" t . i i , ,'t n . ' , . M 1 10 EVENING PUBLIC LEDGfERPJailiADLVHlA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1918 4 i. '" m f,,A Pi . r ( rf kttp jidt fifa- h Mfa if .- . fc R!nW yst ' Y'M S3 Mi k m v. &'- v .T I ,W."3f fc rV ' fejX a, 1 hVJA Ilk V B- FW i SlU a hit J mr.... ,; a M . Vaaatia av.. ' "iaJV IMmjCI klwll' Kw 1 ? If M i raw -ft Y fcr is f;uenfng public ITcDgec RmS TUB EVEMNO TELEGRAPH ? 1 -r PUBLIC LEDCEH COMPANY 1 OTBU H.K CURTIS, rime-INT .Oitj H. I.uillnu on. vice rreeidentj Jnhn C. VarUmSecretarsr and Treaiureri Philip 8, Collins, Itnn n. WlllUmi, John J, Spurt-eon, Director!. EDITORIAL BOAnD: Ctim It. K. CtriTIs, Chairman AVID K. BIIII.BT .Editor JOHN C. MAimX.... General Iluilno Manasrer l I -Tuoltined da.Hr at PriMo .nam Uulldlng, . Independence Squire, PHIIedelphla. Xnan Cn:TittL... ..Ureal 11111 Chestnut Struts ATTiHTto Cut PiMt-tHlon IluUdlnc Tiirr Tobk.... 0S lletropoliian Tower Airnoiv 403 i'onl llulMInc St. toms... ,.10fts rullerton llullillnit Caicioo 1202 Ttllunt Building- NW8 BUREAUS! TTiiaiNaTo: nnui, V, B. Cor. Penntrlranla Ave. inn 14th St. Klir Tonic Iivbejc The sun Bulidlnr XP0.1 Ucaiun London Tim 1 SUBSCRIPTION TERMS The lirisiNo Ptntio Lidoct In sened to ub crlbtra In Philadelphia and surrounding- towm at tha rata of twelve (12) r;i..s per net, parable to tha carrier. . 11 mall to polnta outside of Iiilltdelphla. In tha united atatea. Canada, or United Statea po e!one, peetata fre, fifty (00) centa per month. It (IS) dollara per Tear, payable in advanca. To all fortlm countries one ,11) dollar per Bsonth. Noxioi Stibicrlbera wlihlnt addreii chanied Snuit cU a old ai wall as now addreaa. BELL. IMP -WALNUT EEYSTOMi. MAIN 30 17 Aidrtu all eommuntcattoi to F.vtntno fuWc Ltitgcr, Idtptnttt7tce biiuart, Philadelphia. Member of trie Associated Press THE A8B00TATIJD PRESS czctu ivtlv entitled to the use for republication cf all news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited In this paper, and also the local news published therein. All rights of republication of special dii jatches herein are also reserved. rhilld.lppli. Meml.y, Dfcfmbtr 30. 19 1 S LIGHT We must lme the courage to act, upon our underntnndliig. It voines Into tny mind that It would talte more rouraeo to resist the trreat moral tide now running In the world than to jleld to It. to obey It. Thero Is a creftt tide runnlnir l:i tiie hearts of men. The hearts of men never beat so singularly tn unison before. Men have never before been so conscious of their brotherhood ! TnE8IDEJT IVILSOX'3 facility In say. - ing Rrent things simply, his ability to trlke through a welter of extraneous pas sions and Illusions at the central truth about the war and ltl consequences, was never better Illustrated than in thc-e pas sages from his address In unswer to King George's toast. In a time when the world Is appalled at the consequences of Injustice, this cry for the right Is Irresistible. It will touch the hearts of men oven against their will. Mr. Wilson Is merely holding the simple and unchanging truth aloft for the eyes of the world. It Is having the effect of a light In a dark place. Illiteracy develops salutary advantages , during a rldo In one of Philadelphia's pla carded trolley cars. REWARDING THE WAR WINNERS ILOYD OUOnOE and his Coalition Gov J ernment havo apparently been judged on a wholly practical basis. Under their direction the war has ben won. The aver age British voter, as usual, concerns hlm nelf with facts rather than theories, with the result that in the first election under the greatly extended franchise Intellectual liberalism of the Asqulth variety, laborlte radicalism and all tendencies which seemed to savor of Bolshevism have been utterly nowed under. Overwhelmed in the land slldo are some of the most conspicuous figures in British politics Henderson. Samuel, Rui.ctman, McKenna, Asqulth. In a word, those who have fought the wur for the Empire are now askod to make the peace. The only cloud on the Premier's triumph 'is Ireland. Sinn Fein has virtually ex tinguished the old Nationalist party, win ning seventy-three seats In a Parliament In which they refuso to sit. Tollticnl wis dom of the highest typo will be necessary to eppa with this new post-war complica tion in tho United Kingdom. Since Geortje Creel denies that he has really quit, tho matter of resignation seems to be up to the public. THIS SCANDAL HAS GONE TOO FAR TP TIIE present Governor does not take cognizance of the conduct of Chairman AIney, of the Publlo Service Commission, and Judge McNeills, of tho Municipal Court, In connection with the skip-stop Investigation, then the next Governor ahould give It his attention as soon as