The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat., December 27, 1916, Image 4

About The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa

                
PAGK FOJm
tidS&s*
ETfT
C. E.
1
•THE BAIIiT GA TJE5 OITT1 military system
«nd Constltutlon-Damoentf.
»body knows it.
and Constitution-]
PUBLISHED BY
THE GATE CITY COMPANY
IS North Sixth Street.
BATB CITY—Established 1849.
IJv
Consolidated llinb M. 188$.
CHIEF—Established In 1892.
Consolidated September 22, 1892.
OJLTB CITY and CON3TITUTION-DE3MCK3H*.T^--
Consolidated April 8. 1918.
Skirvin ..
Warwick
Dally, by ""w. ootalde city, year
Dally, la Keokuk. per week
Dally, except Boater*
XeoKoK, Iowa
^thrown upon the embers of the mind Increase the heat and
J. 'radiance of life. It Is always a pleasanter world after we
p^ave thought a while.of our friends.—Charles E. Jefferson.
AnH he talked as a man who loved his town and was
proud of her splendid worth.
He told her deeds as he saw them, to him were her fail
ings known,
^r., li« wanted to build for her greatness—but he couldn't
do it alone.
.General Manags*
.Business Manages
Bntered at the postofflce at Keokuk as seooad-elsss
•latter.
SUBSCRIPTION BATES.
December 27, 1916
Just an armful of fagots thrown upon the embers on the,
Wiliearth causes a new flash of flame, so do
TODAY'S BIT OF VERSE
•H? THE BROTHERHOOD OF BETTER THINGS.
He dreamed of a better city, he longed for a fairer fame,
For the home of his dally labors, and he talked of a
brighter name
For the scenes of his children's playtime and the place ol
his children's birth.
who dreamed of a
He was one of the many thousands
better day,
"With visions of greater splendors whan
have passed away.
And each in his dream, unselfish, could picture a distant
goal
When his city would rise in beauty and throb as a living
soul.
But the dreams would have come and vanished, and the
vision from earth have flown.
Had each of the dreamers tried to work for his city's
fame—alone.
You may think great thoughts for the future, you may
fashion and build and plan,
But yon never shall see your dreams made real, save yon
work with your fellow man.
"And never a greater city shall spring into being here,
gave that many have labored together its fame to rear.
Out of the hearts of our fellows has all our greatness
grown.
Together they stood for this purpose—for no one could
do it alone.
Stand off by yourself with your dreaming and all your
dreams are vain.
No splendor of soul or structure can man by himself at
tain
Tig willed we shall dwell as brothers, as -brothers then
must we toil.
We mnst share in a common purpose, as we share in a
common soil
And each who would see accomplished the dreams he is
proud to own
J^Iust strive for the goal with his fellows—for he can
not reach it alone.
Esse*-*
assuredly
-Edgar A. Guest.
Love is like a rubber tire it softens the
jolts and carries you easy over the rough
places in the road.—Eliza Calvert Hall.
FACING A VETO.
Congres is
The country is assured that Mr. Wilson will
lose no time when the objectionable measure
reaches his desk in repeating his veto. His
firmness in this matter is admirable. Such a
bar to immigration would work great hardship
to the country and injustice to aliens who
would enter our ports either to provide the la
bor which we need or to become citizens.
In view of the fact that this will be the fourth
veto for the literacy test, with the precedents
set by Cleveland and Taft to support Mr. Wil
son's action, it is hardly conceivable that con
gress will liave the hardihood to repass it now
over the executive protest.
OUR PITIFUL PLIGHT.
Senator Borah of Idaho has a bill to repeal
the act which federalized the national guard
The truth is that the Hay bill was never a
preparedness measure, but was intended to de
feat preparedness and has had that effect. Our
country is less prepared! for an emergency now
than it was a year ago. We are less capable of
defending our border now than when our
guardsmen were sent south. Even our cheer
ful if childish faith of that time is gone. Otir
of trouble has Come.
r"e"^3rie*
they shonld
has broken down, and every­
body knows it. Our national guard has the
same ineradicable elements of weakness it has
always had. It is a vain thing for safety. A
national crisis proves it to be a broken reed.
Our plight as a nation is pitiful and would be
desperate if trouble came. Consider for a mo
ment what a shameful showing it is that this
nation of one hundred and two million in its
continental area has been unable to add twen
ty thousand men to its army as provided for by
the Hay law, although its need for men was
great and evident, a state of war with Mexico
having existed for many months. Canada,
with only six or seven million people to draw
upon, has done a hundred times better than our
mighty republic has. She has enlisted four
hundred thousand men, while our force for de
fense is smaller now than it was six months, ago.
