te
Vittnttig gg9jer
rUDLtC LEDGER COMPANY
emus it. k cutvriB. ftits.
John C. Mafllrt, Traa-mrart Charles It Ludlntton,
yhllln fcclllna. John P. Wllllama, Directors.
, EDtTOnlAtiCOAnDj
Cuts It. It. Cditib, Chairman.
frir.tritAt.tit.. ..... ... Kiecutlte Blltar
JOttl tf MAHT1K. .... . . .General nmlneas Minanr
PaUlahtA ttally t rt)Uio I.Etxiri tlulMIr,,
IriJependtnce Square, Philadelphia
r t, Avm7Kll ucTBAT.. ,,.,,.. , uroaa ana ,ncRinui mrrviw
IV Atlrt fTtr Prrkt.UtiHM tlulldlnr
Ns Toatt , ITO-A. Uttroitollten Tower
CttXbAtiA. ........ 81T Ham lmutnc Dulldtnr
Set Us."( WW. k 8 Waterloo Place, rail Mall, 0. W.
ft , NEWS BUREAUS i
JfAniuscitft Bcaais ..The Patriot Ttullillnr
WAtmnaTDK IlniBiK ,,.,,,,,...,.. Th Pitt JlulMlnr
Nntr Toitx llcnitl,... ...The Tim' a rtullctlnr
t'cutlN Iinmito .,. .. ........ ..00 Frte1r.i:hitre
Anix)i iiDiug. .,..2 pn Mall Eat, 8 w,
t'itu Bcaiuu. ...33 nut Louis la Grand
BUD3CIUPTtONTEnM
Sir carrier, ltT Ontr, elx cnf . Br malU poatpald
uttlde of Philadelphia, incept where forelan peatat;
la required, Dult oili, ona month. twenty-flvacental
is fterlntfftna barabla In advance
maLUSOOOWAtNUT KEYSTONE, MAIN 8000
BT Atfrent ell tommvnlcatiant to Kvtnlnp
Lttgtr, littvnttne Bquar, FMtaitlphta.
. . .I i in. 1 1 i 1 1 i , 1
MTtntB it tii rittUDrxrim roiTorr tea is becob
er.im Matt- uxrtrjt.
MIIIJIIEU'IIIA, MOWnAV. FF.linUAHV 1, 1915
Take ttock of yourself now and then. It
may teaeh you. why your friend
arc dropping off.
Duty of the City to the Unemployed
SEVERAL hundred men will ba put to
work, as soon as tho relocation of tho
sowers to make way for tho subway begins.
This sort of help for tho unemployed Is tho
bCBt possible. It put food In tho mouths of
tho hungry and clothlnpr on tho bnckB of tho
shivering and deprives no man and no
woman of that self-respoct which Is tho most
Voluablo asset of ovcry solvent citizen. Tho
surest way to pauperize a man Ib to exhaust
his reserve supply of this asset.
Now, if $500,000 spent In preparation for tho
now subways will relievo bo many men and
glvo comfort to so many families, what will
J40,000,000 expended on tho subways them
selves do? Any boy In tho grammar grndes
of the publlo schools can answer this slmplo
question. In the March election on subway
construction is wrapped up tho relief of thou
sands of unemployed right hero In Philadel
phia. It work on tho new rapid transit sys
tem can begin this spring. Instead of somo
time next year, a whole year of narrow ra
tions and possible starvation Is avoided.
But tho benefit of subway construction
would not be exhausted by tho employment
of workmen here. Tho manufacture of tho
tfcel that will bo needed will give work to
idlo steel mills. The cement and tho timber
i . . .. .....1 nil V.n vnrtr
, una ino motors ana me cars aim iui i.iu
material and finished product that will do re
quired before trains can be run will bo repre
sented by living wages and a full pay on
velopo avery Saturday night to workmen In a
score of different Industries In various parts
of the country.
Even If present Inadequate transit facili
ties wera not a compelling cause for begin
ning tho work at tho earliest possible mo
ment, the reason which lies in the benefit
that would follow tho expenditure of two
score of million dollars In these days of
slowly recovering business confidence would
alone bo enough to Justify Instant action by
Councils In ordering a March election.
Blnck-is-wliitc Econony
CHAIRMAN McCOMBS, who Is about to
sound the tocsin and bring together "de
acrving Democrats" for a feast of Jubilation,
does not miss tho mark very far when ho
declares that the people are economizing and
expect tha Government to do likewise.
But phoqtlng frugality and voting extrava
gance Is not tho kind of economy tho country
Is after. It wants tho real thing, not a fake
substitute. To take thirty millions out of the
Treasury for Investment in steamship lines,
which It is deliberately planned shall bo un
profitable, Is a sort of black-is-whlto
economy.
Mr. McCombs should recollect that only a
- minority of the people are fools and a ma
jority will bo required to elect the next
President, i
What German Submarines Can Do
ADMIRAL VON TIRPITZ knew what ho
jCJLwas talking about when, ho said that It
tho British navy attempted any raid on tho
German coast it would have to reckon with
the submarines. Tho German submarines
showed what they could do a while ago when
they sank a British warship in tho North
Seal but on Saturday they startled tho Brit
ish and astonished naval experts of all na
tions by appearing in tho Irish Sea off Fleet
wood, S3 miles north of Liverpool, and sink
ing three British merchant vessels. The sub
marines rose to the surface, hailed the crews
Of the vessels, gave them time to leave in tho
lifeboats, and then blew up the ships.
This feat was accomplished 800 miles, by
tho shortest route, from tho nearest German
hflBa n.a MiiVimfir1nj hnri tn stall rlnwn thn
g, r"" r ." . -
North fcsea, tnrougn tno strau oi Dover ana
the English Channel, out into the Atlantic,
and then up St. George's Channel into the
Irish Bea. On tho way to their work of de
struction In tha Irish Bea they sank another
British ship off Havre.
The development of tho underwater war
ship that can operate so far from its base and
4cc$p detection at will has given to the Ger
man navy a- weapon the ffeetlveness of
which it is not possible to overestimate. Mer
chant shipping is powerless before It, and
warship cannot guard successfully against
tt attacks. The Zeppelins may terrorize the
"53St"?:itea, hut the submarines do the work
p-JoJ destruction at sea, and menace the naval
ESj, gaprejuacy oi im oruuii ua tt nun nui uwn
k. 4tsAj.t?i(i hAfdra alnca tha war hetrfln.
,,,. '
1 ' 7
Philadelphia Wants a Wilson Elm
TIJSJ Prt'ldeRt W0.B deeply moved last year
by the privilege ot participating in the na
tional Fourth of July celebration here, and he
wit) ctrtalnlr be impressed by the weight of
Ws obligation to his country when he is
asked, to come hero in the spring to address
tbeut 4W3 aliens who will secure their final
pHizenahlp papers within a few weeks.
The opportunity to tails to so large a amn
fear at mea who will soon cast their first vote
tat a IrM land would appeal to every patriotic
But St must appeal with lire-
,Ie sirongth to a, man who has given his
Ht to feaehJntT others tha art and science ot
StsMtfe n4 the obligations of cKlsenabip. The
ltoieilmt U expected to accept the invitation
vjtltsut the slightest hesitation.
And while be Is tire the opportunity can
t jlv.srt to hi in to assist 1r the restoration
i.f 3i.4treadi.ce Square to 1U aaatMt beauty,
v.:w lr.:-s titers ax .getting ntf, PM?tf
. Tttifsr m Kwfc, tfttjsMay iwt sb 44
v. mm- of isw b ana wf
EVEKIKC? CBX)aElt-.IHIUDT31IPHra, MONDAY, FBTTABY 3?. 3.D1S:
butting down those hopelessly decayed. Thero
should be A presidential elm in tho Squrtro,
planted by tho first President who cvor par
ticipated In tho national celebration of tho
Fourth in Independence Hall. Arrangements
can easily ho mado to combine tho observ
ance of Arbor Day by tho planting of an olm
by Mr. Wilson with tho induction Into Ameri
can citizenship of 4000 men by planting In
their minds a proper respect for tho priv
ilege and obligation of American sovereigns.
Bo Americans First
IT IS remarkable that any association of
American cltlzons should organlzo a na
tional movement "to ro-cstabllsh genuino
Amorlcan neutrality" and mako their baslo
demand tho adoption by tho United Statcf
of a policy which would at once put tho
nation squarely In an unneutral position.
Thcro aro millions of good American citi
zens whoso sympathies In tho great war aro
with tho Fathorlantl. If Germany controlled
tho seas and wero ablo to glvo safo conduct
to ships loaded with munitions of war for
tho Kaiser's troops, these citizens would re
sent any attempt to closo tho American mar
ket. They would bo right in so doing. It Is
not for a neutral to mako Its policy nt tho
changing fortunes of war, according to Its
sympathies. It must follow precedent nnd
International law.
It Is oven moro unfortunato that nn or
ganization should bo foimod to lntroduco Into
our politics tho animosities of forolgn na
tions, or to plodgo candidates to a courso
favorable to this foreign Powor or that.
Su6h a scheme Is freighted with peril for tho
United States, and with moro peril for tho
men willing to embark on so hazardous nn
enterprise. Tho war may bo over boforo
another oloctlon of importance takes placo In
this country, and It will bo fortunato If It Is,
for when our forolgn policy and our Inter
pretation ot International law become parti
san questions, to bo determined by popular
voto, then crisis will pile on crisis and our
days of peace bo numbered.
Tho way to ba neutral Is to bo neutral,
which means to glvo tho advantages of our
open markets to whatevor nations wish and
are able to take them.
Smug Apologists Instead of Leaders
FORTY thousand men yesterday fought
their way through snow and rain and
slush to tha tabernacle. Almost unanimously
theso 40,000 thundered their approval ot
the evangelist's bludgeon blows for decency.
Those two great audiences wero a shamo
and a humiliation to smug men of Philadel
phia, for they showed In tho most convinc
ing way that thoro was In them a thirst for
better things and they were ready, under mili
tant leadership, to tear Into shreds tho whole
fabrlo of political corruption, or any other
kind of organized corruption existing In this
city. Yes, a. humiliation to smug men of Phil
adelphia who might, If thoy had wished long
ngo, havo driven Into their holes tho wholo
cotorlo of plunderers who havo waxed fat
by pillaging the municipality.
Thero were 40,000 men hungry for good
leadership, such as smug gentlemen might
have given. Who aro theso gentlemen? Their
names were printed In boldface typo lost
fall. They will havo a chance again to bo
champions for honest government or apolo
gists for dishonest government in tho ap
proaching munlclpaf campaign. And in that
campaign tho 40,000 of yesterday will vote.
An Innocent Victim of Fame
FAME and youth have been thrust upon
the White Houso baby together at an age
when he Is too young and too weak to resist
either. His youth Is a concomitant of Ills
entry upon the stago of life. But his fame
Is due to the accident of his parcntago and
tho place of his birth. It has compelled him,
at tho tender and defenseless ago of two
weeks, to submit to the unsmpathetlc gaze
of the photographer, who after telling him
to look pleasant, graciously permitted him
to resume his natural expression. And the
photograph") of tho tender thing have been
spread broadcast for the satisfaction of the
curiosity ot those anxious to know what a
President's grandson looks like.
Tho Infant could havo told them in ad
vanco that a baby Is only a baby unless it
la your very own. In such a case it becomes
something too precious for words, as every
mother knows. Bo tho prematurely famous
child in Washington may be pardoned if he
fails to understand why grandmothers, and
just mothers, and would-be mothers are so
anxious to look at his little round face with
Its blinking eyes, its button of a nose and
its triangular mouth with the dimple at one
corner.
The attention that tho youngster will ap
preciate most of all that ho lias received Is,
doubtless, the invitation to Join the Young
Men's Christian Association, j;xtended by the
newsboy who delivers tho papers to tho
President, for tho smaller a boy Is the more
delight he finds in being called a man.
There are people who get all they can and
can all they get, says "Billy" Sunday, and
not all ot them are ward politicians.
George Wharton Pepper qualified as an
epigrammatist when he said that "It is a
perilous thing to serve schemes instead ot
souls."
Chairman McCombs, of the Democratic
National Committee, is going ahead with his
plans for 1918 on the assumption that Barkis
is wlllln'.
Unless they exercise great care those gen
tlemen who are trying to make a political
Issue of American neutrality will never know
what hit them.
They may have voted, sheep in Colorado,
but that is not so disgraceful as it is for
men to vote like sheep, as they haye done for
years in Philadelphia.
A diamond cutter could make a brilliant
gem from a lump of putty as easily as the
Demooratlo Senatorial caucus pan make a
perfect measure put of the ship purchase bill.
The guards demonstrated that they could
save the Liberty Bell in less than a minute it
Independence Hall should get on fire, but
they, have not been, trained to caye it from
failing apart on a transcontinental Journey,
If the tax on oleomargarine were lowered
so that It would not be worth while trying to
cheat the Internal revenue collector the poor
who have to us it would be banefiUd and no
eaa would suffer. The tax of 19. cent a pound
U Ity by the Coreifet tft-Alie table of
hs "try i It la JUftJuftiS&M h tfeGr
TEA1UNG WHITE RAGS
TO SAVE SOLDIERS
The Big Neutral Enterprise of Sending
Bandages to tho Hospitals of War
Btrickon Europe Tho Law of Help
Put Into Practice.
By VANCE THOMPSON
I KNOW now what Ruskln meant when ho
said "tho hlghost and first law of tho unl
verso" was tho Law of Help. I havo scon
that law In operation.
No. 41 West 38th stroet, Now York-It Is
not far from Fifth avenuo. You wilt see In
tho shop window a great black and whlto
sign which reads:
"SURGICAL DRESSINGS COMMITTED."
And through tho window you will get a
gllmpso of n long counter at which many
women stand hour after hour folding up
pieces of whlto cloth, That Is all you can seo
from without and It has an air of mystery.
If you nro a practical minded person you
will go In nnd nsk what It Is all about. Then
you will learn theso things:
Tho Surgical Dressings Commltteo In an
outgrowth a towering growth now of Miss
Anne Morgan's Vacation War Rollof Work.
It hegnn early In November, when the ro
ports from our Amcrlcnn hospitals In Franco
began to como In. What was wantod most
over thcro was a supply of properly steril
ized bandages. In that sort of thing we aro
far ahead of all tho Continental nations and
oven of England, where antiseptic sclcnco
had its birth. In tho Amorlcan Hospital In
Paris, In tho hundreds upon hundreds of
hospitals that havo boon created everywhere
In Franco, thero was n domand for what aro
technically called "dressings" scientifically
folded pads of linen, muslin, cotton; for
bandages of all shapes nnd sires, for frnc
turo pillows and absorptivo pads, for flannel
bindings and all tho other cloths wherewith
wounds aro dressed.
So tho commltteo wan formed, with Mrs.
Mary Hatch Wlllard as chairman and Miss
Carlta Spencer as secretary. They raided
their own linen closets and tho linen rooms
of their friends. J. B. Corbln, a kindly man,
who had already taken degrees In tho Law
of Help, gavo them rent frco tho huge floor
In West 38th stroet nnd tho collars beneath.
A first lot of rags was cut and folded. Tho
Watets Chemical Laboratory sterilized tho
packages; of courso, In a fine gratuitous
way. And November 15 tho first shipment
went to tho American Hospital In Paris.
That was tho beginning.
Many Women Volunteer
Dr. Joseph Blako, In chargo over thero,
cabled for moro. In addition ho sont ovor
ono ot his associates, Dr. J. Peter Hoguct,
to act as consultant surgeon for tho com
mittee. Doctor Hoguet knows, of course,
exactly what Is wanted, both in tho ward
room nnd In tho operating loom. And now
tho work "marches," as they Bay In France,
with mllltnry precision. Many women volun
teered to help a scorce, two score. Should I
print a complete lis' It would look as though
I had torn a pago or two from the society
bluo book.
Then a Mcro Man Helped
When things have to bo nmdo possible
thero I& always a Man. Mr. del Grolla, at
tracted by tho sign, went In ono day and thoy
put him to work. In a mauvo colored silk
shirt and overalls you may seo him any day
nailing up boxes, building tables and cup
bonrds, hauling goods. Ho Is, they say, an
efficient exponent of the Law of Help!
Tho great difficulty in tho beginning as it
is today was to get enough linen. Mr. Wll
lard, In his motorcar, was sent out to raid
Now England. Ho had adventures, I assure
jou, but they havo no placo In this relation
of plain facts. Tho women of New England
listened to him and opened their linen rooms.
They filled his motorcar. They filled tho
farm wagons. Linen that had lain a hun
dred years In lavender "grandmamma's
bridal sheets," In ono Instance wero given
to stanch tho wounds of strangers 3000 miles
away.
And tho Ihlng grew. It grow amazingly.
Thcro aro today "5 "sections" contributing
to tho work. They nro scattered all over tho
country In Philadelphia, In Pittsburgh, ns
far west as Kansas City and as far south an
Florida. Under competent local surgeons tho
"sections" mako tho dressings and forward
thorn to Now York, whero they aro storlllzod,
repacked and sent on to tho clearing houso in
Purls.
How many do you think they havo sent?
120,000 Dressings
Since November 15, tho dato of tho first
shipment, 120,000 sterilized dressings, pads,
pillows, bandages and all tho rest, arranged
in orderly wardroom kits or operating kits.
It's a fair record, eh? Most ot them havo
gono to Franco, because that Is whero tho
demand camo from, Ono lot was sent to
Siberia and another to Budapest But that
is chance, Tho Law of Help knows no fron
tiers. Its warrant runs across tho world of
war. And tho commltteo (here Is tho point)
will send these kits to any hoipltal, in any
country, If a properly authenticated request
Is made. Notably they are glad to send them
to the small hospitals which havo been ex
temporized all over Europe In theso dlro
days.
Everything is donated, Nothing Is bought.
Tho cloth, the rent, the letter paper, tho
stamps, the pretty stenographer, tho pack
ing cases, are all free gifts. Tho express
Vans cart the goods for nothing; the steam
ships carry them, free; in Havre Miss Anne
Morgan's agents tako them from the dock
nnd rush them to the hospitals all free. So,
it you will send in your old sheets and pillow
cases, your tablecloths and undergarments
all your "white goods," as they say in tha
trade they will be made Into dressings and
dispatched (mark you I) to any authentic
hospital In any country you name; and the
gift goes free. The kits have been sent to
France heretpfore because In. tho Invaded
countries the need la direst and most imme
diate; but you may Bond your sifts where
your sympathy wills, It U a neutral work.
Jobs for the Unemployed
How fast it has grown In New York alono
you may gather from the fact that a second
loft has been taken at No. 481 Lafayette
place. And here the Law of Help takes a
wider extension. The Church Co-operative
Association, which is helping the unem
ployed, has sent 200 workless men to aid in
the work of making bandages and dressings,
It pays each man CO cents a day and ho is
kept at work until he can find, employment
at his own trade. The Grace Church, Settle
ment Is paying as many more unemployed
men nnd women and keeping them, busy at
this work
Yqu see it Is helping both ways. It U aid
ing the ghastly -Ws "dring" the
.wounded. ovewwa-J. U sMssvUtlng In a
mcasuro tho poverty of workless men and
women nt home.
And MIs3 Spencor emerges from a whirl
wind of work to Bay: "If tho women will
only clear out their linen closets nnd send
us nil their old linen nnd go to tho shops
nnd buy now llnon nnd things It will bo
good for trade, loo. 1
White Goods and Fingers
"What is needed most?" you ask.
"Whlto goods and fingers," says Miss Spen
cer with epigrammatic curtness. "Wo want
nil tho linen, cotton, muslin wo can get. It
doesn't mattor what tho stuff la furnlturo
covers or- anything. What Is not fit for
bandages or pad can bo shredded up to
stuff fracture pillows with. Above all wo
want old blankets for flannel binders, you
know. And wo want automobiles. If thoso
who want to help and cannot glvo their own
tlmo and labor will send their automobiles
for an hour or two a day they will bo doing
splendid service. And then volunteers! Wo
need many, many moro fingers and hands
and brains. Thcro Is so much to do, and
every hour tho work grows. You soo wo do
not nsk for money. What wo want Is cloth
and fingers and tho neod is very, very
great."
The women's clubs and tho church socie
ties aro doing a great deal in tho way of col
lecting old linen and cotton, and tho "sec
tions" nro springing up all over tho country,
hut tho cry from abroad Is tragically loud
these days.
Civoa Petticoat
My dear girl, tear up your petticoat and
save a soldier's life!
I watched Mrs. Bcardesley packing up kits
of flat dressings from 2x2 to 10x10 In sots of
six. A smiling woman, eroct nnd young, I
did not wonder greatly that sho had stood
all day at tho long tablo in tho Hnty loft.
Then sho said: "I can hardly realize that I
am standing horo doing this work. It seems
like part of another llfo. For in our Civil
War I stood at a table. Just so, in my old
homo down South, helping my mother mako
lint and bandages for our wounded boys."
Then sho spoko of tho rough appliances of
thoso days, tho unsterlllzcd dressings, tho
crude horror of tho rudo hospitals whero
wounded man died of poisoned wounds. And
better than any ono thero better than any
ono of us who had lookod in tho faco of tho
world war Bho understood tho splendid use
fulness of tho work sho was doing as, one by
one, she piled up tho clean, poisonous whlto
rags.
It is good work; it Is many-sided and
reaches far; It Is, I think, the best work
that neutral hands can do and hands are
wanted thcro.
German War Songs
From tha Emllih Havlatr.
This Intellectual sentimentalist!, which the
JKal&er found Is to easy to play upon. Is re
vealed in the grandeur of their martial songs
and the reverence with which they sing them.
"Die Wacht am Rheln," "Zwel Grenadiers,"
"Deutschland ueber Allea," "Hell Dlr im Bleg
eskranz" these are no ordinary aongi of
patriotism. They are pregnant with old Ger
man thought and tradition. Like the melody
Of the Lorelei, they reflect the deep root ot
German romance, of German thwarted loves
and ambitions; they are the living voice of the
qld Uothlo cathedrals. No country In the world
has such cherished traditions as tha Germans.
There Is a quality In their muslo which seems
to spring out of mamoriea of the soil, ot the
caztlea, of tho Father Rheln. The students at
the universities meet and drink precisely as
their ancestors did In Luther's time. Lore, sen
timent, tradition, antiquity these are a national
cult, visible In the national respect for learning
and research. It is no exaggeration to say that
the Germans are still steeped in medieval
thought and habit the proud and conscious
"barbarians" ot .Europe. So in the young Em
peror they saw nothing untoward or artificial.
He seamed to Germans to stand at their head
as the vary "go!V of their genius, the incor
porate figure of the true German valor, armed
cap-a-ple like some hven-sent emissary of
Wotan to bring deliverance to his people.
The Island of Hong-Kong.
From tha New Orlaass States.
Hong-Kong la a small Island, containing n
square miles, lying to the northeast of the
estuary ot the Pearl River and SO miles from
Canton. The new territory, the Kowlooa ex
tension, contains JW square miles The popular
ton of Uouj-Kaug aoti ttie new territory an.
fcrextreate M9.W8. ant the European pMl
Um 4o at exceed JiOSO, ot whom WCS ere
seUtwta
"OW-OO-OOt" M
FEBRUARY, A MONTH OF BENEFICENCE
It Has Had an Unfortunate History, But Its Interesting Associations
and Gifts to Mankind Raise
Distinction in
"A little month." Hamlet,
0
,F ALL llttlo months Fobruury Is tho
littlest. No wonder. In tho making of
tho Calendar, February took most of tho
hard knocks. No wondor, lndocd, that It Is
n dwarfed, stunted, sawed-oft month. Ono
might call it vacillating, if its vacillations
had not becomo rogular. February, however,
neod not bo looked down upon, for It has
lUgher distinctions than Its diminutive pro
portions and that mystery which It presents
to tho youngster whoso birthday happens on
tho 20th. Tho Joke, too, of vanished birth
days Is unimportant.
Onco thcro was no February, not even In
tho Roman calendar, from which wo derlvo
our own. Romulus never thought of It. Tho
omission was corrected by his successor In
tho Kingship, Numa Pomplllus, who decided
that 10 months wero not enough and accord
ingly started off tho year with January, relo
gatlng February to last place. Thrco centu
ries latci' In 462 B. C. tho decemvirs moved
February up to second position. When It
was found that tho calendar was still out of
Joint, February was selected as tho goat to
bo operated on and an Intercalary month
was Inserted every second year between tho
23d and tho 24th day. J. Caesar abolished
that nulsauco and assigned 29 days to Feb
ruary 30 days ovory fourth year but Aug
ustus kicked because his month was shorter
than July. So Julius took a day from Feb
ruary and gave It to August.
The Month of Purification
Numa gavo tho month tho namo of Fcb
ruarlus, which comes from tho Latin word,
fobruore, to purify. It Is tho month of puri
fication. In Roman times It had that char
acter, and in tho calendar of tho holy days
of- tho Christian church. Candlemas Is tho
festival of tho Purification of tho Virgin.
Lent begins In February.
Our English ancestors designated tho
snowdrop as tho purification flower, partly
becauso of Its whiteness and partly because
it blossomed about tho tlmo of Candlemas.
In Uko manner, by tho way, they designated
tho crocus to St. Valentino, as It appeared
near tho day set apart In honor of that friend
ot Cupid,
Februa was a Roman festival ,of general
expiation and lustration. On tho Ides ot
February, the 13th, tho Lupercalla were held.
Originally the rites wero celebrated In honor
of Lupercus, who was tho guardian deity of
shepherds and kept the wolves away. They
wero associated, too, with tho tradition of
tho shepherd who suckled the twins Romulus
and Bemus In n cave nt tho foot of Mount
Aventlno; but the Lupercalla of later times
boro no relation to the Bomulus legend. The
object of tho festival was, by purification
and sacrifice, to securo tho frultfulness of
tho land, tho Increase of the flocks and the
prosperity of the whola people.
"On the Lupercal"
On this occasion, you know, the common
era had coma out "to see Caesar and to re
joice In his triumph," and when Antony, on
that fateful Idea of March, had secured the
ears of "friends, Itomans, countrymen," ha
reminded them thus:
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown.
Which he did thrice refuse?
With such beneficent, religious and his
torical associations as February has accu
mulated, it certainly is not the least among
the dozen months.
Poets may sing of the "the leafy month of
Juno" and 'the merry month of May" but on
old book gives this humanly Interesting de
pcrlptipn. The Ited of tfcjeSApplo
"February comes In like a sturdy country
maiden, with a tinge of the red, hard winter
applo on her healthy cheek, and as she
strives against the wind, wraps her russet
colored cloak well about her, while with
bent head, be keeps throwing back the long
hair that blown about her face, and though
at tlmw half Winded by tu a!U; and iw,
till cotttlwiea b.r course cowaswujiy."
Tfcoui fcljwacw's yeSwwy may aav S
It to a Position ot Proud
the Calendar
somowhat different from ours, It Is novortha
less an engaging picture that ho gives: S
Then camo old Fcbruaiy, sitting
In an old wagon, for he could not ride,
Drawn bv two fishes for tho season fitting.
Which through the flood before did softly slide
And swim away: vet hud ho by his side M
Ills plough and harness fit to till tho groundjj
Ana tools to prune tno troes, uororo me priat
Of hasting primo did mako them bourgeon wide
It is truo that tho poets havo somewhat
slighted this courageous month, but thelg
noglcct Is compensated for by tho praise ot
winter, which you shall find In ono of Low
ell's most exhilarating essays and In a chap;
tor of "Walden.' Which reminds you th
somo of tho wlntor poets, even If thoy dill
not mention February by name, are appro
prlato reading for tho month that begins to;
day.
Groundhog Day Tomorrow
How much of tho winter Is left you will
know tomorrow. Tho groundhog, Unown-tg
tho Now Englander ns tho woodchuck, wfll
como out of his liolo, and If ho caBtsIS
shadow, a return of wintry weather ran'
ln evnpntn.1 TiViIll U'Bnlhor tnmnimw I
a good omon. Tho superstition la not conj
nnoa to mis country. Germany s barometer.
It tlif linilirnr TTrt nAnnn nnr f IiIr hnln oil
Candlemas Day, and when ho finds snogi
walks abroad, but If ho finds tho sun shining
ho withdraws Into his house. A German!
proverb runs thus: "Tho shepherd woull
rather seo tho wolf enter hli stablo oil
1
Candlemas than tho sun."
frnilllHhnr T1nr nnlna Inln Innlf-nlflMinri
bcsldo tho festival of St. Valentino, whlcffl
somo pessimists think has so degcneraiej
that it no longer dosorves tho namo ot fesl
3 '3
val. Howovor that may bo, tho observance
of tho occasion Is not what it was 200 anjjl
sou years ago. A writer of tho 18th century
describes tho principal ceremonial as lot
lows! ' T
"The Lottery of Love"
"On tho eve of St. Valentino's Day thi
young folks of England and Scotland, by
vory ancient custom, celobrate a llttlo festl
vol, An equal, number of maids and bacheJB
lora gee logoinor; each writes their true oi
somo feigned namo upon separate bll'e'5
which they roll up, nnd draw by way of lots.
tho maids talcing tho mon's billots, and tfffl
men me mams'; so that each of tho youns
men lights upon a. girl that ho calls his val;
ontlne, and each of tho girls upon a manS
whom she calls hers. By this means eacjl
nas two valentines; but the man sticks faste;
to tho valontino that has fallen to him thai
to tho valontino to whom ho is fallen. Fon
tllnA llflVtni- tli,,M lt.l.7A.1 ,1.A n.n.nnn, Intsfl
bo many couples, tho valontlnoa glvo baU
nna treats to their mistresses, wear thei
bluets several days upon their bosoms
sleeves, and this little sport often ends i
love."
The history of St. Valentino's Day bfgal
away back with tho Lupercalla. The prl
cipai custom, at,tho very beginning, was
tho nature of a lottery,
Two Birthday Anniverearies '
February is so rich in days of peculiar I
terest and significance that it is hard io dad
justice.
February gavo us the savior of the Ito
to whom Lowell paid splendid tribute
The ktndly-earnest, brave, foreseeing maty "
Bagaolous, patient, dreading praise, not WUSS
""' n or our new soil, trie first Amen;
And this is what Will Carleton
"Washington Month":
FebruaryFebruary
How your moods and actions vary
Or to seek or shun I
Now a smile of sunlight lifting,
Now in chilly snownakea drifting,
Now with ioy shuttles creeping
Silver webs are spun.
Now with leaden torrents leaping,
Oceanword you run,
New with beUs you blithely Bin,
'Neath the stars or sun,
Now a blade of burdock bring
'& the eufPring one:
Maajf blessings rest above iou
?m oe day .! so we love 04
Qive U4 Wastoiiigttnv
XI t. 1
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