The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], April 19, 1915, Page 4, Image 4

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

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THE AGE-HERALD
K. U. BARHKTT.Editor
Entered at the Bu rning dam, Aia.,
postoffice as second class matter under
act of Congress Atarcn 3, 1879.
Daily and Sunday Age-Herald.... $8.0u
Daily and Sunday, per month.70
Daily and Sunday, three months.. 2.00
Weekly Age-lierald. per annum.. .u0
Sunday Age-Herald. 2.00
George Me Masters, O. E. Young and W.
D. Brumbeioe are the only authorized
traveling representatives of The Age
Herald in its circulation department.
No communication will be published
without its author's name. Rejected
manuscript will not be returned unless
Stamps are enclosed ior that purpose.
Remittances can be made at current
rate of exchange. The Age-Herald will
not be responsible for money sent
through the mails. Address,
THE AGE-HERALD,
Birmingham, Ala,
Washington bureau, 207 Hib'ua build
ing.
European bureau, 6 Henrietta street.
Covent Garden, London.
Eastern business office. Rooms 48 to
60, inclusive, Tribtane building. New
York city; western business office.
Tribune bjilding, Chicago. The S. C.
Beckwith Special Agency, agents for
eign advertising.
TELEPHONE
Bell (private exchange connecting all
department*!) Main 4000.
Sorrow eniln not when It aeemeth done.
—Hlchard II.
BEGINNING THE DAY—Every
normal day ought to have In It moine
work, Nome pla>. Nome rcNt, Nome
touch of the elbow n with people,
Nome contact with world movement*
through paper* ami magazine*,
Nome converse with the great aonla
of the pawt through hooka. Nome
quiet, clear Independent thinking
and Nome talking with God.—
H. M. E.
Passing of Noted Newspaper Men
ft is not often that the newspaper
world sustains the loss of three nota
ble men within the short space of a
week, such as William R. Nelson,
founder and editor of the Kansas
City Star; John S. Shriver, Washing
ton correspondent and author and
secretary of the Gridiron club, and
Walter C. Henderson of the Atlanta
Constitution.
Each of these widely known work
ers had lived long enough to form a
connecting link between the old school
of journalism and the new. But each
was of the virile type, and none of
them lost touch with the best in mod
ern life and methods.
The death of Colonel Nelson has
called forth editorial tributes from
every part of the United States. Per
sonal journalism which was so telling
in the years that have gone is now
the exception to the rule. Few of the
editors whose name made the news
paper are left. Colonel Nedson was
one of the last of them. He made his
impress early in his journalistic ca
reer. He was the Kansas \rity Star
just as Horace Greeley was the New
York Tribune and Charles A. Dana
was the New York Sun. Although well
beyond the three score and ten limit
he was young in his feelings and
young in his ways up to the time of
his fatal illness. He was a great be
liever in young men, and his staff was
largely made up of such. In Kansas
City and elsewhere he will be re
membered as a very model for all
newspaper apprentices.
John Shriver, the correspondent,
was a forceful and pleasing writer.
He was one of the brightest of news
papermen and one of the most person
ally popular.
Walter Henderson was one of the
strong factors in the making of the
Atlanta Constitution. He was a mas
ter in almost every branch of news
paper activity. In the mechanical de
partment he had no superior, and his
keen appreciation of news made him
one of the best telegraph editors in
the south.
Those who were associated with
these men personally or socially will
long miss them. Peace to.their ashes!
The Russian Prisoner
Abraham Cahan, editor of the Jew
ish paper Forward, has written an in
teresting account of his visit to a
prison camp at Frankfort-on-the
Oder, Germany. He states that the
prisoners he found there seemed on the
whole to be glad they were free frorr
the dangers and hardships of war
■nd they were better treated by theii
German captors than they had beer
treated by their own officers. The
Russians he found noticeably con
tented and l happy, considering the
fact that they were prisoners in i
hostile land. His account of the laugh
ing, romping Russians in this particu
lar camp strengthens the belief tha
9 the average Russian soldier is no
anxious to fight and is glad of an;
legitimate excuse to be out of th
war. However, this can hardly be tru
I of the majority of Russians who hav
fought with such gallantry in th
“eastern theatre of war.” It needs bu
their showing against the Japs an
their victories over the Austrians an
Germans in the present war to prov
that their hearts are more in thi
Struggle than in the Russo-Japanes
conflict.
