Evening public ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, April 23, 1918, Postscript, Page 12, Image 12

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EVENING PUBLIC LEDGE11PH1LADELPHIA, TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1918
-rr
PUBLIC XEDCER COMPANY
trrxus h, k. cvrtis. f-itsiMXT. .
Cbrl-i H. Ludlnston. Vice I-resldenti John P.
MmiM. Secretary and Treasureri I'hlllp S. Collln,
John B. William. John J. Upurseon. Directors.
EDITORIAL DOAItU:
Critcs II. K CvTU. Chairman
t)AVtD B. SMILEY.
. . .Editor
JOHN a JIAUTIN'....0neral Business Manas.
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rhll.JtlphU. Tu.id.r. April !J. 1918
BELATED RAILROAD EQUIPMENT
TUB railroads, .which uiidor private man
agement found It Impossible to get
money to bhy new rblllng stock, are soon
to bo equipped w(h 100,000 new freight
cars and 2000 new locomotives. Tho Gov
ernment has discovered what the railroad
men havo long- known, that tho present
equipment Is Inadequate It Is ready to
And 1300,000,000 to buy the new cars and
engines. Arrangements for awarding tho
contracts have been completed.
But this is only a beginning. Tho late
James J. Hill said not long before hM death
that tho railroads needed $1,000,000,000 a
year for soveral years to put them in
shape to serve the country. They havo
not been able to get the money primarily
for tho reason that the Government has
been meddling with their business to such
an extent that no one knew whether divi
dends could bo earned on new capital. Wo
are now forced by tho need ot adequate
transportation facilities to raise this money
at a time when wo nre straining ourselves
to provide funds for carrying on tho
greatest war in all history.
It tho Government will profit by this
lesson now tho country Is likely to profit
In the future.
Why did nobody, ever call them dachs
Jbuns? Or did they?
STATUS AND STATUS FIXERS
ON'R ot tho first duties ot Mr. Schwab,
the ofllclal announcements say, will be
to fix ho status of Admiral Bowles at Hog
Tsland. Only a little while ago Admiral
Bowles was the most potent Btatus llxer In
our midst. -Thcse are swift times. Few
can feel that their status Is permanent.
The war is upsetting the usual standards.
Statesmen, captains, admirals, kings and
roere citizens are having their status
.changed for them overnight. The world Is
making new Judgments to meet the com
mon need. The Mayor's status has changed.
The status of politicians Is swiftly
changing', though they do not seem to
know it yet. The Kaiser tried to change
his status, but he bullded on sand.
Mr. Schwab's la tho only safe way. Be
your own status fixer. This Is good advice
to aliens. Thus you will spar.e others the
trouble of fixing your status for you and
from the necessity of hurting your feelings
In the process.
O'JS'ell and Scott a ticket to catch the
virtuous and the vicious?
CAN RUSSIA BE SAVED?
GBItllANY Is not having lis awn way
in Itussla. The landing of' British and
French troops at Murmansk to co-operato
with tho Bolshevik forces In holding tho
railroad whlon touches tho Ice-free 'port of
Kola, on tho Arctic Ocean, indicates this.
Tho Finnish White Guards havo been try
ing to get possession of this road for the
benefit of tho Germans, but they havo not
got within S00 miles ot Its terminus at
Kola. The road affords a strategic en
trance to Russia and must be held by the
Allies so long as thero Is any body of Rus
sian troops willing to fight the Germans.
But what Is more Important Just now
than holding this railroad Is a concerted
effort to counteract the effects of German
propaganda among the Russians. German
lies wero spread broadcast throughout the
country last year and no effort was made
to counteract them.'' The Root mission
from this country accomplished nothing,
forlt did not et In contact with tho
people, Thero is still time to do some
thing, for the war Is nbt to be ended this
year and perhaps not next year.
A thousand men who can speak Russian
would bo worth 10,000 troops- or perhaps
JOOTOOO -tcl tho Allies if they could be sent
to Russia to tell the people- the truth
about the war and what we are all fighting
for. -Russians are no more anxious than
Americana or "Englishmen to be ruled by
Germans.
rerhapa If some one higher up should
have a vacation also conditions in the police
department might Improve.
