The evening world. Newspaper, October 8, 1921, Page 10

; 4 A PNY orld. 1D BY JOSEPH PULITZER. | She = ‘ABLISHE! WwHrmed Dally Excopt Sunday by Tho Proms Publishing Company, Nos. 53 to 63 Park Row, New York. RALPH PULITZER, President, 63 Park Row J. ANGUS SHAW, Treasurer, 63 Park Row JOSEPH PULITZER Jr., secretary, 63 Park Row. —— MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED Pr The Associated Pres ts exclusively enytiea to the use for republtcation Of all news Geapatcnes credited to it oF not otnerwise crruitea In Lass paper (end also the local news publishea herein. \ WHAT WIDOWS’ PENSIONS HAVE DONE. HEN the federal Government announced that it had purchased the Catholic Orphan ‘Asylum buildings at Kingsbridge Road and Sedg- wick Avenue, the news reports scarcely mentioned the most interesting feature of the sale. The Polyclinic Hospital will get back its property and will so be able to rénder its customary service to the city. This is interesting, but far more sig- nificant was the fact that the Government was able to buy the Orphan Asylum because there were not Orphans enough to warrant its operation. When the hospital was built it was intended to supply an existing and increasing need. As the re- sult of the Widows’ Pension Law, the need has changed. The supply of orphans has diminished. The children are able to have home care instead of institutional care. They are with their mothers and far better provided for than in the best chari- table institutions. The purchase of the asylum is thus a striking testimonial to the value of the Widows’ Pension Law and the work it is doing for the chil'ren of the city. Suspension of Capt. Randall of the steamer Hudson, who failed to pick up fishers in dis- tress, will be a salutary warning to other skip- pers. But in the long run the unwritten laws of the sea and the inherent decency of all ranks and conditions of seamen will be the best pro- tection for those who are in danger at sea. Capt. Randall's offense Jooms big because it {s so unusual. THE REASON IS CONGRESS. HEN Secretary Mellon goes to Congress and asks a free hand in the business of settling and refunding foreign indebtedness, he has only one valid reason for requesting such powers. That reason is Congress. Such powers as Mr. Mellon requests are without precedent and contrary to the theory of our Gov- ernment. It is a centralization of power such as the founders never dreamed of conferring even on the President. But our foreign loans are a fact, not a thtory. ‘Congress is another fact which often runs directly contrary to theory. The simple truth is that nothing in recent years fends any encouragement to the view that Con- gress could or would conduct the business of re- funding foreign toans on a practical and effective basis. Congress would play politics. Congress- men would not be ‘guided by what would be best for the Nation. They would be guided by prejudice. They would bow to alien-thinking minorities in their constituencies. They would be actuated by hates and prejudices of minorities who vote for American Congressmen but determine their votes according to racial antipathies in Europe. This is why Secretary Mellon needs to ask for what he does ask for. It is the only reason why Congress should grant his request. But it is a suf- ficient reason, Justice McAvoy’s decision in the Judson- ‘Travis-Wendell case has a Scotch flavor not Pleasing even in these dry days. As usual, the taxpayer is the injured party. Certainly the Legislature ought to enact a “never-again” statute. If a farmer owned many teams of valuable horses he would be a fool, indeed, if he failed , to lock the stable after one horse had disap- peared. FIELD FOR CO-OPERATION. BOLITION of the Federal Trade Commis- sion would be a step in the wrong direction. ‘Whatever the real reason for it, the country would be certain to believe it a partisan move. It is true the Federal Trade Commission has laid Ytself open to sharp criticism in one or two in- stances. Defects in the present operation may need correction. But the principle on which the Trade ‘Commission Law is founded is sound and ought to be preserved. The G. O. P. contention that the work of the Trade Commission overlaps that of the Depart- ment of Justice is true, but that the Department of Justice can do the work of the Trade Commis- sion is open to question. The Trade Commission is a non-partisan body. No more than a majority of the members can be- long to the same party. It is a continuing body of experts. The term of appointment is seven years. Trade Commission policies can change only grad- wafly. The Department of Justice is the reverse. It is and open to the spoils system, as is evident lorney General Daugherty’s attempt to force the resignation of United States Marshal Palmer of Connecticut. The policies of the Department of Justice change with Administrations, and busi- j Mess cannot judge whether practices consilered THE EVENING WORLD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1921. legal under one Attorney General will be so re- garded by his successor. © It was to give some measure of stability to Gov- ernmental supervision of business that the Federal Trade Commission was created. This supervision is needed to-day. The overlap between the futle- tions of the Trade Commission and the Depart- ment of Justice should be a field for co-operation. READ IT. | IS unfair to discuss the Transit Commission report as if it professed to have uttered the last word on the transit problem. Those who take the trouble to read the report will note that, on the contrary, it says: It is proposed to institute a series of public inquiries, the first of which will be set for an early date, at which the several companies will be subjected to further examination in relation to their affairs, and in particular as to their attitude toward the plan; and at which opportunity will be afforded for criti- cism and constructive suggestion. The commission expressly states that it will not undertuke to present a statutory plan in complete form “until these public examinations have been held.” ¥ The present report is issued in the belief that “the public interest will be served” and the subse- quent labors of the commission assisted “if the plan, in outline, is presented without delay for open “discussion.” There is no ground for refusing to take the com- mission at its word or for assuming that it is ready to clamp down an iron-<clad traction plan on the city without listening {6 protest or suggestion. To adopt the Hylan attitude that the Transit Commission is a malevolent monster whose every move is part of a design to eat up the city fs childish. No one who is just enough to the report to read it can retain such ly notions. As indicative of the general aim of the commis- sion to be comprehensive and attentive to legitimate claims, the following should not be overlooked: There will be included in the contracts for the transfer of the several lines to the Con- solidated Company provision for obligations to contract and tort creditors * * * due allowance therefor being made in the price at which the respective properties are to be taken over. This means that some 100,000 or more persons who hold accident or death claims for damages against transit companies in this city—victims of the Malbone Street disaster, for example, many of whom have been awarded damages which they can- snot collect from the receiver-bound companies— will have their claims adjusted and paid before the new transit plan goes into effect. > It is now proposed to begin the public hearing on the plan Oct. 18. The least the intelligent citizen of New York can do is to familiarize himself with the plan itself and be able to follow the discussion and criticism it evokes without taking all his opinions ready-made from some one else. Not enough has been said of the form of the report and the way it is written. It will be found surprisingly clear and easy read- ing. The problem with which it deals is not a simple one. But the present outline is straightfor- ward and avoids needless delving into intricacies. What it says is of deep immediate and future interest to every man, woman and child in Greater New York. Copies of the repdrt should be made easily avail- able so that as many citizens as possible may get acquainted with it at first hand. Don’t be satisfied with what somebody else says about it. Read it Through every “hole” in the German treaty Berlin sees German opportunity. And in the seventh inning yesterday the Giants stretched and stretched and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d, hay HE so-called double session programme as conducted in New York as a makeshift is, if anything, worse than part time.” — Howard W. Nudd. _ * * TWICE OVERS. ‘6 THe motto of his (District Attorney Swann's) office is ‘indict and forget’.”—John Kirk- land Clark, Caer ar % “ce yyy can’t fool the women any more. They may not know as much about politics as their husbands think they know, but they all appear to be from Missouri.” —A Tammany Leader. . ¢ « “ Te uncertainty of baseball makes it popu- lar.” —Jim Mutrie. * 8 Ti AM sick and tired of following this fellow ‘Zero’ around. It is not doing us any good to pose before the camera.”—Bud Taylor. * All He Had in the World! 