A number of German prison camf
have been described by newspap«
correspondents, all of whom agn
that the prisoners there are we
treated, but the characteristic tho
oughness of the Germans is shown i
the elaborate precautions taken to
prevent a riot. At the camp at Frank
fort-on-the-Oder three machine guns,
each capable of firing six hundred
shots a minute, are mounted in a
watch tower which commands the en
tire camp, the twelve barracks and
the "streets” between them. These
guns could wreak havoc on prisoners
attempting to escape, and heavier
artillery is kept ready at a distance
in case of emergency.
If the enormous number of Russian
prisoners at present “guests of the
Kaiser” are all as playful and con
tented as they appear to be at Frank
fort-on-the-Odcr; prison life for
them must be a welcome contrast to
the horrors of modern w'arfare.
Must Have a Large Auditorium
Birmingham will be the host city
for several conventions this year and
a great many next year. Among those
virtually assured for 1916 are the
Southern Hardware association’s an
nual meeting and the Confederate
Veterans’ reunion.
In the matter of hotel accommoda
tions Birmingham is now in the first
rank. There are enough hotels to
care for thousands of visitors, but we
are still short on convention hall
space. Birmingham needs a modern
auditorium with a 10,000 seating ca
pacity.
Two years ago the people Voted by
an overwhelming majority an audi
torium bond issue, but bond experts
decided that such an issuance would
involve technical questions as to the
validity of such bonds, and the city
commission accordingly abandoned
the auditorium proposition until leg
islation could be obtained which would
give Birmingham the indisputable au
thority to issue bonds for the purpose
of providing the needed building.
A large auditorium is needed for
many occasions, notably music festi
vals. With an auditorium Birming
ham could have a great state festival
of music with a chorus of 1000 or
more. Until we have a building of
vast seating capacity our music fes
tivals must be necessarily limited in
scope.
It is hoped that the Chamber of
Commerce, which was instrumental in
having the bond issue proposition car
ried two years ago, will take up the
question again and induce the legis
lature to pass the necessary bill.
Will l)r. Gorgas Accept?
The Rockefeller foundation has in
vited Dr. William C. Gorgas, surgeon
general of the United States army to
become chief of its sanitary staff.
The members of the Rockefeller board
are naturally eager to have the great
est sanitary expert in the world asso
ciated with them. They want to send
him now to Servia, where fevers are
raging and where cholera is expected
soon to become a scourge. From late
reports disease conditions in that un
happy kingdom are most horrible, and
if cholera breaks out it will spread
throughout many countries.
Dr. Gorgas is not only a man of
great capacity for big achievement,
but he is a willing man. He loves
to work for humanity, and it can be
readily imagined that his inclination
will be to respond to the Rockefeller
foundation’s request and proceed as
early as possible to Servia.
In normal times or under ordinary
conditions the war department would
be glad no doubt to give Dr. Gorgas an
indefinite leave of absence in order
for him to introduce modern sanitary
methods in Servia and to be the in
strument of saving thousands of lives
by disease prevention. This govern
ment was glad to lend Dr. Gorgas to
Great Britain a year or more ago. The
British possessions in South Africa
were fever ridden, and Dr. Gorgas was
asked to go there and show how mos
quitoes and fever could be driven out;
but now, in view of the European war
and the possibility of complications
arising if an army officer took charge
of sanitary matters in one of the bel
ligerent nations, Secretary Garrison
makes it plain that Dr. Gorgas could
only become an agent of the Rocke
feller foundation in Servia by resign
ing from the army. Owing to his dis
tinguished services and his personal
] popularity Congress would doubtless
; be ready to pass a special act placing
Dr. Gorgas on the retired list before
he had reached the retirement age, if
, he so requested, but as Secretary Gar
rison points out, a retired army offi
cer being subject to military law and
discipline, might make an embarrass
- ing situation were he actively en
gaged in any sort of work in Servia.
, The public will await with interest
, Dr. Gorgas’ decision. Should he re
; sign in order to go to Servia Con
3 gress, after he had accomplished his
3 work, would unquestionably pass a
t bill providing for his retirement with
J his present rank and pay of major
j general.
e
Pis iron is probably about the most un
si i timental thing in the wide, wide world,
e but when it rises in price and sells like
hot cakes it certainly does bring a lol
S o' smiles and happiness to thousands oi
r hearts in Birmingham.
e The Musical Courier says the dif
II li-renc* between opportunity and Up
•- n ubIc critic is that opportunity knocki
11 ' only once.
