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, PUBLIU UEVUtM Wffll-An I
l John C, Martin, Vlca rratdnt and Traasurar:
Chsrlaa A. Tjrlar. Sacratarri Char'M It. r,udirif
ten. rblllp 8. Colllna. John II. Williams. John J.
purgcon. Cleorca F. Goldsmith, David K. Bmlltx,
niraatora, i
lPAVTD K. 9Mir.BT Editor
JUHN O. MAKTlN....Unrat Dualnats Manarar
I'ubllshad datlr at Posuo Imin Duliain
Indpsndnca Square. rMUO-lphla.
AtuxTio Cirr ,,.i..nrrsa-Baton DulMInc
Nsw YoaK . S04 Mulliim AM.
Omen TO I Fort ituildtnr
Mr. Lena,, 013 QloU-Drmoorat IlulMlnr
CBtOiao 1302 mount Building
NEWS BUREAUS!
N. K. Cor. Pannayttanl4 Ava and HIS St.
Kcw Tone Draaio.... Tha Sun ltulldlng
.London BotuD..,.M Trafalgar Uulldlna;
sunscniPTio.v terms
Th Eviniku Tnauo Licrxntn la n(J to sub
arrlbera In PhlladalpWa and aurroundlnc towns
at tht rata of twelva (13) cents par weak, payablt
to lha carrlar.
By mall to rolntu outatda of Philadelphia In
tha Unlltd Statu. Canada, or Unltad Statti pos
atalona, postaca fra, fitly (SO) canta par month,
Six (16) dotlara rr yar, pjat! In advance.
To all foralrn countries on (11) dollar a month.
Kotici Sueacrlbara wlihlnr nddraes chanrtd
Tnuat Ilva old as well as new address.
BELL. 1000 TAIMUT KrVSTONE. MAIN 1601
fAddrttt '' f mmunlmtlons to Kt-rnlnji riiFJio
Ir'Agrr, 1 -nt'rtt Ravnrr. Viilnrfrtphfa.
Member- of (ho Associated Press
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS t txcluHvtv en
tltltd to tht use for rrpublicatlm of all nexes
dUoatches trtdittd to It or rot ethtrviae credited
i thh paptr, and also tht local news putHthrd
thertin.
- All rpAf r rtpuWcatlen ef pe(al dispatches
herein art olio r-rn-rf.
DilI.J.lpMi, Fridsr. Stplrmbtr 16. 1921
TO THE REPUBLICAN VOTERS
TUB Republican voters who wish to carry
on the work which they bcean In 1010
and drive the contractor influence from the
party should vote at the primaries on Tues
day for the nomination of the following
candidates:
FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY
SAMUEL P. nOTAN
Mr. Rotan has conducted the affairs
ef his office for several terms with effi
ciency and without scandal, und he has
secured the punishment of adherents of
the contractor machine for complicity In
the murder in the Fifth Ward.
FOR CITY CONTROLLER
EDWIN WOLF
Mr. Wolf is a business man of wide
financial experience and sound judg
ment, lie is his own master, and in
the Controller's office he will not be
subservient either to factional political
or selfish financial influences.
FOR CITY TREASURER
ARTHUR C. GRAHAM
Mr. Graham has had long experience
In handling the funds of the people en
trusted to the care of one of the largest
savings battles In the city. lie Is admir
ably qualified to handle the funds of the
taxpayers In the City Treasury. And
he is pli Iged to do what he cun to end
the abuses of the pernicious fee system.
FOR RECEIVER OF TAXES
COLONEL GEORGE E. KEMP
Colonel Kemp is a soldier with a
splendid record in the World War and
with experience In a civlllnn executive
post which qualifies him beyond ques
tion for handling the business of the
tax office.
FOR REGISTER OF YILLS
VIVIAN FRANK GABLE
Mr. Gable, who is a practicing at
torney, is a candidate for the office
where the Incumbent has received
350,000 in fees which ought to have
gone Into the public treasury to reduce
the taxes. He has committed himself
to opposition to tbo fee system and has
aald that $10,000 a year is alt the re
muneration which the Register should
receive.
FOR JUDGE OF MUNICIPAL COURT
JOHN II. MAL'RER
Mr. Maurer Is the Assistant District
Attorney who was knocked down by the
thugs in the Fifth Ward in the fight
which resulted in murder. He is a cap
able lawyer who should make a good
Judge.
The Republican voters who believe in pro
gressive government, and In providing a
Constitution to insure it, should also vote
"Yes" on the proposition to hold a constitu
tional convention, and should vote for the
Bomlnatlou of delegates to that convention.
AT POINT BREEZE
LOSSES of life and property in successive
fires at the great Point Breeze oil plant
have been so great in recent years as to
deprive the suggestion of official negligence
of any weight. It is to be presumed that
practical as well as humane considerations
inspire care and precaution in the operation
of the plant. And yet some sort of Inquiry
should be directed with a view to the pre
vention of tragedies like thut which occurred
on Wednesday afternoon.
