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rillLAUFU'lllA, H1IIU., MAIICII 20, 1913.
Patience will often telii where push rushes one
on to disaster.
Time for Alertness, Not for Alarm
THE publicity Riven to the facta about the
smallpox epidemic In Mlllvillc, Now Jersey,
la a sufficient guarantee for the protection
of the adjoining communities. It Is unfortu
nate that the disease was not recognized ns
Boon as It appeared, hut since It hns been
Identified the authorities have acted with
energy and decision. Tho vaccination of all
the people In tho community will Involve a
smaller outlay of time and energy than was
devoted to preventing tho spread of smallpox
In tho negro quarter In this city last year.
It Is likely that the disease will bo confined
to the district whero It Is now prevalent; but
if there should ho sporadic cases In tho sur
rounding communities they will bo discovered
beforo tho contagion has a chance to spread
far, as every physician in all southern Now
Jersey Is now alert.
Tho few cases that have appeared In
Camden may or may not have originated
from tho Mlllvlllo source of contnglon; but
tho Camden health officers have taken steps
to prevent the spread of tho disease.
Tho danger to Philadelphia Is slight Indeed,
for Its Health Department has, tlmo after
time, demonstrated Its ability to segregate
tho disease as soon as It appears. Hut even
if thcro should bo a large number of cakes,
which is morally impossible, modern meth
ods of treatment are udequnto for Its cure.
Wo know how to stamp It out and how
to nurse it now, so thnt tho terrors thnt It
once held have practically all been removed.
It Is a time for alertness, not for alarm.
Twice Dead
MORGAN ROBERTSON, writer of sea
stories, is dead; pathetically dead, for
time had stripped him of his genius and left
him beggared even of hope.
His life had in It much of tho tragedy that
is associated historically with literary genius.
For years he served at sea, and as a land
lubber poverty haunted him until, with a tub
as a writing place and on tho backs of circu
lars he had been hired to distribute, he
scribbled the first of his Inimitable talcs.
Success was swift and sure. Monoy came
fast and went faster. Then one day' ho
awoke to find that ho had lost his "punch."
Perhaps he had exhausted his material, as
his tales were based on personal experience.
At any rate, pathetic In the extreme was
his story of how ho walked Into an editor's
office and offered a manuscript. Tho editor
refused it. "If yau want to write 'sea stories,"
he said, "study the masterpieces of that
man," and he pointed to a picture of Morgan
Robertson hanging on tho wall. He and his
work, too, were unrecognized!
Sometimes men live too long, and some,
tnoro fortunate, slip Into the rest of death at
the meridian of their power. Poor Robertson!
"What a pity that his weak heart did not fail
before genius fled from his skull and left but
the shell of greatness. It was his fato to dlo
twice.
' "Standinff Aghast" Docs No Good
JUDGE UMBEL'S newspaper In Union
town is very much disturbed over tho
resignation of that gentleman, whoso friends
advised him against standing trial beforo tho
Legislature, on the ground that there was
a frame-up and ho did not havo even a
fighting chance. "When all the details of
this infamous piece of business nro pub
lished," says tho News Standard, "the peo
ple of Pennsylvania will stand aghast at the
depths of depravity to which tho Republi
can machine In this Stato will descend."
A bravo and Innocent man does not usually
quit, even If the cards are stacked, particu
larly when he has a chance to present the
facts in tho form of evidence to all the
world.
The people ought to be aghast at the spec
tacle of Senator Crow holding a Judgo in the
hollow of his hand, preventing his Impeach
ment at one time and making It certain nt
another. But they seem to care very little
about it. Moreover, standing aghast would
not do either them or tho Commonwealth
any good. They have been standing aghast
too long. Nothing will bo accomplished un
til they get fighting mad, quit "standing for"
anything and v'oto the whole vicious ma
chine Into the discard.
Judge Umbel probably knows a lot of
things that would arouse fire in the olector-
: ate, for he has been in Fayette County a
long time, and this Is no time to keep his
mouth shut.
