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I'hilidtlpbli. Thursday. Jul; 19. 1117
LITTLE ITALY'S LEADERS
WE OBSERVED recently that the
Italian Reconstruction Committee,
while attempting to put an end to the
leadership of Mr. Baldl In social affairs,
would do well to strike at the root evil
of his 'unpopular epokesmanshlp, which
la his political affiliation with the leaders
of the Organization. Mr. Nicola D'As
cenzo thus sums up the opinion of his
colleagues:
They are hippy to read an accurate
summing up of conditions In Little Italy.
But they cannot understand your fore
cast that "Mr. Vare will have another
lieutenant to get out the Immigrant vote"
after Mr. Baldl has been deposed. If this
committee were composed of a few divi
sion leaders and half a dozen political
heelers and no one else. It would, we
admit, be quite easy for Mr Vare to
name a lieutenant to "run things." For
tunately, however, the personnel of the
Italian Reconstruction Committee is of a
higher grade There are lawyers, doctors.
merchants, manufacturers, presidents of
three banks and men of letters. Never
before were such prominent Italians
banded together In one fight. Do you not
believe that the 160.000 Italians or I'hlla--,
delphla have only honor and respect for
. that committee? Do you not believe that
the entire Italian population will observe
to the very letter whatever that committee
recommends? The committee purposely
k has no chairman because It fears that
the American public might consider tho
chairman as the successor to Chevalier
Baldl. There will be no successor to
1 Chevalier Baldl. There will be no "lead,
r" of Philadelphia Italians. Is there an
Irish leader In Philadelphia, or a German
leader, or an Austro-Hungarlan leader?
Why, then, should there be an Italian
leader? One word from the Italian Re
construction Committee will put a last
ing "crimp" In whatever lieutenant Mr.
Vare names as Chevalier Baldl's succes
sor, and similar treatment will be ac
corded lieutenants named by any other
political boss who parleys in the ptMriVf
or tne immigrant v
We cannot praise too much this high
minded point or view. The committee
ntertalns a fine faith In the power of
Intellect and refinement to defeat the
power of political greed. Nothing could
be better than Its refusal to encourage
a. "hyphenated" Italian leadership. As
matter of fact, men with Irish names,
like Trainer, and German names, like
Remlg, have been Councllmen from the
Italian wards. A native of Germany,
Mr. Blankenburc, was Mayor, and he is
a better American than many whose
ancestors came over In the Mayflower.
It Is apparent, nevertheless, that In the
absence of a definite reform leadership In
politics, a corrupt leadership Is sure to
take the helm In the Second and Third
Wards, and In all the other wards, and
will spread Its corruption Into the social,
moral and Industrial life of the district,
as well as Into Its political life. Every
movement must have a leader, whether
an organization of pirates or of angels Is
contemplated. It Is the malady of Phila
delphia life that our "lawyers, doctors,
merchants, manufacturer, presidents of
banks and men of letters" (to quote Mr.
D'Ascenzo's category) do not take leader
ship away from peanut politicians who
have neither Intellect nor Intelligence. The
Committee of Seventy has tried to depose
our American-born Baldls our Vaies and
McNlchols and It has failed to "put a
crimp In whatever lieutenant Mr. Varo
names'' precisely because many promi
nent Phlladelphlans have neglected to
take and keep leadership.
When we say the Immigrant vote Is
controlled by bosses, we say also that the
votes of many thousands of native Ameri
cans are controlled by bosses. Efforts to
educate natives and Immigrants In social,
moral and Industrial ways may be ex
tremely successful, but all fhe good that
results la overthrown If political leader
ship is allowed to pass by default to the
corrupt.
THE CLINK OF A DRINK
TIHE clink of the Ice In the pitcher,
the boy brings up the hall" prompted
EUgene Field to lyric rhapsody. Had
the French "pollu" ever heard that
eoothln? tlnklo It would have now
prompted him to a better understanding
of one of the ways of the "Sammea"
boy that puzzles him most. From "An
American Training CJamp In France"
cornea word that the passion of our troops
for huge masses of frigid water has com
pletely -staggered the Gaul's reasoning
powers.
Foreigners 1n France have done some
queer things, according to homegrown
opinion. The Germans of 1170 had a
rata ar oteeka. Perhaps they sought
tfi txfr.m wfrytottaaua a da fl'.Wa
reckoning. Tommy Atklne cries for
"Yorkshire pudding" and other weighty
edibles. But puddings and clocks have
at least a certain substance. Water, In
sists the perplexed "pollu" wall, water Is
Just nothing at all.
For purposes of Interior consumption
It Is indeed a last resource In France.
After wine, after syrups, after soda, even
after tho soul-saddening bottled "limon
ade," come the too commonplace con
tents of laks and rivers. Franco has
never comprehended what drinking water
really Is, because, for all her epicurean
art, she has never known how to prepare
America's national drink.
It's up to Sammce to disclose the se
cret. "Ice cold and plenty of It" la per
haps the tersest working formula. If
the French ever succeed In mastering
that, tho time may come when from a
Paris waiter a thirsty visitor from the
Western World may demand a "real
drink" without being asked why he
doesn't go to Vichy, Royat or Pau and
take tho "cure."