Congress ought to grapple this question at
once and give the country an army adequate
for its needs. What folly to wait until a time
WAR AND INDUSTRIAL EFFICIENCY.
The rapid increase in industrial efficiency in
the nations now in arms is to be considered in
making after-war trade plans. Much attention
has been given to the destruction of property
and the check to normal industry since the be
ginning of the conflict but according to one very
competent observer the amount of productive
property destroyed, compared with the whole
amount in the warring countries, is small. This
is the view of George E. Roberts of the Nation
al City bank of New York, who says that the
reorganization of industry in Europe is likely to
result in such improvement in economic condi
tions there as to more than offset the losses
during the war period. Mr. Roberts points out
that in Great Britain and Germany productive
property is practically untouched, except
through loss of life and disablement of men, „a,
and in some important lines the capacities of
these countries has been increased. But his
the gain in efficiency will be at least ten per
cent. If it is, the new competition which the
United States must prepare to meet will not
be with nations crippled by the war, but with
countries that have learned in the war period
to make the most of their resources.
PREACHING VS. PRACTICE.
American ink manufacturers, who have done
their best to meet the demand for inks and
dyes of the finest quality since the supply from
Germany was cut off, have a grievance against
the government. They complain that the prac
tice of the federal bureau of engraving and
'printing does not conform to the government's
preaching on the subject of the importance of
building up a home industry,
letting no grass grow, and dyes have been told by the experts of the
under its feet in doing the tilings it ought not
to do at the present "short" session, so-called,
which shows many symptoms of dragging on almost independent of Germany. The bureau
until March four. Already it has passed for of engraving and printing holds another and al
the second time the immigration bill which pro- together different view. It is not content with
voked a veto from President Wilson some the domestic product. Twice since importa
months ago because of the un-American pro- tions were halted by the war the director of the
vision establishing a literacy test for immi
grants.
What other law ever proved such an imme-trule that "when the days begin to lengthen
dite and ignoble failure? It has l»een impos- the cold begins to strengthen."
sible under it to strengthen the regular army.
and it has killed recruiting in the national
guard. Nearly one-third of the guardsmen havo
refused to take the federal oath. Thousands of
them have quit the service and others intend
,to do so.
4 SuJfo -v -'W'Sk
and thev make
A
out a strong case. Manufacturers who use inks
department of commerce that the chemists of
this country have made the American market
bureau has persuaded the state department to
induce the British government to raise the em
bargo on dyes, and he still has a six months'
supply of imported colors. Naturally the
American manufacturers feel that the home
government should set a better example, par
ticularly as they have spent much time and
money in attempting to produce inks and dyes
of high grade. Of course the director, who
must meet exacting requirements, may be right
when he insists upon the use of foreign prod
ucts in the government bureau. On the other
hand, the American manufacturers are right
when they point out the government's failure
to practice what it'preaches. They have met
and overcome many difficulties, and now en
couragement from Washington would be wel
come.
Perhaps there will be an exception to the
If Secretary Lansing is tempted to explain
his explanation perhaps he would better by
letting Secretary Baker do it.
Fanners are in a better position to beat the
middleman at his own game by establishing
cold storage plants on their premises.
Boston appeared to believe that it* shock
ingly crooked streets would be more apparent
than ever in a prohibition town.
Only three more working days for the
formulation of New Year's resolutions.
THE DAILY GATE CITf
IOWA PRESS COMMENT. Jority interests claiming to act only
Burlington Hawk-Bye: You say, "I within their legal power but within
do not know anything about farming good business judgment.
and am not interested In farming. I
am a business man." Well, that is
where your fri«nd the farmer seems
to have the best of the argument. For
ho is a farmer, and In order that he
may toe a successful farmer he must
be a good business man. And that
he Is that, is surely demonstrated over
and over again in every township in
the state of Iowa.
Waterloo Courier: Boston's celebra
tion of New Year's this time is not
going to be a tea party.
Fort Dodge Chronicle: To deny the
people the right to amend the con
stitution if they so desire is sabver
sive of democracy, and congressmen
who vote against submitting such is
sues to the people for their decision
advertise themselves as opposed to
popular rule.
Iowa Palls Citizen: It
a
Will
be quite
blessing to the world when the days
of the hot air' are Past. The world
is fall of people who' Imagine that
"Carrying the Message to Garcia"
means newspaper publicity and after
dinner speeches. How long will it be
before men will again act, not talk?
Sioux City Tribune: The death of
William C. Nixon, president of the St.
Louis ft San Francisco railroad, who
began his railroad career as a triJr?e
carpenter, and whose next position
was as night watchman, stresses th%
opportunities which wait in the United
States for the young man who is not
haunted by the constant fear that his
trousers may lose their creases.
