient merit and dimension. It
is not only those who are eminent
leaders in the field or forum that de
serve recognition, and enconium at the.
hands of a grateful people, but others
as well, provided that their lives jus
tify it.
Quite out of the current of distinc
tion as that element is recognized even
in the eddies of life, are wrought deeds
and lived lives as worthy of applause
as that provoked by the flashing sword
or the eloquent lip. Nor Is It neces
sary that one be classed among the
l.umble, because of that done aside of
the pre-eminent side of life.
In this connection the name of Maj.
Miles W. Abernethy deserves to be pre
sented among those who wrought in
contribution to the erection of our
commonwealth. A citizen of Calhoun
county, he was a native of North Car
olina, where he was born on July 22,
1807. Ho was 32 years old when he
came from Lincoln county, that of his
birth in the Old North state and set
tled in Alabama. Choosing as his home
Jacksonville, where he located as a
merchant in 1839, he at once became
an interested sharer in the stirring
times of that period. Alabama had
now' come to giant Statehood through j
the throes of initial struggle and had.
through her distinguished sons, won an
enviable place in the councils of the
nation. Resides, the internal improve
ment and vastness of the resources of
the state had given it a place among
the commercial factors of the nation.
The reputation of the state reaching
Major Abernethy, served to lure him
thither in the maturity of Ms years and
he quietly aod yet actively entered on
his career as a merchant at Jackson
ville. Fixed in character, matured in
judgment, affable of manner, cultured,
and possessed of a breadth of vision
much above the ordinary, he was not
long in winning his way to the confi
dence and esteem of the people among
whom he settled. Three years after
reaching the state he was chosen from
th county then called Benton to rep
resent his constituency in the lower
branch of the state legislature, where
he served with quiet and efficient abil
ity for a period of years.
, The monotonous routine of legislative
work did not at Ilrst impress him and
he retired after the expiration of a
term or two and resumed merchan
dising and planting. However, one of
his type of intelligence and of general
interest could not be indifferent in the
current affairs of a state forging for
v?»rd In development and now a gen
uine factor in affairs national.
In 1*85 he was again summoned to
public life by being chosen to repre
sent his district In the state senate. His
previous experience and intervening
and undiminished interest in public
matters, had afford 'd him an increased
stock of qualification and he returned
to the functions of publicity with great
er force than before. Cautious, pru
dent. conservative and regarding the
public good with a disinterestedness
wholly devoid of luture consideration
of sol* the counsel of Major Al.er
i.ethv was in constant demand concern
ing the Issues pending liefore the gen
eral assembly.
An ardent democrai, Httd a disciple of
the Calhoun school. Major Abernethy
was Intent on the change of the name
of the county of his residence from that
cf Benton, to that of Calhoun, which
I name it notv bears. He was one of the
committee of three appointed by the leg
islature to receive tiie new capitol build*
ing. at Montgomery, when the location
was changed from Tuscaloosa.
But the crowning act in the life and
career of Major Abernethy. and one that
gives to him a permanent place on the
luster of the great and useful among
Alabamians, was his creation of the Idea
of founding the deaf and dumb asylum at
Talladega. Having conceived the plan of
this institution for the unfortunate, Ma
jor Abernethy put behind it Ills force
and skill, and rested not till It n as
crowned with consummation.
Had Major Abernethy never done any
thing more, even though he had emerged
from obscurity, and had succeeded as
l.e did in this undertaking of humani
tarian achievement, hiti name would ho
worthy of immortal embalmment In the
historic records of Alabama. With clear
ness of business judgment, coupled with
a heart of interest and of sympathy for
the unfortunate, tills man, who was as
gentle in sentiment as he wan vigorous
in great execution, grappled with a large
undertaking, and halted not till It wore
the capstone of completion. That institu
tion stands, as it has stood for a half
century or more, not alone as a relief
of one of the most unfortunate classes
of humanity, but as a monument to Ma
jor Miles W. Abernethy.
But his record does not end here. He
v as 55 years old when the war between
the states began, and because of a crip
pled hand, he could not enter the ranks
of the regular service, yet he offered his
services to tlie Confederate government,
to render what aid he might In a strug
gling cause. He was commissioned a
major, and assigned to duty in the tow'rv
of his residence. His capacious and splen
I did home in Jacksonville became a noted
resort, of rest and of recuperation to the
sick and wounded of the southern armies*
every man of which classes, no matter
what his condition, wlibther culture.! or
ignorant, met a greeting of cordiality at
the threshold of the Abernethy mansion.
If he were a gray uniform, he bore the
credentials of worth to the inmates of
that hospitable home. Here he wua ten
derly cared for till able to resume his
place In the ranks, and with a blessing
from the princely proprietor, he would
take ids leave. Beyond this still his
beneficence extended. The families of the
absent veterans were sought out. far and
near, and cared for by this prince of
benefactors. All this was done with an
pffableness and a tenderness so unosten
tatious. that frequently only the recipi
ents of his bounties and the inmate.* of
his homo were aware of it.
Thus lived and wrought, this noble citi
zen of Alabama, and this Is the imperfect
tribute to his wrorthy life and nom*
deeds. /
FIGHTING RATS A FORM OF HEALTH INSURANCE—By William C. Rucker, M. S., M. D.