1 From Evening — to aay swuch in few words ¢ Iren Needle-Woman. To the Biitor of The Brening World: 1 read with interest the article by Svetozar Tonjoroff about Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing machine. Over thirty years ago I visited the satent Office at Washington, D. C,, and among the mu'titude of patents exhibited there I saw the original model of Howe's scwing machine. Attached to it was a vard containing this verse: “My creation is « blessing To the indigent secured, Banishing the cares distressing, Which so many have endured. Alino are sinews superhuman, Arms of brass aud nerves of stevi 1'm the {ron needle-woman, Born to toil but not to feel.” The sewing machine was doubtless @ great invention, but alas for the high hopes of Hows, it has not al- together banished “the cares dis- tressing.” Those are still with us good and plenty, WILLIAM BRADFORD DU BOIS. Bayonne, N. J., Oct. 6, 1921. Another Saviour Needed. ‘To the Editor of The Evening World George Washington freed the coun- try from the yoke of England, Lin- coln freed the negroes from the yoke of slavery, but who will free us, every~ body, from the yoke of fanaticism? CHARLES SMITH. New York City, Oct. 5, 1921. The Roosevelt Name. ‘To the Etiitor of The Erening World: In memory of one of America’s most noble men, I, an American cit- {zen, consider it your duty in the future not to connect the honorable name of the ex-President, Roosevelt, with any scandalous case such 2s was published in Saturday morning's World of Oct. 1, ‘The fact that a relative-in-law had gotten into trouble has nothing to Jo with the immediate family of the ex- President. I know they would shrink from such notoriety, A PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDED Bronx, Oct. 5, 1921, iP, Veteran Pri ‘ence, ‘To the Editor of ‘The Evening World Why not give the veterans a prefer- ence in the city’s employ? To the opponents of the pending amendment to be voted on at the general election in November, granting preference In Civil Service positions to soldiers, sailors, and marines, these few words may hot be amiss, The all-important question resolves itwelf into a query as to whether the citizens of the great Empire State desire to recognize the service given by the best of manhood to the Federal Government in times of war. of a service woll done he be ac- corded a preference in the Civil Ser- Vice of the State, and the request so made 1s of no greater consideration than that which has been accorded from time immemorial by not alone other States of the Union, but also by the present and past governments es Europe. The Veteran Preference Amend- What kind ot letter do you find most readable: that ¢ives you the worth of a theusand words in a couple of hundred? There is fine mental exercise and 2 lot of satisfaction in taying Take time to be brief. The veteran asks that in recognition | so sae eterna World Readers ssn’tuit the one ment does not require that we take |away the privileges of a citizen be- |cause he did not serve abroad or at home during the war, but merely gives him the advantage where he has proven his ability to equal his competitors in the Civil Service ex- uminations, ice to be made. The fact that th: firemen and po- licemen of this State did all in their power to meet the requirements of war on this side of the water does not overshadow the service that the veterans rendered their country, The veterans that the State can show its appreciation to them by them this preference. That is the reason for the pro- will speak In no uncertain tone in favor of the proposition to be placed before them. So let all of the voters \of the State do their duty to the boys |who have done theirs. | Preference Amendment No. 1 on Nov. 8, 1921, WILLIAM JOHNSTON. New York, Oct. 6, 1921, Ready to Retarn Them. ‘To the Editor of The Erening World: I commend W. H. Burbank’s letter appearing in your paper regarding the returning of war medals. I approve of his scheme, and so do hundreds of others where Iam staYing. What wood are they? I have a few I would gladly give. I would like some in- formation on how to dispose of these decorations. GASSED AND WOUNDED. New York, Oct. 5, 1921. ‘Taxt Standardization. To the Editor of ‘The Evening World I have been a reader of your paper since June, 1908, and consider your editorial pagé as one of the very few worth while in New York. But some- times I cannot agree with you. Last night's editorial about the Greater New York Taxi League and their ef- fort to standardize the taxi rates in New York, I think was unfair and misleading. ‘The legal rate now for more than two passengers is 70 cents for the first mile and 60 cents for succeeding miles. The League would make it 50 cents for first mile and 140 cents for succeeding miles, re- jgardiess of numbers of passengers. And still you say that they are try- ing to boost the rate. I am no member of the league. I am regarded as one of their enemies, Tam the owner and driver of one of the hundreds of low rate taxis in the sity. My rate is 40 cents for the first mile and 30 cents for succeed- ing miles, and 1 know that rate is too low. Two years ago or so, when the first low-rate cabs came on the street, they made money. There was no competition then. | However, as more and more taxi owners lowered their rates in order to fight a pow- erful corporation, and as thousands o! new cabs came on the street, the original 30 cents a mile taxi owners raised their rate to 40 cents a mi ‘They would not have done so if there rt ( In this case there is a, giving posed amendment, and it is reason- | able to suppose that on Blection Day the people of the great Empire State | Vote for the | Ane te NR oe eR Orne Na 2 = Tn a ad ACQUAINTANC sort. own time. Most of us, for example Lloyd George, or President quaintances, and public speeches. and latest book of the year. We can make the ve Every library i troduction. any of them to dinner, meet them in their books. UNCOMMON SENSE By John Blake (Copyright, 1931, by Joun Blake.) iS WORTH, WHILE. We are judged by our acquaintance If they are the right sort, we are held to be the right It is fortunate for us that we can select them ourselv: It is still more fortunate that we do not need to select them from >ur immediate neighborhood, or even from ovr We can in the same manner become acquainted \v Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley, Browning, Macaulay, Thacke- ray and so on down through time to the authog of the best have no opportunity to number liot of Harvard, or George Ber- nard Shaw or Sir James M. Barrie among our personal av- But we can become well acquainated with all of them, and at their best, by becoraing acquainted with their writings ‘y best of acquaintances without leaving our homes, learn their opinions and ideas of life and their principles and outlook on life. filled with the best society there is in the world, and we can move in it without so much as an in- And we are judged by these acquaintances even more than we are by those with whom we talk across the back fence or visit in their houses in the evening. A man with a very small amount of spare time can secure an acquaintance list that includes all the great men of history, and he doesn't have to go to the trouble of asking If your acquaintanceship is limited, extend it. It will take little time and no trouble at all. In fact, it will be as pleasant as forming new and delightful acquaint- ances on a steamship voyage or a summer vacation, And it is not possible, even under the most favorable circumstances, to meet all the great men and women of the world unless you had been any profit at the low rate. Very few cabs on the street, operat- ing under the low rate, are owned by | companies. It can't be done for any length of time. All those different taxi rates and colors are a nuisance to the public. Many persons don't| know how to tell the qifference of| ates by looking at the cab or metre | aR. Now, 40 cents a mile, regardless of number of passengers, caa't be called a robber rate. The average taxi rider will agree it is not too much, If all the taxis were operating un- der that rate and a.1 painted the same color, all the confusion now existing | would be done away with. No more overcharging, no more double tariff, I know the public would like it, as I haye spoken to many of my custom- ers about it and they all agree with me, The public would benefit as much as the taxi owner. Why don't |you look at this from “hoth sides? Help to get rid of the many rates nuisance and you will Mave done the public another great service. A TAXICAB OWNER. Now York, Oct, ¢, 1921, From the Wise A fool, indeed, has great need of a title; it teaches men to call him count and duke, and to for- get his proper name of fool. —J. Crown. Grief is a stone that bears one down, but two bear it lightly. —Hauft. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,—Confucius. Five minutes of to-day are worth as much to me as five minutes in the next millennium.—Emerson. One never needs his wit so much as when he argues with a foot. Chinese Proverb, TURNING THE PAGI €. W. Osborn Cerri Nes Ye treing Wert eae her coming down the winding stair, With trailing petticoat and feath- ered fan. The riddon binding up her golden hair Is blue. She wears a mauve shawl from Japan [wo tight of recognition tn her eves, Bhe greets me with @ curtsey. As she neara, Her every gesture, measured, slow, denies The undroken tyranny of her sie years. We play that she is hostess—I her guest. And now she asks me how I take my tea, O, tiny fledgling, weary of the nest! “Two lumps and cream,” 1 say—as brave as she. From Florence Kilpatrick Mixter’s book of verse, “Out of Mist” (Bont & Liveright), we have this pretty poem of childhood’s privilege, “Dressing Up.” cee Art and the Acrobat --~ In the course of a,chapter of kind thoughts for the vaudeville troupers, in his “Adventures in the Arts” (Boni & Liveright), Marsden Hartley say: For mo, they are the saviors of the dullest art in existence, the art of the stage. Duse was quite right about it. ‘The stage should be swept of actors. It is not a place for imitation and photography. 1 re for the laughter of tl s, for the laughter of the body. It is a place for the stumbling blocks of the brain to fall in heaps I give first place to the acrobat and his associates because it is the art where the human mind 1s for once relieved of its stupidity, The acrobat is master of his body and he Jete his brain go a-roving upon other matters, if he has one. The mistake of the innocent by- stander, If Mr. Hartley want he gets the ac! to see where bat wr | Let him try a lofty fall with an absent mind | oe | Too Young to Drown--- Telling of his peril in a forty-hour batue with in Rovert Duffus's “Roads Going South” (Mac- millan), Capt. Wishop declares: But 1 knew I wouldn't dre had too much life in me. swatlowed the come up smiling. 1 as you are, Joo | The Captain, we reckon, has a net line on an old prover’ It isn't the good that dic is the Men Afraid. eee young, 1t Americanization.--- A bit of a poem Crawford, found in the newest magazine of verse: The Greek lad In the shoe-shine parlor on Main Street Has a liturgy of shoe-shining: So many taps of the hand on the leather, Ne son Antemn casure, the So many snaps of the polishing cloth, | $o many crackles with a bit of tin in his hand, And under his breath intoned foreign words. The words? Those of the server at.tiv Divine Lituroy In the Church of St. James Nauplia, Repeated in the shoe-shine parlor ow Main Street, o 8 Boys at a Turkish Gate.--- In his book “Turkey: Problem of To-day” (Doubled! Page), Dr. Talcott Williams tells how in his teens he exchanged courtesies with a fourteen-year-old son of Islam, whom he found judging in his father’s place at the Castle Gate. Thue: I “broke” my revolver and showed him its hammer action, He produced a beautiful pontard, old enough for Saladin to have held, and showed me the swift, sudden blow (even if the weapon Were hid up your big sleeve caught in a loop) which struck down just back of the left clavical and sundered lung, the °: aroh of a and heart at « stroke, e tried the range of 1 rifled Colt, deadly and sure at thirty yards, burying a bullet four inches in clay, and the gold-chased flint-lock pistol with a smooth bore Whose bullet clothing stopped at twenty yards. I drew maps that show outer world and the ove crossed, and he told me the teach- father, a chief of limit- , In the art of rule and decision of the just Judge in the gate. “My father,” said he, “tells me to hear all, to decide quickly, never to give reagons.” If they were left to the High Courts of Boyhood, how casily might the {ssues of a wide world be kept fron troubling! o 8 6 Two Ways for “Ole Indiana,”--- Not all of John Dos Parsos's “Thee Soldiers” (Doran), is a study in the ugliness of war. For instance, when Chrisfield is shown in maudlin stat ~ in a French cafe, we have this ou(- pouring: “Ole. “Thal Indiana," shouted the only God's country 1 Chris know, He suddenly felt that he could tell Andy all about his home and the wide cornfielis shimmering and rustling under the July sun, and the creeks with red clay banks where he used to go in swimming, He seemed to see it all before 4 to smell the winey smell of the ah. to see the cattle, with their chew- ing mouths always stained a Httle with green, waiting to get through the gate to the water trough, and the yellow dust and roar of wheat- thrashing, and the quiet evenin breeze cooling his throat and neck when he lay out on a shock of iha3 that he had been tossing all daz long under the tingling sum But all he managed to say was: “Indiana's 's country, andy y, ain't it, In one breath, so, Chris explatnod why he hated it so, “over there," But also why some other fellow in the ranks fought and cheered fo; all he was worth— To make the world ) rid safe for “Ole