Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], April 30, 1908, Page 4, Image 4

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

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4
LOS ANGELES Herald
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THE HERALD IN SAN FRANCISCO AND
OAKLAND —Lo» Angeles and Southern Cali
fornia visitors to San Franclcvo and Oak
land will find The Herald on Bale at the
new* »Und« In the San Francisco ferry
building and on the streets In Oakland by
Wheattey and by Amos New. Co.
Population of Los Angeles 300,000
fif VESTIGIA NULLA;j(I
H RfcTRORSUM ftl
CLEAR, CRISP AND CLEAN
HERALD A LEADER
IN SPITE of unusually active competition,
I/os Angeles Herald is still a leader
among newspapers and presents all the
news of the country and the world to
its readers in such a way that even the busi
est man in a few minutes may be abreast of
the march of events. Yesterday It pub
lished 176 headed Items of news, told in
the clear, crisp and clean manner which
wins every reader and makes a friend of
him. A tiresome, tedious method of writ
ing Is discouraged. The Herald gives a
complete and accurate account of every
news event, but does not Indulge In su
perfluous verbiage and unnecessary rhetoric.
Not only i- The Herald attractive In Its
manner of relating news, but fair In Its
methods. Facts are not distorted to fit
theories. Stories are not colored in order
to be picturesque. No necessary detail is
omitted, but no unnecessary detail Is re
tained. Its style of handling questions
which rome under editorial review Is fair
iind outspoken. Its style of handling the
news Is fair und impartial. It Is a square
deal newspaper, j giving a square deal to
people and events mentioned In its news
and editorial columns, and a square, deal
to readers. The constant Increase In the
number of subscriptions and street sales
shows it Is making new friends by the
hundred. As a newspaper, The Herald Is
s-i complete in every department and de
tail air any in the Cnltpd States, although
It Is compact, easily handled and carried,
and not a "blanket sheet." An excellent
staff of reporters collects all the local news.
The efforts of these expert local news gath
erers are supplemented by the work of a
corps of trained, efficient, experienced cor
respondents stationed at principal news cen
ters In the United States, and by the com
plete news service of the Associated Press,
the greatest news gathering organization
In civilization. It provides for readers of
liOs Angeles Herald the news of all the civ
ilized world, and also of every accessible
part of the uncivilized world. Wherever
the white man "carries bis burden" the
Associated Press is there to telegraph the
new* to Los Angeles Herald.
PROTECTED GAMBLING
A CIRCULAR letter issued by a
New York firm of bankers, mem
bers of the stock exchange, as
sures the timorous that "the politi
cal situation, while apt to cause an
occasional stir in the stock market,
is decidedly more satisfactory than it
was a short time ago. The public is
beginning to realize that while legis
latures may propose, the courts will
dispose, and that the supreme court
of the United States can safely be
counted upon to project all consti
tutional rights." We would be soiry
to believe this was liot the case, yet
somehow the announcement coming
from such a source inspires uneasiness
rather than confidence. Surely the su
premo court does not need the in
dorsement of Wall street!
In this instance and under the exist
ing circumstances the announcement of
the court's reliability is not reassuring,
but disquieting, because it is evident
Wall street means that the supreme
court may be counted upon to thwart
reform legislation! What, are the ron
stitutionaj rights of a gambler? Has
counted upon to protect all constl-
Ititutlonal lights than a bucket shop
keeper In Los Angeles I.' When is
gambling not gambling? When la a
bet not a bet but a deal? Our W:■ ll
street friends enlighten us on this sub
ject to some extent by saying:
"With money reserves well above
legal requirements, interest is being
manifested in speculative bond issues.
With money continuing easy, and
brokers' offices generally free of stocks,
tl^ere is only one conclusion to be ar
rived at, and that is, the next important
movement in the stock market will bo
upward, and we are therefore inclined
to think this an advisable time to
buy," etc., etc., etc. Please observe the
Hkillfully suggested connection between
"The supreme court of the United
States," "constitutional rights," and
the "advisability of buying." Is the
majesty of the supreme court in-.
yoked to protect the operations of
tambleis?
