T&B OSAALOTTS imW8 AUGUST 27, idll
The Charlotte News
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l^b?!fh6d dally an>l Suoday by
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W» C* DuwA, Preftldent and U*a M«t.
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J n. Pi.’ITON Editor
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A. W, BtHCH Advartlslnir Marr.
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■joetTaJLv Invite** to ttiA following:
Xa iutan. CMtaanr WctloBe. Tn Me-
TQvrmti SketPbMi. Card* of Thanks.
rooiaiiVAXc«tloQi 'saoouaiiiz cause
of % /'Mvttte or»«rprl«e or n political
ct:vtu\x.u» ana UJt© m»ttoT, will b®
char«{ad tor nr itk^ rate ut H^e cents
ft Ilnfi ta«ro vUl ce ?o deviation from
tbi* rul«!-
SUNDAY MORNING, AUG. 27, 1911
SOME SUNDAY MORNING
FLECTIONS.
RE-
The fallln" off in the number of
ministerial cr.ndirlatca iu the protes-
tr.nt denominations has been noticed
■with considerable alarm for a good
many years and matters in this re
spect appear to bo getting worse
rather than better. Keen-sighted ob-
terrers of church affairs have long
RSo pointed out that unless this
■diminution of candidates is 'reversed
•the protestant church will, in the
course of a genera-tion or so find it
self absolutely crippled through the
Fcarcity of its ministers. Many dif
ferent kinds of advice have been of
fered for the purpose of remedying
the situation but thus far the les-
eoning still continues.
A prominent New York clergyman,
Pr. Isaac Crook, has recently made
u careful study of the situation and
jiubllBhcs his results in the New'
York Christian Advocate. He tabu
lates the reasons responsible for the
falling off of ministerial candidates
under fourteen heads and several of
tiiefle are 'worth careful attention,
nrst and foremost he thinks the
poor financial rewards given even
the best and most conscientious min
isters have a deterrent effect upon
young men who are debating the
question. That this reason has Its
weight few will deny and coupled
•v^ith It is the fact that at a com
paratively early age the minister Is
no longer considered eligible to tlie
best-paid city pulpits and a few
years later at best must go upon
the superannuated list to scramble
jilong on the meagerest of Incomes
it he is not actually to be a depen-
Jent upon charity.
The notable characteristic of this
line of reasoning is that it is sec
ondary. There is a reason behind it
■which must be sought. The great
flaming of ministers 6f the word in
fill the past ages would have given
It little w’eight. Their call was com
pelling and not under any circum-
ftances to be avoided. “The Lord
hath spoken—who can but prophesy?”
Avtgiistine, Francis, Bernard, Luther,
Knox, Wesley—the matter of world
ly remuneration meant absolutely
nothing to any of these In compari
son with getting the message of
which they were so full into the
hearts of their fellow-men. Must we
edmlt that the twentieth century is
less adapted to that striving after
righteousness and useful servfce
without which nona of the worthies
named could have done the least
Item of their work?
Dr. Crook identifies a second group
of reasons which may be briefly de
scribed as the greyer attractiveness
of secular professions. Beginning
with Y. M. C. A. work and similar
lines of endeavor in which the young
man may earnestly serve God and
his fellows without desisting from
secular callings, the writer goes ou
to point out how the other learned
professions with their more generous
remuneration and their greater lib
erty or action seduce the ambitious
youth from his plans of entermg the
ministry. The objection outlined
above lies with equal force against
this reason. It is not necessary to
go to the shining lights just men
tioned to demonstrate how feebly it
would have weighed in former days.
I'he professions were comparatively
JuDt as attractive forty or eighty
years ago as they are today. And
yet the comparative number of min
isterial candidates has w'oefully les
sened.
It la not until we come to what
might be termed the third group of
Dr. Crook’s reasons that w'e begin
to strike rock-bottom. He declares
that the habit of family prayer has
almost gone out of fashion; that
mothers no longer seek to exercise
that loving compulsion which was
formerly such a powerful aid to a
young man’s decision in this mat
ter; that the ministers themselves as
a class are reprehenslbly Indifferent
in the matter of presenting the
claims of the ministry upon* the
young men with whom they come
in contaot; that many of the most
talked of members of what should
be a sacred profession are little bet
ter than clowns, seeking notoriety
at any and all costs.