A. ROOSEVELT DENIED US 7
SINQ13 the war began all tho astrologers
who have tried, to read Its meaning in
tho stars seem, so to speak, to have been
kidded by the. very firmament,, It is en
couraging to remember . this now when
Catharine Howard Thompson, who for
eighteen years has been one of the most
ateed star gazers In Boston, avows that
Archo Roosevelt, Jr., the youngest grandT
child of Theodore, rnayjtf'ltvo anywhere but
tn Philadelphia" whenhe grows up. Why
ArchU cannot live here the stars do not
lis the Philadelphia ol tho future tp be a
city ot righteousness -unquestioned or are
ivo to be left desolately to the whims ot a
aiatltn fate Surely the rampant corpuscle
q rid red and the; Bavogo love of goodness to
ic-U Archlo Jr.' grandpapa has dedicated
lu.- di mlgljt W of atfvtco. to us here
udMMfe ws aro to tx reliaved of William
an Krt and TttefaHM imI lb jri pf them
Kfwit kojir isJtfruthe war.
mmMuy 4owrm W3V that
WHERE IS THE LEADER?
INHERE is no secret about tho reason
for police conditions here. The voters
themselves nro responsible for them.
Thoy havo consented to tho exploitation
of trio city by a group of men whoso god
is their bank account. Government, ac
cording to their theory, exUts for tho
benefit of tho men who can control tho
patronage. Only such homage is paid
to decency as is forced by tho knowlcdgo
that there is n limit beyond which tho
exploiters cannot go and still retain their
hoi I c government.
Tho whole city consented to the election
of Mayor Smith. It was known at the
time why ho was nominated. Yet tho
broad-minded, influential citizens neglect
ed to get together and demand the nomi
nation of a high-class candidate of recog
nized ability who would perforce com
mand the public confidence. The men
who should have led loitered in the camps
of ease and- they and tho rest of us have
got what we deserved. '
We are told now that the way to im
prove conditions is to get n new law
pas -.d, as though a few words printed on
n piece of paper could change tho pur
pose of this community. A newspaper,
which was silent during tho administra
tions of Reyburn and Ashbridgc and
raised no protest against the scandalous
police conditions then, is now saying that
all the present scandal is caused because
tho police are in politics and that there
can be no improvement tilt they are
taken out. It says:
Captnln Mills, wo havo no douht, will
make. good, llut the political machine re
mains. Tho police nro Its product. While
the roots of n treo nre ullvc the tree
.Itself Is alive. The lopping off of a few
branches docs not 1(111 It. And the roots
of a vicious pollc-c-lifpolltlcs sjstcm are
still firmly embedded.
But these roots can lie torn up. and they
must lie. How? By demanding of tho
next Legislature the adoption of District
Attorney Ilotan's bill creating a metropoli
tan police system. Xo Mayor could Inter
fere with that system. Thero would be no
Director Wilson, no Assistant Director
Davis, no Superintendent Itoblnnon. There
would be, In fact, a complete severance of
the police from politics. And that Is what
wo must have.
This sort of flapdoodle is not likely to
deceive nny one. In the first place, who
ever has given any serious thought to
the subject knows that the root of the
trouble does not lie in the connection of
the police with politics, but in tho in
difference of the maps of the voters to
the decent government of their own city.
Indifference? Yes, they are indifferent
so long as no adequate alternative to the
present machine rule is offered to them.
Wc have confidence enough in our fellow
men to believe that the moment there is
any prospect of putting the right sort of
men in City Hall tho voters will rally
in support of the movement.
In the second place, the police cannot
be taken out of politics by transferring
their control from Penn Square to Hnr
risburg. There is just as crooked politics
in Ilarrjsburg as here. If we hnd a met
ropolitan police force now, with its head
appointed by Governor Brumbaugh, does
any one doubt that that man would havo
been Ditector Wilson? The men who dic
tate the Governor's appointments dic
tated the appointment of Wilson. And if.
the Governor happened to belong to a
faction which did not control the Mayor,
the police head would be a political ap
pointee, whose chief duty would be to
weaken the power of the faction domi
nant here. We should have a Penrose
Director of Public Safety fighting a Vare
Mayor, or a Penrose Mayor fighting n
Vare Director of Public Safety, accord
ing to the dominance of one faction or
another here and in the State capital.
We do not need to change the laws but
to change the kind of men elected to ad
minister them. A police ripper bill at
Harrisburg would only embed the police
in politics so firmly that it would be im
possible for a local political unhcavnl to
break it loose.
