Benmore tc Bellefonte, Pa., October 28, 1921. WHY Boasting Is Comparatively Un known in Japan “To boast,” said my Japanese friend “js, according to our point of view. one of the cardinal sins. We so de test boasting that we go to the other extreme, deprecating anything or any: body connected with ourselves. Thus, when some one says to me, “Your brother has amassed a great fortune; he must be a man of great ability,’ 1 will reply: ‘He is not so very able Perhaps he is only lucky.’ As a mat ter of fact, it happens that my broth- er is a man of exceptional ability. But I must not say so; it is not good form for me to praise his qualities. “In speaking of our wives and chil dren we do the same. We say, ‘my poor wife,’ or ‘my insignificant wife, although our wives may fulfill our idea of everything a woman should be. “Also the reverse of this proposition is true. We sometimes signify our dis approval or disliae of some one by speaking of him ir terms of too high praise, “Among ourselves we fully under stand these things. It is merely a code we follow. But I fear that this prac tice sometimes causes foreigners to misunderstand us. accustomed to speak literally, they are inclined to take us so. Also, they are not likely to realize that we are most critical of those for whom we have profound regard. Why shoala we waste our time or our critical con- sideration upon persons vho nothing to us or wliom we dislike? “Yet, after all,” he continued, with a little twinkle in his eye, “human na- ture is much the same the world over. There was an American here in Kioto once who used to forbid his wife and sister to smoke cigarettes, but I ob- served that he was quick to pass his cigarette case to other ladies.”—ju- lian Street in the Century Magazine. Being themselves | niean IDEA FROWNED ON BY NATURE Become Poorer and Will Ultimate- ly Become Extinct. grow poorer = 1 TRULY OPTIMISM HAS Ling, Josh Smiler Met Day's Many Adversi. ties With a Smile, but There Are Some Things! i “Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Joshua Smil- | ar. “It's Friday, the thirteenth, Good job I'm not superstitious, otherwise I | should be miserable all day today!” Smiling happily, Josh dropped his : collar stud. Nevertheless, after half | an hour's search he found it again, | and continued dressing. “Oh, Josh,” said Mrs. Smiler at breakfast, “the pedal broke off my sew- . ing machine yesterday!” ! “That's unfortunate,” said Smiler. “But never mind, dear, I'll bring you back a motor this evening, and you'll be able to run the machine on that.” It started to rain just as Smiler pre- pared to leave the house. | “My umbrella, dear?” he said to his wife. “Oh, Josh,” she cried, “I forgot to tell you, some one stole your umbrella from the hall yesterday!” “Oh, well,” answered Smiler, “It had a hole in it, anyway!” And he stepped out briskly through the shower. Other little things, which many men would foolishly have allowed to dis- turb them, did happen to Smiler that day, but he did not grumble until re- turning home in the train he pulled out his fountain pen to jot down a brilliant idea that had occurred to him. The pen was empty! Well, I ask you! Even optimism has its limits.—Chicago Daily News. GREAT POET TRUE GENTLEMAN Carlyle’s Pen Portrait of Schiller Among Finest of the Tributes Paid to Him. In his dress and manner, as in all things, he was plain and unaffected. Among strangers, something shy and retiring might occasionally be ob- served in him: in his own family, or among his select friends, he was kind- hearted, free, and gay as a little child. In public, his external appearance had nothing in it to strike or attract. Of an unpresuming aspect, wearing plain apparel, his looks as he walked were constantly bent on the ground; so that —_— i frequently, as we are told, “he failed Why Single-Child Family Tends tc to notice the salutation of a passing | acquaintance; but if he heard it, he | would catch hastily at his hat, and | give his cordial ‘Guten Tag.” Modesty. That the ‘“one-child family” tends to and not richer is the: principal point made in a report by ' the Child Study society of Tranayl- vania after collecting a large mass of data in the Banat (southwestern part of Transylvania), where the system most prevails. The Roumanian cor- respondent of the Lancet (London) writes : “Their report states that until re- cently it had ‘been thought that the system was purely a question of economics. People did not wish te distribute their lands and wealth Dbe- tween several children, but the cus tom had now become independent ot land questions. It was quite clear that the ‘single-child’ family did be- come not richer but poorer. gle-child’ generation tended to grow up idle and self-indulgent. If they The, ‘sin: | were landed proprietors their farms | F york by others, necessitating | | ] were worked by "| “blue laws” passed in the Seventeenth ! century, “Farmers began to understand that : payment of heavy wages. the single-child system meant their ruin, but the custom was deeply root- nd the people were very conserva- 3 : pas Too er hah several eh dren ¢ their wives in public, such conduct be- : : Si : © | ing penalized as “lewd and unseemly { behavior.” were actually despised. “Ancther reason for the single-child svstem was feminine vanity; women thought that by avoiding childbirth they would remain young and enjoy life for a longer time. The only child was spoiled by his parents, and too | often entered early into a career of dissipation, the result being rapid physical! and mental deterioration.” Why Radio Appeals. There was a time when wireless telegraphy appealed only to the so- called amateur, and his interest was rather directed toward the technical end than the mere pleasure of gather- ing messages out of the air for what- ever they were worth. With the es- tablishing of government radio reports and a number of radio telephone broadcasting stations throughout the country, radio reception becomes a matter of considerable interest to everyone, especially persons in remote districts who are ordinarily more or less out of touch with the world at large. Today the farmer, the business man in the small village, the camper and others can use a simple receiving set and keep posted on what is going on in commerce, politics, sports, stock and bond market, and even religion.— Scientific American. ww... Why Called “White House.” The mame “White House” applied %g (he residence of the President of the United States, came from the fact that the building is constructed of freestcne and is painted white, Dur- ing the administration of Presidents Harrison and McKinley, the term «executive mansion” was used by White House officials. President Roosevelt returned to the term “White House.” i ——— Why Some Men Like Golf. «What is there about golf that gives a man such a sense of freedom snd exhilaration?” «I don’t know,” replied Mr. Grow- cher, “unless it’s the privilege of promenading over the landscape with- out being warned to keep off the grass.” —Get your job work done here. simplicity, a total want of all parade or affectation were conspicuous in him. These are the usual conccmi- tants of true greatness, and serve to witigate its splendor. Common things he did as a common man. His con- duct in such matters was uncalculated, spontaneous; and therefore natural and pleasing.—Thoinas Carlyle, _ When Kissing Was Illegal, Laws against kissing still exist in America, which produces most of the films from which the Japanese cen- sors last year cut out 120,000 feet of kissing scenes, observes London Tit- its. Not many years ugo a student of Yale university and his sweetheart were arrested for the crime of kissing in a Boston restaurant. They were sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment, the magistrate relying on one of the when Massachusetts British colony. Under these laws many men were fined or put in the stocks for Kissing was a The enly measure of this kind ever enforced in England was of a tem- porary nature. In 1439 an act of par- liament was passed prohibiting kiss- ing, owing to the pestilence raging over England and France. Many Years Ago. White-hairea Uncle Peleg Perkins, | known as the oldest person in his coninunity, was standing by his gate when a touring car stopped close be- hind him. Several of the ladies in it asked numerous patronizing questions concerning the locality. Then one of them remarked: “You must have been around here quite a long time.” Uncle Peleg slowly raised his stick | and pointed toward a not distant mountain. | “Yes, marm,” he said gravely. “I! have so. You see that there big, high mounting over acrosst? Wal, the time I fust come here that there mounting wa’'n’t but just about the bigness of an ant hill.”—Harper’s Magazine. Plants That Mimic Stones. In South Africa a plant of tie genus Mesembryanthemum, growing on stony oround, so closely resembles a pebble that it has been picked up in mistake for a stone. Another species of the | same plant, growing on the hills | around the Karru, produces two i leaves about as large as ducks’ eggs, having a surface resembling weath- | ered stone, of a brownish-gray color tinged with green. These plants look like stones, but for a short time they | put forth bright yellow flowers. Stilt | another species of the same plant re- sembles the quartz pebbles among , which it grows. Armenian Music, The melodies and composition of Armenian music are unique, although in recent years Russian. Italian and | English styles have been incorporated in her music, and many Armenian operas are sung in other countries. The national marching song of Tur- key, oppressor of Armenia, was writ- ten by an Armenian in the national ! style of the Turks. , jecting work which must hereafter and'in the | i eome, RAILROAD PLAN TO GET RATES DOWN Propose to Reduce Wages and Return All the Saving by Reduction in Charges. FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Statement by Thomas de Witt Cuyler, Chairman of the Association of Railway Executives on the Situation. Following a meeting in Chicago, Oc tober 14, 1921, of the presidents of i 1 1 nearly all the leading railroads in the country, Mr. Thomas De Witt Cuyler, | Chairman of the Association of Rail- ! way Executives, made the following statement: At a meeting of the association of Railway Executives today, it was de- termined by the railroads of the United States, to seek to bring about a reduc- tion in rates, and as a means to that end to seek a reduction in present rail. road wages which have compelled maintenance of the present rates. An application will be made imme diately to the United States Railroad f.aber Board for a reduction in wages of train service employees sufficient to remove the remainder of the increases! made by the Labor Board's decision of July 20, 1920 (which would involve a further reduction of approximately ten per cent), and for a reduction in the wages of all other classes of railroad labor to the going rate for such labor in several territories where the car- riers operate, To Reduce Rates as Wages Go Down The foregoing action is upon the un- derstanding that concurrently with such reduction In wages the benefit of the reduction thus obtained shall, with the concurrence of the Interstate Com- merce Commission, be passed on to the public in the reduction of existing railroad rates, except in so far as this reduction shall have been made in the | meantime. The managements have decided upon i this course in view of their realization of the fact that the wheels of indus- trial activity have been closed down to a point which brings depression and distress to the entire public, and that something must be done to start them again in operation, The situation which confronts the railreads is extremely critical. The railroads in 1920 realized a net railway operating income of about $62.000,000. upon a property investment of over £19.000,000,000, and even this amount in the United States were held within | of 62 million included back mail pay | for prior years received from the gov- ernment of approximately $64,000,000. thus showing, when the operations of that year alone are considered, an actual deficit before making any al: lowance for either interest or divi- dends, mental authority made the last wa increase, the labor cost of the rail roads was about $3,698,000,000 annual. ly, or, if continued throughout the year instead of for the eight months during which the wage increases were in ef- fect, the labor cost, on an annual basis, would have been largely in excess of £3,900,000,000—an increase, nce the government took charge of railroad wages in the Adamson Act, of approxi mately $2,450,000.060 : nnually. In the light of these figures, it is manifest that the recent reduction of wages authorized b— the Labor Board. estimated at from 10 to 12 per cent i no sense meets or solves th: proh- lem of labor costs and in 1 = way makes it possible for the railroads to afford a reduction i1. their revenues. Thousands of Rates Already Reduced Indeed, during the past year there have been between four and five thou- sand individual reductions in freight rates. On sozle railroads the reduc tions in rates have amounted to more | than the reductions in wages so far made, and on many other railroads the | reductions in wages allowed no net re: turn on operations. but merely pro wided against the further accumulation of a deficit. The point is often made that agrieul ture and other industries are also suf- fering the same immediate difficulties as’ the railroads, why, therefore, do not the railroads take their medicine lil: anybody else? The answer lies in sen eral facts: 1. The railroads were not permitted, as were other industries, to make charges during the years of prosperi‘y, making possible the accumulation of surplus to tide them over the present extreme adversity. According to the reports of the Interstate Commission, the rate of return property investment of the railroads of the United States for the past severu! vears has been as follows: RATE OF AILROADS OF THLE UNITED STATES ON THEIR PROP- ERTY INVESTMENT. HAZ, vend bs nnnsie wiinis neni $.54% IDID eciviini soins. D155 THI esereiinivsensnioee ITH I0I5 vrei tt snnsvea.. $200, 1916 (fiscal yeary......... DOO% 16 (calendar year)...... 6.16% TOUT rare wus anainatenins wuisinivs HEB 1038 seaescerscrsnseennnes 301% TOLD ouvsviiseonsisnnmenens 2800 1820 0d ces Sedna ssannsasss OD20C0 It will thus be noted that during the years when other industries were mak- ing very large profits, when the prices of farm products and the wages of la- hor were soaring to unheard-of heights, : the earnings upon railroad investment very narrow limits and that they have during the past four years progres- sively declined. Roads Handicapped More Than Other Business 2. The railroads are responsible to the public for providing adequate transportation, Their charges are lim- ited by public authority, and they are in very large respects (notably for la- bor) compelled to spend money on a basis fixed by public authority. The margin within which they are permit- ' ted to earn a return upon their invest- The year ended in serious depression | in all branches of Industry, and in’ marked reduction of the market de- mand for and the prices of basic com- modities, resulting in a very serious falling off in the volume of traffic. Roads Forced to Defer Maintenance In this situation, a rolicy of the most rigid economy and of postponing and cutting to the bone the upkeep of the properties was adopted by the rail- roads. This was at the price of neg- and for the time deferriag near future be done and paid for. This is illustrated by the fact that, as of September 15, 1921, over 16 per cent or 374.431 in number, of the freight ears of the carriers were in bad order and needing repairs, as against a nor- mal of bad order cars of not more - than 160,000, as is further illustrated hy the deferred and inacequate main- tenance of other equipment and of roadway and structures. Even under those conditions, and with th's large bill charged up against the future,—which must soon be pro- vided for and paid if the carriers are to perform successfully their transpor- ' tation duties,—the result of operations for the first eight months of this year, the latest available figures, has been at a rate of net ra®way operating in- before providing for interest or dividends, amounting to only 2.6 per cent, per annum on the valuation of the carrier properties made by the Interstate Commerce Commission in the recent rate ‘case, an amount not sufficient to pay the interest on their outstanding bonds. Roads’ Earnings Far Below Reasonable Returns It is manifest, from this showing, that the rate of return of 5% or 6 per cent for the first two years after March 1, 1820, fixed in the Transportation Act | as a minimum reasonable return upon railroad investment, has not been even approximated—much less reached; i and that the present ‘high rates accord- | ingly are not Cue to any statutory guarantee of earnings, for there is no such guarantee. In analyzing the expenses which have largely brought about this situa- tion, it becomes evident that by far the largest contributing cause is the labor cost. Today the railroads pay out to labor approximately 60c on the dollar they receive for transportation services, | whereas in 1916, 40c on the dollar went | to labor, On the first day of January, 1917, when the government took charge of wages through the Adamson Act, the labor cost of the railroads had not exceeded the sum of about £1,468,000,- 000 annually. In 1920, w! 'n govern- ——Subseribe for the “Watchman.” i ment or to offer inducements to attract new capital for extensions and better- ments is extremely limited. However much the railroads might desire, there- fore, to reduce their charges in times of depression, it will be perceived that the limitations surrounding their ae- tion do net permit them to give effect to broad and elastic policies which might very properly govern other lines of business not thus restricted. It has been urged upon the railroads | that a reduction in rates will stimu- late traffic and that increased traffic will protect the carriers from the loss incident to a reduction in rates. The railroad managements cannot disguise | from themselves that this suggestion is | merely conjectural and that an adverse result of the experiment would be dis- astrouns not only to the railroads, but to the public, whose supreme need fis adequate transportation. Consequently the railroad managements cannot feel justified in placing these instrumentali- ties, so essential to the public welfare, at the hazard of such an experiment hased solely upon such a conjecture. Farmers Especlally Need Lower Rates It is evident, however, that existing transportation charges bear in many cases a disproportionate relationship to the prices at which commodities can be sold in the market and that existing labor and other costs of transportation thus imposed upon industry and agriculture aenerally a burden greater than they should bear. This is especially true of agriculture. The railroad managements are feeling sensitive to and sympathetic with the distressing situation and de- sire to do everything to assist in reliev- ing it that is compatible with their duty to furnish the transportation which the public must have. At the moment railroads in many cases are paying 40c. and hour for unskilled labor when similar labor is working along- side the railroads and can easily be ob- tained by them at 20c. an hour. The railroads of the country paid in 1920 =a total of considerably over $1.300,000,000 to unskilled labor alone. However desirable it may be to pay this or that schedule of wages, it is obvious that it cannot be paid out of railroad earnings unless the industries which use the railroads are capable of meeting sueh charges. The railroads, and through them the people generally, are also hampered in their efforts to economize by a schedule of working rules and conditions now in force as a heritage from the period of Federal control and upheld by the Rail- road Labor Board. These conditions are expensive, uneconomic and unnecessary from the point of view of railroad opera- tion and extremely burdensome upon the public which pays the bill. This sched- ule of wages and of working conditions prevents the railroads from dealing equitably with their labor costs in ac- cordance with rapidly changing conditions and the great variety of logal considera- tions which ought to control wages in different parts of the country. The rail- roads are seeking to have these rules and working