possible after he takes the oath of office. Mr. AIney Is at the head of tho State commission created to look after tho In terests of the people so far as they are affected by tho conduct of the transporta tion lines. Ho Is now sitting on a com mittee appointed by the P. R. T. to clean Its skirts of the charges which have grown out of tho Institution of the skip-stop ss tern. A proper conception of his duties to the public should have forced htm to keep as far away as possible from nny connec tion with any Investigation Instituted by the P. rt. T. Judge McNellle Is llab:o at any time to be called upon to preside In court over tho trial of damage suits against the V. It. T. growing out of the skip-stop accidents. Ho is lending himself to the purposes of the railroad company. The pmonce of the presidents of Select and Common Councils on the committee Is only less objectionable. Councils are to be called upon to consider ordinances regu lating the car stops. Those ordinances must be considered on their merits as they affect tho traveling public and not as they affect the interests of the P. n. T. Theso officers of Councils should resign from the committee forthwith before they get en tangled any deeper In the moraBs In which they are now floundering, Somehow or other the news from Europe seems to have created a veritable uproar of llrncs in Washington. TIIE FLOOD OF WHEAT WHATEVER loss the Government may have to meet In maintaining Its price acreemonts with the wheat farmers of the country and It Is now believed that iV may cost the taxpayers about $1,000, .400,000 to meet the war rate of ?:'.2G a JmsheJ will have to be listed with the Mt of our adventures overseas, f ' The sudden cessation of hostilities has , released vast stares and accumulations of ,. '"thWt In Australia and South America, ('lad tl)ls grain Is now flooding Into Europe '$f (Merchant ships are released from war j .. Wb?t ! now available oil Ehgllsli mchs at nat rate etyi.su . .pusnci. If' ttbJM, A Ws'nsjW hV. YjWK crops for -vhlch the Federal Government guaranteed $2.28 a bushel. ' This rate, If the Government keeps faith with the farmers, will have to bo maintained not only for the wheat In storage, but for all that Is harvested between now and June. It Is predicted that the wheal production nf this country will totat 1,000,000,000 bush, els. Ettropo will soon be able to obtain wheat from other sources nt $1.25 a bushol. At the present moment It appears that the Go ernment will have to pay Amcrlcnn farmers tho war rate r.grecd upon and resell tho grain at an averago loss of a dollar a bushel. In considering this possibility It Is nec essary to remember that the wheat hnr cst In America under war conditions has cost the farmers far mcio than $1.25 a bushel to p.oduco. Labor was phenome nally oxpenshe. Producers of grain met the situation In the same sphit as ship builders and preferred to dlsr'gard expenso In a time when production was tho only Important consideration. The fanners ac cepted tho promises of tho Government and operated under estimates based upon llio $2 26 rate. And tho Government chii not ufToid to break its ngreemint with them any more readllj than It could nfford to cancel fcrmal war contracts without proper lestltutlmt. TIIE CHARTER MUST FIT A NEW PHILADELPHIA Not the Old City of Separate Communities, but n City Physically and Spiritually Consolidated 1 Improed Transit TyrORE than sixty years have passed " since tho Philadelphia County com munities outside the original limit3 of the city were consolidated into one city coterminous with the county, ycl wo find even today that men interested in charter revision talk as if they believed that some plan should be devised which will peimit the old communities to bo lcpresented as distinct entities in City Councils. They tell us that the "municipality is merely a congregation of small commu nities, each one of which has in a meas ure retained its local individuality." This is substantially true, but it Is a con dition to be regretted and to be changed as fast as may be. Until Philadelphia becomes a distinct political entity in stead of a federation of more than fifty independent communities, each jealous of the others, it will be impossible for the city to develop as it should. That there is jealousy was proved no longer ngo than when it was proposed to bond tho whole city for building a north nnd south rapid transit lino in Broad street. West Philadelphia, or the group of old com munities comprised in the part of the city west of tho Schuylkill, was opposed to tho bond issue because it had suitable transit facilities and objected to being taxed for transit lines that would benefit North and