GOOD MEN NEEDED
AN OLD English phrase says a jury
must be composed of good men
and true. The cause of good gov
ernment and liberty makes It Impera
tively necessary that good men and
true should be chosen at the pri
maries. The primary elections are of
vital importance. We hope all voters
have been registered this year, but if
not, they may vote on May 5 on their
1906 registration. The district attor
ney has so ruled. The polls will be
open from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m., so a
citizen will have twelve hours In
which to cast one vote. Surely he
should be able to "get around to it"
within that time. Republicans are
making a great effort to emancipate
Republicanism from Southern Pa
cific bossism.
This effort Is winning the approval
of nil good citizens, who put the eman
cipation of California above every mi
nor or strictly partisan political con
sideration or advantage. In order that
conventions may truly represent Re
publican sentiment, every Republican
voter Is urged to go to the polls May
5 and by his vote assist In freeing
the Republican party from the dis
graceful domination of the Southern
Pacific political bureau. The Republi
can party Is in active revolt against
the usurped rule of the Southern Pa
cific. The purposes of the Lincoln-
Roosevelt Republican league are the
emancipation of the Republican party
In California from domination by the
Southern Pacific and allied interests,
the selection of delegates to the
next Republican national conven
tion pledged to vote and work for the
nomination of a candidate for presi
dent known to be truly committed to
and identified with President Roose
velt's policies; the election of a free,
honest and capable legislature; the
pledging of all delegates to conven
tions against the iniquitous practice
of trading; the election of United
States senators by direct vote of the
people, the enactment of such a pri
mary election law as shall afford a
party voter a direct vote In the selec
tion of party candidates, i
THE FATAL QUESTION
TAFT has not yet answered the
question on his response to
which his political destiny de
pends. "If a man is out of work and
is starving and cannot get work, and
has a wife and family dependent on
him, what must he do?" The Taft
answer is. unsatisfactory. "God
knows!" is merely a confession of ig
norance. Mr. Taft has had plenty of
time in which to prepare a less hys
terical reply to the question of the
hour. He should give us an answer
which answers. We believe it is his
duty as a citizen. Moreover, it gives
him an opportunity of proving his fit
ness as a probable candidate for the
highest office. Discretion may be the
better part of valor, but silence is
sometimes more indiscreet than speech.
To have answered only "God knows!"
to such a question was one indiscre
tion, but to remain silent while the
whole country is awaiting a well-con
sidered answer is another. Let Mr.
Taft reply! There must be an answer
to this question. Civilization would be
incomplete if it could not be answered.
Surely civilization is not incomplete.
Let the great Republican give a Re
publican answer to the question of the
American workingham.
MAKE SCHOOLS SAFE!
AS WE do not believe )n alarmist
practices or policies, we regret the
professional necessity which com
pels us to call attention to the fact
that in an official blacklist of cities
where there are unsafe school buildings
Los Angeles appears. The national
board of fire underwriters and several
other organizations, after the Collin
wood disaster made a careful investi
gation of conditions which exist
throughout the country. The state
ment is made that the safety of the
lives of students in 322 colleges and
universities has hardly been consid
ered! Few students living in dormi
tories can go to bed at night under as
surance that they are protected from
fire perils. Within three months there
have been dormitory fires in nineteen
states and one territory. In the same
period public school buildings have
been on fire in eighteen states, one of
which Is California.
The pressing need of the hour is to
make existing school buildings as safe
for school children as modern methods
will permit.
