K
8
iinmtitg
Wtytt
public Ledger company
.. CXRIJB " K CURTIS, rEBaiDINT.
JS?il2 S; 3'niton.Vlce PruldentiJohn C, Martin.
RblTOntAlTuOAnD!
i . Ctr It. K. Cctn, Chairman.
jr. It. WMALSY i ...Kancutlvti Editor
i JOHN g. MARTIN General Buslnens M.h.ter
ruHUhed dally at PcblIo Limbs Bulldlnr,
Independence Squire, Philadelphia.
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riiiLADrtriiiA. sATuntuv, APnu. 17. mis.
AHioup-fc inith does not flu, but crawls on Us
bellu, it ultimately pets there.
Just a Beginning
THE needs of tho Pennsylvania Hallroad
for new equipment will not have been
uppllcd when It gets tho $20,000,000 worth
of locomotives and cars which It Is about to
build and buy. These cars and engines aro
to tnko the placo of worn-out equipment, ac
cording to tho announcement. They will not
materially add to tho ability of tho railroad
to handle Its' business. When a new locomo
tive Is pUt on tho rails an old ono will be
ent to the scrap heap.
The ordor, therefore, for now rolling stock
TvlU set tho railroad equipment mills In flno
Bhapa to fill tho new orders that must como
when the business of tho country resumes
Its normal Increase after tho period of de
pression, and when new cars will bo needed
for now business rather than to tako tho
placo of old on os. There Is a splendid pros
pect for prosperity In the steel industry for
nome years' to come.
Hurrah for Logic!
THE new president of Vassar says that
"girls' brains function about the same as
men's do." Another argument for the
suffragists? Oh, no; not at all. The case
for woman suffrage docs not depend in tho
least on whether a woman's brain works
llko tho masculine brain. Perhaps no great
harm Is done If It works very differently.
Fitness to vote, moreover, was not origi
nally determined on this question, for ages
ago man arrogated It to himself by brute
strength. And still the antls, with admir
able logic, stick to tho brute-strength
theory. If woman Is to vote, she must be
able to back up her ballot with an cffectlvo
bullet. Hurrah for logic!
Watch Philadelphia Boom
THE brilliant success of the movement for
a Greater Chamber of Commerce has Jus
tified the faith of tho men behind It. They
believed that all Philadelphia was ready to
move forward In the direction In which it
was started more than a century ago, when
It was the greatest American city and the
centre of the nation's commercial and finan
cial and political activity. The city has
grown In tho Intervening years, but It has
lacked the get-together spirit. The mo3t
patriotic and loyal Phlladclphians admit this,
and they have regretted It, save the few
who were content. There Is a manifest de
termination now, however, to pull together
so that the city may not loso a slnglo trick
In the business game.
It Id true In commerce as In morals, that
no man Hveth to himself. The realization
of this truth is what is behind tho new Phil
adelphia enterprise. Thero will bo no slack
1 enlng of effort now that tho campaign for
membership Is completed, but the work of
organizing the members Into committees will
BO' on and then the committees will take up
tho work assigned to them. Every kindred
organization In the community will feel tho
effect of the new life in the enlarged cham
ber. And the city will boom!
An Interesting But Importnnt Mission
r' IS not likely that the women on tho way
to The Hague to talk about peace think
that their remarks will have any influence
fc on the result. They recognize tho fact that
their gathering will be interesting, but unim
portant. They want peace, and so do all tho
belligerents, but thinking women hero and
abroad, and thinking men likewise, agree
with former President Eliot, of Harvard,
-who told the Baptist ministers In Boston
that a sudden termination of tho war would
net back civilization for several centuries.
The peace-at-any-prlce advocates are crying
"Peace! Peace!" when thero Is no peace.
And there can be no peace until the fires
which started tho conflagration are
quenched. They mny bo banked, hut they
would break out again, no ono knows when.
Tet tho termination of the war may come
sooner than it is expected, because of a sud
den realization" th'it the armies are trying to
keep alive a flame that is dead. Enduring
peace waits on a decisive determination of
the Issues which occasioned tho war, not on
a resolution or on compromises.
