evening vii&Lio ledger-philadelphia, Friday, February 2& 1919 10' -O at- i.W -4 & f V v- $1 5 a r fcrf i v Is It. 5 is I m $' f '& iff " If J k m "- IF, oU Mi R (fa m I. "t! ft e. v 5f& . Hp , ff ( SB k F-v icueninn uuiu. vugcc THE EVENING TELEGRAPH PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY nTnita r. tt. rtmTIH. Pbbhidint ft . Charlea H. Ludlnrton. Vice, Preeldenti John C. Martin. Berretarr and Treaaureri Philips Colllna, Jphn n. Wllllama. John J. Spurseon. Director!, editorial noAnm Cues If. K. CcaTia. Chairman DAVID E. 8M1I.ET .Editor JDIIM C. MARTIN.... Oencrailluelneaa Manaier Publlahed dally at rcauo t.araca llulldlnc. Independence Square. Philadelphia. Atlantic Citt Prtm-Vnlon IlulMInc Naw Toil..,.. ZOO Metropolitan Tower Dithoit ....401 l'ord Dulldlni ST. Louis 1008 Kullfrton Hull Una Omcaao Moi Tribunt Building news nunnAUSi N. E. Cor. renneylvanla Ave and 14th .St. Niw Yoax Until' The Sun Dulldln LONPON llcuic. . London Timit BUnscnirTios terms Tha Etisiso l't bi.ic LiDoia la eerved to tub errlhera In Philadelphia and turroundlnr towna at the rate of twelve (12) centa per week payable to the carrier. , , , . Br mall lo point outride of Philadelphia, In tha United Statu. Canada, or United Statea pp. Milium, poxtate free, fifty (501 rente per month. Six (16) dollara per jear. payable In advance. To all forelm countrlea one (ll dollar per month. . . Notice Subaerlbera wlahlna" addrm chanted muat live old aa well aa new addreaa. BELL. S000 WALMT KtVSTOXr. MAIN SOW E7" Addrris oil communlciUlone to Eten Publ Ltdotr, independence Square, VillodclpMa. Member of the Asociated Press THE ASSOCIATED Pit ESS (i fxclu tlvelu entitled to the use for republication of all netcs dlipntchcs credited to It or not othcricitc credited In this piper, and alio the local news published therein. All rights of republication of special dis patches herein are also reserved. Philadelphia, trldar. I rbruaty :l, ll THC FALL OK MANN F0' )RWAHDLOOKI.(r Republicans will bo heartened by the defeat of Repre sentative Mnnn In the speakership caucus In Washington last night The Chicago Congressman polled only sixty nine votes out of a total of 225. This fairly represents the strength of the reactionary element In tho party. Representative Olllett. the nominee of the caucus, polled 138 votes, and eighteen votes were cast for three other candidates, air. Glllett Is clearly the choice of more than a majority of the members of his party, and when the minority had stood up to bo counted in opposition so that its strength or weakness might bo disclosed Representative Mann handsomely proposed that the choice of Mr. Glllett be made unanimous. There was more than tho customary per functorlness In tho caucus agreement to this proposition. The fitness of the suc cessful candidate for the post Is admitted. His freedom from factional entanglements guarantees for him the confidence of tho whole party and the final unanimous ote for him promises much -for the future .harmonious union of all shades of Repub licans In an effort to serve the nation. No political event of recent years is more significant than the overw helming defeat of Mann. It lays the foundations for an nggresslve and successful Repub lican campaign for the presidency In 1920. PUTTING IT UP TO A PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER I&. XT milE appointment of A. Mitchell Palmer rT -- tn tVir ntrnrnpv ireneralshlrj seems to prove that If a man waits long enough he may get what he wants. Mr. 'Wilson, offered to make Mr. Talmer Secretary of War In his first Cabinet, but tho Stroudsburg statesman preferred to bo at the head of the Department of Jus tice. That post, however, had been prom ised to ?cReynolds, of Tennessee. Now, after six jears of service to his party In other ways, Mr. Palmer gets what he first desired. The new Attorney General Is not one of the; great lawyers of the country- Not even his best friends would put him In the tame class with William M. Evarts, Wnjne MacVeagh, Richard Olney or Philander C. Knox, who have preceded him in the ofllce. But his abilities are probably as good as those of a number of the Attorneys Gen eral of the past. The appointment Is Interesting locally, for Mr. Palmer Is the eighth Pennsj Ivanlan to hold the office. Washington, Madison, Van Buren, Buchanan, Garfield, Arthur, McKlnley and Roosevelt came to this atato for tho chief law officer of their ad ministrations, and they found at least two lawyers here who were recognized as lead era In their profession. Mr. ralmer will doubtless do himself credit In 'Washington. His selection will be gratifying to the better class of Demo crats here, for he has fought to break the old-time alliance between the Republican and Democratic organizations which was i demoralizing to both parties. He