South Philadelphia. This sort of parochialism should be frowned upon every time it manifests itself. Sixty years ought to havo been long enough for the creation of a city spirit as comprehensive as the limits of the city itself. A re-formed Council based on the rep resentation of the formerly independent communities would preserve the sepa ratist interests of those communities and delay that unification of interest and spirit for the lack of which we have suffered for years. But,, of course, we must have a Council representative of the whole city, and the most feasible way for getting thnt is to elect part of the members at least from suitable dis tricts. Those districts should be based, not on the lines of Gcrmantown or Frankford or Faschalville or Overbrook or on the lines of any of the other old communities as such, but on group lines, which will give largo areas a suitable voice in local legislation. It has been suggested that eight Councilmen should bo elected, one from each of the eight senatorial districts, while seven should be chosen from the city at large. Such a compromise with the present utterly bad system of ward representation com mends itself to the judgment. It would provide for a group of men whose inun date from the people to consider the in terests of tho city as a whole would enable them to counteract and frustrate the parochialism of district represent atives interested primarily in getting all they could for their districts. We hope that some such plan will be adopted. But such a plan will not accomplish tho desired results unless it is entered upon with the deliberate purposo of put ting an end to parochinlism in every form and with the intent of creating a homogeneous community, all parts of which arc primarily loyal to the whole city. The survival of tho separatist community spirit has been due largely to the falluie of tho buildeis of rapid transit lines to make it easy for people to get from one part of tho city to an other. It takes almost as long to travel from Oak Lane to Fortieth and Chestnut streets as to go from tho Broad Street Station to New York, nnd the trip is much more inconvenient and uncomfort able. There Is no direct car lino from Germnntown to Roxborough and It is almost imposaiblo to' get from Tacony to Angorn without spending a whole day at it. Tho residents north and south of Market street havo had little dealing with one another because for years thero were few street-car lines crossing Market street. The lines inn to Market street nnd turned at right angles into that thoroughfare, which thus became n wall of separation between two great districts which ought to have been in timate with each other. Tho rapid transit system has forced the communi ties to center upon themselves and to live their own separate social and insti tutional life. An improvement has been begun with the construction of tho Frankford ole- , vated lino. WHen that lino is completed ,und connected with the Wwjcefc street m H will 1 MWf ft M plo living in tho great northeast section to exchange visits with their friends across tho Schuylkill as far west as Sixty-ninth street without spending two or three hours In the streot cars. It will cicate a community of interest be tween the district north of Market street and along the Delaware with tho dis tricts in the center of the city and will foster tho growth of tho city spirit as a substitute for the parochial narrowness which lias obstructed many projects of groat moment. Tho building of tho Darby lino down Woodland avenue and its connection with the Market street lino will open up for another large area easy ac cess to the heart of town and to' the northeast and north. And tho Broad street line, with free transfers to the cast nnd west subways and elevated lines, will facilitate the social nnd business in tercourse of large sections which arc now forced to live isolated from one another. The social and political value of the transit improvements, whose completion ha3 unfortunately been delayed by the war and by other causes, cannot be over estimated. They are going to do more in ten years to break down the old com munity lines and to make this one big city than has been accomplished in the more than sixty years since the passage of tho consolidation act. Consequently, the charter framers ought to realize that they aro framing a fundamental law, not for the old city, but for a new com munity with a new spirit of unity as different from the old as a loose federa tion is from a single state. Mr. Hoover seems to SmierHuoua havo been a lilt un- rc.ijonablo when he to'd HarMi on dcr I.nnj!tcn and Doctor Rleth, two notorious Huns, who wanted to talk with