A New Thing Under the Sun
THE effete East has produced a now
variety of railroad hold-up which must
make the far West envious. It Is possible
that a freight train may have been halted
between stations somewhere, some time, and
robbed of its' load by highwaymen, but It
has never before happened In the way used
by the men In western New York. The
train WW stopped and tho engine detached,
while the crew were stood up against the
fence, under guard of an armed rnan.
Other armed men broke open the cars,
loaded, their automobile trucks with valu
able freight and then rushed off toward
Uffaln af full speed. The engineer added
to the (hrlll of the episode by rushing to
hi engine, dodging1 bullets on the way, and
steaming at breakneck speed eight miles to
the nearest station for help. And this thin?
happened in the. Empire State, within a few
miles of a city of ahoU half a million
population'
If Jt had been art express oar that had
men held up and robbed the Incident
would have been of the usual kind. Ex
griMs cura carry gold and Jewels In small
lnekai?6a that can be carried easily. But
it a a freight train that wus robbed and
th loot wits carried away in motorcars,
fm tfauuKb the men engaged In It were
AibUs robbing caravan on the desert of
it Wlfcsr aS ruga on the way to the dtla
hol4 thing U so iaoredlbfe
KafcJ'XwS
EVEKINft LEDGEB-PHI11ADEEPHIA, SATURDAY, APRII. 17, 1915; ...
and Apparently so Impossible that ono would
find difficulty In believing It If ho saw It
happen with his own ryes. If tho robbers
can escapo with their loot, 11 will bo so re
marknblo that tho averngo citizen who saw
tho accounts of It in tho papers would bo
excused If ho Imagined that a tnlrngo of
tho desert had como between his eyes and
his newspaper. It Is only because such a
mirage would bo equally strnngo that wo
shall awnlt with anxiety tho explanation of
tho mystery, If thero bo nny plauslhlo ex
planation. Always Independent But Never Neutral
THE wicked flourish. It Is recounted that
they have nourished In nil periods ot
human history, nlthough tho careers ot
many of them havo been prematurely nnd
unnaturally cut off. "Yes, wo aro crooked.
Wo would not bo successful politicians If wo
wero not." That Is tho cynical answer of
men who plllaga government, nnd recurrent
majorities emphnslze tho apparent correct
ness of their logic.
Money stolen from the public can bo re
placed. It Is not waste thnt renders political
criminality so foul a thing, bad ns It Is,
But tho constant pounding nt tho founda
tions of good government, tho perslstont
endeavor to corrupt, tho spreading of tho
propaganda of loot, havo a cumulatlvo
effect, particularly Insidious, which tends to
contamlnnto public thought, on tho sincerity
nnd fairness of which tho llfo of a democracy
absolutely depends.
It Is essential to tho preservation of our
form of government that constant combat
bo waged against this disruptive force. It
Iff often a hopeless battle, ns tlnin nfter
tlmo nn electorate Indorses men nnd policies
notoriously antagonistic to American piln
clples. To bo stendy In such crises, un
wavering In nlleglancc to tho democratic
Ideal, moro than over outspoken In opposi
tion, generous In advocacy of right and
honesty, Is thf function of a newspaper de
voted to tho rule of tho poople. It Is a hard
task, most difficult when tho necessity of
It Is greatest, but It Is a task which
nowspnpers havo performed over nnd over
again. Barely has n city been without at
least one publication with steel In Its spine.
People are ungrateful, of course. Vet It Is
not surprising thnt two States yestcrdny
paid tribute to William R. Nelson, nn cilltor
"always Independent but never neutral,"
who fought the good fight and did moro
than ono man's share to mako tho com
monwealths about him better places In
which to live.
Gcschaeft 1st Gcschacft!