The Rights of Motherhood
GOVERNOR WHITMAN of New York has
not yet decided whether he will sign the
widows' pension bill which the Legislature
has sent to him. Pennsylvania has a law of
the same kind, passed after Its value had
beep, demonstrated in other States, but the
Legislature has been, only half-hearted in
supporting It with appropriations.
Tho solo question Involved in legislation of
thU kind Is whether dependent children shall
be maintained by the Commonwealth In their
home with their mother or In public institu
tions. The Commonwealth has to maintain
them anyway for their mothers are unable to
carry the. burden The institution-reared child
is robbed ot all the human affections to which
the ypuns are entitled. He Is sent out into
th world maimed and dwarfed, morally and
intellectually. If not physically. But argu
twilit la not needed to prove that the proper
pUc for a child Is with Its mother, provided
th othr ta half-way decent. Th mother
Wv th child to society and the child saves
t Is atWAbM from UerwJf.
It Witt l a Cartuoat day fr the Common
I Aliening
EVENING
wealth when tho public Institutions for chil
dren can bo razed to tho ground and when
each child may have tho caro and comfort of
a mother during Its growing years. Who
knows what might have beconio of Moses If
Pharaoh's daughter had committed him to
the caro of n hireling Egyptian T Even though
the Stnto may not think It prudent to nppro
prlato all that Is needed to support the de
pendent children, motherhood has rights
which It Is bound to respect. Tho mother's
pension system is based on tho most hu
manely Intelligent Idea that has emergott
from the ruck of philanthropic discussion In
n generation.
Know the Governor by His Enemies
ON the groat Issues he has espoused, Gover
nor Brumbaugh need not fear tho antag
onism of Senators McNichol nnd Crow or any
other men.
Tho rebound to conservatism In this coun
try (liuls the public still determined and fixed
In Its resolve to obtain certain requisite re
forms. Pennsylvania, above all, proposes to
escnpo tho fanaticism of prohibition by tem
perate treatment of tho liquor problem. To
that end n vast majority of citizens havo de
cided that thcro must be local option, not only
because It Is tho obvious and wise method of
dealing with tho problem nnd In cntlro conso
nance with American principles, but becauso
It Is realized that otherwise tho Stato will bo
plunged Into a qtiagmlro of liquor politics, as
has happened In so many other Common
wealths. Sonntors McNichol and Crow stnnd for tho
Organization nnd tho Organization stands for
"booze." It turned to "booze" for monoy last
fall and gave, It Is assumed, definite promises
In roturn. Yet Dr. Brumbaugh at thnt time
specifically refused to permit any of tho funds
so collected to ho used In his behalf. Ho dedi
cated himself to local option, desplto tho Or
ganization, nnd because tho peoplo believed
In him they elected him by a great majority.
They will stand by him now, when the light
Is thickest, no matter what elements aro ar
rayed against him. Ho enn appeal over tho
heads of tho bosses to the electorate and bo
sure of vindication nnd support. Ho Is armed
with a Just cause and tho enemies ho Is mak
ing may readily become his chief asset.
So, too. In relation to tho child labor and
compensation laws, It Is obvious that wlso
enactments at this time will prevent radical
enactments later on. It Is Important to manu
facturers that tho Issue bo settled now, when
the Chief Executive Is n man unswayed by
passion or prejudice, sincerely desirous of se
curing the best possible law, fair alike to em
ployer and employe. A hybrid measure will
be worse than no measure ut all.
The Vares, who nro displaying these days
more political acumen than they ever beforo
exhibited, glvo Indications of standing by tho
Governor. That Is what they ought to do, for
there Is no sturdier figure just now In our
public life nnd none more richly Impregnated
with the longings of tho common people. Tho
destinies of tho Republican party In tho Stnto
nro wrapped up In him nnd the leaders of to
morrow will bo tho men who now tie to him.
But to stand by tho Governor means to sup
port his local option light. Tho Vares must
not forget that.
The battle Is beginning to develop and the
legionaries to show their colors. Tho cards
are being laid on tho table, where all men enn
see them, and the public will havo no diffi
culty in deciding Into which hand wagon It
wants to get.
Reward for Merit?
VINCENT ASTOU has been honored by tho
award of a mednl from the New York
Chapter of the American Instituto of Archi
tects for erecting tho best six-story apart
ment houso in New York. Possibly the
Legislature of Pennsylvania would be glad
to provide a rich financial prize of honor for
tho gentleman who proves that ho manages
and collects rent for tho worst tenement
building In Philadelphia.
Mountain Laurel Turned Down
PENNSYLVANIA must worry along for
some time yet without an ofllclal Stato
flower, for the Governor has vetoed Repre
sentative Gelser's bill raising the mountain
laurel to that distinction. Tho Governor ob
jects because the mountain laurel Is tho of
ficial flower of Connecticut, because there Is
no sentimental association with tho blossom
and because tho leaves are poisonous.
But tho failure of tho laurel to receive the
executive approval will not prevent It from
adorning the thickets In all corners of tho
Commonwealth with its beautiful blossoms.
And the other flowers which havo been turned
down by successive Governors when pro
posed for high honors will also continue to
gladden the eye every season In their turn.
The trailing arbutus makes fragrant the
spring and tho wild aster glorifies tho fields
In lato autumn. In tho months between wo
have tho goldenrod, tho daisy, tho blue violet
and the anemone, Jack-ln-tho-pulplt, lilies of
all varieties, both tho lilies of tho Held and
lilies qf the hothouse; hollyhocks, morning
glories, trumpet flowers, wild roses and roses
that have been tamed, and the fragrant and
promising blossoms of all tho fruit trees, to
say nothing of the flowers of the potato vine,
the cucumber plant and tho pumpkin. With
so many to choose from It ought to bo pos
sible to find one thnt would commend Itself
to a Governor.
The Penrose still remains as the only of
ficial State flower.
Perhaps President Wilson Is trying to con
quer the Mexicans by kindness,
There Is a man In New York who would
give a Roland for an Oliver, or two Rolands,
for that matter.
The Panama fair Is now dedicated; but it
IS Just as Interesting now as beforo the Vice
President made his dedicatory speech.
Whoever is behind that bill providing for
State Inspection of upholstering evidently
wants to provide soma easy berths for hla
friends.
The jitneys will be popular In Atlantic City,
provided they do not carry blgns showing
how cheap it is to ride In an automobile at
the seaside.
Representative Beyer, who Is a handsome
man himself, ought not to be criticising the
Philadelphia Judges for their vanity, It is
an amiable ailment that does no one any
harm.
If the Senate committee really Insists, Col
onel Roosevelt will doubtless be glad to tell
It exactly what he thinks of the ship pur
chase bill, and in language both emphatlo
and clearly understandable.
Admirers of the man who wrote to the New
York Sun last June that ho was blessed If
he., did not believe that Mr. Wilson could
"transmute the present order of things Into
original chaps" are now writing to tho Sun
ttJWtgratulatlng him on the verification of bit
tl$aa.te of the President's genius.
tiEPgER - PHTLADgLPHrX FBIDAY, MABCH ZG,19t
GIVING SHAKESPEARE
BACK HIS BEAUTY
How Granville Barker Has Mad
Micistimmnr Nicrht's Dreamt!
Beautiful and Novel Play Scoheyjj?
Almost as Brilliant as the verse t
. i i
By KENNETH MACGOWAN ' -
SHAKESPEARE'S finest testimonial from
20th century) Amerlra Is his popularity
In tho faco ofho sort of ungracious pro
ductions glveihls plays. Philadelphia has
Just had a fortnight of samples from Mr.
Mnntell; It can still remember the scenic
ntrocltles of Mr. Solhern nnd Miss Marlowe.
The Beauty Shakespeare Demands
Now It happens thnt of all the plays cur
rent on tho American stngo nono domand
scenic Illusion so much ns Shakespeare's and
none get so little of It. Tho demand Is easy
to understand. Writing for a stage with
practically no scenery, Shnkespearo larded lilt
text with tho most beautiful and lmnglnatlvo
of descriptions, All but tho work of a finely
Imaginative stago-artlst will fado to taw
drlncss beforo tho warmth of tho verse. What
palo stago-dawns wo seo with our eyes whllo
cur ears drink In:
Hut look, the morn, In russet mnntlo clad,
Wnllci o'er the dew of yon high eastwnrtl hill.
Night's candles ate burnt out, nnd Jocund dny
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-top.
Wo gaze upon the forest backdrop of soma
English park with neat square "wood wings"
dividing tho sides of tho stngo, while "Tho
Merchant of Venlco" tells us to believe thnt
wo see:
How sweet tho moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Hero wo will sit ntitl let tho Bounds of music
Creep in our enrs; soft stillness nnd the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Sit, Jessica Look how the floor of heaven
Is thick Inlaid with patlncs of bright gold.
Drear brown walls, stones nnd shleldi
painted with equal freedom on them, are all wo
get to suggest tho awesomo brooding cham
bers of "Macbeth." And the next night nnd
tho next, tho same walls turn up In 'Ham
let" and "Romeo and Juliet." Silly, flnppy,
canvas atrocities, neither beautiful nor ap
propriate, trying to keep pneo with Shakes
peare. It Is simply ludicrous.
Even If one of our Shakespearean produc
tions could nchlovo real benuty; even If by
some mlrnclo our narrow stnge-realism could
approach tho verse, tho result would still bo
miles from the real Shakespeare. Rccauso
tho ordinary srenery Is hard to move, and
because tho modern play hns evolved Into
threo or four long, continuous scones, tho
producer of Shakespeare cuts nnd rearranges!
the swift, short, varied scenes of tho fluid
Ellzabethnn stage so that tho curtain can
stay up as long a time as possible. The least
harmful result Is utter confusion of tlmo and
place; but worso than that, Shakespeare's
dramatic construction Is ruined, climax de
stroyed, balance annihilated and tho nwlft
run of tho narrative Interrupted by a half
dozen ten-minute waits.
Shakespeare "Remade in Germany"
It Is to tho now stngecrnft of Germany that
we owo release from such silly conventions,
and the rebirth of Shnkespearo ns a really
entertaining and expert dramatist as well ns
poet. Llngston Piatt Imported a little of it
for Margaret Anglln's productions last sea
son; but Granville Barker, tho English pro
ducer, now in New York, Is tho first to re
store a Shakespeare play to Its original order
and completeness and to set It all In an imag
inative and Illusive background tho work
of Norman Wilkinson, an English artist.
Tho play Is "A Midsummer Night's
Dream"; tho theatre, Wallnck's. Tho former
ho leaves as Shakespeare! who may bo sup
posed to know what ho was doing orig
inally wrote It; nil ho adds to tho words is a
very swift, lifelike and yet finely lyric dic
tion, Instead of tho lubored pomposity of
blank verse oratory. Tho theatre ho com
pletely changes. He annihilates tho foot
lights and throws his light from balcony and
gnllery In a flood that leaps Into new Ufo by
tho angle at which It Is reflected to tho spec
tator. Tho picture-frame stage goes with
them. Whero iho footlights were he places
a couple of broad steps leading to a platform
over the orchestra pit from right box to left.
Tho first boxes become entrances, always In
view. Tho "foro-stago" Is divided from tho
part behind tho proscenium by a cream cur
tain In soft folds, which Is lowered during
tho two Intermissions.
Tho Double Stage
For tho short "front scenes" this curtain i
replaced by others just as soft, on which aro
painted suggestions of tho places represented.
Thus for tho audience chamber whero tho
play begins, tho curtnln Is pale, with formal
flowerings of gold and blue. In front of it la
a square black seat us throne. For somo of
tho shorter scenes in tho woods it is a green
forest suggested by angular edges of trees
against a deep bluo sky spattered with stars.
Another, not so successful to my mind, is a
pinky plaster wall 'of one of tho "mechani
cals " houses In Athens.
When ono of these scenes goc3 forward
on the "fore-stage," they are setting tho next
solid scene behind tho curtain. In Mr.
Barker's production there aro only two Buch,
Ono is tho bower of Titanla; tho other, the
court of Theseus, whero the burlesquo of the
mechanicals Is acted.
Tho Curtain Forest
The bower Is easily the most brilliant suc
cess of all Norman Wilkinson's scenery. It
Is posslblo to quarrel with many parts of his
work as Is true of any new art worth Its
salt many critics have objected to the formal
wreath of greenery which hangs high in tho
nlr above Titanla's couch. Yet the whole
effect of this scene Is as undoubtedly right
as tho whole method. Tho ground slants up
to a three-cornered mound directly below the
wreath and tho filmy curtains of the bower
suspended below It. Tho mound forms an
excellent point for many of Puck's capers,
around It race the fairies, darting in and out
of the woods. These woods are the triumph
of the scene and the play. They are formed
by curtains draped In a semicircle from
proscenium to proscenium, silt more or less
regularly by gap3 that show other curtains
behind. Painted in moist greens suggestive
of vague boughs and foliage, they glvo a
feeling1 of forest Bhadows and leafy vistas
far more lovely than anything hitherto ac
complished in America,
The scene of the court has its virtues, too.
By making the background tho steps lead
ing to a pillared terrace, the audience of
Prince Theseus may lie with their backs to
us and facing tho mechanicals, whllo these
actors upon the terrace Itself are able to play
directly at both groups of spectators. Its
colors are the black and silver of night,'
The "effect of all this on a not very inter
esting play la to galvanize It into rich and
beautiful life. This or that bit of color might
well havo been applied differently, this or
that speech accented In another way. But the
whole result of Mr Barker's Innovations Is to
make tho narrative wlft-runnlp and vivid,
backed fcy a taaaginatlva bauty mt dtcora-
GREAT STUNT, SENATOR, BUT IF YOU'RE TRYING
fa J
.J T!, FW ST-A NWNHtrJjffW
Hon that consorts with tho beauty of word,
Tho whole Is an artistic creation designed to
match Shakespeare's. What wo get from
Mr. Mantoll nnd Mr. Sothern Is a device for
hiding tho brick walls of tho stage, whllo
still convincing the audience thnt they nro
In a theatre. And a very ugly theatre, nt
that.
OPINIONS ON THE JITNEY
The 5-ccnt Bus Unlikely to Take the Place
of Trolley Systems.
THE beginning "tho jitney bus Is a free
TN
l in
lance, with no restrictions on Its route, run
ning or rates. Is there not hero somo sug
gestion of needed municipal legislation?'
Quickly comes that question. Quickly come&
tho Public Service Commission to niako rules,
or tho City Council to establish regulations, or
maybe tho State Legislature to take a hand.
Comes also the definition: A jitney bus Is a
motorcar of nny description that 1b operated
over regular routes and on regular schedules,
and carries passengers for G cents each. Chargo
10 cents and tho conveyance ceases to bo a
Jitney.
Exnctly what function In transportation It
will eventually and permanently fulfil It Is per
haps too early to say. Tho prophecies from
various sources aro various. For Instance:
"It will develop Into an Institution for short
haul trnfllc."
"Judging from tho past history of tho nuto
mobllc. It will provo a great road-builder."
"It Is easy to seo the trend of things In ln
terurban transportation."
"It Is serving In many Instances as a most
effective public scrvlco commission."
"It may end tho agitation of public owner
ship of urban transit lines."
"In the long run tho Jitney bus peoplo will
find that running a motorcar for tho public nt
5 cents a trip does not pay. When tho real
charges begin to como in maintenance, tires,
depreciation, etc. the operators will begin to
check up and learn tho truth about their Invest
ment." Somo moro opinions: "The Jitney win soon
disappear to bo replaced by an 'automobile ex
press' cars built especially for clty-passengor
trafllc, with capacity for 10 or a dozen persons
each, and operating regular routes, with branch
lines and transfer stations."
"It Is not Inconceivable that tho traction in
terests will find the motor bus a valuable fac
tor In solving the problems both of congestion
nnd of tapping districts not served which for
reasons of expense, street regulations or other
wIsj, cannot bo leached by tracks."
"Tho Standard Oil Company Is still In tho
business of selling gasoline." It Is of con
siderable Interest that a chemist in the Bureau
of Mines has found tho jitney brand of gaso
llno-for by his now process 200 per cent, moro
gasoline can bo obtained from a gallon of
petroleum than by any of the previously utilized
processes.
A BOON TO VERMONT BOYS
From tha Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Before the Legislature of Vermont Is a meas
ure which merits the Indorsement of every boy
In the United StateB. it nlms to relieve boy
dom of the Green Mountain State of a handi
cap which has long hampered Its natural de
velopment. The bill In question proposes to reduce the
license tax on circuses which enter the State In
the pursuit of business. The present tax Is
$1000, which Is declared to be practically pro
hlbltlve. In addition, each town where the big
canvass Js spread levies Its own tax, running
from $25 Into the hundreds,
A State virtually without circuses from one
year's end to another cannot live a healthful
existence. It is not surprising that Vermont
threw away her electoral votes three years ago,
nor that the State was visited by an epidemic
of infant paralysis last year.
What Vermont needs is circuses. The Legis
lature Is on the right tack. And the approach
of spring furnishes a psychologically happy
background for the consideration of this boon
to the modern Green Mountain boys. Reduce
the State circus tax? Abolish It
ANGRY LETTERS
This at least should bo a rule through the
letter writing world that no angry letter be
posted till four and twenty hours shall have
elapsed since It was written. We all know how
absurd is that other rule of saying the alphabet
when you ara angry, Trash I Sit down and
write your letter; write It 'with all the venom in
your power; spit out your spleen at the fullest;
'twill do you good. You think you have been
injured. Say all that you can say with all
your poisoned eloquence, and gratify yourself
by reading it while your temper la stilt hot.
Then put it In your desk, and, as a matter of
course, Tmrn It befor breakfast the following
morning. Believe pie that you will then have
a double gTatlncatloh.-Anthony Trollop.
WISH AND WJLL
Wo would have inward peace.
Yet will not look within;
We would have misery ceaie.
Yet wW not cease, from sin.
Katthrw Arnold,
I -T
BEST THOUGHT IN AMERICA
DIGEST OF
(1) Metropolian "Today nnd Tomorrow."
(2) World's Work "Pork Barrel Pen
sions." (3) Now Republic "The Rota."
(4) Leslie's "Tho Plain Truth."
(5) Collier's "Wo Shall Meet, but Wo
Shall Miss Thorn."
THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS
OUR Idea of what constitutes the people's
business is slowly expanding. In feudal
days It consisted exclusively of paying taxes
and fighting. Today It 13 much tho same,
except that, In tho meantime, tho people, by
dint of a couplo of revolutions and much
struggle and bloodshed, havo gained a sort
of loft-handed control of what becomes of
their taxes'. Theoretically, of course, this
being a democracy, thoy havo overythlng
to say about it. But, ns a matter of fact,
tho "soverelgn-pcpul" havo mortgaged them
selves hand and foot to local machines and
a couplo of national parties that spend their
tlmo playing chess with each other, using
tho people's votes nnd monoy for tho rooks
and pawns, nnd so it Is rumored making
ducks and drakes' of them.
Optimists hope that somo day tho peoplo
will tiro of being pawns, nnd will dccldo to
tako a hand In tho gamo for themselves. In
fact, they nro already trying to do this in
tho West with tho Initiative, referendum,
recall and similar measures. In tho mcan
tlmo, however, tho national pastime of see
ing how full tho national legislators can
stuff their pork barrels without "busting"
them rolls merrily on. Tho March maga
zines contain a dozen articles touching on
various phases of the people's business, nnd
their efforts to swing It.
An nrtlclo by Walter Llppmann In tho
Metropolitan (1), points out analogies bo
tween business' and politics:
The old theory that a business exists for
Its owners Is going the way of the theory
that a people exists for its king, George V,
in his proclamations, still talks of "my peo
ple" as somo men talk of "my business," but
overy ono knows that it Is an empty fiction.
It Is no great prophecy to say that In a fow
years "my business" will seem Just ns anti
quated a phrase. Tho best clue to the con
dition of business Is to recognlzo that within
It tho samo forces aro at work which havo
transformed cities and states from crown
colonies and dependencies Into moro or less
self-governing members of a national feder
ation. These new democratic experiments
nro often ignorant, sometimes corrupt; they
aro easily betrayed; they shun tho expert
and they fear power.
You cannot have an Industrial system go
ing In ono direction nnd a political system
going In another. Either thoy must rein
force each other or they will destroy ono
another. Business and politics aro so close
together they cannot live on two contradic
tory principles. Wo sometimes forget tho
absurdity of that contradiction. All the year
long a man may work in a factory and If ho
criticises the boss ho is fired. On ono Tues
day in November he helps to decldo the hir
ing and firing of tho President of the United
States.
What Is in tho Pork Barrels
There Is a disillusionizing account of pension-grabbing
methods by Burton Hendrlck
In tho World's Work (2), which accounts for
what becomes of a share of our taxes:
In tho 60 years since the Civil War ended,
the American people have paid to its sur
vivors or their dependents more than $4,500,
000,000. For 40 years Congress has prac
tically abdicated its control over pension leg
islation. Tho Grand Army of tha Republic
has a pension committee of seven members,
which publicly boasts that It has written all
tho pension laws of the last 40 years. What
Is the power back of it? First, of course,
are the old soldiers, their votes on election
day, and the votes of their sympathizers rep
resent the considerations which political Con
gressmen have received in exchange for tills
franking privilege on tho Federal Treasury,
Back of this there developed In this country,
In the years succeeding the Civil War. cer
tain professional classes which made a living
out of the pension roll the pension attorney
and the pension doctor. The business of tho
first was to scour the country for pension
candidates and to discover some niche In the
pension laws that would admit the most un
deserving; that of the second to And some
physical disability that could be traced to
Held service. Both advertised far and wide
in the dally press, in circulars and pamphlets
and old soldiers' magazines. Occasionally
they became so notorious that they got into
tho criminal courts. They frequently made
the claimant swear to blank affidavits, the
lawyers afterward flUlng In the details them
selves. Personation of old soldiers was a
common practice, thousands of veterans
went peacefully to their graven not knowing
TO GET SOMEWHERE-
1
THE MAGAZINES
their names were on tho pension rolls, other'
men, In somo cases pension attorneys, draw-i
Ing and pocketing tljo quarterly checks. The'
United States, with Its notoriously small and i
Inadequate nrmy, spends moro on pensions
than all tho great military establishments?
"' .uiuiju put logoiner. tho united States
uuvi-iuiiient is mo oniy ono that has pen
sioned not Olllv lift fnlfhflll Htlnr .nlJI.w
but Its deserters and its dishonorably dls
chnrged. ,
Tho Now Republic (3) calls attention tl
tho general rushing through of appropriations
bills in the last days cf tho G3d CongresJ: S
iMoiwunsianuing hh excellent general rec
ord, candid Democrats themsolvcs admit
that It mndo In ono respect an egregious
failure. It was shamelessly and flagranti
prodigal In the appropriation of public!
monoy. In not n. slnglo case did the (3d ',
.-oiiKress auempi to eradicate any of ins
ancient grafts or fall to fill any of the regu
lar porn unrreis. - - -
Tho public buildings bill for 1913 provided
for 327 now buildings. Tho supervising
architect reported thnt "tho last ot the
buildings will not havo been placed under
contract until about the beginning 61 the
yenr 1920." Nevertheless, the sundry civil
impropriations bill ut tho present session au- '
thorlzcd about 150 new buildings.
Postmaster General Burleson dislikes the'
buildings thrust upon tho department he- i
causo thoy aro unnecessarily elaborate and
expensive. Jasper, Alabama, with a
population of 2500, whero tho Government Is
now spending $372 a year for rent, heat,
light and janitor service. Is In tho bill for
an appropriation of $107,000. Its case Is not
exceptional. Wilmington. N. C, where the?
gross receipts of tho Custom House aroj
$28,000 a year, got an appropriation of J6M,-'S
uuu tor a now building to House a ousintai
which employs four otllclals and at present,
costs tho Government 25 cents for each
dollar collected.
Another County Heard From A
Lcsllo's (4) Is moro disturbed about an.'
other extravaganco:
Incredible! Whllo tho Stato of New York
is on the eugo of bankruptcy, with JlSiWv,
000 needed to fill tho gap, tho Legislature at
Albany is puttering over bills to further our"
don tho taxpayers by making new require,-
ments for pensioning widows, ror wontm1
meti'H rnmnonsntlnii niwl other nrolectS Cal
eulated to bcgullo tho elusive labor vote. Hi
Is also busy In imposing now uuraens e
telonhono and other companies. So, at,
Washington, with tho Federal Treasury f
Ing a deficit of $40,000,000 and new taxes on,
a bond issuo in sight before long, -on'J"
unonr Ha flnnlnr- linnra In framing UP a tUl
to double tho cost of running ships undefl
tho American flag,
Collier's elves nn amusing glimpse ofi
eomo of tho men who play chess with ourl
tax moneys, in an article by George wa
(6):
Over 100 Congressmen folded up tM'
careers when the late Congress came to j
close. Somo of them marched on into w,
i. . ,-... .i.i -. nrp Batlsnta
ouuu.lt?, uilltua j cms;. u... "oy, i"..,,.-.!
Ono of tho greatest bereavements was W"l
gressman Charles Bartiett. ot ueun. -,
was noted for his temper, his KnowledM wi
consuiuuunai taw, i ' "- ii,iBI
Georgia. Ono tlmo Dartlett was Ml
posterity and ono or two members wJn j
tonso earnestness during the lunch """TJl
delivering a beautiful apostrophe to M?$
Ga., his homo town. Merely to help W wj
bate. -long. Smith, of Iowa, rose and wmm
rupt ." the speaiter. "itus i.. ""Atm
ever heard of Red Oak. Iowa?" h
"No." said Bartlett. with treroendou
-basis. Smith then proceeded In Kinaiy ? ,
i to inform the Georgia Congress!.-
td Oalc had moro street pavlntr. more ",
phones, moro cnurcnes, im ?:&
braries
"That1
treme earnestness, -i neve. ..-- w
Oak. It'B a one-horsa town. .j uaf
clapboard huddle of shacks )n a ?7tMf
Hole." tLoua ana reticuic . -, -AioV n
other three auditors. "i B"f V had bees
nhmited Smith, whoso Iowa loj alty n u
awakened. "I don't care f you "-aenl.i
Bartlett. "A better man than yo th,
Christ.". UPn WW-, hav ng , J
enemy, no umnaereu w.n;... .
THE RETURNING
ft,.. nt Arrnrlv aro fair tO .. .
E dreamt ..VTwIth sunny slope o gg
b. .i.i.n H'renms and song-bira
With golden dGsk and silver shlnU
Rut never hearts have found the ""f,
So dreamers say. Into these "JJfM
They are Deyonu our ;""""". -.7 and CM
Ueyond our narrow life of ton an
Yet here I saw go down thU dty street Jf
A maid whoso eyes i"" u.'Ca
with tenderness, and he with glance) m m
Looked down to hers with hsppmw ?j
Around y.em .wept the din of
TlSS that they had been in A
ArtttW WaUo yeb ,a P,aB
lieu.