The people nre in no mood to be fooled
by any such fraudulent reform. They"
prefer the ills we suffer to the greater
ills they know to be inherent in the sug
gested change. Indeed, the whole ten
dency of municipal reform is in tho di
rection of home rule for the cities, with
fixed responsibility upon officials readily
reached by public opinion. What we need
is more homo rule and not less. But
what we need abovo all is an aroused and
alert leadership prepared at any cost
to give the people a choice between tho
things we now have and the things we
ought to have. They will choose right, if
they have the opnortunity.
But tho men who ought to point tho
way are indifferent. Will they go to
the primaries next month and vote for
clean, decent, honest, four-square candi
dates for all offices, or will they sit in
their clubs and counting rooms bewail
ing the disgrace which has fallen on the
city, and failing to perceive that a
greater disgrace has fallen on them?
The forces of righteousness nro ready.
Where, oh, where, is the man to lead
them?
An earthquake In California? But nat
ural cataclysms do not seem to stir us now
that a single battle Is destroying more lives
than the most disastrous earthquake on
record,
FALLING IDOLS
G ROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER,
brightest star in the baseball diadem
of a place known as Chicago, was drafted
for army service In order that one' more
man already In camp might be released to
work on a farm. This explanation Is made
without a blush by the draft board at St,
Paul.
Two years ago any one who called Alex
ander a farmer would lridubltably have
been called mad In turn. Now Alexander
13 merely the humble substitute for a
farmer. Times and valuations change.
The really essential things are seldom ap
preciated until a crisis. One bushel of
potatoes Is of more actual value now than
any game ot professional ball.
What patriot will contribute that I8C
000 which the Organization expected to col
lect from the police?
THE BIT OF GREEN ,
Iff THE smoke of the American sector In
Franco the other day. over No Man's
Land, where all things are colorless, there
trtmied a tit Of green. It was the flag' of
Irktarifl going oyer the. top, fixed solidly' to
tk bayonet of, an Asieriean Infantryman,
'$N CMors s-rejwt, nL In action nows-
MV UB W CU( 4 1IISIH
hpnorcd. It, was cut up In close fighting
and badly stained ami it Is to be brought,
to this country to bo preserved, let lis
hopo, forever, l
Many will read of all this with smiles of
tolerant sympathy. Wiser men nre likely
to find a mist between their eyes and
this odd bit of news as they stop to pon
der tho difficult course of Ireland In rela
tion to tho great war and tho tragedies
of thoso trf her misguided statesmen who
believed that Germany might understand
and old them. For no fighting Gormnn
who paw the flick of green rise suddenly
from tho dust ahead of hjm could under
stand what It Was all about. Tho green,
flag is worshiped 'by tho Irish largely be
cause It has flown only In sad places;
because of the tears that have been shed
undor It; becauso of lost causes which It
led; becauso It Is lonesome In tho world.
With tho wlstfulcst' of nations It Is tho
invarlablo habit passionately to lovo llttlo
and lonesomo things. But tho graco of
pity that Is llko a secret music In all tho
literature of Ireland Is a thing unknown
nnd incomprehensible to tho Hun. Ger
many reserves Its admiration for Iron and
for triumph and for selfishness. The phi
losophy of Berlin nnd that ot Ireland aro
as far removed as tho poles. t
The German war prisoners here say
they do not want to go homo when peace,
comes. They would better postpono their de
cision till they knpw what kind of n Ger
many there will bo'lo go home to.
"Wo wlll-mako Philadelphia the cleanest
city In America," says Cnptaln- Mills. Go to
It I No one but thoso who have been profiting
by the dirt will object,
John l'urroy Mllchel,
The Tlser former Mayor of Now
Tamer York, Is learning tho
tail-spin nnd tho loop-
the-Ioop nnd other llttlo stunts tho nlrmen
love. Ought to be easy for a man who hns
learned to twist tho tall of tho Tammany
tiger.
A couple ot Brooklyn
girls have tried to
nrgMiIze n battalion of
Anjlhlnir (o
Keape
death. It seems as
though tho evening Jam on the Brooklyn
bridge and tho subway ought to bo homicidal
enough. Hut perhaps they're tired of the city
of unburied dead?
BEEF, IRON AND WINE
Our Foreign Correspondence
A LETTER from Franco &ays: Ono ot
" tho pollus hero used to go up to an
American ofllcer every day, galuto very
gravely, and say, 'What time docs tho train
leave?' The ofllcer would reply, with equal
seriousness and courtesy, 'Damflno!' Tho
Frenchman would salute again, say 'thank
you' nnd walk away. It was nil the Eng
lish ho knew. Ono of our boys had taught
It to him, telling him It was a form of
polite salutation."