THE Government Is expected to keep Itself
thoroughly Informed of tho progress of
tho campaign to persuado tho workers In the
American munition factories to dlsablo those
factories by striking. No such general strike,
as wa3 urged at a mass meeting In Cooper
Union, New York, yesterday, Is likely to
take placo without tho active aid and assist
ance of German agents. Germany has failed
to porsuado tho Government to tako sides
with it by putting an emburgo on the ship
ment to tho Allies of munitions of wnr; nnd
it ought to have fulled. It may bo desperato
enough to try to accomplish the samo result
by disabling the factories through a labor
strike. But no American, whether neutral,
pro-German or pro-Ally, wants to bolievo
that Germany will resort to such extreme
and unjustlflablo measures.
No American gun or ammunition makers
havo yet been guilty of tho offenses of Incit
ing tho war spirit and bribing military men
to increase their purchase of wnr supplies,
although nil these things havo been proved
against the great Krupp company. Tho
Americans aro willing to sell to whomever
will buy, Just as tho Kruppa wero willing to,
and did, sell to tho Mexicans nt a tlmo when
tho United States had forbidden tho export
of arms into Mexico by Americans. Wo wero
trying to restore order thero by keeping guns
out, but the Krupps saw a chanco to make
an honest penny, and with their usual enter
prise they seized It And now If their fac
tories wero not running seven days a week
to supply the Germans It is not likely that
they would hesitate to sell guns to tho Al
lies. Gcschaeft 1st gcschaeft. And Ameri
cans' Intend to do a legitlmato business
whether foreigners llko It or not.
Martial vs. Marital Strategy
THE Gieek war party Is trying to Influence
King Constantino by circulating the re
port that the Queen has threatened to go
back to tho Kaiser, her brother, If tho King
consents to Join the Allies In tho war. They
ore saying that tho Queen dominates the
royal household and that her marital strategy
has brought to nought the martial Inclina
tions of her husband and tho Greek nation.
The theory of this move is that tho King,
when charged with being a henpecked hus
band, will declare that he Is a Greek, first,
last nnd all the time, and that ho will stand
or fall with the Greeks. But will he? That
Is the question which the Allies would llko
to have answered.
Before wo know It there may bo n Jitney
trust rivaling the rapid transit trust.
"Billy" Sunday wants the Paterson folk to
think that he la In tho Caruso class, nnd
he Is.
The Senate finds It difficult to conceal Its
surprlso when the Governor nets ns If his
brains wero under his own hat.
Even Mexican lumber swindlers do not
always have more Influence with the authori
ties than have Justlco and the victims.
Every suffragist will agree with President
McCrafchon, of Vassar, that u woman's brain
Is as good as a man's and sometimes better.
If the Municipal Court tipstaves, who
have nothing to do but catch files, would
only catch Home nnd kill them, they might
earn part of their Balarles.
General Huerta, whose experience with
bandits Is qulto large, spoke with the
authority of an expert when ho announced
that order will not be restored across the
border by one of them.
The late J. Plerpont Morgan was a skill
ful collector of second-hand furniture, as
the recent sale of his collection of historic
"Junk" for $3,000,000 would convince the
most skeptical auctioneer.
Atlantic City may bo destined to rival
Newport as the great yachting resort on
the coast, but it has already surpassed
Nowport as the great breathing resort of
the men who make the wheels of industry
go round.
A negro doctor practicing without a license
In New York explained that his medicine con
tained, among' other things, "Gall of tho
earth which I got from the backgrounds ot
Newark." He has been convicted because It
la Illegal, In New York for any one to dU
wmlnate New Jensey gal) without flrt prov
ing tbajt, tuk t aa expert,
Mexico's Latest
"man ofthe hour"
Alvaro Obregon a Different Kind of
Mexican Revolutionist More of a
Fanner Than a Fighter, Never
theless He la Called "Napoleon."
By ELLIS RANDALL
UNTIL recently Alvaro Obregon, the
youngest of tho Mexican chieftains who
hnvo figured In tho revolutionary wars of
tho last two or three years, was compara
tively unknown outside his turbulent coun
try. Yet Obregon, tho hero of tho battles
of Pticbla nnd Mexico City, Is tho too who
was most feared by Huerta nnd who has
outgeneraled Villa on moro than ono occa
sion. Nows out of Mexico has to be modi
fled by many considerations, and tho throe
days' battlo of Celaya may or may not ,
prove to havo been a "decisive victory" for j
tho Carranzlstns, but If you remember that
It's Mexico Qonernl Obregon now seems to
have superseded Huerta nnd Villa and Car
ranza as "the man of tho hour." For sev
eral months tho Carranzlstns hnvo admitted (
that their hopes rest on this young ranch
owner of Sonora. They cull him "tho right
hand of Carranza" and often "tho Napoleon '
ot tho West."
Likes Farming Bettor Than Fighting
Obrecon Is vcrv different from many ot
tho military lendpis whom tho revolutions
of his country havo set In tho limelight
Llko Hucrtn, Obregon Is no Ignoramus. Ho
Is, Indeed, ono of tho best educated men In
Mexico. Unllko Huerta, however, ho Is no
"mnn-cnter." At heart, so his friends ns
sert, ho Is not oven n .soldier. He hns prob
ably tho slncerrst love of pence nnd the
least amount of personal nmbltlon to bo
found among tho at my commanders In
Mexico.
Moro thnn onco ho has expressed his dis
gust for tho gamo of warfare. It Is n
devil's gamo, ho says with emphasis, de
claring ho would llko to bo out of It and
hack on his farm (for It's moro of a farm
than a ranch). His record is remarkably
frco from charges of ntrocltles. When ho
had helped establish Madero In tho presi
dency, Obregon refused to contlnuo with tho
military farces and returned at onco to
Sonora.
Quite possibly Alvaro Obregon Is not a
paragon of patriotism or an example of
perfection as a warrior, but ho does possess
qualities which nro refreshing to come
across In n Mexican revolutionist. It is
certain thnt ho earnestly desires for tho
poor classes tho educational opportunities
which make a nation prosperous nnd power
ful. The program which ho wishes to seo
carried out In a peaceful Mexico Is an edu
cational program. Hero is what ho says
himself:
Menace of Illiteracy
"Wo Mexicans do not hato foreigners, but
we do envy them for their superior educa
tion and business knowledge. Wo seo tho
foreigners coming Into our country, getting
good wages and living in good houses nnd
on tho best of tho land, while our peoplo
Hvo In huts and get barely enough to keep
body and soul together. Ono of tho lies
circulated ngalnst us Is that wo Intend to
forco payment of such high wages thnt cap
ital will forsake the country. All wo Insist
on Is a living wage, a decent houso to llvo
in and schools to 6cnd tho Mexican chil
dren to, so that tho generation to como will
ho an educated nnd not nn Illiterate ono,
as In tho case of their unfortunato fathers
and mothers.
"Why should we hntc the foreigner upon
whom wc must depend to teach us modern
ways of accomplishing things? But we do
envy them when wo realize that our own
people aro denied tho snmo opportunities.
Wo are fighting to cut down that 70 per
cent, of Illiteracy in Mexico, and wo expect
to win tho battle."
Thus Is Obregon's wish for Mexico ex
pressed by "tho general who can read as
well ns write."
Obregon is S5 years old. He comes of a
well-to-do family long prominent In the
State of Sonora, which touches the Amer
ican bolder west of EI Paso. Early In llfo
he saw tho Injustices heaped upon tho peons
and formed opinions' lmidly In accordance
with thosp generally held by his clnss. A
friend of his now in tho United States says
that those who knew him then "looked
upon him ns a di earner, a young chap whoso
hopes bordered on tho unattainable. Somo
disliked his liberal views', which approached
socialism, but none ever quarreled with
him concerning those vlows. He Is not a
man to quarrel with."
Obregon nn Insatiablo Reader
Ho Is nn Insatiablo reader, and In his list
of supplies are nlways to bo found orders
for hooks, magazines and newspapers. Ho
carries with him n small library while In
tlte field, and his fnrmhouso In Sonora Is
well filled with books, especially those ot
general literature nnd on the Bubjcct of me
chanics. In his early twenties ho Invented an ngrl-
VIEWS ON CURRENT TOPICS
TRADE AND LEGISLATION
To the Kdilor o tht Kvtning Ltiarr:
Sir In the Issue of the Evening) I.BDann of
the 14th, under tho caption of "Democracy's
Merry MaBnuerade," It Is editorially charged
that
"Mr Bryan and Democracy as a whole
have treated successful business as Illegiti
mate!" That is a bold statement, and if true, it
should be known of all men, especially business
men.