SEVERAL thousand years ago, the
casual relationship existing be
tween rodents an dthe spread of
bubonic plague was noticed. ^o
day the reason for this relationship
has been found, and we have learned
anew that useful as the rat once was as
the unpaid village scavenger, the time
has come when the rat must go.
Rats have bubonic plague which trav
els from them to men through that com
mon carrier of plague, the flea. Rats
also suffer from leprosy, cancer, and a
number of other diseases, but it is not
proven yet that they transmit these to
men. From the economic standpoint, it
is equally important that rats be evicted
from the habitations of man. The board
bill which they levy is in the aggregate
enormous, white the annual losses which
we suffer through their wanton depreda
tions rounds out their total cost to man
to a figure approximating millions. Hence
deratization.
Fighting rats is just like fighting any- |
thing else. Dependence is not to bo I
placed on any single measure. A pugilist
with a single punch does not last the
first round. In deratization, the enemy i
is tQ be simultaneously starved, poisoned,
trapped and evicted. #
In starving rats, the prime point of
attack is the garbage can, because rats
are natural scavengers. This means the
enactment, by all organized municipali
ties, of ordinances requiring house
holders to have water-tight garbage cans
with tight fitting lids. Next comes an
efficient garbage collection and disposal
service. This accomplished, there i* an
immediate decrease in the available quan
tity of rat food. Then all food supplies
should be removed from rats by being
placed in rat-proof containers.
In order to poison yaur rat, first starve
him. The United States Public Health
Service hasf experimented with a large
number of poisons, and it is the consen
sus of opinion of the officers wlio have
done this work that poisons which have
phosphorus as their active agent are the
most effective. It should be borne In
mind that phosphorus is liable to spon
taneous combustion, and that it deterior
ates somewhat rapidly. To overcome the
first objection it is wise to employ pois
ons in which the phosphorus is mixed
with glucose. The deterioration of the
phosphorus is really not an objection.
If rats do not take poison In the first
few days it is put out, they are not likely
to take it at all. Therefore, it Is better
tc employ as a poison a chemical which
loses its strength so that if it is taken
by some other animal later no harm *vill
result. Tattle cubes of bread are the best
rat bait, but care should be taken that all
six sides of the cube are covered with the
poison. These morsels should be placed
in rat holes and in other situations where
they may be taken by rats, but not by
domestic animals or children. After the
poisons have been left out long enough
for the rats to take them, if thdy are
going to, all poisoned pieces of bread
which are left behind should We collected
nnd destroyed.
Rats cannot he exterminated by traps
slone any more than they can by
poison or starving alone, but trapping is
n useful adjunct to other deratization
methods. When the United States Pub
lic Health Service conducted the plague
suppressive measures in San Francisco
two types of traps were used, the luge
cage trap and the snap trap. tiach is
useful, but in the long run the snap tr ip
proves best. The best cage trap is the
large ID-inch French type, it should be
baited with some odorous food, to which
the rat is not accustomed. The snap
trap should be perfectly flat and should
l ave a good strong spring, hung on a
hair-trigger ready to go off the minute
the rat touches the bait. Tough old bacon
makes the best bait for such a trap. ]>o
not put the trap in the middle of the
room. Rats run by feeling with their
\ ibrissae or whiskers. Therefore a rat
runs around the walls. Place the trap
against the wall.
It is a wise thing for individuals to trap
rats. It is even better for municipalities
to do so. In such a case all trapped rats
should he slipped into strong paper bags
which.are tied tightly with a niece or
string and delivered to the city bacte
riologist so that he may examine the
dead rats. This should be done so that
if plague happens to be present "i the
rodent community it may be eradicated
there before it has had an opportunity to
spread to man.
Rvict rats from human habitations.
The best way to do this is by rat-nroot'
ing. Concrete is the best agent for tills
purpose and ground areas, basements and
side walls should be protected by this
material. This applies particularly to
stables. When San Francisco waged its
v. orld-famous war on the rat. under the
direction of Surgeon (now Surgeon Gen
eral) foil pert Blue, of the United States
Public Health Service. Its 4000 odd stables
were protected by concrete. The meas
ure not only kept the rats out. but also
l resulted In a marked improvement in the
equine public health. Next to concrete
the best rat-proofing material Is sheet
metal. This lacks durability out Is
good as a temporary device. It Is par
ticularly valuable in protecting grain,
flour, and the like when these articles
are put up in bags. The floor on which
the sacks are to be piled may be covered
with sheet iron, and a temporary fence
of the same material may be erocted
about the entire pile.
If buildings are raised 18 inches or more
from the ground and the under surface
left open to permit the ready entrance
of the natural enemies of the rat, the
cat and the dog, a condition known as
rat-prooflng by elevation is produced.
This is useful in protecting shacks and
small buildings which are used as place*
of temporary residence. Rat-prooflng
should not be directed alone at the lower
portions of the house. The windows
should be screened, and all roof openings
through which rats might gain entrance
should be similarly protected.