him ubout food supplier, to "go to hell." The record that the Baron nnd the Herr Doctor left In Belgium would Indicate that as matters nro tho two gentlemen arc rnaklrnr nil possible spd In tho direction Indicated. When Colonel Hoose- Tlme Chun elt made the Grand All TMncs Tour ho slapped Kaiser, Wllhchn on tho back. If our memory senes. Now If the Colonel were to go visiting In Holland he probably would slap Hcrr Ilohcnzollcrn on the face, Hery 0110 will agree Umlouliledl.T with President Wilson In his efforts to elim inate the old principle of tha balance of power. livery one knows that the soalca were always doctored. At least one royalty laltlifut remains loyal to Hcrr to the Last Ilohcniollorn. Tho I'rinco Of Darkness, wo will wager, maintains close diplomatic relations with Amerongtii. THE CHAFFING DISH pLATO has Informed us that the French equivalent for ".May I not?" Is "Ne pulssc-je pas" Wo havo forwarded this Information to the JIurat Mansion. Travels Willi a Donkey "Idle momenta In ono's boudoir may be spent pleasantly with a little pair of gray mules trimmed with narrow ruffles of lace." From a fashion magazine. "For the dinner table, nothing could be more decorative than a bowl of goldfish, especially if the 3and nt tho botttm is cov ered with bright green or blue marbles. Majolica candlesticks also udd a charming intimacy to the dinner table." Also from 1 fashion magazine. But what wo llko to gel really Intimate with at the dinner table Is beefsteak and onions. To the Readers of the Chuffing Dish Fellow Sufferers While working on to day's Chaffing Dish, Socrates was called away on urgent business. Ho departed leaving on his desk only some Bheets of scribbled memoranda, briefly outlining; what he Intended to commit. Ah he has been rather putting on airs Jutely, I thought it would bo a good thing to show him up. From these notes of his you may learn the cold-blooded, mechanical and petty methods of carpentry he employs: In con cocting his colmn. Here are the undevel oped Ideas ho left on his desk: Many a man can write a great poem who Is unable to butt a moutetrap. Unquestionably there will bo great regret when Kaiser croaks. As long as he's alive he can bo made to Buffer. Hymn of Hate for Flotlsts. All the Kaiser needs Is a dart and a. holler. Doubloons pieces of eight use these in a poem. t Suggestions to Poets Having Tholr Pic tures Taken. How much wood would a WoodroV row, etc.? The Rights of Small Pronouns. Bran Muffins Fowl Piny. If I ever commit .suicide, It'll be on Christmas Eve. The strength of an Irresolution is In Its weakest link. How I ruined my memory. What's happened to Billy Sunday? Why Is It that tho man who remarks, "Yes, but democracy must also be made safo for the world," thinks he has said something? Bassinettes have vanished. Do your Christmas shopping early; only SCO days left. Letter to a Man Run Over by a Ta.Icab. Candled eggs. When armistice signed American troops had enough candles on hand to keep one burning fur 0200 years. And the Iloheu zollerns had bcandals enough to last the same time. Henry Ford says will spond ten million on his new paper. No wonder the town Is called Dearborn. The t.upremo sacrifice: the skip-stop system, Handsome u a young man In a collar (., Nice little poem about tortoise shell hairpins. This Win please the ladles, & XANWHyjPA "The Gibraltar Question" OF TIID many questions suggostcd as ripe for settlement at the Peace Conference there are few more pregnant with romantic appeal than that which concerns an Inter change of nags on the far-famed Pillars of Hercules, which for centuries symbollred the gateway between the known and unknown worlds. Tho three sets of names which these mighty rocky bastions nt the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean have borno compactly picture the course of civilization. Legendary Interest In these giant natural sentinels cen tered In the exploits of tho demigod Hercules, who was supposed to have passed between them on his way to the delightful Garden ot Hesperldes. Greek geographers called these Imprcsslvo mountain masses of Africa and Kiirope, respectively Albo and Alyba, and those names throughout the classic period continued to denote the "ne plus ultra" of safo commerce and voyaging. IN TUB chaos which followed "the most awful scene in the history of mankind," the downfall of tho vast Roman empire, tho lnndlng Ooths won Alybe, tho reviving Berbers of tho Barbary coast, Alyba. Then came that startling emergenco of an uncon sidered desert people, tho Arabs, who Just missed nt Tours the control of the entire European world. The ancient nomenclature vanished In the turmoil. Heading tho triumphant Moors