has done his best to create a real opposition party In this state, and the President has co operated with him In recent jears by recognizing the Palmer-McCormlck wing of the party in the distribution of offices, FAIR PLAY FOR SALOONKEEPERS fTlHE bill which GoNernor Sproul has --.signed permitting holders of liquor aelllng licenses to pay for thehi month by month instead of for the whole jear in advance commends Itself to the common sense of all fair-minded persons. The liquor sellers will have to go out of business on July 1. To force them to pay a high license fee for doing business after they have been compelled to close their doors would be unjust. Complete justice will not be done until the General Assembly passes a bill pro viding for a refund to liquor dealers of that part of their license fee paid In ad Vance for the whole ear represented by the fraction of the year In which they may 1 40710 business. I' There are, we know, certain persons who insist that a saloonkeeper has no rlchts Y Which a, prohibitionist Js bound to respect, " Vjlwt, fortunately, most of us aro inclined to rtspect the financial equities even when a jaaiajpnkeeper is Involved. :v CHAIRMAN CUMMINCS'S JOB IS TO JTWOOK "WISE AND OBEY ORDERS ff"TTOMEIl S. CUMMINOS, of Connecticut, "liv, - th-e new chairman of the Democratic ", .jifatlonal Committee, is like the painted '- VurUtp strung up along the roads of Franco (deceive the enemy. Great armies and MURtleas heavy cannon moved along be MM the painted scenery. Itae) real chairman of the Democratic Na jjlsjjajl' Committee, hidden behind the amla Mfc aavftaot the man from Connecticut, is r his, time between Washington ( those who Insist that tsfitpi'iii '; the jcr t'u committee and maintain that no la. tho whole party. Indeed, according to hlown theory, he Is the supreme party leader, elected by the voles of Its members. He has taken counsel with few, but has Issued his orders with all tho authority of a party despot. Thero have been rumblings of dissatisfaction, but thero has been no open reolt worth considering. 12en now It is admitted that his control Is so nearly ab solute that ho can dictate the nomination of the next democratic candidate for the presidency If he does not choose to tako that nomination for himself, nnd thero are those who say that ho could get the nomi nation easily If he desired It. Thero Is no mvsterj about thK Under thee circumstances Mr. Cum mings will scre to till tho Job as well ns nnv other deserlng Democrat, so long as ho knows how to look wle and obey or ders from the White House TKY BOOSTING THE OLD TOWN AM) SEE WHAT HAPPENS Chuiiilicr of Ciuiiincrre'a Ma) orally Ques tionnaire Can Work Wonders, Provided YOU Pull for PronreM "pUIH-DIATIO.V of tho deceptive phrase v"lt goes without sGlng" is a signally henlthj feature of tho questionnaire on tlvlc lietteiment cliculntnl b the Chamber of Commerce To dny tiie excellence of the progiam outlined it Is necessary for tho disputant to bo either a boob "ot a rogue Of courso, tho leferentlum will produco a broadsldu of nfllrmatlvo replies. No honest man In his senses can enturp to contradict the fact tint the progreH of Philadelphia must bo greatly fostered by .1 capablo Major nnd an efficient, business llko nnd omrgotlp municipal administra tion. To biand the whole campaign ns a trumpeting of t!n obvious Is exceedingly ensj. And In the name degree it Is stultl f J lng. Perfectly patent truths have a way of sinking Into quagmires In this rich, resourceful nnd venerable Amerlrin city, and only the most energetic salvaging can make their message fruitful. Sophistication Is a perilous menial atti tude for 1'liil.ulelphlans. It begets the tor plil, half-Ironic inilllTereiiro that Is abso lutelj fatal to progress. Very little, indeed. In this community "goes without saving" Platitudes proclaimed fiom the housetops aro a spiritual necessitj. lngenuousntss would be a vli tue. There are cities in this country which possess it to the full, which are unafraid of the trite when it Is helpful, nnd tho de velopment gait of these communities Is among the American miracles. Certain Phlladelphlans smiled conde scendingly at tho spectacle. They had a hearty laugh when Duluth announced itself the "Zenith City of the Cnsalted Seas" Klorld was that epithet and naive Rut it Is not exactly funnj today that Duluth Is ono of the great fresh-water ports of the world. Ingenuousness, however flagrant, proved a powerful stimulant The kind of enthusiasm which pi ev nils In Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis and many other fast-growing American cities Is also amusing to the chronic Ironist. Rut some ot the humor evaporates when Cleve land Jumps to sixth place among our popu lation centers, while Philadelphia remains stationed at third for a generation. There Is a deal of lusty constructive energj- to be derived from the Inspiration of the most Incontestable commonplaces. "Put jour shoulder to the wheel" is a stock "bromide." but the man who rejects Its message will not go far. Tho Chamber of Commerce Is hot after that Indlv Idual, and In n sense he typifies Philadelphia The very best thing that could happen for this city would be such a lelteiatlon of indestructible truisms, which Vvould be Impregnated In the civic consclousnens and act as a spur to forth tight nctlon lamentations on our mistakes and de ficiencies am hopelesslj enervating. They havo produced us notlilti? hut a bail repu tation. Nelthei contrito confession nor blatant whitewashing Is the remedy In this Plight. What Is imperatively needed is construc tive vision, constructive vigor and the courage to confront problems with action. Tho really efficacious way to wipe out the past Is to giapplo with the present, while unafraid also to envisage tho tasks of the future. The Chamber of Commerce's program Is ,i heaitenlng beginning, rundamentallj-. It is grounded In those familiar civic Ideals which emphatlcallj-, however, do not "go forward without saying," but, fortunatelj1. Its proposals are far from being airy generalizations It lajs specific emphasis on an adequato water supply, renl rapid transit, proper school facilities, clean streets, port development and enlarged police and file protection, reorganization of tho cltj'a governmental machinery and. above all, on the selection of a Maj-or of probity and ablltlj-. The next step, when the referendum has won the expected indorsement of the pro posals by the chamber's members, will open up an even more practical field of endeavor Cultivation of it should by no means be confined to the organization which has made this new departure In civics. If the presumption Is correct that Phlladelphlans would llko to see their city secure efficient home rule, conducted on a businesslike way, that they would welcome a Major fit and willing to govern on that basK an altogether refreshing kind ot "redemption" maj' be in prospect. Politics of the fell partisan nature should have nothing whatever to do with it. It Is nonsense to view Philadelphia's particular problems from a party angle. The city Is a huge business concern which will pay badly for all except a few rascals if sel- ftghly mismanaged, and very excellently for tho vvholo community If all its opulent assets are sensibly developed. It-is not braggadocio to admit truth in tho assertion that Philadelphia is one of the majors workshops of tho world. The real danger lies in deprecattngly blinking the fact and aimlessly administering a business of superb potentiality and vast complexity as though it wero a corner notion store. The type of somnolent modesty which represses clVlc conscious ness Is a fatal attribute, and Phlladelphlans would do well to cease Indulgence therein. The reformation, la not easily accom plished, for the peculiar growth ot this city has clouded a unified view of Its manifold activities, commercial, Industrial, financial. Desptto the fact that tho civic consolida tion dates from 186-t, Philadelphia still bears traces of being a congeries of com munities. It Is doubtful It the significance of their "homo town" is as hazy tq in habitants of other largo American cities as It Is to tho average Philadelphia "Boston stands for this," "San Kranclsco stands for that," "Chicago stands for some thing else' these are tho substance of phrases quick upon tho lips of the nos tontan, tho San Pranclscan, tho Chlcagoan. Whllo recognizing that this city has plaj-ed a rolo of noblo Importance In American hlstorj-, her citizens, thinking In contem porary terms, are readiest to declare that "Philadelphia stands for corrupt politics." What a pitifully Inadequate estimate of a prodigious "workshop!" Radly ruled we have been, but our sheer pioductlve potentiality and It) results have been enormous, Prldo In what I'htla delphl.1 truly stands for may be legiti mately entertained without a taint of reprehensible conceit. Tho pride that In spires ctlon Is the kind which can not bo Indulged In too freely nt this time, when Philadelphia faces tho choice of either "stumbling through" without real izing n tithe of her pieclous resources or of tadillug her problems with clear-e.ved, level headed enthusiasm. The fear has been expressed that tho Chamber of Commerce's campaign nnd similar undertakings to which It should give rlso will result In an embarrassing nrraj of good candidates for Major. Well, In view of what has happened In the past this "danger" can bo faced with genuinely Jojotis emotions. Prodigality ot personal mateilnl would be of signal value In clear ing nway civic stagnation and ending the thoroughlv Ineffective "go-without saj lng" pollcj". Let us have tnlk on the subject and plenty of It Let us have pride, too. In any per formance, wherever originating, which shall bring us to u realization of what Philadelphia moans nnd ought to mean in a futuro of unexampled opportunities. Reform is a line word, but progress is n finer, for It Is inclusive. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KEEP AC COUNTS CURTAIN sjstematlc householders keep a record of all their expenses and can tell how much money they paid for butter list year, how much for meat the jear before and what the price of flour was the; jear before that Hut most of us know merely that .since tho war began we havo been pajing much more for everj thing we ha-ve to buy, and let It go at that. There Is a certain curious Interest, there fore. In the comparative figures prepared by the national Bureau of Labor Statistics showing tho relation of the prices of ipi3 with those of last fall. Here they are, omitting the prices cf 1813, which aro fixed at 100 as the basis for comparison: Gasoline Ht 80 Cotton, middling 2B3.90 Blenched muslin, Lonsdale 304 SO Women's shoes 223.00 Hour 222.70 Cornmeal 210.SO Potatoes 161.70 Creamery butter 178,70 Granulated sugar 204 70 JII1U 234 00 I'resh eggs 219 90 Bacon 225,20 Lard 241.80 Fresh beet 188 CO Rve flour 264,40 Wool storm serge 291.70 The Increases vary from 43 8 per cent for gasoline to 204.9 per cent for bleached muslin These are the wholesale prices. The man whose salarj has not been In creased since 1913 the teacher or the preacher, for example Is the chief sufferer, for he has really had his Income reduced. The law provides a To Dlacouraec penalty of ten jears the Thur for highway robberj. A bill tn Harrlsburg makes the panaltj twenty jears. But a thug with a gun will never slop to consider a mat ter of ten or twenty jears. His attitude is, "Oh, make It life while jou are at It!" What our legislators should do Is to make It diffi cult for him to get the gun : and "sock him" when he gets It and before he uses It. "Come, we burn day- IV here Shakespeare light In delajs we Itepeata waste our lights In vain " Mercutlo would have made an excellent press agent for the National War Gardens Commission,, which Is engineering a national drive to pre vent the repeal ot the davllcht-savlng law. Senator Dalx's bill cuts the scalp oft the scalper. There Is only ono brand left for Con gress Wilson that's all The Peace Outfit gestlve of the tn 11 nf li xllghtlj sug- ' This Is a horse on me," said the man who ordered a pony ot beer and got a ponj--ette. Variations of the pastomline "Humpty Dumpty" are being performed at all Euro pean capitals The pathetic figure In the case of the Boston militants Is that by their course they Injure the cause they favor The League Island naval program is de signed to help the work of tho league ot nations. Among the men behind the guns. Rear Admiral Plunkett has singled put' Samuel M. Vauclaln for special honors. Woodrow Wilson Sayre weighs nine pounds, but he may have pulling power enough to bring the President to Philadel phia. There are two lines in the British na tional anthem that have International appli cation Just now: "Confound their politics! Frustrate their knavish tricks 1" It may be that we shall achieve an aerial merchant service before we get a merchant marine of a size commensurate with our greatness More than a hundred million dollars will be used In road Improvements In Pennsyl vania during the next four years. And every road built ought to be strong enough to stand the wear and tear ot the heavy trucks of the truck farmers. WHAT FOR0NEY THINKS Confession of Faith of tho Man Who Will Head the Ways dnd Means Committee- Joseph W, Pordnty, of Michigan, cnlor Republican on the 1t'fl and Means Com mittee of the llouse of Representatives and in line for the chairmanship In the next Congress, set forth in a recent speech be fore the Michigan Society, of Sew York, his belief on the principles which should guide In the framing of tear legislation. Polloiclng is icTiaf he had to sag about government control of business, the protection of In dustry, the army and the timj and other kindred matters: "I KNKRAI.LY I believe In "government - hands oft ot business." Government con trol means political Interference and political pull; control, not by tho great captains ot Industrj', but bj- the political office-seeker which does not spell Industrial success. When I speak of politicians I do not mean a man holding an elective ofllce. T mean those seeking political appointment soft snaps and good pay On the contrarj. I find men In Congress to be generally of tho highest tjpe of Intelligence and character honorable men. Imagine a politician of the former tjpe. selected bj the President of the United