Cedar Rapids Gazette: There is no
question that farmers of Iowa and
other states who bought Arizona wild
horses, running at large at an expense
of $100,000. were swindled, but a 'mob
would hardly hang the swindlers until
its members had finished laughing.
have made worse use of it had it not
been taken from them. A fool when
liberaUy financed may become an ac
tual source cf dangey
I^ fewer nitjat Mimala. ttere^e prkies
should be higher. Then, too, feed is
higher just now. You have to tempt
the farmer with high prices for pork
or be will sell his grain Instead of
... feeding it. When we consider the
Boone News-Republican: In Sioux
ti.
ntng down Md killing a 14-year-old I
i• ff boy with ois tuot.or csr*
Td®
j8 eight years in prison. This seems
harsh, but it is really the only way to
stop reckless automobile
Charges of manslaughter and second
degree murder for drivers who care
lessly run down pedestrians will put
an end to scorching.
most striking statement is that "if the indus- ,h. «.
trial product of Great Britain is increased ten
per cent, by improved methods, that will pay
the interest on the war "debt, provide a sinking
fund for the principal and give a better living
to the British people than they have had in
the past." Apparently lie has little doubt that
Burlington Hawk-Eye: Over in Illi
nois they have a law providing that
children under 16 years are absolutely
forbidden to operate an automobile.
Children between 16 and 19 years may
adult person. That appears a sensible
measure. It is in the interest of the
children and also of the general public.
The most interesting part of the stoj-y,
however, is that Illinois gravely an
nounces that this law is to be enforc
ed to the letter.
Growth of Good Roads.
Washington Post: The improve
ment of public roads in the United
States is now very rapid, and while
to 2.452,000, about 277,000 miles were
improved with some sort of surfac
ing on January 1, 1916. Surfaced
roads are increasing at the rate of
16,000 miles a year. The total ex-
peniiture for road and bridge work
about $282,000,000, an
J°cr^6e
^*250
pcr OTer 1904
The states supervised the expendi
ture of 180,500,000. There is now a
highway department in every state
government oxcept those of Indiana.
South Carolina and Texas. The cash
expenditure for roads and bridges in
the United States averaged $28 a
mile In 1904, and it is now $109 a
mile.
A most significant feature of road
development is the construcUon of.
better surfaces as a result of auto
mobile traffic. The bulletin estimates
that there are approximately 2,500,
000 automobiles In use on the roads
of the country, or one car for every
mile of road. The motor traffic is
greater than traffic of all kinds twelve
years ago. The influence of the auto-1
mobile upon road improvement is I
constant and omnipresent. It reaches
the remotest rural regions and tends
to convert bad roads into good and
good roads into better. The us? of
the automobile by farmers has com
pletely changed the rural attitude to
ward motoring, and tens of thou
sands of men are making direct pr«v
fits by catering to the passing motor
ist. In order to attract him there
must be a good road, and thus 'fce
lump of rural conservatism is leaven
ed to a surprising degree.
The aid now rendered by the fed
eral government to the states will
rapidly increase the proportion ot
good trunk roads. This co-operation
is already under way in many states.
The subdivision of the work of road
building into hundreds of thousands
of hands is completely transforming
the situation and operating with pro
found effect upon farm life. No other
invention compares with the antomo
bile in the Usieflt it has conferred
upon rural life in America.
Minority Stockholders.
Chicago Tribune: The granting of
a "temporary injunction restraining
Henry Ffard from Investing in a $10,
040,000 Mast furnace plant out of the
earnings of the Ford Motor company
points to a more general protection
of the minority stockholders from
the majority than has been custom
ary in the past
While much has been heard of or
ganized wealth oppressing wage earn
ers and coercing the public, less has
been heard of a more common form
of oppression, namely, the oppression
of minority interests by majority in
terests. and yet minority interests
be crushed and ruined bv ma-
wmm
For lnstaiyce, a majority Interest or
a majority owner of a corporation
having outside income c&n reinvest
the entire earnings of the company,
leaving some small stockholder with
out means to live and compelling the
minority stockholder to sell at a
ruinous loss, after which the majority
interest will benefit by the accumu
lated profits.
Again, a majority stockholder- can
afford to divide only a small propor
tion of the total earnings, his own
stockholdings being so large as to
make his dividends ample for all his
needs, but reducing the dividends of
the small stockholders to the point
where they will not support life.
It is perfectly evident that in cor
porations the majority interest must
control and equally evident that the
court cannot attempt to administer
private business enterprises. At the
same time it would be well for the
courts to take jurisdiction wherever
Why Meat is High Priced.