and Arabs who crossed the straits were two Im petuous chieftains. Musa nnd Tarlk. In 711 A. D. the siperb rock whero "England stands sentry" became Jcbel (Mount) Tarlk. The cprruptlon to the. modem Gibraltar won a fairly natural llngulstlo development. On tho African sldo Jebel Musa superseded Abjla. This eminence, although higher than Gibraltar, has alwnts been of lesser value bec.iU3 of the hinterland, not comparable In Importance with that of Uuropc. The Moors, however, mndo It a stronghold, yield ing It to r Christian power only when tho sudden and brief rlso of Portugal became Irresistible. That valiant little nation won the rock, however, nnd tetalned It until Philip II of Spain absorbed the kingdom and all Us colonies in the latter part of tho six teenth century. When Portuguese liberty was regained, some sixty years later, Jebel Mura was not restored. Spain, who now calls It Ceuta, holds It today, and It Is that possession which her statesmen seek to "swap" with Britain for tho much more celebrated Gib raltar, THE military history of that unrivaled fortress really begins with the series of ten sieges between Spaniards and Moors, eventually renultlng In Its acquisition by the crown of Castile. But In 1704, amid tho confused and far-reaching operations of the War of tho SpanlRh Buccesslon, the British, Under Sir Georgo Rooke, took tho rock after a three-day nttnek, and their authority has necr been relinquished. Of tho fifteen sieges In Its history, by far the most memorable was that which InBtcd between the years 1770 and 1785. Only tho mjihlcal siege of Troy surpasses this attack In duration. The direct pressure on Verdun, It will bo remembered, lasted only for sis months. Tho valor and ohstlnncy of Gib raltar's defender. Sir Georgo Augustus Elliot, have seldom been exceeded In military annals. Blnco that time Spain has necr since Tought for Gibraltar, which played a nlgnlfl ennt rolo In two upheavals, the Napoleonic wars nnd tho late titanic conflict Subma rines could, of course, slip through beneath tho surface ot the straits, but German raid ers gne the ntrongest of nil fortifications, naturul and artificial, a wldo berth from tho early dnys of August, 1814. The naval sta tion nestled under the rock's protection was also of Immense Importance. AND now Spain, nee reconciled to the -lohs of u. position capable of malting Its holder mistress of tho Mediterranean, broaches the Idea of exchanging Ceuta for Gibraltar. Coming from a nation unwilling to tako sides In tho most tremendous of wars, the proposal la at first blush rather Btagger lng, It Is truo that Ceuta can bo turned Into a powerful defensive position, but Spain has never made the most of Its possibilities, while Gibraltar has become synonymous with Invincibility. Self-determination has nothing at all to do with the question. Ceuta Is-used chiefly as :i penal settlement, while local govern ment In Gibraltar Is nonexistent. Tho "Rock Mzards," as the mongrel Inhabitants of tho little town aro called, tako their orders di rectly from authorities In Unnland. Gibraltar Is a crown colony In the strictest sense. New settlers are not permitted In this singular possession. Many of the day population there depart ncrose tho lines Into Spain at the evening gunfire. Yet the Pillars of Hercules, with the ro mantlo motto "ne plus ultra" "nothing beyond" composed the royal arms of the world conquering Charles V. Spain remem bers her greatness, and tho ownership of Gib raltar was unquestionably n symbol thereof. That the assassination of an Austrian Grand Duko In an obscure Bosnian town would result In the release of forces so compre henslve as to revlvo the Gibraltar question Is a development consonant indeed with the amazing complexity of an amazing epoch. Senator Jones was wafted from New York to Wnnhlngton In an airplane on Satur day. Wo hasten to my. before some one 'elro thinks of It, that this Isn't tho first time Mr. Jones has been up In the air. Indications that a symphony concert of the nations will be performed In Paris are encouragingly given every time Mr. Wilson ascends the conductor's desk. Althpugh the manufacturers declare that "there will be no reduction In clothing before next fall." we still have a feeling that the advent of summer will refute their forecast. Anglophobe though he be, the ex-Kalser's eldest born cannot deny that he Is the Prince of Walls. Navigation has been opened on the English reaches ot Salt River, with Arthur Hender son and Herbert H Asqulth aheady on Ihe paksongcr list, ,To the reasens which Professor Seheltlng advances to prove that the Karl of Derby did not write the plays of Shakespeare, ho' might add the self-evident one that these works are peerless. Self-determination is not always the agent of art enduring peace; Witness Us display In Jho ltvlr war over War mtmorMs, who. end net, yea tha delmtM to tt 1 yrU Oiwim a. frt, -,,re'lMJ.