PPpWl!MfiWifjWHi
7j f "W
t JVBDttEISDAY, FEBRUARY 23 tOlti.
xo
EVBtfING- LEDGER PHILADELPHIA
,,. I n J
Cutting
SJeHgro
PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY
emus n. ic cuims, fisidm.
) Charles IT. Ludtnjton, Vice-President t John C. Martin,
ifeersiarr and Treasorerl rhlllp 8. Collins, John B.
(Williams, Directors.
EDlTOMAt, nOAHDt
Crane It. K. boiTiB, Chairman.
P. R. WHALHT ..,,.....,. n...... Editor
tOnN a MAJtTIN.. ...i... General Business Manaur
Published daty at rcBtto Lxdoes Building)
Independent Square, Philadelphia.
Lroon CNTt... in..!. Broad and Chestnut Street!
An.inno CiTr......i..i....rre.i-lifoTi Bulldlm
Ninr TOK. ........ .......170-A, Metropolitan Toner
DctSItiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilX Ford Bulldlns;
Br. Locis.. ........... 400 Globe Democrat liulldlnc
Cmcioo. .,.......... .....i 1202 Tribune Building
NEWS BtntEAUS t
WmnmotoK Bciiuti -....... ....nlnts Butldlnr
Na " I0HK ncilAB. 4.. ......... ..The rimes Hulldlns
Bcti-t.-f 31tiriD. ............... ...CO Frledrlchstrasse
IOH r0 ! BcnmO..... ..Marconi House, Strand
Flu BuiiiU. ....... .... .. ... 32 Hue Loula le Grand
I SUBSCRIPTION TEBMS
1 W carrier, six cents per week. Bjr mall, postpaid
etttslds of Philadelphia, except where foreign postage
la required, ona month, twenty-die cents; ons year,
tbrta dollars. All mall subscriptions parable In
advance.
Notich Subscribers wishing address chanted must
glT old ,a well as new address.
BELL. 1900 WALNUT
KEYSTONE, MACT 8000
E7 Arfdrcst all communications to Eienlno
Ledger, Independent Square, TMIadetpMo.
I ' '
bhtoid it inn ritiLAnttpim posTornai is sscomd-
Gtill MAIL HiTTH.
TUB AVEBAOD NET TA1D DAILY CinCULA-
TION OF THE EVENING LEDGER
FOB. JANUARY WAS 09,311
PHILADELPHIA. WEDNESDAY, VEDnUAttY 51, 1916
Children are the anchors that hold a
mother to life. Sophocles.
Nothing to do but work until Mny 301
Tho weather man gavo Washington's Birth
day a warm welcome.
If poaco la to bo found that way, Mr. Ford's
want "ads" will produco It.
There Is no doubt whero Chief Justice Brown
Btanda on tho question of preparedness.
It Hiram Johnson Is, ns ho says, "a Pro
gresslvo still," thon ho Is not a real Progres
sive Ambassador Morgenthau, back from Con
stantinople, understands that tho first duty
of a diplomatist is to know what not to say.
"It la said that Germany Is doing much for
Belgium and working tho Belgian coal fields
to their capacity." But Berlin falls to report
to whoso advantage.
It may bo stat?d with nuthorlty that Am
bassador Gerard's collarbono was not broken
whllo ho was wrestling with tho meaning of
Secretary Lansing's ndtes..
Bandit Robs Pullman Passengers. Head
line. Just as Old Ed Hoivo had persuaded ub
that tho only ones left wcro porters.
Being familiar with tho recent advances in
tho cost of white paper, wo are Inclined to
doubt tho statement of a New York paper
that "Mexican currency la now worth about
the paper it is printed on."
, Retail tbVioo dealers of Pennsylvania aro
holding their annual convention. Havo they
any influence with tho orratlo power which
lias been making femlnlno footwear these last
two years?
Men have piled up monoy and died paupers
in satisfaction. It does a man no good to
gain the whole world if ho lose his soul. His
self-respect, his knowledge that he has done
tho most that could bo dono with tho talents
God gavo him, is tho measuro of his success
in life.
Tho man shot through the East River near
New York city a few days ago was a hero
through no force of his own. William J. Gan
non, who was working In a conduit at Tor
resdale, was upset, lost his air valve, walked
140 feet on hla hands In tho terrible pressure
of the conduit and came out alive because ho
would not dlo and leave hla family without
support. Is a hero of another sort. The East
River man qualified for tho moving pictures.
Mr, Gannon Is a hero of drama. and of Ufa.
The romance of being among those missing
here in Philadelphia is somewhat staggered by
Police Sergeant Joseph C. Shay In the miss
ing bureau of the police department. Ser
geant Shay has discovered what Brand Whit
lock discovered some yenra ago, that most of
tho kidnapping and white slave stories "aro
bunk." Tho further discovery, that many
young people leave homo because of dissen
sions between their parents, points to a con
dition which has long been suffered, but tor
which not even the most ardent reformer and
legislator can evolve a remedy.
Tho French official report of fighting in the
ArtQls region Is a model of truthfulness in the
face of defeat. It confesses the superior at
tacking power of tho German offensive, ad
mits that tho second lino was penetrated after
he first had been battered by bombardment,
and follows this with a Blmllar report an
tho operations about Verdun. In these days
When a gain of one trench Is heralded as a
victory these admissions are particularly
frank and commendable. But they cannot
meat) very much la the total scheme of trench
warfare or they would not bo so fully re
ported. Tomorrow Mrs, Emmellne Pankhurst speaks
at the Garrlck Theatre on and for the relief of
Serbia, With her wJH be a former represen
tative of Serbia at the Court of St. James. M.
Cheddo Mlyatovlch, and the meeting Is to be
hoW under patronage doubly distinguished, so
cially and charitably. There will be a certain
curiosity attached to Mrs. Pankhurst's ap
pearance hero for an object of pity rather than
for the strenuous causes with, which she was
once associated. Cut It is to be hoped that
thosf who go. and they should be enough to
fill trta auditorium, will go prepared to hear a
jitory of misery and misfortune by which their
hearts and their hands- will be equally moved
to lve. Nothing spectacular, nothing un
Usually terrible has happened in Serbia re
cently. But ttia drab and monstrous daily
torture ot tho country still persists. It may
be Inevitable, but If it is, our succor and as
stance are. equally bo.
TJiir army reorganization bill, agreed upon
fcy the House Committee on Military Affairs,
fnut sntt or fall on tho merits of the section
providing for federalizing tho organie4 mill
tta. It calls foe a standing army of 147,000
and m increase of the trained militia to
gJM The President is to have, power to
ixttt mapni of th National Otsard. into Fed
tl v ia war time, The amotion taoat b
jju h4j" trwutd. la order in teav ur doubt of
grant of power can b conferred to tako over
tho Stato troops na Individuals or In a body
without tho necessity of- a now enlistment,
thoro will still romaln tho objection that tho
National Govornmont has Inadequalo control
over tho development and training of tho
State troops In time of peaco. What the nation
wants Is a national force under national con
trol. It docs not caro how wo gol It so long
ns it la created. It la up to tho defenflors of
tho plan dovlsed by Mr. Hay's commlttoo to
show that they havo provided for a national
army of adequato size.
DANGER 1
The menace of foeble-mlndedness can be
nTcrtcil by !'" proper enro nnd secrerntlnn
of mental defective, especially of feeble
minded women of chlld-lienrlnir aire, The
l'ubllo Charities Association exhibit la an
object lesson In the result or nesieci.
EVDRY ono oxcept a few fanatics agrees
that persons suffering from smallpox and
diphtheria and other contagious dlseasoa
should bo quarantined. But only a fow, and
they havo been described ns fanatics, boliovo
that tho feeble-minded should bo segregated
for tho protection of tho community.
Tho mennca of fooblo mlndedncss, howover,
Is much greater than that of communlcablo
and curnblo diseases. Fooblo-mlndetlnoss Is
hereditary and it ia not curable. Tho feeblo
minded adult has tho lntelloot of a child and
tho morals of an npo. Ho or sho contnmlnatea
tho morals of tho normal youth, falla Into
cilmcs against property as well na against
tho poison, enlarges tho population of tho
prison and tho lnsnno asylum and Is nlso a
sourco of constant expenso to tho Stato.
Thoro Is In tills city a feeble minded woman
who la tho mother of nino children, most if
not all of whom aro feebleminded. Sho and
her family havo to bo cared for by various
charltablo societies. Tho societies havo boon
spending an avcrago of $2000 a year on this
family for sovoral cars, and will havo to
contlnuo to spend it so long as tho mother
and her children tomaln nt largo. As tho
children Erow up they will reproduco nftor
their kind ono of the daughters has alicady
begun It and tho expenso will bo multiplied
as tho degenerate family grows.
This woman has nlrcady becomo a centro
of social contamination, and unless tho Stato
Isolates her and her defectlvo offspring her
caso is likely to dlsplaco that of tho Kalllkak
woman of New Jersey na a horrlblo examplo
of what neglect of Its obvious duty can bring
upon a community. Tho Kalllkak woman, as
sociologists know, was feeble minded. Sho had
a child by a Revolutionary soldier. Today
thero nro 135 descendants of this child In New
Jersey. They are nearly, If not quite, nil crim
inals, mental defectives and perverts.
Thero li a county In noithenstern Penn
sylvania wheio tho feebleminded aro espe
cially numerous. In ono district of 308 in
habitants 82 aro mentally defective, and In
another, containing B2 persons, 30 nro feeble
minded to a greater or less degree. In tho
last 25 years tho taxpayers of tho county havo
had to meet a chargo of $205,000 for tho pun
ishment of crlmo nnfl the relief of poverty
growing chiefly out of tho fact that theso
feeble minded persons were allowed at largo.
Tho whole Stato contains 18,000 persons of
subnormal montal development, and only 3G00
of them aro cared for in public or private
institutions. In a spasm of social responsibil
ity tho General Assembly appropriated $50,000
for tho establishment of a vlllago for feeble
minded women between 10 and 45 years of
nge. The Govornor reduced tho appropriation
to $40,000. This was in 1913. A slto has been
bought In Laurelton, Union County, and ono
or two buildings havo been erected. Tho last
Legislature declined to mako any appropria
tion for completing tho buildings or for using
what had already been built. If it had under
stood the Importance of such an Institution
It would havo put at tho disposal of the board
of managers enough money to equip tho vil
lage for tho accommodation of all about whoso
moral and mental Incompetenco thero could
bo no doubt. Tho opening of tho homes In tho
proposed village would effect immcdlato econo
mies In the care of tho dependents In tho
counties. Thero Is probably not a county
almshouse In tho State which does not harbor
ono or moro feeble-minded women over whom
no effective restraint Is put. Theso womon aro
bringing forth children to Inherit their defects
and to becomo a burden upon society. So long
as those conditions prevail tho criminal popu
lation will bo Increased every year by tho
offspring of defectives.
Tho Laurelton vlllago Is planned for tho
purpose of segregating tho women of child
bearing ago In tho confident hope that by pre
venting reproduction tho number of defectives
can bo gradually reduced.
Whoever doubts the lmportanco of the ques
tion should visit the exhibit which tho Public
Charities Association of Pennsylvania has ar
ranged in the Wldenor Building. None can
study the data there offered to public view
without becoming convinced that thoro should
bo a thorough reorganization of the present
system of caring for mental defectives. It is
not enough to build tho Laurelton vlllago for
tho women. Tho sorting out of the hopelessly
defective Bhoujd bogln In tho public schools,
and those who cannot bo safely allowed to
remain at large should bo put in Institutions.
The feeble-minded in tho Insane asylums
there are 600 of them so confined because of
lack of a better place should bo put where
they can receive proper training and treat
ment; and the criminals In the prisons who
are there because- of mental defects should be
put whero they can be supervised as Imperfect
human beings Instead or punished as crimi
nals. Thero are a thousand other reasons for this
great reform, but the fact that It will pay In
dollars and conts ought to convert to It those
who can seb no force In any other reason.
NICHOLAS PAYS A VISIT
A PEOPLE which has suffered long tends
to develop strange fancies and unreason
able illusions. It is extraordinarily affected
by s)inbols, and If It cannot cope with reality,
it can woavo wonderful dreams, So It Is with
Russia, This morning report comes that the
Czar has gone into the presence 'of the Duma
for the first time since the formation of that
body. The event, which seems to Americans
nothing more significant than, say, President
Wilson's reading of hla annual messages,
touches, the heart of all Russia. A new future
Is foreseen. The Czar and his advisers were
not unconscious of this trait of their people
when the spectaoular visit was made. It may
do more than a hundred concessions to render
Russia subservient and complacent again.
There Is, of course, '"the possibility that the
vlslenarles are right, and. If they are this
country U first to hop and pray with them.
The mansttous absurdity of a tyrannical em
pire fighting side by side with the forces of
unshackled dwaocraey, be It republican, par
liamentary or monarchical in form, has made
even sympathisers with the AliiM wonder
whether ail was wsjloq the aid cf the
Tom Daly's Column
-
""PERHAPS spring cornea earlier In the
X. nation's capital," wrltoa Jason, from
Washington! "at any rate this morning I
noticed this sign!
nEAVT-WEIOIIT UNDEnWHATl IlEDUCED
Thnt suggests to us the serious question)
What Is tho first sign of spring in Phila
delphia? Thero was one very early Blgn that we
oursolf often noticed, but that was many,
many years ago. We're afraid we can't sing
of It now ns wo might havo sung onco. The
modern newspapor office Is different and
thoro havo been othor chang03.
TtoouM 6o a night in Fcbrutuy'a heel
Or In the toe of March.
Gray, sodden clouds, in solid phalanx, wheel
Across the moonless arch,
And vagrant wisps of tofrtel
Blow crazlly and find
Some dust'dlmmcd wlndoxo open to the air;
Not in this room where men
llccord with feverish pen
Earth's dailv talc of folly and of care,
But in those depths afar
Where inkv presses arc,
Whoso titan labors shake their humid lair,
Harkt nolo those tolls bcglnf
And with the muffled din
A reck of warm, fresh ink ascends the stair.
Those waves had stormed our door
On manu a night before
But lacked the subtle charm which now they
bear;
For this night, in their van
A cool, sweet ecphvr ran
rirst, vagtant wiips of spring's dlulncr air,
An elfish, indiscreet
Intruder from the street,
Caught loitering upon the pressroom stalrl
At any rnto, thnt'n tho way tho spring
was wont to como to us first In tho old local
room years ago. Boforo that, wo remem
ber, wo never could bo persuaded that tho
spring had arrived until wo had had tho
joy of smelling tho horschldo cover of a now
baseball. But what now Is tho first sign of
spring In Philadelphia?
BALL AD V O TllD SKIMPY BKOITS
Down in Noo Yo'k city today
Sato a lady with costume queer:
Muff as big as a bale o' hay.
Purs would encircle a barrel of beer;
Ah, but her skirts came up to here,
(Meaning, of course, this knee of mine),
Neck and the wishbone must appear
Where are the costumes of auld long syncT
Once the ladles were swathed away;
All encircling the wonderful gear.
Bulk was the notion then; but sayl
What is the basic thought this ycart
Modesty? Coyness? Never fcarl
Gone arc the glories of crinoline!
Raiment down to one thin skirt, sheer,
Where arc the costumes of auld lang sync?
Once milady teas styled a fay,
Oaddcss and nymph and dryad dear;
Bundled and quilted, she held at bay
Hvcry suitor that dared come near;
Landing a man was then her sphere:
Now a satirist might opine
She's inviting both stare and sneer
Where arc the costumes of auld lang sync?
Ladles (pardon the briny tear).
List, oh, list to this lay of mine!
Worslilp's better than gibe and jeer
Where are the costumes of auld lang syne?
M. C. DONOVAN.
Will Gertrude M. O'Reilly Please Answer
Sir Is it true that a chain of sausage Is no
stronger than Its weakest link? T. F. D.
Snuggling
O! yes, 'twa3 true, no lovo was lost between
them;
Thero couldn't bo, as you would quite agreo
If It had been your plcasuro to have seen
them
They sat so close together, ho and she.
KILLED IN FALL AND
MAY NOT RECOVER
Headline N. Y. Sun.
Referred
Not so very long ngo wo were Invited to a
very swell dinner, one Saturday night and to
spend the following Sunday at a very swell Long
Island Gent's Being ono of the common people,
we had a date at tho basoball park that after
noon, bo wo checked our full suit of ovenlng
clothes and our Sabbath garb ahead of us.
Followed this letter to Mr. R-l-p P-t-rs, the
genial prety of tho LIR. It. Something
thuswlse and thinking to tell the L. I. R. R.
sarcastically what we thought of 'era.
"What would you do If you, even as happened
to us, arrived hot, bedraggled and dirty, but
check in hand, at P at 7 p. m. Saturday,
on your way to spend Sunday at a mansion,
tho owners of which you knew only most for
mally, nnd found your grip Inside the station,
the stutton locked and the key on Its way to
Brooklyn with tho Station Master not to re
turn till the next day what would you do If
this happened to you on what you supposed was
a real railroad and dinner was at eight and you
couldn't even buy a collar in the town?"
And the answer came-
"Blessed if I know It's out of my llne Why
don't you ask the Ladles' Home Journal?"
H. II. It
The Choice of Evils
When English nobles visit us '
To see our girls, we'd choose
To havo them drop their "H's" here
Instead of I. O. U.'s.
Speak Up, Lads!
Sir I am somewhat of a stranger In your city
and. coming ncrovs your column. I want to ask
ou these questions: Is there anything wrong with
the elbows of young ladles In Philadelphia! I no
tice many young men hanging on to them and I
am curious to know why. Also, I seo many young
men with their arms on the backs of car seats
where young ladles ara sitting. Ara the seats
too small or ara the young nten'u arms tired?
Stranger,
Proof Positive
That man Is made of dust quite true appears.
Wives know or should
If they to gain their ends resort to tears,
His name Is mud.
QJE O' THOSE 1IIO N. Y. OFF. O'D'O'S
According to tha postal authorities. Crones, mailed
the swuntl letter In a street In one of tha downtown
oQlee buildings. Local morning paper,
"Have you 'Lost 24 Hours'?" asked the
old lady of the new clerk In our book store,
"No, lady,'" he replied, "I ain't bad time. I
only came here today." Liber,
Chatter and Gush
The woman who fancies pink teas
Will chatter and gush, goodness knows;
But when a new baby she sees
She simply goes daft on pink toes. ,
i '
Two Jieadg Better Than One
The Juxtaposition of the captions upon two
articles in International Must? and Drama
produced thle;
Russian ballet makes music f0f ta prfa,
ijftars, . w York debut. BhwrttweU's ?jk
. fr ;
rJ." RTi - !
b r' r...
SB c-3r&
-.&ss--' , -("
UNCLE SAM TO
BUY A GIBRALTAR?
Denmark May Again Propose Sale
ol West India Islands Coveted by
Germany History and Romance
of the "Buccaneers' Retreat"
OF VERY great Interest from tho military,
tho commercial, tho historical and tho
purely romantic points of vlow la tho report
that cornea from Copenhagen of a ronowal of
tho proposition to sell tho Danish West Indies
to tho United States. Germany has long
coveted those Islands, and, indeed, tho Hamburg-American
Lino virtually took possession
of St. Thomas somo years ago. Denmark has
boon losing money on them year after year,
and tho dcslro to shift tho burden of theso
overseas possessions to tho shoulders of tho
United States Is not now. But what tho
Islands need Is a market. From tho United
States as n profitable mnrkot they nro virtual
ly shut out.
In 1001 tho Danish Government, awakening
to tho steady drain of tho Insular budgot, of
fered tho Islands of St. Thomas, St. John
and Santa Cruz to tho United States at a
modcrato prlco. A treaty of cession nnd pur
chase wns drawn up and signed by tho pleni
potentiaries. Proceedings in thla direction
woro brought to an end In 1903, when tho
Upper Houso of tho Danish Parliament re
jected tho treaty. Tho defeat -wns duo to tho
lnfluonco of the pro-German members of
tho Danish royal family, with Prlnco Waldo
mar at their head, and tho campaign was
directed from Potsdam or from Berlin, ac
cording to Stephen Bonsai, or wherever tho
German Emperor happened to be. Prlnco
Waldemar and his friends celebrated the
victory with a banquet.
Whnt Would Germany Say?
"Our futuro Is upon tho sea," said Emperor
William onco upon a time. Beforo this war It
was preached in Berlin nnd Hamburg that
onco the German flag was raised over St.
Thomas nnd Santa Cruz, Danish Islands, and
over tho Curacao and Margarita, tho strategic
and defensive position of tho German Empire
would be as Btrong as that of tho United
States and stronger than thdt of England.
Two or three times In the ast decade or
two Gorman naval movements In tho neigh
borhood of theso Islands havo given concorn
to the American Government. For various
reasons, Donmark has been unwilling" to deal
with Germany, and tho Monroo doctrine sur
vives. Thoro Is Bomo Interesting unwritten
history concerning tho warnings which T.
Roosevelt gavo to Germany when he was Pres
ident of the United States. But German finan
ciers have sent out capital to he Danish
West Indies, and though their agricultural
enterprises havo ended In failure, they con
trol largo coal deposits and other commercial
resources on St. Thomas. German residents
have made themselves very much at home
there and havo proved on occasion very exas
perating to tho Danish officials.
For warlike purposes, with reference to
the Panama Canal, the harbors of these
Islands would probably bo tho most desirable
In the West Indies. Slnco a time beforo
the era of tho canal, our naval strategists
have been In favor of the acquisition of the
islands. St. Thomas has often boon described
as the Gibraltar of America. Experts have
said that the island Is, virtually Impregnable.
The enclosing ridges and projecting penln
Bulas have been declared to be fortifications
In themselves. The port town, Charlotte
Amalle, has the best of harbors, deep and
landlocked on threo sides.
The golden age of the Danish West Indies
was the golden age of cane sugar In the
eighteenth century. Today Santa Crua is the
only one of the group that can be said to
have any commerce, The principal articles of
export are sugar and rum. It is sometimes
called "The Island of Rum and Sugar." This
la the most American spot, by the way, In
all of the West Indies. The planters and farm
managers are mostly Americanized Irish, and
there are many ex-skippers of Yankee origin
who havo cast anchor thero after tho sea
faring days. The population of tho Islands
is steadily falling. The present population, all
told, Is about 80,000, A hundred years ago
It was near 45,000, The laborers are chiefly
negroes, for whom emancipation came in 1848.
The islands are ruled from Copenhagen
through the resident Governor.
The history of theso Islands is part of the
great romance of the American Mediterranean.
Columbus discovered St Thomas In 1493.
It came into the possession of the Danish
crovyn as early as 1688, but afterward was
held, for two short periods by the Brltjsh.
It was a favorite resort for the old. buccaneers
and of those bold outlaws of the sea whp
are known by the somewhat plainer name
of pirates. Morgan, Captain Kidd, "Black
beard, "Bluebeard" these adventurous it not
admirable ft-dog were, frequent, visitors
at St. THWB34. Among the principal "sights"
NIL DESPERANDUM '
Ft i
frn
" .I- -STT
jrfrvrasi.
"Bluebeard's" old towers of tho seventeenth
century, built whero tho ocean view wns
good. Where it is good, ono travclor adds.
From theso points of vantago tho plrato cap
tains took their bearings nnd watched for
foo and proy.
Haunt of Bluebeard and Blackboard
"Blnckbeard," it seems, was as picturcsquo
a ruffian ns ovor graced a deck. Edward
Teach hla namo was. Hla early hero was
Sir Franci3 Drake, a pirate, too. Piracy was
thon qulto tho fashion, and praised and pro
moted by tho best kings "and queens. Good
Queen Bess wns their patron, if thoy happened
to bo Englishmen. Teach had scruples for
p. whllo about attacking English vessels, but
when ho finally overcame them and took to
hauling down tho English flag and hoisting
tho Jolly Roger In Its place, why thon ho blos
somed out Into a thoroughgoing, piratical
pirate. There's a flno lesson taught by his
life. There ought to be. His namo was
Teach. Teach know tho value of nppearanco.
That was worth a good deal. Ho grow a
tremendous beard, which upon occasion ho
braided and tied with a ribbon. Sometimes
ho placed sticks of pitch plno ovor his cars
and lighted tho ends. Hla crew thought him
Satan incarnate. Charleston and Philadelphia
knew him well nnd had a similar opinion of
him.
"Bluebeard" and "Blackboard" aro gone,
but In recent years St Thomas has been
tho fitt!ng-o,ut ptaco of more than opo fili
bustering expedition, such as enliven tho po
litical llfo of tho West Indies oven to thla
day. Mostly thero is peace. Moss-grown
fortresses and dismantled battlements testify
of tho time when cannon protected certain
passages and channels of thd sea through
which It was necessary for traders to pass
in tho era beforo steam. But theso ruins
nro appropriate to tho general situation as
it exists In tho Danish West Indies. A heavy
oxpenso to Denmark are St. Thomas and
tho other Islands; but tho burden Is growing
and not decreasing. If Denmark Is ready to
sell, will Undo Sam buy? The question was
asked In 1807, when tho United States Senate
balked; and again in 1901, when tho Danish
LandBthlng voted no. And now?
SHILLINGS AND SECONDS
To the Editor of Evening Ledger:
Sir On February 21 the British Parliament
was asked to approvo of an additional war
credit of 420,000,000. This increases the
British war expenditures to 1,782,000,000. It
Is almost Impossible to reallzo how great a sum
this ts. In shillings it amounts to 35,640,000,
000. From the birth of Christ to February 21,
1816, thero were 34,875,388,709 seconds, so that
now the British war debt Is moro than a shilling
for each second of time In the Christian era.
The war debt of all the contending nations Im
now estimated at about $40,000,000,000, and this
Is more than $1 11 for each second of time In
our era, while even this takes no account of the
destruction wrought by the war.
FREDERICK S. DICKSON.
New York, February 22.
THE MAIN IDEA
The main Idea, It Beems, in International law,
Is not to prove that you are right, but to show
that the other fellow Is dead wrong. Wash
ington Times.
THE WAR IN AMERICA
We know a great deal less about Copper-
headlsm than The World does. The Tribune.
Why limit It to Copperheadlsm? New York
World.
NATIONAL POINT OP VIEW
That Is but a single phase In the coming chanced
commercial relations of now and great com
plexities. These new relations will thrust to
the forefront the hlstorlo Issue between pro
tection and free trade. Spokane Spokesman
Review. Americans are learning more and moro about
Europe. They know that much that has passed
for culture In Europe Is egotism and veneer.
They also have learned the map of Europe, and
as regards the war news the peoplo of America
come nearer getting the truth than do the
people of Europe, Das Moines Capital.
The Chamber of Commerce should be able
to promote at least a score Of small In
dustries within the next 12 months. The
chamber's new president, Morris W. Bush, has
outlined many projects, but few of them are
of more vital concern than the building up of
email manufactories. Blrmlnaham, Age-Herald.
The Carribbean region will be dominated by
the United States because t is essential to our
security, Wo, built the canal because we needed
It in a special sense not shared by the world,
and having built it wo know )t for our frontier
and must make certain that it does not fall Into
the hands of a rival. Chicago Tribune.
THE FRIAR'S SONQ
Though I be now a gray, gray friar,
Yet I was once a hale young knight!
The cry of my doge was the only choir
In which my spirit did take delight
Little I recked of matin bell, i
And drowned Us toll with my dancing horni
The only beads I loved to tell '
Were the beads of dew on the spangled thorn.
An archer keen I was -withal,
Aa ever did lean on greenwood tree!
And could make the fleetest roabuck fait
A pood three hundred yards from me.
Though ehanteiui time, with hand sever.
Mm made we nw these oys forego.
Vet y heart tun4 whene'er J bear
juKMt tk mwbi-i aw KW tial
yvkmmvjuiiiM. m
What Do You Know?
QuerlM of general interest will he eniwersij
in this column. Ten questions, tke nr.1
to which every well-informed person ihnulil
Know, aro asked daily.
QUIZ
1.
2.
3.
4.
B.
0.
7.
8.
0.
10.
Opposite nlmt pnrt of the United States tout iiij
the Ilermuda Islands? M
About how old wns Washington when be roa-1
mnnueu tho continental armies?
Whnt U meant by the "Lost Continent tf Iwi
lantls"?
Ylhere Is thn Tehuantepeo route and fer !utf
purpose wns It opened?
IIow can an ordinary obstrvtr ttll ft placet frtal
n star?
About what Is the rise nnd fall of lh tils tit
Chestnut htrcet wharf?
Great Ilrltnln has nlrcady prorldcd atmnl Utl
billions for the war. IIoiv much actatl cubes1!
money Is there In the world, approxlmsUlrt
What stories mane llacdaa famous?
Mho Is In command of the Italian armies laUtx
nciuv;
About how does Rumania compare In skt wllij
rennsylranla?
Answers to Yesterday's Quiz
1. On the northern shore of Armenia, on the Distil
ben, nbout Oil inllei north ol Erurnm,
2. John I), nockefellrr. 8r.
S. Tormer principal of the ritler School. Genniw
tonn. recently trnnxirrrea una iiaier run
jenr's lenio or nbirnce.
4. Lincoln, Neb. WlUlam J. Bryan.
S. Ten billion dollnrH. Includlnt the propose! cnlSj
now herore l'arllameiit. Jj
nnd surrounded by Ilnlcarla, Serbia, Acttrla-iiJ
iiuncnry una itussiii. e
7. Arlstlde Ilrland. ) ,
B. Three.
D. Philadelphia. New York, Washlnitan.
10. Publisher of the Albany (N. V.) JournsI ind totj
or tuo itepuuucnn iruuers in ms mate.
Vocabularies
Editor of "What Do You Know" Tou sUtatl
the other day that high school children Mvs ins
averairo vocnhulnrv of morn tlinl 2000 words. Is
have always understood that some of our sTUl-M
est writers did not use moro than 4000 worftU
I believe you were In error. fc J. S. T.
Our figures were based on an lnYeatiptal
made by n pedagogue. Wo are inclined to belletlj
that his cstlmato was excessive.
,m
Authors' Earnings
Editor of "What Do You Know" I rMolleet
that the editor of the Saturday Evenlnj Poit;
year or so asro mnda nh address In which bl
stated that a successful writer would earn about
J 12,000 a year. Is that a fair estimate?
INQUISITIVE
It Is. Sometimes a writer will make a luckj.
hit with n nnr tv raII thA rlfrhtn nf a StOW ll
the motion pictures at a large profit, but 1S,"J,
seems to bo about right.
Live Dogs and Dead Lions
editor o "What Do You Know" la aiuvera
to the Inquiry of "Preparedness" I would JfS
thnt "n llvlni- Anrr la lintfc- tlintl n. dead lloh ill
found In tho Old Testament, Eccleslastes, ntoUtB
chapter, fourth verse.
FLORENCE N. MULHOLLAND.
The query has also been answered by Ernwjj
u. aiorgan anu "'ino sireui.
Comfort nf Rilnp Thnntrht Mad
Editor of "What Do You Knaw""H It WJH
bsks for the origin or the pnrase, ewi
rounded by the general comfort of being ""t'l'v
mad." That quotation as it stands is not fswWj
to me, but In Drydon's "'Spanish Friar," art K
scene 1, may be found: "There is a pleasure rim
in being mad, which none but maamen iw";
F, N. M-
TIia rwnA1 A? I .II.A.t,
Editor of "What Do You Know" Wnersjllj
Washington say that the cradle of bjrtyMl
New England or I'nuaaeipniai uisw"-i
x,..., . i.-i ih.nbad wia
Ington for the pleasant things he a!4 M 1
liberties of the British, Washington fJ";3j
"Xes, yes, Mr, Bernard, but I consider your
try the cradle qf free principle, r.ot their !
chair."
Editor of "What Da You KnoW1 &ou"J I '
to una tne poem Beginning .
v ThuhravMt hittla that ever was f"f n"
'Twos fought by the moth'rBI?jnoHTCT-
Will some reader anawer this question.
Lincoln a i'!Torno room , i,.iil
CdUor of VhatDo You "-.STcsiJ
speaker refer to wneoins "'",l,irr 5ur
you tell me what It was? ONfP ,
"O,
Why Should tho Spirit of 5'
Proud?' by William Knox, Is e0.n;f'"i :
Proud?' by William Knox, , e""'",'-
nosed to have Veen Llncolnd " VJ
is too long in ue quoieu ,, ' - -first
two eluntas; ..
O. why should the plrU of morW !?$
Like a swift-fleeing metoor. a 8t;flt&B$,
Man passes from life to hla rt In 'r
. . ... ... i, iiin-i shall ft
The leaves or tne oaic ami. wi w-y j
Be scattered around and tog ether JW Jf U4 tkt
ln h vnlinsr and the old n4 the WW M
Shall moulder to duat and txUr ehsjl f
True it li
that o. man cannot become PW "Auj-. 1
was bom In the United Statoe? IMMJOH'" t
EuglUU Sea, Control , . J
Editor of "What X)9 You WVJn
has England been mlstrota of tf &il M
Hk te mm ttm ftw ;
-fte ffmtfm gHW f i &&
VIP- S - --" -- -
m m m ,'wwi'8'' cm
BM lf A JMMfc I