Like many other great industrial organi
zations, the Point Breeze oil works have been
extended and elaborated in recent years to
meet extraordinary demands. The business
of oil production and refinement has been
revolutionized in a decade.
It is easy to suppose, therefore, that in
the process of expausion under pressure
come of tho rules of scientific plant con
struction aud management may have been
disregarded. Fires and explosions at Point
Breeze arc tragically frequent. They must
be enormously costly to the owning cor
poration. The recent loss of llfo in such
accidents is staggering.
To an observer on the outside it would
seem that sonjctliiug is radically wrong
somewhere in tha physical structure of tho
plant. Whatever that something Is, it ought
to be corrected.
CITY COMMITTEE'S FUNCTION
fTUIH Republican City Committee is not a
JL nominating organization. So far ns it
participates In nominations its sole business
is to exert Itself to see that there is a free
vote and a fair count in the nominating
primaries.
Yet Thomas W. Cunninghum has issued
formal statement in which he bays that
"certain men arc pushed forward for office
to defeat the candidates who have
and will have the support of the regularly
elected Republican City Committee of this
dty."
Mr. Cunningham knows that while tho
Ejembers of the committeo are free as indi
viduals to work for the nomination of any
candidates that please them, the committee
ittelftusurps power that does not belong to
it when It seeks to bring about the nomina
tion of any one.
It is no crime for the Republican voters
to attempt to nominate their own candi
dates. The primary system was established
in order to give this opportunity to them,
For the members of the City Committee to
charge the voters with insurgency because
tbsy seek to name their own candidates is
almost as preposterous as it would be for
a Judge to charge a defendant in court with
resisting the processes of tba-lator when he
entered testimony to prove 'that the charges
gainst him were unfounded.
Mrs. Ailerons, who is serving on a com
ulttee of citizens working for the nomina
tion of the Voters' League ticket while bold
'hut an office in the Republican City Com
Mkte, s pursuing the right eoure. She
i not entangling the committee, which Is
jK!pfjarto represent all, the Republicans,
,,.
with the legitimate contest within the party
orer the choice of candidates for office.
Whoever are nominated, It will be tho
business of the City Committee to work for
their election!
T. KUNNINGHAM HURLS UP
A NEW INVISIBLE EMPIRE
Another Man Who Would Do King
Marches Away Under the Symbol
of the Fiery Dollar-Mark
ONE of tlrcse flue days, when all the
works of civilization ore nlcelv reduced
to ruin and there is no law, no government,
no troubling sense of decency and social
obligation to inhibit independent and lively
minds, every man will be Emperor of his
own Invisible Empire. He will bo his own
Grand Goblin, his own kligrapp, his own
kodo and kokokola and his own President
rid Congress and Supreme Court.
Life will be worth living then.
No one will be bored. One may brighten
dull hours by putting on one's regalia and
murdering tho neighbors' children or bun
Ing the landlord at the stoke provided that
one have the requisite energy and prowess.
One will be one's own Kleagle, and so every
citizen may experience the delight of paying
money to himself instead of to a hard -eyed
professional dollar snatchcr.
Rut the sweet millennium is still In the
distant future. Folk who go a-klcngllng
nowadays run great risks of unpleasant con
flicts with less enterprising people.
That is why wc arc moved to mourn for
the hitherto esteemed T. Kunningham, sage
of the Tenth Ward, nnd to look on with
misgivings as he deserts Penrose for the
Vores and withdraws from the midst of his
friends to sit alone upon n political nioun
taintop nnd there hoist the sign of tho flery
dollar-mark or is it to bo a blazing ace of
diamonds? over an invisible empire that he
hopes to make his very own. For T.
Kunningham is sure to encounter many
perils and hardships upon this wild ad
venture. It should surprise no one If he comes
tottering back without his watch or his
hat, crying aloud for shelter and for balm
upon his wounds. Imperial Wizard Vnro is
hot the sort of autocrat who Is likely to
share his authority with an alien. Aud the
realm over which he rules Is filled with
savnge and hungry minor kleagles and
kodos nnd Kligrapps and kokokolas and
kioknrds who are pretty sure to have buckets
of tar and a world of feathers for any one
who presumes to disturb the order of Im
perial succession in which they move up
ward to eminence and power.
What is Exalted Cyclops Hall saying In
his secret soul about this new candidate for
the regency? What will the political kluxers
do to tho Judge when they get him alone?
It is not pleasant to dwell on these things
even in imagination.
The Judge is a lover of liberty. He Is
the champion of oppressed pony players.
In the school of politics to which lie belongs
it is held that every man, woman and child
in this community has an unqualified, au
unalienable right to the wholesome exercise
of the right wrist that is to be obtained by
free play at the game known as leaping
dominoes.
