The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], November 09, 1914, Page 4, Image 4

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

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THE AGE-HERALD
K. W. BAKHKrr Editor
luutcieu ai ib« uiniiiu®nuiu, Aah. .
posiolfice as second class mailer under
act of Congress March 3, 187B.
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Weekly Age-Herald, per annum .60
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traveling representatives of The Age
Herald in lt» circulation department.
Mo communication will be publisher
witnout its author s name. Rejected
manuscript will not be returned unless
stamps are enclosed for that purpose.
Remittances can be mado at current
rate of exchange. The Age-Herald will
not be responsible for money seni
through the malls. Address,
THE AGE-HERALD,
Birmingham, Ala.
Washington bureau, 207 Hibba build
log.
European bureau, 6 Henrietta street,
Convent Garden. London.
Eastern business office. Rooms 48 to
(0, inclusive. Tribune building. Now
York city; Western business office.
Tribune building. Chicago. The S.
Beckwith Special Agency, agents tor
sign advertising. ____
TE1.EPHONK
Beil (private exchange connecting nil
Septiftment.), Main 41W0. __
All delight* are vain) hut that most
vain, which with pnln purchased doth
laherlt pnln. —Love’a L"hor Lost.
BEGINNING THE DAY—Lord,
help me to forget the graves along
backward nay—lhe gmvea of
dead hopes, of perished ambition*.
Of lost loves. Let the s..o sparkle
OB them, the grass grow green over
themi cover them up with
May there come out of tlielr depths
?,/« only n devouter spirit, «
tender appreciation and n gentler
grace. Amen.—H. M. E.
A Business Man’s Good Advice
J. D. Moore, one of Birmingham’s
most prosperous business men, does
rot write or talk for publication often,
but when he does he always says
something worth while. His state
ment printed in yesterday s Age-Her
ald was full of pith. Every paragraph
had the ring of common sense philoso
phy. He addressed himself to the
farmers and to the business com- j
munity.
After urging the farmers to avoid
the fatal mistake of planting a large
crop of cotton next year he took up
the mercantile situation. “Jfour credit
is your best asset—keep it up, he
said. “Collect from those who owe you
and pay those whom you owe. You
may not he able to do all this at once,
I but collect as fast as you can and pay
\ ,,. -fast as you can. 'Phis will keep
money circulating. When you are out
of debt you will scarcely know that
the European war is going on, and it
will be thus with your customers when
they discharge their obligations.”
In concluding his statement Mr.
Moore said:
"Talk about the south being bank
rupt is bosh! Conditions we are meet
ing today are temporary. With our
land, our climate and our men, noth
ing can check the growth and pros
perity of the south.
"The need Is for close, hearty co
operation by banks, manufacturers.
Jobbers, retail merchants and farmers.
With all doing his part courageously
and faithfully, all will be' well.
"Honest Industry and cheerfulness
never fall to make things better. Let
us call off all conventions and any
further meetings for the purpose of
bewailing our woes. Let us quit talk
ing and go to work.”
These are frank and timely words,
and coming from a man of Mr. Moore’s
long and successful career, they can
not fail to have a wholesome and far
reaching effect.
Germany’s Meat Supply
Barnhard Deraburg:, who has been
called the ‘‘chief spokesman for Ger
many in America,” has contributed to
the American Review of Reviews for
November some highly interesting
figures relative to the resources of
Germany in the present war. Dr.
Deraburg proceeds to show that the
immense potato crop of Germany,
from which a flour is now being made,
a process having also been discovered
for preserving potatoes indefinitely,
will provide the bread for the father
land. He takes an equally optimistic
view of Germany’s meat supply.
The importation of meat into Ger
many has been partly prohibited and
partly made impossible for some
years, he says, in order that the coun
try might become independent of a
beef monopoly. When last counted
b there were in Germany, he declares,
no less than 20,000,000 beeves, 5,000,
000 sheep, 2,000,000 goats and 26,
000,000 hogs. There were also about
6,000,000 horses. With these figures
as a basis he estimates that Germany
can produce every year about 8,000,
000 beef animals, 5,000,000 sheep anc
goats and 26,000,000 hogs. The peas
ants and laborers prefer pork, because
it is cheap and nutritious.
Of course feed must be found foi
these animals and Dr. Deraburg
makes that a proviso. If that con
tingency ia met ha says, ‘‘thars wil
always be plenty of meat—and I dc
think we can mange it,” There an
large areas in Germany, particularly
in the northwestern part of the coun
try, which can be used for hay field!