Rodent extermination is an ill em
bracing sanitary measure. It not only
prevents and eradicates plague, but be
cause of the general improvement In the
F^ione of the human environment brings
about a general betterment of health.
After the vigorous anti-plague worn
which made San Francisco one of the
cleanest cities in the world, there \'as a
great reduction in the incidence of com
municable diseases in that city. Further
more, the attention of the general public
was turned to the need for an improve
ment in housing conditions and an active
interest in the municipal protection of the
public health was engendered.
Deratization is a form of health insur
ance which makes for the protection and
improvement of the health of the body
politic. Man has learned from the bit
ter experience of the ages that he cannot
share his home with other species with
out danger to himself. The rat is under
sentence of banishment. The rat must
go*
< Exclusive Service the Survey Press Bu
reau.)
V
EVOLUTION AND THE DOCTORS—By George Eaves, D. D.
WITH the introduction of govern
ment life Insurance and the new
sense of community obligation
to care for Individual health, the posi
tion of the doctor has been revolutionized.
Along with this cause other forces co
operate. moving him from the old posi
tion of healer to the new position of health
preserver. Preventive medicine has taken
the place of therapeutics to an astonish
ing degree. This is directly traceable to
those discoveries of the sources of dis
ease which have characterized recent
years, since bacteriology was born. For
if germs create disease, and if germs
can be prevented from their deadly busi
ness in the human body, plainly preven
tion is not only better than cure, hut the
main responsibility of experts in disease.
It can readily be seen that communicable
disease germs are a community concern,
and just as readily that the spread of
such germs through man’s association
with his fellows in cities and groups re
cuiires a central health authority, intelli
gent enough and modern enough to un
derstand the facts and to isolate the vic
tim. Hence all the logic of these facts
works towards a national health author
Ity, or state health authority, working
to prevent such sickness as modern bac
terology shows to be preventible. The
private medical man, the family doctor,
the physician called in to consider any
given case of disease, must have as a
chief function the decision whether the |
trouble is or is not communicable and the |
proper means to hinder its spread. But
the community applies the preventive
measure. In a word, medicine has passed
from the individual to the social em
phasis.
A further series of facts is also involv ed.
Political economy comes into play. It is
proved that a sick man may be not only
a peril to his fellows, but almost invaria
bly must be a source of damage and loss
to the whole community, aside from the
question of his infecting others with his
plague. He has ceased to be a producer.
J,e has become in most cases dependent
on others. Private insurance as a protec
tion at such a crisis has long been made
common, but not long ago the insurance
companies which carry life risks began
to seek the healing and the prolonged
health of their clients. They started co
operative nursing. This was done purely
for self protection against pecuniary
claims. But since such insurance is vol
untary, while vast numbers of men do not
move readily toward ideal protection of
their families against the sickness of the
bread winner, it becomes necessary to
stimulate forethought and induce the
velfare of the family exchequer.
A man must be kept up to the level of
self support lest he become a charge on
the public purse.
Certain laws recently put into opera
tion in Germany and in England mark
a further step forward. They protect the
community's employes against all forms
of loss by unemployment, sickness and
death; the instrument of protection being
a fund created by the government, partly
by its own credit, partly by a tax on em
ployers, partly by assessing the insured,
partly by co-onoration between the gov
ernment and the insurance orders, the
fraternal or friendly societies. Eor, al
ready apart from government aid or in
itiative, there had been established co
operative medical protection through such
groups or societies as are represented by
what are known in America as the frater
nal orders. The English government mane
a brilliant stroke of genius in grafting its
own insurance scheme on a stock already
so well rooted among the working people
of the land.
On the other hand, the doctors already |
had Interests at statfe. They had stand
ing contracts to serve members of thes**
insurance societies at special rates. Hut
new laws brought thousands more into
the ranks of the insured. It seemed
grossly unfair 10 compel the doctor to
treat at small fees such a host-all tho><
compulsorily insured—in other words,
piactiialiy all the people.
The situation amounted to no Ipss than
government employment ot' all the doc
tors. The aim in view was no less than
saving the national health. wherever
threatened. And the National Medical
association decided to resist the measure
by simply refusing to work under its pro
visions.
Mr. Asquith's government was in a
doubtful predicament. T^e insurance law
had not been tried, most citizens hau
exaggerated fear of it. The doctors round
ly condemned it and refused to put it in
operation. The tory party spent gallons
of ink and much ingenuity in fomenting
antagonism to it as a tyrannous meas
u.». Nobody as yet had reaped any ad
vantage from its workings. It was tnere
fore a wise thing to make certain con
cessions to the doctors, who a second time
voted upon the question and still refused
I » work. But It should be noted that with
clearer understanding a break was com*
in - into medical counsels. The latest stage
W s been the rather loudly renewed de
nunciation of the law by tlie physicians
and the formal passing of resolutions re
newing tiie pledge not to work the law. 1
many of the doctors present abstaining
fmm the vote.
'I'lie medical association was fighting a
losing game, it was resisting a cosmh
movement, as relentless as the changing
titles. For the reply of the government to
all such formal votes was an advertise
ment for doctors willing to work on a
salary of $3500 to $T.OOO. In the city of
Bradford more responses were on hand
than the occasion required. The Scotch
and Welsh doctors were willing to work.