In the Invisible Empire to which he is
now declaring allegiance there are a lot of
klenglcs and kligrapps and kokokolas aud
klokards who pledge themselves" to restore
full aud free liberty of action to down
trodden drug peddlers nnd the merchants
of vice.
T. Kunningham's ambitions and hit pride
seem, therefore, to be leading him into bad
company. Sternly, resolutely, he goes nwny.
Thnt is regrettable because the Judge is in
many ways an alluring figure. lie orna
ments political campaigns. Ho carries with
him a pleasant air of old times.
It is a pity to sec him moving into an
unknown wilderness like n lonely explorer
striding off to be nu Imperial Wizurd in the
mystic cave of the Vares, where the tur is
always boiling for such as he.
One is reminded again of the babe in the
woods. One feels that flags ought to be
half-masted. But it would be better to
have a committee appointed to succor T.
Kunningham in the days of ills disillusion
ment unless he be eaten alive before he
can return to civilization.
With great interest wc shall watch the
progress of this intrepid man toward the
throne of nn Imperial Wizard, his encoun
ters with clumps of untamed political klea
gles. We would earnestly advise him to
keep one hand on his wallet and the other
on his cenrfpin while lie is away.
It is only fair to assume that T. Kun
ningham has answered the call of what he
considers a great cause.
Bootleggers, vice promoters, gambling
syndicates, grafters and extortionists clamor
piteously for the freedom that is denied
them. In the bright millennium when every
mau is his own Imperial Wizard and his
own Kleagle, and when tarring and feather
ing lire taught in the public schools, every
one will be free to do as ho likes. There
will bi- no police, no courts, no need for
order. Murder, violence, gambling, vice,
drug syndicates will be unchecked, of course.
But the mistake of men ho set up in
visible empires of one sort or another now
adays is to suppose that civilization can be
perfected in a day. It can't. We shall
have to wait and, he patient.
In the invisible empire of Imperial Wizard
Varo the arrival of T. Kunningham will bo
regarded us an act a -contribution of High
Providence in a time of need. Doubtless
It will he signalized by tho usual klux salute
to suckers, which is three whistles and a
groan, given when money is paid into a
klcagle's hand. That singular exercise is
one In which the whole voting population
should and probably will Join as tho
Tenth Ward's cherished sage departs on his
journey into the mists.
MAGNANIMITY AND FACTS
fflUTAONANIMOUS Incidents" repeatedly
A'-'- engaged the attention of a nativo
philosopher who saw llfo not so much bit
terly as completely. It wus Mark Twuin'B
emphatic contention that the conventional
snappy anecdote of "the books" and the
overswcctcncd happenings of actual ex
istence were Incompletely narrated.
Thero was, for instance, tbo tnlo of the
"benevolent physician," who, marveling at
the gratitude of dumb animals, set tho leg
of a stray dog, brought to his office by an
other cur whose Injuries ho had treated the
day before.
This is tho alleged conclusion of this
pious legend, but tho scrutinizing bnmorist
was unsatisfied. His fancy roamed to tho
third day, when tho two dogs returned with
a damaged comrade. Tbo quantity of
canines increased by arithmetical progres
sion until tho pavement was lined with dogs
and "the people wcro walking around."
At that juncture the benevolent physi
cian, unaole toyfrtolcrate the cacophonic
EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER-
barking of his patients, hcavcdVa brick at
tho original visitor, which immediately
leaped upon his benefactor, repaying him
with a fatal doso of rabies.
Consider tho once much-discu6sed Splker'
family and .the "romance" of tho spectacu
larly generous Guy, who wedded tho mother
of his brother's child and pledged himself
to raise tho offspring as his own.
Tho once grateful recipient of these
farofs, the present Mrs. Guy Splker, has
vanished. "She went," declares the Splker
who sought to repair his errant brother's
misdeeds, "and she can stay."
This time the nnccdotc, not literary but
actual, is concluded.
To he extracted from this now finished
chain of circumstances is not so much the
deduction that life is wormwood as thai
it is snot all treacle.
THE MAYOR'S CAS PLAN
THE ordinance which Mayor Moore sub
mitted to tho City Council yesterday
afternoon provides a practicable and busi
ness -like way to end the gas muddle.
Tho Maltble Gas Commission, which tho
Mayor wishes to continue In order that it
may enter into negotiations with tho United
Gas Improvement Company and work out
In outline a satisfactory contract, is well
fitted for the task. It is composed of ex
perts and business men with no interest
other than the ascertainment of the truth.
The commission has already spent some
months in studying the relation of the gas
company to the city nnd tho manufacture
of gas. It has substantially nil the data
at hand needed to guide it In laying down
the general principles on which a new con
tract should he dratted.
The ordinance Involves no trespass on
the rights of the Couucil. That body must
paBS upon whatever contract is made. The
contract olso will have to be approved by
the City Solicitor. The ordinance merely
summons to the task men with special
knowledge nnd impartial judgment.
Its adoption would mean that in a few
months there would be before Council a
specific proposition regarding new terms on
which the city gas plant Is to bo operated,
together with definite plans for the protec
tion nnd enlargement of the plant to meet
the demands upon It.
There is no good reason why the ordi
nance should not be adopted.
MR. KENDRICK'S LAURELS
WFREELAND KENDRICK may rest
assured no one will care to question
his statement that he has collected twice
as much in taxes at tho end ns at the be
ginning of his term. Nor Is it likely that
many persons will covet such glory as may
be won by functioning under a regime of
greatly Increased assessments. Mr. Kcn
driclt's laurels are secure.
The financial burdens of the citizens of
Philadelphia have grown heavier and the
present Receiver of ' Taxes and mnehino
candidate for renomination hns, in con
formity with law, collected tho required
sums. His duty was commonplace. It is
his presumable ambitions which are so frank
as to be unconventional.
Who knows to what point taxes may not
be raised should tho Contractor Combino
retain its partial grip upon the community?
In that case, and from Mr. Kendrick's
standpoint, business In the Tax Office would
inevitably be flourishing.
As a super-publican, however, this offi
cial must bewure of vanity. It Is not ho
nlone who hns caused the tax rote to ascend.
The credit must bo divided among the com
ponents of the whole machine, however ar
dently he moy seek to win nil.
The public Is not deceived. It simply
interprets Mr. Kendrick as the official who
rejoices when the levies go up.
That understanding should bo enough for
any politician.
THE OLDEST DELUSION
NATIONS nnd Governments, like children
in nurseries, seem unable even now to
realize that they cannot have their cake
and cat it. -
'Hint is why it is difficult to make the
machinery of the League of Nations operate
efficiently in the interest of peace nnd a
better civilization.
When the war was running nnd burning
the world some wise rm-n decided that nil
future generations should be protected from
similnr catastrophes. It was admitted that
war was the greatest of all human afflictions.
It was agreed that It could be prevented if
evcrj country would make some small sac
rifice fur the world's deliverance.
In return for the sacrifice of some bit of
territory or some coveted commercial privi
lege or some small shred of nntional pride
all lands were to be made safe forever from
the ever-present danger of slaughter and
extermination. The war wos on then nnd
the plan for a new system of international
relationships seemed heaven-sent.
Times have' chained. Chile recently
threatened to quit the League because it was
suggested that she give up a bit of Bolivian
territory, once achieved by violence, because
it makes friendship between Chileans and
Bolivians difficult.
Hjalmar IJrunting, representative of
Sweden In the League Assembly nt Geneva,
created a scene. He charged that the award
of the Aland Islands to Finland wns unfair.
Sweden doesn't really need the Aland
Islands. But It cannot bear to give them
up. And there ou nre.
What Do You Know?
QUIZ
1. What animal Is useil ns money?
2. Who said. "A lifetime of hnpplnss : no
man allvo could bear it : It would bo
hell on enrth"?
3 When did Oliver Cromwell die?
4. Distinguish between impropriation and
cxpioprlntlon
5. Which Is the Buckeye State?
6 DIstliiKUlsh between ort-'les nnd ogees.
7 Who was tho orlBlnal Little Eva in the
play of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?
8. Why is tho phraso "guerrilla warfaro"
redundant?
9. Who wns Old Chrome?
10 What world-famous poet died 600 yeara
ago this nutumn?
Answers to Yesterday's Quiz
1. Hermann Ludwlg Ferdinand von Helm-
holtz, the Oermnn physiologist, phys
icist nnd specialist In optics, declared,
"The oye has every possible defect that
can be found In nn optical Instrument
and oven some peculiar to Itself."
2. Elijah was tho Hebrew prophot who even
tually ascended to heaven In a chariot
of flro. Ellshn, also a Hebrew prophet,
was his friend and successor.
3. Tho battle of Cowpens. In the American
Revolution, tnkes Its name from the
town of Cowpens, In South Carolina.
It resulted In n decisive victory of tho
Americans undor Morgan over the
British under Tnrleton on January 17,
1781,
4. The Out or fitralt of Canso la the sea.
passage which sepnrates the mainland
of Nova Scotia from Cape. Breton
Island.
6. Darwin's "Origin of Species" was first
published In 18D9
0. The four names by which the Swiss
peoplo know their own country are
Bchwelz (Oermnn), Suisse (French),
Bvlzxcra (Italian) and Helvetia
(Latin).
7. Tho parents of Edward VII of Oreat
Britain were Albert, the Prlnco Con
sort, and Queen Victoria.
8. The Ohio Vnlloy was tho original homo
of the Klckapoo Indians.
9. Ilosecrans was a distinguished general on
the Federal side In tho Civil War.
Itoscncrantz Is the name of a treacher
ous and sycophantic courtier in
Shakespeare's "Hamlet" Ha Is espe
cially tho companion of Oulldenstern.
10. The motto of West Virginia Is "Montanl
Semper Llberl" ('Mouptalneers Always-
A' A -.'. i
rrs!"
- - ) - - -vf
PHIIADELPHIAV FRIDAY,
AS ONE WOMAN SEES IT
Horrors of Railroad Travel Compared
to Travel by Automobile) How
Invention Opens Another Door
Whenever Ono Shuts
By SARAH D. LOWRIE
LAST autumn I traveled for ten days,
with stop-overs for a consecutive night
and day or two nt some pleasant Inn or
clubhouse. This nutumn I hare dono tho
same, only this tlmo I stayed with friends
who were prolonging their holidays in some
agrccabla, cottage or summer camp. The
cost of encli trip was about the same, but
between the resttulness of tho one and tho
other there wns no comparison. On the
first trip the journey was accomplished by
a motor ; on the last It was done by trains.
Even by paying tho cxtrn fnro for an entire
section, and by heavy feeing of porters for
the transportation of one's baggage by hand,
so as to avoid the delay of checking; even
though one beguiled tho lorig waits between
connections by taking a room nnd a bath at
some near-by hotel in order to get back self
respect after the horrors of the train dress
ing room; even though one hailed taxis to
avoid the uncertainty of unknown strcct-crir
routes, and even though one's destination
was some pleasant, well-appointed room in
a friend's house, tho fact remains that tha
complication of traveling by railroad over a
wide area of country is growiugly tiresome
nnd vexatious, due not to the traveling
public, not to the railroad employes of tho
subordinate sort, but to tho stupidity and
petty grnspliigncss of the railroad manage
ment. AT A time
compctitl
time when prlrato motors arc in
organized way of traveling, tho railroad
officials who mane the policy of tho roau
seem to havo gono out of their way to throw
the advantage of prior possession into the
discard and to make their companies' mode
of transporting tho public as inconvenient
nnd ns expensive ns possible.
The restrictions about selling tickets, the
ban of return tickets, the Jong wnlts at tho
ticket windows, the impossibility of buying
sleeping car reservations or in most cases
chair-car seats, without an nccompnnylng
railroad ticket; tho arbitrary restrictions
about the office where Buch accommodations
arc to bo procured with any certainty in
regions where summer travel Is heaviest, the
congested baggage conditions where trunks
have to bo transported between stations
through cities, tho lock of team play between
railroads of different management, the dirt
and crowd In tho inadequate stations, tho
slap-dash uusavoriness of the expensive
meals In both stations and trains, the rough
and tiresome handling of sleeping cars at
junctions, when they arc shunted like coal
cars from one branch line to another ; the
curious custom of making up the beds In a
sleeping car beforo its passengers board the
train, so that whether it is early or late the
travelers havo no place to sit as the train
moves out of the station, the overcrowded
state of the day cars, gorging and disgorging
their local clientele, so that on a long day's
journey a through ppsscnger Is driven to
at least try for a chair-car In order to
escape tho fatigue of constant coming and
going in the less expensive and better-aired
one.
WE BOAST bo much In this country about
our modern comforts, but wc offer In
our ordlnnry day coaches neither the comfort
nor the Independent privacy of a sccojid
'lass railroad carriage in Europe. And for
the complications of nn extended tour
through New England or the Middle States
or tho Middle West, except In the offices of
the great cities Philadelphia, New York,
Boston nothing any longer approaching n
round -trip ticket with the accompanying
reservations is possible to procure.
For the return trip one Is nt the mercy
of little local agencies with authority over
but n small radius of the complicated scries
of connections. Lm then, in his small beat
of authority, ho has nn apologetic air of
having disposed of all his wares. Ten days
before the date of my departure fiom Bar
Harbor there was only an upper berth on
the night train to Boston available, nnd
thut was when the tide of travel hod not
turned south with any concerted motion.
MOST day trains from Boston for New
York Stnte country resorts or for the
Whlto or llio Green or the Adirondack
Mountains would logically leave Boston
around 0 A. M., nnd one would suppose thnt
from a center like Mount Desert or Portland
or the Rangelcys trains going south to Bos
ton, with summer travel as t'lelr raison
d'etre, would cnlculate on that peculiarity
of an early morning departure and arrange
their schedules accordingly. But trains
from Maine nrrlve an hour too late for any
morning train unywherc out of Boston, so
thnt in order to go from North East Harbor,
let us say, to Lake Pine Id, N. Y., it was
twelve hours shorter to go all tho wny to
New York and then up again via Albany to
tho Lnkn Champlnin route shorter in time
and less expensive und involving fewer
changes of stations.
WITH the question of delays such as this
nnd the trouble nbout learning what nro
tho avalluhlo connections and nccommodn
tions and tho trouble of procuring them all
eliminated, one has in the motor still other
advantages not to be ignored. The case of
the departure ond the at rival, tho simplifi
cation of the question of baggage, the ex
change of inns lor sleeping cars nnd wayside
teahouses for station restaurants, not to
speak of train dining cars ; the lutlmntc and
yet protected participation in thu life of the
countryside through which ono journeys, the
amusement one can pick up from local color
ing in the event of dclajs incident to re
palrs, tho pleased sense of adventure, with
nothing cut nnd dried, not even one's exact
destination for the night ; the difference of
the point of view of a town or villngo seen
from the tracks of a railroad and seen In tho
park suburbs of the "Blue Book Route";
and, most of nil, the difference physically
between breathing the fresh iiir under open
skies nnd the heavy, tobacco-human-sccnted
air of a railroad car.
It Is quite true thnt when a motor does
let you down twenty miles from nnywbere
you nro in n fix thnt makes the stale horrors
of a sleeping car seem momentarily prefer
able; but In tho retrospect, even though I've
known tho blank ilespnlr engendered by
broken axles, cut rims, clny-rutted detours,
rain-sodden dirt highways and a short-circuited
electric system, there Is no comparison
in cither the pleasure, tho health or tho
stored memories between tho one experienco
and tbo other,
THE cost of running a big fivo-paesengcr
car is, I am told, nbout twelve cents a
mile, Including the wear and tear, gas
and oil.
This divided among four persons, two of
whom can take turns driving the car. brings
the cost per day's Journey to u little below
the average railroad fare and iucldentnl ex
penses of baggage, fees, Pullman accommo
dations, etc.
Thanks to the less expensive cars, motor
travel Is not the perquisite of the very rich
or tho very well-to-do even, but excopt for
business or local uses the truvel by railroad
Is becoming season by season more und more
prohibitive. Ford enrae along with his
"flivver" certainly In tho nick of tlmel We
are slowly fulfilling the undent prophecy:
"When wishes are horses, then beggars shall
ridel"
AFTER all, civilization does take caro of
us oftener than not! When tho for
ests began to go back on us coal was die
covered, when the miners began to go hack
on us electricity began to take coal's place.
New York State Is spending more than a
million in a survey of her lake and stream
resources, with a view to turning all her
steam plants .into electric plants, and in
California there Is a plan afoot to dynamite
two small mountains and dam a river that
will supply tho whole of California with the
"great whlto power."
Tbo stupidity of ope set of public purveyors-
Is the opportunity of nnother, nnd in
the end tho great cngcr public gets served
better and cheaper; as, the generations go by,
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NOW MY IDEA IS THIS
Daily Talks With Thinking Philadelphia on Subjects They
Know Best
w. A. G. FOX
On Building and Loan Development In
Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA always has been known
ns the City of Homes, and the many
prosperous building nnd loan associations
which it contains have done a large part
toward bringing nbout this enviable condi
tion of affairs. In the opinion of W. A. G.
Fox, who Is connected with a largenumber
of these organizations.
"No city in the United Stntcs." said Mr.
Fox. "in any wny approaches Philadelphia
In tho number of persons who own their
own homes. It seems to be a characteristic
of Philodelphiuns that they greatly prefer
to live in their own homes rather thuu in
apartments.
"Tho city during the war, when building
of houses was practically suspended, ex
perienced n 'raid' which was caused by
speculators bujing rows of houses nnd then
'pyramiding' them ; thnt is, selling them
.and trading them to each other. Tills went
on to nn almost Incredible degree, nnd in ono
transaction of which I had pc-sonal knowl
edge tho sixth deed of transfer was being
made out before tho first of the deeds was
off the records.
"This could not havo been dono unless
there was sonic nlace to net tho money for
the mortgages between the sum which would
lie loaned on the property by u reputable
bank nnd tho cash which the buyer wns
forced to pay for the property.
"The building nnd loan associations were
In some degree called upon to meet this
unprecedented demand for funds. Unfortu
nately, some of this got Into tho hnnds of
the hpcculntors. but ultimately It reached the
hnnds of the buyers, which was tho real ob
ject for which these associations were
formed.
"The speculative buyers would purchnso
hotiBcs nt a given figure and then, duo to
tho Inflated and fictitious value which wns
placed upon nearly every kind of dwelling,
would force the ultimate purchnser, who in
many cases hail to have some place to live,
to purchase the house at a sum far beyond
Its real worth.
Refused to Aid .Speculators
"But the building and loan associations
refused to lend their aid to the speculators,
and lu those troublous times, when borrow
ers came to our offices, the first question
which they were asked was whether they
wanted money for speculative purposes or
whether they were buying a homo for them
selves. Upon tho answer to that question
depended whether or not they received the
money.
"The aim of tho building nnd loan asso
ciations is to help a man buy his own home.
Tho plans nro so arranged thut a man. fcr
prnctleolly the same amount which ho pays
to a landlord, will In tlmo become tho owner
of his property, provided he has about 20
per cent of the solo price in cash.
"In such a case the association assumes
tho mortgago nnd tho member makes peri
odic payments to tho association. At the
usual rato the second mortgage Is' paid11 off
entirely In nbout eleven nnd n half years.
After this tho owner may extend tho first
mortgage and take part of it in the building
nnd loon, or he may create a reserve by
taking free stock In the association, which
when it matures will give him a good start
In the payment of tho first mortgage. Tills
Is, In brief, tho method and the plun upon
which the associations are based,
"Tho great difference between tho build
ing nnd loan and other forms of saving Is
that the payments mubt bo mada upon n
certain day; If they nro not paid then tho
member is penalized. They must contluuo
with the amount with which they start, and
tho payments must bo regular.
"Tho building and loan associations have
probably aided more men to obtnln a clear
title to their own homes than any other or
ganization in the United States. Ono of its
strongest features Is that tho associations
are purely co-operative. It Is amazing thnt
fifteen men of tho caliber of those making
up the directorates of tho associations can
always be found who will give so much of
their time. Interest and careful attention to
the management of its affairs. These direc
tors give their services, and tho only ones
who aro compensated for their work aro the
secretary and treasurer.
"Most men who go Into tho building and
loan associations aro men who aro deter
mined to stick it out to tho end, and there
fore the number of lapses Is relatively very
small. But there have been instances where,
for no reason over which the member had
control, such ns illness, long periods of un
foreseen m.empl(rmcnt, etc., It becntno im
possible for him co continue his payments.
In thcte cases. If a member had a reasonnblo
equity in tbo property, the loan wos read
justed, "The last thing in the world which a
building nnd loan association wants is to
acquire real estate. This forms no part of
the plan of the association and It Is not In
any manner equipped for handling it.
"It is true thnt In some rare cases the
association has been Imposed upon In its
zeal to aid worthy members, but ns the
associations confine their loans to actual
purchubcrs of homes, it Is bcldom that this
occurs.
"It would bo a highly different matter if
tho associations loaned their resources for
speculative purposes. The Bpeculator gets
out the instant there is a pinch, but the
teal home buyer will sacrifice anything
prospects, business or nlmost auythlnn else
before he will part with his partly paid for
home.
Aro Honestly Administered
"There is another remarkable phabo in
connection with the building and loan asso
ciations, aud that Is the scrupulous honesty
with which their nffnlr.s are administered.
In tho State of Pennsylvania thero is be
tween vWOO.OOO.OOO and $400,000,000 In
vested in building nnd loan organizations, of
which bum nearly CO per cent Is in Phila
delphia. In tho handling of this large sum
of money only u small fraction of 1 per cent
lias ever been lost due to the mlshnndllng or
misappropriation on the part of tha em
ployes or directors. This fact testifies more
plainly than words can to thu caliber of the
men who have their nffnirs In charge. The
losses to the associations are comparatively
nothing,
"In bplte of the vast number of men now
out of employment, due to the business de
pression which bus racked the country for
months pabt, there have been no abnormal de
inniuls on our funds, but tho system upon
which tho associations are founded is
hugely responsible for this unusual and sat
isfactory condition.
"An iibeociution which wns originally
formed for the encouragement of thrift in a
large industrial plnnt, for example, might find
Itself In nu abnormal situation If tho plnnt
bhut down, nnd hnvo many withdrawals. But
the home-owner Is usually a good workman
nnd thrifty as well ; lie is thrifty because he Is
a good workmnn, nnd lie Is to some extent a
good workman becnuso be Is thrifty. The
two go together. Therefore in slack times
ho is one of tho last men to be laid off, and
as a result ho Is able to keep up his pay
ments. Tho great life insurance companies
"dmlt that tho caliber of tho members of tho
building and loan associations is far nbovo
thnt of tho average mechanic.
"The objects of tho associations nro
elenrly set fortli in thu picambles of nil tho
best organizations. They state that the ob
ject is tho accumulation of a fund by peri
odic payments which shall reduce tho num
ber of months necessary to mnko eueh share
of the stock worth Its par value.
"Of course, In such an organization wo
hnvo to have a largo number of Investors to
tnke care of tho much smaller number of
borrowers. 1 lio very first association wns
a small group of men, none of whom had
money enough to build his own home. They
agreed to pay In a regular sum each pay-
inent. nay, aim tiicn drew lots for the first
to hnvo his homo built, continuing until nil
had their own houses built nnd paid for.
This co-operative principle remains as tho
foundation stono of the associations today.
I he number of associations Is amazing.
In the Inst compiled reports (1017) there
were in tho Statu of Pennsylvania U080
building and loan associations, with u total
is'Sw 'feS11',0' (177'011 Pe"n. who owned
0,.iiu,.ibU bhares, an average of about eight
to tho member. In one year tho number of
homes built or purchased wus 117,308
"During the Inst couple of years this
figure has been equaled in Philadelphia
alone. Tho demand hns been tremendous
and tho only renson that tho figures were not
larger was becuuso we couldu't L-et th
money. fc k ",u
"In every revenue bill of tho Federal Gov
eminent for tho last five years thero has
been a provision taxing building ami lou,i
shares. But when the tremendous work of
tho nbspclations was shown to tho Govern
mcut the proposed tax wos taken out of
tho law In committeo and was never even
reported. In the Liberty Loans the Govern
ment s mply adopted the btilldlnc n.,,1 i ..
CS?,bfll!Sll.,l,n,IM U t0 "" ' ltcd
SHORT CUTS j
The virtue of tho Invisible Empire also
appears to be invisible.
President Harding and Bill Johnston
may now condolo with each other.
Bill Tildcn is perhaps no better than
Bill Johnston, but there is more Of him, ,
When Cunningham says Penrose, hai
been betrayed by his friends, may it be con
sidered expert testimony? ,
'
One can sympathlzo with Maelyu Ar
buckle's dcslro to let the world know that
he is not related to a certain other fat man:
Diplomatic conversation between China
nnd Japan Is somewhat hampered by China's
inability to refrain from seeing a Joker it
Japan's proposals.
The keel has been laid In Gloucester lot
n Japanese navy ship; mciely, we suppose,
as on evidence of faith in tho coming Limi
tation of Armament Conference.
It Is a little disquieting to realize till
there aro unmoral persous a-plenty who an
already planning Infractions of the law In
order to win n warm home for tho winter.
Great Britain's delegation to the Limi
tation of Armament Conferenco may cauM
tho cynicnl to argue that she does not tail
the matter ns seriously as she might.
A Springfield, Mo., man, mistaking Ml
mother for n chicken thief, shot and killed
her. He will now subscribe to the belle!
that there nre more fools behind guns than
knaves in front of them. '
An Omaha, Neb., woman forty-oni
years old is the mother of twenty-two chili
dron ; hut we'll bet fifteen cents that th
President won't write congratulating her o
the fact. One learns from experience.
Berlin having lifted tho seven yenri
ban on the language, a tenor will sing thi
rolo of Mepblsto in "Faust" in French. The
rest of tho cast will sing, in German. Dot
this is not the first tlmo French has raised
the iluvil with the Hclnics.
Tho Methodist Ministerial Association
objects to a Constitutional Convention be
cuuse it might result lit an attempt to lutrot
duco a Continental Sabbath,j. It was some
such thought born n million years ago that
has mado tbo oyster so poor a traveler.
There is something natvo in the er;
pressed desire of West "Virginia coal opera
tors thnt Federal Investigators postpone opt
orations until after thu trial of Indlctw
miners In Williamson. It doesn't seem t
occur to them that that la ono of tho mati
ters in need of investigation,
England has Just completed an armored
aerial battleship, weighing ten tons, with'
machine-gun gallery and a carrying caPac!y
embracing several hundred pounds of boniM.
The world hrW moved rapidly during t?
last few years: Nothing could nave dccu
more fanciful in n newspaper of twenty yen"
ago than tho sober sooth of today. ,
A Jugo-SIav, tils wife and three chlk
drcn arrived In this country three weeks ap
and established a homo in Cincinnati. AjW
other son, eighteen years old, delayed w
Illness, arrived here Saturday and was
turned back because the Immigrant iu0ta. ,0'
September from his country had W'
reached. His parents wcro not even allowed
on tho ship to say good-by to him.
strlctlon of Immigration may bo dcslraDie.
The application of tho present laW '
heartless as It Is nonsensical.
Blessed bo the bull,
Adversity's Jeivols He Is a benefactor to,
man. Tho reason M
eats grain, fruit and vegetables Is so tnai
hq may wax fat and tempt tho birds to
ment diet. This year, nlas ! he Is scarce,
and tho birds have become vcgetarlnn.
Blessed ho tho bug I We have met and
hnvo mlbsed him Blessed bo the w
weevil! Ho Is a political economist niw
beloved by the merchant. Long has ho
maligned by cotton growers, 'lhey na ,
perfectly unreasonable dislike for ,,lJJlJ'ri
ii! uui ini iiieir proms, iuw i" (,'' 1
nlzo him as a profit booster. JIM'?S!?JJf
"You get more knlo for cyery bale." WujhJ
no mo poll weevil ,i.,..iiesscu - -f-ensq
germ! Eh? Oh, well, perhaps jm
ttra right, lltit, who Knows f "v v'jj
MOU
1
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