Here we are getting down to the
crux of the trouble. The gradual
omission of family prayers is one
of the most characteristic signs of
the unrellglous attitude of the age.
The time was—and not beyond living
memory either—when in a large ma
jority of the homes in this imme
diate section breakfast or supper
would have been foregone with less
of a shock than the daily gathering
around the family altar. A better
school of biblical and religious train
ing could scarcely be devised than
this family worship. To Its neglect
Is largely to*be ascribed the Indif
ference to the affairs of the church
so markedly displayed by the young
er portion of the community—one
of the principal proofs of which is
this very matter of the decrease In
the number of ministerial students.
With no regularly established fam
ily altar It Is no w’onder that moth
ers no longer influence their boys
to the sacred calling. Without the
assistance of its influences ministers
w^ho desire to lay the matter before
the young men are at a loss where
to take hold. Were it the single
line in which there has been
progress in the wrong direction it
would be insufficient to explain the
facts under discussion. It is one of
many. Sabbath observance today is
a very different thing from what It
was ■when our fathers were chil
dren. And so with church attendance,
Bible reading and other equally im
portant matters.
What is the outlook? It is impos
sible to define its character exactly
but there are to be seen not a few
elements In the situation which give
ground for hope. Foreign missions
and home missions as w'ell—were
ne'ver so thoroughly studied as they
are today. The auxiliary bodies, such
as the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C.
A. are filling an even-widening field.
Hospitals and prison betterment
point in a similar direction. Associa
ted charities looking after the poor
in all the larger cities give unmis
takable evidence that the spirit of
the Gospel is a very live influence
even in this highly commercialized
age.
WHl these favorable signs justify
an indifferent altitude towards the
crying needs> of the church, typified
and brought to a focus by the dearth
of candidates for the ministry? We
do not think so. There must be a re
turn to the old beaten paths. Family
prayers must be re-established.
Church attendance must again be in
sisted upon in the case of the young
and be made attractive to older
folks, too. The reading of the Bible
—of the highest intellectual impor
tance as well as from an ethical
standpoint—must bs recommended to
the rising generation as It has not
been urged upon the present.
We do not believe the world is get
ting 'vv^orse. On the contrary we be
lieve that there is more genuine love
for God and man in the world to
day than there has ever been. But
mis-steps must be retraced and the
good practices of the past, apparent
ly slipping away, must be re-grasp
ed with firmer hold. The situation
today is not nearly so bad as it was
In Savonarola’s or In Wesley’s time.
Perhas a successor ‘of theirs will
bring about the change; maybe it
will come more gradually and as the
result of the work of many lesser
tollers. But come sooner or later we
believe it will.
And once again it has, been proT-
ed that if a check-flasher only has
brass enough he can get away ■with
the goods right here in Charlotte.
The adventures of certain of his pre
decessors, however, make It appear
probable that the latest exponent of
the art will have a chance to ponder
the ups-and-downs of fortunes upon
the famous good roads of Mecklen
burg.
A California cduple unable to se
cure a marriage license on land,
boldly launched a boat and braved
the waves until they were beyond
the three mile limit which marks
the boundary of the high seas. There
the necessity for license does not ob
tain and two fond hearts were
promptly united by the obliging min
ister "vs'ho had accompanied them.
This is ■what might be termed enter
ing the uncharted sea of matrimony
with unusual literalness.
The San Antonio Express voices
the pious wish that the 400 clerical
errors found in the new’ Texas code
may serve to transform some bad
laws into good ones. Alas! beloved.
Clerical errors don’t work that way.
If the late Texas legislature did ac
tually pass w'hat might be called a
good law, it would be a safe bet that
something like three hundred of the
above-mentioned errors would be
found concentrated In it.
