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PUBLIC LIOGER COMPANY
CYRIM X. X. CURTIS, PfcsaiMirr
I IT. Lvjdlnsfoo, Vie PreaMsntf John
!. erUrr and Treasurer) Philip 8.
rani B. Williams, John J. Bpurrton,
k7, vmciorp.
A. KDITOniAL- BOARD!
Crags H. K. Csbtm, Chairman.
X TTHALET. .. Editor
C. MARTIN. .General Business Manirtr
d&ll It VtTHT.H T.VfUlVB Tti.lMt...
Independence Square, Philadelphia.
CXIfTSAL... Broad tnd ChAatnut f(ftff.
la C!lT. D-f!..ju. n..n,i
TOSS, 90(1 MtttrnnAlltan Ta,
" ... . ,40a Ford Bulldlnr
Mo .,,.1202 Trifrunt Uulldlnc
NEWS BUREAUS !
AtttmTOlf Beano Rim Bulldlnr
" 5L""; .60 .Frtedrlcnstrasse
mil bomau . : : : . . . : : Sa : i,.r n. aiz"
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kTSJii?!?. LM It served to lubicrlbers
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'Phlladalphla and surrounding- towni at the
o twelT (12) cents per week, payable
W& vik(,!Si I? ?lnl.S outWa of Philadelphia. In
iV tae-Unlted States. Canada or United states pos
. i ' kaalpna, postage, free, fifty (am r.m. U,
'iadvanee dollara per year, payable In
V . To all forelra ranntH,a . leil .it.-
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UELU 1000 VALNUT KEYSTONE. MAIN 3000
S ' ! Address all communication) to Evenino
,, iKOOcr, independence Sauare, Philadelphia.
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K-iffo . SZCO.ND-CLASS MAIL MATTIK.
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Phlledelphla, Mondij. Jaf 30, 1917
WHO'LL GET THE NICKEL?
w
IlXf-' ITIHE nrlcfi for ni In Phllnrlplnhln Ik
WXJ " now SI a thousand cubic feet. Of this
CM "
amount the U. G. I. takes eighty cents
and twenty cents Is turned Into the city
treasury. This mean that every person
Who uses gas Is taxed 25 per cent for
tie privilege of so doing.
On the first of January next, under the
'.,-1
tfvV i
BT
i?.
terms cf the contract between the city
r-nd the company, the latter will receive
but seventy-five cents a thousand cubic
feet for Its product.
We have attempted to discover what
the administration proposes to do in these
circumstances. We wanted to know If
the reduction of five cents a thousand
cubic feet would be given the people or
If the administration proposed simply to
put the extra nickel In the treasury and
thus Increase the Infamous gas tax from
C5 per cent to 33 1-3 per cent. There
vraa such holy Indignation expressed at
the thought that possibly a few cents
ralght be added to the tax rate some
years hence on account of transit that
.ve expected to see even more holy Indig
nation at the suggestion of keeping the
poor man's nickel away from him. Gas
being a necessity of life, as lived in the
city, we anticipated that this chance to
l educe tho price to the consumer would
! seized on with avidity by tho gentle
men who conduct our finances. But their
Indignation is all the other way. "For
, heaven's sake, don't mention gas," we
ere told. "We need the money and we
want to put this thing over quietly.
(, There'll be a kick if you say anything."
Yes, there will be a kick, and it is going
to be the kind of kick that lands. We may
not be able to get eighty-cent gas, be
cause political Inefficiency of administra
tion eats up public funds and the imperial
revenue of the municipality appears to be
Insufficient to provide for proper conduct
of the city's affairs and contractors'
jjL""' profits also, but we are going to get
"fV; nlnety-nve-cent gas, and we are going to
get it on the first of January. Our confl-
'v .nr rMiilta from a belief that buncoing
in"
ti6f the people has been going on long
1 enough to opea their eyes. With their
iMeyes open they will stand for this mulct-
Sv tng process about ten minutes. A com-
&8i muntty which did not demand and take
K-r&r this nve-cent reduction for its own ao
?5Ki -vantaea would be a dastardly community,
81. unVorthy of respe.ct, because It would
Sii? '..have no respect for Itself.
n-3.V- V m.w .,-. .
fi tnanciers based on solid grounds. We
Bli1 are not far wrong in predicting that, the
Xihtk hit return to the city under nlnety-nve-
': r a ....tr1 U .mini n thp nmnllnt
M 'Ijqow got under one-dollar gas, owing to
VJS&f Jarcer consumption under the lower rate.
ia5.v It Is mere stuuDornness o assunio mm a.
M'ytfi. finnnoini loss would result from the re-
L ' --if-Jr . s . i a. . t 1a itnMtMi1Hll
V eiUCtlOn. iNOl mat WO ICBl HID wiuiuum
Ki4ould be satisfied with nlnety-flve-cent
iina. It is proposed only as an abso-
t$$ "(ute maximum, In 'the belief that the full
t! nfckel reduction at least should go to the
IMsj. jjeople: but a still lower rate weuld be en-
?,,'tlrely Justified and doubtless the company
.'would Join wlth'the city In sharing the
;,D iot of, a further lessening of price. But
Whether that happens or not, the people
t get, from 'the first of January on,
tfull benefit of 'the reduction provided
"their Interest by contract years ago.
way to be sure of getting It is to
I-t" .. ..... .t.,. ii :. .nnMoa
fiCounclls who does not pledge hlro-
(absoiuieiy ana wunoui enuivutniwu
livpr of passing the nve-cent reaucnon
ia the people, , The candidate who re-
4a Aa that Is not a people's candl-
l Kci an equl vocator and a shuffler,
a'game, and Is a champion of
jkr rights by mouth only.
.3 . H. nAnnntltMBn fM all itn
vo4m for you. He votes for you
rJbfvtfUS to give you at least a' 6
reUOa.in gaa raitw, ana no
tjyottvwhen be doesn't,
6i?JS . . f
-r . , , ' '
t
-EVENING LEDGEB-PHHiADELPHIA", MONDAY,' -JULY ft), 1917 ,
w$
, Wmply to save a franchise. It was
an unimportant line and an unimportant
franchise. But tho theory that a few
Individuals could "own the street" Indefi
nitely seems to havo caused little Irrita
tion In the minds of New Yorkers.
This putting up with something Inher
ently wrong Just becauso It happens to bo
funny Is a trait of tho Ironic American
humor. It Is the reason for our thinking
the Englishman's sense of humor Is at
fault. It seems absurd to us that a Lon
doner should argue with a motorbus con
ductor over a halfpenny overcharge. At
the same time we secretly envy the Lon
doner's refusal to overtip w niters. To
get things done right one must tako lit
tle things seriously, when those llttlo
things involve a big principle.
A DEPLORABLE VETO
rpiIE proposal to revive tho Nautical
J- School was enthusiastically Indorsed by
all organizations In Philadelphia that
know anything about tho subject. Tho
Legislature promptly voted the necessary
sums. City Councils would have appro
priated tho city's share of the money
early in tho fall. The Chamber of Com
merce has appointed a committee to go
to Washington and consult with the Gov
ernment as to the best method of pre
paring a personnel to handlo tho new
merchant ships. The State has appro
priated millions for the common defense.
Nevertheless, the Governor has vetoed
the appropriation for tho Nautical School.
It Is the ono big concrete thing to bo
contributed immediately by tho Common
wealth and Phllntlelpha to tho prosecu
tion of the war, but the Governor cannot
sco his way clear to spending tho money.
He has been guilty of a grievous error
and every effort must bo made to rectify
It. We do not know that It will be pos
sible to divert any of the general de
fense fund to tho Nautical School ac
count, but we are hopeful that somo
means to go ahead will bo found. Tho
jproper legislation Is on tho books. Pos
sibly a committee of citizens, or one
citizen, would bo glad to underwrite the
proposition and contribute tho $50,000
which the Governor feels the State itself
cunnot afford.
GERMAN LIES IN AMERICAN
THROATS
GIVE the pessimists enough paper and
ink and they'll havo us disgracefully
whipped beforo we have a chance to fire
a shot. Is It patriotism to spread the
impression that tho German arms are
invincible when, as a matter of fact, the
very flower of tho German machine, in
the high-tide of Its efficiency, was driven
back at tho Mat no and was held In Its
trendies for two years while the British
army was getting leady? German lies In
American throats do no good to Ameri
can ears.
WAR NATURALIZES ALIENS
WHETHER aliens should or should not
bo conscripted Is a question to bo de
cided by the law of necessity and not
by sentimental notions about what they
owe to America. If we had an unlimited
food supply wo might leave friendly
aliens entirely to their own devices. But
our food supply, In view of our responsi
bilities to our allies, Is terribly limited,
and every alien mouth that eats should
also be made to explain why It eats here,
In a country at war, Instead of In Norway
or In Brazil or wherever Its owner came
from.
Aliens who have In peace looked upon
America as their permanent home virtu
ally assume all the responsibilities of
citizenship tho moment war is declared,
unless they are prepared to plan a teturn
to their homes. This was the view of
the thousands of American tourists in
Franco and England in August, 1914.
Some wanted to stay out of curiosity, but
the Invariable advice they got from the
more thoughtful was: "If you can't help,
don't hinder. These people need all the
food and other necessities they can com
mand. They can sparo nothing for
aliens."
Treason Is always plausible.
What's the use having Stockholm
conferences when Senator La Follette
cannot attend?
Puzzle: Find a P. R. T. offlf lal with
a worried look on his face as a lesult of
the negotiations pending with the Mayor.
We won't win the war by hauling
freight 100 miles beyond Philadelphia
when the ships can come right hero to
get It.
It Is a pity that real preparedness
did not begin while Roosevelt was Presi
dent. But he did not have time to think
of 4t then.
Some of our very best editors de
nounced the Civil War aa a failure as lato
as 1864. Grant did not have time to read
their proofs.
Our Idea or a successful war would
be one conducted along the lino that a
fellow out In Detroit uses in supplying
locomotion for the world.
Blackberry Jam costs too much and
Is about to lose its monopoly In the army
ration. , Yet In Chester and East St. Louis
there seems to be a mania for blackbury-Ing.
TIP 0kMIB
ClillBS' GONE
L--,vb '-
14 t Jmm eCeir
M.B-M. WK.WW
When vice In persona propria ap
pears before a Magistrate It is lucky If It
can recognize Itself in the white garments
of purity in which It Is escorted out of
the hall of Justice.
HIGH COURT OP
ENGLISH USAGE
It Hands Down a Divided Opin
ion on the Correct Form of an
Evening Ledger Sentence
According to our own "Hampy"
Moore, the Augusta site is ideal for an
encampment. He Investigated It for the
Evenino Ledoer, and his report Is com
forting to the guardsmen who shortly
are to go there.
Tom Daly's Column
The1 Glasgow street railway system
earned a surplus of about $800,000 last
year, which has been turned over to the
Common Good Fund. The new transit
system In Philadelphia will eventually
earn, money for the city and reduce taxes,
That, U .Worth thinking about when the
rJwImUts ory bloody murder and declare
tfctltajraa.e'ers will Have to dig down
J 'Owfe .? ' . Mnr
.
WE ARE going to take the reader be
hind the scenes nnd let him get some
Idea of tho many difficulties which beset
editors who strivo to write correct Eng
lish. Tho other day one of the editorial
writers of the Evenino Ledger began
an article with tho phrase "There aro a
certain two men." When it was printed
a question nroso as to its grammatical
form,
But tho phrase was allowed to stand
unchanged In nil editions, It was decided
to appeal to the Judgment of experts In
colleges In different parts of tho country.
The icsult Indicates that tho division of
opinion among the profcssois of English
Is as great as among those whoso busi
ness It Is to write It.
William H. Ct an shaw, A. M., Lltt. D.,
LLD, dean and professor of English
lltcraturo In Colgnto University, Hamil
ton, N. V who has written a teMbook
on English literature and has taught
English composition, decides that tho ex
pression Is lnconcct. Ho writes:
Tho expression Thero are a certain
two men" seems to me Incorrect, although
somo of my friends hero think otherwise
If the nrtlclo wcro omitted the expression
might jmhs muster though I should not
think It a happy one The nrtlcle, how
ecr. distinctly emphasizes the singular
Idea, while "are" and "two" nre as dis
tinctly p.ural Of course, there II tho
analogy of such expressions as 'There
nre a few" and "There are a good rrl ny "
There hovcer, "few" and "many" may
ho more easily taken In a collective sense
and regarded as conx eying cither a singu
lar or a plural Idea "Two," howecr.
Is more distributive In meaning, nnd It
would bo difficult to speak of "a two" as
wo say "a few" or ocn ns we say "a
thousand," taking the group as a whole
Of course thero still remains tho logical
Incongruity between 'are" nnd "a few"
I suspect thut tho true Justification for
"There arc a few" nnd "Thero aro a good
many" Is Idiomatic usage and not the
possibility of logically harmonizing the
Ideas. You will observe that while we
say "There aro a good many," wo do
not say ' There nre n many " Tho for
mer has becomo good Idiomatic English.
The latter has not Justified Itself as Idiom
and Is therefore subject to tho logical ob
jection. Tho same seems to mo to be
true of the expression, "There nre a
certain two." It Is bad grammatical logic,
and cannot plead that It Is good Idiom.
It may be tome day, but I think not et
I S Your expression Involves "A
men" nnd that Is proper only at the end
of a prayer
Tho Rev. Francis P. Donnelly, S. J.,
professor of English In tho College of
the Holy Cross, at Worcester, Mass , Is
in doubt, but he Is Inclined to the belief
that the form of words Is permissible.
He writes:
1 have had some fun with your ques
tion which I tried on others Some havo
bald the phrase Is Indefensible, logically
and grammatically. Others have de
clared It defensible Most ndvlse not
using It and It may he condemned as
superfluous "There are two men" would
express the Idea adequately, especially In
this context. Tho writer has probably,
unncing on analogy, mauo a plural of
'There Is a certain man."
Tho phrase appears awkward to me.
The reason may ho that 1 am expecting
a plural noun after "there are" and I am
puzzled by "a certain," which commonly
goes with a singular noun or a collective
noun 1 start a hentenco with "A certain
two" and I do not feel tho same piuse
Another dllllculty Is the use of two men
ns a collective, ("specially In the edltorlnl
where the writer takes them at once as
different tpcs It seems to mo that "a
certain" Individualizes and groups. "A
certain two men come every day" sounds
all right to me, but I mean a particular,
definite two men whom I do not wish
further to characterize I seem though
to tako them' together Just as In the ex
pression "any two men " These phrases
seem to be extensions of tho expression
any two, certain two, theso two Gram
marians commonly say that "a" goes
with singular nouns or collective nouns
and they recommend using a singular verb,
although they admit that usago Justifies
tho plural verb. Here, however, tho dif
ficulty Is rather using "a certain" with
the plural noun where the rule Is to use
"certain" with pluial and "a certain"
with singular. It seems to mo that In
this case the rule could be followed,
especially ns the writer, as I havo said,
Is not taking them as a pair or couple,
but as separate types. In that case
"Thero aro two certain men" might stand
grammatically. Yet, as wo do not often
use the phrase. It does not come trippingly
on tho tongue.
You see that I am not dogmatic on this
point, but I would say. If I nm forced,
that tho phrase, "Thero aro a certain
two men," has been defended and so Is
defensible, at least by usage and perhaps
also grammatically and logically Yet
It Is awkward and makes close readers
quebtlon It.
In the context, however, I think,
modestly and with deference to better
heads and to more patient study, that,
as tho writer Is not making a c'.ass
of the two men, ho Is not using "a certain
few, or two, etc.," In Its accepted meaning.
Jostah H. Pennlman, A. B , Ph. D
LL.D., vlco provost and professor of
English literature In tho University of
Pennsylvania and author of many articles
on literary topics, defends the phrase,
which It happens was written by a man
who got his education at the University.
Professor Pennlman, however, did not
know It. He says:
This sentence Is correct grammatically,
though It seems an awkward way of con
veying the idea, whatever the Idea was
or Is.
Any combination of words may be
considered and used as the subject of
a verb, and as such may come under the
classification "collective noun" If the
meaning warrants It, The awkwardness
of the sentence arises from the "are a"
combination, which does not in itself
sound right. The "a," however, must be
taken with the phase "certain two men,"
which Is equivalent to a collection like
"group." A collection may be used with
either a singular or a plural verb, de
pending on the thought In the writer's
mind. If the meaning Is distributed the
verb may be plural. If the meaning Is
not distributed the verb may be sin
gular. It referring to the Siamese twins as "a
certain two men," the writer would be re
ferring to something "singular," or at
least commonly so regarded.
Do you remember the old wheeze?
Pants: Plural If you wear them, singu
lar If you don't.
As the offense, if it be an offense, was
committed In Pennsylvania, the criminal
must bo tried In Professor Pennlman's
Jurisdiction. He seems to be acquitted
there. It may be argued, however, that
those who commit crimes against the
best English usage must be tried In a
court whose Jurisdiction Is coterminous
with the regions In which English Is used
and that the guilt or Innocence of the
accused remains still to be settled.
THE aOLDEN OlRh
Jlcd halrl
Isn't it quaref
Once on a time I'd do nothln' out Jeer at U,
A'oto, faith,
Look at mc teeth,
Bee how I show them an' growl when vou
sneer at it.
Brown eyest
"Muddu wld lies,"
"Dull an' deceitful," I once was dectdtn'
them;
But whackl
Yours Mill no black
Under me fist now, If vou'd be dcrldln'
them.
What's more,
I"rccklcs galore
Made a complexion the worst I could
deem of it; ,
But now
You ?nmt allow
Thcu give a touch o' pure gold to the
cream of it.
Some girls
J'launt the ted curls,
But It Is bl eyes In undhcr that gaze
at ye;
Some own
freckles alone
Let them be oglln' as much as they pl'ase
at ye.
Ono charm
Xrrdn't alarm!
I'car not the lass who Is only unfoldtn'
one;
But she
Blessed u-itl all three
Like my oicn A'oin Ochl She U the
golden one.
UNFORTUNATELY we've mislaid tho
Judge's name, but his courtroom Is In
New Bedford, Mass. Beforo him appeared
a defendant, who, hoping for leniency,
pleaded, "Judge, I'm down nnd out."
Whereupon fcald the wlso Judge: "You'ro
down, but jou'ie not out. Six months!"
COMES M. Harry Hoclfler to remon
strate with us bepauso wo permitted Phil.
Friend to say too llttlo about Tony San
zonl. "Do you know," ho asked, backing
us Into a corner, "that nearly all tho
gardens of Ardcn still blossom by grace
of tho genius of Tony Sanzonl, flagman
at Harvey Station, B. nnd O.? Do you
know that ho started to work at 4 every
morning, although ho wasn't duo to show
up until 7? Do ou know that he ter
raced tho railroad bank on which his
garden grew nnd can led water fiom a
none-too-contlguous spring to Irrigate his
flowers and vegetables? Do you know that
thero Isn't a house In that neighborhood
today which doesn't contain at least one
of tho red-blue-and-yellow baskets he
wove, 'between times,' of willow withes
gathered and stained by his own restless
hands? Do you know thut a distinguished
old Quaker family of the countryside sets
apart a special day In each year upon
which Tony Is entertained and feasted
as guest of honor at the family seat?
There Is In newspaper columns too much
talk of somo men and too little of others."
THEY STOPPED outsldo the Thirtieth
Street market, in West Philadelphia, to
pass the tlmo of day.
"You'll not be mlndln' If I hurry along.
Mts. McGettlgan," said tho short, stout
one.
"Oh, not at all, Mary Ann," said the
other, "but this Is no skatln' weather,
mind, I'm tcllln' yo."
"True for yo, but 'tla a weddln' that's
In It this mornln'. Mo nephew It lsj
Nora's boy." '
"Oh, sure I hear he's doln' fine."
"So ho Is, glory be! An llllgant Job
ho has, wld flgurln' an' the like o' that."
"An" what's his Job, Mary Ann?"
"A bookcase, no less."
YOU KNOW THAT FEELING
' m
. 1 . i
THE VOICE OF
THE PEOPLE
Home-Defense Men Need Arms.
Socialists and the
Churches
THE TALE OF THE JAPANESE FAN
In the time of cherry blossoms
In the land of old Japan,
In the town of Nagasaki,
Lived a maiden and a man.
Fair she was, a golden Illy,
Cultured to the last degree;
Of the line of Bamural,
Brilliant, bold and brave ikm he.
And each evening when the moonlight
Shot Us ancient magic down
On the groves of cherry blossoms
And the temples and the town.
From her place beside her u-fndoto
IHicrc she sat to watch the stars
She could hear these words upfloatlng
Through the trclllsed bamboo bars:
"You're the one dear ray of moonlight
That across my pathway gleams;
You're the cherry bloom whose fragrance
Scents and sweetens all my drcamst
Oh, descend, dear ray of moonlight,
Of my life to be a part;
Flutter down, O cherry blossom,
Till I wear you on my heart I"
How she listened to the pleading
Of her fine and fair young man
Ifott they loved, eloped and married,
It is told upon this fan.
Still! no doubt in groves Elyslan
Do they iiander 'neath the stars
Joyous'soujcd as when he wooed her
'Neath the trelllsed bamboo bars.
ELEANOR ROGERS COX.
SOMEBODY In Youngstown sent us a
letter yesterday from the new Tod House
and awakened a memory of the old one.
About ten years ago we were booked for
a speech In that town and wo registered
at tho Tod House. We registered on a
card) the hotel used no book. Also, we
paid in advance. (Oh, yes, we had baggage.)
That was a terrible mistake, as our story
will show in good time. Arrived at our
room early in the afternoon, we called
the chairman of the meeting and arranged
to wait, In our room until ho come for
us, which, he said, would be around 8
o'clock. At 6 we went down to dinner
and back to our room. At 8 we were
waiting, and at 8:15 and at 8:30. Then
we got nervous. We tried to call our
man on the phone. "Oh," cried the house
operator, "they've been looking all over
for you and paging you and everything."
"Well," we said, "I've been here all the
time." "Yes," said she, "but you paid
In advance and the clerk lost all record
of you." SPELLBINDER.
Can This Be True?
Semiofficial advices sjate that since cer
tain stores stopped delivering goods
housewives, compelled to visit the stores
This Department tj free to all readers who
ulsh to express their opinions on subjects of
current Interest. ( is an open orum and the
Ctenina Ledger assumes no responsibilitu for
the views of Us correspondents. Letters must
tie stoned by the name and address of the
writer, not necessarltu for publication, but as a
guarantee of good faith.
HOME-DEFENSE MEN NEED ARMS
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir As a member of the Philadelphia
Home Defense Reserve, I want to draw
your attention to tho fact that an article
In your valuable paper, printed on July 21,
describes tho experience of tho writer.
On Friday, July 20, while returning from
the Pennsylvania Barge Club to my home,
1811 North Logan Square, on a Callowhlll
street car, I saw an officer of the police
force being badly beaten up by a crowd of
men. I asked both the motorman and con
ductor of the car to como with me to the
aid of the officer, but they both refused
to hlp. I asked several men who were
standing around (American citizens. I pre
sume) to help rescue the ofllccr, but none
would help, several of the men saying,
"They aro a bad gang to tackle."
Seeing the officer was on his back In a
helpless condition, with his head and face
covered with blood, I singled out one of
the men whom I saw deliberately kick tho
officer on tho head, and struck him on his
head with my walking cane, which un
fortunately was broken In contact. The
blow had the desired effect, as the man ran
off and the other men left the prostrated
ofllcer to attack me. For a few minutes
It was "rough house," but an ofllcer had
been saved.
I have been badly cut In the mouth,
biffed behind the ear, hit with a brick In
the back (which a bystander said was
thrown at my head by one of the gang) and
have bruises received by a bootjack or a
club that make It difficult for me to walk.
My reason for reciting this story at
length Is that I want to ask the co-operation
of your valuable paper to impress the
proper authorities to see that the volun
teer citizen be so armed that he can
at least take care of himself while assist
ing the police.
THOMAS E. ELDRIDGE, M. D.
Home Defense Reserves, 9th District.
Philadelphia. July 27.
choirs do not sing unto the Lord a new
song for the glory of God, but for money.
We are constantly reminded of the dollar
In a place ostensibly dedicated to tho wor
ship of tho Creator.
Socialists, however, havo no quarrel with
tho display of material wealth per se. They
havo a very serious quarrel with tho
churches and ministers who nre silent
in the presence of monstrous social wrongs
and Injustices which heap up Immense
wealth In the possession of a few.
Mere Up Bervlco In church will not right
these wrongs. That Is why Socialists are
everywhere out In the highways and hedges
on their soap-boxes compelling the working
people to come Into the Socialist party.
ALBERT C. HART.
Mcrchantvlllc, N. J., July 28.
POETS NEGLECT SAILORS
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir Philadelphia, with its noble tradi
tions of country-love, has a chance now
to renew thoso traditions, not only through
the servlce-at-arms of Ub young sons on
the battlefield, but through tho literary
craft of Its stay-at-homes. We have pro
duced many literary men In this city. Some
of their work George Boker's, for example
has lived, and will continue to live, be.
cause of the mastery of style and the power
of sentiment thnt Inform It. Boker's "Dirge
for a Soldier" Is ono of the fine things In
letters that celebrate the life and death of
the warrior. Other examples of this en
tirely proper prldo In ono fighting man
could bo plucked from tho anthologies.
But Philadelphia, like most of the United
States (like, Indeed, most of the world), has
been very one-sided In tho matter. Why
have we no navy poet, ono who would give
that arm of service Its due In swinging,
singing lines lines easily remembered, fit
ted for a musical setting? The whole tend
ency of the present war has been to glorify
the man In the trench. His blue brother of
the ocean has been virtually forgotten.
Even Sir Henry Newbolt, unofficial laureate
of the British navy, has let many obvious
chances slip by.
Is there no versifier In our city who will
write stirring stanzas about the "gobbles,"
surely as deserving In their different way as
their fellows In khaki? Or is the explana
tion of this phenomenon tho fact that sail
ors make up their own songs, or adapt
them? At any rate, some such clever writer
as T. A Daly ought to bo able to turn
out a splendid poem about the unfairly
neglected bluejackets.
LESLIE MARION.
Philadelphia, July 26.
What Do You Know?
QUIZ
1. AA lint South American city Is reported the
lienvlrat sufferer from the recent earth
quake? 2. Who originated the phrase "rauddluif
through," unil In what connection?
3. Who Is Mme. Ilochkarlov a?
4. Who vnn "the cood Bray poet"?
5. What form of muxlcal composition was the
forerunner of tho modern s, mphony?
0. What German author. In a novel written
hefore the) war, described llerlln us "a
faded 1'arls"? ,
7, What Is a cunctatlve policy?
8. To whnt branch of United States mllltnrr
service do "gobn" belont?
0. Wlmt It il mullah?
10. Who was 1'erklu Wnrbeck?
Answers to Saturday's Quiz
1. A bivouac Is n temporary encampment with
out tents.
2. Frank A. Scott, of Cleveland, chairman of
the (lencrnl Munitions Hoard, will bead
the new Industrial board to supervise war
purchases.
3. The sister of Lord Kitchener, popularly
thought to have died when a British
erulsrr was torpedoed, has Just stated
that she believes Mm to be alive.
4. Theodore Roosevelt ha coined the phrase,
pawnbroker patriotism," In connection
with America's part In the war.
B. The Chester riots nrlglnuted In the slaylnc
of William .McKlnney, a white man, br
nezroes.
6. Homburjr, Germany, Is reported to be suffer-
me most heavily from a cholera epidemic,
7. Jane, wife of Thomas Carlyle, Is referred
to In Leigh Hunt's "Jenny Kissed Me."
8. Many drafted men llvlne; In the suburbs. It
is expected, will be forced to serve, be
cause their health Is better than that of
most city workers.
0. 1'Syntox" Is the construction of sentences.
10. The French poet Montcorbier Is more com
monly known as Francois Villon.
M
"BUILDING A RAILROAD TO
NOWHERE"
personally and seeing things they' never
thought of buying before, are carrying
,j U tha expreaelosi oorreot or la It notT. I Roma more aw pa we peaitra varolii.
Dit4t,o jdaUv
, r
'imm;
"SING AND FIGHT!"
Plattsburg recruits have learned a new
slogan. It is "Sing and fight!" General
Bell, one of the officers at the head of the
training corps, made an address before
the men gathered there, emphasizing the
seriousness of the work undertaken by them.
During the course of the talk he made the
following statements;
"A soldier must think only of his duty
and must do It In a way that all who sur
vive him will be proud of the way he gave
up his life. You know whom we are going
to fight. German soldiers sing while they
march. I want you to see that our army
beats them at their own game, for singing
men are fighting men.
"From you will be selected part of the
first 10,000 officers, and I want you to take
It upon yourselves as a duty to see that
every company of our army has a marching
tune, and that the men learn to sing il
You don't know how much further men can
marcn wnen they sing. Any rousing air
will do. 'A Hot Time In the Old Town To
night' has a svtng to It that will put glneer
and courage in the hearts of men. Go to
It. Sing and fight I"
SOCIALISTS AND THE CHURCHES
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir "The devil," says Shakespeare, "can
quote Scripture to his purpose." Which Is
only one way of saying that the Bible may
bo used to support anything at all, if you
know your Bible, of course. There is no
need, however, to bolster up Socialism by
means of the Bible and approve It with a
text. But that the principles and alms of
Socialism are practically Identical with the
principles and alms of Christianity Is too
well known to all well-informed readers to
need any amplification here. The literature
of Socialism, readily obtainable from any
Socialist, contains abundant proof to this
effect. The Encyclopaedia Brltannlca. bv
no manner of means a Socialist publication,"
says as mucn.
If churches today were not so comnletelv
commercialized and dominated by the dollar.
perhaps more socialists would be found
darkening their doors and worshiping at
their altars. Socialists doynot take much
stock In the routine practice of churchgolng
In a grossly materlallstlo age such as we
are living In today, when the measure 'of
respectability and social standing Is the
measure of the dollars In one's pockets.
Socialists look deeper. They see that the
very pillars of the churches are precisely
the ones who place the heaviest contrlbu'
lions on the offertory plate, and sing "All
things come of Thee. O Lord, and of Thine
own have we given Thee," when the simple
fact Is that what they "give" represents
the product of unpaid labor. These people
are the very ones whose prototypes Christ
was moved to cast out of th Temple and
to overthrow the tables Jf the money
changers, because they had made the house
of prayer a den of thieves. (Matt xxl.
Hence it is mat in a society wherein that wa Lad eantur.V ..'i.. "v""""n
very one la rated by rtha Tdollar sian. vu im' .rr lwur mlnM eye.
oauroheaaav mtn eeaUIehtba tor r.'JHt CTA. Mtwa .wa. w"c.??Ion Pf
UataeW cf -, ,fP mimijl 3mmilA.mtilXViZi
Y. M. C. A. AND WAR
It Is strange to find in a war book one
of the best descriptions of and tributes
to the Y. M. C. A. that has been written
Only the other day a "man who knows"1
referred to the Y. M. C. A. in Arch street as
"one of the best clubs In town" the fa
vorlte club-home of many of Philadelphia's
most fastidious and moat successful and
prosperous young business men.
NowV u ib.iitr w""ams's "One Young
Man," telling the experiences of an Enirllsh
clerk at the front, appears to be a cor7obora.
tlon of what the "man who knows" asserts
"We were told to make ourselves absolStelv
at home. Much to our surprise, no one
came up and spoke to us about our soul..
'nd'"-.u.h0',f way Vnto all thi
ESS5S&8MK
"pRESENT-DAY doubts about the "over
A development" of transportation facilities
were not entertained so extensively In the
Philadelphia of the fifties of tUe last cen
tury. Of courso, there were a number of
persons who called a certain project "build
ing a railroad to nowhere"; but, in spite
of the Imaginative daring of this project,
the pullbacks do not seem to have been able
to hobble the forward-looking men of 185J.
The project was the creation of Atlantle
City, and It seems to have been quite a
success. But in tho fifties the long, narrow
bit of sand called Absecon Beach seemed
at first sight as desolate ns a coral island
In the Pacific. Occasionally an adven
turous gunner would wander about the
meadows in quest of small birds and walk
on the white beach, where he did not i
dream so many thousands of bathers were
to gather In later years. When the Cam
den and Atlantic was projected there were
only two houses on the Island, one a small
hotel and the other tho habitation of fish
ermen. '
Philadelphia enterprise and capital en
ttrely controlled the venture. The pro
moters declared It was their Intention to
open a new communication with the sea
coast, not so much for purposes of naviga
tion' and general commerce as for the es
tablishment of a watering place with hope
of employment for freight purposes in tno
transportation of oysters, fish and game
from the bays and sounds on the coast.
The railroad was opened with a midsum
mer excursion, in which 600 persons partici
pated. The United States Hotel at Atlantic
City was partly finished and a celebration n '
took place there. To the enthusiastic ex.
curBlonlsts, after a few hours In the July
sun, the experiment began to seem hope
less, little as they would admit It. 'But tile
projectors persevered. They had corinectied )Jj
their railroad stock Interests with real ea. j
tate purchases of lands on the beach.i BH
some of them did not live to see their fait ,
4llBlfl,t In .,1.- 1. ..l.- -. i- -4
u,,.,wm ,. nwto. ai who me Blow procwwe i
of a quarter of a century that made tMr
vision com true. But even In the aeveitlM
. . -ii.;i .i s -v i -'i . ,-.
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