San Antonio light. [volume], December 21, 1911, CITY EDITION, Page 4, Image 4

About San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993

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4
THURSDAY,
THE SAN ANTONIO LIGHT
<Fesnd«8 January M. Illi.)
gMasrtaine Th* Ma Aniosi* U(ht and The
•an Amenia Gaeattn.
•vaslne Daily and •unday NornlM.
gxels.lv. UMe4 Wlr* Day Repert ot «»•
AmocI.i.4 Preen
Bninred st the SMioftlc. at Baa Asi.nlo an
•enaad-Claea Matter.
*" CMARLM A DIXHL
HAKMISON L. BRACN
BBltarn and PaMtafcaea.
•VBaaUPTiU* HATKs.
Dally and (uaday, Harriet, t meat*.. ..•
Dally and •uaday. carrier, 1 year I.J0
Dally and Sunday, mall. 1 month...... Ae
Dally and •unaay, mall, 1 year tin ad
*e ••••
Bunday, oarrier. 1 year MB
Sunday, mall. 1 year MB
•Ingle copy, dally or Bunday AS
It Ie Important when deelrlns the addreee
of your paper changed to give both old and
new addreaoea Should dell»»ry be Irreguior,
•■••a. notify the offlro. Either phono IT*.
NfW YORK OFFICg—Th* ■. C. Boo*-
with Special Agency. Tribune bulldins.
CHICAGO OFFICE—The 8. C. Bechwltb
Bpoelal Agency, Tribune building.
The Ban Antonio Llxhc Io on sale at hotel,
and nowa-etanda throughout the United
Btatea a •
AddreM all letters to THB LIGHT PUB
LISHING COMPANY. Ban Antonio. Teana
CI1UT1.AT1OM.
The nternge net paid dally iw.stoti.e oT
The Baa AstoM* Light tar Iba ten moathe
ending October M. till. duly awora to, waa
IBAtr eopleo.
LARGEST ORCUUnON OF
ANY PAPER IN SAN ANTONIO
THURSDAY, DECEMBER SI. 1811.
THE DEADLY TATTLER
As the result of the silly tattle
of a woman, a man is dead at Fort
Worth, his widow faces the charge
of murder, probably the life of a
young woman has been marred
and the tattler herself will go to
her grave haunted with as bitter
a memory as could possibly track
her thoughts by day and torture
her mind at night. The tattler
saw a man have dinner with a
woman, promptly reported the
fact to his wife and the latter,
equally prompt, seized a revolver,
rushed to the restaurant and'
pulled the trigger. There will be ;
a funeral and a murder trial in;
which the unwritten law may not'
be invoked. Further than that,!
the sordid business concerns us
not.
Of all human pests the tattler
is the worst. Forever on the look
out for trouble, the tattler, male
and female alike, never fails to
find it in generous doses, and, as
the case here cited demonstrates,
usually succeeds in making oth
ers take them. By some strange
law in which the principle of retri
bution seems to have but a limited
scope, the tattler as a rule escapes
the consequences of his act; like
Mephistopheles in “F a u s t,” he
seems to be above the laws of
equity. After urging poor mor
tals to desperate deeds, he mere
ly laughs and seeks other victims.
Still there is comfort in the fact
that even the tattler has instincts
which suffer under the retaliation
of memory.
Tattle not! Except you be ab
solutely case-hardened, you are
bound to suffer for this, the very
worst of indiscretions. If you see
a man dine with a woman, whom,
according to convention, he
should not treat to more than a
pink ice cream soda, forget that
you saw him. Before the worst
happens in such cases better
agents than your tattling may
beneficially interfere. At any
rate, your glib tongue cannot
make things better if wrong has
been done. By spreading your
knowledge you merely increase
the weight of the transgression
of which the subjects of your tat
tling may have been guilty. The
innocent whom you would ap
praise of the fact gain nothing by
the information you ache to im
part, nor do you do yourself a
favor, for decent men and good
women, though not in sympathy
with the culprits, will despise you
more than they would a water
moccasin.