MMl gracing lands. The chief purveyoi
«f vegetable* to Germany has recent
1 ly been Holland and she is expected
to continue in that capacity.
"So the situation is at present en
tirely satifactory,” says Dr. Dernburg,
“and the starving out of Germany will
prove just as much a piece of British
braggadocio as, for instance, Mr.
Churchill's digging out of the German
fleet on the very day of the loss of
three British cruisers.”
As 1o Turning Points
Since the adjustment of financial
and commercial conditions in this
country to the European war situation
began to be felt there have been im
portant steps in the upward trend of
business. The Iron Trade Review
says: “The fact ought readily to be
apprehended that the more rapidly de
mand for steel products declines, in
circumstances like the present, the
sooner a turning point will be
reached.”
Within the past week or two sev
eral -corners have been turned in the
onward march of business, but per
haps the most important turning point
will be in evidence next Monday
when the new federal reserve system
becomes operative. The more that
bankers and other business men an
alyze the banking and currency law
the better satisfied they are with its
details.
It may be several weeks after the
currency system goes into effect be
fore its benefits are fully realized,
but the very fact that everybody
whose opinion is worth anything ex
pects it to work well accounts in some
measure, at least, for the decidedly
better feeling among the leaders in
the great business centers today.
One sometimes demurs at the far
fetched uses of the word psychology,
but it may with reason be applied to
present conditions. The situation
never was as bad as people thought it
was, and now that everyone knows
that business is improving and that
the federal reserve system when in
effect will contribute greatly to the
upward movement of industrial life
various branches of trade should be at
once accelerated.
Turn the imagination loose and the
business outlook cannot be other than
roseate. This would seem at any rate
a time for applying psychology to fi
nance and commerce.
, City Tree Planting
One of the attractive features of
Birmingham is found in its trees.
Many years ago arboriculture received
the attention of the authorities in cer
tain of the northern cities. Ornamen
tal trees for parks and streets were
planted and nurtured under men
trained both in arboriculture and
landscape engineering. The results
have been manifold, and the outlay
of money was nothing when compared
with the benefits obtained.
But in the south arboriculture has
been appraised at its true value only
in recent years. Some of the old
southern cities were famed for their
wide-spreading oaks and elms, but na
ture had been bountiful in providing
those things that were beautiful.
Nevertheless, the man who has made
a study of trees in relation to the city
beautiful idea has work to do in the
umbrageous avenues even of stately
old towns like Tuscaloosa and Savan
nah. In the larger cities and especial
ly those without trees of primeval
growth the arboriculturist has be
come a necessity.
Before science was so generally in
vogue Birmingham was fortunate in
making a good start in tree planting,
but we can now do better. With the
approach of Arbor Bay the whole
community takes a lively interest in
ornamental trees. The city commis
sion has turned over the arboricul
tural side of Birmingham’s activities
to the engineering department. Maury
Nicholson, chief assistant to Engineer
Kendrick, acts as the superintendent
of parks and playgrounds and that po
sition brings him directly in charge of
tree planting. Mr. Nicholson is not
only thoroughly equipped for this
work, but he is an enthusiast. Every
man and every woman in Birmingham
who desires to add to the attractive
ness of the city by planting trees will
always have a patient and a sympa
thetic hearing from him.
In earlier days a mistake' was made
in planting trees too close together.
One of the first principles of arbori
culture is to plant at proper distances,
or, as Mr. Nicholson calls it, the spac
ing of trees. The tree planting data
which Mr. Nicholson has laid before
the commission and which was pub
lished in Sunday’s Age-Herald will
doubtless be read *by most people who
have a mind to the city beautiful.
Those who failed to read it yesterday
should look up the paper and read it
today.
A patriotic society woman In New York
has announced that she will henceforth
wear none but American clothes. The ex
tent of her aacrlnee can only be appre
ciated by thoee who know the epell that
Faria faahlon* caat over all famlntne
minds.
Judging from the difference of opinion
that exists amonr Its members regard
ing the cotton special ses
1 slon of the leg! *J some
’ method of relief i *«en a waste
of time and mone,
I
| Naval engineers say that the new turbo
electric propulsive machinery recently
tested in the collier Jupiter may revolu
tionize the control of battleships. The
navy department is reported to be con
sidering the installation of the new ma
chinery in the first-class type of battle
ships. The new engines will reverse a
ship In five seconds, although she may he
traveling at full speed. Their adapta
bility and the ease with which they enn
be controlled was proved when the Jup
iter was navigated In confined spaces of
the Panama canal. While near Cape Hat
teraB the captain of the Jupiter thought
he saw an object ahead while his vessel
was steaming 14^ knots. The motors were
reversed and in less than five seconds
the Jupiter was going full speed astern.