With the certainty of “Little Joe”
Brown’s entrance into the Georgia
gubernatorial race, the world has
merely to hold its breath until Hoke
Smith by leaving Atlanta for Wash
ington, sets free the dogs of war in
the epithet-soaked arena of Georgia
public affairs. And this set-to is
scheduled to exceed in warmth any
thing Georgia has seen since Sher
man burned his way from Atlanta
to the sea.
Great guns and thunder-clouds!
The Belmont-North Charlotte war is
slated to continue indefinitely. Why
not let Andrew Carnegie supply the
funds for that building on the under
standing that there is to be imme
diate and permanent peace. With
his peace-loving record he’d have to
jump at the chance or proclaim him
self to the world as Inconsistent.
After a quiescence of some dura
tion Coal Blaze erupted again In
old-fashioned style. So far as we
know no scientist has yet been bold
enough to predict when this particu
lar volcano will enter the “extinct”
class.
The New York World is running a
series of editorials, each dealing with
the thought that Mr. Taft has com
mitted i)olitical suicide. Even if our
contemporary prove correct we do
not think the poor man should be
blamed because we haven’t the slight
est idea he meant to do it.
The Greensboro Record feels con
strained to call attention once more
to the fact that there is a state law
prohibiting chickens from running
at large. We’ll bet for every time
it is observed we can cite a hundred
instances of its violation.
A man was killed in Buffalo the
other night for a $1 bill. He ought
to have know'n better than to trapse
around with so much money on him
in these times of the high cost of
living.
Take it from us, if-^there Is a clerk
of court In North Carolina w’ho has
anything on Charles Cotton Moore of
Mecklenburg, he has thus far careful
ly hidden his light under a large
and dense bushel.
FROM OTHER
SANCTUMS
ismssssmm
nimim
A Besieged Bachelo*’.
Col. E. H. I^. Green, the son 61
"Aunt Hetty” ^ announced some time
ago that he would marry if he could
find the right woman. Since then his
mail has been packed with letters
from women who offer to take him as
a husband. Said he the other day:
“The letters come from women two
blocks to fifteen tl^eusand miles away.
I hardly had supposed there were so
many single women—and widows—in
the world.” The multimillionaire
bachelor seems to be making a joke
of it, and perhaps, if he is really ma
trimonially Inclined, he has his eye
on a woman who is not Included
among the long list of eager corres
pondents, many of whom no doubt
would not have written to him had
they known that he would give some
of the letters to the press for publica
tion, which they have reason to re
gard as a breach of confidence.—
Nashville Banner.
It is the irony fate that veterans
should survive the dangers of four
years war and the casualties of near
ly half a century of civil life only
to perish at length in a railroad
wreck.
Minneapolis and Louisville' having
withdrawn from the contest it looks
as if the next democratic national
convention would go to Baltimore
without further dispute. Suits us
down to theg round.
Chicago eats 40,000,000 pigs feet a
year, according to statistics. We had
no idea the Windy City ■v\'as such a
souse.
THE MEAT PROBLEM.
A Fine Idea.
It Is a fine Idea of Rodman Wana-
maker to erect a colossal statue of the
American Indian in or on the margin
of New York harbor, and after several
members had uttered their apprecia
tion of Mr. Wanamaker’s project the
house unanimously gave its assent.
It is pretty certain that the real man
is not on his way to extinction. The
best authorities are confident that
there are more Indians on the conti
nent than there were when the white
man intruded upon their hunting
grounds. But the contemporary In
dian is not an heroic or a picturesque
figure. The aboriginal Indian was
both, despite some deplorable notions
he had on the subject of the means of
carrying on warfare. Furthermore,
except from the Quakers of Pennsyl
vania he received pretty bad treat
ment at the hands of the white men.
An artisitc memorial of the race which
the white men found on the ground,
located at the chief gate of entrance
to North America, appeals to a fine
sentiment.—Philadela Record.
To the Editor of The News.
Since certain parties, mostly those
having interests at stake, seem to take
a special delisht in condemning our
farmers for bringing unsanitary food
products into the city and selling them
on the streets, it is lull time for the
other side of the question to have a
hearing. Maligning our honest yeo
manry as being unscrupulous and not
trustworthy could be passed by in
silence but for the fact that any clam
or however false, will find believers
and follow^ers.
