Evening public ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, February 02, 1915, Sports Final, Page 8, Image 8

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    IDVKNING t,&l)(&Ll VatLADHiLi-nlA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 10X5.
p
!TX
A"
Singer
PUBLIC LEDGER COiMrANY
CTftUS It K CUttTIS, rassiDSRT.
Jhn C Martin. Treasurer; Charles It. I.udiniton,
fMllp R Collln. ahn B. "Williams. Dlrtetors.
EDItontAL BOA11D1
Ciacs It K. CcstIs, Chairman.
K' It. TVliAtiteT Executive Editor
IdlUJcrMAhTW..
.General Business Mantfer
Published Jallr at FcsLto LtDOen HulMInt,
Independence Bquare, Philadelphia.
(jama Ctyrnit,. ..,,,,,,, .Broad and Chestnut Btreeta
Atmxtic Cm .Frew Union Building
Nstr Ton. ............. . .1TO-A, Metropolitan Tower
pmCuTO. 817 Homo Ineurance Building-
LoNfroN....,.,... S Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S. W.
NEWS DURE AUSS
T7intin Bnasic, .......... n,Th Patriot Butldlna-
VinlllsoTO.v HdbkaU. .......... . .Th Pose nulldlnr
;iit YriK nmnn. ....... ....... The Timet nulldlnr
KittN Jloacjn. ........ ... ..... ..no Frledrlchstrar-e
.oanow IlBHHAtJ... ........... 2 Pall Mall East. 8. W.
'inn licstitj .82 Hue Louis 1 Grand
sunscmrnoif TniiMS
$ Hr carrier. Ditr.T Oiur, six cents.
Br mall, poitpatd
Ittttld tt .Philadelphia, except whera foreign postage
B.nniuireu, UM11.T uni.T, oni momn, iTrenir.iiro cenini
ltT Oitr, on year, three dollars. All mall tub
'ICtlptlona payablt In advance.
Jf t i ii.
pax, sooo wAtmrr KETSTONE,MAiraooo
IW jLtdnts all communications to Bvtntng
Liilctr, Independent! Bnuart, Philadelphia.
r ' -. -. . 3
iKinutn at Tm rntununu ronornci la rcon-
etna unt, mitto.
I1 '
PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY, FEDnUAUY 3, 1918.
r ' ' a
(Tfte demand U greatest at the top; the supply
at the bottom U inexhaustible.
ptop Hiding the Light Under a Bnshcl
WHO Is responsible: If shippers within
1000 miles of Philadelphia are not
aware that they can save from IB to E5
cents a hundred pounds on freight from the
Paclflo coast by shipping' it through the
Panama Canal to this city by water instead
pf sending It by the all-rail route? Tho Corn
Exchange National Bank has absolved Itself
from responsibility by setting forth, In Its
official organ, tho specific rates on various
kinds of goods by both routes, and by calling
attention to the importance of gathering re
turn cargoes to make the voyage profitable
both ways for the ships engaged In tho trade.
Three great lines of railroad have ter
minals here. The development of tho traffic
from the Interior 'to this port will benefit
them. Just as the expansion of trade with
tho Pacific coast through the canal has
already provided new business for them.
They nro now carrying westward to points
In the Interior freight which they could not
havo touched If It had been sent overland.
Thero is no other port on the seaboard better
situated for transshipment of cargoes. And
no other city Is more deeply Interested In the
development of such trade. The port Is still
In Its Infancy, even though It Is the second
In the country already. When every com
mercial organization here devotes Itself to
setting forth the attractions of our water
front, 'and when overy business man dealing
wjth producers In the Interior exerts himself
to bring freight here and sets the example
by Insisting that his goods bo billed to Phil
adelphia instead of to New York, and when
the railroads co-opcrato with the other in
terests. It will bo possible for tho Corn Ex
change Bank to Issue another statement
showing the results of a concerted effort to
lend both coasts into the pleasant fields of
f prosperity through the gates of this harbor.
Wqrth While in Time of Stress
THERE 13 scarcely any woe to which man
Is heir that In the hour of his distress
does not lead him to turn to a woman. In
these tense days, when the terrors of war
. abroad and the suffering of the unemployed
nt home have united to tax the spirit of gen
erosity and test our charity to tho uttermost,
It Is, as usual, to tho women that the world
has looked.
They havo demonstrated in a thousand In
stances a capacity for organization and ad
ministration, executive ability, far-seeing
Judgment and marvelous initiative. They
have taken up tasks that strong men might
well have hesitated to accept and they have
achieved, in endless series, greater and
greater success.
They are doing today, under the most un
usual difficulties, the work of men, and they
are doing It Just as well as men ever did It.
A wqrld crisis has put them to the test and
they have met it splendidly. But they have
not enough intelligence to vote, It Is averred.
"What a. pity that Nature has fitted them for
everything but the ballot! At least the
women could be expected to show as good
Judgment in voting as do the men who per
sist In refusing to give them the chance.
The Mexican Killing Fest
VILLA, did not escape a violent death
when he was shot and stabbed. He
only postponed It Nothing but tho moqt
alert vigilance has preserved his life thus
far. If tho Carranzlstas do not get him,
' some one of his own followers will deal the
fatal blow.
Government in Mexico has degenerated
Into a killing fest. The life of no political
or military leader Is "worth 24 hours' pur
chase. Patriotism Is not even a name. Tho
rule Is, every man for himself and the devil
take the hindmost. And this is happening
-Jn tt fertile country, richly blessed of heavei
In natural resources, and amidst a popula
, tjon of humble peoplo who would like noth
ing better than to be left alone to earn their
living.
Perhaps, when a Just fate has overtaken
the false leaders ot a docile people, peace
may blossom in the wretched devastation
that Is being- now wrought by the rival
banditti.
Who Is the Typical American?
TRVIN B. COBB says that it is George M,
drcphan, and explains that he does not
forget the existence of either Theodore
jJtgpsevelt or Sitting Bull. But somo one
may ask who George Cohan Is, as Senator
iodgo wanted his son-in-law to explain to
1m -whether Connie Mack was a man or a
",;bipd of underwear. For their benefit it may
tm said that Cotlan is engaged In the trade
which Shakespeare made famous, and that
ht, hair written dramas beyond the power of
tht freat genius to create, and ha acted
tlHm in a way that would Have made the
ShpatfM? player thrc-w up hu hands Jn
If fer agrelne,TvUh;Mr gob&the Anxious
jrch4r after tha TjrpVwottld like to know
yfrt 18 rgrcUr as typically American. If it
financial euecewi. then Mr. Cohan la eli
BiW, Re has accumulated a large amount
ftt money, if we. may believe uia press agents,
That ii what made tbp latej Pierpient Morgan
dUiiBguisfced, John 73. Roef4Jnd An
dw lanKKte rJ rival nt the Smli actor
ijjiatlt in the accumulation pi cash; and
Vyert:4ur, a atstuwsmJid Western
pirn JW Wmwmm thaa Mr-
,$. AH
t T'-r
Htt
ThaMttaiaw
tS&B Wb- V
luieufttij
iBr
"MMsmjHgaij ;sLr
!
Hi I . ..
IfiiBIBg-i iT1afniii'fsWsHMiassBKn..W li'Tilii ' . ,.u.m.. , - . . i ,. J
wn regarded as a. great man, and the tfadl
tloh atlli survives thai ono A. Lincoln was)
oneo called typical of what this cduntry
could produce There aro told-fashionod per
sons so far behind the times that they would
object if wo should mention the author of
"Forty-five Minutes Prom Broadway" In the k
samo paragraph wllh clthor of these one
time distinguished Americans.
And thero are others Who would not dis
agree If wo should say that not Cohan but
Cobb Is the typical American. Can any ono
give a better answer to this burning ques
tion? Tell-Mcll to n Veto"
FOR months Councils lias nullified the hew
housing law by refusing to provide funds
wherewith to render it effective. This pro
ceduro has met with a stinging rebuke In
tho courts. A mandamus has been Issued to
compel Councils to comply with the statutes.
The Organization fears that its appeal to tho
higher courts will incot with failure. It has
no leg to stand on, for Its manikins, who
legislate for it instead of for the people, are
in open and deliberate defiance of tho law.
But they will not havo good housing. They
are determined to perpctuato the profitable
system of make-shift houses In which tho
poor are compelled to live. Thoy intend, if
they can, to prevent citizens from enjoying
the ordinary comforts to which they aro en
titled when they pay rent. They base their
obstinacy on n muddlo of sophistry, declaring
that the rules and regulations demanded by
the State would be confiscatory, and some
going so far na to maintain that tho poor
ought not to have bathtubs, would not know
what to do with them If they did havo them,
and on general principles should bo kept In
filth so long as possible.
To the end that they may give legal forco
to their position, they now propose to ask
tho Legislature of Pennsylvania to rescind
one of the best statutes ever enacted by that
body and substitute for It a toothless, mean
ingless law, which would have no other effect
than providing Jobs for numbers of hangers
on. They have the gall to go before tho
Legislature, while still in open defiance of
the law, nnd demand a new law. They de
liberately ask the Commonwealth to Bmcar
Itself with legislative dishonesty. They boast
that they control enough vote3 in Harrisburg
to do as they will and carry out their plan
for further plundering of the weak and
helpless.
It so happens, however, that Governor
Brumbaugh knows something of conditions
and feels upon him the burden of relief. He
Bensed this move before It happened. He
Issued, as it were, a warning when he took
the oath of office:
In this great industrial State It is our duty
to pay definite attention to the housing prob
lem. Every family should be housed in a
home that Is private, sanitary, safe and at
tainable at a reasonable rental. I urge your
attention to this Important problem. Wo
cannot breed good citizens In disgraceful
houses.
"We cannot breed good citizens In dis
graceful houses." The object of Councils'
moves In relation to the housing law Is to
perpetuate disgraceful houses. It is rushing
pell-mell to a veto.
Money Seeking a Job
POUR DOLLARS applied for overy dollar
Job that the Pennsylvania Railroad had
to give last week. Money la out of work
and Is seeking it at every point where there
Is any prospect of earning a living wage. The
city bond sale a few days ago demonstrated
that 4 per cent, untaxed securities could bo
Bold without any difficulty. The readiness of
$200,000,000 to Invest In Pennsylvania Rail
road 4 per cent bonds, although only J49,
000,000 worth was offered, Is stronger proof
that there Is money enough available for every
big Improvement which this city or any feas
ible enterprise in this city wishes to under
take. Money Is cheap and seeking work. Now
is the time for those with Jobs for It to take
advantage of the favorable conditions.
What the Groundhog Would Like to See
WHEN the groundhog comes out of his
hole today he will look upon a very dif
ferent world from that which met his gazo
twelve months ago. If he does not lose his
head in the whlrlof conflicting passions which
surround him. he will prove that he Is a
better animal than many two-legged citizens
who look with contempt upon his furry In
significance. The prospects are that he will gaze toward
the scene ot conflict with calm Imperturb
ability, declare his absolute neutrality, hope
for an early peace through the decisive vic
tory of the worthier contestant and then go
about his business. But he will not make
the mistake of demanding a patched-up
peace before any one is licked. The law of
the groundhog is the survival of the fittest.
Milton had the Senate filibuster in mind
when he wrote that they also serve who
make the others watt.
When a man is dissatisfied with his lot it
is usually because he wants something for
which he Is not willing to pay the price.
When one reflects that yesterday was Straw
Hat day In Ban Diego one Is Impressed with
the versatility of a country which can pro
vide all kinds of climate at the same time.
St Charles the Martyr has been dead a
gpod many years, but his memory Is kept
green In Philadelphia, If not anywhere else
In America.
Phlladelphlans are thrifty enough to prefer
the 3 and 4 per cent, interest paid by the
private savings banks to the 2 per cent, paid
at the Postofflce.
The "fierce oeunter charge" with which the
Canadian troops repulsed a German assault
was mild in cemparlaan with the charges
seen in the Phlladlph(a stores on bargain
flays.
' i m i" . .i .. i-
Many men who never gav? a thought to
international politics or to. the philosophy of
hlitory yntll the armies began to fight are
explaining tho causes of the war as if they
knew something about them.
The spectre of Hunger, the new ally ot
the Allies, has taken the field. The bakers
in Germany must cut down their baking to
thre-quarters the usual amejunt, and in
Austrift puly pr ct. q wHeat fiuur may
t mm) to wske bread. nrl"V. o-ts ur the
" iiVe
IS WAR .RECONCILABLE
WITH CHRISTIANITY?
If Waged in Behalf of Certain Legiti
mate Objects, Says .Rev. Dr. S. Parkca
Cadman, it Is the Righteous Course.
REPEATEDLY tho question has been
naked, Does the war In Europe reveal the
futility of Christianity? Or, Docs tho war
show tho impotonce of the Christian Church
to bring to pass the peaceable Ideals of, tho
Master? Thcso questions, In perhaps tho ma
jority of minds, can bo satisfactorily nn-i
swercd. Not God is1 on trial, but mens not
Christianity, but tho world. Nevertheless,
tho cataclysm beyond the soa has provoked
many expressions of doubt as to tho efficacy
of Chrisltanlty and tho power of tho Chris
tian Church to copo with tho conditions In
tho world Which mado this" bitter war pos
sible. Thero have been moro than expres
sions of doubt and pessimism, thero havo
been open attacks. A most remarkablo uttcr
nnco on tho relation betweon war and the
teachings ot Jesus is that of tho Rev. Dr. S,
Parkes Cadman, of Brooklyn. It deals with
tho subject positively, rather than nega
tively. Ho says:
"No spurious patriotism can thwart tho
fair dealing of God, nor can tho Christian
faith for a now heaven and a now earth
wherein dwolleth righteousness bo blighted,
by tho apocalypBo of hell which wo watch
with agonizing hearts In Europe today.
"Moreover, wo approach tho Now Testa
ment as tho classic of tho truth filled with
a grand instinct that defensive war, when
directed against unbcarablo tyranny or ruth
less Invasion of right and territory, 1b a na
tional act of nobility and sacrifice Thero aro
wars and wars, and no amount of argument
will convince a normal mind that tho Mncca
bees or William tho Silent or George Wash
ington or Havclock at Lucknow's Residency
wero rebels against tho dlvlno government,
usurpers of tho order of heaven's kingdom
here; nor that tho objects for which they
contended wero vllo and disreputable. I
maintain that Christianity, rightly under
stood, does not forbid active Intcrfcrenco In
behalf of causes moro precious than oven
llfo Itself.
When Moral Interests Arc Imperiled
It docs command us not to fear the armed
bully who can kill tho body, nnd after that
can do no more. It Incites us to a contempt
for physical danger when moral Interests are
gravely Imperiled. It exults In tho memory
of those heroes of peaco and of war who
counted not their lives dear unto them. It
threatens tho penalties of Heaven against
tho wicked trespassers who delight In blood
shed. And Its general tenor leaves no room
for reasonable doubt that unspeakable Ini
quities, such as human slavery, must bo
abolished at any hazard to peaco.
"Tho exhortation to love our enemies at
once suggests the query whether or riot we
sincerely regard them with genuine benevo
lence by allowing them to ride roughshod
over tho defenseless and tho poor. Since
when has! It conduced to any sort of better
ment that men should capitulate to the thug
and leave the vlrtuouB at his mercy7 The
destroyer Is not chastened by allowing him
anunchecked course. The spoiled and prodi
gal son Is not restored to decency and good
behavior by Indulging his drunken and dls
soluto practices. Tho criminal is not likely
to reform by being told that tho officer of the
law shall not resist his depredations.
The Cowardice of Non-resistance
"On tho other hand, such an unthinkable
acquiescence would increase the evils of tho
powers that prey and augment their own
wretchedness' and infamy. Love unlimited
by moral considerations betrays everything,
and not least, thoso on whom It sets its
maudlin desires. Society would crumble bo
neath tho pressure of the havoo wrought by
an attitude of non-resistance to evil; the
functions of civilized states would be paral
yzed. We can hate sin whllo wo lovo the
sinner; wo can strive for tho well being of
those who oppose us whllo we offer them a
sturdy repulse. But we cannot permit truth,
Justice and equity to be swallowed up in a
gulf of anarchy.
"Again, tho teachings of Jesus wero framed
In tho terms of Oriental thought; terms which
never anticipated tho literalism which has
been the curse of Biblical exegesis. Utter
ances rich In symbolism and Imagery, owing
their lmpresslvencss to the imagination
which clothed them, and addrcssod to the
ears of all generations, are robbed of their
essential meaning or distorted beyond recog
nition when tho worshiper of the letter ex
aggerates that at the expense of the spirit.
Blowing Up Civilization
"Jesus was the supreme Idealist, but He
also possessed an unequaled sanity. Ho
drove homo the loftiest truth In uncom
promising, vivid word pictures, devoid of
qualification, and making no pretense to
cover tho wholo range of possible contingen
cies. Ho also linked that truth with tho actual
breathing llfo of plain men and women, and
to such purpose that the common people
heard Him gladly. When He Instructs us
to turn tho other cheek to the smlter, wo re
member that He did not do this, but rebuked
the creature that smote Him. When He telld
us to go the second mllo with a ruffler who
has already commandeered the first we see
in that picturesque allusion Jhe reality that
no sacrifice Is too great to win a soul from
Its dark ways of hate. We know that we
must not allow envy and vengeance and mere
lust of reprisal to drag us down to their
level. But we do not apprehend that we
must stand by In sheepish docility while civ
ilization is being blown up,
"For the Master recognized war p this ex
tent, that Ho drew a parallel from the
strategies of a king who watched anxiously
the progress of an Invading army on his bor
ders. He commended tho centurion's" dis
cipline, and like His great servant, St. Paul,
He had a tender place in His heart for the
soldier, St. Peter carried a sword to the
scene of the treachery of Judas and used it
there. Jesus sternly rebuked him for his
rash act, because the Divine Sufferer chose
to win by V'Sher means than the sword,
That it was at His blddance is evident from
His own words In reference o the attending
legions of angels, who would have made a
short shrift of His persecutors" had He ln
voked their aid. But Ho knew that physical
violence reacts and that they who take to it
shall perish by Jt. as they aro perishing now,
and will continue to perish.
Peace, Falsely So Called
"However skilfully they prepare, however
vast the extent of their preparations', nations
which deify war are finally crushed beneath
the Juggernaut to which they have offered
their oblations. When the temple at Jeru
salem was being denied by the greedy pur
veyor who bought and sold, Jesw arpe in
moral might and majesty mul 4rev thm
out Toe ti.ru n-f s display' at utrgd
aT y f A 1
----- y r y 1
reverenco blazing from His eyes overwhelmed
thoso hucksters for gain.
"It Is not our favorlto rcmlnlscenco ot tho
Christ, but It has Its place, and meaning.
It shows us how awful goodness can bo. It
sanctioned tho ringing protests of all His
servants who have boldly stood athwart tho
path of tho plrato and challenged his policies.
Defensive war waged in behalf of legitimate
objects', such as the honor of woman and tho
freedom of man, Is a heaven of heavens
abovo tho desolation which tho tyrant and
tho bloodless sycophant miscall peace.
"It is infinitely moro moral and In har
mony with all wo can discover concerning
God's Intentions than even a tacit denial of
faith and freedom. Once more, we aro wise
to keep well In view tho significant fact that
whatever Jesus" said was Intended for tho
most advanced stages of human develop
ment. Yet so long as tho raco has not at
tained those stages wo must adapt tho prin
ciples of tho New Testament to tho exigen
cies of our times'. They are unintelligible
until tho family of man has attained a given
degree of spiritual perception. They arc in
capable of compjeto realization whllo largo
portions of the human raco revel In slaughter
and put their trust In armaments.
A Premature Millennium
"Slavery was never directly attacked In
tho New Testament. But onco the slave
knew that ho was also a man and a brother,
hla bonds wero doomed. Wherover tho New
Testament has been received, slavery has
been rejected. Wo grow Impatient with tho
slow movements of divine machinery, and
would fain precipitate a premature millen
nium. Such a fictitious state would end In
worse disaster than any wo now confront,
and tho Gospel does not favor the attempt.
"Already tho most persistent militants aro
clamoring at tho bar of Christianized publlo
opinion to be heard In their own defenso.
And kings and statesmen will have to reckon
with that opinion when this ruinous conflict
has ended ns they havo never reckoned with
It boforo. Its Indignation Is deep, Is Irre
sistible, Is divinely inspired. The Church of
God Id not so Inert and helpless as somo
would havo us bellove.
"The social order which has been top
heavy with feudalism and absorbed In hero
worship, and so morally stupid as to claim
for human dust, still dust, though robed In
tho meretricious pomp of obsolete regalia,
those titles and honors which belonged to
God alone, will pass away forever."
ON TALKING IN ELEVATORS
Some "Don'ts" for the "Book of Downtown
Etiquette."
From the Chicago Evening Poat.
WHEN tho "Book of Downtown Eti
quette" comes to bo written, we trust
that the first "don't" will be:
Don't speak aloud tho namo of an ac
quaintance when met in a crowded ele
vator. And the second rule should bo like unto It;
Don't discuss anything, not even tho
weather, In a crowded elevator.
For a crowded elevator is like a lecture
platform under Intensive conditions. It Is a
rostrum, around which a breathless audience
is gathered. Any word uttered catches In
stantly the wholo and eager attention of the
car, because usually the car has nothing else
to seize upon In order to pass the time of
ascent or descent
It is, thus, Just as it the word tossed across
to a friend were spoken loudly from a lecture
platform. It cannot go to. the friend's ear
alone. Other auditors aro crowded too
closely about.
In the same way the mere calling out ot a
friend's name before the tense audience in
the car has the effect of introducing to a,
lecture crowd a speaker who has nothing at
all to say. His would-be hearers fix their
eyes expectantly upon the personality thus
revealed to them and expect Jt to offer some
thing for their entertainment The failure to
do so seems to produce a sort of silent con
tempt. The whole performance is uncomfortable.
Which means that it is bad manners. "No
Talking Allowed"- would be an elevator s)gn
that many a harassed citizen would bless.
I I I I Mil I
On Parboiling f
Trom tha groporU Paiatta.
"To the Editor of the alette 8lr; Having
hoard you are. an authority on cooking, I write
to ask, would you advise parboiling a goose?
"B, D. C, 1003 Exchange,"
A woman who parboils a goose, a chicken, or
a turkey should be arrested and sent to a de
tention home. There If no surer way to make
good fowl taata Ilka basawood than to parboil
it; and no animal la o old that it should have, to
udure that foolUh treatment Pry plok, your
cooae, put mm or ner. u the case may be. in
(h oven so. ua yow bead and your bailing
spoap 4nA trust to Providence, mui yuu wtfl
b rttvwdsd- Parboiling U ow of Ifee etha
of a 4$wrat age.
GATHERING WEIGHT
PROPHET GROVER'S WHOLESALE OPTIMI
TT T 1. 1 T J T.nt;n. "n..t"TT f-' Ci,' .J : fn?
uu a u ivuugu uiiu iiuauj x luguusiitaiui, ojul xxt. au l vjnugj, uuu 1U jag
I
F THE dally weather reports that sift In
monotonous repetitions or provoko you be
cause of their reserved and cautious tono
cast them aside and study tho portents with
Prophet Grover, of Kansas City. This Mis
souri seer may not be able to specify Just
what hour of what day you will need your
goloshes and your bumbershoot, but ho does
como up beaming with a handful of smiling
and sunny months that should help us to jog
along pleasantly until New Resolution Day,
191C. '
Measuring the tendencies of certain old and
now planets that aro hesitating and one-stepping
about In tho solar syBtcm, according to
tho latest standardized dips and glides, ho
proclaimed that after January 19 the weather
for tho month should bo about normal, con
sisting of caol, cold and very cold spells, with
about tho average amount of rain or snow
In most localities.
Keeps Ilia Place in the Sun
Tho very cold spells have failed to ma
terialize for this particular region, though up
In Erie nnd northern Now York the prophecy
has held good. If Philadelphia complains of
unseasonable mildness, Grover can como
right back at us and say, Look at what hap
pened In Erlo and Conestoga, In the same
metcorologlcnl piano and subject to tho samo
sidereal Influences. "If something gets out
of whack In eight or ten .counties or so don't
hold It up to me," Grovof will say. "What's
eight or ten counties, anyhow, when a chap's
good enough to focus his forecast on your
whole blooming Union and Bpread that fore
cast to cover a full round year. Your Gov
ernment won't do It, and you spend oodles
of money on men who fritter away their time
adjusting tho apparatus of wind-motors and
triple-geared barometers. I've only got an
old second-hand telescope and a ten-foot
Bhelf of almanacs, tho latost astronomical
charts and tho bucket of common sense I
always keep beside my desk."
This will give you an Idea of tho whimsical
side of this Kansas City optimist. Ho Is what
you might call a rough prognosttcator, al
most the last of his Ilk to retain his place In
tho sun. Scientists rmllo Indulgently when
they read his forecasts, and then attempt to
explain why no one should pay any heed to
him. They don't explain why not, because
they state their case Jn language that no one
who Is not In their own little circle of acad
emicians can understand. If they could got
down to the phraseology of "Alice In Won
derland" nnd attack Grover with raw Anglo
Saxon roots, 'and verbs spiced with a few
slang Idioms of the day, it Is possible that
they might reduce him to a pulp and get us
all interested in the theory of'meteorologlcal
cross-currents. Pending that distant day it
will remain our pleasure to listen to the man
who sees silver linings from his humble
observatory on the bluffs of the Missouri
River.
Silver Linings for 1915
Grover sees ahead into a normal February,
with the worst part of the month from Feb
ruary 1 to ID. March will be warmer than
usual, and April will be warmer and drier
than usual, May will be about as usual, only
a little more so, followed by a cooler than
the average June, blessed with a sufficiency
of rain. July will match June in this re
spect, and August promises to behave itself
as an averago August should. September
will follow the example of August, but as
the leaves begin to fall we must prepare for
a cooler autumn. October, November and
December will bo cooler than their wont.
Lest the cynic be disposed to sneer at the
noncommittal form of Prophet Grover'a
prophesy, we bid him pause and read the
rainbow codicil to tha forecast;
The weather conditions for the year 1915
should cause the agricultural growth to be
enormous and result In larger crops than last
year, and be followed by enormous crops -In
the Southern Hemisphere from September. 191S
to March, 1916, '
Anybody Can Predict Evil
D. A, N. Grover, of Kansas City, may nQt
be in the same class as Mme. Thebes, of
Paris, aa a herald of cataclysms. He never
permits even the shadow of disaster to edge
Jts way between the pages of bis forecasts
Any halj-witted Mokl medicine man, can
predict evil, saya Grover. and it Is a symp
tom of feeble-mlndedness to da so- To con,,
suit the stars in their courses and read
auguries) good J, something that always;
dH4 JR&e&ey ut UigewjUy, nWj
$8rf. If prWt 1 imil g oi
Important Respect lie Far Outclasses Mme. Thebes, of Paris. J
you navo injurcu no ones reelings, DutiljH
predict good and the looked-for goodjoj:
carries a host of enemies bear down uppnln!
nnd demand your hide,
Years ago Grover predicted that thjut'i
Kansas City Union Station would vaffii:
somo flno morning by spontaneous comiS
tlon. Ho called It a. solid mass of disgnatEi
dlslntcgrants, which was a harder namtUu
It had over been called by Its b(t33
enemies. At 1 a. m. he had seen a newcosj
swish Its tall viciously over tho moldy tA23
and ho read this strange antic as a fc'Srl
symbol and let go his prediction. BuPtJjj
after year. Indeed, It was not until jftjra?
ber last that it was abandoned for a split.
... .. . ... -
am new aepot, ana wncn aoanfloned ftg
.... cm ... . ?
bustlon. In consequence of this fall-do5r!
urover rcceivca ions oi Dicier letters,
containing tho most venomous threats
possible to conceive.
Lay it on Thick ?
Explaining this littlo circumstance, GroT.
says: "If I had predicted that our treajurtij
old landmark would havo endured eternal!
as a shame and an eyesore, most folk ffjSfl
iuivu omutucu muir snouiaers ana lurr.cai:,
the sporting page,
great public benefit, and they held itTSj
against me, and laid for me. and lamba
me whenever they had a little spare lnffl
sling."
This seems to have taucht the Drorheu
lesson. In promising us all this fine wcjJSJ
and superabundance of crops for Ulira
heaps It on without any single specIflcaUxI
There Is no ono particular we canr;
him up on later, o!nd as thero does notice
to bo any such known thing to raankihlj
normal weather, he can como back at us win
statistics, no matter what the nature fj?l
complaint. And as a last inner defense!
can blame It on tho stars.
Tho moral of this Is, Don't be any Wajji
a prophet If you are going to bo a stlngyw
Lay it on as thick as you know howijW
stand pat. Above all, don't bo a shrinks
optimist or too specific In your special
of optimism. Go tho whole dlstanc
you've got everybody cheering with youffij
If they don't know what they're enteral
about. If tho whole world would beaniliS
keep beaming there never gould be ,1$
things ns war and hard times. Ask tht ?M
who loves his mother-in-law and see ill
doesn't second the motion.
A City-planning Lesson
r rom tno Kanias city Star. d
To OOen the strefltil in Its water fivintlt!
Is Boston's gateway that city is consldtriM Jfl
plan to sweep away entire, blocks of
buildings, stretching for a half mile btwB
Washington street and the Atlantic 5fWB
docks. It will cost J50.000.000. Boston '"
nave kept this space open to trafflo at W
cost ii u nad been awake to the neceuwi
generation ago. Now It must pay mllUonsaffl
me last two years city-planning comm"?!
have been appointed In Cincinnati, Louiw
Paducah, Scranton, Omaha, Schenectady.w,
Haven. Portland nd Uwronn. Mass. All ti
the hint from the situation Boston finds lS
LONGFELLOW'S "BOOK OF SONNETS
'TWOS Qnvwln.. fAlM n T rft9tt AfiWAlI
The central highway of this awarmln gSB
Ana felt a pleasant stillness not a w:
Of Saturday's hard turmoil In the towpl.
Then as the gentle breeze Just stirs a r;
Yet almost motionless, or aa the fs.es
Of silent smiles, I heard the chusa
Sound murmuring, through the agtumnS
nlnx'a brown. .Jl
Today again I past along Broadway iWt
In the fierce tumult'and mld-nolse of'iKg
wnue 'neath my feet the solid fi)
snook.
Whet? lot It seemed that belt began t
upon a sabbath eve a sliver tyne-
-Richard Watson 9SV
CHILDREN OF TJIE PEAP
From ths Kw Tork Sun.
bablt and all nameless, ware brought
afternoon frpin tha 'quaka araa, Cbis
from Roma, Sir ,
fisiunin rrnm mi 'nnur. .ria. lhw iwtitr'
Gone are the hearts that bore tM! l .
Qono with the dead and missed, ,5jL
Lost are the hands which soothsd ut;jL
Still are the lips that kissed, - Tftj
Silenced the songs which lulled rtafi
Sweet at tho close of day, 'ael
Oh. for the angel mothers. "S4"!
So far, so far away I - '
Who la to plan their fytureT
Who U to teach the gainesl ' ,
Who s to answer questions?
Who la to give them Barnes
Wbwe wUuU the path. tQorreT ' ,
, Wnar, runs the rA next y W
Wte, is W guide thsrtr footstep
Vs tiumttb Uk hUts from tU"'