Farm Life: A city friend recently
asked us why hie beefsteak and pork
chops are costing him more than
they used to. We were able to find
a number of answers to this ques
tion. The first and most important
reason is that the animal poipulation
does notg keep pace with the human
population. Secretary of Agriculture
Houston recently declared that while
we have gained 24,000,000 people
within the last fifteen years, we
have lost 6,000,000 head of cattle and
10,000,000 head of sheep. The num
ber of hogs had increased at the last
count, hat if a census of the pig lots
could be taken today, we believe it
would show a decrease as compared
with former years. The thing is very
simple. We have more people, and
scarclt* animai8i
City, a ywing man known as the mil- pasture lands, the cost of grain, and
llo&aire kid has been found guilty of jogges from disease, we can as
manslaughter for carelessness in run-
8ure clty
fs
not
enoUgh
too much for hls
we are
an enormous tmount of work remains [acme deadly poison administered to
to be done, the highway system is jt either by accident or intention, and
no longer a reproach to the country, the poison may have destroyed his
The office of public roads has issued me ju8t as it neared the railroad
a statement covering the subject, track, In proximity to which its body
which is full of encouragement. was found or the dog may have
Of the total mileage of roads out- died from 'heart failure' (that com
side of cities and towns, amounting
1
the value of
inqmrera that the farm-
penalty ii~p stAcV TndPAd h& Is not Mttloff
er
getting too much for his
jf tj,e
cjtjr
j8 paying
chops, he must not
blame the packer, or the retail meat
markets, that Is his affair—and theirs.
Was the Dog a Suicide?
West's Docket: The mere finding
of a dog's body near a railroad track
raises no presumption as to the
cause of its death according to the
holding in Alabama Great Southern
Railroad Co. vs. Price. 88 Southeast
ern Reporter, €92. No one saw the
dog killed, nor did the evidence Bhow
that there were any marks or bruises
on the Jody.
Judge Wade, delivering the opinion
for the Georgia court of appeals,
says: "All things that live must
die, and so too all living things will
die a natural death, unless some ex
traneous cause or agency intervenes,
and a dog is not exempt from the
operation of the universal rule. We
may surmise that' the particular -dog
interested in may have had
prehenslve term so often used by the employer.
a
from this little world), or from any
one of the many different natural
causes for the poetic expression
'Death, hath a thousand doors to let
out life.' applies equally as well to
Put on Brakes.
Anamosa Eureka: This is a season
of top-notching, everything is soar
ing. The cost of living is hitting only
the high spots. The pace of living is
even misBlng some of the higher
oppressive tactics on the part of the! spots. Careful and prudent men will
majority are charged by the minority,
and, where the facts substantiate
such charge, restrain the majority
from such oppression.
not get caught in the reaction which
is bound to follow a period of infla
tion that Is setting new marks. They
will put the brakes on the pace of
living, and thus trim the cost of liv
ing. When the break comes they
will not get pinched. The fast livers
and the careless spenders will then
wonder why they are being pinched.
Brlgth cars and plenty of gasoline
are playing an Important role in the
race to make money the cheapest
thing in the market. When credit
has about run its limit an accounting
must come, and when it comes it will
be one of the worst we have ever bad.
Sit tight. Don't plunge. If you have
to borrow, place yourself in such po
sition that you can have plenty of
time to make the goal.
Where Men Have Vision.
Cedar Rapids Gazette: A simple
news story from Seward supplies in
splrational reading to the man who
enjoys the rugged features of human
character and who revels in dreams
that are vouchsafed only to those
who hare vision—to those for whom
the future promises compensation for
the endeavors of the present.
The crew of a train on the rail
road owned by the United States, on
arriving at the ocean terminal, re
lated that at one point they experi
enced temperature 50 degrees below
zero. Here Icicles formed by a creek
had blocked tunnel. While the
crew were engaged In clearing away
the obstruction the wheels of the
locomotive frose to the rails and one
hour was required to put their train
again In motion.
These men made no complaint of
hardship. They had no story of
wrong Imposed by aa employer.
They are engaged in opening an
empire for the United States—the
advahee couriers of civilisation, free
government and wealth—the path
finders for a horde of pioneers who
later will rear, in the far northwest,
an American commonwealth.
Have Americans lost nerve and
courage? Do they lack red blood?
Are they willing to serve their coun
try? Only allow them the opportunity
to do something worth while and*p*r
fonnances will bear testimony In
their behalf. The members of,that
railroad crew shame the whin era in
editorial rooms and In the halls of
congress.
What Vail Thinks of Collsge Men.
