The evening world. Newspaper, December 31, 1919, Page 10

WEDNESDAY, THE EVENING WORLD, DECEMBER 31, 1919, _- Si } ANOTHER TRANSIT PROBE. S was expected, the Board of Estimate declares for an independent investigation of the transit | Some Job Ahead! FSTsDLISAED BY JOSEP PULITZER. ‘s al Sunday by che Press Pubitehin: | situati is i Heation ie a i sre ; Pe ay SETS es fark ew. Rew Forks | situatin, This investigation is, of course, ordered in} ; esident, 62 Park Ri hy iti v % rhe a Ora wer . RAL epee tg A hy e name of the citizens of New York. The assumption | eee pac ITS aa a a \ JOSEPH PULITZER, Jr., Secretary, 63 Park Row. is that it is to be conducted in their interest, | é Geo ee oie . Copyriaht, 1949. ‘ ‘ penne ieee pete oe ea (The Net i Senian OF FUR AESGCLATED Pads. 7 tg average New Rage! does not pretend to under niet Pies sn ean pate}, ba ) The Associated Prous is exclusively enuitied to the ase for remublies- | Stand traction finance, joes not even expect an 4 ere * fot seve tama vite Worst Sirol eedied to peat boleh No. 31: THE NAULAHKA; one to make it clear to him. What he does think is | that there ought to be obtainable a sufficient agreement} between competent authorities and experts whom he can trust, to give him an adequate general notion of what is the matter with the city’s transit systems and what must be done to keep them running. So far he has seen nothing remotely approaching such agreement. And as for trustworthy authority, he has| found it difficult to accept as such either traction offi | cials bent on proving that the choice is between higher | fares or ruin, or a Mayor for whom the five-cent fare is primarily a buttonhole emblem worn to court popu- larity. The few who profess to understand the transit situ- ation have bitterly accused one another of special plead- ing. And to make the darkness thicker for the average citizen, the Grand Jury has moved up an “overshadow- ing crime” mysteriously related, it is whispered, to the traction cloud. aon By Rudyard Kipling. ICK TARVIN, shrewd young N civil engineer, was blindly im love with his neighbor, Kate Sheriff, a grave-eyed girl who lived in the same little Middle West towm as himself, Kate explained to him, over and over, that she had no right to stay at home and become his wife. She said she had dedicated her life to missionary work, and that she. was about to set out for India, as a mis- sion nurse. Nor cowd all Nicks pleas change her intent. To influence another woman who could swing a business deal in his favor, he promised to get for her @ Hindu necklace of which he had heard—the necklace known as the Naulahka, which was then h around the throat of an idol im @ temple of the Rajputana province, Kate would not give up her mission to India. Tarvin set forth for Raj. putana on his quest of the necklace. He had vast faith in its power to win fortune for him. He went to the Province where the Naulahka was THEY CAN HARDLY WAIT. OTE the energy and zeal with which Speaker) Sweet and other Republican leaders at Albany | are preparing for the creation of a special legislative committée to come down and hunt for the ‘‘overshad- owing crime” in the County of New York. @ is different when the question is milk legislation | or similar constructive benefit for this city. Then a| Republican Legislature has no time or attention to waste on this insignificant down-State community of five and a half millions. When money is wanted to spend on up-State im- provements, up-State legislators are by no means in- different to New York City as a source of tax revenue. Bui the real zest comes when Republican Senators amd Azsemblymen see a chance to journey down and probe a Democratic municipal administration for what P | .°~ "Year 1919 did some other things not so creditable. | He flirted shamelessly with several objectionable minor- ities, the Anti-Saloon League, the Reds, the Republican Before casting re- proach on 1949 it is well to recall that these objection- able minorities were well organized and trained to yell in unison, in the general style of the college rooting So 1919 heard the voice above the confused babble of tongues and obeyed orders. In other mat- ters the babble merely confused him and developed the | ' | | , } } fhe process may yield in party capital. POOR OLD FELLOW! RESSED for an epitaph for tottering Old Man 1919, the average reader would be apt to suggest something like, “Here Lies a Grouch.” To begin with, it must be admitted that 1919 had a rather unfortunate ancestry. Both 1917 and 1918 were abnormal. Each was afflicted with a bad case of nerves. Nefiher had learned to think for itself. Opinions were thrown at 1917 and 1918 in predigested form and both suffered from mental indigestion. Young 1919 had a hereditary tendency to do as he was told without asking questions, and that is what he seems to have done. * Every one expected great things of 1919, but few gave wholehearted effort in bringing them about. With only two exceptions, there was scarcely any general agreement as to what were the most immediate tasks, and the result was a conflict of “go ahead” here and “back up” there orders that was enough to confuse, confound and paralyze any year, particularly one of a nervous disposition like 1919. very one, even profiteers; wanted the High knocked out of the Cost of Living, but in every case the actual assistance was passed on to some one else. So 1919 Every one, with few exceptions, wanted the soldiers returned to civil life and installed in good Tpere was a unanimous demand, 1919 heard It is the biggest failed here. jo and did the job in creditable style. credit mark on the ledger. treaty obstructors, for example. section. grouch. If there is any moral to this explanation of the deeds of 194 it lies in the need for less yelling and more thinking. Young 1920 has a better start than Old 1919. His nerves are not quite so awry. But he too will need help and unified direction, Sober judgment, industry and definite ideas for procedure will make the If 1919 record of 1920 better, and nothing else will. was a grouch, so were most of the rest of us. ¥ Fighteen billion kronen ($3,600,000,000) is what Communism ds estimated to have cost Hungary, Worth the money if the lesson was learned. TWO TAX RETURNS. KOMPUTATION of income taxes is in order any time after the close of to-day’s business, the sooner the better. Reduction in the Federal tax rate will be a relief all over the Nation. New York’s pleas- ure in the reduction is somewhat dampened by the imposition of a new State tax on incomes which on the amailer income groups will call for about half the sav- ing from the decrease allowed by the Federal Govern- ment. Moreover, the calculation of a new income tax re- tum for the State further reduces this satisfaction. The married man with an income of only a little more than $2,000, whose two payments will be insignificant, will be inclined to believe that the Governments, State and National, actually owe him for his pains, It does seem rather a pity that the State and the Nation cannot go into partnership in the tax collection, take both taxes from the same return, and divide the proceeds and the wexpense of collection. \ POWER FROM THE AIR. T IS STRANGE indeed that Philadelphia is the home of H. H. Platt, who advocates extraction of heat energy from the atmos- phere as a source of power. If he were a Federal scientist, with headquarters at Wash- ington, the diagnosis would appear simple, “Crazy with the heat,” with Jim Reed, Borah, La Follette and Hi Johnson as accessories before the fact. But coming from Philadelphia we reserve Sudement. There may be something in the @cheme. Meanwhile, the citizen of New York sees in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit a state of things the very oppo- site of that which oppresses him at home, In these cities transit companies are reducing fares, withdrawing requests for permission to charge for transfers and promising millions of dollars’ worth of improvements without changing present rates. In Philadelphia, the incorrigible Mr. Mitten still insists on making the Phila- delphia Rapid Transit Company prosper on a five-cent fare. What is wrong in New York? Is it some innate, in- curable difference in transit conditions? Is it bad man- agement? Or is it the ‘heritage of overcapitalization and exorbitant rentals and fixed charges handed down from an earlier period of reckless manipulation ?, It ought not to be beyond the power of disinterested and thorough inquiry to determine how far any or all | of these things are responsible for the present plight in which New York transit lines are floundering. The people of this city cannot afford to have their street railways go to pieces and the cars stop, On the other hand, neither can they afford to be the victims of a palliative scheme by which higher fares are made to cover the continuing consequences of past 1] extravagance and mismanagement. The City of New York ought to be able to secure an investigation of the present situation that shall bring out the fa¢ts and carry conviction. Anything else will be a futile waste which the public will rightfully resent. A TONIC FOR BUSINESS. D TAGNOSTICIAN Frank A. Vandertip believes that “enlightenment in economics” is the crying need of American business. Unfortunately enlightenment acts slowly, like a tonic, It cannot be purchased whole- sale, ‘Nor is it possible to get the effect of continued doses by taking a bottle at a time. A tonic acts slowly. The time to have started taking the tonic was years ago. i Such observations would be bootless were it not for ‘the fact that even now occasional objections to the remedy are voiced by the patient, Economics has not been popular with American business. Economics was something to sneer at. It was taught in colleges, and not every college graduate was a business genius, Worse yet, economics was fre quently “radical.” It examined radical theories even when it did not indorse them. Economics considered business not only for itself, but in its relation to society as a whole. Sometimes the economist advised a limi- tation of diet and refused to permit the sly gratification of the business appetite for the delectable but dangerous pastry and desserts of special privilege. In recent years business has taken a more sensible view of the matter. It realizes that the hearty diet which was digestible in youth is apt to cause indigestion in middle age. It realizes that good business means more than mere profits, that business must stand the test of publicity, must court public knowledge in order {o prevent public suspicion, Schools of business have sprung up and are gaining support. But even so, the business world is apt to frown upon and withdraw financial support from insti- tutions where “radical heresies” are taught under the name of economics. The business world is not yet fully awake to the fact that the best and only ‘safe way to meet and beat these heresies, if they really are false, is by sound economics. It is in this way that Mr. Vanderlip’s advice is most valuable. The tonic is ull the more necessary for having been delayed. HUNGER AND COLD. What will be the close of our perfect day— Our pleasant whiles and plentiful pay— Why, Hunger and Cold! "Twas ever so since the world went round, The end of joy has always been found— With Hunger and Cold! ‘Tis only a pang and a wintry chill That wrings Time's needs from the human will— In Hunger and Cold! A dreary refrain in an hour of cheer, Yet the wisest and best know it is near— "Mid Hunger and Cold! ‘Take heed, you who dwell in the hours’ delight, ‘The sunshine will soon make way in its flight— “Hew to Find Your Veca' ‘To the Editor of The Evening World: Iam sure that I am speaking for thousands of your readers, especially ova between the ages of fourteen and nineteen, in highly ¢ommending the series of articles in vocational gutdance conducted by Mr. Max Watson in The Evening World. To appreciate the usefulness of the information given in these articles ‘one must realize how little the publio or high school graduate knows not alone what vocation to enter, but how many vocations there are that he inight consider and what exactly the nature of the work in each is, It is the lack of this knowledge that leads the average boy to accept the first position that presents itself, so that ig Mife'work is determined by chance ‘ather than by forethought and choice. I know personally of any number of boys who study these articles with a good deal more interest than any of their school subjects, and there Is no doubt that if they were made part it the regular school curriculum the net gain would be considerable, and sven the teachers might profit by mation. nuch needed info Not, BURT. No. 3291 Decatur Avenue, New York City, Dec. 27, 1919. Calks Do He ro the Editor of The Evening World: Having read @ good deal about horseshoes lately in your paper, 1 should like to say a few words that perhaps would help, I drove horses in the city for twenty years and laturally was confronted with the Jame difficulty, Sharpening of heel: tnd toes helped, but would only last about four or fivedays, Rubber pads proved ineffective, Chaing were good roing up grades, but caine off easily heya lost. It remained for the vo , it seems, to solve the prob- sar ft all using what em. Out here we are is called the “Never fat hoe with two thi front and one in each heel, these holes-are fitted sharp~pointed alks, also threaded, and anybody can remove and replace these calks with 1 small alligator wrench in about fifteen minutes city horseshoers, I am afraid, r carry these shoes, though aw one. It would cut their business. But they are THE thing. I plough ice with horses shod with that kind and the horses walk on the ice as surely as if they were on bare ground, and on the hard asphalt hirh- ways it ts my fault if the horses slip. I have neglected to wateh my calks, The price of the shoes is the same as ordinary shoes and the calks cost about $5 per 100 and last 4 whole winter, Once in a while shoes should be taken off and fitted on again. 0, A. KEYSER, Nanuet, N. Y., Dee, 27, 1919. Vintt In Queens, | To the Rélitor of The Frening World: Jas, B, Manning is entirely wrong. I have met those English and French girls he speaks of and found them to lack the ladylike ways and good For Hunger and Cold! é ~. — { iii * moral standards of our girls in the United States, It is true the French girls are healthy and show it, but the English girls are far from it, and also show it. In a letter of the 27th, signed M. L., she expresses herself as the true! Amefican girl of to-day. J. Manning must have been seekin: the average American girl in th white light district. If he would only visit a place like Ridgewood (Queens), he sure would express himself dif- | ferently. 8. T, ) Brooklyn, N. ¥., Dec. 27, 1919, Whe Stack? To the Editor of The Brening World: In regard to the two articles by J. M. and S. A. M., published in your Daily Readers’ column, 1 wish to state that 1, like many others, do not agree with the articles, I am under the tmpression that the articles were not written by American |boys. Certainly no American should be so ignorant in regard to our American girls, If these writers are acquainted with our American girls I would be glad to know whether or mot they belong to the Ananias Club, 1 see no reason’ why every American girl should be downed on account of a fondness for cabarets, &c., which ex- ists among some girls’ 9f all nationali- The few American girls who frequent these places do so by the influence brought to bear upon them by the fel- lows themselves. I think if some of our American boys would settle down a bit they will find plenty of American girls who will make good chums, pals and housewives. Who stuck to the American boys when they were across but the Ameri can girls? They toiled in the Ameri- n boys’ places and waited for their return, Some (the Ananias class) were being entertained by the girls on the other side. What thanks did the American girls get? None—from this class. American girls mertt and receive the highest respect and appreciation of al xood Americans. HED Brooklyn, Deo, 27. Wh To the Editor of The Evening World: I have read with more than or- dinary interest the various letters in this paper as to why, and why not, the bodies of our fallen soldiers shoul’ be taken from their resting places anc brought back to thie country. Some one suggests there may be a political motive, Be that as it may, | know of some undertakers who ar: fuid to have made a lot of money from thie source of business, I can not help thinking of an old poem tha’ was in our school books fifty year ago. As I recall, it was cglled “Thr Widow of Glencoe,” and thing like this: soi Do not lift him from the bracken, ave lin Iyia where be fells Better bier ye cannot fashion, Neue broestas Hien asthe bore'ond‘beok ‘ane! the hard ‘and trampled. nod, Whence hie anaty” soul ascended To" the hidgment seat of W. B.D, University Ave., Dec. 28, 1919. an some Satinfled With a U. S, Girl. To the Faltor of The Evening World In reference to Joseph Manning's letter to The Evening World, would like to say that while I was figntiny “over there” my wife, a New York City girl, kept our home by going out to work, bought Liberty bonds and War Savings Stamps with any little UNCOMMON SENSE By John Blake. (Copyright, 1919.) “has been.” AVE YOUR REMINISCENSES FOR YOUR OLD AGE, The man who tells you what he used to do is “through.” 3 | Reminiscences are written by the old. They are told by the Clemenceau, Premier of France, the man who saved his country from the Kaiser is, at seventy-eight, a candidate for the Presiden He is what he means to do, ‘thinking to-day, not of what he has done but And if his body can keep up with his of mentality he will yet do great things for France and for the world. The chap who sits with his feet on your desk and talks of the great things he did ten years ago will never be able to talk of the great things he is doing ten years hence. Just as sure as a man’s mind begins to dwell on his past his future usefulness to the world and to himself is at an end. Clemenceau at sixty-five could easily have boasted of pa® accomplishment. He had had a notable career. His rem- iniseences would have been highly interesting. But his mind was not on the past but on the future. He foresaw dire trouble for his country. When his contemporaries were boasting of what they had done, he was thinking of what he could do, And when the hour came he was ready to do it. Beware of pluming yourself on a past performance. How- ever difficult was the task you accomplished, however bril- liantly you accomplished it, there is still much to be done, un- less you are content to settle down in a chimney corner an become a garrulous old braggart. + . There is something in looking backward that slows up the energies and puts a brake on accomplishment. travel in the direction in which we are looking. We usually If we keep looking back, for any purpose except to get our bearings and note our progre True ph as at twenty very far, e, but phys ss, we will begin to travel backward, cal effort cannot be as well sustained at. sixty ical effort alone will not get you If you are normally constructed your mind. should be far abler at sixty than at twenty-five, or even at fifty. If you have had an interesting life postpone relating its incidents till you are willing to admit that you have gone as far on the road as you are going. Reminiscences well written are interesting and educating. But the man who is still making his history has no time to write them, And the man who is constantly talking of what he has done keeps so busy at that that he has no time to do anything more, Keep your eyes ahend if you are going ahead, And let your thoughts follow your eyes. Benn xtra money she had, and when I eame back wounded was right there to help me, She is only one of thousands of American women that have done the same. The American girl is as good a pal ind comrade as can be had and when it comes to making and keeping a home her European sister cannot beat her. Any of the A, E. F. men who prefer ianglish or French gitls are welcome to them, ‘There are boats sailing every day and I don't think any American girl will be very sorry, 7.0. M. An A. E. F, Veteran, New York, Dec. 27, 1919, ' | DANGER IN EYESTRAIN, ONTINUED use of the eyes for a long time at close work is harmful to a child, even with perfect eyes, says, W. M. Carhart in Public Health (Michigan), as quoted in the Journal of the American Medi cal Association. “Therefore,” he adds, “it is very important to rest the eyes every few minutes whenever using them for close work, such as studying and writing. No work or study is important enough to be per- sisted in at the expense of injury to the eyes, supposed to be. There, by his shrewd American wit, he won the favor of the local Maharajah. There, too, be won the hatred of the Queen, Sit- abhai, who tried every art at her command, to get him killed. To the same city, to the mission house, Kate Sheriff found her way. It was here that she was quartered as mission nurse. She and Nick Tar- vin now had a new bond of interest in each other, as the only Americans in this out-of-the-way region of In- dia. Not for many weeks after his ar- rival did Tarvin get a glimpse of the Naulahka, And then he saw ft at the betrothal feast of the Mahar- ajah's epileptic little son—a chitd whom Kate was trying to nurse back to health, The necklace was hanging about the youngster’s shoulders, when Nick got his first look at it. Says the author: “It blazed with the dull red of the ruby, the angry green of the emer- aid, the cold blue of the sapphire and the white hot glory of the diamond. > But, dulling all these glories was the superb radiance of one gem that lay above the great carved emerald on the central clasp. It was a black, diamond; black as the pitch of the* infernal lake, and lighted from be- low by the fires of hell.” And this was the all-precious treas- ure that Nick Tarvin had so boast- fully promised to win. There seemed no shadow of a chance to acquire tt At last, by a clever stroke, he ac- | tually gained possession, for a while, { of the necklace. But by that time he had learned that there were other things far better worth having; and that Kate did not approve of his juggling with crowns and crown. jew- els. Also a political and financial career was calling him back to America. And that career meant nothing to Nick, unless he could make Kate Sheriff share his success with him, But the girl, too, was learning = lesson. She was learning the seamy side of the Orient and that its life of peril and intrigue is not for a gently reared American girl t Nick’s devotion, too, and his com- stant presence in every crisis of her existence, were having their effect, | Under the combined influence her mise |sionary resolutions at length broke |down. And she surrendered, wailtns piteously to Tarvin: | “It's not a girl's w s not for; me! I have given it up, Nick. Take | me home!” { [News Flashes | | From Around The World Los Angeles Has Our Problems. Winter tourists seeking homes in Los Angeles have boosted rents until apartments are rent ing from $60 to $800 a month, according to the Los Angeles Times, A housing department of the Municipal Government has been created to cope with the situation, and more than 4,200 persons availed ‘themselves of this service in the past month These were disposed of approxt mately as follows: Thirty-three per cent. to flats and aparments, 20 per cent, to bungalows and houses, 20 per cent. to sleeping rooms, 25 per cent. to rooms with housekeeping privileges and & per cent. to rooms with board, far ays Trade With Germany, The Christiania Street Car Sys tem has purchased fifty-one new street cars in Hanover, Ger- many, to be delivered next fat and winter. The director of the street car company has recently returned from a trip to Germany and reports that very few im provements in street car con struction have taken place dug- ing the war, eee London's Motor Car Show, The motor exhibition now in progress at Olympia. London, be cause of its completeness justi- fies the great crowds that it és drawing. A total of 86.000 per- sons passed the turnstiles the first day, and the enthusiasm continues. With the exception of the Enfield Allday, which has a radio five-cylinder air-cooled engine along airplane lines, there is nothing strikingly original, and the chassis and bodies fok low the conventional Britis® plan of sturdy durability. U ae