The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], May 06, 1915, Page 4, Image 4

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

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THE AGEHERALD
E. W. BARRETT.Editor
Entered at the Birmingham, -A 1 aM |
postoffice as second class matter un
der act of Congress March 3. I$i9.
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THE AGE-HERALD,
Birmingham, Ala.
Washington bureau, 207 Hibbs build
ing.
European bureau, 6 Henrietta street,
Covent Garden, Dondon.
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60, inclusive. Tribune building, New
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eign advertising.
TEI.BPHONB
Bell (private cvehanae connecting nil
departments» Wain 4JMMI.
The vropst i*—death, and death will
have his day. —Richard II.
BEGINNING THE DAY—O n.y
God. may I measure by eternal stan
dards today. Way I choose the
things which are permanent. Wny
I build without the secret expecta
tion of tearing down later. Way I
he at work on my ultimate house.
Way 1 begin my eternal life now.
For Christ’s sake. A men.—II. W. E.
Our undent Tinrt of rmirntt. fnlr St.
(ipornf,
InnpireN ii» with the upleen of fiery
rirngotifc!
I pnn them! — Richard HI.
American Neutrality
It is remarkable how many people,
not all of them Germans, who are
ordinarily lucid thinkers, have allowed
their judgment to be warped by the
attitude of the United States govern
ment in the present war. Any num
ber of brilliant men, some of them
college professors, have made the
charge that this government is pro
longing the war by selling arms and !
ammunition to the allies. Evidently,
they have closed their minds to the
other side of the question and can
only look at it from their own point
| of view.
P Doubtless the fact that the allies
are able to purchase munitions of war
„ in large quantities from this country
is a great help to them, but the only
reason they are able to do this, while
Germany cannot, is because the allies
control the seas. If Germany were in
a position to buy war supplies from
this country, does any unprejudiced
observer think for a minute that she
would be refused"? The United States
government is not responsible for the
situation which permits England to
carry on her commerce across the At
lantic in comparative safety. If the
shoe were on the other foot, so to
speak, and Germany had control of
the seas, how soon would our ears be
deafened by the loud complaints of
the British ?
Perhaps the United States might be
able to stop the war by cutting off
the supply of food and ammunition
shipped to the allies. It might stop
the war by allowing Germany to come
off the victor, which is, of course, the
end the Germans most desire, but our
i neutrality, however much it may be
misunderstood now, would be knocked
into a cocked hat and if our good
f friends, the Germans, did not forth
with count us as their best and most
useful allies they would show ingrati
tude.
It is regrettable, surely, that this
country is an unwilling agent in pro
longing the honors of the European
war. No one in Germany regrets this
more than thousands of American
citizens, but the solution is not the
simple matter that pro-German sym
pathizers would have us believe. The
situation is vastly complicated. The
best this government can do is to sit
tight in the boat and keep it as steady
as may be, in spite of the efforts of
misguided persons to capsize it.
Optimism Vs. Pessimism
Somebody, sometime, perhaps it
was Elbert Hubbard, defined the pes
simist as one who can see only the
hole in the doughnut, while the op
timist looks beyond the doughnut’s
aperture and finds joy as he estimates
the value of the rim. Analyze these
two descriptions and doesn’t it seem
that the optimist is to be congratu
lated, and isn’t the pessimist to be
pitied ?
Pouting, lamenting and grouching
never brought good results to anybody
or anything. There is, of course, such
I a thing as air castle building and
eome optimists go to the extreme of
indulging in dreams that never can
come true. Perhaps that is bad, but
when we compare the enthusiasm of
the ultra-optimist with the dejection
of the drooping lipped pessimist, the
optimist is easily reckoned as the bet
ter of the two.
To hear some men tell it the coun
try ia going to the bow-wows, all oi
I hi
the money is tied up in Wall street,
the railroads are fleecing the people,
the good old days have gone, taking
with them all chances for industrial,
commercial, professional and social
advancement.
To hear the ultra-optimist tell it,
the darkest hour is always just before
dawn, and while busines has been bad,
better times are coming very soon; in
fact, “we are already crossing the di
vide which separates prosperity from
depression, and we are headed full tilt
for the prosperity side of the line.”
Neither of the two extremes just
enumerated is exactly the right kind
of factor in stable and general pros
perity, but of the two, if we must
have one or the other, give us the
ultra-optimist every time!
Better than cither, however, and
thank goodness we still have some of
them left, is the conservative optimist.
He is the man who figures that there
is a silver lining to every cloud, and
so believing, he proceeds to rip up the
cloud so that he may find that silver
lining. He isn’t going to make a
million next week nor next month, but
he is going to make enough every day
to pay all his expenses and a little bit
more.
Sometimes this conservative op
timist will make a whole lot more
than is required to keep his name on
the right side of the ledger. Watch
him and you will observe that after
awhile he becomes one of the wealthy
men of his community, and best of
all, he is spreading sunshine and help
ing others while he is acquiring his
wealth.
Summed up in tabloid, the pessimist
is a community pest—the optimist is
a community joy and a helpful ex
ample to his neighbors.
Great Celebration Next Week
A week from today will be duly cele
brated the completion of Lock 17,
(Inch gives the Birmingham mineral
district deep water navigation.
The opening of the upper Warrior
for , steamboats and barges marks a
new epoch in the industrial and com
mercial life of Alabama. Secretary
of War Garrison and a large party
consisting of senators and representa
tives in Congress and army enginers
will be present at the formal opening
of the lock. Secretary Garrison’s
party will arrive in Birmingham
Wednesday night and on Thursday
morning will proceed to Cordova
where the exercises incident to the
celebration will take place. Hundreds
of our representative citizens will join
the escort to the Secretary of War
and May 13 will be a gala day long to
be remembered.
When John H. Bankhead was elected
to the Fiftieth Congress in 1886 he
had his eye on the rivers and harbors
committee. He was from a state of
rivers, some of them but poorly de
veloped. He felt that he could do
something for Alabama of far-reach
ing benefit if he were a member of
the committee having to deal with
the great waterways of the country;
but such an important committee as
signment as that which Bankhead
sought was usually reserved for con
gressmen of several years’ standing.
But when he entered his third term he
received the place to which he aspired.
And once on the rivers and harbors
committee his dream was a Warrior
navigable to the mineral district—
a dream which has come true after
25 years of earnest and faithful en
deavor. When Congressman Bank
head was promoted to the Senate he
continued to work for the Warrior
without flagging, and he would be
less than human were he not filled
with a spirit of elation at this time
over the crowning achievement of his
labors.
It has cost the government $11,
000,000 to carry out Senator Bank
head’s Warrior river policy. But no
money has been better spent. The
opening of the Warrior is to Ala
bama what the opening of the Panama
canal is to the south and to the whole
country.
The Birmingham district has made
strides within the last twenty years;
long strides within the past seven or
eight years, but before the end of this
decade they will seem short compared
with the strides dating from the com
pletion of Lock 17.
Birmingham’s future has looked
bright ever since the steel industry
became established here; but it never
seemed so roseate as it does today.
Next Thursday will be a red letter
day indeed.
Beginning the Slaughter
Kitchener told the world last fall
that the real fighting of the war
would begin in May. Saturday was
the first day of May. But apparently
the slaughter began in earnest a week
before Kitchener predicted. From
i now on, with the advent of favorable
weather and with long preparation on
both sides, the world may look for
desperate fighting in France and
Flanders.
For many months the warfare of
the trenches has progressed obstin
ately with varying gains and repulses.
Occasionally it has been broken by
severe actions like the German drive
near Soissons, the French advance
around St. Mihiel and the British at
tacks at Neuve Chappell*. During
the winter campaign the fighting has
been on a far bigger scale on the east
ern front; in the west the allies have
pursued the policy of "nibbling.”
The grim prediction of Kitchener
that the fighting would begin in real
earnest in May was the prediction of
a soldier who knows the full meaning
of war and wanted to warn his coun
trymen that the winter was only a
prelude to the bitter season of whole
sale bloodshed. At Neuve Chappelle
the total losses of both armies in
killed, wounded and prisoners prob
ably exceeded 45,000. In assuming
the offensive again near Ypres the
Germans began a series of engage
ments that are likely to result in much
heavier losses before they are con
cluded.
Up to April 21 the British losses,
including the navy, were 139,347. Last
week the total Prussian casualties,
which do not include the Bavarian,
Saxon and Wurttemberger losses, as
published, had reached 1,196,969. And
this marks hardly more than the be
ginning of the destruction.
Bessarabia is a Muscovite province, for
which the armies of Russia and Austria
have been contending, it is described by
the Xatfonal Geographic society as an
"immense farm of 18,181 square miles, with
deep, black, fertile soil, and worked by
some. IMXJO.OW farmers. "The world has
heard iittle of this attractive country be
cause the Russians have never advertised
its advantages. The climate of Bessarabia
is similar to that of the United States,
but Is extremely cold In winter and hot In
summer. The intense heat of summer re
sults In quick crops and the province
raises fruits that are equal to the finest
products of Europe. Domestic animals,
grain and grapes are also raised. The
population, composed of mixed nationali
ties, numbered 2,190,000 In 1911. Only about
300.000 of these were classed as city dwell
s
ers. City people are rarely seen in the
province except at its capital and largest
town, which has about 130,000 inhabitants.
The Cimmerians are said to have been the
original inhabitants of the province. Dur
ing the centuries all kinds of people have
been added to the original population, in
cluding Moldavians, Little Russians,
Poles. Roumanians, Magyars, Ruthenlana,
Bulgarians, Jews, Greeks, Circassians, Ar
menians, Tartars and Slovaks. As a
'melting pot” Bessarabia vies with the
United States. Most of the country is
flat, although It has some of the foothills
of the Carpathians. There is timber in
some parts of the province. The indus
tries are negligible. There are only a few
small cloth mills, iron works, soap fac
tories and tanneries. Large quantities of
agricultural products are exported.
A circus clown, who has been capering
for some years with one of the big shows,
washed off his make-up and committed
suicide because he thought his heart
broken. “Laugh and the world laughs
with you.”
Secretary Redfleld predicts that the
United States trade balance will reach if
not exceed $1,000,000,000 during the current
fiscal year. Pessimists should paste this
In their hats for future reference.
Sir Jagatjit Singh Bahadur, maharajah
of Korpurthala, India, who recently ar
rived in New York, is evidently on a pleas
ure trip, as he brought only the youngest
of his four wives.
The department of agriculture says the
cost of living is to drop, it has already
dropped for the man who had the energy ■
and foresight to plant a garden.
During one week 100 saloons in Chicago
closed on account of poor business and the
fear that a dry wave is coming. Let the
“drys” make the most of it.
It is now up to the alarmists to figure
out how many American ships will have
to be torpedoed by the Germans before
Uncle Sam does something.
Having recently fallen heir to $100,000,
Robert Kdeson will doubtless assume even
more of the insouciance for which moving
picture stars are noted.
One cannot but admire the detachment
of astronomers who continue to study
other worlds in spite of the confusion
reigning in this one.
A writer of ballads has deserted his wife
for six different women in the past few
years, which shows what an artistic tem
perament will do.
Frank Harris, a lecturer, has applied
the short and ugly” word to President
Wilson. This is no time to be starting a
new Ananias clul|.
Secretary Daniels says our new 14-inch
guns are better than any others in the
world. But the gun of today is out-of
date tomorrow.
The “See America First” campaign is
spreading. There never was a time when
this country was better worth looking at
than right now.
The Sayre t&by cried loudly at its chris
tening. This, and the fact that President
Wilson is its godfather, should insure a
bright career.
The Chinese are not to be blamed alto
gether for wishing to retain at least a
shadow of authority in their own country.
There are doubtless still a few persona
scatiered about the country who think
Jess Willard is not its foremost citiien.
The Turk is showing a proficiency with
the bayonet which may yet cause him to
be regarded as a first-class fighting man.
Vienna la sending its stray dogs to war
Instead of to the pound and everyone will
be given a chance to die a canine hero.
Cltlsens of the United States are letting
the department of state do all the worry
ing about International complications.
One surprising feature of the war is the
fact that there is still enough left ol
Metz to be bombarded.
. / • .
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Buoyancy In the Hiiftlnenn World
“There i« now more buoyancy in the
business world than there was before the
European war started, and while the
bloody conflict is deplorable, some of our
business interests have profited by it in a
legitimate wav,“ said L. T. Fessenden of
New York.
“I am connected with a textile manu
facturing concern, and have other busi
ness interests. While there was an im
provement In business conditions gener
ally early in the year, It was slow' until a
few weeks ago. In fnost of the large
c‘lties of the east prosperity prevails, and
I am glad to say that the south !s getting
well on its feet after the bad cotton mar
ket of last fall. On the whole, this year
will average well.”
The llall of Fame
“1 was glad to read The Age-Herald’s
suggestion that the name of Matthew F.
Maury, naval officer and hydrographer,
whose books rank righ in Europe, as
well as in America, be inscribed in the
Hall of Fame,” said a professional man.
“It is surprising that a savant of Com
modore Maury’s popularity should have
been overlooked by the Hall of Fame
electors when they had their first ballot.
**The Hall of Fame is an adjunct of
the University of New York. It was
established in 1900, and the imposing col
onadc in which the panels for our great
Americans are placed is one of the things
worth seeing in New York. The name
of the donor who provideo tor the Hall
of Fame has never yet been disclosed.
The original gift was $100,000, but it wras
soon increased to $250,000.
“As The Age-Herald explained, there
are now about 60 names in the Hall of
Fame, and five or six more will be
elected this year. Five are to be chosen
every fifth year until the ye^r 2000. when
the full number—350 immortals—will have
been inscribed.
“Most of ‘the names already in the
Hall of Fame are worthy of being there.
Among those hardly up to the standard
is the name of Henry Clay. Clay was a
brilliant speaker and a popular politi
cian. But In politics he was an oppor
tunist and not a statesman. Patrick
Henry is not in the hall, and as between
Clay and Henry, the latter would have
been more fitting.”
Change Will Be Welcomed
“I noticed in The Age-Herald Tuesday
morning that the summer policy of the
Uyric theatre will be inaugurated next
week, and I am one that will be glad
of the change,” said a regular patron of
the theatre. “As T understand the change,
Instead of having two performances every
night and selling reserved seats for
each, the management wfill have one con
tinuous performance from 7:30 to 10:30
o’clock, and the patrons of the theatre
can come when they like and remain as
long as they please. They can see as
much of the show as they like, and leave
when they have seen the full five acts.
“Another change that women will find
pleasing is the announcement that the
matinee will commence at 3 o’clock in
stead of 2:30 o’clock. This allows the
fair sex an extra half-hour in the after
noon during the hot weather, which will
be welcomed by them, 1 am sure.’’
I be Plumbing Ijmk
"I was amazed at the wonderful intel
ligence conveyed to myself ns an ordi
nary citizen by a visit today to the
plumbing exhibit of the Birmingham
Real Estate Exchange in the Birming
ham Railway, Light and Power building
on Twenty-first street,” said a well
known merchant.
“The exhibit shows what kind of plumb
ing is now made necessary by city ordi
nance and its cost and the kind of plumb
ing that actually is necessary and its cost.
The comparison is startling. The hard
ship being worked on property owners
by the present plumbing laws is very
clearly shown. It is plain that much less
expensive plumbing could be used and
be just as good and much less expen
sive. It seems so strange that the
plumbing laws require, as I am told they
do, many articles made by a certain
manufacturer, and in most cases by a
manufacturer in the east or far north,
when the same plumbing fixture in many
cases Is made right here in Birmingham
at about half the cost.
“I am informed the city commissioners
intend to amend the plumbing laws and
correct this evil.”
Improvement Work Under Way
‘ At a meeting of the Young Men's
Christian association executive committee
Wednesday, it was decided to organize a
Good Felowship club,” said General Sec
retary Stallings.
"Mr. R. R. Darden, who Is connected
with the auditing department of the Ten
nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company,
has been elected president of this new
club, which will have an enrollment of BO
members. Its mission will be to promote a
feeling of good fellowship among asso
ciation men, especially among the new
members, who wrill be made to feel at
home. This club is expected to result in a
decided improvement in the general social
atmosphere of the institution.
"This, however, is only one of many
betterments being planned and carried
out by the co-operation of the member
ship and management of the Birmingham
association. A chess club has been or
ganized, a tenis club formed, the new
athletic director, Mr. Iloffer, has planned
many improvements in his department.
Several new gymnasium classes will begin
next week, and development work will be
pushed steadily forward.
"Work on the interior of the central as
sociation building is now under way anc
beginning next week a thorough renova
tion of the whole building will begin.”
Germany’s Strong: Position
A prominent Alabamian, who has
more than a state reputation as ar
engineer and as a statistician, said the
other day in discussing the war:
"In the last 50 years the nations
which have come rapidly to the front
have been those who have depended
for their welfare chiefly upon nianu
facturing. The productiveness of th«
soil reaches a maximum beyond whict
it can only be pushed with difficulty
but the limit of manufacturing has
never yet been reached upon a give*
area of land. More dollars worth o:
finished product can be turned out or
a square foot of manufacturing lam
than on one acre of agriculture land
Manufacturing in turn depends entire
ly, either directly or indirectly, upor
coai. Water power can turn the wheel
but cannot furnish the heat and man
ufacturing of necessity must have heat
Now as the principal source of man
ufacturing is coal, possession of th
coal will in turn control the nianu
facturing.
"Durin% the time of Napoleon then
were approximately 50,000,000 Frencl;
15.000. 000 Germans and 15,000,000 ‘Eng
lish. One hundred years later there ar
35.000. 000 French, approximately tlv
same number of English and doubl
that number of Gormans. The Gorman
have depended for their welfare prin
cipally upon manufacturing. hence
their rapid growth. The coal of Ku
lope Is in a very small field between
one corner of Germany, Belgium and
France and extending under the char
nel to England. Russia, with all of Its
vast domain, has practically no coal.
Italy, Spain and Portugal hRVe none
and can never bo great nations. With
out coal, sooner or later they will be
come adjuncts to a nation possess
ing It,
"The first thing the Germans did in
the war was to seize the balance of
the coal of Europe, other than that
which they already possessed, and as
It stands at present Germany has al
most the entire coal supply of France
All of the Belgian Helds In addition
to their own and there Is virtually no
coal in Europe except that owned or
occupied by Germany and England
The largest coal producer In the world
Is the United States, Germany is sec
ond and England Is a poor third.
"If Germany can succeed In holding
I the territory which s'ne now occupies
through the medium of the coal she
has a strangle hold on Europe. The
way It Is working from a militaiy
\iewpoint is as follows: England can
not supply all of the allies with coal,
i-he can barely supply them with suf
ficient coal for military purposes. Tip:
French and Russians are having great
difficulty In running their railways
and cannot run their factories because
they cannot get their fuel even from
America with sufficient rapidity and
sufficiently cheap to compete arid dur
ing the early months of the war eco
nomic estimates showed only 214 per
cent of the industries of Germany idle,
while 75 per cent of the industries cf
France were idle.
"Under these circumstances, with
Germany having control of the coal ami
indirectly the industrial life of Europe,
If the war lasts a long time It is very
easy to see who will win it."
— ... —
WAR ECHOES
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The incident
of the submarine war that was most
feared has happened. An American vessel
—the Gulflight laden with oil—has been
torpedoed off the Scilly Islands.
The incident is serious because it may
involve a grave offense against this coun
try. An attempt to sink an American mer
chant ship with the loss of several lives by
a belligerent vessel cannot be lightly
passed over.
Judgment must await an inquiry into
the facts. The intent and the circum
stances of the attack are vital to a just
conclusion concerning its nature and the
responsibility of the German government.
The warning in the American note on
the submarine war i$ a factor which must
be taken into account.
The calmness with which the news of
the attack is received tn Washington is
an assurance that our government will
deal with the case in the spirit of just
and impartial good will which has marked
its conduct in the complications of the
war.
The incident emphasizes the difficulties
of the situation confronting us. It should
remind our GermaTi-American friends of
the German government’s need of persis
tent and patient friendliness on our part.
Animosity and strife would be fatal, when
incidents of this kind occur, to continued
friendly relations. The American people
should realize more fully the necessity of
patience and forbearance and of loyal
support of Washington’s efforts to avoid
trouble.
i.-1
ALABAMA PRESS
Opelika Daily News: The New York
courts should hands off and let Barnes and
Roosevelt paint each other just as black
as they choose to.
Gadsden Evening Journal: Japan prob
ably feels like giving the world an exam
ple of '"a bull in a China shop."
Mobile Register: The Selma Times has
taken a brief against the turkey buzzard,
which it says is a cattle disease carrier;
but the buzzard, like the sheep killing dog,
wil be with us for some time yet.
Anniston Evening Star: The coming as
sault of the chautauquas on the south
will make the qttack on Ypres look like
a sideshow.
A “LOVERS’ QUARREL”
From the Kansas City Times.
That was a pathetic story the news
dispatches carried out of Denver the other
day about the old bachelor millionaire
on his deathbed who sent for the woman
to whom he had been betrothed 40 years
ago.
When both were young and poor they
loved each other, and a day was set for
the wedding. Before it came they quar
reled over sorpe trifling thing, as lovers
always quarrel, and in the heat of his
anger he went away.
The years went by and James M. Wil
son became a millionaire. But his love
for Carrie Hurd remained, and he never
married.
When he was dying last week his mind
went back to the sweetheart of his youth,
to the storlls with her in the starlight
down the flow’er-scented lane, and he saw
her face raised again to his, and heard
her merry laughter, and there surged into
his heart a feeling of remorse. Perhaps
he had wronged her in leaving her so,
and a great longing came over him tc
see her once more before he died, if site
was yet aiive.
No doubt she had married, perhaps she
had forgotten him. No matter, he wanted
to see her.
And so, to humor him, they sent w?orc
back there to yie old home town. Bui
she was not there. Long years ago she
had gone away. Where? To Denver.
They found her there, where she hac
lived for years, just to be near the mar
she loved, where she could see him onc«
in a^vhile without his seeing her or know
ing that she was near.
His last hours were consoled by hei
presence, and his will gives her a for
tune. But that does not atone for th<
suffering that a trivial "lovers' quarrel’
i was permitted to bring into their lives
■ It is a curious trait of human nature tha
so often men and women drill allow somi
minor disagreement, under the stress o
1 a foolish pride, to bring them misery
Only those w’ho are really wise learn hov
essential it is to make compromises, t<
l overlook faults and fallings, and to mak<
sacrifices in recognition of the surpassing
value of friendship and loce.
MOTHER
* By Theresa Helburn.
I have praised many loved ones in mj
song,
And yet I stand
‘ Before her shrine, to whom all things be
, long,
With empty hand.
* Perhaps the ripening future holds a tiim
For things unsaid;
5 Not now; men do not celebrate In rhym<
i Their daily bread.
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
———————. *
THE BEST OP IT.
The world Is a place
Where millions strive
For the wherewithal
To keep alive.
And much they mourn
And much they grieve.
But when they’re done
They hate to leave.
Bow’ed down beneath
The “primal curse."
They ponder, “Still.
It might be worse.''
And many a man
On failure’s list,
Unconsciously
Is an optimist.
NEEDED AGAIN.
“Now. I hate to remind you, Dibbles, but
that 10 you owe me-”
“My dear Jobson, I can't sleep at night
for thinking about that 10."
“Conscious trouble you?”
“No. I wish I had It back.”
A HOPEFUL MOTORIST.
“Dobbs is an optimistic soul. I believe
he thinks he could find a pot of gold
at the end of a rainbow.”
“Perhaps he Isn’t quite as sanguine as
that, but he puts more faith In a tire than
any other man I know.”
WARNING. 'v.
Don’t listen, friends.
To “Just one more."
That often ends
In a nap on the floor.
QUITE SO.
“What is the first step necessary in cul
tivating an artistic temperament?”
“Finding somebody to stand for it.”
UNKIND CRITICISM.
I m afraid this war poem of yours
won’t do,” said the editor.
“Why not?” asked the poet.
"Well, for one thing the title is mis- r
leading. You call it ‘The Alarum,’ but
I nearly fell asleep before I finished it.”
EQUAE1TY AT EAST.
O’er in Europe where they must
Run the cars and guide the plow.
Seems to me that women are
On an equal footing now. * 1
EASY MONEY. * f
■ « !
Don t argue with me, sir,” said the
irascible old gentleman.
"I’m not trying to argue with you,” said
the persistent person, ‘‘I’m merely tryiTig
to tell you that-”
"There you go again: I refuse to hear f I
any more.”
‘'Thanks.”
"Umph: What are you thanking me
for?"
"I just made a bet that you wouldn’t
have patience enough to hear me state ,
a hypothetical question and I've won."
THE AMBITIOUS 80RT.
She seems to be
A lovely girl;
Would make some man
A priceless pearl.
But here’s one fact
There’s no forgetting. I .
She much desires :
A costly setting.
WILLING TO OBLIGE. **
"Here,” said the English officer, "art
some of our newest guns, which have just
been mounted."
’’They look deadly enough," said the
war correspondent, who was being shown
over the field.
"And so they are. If you will wait a few
minutes until our gunners get the range 1
I’ll have them kill a few hundred Ger
mans Just to show you how they work.” **
•.
NATURE’S MYSTERIES
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
POSSIBLY that one of the five recog
nized special senses which might
be dispensed with least regrettably
is that of smell, though it would be a se
rious loss, as pleasing odors not only con
vey much to the taste, but also have a de
lightful influence on thought and the emo
tions. As all losses have their compen
sations, however, if one could not smell
one would escape the thousand odors that
are more or less offensive, many of them
almost unendurable.
The interior of the nose has a mucous
membrane and a network of nerves the
most delicate. They respond to impres
sions as finely as those of the eye and
ear. and are even more subject to de
terioration than are the fungiform pupil
lae which afford the quality of taste, as
they are momentarily, waking or sleep
ing, in contact with all temperatures and
all delecterious atoms that are carried
in the atmosphere. As a consequence of
this come affections that make for im
pairment of the olfactories even to the
extent of an entire loss of the sense of
smell, and in such case there is also an
impairment of the sense of taste, and
often of the eye and ear, for all of these
organs have an intimate association.
The olfactories are the first pair of the
nerves of the nose. The olfactory nerve
in each nostril is connected with the In
ferior surface of the brain and may be
said to end in an olfactory bulb, not to
go into description of all the sensory ma
chinery which conveys to the mind the
sense of odors, pleasi;ig and offensive, a
knowledge of the latter often assisting to
an avoidance of something that might
transmit disease. If the olfactories are
constantly offended, however, with odors
that make one hold one’s nose, especially
in the large city which is not cared for
as the good housekeeper cares for the
home, as it ought to be, there is the
sweet-smelling air of the parks, the per
fume of flowers, of dewey or new-mown
grasses; aud in the country, where is no
smoke or carbon dioxide in the atmos
phere, all things In nature? appeal to the
olfactories, giving delight to the eyes and
perfumes transmitted through the nose to
he brain that are often really intoxicat
ng in their influence on the nerves of
he entire body.
For many reasons comparatively few
lave what may be called the perfect
sense of smell or super-refined sense of
aste, so closely allied to the olfactories;
lust as few have an approximately perfect
vision or the keenest of hearing. In all
parts of the body w'here is mucous mem
arance there is a tendency to catarrhal
ittack, and there is no other membrane
nore sensitive than the nasal nerves and
membranes, and probably no other so
“xposed to exterior Influences of atmos
pheric conditions, impurities of many
kinds, what is called a “cold” in the nasal
passages being a result rather than a
sause. Unhealthy physical surroundings,
lack of cleanliness and exercise, unsani
tary life of many phases, make for con
gestion of the mucous membranes with
resultant extreme sensitiveness of the
nasal nerves and ducts, and so the ob
struction and unusual discharge called a
cold.
One of the curious things associated
with the sense of smell is that to fill the
nostrils for a short time with some of the
finer perfumed waters, or even with pure
water, the olfactory sense will be sus
pended. Moreover, inhalation of one odor
will often so counteract the odor of an
other that neither will be clearly distinct.
Often, also, when we think we are tasting
something strongly odorous in food or
drink the “taste” is conveyed to the mind
through the medium of the olfactory
nerves, so intimately associated are the
senses of taste and/smell.
As with the senses of seeing and hear
ing, so with the sense of smell, it is much
more keenly developed in many animals
than in humans. It means much to them
In their natural state. The curious and
mysterious phases of the operation of
all of the senses, both in animal and
man, is the instantaneous transmission
of sensation of all kinds from the source
of impression to the brain by those
wondrous mazes of nerves, visual, aural,
lingual, olfactory, tongue nerves and nose
nerves telling the story from limburger
to the liquors of the gods,
••••••••■•••••■•••••••■•••••••••■••••••••■••••••••a*
CATTLE IN CALHOUN
From the Anniston Evening Star.
THE call issued by the agricultural
committee ot the Anniston Chamber
of Commerce for a meeting to bo
held in this city on Friday. May 14, for
the purpose of organizing a Calhoun coun
ty live stock association commends itself
to the thoughtful consideration of every
citizen of the county; for the growing of
live stock, we have been told on good
authority, is the basis of permanent ag
riculture, and permanent agriculture is
the undisputed basis of permanent pros
perity.
Calhoun county is under quarantine. Un
til it is raised we cannot get a top-notch
price for the products of the cattle farms
in this county, whether the cattle on any
one farm be free from the tick blight or
not, for the quarantine is a blanket order
covering the whole county, and in order
to lift it there must be county-wide ac
tion. We must be given a clean bill of
health as a county. Hence the move
ment to organize a county association.
At present, with the Texas fever tick
spreading its deadly poison, it is not
advisable to bring high-priced bulls into
tills county but if we remove the tick
THE PLIGHT OF THE CITIES
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"Never before in the history of an
American legislature have there appeared
cities, villages and school districts begging
' that their very lives be not taken away,"
| declared an opponent of financial legisla
tion pending at Columbus when he ap
peared before a senate committee the
; other day.
I However, there is no novelty in the
situation so far as it relates to a failure
• of a legislature to understand the flnan
i cial problem of cities. The same eondi
i tlon has been faced and fought in other
: states. It may continue to crop up until
some radical action is finally taken to
relieve the larger municipalities from a
bondage they are at present unable to
rend.
New York city labors under somewhat
the same legislative stricture, touching
not only the problems of finance, but the
general issue of home rule; whereat comes
. the suggestion periodically that Manhat
tan be made an independent state. Cook
county, Illinois, too. has had state aspira
tions under circumstances not cotrpll
. mentary to legislators gathered at Spring
field.
> The truth is that the present form of
state government, Uke that of the. nor
... i
blight we can cross blooded animals with
local stock to profit. This Is being done
now In tick-tree Sumter county, where
yearrold calves are selling for $100 per
head.
Beef cattle can be raised In Alabama
cheaper than In any other state in the
union, according to reliable experiments.
Far-sighted men in other states are realiz
ing this, and the news of last week told
of Investments to be made In south Ala
bama lands by P. A. Baker of Ohio, super- i
lntendent of the National Anti-Saloon
league, who realized the possibilities for ,
money making in the cattle Industry
when he visited the state a few months
ago.
If Alabamians are wise, they will not
sleep over their rights. They will realize
on their own assets, Instead of leaving
them to wideawake foreglners, just as we f
did in regard to our waterway advantages,
which have been harnessed by English
capitalists, t This was a big project, calling
for large Investments and great risk, but
cattle raising Is an established Industry,
requiring small monetary outlays for its
successful prosecution, and It can be mads
profitable to every citizen of thiB county. 1
tional government, was devised to meet f
the conditons of agricultural com musk,
ties. Rapidly growing, populous Industrial
centers were unknown when state gov
ernment took Its now accepted form.
It may be raised as a serious question
whether this old plan of government
might not be Improved to meet the mod
ern problem raised by industrial com- f
ir.unlties whose requirements the aveiage
legislature seems unable to comprehend.
The question virtually concerns the ex
istence of such municipalities as Cleve
land and Cincinnati, whose legitimate de
mands perpetually fall on deaf ears at
the state house.
, those war headlines
From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Defeat!
Retreat!
Replete yl
With Items such as thess
We find the press,
And must confess
They make a fellow wheeze.
Attack!
Thrown back!
Alack,
The headlines we peruse
Are dread. Indeed.
! ■ We'd better read ,
• > The current, baseball news.
!