And so evolution is accomplished. The
doctor in Great Britain is now a govern
ment employe, his salary guaranteed by
Uie government, bis business cut out for
mm by the economic necessity of pre
venting sickness.
The Kfigllsh government now has a
vested interest in the good health of Bill
Smith, John Jones and Joe Robinson, their
jxvixes and their babies, their working
sons and working daughters, the aunt who
| goes out “choring” or doing • chores,”
which is to say, scrubbing and cleaning;
the cousin w^o is a painter, the uncle who
works in iron, and the grandmother who
U a monthly nurse. To keep them well j
and to keep them employed Is a fair sized
pioblem. Rut if the health or the em
ployment fails, the insurance fund must
be drawn upon, and this the government
earnestly desires to avoid.
Now, of all men on this planet who
might have been expected eagerly to wel
come the new order of things the doctors
certainly are the most prominent.
They work in most lands as eagerly to
nrevent sickness as though their living
did not depend on its prevalence. With
out fee or reward they cover weary
miles of dirty street and lonely highway.
I>aylight and dark leave them still seek
ing to ease pain or to stave off death or
to bring another heavenly arrival to his
mother’s breast. Foremost in philan
thropy, foremost In clear scientific knowl
edge and thinking, yet the mistake was
made by these! And now they aro going
down into defeat.
T think it certain that the Rrltlsh Med
ical association has made a moral and.
tactical blunder which no American med
ical association could possibly make.
Greater philanthropy Is here, greater
freedom of individual action, leas fears
class resentment. If this is so. it means
that the American physician considers
dollar, not more, but less, than his Eng
lish brothers. When government insur
ance becomes an American institution. I
do not doubt that the profession will be
quite willing to be socialized on a fair
overage income basis, instead of demand
ing more.
But apart from theory, the curious so
cial phenomenon presents itself today
among the doctors of Great Britain, or
at least of England, a great modern group
of scientific gentlemen banding them
selves to resist the law of Social evolu
tion! They would have the sundial of
Aha/, record a reactionary shadow till Mr.
hloyd George can concook a plaster of
gold«yi figs for the treatment of their
\ overty, so very like Hezeklah’s boil.
Have they forgotten the value of inspirit
tion in that historic prescription ot
Isaiah s? And then $3300 or $4000 a year is
a considerable plaster for poverty, espe
cially as it still leaves room for private
practice on other men’s boils and hiatus.
Not often in the history of the solar sys
tem has there been a standstill or a re
I versal of motion. Certainly the English
| medical men are not Joshua.
THE ANGEL OF THE ISLAND—By Richard Spillane
THK world knows Hetty Green end
does not l:now Susan Hanz; yet
Susan Danz, within her limited
field, is as- remarkable a business woman
as Hetty Green.
Mrs. Green, the richest woman 1n the
world, with a fortune estimated at from
ISO.OOO.OOO to flOO;100,000, is one of the
shrewdest financiers that America has
known. She has more ready money than
perhaps any ether millionaire 1n the
country. Great men go to her for loans.
She is clever to a degree that amazes
those who know the handicaps under
which a woman operates in the realm
rf finance. Tho sharpest of men find it
difficult to match her in ability In her
own peculiar lino. Her-alm in life is no*,
alone to conserve her wealth, but to add
to it. She has confessed that she Is un
happy. She has no desire for what most
people think are the good things of life.
She lives simply. Many working girls
spend more for their living than does
this richest of women. Most of the time
she carries her luncheon with her to the
great bank in which she has her office
and through which she makes her loans
and her collections. The luncheon she
eats would he considered poor by the
average girl who works in the skyscraper
zone. On the rare occasions when she
goes to a restaurant her expenditures are
small. One dress will last her a year or
♦wo. For fashion ishe has contempt. I.ife
to her means piling dollars upon dollers.
She Is as precise, as regular, as careful
and as painstaking as any drudge who
♦oils at the desk. The struggle of years
hss marked her strong features with hard
lines. She trusts no one, but suspects
everybody. She keeps her own accounts
and is an excellent bookkeeper. If all her
wealth should be swept away tomorrow,
she could cam a living as a clerk, old as
She is.
Susan Tlanz Is as unlike Hetty Green as
day is unlike night. She is plump, rosy
and dimpled. Twenty years of steady
work in the business section of New York
city lias not left a mark upon her. There
Is no gray hair in her curly brown hair
or the suggestion of a wrinkle In her
cheeks. She leads a life of devption and
self-sacrifice and finds a joy in ll that is
past understanding.
Money to her means nothing except a
medium by which she may do good, and
she does more good than many of the
professed philanthropists. She has the
heart of a child, the trust of a zealot and
the business ability of an efficiency engi
neer. There are lew better bookkeepers
ill New York, and stenographers who are
in her class are rare indeed. Her hand
writing is like copper plate and her type
writing is perfection. Her employers be
lieve there is not her equal In all the great
city as an office worker, and yet she la
probably the most unsophisticated busi
ness woman -in the metropolis, and is like
ly to remain so.
