T 8 3tumhm tgmgk mwtr VVBl.tG LEDGER COMPANY CtnUB It. K. 9UIWI8, Ttmtnut. . John 0. Martin, Treasurer! Charles It. Ludlngton, frhtllp If, Collin. John B. tvnilam. Director. EfclTOlttAL BOARD! j KKja 4.. . VbMllff UKIIIIIDIK 1'. n. WIMUKI..... ...uxecuiiva junior t J0I1 W C MAflTrN. general famines Manarer Published dallr at PciUO Lrnoni Building, Independent Bquare, Philadelphia, Ltwss CitTSiL, ......... .Broad and Cheetnut Street ATUMTtC Crrr ..rrm-lnfon Building JfW Yean ,...,..... 170-A, Metropolitan Tower Cttlotoo. . ... i ..811 Home Insurance tlulldlng LoHBoir. ...,...,. .8 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S. W. MEWB BUREAUS ! lUiBtuncim Dmr.AO. .The Patriot riuttdlns WAHlttNOTOW Buauo. The roll IlulMIni Tf.t York Hckiud ..The tTlmes llulldlns I5HBHM litiaiuc ................ ..no Friedrlchetraeea poiron IIubbac 2 Pall Mall East. 8. V. fill! Buauo ...82 Bus Insula le Qrand SUnSCMPTlON TERMS Br carrier, Dm.r OnLt, lx cent. By mall, pontpald rutalde of Philadelphia, except where forelun poetnse a required, Dhlt O.mlt, one month, twentr-Ar cente; Daily O.wi.t, one year, three dollars. All mall sub scription parable In adrance. HETX,3000WAlNtJT KEYSTONE, MAW 3000 W Address all communication to Evening Ledger, Independence Square, Philadelphia. jntxiid at in rniLiDiLruu roerorrici as icom- CLASS 1UIL WATTO. fniLADELTUIA, SATUItDAY, JANUARY 33, 1916. The Itggcst thing any man can do Is the build- in a of hla own character, and ho can never get through doing that. Cut the By-laws From tho Constitution NOW that talk of a constitutional conven tion has begun and plans for It aro tak ing shapo every citizen Interested In tho free government of tho Common-wealth should de mand that tho revision of tho Constitution bo radical It la now a mass of legislation tying tho hands of this elty and of overy other con siderable community. Regulations Intended to cover local and changing conditions havo been embalmed in tho fundamental law, Pa tronago grabs, devised by political machin ists, havo tho sanction of constitutional au thority. Petty courts which tho city Itself hould havo tho power to creato or destroy, have bean fastened on this community by the chains of an amendment to tho Constitution. All this sort of thing should bo cut out of the document when a constitutional conven tion meets. All that Is needed Is a broad groundwork of fundamental principles of government guaranteeing to tho peoplo of tho Commonwealth tho greatest liberty In managing their own affairs. Tho number of constitutional offices should bo reduced to tho lowest minimum consistent with a proper division of tho functions of govern ment between tho legislative, cxecutivo and judicial branches. Tho General Assembly should havo full power to creato such other offices as tho exigencies demand and It Bhould have control over the detail of all leg islation within tho four corners of tho prin ciples of popular government laid down In a new and simplified Constitution. There are broad-minded men in the Btato who understand this great need. There are public-spirited citizens of Philadelphia who have had experience with tho cramping and constricting provisions of tho present doc ument when they sought to frco the city from some of the abuses of machine rule. ' They are expected to use their Influence to secure a real Constitution and to persuado the politicians, who seem at present to be thinking more of a revision of tho hampering by-laws than of drafting a real fundamental law, that they aro making a mistake from tho point of vlow of their own Interests, to say nothing of the interests of the Common wealth as a whole. There Is legal ability ' enough In the State, and political wisdom enought to draft a model Constitution for submission to the voters. If this ability is not used In this -way the voters themselves must bear the blame. A New Naval Reserve TIIE passage by the House of the Coast Guard bill, which had previously been beted favorably on by the Senate, makes cer tain tho merging of the Life-Saving Service fcnd the Ilevenuo Cutter Service. A mistake Jwas roado when the two were separated more jthan a quarter of a century ago. Tho services supplement and complete each other, the one feavlng life on the open sea and the other along the coast. One of the most satisfactory Keatures of the bill is tho extension to tho life-savers of retirement and longevity pay; another Is that it practically creates a naval Reserve of more than 1000 men, who In peace br war