The Frostburg spirit., October 30, 1913, Image 6

About The Frostburg spirit. (Frostburg, Md.) 1913-1915

Image provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

                
WILD MAN ATE GRASS
FROM THE JAIL LAWN
Had to Be Restrained From
Swallowing Pebbles—Has
Uttered No Word.
Sari Rafael, Cal. —Deputy Sheriff
Jack Donahue has a “wild man” in cus
tody. He was captured near Camp
Taylor. Not a word has the prisoner
spoken; not a question has he an
swered with the exception of one, and
that was when asked to write his
name he scribbled the words “Ani
Bey” on a bit of paper. It is thought
these w'ords may be a corruption of
the name “Anthony Benko,” found on
a card when the man’s cabin was
searched.
“The Unknown's” first attempt at es
cape W'as made when newspaper
photographers posed him outside the
■ sEEESE lj)
\_ n§§
****=• "SSSteM
1
Began Eating Grass and Dandelions.
county jail for a picture. He stared
wildly at the cameras and then broke
away from Donahue and dashed to
ward the hillside. He was captured
after a short sprint, but protested vio
lently by signs alone against being
returned to his cell.
Soon after his attempt at escape he
made signs indicating that he wished
to sit down on the court house lawn.
He was allowed to do so, when he im
mediately began tearing up grass and
dandelions by the roots and eating
them. He was allowed to do this, but
when he attempted to swallow several
small pebbles he was restrained.
Dr. Juser, county physician, and Dr.
Stone made a close examination of the
prisoner and they agreed that he was
sane, but neither could account for his
evident lapse of memory and his rev
ersion to mankind's primal instincts.
In the hermit’s hut, south of Camp
Taylor, officers even found a stock
certificate of an old mining company
issued on March 14. 1863, to “F.
Hlrth.” They also found a wallet con
taining a card on which was written
the name “Anthony Benko.”
No steps toward disposing of “The
Unknown” have been taken as yet, or
will they be until after further inquiry
has been made into his strange case.
Former United States District At
torney John L. McNab, as attorney for
the estate on which the hermit made
his home, filed the complaint on which
the “wild man” was taken into cus
tody.
WHY HE KEPT RIGHT ON
Fell Into River, Had to Go to New
York Anyway, So He Floated
Across.
New York.—Carrying a wet cargo,
Robert Tisdale, negro laborer, floated
from Yonkers to Harlem early the
other day. He was docked in the Har
lem river, at 138th street, by two pa
trolmen, who insisted on stopping his
voyage.
Street Cleaning Inspector Boyle
saw Tisdale first and called for help.
“What are you yelling for?” came
from the “floater.”
“I want to rescue you,” called back
the inspector. v
“Go on back to bed," came the re
jpiy-
; Patrolmen Osterhaus and Sullivan
threw a rope to the negro and a few
minutes later hauled him ashore.
"How did you get into the water?”
asked one of the policemen.
“I don't remember," replied Tis
dale. “The last thing I recollect I
was sitting on the stringpiece of a
dock in Yonkers, and then I found my
self in the water. I had to come down
town, anyway, this morning, so I
kept right on.”
BOWLED OVER BY A WOMAN
Then “King of Tramps" Turns Pro-
Suffraglst—Something Men
Could Not Do.
Corey, Pa. —“A No. 1” commonly
called the “king of tramps" and who
has traveled all over the United
States and over a half million miles as
a guest of American railroads is now
an ardent pro-suffragist. Mrs. ‘ A.
Bush who lives in Erie was out driv
ing her motor car with three other
women and bowled the famous tramp
over as he was crossing the street the
other day. In all his half million
miles, the hobo had never been so
much as scratched and he has traveled
in, under and atop every sort of rail
way conveyance. A badly bruised
tramp picked himself up and an
nounced that his hat was off to the
ladies for they had done what a reg
iment of railroad men could not do.
Looks After Chickens.
Winsted, Conn.—Swipes, a cat owned
by George M. Bradford of Meadaw
street, has developed a fondness for
the chickens of Abel R. Woodward,
who lives next door to the Bradford
house, and each night when the chick
ens fly into low trees to roost, Swipes
will climb to the limb on which they
are huddled together, “shoo” them to
• the ground and then chaee them into
tb henhouse where they belong.
PORCUPINE SHOOTS
THEJIRST MATE
Only One of Its Kind in Captivity
Has Fun Wth Ship’s
Crew.
MONKEYS THAT SING
Vessel Also Brought From South
, America Snakes With Hind Legs, a
Man Milliner and Good News for
the Women, and Other Things.
New York.—Rear Admiral Noah
and his quartered oak ark had noth
ing on the Allemannia, which arrived
the other day from Carthagena, Co
lombia, bearing a yellow porcupine,
with black and white stripes, a first
mate who eats his meals standing up,
ten monkeys .that sing, snakes with
hind legs, a man milliner and good
news for the women.
John Joseph Smith, who hunts
strange beasts for zoos, was responsi
ble for the animals on the passenger
list. It was he who discovered the
striped porcupine, the only one in
captivity, according to Mr. Smith.
On the first day out from Cartha
gena Mr. Pore disappeared. Frantic
search of the ship, including the cap
tain’s cellarette, failed to disclose Its
hiding place.
At the end of a hard watch First
Mate Lyons went to his cabin, donned
his pink mercerized pajamas and
crawled into his berth. He didn’t
crawl out, however, but shot out with
a wild yell and six quills protruding
from the injured portions of his an
atomy.
Following him came a striped
streak. Lyons ran out on deck, but
the streak kept on his trail, uttering
savage noises that sounded like those
of an angry sow protecting her
young.
Just as Lyons was preparing to
face his pursuer and fight for his life,
■ the cook darted out of the galley with
• a large dishpan. He clamped the pan
down over the pore, and the life of
Lyons, together with his future com
; fort, was saved.
Mr. Smith was glad to find the
precious porcupine, and Mr. Lyons
was glad to have him take charge of
the animal.
The collector also brought in ten
so-called “howling monkeys.” They
; are of a species that have never be
fore thrived in captivity, but Mr.
Smith has found away to keep them
alive.
Knowing that the food given their
i kind In the zoos has been responsible
i for most of the deaths, he sacrificed
; one monkey to science. After Invest!-
i
Sk <§
Shot Out With a Wild Yell.
i
gating the contents of its stomach
> he was able to work on the proper
diet, which consists chiefly of bananas
* and a weed resembling our own
fresh catnip.
; The snakes with the hind legs are
of a species of python. They have
■ two distinctly developed limbs near
the tail, and hang from the branches
1 of trees with these legs and drop on
their prey.
Charles Kurzman, a wealthy New
York dealer in millinery, also came on
the Allemannia. He had been in
' South America investigating the
[ aigrette trade.
1 The Colombian government has had
' great success cultivating aigrettes, or
' small white herons, and has discov-
ered away to extract the feathers
without injuring the birds. Mr. Kurz
man thinks the law which now prohib-
I Us the wearing of aigrettes will be
repealed in this country when the Co
- lombian supply begins to reach this
port. The cultivated aigrettes cost
$450 a pound, wholesale.,
i CARRIED HATRED TO GRAVE
i
. Bachelor Orders Anti-Petticoat Epi
taph on His Monument—
Shock to Spinsters.
Medford, Ore. —Carrying to his
, . grave an antipathy for the fair sex
, which characterized his long life of
L single blessedness, William H. Hart
, ley, a wealthy farmer, who died re-
I cently at the age of seventy-three, pro
. vided in his will, which was filed for
I probate, the erection of a monument
. upon which shall be in imperishable
, lettering his preference for baclieior
. hood.
After directing that a granite monu
ment be placed over his grave, on
which shall he carved an old bachelor
[ standing on the brink of Jordan pre
paring to cross the river, with a
. group of old maids on the other side,
each beckoning to him, he requested
[ that the following epitaph be engraved
. on the monument!
i “To an independent, good looking,
• old bachelor who In his younger days,
, preferred living in single life rather
, than get married and have a petticoat
[ boss ruling over him.”
ELECTRIC “SPANKER”
MAKES BOYS BEHAVE
No Unruly Puplis Since Reputa
tion of the “Persuader” Be
came Generally Known.
Huntington, W. Va. —Two small
schools -in this city where discipline
has always been a matter of the in
structors’ strength of arm, have been
transformed by means of an electric
“spanker” into institutions of learning
with the best average deportment of
all the schools in the city, according
to Superintendent Wilson M. Foulke.'
ißoth schools known for years as un
ruly, had so exhausted the patience
of the school board as to force that
Fj
m ni
Delivers Five Sharp Blows a Second.
body to adopt heroic measures to put
down the general bad behavior of the
pupils.
A day or so after the school sea
son opened a carpenter and an elec
trician appeared at one of the schools
and began the installation of a
“spanker” in a small ante room where
the children had access at all times,
when the school sessions were not on.
As the "spanker” gradually assumed
shape, and the electric connections
were made, the unruly pupils began
to ask question and finally they
were given a demonstration of its
ability to administer punishment
Working on the same system as an
electric vibratory massage machine
the “spanker” delivers about five
sharp blows a second. After several
of the boys had allowed themselves
to be used as subjects for a test of
the spanker they had some stories to
tell of its punishing powers.
Immediately the spanker was com
pleted in one school, it was installed
in the other institution where rules
were rarely obeyed. The reputation
of the machine, however, had gone be
fore it and no one cared to test its
corrective powers. According to Su
perintendent Foulke, since the “per
suaders” have been installen and their
abilities become known, not one un
ruly pupil can be found in either
school, and better still, the average
both schools for the first school month
will be the highest of all the schools
in the city, something hitherto un
heard of.
HE TORE DOWN TOMBSTONES
Insane man, Denied Death and Resur
rection, Tears Down Scores of
Gravestones.
Shreveport, La.—“l wanted to see if
the Saviour was a man of his word,”
was the only explanation Abraham
Walchansky gave the police for
wrecking Oakland cemetery.
Oakland contains the bodies of
many of the leading families of
Shreveport and more than twenty
graves were torn up and tombstones
of many others overturned.
Walchansky is a young man of good
family. Recently he is said to have
manifested symptoms of being unbal
anced mentally. Previous to that he
had attracted attention by his pe
culiar religious beliefs.
One morning he visited the ceme
tery and laid himself at full length
on a grave, expecting, he explained,
to die peacefully and have the Saviour
resurrect him.
Death did not arrive as per ex
pectations, and in a fit of rage Wel
chansky rose and began his 4 work of
destruction.
He tore down headstones, and when
the police arrived they found a score
of these scattered over the walks and
in the pathways.
Walchansky was releasee! from the
parish prison after having telephoned
a merchant that he intended to kill
him. The authorities gathered him
in in time to prevent bloodshed.
BIG SNAKE IN THE CELLAR
Had Taken Up Winter Quarters and
Resented Being Disturbed—
Fought for His Home.
Chester, Pa. —Stanley Sabotsky
went into ills cellar and saw what
appeared to be a coil of rope. He
kicked it. A big blacksnak# twined
itself about his leg. Sabotsky's
screams were heard all over the
house. He reached the first floor
with the snake hanging on. In a
short time a crowd of neighbors as
sembled. The sight of the snake
caused a panic. Finally one man
mustered up courage to tackle the
snake with a club. Several blows
caused the snake to release its hold
on Sabotsky and return to the cellar.
The presence of the snake, which
measured six feet, is accounted for
by James Caldwell, a brakeman, who
says he saw the reptile leave a coal
car. The snake apparently crept into
the cellar to make its winter home.
Sabotsky has barred the entrance
to the cellar. He says that after he
recovers from the shock to his nerv
ous system he may have the courage
to hunt the snake again.
THE FROSTBURG SPIRIT, FROSTBURG, MD.