A letter from England says: "A curious
incident happened hero Inst week. A lady
got Into a railway carriage whero wero
seated a gypsy woman, a soldier and a
civilian. In passing i'ic private, tho lady
held back her skirts, at which the gypsy
called out, 'You needn't do that, Madam;
he has four pounds In his pocket while
you have only jsevenpenco.' Tho civilian,
interested, inquired, 'How much have I
got?' 'Five pounds,' said tho gypsy. In
each caso the sums of money had been
correctly divined.
"But there was one more question for
tho gypsy. 'When will tho war end?' 'In
May.' "
Humphrey Hack writes that his favorite
desk motto Is taken from one of Samuel
Butler's books. It Is: He that is stupid in
llttlo will be stupid also in much.
We have to be a llttlo sharp'wlth Dovo
Dulcet, for all the publicity he's been
getting seems to hive turned his heajl.
Ho says some of tho magazines have been
after him, and unless we raise his rates
ho'll give them his stuff Instead of us. Any
way, his poem today Is quite a feat. Hero
It Is:
Julia has a
graceful
ankle;
slim
It was
when I es
pied It. Still It
rather makes mo rankle
that she never
tries to hide It.
She Is
Dear Socrates; To settle a dispute, will
you kindly inform mo am I right or is she?
HUSBAND.
RHEIMS CATHEDRAL is Just as
dear to Franco as Independence
Hall to Philadelphia.
Rhelms Cathedral has been set on
fire again, is a burned and blackened
wreck, the marvelous vaulted roof is
falling, stono by stone.
THE great cathedral of human civiliza
tion will crumble, stone by stone,
unless we do our utmost to support
America's war effort. There are long,
hard days before us. There Is only oae
way to end them:
BUY LIBERTY BONDS.
This being Shakespeare's birthday, It
seems timely to announco to tho world our
discovery of a cipher proving conclusively
that Shakespeare's sonnets Were written by
our own Dovo Dulcet. One can take almost
any ot the sonnets to prove this.- For In
stance, the 10th, one ot the most famous."
It begins:
Devouring' time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet
r brqod ;
pluck, the keep teeth from the fierce tiger's
Jaws, etc. ' i
Is it not plain that the first four letters
of the first word are simply an anagram
tor DOVE? To make it plainer, the author
lias repeated the samo word In the second
line. And, then examine the text with cer
tain letters, selected by a very simple
cypher, emphasized by capitals:
DevolTr her own sweet brood; pLuCk
thK keen Teeth.
It any doubt were possible, Mr. Dulcet
has settled it by the following subtle ana-v
gram, farther down -In the same sonnet:
But I fOrllld thlie ono moSt heinous crime:
O carve not with ThV hours my love's fair
brow
If, that, floes not provo that'j
IJiakeapearo
oaiiMiTrom 0UUuj, j wn
-fcould?
rasa.
WHY I LOVE
SHAKESPEARE
fly Jama A. Flalierty
At the request of the BveMng PuWc
Lcifacr, itr. Flaherty, iHitlnguUheil laicicr
of this city, hat iflrttlett for Shakespeare'
.HSUh birthday thh article about Mj avor-
Ue poet,
HAVING carried ono or more volumes of
Shakespeare with mo every day for
fifty years, I respond with pleasure to tho
editor's request to tell what Shakespcaro
has meant to me.
I am no trained scholar, nor have I had
tho privilege of talking with tho great
teachers who havo made Shakespeare their
life study. It may seem presumptuous of
mo to don the robe of authority. "That's
a valiant flea that dnro cnt his breakfast
on tho lip of a Hon," But the message I
want to'cmphoslzo Is how much Shake
spcaro may mean to tho plain man, the
business or professional man, or Indeed
any ono who faces tho universal problems
of humanity. I lovo Shakespeare because
all my life I havo found In his words tho
richest commentary on all human acts
and motives. Ho holds tho mirror up to
nature. Ho depicts the human heart with
clarity, with beauty and with, the truth
that every one recognizes nnd affirms from
his own life.
T WAS thirteen years old, a boy at the
old Northeast Grammar School, when I
first became" interested In Shakespeare.
Ono of my fellow scholars, Gus Seeds, a
brother of Jacob Seeds, had a great ambi
tion to go on the stage. Ho was reading
Shakespcaro night nnd day and got me
to study the plays witli Him, each of us
reading different parts. I read Casslus
nnd Brutus to his Caesar, and In that way
my lifelong passion began.
How we saved our pennies as boys to
go to the gods' gallery nt the old Walnut
Street Theatro und see tho great onc.i
play! I saw Ed, win Forrest ns Lear, The
Booth, Fechtcr, Barry Sullivan ns Richard
III, Henry Irving nntl E. L. Davenport,
who was my Ideal of an actor. I was ono
of thoso who founded tho Davenport Dra
matic Association In this city. Wo used
to read Shakespeare and play tonic ot tho
easier pieces.
QOME of my friends smile at my Shake-
spearean passion nnd seem to think It
a harmless kind of eccentricity, but I as
sure you that iio ono thing has filled my
life with so much happiness and depth of
feeling as my lovo for his writings. He
has put sunshine In my life. Wo may say
with Hamlet, "See what a graco was seated
on this brow."
Shakespeare has become tho very fiber
and tlssuo of our language. Men speak
Shakespeare without knowing It. "He Jests
at scars that never felt a wound." "Brev
ity Is tho soul of wit." "Mum's the word."
Who does not use these phrases In his
own speech? "Bully," that adjective which
wo associate with Mr. Roosevelt, Is
Shakespearean; It comes from tho "Mid
summer Night's Dream." A year or so
ago I was speaking to an audience at
Newburgh. N. Y. Afterward a gentleman
who had been present came up to moon
tho train and said: "I think you must bo
a great Shakespearean; In your talk I
counted twenty-one Shakespearean quota
tions that you uttered unconsciously. I
dare say thero were more that I did not
recognize." Wo had a very pleasant con
versation and he, too, turned out to be a
lifelong admirer of tho dramatist.
T WAS admitted to tho bar In December,
J- 1874, and part ot my working library
from the first has been a complete Shake
speare. I now keep in my office, nmong
many other Shakespeare volumes, a fine old
Porter & Coates edition, published 1SC8,
which was given mo in 1875 by my friend
Jefferson Henri. "Can ono deslro too much
ot a good thing?" I know no better food
for a lawyer's mind to feast on than Shake
speare. Tho poet knew a good deal about
law, n3 indeed ho teems to havo had a
bmattcrlng of everything. "Time, the old
Justlco that oxamlncs nil offenders; and
let Time try you!" What better advlco
to a lawyer than this, "A rotten caso
abides no handling!"
I havo forty-two little vest-pocket vol
umes of Shakespeare; beautiful llttlo
books, not much mere than an Inch long.
I carry two or three of these In my pocket
every day, and for moro than fifty years
I Jiavo not let a day go by, in sickness and
health, without reading a scene or an act.
In these terrible days when the hearts of
men havo heavy burdens to bear, I havo
found in these beloved plays Infinite in
spiration and encouragement. Mankind
that was noble enough to bring to expres
sion tho marvelous genius of Shakespeare
Is noble enough to find Its way beyond and
above tho hell of conflict that saddens us
today. And to fighters in tho great cause
Shakespearo has many heartening words.
As ho says, "Tho arms are fair when tho
Intent of bearing them is Just,"
TT1RIENDS often ask mo what are my
favorite plays. The question Is almost
unanswerable. If I had to choose
four, perhaps they would bo "Hamlet,"
"The Merchant of Venice," "Twelfth Night"
and "As You Like It," and yet that leaves'
out my old and first friend, "Julius Caesar."
It seems to me that Shakespeare is not
played enough in our theatres nowadays,
In these serious times I think the public
would wolcomo with open hearts the words
of tho greatest English-speaking man who
ever put pen on paper, When young men
como to mo for advice as to their careers
tho first thing I always say Is, "Read
Shakespeare." He is the greatest school,
master of all; a purifier of passion, an en
nobler of the will, a dose of honest fun'
and good philosophy. No man is too great
for Shakespeare and none Is too low. He
reaches through the whole scale of hu
manity. I HAVE turned thousands to reading
Shakespeare, anJ if this little article
should gain one more convert I shall be
very happy. It Is 354 years today since
he was born, and 354 years hence I sup
pose men will be reading him more than
ever. Of him wo may say what Hamlet
said ot man:
"WJiat a piece of work is a mant How
noble Jn reason; how infinite in faculty)
In form, in moving, how express and ad
mirable! in action, how like, an angel! In
hpprehenulon, how like a' god I the buty
pf.the world I tit Pftrugort p sintoMOst"
fflffl8RmBm
"ir&St!
''' Vfrf?Srf
sE&&mmmmEMBmg
LUDENDORFFS REIGN OF TERROR
Civilians Acquitted of Charges of Treason Are Kept in Prison.
Germany Ruled by the Military Powers
By D. F. KOSPOTII
ii
Sprciat Correspondence llvcutna Public I.ttlun
lJcrne, March 31.
u
NDEIl existing conditions a term of sev
eral years In a German "ZuchthaUs" is,
ras a matter Of fact, synonymous with cap
ital punishment. Only persons with an Iron
constitution survive for long this ordeal of
utterly Insufficient food and Ill-treatment.
Even before the war Prussian, penitentiaries
were, In tplto of all modern Improvements,
noted for their Tlgorous administration. To
day, with starvation facing tho entire popu
lation, It Is easy enough to Imagine what
terrible privations these political prisoners
must 'endure, between whom nnd ordinary
criminals no difference whatever Is made.
Friends of Llebknecht In Berne tell me his
health is hopelessly Impaired nnd that It
seems extremely Improbable he will survlvo
his sentence. I can well believe. It. I.uden
dorff and his willing tools, the military
Judges, know this also, nnd tho knowledge
that they can rid themselves so eafeily of
their adversaries without pronouncing too
many sensational death sentences fills them
with secret glee.
Sometimes the German papers publish ac
counts of trials by court-martial In ihlch
the prisoners are acquitted. This Is done In
order to make the world believe tho mili
tary Judges nre Just and Impartial. Tho
Kaiser's Government naturally does not want
the world to know about its Implacable reign
of terror In Uermany. llut factH will out
In spite of all the precautions taken by the
Prussian censors. An Indiscreet question re
cently put in the Reichstag by tho Socialist
member, Doctor Herzfeld, to Count Hertllng
reveals what the rpllltary authorities do with
the nrisoners officially "acquitted" by tho
Judges. These prisoners, though found ;not
guilty," are not released as the law expressly
requires. In. flagrant violation of the law
they are kept In custody, taken under guard
to the police headquarters of tho town and
there, by order of tho general commanding
tho district, placed under "preventive arrest."
Preventive arrest or Imprisonment Is a Ocr
mar war Invention wfllch permits the mili
tary authorities to keep people they suspect
of entertaining democratic opinions, or find
Irksome in any way, in prison for an In
definite period without trial. "Preventive-prisoners"
are deprived of the benefit of coun
sel and their relatives and friends aro not
even allowed to know what has become of
them. It Is the Bastllte and the "lettrcs do
cachet" over again, with tho difference that
the Bastille prisoners of tho French kings
were well treated and plentifully fed, evci
eighteenth century despotism making a dis
tinction between political offenders and com
mon criminals. There have been many
stormy debates In the Reichstag during the
war about this Infamous system ot pre
ventive Imprisonment, needless to say with
out any appreciable result.
Doctor llerzfeld's revelation In the Reichs
tag shows that of all the thousands of per
sons of either sex arrested during the strikes
not one has been released, even the pris
oners whom tho Judges could not possibly
convict being kept by the military authorities
under preventive arrest. I am, therefore,
thoroughly Inclined to believe a statement
made the other day by a German exile here
to the effect that there are more than 100,000
political prisoners of one kind or anbther in
tho aerman prisons at the present day,
THERE" is no limit to the vindictive
cruelty of the Ocrman military dicta
tors toward the miserable workers who at
tempteUto throw off their yoke. Not con
tent with all these arbitrary measures, they
have hit upon a new and truly diabolical
scheme to punish the strikers In their chil
dren. For the last two years the municipal
authorities of many German towns have been
sending the starving children of the poorer
classes to the country for a few weeks In
summer to board with farmers and peasants
where food and particularly milk Is not so
scarce as In the great .cities. Lately the
Government, at the instigation of the mili
tary authorities, has given orders Xo exclude
children of parents who took part in the
strikes from this privilege of spending a
couple ot weeks In the country to recover
from the effects ot the terrible food less
winter months. This seems scarcely credible,
but It Is true nevertheless. After all this
one no longer wonders that the strike move
ment In Germany fallpd, and the only sur
prising thing Is that the workers ever plucked
up courage to strike At all. And jei-I, learn
from trustworthy sources Jftat an active
propaganda. Is strain being Carried on lp tk
muiflon factories In view! 0 another and
rn0rMM)eral strike, j(evoujyonary ismpniu
i r atm flor ncuiur '? " " wo
BEHIND THE LINES
' Si W'i
of tho military authorities nmon'g tho
workers. s
A proclamation Issued by tho ofllclal lead
ers of tho German trade unions, thoso will
ing Instruments of tho Kaiser, warning tho
working classes not to heed tho "evil coun
sels" given them by "enemy agents." proves
that great agitation still prevails. Yes, and
money Is being collected for the wives and
children of tho sailors who mutinied nt Kiel
nnd WUhelmshavcn and were sentenced to
long terms of penal servitude and In somo
cases to death, For theso unfortunato
women also have, on account of their hus
bands' conduct, been deprived by the Gov
ernment of tho paltry financial aid formerly
granted them and mercilessly left to starve.
