The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], February 03, 1919, Page FOUR, Image 4

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

Image provided by: University of Alabama Libraries, Tuscaloosa, AL

                
THE AGEHERALD
K. W. BA
K RETT . Editor
tillered at Uie .birmnignam. Aia..
postoffice as second-class matter, un
der act of Congress, March 8, 1879.
SUBsi..ttn-lBJN HATES
By mall in Unue<l States and t-anada^
Bail) and Sunday, year.
Bally vs ulioui buuday .•••• ” ■■
Bail) and Sunday, lliree months..
Dally and Sunday, out month.... •»
Sunday Age-Herald, per annum... *
Thursday a edition, per annum.... •
By carrier in Greater Birmingham
Baily and Sunday, week.
eio communication will he puo
without its autnor'B name. Bej[ *T „
manuacript will not he returned -■
atampa are enclosed tor that purp -3
Bemitiances can he made at cu
rate ol exchange. 'ihe Age-Heral
not he responsible tor money
tlirougu the mane. Address
THE AUK - iihlsAhll,
Birminguam, Ala.
Washington, bureau, 207 Hlbb* bui.u
■European bureau, 6 Henrietta street,
Covent Garden, Kondom ,,, „ , ,
Eastern business office, 'V o
building. New lork city; weste,r“
ness office. Tribune building, *-hm a
The & C. Beckwith Special Ageiwy,
agents for foreign advertising*
Member of the Associated lr***.
The Age-Herald is the only morning
and Sunday newspaper in Birmiug
earrjlng the Associated Bress
patches. ,
The Associated Press Is exclusively
•ntitled to the use for publication
all news dispatches credited to H
not otherwise credited in this pap
and also the local news publisned
herein. . _, .
All rights of republlcatlon of special
dispatches herein are also reserved.
TELEPHONE!
Bell (private nclunsr conneriln*
all departments) Mnin 41*00.
A »tar tor each of the *»- —gre-Herald
Men In tlie army and nary.
Every time
Serves for the matter that la then horn
In It.
—Antony and Cleopatra.
* * y_
BEGINNING THE DAY—O God of
heaven, grive me a little eloiate^ed
room somewhere In thl» day that
my soul may enter to meet with
Thee. Purify me, atrenprthen me,
steady me, with a little time of eon
verse with my God. And may all the
noise and the hurry and the warring:
voices he hushed while I am still
unto Thee. For Christ’s sake. Amen.
H. M. K.
_
* * *
Woeful Plight of Heroes
vpio Lost Their Best Girls
P'np’IS a sad story, mates. A Phila
il delphia newspaper says the
Salvation Army service men’s hostel
is kept busy consoling: more or less
heartbroken soldiers and sailors who
returned from abroad to find theii
sweethearts married.
Carrying the photographs of these
faithless ones in their breast pockets
as they sought the slinking subma
rine or “mopped up” machine gur
nests at Chateau Thierry, St. Mihie
and in the Argonne, they came horns
to receive but c<)ld c9ker. Instead ol
a pair of rounded waiting arms anc
a loving embrace, they were greeter
by the announcement of a wedding
ceremony in which they had no part
not even as best men.
The Salvation Army lassies, whosr
kind hearts respond to every appea
for aid and sympathy, have been dis
pensing doughnuts and coffee to th<
lovelorn heroes, with a smile or tw<
thrown in for good measure.
As proof that the “gobs” ant
"doughboys” are really suffering th(
acute pangs of unrequited affection
they are asking for Bibles and Testa
ments in large numbers, showing ;
disposition for the time being to tun
from worldly things and improve thi
shining hour bv religious meditation
# * *
Eggs and Other Food
Falling in Price
CONSUMERS are no longer pay
ing at the rate of 75 cents i
dozen for eggs. This popular too
commodity retailed at 50 cents a doze:
Saturday and still lower prices ar
promised. Indications point to a shar
decline in food all along the line.
With the high wages prevailing th
cost of living made it next to impos
sible for the earner to save monej
But when price levels approach norms
the new conditions will be haile
with joy.
During the war the consumer pai
exorbitant prices for almost everj
thing and did it without complaininj
but now that the world is at peace
gradual lowering is in order.
Fruits and vegetables were neve
more plentiful than they are at pre:
ent, and a material drop in all mark<
■upplies is surely in, order. The true
farmer is entitled to make good profi
on his products, but he can sell i
reasonable prices and still foil up
bank account, at the same time givir
the consumer a chance.
When profiteering becomes a thii
of the past we will have a happii
world. Vegetables will come down,
the restaurants will follow and the
family table will be all the better sup
plied. The turning point is now.
* * ¥
Anniston Ranks First
As Cotton Mill City
ANNISTON is the leading cotton
mill city of Alabama. Of cot
ton mills and allied industries'it has
more than any other town in the state,
surpassing Huntsville, Lanett, Mobile,
Montgomery and Talladega.
With nine factories devoted to‘cot
ton spinning and the manufacture of
allied products, Anniston leads Hunts
ville, her nearest competitor, by two
mills. This information is contained in
the report of the state prison inspec
tor, Dr. Glenn Andrews.
Montgomery, Lanett and Talladega
have five mills each, making cotton
cloth, hosiery, cordage and the like,
while Mobile has four. Birmingham
has only one cotton mill and one
hosiery mill, this being a coal, iron
and steel center where little attention
is given to spinning.
Anniston may well feel proud of
her cotton mills, yarn and cordage
plants, for they are models of their
type, being ably managed, up-to-date
and profitable. They are kept in con
tinuous operation and constitute one
of the city’s most valuable assets. It
is also worthy of note that Anniston
manufacturers were pioneers in Ala
bama in providing good homes and
an attractive environment for their
employes. One of the city's mill towns
has been the subject of many compli
mentary articles in newspapers and
magazines.
Shortage of Homes
Nearly a Million
ACCORDING to a statement is
sued by the United States de
partment of labor there is a shortage
of homes in America of nearly ^§ne
million, “to which must be added the
normal requirements of the year just
opening.” \
The shortage of labor, which has
hampered building activities for the
I past two years, is no longer felt. The
demobilization of the military anc
naval forces has made a market
change in the labor situation.
In many industrial districts there
is a surplus of labori The price oi
construction material is still high anr
will remain high, but conditions if
general should induce prospective
home owners and investors in realtj
to start a building boom early in thi
spring. Birmingham is ripe for build
ing operations on a large scale.
¥ ¥ 9
A young woman in Georgia who hope<
to get a divorce and liberal alimony fron
her elderly and wealthy husband, whos<
only offense seems to have been that h'
was an easy mark, got merely the di
vorce. There are times when the scale
of justice tilt in the rigljt direction.
* * *1
Having acquired a veteran news
paper man as publicity director, th
receiver of the Birmingham Railway
Light and Power company will re-es
1 tablish the entente cardiale betweei
the company and the public.
* ¥ ¥
The citizen who used to pride him
■ self on being able to distinguish be
tween first and second lieutenant.1
captains and colonels, Is sadly puzzlei
by the service insignia worn on
hero’s sleeve and breast.
¥ ¥ ¥
Some of those congressmen who don
believe all they read in press dispatche
i #
from Paris nevertheless believe absc
lutely every complimentary word put
llshed about them in their home paper;
¥ ¥ ¥
At least It is consoling to know tha
when the conscientious objector re
turns home he will not be greeted b
a brass band and a welcoming com
mlttee.
¥ ¥ ¥
Maybe there are times when Presi
dent Wilson longs tor the simple lit
in the White Hou&e, with the faithfi
Tumulty at his right hand. y>u guess
ed it.
¥ ¥ ¥
Broadway, or that part of it devote
to the distribution and eonsumptlo
ot alcoholic liiiuors, is going to trav<
the next five months "on high."
¥ ¥ ¥
De Wolf Hopper can recite "Case
at the Bat," but he's not in the sam
class with the late Mark Antony i
delivering a funeral oration.
¥ ¥ ¥
People who used to scoff at M
Bryan’s predication that the natlo
would some day be dry are just no
thinking deep thoughts.
¥ ¥ ¥
Every time the bolshevik troops i
Russia force the allies back there
rejoicing in >%!w York and other bo
shevik centers.
¥ ¥ ¥ .—•
We are anxiously waiting for son
investigator to tell us what will hai
pen to cabarets w’hen the nation
bone-dry.
¥ ¥ ¥ '
Judging from the recent activith
of criminals in Birmingham, we ncc
a police department of about 4000 me
¥ (■ ¥
There are some people so prejudice
that they don't even believe a pack
can be good to his own family.
¥ ¥ ¥
Having dismissed his barber, Wi
helm is now in
tidy sum in tips.
position to save
A
What has become of the old-fash
ioned professor who used to make an
easy living- by giving lessons on the
ukulele?
# * #
A traffic jam holds no terrors for
the young woman who drove a lied
Cross ambulance in France.
* * *
A Class B jail Is to be deplored, but I
all is not lost so long as we have a
Class A baseball team.
¥ * *
There are still a few members of
Congress who don’t seem to know that
the civil war is over.
* * *
“THINK OF Ol'R SON'S”
From the Army and Navy Journal.
Without question few of the news
paper correspondents who were pres
ent at the weekly interview with Gen.
Peyton C. March, chief of staff, at
Washington, on January 11, were ever
so deeply touched by an incident in
their news gathering duties as the
reading by General March of a letter
he had received from Col. Theodore
Roosevelt in May, 1918. General March
said:
"Dtirlng the week I went up to Oys
ter Bay to attend th^ funeral of former
President Roosevelt. During the fu
neral ceremonies, which were beautiful
in their simplicity, I saw Capt. Archi
bald Roof>evelt, who was handling tne
funeral arrangements, wearing medals
for distinguished service in France. 1
recalled one of the letters which Mv
Roosevelt had sent me sometime
ago in which he referred to his sons,
and I have determined to release it foi
publication. This letter was written t<
m© after the death of my own son,
and before the death of Quentin Roose
velt:
" *My Dear General March:
“ 'According to your instructions in
your letter of April 2a, and the en
closed copy of your memorandum to
the adjutant general, T cabled Kermit
through our ambassador at Madrid
that he had been appointed captain
of artillery in the national artpv and
was to report to General Pershing, and
therefore was to proceed immediately
to Madrid where your orders would
reach him.
" 'I thank you. sir. You have already
drunk of the waters of bitterness: 1
suppose I shall soon have to drink of
' them; but. whatever befalls, you and 1
hold our heads high when we think of
our sons. Sincerely,
“ THEODORE ROOSEVELT.’ ”
That was all. But there was more
than could be expressed in a thousand
words in the momentary pause when
General March laid down the letter ^nd
I prepared to proceed with the interview
| “When we think of our sons” seemed
I t<^ stick in one’s mind>it was ineradi
cable. W left its impress, a sort c?
afterglow that warmed one’s blood and
brought with it a feeling of sympathy,
even of sadness, that went out also to
those other men of this great nation
who had cause to pause when they
thought of their sons—those fathers
who had sent their boys Into the fight
to make the world a better place to
live in. The simple incident in the of
fice of the honored cnief of staff was
nearly a perfect tribute to those sons
, ofyetalwart American fathers who had
fallen facing the foe. And they, too,
may “hold their heads high” when they
think of their boys who carried the
flag atross the fields of France and
laid down their lives in a righteous
1 cause. The letter from the former
. commander-in-chief to the chief of
, staff of the army is as a beacon light
to these fathers, a solace in this day
of their sorrow. And the simple little
5 tribute to those sons ought to stir the
hearts of the millions who were not
compelled to drink of the waters of
bitterness to the resolve that they will
! do their utmost to honor those boys
and those fathers to the end of time.
Their comrades are coming home now
by the thousands, but in the joy of
1 greeting the living, let us not forget
those who sleep eternally in the soil
of France. “Think of our sons.''
1
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FOX TROT IN I/O.\DON
From the Memphis Commercial-Ap
peal.
Since the signing of the armistice
London has\ been' swept by a dancing
craze. The latest American noveltle.*
in the terpsichorean line have beer
taken up by our British cousins, anc
“the fox trot.” “the bunny hug,” “th<
lame duck” and “the toe tackle" ar<
being trod in their respective meas
ures. Undoubtedly the strident dis
cords of the “jazz band" are resound
ing through the ballrooms in elit<
cities.
Tt must be an inspiring sight tfo se<
my lord and lady “walkipg the dog.’
The slow and dippy stride of the mod
ern dancing ambulations must surelj
have Its appeal to the su^ve if some
what sfolid British temperament. Bu
when my lord and lady indulge in tin
wild and weird windings and gyio
scopio twistings of “the Texas Tonj
mie,” it must recall visions of tin
whirling Dervish. Now’ my lord’s fee
would be in the air, now my lady’s, a
they turned and twisted most of ih<
time, flit the floor. Skirts would go j
ballooning and monocles would b
aflutter.
My word!
e TWAS AWFUL! AWFUL!
n New York Correspondence of the Pitts
burg Dispatch.
A sailor stool last night in fronj of
hut of the “Friends of Thirst” on Par
Row.
He shivered and looked with jealou
v eyes on those who entered the fas
dying Demon's branch establishment.
lie asked several men to furnish hir
1 with a liquid ration, but all declined o
s the ground that they might be caugh
- Finally a man came out of the plac
following a zigzag course.
He stopped in front of the sailor.
Q bottle of something that appeared to t
i- about 105 proof dropped from one <
3 lvis pockets and fell to bits on the side
walk.
The sailor, in disgust, starting for tli
■s navy yard, said:
j “Hell, you ought to be sent up for :
years." *
LOOKS LIKK OLD TIMES
Prom the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
“Thousands of Garment Workers O:
dered to Strike.”—Headline o\^.*r Ne
York dispatch. Conditions in the Ne
!" York garment working industry, one ii
a fers, are returning to the normal, peact
time status.
IN HOTEI, LOBBIES
AND ELSEWHERE
At Work In <hc Hack Yard*
“The other morning just after daylight
I strolled down one of Woodlawn’s alleys
to see a friend, and was surprised to see
the number of gardens being spaded up
for spring planting,” said Clem Ash
ford.
“Lots of workers have to hit it hard a
few hours each morning while the good
wife prepares breakfast. ^ In this way a
little done each day gets everything
started early, and in some garden spots
T noticed cabbage and onions already out.
Everybody should plant seeds in boxes
now, so as to have them ready to put
out later. It begins to look as though
there will be no let-up in the war gar
den campaign this year.”
Hotel Business Improves
“Our business^has been growing very
rapidly recently,” said A. H. Dunk*ec,
clerk at the Tutwiler hotel, yesterday.
"For sometime past every room in
the house has been occupied each *ight
ahd we could have filled a groat mtiny
more if we had had thorn. Transient
bus n» ss has been improving ever since
ti.o first of the year an I unless all
affcna fail tie hotels of '^Irmin-: l«.n t
will le <v*Uxed for r% long tree id
come ’
Backward About Poll Tnics
"In spite of the almost daily pleas
in the newspapers for the people to
pay their poll tax/’ said George Whit
field, ' it is impossible to set many of
them to do it. "Iheard of a certain man
who lives out of town but keeps Bir
mingham as his residence, who each
year on the last day in January tele
graphs a friend to be siire and go and
! pay his poll tax, and he always corr.es
home to vote, in spite of the fact that
it takes* several days and a lot of
money, but he holds his franchise
high."
Peel* Sure of Huota
"I realize that in accepting the
chairmanship to raise the funds for
the Armenians, .Syrians, Persians and
Greeks it is going- to be a hardship,”
said J. Mercer Barnett, "hut I am proud
and grateful for the offers of help
which are coming in from all sides
I am sure that with the allied army
as the backbone and the other civic,
charitable and church organizations as
the body that Birmingham will raise
her quota."
Have Great Preacher
"From all I can hear the First Bap
tist church has gotten a great preacher
in Rev. J. Ft. Hobbs," said W. E. Perry.
"You know I came from Jackson, Miss.,
and recently some Jacksonians were
over here and they say that Birming
ham has a treat in store, for Dr.
Hobbs, who comes here from Arkansas,
made his reputation as a pulpit ora
tor of first ability in his early Mis
sissippi pastorates."
Letter From l.iciilcnnnt Lenry
"We received a letter from my
brother, Lieut. Robert Leary, who is in
northern France." said William
Leary, "and he states that he came
through without any wounds. II
does not say so in so many words bui
1 judge that his work is pretty heavy
and that he is like most'of the soldiers
feeling the burden of being with the
army of occupation without having
the privilege of looking forward ic
any real fighting."
A 1*0 For Birmingham
Birmingham may not be the bigges
city in the south, but it is certainly
destined to be one of the loaders, es
peciall.v from an industrial standpoint
from what I could see from my ahor
stay of two days here," said G. L. Gold
smith, representative of the .Southern
Upholstering company of Atlanta. "Tli
view from the roof of the Jeffersoi
County Bank building has opened nr
eyes to Birmingham development. If
ever decide to leave my present place o
abode the/ Inducement will certainly b
Birmingham. Yes. I’m an Atlanta boos
ter, but I must say you people here hav
also big r|as011s for boosting of your tin
town."
GIBRALTAR
From the Chicago Herald and Examiner
"England has agreed to cede the Rod
of Gibraltar to Spain."
That is what he read.
Mournfully he opened the ancient bu
reau drawer and gazed on his insurant*
policy.
"All these years 1 thought I was hand
ing my 10 cents a week to somebody i
New York, and all the time I've bee
handin’ it to England. And now 1 hav
to hand it to a lot of Spaniards."
Whereupon lie heaved his insurant*
policy into the fron troom stove.
THIS IS SlOtUOl S
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A St. Douis man has been fined $«">(
for trying to klfes a policewoman. Wha
was the charge—attempted bribery?
LIKE M’til’KK s\VS
1 You may have noticed that the ma
1 who never has a word to say when h
i is getting the best of it does an awfi
, lot of squawking when he happens t
be getting the worst of it.
And if time is so' precious why is
man so willing to devote several houi
of it to some fool argument?
The world is growing better in spit
• of the C^ict that neither prohibition nc
Xew Year’s resolutions have aided an
4 in the general result.
c About this time of year father is r<
celving the hills for the Christmas pres
ents mother and daughter bought ft
s him.
t Never be afraid to hand out advic<
It is the biggest cinch in the worl
that it isn’t going to be followed.
You can’t make a woman believe tht
1 it is flattery when some man is praisin
• her for qualities she knows she doesn
e possess.
The man who is blind to his own fnul
^ hasn't a bit of difficulty in seeing 1l
faults of other people.
After looking over the record we ai
*' forced to admit that the popular electfc
- of senators did not result in the electic
of many popular senators,
e Scientists claim that the oldest fossi
aft 19,000,000 years old. Hut some of tl
fossils who write Duke anonymous po
■0 tal cards roasting him are older tha
that, we’ll bet.
We tlo not know much. Hut we c
know that if you marry a swell looki
you do not need to expect a swell cooke
> And it is almost a cinch that a wor
v an is going to be distant when her hu
v band is too close.
An argument often makes an enen
’ for you. Hut we. never knew an arg
“ mcnt to make a friend for you.
-LL-.
MEN, WOMEN
AND THINGS
I have always heard that blind peo
ple were very sensitive to sound. 1
have known cases where a blind per
son in a small village knew every
passing villager by the sound of his
or her tread. •
There are certain trades or callings
wh^re the ear is trained to detect
sounds^nnd many people have the
power to never forget a voice, just as
some never forget a face, while oth
ers can walk through a woodland and
distinguish the note of every warbler
a-wing.
* • • • •
For a few days I was confined to
my bed at home and* I soon began to
figure on the different night and day
noises. I learned to tell the hour by
the W'histles or the running of the
' street car^. Unless you have been
wakeful and kept tab op the various
sounds which smite the air, you will
be surprised to know just what a con
stant stream of noise is let loose be*
tyveen sunrise an dsunset.
T do not know whether it's the
Sloss furnace whistle or the Avondale
mills, but every mornng at about 4
a. m. from the north" there comes
shrilling out a volume of sound which
seems to bp able to wake a tired pud
dler out of his dreams and make him
dress or snatch the mill operatives out
of bed to hurry millward. I know it’s
a summons to some people to get up
and start bhe day’s work.
Now, I do not mind confessing that
T have never l\£en fond of early rising.
I want the sun to be well up and a
bit on his day's jotirney before \ start
mine, anr) T have always sympathized
with those whose jobs demanded that
they rise before the sun. I missed
the chance of becoming an expert gar
dener because the fnan who offered
to teacH me insisted that the lessons
begin at the break of day and stead
fastly refused to make a date with
me just before the sun set.
* • •
From 5 o’clock on there are whis
tles too numerous U» try and identify,
their shrill calls only reminding us
that some of the numerous industries
have begun to riin on the day’s output.
€t is about this time that I hear the
first car rounding Lakeview, and then
my big old dominick rooster gets into
action to let all the world know thkt
day is on its way. Ho surely has some
voice. I must have mighty good
neighbors or he would have been put
out of commission long ago*
* * •
One of the noisiest and busi»*i>t
places around a home where a big
flock of chickens is kept Is the chicken
yard when the sun streaks the sky in
the east. I know of no more soothing
stfuiul to tired nerves than to hear
the singing of a bunch of hens wh-eu
their combs begin to redden and they
are hunting nests, unless it be the
squawk of one about sundowri, which
means baked chicken for tomorrow’s
dinner.
• * •
I never get t*po sick to enjoy the cry
of hounds. The valley just below' mo,
which stretches up to Gate City, is the
happy hunting ground for rabbits l>\
day and 'possums by night and I nevoi
fail to enjoy the music of the packs
T do not know why, but the yelp ol
a stray dog at night shot by some
irate householder always sends cole
chills through my veins, and thougl
I know the cur has been poaching
vet my sympathy/goes out to it.
* • *
One of the morning noises which al
tracts my attention is the lowins
of my cow begging the maid to hurrj
up with her breakfast and get hei
1 milked so that her insistent calf’s cr:
? for a chance at he/ bag may be satis
1 *‘fled. Now. do not get it Into you
head that 1 mean to intimate that tin
[ calf is neglected, for sh£ ain't, she i
’ the pet of the whole household aiv
5 even Wolley. the dog. is jealous of tin
’ attention She gets. She certainly is :
beauty.
\)
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i Know wueii o.ow u tiuun
for T can hear the crunching of th
flat-wheeled c^rs as they grind aroum
Gentry Hillman’s corner down o\
Clalrmont avenue, and I know tha
Mr. Hadley, one of the gentlemanlies
conductors that ever ran a car, is be
ginning his day’s duties—and abou
12:30 am. the s|tme sound inform
me that (’on due tor Goodman, afto
a long night, is pulling toward tin
barn ang then to home to get a do
served rest.
Now, in the living room stands n
old grandfather’s clock and in hi
grandfatherly way takes all kinds o
liberties in announcing the hour*, li
spite of much doctoring at the hand
of clock doctors he has a way of reck
oiling time to suit his convenienc
and sometimes it seems to me eithe
with malice aforethought or with
keen sense of humor, dignifiedl
strikes 12 when in reality the holt
only calls for six strokes. Perhaps h
is prodigal of time and throws in h
extra ones for good measure.
• * *
But there is an ala/m clock In th
house which is strictly on the job. I
never takes any liberties. It 'is a
obedient timepiece. Tf set to call at
particular hour, you may turn ovc
in perfect confidence and go to slee
knowing full well that when the tim
is up it is going off and is -going t
keep on going off until you get u
and shut It off. You can’t bluff
by just waiting to see if it will gro’
tired and quit making a row. I b?
lleve it would bust itself into Hinder
before it would stop if someone di
not pay it the courtesy to shut ol
the alarm. It knows its due and
exacts it.
• * •
Then ^cornet One of the sweetei
sounds of all in these days of s^i
vant troubles. The back door oper
and cook turns on the water and s^o
is making a fire in the stove and yo
are at liberty to turn over and take
catnap, the'sweetest sleep of all. Bi
it won’t last long, for two hurna
alarm clocks start up a clamor an
there 'is no patent way to shut thei
off. and there is racket enough unt
they are headed for school and tf
house is strangely still until school
out and they come’^kramping home.
• • *
The milkman comes along w'ith h
gong, the veg#<abi* man triih his be
MIXED EMOTIONS IN METZ
I Gregory Mason, in the Outlook.
THE triumphal entry of Petain’s
troops into Metz started be
fore I finished eating, and I
joined ftiree American officers and
seven German girls, who were watch
ing the parade through the plate glass
front of the restaurant. The boche
girls sneered at the passing poilus.
"They are not nearly so big and
strong as the Germans," said one.
*'Xo, nor as the Americans, ' said an
other. "Why aren’t the Americans
here?" Then there was a lot of jab
bering in mixed French and German.
One of the girls plucked the sleeve
of a waiter who had worked for five
years in London and could speak Eng
lish. He was about five feet high,
bald and had watery blue eyes.
"We lffce you Americans better as
die French an* die English,” he said,
interpreting for the girls, with the ob
sequious smile he had learned serving
Hun officers.
"Oh. we know you Germans," said
an American lieutenant. "When you
are with the French you tell them you
like them better than the English and
Americans, and when you are with
the English you tell them that they
are the ones you like best. We know
you."
"Ach, nein. Tt is not true, burst
from the angry 'girls.
"All right! Never mind! Good-by!”
snapped a thin maiden with a cold
mouth, who seemed to think she was
cursing us in our own tongue.
"We really like the Americans best.”
said a tall, bony girl with shrewd
black eyes. You are more lflte us."
“Good night! Dike the boche, are
we?” roared a second Yank. “So,
thanks!”
The girls surrounded him ftke an
gry hawks. “We're not boche!’ they
shrieked. "You must not call us
boche!”
“But I suppose it's all right for you
to call us sch weinhuude ?” said the
lieutenant.
“Nein; that we never said. It U a
—a mensonge of die—die ZeTtung.
"A newspaper lie. We never called
you—«k hweinhunde.”
“Never mind! Upstairs! Beat it!*^
snapped th’e slender girl, in a tone liko
a machine gun.
For the next three or four minutes
while we were watching the proces
sion the girls kept assuring each other
that no German had ever called au
American a pig-dog.
"Aber, why should we call you that?”
asked a plump blonde. “In America
a brother I have.”
* “And we now to America all will go,”
^said the black-eyed giantess. “With {
you we shall be as friends.”
“C'est vrai,” said the slim girl with
the cold mouth. “How can vre stay
here, now it is French?” ^
“You all say you are coming “tc
America,” said one of the American
officers in French. “Don't you think,
first, it would be better to ask if we
want you?”
The lean tigress glared and, as a
way of expressing supreme contempt
for all of us, 'spat out all the English
she knew:
“All right!—Beat it!—Never Mind!
I —Good-by!—Upstairs!”
REVOLUTIONIST AS A GAMBLER
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
THE tragic endings of the careers
(\f. Karl Eiebknecht atid Rosa
Luxemburg excite reflection
upon the risks-which are run by the
apostles of all revolutions. They cer
tainly "take thoir'lives in their hands."
“They stake them ppon a cast of the
dice.”
Forefathers acknowledged this when
they testified that "they must hang
together or else hang separately."
Dan ton, Robespierre and Murat must
have known the vrisks they were tak
ing iHvhen they flung themselves tyito
<lhe current of the revolution in
France. Kerensky must have realized
—young as he was—that he was plac
ing his life upon the wheel of fortune,
when he undertook to lead the Rus
sians in their struggle to throw off
the tyrant’s yoke.
Lenine and Trotzky could not have
been blind to the contingent element
in tjieir careers when they linked
'themselves together as leaders of the
terrible crusade of the bolshevik!,
and orte may well believe that there
were many solemn moments wnen
the res^lutute couple of desperadoes,
burg-, must have figured the risks they
were running.
The theories for which the> gave
their lives were pernicious in their
essence, and in their application to
human life they would have produced
disaster, irreparable and boundless.
Those two partners in that great ad
venture were a national menace and
a peril to the race, and their death
has relieved the world from an im
minent and an ominous tnreat.
It was an appropriate ending. Em
ployers of violence, th<^ were its vic
tims. Stormy petrels, they properly
perished in a tempest. Surrounded
by a howling mob of their opponents,
the woman—short, squat, ugly, bril
liant. brave, determined—was shot and
flung into a canal: the man—resource
ful, desperate, daring — was pierced
with a bullet as he broke from his
captors and ran Vfor his life. The de
noeumpnt was as fitting as it was in
evitable.
Karl
lauim ujn mjii buu m
From the Montgomery Journal.
EX a repent communication to The
Birmingham Age-Herald. Gover
nor ('omer discussed-at length and
with myeh force and clearness the
failure of the government to fix and
stabilize the price of cotton as it had
the price of wheat, the one a southern
product, the other a western product. \
He discussed^ the question more from I
a political than an economic point of I
view. He thought the southern mom- '
bers of Congress made a political mis
take jn voting to stabilize the price
of a product of one section of the
country and not that from another of
equal importance.
He argued that it was a great polit
ical mistake, and intimated that the
result of the elections in the west was
influenced by this one incident, and
cited facts to show that it was not
the first time in the history of this
country that cotton had played an im
portant part in politics of this coun
try, all of which was quite interesting.
But the former governor failed to dis
cuss the question from an economical^
standpoint, except to suggest that the
south would not have lost anything
by such action of the government—
fixing the price of cotton.
Since the communication of Gover
nor Comer was printed, cotton has
been on the decline. Its decline has
been steady and it has gone down to
such an alarming extent that Con
gressman Heflin has beer*- moved t >
introduce a bill in the House to abol
ish "gambling or speculation in cot
ton as carried on in thebe exchange:"
- the New York and New Orleans cut
ton exchanges—under the belief that
the iceman yells “ice." the automo
biles t«*ot. the delivery wagons are
busy aiwl the clamor keeps up until
nightfall. Then the barnyard grows
quiet, the cow chews her .cud and 101
awhile there is peace—but on Sunday
night a church bell in the distance
gives a note of invitation to all to
come afid worship God.
hliUdVl^u/3ajiAUjLL
A NOSEY P A lit
From the Rehobolh , tf tinda . Herald.
Two brothers who live in an Hast
Lancashire manufacturing town were
noted for being exceptionally well *sehved
with nasal organs.
One of the ring spinners at the mill
where they worked Invited them to a
wedding and promised to send a cab
for them.
The cab duly arrived and the tw5
brothers entered anti planked themselves
down one at eqeh window.
In order to create an impression dur
ing the drive to the wedding, the't
two
cdo.
brothers were looking out of the
one at either side, so that the people
could see them.
All went well until the cab came to a
rather narrow railway arch, which our
travelers had to pass through. The cab
mam looked back to take his bearing ana.
seeing the two brothers' nose sticking
out of the - windows on either side,
shouted:
“Put them elbows in, please."
THE AI.I.IES AND THE BEAR
From the Ghhago News.
No, Harold, the allies are not chasing
the poor Russian bear around a stump.
They are holding its tail and running
around the stump because if they turn
it loose the poor, dear bear will bite their
at a stratesetie point
/
these exchanges are responsible for
this decline in cotton.
Congressman Heflin may be right;
the cotton exchanges may be respon
sible. but the question arisen why is
not the whcaf market on the decline?
The Answer is plain. The pricers fix
ed by the government, and if the sou'.b
ern members of Congress had allowed
the price of cotton to be fixed, and
at the price the government was* wil
ling to fix it. and thus stabilize it.,
there would have been no cause lor
the present alarm and excitement con
cerning the south’s chief product.
Cotton exchanges and gamblers
could not have affected the price. The
cotton producer would have been se
cure, independent, indifferent .as to
what the gamblers did or attempted
to do. It may be that this failure to,
allow the government to stabilize the
price of cotton will mean the loss of
many millions of dollars to the souil^
There are those who are lever ready
| to oppose any act of the government
that appears to “interfere wift per
sonal liberty,” or take “control of pri
vate affairs,’’ but this incident show0!
the plan of the government was wiser
and 'would have been to the benefit,
not the hurt, of the cotton producer.
The western farmer, whatever m<ty
have been his first impulse and frenzy,
• •an now sit supremely contented and
happy in the boat, knowing that the
price of wheat is fixed, while cotton
j may go on down and down be!ow\ th ?
j Price of production.Vtho.se nightm*i es
| of the -defenders of the liquor traffic.
: personal liberty” and '‘government
I control.” costing the south millions of
dollars.
these w oi i ii “<;<>+HO mo
Crom pie Chicago Ndws.
A benevolent old gentleman was walk
■ ing through the outskirts of a town, when
a woman darted out into the road, un
I mercifully beating a little lad.
"M.v good woman," exclaimed the
kindly one as he seized the woman's
arm to stop her, “you mustn’t do
thUt! What harm has he done?”
“What? I mustn’t do that? What
j harm has he done?" she shrieked. 'If
j you would like to know, he has opened
five hen roost and all the fowls have
••:ot away."
! "\\ ell. it that's all. it’s nothing so verv
dreadful. Chickens, you know, always
come home to roost.”
“Yell, that's just it,” said the wo
man, gloomily.
TUB MIST
By Edith M. Thomas. I
T had forgotten that old fear
I knew in some far childhood year.
But, as I moved, the building ‘wall
Of mist drew thicker, hiding all.
Then, I remembered . . . and th#
thought
Again upon my spirit wrought.
Shaping a world all limitless—
A vastitude of loneliness, #
A world where save myself was none.
The rest—a figment of my own!
It was a dream—there could not be
Others, like-fashioned unto me:
My moving feet—no other feet:
My hegrt a-throb—no other beat:
My. straining fight—no other sight—
All, all alone, in kinless plight!
In that far childhood time of dread.
Through the white void, T, startled, fled,
And, running. * stumbled . . . Arms
reached out
To pick me up—I breathed my doubt!
"Oh, are you you—or only I?”
I know not if he made reply.
But friendly was the stranger’s arm
That snatched nie from the mist’s coW
charm.
So l was glad when, yesterday, v
A stranger rose upon the way;
And though iu silence on we passed.
| My lonely selfhood off l cast.
And knew, beyond the enchanted waif,
Were thos^could answer to my^call.
j