The fact of the case is that the
normal man and woman have no
patience with the informer; to
them he is a thing as loathsome
as ever crept out of the lower re
gions. Long after the shame of
those inculpated by him shall have
been washed away, his part in the
affair will be on record. For the
tattler there is no forgiveness, be
cause his offense is purely gratui
tious and a violation of social eth
ics. Though the tattler’s soul
may have been seared by bitter
remorse and his mind beaten down
by constant reproach, there is for
him no rehabilitation. Humanity
takes the stand that he who tat
tled once will tattle again. When
the tattler approaches men cease
their conversation and women
lower their voices to a whisper.
He is a moral leper and well de
serves being treated as such. As
the Fort Worth case shows, an
enraged woman may kill but one
at a time, but the informer can
bring the equivalent of death to
many without doing more than
speaking a few words into a tele
phone.
One might call the tattler a so
cial pariah were it not that the
dog, from whom the term la de
rived, in too clean and loyal a
creature to be linked with this hu
man outcast of outcasts, the in
former.
A STRATEGIC CITY
Some people and some news
papers have been pointing the in
dex finger at San Antonio bemuse
it has at various times harbored
visitors who were suspected of
designs to overturn the existing
government in Mexico. It must
be admitted at the outset that it
is a dull day in San Antonio when
two or three aspirants for the
Curule chair of the Montezumas
are not in evidence on the thor
oughfares of this metropolis. It
likewise must be admitted that
their presence adds to the gaiety
and interest of the cosmopolitan
life while they remain even though
it is not for long. We usually
know when they approach this
chosen rendezvous, as their com
ing is widely heralded. Their go
ing, however, is always in the
night hours, and with a quietude
that disturbs not the lightest
sleeping burgher in the town.
\\ hat is the magnet that draws
them to this ancient citadel? They
must, perforce, go somewhere
when they quit their native heath,
[but wherefore San Antonio? No
.graven invitations are sent them
;by the city magistrates, they come
wholly unbidden and yet they
come. Wherein can San Antonio
be held to blame that they seek
the shelter of her walls?
Here on the same hills is en
camped a large portion of the reg
ular army of the United States,
which could repel them if so or
dered, and a lone deputy marshal
'could speed their departure if the
extradition laws permitted. In ab
sence of these legal requisites they
come and go as does the tour
ist, and there is no one under the
law to speed their parting.
It comes to this that from the
ancient days down to the present
time San Antonio always has been
and it always will be a strategic
point on the map of North Amer
ica. It has been fought for and
won and lost again, and again
won. Armies have crossed the
Rio Grande and fought for this
vantage point with a tenacity and
ferocity that has left an indelible
record in war annals. San Anto
nio is the gateway to Mexico. The
railway lines radiate toward the
republic to the south, and a my
riad of highways lead to the bor
der. It is pure military and po
litical strategy that brings these
aspiring gentlemen to San Anto
nio, if they contemplate a return
to Mexico, and there are no laws
of neutrality which can forbid
their choice of residence in the
interim. They seek the one
strategic city which has to do
with Mexico, either for peace or
war.
If trouble threatens in Mexico,
the United States army moves au
tomatically to San Antonio. Our
revolutionary guests are here for
the same reason that the army is
here. The same strategic asset
is what will make San Antonio
the great depot of trade when
peace again comes to Mexico, and
her next great wave of prosperity
sweeps in. Do not blame San An
tonio, therefore, for the presence
here of the observers of affairs in
Mexico any more than you would
blame the army for pitching its
tents along a running stream and
within striking distance of the
point where trouble may occur.
AMERICAN HEROES
“Diamond Dick” is dead. His
real name was George B. McClel
land and he died at Kansas City,
Kan., from injuries received in
being run down by a train while
driving over a railroad crossing.
In this prosaic manner he passes
to become enskied with those oth
er immortals of dime novel litera
ture dear to the heart of Ameri
can boyhood and not unloved of
men in moments of retrospection.
What a noble band they make
'of jovial, harum scarum, quixotic
Jjrestersand plainsmen, devil-may
car e and quick-on-the-trigger,
spiritual successors of Robin
Hood and his merry crew. Some
have found their place in the his
tory of their country, some are so
legendary that the very existence
of their eponymous prototypes
may reasonably be doubted. Dan
iel Boone, Simoft Kent, Kit Car
son, Deadwood Dick, Texas Jack,
Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, they
pass in ghostly review clothed
with a glamour denied thousands
more worthy our enlightened re
gard. Some were brave and far
seeing soldiers of the advance
guard of civilization facing the
new world of the farther west,
some were gentlemen who needed
all the glory of their public serv-
■ ice as an offset to certain private
i peccadillos and worse of which it
• is as well not to speak, some were
creatures of airy fantasy spring
ing full-fledged from the brains
of literary mainstays of Beadle's
dime novels and other boy hoot
classics now passed into a mcritei
oblivion.