-1-V..Y4S;'"rtlV-''''" - .J-.,.34v.riw.7:W'M -..,,,....2 ml4j-.-.v- .vXTw MyrVP v -' -.w. "u'"" " L2rT A - si t "-- --! iiriBn.ii.r -ii-r-at-i fn .. B THE READER'S VIEWPOINT TREES AS WAR MEMORIALS Joseph Pcnnell and Dr. James M. Anders Writo of "Green Monuments" It. tha Editor of the Evening Publlo Ledger! Sir Tho project of tho Pennajlvanla dMslon of tho woman's land army to plant trees on tho Lincoln Highway should bo sent to Mr. Sproul atid all tho other Governors, os well as to tho American Forestry Association, for It is most useful and would make the road more beautiful. It Is only what the Inhabitants of .the devas tn'od regions of the wnr zone will do at once along their roads. Every road In Rurope Is tree-lined. Can one forget how tho stone pines compose with the tombs and tho aqueducts near Rome on the old roads or the noble, solemn pine-covered waya that lead fiom Leghhorn south toward Grosetto or the dim shadowy tunnel near Ravenna. And coming north over tho Alps or nlong tho Riviera, Into tho land of that terrible wind, the Mistral, how It Is stilled by the Im penetrable lines of cypresses thai stretch across the plain of La Crau by the roadside. Theso are most useful and most beautiful memorials. We should so plnnt our trees. We have as many sorts as they havo In Europe, ana they can be planted In tho same useful fashion. Who, that hat) seen, can forget the nonue of buttonbnlls with the llttlo river dMdlng tho road In two parts thnt makes of hot Vnucluso a cool, sweet-smelling, shadowytown? Or again to have driven once the Mull road from Sorrento to Naples forget vistas of that Journey? or how, beneath dense m issou, nre placed the cured seatB the Pompel.t Is loved to place where there wan tho best vlet,' of tholr loved sea or their dreaded mountain. All these seats and trees and groves were memorials and all wero on their highways. And then coming north In Franco how tho road that runs straight across tho plain or winds among the hills Is also tree lined, And the avenues nt Fontalnebleau, the vlstns at Chantllly mostly gone, the last I fear, nnd then the endless poplars that lead to the coast, and every onco In a while you cross a tree-lined canal on u beautiful bridge. And In England there are the glades ot tho New Forest nnd of Sherwood and through them all the high ronds run. Here on the highway wo too must have trees to shado It and groves dedicated to our heroes nnd our great and our shrines as well, and our resting places nnd our wells and all tree-shadtil with tho trees of our country. Tho elms In the Hast, tho eucalyptus In tho West, and nil that glow between. This la ono of the wa-n tn rriako our useful roads beauti ful. And If the women of America will take this scheme up It will be carried out and It must be carried out, for the road Is In dispensable nnd must be beautiful as well. They can do It. JOSEPH C. PEN'NELL. Philadelphia, December 20, To the Editor of the Evening Publlo Ledger: Sir In my view It would be entirely fit ting to plant trees as memorials to the Penn sylvania heroes of the recent conflict of na tions. These oinblems would -Jslbly revenl their vitality, attracting the attention of tho masses lis they would pour oy, if they were appropriately located, e. g., in our puoltu squares or lining our principal streets nnd new boulevards, The same ocoult, Irresistible forces, guided by the author ot all life, that are displayed by men on tho firing lino, nre Indicated by the fingers of hardy trees and the charming goddess of flowers, It has been well said that plants are "living emblems of the rapid flight ot hours and time Itself, eternal lessons of wisdom, are associated with all our wants, our pleasures and our pains." Nothing In the way of a memorial with Its special mission or signification would appeal more strongly to the emotions and snul ot man thnn hardy trees, which we prize for their beauty and genius In marking the different seasons of the year. Trees would give 'the signal of strength, life and repose, after the struggle and dangers which our heroes braved so vallently. The writer votes for trees as memorials, and would assign to them the function ot binding all. the springs of love, of country, devotion and heroism for this and the coining generations. Obvi ously, to replace these trees when fully matured by others would be Imperative, but this could be safely left to our successors. J. M. ANDERS, M.b. Philadelphia, December SO. ' , 1 f A Lesgue