Finding that there was no danger of a
collision, the ship was again sent ahead
at full speed, the order being carried
out in the same period of time. Although
the Jupiter was designed for a speed of 14
knots, she can muintaln 15 knots for 48
hours. Under favorable conditions the
collier has made 12 knots with 20,000 tons
displacement, consuming 00 tons of coal
per day, which is an economy of 25 per
cent, as compared with reciprocating en
gines. Steam for propelling power is
carried in a Curtis turbine which drives
an alternating current generator at the
rate of 2000 revolutions a minute. The
generator is directly connected with the
turbine shaft and the alternating cur
rent is carried to a switchboard where'
there are two levers for operating each
motor.
While the Emperor of Austria and the1
Emperor of Germany are no longer British
field marshals, they are in a position to
confer empty titles on each other until
the cows come home.
There is less excuse for calamity howl- !
ing in Birmingham than there is Jn any
other city of the south. War in Europe1
is not going to hurt the Iron and steel
business.
"The progressive party and its leader,”
says Professor Taft, "seem to be rele
gated to innocuous desuetude.” There is
a note of subdued satisfaction in his
words.
If the war fever continues to spread
among European nations there won't be
anybody left before long in that part of
the world to act as referee.
Coincident with the re-election of “Uncle
Joe” Cannon to Congress, the Cannon
stogie reappears in newspaper cartoons,
apparently as long as ever.
English actors may be hard hit by the
war, but even at that they are better off
than Tommy Atkins at the front, who is
hit much harder.
A fine example of optimism is afforded
by the man who doesn’t let talk of hard
times deter him from doing his Christmas
shopping early.
Scots have been throwing stones at a
statue of Andrew Carnegie. Surely, he
hasn’t been trying to make them accept
a library?
How is the tired business man going
to profit by the theatre in London, if mat
inees are substituted for night perform
ances?
Too much praise cannot be given the
sporting editor who never writes of two
i football teams "clashing on the gridiron.”
The Turks must be given credit for one
thing, and that is their willingness to
take a big chance.
The owner of Wisconsin’s most famous
pompadour Is noted among those who
also ran.
u im i iHUMi ItKCKIPTS ACCEPTED
From an editorial in the New Bruns- I
wick, N. J., Daily Home News. |
Strange things are happening in
this country as a consequence of the
war of .the nations. For instance,
at one of New York’s first-class hotels,
the Martinique, where the clientele is
very largely made up of southern peo
ple, you are confronted with the notice
that “Warehouse receipts for cotton
are accepted in lieu of cash for your
hotel bill.” In other words, southern
gentlemen who are long on cotton but
short in cash—and there are thousands
of them In that predicament now
can come and register at the Marti
nique and pay for its superior acommo
dations (drinks included) in bales of
cotton. It is a very seductive induce
ment on the part of the management
and no doubt when the news gets well
disseminated through the south the
Martinique will be more plentifully
peopled than ever before. It is a cur
ious condition of extraordinary times.
Nobody can predict what other cur
ious things may come out of this war.
For one thing, we are likely to have
a decided scarcity of money in this
country. The time may come when
northern farmers having no hales of
cotton to sell, may trade off potatoes
for a pair of shoes or a ton of hay for
a suit of clothes. If n mcrenant does
not have room for the potatoes and
the hay, he can hand over a due bill,
made easily transferable, which may
take the place of actual money, but, as
we said before, you never can tell.
Ll'KE M'LUKE SAYS
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
When a man starts to go to the devil
he nearly always takes a woman with
him.
Twenty-five years ago if a man wore a
silk hat in the daytime everybody in town
knew that he was a “professor” who
demonstrated electric salve or Indian
sagwa, and formed a parade behind him.
But a man can wear one nowadays with
out starting anything.
A man can have a fine time telling what
he Intends to do. A woman can have
a good time telling what she used to do.
There are several tons of four-leaf
clover in the pockets of the men you
pass on the streets. But homehow or
other hard work continues to deliver all
the good luck.
Some fellows who give a dollar a year
to the church expect to have their pray
ers for $1,000,000 answered in return.
The trouble with the good books that
would lead a boy into the paths of virtue
is that a boy always falls asleep trying to
read the first page.