WHAT A SPECTACLE!
fTUin storage plan's arc groaning with
-- capacity loads of food. The crops
everywhere appear tr promise fulfillment
of our dearest expectations. Speculators
continue to speculate and prices remain,
In most cases, nt high levels that spell
actual Buffering for the poor.
Yet out of the maelstrom of war and
the horrors of the Belgium Invasion rose
one man, hitherto unknown, who went
nbout his task of relief, brought order out
of chaos, lovlved hope In the minds of
thousands, won by his efficiency the ad
miration of great governments, was urged
to accept official position with almost
every belligerent, Including Geimany, and
added to the fame of his native country
a new luster throughout the world. That
man Is an American and ery properly
he has been selected by the President to
do hero what he did abroad remove loot
from the process of feeding this nation
and-the world, restore prices to a normal
basis, conserve supplies and assure that
there will be no unnatural scarcity In food
products.
But a Senator says that Mr. Hoover Is
a gambler, and ' some other politician
never met him at a political convention.
So the food-control bill had to be held
up and th'e nation be humiliated by
long-winded debate In Congress Instead
of action. If Mr. Hoover Is not to be
trusted, vhc under the high arch of
heaven is? If Mr. Hoover Is not com
petent to perform tho task set, where on
all the earth Is there a man who Is com
petent? There Is no answer, but Amerl
rans must blush with shame when they
see this man's character traduced and his
good name attacked simply because home
Senators, long on talk and short on ac
tion, do not want his efficiency to get
Into play.
It Is a pity that Uncle Sam Is not au
thorized to spank some of his children
when they ore maliciously naughty.
VICE AND SERVICE
THERE Is something In the contrast
between two "trials" held In this city
this week which should make a man
think. In the Eleventh and Winter
streets police station thirteen young
Women faced a magistrate. They were
scorned, laughed at, fined and In almost
every case allowed to leave the dirty
and Ill-smelling room in the company of
flashily dressed degenerates obviously
supported by the girls' earnings.
In the Misdemeanants Branch of the
Municipal Court seventeen young women
faced Judge Brown. There was no laugh
ter and tho prisoners were questioned with
kindness, the object being to set them
right. Women probation officers took
charge of them, saw to it that they did
not fall Immediately into tho clutches of
parasites and will seek to get them honest
work.
Is It necensary to remind the public,
knowing our politics as It does, that all
the power of peanut politicians has been
used In the attempt to have the magis
trates' system monopolize this "business"?
Uncle Sam Is Indeed the doctor now.
He's putting the draft numbers In cap
sules. Barricaded Chestnut street and
war-torn Verdun can unite In a common
slogan this summer. "They shall not
pass" fills the bill.
The navy is turning down typlsta
with flat feet. "What about the head?"
Is a sigh that will probably be forthcom
ing from the Tired Business Man.
We need no insldo Information to
convince us that the Crown Prince Is
back on the Verdun front. The brilliant
new French victory there tells the story
with sufficient clearness.
If our weather bureaucracy Is In
any way responsible for one of the pleas
attest summers on record, there can be
no objection to Its binding the seasons
together with the reddest tape available.
Until now standees In moving pub
lic vehicles have been unenvled, but the
,new order to the Pennsylvania Railroad
that Its employes shall yield their seats to
paying passengers may move us to call
some straphangers lucky dogs, after all.
Smart as the Germans consider
themselves, they'll have a tough time get
ting on to Sir Eric Geddes's curves. Brit
ain's new Lord of the Admiralty, In the
days of his residence In America, was a
valued employe of the Baltimore and Ohio.
If the Denman-Goethals friction
continues we may at least be spared the
pain of lamenting that our merchant
marine is built before our sailors are
trained. That's pretty clammy comfort,
tut It's the best In sight In theso days of
the costly shipbuilding deadlock.
Americana who may be Inclined to
wonder what Sir Edward Carson, as
"Minister without Portfolio," can do are
Invited to consider their own Colonel
E. M. House, whose varied and valuable
activities for some yeara have not needed
the apur of any Cabinet title whatever.
Germany la said to be preparing
for a winter campaign. Concentration
by America and the Allies on the vlcto
rioua "good old aummertlma" ought to
be made all the easier thereby. There Is
such a thing- as looking too far beyond
& . .
EVENING LEDGERr-PHILAt)ELPHIA, THUBSDAY, JULY 19, 1917
"SING" MEETINGS
IN WARTIME
Martial Melodies Should Be the
Rule for Community
Assemblages
TH
w
HE schoolma'am spirit tho spirit that
ants tho bright and swlft-beattng
hearts of life to follow schoolma'am-made
rules Is not absent from all the recent
Journalistic paragraphs about tho war
and music. "Mass Singing Imposslblo in
Army. Saya Horace Oboe" "Teach Sam
mees to Sing Properly, Demands Ynez
Viola" these headlines are typical of a
sort of kindly meant but utterly futile
emotion apt to spring up among people
vho aro Interested In the war, but In no
1 osltlon to fight.
One commentator comp' i- gently
that the men whlstlo In camps . . 'ead of
Intoning words with tho music. Another
would turn tho military machine of this
country Into a sort of traveling conserva
tory, forgetting that It Is the spontaneity
of song and whistling that appeals to tho
"gobs" and the "leathernecks" and the
"doughboys."
Is It not time to stop learned, perhaps
flne-heartcd, but patronizing "horning In"
on such themes? And, by the same sign
1 not the attempt to mold martial
opinion n sort of perversion from an ob
ject that is really within the scope of tho
stay-at-homes''
This month there was a deflnlto ejiam
pie a "picture," actors would call It of
what can bo done In tho direction of the
vocal Impulse. It based Itself not on the
theory that n marine should be able to
distinguish between a stretto nnd a fugue,
or an artilleryman chant something from
Palestrlna Instead of "Pack Up Your
Troubles " It simply said: "Wo are In
Philadelphia. We want to sing. We will "
And they did.
The pulse of the machine In this case
was Albeit N. Hoxie. He nnnounced, In
the newspapers, that he was going to give
a community "sing" In McPherson Square.
He sent out ten thousand Invitations to
this charmingly simple "stunt," freed of
cant. Those who camo lifted up their
voices In songs of personal feeling that
have lived too long to be hackneyed, and,
best of all, In tunes wrought out of tho
furnace of country-love. That was vir
tually all the affair amounted to. But Its
very simplicity was an earnest of its suc
cess. Thero weren't any long-winded
speeches. The "we-have-wlth-us-tonlght"
atmosphere was notably and delightfully
banished.
Now every one who was there, and who
pumped fresh air Into his lungs and
fresh Inspiration Into his brain, Is won
dering when Philadelphia will have Us
next open-air "sing."
It may be asked, nt this point, what
all this has to do with the military spirit.
True, it hasn't any tangible link with the
tunes that come to the lips of American
soldiers as they stroll down the Boulevard
des Itallens, or tho whistled cheer of
American ambulance drlveis threading
Balkan fastnesses In their automobiles.
It apparently Is a sort of grand parochial
endeavor to keep busy In playtime, In a
quaint, and eternally likable, and vul
gar way. (Most great music Is vulgar.
In the original sense of the word, In spite
of what carping contrapuntallsts say. By
the way, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony was
the hit of the bill when the New York
Civic Orchestra played It at tho St. Nich
olas Rink this week.)
Virtually, a community "sing" In
Philadelphia might mean nothing to sol
diers across the ocean. They probably
wouldn't even know of it. But when
fairly sensible people are found who will
believe In and plead for a universal cult
for "tho transference of thoughts of
peace," perhaps a tiny plea might be
made for a parallel In music. Such
psychic activities are frowned on bv the
scientist. laushed at by the Intellectual
bumpkin. But a line dramatist once wrote
a play in which a man's self-directed will
power swayed the fates of several per
sons. Thousands of real persons went to
that play, didn't smile at it; accepted It.
Whatever such acceptance of a drama
may mean (it should mean much, drama
having been built on religious ceremony
originally), the fact Is plain that com
munity singing. In these red days, should
not be permitted to lapse Into tho merely
tuneful and Innocuous. It ought to take
on some of the rolor of overseas bravery.
Blood there should be In It, and muscle
and the flexibility ofrfhe athletic.
Ten thousand persons chanting "Way
Down Upon the Suwanee River" and
"Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt" may provide a
pictorial and pretty sight. But a mere
Ave thousand, at fortissimo pitch of
spirit and voice, singing martial ditties,
would give to their smaller performance
the gesture of the times, and raise the
occasion fiom one of detached pleasure
seeking to the plane of homogeneity with
our brothers abroad.
We need not ask In our songs that
"God punish Germany." But we can put
the spirit of the American war slogan
a spirit that has been crystallized Into
three crisp bits of Invective Into them.
Who knows by what impalpable ways the
sound of that cry at home may thread
and penetrate the barriers between us
and the trenches? It requires no veiled
mystic to see that the spiritual flavor of
our withdrawn and unmenaced existence
may communicate Itself past sea arid
shores of other countries through hardy
sentiment, tightened and strengthened
by the first means tf man's expression
song.
Let us have war songa at the next
"sing." B. D.
ATTACKING KIEL
It Is explained by Secretary Daniels
that Kiel has not been attacked or German
waters Invaded by the tremendous naval
power possessed by Britain. France. Italy,
Japau, Russia and the United States, be
cause to do so would ba to undertake a
difficult and dangerous Job, Secretary
Daniels's laconic statement, "Ships can do
little or nothing against coast fortifications
equipped with fourteen-lnch guns," tells the
atory of the impregnability pf our own
coasts. This does hot signify that all navies
of the seas In combination could not at
tack the German coast. Even If an entire
navy were lost In the efforts, the mere
quantity of the attacking force would
probably put It over -by main strength and
awkwardness." Thla la a chapter that seems
bound to come Jn case the sufcm.rin.
menace assumes, desperate props-Hone.
uapw- rvetuy.
Tom Daly's Column
THE BALLAD OF CASTLE-RED
Theoderlc, lord of Cattle-Red,
Halls and chambers of jeweled story;
Many a head has bent and bled
To olve thy name Us glory.
Pinnace splendor and flambeau flare
Wave to thee honor and light thy paces;
Ao kings of tho West before thee dare
Unveil their faces.
Yet something, whispering soft, has said:
"Thou hast chests of agate and braided
peail
In the splendor and flare of Castle-Red,
But hast thou the mllk-tlmbed, Holy
airlt"
Theoderlc, lord of Castle-Red,
Olrt with thy band of valiant boumen;
Swift was the tread of them that fled
In a wrath of war, thy focmen.
And now In the rufous and hardy walls
Of thy vait, Inviolate, haughty palace,
Thy laughter glitters, thy great ivlnc falls
In thy titan chalice.
But a ghost of a dream that hither sped
To dance on the carpets thy slaves
unfurl,
Through the wine and laughter of
Castle-Red,
Asks, "Where Is the rose-foot, Holy
Girl?"
Theoderlc, lord of Castle-Red,
The drllcatc pages, Wrath and Lusting,
Though regally bred, shall soon lie dead
While the wind In the leaves Is ousting.
The cry of the Prides, thy charioteers,
Shall faint and thy quecnllng, Hate, be
banished,
While thou, O King of the hissing spears,
Into dust art vanished.
For not for naught the wind's cry pled:
"Thy riches hang by a shadowy curl
(Ah, great one and golden of Castle-Redl)
Of love, the dawn-eyed, the Holy Qlrlf"
CHRISTOPHER.
OF all the pictures of Sir Edward Car
son that we havo seen in the public
prints the one that pleased us most was
one published last eve. In the most con
temp, of our eve. contemps. It gave him
a lovely cauliflower ear.
RICHARD S. FRANCIS, with 72, holds
the record for the Merlon Cricket Club's
east golf course because he did his work In
fewer strokes than any ono else. Why not
send him to Congress? It surely would
make for Improvement. Here's the sort of
record that sticks up like a soro thumh
In the current Congressional Record
Index:
UEED. JAMES A. fa Senator roni illtsourit.
Remarks bv. on
Food control 4.117 45R0 4H7-1. 4.17S. 4!S7fl.
4.177. 421. 4I1J7. 4S11. 4100, 4893, 4801,
4000. 40111, 487.1. 47fi. 4077, 4900, 6003,
5004, SOU. S012. .1013, 8014. 8011, SOt,
.'017. .1018. 8010. .102H. 8000, BOfll, 802.
8072. .1(173. .1074. .107.1. 8005. 6100. 8101.
6103, .'.1.(0. .1137. 8133. .1130. .1140. 8141,
8145. 5117. .1148. 8178. 8170, 6167. 6192.
5183.
HENRY F. MICHELL. bought us all
the cherry plo we could eat at luncheon
at the Northfleld Golf Club on Tuesday,
whereupon wo went forth and properly
licked H. Mlchell nnd I. Horstmann, with
some slight assistance from our partner,
F. Sommer. Since all three of these men
missed our lovely londeau In praise of
our favorite fodder, the least we can do Is
to reprint It here:
cHERnr tie
Oh. cherrv rle' Turn. um' Oh. e'
Let not the cruets cloee-ued-l-d be,
Hut puffed and flaky, plumped with meat
And all the red heart dripping aweat
With lueelous oozlncs syrupy.
Ah that's the cherry pie for me!
I'll want two "helpln's." maybe three
Who eer sot enough to eat
O' cherry pie?
What odds If In our dreams we see
!s"lahtmre and goblins'' We agree
Though pain usurp loy'a earlier seat,
No celbunha ran quite defeat
The gustatory pleasures we
Owe cherry rle.
Following (and It comes to us through
the courtesy of W. Up.) Is the title page
of a book of 3S3 pages printed by one B.
Franklin In '1748:
The American Instructor: Or. Young
Man's Best Companion. Containing, Spell
ing, Reading, Writing and Arlthmetlck, In
an easier Way than any yet published : and
how to qua-llfy any Person for Business,
without the Help of a Master Intriirtins
to write Variety of Hand, with Copies
both In Prose and Verse How to write
Letters on Business or Friendship. Forms
of Indentures. Bonds. Bills of Sale, Receipts,
Wills, Leases, Releases, &c Also Mer.
chants Accompts. and a short and easy Me
thod of Shop and Book-keeping; with a
Description of the several American
Colonies Together with the Carpenter's
Plain and Exact Rule: Show-lng how to
measure Carpenters, Joyners, Sawyers,
Bricklayers, Plal-sterers, Plumbers, Masons,
Glaslers, and Painters Work How to under
take each Work, and at what Price , the
Rates of each Com-modlty, and the com
mon Wages of Journeymen; with Gunter's
Line, and Coggeshal's Description of the
Slldlng-Rule Likewise the Practical
Gauger made Easy , the Art of Dialling, and
how to erect and fix any Dial; with In
structions for Dying, Colouring, and mak
ing Colours To which Is added. The Poor
Planters Physician. With Instructions for
Marking on Llnnen : how to Pickle and
Preserve; to make divers Sorts of Wine;
and many excellent Plalsters, and Medi
cines, necessary in all Families And also
Prudent Advice to young Tradesmen and
Dealers. The whole better adapted tp these
American Colonies, than any other Book
of the like Kind. By George Fisher, Ac
comptant. The Ninth Edition Revised and
Corrected. Philadelphia: Printed by B.
Franklin and D. Hall, at the New-Prlnt-Ing-Offlce,
In Market-Street, 174S.
But What Could They Exchange?
Possibly we're on the wrong track
here, but It has always seemed to us that
there are enough of these fellows In the
world to form the club referred to In
this paragraph from nn eve. contemp.:
The first floor of the flve-story building
at 106 North Delaware avenue has been
leased to the Butterln Exchange by John
H. Slnberg.
It may be that we have been deceived,
but these strange answers seem so
natural and withal so new that we are
quite prepared to believe our correspond
ent's assurance that they were recently
made by applicants for admission to
college:
Sixty gallons make one hedgehog,
Geometry teaches us how to bisect angels.
The' Government of England Is a limited
mockery.
A mountain range la a large cookatove.
The qualifications of a voter at a school
matting are that he must be the father
of a child for eight weeks.
The skeleton la what Is left after the
Inftdes have been taken off.
WeapoVia of the Indian bow, arrow,
tomahawk and war-hoop.
"Lovera Plan Elopement in Auto But
Fall," aald the newapaper headline. Can't
elope? Rocky Ford?
"Slava In Retreat." Thla habit of
ruahln forward and back ageln begins
tMr.HadsjaViM - '
DIGGING OUT THE B0CHES
Hindenburg Line Built Like Ancient Fortress,
Whose Defenders Fought Like
Trapped Rats
By HENRI BAZIN
Btaff 'Cerrttpondtnt tit tht Evening Ltdgft In France
I ,. PARIS. June 25.
tr TOU havo not read an nndent book
by VIollet-le-Due entitled "The History of
a Fortress," buy It. I pray you, In Its ling
Ilh translation, or better still. If you can
so read, In Its original French. It's a clear
?,.', ,n,'rlng and well-balanced little story
telling the siege tale upon a Middle Age
castle.
The attacking tnrr hAfflna t,u n,at,ln n
breach with powerful battering rams In the
heavy, high, thick outer walls. The moment
after prodigious effort their ram has pierced
a hole, they And semicircular barricades of
wood confronting them, barricades tho de
fenders know will Hi resist tho ram. yet
w-lth tho ill resisting, gain time. And when
these are demolished and the moat crossed,
and there still other barricades found, with
beyond more still to the castle Itself, they
hammer away and force the garrison to take
nnai refuge in the dungeons underneath,
where they fight to the last, having suc
ceeded only In postponing the Inevitable;
and dying In the aln hope of re-enforcements
from without For without them they
Bense their end
Things haie changed since the Middle
Ages; but methods are In substance the
same.
That famous Hindenburg line Is broken
But behind It the Boche has constructed
a second defence that can well be com
pared to the first barricade within the
cattle walls of VIollet-le-Due Like it. It Is
semicircular In form, but Instead of being
300 feet long It extends for kilometers. It
Is as sure to fall as the barricade of wood,
for It is as hastily constructed and as III
prepared to stand the battering ram of
Anglo-French artillery as Its ancient prede
cessor was to stand the battering ram
manipulated by human strength. Behind It
another will Be found. And behind that
still another These will have to be de
stroyed, will be destroyed. And so It will
be all the way to the dungeon.
Where Will the Dungeon Be?
.Where will that dungeon be? In Belgium
or In Bocheland? Wherever It Is, Its day
Is coming, the day when the Boche, the
Hun, the Barbarian makes his last stand
before tho armies of right And I am not
the only man In France who fervently
wishes to see the Stars and Stripes at the
finish.
In the sealed book of time Its date Is
Written For the re-enforcements the pow
ers of ex II are looking for won't come from
submarine murderlngs.
I have Just walked through and about
and within that Hindenburg line at to
distant points within the French and Eng
lish fronts As I said, It is broken, and
Bolldiy broken But behind It 13 another
line of defense, welded In sections to the
line where unbroken, comparing exactly to
the wooden barricades within the foi tressed
walls of VIollet-le-Due. And like it, too,
It takes the outline of a circle's per -lent
It's made of earth and barbed wire It's
an evident hasty makeshift.
It was the wall I am about to describe,
constructed with painstaking caie before
trees were murdered and villages razed,
that was the most difficult to demolish, to
break through with battering ram of mod
ern gun fire and the ardor of France nnd
England It Is pierced fair In seeral
places. I saw two; I have examined their
newly demolished state; I have teen the
logical result of constant hammer of lead
and steel upon the line of Siegfried until It
crumbled. I can only speak of that por
tion which I have seen But I do not
doubt It Is constructed In the same way
all along the line.
The principle of Its building was that of
concealing, as much as Boche Ingenuity
could, the position of batteries and obser
vation posts, and at the same time giving
there batteries and observation posts a
clear field upon four distances a series
of hills, leveled to an equal height, with
lesser hills, also of equal height, between.
They were. In part nature's architecture
and In part Boche That an unobstructed
view might be had from any of them, every
village, house, church, tree, elevation be
fore them for a given distance was razed
to an approximate level, pave here and
there a tree or a bit of natural land that
could serve, so to speak, as a lighthouse.
Imagine a great wave, with a lot of lesser
waves behind It.
What the Trenches Are Like
First, a series of trenches marvelously
constructed, which Is saying something, for
the Boche has trench building down to a
science, quite In order since he Is par ex
cellence a scientist. A series of trenches
In tho angular form of a saw's teeth, and
THE VOICE OP
THE PEOPLE
Conscription and Volunteers.
Complaint About a Dangerous
Street Crossing
CONSCRIPTION AND VOLUNTEER
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir In a recent Issue you published
an editorial, entitled "Beating the. Wheel."
In this article you mention one man, "A,"
who Is not in favor of war, but who
will, of course, go, though half-heartedly,
when he Is called. The .other m,an,
"B," wants to be conscripted and, If he Is
not. Intends to enlist next spring anyhow.
You assume that these are the predom
inant types In Philadelphia, and you also
say that If "B" wants to be In the army
he should enlist. When "conscription," or
"selective draft," was first proposed your
paper Indorsed It and In one of your edl
torlals said that there were thousands of
young men In Philadelphia ready to serve
their country when they were told the
method by which they could be of the great
est service. Thla was one of your argu
menta In favor of the selective draft. And
It Is certainly a fact that the volunteer
system Is In error, yet you are now advo
eating It.
On another occasion you made some ret
erence to the "selective draft" and called
the army which will be raised by that aya
tem fcn "elected" army. That article would
lead one to believe that a conscripted man
was a patriot worthy of the name, and yet
you are now attaching a stigma to conscrip
tion. Isn't It true that a conscripted man Is
serving his country better than a volun
teer? The former la allowing himself to be
placed where he can be of the greatest serv
ice regardless of what that service may be,
whereas a volunteer la picking out the
branch of service that makes the strongest
appeal to htm, but not necessarily the
branch where he can be most useful.
The "selective draft" Is the most demo
cratic and fairest way of raising an army,
and It certainty la the most efficient method
that could be employed, as It conserves our
industrial forces better than tie worn-out
volunteer system, and is also the leveling
place for all classes.
These are things that you claimed for
conscription when It was first proposed, and
If they were true than they are just as
aurely true now, and no attempt should be
made by the press to belittle the squareat
system ever adopted by any warring nation.
L, E. R.
No attempt waa made to belittle what
the Evening LBDOKn also believes to be
the rquarest syatem, nor were volunteers
aver classed aa superior to conscripted man
by thla newspaper. The editorial In ques
tion MM, rreH,. rayre e two
- -' " tajr'a.
the rlgh t-angwa - ' w-
dentils in a Greek cornice. Behind, a bar
rlcaded line of retreat and re-entrenched
r Plica of the first line but ; much ess
strong Theso saw-tooth and dentllea
trenches were very deep and very wide, a
full fifth In the first Instance and half In
the second beyond the regular size. And
the communicating trenches were of equal
width but deeper by two feet. Their
floors were laid In heavy wood, spaced, so
that the rain might filter through.
in the first-line trenches, no shelters,
no abrls nothing In which the Boche could
take shelter under fire. But In tho com
municators and the second, third and
fourth line of similar and weaker lines
50 per cent moro abrls and shelters than
usual. They were much deeper, with tun
neled passages leading from half tho dis
tance between first and second line to the
fourth defense and thence to the open.
To this point from the line Itself was a
distance of five to eight kilometers, accord
log to the topography of the ground. Your
Boche Is truly a digger within the soil, a
miner, a caveman, who likes to burrow for
your 111 In the dark.
Tons of Barbed Wire
Before the first line, ten feet away,
barbed wire hung on spiral ended Iron
stakes, the stakes closer and tho wire
thicker than I have ever looked upon on
this front, with a second and similar de
fense ten feet further away and a third
ten feet further away still. There were
tons and tons of wire and tons and tons of
stakes: or. rather, the remnants mostly of
both Those still standing wero always
three feet six Inches high. At regular In
tervals connected with the first line by
tunnels were mitrailleuse posts. They were
about twenty feet apart, concealed and
blinded with cement tops, upon which earth
and branches had been thrown so that
an aviator could hardly detect them Each
mitrailleuse post contained two guns,
cemented to a parapet and turntable like
the gun on a battleship with a lever.
Their muzzles Just left the soil and no
more The swivel opening through which
these muzzles passed was lined with a
metal casing.
Between the first and second defense the
same system, with the guns set exactly be
tween the guns In tho first-line trenches.
Between the second and third defenses a
like condition again, with the guns again at
equidistances. Had the three lines of
mitrailleuses been upon the same front they
would have been ten feet apart. Within
each mitrailleuse post was an observation
post and periscope.
There were four groups to each sector,
and each constructed with painstaking care.
Work upon them must havo heen begun
early In 1916, at least. The earth removed
had been transported elsewhere; no doubt,
used In part for the artificial hills I have
referred to.
There was nothing behind. This is proved
by the state of the ground and the lack of
debris. Nothing was ever gulng to get
through, of course How could It, since It
was the genius of Hindenburg?
The System's Faults
Nevertheless, portions of all four lines of
trenoii and all three lines of wire and Iron
were In the hands of tho pollu nnd the
Tommy, having fallen exactly In the man
ner the walls nnd barricades fell In the
tale by VIollet-le-Due.
Both the ancient and modern fault lay
In these defenses being too close together;
and allied artillery, moving up, cuts at will
Into the virtually undefended territory be
yond. The actual Boche line today be
tween Arras and Froldmont Farm Is a
Jagged, crooked thing that would -measure
ten times Its straight distances between
these two points. In part, It is the orig
inal lay-out. and In part the open behind
the entire plan.
And the hammering goes right on. The
English rest In Infantry attack for the
nonce, preparing while the guns keep
steadily on the Job. And, unless I miss my
guess, the French front close by takes
up the work. Indeed, I believe before this
story crosses the sea the line of Wooden
Headed and Wooden Statued Siegfried --III
have been pierced In a certain pom' I
could name to the second barricade. And
then later still the English. With. beyond
that the French again.
Who can tell? Perhaps there may be
a bit left for tho khaki-clad boys from
the land of liberty to clean up, to be In at
the death In the dungeon.
Where will that dungeon be? In Belgium
or In Bocheland? "Take it from me. It
ain't goln' to be In France!"
that they were the predominant types. The
point made was that of these two types of
volunteers, or would-be volunteers, It was
often the case that the man who had talked
loudest for war was slowest to volunteer
and that the man who had been against war
was often the first to volunteer. Editor of
the Evening Ledger.
A DANGEROUS CROSSING
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir Knowing that tho Evening I.edoer
n,f?rf,TSt ln Philadelphia for taking an
nnhK i" aPy,hlne fr the benefit of tn5
fimlLV..0 y" l0 prlnt ,hls- Many
times In the last few months I have stood
on the corner of Tenth a-Jl 00.a
waiting for an opportunity to gat across
without having a vehicle or trolley car ru
"There u"' i' V ,0 be ,n """
There Is absolutely, no rejrulatinn e
traffic at this corner, which Is f very bit ,
?.U " by Pedestrians i as the corner of
Sixth and Chestnut streets where l t Uo
policeman stands n seems to m . v
K.". ."STIVER ft1",": "
Philadelphia. July "" A' G0BLER
CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIALISM
To the Editor of tht Evening Ledg
den-AtS; daBr 'ouaVd TE""!
Many nasty untruths have been '.
about the Socialists, but "t must h.Vi
to their eternal credit that t!! ... sald
faith" While mKoVth-Sh Ire
Praying to the God of Battles lor vi .re
on the blood-soaked and I corn. .., vlc,rles
tleflelds. the Soclallsts-theyTho hi h at
viciously branded as athelsTa'ndVm -ChrUt
-are standing bravely by the fraternal
teachings of the Nazarene.' maternal
Christ proclaimed the goapel of near. .
good will among men. ThhTgosne? la ?"t
being upheld by the Socialist!. iS he JwfX
face of universal war and Ill-will ani
men. Christ proclaimed the aplrk of b?otrf
erhood; and today the Socialists are tt
ng to keep alive the spirit of Droth.?h
n a war-mad wor.ld that has ?or8Stte ,t
In the frenzy of slaughter. en It
Christ denounced the wicked rulers who
crushed the souls and sacrificed the I? of
iorly.ma8"in thelr ndi7lu for
sordid gain and bruta power: todav thl
Socialist, are denouncing these samswVSd'
rulers, masters of the murder feat ., M
Christ denounced them. ' ven "
Christ .sympathized with the tollers lashed
to the chariot of tyranny and driven bv th.
cruel tyrants: today the Socialists Wead h!
cause of the toller., lashed and driven todjy
aa they were In Christ's day and as thav
have been throughout th. terTlbie.",
Soct.hhV.
TTTT?. PAdcaT"
" -'-""'V-D-ri.K.ft. m
FRIlCHIE MYTi
Modern Skontina t. .
Doubt thr. T T
tier Told It
CiO RUNS Whim.... .....
SckW.XynV,hslrrTn-4
winrt,...itt j - lne Union n.. .'
threatened with a dog" d ,?. C
Alt.,oug .v?rVK'caVh K
generate ago 1& &C,,
w.i Tmcmy Bs he believed I I-
v ashlngton, several nuthn.u, ,n Wa.
that while such a nern hm le. n01
Frederick Town durtS? "he Phl?t,i
dltlon gave to hei honor ami L.i' Wlr
did not deserve AnTa"".
challenge a spirited control ., I "'
waged In the press n,r,ny h Q
ueseareh proves that one n,v. . f
daughter of a German ?mmM,ra"W
sylvanla, was born in Uncast" Ptt8
ccmber 3. l?7 on i..7r"caMr. Pa, iw
family, to Frederick On Mav B iiTi"1 '
nearly forty years of . VZ L"0,'t
Caspar Frletchle. fourteen year.V .
the oon e o Tv.... .. i . ?'." her hat.
Mao-land, been "hung, drawn Z?
Barbara Frletchle, not having ... J
dren of her own, reared her brotheM,"
and sister-in-law. Her husbaj I aftwV
Ing as a prosperous glovemaker, died 5
yember 10. 1849, when he was Iri hU T
tlcth i year and his widow In her, S?
fourth year She survived him tklr"
years, dying on December IS, ?M? '
nlnety-slx The alleged flag episode haJS
curred only three months previously
According to her obituary publish, i?
a Frederick paper at the time of htt t
the real Barbara Frletchle had removeJb
hat town when a child and had reraera &
the signing of the Declaration of iX!
dence. as well as the scenes of the Rrvt
Inn nnH Vio tVa. nt ion WT0I.
... .i v, a , iuit nn MflH u.. . .- "
"To one thus strangely identified with '
.,fa... i,.n t.u..i, ul iutj nepuDllc lottltf
necessarily became a deep-seated ini
ment," this obituary went on to relite, -.o
when the Rebel, were expelled from Uk
city on the memorable 12th of Septemke"
this venerable lady, as a last act of rr
tlon. stood at her front door and waved (it
glorious Star Spangled Banner In token o)
welcome to our deliverers " 2
In the opinion of some authorities, ttti
was the real basis for the story of l
taking up the flag that Jackson had erferti
shot down from her window j;
Accoidlng to one Engelbrecht a Cnlenla;
who became Mayor of Frederick, the ltd,
dent described by the Quaker poet sere
took place. Ho lived directly acroii fti
street from the Frletchle cottage and froa
his window saw Lee's army pass. There b
nlso a published denial of the story by Sun.'
uel Tyler, a lawyer, who wrote the blejn?
phy of Just.' Taney Various olher j
thors have published denials based unoi"
information alleged to have been obtains!
from Barbara Frletchle's family and Belli'
bors. 4
What Do You Know?
QUIZ !i
What Is the first name of fieneral Client!
What was the IMatt amendmeat Altai tk ,
relationship of Cnba with the tsM
Stntes? i
In list certain Americans formed tbelw
of I'rnnklln. Where was this Cans.
uenlth which neier referred surfs)
from the' Tederal (iovernmentf 4
What la nn apiarist? '
An neroplatte shed I. railed a "hsBiv.
tTom wnat inncuace is mis won nits
and what la Its orldnal meaolaf?
.Arm., nli.t rlrer liale the Roulifll Jul
been driven by the re-enforced Autrfuif.
Alexander Hamilton was not ben ls lt
I
United states, vtnere waa M can;
Who la said to hare declared that "Its kit
tle of tVnterloo waa won on the pltnnf
neiaa or r.ion- .
Who wrote "The Ladr of Lyonil 4
Name the eight planeta Tlslble to theutti
Answers lo Yesterday' Qnli
Vtllllnm Penman I. rlialrman of the WW
States Shipping Board and Georii
(Hoetlml. Is general manactr nt
Kniergeney Fleet Corporation. ,
Stnmhmil Is the Turkish name for CK'
etantlnople. IT
Cockaigne 1. nn Imaginary land of Mr,
lies, and liu.ir The word la lometma
used In punning reference to the Cotiw
district of London. 4
Dai aria Is the largest State In the Genua
Empire after rruesia.
President Menocal la the Chief Eientlria
Cuba. J
Coleoptern are beetles, with frost wlan
converted Into sheaths. $
Lout. II of Bourbon, Trlnre of Coslo,
called "The Great Conde." lie wu
tlngulshed n. a general during too rt
nf I.nnl. XIV nf l'ranre. ConoYl W
are 1021-1680. WK
Delaware wa. the first State to ratlll
United T-tntes Constitution. ,.
"Sinn Fein" 1. finellr for "For Ooraein'
Mark Tnnln is credited with Hilar "hi
good and you will be happy, bot tm
won i nare a goou time,--
wrirniiiNP. ppamkt.tm HflME'
ftTANY of us entertain the notion tw
1VJL great men were not properly I
predated during their lifetime and that
was left to a later generation ur o
for Instance to "discover" them Rim
of bitter Invective3 against Wainii
nenned and snnken hv his contemDOrarl
n ton h.i.tv imnre.1nn I. B .lined that tl
.InVta.ntl. a.... ...a b al.nl ,n nlflC. fill
In his niche of fame But this was a
the case. Friction there must alwaji M
among contemporaries, but usually It tt
ntnte.m.n'a own Halrmind character Vtttt
produces the criticism which Time erw
Old Philadelphia seems to have alvej eM
of Its great men more than the usual how
rtlie' a nrnnliAl In hi. own country. B0-
(smln TTVanlrlln nn ntn return front D1!
land at the outbreak of the RevolutW
found a city with open arms tmfJ
dropped anchor In the) Delaware on Mil 'J
1775. Franklin, at sixty-eight, na j
been home for ten years. In London M Jj
k..n lna,,la .UmA a rhet WSS Ifl -""I
apprehension 'of being thrown Into prij
His wife had died In the new house ttm
never seen, though it was bunt accoi
to his directions He was torn, as n
. m m n... Ii HI
pr L,exingion ana toncora o.. -,
tho terrible news calmly and undlPl
There must have been some coniow
fnt. Kim In walklnir the streets SKllS. .
city had become the recognized roetnlJ
of the country. At the corner of FUTS a
wainui aireeis no jiasseu mo .'-- -.
ltn tm fha flr. nt m.nv hundrw
taverns' that took his name The pr""
IhA elfv trove n flnwerv welCOPle W .,
worthy doctor." and one paper printed
rhapsodic eulogy of "Tne rri .
Country and JlanKlnfl on mis j.-
1
Enrlanrt1
Welcome once mors
To these fair western plains, thy W1
V - .
snore ; u
TT.r. !l,- h.tn-.. nnd leave tlW t00U V
home
To run their length and finish out
tjfom. Hi
Here lend thine aid to quench their " J
fires, "l
Or fan the flame which liberty .Insp"
Or fix the grand conductor that
guiao jjjj
The tempest back, and 'Hctrlfy wjfl
pride:
Rewarding Heaven will bless thy a
at lasti
And future glories glorify tha past-
. . l... -..i..t thl
Tne morning after ma '" ,.w
sembly of Pennsylvania "n"'5WTivai
e-o.vea -tnai uenjsmin f(j "M1.j
waning ana James whui., -r"-j.
and they are hereby, aaqea to w
-bh-...i...hi. - -......,1 tn i-SififlnAal
ami. awnaals tta Mavat oa tit MWH
jet'
H- '
Ji'tlff J. IT.. T-SfI,VSjf .'. .
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