of Nations Can Re Formed Only by the INatlons To ffte JftWfor of the Evening Publlo Ledgers Blr One of your correspondents. Mr. Gil bert, says the British, have made, through Lord Cecil, "plan" of lntnMIM4 -a!p. and m miMWiiHii the uUsim t an ,uimiIn. yutmm p . "IT LISTENS GOOD!" "plan," but It evaporated before tho consti tutional convention oven got warmed up, nnd other plans failed to get even that notice. AVilllam Penn made "plans" also, but they camo to naught, and Algernon Sidney, a pro found democrat, told him It was presump tion In any one man to make a structure that only all concerned ought to make working together. So President Wilson, like Sidney, is too profound a democrat to mtfhe a plan beforehand which only a constitutional con vention has a right to make. Besides, he Is too profound a political scientist to think that real constitutions are schemes on paper. Real constitutions are merely formulated principles, and the formu lation Is a more Incident after debate and acceptance of certain proportions of well known principles of government. It Is un democratta for self-constituted formulators to work on schemes on paper, although It Is as frult!eu9 as It is undemocratic : for oven Virginia's "plan" was not adopted, , even in part, In 1787, but evaporated In the heat of a real debate on whether a few a very few well.known principles of government should or should not be accepted. These principles are few. Shall wo have a real government or a loose confederation? If a real government, then the way Is clear, for the essentials of a real government are well known to overy student of government, as they wero more than a century ago. That was (ffe case In 1776 to 1788, and then, as now, the multitude of fearful ones cried out for a loose confederation so Impotent as to be harmless for evil and, llkowise, powerless for good. It took a dozen years to convince those timid ones of their mistake; and their political descendants nre weltering in the same boggy blind lane. If they prevail In 1918 as they did In 177G then the world will be a mess, as tho States were then, until suffering opens tho eyes ot their fearful un derstandings, A loose "league" Is nothing but a botched Imitation of a real thing, a sort of "perpetual-motion" machine, whose destiny Is the Junk ptlo and derision. Those Who advocate It are the "let-us-be-as-we-are" men, without political vision or understand ing. If I mistake not, "they shall not prevail," The wtfild demands International as well us national and state government, and I pre dict that the word "league," a term used only as a sop to the fearful ones, will be sunk to the bottom of the" sea with the German navy and "union" and "federation" will displace It, as occurred In 1782, For the world wants no Impotent Imitation; It wants and needs a real government. It wants none, however, made by nn Individual, n nation, or any one less than tho whole of the world all of the nations who are Independent or ought to be so. Then, that once decided, a legislature, an executive and a Judiciary, with taxing power for the whole, Is a. matter of course. The objects ot this governmentwhat shall they Jie? No one but a convention can decide that ; but one thing Is certain thoso objects will bo purely International, and Interna tional alone, not national at all. The nations will give up enough sovereignty, and only enough, to carry out International and only International objects tn tho new united gov ernment What shall this government rest upon? Nations or states or Individuals? Obviously, it can rest only on nations or In dividuals. And ut this point the convention will come as near to breaking up as It will during Its whole session. And, you will ob serve, not a word ot n, constitution or scheme on paper will havo yet been written, It Is, In fact, the very greatest question that can come before them ; one that only n convention can decide. Individuals of the whole world, If they have learned to Join In local self government, undoubtedly have the right Jo decide on all government over thimj but, If they have not shown national self-government, they are hot fit for International self government unless they have been prevented by force from outside. At this point, It may be observed, states are not nations, nnd small states which re fuse to learn federation, where, as In Cen tral America, It Is their natural relation, will probably be considered unfit for International federation. It Russia does not learn self, government In federation of her states she, too, will prove unfit for International self government until she does learn) and this principle's adoption by the united nations would bring her to