In the American Magaslne Tneo
dore Vail says:
"The young man entering life mnst
not he impatient. He must accumu
late experience, he must learn die
duties of his position by the actual
doing before he has any value to his
medical profession to account fori "The reason so many coUege boys
mysterious and sudden departures fall Is that they are full of theories:
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27, 'lo
they think they know it alL A coll
lege course is a good thing, an
cellent thing, but it must be given
the right kind of youth: Quite
number of the highest
positions
the canine as to the human race, in filled by men who went through col.
lege, but who bad no false notion
as to what was required of then
when they entered business. No mad
is worth anything until he has g0nj
into the heat of the battle and bai
his theories subordinated to practice!
"The son of rich parents is n&ndll
capped in his youth. He gets no ex]
perlence of doing things, and nf
opportunity to benellt from harj
knocks such as come the other
low's way.
"When a boy comes to ask me tJ
put him through college I tell him lj
would be the worst thing that could
happen to him. I say: "You would
not only have a burden of debt oi
your shoulders when you finished col]
lege, but you would have the add
tlonal burden of getting experience
and it is pretty hard to get expert!
ence and earn money at the gamd
time. I You can earn money only afteij
you nave had experience."'
fact, whatever may be the legal rule,
In the absence of any circumstances
leading to a contrary Inference, every
death is assumed to be from natural
causes."
To infer that the dog was struck
by the train, "we would be compell
ed," says the court, "to hold judicial
ly that the very atmosphere surround
ing a railroad train is as deadly as
that said to emanate from the upas
tree, and that a railroad company can
be held liable for death supposed to
have resulted solely from- the pestil
ential breath of its locomotive.','..
ari
Poor Way of Showing it.
H. P. Dillon of Topeka tells a «tnr
about a man who went fishing wltlj
his small son. They were sitting
the creek bank when the full mo
rose.
"My son," the man said, "you Bed
the big, round moon that has comij
up to light the world."
"Yes, father, I see it" the lad
swered.
"Look to the right of the moonj
about a foot," the man said, "and sea
if you can find a tiny, twinkling
star."
The boy gazed a long time, and
finally was rewarded for his effort
"Yes, father," he cried, "I can «ed
it."
"What would you say," the ma
asked, "if I were to tell you that the
little, tiny, twinkling star which
you scarcely can see is 16,900 ti&sej
as large as the big round moon
which lights the world?"
The boy pondered before making
reply.
"Father." he said, "if you were
tell me that the litUe, tiny, twinkl
ling star which I scarcely can see 1^
16,000 times as large as the big
round meen which has come up to
light the world—why, I would say that)
it has a mighty poor way of showing
it"
This story Is applicable to the
zen who says he la interested in the
growth and development of his com-|
munity, but who refuses to partici-l
pate in any of the organized actiY-|
ities of his neighbors for that
pose.:
The Common Sense Way.
Burlington Hawk-Bye: Keokuk ex-j
pects to do at least three miles
paving next spring, the material
ing vitrified brick. The council is atl
work on the plans and will have alii
preliminaries disposed of in time, sol
that the lucky contractor will havol
ample time to make his plans, organ-]
ize his working force, get his mater-|
ial and be ready for business as
as the weather may permit in thel
spring. That Is the practical, com-1
mon sense way of making improve-l
meats, and the way that ought to be|
the rule In every city in the state.
As the laws of Mexico prohibit I
any general strike of railway em-r
ployes. the men in the repair shops I
along tSie northeastern Mexican roads I
recently hit upon the novel Idea of]
striking in Snwll groups at a time]
until everybody was out
Indications of petroleum were I
noted In South America as far back I
as 1788, When Humboldt described I
the oil seepages and mud volcanoes
of northern Columbia.
It it Easier to
Ciaplete a Telephue
Call That to Repsri—
"Tke Liaa it Bssy."
Very seldom does the telephone operator report line busy when
it isn't—it is less work to complete the ealL
A reqnest from a subscriber for a nunber which the operator re
ports busy usually means a second call will be made for that
number. •..
If the subscriber makes a second call and the line is still busy,
the operator's work has been doubled. If the subscriber calls for
the number
third time, whether the connection is made or not,
the operator's work has been tripled on this one call
The line may be busy, (1) because some one is using the tele
phone called, (2) because another person on the party line called is
using
their telephone, or
(3)
the number at the same time you ace.
*"v
tU V--."
Ah-*
when some one else is trying to get
l»le«sc be son* Ide rate of the tale phone ops rater—
she dees her work willingly, always courteously and
wonderfully well. .,
IOWA TELEPHONE COMPANY
4 f-
r*
hi
imk