... taaflrai
8
EVENING LEDGER PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1916.
Hfe&tjer
PUDLIG LEDGER COMPANY
CTRUfJ ir. K, CUnTIS, Pintoim.
,Charla it I.udingtori, VlcaPrcaldtnti John C, Martin,
fecfftirr and Ttminrert rhlllp 8. Collins, John 11.
vimm, Dlrwtots.
EDITORIAL BOARD I
Ctu II. K. Cctiia, Chairman,
fr, Tt. WltALSr , niecutlta Editor
JOUft C. MAnTIN ..acneral tluins UatiKer
i i
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CLAS8 UIL UATTtri.
rmiDi.i.riiiA, Tiiunsim. mahcii i, iwis.
Be who would serve in a democracy must do
t the thinking for those who have not
, time to think for themselves.
The Governor Must Stand by Hia Guns
TUB significant fact disclosed by the de
feat of tho "toothless" housing bill In
Ilarrisburg la that tho Vnrcs arc standing
behind tho Governor in his light. Whether
they nro nctuated by political or humani
tarian motives Is of little consequenco so long
as they use their lnflticnco to prevent tho re
peal of tho present housing law and work
with all their might to vindicate their orig
inal wisdom In backing Doctor Brumbaugh
for tho Governorship by backing him now
also In his program.
Tho resources of tho opponents of tho hous
ing law aro not yet exhausted, and the
Utmost vigilance will be required to prevent
them from rushing some trick bill through
the General Assembly, on tho chance that
they can bamboozle tho Governor with It.
Doctor Brumbaugh Is committed to housing
reform. His declaration that every family
should live In a house by Itself, equipped with
proper sanitary conveniences, goes much
farther than the law that Councils has dis
regarded. The Governor can sign no bill relaxing the
regulations In tho present law without stulti
fying himself. Even If his sympathies as a
man were not aroused by tho wretchedness
which surrounds tho very poor through tho
neglect of their landlords to make their tene
ments habitable, ho knows that It Is politi
cally wiser to stand by his guns than to re
treat In tho face of the enemy, which, by
th'e wny, ho has shown no Inclination to do.
Tho prospect for vitalizing the housing law
Is growing brighter every week.
The Improved Naval Appropriation Bill
THE naval bill as finally passed is a far
more comprehensive, Intelligent and ac
ceptable measuro than tho weak and molly
coddle thing which emerged from the House.
Tho Senate put Into It moro liberal pro
vision for submarines, the utility of which
has been amply demonstrated during the
past few months. It provided likewise for
support of tho aerial service connected with
the navy and for two great battleships of
tho superdreadnought class. The "plucking
board," which was constantly stirring up
trouble, is abolished, aa it should have been
long- ago.
It Is a bettor bill than tho Democrats have
heretofore given the country, although tho
program proposed is still far from com
mensurate vlth the necessities of tho situa
tion. Perhaps when annual contributions to
the survivors of former wars and their de
pendents have been materially reduced, Con
gress will be able to make adequate pro
Vision against the contingency of futuro
conflict with Its more heavily armed com
petitors In trade.
A Suspicious Bill
THE Dunn bill, now In committee at Har
riaburg, is a suspicious measure. It pro
poses to divert 10 per cent, of tho liquor
lioenso fees to the police and firemen's pen
sion fund. There is a deslro on tho part of
tho members from Allegheny to havo tho
bill amended to include second-class cities
lso.
It would be clever politics, of course, to
fcave the police and flremon financially In
terested In the liquor business. Tho bill, In
(other words, is a cleverly devised bribe. Yet
Senator McNIchol and his friends have been
loudly proclaiming from tho housetops that
they want to keep the police out of politics.
This is a clever way of doing it, isn't It?
ffhe police and firemen, wo lmuglne, can
manage their pension fund without dubious
assistance of this sort particularly the po
lice, many of whom would live longer, and
all of whom would live easier, were It not
lor the risks and arduous duties which
felcohol In other men puts on them.
Dropping the Club
NOT even the argument that it could be
used as a club to force down the price
of armor plate was enough to Induce Con
gress to make an appropriation for building
a Government armor plate factory. The
reasons for the rejection of this pot plan of
Secretary Daniels are doubtless compli
cated. It Is conceivable, but Improbable,
that Congress was thinking of economy.
But whatever Induced it to kill the plan it
deserves -the thanks of the country for re
fraining from launching the Government
into any moro industrial occupations.
fanmittp
Investigations That Lead to the Dust Heap
TTTMENEVEIt John D. Rockefeller or
VV his son sticks his head above the horl
son hit It," seems to be the jule of action for
hundreds of aelf-advertlHers. Tho Colorado
etrlka would not have attracted a tithe of the
attention that it has received If Mr, Rocke
feller bad not been a, minority shareholder
In one of the companies involved. The oppor
tunity for making polltleaj qgnital was too
good to be missed. Mr. ftijpRiller has no
friends. Nobody dares difand him In public.
He in rich, and, therefore, he is a scoundrel.
So hit him again. If h wants any defense
ho is wealthy enough to tire lawyers to plead
lits cause.
So d subcommittee of the Committee on
Mines of the House of Representatives had
to go to Colorado to Inquire Into the trouble
tberi It did not matter that the Federal
Couuntvtsiion on Industrial Relations was &n
gag.U in that sort of work, er that the Prest
dii( nad appointed a commission of dlstlr
u.4,fiei taiifactois to stl toe controversy
us sciolists sociologists nd the tntnusias-
t
tie ondenvorers after economic advantage for
themselves on the House commlttco had to
tvavo Ihelr swing at tho Rockefellers.
But what Is the uso of all this Investigat
ing? Cannot ono commlttco get ns much In
formation as nny one needs on tho subject?
And oven without nny Investigation at all.
did not wo nil know Hint tho dispute was
over unionizing tho mines? If the Investiga
tions led anywhere but to dry reports they
might be excused, but they nenrly always
lead direct to tho lumber room of some big
llbrnry and gel stilled In the accumulated
dust of neglect. The Colorado trnub'o Is In
tho way of being settled, and It would have
reachpd this stage any wav.
Fighting the Trusts in the Laboratory
SKCUKTA1W LANlrs announcement that
Doctor Klttman, of the ttureau of Mines,
has discovered a method of ptoduelng gnso
llno oh cheaply at It Is produced by the
patented processes of tho Standard Oil Com
pany, nnd thnt the Independent teflnera nro
to bo allowed to use It freely, will Interest all
nutomobllc owners, because It means cheaper
gasoline. And It should Interest all far
sighted and successful business men, because
It reveals an unsuspected power of the Gov-
i ernment, available for use In fighting tho big
trusts.
The Standard Oil Company haB been nble
to produce more gasoline from a given qtinn
tlty of crude oil thnn tho Independent te
nners. Tho small men have, therefore, been
unablo to compete with tho big oil company
But tho Government chemist hns gone Into a
laboratory nnd worked out a method of dis
tillation which Is as effective as that used
by tho Standard, nnd If Scerotnry Lane's an
notinrcment Is not too optimistic, It Is
cheaper In operation and safer. The system
Is to bo patented by tho discoverer and dedi
cated to tho people of tho country so thnt It
may bo used by every ono. Tho hnndlrnp of
tho little man Is to be removed through tho
Intervention of d paternal Government.
Every little man will rejoice, as he should,
at obtaining so powerful nn ally In his light
with tho big competitors.
Now, If tho Government will continue tho
good work nnd discover economical methods
of reducing other raw mateilals Into ccra
merclal products of higher vnlue and place
them at tho disposal of the little miin, tho
men with capital can no lonircr enjoy tho
great advantages which hae mnde It pos
sible to outstrip their poorer competitors In
tho race for trade, and the trusts may die ot
Inanition.
Who Should Re the Family Ranker? i
HAS the husband nny right to his wages?
This is not the usual question asked In
discussions of women's rights. One In com
monly told that the wife oi ght to have tin
allowance, or that she ought to be economi
cally Independent, and some theorists have
gone so far as to declare that tho husband
should pay a weekly wage to his wife, which
she should have to spend as she pleases with
out question by nny one.
In view of the common practlco among
working people, and among somo of those
who please to look upon themselves ns mak
ing up a different social stratum, the right of
a husband to any part of what he earns is a
moro acute Issue. The mon goes home on
Sntutday night and turns his pay envelope
over to "the misses," as he says, or. If It is a
salary that ho receives, he deposits his check
In the bank in his wife's name Then he gets
what tho bnnker of the family, tho woman
who runs the house, thinks he ought to havo
for his modest needs. He must save out of
the 50 cents n week allowed to him enough to
buy his evening clothes, nnd his day clothes
as well, and enough to pay for tho tnxlcab
In which he rides to and from tho factory.
There are men now and then who chafe
under tho financial restrictions of this sys
tem. But what can they do about It? Tho
humanitarian who can decldo who shall bo
the family banker In a way to satisfy every
ono will deserve a monument at least six
Inches higher than the City Hall tower.
Put This to His Credit
THE most Important thing that Woodrow
Wilson, President of the United States,
has done, In tho second year of his tenure
of office, has been to glvo his Individual at
tention to the Department of State, to
bolster It up by placing Its Important work
under tho direction of competent (If little
known politically) men, whereby he has been
enabled, In ono of tho greatest crises in the
nation's life, desplto tho Secretary of State,
to avoid blundering tho country into war,
although maintaining tho dignity of the
Government and tho essential rights of Its
citizens.
A Man in Ilarrisburg
TT IS evident that tho man In the Executive
I x Mansion In Ilarrisburg Is In charge of the
I local option bill. Tho plans mado to report
the measuro from committee wero changed
at his direction In order to give tho people
time to express themselves on the subject. An
organized campaign Is under way to Impress
tho legislators with the strength of tho popu
lar dpmand for local option. They nro to be
mode to understand that tho prnctlcal tcm
peranco people, which Includes nearly every
ono except tho liquor sellers, nro In fnvor of
locnl option, nnd nro In no mood to quibble
over the details of a law which will permit
them to decide for themselves whether liquor
Is to be sold in their county or In their town
ship. Then, when the demonstration has
been made, tho General Assembly will be
challenged to disregard tho will of tho Com
monwealth nt Its peril.
This Is apparently tho program. And It Is
a good one. Tho Governor has been taking
the meaBtiro of the men ho has to deal with,
and it looks ns If he has decided that if there
is to be any master in Ilarrisburg ho Is the
one to assume that role.
Tho man chosen to bo Director of tho Mint
Is Robert W. Wooley, but he is not from tho
West.
Of course, West Philadelphia wants free
transfers, and so iUv-s every other section of
the city,
- i
And now let us hope that the nation may
have a legislative rest until the first Monday
In December,
Did any one think that the congressional
committee investigating the Colorado strike
would pralso John D. Itockofeller, Jr.?
Pierre Lot! has decided that the Turk as
a romantic Moslem Is not quite the same
thing as the Turk fighting France,
Can any one guess whatPreaident it was
who called a group of naval officers "a lot
of wheezy, onion-eyed, old, stuffed pud
dings"? There Is not a real Boy Scout In the coun
try hP would not like to take that 170-mUe
rld wlJa Oeajsral Scott to Haik with the
troublesome Piute Indians,
OF WOMENFOLK
AND WILD FOWL
Feminism in Its Relation to Natural
History The Battle of the Blue
birds A Man Who Read Shaw
With Disastrous Results.
Ry WARREN BARTON BLAKE
NOT long ago a young American com
mitted suicide, leaving behind as tho
sole evidence of his motive a letter saying
thnt ho had read a great dcat of Bernard
Shaw, nnd that his readings of the Irishman
had dried up the springs of all his Jolo d
vlvre. It cannot hne been a Very robust
young man physically or temperamentally.
Robust young men do not go to literature
and lot books decldo whether they shall llvo
or die.
t have caught myself wondering, over since
uio disillusioned young Shavlnn shuffled off
mis mortal coll, Just what particular dlslllu
Bionmonts were, for him, tho fatally dis
tressing ones. And I am porsunded that,
like a complete sentimentalist In tho obsolete
18th century mode, the joung mnn wns most
of all dlsmnyed at the notion thnt women are
not nil thnt masculine idealism (or, why not
say It frnnkly, male egoism) has conceived.
Tho notion of Annes perpetually tracking
Tnnnors to tho altar Is enough to make any
supersensitive young man's flesh crnwl. Just
ns ho was nerving himself to make love to
some fnir person, the thought surged through
this particular youth's whole being: "It will
by no means surprlso her. Shaw knows very
well thnt sho arranged this matter from tho
very start." And, feeling rather sick about
playing second fiddle ivon nt his own pro
posal, and refusing to tnko tho shock lightly,
thote was no need for him but AVcrther's:
"Walter! Bring me pen and Ink and loaded
pistols."
The Matchmaking of Old
It is a piotty picture, that with which wo
males used to flatter ourselves. In It wo
were conqueror, aggressor, In tho back
ground (no let us be fair to ourselves! In
tho mrddlc distance) sat the lovely lady wo
meant to mako happy and our wife. She
blushed ever so slightly as wo drew near,
nnd gracefully shivered. She wns at onco
nmnred and overcome ami delighted. She
had played a passive part up to that moment
waiting for us to make up our minds. It
would have been Indelicate for her to hao
done anything moro than look as pretty ns
possible. In tho event of our unfaithfulness
or lnconslnncy she inevitably wasted and
pined away. Of course she was far too well
bred to do anything really aggressive, or
een definitely to make wny with herself.
Whether Mio nctunlly went Into a decline
nnd "breathed her last" depended only on
the rulhlessness of our imaginations. Gen
erally she had n weakness of tho heart thnt
did for her very nicely. So we didn't let
matters go that far, but politely camo up to
mo scratch and lived happily ever after.
I wonder if women were over Just ns we
pictured them in those happy, sloppy, far
off days when wo were sentimentalists and
day-dreamers? Thero Is, nt any rate, the
evidence of novels like Jnno Austen's writ
ten from woman's side of tho fence, nnd
gracefully side-stepping any surcharge of
emotion. Marriage is tho wholo business and
career of women, In Jane Austen's England;
few of her characters remain, like tho
sprightly novelist herself, spinster to tho
end. Even Jnno Austen herself had no In
tention or wish to escape tho tolls and tolls
of matrimony. As for tho mothers and
match-making aunts of her heroines but
words fail one.
Pulling Feathers
I havo Just been rending a book of John
Burroughs' published a dozen years ago
and Just as fresh and delightful as it its
Ink wero still damp. On ono page, telling
of spring's awakening, ho discourses of tho
olrd-romances that delight woodsmen at this
llmo of year. And, "I notice," writes the
naturalist, "that during tho mating season
of the birds the rivalries and Jealousies are
not nu confined to tho males." But ono
would rather quote him at length:
tjI.nded' the mo,st st)ltefu and furious bat
tles, as among tho domestic fowls, are fre
quently among females I have seen two hen
Ihn n!!':' V"!" Pu!' fe"-s in a manner
V i Dn,,rnst't' strongly with the courtly nnd
dignified sparring usual between the mnl"s.
One Mijrch a pair of bluebirds clodded to
set up hous-ekeeping In the trunk of an old
apple tree near my house. Not long after
tin unwedded female appeared nnd probably
tried to supplant the lawful wlfo. l ,m not
see what arts she used, but I saw her being
very roughly handled by the Jealous bride.
The battlo continued nearly nil the day
about tho orchard and grounds, and was a
battle at very closo quarters Tho two birds
would clinch with beak and claws locked,
i The male followed them about and warbled
and called, but whether deprccatlngly or
encouragingly I could not tell. Occasionally
he would take a hund, but whether to sep
arate them or whether to fan the flames,
that I could not tell. So far as I could Bee,
he was highly amused, nnd culpably lutllf-
jerenc 10 me issue or me battle.
Tho male robin was, It appears, reasonably
sure that nt least ono of tho combatants
would last out the battlo and probably he
had read Darwin and felt sure It would bo
tho better hen. Obviously feminism (or, as
Mrs. Oilman has it, the "larger" feminism)
antedates tho twentieth century; antedates
a certain Homeric battlo described qulto Im
paitlally by Mr. Harry Fielding in "Tom
Jones"; even antedates the female of our
own species. But tho nasty sneering habit
of mind which one may qualify us masculine
belongs, equally, to the malo of every kind
and of all time.
There appears to bo no moral to Mr. Bur
roughs' anecdote of the sparring bluebirds,
unless that Mr. Bernard Shaw has studied
natural history. If the young man whom
Shaw disheartened into sulcfdo had known
more natural history, would he have spared
his own frail life and made some woman
"happy"?
DR, TAKAHASHI, OF JAPAN
First Woman Physician of the New School
in Mikado's Land,
Dr- Mldzuko Takuhashl, of Nlhombaahl, who
has Jut retired from active practice, was the
first woman physician of the modern school in
Japan, She was born In a Bamural family In
Aohi Ken, wept to Toklo about 10 years ago
to become a midwife, got a Government li
cense after six years of etudy and entered the
medical Bchool founded by Dr. Tal Hasegawa,
In Hongo.
"Of course, It was no eaBy matter for her to
be admitted Into that school In those days,"
says the Japan Times, "but her pioneer aspira
tions were enaou raged by such authorities as
the late Doctors Hasesawu. and Nagayo aad
Sargwi Baron Sato. When at last the bgoa
her praetlee four y?ara later. MM Takahahl ,
was so badly off that old newspaper was used
for winpplng powdered medicine Her 7e.il
nnd skill, however, soon made her a populnr
as wrll as a novel feutuie of the city, no that
a few years later sho was enabled to go to
Berlin to Btudy for three years.
"There arc over twenty men who have grad
uated from the Impeilnl Medical College of
Toklo, with tho peeunlnry assistance of Doctor
Tnknhnshl.
"The cntcer of Mbs Malsuko Hosotanl, ono
of the Bed Cioss nurses shortly flailing for
nnglnnd. Is also full of Interest. Rorn in
Odawarn, she wns tialned In the Knnagawa
branch of the Red Cross of Japan, went to
Shanghai In 1P07 to work In a forelpn hospital
there for three yenis, traveled In ftnly, Aus
tria, Germany, Franco and England foi some
months with an American woman and then,
on her return to Shanghai, went to Tsingtao
to serve In a hospital for awhile.
"When the revolutionary wnr broke out in
China a nrltUsh relief corps was organized
by Shanghai doctois, and Miss Hosotanl went
to Hankow with the party, taking a few
Chinese women with her. It wns a thrilling
experience to be caring for the Chinese
wounded in a field hospital, In the midst or
the deafening noise of guns and rifles.
"Her nnxiety In England this time, she salt!
to a visitor a few days ago, would be how not
to disgrace Japan among tho Allies, nnd not
from any lack of material or equipment In a
Southampton hospital "
NITRATE DEPOSITS OP CHILI
From tho Engineering Magazine.
Tho world's supply of nitrate, for use In the
manufacture of fertilizers, explosives nnd other
chemical pi oducts. Is now derived nlmost entire
ly from the deposits of sodium nlttntp in north.
cm Chill. Theso di posits are vast, as compared
with any prohable future demand, and even the
best efforts ot a close monopoly supervised by
the Chilian government havo not been able to do
moro thnn keep output nnd pi Ices under some
smnll degree of control In ordinary times the
Chilian deposits con swamp any possible com
petitive supply, nnd in the pnst this has operated
to prevent the development of smnllcr or less
well located deposits elsewhere.
The Chilian deposits hne, however, ono
mnrKCd defect which is brought Into promin
ence by tho picsent Kuropenn wnr; and which
would hae come out In still more disastrous
form In case of n war between the United States
nnd nny power having an active fleet In the
Pacific ocean. The defect la thnt tho distribu
tion of the output is entirely by sea, and that
tho steamers carrying nitrate must make a
long run along open coasts Wo must, theie
fore, coiu-ldei that nitrate, though tho Mipply
Is moi than nmple, Is likely to be entirely
cut off under war conditions.
In dPluult ot a supply of Chilian nitrate,
a country would havo to fnll back upon either
(n) local or other supplies of natural potash
or soda nitrates, (b) nitrogen extracted from the
air, or (c) nitrates manufactured from coal
tar products. All of these aro technically fea
sible, and none aro absolutely prohibitive as to
cost under wnr conditions, though in normal
times none of them can at present compete
with Chilian supply.
CORPULENCE AND. GENIUS
The connection between feeding nnd literary
genius Is commented on by Hubert Shcrnrd In
his "Modern l'arls." Zola, he says, wrote best
when ho was very stout, nnd that when his
bulk dwindled, so did his talent. Theophllo
Oautier, himself enormous, maintained that u
man of gcnlUB should be fat, and for proof
pointed to "thnt more barrel than man," Hal-
znc; to Alexander Pumas, "always fnt and
Jolly"; to "the hippopotamus In breeches,"
Rossini, and to tho plump nnd well-fed ap
pearance of Victor Hugo and Salute Ueuve.
Uron could never have aqrreed with
Theophile Clnutler's dictum that men of genius
should be fat. For the Increase of his too, too
solid flesh was the one thing of which he was
afraid, and various freak dicta were adopted
to keep It under, "Don Juan" was written nl
most entirely on gin and water, nnd In IS13 he
lived on six biscuits a day and tea. I'revi
ously at Athens ho had tried a diet of rice In
small quantities, washed down by vinegar and
water, and later on he tried one thin slice of
bread for brenkfaBt and a vegetable dinner,
keeping down hunger by chewing tobacco. And
apparently sucli diets stimulated the brain
while mortifying the flesh.
A WAR REPORT
From the Kansas city Star.
Ofllclal communications corrupt good war
stories. "There U nothing to report," passes
over many tragedies.
In Professor It. II. Johnston's compilation,
"The Corslean, a Diary of Napoleon's Life," a
notice Is given to the passing of the OuaJar
rrma in Hpaln In (he afternoon of December 22,
18"S- "(Napoleon passos astride on a gun In the
midst of a terrific tnowttorm. The soldiers;
'Convicts suffer less than we do! Shoot him
down, damn hlro1')"
From Bspinas (hat evening Napoleon's official
communication was: '! have crossed the Quad.
arrama vlth a part of the guard In rather dls
agreeahle weather."
A SAUCY QUESTION
To tht Bdltor of tha Bienlnp Ltdgtr:
Sir As you believe In equal suffrage, perhaps
you can tell me why men and not women have
done the great work In what Is commonly re
garded as woman's peculiar realm, namely, the
kitchen? Where la the woman who has In
vented anything equal to thicken a U King,
which Bill King first prepared la this town 20
years ago? ANTI-SUFFPAGiaT.
Philadelphia. March 1.
JUST REMOVE THE PRESSURE
DARDANELLES IN WOELD HISTORY
This Gateway to the Golden Fleece of Eastern Trade Has Led to
Great Events Since the Expedition of the Argonauts
By RAYMOND G. FULLER
DISPATCHES reporting the progress of
tho allied iieet through the Dardanelles
mention the heavy winds which are common
there, nnd which "sometimes stir up a vigor
ous current in tho water of '' passageway."
There Is at all times a strong surface cur
icnt setting toward tho Aegean Sea and an
undercurrent flowing In an opposite direction
toward the Bosporus. These movements flg
ui o in ancient literature, and aro noted In tho
writings of the Greek historians, like Xeno
phon. Tho turbulent westward stream fur
nished Shakespeare a simile. Othello speaks
in answer to logo's poisoning words:
Like to the Pontic sea,
Whoso icy current and convulsive course
Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on
To the Propontlc and the Hellespont,
Den i-o my bloody thoughts, with violent
pace.
Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble
love,
Till thnt a cnpable and wide revenge
Swallow them up.
Tho classical names have given way to
modern: the Pontic Is the Black Sea, the
Propontlc is tho Sea of Mnrmora and the
Hellespont Is tho Dardanelles, but the waters
of tho olden gateway to tho East course back
and forth as in tho time of the Argonauts.
Tho present name of the Dardanelles comes
Indirectly from the legendary associations of
tho adjoining country. Dardanus, who in
Greek fnblo was tho bon of Zeus and Electra,
slew his brother Iaslus and fled to the hos-
pltablo Asian shores of tho Hellespont. He
Is reputed to havo founded tho royal house
of Troy nnd to havo been tho ancestor,
through Aeneas, of tho ancient Romans.
Above the Hellespont in a corner of Asia
Minor lay
tho ringing plains of windy Troy
whero tho hosts of Agamemnon avenged the
Itapo of Helen. The site of the Ill-fated city
Itself, so archaeologists tell us, is only three
miles or so from the Dardanelles.
.The Quest of the Golden Fleece
The Dardanelles mado Its debut In history
away back In tho indistinct nges of my
thology for much of mythology Is simply
vague history; farther back than tho Trojan
War. The first record of a voyage through
tho Hellespont of which wo have any record
was that of Jason, who built the good ship
Argo
Krom Colchis' realm to bring tho golden
fleece.
But tho story of the Argonauts follows from
nnother, which accounts for tho ancient
namo of this neck of sea,
Where beauteous
grave.
Hello
found a watery
Hollo was tho daughter of a Thessallan
king and queen, Athamas and Nephole. When
Athamas discarded his wife sho suspected
danger to her children a boy, Phyryxus, and
the girl Helle. Mercury helped Nethele put
them out of his reach by giving her a ram.
On this ram, which had a Gfolden fleece, the
children wero placed, the ram then vaulting
Into the air and taking Its course eastward.
Tho girl foil off Into tho water of the strait
which afterward was called tho Hellespont.
The ram continued Its flight to tho farther
coast of the Etixlno, where Phyrxus sacrificed
It to Jupiter, presenting the golden fleece to
Aetes, tho king of tho country, who placed It
In a consecrated grove guarded by a sleep
less dragon. Tho quest of the golden fleece
became a favorite adventure of spirited
princes, one of whom was successful, Tho
legendary story of Jason's accomplishment
commemorates what was doubtless the first
Important maritime expedition of ancient
times.
Between Two Continents
To classical mythology Is also due the tale
of Hero and Laander, a Jove story which
Holmes burlesqued In "Tho Ballad of the
Oysterman";
I read It In the story-book
That, for to kiss his dear,
Leander swam the Hellespont,-
And I will swim this here.
The parodlo Hero or heroine of this poem,
after her heart-broken plunge Into the bay,
Is unherolcally described;
Her hair drooped round her pallid cheek
4i&a visanceu un a. ciam.
In the poems of Tennyson, Byron, Moore
and a host of others, however, Leander, a
youth of Abydos, loved Hero, a priestess of
mmkfA
-I,
Venus In Sestos, on the opposite and Euro- J
across overy night to enjoy her company. 1
Bllt nnf nf -tlincn TTntlnannnltn. ,.. .. i
..w.- . miwui v; urn,,!,, uuu -liuuuuer was
drowned. The waves boro his body to the
shore beneath tho tower from which Hero
had watched all night for his coming, and In
her despair she throw herself Into the sea
nnd perished.
nfnon inn rrttnft.l m.AHfn n...l T ....-, H
Lord Byron, as a young mnn, performed f
tho feat of swimming tho Hellespont, and 4
was so prouu or it that he mentioned tha
accomplishment in nt least two of his poems, -I
1110 uriuo of Abydos" nnd "Don Juan." In
the former ho says:
These limbs that buoyant wave hath borne.
In ono of tho letters written during his
early travels In Asia Minor nnd Turkey he
remarks:
I don't know that I have done anything to 5j
distinguish me from other voyagers, unless .JS
yOU Will reckon mV RWimmlnt frnm Q,Dtn, !
to Abydos, on May 3, 1810, a tolerable feat
for a modern.
Ho underlines tho word "modern." Tho dls-
tailCO across Mm TTnllcnnnt hAt,,,nnn Gaetn.
and Abydos is about a mile, and Lord Byron 21
bltncnlf nn l,lo o1j.t1 n.l .l r- ,.,--.
' "' " o.wii uuu euuuriiuue. uuuuuesa i
he would not have made tho attempt, how-
ever, but for tho suggestion of tho story ol i
Leanaer.
Armies have passed from continent to con
tinent by way of tho Hellespont. That of
Xerxes, on Its way to tho famous reception n
at Thermopylae, crossed between Abydos to
Sestos by means of n bridge of boats, and
Alexander, in 334 C. a, I4G years later, adopt
cd a similar scheme at tho same place when
he set forth to conquer Asia. Landing not far 4
from tho historic plain of Troy he marched S
along tho shoro till ho reached tho little river H
Granlcus, whero the Persian satraps had i
gathered to dlsputo his passage. One of
niMmmwa generals counseled a delay till -j
morning before attacking, but tho conqueror
replied, "I should bo ashamed, having crossed t
the Hellespont, to bo detained by a miserable "
stream like tho Granlcus " So then began -i
ono of the decisive battles of the world's his. 11
GOETIIALS
A mnn went down to Panama
Where many a lad had died,
To silt the sliding mountains
rtim nu uio eternal tide;
A man stood up In Panama,
And the mountains stood aside
T WrS?,Whf U,.nt. ""u"1,t 'he tide and peak
Wrought mightier the seer;
And the Ono who mnde the Isthmus
ue made the engineer,
And the good Cod he mado Goethals
To cleave the hemisphere.
The reek of fevered ages rose
wfr 0m PlBOe' Jungle and strand,
Where the crumbling wrecks of failure
Lay sunk In the torrid sand
Derelicts of old desperate hopes
And venal contraband.
Till a mind glowed white through the yellow
And purged the poison-mold.
And the wrecks rose up In labor,
And the fever's knell was tolled,
And the keen mind cut the world-dlvlde,
untarnished by world-gold.
Fo,?Lpoet wrought In Panama
With a continent for his theme,
And he wrote with flood and Are
To forKQ a nlnriAt'n H.n.
And the derricks rank his dithyrambs M
u ma sianzas roared in steam.
But the poet's mind It is not his
Alone, but a million men's;
Far visions of lonely dreamers
meei mere as In a lens.
And lightnings, pent by stormy time,
Leap through, with flame Intense.
So through our age three giants loom
To vouch man's venturous soul;
Amundsen on his Ice.peak,
And Peary from his pole,
And midway, where the oceans met,
Goethals beside his goal.
Where old Balboa bent his gaze
He leads the liners through.
And the Horn that tossed Magellan
Bellows a far halloo.
For where the navies never sailed
Steamed Goethals and his crew.
i
Bo nevermore the tropic routes
Need poleward warp and veer.
But pn through the gates of OoethaU
The steady keels shall steer,
Where the tribes of man are led toward peaet
or me proptjet-engineer.
Fey Mcky, lB 'Tb prst Hswr."
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