When a foolish young couple marry
► It isn’t a very long Journey from castles
in the air to furnished rooms on the
third-floor flat.
t Daughter takes a “natural” picture by
posing with a sheet wrapped around her
• torso. But you would have to go into
. the kitchen to get a “natural” picture of
mother. \
This early to bed, and early to rise stuff
1 Is all bunk. The chickens all live up to
it and all they get is the axe.
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Thrift In Cullmnu
“The city of Cullman is full of thrift,”
said K. A. L. Wilkes, who spent a day
or two there recently.
“The truck farmers in Cullman coun
ty are noted for their industry. While
strawberries and sweet potatoes are
the principal truck crops, other prod
ucts are numerous, and the farmers
come out well ahead nearly every year.
This has been a good year for them, and
as a result the merchants of Cullman are
prosperous."
Efficiency In Marksmanship
“The increased efficiency of the en
listed men of the Alabama National Guard
during the past year or two in markman
ship is nothing less than wonderful," said
Maj. Cliff S. Price, inspector of rifle prac
tice.
“The requirements of the war depart
ment in regard to rifle practice make it
imperative for every man in the National
Guard to fire a certain number of rounds
each year. This is one part of the guards
man’s duty that appeals to him, and
some remarkable shots have been dis
covered.
“Formerly it was largely a matter of
choice as to whether a militiaman at
tended rifle practice or not and conse
quently many a fine shot was lost to
the service. It is not so at the present
time. Every man is tried out and every
man's efficiency as a marksman is care- !
fully recorded. After a recruit gets
knack, if I might use that expression, !
In handling his rifle on the iange, he
Is filled with the desire to be rated as ,\ i
marksman, at least, and always hopes
that sooner or later he will ‘make' the
team that annually represents Alabama
at the national shoots. As a further en
couragement to this end only two com
missioned officers are allowed on the
team, thus giving the enlisted man every
opportunity.to represent hjs state. Should
occasion arise when the services of the
Alabama National Guard are needed its
members would give a good account of
themselves on the firing line."
Great Activity la the West
"Business activity is greatly in evi
dence in the west,” said John T. Mid
dleton of Chicago.
"In some of the states people are
talking freely of a boom, and compared
with stagnant conditions which had
been experienced in many localities
the word boom is perhaps not too
strong. The immense grain crops and
the high prices which they are bring
ing account for the sudden burst of
prosperity.
"1 was in Seattle about two weeks
ago, and found that city was very pros
perous, Indeed. Two years ago it seemed
greatly depressed. Real estate, specu
lation had been overdone, and the lum
ber business which was one of Seattle's
mainstays, was extremely dull. It is
very different in Seattle now. Every
body is busy and everybody is confi
dent that an era of great prosperity
has set In. A friend who was in San
Francisco in October tells me that that
city was never so progressive as it has
been within the last few months, and
as California has vast wine Interests
the crushing defeat of statewide prohi
bition last Tuesday will naturally help
all lines of business in Pacific coast
cities.
"In Chicago there is a great deal of
business prosperity, and we are ex
pecting to see a large volume of trade
between now and Christmas.”
Well's Fame Spreading
Col. Marcus Weil’s election forecasts
are attracting attention outside the
state of Alabama and his name haB been
whispered in New York as a forecaster
of note. Colonel Weil was displaying
with considerable pride yesterday aft
ernoon a copy of the New York Herald
of November 5 which had the following
to say about his forecast:
"Viewed in the solid light of the re
turns the forecast of Marcus Weil of
Birmingham is of interest as showing
a remarkably accurate analysis of the
political situation nationally. Mr. Weil,
whose figures were received before the
publication of the Herald forecast and
were printed with it predicted the elec
tion of 228 democratic congressmen, 203
republican and 4 progressive.. The
Herald predicted the election of 227
demorcatlc congressmen, 203 republican
and 6 progressive. Revised returns last
evening indicate the election of 22B dem
ocratic congressmen, 202 republicans, 7
progressive and one socialist.”
The actual result is 229 democrats, 200
republicans and progressives..
Resuming Normal Conditions
.Henry Clews, In his Saturday review,
says In part:
“Events of the week were generally of
a favorable character. So much so that
had the stock exchange been opened there
would doubtless have been reflected a
sharp rise In security values.
“The monetary situation also shows
steady improvement and a progressive re
adjustment to war conditions. The sur
plus reserve of the clearing house banks
show a steady Increase, having risen
last week to nearly tH.000,000, compared
with a deficit for the week of August 8
of $48,000,000, the low water mark. This
Is a gain of $01,000,000. Clearing house cer
tificates are being gradually retired, and
considerable sums of the Vreeland emerg
enry notes have also been withdrawn In
I anticipation of the early opening of the
. federal reserve banks, which in due time
' will largely Increase the supply of loan
' able funds. There is no longer any ap
prehension* regarding the monetary fu
ture. Credit 1s gradually tending to re
sume normal conditions, and ere long
1 business will have completely adjusted
» Itself to war conditions and will go on
much as usual. The position of foreign
1 exchange Is still somewhat abnormal
J though constantly Improving. The supply
i of bill* during the past week has not been
. quite so liberal as In the two previous
■ weeks. Nevertheless our exports con
tinue on a very large scale owing to the
1 heavy shipments of foodstuffs, cotton,
6 war material, etc. New York practically
f dominates the foreign exchanges for the
i time being, and its financial relations with
r foreign countries are being strengthened
1 dally. England Is no longer pressing for
a settlement of our obligations for the
r reason that funds In that center are abun
dant. and the former pressure for gold ft
t ports from this side has materially sub
e sided.
o “The tendency toward revival In do
mestic business Is more pronounced than
r at any time since the war. This of course
" is mainly due to Improvement in the credit
situation. The demand for our wheat and
y cotton has been a very Important factor,
r A number of our local Industries are afto
0 being helped by the foreign demand for
lf war material, which promisee to Increase
[ for sometime to come. Perhaps the moel
o significant development It the more hope
ful tone In the steel trade."
. I
New York Tribune: There were various
views of Paris in the early days of the
war. All observers agreed upon the quiet
and calm of the city. But certain critics
thought they saw an evil omen in the very
silence and steadiness of the scene. One
young man writing for his New York
newspaper grew quite solemn over his at
titude of patient resolve. It seemed that
he had gone to Paris expecting to find
everyone jabbering and gesticulating like
the comic Frenchman on our stage.
These early misgivings have pretty well
disappeared. American and English writ
ers bear out the internal evidence in the
French newspapers. The silence and seri
ousness of Paris are signs not of discour
agement or faint-heartedness, but of a
new resolve and spirit which a united
France is presenting to an enemy. As a
correspondent of the London Times puts
it:
“It is difficult to realize at first sight
how completely, in the hour of trial,
the traditional lightheartedness of the
Parisian has been translated to a fine
simplicity of courage and devotion to the
common cause and to a high seriousness
of patriotism. There is something splen
didly impressive and stimulating in the
spectacle of civilization’s most sensitive
culture suddenly confronted by the stern
realities of a life and death struggle, an<\
responding unanimously to the call of
duty. Without hesitation or complaint,
Paris has put away childish things, her
toys, her luxury and her laughter.”
Even better testimony in American
eyes comes from our own Dr. Carrel,
working night and day in a French hos
pital. He writes of his countrymen:
“France has transformed herself in a
miraculous fashion. The individuals,
themselves, change. I would never have
believed it had I not seen it w’ith my own
eyes.
“Enthusiasm, wrhlch has not existed
among the young people for a long time,
grows each day. It seems to me more
and more that men animated by this
spirit cannot be conquered. Astonishing
things are going to happen. France lives
again!"
It may be hard to imagine a Paris with
out petits pairs or croissants, without
feuilletons or theatres or music halls. But,
evidently, she has found something bet
ter.
London Cable to New York World: in
one month's time the American women's
war hospital at Paignton has treated 0X1
wounded soldiers. It was said at com
mittee headquarters In this city today that
100 wounded arrived within the last 10
days and were the most serious so far
received. They were wounded In the
lighting to hold the Germans back from
Calais.
The most remarkable patient is a young
soldier who came to the Institution with
part of his brain exposed. His life was
despaired of. hut an official of the hos
pital said today that the man had a good
chance of recovery
Many of the la> patients are in the
Munsey ward, wht j the American Red
Cross unit is at work. An appeal is being
sent out today for woolen underwear
and socks for soldiers who are discharged
from the institution, as the kits of most
of the wounded are seldom useful when
they are taken from the battlefield.
Mrs. Page, wife of the ambassador, is
now a member of the executive commit
tee of the American women’s war relief
fund.
ALABAMA SANCTUMS
Laeful Information Wanted
From the Centreville Press.
Quit talking war and tell us something
to make a hen lay.
So Lous, Teddy!
From the Mobile Register.
' One thing seems settled—Mr. Roosevelt’*
day in politics Is done.
A Long Way Off
From the Pell City Progress.
Tipperary must be where the gold 1*
buried.
Another Wnr Victim
From the Ashland Progress.
Old John Barleycorn Is reported among
those seriously Injured by war In Rus
sia.
Where’s “Burk's Packet f”
From the Collinsville Courier.
Buck's Pocket Is not such a bad placf
after all—when one gets used to goin?
there.
Soon Caught Short
From the Huntsville Mereury-*Banner.
The one-ideaed politician and the one
crop farmer are always first to fly the
distress signal.
Showing Their Independence
From the Selma Times.
Andrew Carnegie seems to be In bad
with the Scotch because he Is a friend ol
the Kaiser. The Scotch evidently havt
no further designs on Andy's money.
The Sugar Situation
From the Andalusia Standard.
Headlines over a London date sa>
"Sugar Supply Is Cornered by the Gov
ernment." Well, It's cornered In thb
country, but not by the government.
Good Old Blount
From the Oneonta Southern Democrat.
Notwithstanding the calamity howling
of some politicians, Blount has made th<
longest crop of cotton, the largest croj
of corn and the largest crop of oats evei
produced In the county.
Jnst About That
From the Attalla Herald.
"A piece of bone has been remove*
from the head of a Harvard freshman
The average freshman has plenty t<
spare.”—Birmingham Age-Herald.
Wonder If The Age-Herald means ti
insinuate that the average freshman Ii
a bonehead?
JUNE IN INDIA
By Rudyard Kipling.
No hope, no change! The clouds hav.
shut us In
And through the cloud the sullen Sui
strikes down
Full on the bosom of the torture,
town;
Till night falls, heavy as remembere.
sin
That will not sufTer sleep or though
of ease,
And, hour on hour, the dry eyed Moo;
in spite
Glares through the haae and mock
with watsry light
The torment of the uncomplainlni
trees.
Far olt the Thunder bellows her del
pgir
To echoing Earth, thrice parched. Th
lightnings fly
In vain. No help the heaped up cloud
afford.
But wearier weight of burdened, burn
lng air,
What truce with Dawn? Look, from th
1 aching aky,
- Day stalks, a tyrant with a flamln
■word!
POLITICIANS LIKE ELECTIONS
Br BII.L VIltKk i l
WASHINGTON, November 8.
(Special.)—Probably nothing has
, ever been discovered which gives
j the general satisfaction to politicians re
| gardless of party as an election. No
matter how an election goes, it is pleasing
| to the politicians. The average leader
in a political party may be all flattened
out by the well-known steam roller, and
have his record shot so full of holes that
it would make a porus plaster look fool
ish, yet he is not discouraged. Pie comes
right to bat with a winning smile and
says that the election resulted In his
complete vindication of the principles for
which he has always struggled.
An election always vindicates all po
litical parties. That is one of the very
l est things an election does. As a vindi
cator an election cannot be surpassed. An
election certainly fills all requirements
ns a vindicator in more general direc
tions than any other class of vindicators
not devoted exclusively to the vindicat
ing business. For Instance, in 1912, ex
Presldent Taft carried two states and re
ceived four electoral votes. Nevertheless
he was vindicated—these two states vindi
cated him. All the other states, unfor
tunately, were busy vindicating someone
else, so Mr. Taft had to be satisfied with
a small and rather feeble vindication, but
it answered all purposes.
In the recent elections the republicans
Won a great victory.” They have been
completely “vindicated.” Not that it gets
them anything, except the vindication.
Nevertheless they will gloat over said
vindication, and do their best to cheer
fully live through the coming winter
on it.
The suffragettes were also “vindicated.”
It’s quite true that the country was care- T
ful not to overdo the matter of vindi
cating the suffragettes, bu they handed
them a small taste.
Certainly as a vindicator a national
election leaves little to be desired. It may
gather a fat politician by the nap of
the neck and ttie brow of the pantaloons
and scatter his remains from Maine to
California with great abandon, but it
vindicates him. He may look like the
sad remains of a wobbly barn after it
has been monkeyed with by a Kansas cy
clone, or a German siege gun, but he still
has his vindication. As long as lie can
press to his bosom said vindication he
can defy the world, and at the same
time appear pleased and cheerful.
Being of the democratic persuasion, we
feel all cheered up by last Tuesday’s elec
tion ourselves. Somehow we feel “vin
dicated.” At this writing we still are
the whole works in the House and Sen
ate, and at the various and sundry de
partments in spite of the "great victory”
of our friends the enemy. We are in a
flattering position to keep them at a re
spectful distance from the “meal tick
et,” and that seems to us the “answer."