She never has grown up and the never
will, in all the long years she has worked
in New York she never has been In a
theatre, and she never has been in a mov
ing picture show. She knows nothing of
the subway except what she has read «t
heard about it, for she never has ridden
in it. She sees the elevated railroad every
day, but she never has used it to travel
up or down town. She never has been
within the walls of a hotel and never has
eaten in a restaurant. She goes to work
in a surface car and she returns home by
the same means of transportation.
The daily routines of Hetty Green and
Susan Dans run almost In parallel lines,
but the objects for which they labor are
as wide apart as the poles. Hetty
Green’s gbal is to add another cipher to
the dollar mark that represents the total
of her fortune. Susan Dane’s aim in to
lift another broken human being out of
despair or suffering.
If Susan Danz had been born and raised
in some quiet, secluded spot, her odd ca
xeer might be explained. But she was
not. Instead of a quiet, secluded birth
place she was born in the center of the
business section of Manhattan, where all
was bustle and turmoil. She works today
within a few blocks of the building where
she first saw th? light. Her father had a
little shop in Hudson street, not. far from
Chambers, and the floor above was the
family's home.
When the girl was 15 years old it was
necessary for her to go to work to help
support her numerous brothers and sis
ters. She got a Job with a lumber firm.
It was not much of a concern when she
went with it, but its business increased
rapidly, and as it prospered the girls
duties became more and more important.
Her salary kept pace with her work, and
lrom a few' dollars a wee*; she went up the
scale until she was getting $130 a month.
For 16 years she worked for this firm.
When she left, it she was the office man
ager and bookkeeper. .
Four or five years ago she resigned to
accept a position with a fruit brokerage
house of Saitta & Jones. This concern
is the largest in its line in America. It
bandies about 25 per cent of all the for
eign fruit imported into the knifed
States. She Is the office manager there.
She has the buying of hundreds *»f thou
sands of boxes of lemons that come irom
Messina and Palermo, hundreds of thou
sands of barrels of grape« from Spain,
dates from Smyrna and figs from the
Tsles of the Aegean sea. She is in touch
with the farthest corners of the earth
through the bills of lading that pass un
der her eye. Yet she never has ^been
outside the city of New York. Even < oney
Islandf is as unknown to her as 'he Isles
of Greece where Sappho sane.
Even if site has not traveled, she prob
ably knows more through her trade bills
and her correspondence than does Hetty <
Green with all her wealth. The fruit 1
growers of Spain, of Sicily and of the J
far eastern Mediterranean littora come
to the office to see Saltta & Jones.
Miss Danz hears much of travel, ot
crops, of hazards by the sea and land.
But she never has been off Manhattan
island except to go to one place. And
then, of all p’aces, where do you sup
pose she goes? To Blackwell's Island,
that ribbon of rock in the East river
tiiat is burdened with prisons and alms
houses, hospitals and houses of refuge,
filled with offenders against society, with
broken and suffer lug humanity. She is
the angel of that Island of Sorrows.
There never was a more regular clerk
employed by a business house in New
York than Busan Danz. In twenl.v years
she never has missed an hotir from her
duties. Tn all this time she never has
missed going to church of a morning lie
lore her day's work. Winter or sum
mer makes no difference to Susan Danz.
From her home she goes straight to the
church. From the church sin* goes
straight to her office. It doesn't matter
whether it is sunshine or snow, rain or
sleet, she is at her desk at S o'clock, every
working day in the year. And there never
has been a Sunday, and never a holiday
in twenty years that she has not : pent
the day on Blackwell's Island. She is
known from one end of that forbidding
place to the other. But its gray stone
walls have no terror for her. Neither
have tlie gray-faced men arid women
within. All are her charges.
One of her missions to the Island is
to play the organ at the Sunday service
in the chapel. Another Is to visit pris
oners, to call upon tire old men un i tin*
old women in the almsliouse. and to
carry messages of sympathy to ill* suf
fering in the hospital.
Susan Danz’a salary is large. Her
personal expenses are small Ever \
dollar that she docs not absolutely need
for her own humblo wants she employs'
to the relief of the unforunates on the
island. In the course of a year she buys
hundreds and hundreds of pairs of
glasses. She gives these to the poor,
friendless men and women whose eye
sight is failing, and to whom without
artificial aid the joy of reading would
be dented. .She buys pipes and tobacco
for the wretched old men who haven’t
n penny in the world and whose earning
days have ended, and to whom the so
lace of smoking would be denied hut
for her kind heait. She buys hun
dreds of little knick-knacks—needles1
an«| jdns and darning material that
will help the feeble old women in tile
almshouses to keep their faltering fin
gers busy and their minds diverted
Irom their sorry state. She takes jel
lies and other delicacies craved by In
valids to the poor in the hospital, and
many of her dollars go to provide gar
ments for them that they may wear
during their convalescence and when
they are well.
Miss Huns? is a very careful buyer.
She makes every p- ony count. The de
partment stores know her and so do
the* fi and lo-cent. stores. If she wafen’!
so good an office manager, she could
get a big salary •<1 a buyer. The mul
titude of things «h;»t she can get for
lift would surprise the average house
wife.