Oatixered/ Simles
CRAFTY HUSBAND.
An arcade shopkeeper tells us that
a well-dressed man of about forty
came into his place the other day and
asked to see some chafing dishes. He
didn’t care for the first one shown him,
nor the second. “Let me see some
nicer ones—more expensive,” he said.
So soAe very flossy ones were
shown him, but still he was not satis
fied. '‘l want a chafin dish that is ex
tremely showy,” he explained. “Some
thing that will attract attention on
any sideboard. All gold and silver and
chasings and things.”
“Well, here’s one that is distinctly
an ornament,” said the salesman. “The
only trouble is that it’s so fine. Your
wife don’t want to use it for anything
but to look at.”
The customer’s face brightened
wonderfully.
“I’ll take that one,” he grinned.
NOT NEGOTIABLE.
The Dyspeptic—Why do you trouble
me with your stories of hunger? I
envy your good appetite.
The Hobo —Yes, but dere’s one great
trouble about a godd appetite. De bet
ter it is de more difficulty you find in
tradin’ it off fur somethin’ to eat.
Dead Horses.
A man was fixing his automobile.
“Trouble?” asked a bystander.
“Some,” was the laconic answer.
“What power car is it?”
“Forty horse,” came the answer.
“What seems to be the matter with
It?”
“Well, from the way she acts, I
should say that thirty-nine of the
horses were dead.” —Ladies’ Hc*ne
Journal.
Misdirected.
Her smile was very sweet to see,
But, ah, it wasn't meant for me.
How sad Is life, as on we jog!
That smile was wasted on a dog.
Ingratitude.
"I helped an intoxicated man out of
the gutter several weeks ago and put
him aboard a car.”
“Yes?”
“The other day he vvtote to the po
lice asking them to find my address.”
"Ah, I see. He wants to force $lO,-
000 on you.”
“No; he says he thinks I must have
pinched his watch.”
Woman’s Woes.
“Then you’re not glad that your
husband struck oil?”
"Oh, I suppose I am for the sake
of the children. But it’s pretty tough
on a woman of fifty to have to go in
for high heels, fashionable dresses
and straight fronts.”
Just Like Her.
Mr. Styles—Fido 'is getting more
like you every day, dear.
Mrs. Styles—How so?
“Why, every time I do anything he
don’t like he snaps at me.”
BY THE WAYSIDE.
Dusty Rhodes —I hate fleas.
Weary Walker —Me, too, pard. They
make me awfully irritated.
Never Saw One.
The city urchin knows the gnu,
The Ibex on its bough.
Ho learns about ’em at the zoo;
He wouldn’t know a cow.
A Differnce of Taste.
Mrs. Liston Welle —Don’t you think
Miss Thumpford is playing that noc
turne through too fast?
Mr. Boardmau —Too fast! Good
heavens, madam! She can’t play it
through too fast to suit me!—Puck.
One Case.
“This agitator says money ought to
be smashed.”
“A queer statement. Can money be
smashed?”
“Well, I once saw a conductor
knock down a nickel.”
Ecstatic Lover.
“How was the ball game, Twobble?”
• “Great!”
“Who won?”
”1 don’t know.”
“Whait!”
“In the sixth inning Felice gave me
her hand to hold.”
The Wherefore.
“How is it that j<du folks can get
along on sixty a mosth, Wombat? My
wife can’t."
“Well, you see, I have an 1898 wife,
1 while you have one of the 1913 brand.”
\
What They Read.
“Got through reading your paper,
yet-?”
“.Tust finished it.”
"Lend it to me for a moment?”
“Can’t. Threw it away. It was 9ijs
in the shade at 4 o'clock yesterday,
and McGoogin and Schultz Is today’s
battery for the home team.”
“Thanks. Well, so long. See you
later.
Not Denying It.
Long Suffering Wife —I don’t know
how I ever came to marry you, any
how! You’ve always had a hard face
on you!
Equally Long Suffering Husband —
That’s true enough. You've kept my
nose to the grindstone for fifteen
years, and it’s still a fairly good nose
A Kind Man.