Investigators assert "without hesita
tion" that danger of loss of life in pub
lic school buildings exists in every city
and town in the United States, as well
as in educational institutions situated
In the rural districts, where the pub
lic assistance available at a time of
fire would amount to practically noth
ing. It is universally conceded that
proper protection against fire In a
building can be had only through the
use of fireproof materials in its con
struction. The question of the hour is
not how shall ntv/ school buildings be
constructed, but how can existing
buildings be made reasonably safe? In
the opinion of engineers, automatic
fire protection should be provided.
Hotels and churches are protected by
automatic sprinkler systems. It is sug
gested that such protection should be
adapted to school buildings. An auto
matic sprinkler system discovers fire,
gives a prompt alarm and, If the
equipment be standard, throws water
directly on the fire. Places that can
not be watched by human industry can
be protected by automatic sprinklers.
Fire is the scourge of civilization, and
we do not apologize for what we have
to say on the subject of school pro
tection. We have hoped and believed
that Los Angeles' school buildings were
safe, but the report of the expert in
surance Investigator! says this is not
the case. They may bo "reasonably"
safe, or "ordinarily" safe, but they are
not "absolutely" safe.
LOS ANGELES HERALD: THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 30, 1908.
*
"COMPETITION"
ITT HEN a smaller business concern
11 goes down before the repeated
' " onslaughts of a larger, many
people say the competition of
the survivor was to blame for the mis
fortune of its neighbor. This is a mis
taken view. Most business concerns,
both large and small, can stand a rea
sonable amount of fair competition;
indeed, according to old proverb and
modern experience, it is the life of
trade. The trusts do not believe this,
but trusts are illogical. They are
houses built on the Bands, and will fall
before the first storm of popular indig
nation propertly directed. Under or
dinary circumstances, fair competition
is stimulating to business. It adver
tises all competing concerns, and not
Infrequently the absence of rivalry
brings a serious loss to the quasi
monopolist, the sole local occupant of
any field of activity. But opposition
to the existence of' a neighbor in bus
ineso is not competition. When a pow
erful firm uses all its influence for the
purpose, not of competing with a rival,
but of opposing that rival's existence
and driving him out, immediately the
powerful firm becomes un-American, an
alien to the animating spirit of this
country, and a mere mischief maker.
It is better to boost than to knock.
That is a good, sound proverb, founded
on practical experience. When any
member of a profession uses its greater
influence or money power for the pur
pose of suppressing or hurting another
member of the same profession, it has
unconsciously injured itself, and in the
long run will reap what it has sowed.
There Is plenty of hard worldly wis
dom as well as spirituality in the say
ings of Jesus, -Whatsoever ye sow,
that shall ye also reap." "With what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured
unto you again." "Whatsoever ye
would that men should dvo unto you,
do also unto them." "But," you ask,
"am I to take all this literally? Am I-|
my brother's keeper?" If you are a
wise man you will accept these teach
ings literally and put them into prac
tica every day. If you are a fool, you
will not, and sooner or later a fool's
fate will overtake you. The mills of
the gods grind slowly, slowly, slowly,
but time brings forth its revenges. All
these sayings are in the line of the
same philosophy and have to do with
immutable laws of cause and effect.
Yes, you are your brother's keeper.
THE WICKED FORTUNE
HEL.IE DE SAGAN Is having a
distressing time over the prepa
rations for his marriage to
Anna Gould. All kinds of obstacles
are being thrown In his way, sometimes
religious objections, sometimes civil
barriers; bilt somehow he manages to
overcome objections and force his way
through barriers. The dowry of his
bride represents the product of the
toil of American worklngmen. If the
Gould money could be analyzed into its
original constituents, how strange and
weird the fortune would seem! If some
alchemist could resolve into its original
elements that heap of gold which is ho
alluiing to Helie, what would that ar
dent young dollar hunter see?
The loot of the Erie! Hundreds of
widows and other small stockholders
suddenly find their incomes cut off.
They are told their holdings have been
depreciated until they are worthless.