If the republicans can struggle along this
winter on vindication and such other odd
jobs as they can get, they are perfectly
welcome. So far as we are concerned we
are willing for them to have all the vindi
cation there is hanging round not other
wise engaged, so long as we continue to
carry home the bacon. We are willing for
them to have just exactly the same kind
of vindication in 1910. We are dead stuck
on vindicating the Republicans by keeping
them on the outside looking in. Long
may they remain vindicated.
MUSIC AND MILITARISM , J
From the Musical Courier. '
EVERYTHING that John F. Runci
man writes is well worth read
ing, not only because it is full of
interest, but also because of its sugges
tiveness. In an. editorial called “German
Music and the Prussian Spirit,” Which
he published recently in the London Sat
urday Review, there are a number of
statements which are not founded firmly
on facts, but only on the personal opin
ion of the writer himself. John R. Runci
man asks: “What is the secret of the
decay of German music?” He evidently
takes it for granted that everybody ac
knowledges German music to be on the
decline. But this is only a matter of
opinion, and opinions often differ. Ger
man music may, or may not, be decaying.
It is not an established fact that German
music is going down hill, and John F.
Runeiman consequently has no logical
right to say: “What is the secret of the
decay of German music?” All he has the
right to say is: “I do not like the modern
music of Germany." Carl von Weber had
a right to his opinion that Beethoven was
“fit. only for the madhouse” after writ
ing the seventh symphony, and Chopin
had the right to think that the new com
position which Schumann had just dedi
cated to him was “not music at all.” This
cry of modern decay is as old as the
hills. The poets of ancient Rome often
wrote about it.
John F. Runeiman says: “Modern Ger
man music does, indeed, reflect the mod
ern German mind and ambition.” Of
course it does. What great art is not a
reflection of the national mind? The
most permanent works of art yet pro
duced were decidedly the reflection of
the Greek artists of the golden aga of
Athens.
Dante is a reflection of the mind, learn
ing and theology of a thirteenth century
Italy, and all Shakespeare’s characters
are English. Shakespeare, too, had a
fairly high opinion of himself, if his son
nets mean anything. Why blame Wagner
for inordinate self-esteem and not find
fault with Shakespeare for waiting:
“Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful
rhyme?”
If Horace was permitted to publish his
thirtieth ode, in which he asserts that his
writings are more durable than brass,
and loftier than the pyramids, why should
not Wagner be allowed his favorite ex
pression, “I?”
The Scotchman’s prayer that the Lord
might “gi’e us a good opinion o’ our
sers” has been very generously answered.
The main difference is that Horace,
Shakespeare and Wagner roaly had some
thing to be conceited about, whereas the
very great majority of mortals have not.
John F. Runeiman makes the “merest
guess” that Wagner's idea of a German
was a man with “tastes and habit of
mind fostered by study of Goethe, Schilr
ler, F.euerbaeh and Schopenhauer, and
the musical Works of Beethoven and him
self.” We hardly believe that the mod
ern Prussian is sufficiently subject to
tile influence of the German Goethe who
exclaimed: “If only we could remodel
the' Germans after the pattern of the
English!” We were under the impres
sion that the modern Prussian wanted to
remodel the English after the pattern of
the Germans. The culture of modern Ger
many does not appear to he singularly
dominated by Goethe’s conception of cul
ture. He says: “National hatred is a
singular thing. You will find U-commonly
most violent where there is the lowest
measure of culture. There is a point,
however, at which it disappears wholly
and where one stands, as it were, above
nations, and is affected by the fortunes
ahd distresses of a jieighb<Aing nation
as if they were one's own.”
No; John F. Runeiman had better guess
again and leave Gothe out when seeking
the roots of that modern Prussian culture
where Wagner was supposed to have ex
hibited in his prose works, and which
1 modern German composers are supposed
to exhibit in their musical works.
, Does the modern military spirit of Prus
sia affect the modern music of Germany?
We do not refer to the actual war which
now disrupts every art and occupation.
We are looking for the military spirit in
' music. Richard Strauss is not a Prus
i slan. If he has the Prussian militarism
in his blood he has not succeeded in
1 making himself popular with the domi
j nating personality of the Prussian hilll
tary forc6, the Kaiser, who is fond of
t Gluck's unmllltary music to classical
Greek stories.
1 The romantic and melodious Weber was
a Prussian: but he lived long before the
military spirit was so rampant. Meyer
f beer and Mendelssohn were bom in Prus
sia, but descended from peaceful and in
* dustrious Jewish ancestors. The one great
modern Prussian composer is Brahms,
whom his admirers rank with Bach and
i Beethoven, and whom his detractors ac
cuse of dullness and of almost everything
" except a martial and arrogant spirit.