“Hush! There are burglars in the
pantry eating those pies I made this
afternoon! ’
"All right, I’ll look after them.”
“Oh, George, you are never going to
attack them!”
"Certainly not. I’m going to take
them a bottle of painkiller.”
Two Good Reasons.
Tourist (in Kentucky)—l wonder
why this shabby little hamlet is called
Dell Deligjit?
Colonel Nosepaint—Because, in the
fuhst place, it is in a dell; and, eec
only,' because we have fo’ apple-jack
distilleries within a stone’s throw of
each othuh, suh!—Puck.
Office Chat.
“Wombat is always willing to stay
late,” remarked the junior partner.
“Has his heart in the office work,
eh?” said the senior partner.
“Not so much that. He has his fam
ily in the country for the summer, and
he’s thankful for any excuse to stay
in town.” -
Not Superstitious.
Mrs. Lakeside —Mrs. Weeds w-as
married on Friday, and in less than
a year she was a widow.
Mrs. Wabash —Now she w r ill prob
ably want to be married thirteen
times, to see how that would affect
her luck. —Puck.
ROMANCE ALL GONE.
He —It’s quite romantic our meeting
here again this summer.
She —It would be, only I’ve married
• since I saw you last summer.
Parcel Post.
It injures romance much, indeed,
In case a damsel sweet
Expects to get a tender screed
1 And gets a pound of meat.
Before and After.
Bacon —You know, a girl, before she
i is married, has an idea she can live
on love.
Egbert—Of course.
s “But after marriage, different. She
can’t even live on alimony then.”
Scientific Problems.
“Much energy is not utilized. There
ought to be some way of conserving
the rays of the sun.”
“Yes, and look at all the energy
that goes to waste in chewing gum.
If we could only harness the gum
chewers, eh?”
Fishless Fisherman.
“So you took a day off from your
work and went fishing?”
“Yes,” replied the man who insists
on being cheerful.
“Have any luck?”
“Certainly. A day off is fuck
enough.”
Restricted Styles.
Jane —Good gracious, do you call
that a bathing suit?
Mamie —Why, yes.
Jane —It surely wasn’t designed for
the water?
Mamie—No, for the photographer.
Similar Needs.
“We must have an organ to sup
port us.”
“Why, that’s just what the street
musician said to his monkey.”
Local Atmosphere.
“And you didn’t see any windmills
in Holland?”
“Not one.”
“That will hurt the tourist busi
ness. I should think the hotelkeep
ers would get together and maintain
a few.”
Its Kind.
“I notice there Is to be a race be
tween a railroad train and an aero
plane.”
“Then I suppose it will he a race
with a flying start.”
Hadn’t Missed It.
“I see where a scientists has discov
ered the long lost throne of the Mon
tezumas.”
“Well?”
“Aren’t you interested?”
“Why should I be? I didn’t even
know it w r as lost.”
The Reason.
Mrs. Yeast —Why do you suppose a
woman was given two eyes and two
ears and only one tongue?
Mr. Yeast —So she could see and
hear twice as much as she tells.
NO KISSiNG AMONG JAPANESE
Osculation Regarded by Natives as the
Height of Bad Manners and
Foolishness.
Tolyo, Japan.—ln a recent number
of the Far East, published in Tokio, a
Japanese contributor, Smimasa Idi
chi, who writes excellent English, re
lates some of his surprising adven
tures among the kissing races of the
west. He describes the horror of Eng
lish women of his acquaintance w'hen
he told them that he had never kissed
his mother in all his life. “The first
thing an English child learns is how
to kiss,” he says. "The first thing a I
Japanese child learns is hov, r to bow.”
Maiden to Whom Kiss Is Unknown.
Kissing is not practiced in Japan, he
told his English friends, not because
the people are stony-hearted, but be
cause “it is regarded as the height of
batl manners.”
The kiss in Japan, it seems, is fit
only to be bestowed upon, young in
fants by their mothers. “A Japanese
mother is often seen to kiss the baby
in her arms,” says this Japanese wri
ter, “but when the baby leaves its
mother’s arms —that is, when it can
get along by itself and feels a sort of
semi-consciousness—it would not al
low its mother to kiss it.” He men
tions the complaint of western visit
tors to Japan that “we Japanese ex
pose too much our natural bodies.”
Though the natural body “is one of
the most beautiful forms on earth,”
the Japanese critic of kissing con
cedes that it should not be too much
exposed. He adds: “Our natural feel
ings are really exquisite. Their ex
posure beyond a certain limit, how
ever, is equally offensive to our sense
of decorum.”
Much of the kissing that he ob
served in England distressed this sen
sitive Japanese not a little. “When I
saw,” he writes, “an old couple, with
careworn faces and tottering steps
kissing each other on the pavement
of the London streets I could not help
feeling rather unpleasant. I cannot
give an adequate reason for it, but
somehow I do not feel pleasant when
I see the conventional custom of kiss
ing between married people kept up
to old age.” Surely it is Impossible
for a westerner to fathom the Oriental
mind.
This Japanese observer got into an
odd predicament through other peo
ple’s kissing. He was strolling about
Hampstead heath one day when he
found himself In a narrow footpath,
and in front of him he saw a young
man and a girl seated on a bench.
“Presently,” he relates, "the two heads
came closer, and they were finally lost
behind the girl's hat. I knew what was
going on behind the scenes, so I
stopped short and pretended to be
looking another way so as not to dis
turb their happy state. Now and then
I turned toward the scene to see if
it was already over. I was in this
predicament for about half an hour (it
seemed so lohg to me), but the two
heads still remaind in close attach
ment. At last I gave up waiting till
the end of the scene and crossed the
field, taking another path.”
FIND COLONY OF RATTLERS
Exhibit on an Alabama Farm That
Lost Its Owner a Prospective
Renter.
Gadsden, Ala. —George Duncan took
Osburn McQueen out to see a tract of
land, expecting to rent it to him
for the coming year.
In looking over the farm they saw
two large rattlers, which they shot
and killed, one of which had nine rat
tles and the other six. When they
finished the killing of those two they
discovered that the ground was full
of these deadly reptiles and they then
began the slaughter, and when they
could find no more they piled them up
and began to count and saw that they
had killed 32. Thirty of them were
small fellows, having one rattle each,
showing they were only one year old.
and measuring from 12 to 18 inches
long.
It is needless to say that Mr. Dun
can lost a renter. Mr. McQueen said
cne or two rattlers did not frighten
him, but when It came to 30 in one
pile he would let the other fellow take
the place.
TAKE UP THY BED AND FLOAT
A Parisian Has Discovered a Mattress
and Life Saver While at
Sea in One.
Paris.- —A large Paris factory is
busy filling an order for thousands of
mattresses which are pronounced un
sinkable mattresses. An unnamed ex
perimenter recently discovered a
vegetable substance which is light,
supple and soft enough for use as
mattresses in berths aboard a ship, and
at the same time unsinkable. Every
passenger on the ship furnished with
these mattresses —if they are what is
said of them —will have an ideal life
preserver in his bed.
Several large steamship companies
are said to have decided to replace
their-present bedding with these new
mattresses.
OUTLOOK FOR 1916
Effect of Roosevelt’s Attitude on
Republican Party.
Unscrupulous" Politician That He Is,
There Is Every Probability He
Will Try to Secure the Presi
dential Nomination.
The esteemed Evening Post Is still
puzzled about how Colonel Roosevelt
might in 1916 secure the Republican
nomination, or at least a nomination
with the Republican label. After re
printing the Inter Ocean’s diagram,
and confessing its beautiful simplicity,
our contemporary remarks:
“The main point of this wonderful
political dream of our safe and sanp
neighbor is that Colonel Roosevelt by
entering the Republican primaries is
to capture the Republican nomination
in 1916. Has the Inter Ocean con
veniently forgotten 1912?”