They must sell for anything at all, or
their homes may be sacrificed. While
the poor little stockholders rush to
dispose of their supposedly insecure
securities, old Jay Gould, peering out
of a dark corner like one of those queer
tunnel spiders which live at the far
end of burrows, is buying, buying, buy
ing. Soon he has a valuable railway
property which he may use for specu
lative purposes in his more avaricious
Intervals.
Black Friday! Wall street is crazy.
From the beginning of the business day
until the solemn chime of Trinity an
nounces the hours of the later after
noon, downtown New York is like :i
Whirlpool ol' humanity. Out of the
ci ntusion there suddenly emerges a
THAT HISTORIC ANSWER
human figure—perhaps hatlcss and
coatless. It rushes about frantically
and aimlessly—plunges into downtown
Delmonico's for a drink of brandy, and
another and another! Courage revives.
There is a small-arms store in Nassau
street. "Quick —a revolver —yes —load
it up!" The storekeeper asks no ques
tions. Soon a sharp report rings out
among the discord of seething Wall
street, Broad street. Nassau street,
Broadway. Bull-voiced newsboys rush
roaring down from Park row—"Haw,
extree! extree! Suicide on the steps of
the subtreasury! Extra!"
Crape on many doors—the auctioneer
in many homes—the red flag and
ruin—young women who have known
nothing but luxury tearing themselves
from the arms of weeping mothers, and
going out to face the world—to do any-
thlng—anything at all for a pittance—
anything at all! Thr^e and hundreds
of like pictures could be conjured up
by a magician for Helie from the Gould
gold heap. And, calm and stolid, the
central figure in all of them is old Jay
Gould, smiling as he watches the antics'
of his victims, and always counting—
counting—counting his gains. For the
Gould fortune is the wickedest in the
world. The old man who began life by
peddling mouse traps never ceased to
be a trapper until death trapped him.
Bluejackets say that never in their
lives were they treated as well as In
Los Angeles, never as badly as in San
ta Barbara. We knew they would be
discontented after they left "little old
Los Angeles." When people are fool
ish enough to run away from Los An
geles to any other city, they are un
happy ever after—unless they cun re
turn to Los Angeles.
California's orange crop this year is
worth $16,000,000. After all, a greut
many factories would have to work
a great many hours in order to rival
this product. Talk about California's
lack of manufacturing Industries is not
impressive when one thinks of the
great fruit manufacturing industry,
with the soil and the sun for "machin
ery."
Blood curdling stories about the dark
deeds of massacring Kurds show the
folly of civilization's boast that it la
the policeman of all the world. It is
true one-half the world does not know
how the other half lives—and doesn't
care. It is equally true one-half the
world doesn't know how the other half
robs and murders—and doesn't tare.
C. E. KelseV, special government
agent for the California Indians, says
the survivors of the original owners
of the state need fixture of tenure, se
curity of legal right and protection
from the liquor traffic. Seems to us
this is an exact statement of what
white men need!
As Kald Sir Harry Mac Lean of
Tighnabruaich, Morocco and elsewhere
hits been heard to threaten the assas
sination of anyone who degraded him
by calling him an Englishman, it is
not believed it v ould be safe to allow
him to land in America.
Once on a time the Chinese boy
cotted Uncle Bam, and the Japs made
the most of the opportunity. Now
Japan is boymtted by the Chinese,
and Uncle Sam is doing a land office
business with trie Yellow Peril.
With the Republican primaries
should come the dawn of a new day.
There has been too long a contin
uance of condition! preferred by those
who love the c I ink ness rather than
the light, because, etc.
John Norris, the well known eastern
newspaper manager, says one paper
linn controls the output of "seven In
ili prudent mills." Herein is a mystery.
How can they be independent if they
are controlled?
According to the program and plans
of the county hl«hway commissioners,
Los Angeles county will "soon" have
the best roadw In the country. Gpod.
The "sooner" the better
The Public Letter Box
Letter* Intended for publication must be
accompanied by the name and address of
the writer. The Herald lives the widest
latitude to correspondents, but assumes no
responsibility for their views. Letter*
should not exceed 300^ words.
TAKE LONG LOOK AT THE
RIVER, BROTHER JONATHAN
LOS ANQELE9, April 29.—[Editor
Herald]: A few days ago I arrived in
your fair city from the blizzard swept
east in a Blue Line sjeeper. One of the
first newspapers I saw was The Her-
nld, which is certainly a paper of which
Los Angeles may be proud. Perhaps
you will give me a little corner in
which I may write something which
may be for the good of the public. The
subject is one which Is dear to me, for
I come of good old Yankee sea stock.
Mine is a well-known aquatic and nau
tical family. I asked cne of your in
telligent citizens to direct me to the
public baths To my surprise, he said
there were no public baths. This some
what disconcerted me, but upon mature
I am led to the conclusion
lhat your city 13 still too young to have
considered seriously the proposition of
tree bathing facilities for that portion
of the community which a philosopher
has called the great unwashed, as well
as for others who might wish to avail
themselves of the precious privilege of
complete and thorough abulutlons. If
one so recently arrived as I may be
permitted to interpose a suggestion let
me ask why not establish bath houses
and plunges at the point where the
bridges cross the Los Angeles river?
The north side, of the bridge can be
reserved for men and the south side
for women, or vice versa.
At the bathing- places could be sta
tioned large floating bath houses simi
lar to those along the Charles river in
Boston, each one with a plunge. I have
not yet visited the vicinity of your
noble river, so cannot commit myself
to more than the mere sugestlon. I
may be able to throw out a few valu
able hints as to details after I have
made a thorough inspection. Ropes
strotehed a few feet beyond the bath
houses, not too fur out would keep the
rash or venturesome from imperiling
their lives, and relieve the city of the
necessity and expense of keeping a pro
fessional life saver on duty. I have
no doubt the plan would be entirely
feasible. Public baths have been great
successes in other places less favored
with climate than Los Angeles, so why
not here, where they could be used all
the year round?
Yours very respectfully,
JONATHAN KIDDEK,
(of Rehoboth, Mass.)
WORKING WOMAN HAS IDEAS
ABOUT STREET CAR FARES
LOS ANGELES, April 28.—[Editor
Herald]: Among the letters on Mayor
Johnson's free car proposition pub
lished in The Herald I have not seen
one from a woman. This is certainly,
I should say, not because women are
not interested in the subject of street
car facilities, but because they all (like
myself until today) hang back for some
one else to do the letter writing.
Now, I think an ounce of personal
experience is worth a pound of theory.
I have to go out to work most of my
time, and I work by the piece, earn
ing anywhere from 70 cents to $1.25 a
day; occasionally (but seldom) as
much as $1.40. The average is about
90 cents a day. Ten emits a day for
car fare is just one-ninth of my earn
ings and double that any evening that
I come to town again; and this amount
I pay, not for any advantage I receive,
but only because I happen to live too
far to walk. To reach my work alone
I havo to work the first hour of each
nine-hour day for the car company.
Maybe I would not like street cars to
be Jree! I'd be a foolish person if I
wouldn't.
And. further, I don't see why I
should not sa->- what it is in my inlnd
to say. I have a little boy who is not
so strong as he might be, just the same
as his mother Is not so strong and well
as she might be, and I have good rea-
Hun to believe both might have been
stronger and better today but for the
necessity the mother was under of sav
ing car fares at a critical time for her
self and the child-to-be. From the
woman's point of view—the woman of
hiii.ill means —the free-car idea should
look good, indeed; it does to me.
MRS. M. A. M.
JEFFERBONIAN DEMOCRACY
DIFFERS FROM OTHER BRAND
LONG BEACH, April 25.—[Editor
Herald]: Your correspondent. T. J.