Now, Mr. Editor, will you kindly give facts
to sustain this monstrous charge against a ma
jority of the citizens of the United States?
I ask for facts, not argument or generaliza
tion. Specifically, what legitimate business has
suffered by any act of Government under con
trol of Democrats? Name them and tell Just
how they have suffered.
As one business man, I do not know of a
single act of Congress or of the Government
that has In the least interfered with the ordi
nary conduct of all legitimate business.
Will you also ppeclfleally define what you
class as legitimate and Illegitimate business?
The advocacy of free silver by Mr. Bryan 20
ear ago has about us much to do with pres
ent business cpndltlous as the old hulks of
decaying Ironclads at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard have to do with modern dreadnoughts.
And, In passing, did not Mr. Bryan merely
advocate the continued use of silver along the
lines established by the Republicans as part of
our money system? If It is a crime for Mr,
Bryan to hold fast to a system in vogue made
by his political opponents, is It not equally
criminal for the party that Inaugurated that
system?
In a word, why do so many of our news
papers persist in condemning the action of
those In authority as the people's representa
tives simply because they have attempted to
legislate for the general common welfare?
Do they propose any better system or merely
hammer at the change In order, apparently, to
produce conditions that they profess to de
plore? Candidly, Mr- Editor, just stop and think of
cultural machine which was patented in tho
United States and later sold to an American
company. With the money obtained by tho
salo of his Invention ho built a small ma
chlno shop, In which ho used to spend much
of his time. Ills lighting days did not be
gin until tho Madero tevolt ngalnst Porflrlo
Diaz. On its conclusion he went back to
his farm nnd stayed thero until ho heard
of Madero's assassination.
Obregon Is a very slmplo nnd democratic
Individual. He Is constantly to bo seen
among his soldiers, chatting with thrm and
entirely oblivious to his superior rank, lit
is fond ot telling nnd hearing stories nnd
Jokes. Ho Is modest nnd speaks Uttlo of
his victories and achievements. Tho pralso
given to him, ho said, at tho tlmo when he
was congratulated upon his entry Into Mex
ico City, belonged rightfully to his soldiers.
Ho ns tho first man in Mexico to placo
an army on n modern scientific basis. He
reorganized his forces after a profound
study of tho United States army. Ho also
gathered tho largest forco of soldiers known
In that land. Until his time nn army of
10,000 men was considered an Immense
force. Even the shrewd old dictator Hucrtn
wns not ablo to muss a larger division.
But tho first thing Obregon did was to
organlzo an army of more than 23,000 men
nnd place It, on a modern military footing.
Then ho turned his attention to tho thing
most needed in his army a field hospital.
From n Race of Gentlemen
Though Obregon hns some of tho blood
of tho Ynqul Indians In his veins his com
plexion Is fair, for he Is mostly Spanish.
Physically, ho Is well proportioned. Ho Is
about six foot in height nnd of clean-cut
appearance. Ho dresses Immnculatcly and
his manners nro courtly. Tho Spnnlsh gen
tleman Is prcsont in tho farmer of Sonora.
Altogether, Obregon Is a much moro en
gaging typo of revolutionist than somo
others of his countrymen of whom wo havo
heard In tho Inst few years. His friends
pay that ho has no political ambitions.
Certainly his political capacity has not yet
been tested. As a military leader he has
won considerable success. Experts remark
that his inarch of 2000 miles from Sonora
to Mo-xlco City was ono of tho greatest
military feats accomplished In tho history
of the country, nnd In tho battle that fol
lowed he completely outgeneraled Villa.
What his future tasks, problems and duties
will be, nnd how ho will go nbout them, aro
matters concerning which It would be use
less to speculate
CYCLE JITNEY IN BOSTON
From the "Observant Citizen" In the Boston Fot
I wonder how many people know the new
mode of travel?
Yesterday afternoon, while standing on the
corner of School and Washington streets, a
young man rodo up on a motorcycle with a side
car attached, nnd shouted "Next."
A man with a bag stepped In nnd paid his
nickel for fare, and gave directions for the
South station. I understand this cycle-Jitney
leaves School and Washington streets any time
during the day and goes to either North or
South stations as directed, for a fee of C cents.
the opportunities we have as business men and
as a nation of virile citizens to secure a large
share of foreign commerce nnd manufacture
things needed by other nations. If we only size
up to the situation and grasp control of trade
knocking at our doors and supply the need of
others.
Above all things wo want to stop knocking
and clamoring ngalnst progress nnd develop
ment, and do our best as sovereign citizens
to encourage those In authority as our national
representatives not as partisans, but ns citi
zens In every effort made to advance the in
terest of our common country nt home and
abroad, for the common good or all.
M. C. PAUL.
Philadelphia, April 15.
TOO HIGH OVERHEAD CHARGES
To the Editor 0 the Evening Ledger:
Sir I have been waiting for the newspaper
with sufficient enterprise to put Its finger upon
the principal cause for the discouragement o
manufacturing and mercantile Industry In this
city, now under thoughtful consideration In the
Chamber of Commerce movement
A glance at the century-old buildings which
disgrace Chestnut street, Market street, and
other business thoroughfares, forming about 3
per cent, or less of the total value of these
properties, and a trurvey of the thousands of
acres of unused land all over the city, furnish
the key to the trouble excessive overhead
charges paid In rent by business tenants and
paid in taxes on buildings and machinery by
business owners.
Why not abolish all taxes on Improvements
and place all on the value of land, thus forcing
the unused land Into use, discouraging specu
lation in land and reducing rentals.
For a building 100 years old. a candy store on
Chestnut street eaut of Juniper pays 120,000
rental a year, besides all taxes and water rent.
A drug store west of Juniper street pay
SZS.000. Thua are but sainDlas. of "overhead
charges." What Is Ue remedy? Tax sltjs
barges." What Is Ue remedy? Tax s(e I tarslen."
SELES, April u J GB9,hen'uBt,r?lgn wa, rn and her
vaiuv urn?
SKEETERS
THE SPRING SONG
i
The Tuileries Gardens, the Champs Elysees, the Seine and the!
Eiffel Tower Respond to It, but Human
Hearts Most of All.
By PHILIP GIBBS
In the London Dully Chronicle.
THERE is a bluo sky over Pails so clear
and cloudless that If any SJoppolIn came
beforo tho night It would bo seen a mllo high,
as a silver ship, tianslucent from stem to
stern, sailing in an azuro sea. Ono would
not bo scared by 'ono of theso death-ships
on such a day as this, nor bollove, until tho
crash came, that it would drop down de
struction upon this dream city, all nglltter
In gold nnd white, with all its towers and
spires clean-cut ngalnst tho sky.
It Is hard to think of death and war; be
cause spring has como to Paris, with Its
promiso of life. Thero Is a thrill of now
vitality throughout tho city. Listen, and
you seem to hear tho sap rising in tho trees
nlong the boulevards. Or Is It only tho wind
plucking at invisible harp strings, or visible
tclcphono wires, nnd playing tho spring song
In Parisian ears?
In tho Tuileries gardens, glancing aslant
tho trees, 0110 sees tho first green of tho
year as tho buds aro burgeoning and break
ing Into tiny leaves. Tho whlto statues of
goddesses a llttlo crumbled and weather
stained after tho winter are bathed In a
palo sunshine. Psycho stretches out her
nrms, still hnlf-nsleep, but waking at tho
call of spring. Pomona offers her fruit to a
young student, who gnzes nt her with his
black hat pushed to tho back of his pale
forehead. Womanhood, with all her beauty
carved In stone, In laughing and tragic
moods, In tho first grace of girlhood, and In
full maturity,' stands poised hero In tho gar
dens of tho Tuileries, and seems nllvo and
vlbrnnt with this new thrill of life which Is
pulsing In the moist earth and whispering
through tho trees, because spring has coins
to Paris.
Through Perfumed Streets
There Is no doubt about it. The flower
girls wllo had been early to I.es Halles enmo
up tho Ituo Itoyalo this morning with bas
kets full of violets, so that all tho street
was perfumed ns though great ladiest wero
passing and wafting scent In their wako.
Even the old "cocher" who drove mo down
tho Ruo Cambon had put on a now whlto
hat Ho had hoard the glad tidings, this old
wrinkled man, and ho clacked hl3 whip to
let others know, and gave tho glad eye a
watery, wicked old eye to half a dozen
mldlnettes who camo dancing along tho Rue
St. Honore. They knew without tho white
hat, nnd the clack of his- whip. Tho ichor of
tho air had got into their blood. They
laughed without the reason for a Jest, and
ran, lni skipping way, because) there was
tho spring song In their feet.
Along tho Champs Elysees thero Is the
pathway of tho sun. Through tho Aro de
Triompho thero is a glamourous curtain of
cloth of gold, and arrows of light strike and
break upon tho golden figures of Alexander's
bridge. Looking back ono sees the dome of
the Invnlides suspended In space, llko a
cloud In the sky. It was painted over to
bafllo the way of hostile aircraft, but the
paint Is wenrlng off, and tho gold shows
through again, glinting nnd flashing In the
air waves.
The Selno is like molten liquid today, nnd
the bridges which span It a dozen times or
moro between Notro Dame and tho Pont de
l'Alma are as white as snow, and Insubstan
tial as though they bridged tho gulfs of
dreams. Even the great blocks of stone and
tho bulks of timber which lie on the mud
banks below the Qual d'Orsay It is where
tho bodies of suicides float up and bring
new tenants to the Morgue are touched
with the beauty of this Lady-day, and In
vite an artist's brush.
Tho Eiffel Tower hangs a cobweb In the
sky. b wires have been thrilling to tho
secrets ot war, and this signal station is
barricaded so that no citizen may go near,
or pass tho sentries pacing there with
loaded rifles. But today It Is receiving other
messages, not of war. The wireless opera
tor, with the receiver at his ears, must have
heard those whispers coming1 from the earth;
"I am Bprlng. The earth Is
waking. I am coming: with the
beauty of life, I am gladness
and youth,"
Perhaps even the sentry, pacing- up and
down the wooden barricade, heard the ap
proach of some unseen presence when he
stood still this morning and peered
through the morning sunlight "Haiti
who goes there?" a friend."
pass, friend, and give the coun
T
IN A DREAM CITY I
tho Bplrlt of It steppod golden crocuses har.
thrust up through tho warming earth. nrtJ
far from where, a night or two ago, fire-i
Dans aroppeu irom a hostile aircraft
Oh, strango and tragic spring of this yen
13151 Is It posslblo thnt, while Nature it
preparing her beauty for tho earth, and Is
busy in tho ways of life, men should t8
henplng her fields with death, and drenching 'i
this fair earth with blood?
Ono cannot forgot. Even In Paris, awar
from tho sound of tho guns which roared In
my cars last week, nnd nway from tho mow
of tho wounded which mado my cars ach
worso than tho noise of battle, one cannot
forget tho tragedy of nil this death which
is being piled up under tho bluo sky, and ,
on fields nil astir with tho life of the year, f
In tho Tuileries gardens the buds art'fl
green. But thero aro black figures below
them. Tho women who sit thero all the aft-
nennnn emtrlnrf nn1 Irnltf tn n lfltVi Ml
v,iiiuu4 nuuint) iwii iviiikiit)t wi nidi iut J
hands In their laps, aro clothed In wldqi'
black. I glanced Into tho face of one oH
theso figures ns I passed this morning. She
wn3 quite a girl to .whom tho spring sons
should have called with a loud, clear note,'?
of Joy. But her head drooped, and her eyes "
wero steadfast as they stared at the pstn-
tv.nv. nnrl flip Rimplitnn hrmicrht nn color IntO
her whlto cheeks. She shivered 1
a little, and pulled her crepe veil closer 4
nbout her face.
A Splendid Superstition
Dotfn tho broad pathway between thew
rlittA ofntiioD nntnn n rirrtraalnn nf PnD?lB
pics. They woro tho uniforms of the FrenchW
army, and wero mostly young men In &w
Drlme of life, to whom also the spring should
have brought a sense ot vital Joy, of inteni
nnd energetic llfo. But they dragged Be
tween their crutches, whllo their lopped
limbs hunc; free. A little further off, In
patch of sunshlno boyond tho wall of th4r.
Jcu do Paumcs, sat half a dozen soldiers
Franco with loose sleeves pinned to their,
MAn A -nrltl. Anll. Ann lAf. tfl TPflt UDOn t)l6
uuuio, v win, wi. jr .u wq - . a
t-rniinri. Otm nf thpm was blind, and sJ
there with his face to the sun, rt'y
toward tho fountain of tho nymphs win
sightless eyes. Those six comrades of w
were quite silent, and did not "fight "
battles o'er niraln."
Perhaps they wero sad because they "$
tho spring song and knew that they w 1
i... 1 n,,t orrnln In thfl dnnCO tUDS 01j
Vrtlltll
And yet, after all. there Is more E,adn"'a
than sadness In Paris now that epnns ,
come, In spite of tho women In w
the cripples In tho gardens. Once 'J,
.w.i it. i r lifn "Vnw that Wl
Bprlng Is here," said the old cab drtviTSJB
.. ..,.- . .itt. .. n.111 nnnn 1)9 '
1110 wime imv, i,',.i..-o ... -
nnH Ihn -wnr will soon be over."
m
n,ii 1 .., . ,i.t t-h Ann weather W
una iiupciuiiicaa 11. tn. .o ....- . -jh
end the war quickly Is a splendid ""$
tlon which buoya up many hearts In ." j
Through the long, wet months of wiwy
.1 J ,1 .M -iinnl. tlAVe aSOBU'i
over the misery of their soldiers f J jM
trenches. Now that the earth " U,3B;
again and the rain clouds are vsni.'
...o . 1... ,... .1 to ., hone 8n &H
wonderful optimism In the spirit ol vW
people. "Tho spring will bring vle'onlIB
France" Is an article of faith wn.wi "
forts the soul of the little mldineiie ..
.. i,.. .,. v,a Tino ijifayette. it-:
the French soldier who finds a wild Howpj
, , . , , .
Kiuwuib Jll Ilia ticucji.
1ITn.TKTTXT.-l tntiT TtTlllTTl l
iK in 111 iw u ilia """" tirltB
Chni,l1 n ahm, Irian T-lcrht hand tO P'fH
hand among yourselves, 'and no wrong- JM.
anybody else, and you'll win ins .
Buskin, nTinnuoAnvii 1M miTWESE
The fame of "Tlpperary," acoord,n'A'LttV
native newspapers print their own v"' .
the famous war song. The chorus In M""5 4
urltti n lltarnl trun-lntlnn. fnlloWS' 1
Shlh ko yuan lu tao Tpo-Uen-ll-PI
yao tl Jlh hslng tsou.
Shlh ko yuan lu tao Tl-po-llen-ll-Yao
chlen wo ngal tzu mi,
Tiral mil Pl-ko-tl-ll,
Tsal chlen Lel-ssu Kwel-rh,
6hlh ko yuan lu tao Ti-po-Ueh-U
Tan wo hsln tsal na-rh.
Here is the literal translation L
This road Is far from Tl-po-H-)-u-
We must walk for many day
This road Is far from Tl-pa-Uh-u.
I want to see my lovelv girl.
To meet again Pl-ko-tl-ll.
To e again I.ti-sau Kwei rh
flii vnurl la fa. pn... Tl .nri- llll-" .
But my bwt 1 already In thai SS