can be transferred to tho naval serv ice by order of the President. How Big Are We ? THOSE "Washington statisticians who are trying to hold a stop-watch on the growth pi population to discover the exact minute vhen It reaches the 100,000,000 limit may well Abandon their effort. It Is a waste of time. $Jo one cares to know tho second when that handsome figure is reached, because In tho tiext minute it wilt be excoeded. Babies are born here with encouraging frequency and Immigrant ships are landing new residents by the hundred every few days, so that no record stands for longer than the moment when It was mode. But wlilla the statisticians have their noses buried In their tables of figures the rest of ua can look abroad and wonder at tho mar velous expansion of life on this continent nJnco white men first Bet foot here. Wo hold dominion from sea to sea and we have builded cities and highways and Industries that demonstrate what free men can do under favoring conditions. And while wo are won dering at the great material progress a little time could profitably be spent in a careful jwarching of the heart to discover whether there has been spiritual progress as well, whether the driving- force of great ideas is Still potent. It sometimes seems as If the little nation of 8,000,000, Inspired by a" thrilling dream of liberty 10 years ago, was really bigger than this great agglomeration of materialism to day, but that may be only because of the en chantment of distance. Winn Is a Life? A TRAIN from West Cheater stopped the other morning, with a sudden Jelt. just be- , for it reached the Wwt Philadelphia Station. j,yfhen it did not start again men impatient M gt to their offlos went to the door of -the jr and looked out- Some of them got down p the track, glanced toward the engine, luuved forward and then they waited. In a tw swwsnts,- aftr oae or two unsuccessful HtUHUJts, the engine was uncoupled and piU4 ansae! about its own length. Then fcrflf ti dozen train luuds bent down over a ihnvriv awi that bad once baan a mac ius iJftitd it. i xirMcher Th passsager j ..trjt t tt.4 m.m at MptaA&sd th EVENING LEDGER-PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1915. womon should hear. The engln6 waB at tached to tho train again and It moved on, arriving at Iho Broad Street Station only 10 minutes lat. Tho pepplo disembarked and haslencd to the street to recover, If possible, tho llmo they had lost and for tho prior workman who got in their way, time had stopped altogether. What Is the life of nny man that Its taking oft should mako us lato to business? The way tho torld answers this question Is a measure of Us enlightenment. Talk tho Mad 1'rnjcct to Death THE country may well pray for strength for tho "nilbustcrors," Not In years has bo Iniquitous and subtly dangerous a propo sition as the ship purchnso bill como beforo Congress, with such powerful backing. Tho menace Is tho greater because tho men be hind tho movement, Including tho President himself, nre sincere In their belief that the method proposed Is tho only feasible ono for tho rehabilitation of tho American merchant marine. Tho arguments and promises supporting It nro contradictory. Tho Government ships, avors tho President, would bo used only In unprofitable tratlo which private ships would not enter, yet tho fact is that tho shortage In bottoms is felt only In tho European trade, in which rates- at present are tho highest over known. The Government cannot want ships for South American trade, for they aro not needed, it can wnnt them only for the Euro pean trade, In which there Is no pretenso of a lock of profit. Tho Government cannot buy any sturdy vessels at fair prices except German Bhlps which nro Interned. Freight rates are so high that a craft can practically earn Its cost In ono voyage. What neutral vessel, with tho seas open to It, would bo sold In such circumstances? There remain only Ger man ships, useless to their owners whllo Eng land controls tho seas. These aro tho ships that the Administration Is after, as Secretary McAdoo has boldly Intimated. Yet American shipyards are languishing. Tho Administration does not propose to kill two birds with ono stone by building up tho marlno and tho shipyards at the sarao time. It wants to buy from a belligerent, bocauso thcro is nowhere elso It can buy, and It wants to do this at a time when the conduct of Its foreign affairs Is so muddled that tho Dacla, having been adopted, remains whole or half orphan. We shall not havo a marlno until we have constructive statesmanship. Tho Ad ministration's Idea seems to bo that it will buy Its way onto tho oceans and keep tho flag afloat by never-ending streams of gold, taken from the taxpayers. It cannot be done, and It ought not to be dono. Senator Lodge and tho other gentlemen who are assisting him will deserve tho thanks of the nation for talking tho mad project to death. Blackball or Speller SPEAKING In favor of the Immigration bill, literacy test and all, Professor Fair child, of Yale, declares that "It is Illogical to say to the foreigner that ho can get along all right hero without education and demand that our own children shall be educated under compulsion." That Is just the reason many mon who havo been denied educational advantages come., to America, because they know that what they lack their children will got. Cases havo been known, too, plenty of them, In which tho foreigner did not wait for the second generation to learn a thing or two, but by assiduous work In the night schools acquired an education of his own. "Why havo you come to America?" "So that my children may get an educa tion." "Havo you got ono yourself?" "No, I never had a chance." "Then go back and wallow in your igno rance. There is no room for you or your chil dren here." Spelling-book Immigration would never bo effective in keeping out undesirables, and It could never bo anything but un-Amerlcan. Charity Worth While THOSE who sleep In comfortable beds may be thankful that they do not belong In that group of 300 homeless men and boys who slept on Tuesday night on newspapers spread out on tho floor of an empty factory building at 12th and Huntingdon streets. A spaco on tho floor big enough to turn over In is moro comfortable than a doorway. Whoever thought of opening that factory for the ac commodation of the homeless was Inspired. But ho had no monopoly of this kind of In spiration. There aro scores of vacant build ings, some of them belonging to the city, which could be, opened to the men who other wise would have to walk the streets through the night or run the risk of arrest as va grants whllo seeking shelter In the lee of a packing box or In the entrance of some busi ness building. "Billy" Sunday Is as willing to preach In the Eastern Penitentiary as in Illttenhouse Square. A grass bath may bo good for hot feet, but many persons are more interested in a cure for cold feet. The German Idea of neutrality seems to be that the United States' should not sell any thing to the Allies, Of the t,wo evils, the country would prefer an extra session, of Congress to the ship pur chase bill. It may get both. The Prohibitionists want to rewrite "Fair Harvard" so as to read "Dry Harvard," with the emphasis on the dry. If you will look at a map you will discover why Russia orders 15.000 freight cars from a Seattle Instead of an Atlantic coast firm. New York, It seems, has a law under which married men who have "affinities" can be Jn diated. It remains to be seen whether they oan be punished. Mr- Bryan, who Is the bully If not the bouncer of Peace, would have appreciated bat LowUlarja centennial peace medal much mere than the Presidents save for the fact that it is made pf gold. The House has decided that the railroads fthouid gt tot carrying the mail exactly what the) Fcatoftlce Department wihs to give Umm and no mum ?& oaaunulMj, of oaufM, can suite up the Uffrwn.e. TRAINING TIIE WILL IN TIIE HABIT OF MASTERY Will Power Can Bo Developed Only by Exercise IIpw to Go About tho En largement of Your Mental and Moral Calibre. By JOSEPH 1LODELI, VERY llttlo has been written about practl cal methods of dovcloplng the human will. And yet volitional power Is a growth Just Hko nny other function, The sooner we realize that tho will la weak and can be strengthened only by tho observance of certain rules the moro Ukoly wo shall bo able to evolve an In vincible faculty of resolution. For It is only by regular exercise that the will grows vig orous. Thcro Is no artificial or accidental way. Thcro Is no wlll-bullding compound that can bo prescribed. Wo can mako bono, or blood, or fat, by what wo cot or drink. But tho will Is Immaterial and nothing ma terial can affect it ono wny or tho othor. Wo sometimes speak loosely of alcohol weakening tho will. It Is not tho alcohol but tho willing to ttiko It. Every tlmo wo resolve to drink wo cxcrclso tho will In a given direction and tho cxcrclso makes it easy for tho will to hiovo In that direction again, Then tho key to tho development of tho will Iks In tho word exorcise. The potentiality tho vital, plastic, responsive thing called tho will grows In proportion ns It Is used. " Fight it Out on That Lino" It Is necessary that wo should learn how Important It Is for tho will to triumph ovor physical reluctance. Most mon havo a marked dislike of cold water. Supposing wo "fight It out on that lino If It tnkca all sum mer" and all winter, too, Wo lay down tho law that wo must take a cold bath overy morn ing. Tho mere thought may bo appalling at first. To mako our resolution surer wo fill tho bathtub on tho preceding night. Tho first morning It Is agony, but wo survive. With tho brisk rubbing thcro comes tho grateful glow of tho reaction. Tho following morning wo arc fortified with tho ono successful ex periment and force ourselves again to pass through tho ordeal, Thus wo go along for months; each morn ing requires a now exercise of tho will, but each day bcglnB with a dcclslvo victory. And there Is always something In a local victory which makes for n general triumph. Later in tho day we find a situation from which wo shrink, tho hnblt of tho bath Is in our minds and wo say, "I can do that, too." In course of tlmo the will gets a settled habit of mas tery, dislikes to bo thwarted, nnd establishes a long line of minor conquests which mako tho Issue lnevltablo when tho critical battlo ground Is reached upon which our success or falluro for Ufa Is to bo determined. A Child's Discovery If wo nro really serious In wishing to de velop a strong will tho motto that must be placarded beforo tho eyes Is: "No Exceptions Allowed." Ono exception may end weeks of laborious training. It is well, theroforo, that wo should not undertake too largo a contract In tho boglnnlng. This Is tho law of peda gogics. Tho alphabet Is usually the starting point. Then words one, two, three and four syllables. Why docs tho child flush with pride when ho can read tho simple lesson of hla first book? Not because ho hns gained a val uable stock of knowledge. Long before he rend ho know that tho dog could bark, thnt the bird could sing nnd that the fire Is warm Everything the book contained ho knew be fore ho read It. The pleasure lies In the sense of victory; he Is conscious of an en largod power; he revels In tho knowledge that there nre difficult things ho can accom plish. It constitutes a discovery that tho will can bo trained to win victories. No bettor lino can bo chosen for tho grown man than to enlarge the sphere of action of the will and the realm of knowledgo at ono and tho same time. You aro busy. Thcro aro a score of different things you would Uko to do. But throughout nil your occupations you realize that your will Is not the robust, effec tive nnd reliable force It should bo. You re solve: "I will read a book for ono hour each day!" It Is wise to select an easy and an Interesting book for tho first. The exact time of study docs not matter morning, noon or night. But tho third day you aro rushed and when the reading hour comes you aro tired, nervous, sleepy. Shall tho rule bo broken? If, In spite of everything, you read desperately and doggedly through the dragging minutes, you have added muscles to your will, you have struck tho pace that leads swiftly to larger conquests, you havo added a new and dominating note to your personality. But If you Buccumb, If you allow an exception, you have keyed and trained your will to the halt ing, vacillating step that leads to failure, you have accustomod yourself to surrender and Invited a sorles of defeats. The Stamp of Victory For the next stop take d more difficult book, one that requires moro attention, closer thought. By sticking to your resolution, oven though you master only a paragraph In the hour, you will bo building now fibre and calibre Into tho will. The other tasks of life will not seem half so hard; ono by one they also can be accomplished. Their very diffi culty will come as a challenge and you will spring at them as though the mero act of overcoming were the chief privilege of living. A sense of mastery will steal into your atti tude; a tone of sure and calculated confidence will be heard in your voice. Other people will set you apart from tho crowd as a man who can do difficult things and success will grow still easier becauso every one expects you to succeed. The mob divides and makes a clear way for the man with a will. Now what has happened? You have not really added a rtew power or faculty to your original equipment. You havo simply in creased your will by exercise and established its undeniable affirmations as a fixed habit of your life. This Is stamped all oyer you; It shows in bearing, gesture, accent, even in your clothes. You could not have bought it with all the money in the world; but you have won U by patience, self-denial and fidelity to your own best Instincts, Whatever other gifts and graces the really great men of the world possessed they were all alike In this one essential feature of a self-developed and well-developed mind. v Sad. Taite a Seen in Japan Flora the Londou Saturday' Bevlew. Doctor Alton, the scholarly Japanese secre tary to the British Legation In TokioJ sum marized what Kenko, the 11th century writer of "Tsurezure Quia," considered to be "bad taste," thui: Too much furniture In one's living room. Too many pens in a stand. Too puny Buddha In a private shrjna. Too many rocks. irs and herb la a garden. Too many children In a house. Too aiaay wortl whso ma meet Too many books ia a boolteMe there can Mvtr l, nor too ranch litter in a duet heap WA VIEWS OF READERS ON TIMELY TOPICS Discussion of the Bennett Article on War Atrocities The Case of the Dacia. Councils, Housing and Other Local Questions. TRUTH ABOUT ATROCITIES To tht Edttor 0 the Evtnino Ledger: Slr I bolloo cory render of tho Evenino LKDaisn should feel thankful for your editorial In tho Issue of January 1G, entitled " Tho Truth About tho Atrocities," In which you say: "Wo In America ought to bo able to keep our heads and not fall Into tho stupid error of assuming that all tho members of ono group of armies arc beasts nnd all tho members of another group aro saints." Poace on earth will only como from good will, which rests on truth. J. Fit. WALSH. Florence, N. J January 17, 1915. THE BENNETT "DOCUMENT' To the Editor of the Evening Ledger: Sir Thoro Is only ono answer to James O'Donnell Dennett. Ho has been eating out of tho slop pots of the Gormans. They bought him cheap. In justifying tho Germans he raves over their magnanimity In foedlng COO destitute families, and says not a word about tho C.OOO.OCO who were fed by tho Americans. Ho has utterly failed to explain how tho Ger. mnns get Into another man's house, destroy his possessions, nnnihllato and starve his wife and children. I agree thnt this document Is a "stnrtllnR" one, but wholly from tho puerile character of Its attempt to Justify the greatest cxamplo of baibarlty and vandalism tho world hns known. F. II. MACFAItLAND. Philadelphia, January 19. SENTIMENTALITY AND TIIE WAR To the Editor of the Evening Ledger: Sir Tho (lame of Sir Arthur Connn Doylo's emotional appeal to Amorlcan sentimentality, bo effectively put out by the cold water of Jnmcs O. Bennett's reply printed In the Even ino Ledger, Is not likely to break out again. Tho dead ashes may smolto nwhllo, but aro no longer able to kindle. If ono did not recall how sentimentality has governed public opin ion in this country, as It did to our everlasting harm at the time of tho wnr between Ilussla and Japan, it would be difficult to account for tho vehemence with which many Americans are reiterating absurdities as great as those of tho British novelist. In tlmo of war, while soldiers remain sane, It seems to be Inovltnblo that civilians grow rabid Lord Crewe lately expressed regret that Winston Churchill seemed determined to make war on tho Germans on his own nccount. The same regret might bo expressed as to tho utterances of a number of Americans, who until a few months ago never know tho con tents of a single treaty, who yet know little or nothing of the history of treaties, who are unaware how few treaties have i been kept, who are absolutely untrained In the consideration of treaties and yet aro now ti.klng upon them selves with national self-confidence and rash ness the duty of guiding thelr'fellow citizens where tho lndlvlduat sympathies of the writers would have their readers go. As to a number of tho pamphleteers nnd speakers. It Is apparent that they are not even familiar with current expert discussion of the subjects concerning which they have set out to mold public opinion. An acquaintance of some years standing, an odlcer of the English army, n well-known writer and lecturer to army oincers on military car. palgns, has been Bending me from London a series of his arti cles on the present war, which havo been ap pearing In tho British Itevlew. In the January number there is this paragraph In Major Bed way's article, and It could bo recommended to a number of our eager controversialists as a palliation for a certain form of hysteria: "The time for apologies and explanations is when the war Is over, and then they would bo naturally colored by the status of the ap pellant whether victor or vanquished. And, of course, the verbal abuse of an opponent whom you have failed to overcome Is essentially vulgar, and the people who Indulco them selves In this way, on tho plea that It la patriotic to do bo, display a weakness that Is femlnlno and a spite that is childish." American sympathizers with the English can be recommended to read Major Redway's three articles, which, though they have been slashed by the censor, contain much that Is Informing. They are written In a temper that could serve as a model to Borne, of our home disputants. But then he Is a trained soldier, and our home product Is wlwly untrained in this direction, and as novices approach an I volved and diffi cult subject. As to the censorship, Major Redway asks us what way the English polloy of mystery and silence has aided "operations which are no toriously dull. Inert and wanting In enter prise," and adds: There Is small chance of 'mystifying, mis leading and surprising the enemy while along three-fourths of our front the trenches are vls-a-vls and the fighting men so bored with the proceedings that they have established an unofficial truce for Buch purposes as the ex change of news, the amloable robbing of hen roosts and the arrangement of times and sea sons for. performing a toilet and partaking of meals without disturbance. In these regions it is not war that Is being waged, but the polic ing oft a new boundary, a boundary fixed by the Germans." And again: "In striking contrast to her allies, encum bered with large armies, Servla appears to be able to maneuver her six divisions with facility and effect." Anqthor military writer tn the same number declares that the way the JourntlUts are wip ing the Austro-Hungarisn amiss oXC the list of efficient forces in the path of Russia is ab solutely nonenlcal, aa4 h adds that but for ltul. Gsrwaa bsgeroony would now bo es ttaLhd opposite ih shores of Bngtsad, and tb dys of BngUitd would be numbered. It 1$ POOR THING, BUT MINE OWN!" Bad to think how tho mass of Americans turned their backs on Russia and BOmo of them ran up Japanese flogs. Tho writer then de clares thnt Russia having her hands full, Eng land and Franco will have to win by them selves, and that no ally can shift any part of Its burden from Its own back. Polltoly, but nono tho less pointedly, tho Re view editorially reminds Americans that soma of tho mattois on which some of us havo beon rather 'free with our opinions aro nono of our business, nnd this Is strictly true. It might be snld, however, that thero aro other matters nffectlng very seriously our business that wo have put up with and said little or nothing about. ISAAC R. PENNYPACKER. Ardmoro, January o. "AMERICAN FROM STEM TO STERN"f To the Editor of the Evening Ledger: Sir Your edltorlnl, "Amorlcan from Stem to Stern," waB one of the ablost editorials that hns appeared In any Philadelphia paper for a long time nnd comes ns a wclcomo Indication thnt at least a part of our press Is not of the spine less sort. I nm glad your excellent paper comes out strong for America and American rights. After rending the many toady and nauseating sproutlngs of Lodge, Choate, "Jellyfish" Bryan, tho discredited Eliot and the un-American Ben nett, It takes something to nrouso us to a re alization thnt wo Amerlcnns really have some rights distinctly our own, and some of us are beginning to wonder after reading such articles whether wo actually have tho right of sending our ships even as far as three miles from our own shores (whon some belonging to othor na tions, all with steam up and ready for action, aro Just a llttlo beyond our three-mile limit), and would have us bellevo that America Is ter ribly defenseless; which, were It true, would be nn awful Indictment of some of our former very nble Administrations. But they might save their wind; we know It's bluff, when In reality vc know tho fellow on tho othor side Is tho bluffer and Is probably already complaining " 'ow 'orrlbly hlmpudont the Hnmerlcans are becoming," mistaking- our mere expression for a respect for our God-glvcn rights as Impu dence. When any American has the nerve to Invest his good American cash In a vessel of any kind to compete with the carriers of other nations, he Is merely exercising his inalienable rights, and there should bo no question as to his right to sail his ship to any port of any nation In the world with which we nre at peace; nor should thero be any question of his right to load his ship with the product (not reasonably cnnttiband) of our merchants and farmers, more especially so after he has taken overy means to Inform our Government as to the details of tho purchase In acquiring the vessel, and which purchase our Government hns pronounced reg ular In evcrv wny, open nnd abovo board, nnd ho has registered the vessel, Balling It under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. "Vhon such a purchaser, an American citizen, has his rights Interfered with nnd does not receive our unequivocal protection, backed up by all the power our nation possesses. It surely Is an evi dence of our weakness and an asinine act of which no true American desires our nation to be guilty. Such failure to protect our citizens and their property Is not the experience of our people to date, nnd should not be now, as Old Glory hns ever stood for Independence on land and must now stand for our rights upon the sens. It Is a pity our peoplo must allow to remain In ofllco a man of who It Is' said, acting as Secre tary of State, has written to a foreign nation seeking to compromise our rights to deal where, when and with whom wo deem It desirable. All American citizens should demand full protection for their fellow Americans, and especially at this time, for the American who has the nerve to own and sail an American ship. II. A. MEYERCORD. Philadelphia, January IS, 1915, WHAT CAN U S. DO ABOUT IT? To the Editor of the Evening Ledger; Sir I notice your paper Is once agatn'gettlng agitated about "rights on the ocean" in an editorial In today's Issue, entitled "American From Stem to Stern," In which you' use your stock phrase, "Cannot and will not" The only trouble Is you "can" nnd you "do." You "were not going to be driven from the ocean by the "hogs of the sea" was, I think, the term you used. That's a fact, as the New York Sun would say, "wot ain't so," because, while not "driven," you simply failed to exist on the sea, and, practically speaking, you don't exist yet. Now, In regard to this latest case If the British permit this ship to sail she will sail, and If they don't give permission she won't. Really, are you not a trifle childish, because, Irf any case, what can you do about It? V. E. LETTS. Philadelphia, January It, 1915, SNOW AND TDJE TARIFF To the Editor of the Evening Ledger; Sir We hope when D, M. Barclay has finished hi Investigation In NorrUtown he will come to Philadelphia and give us snow shovelers a chance to show how the new tariff has de stroyed our pauper Industry. n. V. Philadelphia, January 20, lSU. , WAR AND WAGES To the Editor of the Evening Ledger; Sir I am a workingman in the texUle line, which is vsry slow at the present. I have Juet finished the editorial, "American from Stem to Stern." Don't you think you are drawing it very strong? I don't think you have considered all that tho Allies have dono for America In the way of favoring our Southern cotton planters by admitting cotton free to Germany, thereby giving our Boutbern cotton planters an extra output. Suppose the Allies should, in return put back the embargo on wool and rubber and stpp the cotton sxports to Germany, and Stop the export ot cloth both for men's wear and women's wear from England, where, would the Importer and merchants and clothing manufac turers get off? If we have no vooi we wilt have m sloth for the wearing apparsl makers It looks to me like biting off pat's ne to spits one's face. jfranas and England havo th trump, n4 , 8 HSt -.'jS what will we do with an American fleet of mtfft cbnntmcn If thero Is nothing for them to dofW It seems to me that you editors have a lotttf thing of it in compnrlson to us poor workeftJ You don't consider that If your advice ti folTj loweu in tnis euitonni tnnt It will be a boom erang to us. The Dacla will bo sold back to tho Hambnri Line ns soon ns tho war Is over. sure, becimi America ennnot compete with the German shlpi,! The same conditions will follow as before this wnr started. The naunor lnbor of Germany run bent tho civilized world. Just think of a rat. , chnnlc working for JG per week of 12 hours per , anv. inis tow conuiuon oi wages prevails in sa Industries In Germany. If Germany had paid $2 per day there woull ti imvu ucmi iiu war. j-iiu win wub caused Df Encland to knock out these starvation vrero. It had to come, and It will never be settle' right till universal wages nro more equal. Either-, we nave 10 come auwn to uia uerman sianaara of (4 and t per week or Germany has to comi up to ours of $12. As the cost of production U at least two-thirds of the cost of manufacture, flguro It out for yourself nnd see where Americal comes in. i nave ueeit uikihi; u,o &vj.mna LEDOEn over since the first Issue, and I rauit say you havo been fair to both sides. R. B. Jl , Philadelphia, January 16, 1915. ; "SPLENDID REPORTS" To the Editor of the Evening Ledger: Sir I desire to express to you my personal, trrntitude for the SDlendld reports of tM Sunday meetings In the Evening Ledom txin to thank you for tho sympathetic way in Tthlci -von have been handling the material. I en tho more nnxlous to send this word In vltlpljS ihi4 nnmnlnlnta nt tlinnA nnt Interested. a&3.-!fil hope you will not curtnll In the lenst became1. of the fow who feel or spenk otherwise. I hlJ shown mv nnnreclatlon in a more substantial,! way by mailing my papers, after read'nf, to various menus anu in Buuscnuiu .-,, ,as special dollar proposition of Bending to aeveralaM regularly. A. E. haiuub. a Philadelphia, January 15, 1915. j GOV. BRUMBAUGn ON nOUSINC To the Editor of the Evening Ledger: Sir It Is Indeed a good omen that OoTer nor Rrumbauvh has at tho outset ot till term of office emphasized the Importance of im: ...... I It., . .... I... ttl. ' proving nouainK conuuiuua nt ui m,w -;7, Every one who hns Investlgnted this subiMt Vint. liien Imnreased with the necessity of lo-. modlate notion If we are to prevent Jhe apreaJ of dlsense and the Impairment of the healtn W the community, .,,,. CHARLES J. RHOADS. Philadelphia, January 19, 1915. NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE To the Editor ot the Evening Ledger: Sir While we sit In Innocuous desuetude, .. . i. ...t.i. iH...jniuv nt thA nnsalblllty PI UnU JUUIt Willi iiiWBm...., -"- r ..!' wnr being waged upon us, we are PrJ'", the way for any nation to attack ui QMM might care to at this particular time. W-1 we are making protests and feeble PWml";iI othor nations are making aemanoa mm - T.tun. .. ... .hlnnlni- ntlF VRTY life, OB1 1 IVIIUU W "o BIHl'K-O t.,,.1, Mil1 food supplies, out of the country, which "'; being controlled by the trusts, we awoWI ....... i,.. -n thn, nrtinrH before the wiaww Is over we will be paying 10 cents a loaf W bread. If not more, and 2 a bag ; for wheat fl For wnaif -jriouvo m u..ou - - - ,ti Is exacting tribute and has been '" tor iw years or "',"'? .?".," ,VV. -Oltll wheh inspirea x-ainc. '- r,.V pauieli me liberty or give me deatht" and a o cawtji me ,HDeriyor h. .- ?-"". -- - ,. era that famous remarK, "ye "" " defense, but not a cent for tribute. " "mSX "rr.nV for tribuS5 mi this country ..way.? act as tho "catspa" m this country ar another nation? FRANCIS G. DA1LBT. ' Camden. January 19. COUNCILS' BREACH OFFArni To me Conor vi .uv- "-- . jijj.,1 Sir If all the people of the city, In ilrm. otheMhan the older part of Ihedfrg HV...IJ.I.I. irinhfnwn. lower Kensington, ?"-; i'sa avenue, miu n - -.-.. ---- ,. eMii knew the terribly Immoral "?M,n""ltArLffi dltlons exl.tlng there they MWrm i th.n.ioivm. Althoueh the sanitary fTS dltions are almaceful. the Immorality U ana ciaim i ut Uvu-,,-. "i , com easily remedied things to degrade our com munity. Are they human . h . makers who refuse to even listen to W . w nixed cry of the nine ooy ."., . lives may bs wrecked and whose f?W JPWTVI tost through the Jmmorat m "? , ... in ihi..h thev mow upT We (r?BTt; n the city) are our brothers' hyHI responsible to God for the "1.rint v!M and the poor. Many of e Phlldren la w dirty districts will become bad men. ww have been saved If they had been J"" ' - a dean atmojphers. Nine out oi wi !L'Ml sons who are dirty you will nnd -"gn (although .very lmmors4iPsr.on I. not awr crlng toho men whom Br cil for the purpose of making- laws r jm welfare and uplifting of our citizen gjKg and future! Do they bava to stand oy aw v Ql ueurauauun , -" " will not help themT ... ,ol, Connelly gives m view , '"n ieiati low suit Who road the people wait rWj months for things. which they hitl "."K .'nothing for t wefareet 'hTpe whom hs LZ Uct WW Oet rid of him and wt jrtU our high-speed Uanlt. You will fin I tnw to the new future. h wilt bs putting r ohjUsW we supposed to toady and b of hlrn .for ws want, or If he supposed to do as th ! command? ...noji, MICHAEL F RW1& MBtlaflslpWa, Janusry . - I fit