States, directing the management of tho United States Steel Company or the Bethle hem Steel Comp.inv or nnj other nf the large and varied Industries Whv, during the war the politicians failed ond the President was forced to call upon i-xperlenced men to direct largo affairs nt a salary of Jl a jear. Tho aircraft construction was n scandal until a practical business man was called to the helm Ship construction ligged and bade fair to bo a failure until n man of business ex perience was put In control. Our menlnnt marine under government control must and will prove a financial failure- It cannot be otherwise, operated under existing marine 1 inn The best evidence of this assertion miv be proved bj an examination of tho reient government control of tho railroads nnd steamship trinsportntlon lines a glaring and signal failure Government control threatens us with dangerous imlltlcal machinery which would endanger tho very foundation of our govern mental Institution INTKRRST In public nffalrf, state and na tional, should over bo preent In the minds of the people It is their duty: It Is honor able. N'o citizen Is too great nnd none too humble to be exempt from such duties ' Tho business men of this country lnvo a great rcponslblllty devolving upon them It Is no easv task at this time to keep tho wheels of Industry moving Idle mills mean idle capital, and Idle capital means Idle men, and the poorest nsset of a nation Is nn Idle man. Production means consumption Tho ca pacity for consumption of an Idle man Is not so great as that ot the man who Is emploj ed Consumption of American-made products means emplovment for American laboring men. The best market In tho world for tho products of the United States is with our own people. Our annual sales abroad, during normal times, ate less than 10 per cent of our total production Therefore, to throw down the bars and Invite In the products of the cheap labor of the world, while We chase rnln bovvs around tho globe to find a dumping ground for a small percentage of our output nnd at the same time neglect our best mar ket. Is, In my opinion, poor buslnes Judg ment We want a foreign market for our surplus, but we do not want It at the cost of the loss of our home market. Think of the vast amount of capital In vested In this countrj and the effort neces sary to keep It going. Capital Is entitled to fair treatment: when unfairly treated labor suffers most. When capital Is Idle, both capi tal and labor draw upon their own resources each Is unprofitable when the other Is unemplojed. THK matter of government finances is one of much concern. Our expenditures for tho last three jears have been equal to our total expenditures from the establishment ot the United States down to three jears ngo. Our outbtandlng government obligations bonds, certificates of Indebetedness and war savings stamps on Januarj 1 were $21,000,000,000, and we are adding to that sum dally through our bonds nuthorlzed but not jet deposed of, bf which there are more than ,5,000,000,000 The administration Is asking tor an additional authorization of JJ.000,000,000 certificates of Indebtedness and 17,000,000,000 nonclrculatlng Treasurj- notes, to run from one to five jears. This request usiuunus tue people. If these bonds are disposed of our annual Interest account will exceed Jl, 500,000,000. I believe a tax-free bond, bearing Interest at 3i per cent, would Fell at par, while n taxable bond, bearing Interest at 4 li per cent, would not find readv purchasers. It appears to me It would be wise to give future purchasers the option as to a tax free bond at a low rate of Interest or a tax able bond at a higher rate. OUR army and our navy command our wisest counsels. I do not favor a large standing armj The expense would be very great on the taxpnjers. To demand the largest nnvy In the world, while tn the same breath shouting for a league ot nations solelj for the purpose of the prevention of wnrs. Is, In my Judgment, the rankest Inconslstencj It seems to me that we cannot need both for the security ot tho nation. The demand for government ownership ot railroads comes from tho thoughtless, the reckless and the selfish classes of people. No effort of that kind has ever met with finan cial success bj' the people of any countrj' in the world: on the contrarj-, It has aluajs proved to be a financial loss. I challenge successful contradiction Our freight rates per ton mile, prior to the war, were one-half those of any other nation In the world (Japan excepted), while our railroad wage scale was double that of any other nation In the world (Canada ex cepted), and Canada's railroad wage scale was below, and Jnpan'n freight rates 25 per cent above ours The taxpajers are now called upon to pay a loss for laBt Jear ot more than 755,000,000 tor tho folly of the government of taking over the railroads, while, at the same time, thej- were compelled to pay extra passenger fare and extra freight to an umount exceeding that sum. Does the wildest Imagination of any reck less brain believe that one, man, a directing general, seated at Washington, D. C, Inex perienced In railroading, no matter how com petent lie may be In other things, can as efficiently and economically manage the 750 railway Bystems In the United States as can the 750 well-trained, thoroughly experienced railroad managers who are quite familiar with all the needs ot the people in their par ticular vicinities? I believe not. Two million railroad emploj-ea under gov ernment control oh, what a political machine unscrupulous politicians would try to organlie under government ownership or government control. I appeal to you, gentlemen, to use jour Influence and exert your energy against such tendencies In our legislative bodies. The present Congress has accomplished much In the last two years most Important matters have occupied Its attention. A vast amount of war measures has been enacted, both political parties acting as one no po litical lines being drawn In all war legisla tion. The United States Treasury has been provided with almost countless billions tho taxpayers making but little complaint. The people as a whole have come forward and purchased government bonds with such free dom and patriotism that the like was never exhibited before by any people on earth. In this war 1180,000,000,000 of the world's wealth has been blown away. Suffering and bloodshed have been beyond comprehension and more than 10,000,000 souls have per- laucu. un, wnni a iracnnca ana wnat a crime! God grant we do pot lose by nego tiation what we have won on the battlefield. i DO aaaaa. ff ajPfaaaaWaTi aaaaaAaaaaaff m9f tkw M ab JT aaBBBBHBBBBBBvl 1 -rnvaa' aaBLaaifll I sW nl l tm SmSsJstV '" " .- . .! aw.. J"T' :X.""f' an T m it li art Tei t P lsat . " ..--5-' .'-.-. -.:'"".. i .",,.- !,..? .. ' -m Z ,.i,;,.. "V,--!1 ., a.4... i'iv :V .. . hm ,'y.r''ifrjX,'t,:'Mf jr't;i .-.- TRAVELS IN PHILADELPHIA e By Christopher Morley AT THE I DON'T know Just why It was, but all the time I was tn the Mint yesterday I kept on thinking about Lenlne and Trotsky and how much they would have liked to bo there. I found my friend, the assistant assaver. hi his laboratory making mjsterious chalk marks on a long blackboard and gazing with keen gray ejes at n( circle of little bottles containing pale bluish fluids. At the bottom of each vessel was a white sediment that looked llko n mixture of cream cheeso and headache powder. "Silver," said the nsslstarit nssaj-er. In nn offhand waj', and I was dulv Impressed You may expect to be Impressed when jou visit the Mint on Spring Garden street. Most of us know. In a vague waj', that two thirds of our coinage comes from that digni fied building, which Is probably the finest mint building In the world. Fewer of us know that most of South America's coins come from there too, nnd when the citizens of Lima or Buenos Aires pay out their bright centavos for a movie show or a black cigar their pockets Jingle with small change stamped in Philadelphia. And none of us c-in realize, without a trip to that marvelous homo of wonders, the spirit of devoted and delicate science that moves among the men who havo Bpent self-effacing lives In testing precious metals nnd molding them lntg the most beautiful coinage known on earth. THC assistant assajer, after a last lin gering look at his little blue flasks he was testing the amount of silver In deposits of ore brought In to the Mint from all over the countrj- If jou find any In jour back jard the Mint will pay you a dollar nn ounce for it wns (sraclous enough to give me some fleeting glances at the fascinating work going on In the building. The first thing one realizes Is the presence of the benign and silent goddess of Science. Those upper floors, where the assay ers work In large, quiet rooms, are like the workrooms of some great university, some university happily exempt from the turbulent and Irritating presence of Btudents. where the professors are able to lose themselves In tho worship of their own researches. Great delicate scales only jou mustn't call them "scales." but "balances" that tremble like a lover's heart If J'ou lay a hair on ono platform, shelter their gossamer workings behind glass cases. My guide showed me one. a fantastic rtoiinn,. n Hpnsltlve that one feels as clumsy ns Gibraltar when one looks at It. Each division on Its Ivory register Indicates one tenth of a milligram, which. I should saj-, Is about as heavy as the ejelash of a flea. With a pair of calipers he dropped a tiny morsel of paper on one balance and tho needle swung over to the extreme end of the scale. With his ejes shining with enthu slasm ho showed how, by means of a coun terpoise made of a platinum wire as slender as a mosquito's leg. he could swing the needle back toward the middle of the scale and get the exact reading. AT ANOTHRR balance a scientist was . snipping shreds from a long ribbon of gold. I wns nllowed to hold It in my hand, and though Its curator explained deprecat- . ... u. I una nnlv 099.R thnnnAnrltha pure, it seemed pure enough for all my pur poses. It is wonderful stuff, soft enough tD tie In knots and yet so tough that It Is very difficult to cut with heavy shears. That strip, of about sixty ounces, was worth well over 1!00 and they didn't even search me when I left the building, "Proof gold." It seems, which is 1000 pure. Is worth 140 an ounce, and all the proof gold Vised for sci entific purposes in this country Is refined in the Philadelphia Mint, The assistant assav er showed me lots ot nice little nuggets ot It In a drawer. Almost every drawer he opened contained enough roots of evil to make a newspaperman happy for a year. IN A neat little row of furnaces set Into a tiled wall I wbb shown some queer little cups heating In a rosy swirl of fire to 1700 degrees. These little "cupels," as they call them, are made of compressed bone-ash ana are used to absorb the baser metals In an alloy. Their peculiar hnerlt is that at the required temperature they absorb all the copper, lead or whatever other base metal there may be and leave In the cup only the a-old and silver. Then the gold and silver mixture Is placed in boiling nltrlo acid, which takes out all the sliver and leaves only the globule of pure gold. The matter that pus- ih lav observer Is. how do you find these tblncu out la $ $t plaveeZ.Savt X YOU FEEL THIS WAY, TOO? 'liiiB.satiiiai.ftH C if,. aMrsyTTTTTWTaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaBsea I ". r rr .". if.'" v"-. "- -V . ' ia.' .T" 'i!n' ry ' MINT would believe anj thing after one marvel my friend showed me. He picked up a glass that looked like an Innocent tumbler of spring water. "This," he said. "Is nitrate of silver ; in other words, dissolved silver. Don't spill It on jour clothes or It will ent them right oft jour back." I kept oft. aghast. Into the tumbler he dropped a little muriatic acid. The mixture boiled and fumed nnd long streamers of soft, cheesy substances, began to hasten toward the bottom of the glass, waving like trees in a gale. "That's the sliver." he said, nnd while I wns still tremu lous showed me wafers of gold dissolving In nquaregla. When completely dissolved the liquid looks like a thin but very sweet mo lasses. Ho then performed similar magic upon some silver solution bj- unloading a pipette of salt water on it and shaking it hi a little machine called an "agitator." After which he felt I was sufficiently humble to show me the furnace room. IF YOU have an affection for the nice old sliver cartwheel dollars, keep away from the furnace rbom of the Mint, (or one of the first things you will see Is whole truckloads of them moving silently to their doom I was told that there Is a shortage of silver In Europe these days, particularly since troubles In Mexico have reduced that country's out put of ore. and In order to accommodate for eign friends Uncle Sam has recently melted 200,000,000 of, our old friends Into bars and 50,000,000 more of them are on the way to the furnace. None have been coined since 1904, as apparently they are not popular. The pride of the Mint centers Just now upon the two new electric furnaces, the larger of which has only been Installed a tow weeks (a Swedish Invention, by the way), but the old gas ovens are more spectacular to the visitor because the flames are more visible. When the heavy door Is slid aside j-ou can see the crucible (made of graphite from Cey lon) with Its mass of silver dollars, standing patiently In the furious glow. Then, If you are lucky, you will see them ladling out the liquid silver into the molds. One of the workmen held a slip of paper to the boiling metnt: it burst Into flame and he calmly lit his pipe with It In other furnaces sheets of nickel from which Argentine coins had been punched were being melted, surrounded by a marvelous radiance of green and golden Are. All about you are great lnrots of coo per, silver, nickel and boxes of queer little nickel nuggets, formed by dropping the hot liquid Into Ice water. It Is a place In which one would willingly spend a whole day watching the wonders which those accus tomed to them take so calmly. In the vault Just outside the furnace room I was shown between eighteen and nineteen million dol lars' worth of gold bars stacked up on shelves. Again I don't know Just why I thought of Lenlne-and Trotskj-. There were also more truckloads of the old silver dollars on their way to the Are.' Some of them, though dated back In the seventies, seemed as good as new; others were badly w,orn. They were piled up In lots of 40,000, which, when new, would weigh 34,376 ounces; one lot, I was told, had lost 208 ounces through abrasion. 's IN THE big coining room the presses were busily nt work stamping out new coins, and women operators were carefully examin ing the "blanks" for Imperfections before they go under the dies. To one who expected to see vast quantities of 'shindig new Ameri can coinage It was odd to learn that almost all the machines were busy turning out small change for Peru and, Argentina. Next week, the foreman said, they start on a big, order of the queer coins of Slam, which have a hole In the middle like the Chinese money. But I saw one machine busy .turning out Lincoln pennies at the rate of 100 a minute. The one-cent piece requires a pressure of forty tons to stamp the design on the mttal ; the larger coins, of course, need a heavier pressure, up to 120 tons. THE Mint's wonderful collection of coins and medals of all lands would deserve an article of its own. One of tha rarities of which the curator Is most proud Is a terra cotta medallion of Franklin, made by Nlnl at Chaumont In J777. It Is In perfect condi tion and was bought by the Mint from a New Tork newspaperman. A brand-new ac quisition, only set up within the last faw weeks. Is a case of French military decora tlons Drestnted bv the Frtnch Qovammant I the five grades, of the Legion of .Honor. th '. tour mn4a f tbe.CU 4 Uht Matt tiis) .-? irt1' Medatlle Mllltalre. Near these are the United States military nnd naval medals, a pad and ugly contrast to the dellcnte'nrt of the French trophies I WAS unfortunate In not being lucky enough to meet Superintendent Joyce, under whose administration the Philadelphia Mint tins become the most remarkable place of coinage In the world ; or Mr. Eckfeldt, the nseajcr In chief, who has served the Mint lor fifty-four years and Is the son of (he former nssnjer nnd grandson of the Mint's first "coiner," Adam Eckfeldt. These three generations of Uckfeldts have served the Mint for 123 years. But my friend Mr. Homer L. Pound, the assistant nisayer, who modestly speaks ot his own thirty years ot service ns a mere trifle, had by this time shown me so much that my bmin reeled. He permitted me to change my pocuet money Into brand new coinage of 1019 ns a sou venir, and then I left. And ns for Lenlne and Trotsky, the experience would have kllleC them! IF HORACE HAD BEEN AN ADVERTISING MAN Prof, Drandcr Matthctcs has discovered in a traveling newspaper clipping the fol lowing ode In the classic manner. Reprint ing it in the Bookman) he says it is almost tiorthy of Horace himself. Who wrote Itf ODE Chlpeco thermos dloxjgen, tcmco sonora tuxedo Reslnol flat bacardl, camera ansco wheat- ena; Antiskid pebeco calox, oleo tyco barometer Postum nablsco! Prestollte arco congoleum, karo aluminum kryptok, Crlsco baloptlcon Ijsol, Jello bellans, car borundum! i Ampico cljsmlc swoboda, pantasote necc brltannlca Encyclopedia? What Do You Know? QUIZ What American state Is smaller In ter. rltorlal extent than at the time of Its admission Into the Union? Who was the Republican vice presidential candidate In 1916? xvhat Is an estuary? What Is the first name of General Diaz? How many miles make a lesgue? What Is the meaning of the Latin phrase "Nil desperandum"? What Is a lectern? Ot what state is Oeneral Pershing a native? What Is the longest river In England? In what "play of Shakespeare's does the description ot the "Seven Ages of Man" occur? Amwers to Yeiterday's Quiz 1. W, M. Hughes Is the Premier of the Com. monwealth of Australia, 2. The colors In the flag of the German republic are red, black and gold. 3. Currants derive their name from Corinth, Oreece, In the vicinity of which they have been cultivated Btnce the earliest ages, 4. William M, Thackeray wrote "The Rose and the Ring." E, John Qulncy Adams was known as the "Old Man Eloquent." k 6. Analjels Is the resolution of any thing or Idea Into simple elements. Synthesis has exactly the opposite significance and means the putting together ot tap, arate elements to make a connected whole, ?, Forty-five stnUa have passed the pro hlbttlon amendment, I. Foolscap paper takes Its name from the Italian "fogllo-capo" follo-sUe sheet), 9. Storker Storkerson is a Scandinavian ex plorar who lieaded sn expedition which drifted from Alaska Into the AroUa Ocean on an Ice cake tn orei to eta termlne the course ef Polar currents. 10. A "manana policy" is a dllatory,v"pjf. "manana" being the Ssaftrib tcs ter , " wnaw )' 'i u i -'. &. .,':. r . i ti 'ifi - - rviyjfci l .. ft rVV- t ... ;. ." - -f r LS2M
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers