Subscribers enjoy higher page view limit, downloads, and exclusive features.
‘| and West Boint thrown open to them. ™. itain g medium in s and press dvertisers. .13 at Hota- "St. and_Broad- ; Board Walk, artford’ depot. 3 CALLS. i cah take his eagle ean 'situation long ospection into his is generally ‘some §he project. * Now e A.miapollsward nblon of intro- sm" in that | tion. TAs it fen any honor time ~ .our el has’ taken West Point * is He plan ‘that is ¢ Washington, but! 1 statesmen that e g00se is also very. f health’ of ‘the gan- (Hudson: river boys same - medicine on the Severn. aa:{s. If true, Point and An- tterly devoid ! not- 2, papers. likely to hap- ated institutions been said by a that nearly ‘every } the country turns er year who pass olely through the essors, that the pro- who stand the the students. of regulating easily fixed. ; However, is a very f If there is no honor T Annapolis, all the id by congress will those places. Honor re a matter of train- on than anything else. jeussion of West Point at this time is bound be of much good, feelings of the young leading military schools ytry are hurt or whether {laugh the while thing s'the time when national is in the air. It is being e highways and byways in the churches, schools, ither gathering places of "It means that ultimately \ fve more students in An- @ West Point than are gd in those places today. se we need more officers in and navy. Then, if con- concerned about the honor In who are to take their g the elect, the midship- he West Pointers, it should ttention to the manner in 3 material is gathered. he present method is so or anything like that. t it is inadequate. It is vith odious politics. And cs enters efficiency flies idow. If our Uncle Sam is terested in West Point and at the present writing why evise some means of aug- ¥ forces at those two . giving _every American :ally: and ‘mentally capable, devote himself to those [ is a crying shame that the Annapolis and West Point elosed so long to so many ‘ournigsters, boys who have flbétion but onhe—political By .2 young man has n his heart the one great ‘serve Uncle Sam as an € army or the navy. And le Sam who is now so honor of the men at turned a deaf ear to of these lads, and they other walks of life and their services rnered. by the t is'the type of las up the military life as o il ‘'more than be ‘est - Point or Annapolis. these fellows a chance. d besno formulation .of 1l honor systems if these _are allowed to. carry Q. When a man cen- nd soul on an ever goes i has.mecomplished his Would be:the case with !'ins ‘of boys whose g because their ‘San Francisco. grudge this flood of prosperity flow- “if any - city, ‘the 'good wishes of the people of the 'was not .so - very many years' when: ers have not sufficient political in- fluénce to hdve the gates of Annapolis The man Who stands’in the halls of congress at the next session and ad- vocates a change in this *system” will be the hero of more than he kKnows. e e WELL DESERVED SUCCESS. It is an ill will that blows no good. And no matter how ill the wind there is always someone to garner their share of the good. For evidence, we present.: the case of « San Francisco and its mammoth fair.: An- nouncement has come from that di- rection that the debt incurred by the management of the fair has been wiped off the books, that the $1,200,- 000 mortgage has been burned, and that there are great prospects of pay- ing back to the city of San Francisco the $5,000,000 it donated and the same amount advanced, gratis, by:the state.- All this prosperity is directly attributed:to the present. European War and its effect upon American travel. Up to date more than fifteen million people’ have’ visited the expo- sition, and that great spectacle has yet: more than three months to do business. In the remaining time it is thought by those who should know ‘that, the fair will have attained . 2 financial’ mark. never before reached by any exposition in the world. Thus do we see exemplified the age old adage at the top of this commenta- tion... . While to be deplored by all human' ' beings ‘ the' ‘world over, the war -has at least brought.its good to And no one will be- ing in.through the Golden Gate, For, in ‘the ‘country needed ‘United States it is San Franci!coA It that wonderful: city: of ' the.'Western coast was almost completely demol- ished by earthquake and fire. And out of the ruins there has sprung a newer and better San Francisco. The up building of California’s famous stamping ground is a matter of pride in engineering circles. Only the building of the Panama Canal stands as its rival in work of this kind. To one who has been there both before and after the fire the wonderful ac- complishment is noticeable. The great change that has spread over the features of the city fills and thrills the heart of the old San Franciscan with somewhat of sorrow, for many of the land marks of other days have been obliterated, ‘and the new has taken the place of the old. But withal there is a sense of pride in what has been done, a feeling that the entire United States of America took on new life because of the example set by the | native sons in rebuilding their city. And this is true. Whenever - the bad blows in on those proverbial ill winds and destroys an American city, there is not much time lost in re- building. San Francisco -has -indeed paved the way for this spirit of re- juvenation, so to speak, and for that she deserves great credit. This is why every American today will give thanks that the fair has been a finan- cial as well as a social success and ! that San Francisco has at last come into its own. If the fair could be held open for thirteen more months, in- stead of the allotted three, there would be many more pilgrims from this section of the country who would wend their way westward. “BREAKERS AHEAD.” Within the next week or ten days the Demacratic leaders will meet in Washington to apportion the various committees. This work is the great trouble breeder of all Congresses and upon the shaulders of the leader us- ually rests all the stigma that at- taches to disappointment. But the Democrats will have it comparatively easy this time inasmuch as they are fairly well organized. They have a majority working basis and, under the unwritten law in this matter they will have a two-thirds membership on all the committees. While the demo- cracy will sail over easy and troubled seas the republicans are go- ing to have stormy weather. Just now, it is known, all the republican Congressmen are filing their appli- cations for membership on the com- mittees and Jim Mann, the minority leader is the one who is receiving all this correspondence. It looks as if the republicans are basing all their hopes on the wiry old fox of politics. But that is just what Jim Mann does not want. As a matter of fact he is a potential candidate for the Presi- dency of the United States and, whatever hopes he may harbor in his manly breast will all be shattered if he incurs the wrath of his followers. un- This can be very easily done unless he gets them the appointments on the committees they are after. But the democrats will take care that no matter what Mr. Mann wants he will not get more than his one-third share. And there is the situation in a nut- shell. There is going to be some lively sentimefit aroused when the an- nouncements are made. It is under- Syracuse Post-Standard. ' mercial. stood by those on the inside that Jim Mann is now trying to devise ways and means of getting out from under the impending avalanche. What he wants to do is call a caucus and handle the matter in that way. It will be remembered that ‘“Uncle Joe” Cannon suffered terribly at the hands : if irate congressmen Wwho blamed him for not placing them on the committees they had selected for themselves. Jim Mann went through the storm with Cannon mnd he knows how it broke. He will profit by the former Speaker’s experiences unless he is mightily misjudged by those who know him best. In the same manner Claude Kitchen, who at the next Congress will wear the toga left by Oscar Underwood, may apportion the embarrassment. But his task is a simple one when compared with the stupendous struggle that awaits the minority leader. It will be worth while noticing the outcome of this whole business because thereon is go- ing to hang many a sad political tale, and even the Presidential nominations of both parties may be effected. FACTS AND FANCIES. It is fortunate that Culebra Cut ac- quired its sliding habit before the pro- Prussians inaugurated their plotting campaign.—Rochester Herald. Dr. Dumba’s views on the initia- tive and referendum may only be guessed at, but it is a safe bet that he has a pretty good opinion of the re- call.—Springfield :Union. The Slovaks’ Political Federation of the Eastern United States of .\inerica carefully point out to Mr. Dumba that Slovak-Americans are Americans.— ‘With 2,300 British trawlers now en- gaged in the hunt for German subs, life under the ocean wave must be less and less of a joy.—Buffalo Com- | Attention of our chamber of com- merce is called to the Caldwell man who advertises: “A good home to ex- change for one in Paterson.”—Pater- son, N. J.,, Call The English poufid sterling has wabbled about so much that even the street car conductor does some figur- ing on his cuff when you offer him | a Canadian dime.—Grand Rapids Press. The Japanese, with the gift of the Pacific. in their hands, wonder at the United States for making them a pres- ent of it. One of them says frankly the Oriental mind cannot understand that sort of thing.—JB3uffalo Enguirer. 'Germany declares that the Hes- perian was sunk by a mine, because no German submarine was in that vicinity. This evidence will hardly | satisfy the court of international opin- ion.—Philadelphia Ledger. The news that the United States forces along the Mexican border ap- proach war strength will not excite anyone, but will -bring great satisfac- tion to those who have been watch- ing the killing off of Americans be- cause of a lack ‘of protection.—St. Louis Times. Calisthenics and dances to music will be part of the program for the women in Sing Sing hereafter. Of course that is quite out of keeping with the traditional idea that a con- vict ought to sit in a cell with his face buried in his hands.—Syracuse | Post-Standard. i With German | scheme of (Springfield Republican) Congressman Gardner.would follow up the lead offered . by-an infantry captain who after a good deal of ob- servation in Texas declares the pres- | ent army shoe not:suited for active service: “It is a fine article of foot- wear and for garrison use entirely satisfactory. But for campaign pur- poses ft does not-fill the bill.” -But it is with campaign purposes that Congressman Gardner is preoccupled and he might do worse than to expand on Capt. Greer’s comi- plaint: “To start with, if the roads are very hot or very rough the sole {is so thin that the feet are blistered or bruised, and the shoe wears out then in a very short period. Such conditions will be for us the normal in any actual fiela conditions which We are liable to have.” There is a very fair opening to a critic. Can it be, he might demand, that a lesson so rubbed in by the civil Wwar has been forgotten by our mil- itary experts? At the close of that war the whole American people had been taught that marching needs stout, thick-soled boots; has the na- tional passion for flimsiness already Prevailed? Of what account would be an army called upon for arduous fleld service and equipped with shoes fit only for garrison use? If Congressman Gardner wished to harrow our feelings still more he would ohly have to picture Lynn seiz- ed by a foreign invader before it had time to deliver such thin-soled shoes as had been ordered. In France a great sensation was made a few weeks before the war by Senator Humbert, who made the revelation that there was a shortage of 2,000,- 000 pairs of army boots: It was of course no news to the German general staff, but it was painful news to France; there is a fine chance for a critic of the administration to show that even such shoes as our army has would be useless in case of war. The proper rejoinder, of course, would be to enlist shoe manufacturers along with inventors, aviators and electricians in the national board of scientific defense. A company of them might be organized for the next bus- iness men’s camp, and set to testing shoes by long marches over bad roads in varying conditions. When winter set in squads of them might be dele- sated to spend their time in a ditch, uvp to their knees in mud and slush proving the merits of different kinds of footwear. And, above all, they ‘would be useful in working out a program by which the government could be assured in an emergency of | an abundant supply of honestly-made boots. If criticism stops on Monday, says Bernard Shaw, on Tuesday the soldiers will be marching on brown paper soles. No point of war equip- ment has been responsible for great- er scandals; if business men are enough interested in defense to work out ‘a remedy. they can serve their country quite as well 4s by learning to hanale a gun. Probably 'the Germans were the first to put a great army into the field properly and adequately shod. They were well provided in 1870, and theyv were miraculously provided in 1914. Where did the millions of brand new uniforms and boots come from? ask- ed the people in delighted amaze, No part of the German private’s equip- ment has commanded more admira- tion than the boots, faultless design, | tanned ! made of soft, strong leather thoroughn(ys gener- ously and durably soled, and provid- ed with hobnails for further protec- tion. To the German general staff | shoes have been quite as important as blg howitzers in the preparedness. If the Plattsburg encampment has helped to convince Ameri¢can business men that an army must be well shod it has not been in vain. general When is a man a failure? Baron‘{ Reading, the lord chief justice of | England, now in this country on a | most important financial mission,i went through bankruptey in early | life and did not begin to study law until he was twenty-six.—Boston Herald. Kansas is laughing at the eastern college football men who wilted un- der a fifteen-hour day in the Kansas | ' wheat flelds. But probably they were tired of going so slow. On the grid- iron they usually put in a fifteen-hour day in an hour and a half.—Bing- | hamton Press. Starting a political editorial on the mayoralty campaign in New Haven, The Union says, “New Ideas Needed.” Ending the same editorial it refers to | New Haven as “this city of old elms | and old ideas.”” Thus the famous $500 slogan goes to pot.—Connecticut Western News. The efforts of foreign financiers to secure a loan of half a billion or a billion dollars in the United States is in the way of success. The domestic bankers and business men have a vital interest in this affair, aside from the direct profit of the enterprise. The | success or failure of the enterprise | will have a most important bearing upon the prosperity of this zountry in the near future.—Wilkesbarre Recorad. | If the European war has ,roved anything, it has proved that modern warfare is a contest of scientists more than of mere soldiers. The great thing about Secretary Daniels’ plan is that it goes to the true sources of pre- paredness and to the quarters where the foundations of security, wunder | modern conditions of warfare, lie. Its radical innovation is in adapting the | peace genius of the nation to the common defense.—New York “World. | An American teacher in Pekin re- peats the interesting summary of Americans made be one of her pupils as follows: “The Americans are quite clean, like the Japanese, and eat clean food, so-they have little time to catch ill Americans take their wives whenever they travel. (7). Most of the Europeans have beard but the Americans shave every day.” —*The question mark {s our own.— Springfield Republican. | reject | receive only 50 cents each. The Matter Of Mileage. (New Haven Register.) The voters of Connecticut will be required at their “town meetings” on the first Monday in October, and in New Haven at the regular city election on Tuesday of that week to accept or a constitutional amendment compensating members of the general assembly in full for their transporta- tion charges between their homes and Hartford. This may not be a very momentous question, but no constitu- tional amendments should pass or fai] without the action of a substantial number of the citizens. There is some little reason in past experience to fear that unless this matter is considerably agitated, it will not receive the at- tention it deserves. The members of the legislature are '‘not overpaid at present, yet they re- ceive what is for many of them con- sidering that the session is limited to five months, and generally not more than three days a week are devoted to sessions, a reasonable compensation. But to ask them to pay even a part of their carfare out of this is in most cases, it would seem unfair. The present provision, that each member receive mileage amounting to 25 cents a mile one way, would permit the member from New Fairfield to col- lect $24.25 from the state, while' the members from East Hartford would In nei- their instance would this be any ap- Preciable part of the sum necessary for transportation through the ses- sion. For years before Governor Baldwin came to the governor’s chair, the 25-cent provision was disregard- ed, and the members’ transportation bills were paid in full. Governor Baldwin insisted on adhering to the law. Hence this amendment. It does not. provide for a very considerable addition to the expense of the state, and it seems fairer and more business- like than the old provision. It re- ceived substantially no opposition at Hartford, and it is probable that the amendment will pass at the town meetings. The Germans are using silk and vel- vet for making sandbags for the trenches, because of the scarcity of zinc, because nickel is too precious to be used for anything but making shells. = Still, their resourcefulness .| séems equal to all emergencies.—Bos-. ton!Globe, of Jute, and they are making small coins ! WHAT 'OTHERS SAY Viewn o.. all sides of timely questions as’discussed in ex- changes that come - to the Herald Office. Automobilists Unsociable. (Manchester Herald.) Among the many influences exerted by the widespread use of the auto- mobile ane has been overlooked. That one is its discouragement of sociability, Perhaps you hadn’t thought of that, but every automo- bile dfiver has. The passengers in the car don’t notice it as much as the driver. As most owners of automo- biles drive their own cars and as most of them are also well-to-do men of affairs, this influence upon com- munity life is more important than one would think. One who walks or drives a horse or rides in a trolley Car or on a train has an opportunity to observe what is going on ar.und | him and to salute and converse with friends. On car or train especially the traveler is usually in a receptive mood. There is nothing for him to do until he reaches his destination but to read or chat or look around at his neighbors or out of the win- dow. He is apt to talk to his seat- mate even though the latter may be a stranger. Should he chance to meet an acquaintance the conversa- tion is sure to be extended. The driver of an automobile, on the other hand, seces little except the road in frant of him and hears little but the noise of his car and the rush- ing wind. Friends and neighbors on the street or in passing vehicles get scant recognition if indeed they are recognized at all. = Even landmarks beside the road escape notice. A man Wwho drives to his office every day remarked recently that he liked to make the trip by trolley ance in a While in order to see what new houses had been built and what other changes had been made along his route. Of course the automobilist might stop his car once in a while to look at the scenery or chat with a friend, but he doesn’t. Once he Rets up speed it is easier to keep going until he reaches his destina- tion. Now consider for a minute what this means. In Manchester, for ex- ample, five or six hundred men, of the type who can afford to own and run automobiles, cut themselves off from their neighbors and associates during the semi-liesure period in which they are moving from place to place. The opportunity for saciability is lost, not one day, but every day. The effect cannot be other than to decrease sociability and the discussion of com- mon suffers from this, for where men become self centered community pro- gress languishes. The automobile is of unquestioned economic value in many respects; but until some substi- tute is found for the sociability and information attending old methods of | travel it will continue a drawback to community interest. Germany’s Trade Methods. (Norwich Record.) An American has met a German traveling salesman on the west coast of South America, going the rounds of his trade, as usual, selling nothing, but holding the confidence of the dealers, helping them to get credit enough to buy such goods as they must have to keep going, advising them to buy of the English or of Americans for the time being, because German products cannot be delivered during the war. He has been on that road nineteen years, and expects to do more busi- ness than ever after the war because of this constant missionary work among the dealers. He says Ameri- cans do not know how to zet and hold the dealers in debt to the sellers, to take care of their credit through the German branch banks of the south cantinent republics, even to the extent of loaning them money, if found neces- sary to pay debts owed to others, that they may be kept in condition to drop | the houses which have sold them dur- ing the war at any time the Germans get ready to sell them again. He says the English are demanding gold in London from these trades of the Latin Americas, and it hurts them. Ameri- cans are doing little better for them, and they are buying only such goods as they must have. That is the kind of business Americans have now the chance to break up, that the Ger- mans may not be able to hold their old trade after the war. How the ships of this country do hurry south- | ward with the goods to get that trade. The “Romance” Of Crime. (Detroit News.) Perhaps because there lingers in honest citizens a submerged impulse toward outlawry, crime @mnd crim- inals hold a singular fascination. Stories about life in the world of “grit” are read avidly by the most respetcable. “Good crime stuff” is sought by popular magazines; youngz- sters of good opportunities have their heads turned by tales of crooked dar- ing. Crime plays are in vogue. The ex-pickpocket who has written of his experiences for The News tells as much of the truth as he can and does not attempt to idealize his for- mer calling, yet he cannot be expected | to show the hideous, revoiting and wretched aspects of criminal life in their true colors. Dissipation and degradation prevail in the under- world. Love, sympathy, friendship and loyalty display themselves only in rare flashes. Most criminals are broken in body and spirit, living con- stantly in the shadow of fear. It may be argued that the rank offend- er is no worse than the person of power and influence whose misdeeds are “within the law,” but one is hunt- ed and the other is not; one is denied anything like permanent happiness while the other goes his way un- molested. In other words, the “crime does not pay,” cannot be re- iterated with sufficlent force. The miserv which marks the face of each professional criminal with an indeli- ble expression of bitterness cannot be put into words. Even those who old truism have endured it cannot tell of what their lives have been. If every boy who is first tempted to dally with crime would know the realities of .n outcast's career, crookedness as profession would die promptly. New York’s Bohemia, (From the New York Sun.) The decision of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor to forbid the sale of liquor in any of the buildings on their pro- perty will make a large section of the coast of Bohemia dry, for within the limits of the olg Minto farm, which now comprises the Snug Harbor hold- ings, New York's old Bohemia still has its stronghold. The course of fashion may travel northward. and the flower and feather trade may press close about the high lights of letters and the graphic arts, but Bobhemia in its purest estate still flourishes in the region about Wath= ington square And here the prohibition of the Sailor’s Snug Harbor is most to be felt as its leases gradually run out. Hither resort will some of the city’ epicures who are sufficlently in- terested in the pursuit of good,cook- ing to go afield in search of it. Here in a former day was the historic Solari and in the present time there are the Lafayette and the Brevoort, both presided over by the genius of Raymond, which was developed when the Martin, now departed, made that quarter of the town an epicureaf Mecca. Sometimes Bohemia, which is ever young, is to be found in there larger places, which are luckily preserved by leases valid for a decade more or less. So the drouth is not everywhere immediately immimnent. But the prac- tical enforcement of the new provi- sion in the Sailors’ Snug Harbor leases will do more to alter the outline of Bohemia than any other other in- fluence which ever threatened the freedom of Washington square. Its coast line is certain to be radically changed as the leases of the res- taurants and other places of artistic resort expire without even the solnd of a drawn cork to celebrate their last breath. Bulgaria For Sale. (Meriden Journal.) Bulgaria is proving herself to be the most mercenary nation on earth when she openly treats with the al- lies and the Teutons ang asks for the highest bid for throwing her weight inito the conflict that is raging in Eu- rope- Every other nation that is in- volved in the war is engaged because to the people of the country there is a real cause, an earnest purpose and most immediate hope of aggrandize- ment. Germany and Austria, Russia, Ser- bia, France and Britain are not fight- ing for pay and Italy is taking com- mon cause against her ancient enemy, whom she has been fighting for cen- turies. The Turks are battling be- cause they like it and not for really getting back what they have lost in Europe, but Bulgarid. King Ferdinand has been marking time for months. He has made feints at full mobilization and his foreign ministers have made and listened to proposals in all the capitals of En- rope. Ferdinand increased his vesterday and Berlin was jubilant that he had decided to cast his lot with Germany, but London offered an even bigger price than was tendered before and so the Bulgars waver and wait. Whatever Bulgaria does she will “80 with the money,” and no matter what her decision or what her ulti- mate price, she is bound to be exe- crated for her actions army Anthony Comstock- (Washington Post.) For more than a third of a century the efforts of the late Anthony Com- stock to suppress vice in its more flaunting forms have been fruitful of mirth to the paragraphers and comic sheets of a nation. Along with the most serious of battles undertaken against political corruption, instru- mental in the main in bringing to pass better conditions, the warfare waged by this doughty opponent of immoral books and lascivious dis- plays in so-called art has been treat- ed lightly to a measurable degree by a naughty world. Yet with this all too-evident lack of sympathetic support for much of the time Comstock went on in perfect seriousness smiting thc enemy on every hand and giving small quarter to the philistines who were loud in their denunciations of his more than puritanic zeal. In this fashion and with unremitting energy he fought until the end. While in obvious instances the crusade of Comstock and his support- ers was extended beyond the real limits of appropriate activity, the net results have becn beneficial. If he and his kind erred in their endeavors, they erred toward the side of safety- ‘Whether they were effective to auy pronounced degree in molding public opinion in regard to offensive matters in literature or art may be a debata- ble question. Possibly the healthy American mind would instinctively have rejected much that was offered, and thus have rendered unmnecessary certain extreme militant phaseg of the endeavors of his society. However this may be, those ac- quainted with the salacious presenta- tions met with in many foreign parts will not withhold their measure of tribute to the society for the sup- pression of vice for their earnest ef- forts to keep this country clean. In these efforts Comstock played a con- spicuous, even if at times a possibly too prominent and overzealous, part. With all that, the verdict will ve that his country is the better for his life work. McMILLA NEW BRITAIN’S BUSIEST BIG STORE “ALWAYS RELIABLE” COATS AND SUITS ew - Autumn Models ow eady WOMEN’S SUITS, $9.98 to $25 each, v SMART FUR TRIMMED SUITS. $15 and $£20 each. WOMEN'S ¢ $5.98 to $20 cuch WOMEN'S DRES.__;, $6.98 to §12.98 cach. Berges, Wool' Poplins and Taffetas. New dresses of rilk and serge combin- ations, DAINTY NEW WAISTS. at 97c each, value $1.50. CREPE DE CHINE BLOUSES, at $1.98 each, real $2.50 value, FALL GLOVES. Washable Chamoisettes, $1.00 pair. 26e, B0c, FRENCH KID GLOVLS, $1.00, $1.25 and $1.50 pair. LACE AND NET. Guimpes, special sale Saturdaxy sleeveless guimps, 26c, 49¢, 98c each Long sleeve guimps, 98¢ $1.50 to $2.00. value NEW SILK GIRDLES, Saturday special 65%c¢c each., Green and Navy Blue Black, THE NEW NECK RUFFS. 49c to $2.98 each. Malines, Chiffons and Liberty Sliks. SWEATERS. that will keep out the 98c to $10 each. cold, priced BLANKETS AND COMFORTABLES, ir all grades, hig selection. Congress Shoutd Meet Early. (Washington Post.) Several senators have expressed the opinion that the Senate ghould be called in extra session to dispose of the Colombian and Nijcaraguan treaties and for other purposes. Among other things, senators wish to bring up and dispose of the question of ¢loture in order that the projects of the majority may be forced through hereafter without long filibusters. D. McMILLAN 199-201.20%8 MAIN STRE Instead of the Senate it is Congres that should be called in extra sesslo and instead of such minor matters as cloture and thc treatiss named the sole subject before both houses should be national defense. If the President would call Con- sress in session on October 15 o November 1, valuable time would be saved in getting the plan under way for preparing th& nation against pos- sible disaster, The question of na- tional defense 18 a complicated one, involving the raising of a revenues. 1t cannot be disposed of offhand. i the work is to be,done at all, it should be well and thoroughly done. The war in Europe has opened +4mericans’ minds to the sizc and im- portance of the problem of defense, but opinions vary widely as to whal should be done, Weeks may be con- sumed in hearings before the finance, military and naval committecs, after which the whole subjoct must be thrashed out in both branches of Congress. Congress would be doing remark- ably rapid work if it should take up the task of providing funde for ma- ticnal defenge and disposec of it by the time the regular scssion begins. No onc famillar with the state of the fi= nances expects that such rapid work can be accomplished. But a month or six weeks of preparation can dq| much toward perfecting a plan fo rehabilitating the Treasury and pro- viding for extraordinary expendit! for defense.