But tyranny ever breeds revolt, nnd tho moro
absolute It Is the more dangerously It fans
the Etnoldcrlng spirit of anarchy Into flame.
THE real administrators of Germany today
aro the generals commanding tho' military
districts of the empire, who tako thelrJorders
from Ludendorff. and not thelvll provincial
authorities subordinate to the Chancellor.
Ludendorff, not Hertllng, rules absolute In
Germany. Militarism has never been moro
triumphantly despotic than after Its brutal
victory over Russian anarchy. Tho military
authorities do absolutely as they llko In Ger
many, not hesitating to break the law when
It suits their -convenience. Recently they
turned the school children and their teachers
out of two schoolhouses In Spandau, and
transformed tiie'so into barracks for women
munition workers, who are ot late In many
cases no longer permitted to live In their
homes, but nro kept In downright slavery
under continual military supervision. Tho
town council of Spandau protested, but quite
In vain, nnd Chancellor von Hertllng witsi
forced to admit In tho Reichstag that he
could do nothing ns he had no power over
the military authorities.
The incredible Increase of crime In tho
great cltleB, and especially In Berlin, where,
according to statistics published by the In
surance, companies, 300 burglaries aro oc
curring daily, lias been used by General von
Kcssel, the commander of tho Brandenburg
district, ns a pretext to re-enforce the city
pollco by military patrols. Soldiers with
fixed bayonets now patrol the streets of tho
capital, excellently symbolizing the universal
domination of militarism In Germany. Theso
patrols use their firearms indiscriminately,
and several women and children havo already
been "accidentally" shot by them, giving
rise to more "questions" by the Socialists in
tho Reichstag which Herr von Hertllng has
not yet deigned to answer,
THERE Is a satirical poem of Heine's in
which he speaks of the day when tho
rulers of Germany will realize their political
Ideals by turning the whole country Into "ono
vast penitentiary." This prophetic vision of
the German poet, who was a republican and
a Jew, and whom the Kaiser has always
detested accordingly, has como true during
the war, Germany Is today ono great
"Zuchthaus." where the entire population Is
so to say, undergoing "preventive imprison-'
ment." Why do the Germans stand this
preposterous military 'tyranny which would
have goaded nny other nation Into revolt
long ago? That Is tho first question I
usually ask Teutons professing liberal
opinions here In Switzerland where they are'
out of Ludendorff's reach, The answer Is
nlways tho same. The Girman people are
cowed by tho enormous prestlgq of tho
Kaiser's generals. The ' efficiency of the
Prussian military machine Btuns them Into
submission. And the Germans have never
been a free 'people; fear and reverence for
their uniformed masters are deeply rooted
in their hearts.
IT IS the business of America and the
Allies to shatter this disastrous reputa
tion for efficiency on which the despotic
power of the Prussian military caste rests.
Only when Hlndenburg and Ludendorff are
squarely defeate on the field of battle will
the convict population of the aerman 'penl
tenltary break out of their cells-and peace
and liberty once more reign In Europe.
Heywood Broun tells
Ilenrlette's Souvenir thi story of a French
of Pershing waitress who served
' the table when Mar
shal Joffre and General Pershing sat down to
dinner together In France. Henrlette was
distressed because Pershing didn't eat any
pf the pickled snails. But after tho great
svent Henrlette boukht a ,new locket and
hug It round her neck. She was asked what
.fc bad In, It and. opening It, displayed a
little strip of gilt japer. it was the band
of tk !" Osneral PersalncJiad smoked.