The use of wireless telegraphy In the
piesent war has not been an unqualified
success, although It was probably due
to this form of communication more than
anything else that German commerce
raiders were able to elude their pursuers
for many months while cruising In all
parts of the world. It was the chief dis
advantages of wireless telegraphy in its
present form that proved of such great
help to the German commanders, f >r while
they could not risk sending messages very
often on their own account, by “picking
up ' the messages exchanged by enemy
ships they slipped away from the danger
zone without their presence being known.
Tn warfare on land, as well as in the
air, wireless telegraphy is not being used
to any great extent. Although aeroplanes
have been equipped for sending wireless
messages, they can maintain communica
tion over only a limited area and there
is always danger of their messages be
ing deciphered by hostile cryptographers
who are numerous in the different war
zones A code message, even if it cannot
be read, at least puts the enemy on the
alert. A wireless message can be purposely
garbled by sending a meaningless jumble
of words or letters In rapid succession.
These become confused with the actual
message and invariably render it inde
cipherable. However, wdreless telegraphy
has already proved Itself Invaluable in
saving life at sea. Its failure in war is
not to be regretted.
Tn their letter to former Mexican
President Huerta, members of the
Aladero regime refer to “peace loving
Alexicans.” The information is re
ceived with much satisfaction, for
there ore many people who had begun
to believe that there “aint no such
thing."
Tlie man who found a cock roach in a
soft drink bottle and then sued the com
pany for damages has a poor Imagination.
He might have used that cock roach to
bait a fish book and caught a trout which
would have made two or three meals
for his family.
The gentleman who coined the
phrase about opportunity knocking
only once evidently couldn't forsee that
the opportunity of the United States
to go to war during the year 1915
would occur about every other six
seconds.
When a business man finds both ends
fail to meet, he tries to reduce ex
penses, but when the underwriters' as
sociation makes the discovery they
merely wave a wand and order their
income increased. Pretty easy.
Arizona intends to christen the new
battleship named after that state witn
a bottle of water. Why don’t they
complete the job and get Great l)e
ttroyer Hobson to break the bottU ?
The statistical fiend who used to spend
a great deal of his time estimating the
age of the earth is now engaged in com
puting the number of men who have been
killed In the European w'ar.
Hanging out the sign, "No Children Ad
mitted," has helped to sw'ell the receipts
jC crafty moving picture managers who
liac! nothing in their theatres a child
shouldn't see.
Senator I^ewis seems to think that Mr.
Wilson will not run for the presidency
again However, the Hon. Jim Ham is
not what might be called a boss prognos
ticator.
The feverish suburbanite doesn't feel that
hi H doing his garden justice unless he
adds at least one large blister to his
hands every day.
The Panama canal is not yet a paying
proposition. Blame it on the war. That's
the standard excuse nowadays.
The movements of the Japs at Turtle
Bay appear to be real turtle-like—
in cloudy circumstances.
The G. O. P. can absorb the progressive
party, neck and crop, without feeling the
least bit gorged.
That a man has not yet bought his
straw hat does not necessarily mean he
is “broke.”
Mr. Root might possibly thaw out a
trifle if he entered the race for the presi
| dency.
A STEEL TRAP KNOWS
J From the Kansas City Star.
"Why do they say ‘as smart as a steel
! trap?’ ” asked the talkative boarder. “[
never could see anything particularly In
tellectual about a steel trap.”
“A steel trap Is called smart,” ex
plained an elderly person In his sweetest
voice, "because It knows exactly the
light time to shut up.”
LIKE M'Lt'KE SAYS
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Eugenics may be great stuff. But the
birth notices published 60 years ago con
tained as many "12-pounders" as the birth
notices published today.,
The lad who gets too much tamarack
in a saloon is drunk. But the man who
gets too much wine in a club is intoxi
cated.
The blonde usually gets the blame. But
the brunette causes her share of the
trouble.
if a woman ever finds $6 in her hus
band's pocket she will ask him every
day for three months if he still has it
ana wonder for six months what he spent
it on
Some men follow a profession all their
lives without catching up with it.
A woman gets so elated when her hus
band gets a $10 raise that she quits talk
ing about her husband's salary and be
gins talking about her husband's income.
A man often piles up a fortuhe because
he refuses to sit down and waste any
time wishing that he was rich.
If you tell little piking lies you get a
reputation as a liar. But if you tell big
moi uinental lies you get a reputation as a
sta tisticlan.
A friend is a man who will listen to
you and let on that he doesn’t know that
you don’t know what you are talking
about.
Whei a man loses all lil.s money the
loss makes such a change in him that a
lot of his former friends fall to recog
nize him when they see him.
A man often thinks of a lot of grand
things he could do for his wife and his
children if he didn’t need the money for
himself.
The man who doesn’t own an automobile
often wonders what becomes of all the
nails and tacks that are manufactured.
When a lawyer is married lie doesn't
have to go into court to have his objec
tions overruled.
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Mamin li.v Jackson Highway
“The road that runs by borne,” sai<:
Sol Caheen, “Is the road In which we arc
vitally interested—that is the Jacksor
highway, which was launched by the
Daughters of 1812, some four years ago
thj one that Miss Alma Rittenberry, who,
as chairman or executive head. Has
worked so diligently for, and almost un
aided.
“It was launched as a trunk line road
from Chicago to New Orleans, through
the cities of Indianapolis, Louisville,
Nashville. Decatur. Birmingham, Mont
gomery, Selma and Mobile, on to New
Orleans. When this road is built, which
should be before any other highway is
constructed through Alabama, we will get
a number of northern tourists that will
come down to Birmingham on the way
tj New Orleans, and from Montgomery;
they can go across over through Georgia
to Florida, which seems to be the Mecca
for northern tourists.
“If the people all along the line and
the commercial clubs In the different
titles would take some concerted action,
ind the Lakes-to-the-Gulf association and
the Jackson Highway association combine
ind hew strictly to the route of least re
sistance. In 12 months we would have a
broad highway from Chicago down
throng! Birmingham.
“It’s useless to think of building a high
way through any county or state except
by bond issues. If federal aid is given,
why not stipulate that federal aid be given
to build bridges across rivers. When you
get a bridge built across a river at a
given point the counties will build the
highway to that bridge. It seems to me
that Decatur is the most logical place to
>uild a bridge, being Half way between
Florence and Huntsville, and a more di
rect line from Birmingham. Let's pull
Cor the Jackson highway, and not go on
my more wild goose chases, like some did
ifter tHe Dixie highway, which was
planned and launched by people outside
it the state, and not always be going
ifter something which some other town
jr city has already launched while W€
were asleep.
“Every farmer’s wife should be a ‘good
roads booster,’ and should at all times
ind in every possible way use her in
fluence and her voice to the improvement
jf the highways and roads of her town
sHip. county and state.”
ISeed of Annual Fair
"Of course we will have our annual
rair,“ said Robert P. McDavid, "for we
an ill afford not to.
"The recent propaganda seeking tc
encourage diversified farming, and in
cidentally stock raising, should find
practical expression of results in the
exhibits here in October.
"I have visited the Tennessee fairs,
ind have particularly enjoyed the agri
cultural and stock features. And speak
ng of this last, f would like to see the
stock exhibits brought more to the
front in the show ring here at our fairs
[t stimulates pride and interest with
nost men to win even a blue ribbon be
!ore the public. There are in this im
mediate section 100 or more highbred
:olts, many of which would be shown.
Then the bog and cattle exhibit can be
brought to even more extensive dis
plays; thus far these have proven un
usually good, particularly the showing
L'f hogs.
"The merchants of Birmingham, I an
told, reap better results from the an
nual fair than from any other attract
ing features that draw’ outsiders tc
trade in Birmingham. The whole busi
ness community is interested in a great
fair, for it draw’s investments by visi
tors, some of whom, first attracted
come to make investments in Birming
ham property.”
Chickens Destroying Flower Gardens
"The chicken nuisance as to flowers
ind gardens, is one that needs atten
tion,” said a householder recently comi
here to make his home.
"My daughter has been very Indus
trioiis, and spent much time on dolnf
her part towards the ‘city beautifu
idea;’ she planted flower Beeds in ou
front yard. Well, the labor was al
lost through the depredations of «
neighbor’s chickens. There should b<
some protection given those who seel
to beautify their premises, or cultivate
a garden. Of course one doesn’t like tt
start a fuss with his neighbors, or g<
so far as to hale them to court. Well
what must we do? Let the commission
ers ban chickens as they have pigs."
Steadily Increasing Tide of Travel
"The tide of travel is steadily in
creasing," said T. B. Burk, clerk of th<
Molton, "and we are doing a good bust
ness.
"The class of travel coming to Bir
mlngham is highly, representative
Many public men and business men fror
all over Alabama are visiting the cit;
these beautiful spring days. And th
ladies are coming here to shop; I not
unmistakable signs of approachini
weddings and commencements in som
of their purchases. The class of travel
ing men now on the road represents th
survival of the fittest—the bes
equipped—and tlie hotel management i
quick to note this. The rough-and
tumble, up-all-night salesmen has bee;
lost In the demands of modern trade
and the progressive Ideas now reachin;
almost every village and hamlet."
The Coal Mining Industry
"The present month is naturally on
of the dullest in the coal trade,” re
marked Fred Sherrod, "but the minin
industry has picked up wonderfully i
the Birmingham district within a com
paratively short time.
"On Sunday of last week I took
trip down to Coalena. This mining tow
is between 20 and 30 miles south c
Birmingham, and is located in the heat
of the coal region. On the way dow
my train passed through many minin
towns, and on inquiry I learned tlia
practically all of the mines had in
creased in output recently, and wer
averaging four or five days per wree
full lime. A while back this industr
was practically at a ‘standstill’ in th
Birmingham district.
"The demand for coal will increas
greatly during the summer, as th
yards and manufacturing companic
will soon begin to lay in supplies for tli
coming winter. Mining concerns wi
then of course find it necessary to ir
crease their output still further in oi
der to supply the wants of the trade
Old-Time Activity
Henry Clews in his Saturday reviet
says in part:
"Old-time activity has returned \
the stock exchange and million-shai
days are no longer a novelty. Fro!
time to time the favorable change
in underlying factors in the stock mai
Uet have been pointed out in these a.
vices. As the business world adjust*
1 itself to new conditions, as the final
outcome of the colossal struggle in
Europe became more apparent, as fear
disappeared and calm judgment realized
that on this side of the Atlantic the
worst of the storm was over, confi
dence began to assert itself more and
more freely until at last it developed
into a -surprising outburst of specula
tion. This characteristic rebound from
extreme depression to extraordinary
buoyancy may seem remarkable, but
it is only In accordance with precedent
since one extreme invariably follows
another in due course of time. Recent
developments connected with the war
really started the present rise. The
frightful waste of life and wealth
which Is still going on must of course
have a permanent injurious effect up
on the social and economic welfare of
the world at large.
“Nevertheless, there Is a sense of re
lief that the end is now foreshadowed;
and the dawn of peace naturally im
parts new life, new hope and fresh con
fidence.
“So far as the stock market is con
cerned, it was the war group of stocks
which led the advance. A number of
our great industrial establishments
are employed on large and profitable
foreign contracts. Concerns equipped
with facilities for turning out ordnance
and ammunition have been particular
ly fortunate and these led the rise.
.Some automobile manuacturers have
also secured enormous contracts from
Europe, about 30,000 American cars
and motor trucks having already been
shipped abroad, with thousands more
to follow. Clothing and food produc
ers have alpo been enjoying very prof
itable contracts All such activities
are having their effect upon business
and speculation
“The outlook for the market Is for
continued activity. Speculation prom
ises to turn to securities hitherto neg
lected. The violent advances of the
last few’ weeks may of course induce
frem time to time considerable profit
taking, in which event sharp fluctua
tions may be anticipated, all of which
will tend to create a healthy and more
active trading market. At this writing
the market exhibits surprising
strength.”
WAR ECHOES
New York World: That British order®
in council may be amended and repealed
as well as issued is shown by the state
ment of the under secretary of foreign
affairs relative to cotton and dyestuffs.
A litttle while ago cotton was contraband,
Now it Is free. A little while ago we were
told that the exigencies of war compelled
Great Britain to stop all commerce with
Germany, going or coming, directly or in
directly. Now we are informed that two
cargoes of German dyestuffs already
bought and paid for by Americans will be
permitted to leave a neutral port undei
a neutral flag.
Tn principle we have here an acceptance
by the British government of the main
American contention. There is an admin
sion that neutral commerce is noncontra
band goods, no matter what the ultimate
destination may be, is not lawfully sub
ject to interruption.
This is not by any means a full recog
nition of neutral rights at sea, but it is
an important move in that direction. How
long will it be before Germany will in
struct its submarines accordingly?
Louisville Evening i\»st: The Londor
Tlrr.es, in former days rather euperciliou*
in regard to all things American, speaks
in terms of unqualified praise of the va
rious diplomatic notes of the Uniter
States government since the beginning ol
the war, and observes that, while the po
sition taken by the United States govern
ment has not always been as the JBritisl
government would have preferred, it is
impossible to question the ability witl
( which the foreign affairs of our govern
ment have been handled during a perioc
of exceptional difficulty.
Similar expressions are freely utterei
whenever and wherever men discuss, in t
spirit of fairness, what has been done bj
our government in recent months in tin
world of foreign affairs. Speaking a
the meeting of the Pilgrim society in Lon
1 don Thursday of this week, Sir Gilber
Parker, the distinguished English novel
1 1st, is quoted as follows:
1 “Never has a neutral nation had sucl
1 problems as the United States has facet
■ with a temperateness, courtesy and mod
eration, for which this country cannot L,'
too grateful. The American governmen
has pursued the only course possible to i
natioi desirous of preserving its deserv
edly high reputation in the field of diplo
> macy ”
This correctly describes not only th'
war. but the ability that has been showi
. by this nation throughout this terribl
way, but the ability that has been showi
, by the men in charge. American diplo
macy has for 100 years been the most sue
, eeesful Our “untrained diplomatists
, have negotiated treaty after treaty with :
r skill that has been freely acknowledge'
[ b, impartial historians of all nations. Ou
representatives abroad have never faile'
to rise to the situations that presents
i then selves. Our state department a
*■ Washington has been managed with un
5 falling success, but it has never been man
ageu with more ability or with more sue
1 cess than in the matters that liave arise;
* in regard to the European war.
? Inflamed partisans on this side of th
ocean are slow to recognize these fact*
but the: are true nevertheless, and wi
b-3 ungrudgingly acknowledged by th
" whole nation as time passes.
Louisville Herald: Half the world i
1 busy fighting the other half. Hatred an
malice toward one another is spreadin
through Europe as poison spreads throug
1 the human system. Blasting, witherini
1 destroying.
r The United States has kept out of th
1 trouble so far. But millions of this cour
I try’s inhabitants have kinsmen aero*
? the sea. Fathers, mothers, sister;
t brothers or more distant relatives.
And when one has kinsmen, even dli
e taut kinsmen, killing or being killed i
< the trenches, it is hard to control th
y feelings, to be neutral—to refrain froi
e singing the hymn of hate—to refrain froi
feeling bitter toward your neighbor her
e whose kinsmen, perhaps, are part of tY
e foes your kinsmen are fighting,
s This is the time then to be an Amei
e lean first.
II Nail Old Glory to the mast and the
- stand by the flag. You are a citizen of U
- United States. We do not want to medd
• in tills affair in Europe—except to brir
about peace if possible!
Feel sorrow and pain that the petty il
feeling of crowned puppets should caui
the slaughter of millions of men—aom
o perhaps, kinsmen of yours—but wht
e hatred begins to steal into your heart ar
n the blood-red haze of the battlefield ris<
a before your eyes—
- Stop and remember that:
I- You are an American—first, last and a
d the time.
9
DYING MOUJIK AND PRINCE
| ± ercival Gibbon in Everybody's Maga
zine.
f pHEN, a sudden, the air
| creaked and rattled with the
A bursting of a beautifully timed
shrapnel, exploding, as it should, not
more than 20 feet above the road. The
noise of a fagot of sticks broken across
a giant's knee, the sudden appearance,
like a mean miracle, of the little bal
loon of bomb-smoke overhead, and the
group of soldiers ahead of us burst
asunder with queer, tiny cries mere
startled squeaks.
Two fell; one, as we ran toward them
rose to his feet, cursing in a slow,
monotonous voice like a man who lias
recently cursed a good deal; he had
merely tripped over his own feet in
trying to run. But the other did not
rise.
The shrapnel had taken him along
the side of the lace, plowing down
through the cheek and descending Into
the nest of arteries and vital parts
which is situated in the base of tho
neck; but he was not dead. A sanitar
with the Red Cross brassard on Ills left
arm came running from somewhere
and was already with him before we
arrived. Do you know the color of
blood—that startling red that not only
looks red but smells red and feels red
when you touch it? He was on one
elbow, his head drooping, and around
him the mud of the road w’as redden
ing with the very essence of his life
that spouted from him, that dyed his
shoulder to the hue of horror—the aw
ful, copious blood of a man.
The sanitar w'as on his knees be
side him, busy and deft; the others,
his unhurt comrades, came crowding
round; the prince, my companion,
shoved his wray in to look and direct
The sanitar, knee and ajm holding the
wounded man up in a sitting position,
made a face like a man who bites
something sour; he was no doctor, but
a mere porter of the wounded, arul
the thing was outside his slender
knowledge
Round the prince’s shoulder T had a
view of the wounded man’s face, round
like a baby’s, and bearded, ruddy as
copper—another laborious mrtujik
whom events had transfigured into a
soldier.
The prince gave some direction In
sibilant Russian; the wounded man
lifted his slow eyes toward the voice,
resigned, patient and acquiesced as a
beast’s; he saw above him the tall*
slender figure, the exquisite fitting
khaki, the slung tassled sword and
the broad gold epaulets—the embodi
ment of high authority.
God knows the Russian mind—not
I who are here for the sixth time in
10 years and find the Russian yet a
problem of wonder. None can know
now what he saw, unless it was the
gilt of power and aristocracy, the
batlge of rank. Ills glazing eyes
dwelt on it dully; comprehension
came to him slowly; so that for some
seconds he stared at the prince, as
though making sure of the presence
he was in.
Then he perceived, and ancient in
stincts. cold, ineradicable slavo tradi
tions were at work in the misty fever
of his failing mind. He strained upon
his elbow and the supporting knee of
the sanitar; with awful and agonizing
effort, dying as he was. he made an
attempt to stand; his body bent in the
convulsion of hfs purpose and for a
moment he was half up, on one knee
and one hand. He could not quite
achieve it; one saw, in his face, how he
realized that; but, none the less, his
great hand, horny like a hoof, the hand
of a field laborer, of a plowman, came
up to the cap brim in a salute to the
epaulets.
“Nichevo!” The prince, shocked and
compassionate, deprecated the salute,
but it was done. Even while, the last
spasm of his strength failing hint, ho
:*ank back on the knee of the sanitar.
his bent and obedient hand was lifted;
he died, under our eyes, Russian to the
last, Russian to the bone, docile, pliable
rs a kind horse, yielding his life in a
final impulse of faith in the power and
virtue of those who ruled him.
Have you seen a man die That
queer hardening of the man into the
corpse, that terrifying metamorphosis
ihat with a gasp, a gurgle in the throat
and a slackening of the jaw, makes of
a man dead flesh? No? Then you
don’t know war. War is death pervad
ing humanity like an odor; it is the
rpirit of horrible burlesque working
upon the dignity of mankind; it is ab
upt catastrophe intruding like a rob
ber upon the sanctity of life. War U
hell—I know all that; but war is insult,
too—insult to man, insult to the stuff
map is made of, insult to the image of
God.
■••••••■■a•«•••■■•••••••••••••••••••••••••■•••••••••*
COST OF WARS
I -—
From the Wall Street Journal.
ECONOMISTS have never been able]
to tabulate the costs of war. Tho
difficulty Is that the advantages
and disadvantages of war do not run in
the same terms.
Fifty years ago the civil war in the
United States gave us a transcontinental
railroad, a new meaning to the constitu
tion. a new bond of union for thfe states,
a new nationalism, a national banking
system, a unified currency, a civic spirit
and a material progress not previously
dreamed of.
How could this account be balanced
against killed and wounded, $4,000,000,000 of
war expenditure and industrial and social
disorganization and destruction in the
between states?
Put your pencil over these items before
you read further and see if you can strike1
a balance, and see also if any main item
is omitted. In a large way all the debit
and credit items affecting the United
States are enumerated above.
But was the civil war a matter only
between states)*
Did not the civil war settle a world
problem and answer the question of
whether one human being was to be here
after born on this planet as the owner
by divine right over another man whom
he could call his chattel slave, to be
whipped or sold—the white race by divine
right dealing in the bodies and souls of
■ men and women born black? Southern
slavery and the social and Industrial or
ganization there perished by the only
: manner in which It could be put out of
existence—In civil war, when men gave
■ up their lives for principle. The south
••■•••••••■••••■•■••••••••••••••••■•••••••••••■•■•a*
' GOSSIP IN LONDON '
• From the Philadelphia Evening Tele
graph
Not far up from Piccadilly, saya the
. Dally Sketch, a very tall officer in khaki
strnds astride the gutter scanning the
i narrow slit of sky to the northward. His
, operations cause some swervings of shiny
j limousines and impede the progress of a
, discreet green grocer's bicycle cart.
Zeppelins? One of those too-sad trag
. edies of this time of nerve strain? Not at
• all. The warrior is simply choosing a
i pai* of glasses before he catches the one
I fifteen for the front, and by the lack of
• reserve with which he has just walked
1 out of the shop behind him he symbolizes
1 the war change which has come on Bond
t street
For one may do anything in Bond street
. now if only it has that hallowing quali
. fication of being done on account of the
x war. It is whispered darkly that one
might carry a parcel through its entire
> length without loss of caste. Certainly
one could carry an armful of khaki muf
I llera and achieve a certain chic thereby.
There are a few touches of life in Paris
now In the Rue Quatre Septembre is,
near the Opera, a very clever workman in
3 pipes. He has several men working with
him, and to see them turn on the lathe is
* a pretty sight, for they finish off nieer
1 schaum pipes in briar root and all sorts
' of stems in the front window. There is
aiways a group of lookers-on from one
e end of the year to the other. The men
are gone—gone to the war, and the patient
8 wife of the owner of the shop is there
’’ with two blight-eyed boys, teaching them
to spell and reai}. She has four children
and she cares for them and keeps the
n shop to the best of her ability. In speak
e ing of this to a Frenchwoman she replied:
11 “Ah, she has the chance of it—my boys
n are at the front and may never come
“ back again—or If they do may be muti
e latcd for life or weakened by some deathly
disease ”
“In most parts of Paris the streets are
n so dark after nightfall that you can hard
e ly walk without fear of stumbling over
e something you cannot see, and as for go
g ing upstairs in many houses the pass
ages are so dark and the staircase is so
I- difficult to climb that you really risk
it breaking your legs or something. This is
% put down to the rules of the police, who
n forbid lights in houses that can guide
d the aeroplanes, but the landlords no doubt
a take advantage of this to save money
In gas bills. I saw a young lady going,
writes an American in Paris to the Even
11 Ing Telegraph. "I suppose home the other
evening before dinner, and she had a lan
%
scorned the idea of selling its slaves to
the nation. Slavery was Its institutional
birthright, guaranteed by the constitution.
The world today is staggered by the
cost sheets of modern warfare.
In eight months, seven empires and four
nations or states have flown at each oth
er’s throats and sent bullets into the
bodies of more than 2,000,000 men, and the
world is figuring on the cost sheets!
But who can supply the debit and credit
elements to begin the true enumeration
for cost sheets
At least 23 problems are involved in this
war and its settlements, and they are
between the Kiel canal and the Bospho
rus. or the German indemnity to Belgium
and the Bagdad railroad. Geographically
none of them are 1000 miles apart, l^ut
how many thousand miles apart are the
real issues in this war?
The life of France as a nation, as well
as republicanism in France, is at stake.
The sacredness of treaties and the right
of Belgium to exist are involved. The
right of Germany to make and to hold a
war power that can bid for world domin
ion is involved, as well as the right of a
military autocracy to make war without
popular information or vote.
Where is the economist that can value
or begin to set down the debits and
credits in these accounts? The national
debt of the United States is $1,000,000,000.
All the gold in its 7500 national banks is
less than $1,000,000,000. The European
states are today spending $1,000,000,000 a
month in direct warfare. Who can count
the losses and gains? Puerile are the
statistics, idle the guess that can meas
ure in money or time the war era upon
which the world has now' entered.
»••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••■••••»•••••••••••••
tern in her hand—she was not going to
fall if she could help it. The sight is
a remarkable one and one to remember as
a reminiscence of the war—for the Paris
ians. in the metro, the other evening
just about 8 o'clock—the hour for ceasing
running the trains in many parts of the
city—I v.ras on the platform waiting for
my train to come up when a lady, dressed
ip black, modest in bearing and timid,
asked me if I could let her have a match.
I gav * fcer a box and learned that she was
afraid of going upstairs when she reached
her borne The tobacco shops are mostly all
wine shops, and they have to close at 8
o'clock. The grocers close at 7 or there
abouts. Hence the lady's dilemma. This
is unparalleled in my experience of Paris.’’
RETI RE OF THE 311 STACHE
From the London Chronicle.
18 the mustache coming into fashion
again? One will have observed that
'five of the Oxford crew wear decorations
on the upper lip. Cambridge has only
one example. That, however, makes six
out of 18, surely an unusual average today
among men who are not long out of their
“teens.” Leaving the army, in which
“face fungus” is compulsory, apart, com
mon observation leads one to the con
clusion that about 80 per cent of the male
population in England are today clean
shaven, while the majority of the others
do not shave at ad.
WE ARE FREE
By Robert X'ieoll.
Like lightning s flash
Upon the foe
We burst and laid
Their glories low! \
Like mountain floods
We on them came—
Like withering blast
Of scorching flame,
Like hurricane
l pon tlie sea—
Shout, shout again —
Shout, we are free!
We struck for God
We struck for life—
We struck for sire
We struck for wife—
We struck for home—
We struck for all
That man doth lose
By bearing thrall!
We struck 'gainst chains,
For liberty!
Now for our pains,
Shout, we are free!
Give to the slain
A sigh—a tear;
A curse to those
Who spoke of fear!
Then eat your bread
In peace, for now
The tyrant’s pride
Is lying low!
His strength is broken—
Hia minions flee—
The Voice has spoken—
Shout, we are frctl