The Inter Ocean has forgotten noth
ing. The trouble with the Evening
Post is that, in its absorption in its
Beveridge boomlet, it has not realized
the wonderful possibilities of direct
primary nominations, with their ex
tension in party acceptance as well as
in law, since the 1912 campaign
opened.
The direct primary system reverses
the old practice. It first names the
candidate and then makes the plat
form, or declaration of principles.
Hence party principles must be what
ever the candidate has found winning
declarations in the primary campaign.
The platform must fit the candidate.
Now, most of the 4,000,000 voters for
Colonel Roosevelt in the 1912 election
were Republicans. Neither have they,
as a rule, forfeited their legal status
as Republicans at the primaries.
Most of them have been careful to
preserve that status, notably in Colo
nel Roosevelt’s own state, where not
enough could be found legally to label
themselves “Progressives” to qualify
the “New Party” for an official ballot
place.
If most of these 4,000,000 voters are
still for him, what is to prevent Colo
nel Roosevelt from seeking the Re
publican nomination as the reincarna
tion of “True Republicanism?” Most
of the old Republican leaders who de
nied him a third term nomination in
1912 have been eliminated from public
life. What is left of the old Republic
an organization couldn’t “steal” a di
rect primary nomination from Colonel
Roosevelt if it wanted to.
Of course, there are Colonel Roose
velt’s pledges of fidelity to the “New
Party” of his creation. But Colonel
Roosevelt made more explicit and just
as fervent pledges never again to be a
candidate at all. Let us not discuss
this painful subject. We are not talk
ing about the old American ideals of
political good faith and personal hon
or. We are merely diagraming a con
crete situation of practical politics in
its relation to a very practical polit -
clan. —Chicago Inter Ocean.
Republican Readjustment.
The declaration of the New York
state Republican convention for the
calling of a special national conven
tion as soon as practicable to change
the party rules, permitting each state
to elect its delegates in the manner
it chooses and basing representation
on Republican votes, is the first for
mal move toward party readjustment.
It purports to guarantee against a
repetition of the controversy that led
to last year’s disastrous split. It
commends itself, however, for the
more important fact that, regardless
of its effect In that regard, it is a
belated step to remedy a notorious
error.
Had this course been taken in the
national convention of 1908, when it
was proposed by the supporters of
Mr. Knox, it would have obviated the
basis for the bolt of 1912. That it
was defeated then by the same influ
ences that protested against it in 1912
does not now matter, since experience
has united practically everyone but
the southern Republican politicians in
favor of the reform.
Too Much Bryan.
The Democratic majority of the
house banking and currency commit
tee has approved the plan of the
Glass-Wilson-Bryan bill for a “Federal
reserve board” composed entirely of
the party followers and political ap
pointees of whomever may happen to
he president.
Evidently the Democrats on the
house banking and currency commit
tee have accepted as law and gospel
Mr. Bryan’s peculiar methods of rea
soning, which in the present case may
be stated in the form of a syllogism,
thus:
“The people should control every
thing. Whatever group of politicians
may get into office are the people.
Therefore these politicians should con
trol the currency and credit supply
machinery of the country.—N. B. —All
bankers are suspicious characters.”
Beginning of the End.
Maine spelled the beginning of the
end of the Progressive party move
ment in New r England. A majority
of the men who voted the Progressive
ticket did so because they thought
they might elect their man. In the
light of the showing made, and the
apparent hopelessness of the cause,
that a majority would turn to the Re
publican candidate. The “reorganiza
tion” of the Republican party will
come from within the party, and be
made by the rank and file rather than
by the leaders.
Taft Would Adorn Position.
And why not Mr. Taft as presi
dent of Johns Hopkins? A figure of
national prominence himself he would
add prestige to the university, while
the eminence of the institution itself
makes it a field worthy Mr. Taft’s
energy and efforts.
And Maine Proves It.
It is plain from Colonel Roosevelt's
report that he left the Hopi Indians in
a much more flourishing condition
than he left the Bull Moose party.—
Kansas City Journal