OUR OWN NURSERY
RHYMES
The Old Trousers
W1
HEN Daddy comes home frjim the
office
Then Sarah and Peter and John
Go hunt out the old pair of trousers
And beg him to hurry them on! n
Those ancient remarkable garments
Aro hung on tho hall cupboard door;
Their uso Is not ended, ns they are Intended
For romps on tho nursery floor.
Tho raggy old trousers, the baggy old
trousers,
That romp on the nursery floor. ,
TfHEN Daddy lies down he's cnormoui I
" Ho Is such a mountainous man!
Wc bustle and hustle and tussle
And climb to the top if we can.
But thenho rears up like a grizzly,
And tumbles us. off with a roar,
And so for below him we hardly would
know him,
Down thero on the nursery floor,
If It weren't for the trousers, the Jolly old
trousers.
That romp on tho nursery floor.
D
AD thinks that those trousers descendtd W
From somo very old patriarch;
Ho says they were carefully mended
For Nqah to wear on the nrk;
But though they aro shabby and dusty
We lovo them and know what they're for; 4j
And Mother will spare them while Daddy tj
ean wear them
For games on the nursery floor
The old fraying trousers, the old playing
trousers,
That romp on the nursery floor!
CHRISTOPHER MORLEY.
&
TODAY'S USELESS QUESTION
Why do' most of us wish to be called
"old man" nt twenty and, at fifty, to be
hailed as "old boy?" '
".Vot vounir and beu-
ror tlful women alone, but .
Hliame women of all 8J i
inarched eight abreast
for tho cause of Liberty." So speaks on w,
gallant reporter of Philadelphia's parade on,,
Saturday.
The movie people el
When Texas
Went Iry
Washington are 117
Ing to get, a fifteen
., ! Minted. Tbi!
miniiMx fnr u-hlli n flflPOtl-Cent COln WOUldC
havo se-p-ed In Houston, says the' 'IUS,0J3
l'Odt 01 April io, maae u I"1"""" , ti
somewhat hilarious exit last night at wm
o'clock.
What Do You Know?
QUIZ
1. Where U Rhelms?
. Who Is Johni rurror Jtltehel?
3. What U meemt hr (he Mpresslen, "the
enn, do no wront"?
a in... iu tum. iuii utf-Mt rtt linden.
5. What Is the derivation of 'rosfsdmUe"f
0. Which Is the rlnetree State?
1, Who founded Pennsylvania?
R Wlmft la thi. T.KAMAnf
0. What Is the erUIn and mf.'lnln' "' ''" "a
pression "iiimenny cais i
10. Identify "the Maid of Orleans."
Answers to Yesterday's Qulx
1. I.'Alrlon (The-Earletll ""'VJSh. IclVi,'?
wn cf the nrt Napoleon and !" '"lE
lw.rn Kln or Koni ami "?,.,:";: itS
Uelehstadt br tho Co,n"TMJ9j,A"''n J
ino iuii o " .-iiHM-"- -- - . .i
I. The MlHklMlunt Is known "the rnte si j
Waters." , ,.i
m Willi... r..ll Vtrvitnt trretA HTIlSnatO?!.
t. Kvotutloiu (ho theory of M'oT1,wh1l'b J,',"
the descent of inun as from tho Jj?J ",' ,
UiaiN anil, in uriirru, ? r, 'L. tnrmt, S
enlon to le hUMr orranld tn . . 3
fl, UnmbuK N i hle( lrt and ewmlM.i
6. Abroad. atamlnrd fniH tree ! mnt V" J
iio-
;
.mall
i. nrifr1ioad. In tho ml II U
famlvo Mllflr (kB? tUk.USti.l
roninisntflns tile extremity
mltr tf kl
nearest ininmu, ... Ua
8. Tfc Uttrs of W4rl f4 H ,S
8. Viscount Mllner ts tt. ptw Wiyen rwo
.- ot HfUjft Wr. , j kW
W, tout, wsuw u w receow r- -
noiii" ,w,v."..r;i-"- .iijrr
rm. in ins. ''A.P",rV3 fn ttrt
i fal -sited tree, dlstlnsuUbM fro"
trees Knitted on dwarl rooie.
J
-"