Or was it merited? In spite o
its technical drawbacks the luric
tale of western adventure, of wily
redskin, picturesque road-agent
and daring scout was by no means
the worse literature extant. It
waa poorly written, sensational
and grossly imaginative, but it
must be said that it always served
a high moral purpose. In its pages
virtue was ever triumphant and
vice eventually received it just
dues. As in all stories designed
to stir the blood the villain flour
ished for a space, but the captive
maiden was .rescued in the end
and united to the doughty hero,
while the desperado “got his’n,"
full measure and brimming over.
In another way also this species
of literature set an example
worthy imitation. Its watchword
was action, action, action. There
was no discursiveness, no beating
about the bush, no long-drawn
out dissertations on side issues. It
was direct and to the point with
a scientific precision which puts
to shame work of better quality.
A writer recently suggested that
some pen of skill might go farther
and do worse than resurrect the
crude tales of the frontier which
delighted a past generation, pre
serve their good points, fill them
with the fire of genius and raise
them as a monument to a phase
of American life that is rapidly
sinking from the memory of man.
In this manner Diamond Dick and
his contemporaries might become
a part of the permanent literature
of the nation, as our folk songs
and by-gone ditties will be em
bodied in the American
opera which still remains to be
composed.
STANDARDIZING WORLD'S MAPS.
The idea of a standard map ot the
world was first proposed by Prof. Al
brecht Penck at the International
Geographical congress, Bern, in 1881.
He clearly showed the advantages that
would result if the nations should co
operate In producing a world map on
the comparatively large scale of one
millionth (1:1,000,000) or 15.8 statute
miles to an Inch. The project was
heartily approved by this and later
congresses, committees were appoint
ed to promote the movement, and
Great Britain. Germany and France
began to make maps on the required
scale. Little practical progress, how
ever, was made till after Dr. Gannett
reported that our government could
not publish the sheets he was prepar
ing because no agreement had been
reached as to the color scheme and
other essential detaila No general plan
had been adopted for tlfe uniform pro
duction of these map-sheets. He there
fore presented, through Dr. Day of
Washington, a recommendation to the
Internationa! Geographical congress
at Geneva, in 1908, to appoint a com
mission to work out a uniform plan
for producing the map.
This plan was prepared by the
Geneva congress, and it was decided
to submit it to a conference of the
map-making nations, which was ac
cordingly convened by the British gov
ernment in London, in November,
1909. The conference was completely
successful, its decisions were Anal, and
the map-makers of all nations were at
last in a position to co-operate in car
rying out the plan.
This fortunate result involved
mutual concessions, but the plan as
perfected was heartily and unanimous
ly adopted. Greenwich Is to be the
initial meridian. The metric scale for
distances and for altitudes above sea
level will be used, but nations not
employing metric measurements may
add in parentheses their equivalents
In miles, feet, versts, and so on. The
symbols adopted to represent rivers,
rail and other roads, towns, etc., prac
tically include all the conventions used
by the United States geological sur
vey on its topographic survey-sheets.
The Latin alphabet alone will be used,
and spellings are to be those of the
official maps of each country. We
shall see Roma, not Rome; Wien, not
Vienna; and the rule will discourage
the tendency of Germany map-mak
ers to spell the name of our greatest
city "Neu York." The spelling of Chi
nese place names will be that of the
Imperial post and customs service,
whose maps and yellow books give
both the Chinese characters and their
equivalent in Latin type.—Cyrus C.
Adams, in Harper's for January.
FOR PARCELS POST.
From the Chicago Tribune.
The postmaster general recom
mends the parcels post and reports
that one can be put in operation by
his department In a few months.
President Taft is on record as fav
oring a general parcels post, and has
announced that at this session he will
recommend its establishment.