Arrogance and boasting are not necessa
rily founded on military efficiency. The
f boasting in Purcell’s “King Arthur," to
which John F. Runeiman refers, was
written at a time when England’s power
was at its lowest, and when the merry
monarch, Charles II, was too busy with
liis actresses and ladies of the court to *_
be troubled with insignificant affairs like
battleships. While the opera singers were
boasting of their prowess, the Dutch ad- f
miral, de Ruyters, was sailing the chan- ,
nel with a broom at the masthead in de
rision of the English fleet which he had "
swept from the sea.
We are all boasters, every one of us.
The Chinese call their land the Celestial {
empire, and the Russians speak of Holy r
Russia. A Frenchman is ever ready to
prove that France is the intellectual lead- ■
er of the world. An Englishman takes
it for granted that everybody knows the
British empire is the most magnificent I
that ever existed. And where is the
American who has not said that the Uni
ted States is the greatest country in the
world ? \
Therefore if Wagner, and a few million
o* his countrymen, think that German
culture is the only culture worth men- X
tioning, we must consider it a harm- 1
less amusement. We have no admiration
for the man Wagner, and we think his
volume of confessions a disgrace. But \l
his glorious music is as much unlike his
private life as the crimson rose is unlike I
the manure in which its stalk is embed*
ded. We may not be able to free our
selves entirely of our political and na- i
tional bias, but let us try and keep our
attention on the great Germans, the greuc A
Englishmen, the great Frenchmen, who I
dwell in everlasting amity on the summit j
of Parnassus.
BIRMINGHAM STEEL MEETING
From the Iron Age.
The meeting of iron and steel m&nu- I
facturers at Birmingham had a rare in- ;
terest and significance. It was the first |
time the natural resources of that district
and the extensive equipment for their con- j
version into pig iron and steel had come
under the inspection of northern leaders
in the industry since millions from the
earnings of northern works had been
used to give Birmingham an assured po
sition among the steel centers of the coun
try. Another unique feature was that the j
corporation which without dissent was
credited with putting Birmingham where
she is today in the steel trade, was at
the time of the meeting under bombard- \
ment of government attorneys as an 11- <
legal institution which should be de
stroyed. ' - j
Yet another outstanding feature of the
meeting was the address of President
Gary, who, in glv^f the struggle for com- 1
merclal supremacy the main cause of
the European war. urged that the prin
ciple of conciliation and co-operation for
which the American Iron and Steel insti- |
tute stands should never be abandoned.
The sentiment was warmly applauded by j
the convention, as was the asesrtion that
steel masters can faithfully represent I
their stockholders and engage in the keen- \
est competition without doing anything
destructive, ‘oppressive or unfair. Evi
dently Judge Gary regards the federal
trade commission as an instrument for
the furtherance of proper co-operation, “j
rather than for restoring the "old-time
competition" which has been aimed at
in the campaign against big busi
ness. Such, at least, is the inference
from his reference to legislation pro
viding for a commission to make effective
what the steel men have cultivated in
the past seven years.
The Birmingham meeting did good ser
vice in linking up the Alabama steel indus
try of today with the period of pioneer
ing in which so many hopes were raised
j and so few were realized. The excellent
historical papers brought out distinctly
the period of beginnings, in which the |
prospector and promoter figured largely; f
the period of transition in which the
weakness of the southern situation was f
borne in upon investors, but with it a
large promise of ultimate success; and
finally the period of permanence, in which j
vast sums have been spent to get ready
for profits making some approach to re
sults in the north. In the old days capi
tal had been drawn into Alabama by the
lure of cheap raw materials. Juxtaposi
tion of ore, coal and flux, so close that
standing on a blast furnace top one could ?.
send successive rifle balls into an iron ;
mine, a coal mine and a limestone quarry,
was the first and the last word of thb
promoter. It took time to learn that an
other juxtaposition was very necessary— ?
a juxtaposition of consuming- territory; i
also that economies in practice, manage
ment and organization had been very un
wisely omitted from the early reckon
ings. By a train of events never dreamed
of by the men of vision and venture,
whose courage laid the foundations of
iron making in Alabama, there came in i
due time the needed millions, the manage- J
ment, the better practice and the organ- j
isation, and today hopes long deferred are ?
well on the way to fulfillment. The Iron \
and steel institute meeting was a fine
revelation to northern steel masters of
what a strong corporation lias wrought
from that which it found at Birmingham
and the other Indispensable things whisk
it brought in its own hands. !
. I