her senses fastsr than anything else, But If the convention should aire, that it should rest on the Individuals ot self-governing nations the rest would ot necessity be come territories of tho new International gov ernment, Here would be a "rock" to avoid and so avoid wreck ; but that Is what ft con vention Is for, The seas also would be com mon International highways, iMtatmtally. d , Then tht UgUUtura, abu 14 frs-V ?) J!!f -!LMw'M ii tlons, each equally? Here Is one of the two greatest questions to como beforo the con vention, questions complementary one to tho other. The majority of the people of the world who have learned eclf-government nationally and locally would seem to have! a right to govern Internationally, but popula-,.. tions nre congested in certain areas ana aro too clannish to be trusted with the liberties of less congested nations. So these smaller nations must be given the right to protect themselves In the upper hbusc by nh equal vote there. Will the representatives of tha congested nations agree to this? That Is their province to decide. If thoy get this far.y the rest Is comparatively easy.' But not word of constitution will be written up to-' this point or until these great struotural principles arc agreed upon. Then, and then only, can they be formulated on paper a very .small part of tho process. To talk about paper "plans" Is absurd therefore. Tho present Peaco Conference Is, I tnke It, a settlement of war, which settle ment is made by a vigilance committee of nations, or provisional International govern ment, which assumes and Incorporates In Its war settlement the ono prime necessity call for a constitutional convention for creation of nn International government for purely international purposes. To this only nations which have learned solf-iri,rnrnmn nn - delegates, and that convention will decide t'tev Qualification of Its m,tnh,r, Tl.l. 1. -.-.",. 0 say that all nations may not In due time fit themselves for membership in the Interna-' tlonnl body, Speaking of "plans" in n democratic gov. ernment, we havo nn Illuminating example right hero In Philadelphia of a private assoi olatlon assuming to do tho work of a city constitutional convention. No wonder thero. be those who manufacture plans of Interna tlonal government In a llko7 assumption. O democratic consistency, verily thou art-a Jewel Indeed ! BUnTON ALVA KONKLEt, ' Swarthmorc, December 27, " Prince Albert of Mot). nco has Joined the swelling crowd of f$j-; ctgn dignitaries and Hie Way of the World ox-royaltles that Is solemnly bawling pty William HolWnzollern. This Is cheering, of course And yet we ealmot but wondlr , whether this same crowd would have been. so ready to denounce the Kaiser If he had"t succeeded. ' " Since Mr, Ford Is oot- a man, naru job of politics and a free, lance again It might, Ington with a view to getting the boys outi'l ot me trencnes ueioro the Peace Conference assembles. Hlndenburg, walling over the armlstltVaV terms inado by Foch, obviously has forgotten .'I mini uoiHmm .nuugiu udoui me terms maoe j by .Germany. , m". m Euphoniously enough, gold plates ana Guildhall take their conspicuous nla4M among the features of Mr. Wilson's LoptMhf - VlslJ. W.) What.Vo You Know? QUIZ X', 1, what l the eltlelal title of the Rrltlab For-'' elm rtrrrataryr r V1 - g, Where (a I Manelm, tho Don Quixote csjn-, S, Wha urats the words and mull'o ot ''liffti ,j fore"? ", Mi 4. wm is ine ruier 01 me liny prineipaiur H ' 1 MonacoT , t.i, ! . .... ... . ..... ..... . , 0, in nnat . pan or. in T"J. era. sue l , eolonlul uaastaalon f Holland f ,4.' 0. Who aucteeded (leneral I.udradarfr In tbaull noet ot Drat nuarterroaster seneral r tha. tier man armj-T ' IZu'Kl 1. What U tht meaning ef obfuteaU? . 8. What hind af a musical Instrument Is - .Tl j-.naiien uvrur fVV"' I v, una 1 ta mo inrreu near si miliar W"I l6, Jlew manr eleetoral Totea were raat . ' Jamea Monroe when hf Wat flatted G Sent ot the tliilleil Htaieat ' IJrT Answers to Saturday's Quiz !'', 1, Admiral Maya la la teinmand af the ai' Cf-'l "f"i,w, w" MWtt W'WfWI S. 8ai!iarra wrote the famous Otftk tmil',' "lSdlnus Ilia King," - 8. Acrnrdlns to the annonncsirient made ta j Ihaniber ot I)riiitje. i.Ofo.WX) vEadf aaldlen were UIIImI In tht wary i JTr 4' Renor Remanents Is premier ef RMlfi, A; 0, The aeatt en that part of tha Aral flaar uueadsr ' fred ir tue Imlronv In ilritUb thKlfa. 3t knawn as the alalia. "' I 0, q;en Hary Sf.tlrwit Iliitaln was batrI aV T,JC 113 rir Hat twwj as n m I, .AmmmI W Ms hiwl r ilumuu. n- ' 'H!' tRfmi.dtr'teiette. i a M ,f-L w , , -rTf -'".a- -) as K ' T l T X f.. VT 'J r- ri i . . ' :a
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers