The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], July 17, 1915, Page 4, Image 4

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

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THE AGE-HERALD
E. \V. UAKKETT.Krilto*
Etnerud al tne Birmingham. Ala.. !
Eostoffice a» second class matter un
der act of Congress March 3, 13<y.
Baiiy and Sunday Age-Herald,
year . ^.IX |
Bally without Sunday . 4.0* ;
Baily and Sunday, per month.
uaiiy and Sunday, tnree months.. 1.30
3 Weekly Ago-Herald. per annum.. .50
fcvr.aay Age-Heralu, pei annum.. 2.00
O. E. Young. R L>. Griffis and VV. i>.
- Brumbelue are tne only authorized trav
** cling representatives of Tne Age-Herald
» in ns circulation department.
2 No communication will be punlianed
without its author's name. Rejected
manuscript will not be leturned un
less stamps are enclosed fur that pur
pose.
Remittances can be made at current
2ate of exchange, lne Age-Herald wjli
Slot be responsible lor money seal
Plrrough the mails. Address,
THE AGE-HERAHD.
Birmingham, Ala.
Washington bureau, 20? Hlbbs build
ing.
European bureau, 6 Henrietta street,
Covent Garden, Roudon.
Eastern business olfice, Rooms 48 to
60, inclusive. Tribune building, New
York city; western business office.
Tribune building, Chicago. The S. C.
Beckwith Special Agency, agents for
eign advertising.
TELEPHONE
Bell (private exchange connecting
departments) Main 41X10.
O the difference of man and man!
—King Lear.
BEGINNING THE DAY— O Goil,
help me to remember today that
those who serve me on street curs,
aat telephones, In shops, sre not ma
chines, but people. Give me a quick
sense of tltelr need of the human
touch. Give me a due appreciation of
the abiding value and high dignity
of their work. For Christ's sake.
Amen.—H. M. E.
Uncle Sam's Sailors
Formerly a sailor’s life in the United
States navy was a hard one and it
was made particularly so by poor
food. There were no provisions for
keeping fresh meats in the days of
wooden ships, so that “salt horse’’
was aften the only kind of meat re
ceived while on a voyage. This was
supplemented with black coffee and
hard tack. Today the American “tar”
is better fed than the sailor of any
other nation. There are about 66,000
enlisted men in the navy at present
and it costs the government about
$7,400,000 a year to feed them.
A writer in the New York Sun, who
discusses the work being done by Ad- :
miral McGowan, chief of the bureau
of supplies and accounts, says that
the navy’s efficiency and the content
ment of the men are largely due to
the generous and varied food allot- |
ment. No matter where a ship may j
be, an elaborate system of provis
ioning makes it possible for the
“jackies” to have an abundance of the
best food, and even luxuries. Canned
meats are still extensively used in the
navy, also canned fruit and vegetables, 1
but refrigerating plants on board the
battleships supply^ the sailors with
plenty of fresh meats, vegetables and '
fruits.
On the Wyoming, the prize ship of
the navy, a sample menu is as follows:
Breakfast—Fried eggs, fried bologna,
fried potatoes, bananas, bread, butter
and coffee. Dinner—Grilled sirloin
steak, fried onions, mashed potatoes,
cocoanut custard, bread and coffee.
Supper—Beef a la mode, hashed
potatoes, corn fritters, bread, butter
and tea. Also many tons of candy and
thousands of packages of salted pea
nuts are bought by the government
every year and consumed by the sail
ore.
It can be seen that Uncle Sam takes
exceptional care of his “tars,” and if
those attractive posters in front of
recruiting stations bore more extended
reference to the bill of fare in the navy
there would doubtless be a larger in
crease in the number of recruits.
Vacant Lot Gardening
The school and vacant lot garden
Idea has met with such remarkable
■uccess in those places where it has
been given a thorough trial, that it j
seems incomprehensible that the plan
has not spread to every city and vil- ,
lage in the country.
As an example of what may be
done in the way of small gardening,
attention is called to the accomplish
ment of William Tompkins, an 11
year-old gardener of Corpus Christi.
William has only 25x40 feet in his
“back yard” garden, but he cultivates
that with system and intelligent care;
in fact he makes a study of scientific
gardening. This year he won the prize
for the best cultivated piece of land
in Nueces county, Texas, and netted
a profit of $55, including the prize,
from his little plot of ground. The
following is a list of the vegetables
he produced:
Foryt-six pounds of beets, 24 gal
lons of snap beans, one and one-half
~ gallons of English peas, 197 bunches
of lettuce, 15 bunches of parsley, two
bunches of onions and one gallon of
Strawberries.
In addition to the $55 cash pro
ceeds from his garden, William sup
plied the family table with early veg
etables.
Nothing is so unsightly as a weed
patch, 'it is a menace to health, an
eyesore in a neighborhood and de
preciates property value. There is no
better way of eliminating the weed
' patch than by converting it into a
garden spot.
All that is necessary is to give the
small boy the right incentive and he
j will remove the weed patch problem,
j At the same time, he will be learning
| valuable lessons in soil culture. His
| study of plant growth and his near
J ness to Mother Earth is bound to have
a good effect upon him—he will not
have time to cultivate a weed patch in
his soul.
The Women Will Help
The drastic retrenchment in the
city’s annual expenses, which the lack
of adequate revenue has made neces
sary, will be sorely felt by the pub
lic, and until the tax rate is increased
there will be no permanent relief.
It behooves the people of Birming
ham, therefore, to unite in an effort
to induce the legislature to submit
t.o the voters of the state a tax amend
ment authorizing the qualified elec
tors of this city to raise the rate. This
important measure is being opposed
by two members of the Jefferson
county delegation, but if local senti
ment is thoroughly aroused favorable
action should be expected.
In the meantime the city comniis-'
sion will be glad to receive sugges
tions from citizens touching certain
departments of the municipal govern
ment that will be seriously crippled
when the new budget becomes opera
tive, with a view of minimizing to
some extent the effect of the present
rigorous policy.
The counsel of the public-spirited |
women of Birmingham is earnestly
sought by the commission, and the
Equal Suffrage association and the
women’s civic board have responded
with characteristic enthusiasm. The
women can do especially good work
in connection with the school depart
ment and the health department, and
they may be counted upon to render
all the aid possible
All honor to the women who are
ready to volunteer their services for
the emergency. But no matter how
much aid free of cost may be rendered
the city in its straitened condition,
Birmingham will never be in proper
shape until its income is on a par with
the revenues of growing and ambitious
the revenues of other growing and am
bitious cities. And as the tax amend
ment legislation is the first thing
necessary let no effort be spared to
secure it.
Higher Price for Iron Expected
The pig iron market has been ac
tive for sometime past and, as a
prominent man connected with the
trade remarked the other day, “it is
hard to see what holds the price of
iron down.” He expressed the opinion
that iron was “due for an expansion
in price of from $3 to $4 a ton.”
So hrisk has been the demand for
pig metal recently that many blast
furnaces long idle are being “blown
in.” In the Birmingham district sev
eral more furnaces are in operation
now than was the case a few weeks
ago and the number will be still
further increased in August.
Some large tonnage sales have been
made this week and it is pointed out
as a notable barometer of the trade
that consumers are already beginning
to make inquiry for 1917 delivery.
The steel industry continues to
boom. Every steel renter, including
the Birmingham district., is the scene
of unusual activity, and the best of
it is the steel manufacturers are get
ting satisfactory prices.
If Birmingham iron can be ad
vanced to $12 or $13, as some brokers
think quite probable, and if the coal
trade revives, there would be a greater
degree of prosperity hereabouts than
has been known in several years.
The eugenics law in Wisconsin has de
creased marriages 20 per cent. A great
many people continue to believe that mar
riage is a game ot chance with which
science has nothing to do.
In claiming that Thaw was trying to
hypnotize him, old "Doc” Flint strength
ened Thaw's case considerably with people
who don't take much stock In courtroom |
alienists.
Mr. Bryan is blamed for the unsatisfac- j
tory tone of the last German note. The ]
eminent Nebraskan would feel lonesome
if he couldn't hear the anvil chorus.
With Champ Clark, Colonel Roosevelt
and Mr. Bryan guests at the same time.
California has more than her share of
national celebrities.
Within the past week or two summer
has made her conquest of the country
complete, but she hasn't been able to route
summer furs.
A New York man made more than 51,- j
000,00) last month by tfie rise in Electric j
Boa' stock. Not bad for a summer |
month.
European war is not an unmitigated evil
to the man who holds a few shares of
stock in an American munitions faetury.
The Cossacks are probably the most un
popular soldiers in Europe. They do not
specialize in deportment.
General Huerta's vacation has been
made a hollow mockery by the solicitude
of Uncle Sam.
Charging wire fences with electricity is
also proving beneficial to the fatherland.
In the meantime, it seems a long, long
way to Constantinople.
What Mexico needs first of all is three
Bquure meals a day.
Dentistry is one of the oldest profes
sions. Martial, 2000 years ago. wrote of
false teeth and as far back as 1300 B.
the physician Asklepios recommended the
extraction of teeth for certain maladies.
In 400 B. C. Hippocrates prescribed dill,
anise seed and myrrh dissolved in white
wine for the treatment of unhealthy
gums. After 2400 years myrrh is still pre
scribed by dentists everj'where. Hippo
crates also recommended chalk for clean
ing the teeth, although it is true he ad
vised that it be mixed with “the head of
a hare” and the “intestines’’ of a mouse.
Chalk is the basis of tooth powders used
at the present time. Ancient dentists had
i few instruments, but they did remark
! ably good work. Roman dentists had a
pair of tweezers, corresponding to the
modern forceps; phizagra, to extract
loots; vulsellum, for removing bits of
bone and tooth, and the specillum, a sort
r>f probe. In the museums of Greece and
Rome are many specimens of crown and
bridge work, while pre-Columbian skulls
from Ecuador and Mexico have teeth In
laid with gold and precious stones.
Orville Wright says it would take two
years to equip the army and navy with
necessary aerial craft. It is hardly prob
able that any European power wil 1 be in
a position to tackle us before the expira
tion of that time.
The Germans are said to be negotiating
With Roumania on the assumption that
Constantinople will be able to hold out
at least another month. In the long run,
however, the Turk will be the goat.
THAT BAGGAGE LAW
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
The amendment to the interstate com
merce law which has been responsible for
the new regulations requiring the Insur
ance of baggage about which so much
complaint has been made, has usually been
referred to as proposed by Senator Cum
mins of Iowa. This Mr. Cummins indig
nantly denies. He acknowledges that he
introduced an amendment designed to re
store the principle which, prior to 1906,
had always been in force in a greater
part of the I nited States, that common
carriers should not be permitted to limit
theii liability for loss or damage sus
tained in the carriage of ordinary freight
below the basis of actual value. But this
amendment contained a provision except
ing property concealed by wrapping, box
ing or otherwise. The irritating clause
which has so annoyed the public, and
particularly the commercial travelers,
was, he says, the product of the states
manship of Senator Reed of Missouri.
Reed struck out the Cummins exception
and inserted the amendment now In the*
law which empowers the carrier to require
the shipper to state the value of tin
goods, and limits the liability to that
statement. i
Senator Cummins, moreover, contends
that tlie theory that a misstatement of
value by the shipper makes the owner
liable to a heavy penalty cannot be sus
tained. He believes that the statement is
merely part of an agreement between this
carrier and the shipper limiting liability
and has presented that opinion to the
interstate commerce commission, which
he hopes will recall the ruling. This, at
least, is a common sense view of it.
BEC KER DOOMED
From the Pittsburg Post.
It appeared a doubtful business to
attempt engaging the United States
supreme court in a consideration of the
case of former Police Lieutenant Beck
er. Justice Hughes’ denial of the ap
plication for a writ of error is no more
than was expected by those who saw
nothing in the New' York police of
ficial's case that presented any con
troversy dealing with his position un
der the constitution and laws of the
United States.
By granting the reprieve which en
abled counsel to try this last chance
for the condemned man held responsi
ble for Rosenthal's murder, Governor
Whitman w'ent as far ns he consci
entiously could go. The federal justice
finding no error affecting the proceed
ings in the New York courts adds vo
the legal certainty that there is no in
justice/to be corrected. This eliminates
the principal consideration under
w’hich the governor’s pardoning power
could be rightfully exercised. No other
consideration involving either public
policy or exceptional circumstances in
tervenes to save Becker from the elec
tric chair in Sing Sing the week
July 2G.
BADGERING JANE ADDAMS
From the New Republic.
It is a little hard to see why editors
should continue to scold Miss Jane Ad
dams If the chancelories of Europe
from Dowling street to the Vatican were
willing to receive her. if the harassed
statesmen of practically every warring
country were willing to play with the
idea of her mission, then surely the do
mestic creed of manliness and red blood
need not assert itself by deriding her.
Had her trip been purely Quixotic it
would st 11 not have been markedly insane
in this insane world. As a matter of
fact, Miss Addams did not go to stop
the war”—she went to find out what peo
ple and governments were thinking about
the possibilities of peace, to recall to
statesmen, if only a little bit, the fact
that tliis slaughter must end sometime.
The utmost practical end for the moment
is that she may have started in some of
ficial mind some disposition to think again
in terms of human adjustment.
Miss Addams was peculiarly the person j
to do this. She has stood to all the world ,
for the intensive cultivation of human life, j
She herself is tHe very antithesis of those ;
military ideas that dominate the world. !
There is a side of human nature pitably :
starved by the war, and Jane Addams
speaks for it with a strange purity. With
no trace of pride in any of her opinions,
she could not be humiliated because she
had left herself so completely out of ac
count . She wields a power, weak perhaps
at tills time but a power nevertheless, ,
w hich silences the scoffer and disarms the i
pugnacious. The too-too manly man may .
even feel a bit silly in her presence.
--
IRIHITE TO THE SEA
From Farm and Fireside.
Eleven tons of soil is carried into the |
Gulf of Mexico every second by the Mis- \
sissippi river from its immense drainage !
district. This material amounts to 310,- !
000,OOu tons every year and is equal to i
the surface soil, 6 l!-3 inches deep, of 346.000 !
acres.
STRICTLY NEUTRAL
From the Topeka State Capital.
The American concerns that are send- j
ing inferior supplies to the allies are show
ing their strict neutrality. They would
have done the same thing to their own
country.
1
IN HOTEL LOBBIES j
nunlupsK ('oiHItlnnn In Alabama
"I have tiavefed over the state recently]
and have found considerable Improvement
in business,” said Buford D. Chenoweth. 1
“In northern Alabama, where crop diver
j sJfication has been in practice for years
past, thrift is the general rule. The faim
! ers raised some cotton, but more of other
j CI°PS. Consequently the northern A!a
; liama merchants as well as the farmers
in that part of the state are in ex- j
cel lent shape.
“Down in the cotton belt where I had j
(expected to find business dull, I vas in j
| many instances agreeably surprised. Much !
.attention is being given to the raising of
j live stock in counties that formerly pre
I dweed little else than cotton,
j *n nil, Alabama is far better off
! ^lan I had any idea it would be. Nearly
| all the merchants 1 met were optimistic.”
In the .Mimic Trade
“If business in sheet music and musical
goods has been comparatively quiet tlii =
summer, good times are ahead and I con
fidently expect to see a great rush in all
mercantile lines in the coming autumn,”
said Oliver Chalifoux.
“There are already indications of im
provement in the near future, and as for
the last quarter of the year/ it will wit
ness a large measure of solid prosperity.
T have never felt more buoyant when look
ing forward than I do now.”
Curtailment Regretted
“It will indeed be a sad day for Bir
| mingham if a'l of the proposed cuts in
municipal expenditure are put into effect
as butlined recently by the city commis
sion,” remarked Percy Brower.
“The fire department, the police depart
ment and the health department are of
great importance to the community and
their efficiency should not be impaired or
any of the offices abolished if it can be
found practicable to avoid doing so; but
what must be has to be, I suppose.
“Perhaps the most deplorable feature in
this connection, however, is the scheduled
reduction in the length of the term of the
city’s schools. Seven months is not
enough for a child to attend school, and
even country schools average a longer
term than tills. Some means should be
found to remedy this state of affairs. Tin
schools should be financed in some man
ner, and no doubt it could be done if suf
ficient ingenuity w'ere brought into play
by those at the helm."
A Pine Railroad Record
“More than 16.500.000 passengers—a num
her greater than the combined population
of Virginia, North Carolina, South Caro
lina. Georgia, Alabama. Tennessee and
Kentucky—were transported by the South
ern railway during the year ended June
30, with only one fatal Injury to a passen
ger while on a train, and that one was
standing on a car platform in direct vio
lation of the company's rules,’’ said ,L.
Sevier.
“Of thiB grpat number of passengers,
not one was killed in a train accident.
“This excellent record was shown in the
official figures given out today, indicat
ing the high degree of safety that has
been attained in the handling of Southern
railway passenger trains.
“in marked contrast are figures re
cently given out by President Fairfax
Harrison of the Southern railway, show
ing that during the same period 12 per
sons riding in automobiles were idled In
accidents at public highway crossings,
every one of which accidents could have
been prevented had the driver of the car
observed the familiar warning. ‘Stop, look j
and listen.’ ”
Improved Local Conditions
"The best sign of improved business
conditions and the general prosperity of
the people, is the fact that collections are
better than they have been for the past 1
six months," said J. D. Baugh.
"This, in my opinion, is the surest sign
of returning confidence and a feeling of
prosperity that cannot be downed. The
people of the i'nited States seem to have
adjusted themselves to the conditions
caused by the European war. The result
is that every one realizes that things are
not half so bad as have been pictured in
the past. Nearly all of the big Industries
in and about Birmingham are putting on
men and I understand that they have
ample orders to keep the plants operating
at capacity for sometime to come. When
Birmingham people see the stacks sending
forth smoke in great volume, they natur
ally have a sense of security in the fu
ture.
"For my part, I expect Birmingham,
and. In fact, the whole country to im
prove at a rapid rate during the next
few months. Everyone realizes that there
is no telling when the slaughter in Eu
rope wil cease, accordingly they have
commenced to pay more attention to their
business and less to the war. In other
words, we have commenced to realize
that our country can live and prosper re
gardless of all the strife in foreign lands.
The natural result is. a vast improve
inent in business conditions, and cheaper
money in the future.’’
The Chicago Wheat Market
"Conditions in Chicago are very much
improved." remarked I. (J. Cohen, rep
resenting a brokerage concern of the lake !
metropolis, who passed through Binning- j
ham en route to Meridian.
"A great number of the idle men who j
were in Chicago have gone to the wheat -
Ik Ids to help harvest the crops. The farm
! ers In the northwest pay a good price
I for these men and this enables them to
1 lay by enough money to tide them over
until they can find other work at the end
of the harvest season. Money throughout j
: the west is loosening up, and I confident- j
I ly expect things to resume their normal
! condition in the next six months."
In speaking of the effect the attempt- j
i ed assassination of J. Pierpont Morgan
i had upon the Chicago exchange. Mr. Cohen -
[said: "As soon as it became known that I
1 Mr. Morgan had been shot, the entire mar- 1
ket broke sharply and pandemonium |
I reigned throughout the rest of the ses- j
; sion. The following day when it was j
! positively ascertained that the great finan- •
; cier’s condition was not serious, the mar- 1
ket resumed its normal condition. The:
| slightest event or well grounded ru^nor |
; during these times has a tendency to j
i completely demoralize the market. The
i result is that the traders in the pit are j
! at a loss to understand how bad the i
• market will break.
j "The wheat crop this year is the big
! gest that has ever been raised in the his
| lory of the world. Had it not been for
| the present conflict in Europe, 1 doubt if
i the farmer would get anything like the
! pric* that is offered for his product to
day. The corn crop breaks all records.
• and the best thing about it is that the j
, farmer will be enabled to get a good (
price for his grain when it is ready to |
j market. Good times are coming—there is j
| no doubt about that. Those who forget >
to knock and stick to hard work are
'bound to reap their harvest of prosper-)
ity.”
!
Greene County Democrat: We under
stand there is considerable home raised,
home ground flour in the county, but
the owners are so well pleased with it, ^
they are not offering it for sale, but
. re keeping it for home consumption.
I'alksville News: One hundred cars of
Alabama hay received in Birmingham
during the past few days. This sounds
j well, but there were perhaps another
i iOO cars gone to waste. We lose as
, much as we save.
Conocuh Record: Industrial activity
| and old general prosperity throughout
ihe United States are greater today
than they have been for 10 years, and
the tide is still rising.
Gadsden Daily Times-News: We admit
that the weather is hot in Gadsden, but
Alaska, Denver and other pleasure re
ports are much warmer.
Mobile Register: The Kaiser expects
to win by October. He doesn't put it
that way. He says the war will end in
October; but he does not expect it to
end until he wins.
ANTHONY COMES HACK
From the St. Louis Republic.
A few brief days ago the editorial
columns of newspapers scattered
throughout the country contained more
or less extended appreciations of the life
and labors of Anthony Comstock. An
thony was not dead, nut it was sup
posed that he had been removed from
his position as postoffice inspector and
it was assumed that he was officially
defunct. It appeared that Inspector
Comstock had run his course and that
all that remained for him was an ob
scure old age in which he would never
more impose upon the public the con
sequences of his supersensitive discrim
ination between nice and naughty.
Therefore it behooved the sympathetic
commentator to remember that the in
spector had not always been merely a
hypercritical nuisance and to admit the
value of his public services. To be sure,
there was audible in every word of
praise a sigh of relief at the departure.
The commendation was enforced by the
unalterable demands of fair play. The
“Thank heaven lie is gone!" came from
the heart, but the postoffice depart
ment does not seem to have seen the
thing in this light. Inspector Comsto* k
recently visited the Postmaster General
and perhaps lie carried some of those
! very editorials with him and underlined
the acknowlengments of his worth and
zeal. Anyway, it is announced that he
is to be retained in the service, and all
of those who sped the parting inspector
will have a chance to open the door and
bow him out again. Comparisons be
tween the next set of farewells and
those which were just said may prove
interestin g.
A FUTILE PEACE PILGRIMAGE
From the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Returning1 with her American com
panions from the Woman’s Peace con
gress at The Hague and peace pilgrim
age to foreign capitals, Jane Addams
wonders that "in England there was a
spirit of indifference in the press" to
her errand.
Probably British editors were not
polite enough to conceal their opinion
of futile effort. Their government-placed
obstacles in the way of the congress,
which was only by chance attended by
two or three scarcely representative
British women. French women were not
present; they 'disclaimed all interest in
peace while an invader's foot remains
on French soil. Belgian women came to
fight successfully any call for peace that
did not add "with justice.” The prepon
derant groups were those of the great
war power and the chief neutral na
tion. of Germany and the United States
Germany’s interest in peace is natural.
As the war stands, she has won. Hav
ing Belgium, her main object, more of
Poland than she probably cares to keep |
and a rich slice of France, she can
consent to compromises. The allies,
beaten thus far, but still short of their
maximum strength and still hopeful of'
Roumanian and Bulgarian assistance,
are in no mood to stop.
One nation may make war. War, one
made, is not checked until both siac-s
find some ground of agreement. The
mission of the peace delegates expressed
a humane aspiration. As a practical step
toward peace now, it had all the weight
of a feather fluttering in the vortex of
a tornado.
GOOD EXAMPLE
From the Milwaukee Sentinel.
There was a time when it was not an
unusual thing for merchants, manufactur
ers and other employers of men who be
longed to the national guard to say to
I members who desired to spend a week in
camp of instruction, “If you go you need
not return,” or words to that unpatriotic
effect.
But that time has passed, apparently.
Several large business firms in Boston
I have notified their employes who belong ■
I to the militia that leaves will be granted !
| them for the usual military instruction.'
I and also that while so engaged their I
| pay by the Arms will be doubled,
j Several large banking houses in New j
York and Brooklyn have made the same
generous and patriotic arrangement with j
their soldier employes.
It is further evidence that, in spite of j
the paid and other service of the “peace at j
any price" people, the public is awaken
ing to the importance of military training
and preparedness in this country, that
has never been ready for any of the wars
that it has been forced to engage in.
A BYWAY
I By Margaret Lee Ashley.
! The highway marches sturdily to market
town and mill,
| But I would And a little road that loiters
up a hill—
A lit He vagrant, woodland road, gray- I
ribboned through the green,
Whose berry brambles bar the way and
orchard eiders lean.
The highway is the world’s way, but 1
would drop behind
To follow little luring paths that only lag- ;
Sards And;
i i he challenge of the bandit weeds, the'
tilt with startled bees—
! "'hat can the dusty highways give for j
tournevings like these?
•
j The highway is the sun'B way, and follows ;
east to west,
I But there are yelllow, vagrant beams that '
love my road the best—
| That linger down the weedy ways where ,
lady's lace is spread,
! Or slant through shady orchard paths |
and tint the tree trunks red. * ^
j The highway, the highway!—you follow
where it calls;
j I watch you through a leafy screen from
crumbling orchard walls;—
j I wait and smile among the green and
j know that by and by
1 We’ll lure you back through dust and
dew—my little road and II
—From the Washington Evening Star.
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ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
SARTORIALLY IMPRESSIVE.
"I notice that Mr. Buffkins always oc
cupies a seat on the platform when there
Is a public meeting.”
“Yes. He’s been doing that for 20
years.”
“He must be a man of some importance
in the community.”
“No. He’s not at all Important and I
don’t believe be was ever invited to sit
on a platform, but he puts on a silk hat
and a frock coat and nobody has the cour
age to snub him.”
HELPING CONSIDERABLY.
“I suppose you are willing to do your
share to lessen the horrors of war?” said
the inquisitive person.
“Not only willing, but I’m doing my
share.” said the quiet man.
“How so?”
“With people I know I argue about it as
little as possible and with strangers not
at all.”
’TIS INDEED.
“It’s a good plan to think twice before
speaking.”
“No doubt that’s true in some cases, but
not in others.”
“For instance?”
“When I'm talking over the long dis
tance telephone at 50 cents a minute,
stopping to think seems like a waste of
money.”
THE RULING PASSION.
“What’s all that racket in your dinin'
room, Hiram?” ,
“That's my hired man doing a clog
•••••••••••••••••••••••••«••••••*■••••••■•••••••••••
dance. We’ve got a couple o’ city boarJf- *
ers here who’s so used to them cabarets :
that they can’t eat unless some sort o’ !
show Is goin' on.” s
NO BEAUTY. ?
"I guess Muggson will die a bachelor.? J
"What makes you think so?” I
’’He says he's not going to marry until i|
he finds a girl who will take him at his |l
face value.” j
SOMEWHAT SKEPTICAL. \
"I would like to know what Abraham ?
Lincoln would do in the emergency which
confronts Woodrow Wilson,” said the first
citizen. {
"So would I,” replied the second citi- •
i
zen, "although I turned down the offer of »
a man who said he would tell me for $2.” J
"You must be joking.” |
"Not at all. He was a spiritualist and •
I informed him that if he thought he
could really get into communication with
Abraham Lincoln, he had considerably
more confidence in his powers than X *
had.”
HOW IT WORKS.
The critics said a movie show
Was one we should not see I
And held if anyone should go, i
’Twould most imprudent be. !
The papers then took up the cause, j
Expressing pained surprise,
And running on with -tittle pause,
They served to advertise
The naughty film to such extent,
With virtue's fond pretense,
That nearly everybody went
And profits were immense.
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THE MODERN SHORT STORY
From the New York Evening Post.
IT is not often that a critic can fire
both right and left, but whereas
Henry Canby registers in the Atlantic
his belief that the American magazine
story is a weak, stereotyped product, j
the same Mr. Canby points out in Har- 1
per's that tlie public emphatically shares j
his opinion. He is convinced that college
teacher, business man and artisan alike
think of most periodical fiction as trash, j
In Boston, a critic who had read 00* short
stories of the twelve-month recently un
dertook to pass judgment upon them. Mr.
O’Brien's appraisal was generous enough,
at least as to the writers—Mary Wilkins
Freeman, Katherine Fullerton Oerould,
Conrad Richter—whom he rates first.
But from the Portland Oregonian the re
view elicits a discouraging comment. “The
American short story,’’ it remarks, “has
long since fulfilled all the artistic prom
ise it ever had, and is now In senile decay.
Nor is there any doubt that its ending
should be speedy. When an art form
comes to the point where it is produced
by the bushel, according to a mathemat
ical formula* its demise is not far away.’’
The short story is a form, and nothing
more, and it totters through the pages
of the magazines “as a pale, utterly dis
embodied specter.”
It must be remembered that it is the
average that is spoken of; the mediocre
background against which and without
reference to which writers of genius may
still bring out distinguished work. Upon
the short story we Americans have lav
ished pains and pride. It is the one
department in which we have excelled,
the one of which the public is by temper
ament most fond, and the one which our
addiction to periodicals most stimulates.
It is still much better than the English
short story, quite equal to the French,
and not far short of the Russian. In ex
planation of its recent deficiencies we
have had a contradictory variety of theT
ories. Magazines imitate each other in
one prevailing craze; editors are timidly
unwilling to risk anything beyond three
or four modes established by years of
usage; there is the worship of formulas,
and the belief of writers that by abject
obser\ance of rules alone can they reach
commercial success; besides the require
ment of inventiveness and constant
“punch.” But these explanations are not
so contradictory that they do not all ad
mit or imply one thing; the heavy em
phasis upon form and technique, as
against character, emotion, atmosphere.
This is put forward by defenders of the
short story as well as its assailants. The
stories are as “well made" as a piay;
they show consummate dexterity, and be
speak a masterly sense of narrative. But
those who read many of them know how
quickly this superficial merit palls, and
the faults Involved in an exaggerated at
tention to structural niceties obtrude un
til they are offensive.
The preoccupation with form shows its
blighting effect upon plot. Quietness is
our first element to go—half of the modern
short stories must start with a whiaz,
tilt sharply over f descend
through some nerve nt
to a conclusion w • ***"
than 10 per cent c
! amined by one enterprising writer of a
new short story handbook began with
conversation, and twice as many more
gave us conversation introduced by only
a few words to indicate speaker, time
and place. Thus interest is “caught at the
start." The situation conceived the writer
must contrive exactly the retrospective
narrative, the train of machine-made in
cident revealing character and unfolding
plot, and all-satisfying conclusion. Since j
O. Henry, there has been a wearying re- !
! currchce of the ending that, quick and
j unsuspected as a lightning flash, throws
! a searchlight back through the proces
sion of events to reveal how much more
clever the narrator is than the reader/
Gouverneur Morris, successful from the
big check standpoint, has just told us
how overrated and antiquated is Wash
ington Irving, from his mere quality of
leisureliness. As for the latitude allowed
* the short story, it is unthinkable that
America could have anything like either*
| the simple French notes or the German
, novellen—even such novellen as Conrad
! often writes. We have spoken of the
'part Masefieldian verse like Robert Frost s
' ha.: played as a substitute for the bare
1500-word tale of Europe, and Mr. Canby
speaks of Tchekoff’s ^eries, which wobld
be rejected, not because they lack pic
tuiesqueness, or narrative suspense, or
vivid characterization, but because they
do not seem to move rapidly, and lack a
vigorous climax. Such forms do not satis
fy our demand for technique. But the
dfeper effect of the preoccupation is upon
character treatment. A machine-made plot
argues machine-made characters, mold
| ed to fit the exigencies of opening, crisis
land titillating end. There is an unneces
! sary temptation to use a “type”—the ath- '
| lwtic young man, the pretty girl, the neu
rotic wife, the vulgarian wage-earner—as
emphasized by externals.
It thus seems that a writer can pro
duce a clever story nowadays without en
! terir.g into the personality of characters
who are not like himself. It is easy for
him to obtain a reputation even for vlvla
originality by making his own the people
of some new’ environment, as the Portu
guese fishers of Cape Cod, the modern
business woman, without actually poss#;s
ing himself of their spiritual traits. Henry*
James has left us somewhere a descrip
tion of Turgenieff s method. The first
form in which a tale appeared to him was
as an individual or combination of indi
viduals whom lie wished to see in action,
being sure that such people must do some
thing ver^ special and interesting. They
stood before him definite, vivid, and he
wished to know ar.d to show as rmyfa as
| possible of their nature; lie used to write
a whole preliminary dossier or biography
of each. But in not five American short
| stories in 100 is it possible to believe that
anything but the plot has been conceived
| first, and conceived so that problem,
j contrast, surprise, mystery predominate,
while mood, emotion and symbolism, call
ing for special deftness in character de
lineation, fall into the remote background.
This is the natural result of a straining
after form, and of a want of psycholog
ical penetration.
BY CONTRARIES
From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal^
Things go ny contraries. King Georg*. >
after all these long years, has bestowed1,’
*"■ « wnman—oiiri