Most of the standpat republicans
may oppose it, but not those with ru
ral constituencies, we believe, and the
progressives should support It to a
man.
The democrats will divide, but, with
the election approaching, the majority
ought to be for this great popular ben
efit. w
What is needed is an aggressive
campaign, especially by the farmers'
associations and the progressive press.
Representative Sulzer has a measure,
indorsed by the Postal Progress
league, which might be agreed upon
and every voter who favors tne par
cels post should let his representa
tive and his senator hear from him.
SAN ANTONIO LIGHT
Origin of Head-Hunting
In an article In Harper's for Janu
ary, ou her recent journey among the
Dyaka of Borneo, Mary Blair Beebe
tells the origin of the practice of head
hunting-—a practice which still pre
vails among these savage people de
spite our efforts to put it down.
"I was told later that a Dyak 1b
quite mad for days after taking a
head. I realised the infinite tact and
wisdom with which the two white
Rajahs of Sarawak—Sir James and
Sir Charles Brooke—have striven to
abolish the practice of head-hunting,
the greatest passion of ths Dyak. hav
ing its roots in his courtship and in
his Idea of Immortality and Site! af
fection.
“A Dyak legend tells that ‘the
daughter of their great ancestor, who
resides In heaven near the evening
star, refused to marry until her be
trothed brought her a gift worthy her
acceptance. The man went into the
jungle nnd killed a deer, which ho
presented to her, but the fair lady
turned away In disdain. He went away
and returned with a miaa (orangutan),
the great monkey who haunts the
forests, but this present was not moro
to her taste. Then in a lit of despair
the lover went abroad and killed the
first man he met, and, throwing the
victim's head at her feet, exclaimed at
the cruelty she had made him guilty
of, but to his surprise »he smiled, and
said that now he had diacoverod the
only gift worthy of herself.' And to
this day a Dyak girl will often retuse
to marry a man who has not taken at
least ons head. Still more binding up
on the Dyak to the obligation to fur
nish a fresh head to attend the spirit
of any dead member of hto family. The
feathers of the horn-bill—the insignia
of war—have come to be worn only
by one who has taken a head, and the
largo circle of mother-of-pearl which
holds In place the feather war-coat to
emblematic of immortality, aince it to
of thia material that the spirit must
construct the boat that to to take it
into the next world."
THE STRONG MEN.
(Walt Mason In tha TwIca-a-Month Popu
lar Mafaalna..
Behold the man of muscle, who
wears the victor's crown! In gorgeous
scrap and tussle he pinned the others
down. His brawn stands out In hum
mocks, he like a lion treads; ho sits on
foemen's stomachs and stands them
on their heads. The strong men of all
regions, the mighty men of note, come
here In beefy legions to try to get
his goat; with cordial smiles he greets
them, and when we've raised a pot,
upon the mat he meets them and ties
them in a knot. From Russia's
frozen acres, from Grecian ports they
sail, and Turkey sends her fakers to
gather in the kale; old brooding Eu
rope breeds them, these mighty men
ot brawn; our strong man takes and
kneads them, and puts their hopes in
pawn.
Behold this puny fellow, this meek
and humble chap! No doubt he’d show
up yellow if he got in a scrap. Hla face
is pale and sickly, he's weak of arm
and knee; if trouble came he'd quickly
shin up the nearest tree.-No hale man
ever loves him, he stirs the sports
man's wrath, the whole world kicks
and shoves him and shoes him from
the path. For who can love a duffer
so pallid, weak, and thin, who seems
resigned to suffer and let folks rub it
in? Yet, though he's down to zero in
fellowmen's esteem, this fellow is a
hero and that's no winter dream. Year
after year he’s toiling, as tolled the
slaves of Rome, to keep the pot a-boil
ing in his old mother’s home. Through
years of gloom and sickness he kept
the wolf away; for him no tailored
slickness, for him no brave array; for
him no cheerful vision of wife and
kids a few; for him no dreams Ely
sian—just toil, the long years
through! Forever trying, straining, to
sidestep debtors* woes, unnoticed, un
complaining, the little strong man
goes!
Oh, strong men! Soon or later the
laurel you bedecks! And mighty hearts
are greater than mighty loins or
necks!
A COMEDY OF NAMES.
From th* Popular Magazine.
Charles Egbert Craddock and Will
Allen Dromgoolc are two authors who
are chums. Morever, they are both
women, and their masculine names
have given them some trouble and a
lot of fun. Miss Dromgoolo's name is
her own, but Mary N. Murfree is the
real name of Craddock.
Miss Murfree on one occasion was
invited to a big dinner in Boston by
her publisher, who knew her only as
Charlie Craddock. She accepted with
pleasure, and at the appointed hour
appeared at the banquet hall door,
dolled up to a fare you well—but she
never got in.
"I would have you understand,
miss,*’ said the wooden-faced man on
the door, “that this Is strictly a stag
affair, and there ain’t no woman that
can come to this party.’’
Miss Dromgoole once received a let
ter from James Whitcomb Riley, con
gratulating her on a book she had
written. The letter began: "Dear
Will," and concluded with a pressing
invitation that "Will” should run up
to Chicago and "hit it up with the
boys."
PLENTY OF DANGER
From tho London Telegraph.
An Englishman was recently invited
by a New Yorker to accompany him
on a hunting trip on Long Island.
"Large or small game?” laconically
asked the Briton, who had hunted
on every quarter of the globe.
“You do not expect me to find lions
or tigers on Long Island, do you?”
queried the New Yorker.
"Hardly,” responded the other, with
a laugh; “but I like a spice ot danger
in my hunting."
“If that’s the case,” answered the
American with a grin, “I'm your man,
all right. The last time I went out I
shot my brother-in-law in the leg."
THE BOY'S BATH.
From the Houickeeper.
Smith and Jones were speaking
about the tine points of their respect
ive sons.
“That boy of mine," remarked
Smith extravagantly, “is the genuine
article. He's all wool, you can bet.”
“Shouldn’t wonder,” commented
Jones. “I notice that he shrinks
Poeme of Sentiment
-THU, TOO. SMALL PAM AWAY.**
(IV Kita WbMlM Wikas.)
A "'tokty nionsre* la th* day* at aid
Mad* attar ot high hoa*r, w*slih and gold
Ta aa« wha (iMuld prods** la farm vaneis*
A Malta far hl* guldensa. tars* and wtoa—
A Pf*c*pL seething la hl* hour. forlorn.
• *■ *•“ Pr**p«rou* days would
Maay th* msslms sent th* hint, man Mr,
The •*• he chea*l “Thia, too, shall paaa
away.-
Oh. j***i Mnt.nc. from tha mln* of truth I
What rich** it contains tar age and youth.
Na sUUly apt*, measured aad sublime
so com for Ia, or so counsels, tor all time
As these few words. Ga write them mi your
heart.
And make them ot roar dally lit* a part.
Ma* some misfortwae fallen to your tot?
Thia toe, will pass away—absorb th* thought
And wait; your waiting will not be In vain,
Timo gilds with gold the Iron links ot pain.
Ths dark today loads fate light tomorrow;
Thore la ao endlaaa Joy, a* endl«M sorrow.
Are yon upon earth'* heights? No cloud la
T
Go read your motto eaoo agalat “Thia. tea
Shall pasa away*'; fams, glory, place end
power,
Th*y ere but little baubles ot the hour,
Flung by the ruthless years down la the
dust.
Toko warning, aad be worthy ot God's trust.
Use well your prowse* while it last*; leave
bloom,
Net blight, to merit your footprints to the
tomo.
The truest grsatnese Iles In being kind.
Tbo Irurst wisdom in a happy mind.
He who despoada, hto Maker** Judgment
mocks?
Ths gloomy Christian to e paradox.
Only the sunny soul respect* Ha God.
•Ince nt* Is short, ws used to meks It breed;
Bloc* lite Ie brief, wo need to meko It
bright
Thea keep the old Ues'* motto well la
mght.
And let Ito moaning normeate each day.
Whatever corner “This, too, *hall pose
away."
Mark Twain and the Minister.
Orion Clemens thought of the min
istry, an ambition which hto brother
8am shared with him for a time. Ev
ery mischievous boy has it sooner or
later—though not all for the same
reasons.
“It was the most earnest ambition
I ever had,” Mark Twain once re
marked. "Not that I ever wanted to
be a preacher, but because It never
occurred to me that a preacher could
be damned. It looked to me like a
rafe Job." —Arthur Bigelow Paine, in
Harper’s Magazine.
SILK HAT HARRY, RUMMY AND THE GANG
? By TAD I
Court Convenes
for the
Day
8
s—= 95535
Dieeoee, and Ite Cure
ANAEMIA.
(By Eddie Wolff.)
Anaemia to the name given to a
condition of the body when the blood
to deficient in the little rod corpus
cloa
The office of theso corpuscles in
the blood is to carry to ths different
organs of the body the nourishment
which the blood derives from ths
food.
Naturally when theso corpuscles are
greatly reduced In number, the va
rious organs may suffer for want of
nourishment Thus when a person to
anaemle hto body is In a seml-starvod
condition.
Anaemia results from various causes
and conditions and a doctor can usual
ly And the cause and prescribe a
treatment
The symptoms by which anaemia
may be recognised are languor, weak
new. shortness of breath, and an In
disposition toward any physical exer
tion.
OLD WISH IN NEW WORDS.
Frem th* Foputor Mas*kin*.
D. P. Seerley. of Chicago, to an art
connalsseur, but sometimes he allows
himself to be taken away from pic
tures and sculptures, nnd led Into a
concert hall. He had yielded to this
one afternoon when the friend beside
him noticed that he looked bored,
weary, and wan, not to say exhausted
and disgusted.
"What's the matter?" he asked
Seerley; to which question Seerley re
plied with a prolonged yawn.
“It's true,” admitted the friend,
"that that piano player to missing
some of the notes, and "
"I wish,” cut in Seerley, “he had
missed ’em all!"
A FOOL FOR A FOOL’S MISSION.
Collection nnd Recollection. (By One Who
Has Kept e Diary.)
The government was contemplating
to dispatch an epedltion to Burma,
with a view to taking Rangoon, and a
question arose, as to who would be
the fittest general to be sent to com
mand the expedition. The cabinet
sent for the Duke of Wellington and
asked his advice. He instantly re
plied: “Send Lord Cambermere.”
“But we have always understood
that your grace thought Lord Cam
bermere a fool.”
"So he to a fool, and a damned fool.
But he can take Rangoon."
UEC. SI, 1911. •
"Bueno." said th* blind MvxImH
who soils papers. ■
“Muy bueno." h* repeated, pattlnH
and smoothing out a loug, slim, v|H
lalnous luoklng vlguretto which h* haH
compounded with cum husk, black
bacco and a knife. ■
The Mexican—you can see him
duy in tho w u *k, trudging along
plasa singing “Daily Light”—wM
seated near the Light's press
waiting with the patience of bl*
for the paper to laaue. Meanwhll*. IK
consoled himself with making
preparing to ignoke what he
considered thole* and fragrant
•ttM. ■
With many grunt*, he felt in pockM
after pocket for a match. Une founK
he prepared to enjoy hlmeelt, as 1B|
race expresses It. "con mucho
But th* Imp of mischief wa*
personified by a ragged and
demalion little Mexican who
nearby. This miniature replica of
older man had watched the
rolling procedure with
He governed his actions
First, he spat in th* dirt on
sidewalk and rolled a ball of clay aH
mud. Then he took a burned
and stuck the dirt ball on th* eiK|
Then be waited.
In something less than t n
the older Mexican started with H
cigarette to hla lipa He struck K '
match, allowed It to burn an
and then started after his
with IL
The moment he opened his Ups
paratory to closing them on the clgX '
ette, the imp stuck the mud-ball iM
hto mouth and the older one closed
Ups down on IL
Buch a spitting and snarling
ensued before. Neither did such
guage. But the imp was safe. He
retreated to a distance and
his glee while hto older compsnHH
spat dirt with a will.
RESENTED PRACTICAL JOKd
A Cellaction of Letters of Thscksrsr.
I disgusted Macauley yesterday,
dinner at Sir George ftapler'a
were told that an American lady 1
coming In the evening, whose gij
desire in life was to meet the autl
of "Vanity Fair" and the author
the “Lays of a Rome," so I propel
to Macauley to enact me and let I
take hto character. But he said I
emnly that he did not approve!
practical jokes, and so this sport!
not come to pasa J
Obeervant Citizen