Maybe she lends a little money to
prisoners who are about to be di*»
charged, who are penniless and who1
mean to make a brave effort to re
form- Maybe she lends or gives a few
dollars to need? > isons who are leav
ing tlm hospital NVnat she does in this
v.av only she and those who receive
know. She never tells and they are
swallowed up by the great city. Hut
there are no more trustworthy or more
grateful men and women than the poor
and the unfortunate who people the
penitential isle. From the experience of
others it is safe to say that not more
than one per cent of the money given
is not returned sooner or later.
Hetty Green is known all over America
as a careful lender and a sharp collec
tor, but Hetty Green, ■while she collects
an interest that the law permits, does
not Ret the return on her money that
Susan Danz does. Susan Dana's capital
brings an interest—an intangible one. -
that springs from heart* full of gratitude.
Miss Danz goes to Blackwell's Island
early on Sunday morning, as noon as
site leaves her church. Hite is there
throughout the day. She has not an
Idle minute. She is far busier there
than she la in her office In Franklin
street. She is just as thorough and sys
tematic in her Sunday work as she is hi
lief week-dav work. The trio 1
from Manhattan to Blackwell’s Is a
journey of joy. The wheezy litti«• • nu j
by which she crosses the Fust river is
grander to her than any of the white
rmi gold yachts of multl-nilllioniib e>
that it has to dodge in its progress. She
always has a big package filled with the
good things she is taking to her charges.
No wonder her cheeks are rosy, no won
der she still lias her dimples, no wonder
in r eyes are bright—she carries sun
shine with her. sunshine into the dark
prison, sunshine !n|o the corridors of
the gray almshouse, sunshine into the
hospital halls. The faces of the sorrow
ing, the faces of the old, the faces of
the. stricken, brighter at. her approach.
gladdens more hearts with her few
i/!lars than many of the philanthropists
who study statistics before they give,
end then give grudgingly and In the
fear that it Isn't going to do real good.
Dike Hetty Green, Susan Danz doesn’t
bother about the fashions. She lias none
or the ordinary vanities of woman. She
doesn’t mix her business and her work
on the island. In her office she is all
business, keeping her hoks, making out
••••••••••••••••••«•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«
accounts, taking dictation from Mr.
Saitta or Mr. Jones, looking after tho bert
interests of the firm.
No one knows of her activities on
the Island except the people on the
island, her relatives ami the persons
around the office. She doesn't bother
about the news of the day. She never
gossips, and has no interest in the pet
ty discussions and frivolities that take
up so much of the time of the a vet
age business girl. She has no desire
for the theatre. She has seen the city
transformed into tin- skyscraper won
der that is today, hut then it lias come
so gradually that she hasn’t noticed tt
particularly. She hasn't ridden in the
subway because there seems to be
something awful to her in the idea of
traveling under the earth. She hasn’t
ridden In the elevated because she hat
a notion that n railroad on stills is net.
exactly right. Maybe it was a shock to
her when the horsecars disappeared and
the trolleys came in. She Is thorough
ly unsophisticated. Only her heart has
grown and her business sense has
broadened. Otherwise she secs an 1
thinks with the eyes and the mind
of a confiding child.
Some of her friends have argued
with her that she ought to save some
of her earnings. When they talk to her
in this way Miss Dana says there is
no need for her to save anything. "God
will provide for me,” she says, and
that settles it so far as she is con
cerned. She goes her way, working
through the week, heartening the fall
en and relieving the stricken on Sun
day, happy and content. This Is her
duty, she believes, and so she does it.’v
She is one business woman who is not \
likely to have a monument of granlt*
or marble to attract the eve when she
is dead. She needs norje.
(Copyright. 1913. by the McClure New*,
paper Syndicate.)
HEART TO HEART TALKS—By James A. Edgerton
Jn men whom men condemn ns 111
I find so much of goodness still,
Tn men whom men pronounce divine
I find so much of sin and blot,
J hesitate to draw a line
Between the two where God has not.
—Joaquin Miller.
GJV. GEORGE W. P. HUNT of
Arizona Is making an experiment
with his convicts.
He appeals to their honor.
Tie treats them like human beings.
He lias abolished prisd* stripes, placed
a wholesome sanitary environment about
the prisoners, given them skilled physi
cians and dentists, encouraged them to
organize an orchestra and glee elub,_
made them feel that the prison officials
arc their friends and advisers, allowed
each convict to stand on Ills own record
and work out his own redemption and
when liberties extended have not been
abused has added other liberties.
Governor Hunt says flint his system
Is 'bused chiefly on the principle of tiie
square deal." He adds tills noble senti
ment:
• Prisoners are lust as susceptible to
kindly human treatment as are those
people behind whom prison doors have
never closed."
That warms the cockles of one’s lieai t.
The glow increases when we team that
the new system works.
It has been in existence since last Feb
ruary. Few have betrayed the trust re
posed in them. When a convict has a
good record he is made an "honor marl”
and is pli^ed in one of the road camps.
Here lie Has no guard over him. but is
on his honor not to escape. No firearms
*'•» allowed In tha camps. There is an
pjght hour day, after which the men arc
free to read or amuse themselves. If
they wish to take up some particular
study or show some special aptitude they
are helped.
Some of the honor men have been sent
on missions, with a horse or automobile
at their disposal. There Is not a single
case where convict® so trusted ^ have
broken their word by trying to get away.
In some cases where prisoners have
proved unfaithful and attempted to es
cape from the camps tha other prisoners
have prevented.
The secret of the system is that in
centives are placed before the men. They
are rewarded for good behavior. If a
family is depending on a convict he is
allowed wages, w’hieh are sent to those,
waiting at home.
On last Christmas the Arizona convicts
voluntarily sent to Governor Hunt a
token of their gratitude.
He had opened the door of hope. He
had trusted them. He had restored their
faith in themselves. \
And the goodness that dwells in the
heart of every human being had re
sponded.
For years there have hung about the
editorial rooms of the New York World
a number of mottoes, or. rather, the
same motto repeated a number of times.
It reads:
! !
ACCURACY. TERSENESS,
ACCURACY.
■ i j. p. i
I !
I ' --
! In a recent address before the Pulitzer
I School of Journalism Ralph Pulitzer, son
| of the founder of that Institution, said
j that his father hated an inaccurate state
ment as' another mail' would hate an out
[ right lie. He continued:
j “Accuracy in newspaper writing was
i with Joseph Pulitzer a religion.”
Possibly we have here one of the se
I < rets of the great editor's success.
Accuracy is just as important to those
outside of the newspaper business, how
ever. as to those on the inside.
It is important to the merchant. It is
bad business for salesmen to make inac
urate statements concerning their wares.
It is important to the teacher. First
ideas with the young shape the whole
life. To misinform and train them to
inaccurate statements is criminal.
It is important to the public speaker.
I remember a few years ago going to
hnar a well known lecturer speak on
Oliver Cromwell. I counted no less than
six historical inaccuracies in the address.
Although the man was eloquent and had
a good insight into* the character and
work of Cromwell, the lecture was
spoiled for me, and I have had little re
spect for that speaker since.
It is Important for the public man.
Politicians have been pillOried and dri\ en
out of public life for inaccura;* state
ments made in the heat of a campaign.
Accuracy is important to all kinds and
conditions of men. The man w ho makes
inaccurate statements soon loses the con
fidence and esteem of his neighbors.
If more people were -trained to accurate
statements there would he fewer misun
derstandings and heart burnings in the
world.
Likewise there would !** less gossip.
Christmas is over, but the Christmas
spirit is not. Thai never dies. It goes
with ns through all the year.
I have run on to three stones of la-sr
Christmas that seem so good they are
worth repealing, even at this late day. (
The best thing about them Is that they
actually happened. •
The first concerns a guard In the -New
York subway—about the last place one
would look for the Christmas spirit.
The other guards were tired and snap
pish. The people were tired and jostled
and crowded each other almost spite
fully.
The refrain of the other guards was
“Step lively." ‘ Quit pushing, there," or
“Let 'em off. let ’em off.
This guard had a smile and "Merry
Christmas" for everybody. He called out
cheerily:
“Give your fellow- men a chance. Just
a little peace and good will now. Remem
ber it's merry Christmas."
The crowds responded instantly. The
jostling stopped- People stood aside re
spectfully and courteously to let others
They went aboard in an orderly
manner. Vet by their very orderliness
they were enabled to make the greater
haste, and this guard's platform was
cleared before the others.
Not only so. hut all Hose concerned
had a little better Christmas because of
the Incident.
Another story relates to a little girl
strapped to a Bedford frame in a Brook
lyn hospital. There she had been for
three years, suffering from curvature of
the spine.
Bite wrote a pathetic letter to Santa
Claus, appealing not only for herself, but]
for the other tots about her similarly af
flicted.
The letter got into one of the New
York papers
From all over the land came the re
sponse. Dolls and toys arrived by the
score. A San Francisco lady sent a dia
mond ring. Another mailed a check for
5300.
With her treasures about her the crip
pled child cried:
"No one can ever have a happi**1
Christmas than I am having right now.
I am so happy I can’t keep from cry
1 lug,*’ and she burst into tears.
Then she gave all bur a few of her
precious dollies and toys to tlie othe
little cripples and sent the $300 to an old
ladies' home.
The third story Is of a tv-year-old boy
Hp the 'children's home at Cincinnati, lb
is placed there because his mother is em
ployed in an office. On Thanksgiving
day he was given a large. luscious
orange. It Vas reported that he had sold
it and when asked the reason lie said he
j had put the money in the bank to buy
ids mamma a Christmas present.
"Mus' be sumpln’ nice,” he prattled.
"I haven't got nobody but jus’ my mam
ma. ho it mus' be aumpin’ very nice.”
Do not these stories reflect the spirit of
him who gave his name to Christmas,
who taught good will and who loved
little children?
Cattle that jump the fence cause trouble
for themselves and others.
There are people of the same brand.
The breachv cattle evidently think the
grass is greener in the next pasture.
The people have a like attitude of mind
The desirable Is always somewhere els-?
or at some distant time. *
Their favorite music is “Far. Far
Away,” "The Good Old Times" or “The
Sweet By and B.v.”
! Any other lime but now; any other
| place but here.
The grass is always greener in the next
pasture.
I These are the folks who think the lot
of other* is better than their own. |
They are filled with envy, repining and
discontent.
There are two kinds of discontent, orfc
helpful and the other hurtful.
Helpful discontent is the kind that
ft purs us on to improve ourselves and our
conditions.
Hurtful discontent ip the sort that
makes us try to run away from both.
This is the discontent of the folks that
resemble breachy stock.
I wonder if these people ever reflect
that any place they reach is here, just as
any time they attain Is now.
We cannot run away from the now
and here. It Is ever with us.
When we get Into the next pasture we
And that the grass is not greener. It was
only the distance made it appear so.
True romance, true enchantment, true
opportunity, are right at home. We have
merely overlooked them, or they have
grown so common that we did not appre
ciate them at their real worth.
'fhere is a story of a man who searched
all about the earth for a treasure and.
returning home, found it in his own door
yard.
Sometimes a change of environment Is
necessary, hut usually the distant alfur
Ing prospect is simply a mirage that dis
appears as we approach.
If the time and energy used In making
changes were expended at home they
would achieve success.
If we would win we must win here an !
now.
Are we to get rid of the obsession of
old age?
We have been in the habit of thinking
men or women old at nO, and perhaps our
thinking and their own has had much to
d.. with their growing old before their
time.
A man at 80 should be at the very prime
of his powers. He should have 25 or 30
years of good work ahead of him.
Recently a number of eminent German
scientists, artists and others gave their
opinions on this subject.
One said that a man at .V> is not evgh
beginning to grow old.
Another stated that the man of So is
of highly superior Intellectual worth. On
account of his reliability, steadiness, ex
perience and rational living he passesses
countless physical and moral advantage.?
over a younger man.
The president of the Royal academy as
serted that artists do their beet work he
tween the ages of in and 50.
With right thinking and living, sane
and wholesome exercise, elasticity, peren
nial Interest and constant occupation at
congenial tasks, the normal man and
woman should be useful, happy and hale
up to 80, 90, or even the century mark.
There Is every reason to believe that the
future man and woman will be so.
Why cannot we as Individuals antici
pate the future man ami woman?
There is an adage that a/tnan Is only a*
old as he feels.
Why not stop thinking of old age?
Home trees live for thousands of years.
They are not obsessed by old age
thoughts.
Faith, hope and work constitute a trin
ity that will keep us young.
Retain the forward outlook.
A void excesses.
We can have excesses in physical toil
as well as in eating, drinking or gratify
ing the passions. Seek the golden mean.
The soul and not the body Is the senior
member in the human individuality, and j
the soul Is ever young.
George Stephenson was an englnewrlght
In an English colliery. •
Not a very lofty situation, was it, this
engineman in a coal mine?
Yet Stephenson made it a fulcrum from
which to move the world.
This was how he did it: The port was
nine miles distant from the mine. A
tram road ran between, the cars being
hauled by horses or mules.
Stephenson said he could make a (
steam engine that would do the work.
Others poopoohed and sneered in the
blind way that Ignorance and stupidity
jeer at genius.
In two years Stephenson concreted his
engine, and it worked.
The result was the locomotive and th**
Inauguration of a new ace in the world'c j
transportation.
No one can measure the influence of j
the railroad on human progress, yet it
was started by a humble man In a lowly
station.
This man had an idei and applied It to
the Immediate task he had in hand. He
used the materials about him. Despite
doubts and ridicule lie remained loyal to
the light given him.
Today be M among the immortals.
It was exactly 100 years ago that George
Stephenson was building his engine at
KUllngworth colliery.
The succeeding century has seen the
most wonderful progress in the world’s
history, and to this the poor engine -
wright’s Idea has perhaps been the chief
contributor.
Such has been the history of practically
all the great Inventions. They have been
made by poor men who had to combat
the unbelief of their fellows.
The steamboat, the telegraph, the tele
phone and the aeroplane are cases In
point. They were designed by thinker-*
who had greater regard for their own
ideas than for the bootings of those who
did not understand.
These inventors followed the Inner light
rather than the outer darkness.
They had vision.
They possessed the individual Initiative
to start, the energy to continue and tho
perseverance to carry through a great
undertaking.
They were that rarest and highest hu
man combination—practical idealists.
They were benefactors, who have made
tills a new; and better world.
Titanic Wreckage in 3000 A. D
From the Chicago Tribune.
A forecast of the ultimate fate of the
Titanic, now something over five months
at the bottom of the ocean, is given in a
German scientific review.
Already, the writer says, the vessel
probably is coated with deep sea growth*,
and hundreds of years hence, it may rea
sonably be surmised It will b# reduced
to a fossilized state. The great hulk
eventually will spilt up and remnants
will be washed ashore off the We#t In
dies. to he speculated upon by Inhabitant#
of this planet In the year 3000.
—— ■ — ■» -
No Joke
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"Keep your nose out of other people's
business and never fight the battles of
others," said the sage
"If I followed that ad\ ice I would
starve to death,” said the stranger. ”A
am a lawyer.”