Pollard, In Monday's Issue, in reference
to the partltfi admits that the "present
evils have grown up and been fostered
by the Republican party." And his
third question la "Can the people forget,
OF WORLDWIDE INTEREST
IMPERIAL FAMILY OF JAPAN
FREDERIC J. HASKIN
HOKIO— is undoubtedly \ true
. that no other, monarch in his
tory ever saw such a change
-in the • affairs of his r people
! has witnessed during \ his
as the present ruler of Japan
reign. Hutsu-hito became ■ emperor
when he was 16 ■years old, and he will
bo 66 If he lives until November 3. , Ho
Is ' the one-hundred and twenty-first
ruler of his dynasty, belonging to a line
of monarchs I which ; stretches through
the unparalleled period of 2568 years.
Greater progress .has been made in the
forty-one years of his reign than in all
the time since Jimmu Tenno, the first
historical ancestor of the present. Son
of Heaven, sat upon the throne in 660
BO * ~
Although the seclusion of the present
monarch causes much comment, his per
son is hedged about with much less for
mality than was put around his an
cestors. In the olden time the mikado
was altogether secluded from the pub
lic. No one but his wife, his concu
bines and his most important ministers
were ever permitted to look upon his
august face. When receiving he sat
upon a matted throne, and his face was
protected from view by a richly «m
--broidered curtain. It was a strict rule
of etiquette that his sacred feet should
never touch the earth. It is said that
the present emperor new walMd until
he was 18 years old, which may account
for his awkward gait which Is still
noticeable. times the emperor'traveled
In Mden times the emperor traveled
in a curtained car of state.. His name
could not be spoken aloud by the rank
and file of 'his subjects, and when
written had to be left unfinished by
omitting the last stroke of the writing
brush. The first time a Japanese em
peror's name was ever written in full
during his lifetime was when the pres
ent sovereign issued his edict prom
ism!! the people a constitutional form
of government. No person Is Permit
ted to look down upon the emperor,
so that when he drives through the
streets the blinds of upper windows
must be closed and no one dares to
climb on anything to get a view of
his imperial, majesty. Formerly no
one was permitted to look upon the
emperor through spectacles, but in re
cent years this rule has been modified
in the case of persons who must wear
glasses of necessity. But it la still
wron- to see the emperor through
glass, and to avoid any chance of
anyone's seeing him through a win
dow he grants audiences and docs his
work in a room in which all the blinds
are nailed down.
EMPEROR 13 AUTHOR OF
70,000 POEMS, OF WHICH HE
TURNS OUT ABOUT 50 DAILY
The legal cause of this extravagantly
reverent attitude of the people Is found
In the third article of the constitution
of Japan, which says: "The emperor
is sacred and Invloable." Further ex
planation of this clause Is made In the
official commentary on the constitu
tion: "The emperor Is heaven-de
scended, divine and sacred. His hal
lowed throne was established at tne
time when the heavens and the earth
became separated. He Is pre-eminent
above all his subjects. The law has
no power to hold him accountable to it.
.Not only shall there be no irreverence
for the emperor's person, but he shall
not be made a topic for derogatory
comment, nor even one of discussion.
Thus it will be seen that the Japanese
consider their ruler too sacred to be
talked about, and have Inculcated in
the law of the land a prohibition of tho
use of his name in ordinary conver-
The emperor has no dissipations and
practices the utmost regularity, spend
ing nearly his whole time in the dis
charge of his official duties. He is said
to resemble the German emperor in the
faculty of being able to choose trust
worthy assistants. Although his maj
esty cannot read or speak any lan
guage other than his own, he is an
inveterate reader of newspapers, keep
ing his interpreters busy translating
the utterances of the foreign press for
his information. Quite in conformity
with the idea his subjects have about
his divinity. Is the claim that he never
shows emotion. If there are momenta
when his anger gets beyond his control,
no reports of them ever reach beyond
TheVmperor always wears,a military
uniform and has done so ever since he
discarded Japanese dress years ago.
Not only when he appears In public,
out when working at his Buropean
desk, he is dressed in the full uniform
of a general or admiral. His interest
In the equipment of his soldiers was il
lustrated by an incident of war times
A body of troops was passing and he
ordered one of the private" to besent
to him He examined the soldiers
shoes and asked a great many que*
tlons about them. Then to satisfy him
self he sent for a pair of the same
kind and wore them for two or three
days to test their comfort.
The one hobby of the mikado isi h, s
love of poetry. No day passes without
his turning out forty or fifty poems
which" according to Japanese rue must
consist of either sixteen or thirty-one
syllables. His capacity in this Particu
lar is so great that the official court
poet estimates that during the part
thirty years his majesty has written
UxUy 701000 poems. It is told that when
the emperor was only 8 years oldl hla
father gave him a number of subjects
for verses, and he has had an unvary
ing love of this kind of composition
ever since. Each January the emperor
selects a subject and the pub lie I«.re
quested to send in poems on this theme.
the last Democratic maladministra
tion?" and will they be Justified in re
turning it to power? The people will
not bo asked to return the Cleveland
foment and its policies to power. The
Bryan policies were quite different, and
a protest against the Republican as
well as the Cleveland policies. ' When
Cleveland was elected, the country wa«
Republican. Why then did Illinois,
which had not been Democratic since
Douglas day. and Wisconsin and Indi
ana and- other Republican states
change over and vote for | Cleveland?
It was because the country was • al
ready in the grip of hard times.. It
was a protest against . the Harrison
regime, under which banks began to
close, merchants to fail. strikes to oc
cur all over the country and monetary
stringency and commercial paralysis
prevailing in nearly every state of he
Union. This was the aftermath of the
Harrison misrule, ■ and elected^ Cleve
land. , who went into office under these
circumstances. . It was »mP°ss'e. B 'o. r
him to stem the tide of national dlsas
ter-the wreck and ruin brought on by
Republican mlsgovernment. It is not
justice nor honesty to charge Clevetend
with the sins of omission and commis
sion of his predecessor, as J: would
have required the wisdom of an all
wise creator to steer the old ship out
of the maelstrom and bring back pros
perity to the , people. ■<> Jeffersonian
Democracy is rdly the same as some
brands of Democracy that have been
conspicuously «exploited, and it is to
this that all : "independents" and those
who believe In representative popular
Thousands of responses are receive!
and thi: bureau of poetry is rushed for
months in the work of passing upon
thorn all. . Finally the committee se
lects what are considered the six best
poems, and these are read at court and
published in all the papers. Of course
this honor is regarded very highly by
the successful competitors. This year
the subject was: "The Pine Tree Be
side the* Shrine." The emperor's con
tribution was: "The evergreen pine
tree stands beside the shrine which
guards the empire immovable." Among
the six successful contributors thero
was only one woman, who wrote: "In
iho garden fronting the shrine the
cranes play under the pine tree foliage. '
While the translation destroys the me
ter an understanding of the idea may
be obtained.
I l
COURT POET AND EMPEROR
HAVfc CONTROVERSY OVER
MERIT OF ROYAL VERSES
The present court poet la 70 yeare.
old, and It Is said that he is soon to
retire from office on account of the
arduous duties attached to it. There
is a story which shows that although
the mikado may be supremo in ruling
thn .Tn nanese nation, the court poet
is the boss of his department. Years
ago when the emperor and his poeti
cal adviser were both young men they
made a trip together from Kyoto to
Toklo. They traveled along for sevcrul"
days tn sight of Fujiyama, the sacred
mountain. Of course the view inspired
the emperor to dash off a number of
effusions. In trying to determine
which of the lot was the best a dis
pute arose, and the discussion became
so heated that the court poet resigned
on the spot. However, his august mas
ter declined to release him und in the
ovejjtures which followed it was agreed
that in future his majesty should ac
cept the rulings of his minister of
muses without question. And even to
this day the court poet of Japan is not
a figurehead.
Aside from his love of poetry the
emperor has absolutely no amuse
ments. When a young man he was
quite skillful in the practice of arch
ery and for a time spent a portion of
each day in drilling a company of
troops. The fact that he is susceptible
to seasickness is said to be the ro.\-
son why he does not have an Imperial
yacht. Whenever it becomes neces
sary for him to journey on the water
he travels In a steamer chartered for
the occasion, or utilizes one of the bat
tleships of the Japanese navy. Al
though his majesty has a number Sf
country palaces and game preserves,
he rarely or never visits them, pre
ferring to remain at the capital of hhs
empire.
The empress of Japan is a noble and
inspiring woman. Her name is Har
uko, and she is the daughter of a noble
of the highest rank. She is two years
older than the mikado. Tho sacred
ness of the imperial porsonuges was
shown by an incident which occurred
when it was determined that the court
ladies should adopt European 4TCM.
At this time great difficulty was ex
perienced In getting clothes to fit her
Imperial majesty. The profane hands
of a dressmaker could not be allowed
to touch the person of the empress, m
a court lady had to pose as a model
until the garments were gradually
made to fit. -
EMPRESS HOLDS PLACE IN
HEARTS OF HER PEOPLE,
WHO WORBHIP HER
The empress also has poetic Inclina
tions, and is herself the author of sev
eral volumes of verse. One of the fea
tures of 111 state occasions is the sing
ing of a song by the school children,
which was composed for them by h«r
majesty. During the rendition of this
soitg the children .stand with their
heads bowed as if in prayer. The em
press take* a greal deaLof Interest in
'all school -work, and has in her private
apartments a large collection of the
best specimens of poetry, painting and
composition done by the pupils of tho
empire.
A story is told which reveals tho
kindness of her majesty's character.
Some years ago when the castle In
Tokio was burned the emperor and em
press were forced to take temporary
quarters in a nearby house, which was
old and rather out of repair. Although
the proportions of the place were ample
It was altogether lacking in the luxu
ries of the palace. A representative of
the people expressed to the empress the
grief which her subjects felt becau.se
she was denied her usual conveniences.
She arose to the occasion by writing <i
graceful little poem In which she said
that it mattered little how she was
situated so long as she was sure of a.
home in the hearts of her people.
Another story illustrates her ma
jesty's consideration for the happiness
of children. One of the little prin
cesses once conceived the unreason
able idea of wanting to give a cherry
blossom party In December. Although
April is the earliest that these trees
may be expected to put forth their
delicate flowers, skilled artisans were
called in and after much labor cre
ated the desired effect by pinning to
the trees myriads of pink and white
blossoms made of tissue paper. Thus
the whim of the eccentric little prin
cess was gratified.
(Copyright, ISOB, by Frederic J. Haekin.)
Tomorrow —The Heuse of Mit-.nl.
government should turn in the next
election. Yours respectfull,
R. M. M'KIE.
FREE CAR IDEA FINDS FAVOR
IN EYES OF A LABORER
LOS ANGELES, April 27.—[Editor
Herald]: Well, Mr. Editor, it has been
my lot many and many alveary time
to have to trudge long distances, often
burdened with a handbag or other im
pediment, simply because by the logic
of circumstances I have had to reflect
that the nickel I might have spent for
car ride was wanted at home. But I
am only one of the "common people,"
and so probably don't count.
LABORER.
STORM AND CALM
Not always for me the calm,
And the breath of balm-
Blue skies over the vale
And the nlgtulngaln
Singing Its silvery psalm!
Rather, to pitch my blood
To the flow of the flood,
The wild wind welter and strain
Of the driven rain.
And the thunder's clash and thud!
Without some tang of strlfo,
With fervor rife.
Tame Indeed Is the taste
(Good brew gone to waste!)
Of the wine In the cup of life! /
—Clinton Scollanl in Smart lirC.