Recently a ranpant rumor was go
ing the rounds that a putrid piece of
meat had been brought from the
country to the abattoir. Failed to
register his name. Singular indeed.
Very mysterious; and that fellow’ is |
still at large. Go to the abattoir, take
a look for yourself and be convinced
that its managers ought not to be
the first to throw stones.
In a recent isue of the Observer
appeared a communication from an
agent of the Swift Packing Company
denunciatory of home raised products,
claiming th^t they were unsanitary
and unsafe for use. No one, for a min
ute ever anticipated the butting in
from such a quarter, and I will, forth
with, pay him my compliments. I
hope 3H(^ would like to believe, that
the author of this outburst had no
ulterior or selfish motives in view.
Does he fear competition since the
opening of the avenues of trade to the
surrounding country? Does a vision of
the future loom up before his mind’s
eye of fat steers coming into the city
through unobstructed channels? Or,
does he hear and behold in his
dreams the lowing herds slowiy wind
ing their way over the mountain tops
and doAvn the verdant slopes of the
Blue Ridge, making towards the
Queen Citj—an ever welcome mart—
with open gates to receive them.
Nothing to hinder this dream from
becoming a reality. All barriers have
been torn away. Our banner, waving
in the breeze, has inscribed thereon
that noble expression of liberty—
free trade.
Notwithstanding all and every on
slaught made upon our farmers the
consumers in Charlotte refuse to give
up their faith in them. Having tried
their pure fresh and palatable meats
and vegetables, they ire satisfied.
Serious objections are raised to the
cold storage meats, owing to the pe
culiar taste, smell and toughness; and
some go so far as to say that putrl-
faction sets in so soon as the ice is
removed or within a short time after
wards. As a rule the markets appear
to be clean and kept in good order,
but this does not prevent the noxious
odors, emanating from decaying meats,
from infecting any good meats that
may be on hand. Neither does it hold
back the disagreeable smell that is
wafted through the screen doors on
to the sidewalks to greet the olfactor
ies of the passers by.
Much the same comment might be
made in comparing the stale vegeta
bles found in the grocery stores, with
the fresh articles handled in from the
countrty. Chickens directly from the
farmers’ yards have bright eyes and
red combs and are generally fat. In
the coops at the stores, confined for
days and packed In close quarters, the
very reverse, frequently, holds true.
And I do not blame the merchants,
either for they cannot help it.
I believe in having a genuine in
spection of all meats, fruits and veg
etables, and not a sha|m affair as is the
case now. Our farmers would not have
the slightest objection and would
even covet an honest Inspection. A
disinterested man—a paid official for
an inspector— is the crying need of
the hour.
H. U HUNTER.
('iV
The “Mona Lisa” Theft.
The theft of the Mona Lisa from the
Louvre, if stolen it is, not mislaid or
hidden as a bad jest, is comparable
with the theft of the Koh-i-noor.
Gainsboroughs and Titians have been
stolen from public or private galler
ies, and other great paintings cut from
their frames in churches and abstract
ed. But Leonardo’s masterpiece has
been the crown-jew’^el of the art pos
sessions of France and its loss attracts
a corresponding attention. As the
the mosL famous existing portrait of
a woman jt w’as the most striking pic
ture in the Louvre if not in all Eu
rope, and its inheritance from Francis
I.’s collection had given it a combin
ed artistic and sentimental value
■vc'hich made it one of the choicest of
French national possessions. Its
theft will be a matter of keen interest
and concern in tens of thousands of
American homes where there are pho
tographic reproductions of the work.
What will the thief do with it? He
cannot, possibly dispose of it even
through the devious jihannels of ex
change in the underworld. Every
dealer and connoisseur in Europe will
be on the watch for it and a swarm of
detectives will be put on its trail. On
ly a thievish art-lover with the miser
ly attributes that find satisfaction in
the secret contemplation of a treasure
can enjoy its guilty possession.
Great art-works are more exposed
to mutilation than to theft. Numer
ous paintings in the Louvre have been
slashed with a knife or otherwise dis
figured, Poussin’s ‘ Le Deluge” among
them, and following the conviction of
a woman for multilating an Ingres in
1.907 the French Minister of Fine Arts
had the more valuable paintings pro
tected by barriers of ironwork or in
closed in glass.
The thief who has made off with
the Mona Lisa under the conditions of
security with which it was hedged
about accomplished his purpose with
a skill and boldness which makes this
the most sensational art-burglary of
modern times.—New York W'orld.
The Senate Prospectively.
If, as now seems to be conceded,
Arizona elects t'wo democratic sena
tors and New Mexico two republican
senators, the admission of these two
new states will not affect the political
complexion of the senate. When, how
ever, the seat of the late Senator Frye
is filled by a democrat, and Colorado,
£s is most likely, sends a democratic
colleague for Mr. Guggenheim, the re
publican majority in the senate will be
reduced to eight.
This, as best, is but a narrow mar
gin, and when it is considered that the
13 insurgent republicans are not in
accord with their party brethren, it is
easy to see that the republicaii control
of the upper body is more in name
than in reality. It was even demon
strated In the vote upon the cotton
bill that if the regular republicans re
frain from voting, the democrats can
carry their measures without the help
of their allies In the ranks of the In
surgent republicans.
The situation is Interesting because
it means that if the democrats carry
the country in 1912 they will have con
trol of both branches of the national
legislature. This happened in 1893,
when Cleveland entered upon his sec
ond term, but the democratic majority
in the senate was so narrow that the
democratic leaders were greatly em
barrassed when they came to consider
the tariff bill. Every diverse interest
had to be satisfied', as the defection of
one or two Senators menaced the pass
age of the measure. This condition
will not prevail in the senate in 1913,
provided the democrats elect their
presidential candidate, because a dem
ocratic victory w^ill probably displace
Briggs, of New Jersey; Richardson, of
Delaware; Dixon, of Montana; Gug
genheim, of Colorado; Borah, of Idaho,
and Brown, of Nebraska. These
changes would give the democrats a
clear working majority.
This situation, if it occur, would be
more satisfactory than that which pre
vailed in 1893, because it would leave
the democrats no excuse for failure to
carry out the pledges of their cam
paign.—Washington Herald.
The Noell Case.
sentenced
Charles Noell to fifteen years in the
state prison at hard labor and in so
^ the saric-
of thi sood name
The Noell case brings tbe horror close
home.
Comparatively few people seem to
realise the gravity of the case against
Noell They see nothing so terrible
about “abduction,” the charge under
which he was tried, and there were
many who said that the case against
him was weak. Those who sat
through the evidence in the court
house, however, saw deeper and they
were horror-stricken at the glimpses
of human depravity revealed in the
trial. Much of the most damaging ev-
idenc’e against the man was inadmis
sible because of the absence of the
woman who calls herself his wife.
To Messrs. Phillips and Bower, who
aided Solicitor Hammer in the prose
cution, are due the thanks of every
good citizen. Mr. Hammer fought the
case with his usual skill and ability,
greatly endearing himself to the peo
ple and adding to his already enviable
reputation.
That the case has attracted state
wide attention appears from the fol
lowing editorial in the News and Ob
server Sunday:
The “white slave” man was lound
guilty in Davidson county and prop
erly sentenced to fifteen years in the
penitentiary. His she devil accom
plice will be found and should be giv
en the same sentence.
As soon as Wiley Black has finished
his sentence for “blind tigering” and
other crimes he should be given fif
teen years for his practice of w'hite
slavery, and the she devil who con
spired with him to carry on that in
famous traffic should be soon put In
the pen.
There Is no punishment severe
enough for such .a hellish crime. In
fact, hanging would be too good,
though the law does not permit it.—-
Lexington Dispatch.
Hecall of Judges to
Be a National Issue
In Coming Election
A Kaffir Jane Addams
*'I once had a conversation with a
Kaffir woman still in her untouched
primitive condition, a conversation
which made a more profound impres
sion on my mind than any but one
other incident connected with the po
sition of woman has ever done,” de
clares Olive Schreiner, in her new
book “Woman and Labor,” which re
ports many strange observations of
women in the wild Africa where she
was born, for use in comparison
with the state of civilized women.
Mrs. Schreiner continues:
“She was a woman whom I can
not think of otherwise than as a
w'oman of genius. In language more
eloquent and intense than I have
ever heard from the Ups of any oth
er woman, she painted the condition
of the women of her race; the labor
of women, the anguish of woman as
she grew older and the limitations
of her life closed about her, her
sufferings under the conditions of
polj'gamy and subjection.
“All this she painted with passion
and intensity, yet, combined with a
deep and almost fierce bitterness
against life and the unseen powers
which had shaped woman and her
conditions as they were, there was
not one word of bitterness against
the individual men, nor any will or
intention to revolt. Rather, there
was a stern and almost majestic atti
tude of acceptance of the inevitable.”
This “ignorant savage,” declares
Mrs. Schreiner, first made her un
derstand thep ositlori of women—an
understanding now so important, in
view of the position taken by the
Schreiner book, “Woman and La
bor.” Says she:
“It was this conversation which
first forced upon me the fact which I
have since come to regard as al
most axiomatic, that the women
of no race will ever rise in revolt,
however intense their suffering, and
how^ever clear their perception of it,
while the welfare of their society re
quires their submission.
V
Taft and Roosevelt.
Mr Svdney Brooks, the English wri
ter ■vv'ho now and again maizes an in
cursion into American affairs for one
periodical or another, has an^ article in
a recent issue of- the Fortnightly Re-
vie'w in which he gives the result of a
num'ber of interviews with Colonel
Roosevelt, held at the offices of the
Outlook and at >the home of the ex
president. The article is interesting
from at least two standpoints, the first
being the manner in which its author
attempts to stamp it with authenticity
while at the same time denying that
it is authentic and taking upon himself
the responsibility for what it con
tains. He says “Although I shall be
using as nearly as possible the ex-pres
ident’s ipsissima verba. I, and I alone,
am to be held responsible,” which be
ing freely translated, means: Though
I shall tell you exactly what he said
to me, It is not what he said if, after
seeing it in cold type, he decides that
it is not what he wishes he had said.
The second interesting thing about
the interview is the freeness from re
straint with which the former Presi
dent discussed President Taft and his
administration, for nob.oay who reads
the Brooks article will doubt that it is
a clear Teflex of Colonel Roosevelt s
mind upon the subject.
Mr. Brooks says Colonel Roosevelt is
frankly disappointed in the present
president; that he chose him for presi
dent because he thought him the best
man available, though not the Ideal
man; that he did not expect gratitude,
but that he did expect imitation, and
in that he has been disappointed; that
he confesses an error of judgment
in selecting him as his own successor,
but that while recognizing Taft’s
shortcomings he is not to be reckoned
as an anti-Taft man. Then comes out
the information that while the Colonel
is not to be considered a candidate
for the presidential nomination, still,
if the call should be “unmistakably
and overwhelmingly” for him, he would
not stop up hia ears to keep from hear
ing it, and that under circumstances
of that kind he “would be willing to
enter the race for the White House
once more.”
Mr. Brooks gathered further that
the democrats have shown shrewd and
courageous leadership in congress, un
der which they “have thus far disop-
pointed their foes and amazed and de
lighted their friends,” and intimates
that they have thereby laid -out for
any standpat republican who may be
nominated, William Howard Taft pre
ferred, an extremely rocky, thorny
and danger-beset road. The impres
sion createdy upon the Brooks mind
by what he heard was to the effect
that if the democrats should name
Woodrow Wilson as their standard
bearer, and the republican flag should
be borne again by Taft, the colonel
would be torn by conflicting emotions
as to “under which flag” he \Hfould
flght, though he gave the Impression
that he was in closer sympathy with
Wilson.
Mr. Brooks also, learned somewhat
that for an ex-president to break with
(By JONATHAN WINFIELD)
Washington, Aug. 26.—That the
president’s veto of the Arizona and
New Mexico statehood bill has made
the recall of judges a national issue,
to be fought out before the people of
the entire country, during the ap
proaching campaigns is the emphatic
opinion expressed by many members
of congress.
Members of the house committee on
territories, the majority of whom be
lieve that Arizona should be permit
ted to incorporate the recall in its
constitution if she desires, believe
that President Taft’s action has done
more to crystallze the issue of the In
itiative, referendum and recall than
anything else.
Members of the committee, at a
meetlag which was called to consider
an attempt to override the president’s
veto, did some plain talking. Before
the president’s veto, it was pointed out,
the recall was more or less a state
problem, to be fought out among the
states themselves. Oregon now has
the recall of the judlclarj’. The Cali
fornia legislature has voted to submit
such an issue to the people, and then
came along Arizona, which incorpo
rated the recall in its constitution.
The initiative and referendum is em
ployed in several states.
President Taft has now made the re
call a national issue and one to be
decided by the states. The president
declared that he would never approve
the constitution of Arizona so long as
it contained the provision. Such a
course on the part of the president, it
is said by members of congress, means
that the progressives of the country
have been furnished with another
weapon with which to go before the
voters.
The echo of the president’s veto
message will be heard in the next
campaign, especially in the western
states, where the initiative, referen
dum and recall is gaining groung
among the progressive republicans,
as well as the democrats.
Regardless of what action may be
taken by congress toward admitting
the two new states, the national issue
will be there just the same. W’^hether
the president’s veto is overridden, or
whether congress backs down to a
certain extent and yields to the die-
':ate of the' White House by requiring
that the recall be eliminated from
Arizona’s constitution, it will have but
little effect on a future agitation of
this latest and growing movement.
Representative Martin, of Colorado,
one of the democratic members of
the house committee on territories,
summed up the situation thus:
“The president’s veto of this state
hood bill has made a national issue
of the recall. I may as well be frank
and say that the initiative, referen
dum and recall Is gaining ground in
this countrj% regardless of what con
gress does or does not approve about
it. The will of two or three hundred
lawyers in Washington is not going
to shape the mind of the people. These
doctrines are sure to take hold in this
country, and as a result there will
probably be a number of political fun
erals later.”
The statehood bill passed both the
senate and the house by a large~v^
In the house the majority was ovf>r
whelmlngly in favor of admitting boty,'
of the territories to the Union Th?
house thought it had gone far enouS
when it required that Arizona -^houM
vote again on the recall of the in
diclary. It was also required thl
New Mexico should consider a prono
sition to make its constitution easier
to amend.
This left the matter up to the peo
pie. If Arizona still wanted the recall
congress was willing that she should
have it. If New Mexico preferred Its
present constitution, congress was will,
ing that she should have it, providing
that a second election so registerprt
the will of the people.
The president, however, set his foot
down on the recall, regardless o^’ a
second election. He let it he known
he would never approve a statehood
bill with such a provision as is in the
Arizona constitution. The president
gave the people of Arizona no alter
native. They must either eliminate
the recall or stay out of the Union
The temper of the majority of the
two bodies of congress, especially the
house, was not improved w-hen the
veto message was presented. There
was immediate talk of over-riding tke
veto. The house thought it had the
votes and the senate stood “very
close.” Then was suggested a possi
ble compromise so that the states
might no longer be kept out. The
house committee agreed to talk of
compromise v/ith the understanding
that no matter ■^.'hat the result might
be, it should not be construed as an
admission on the part of the house
that it was wrong and the president
right.
“The position of the house,” said one
member of the committee, “is that the
people of Arizona and not the presi
dent have the privilege of naming a
constitution. The veto of the presi
dent means that he is dictating the
constitution of a soverign state. Even
if congress yields to the president's
demands. It will not be an admission
that we think he Is right about this
matter, but our action will be based on
the desire to let in these territories
without further wrangling.”
Lawyers in the House point out
that the president admits that Arizo
na may slap the recall back into its
constitution as soon as it Is admit
ted to the union. Oregon has the re
call and she is in the Union. Arizona
would have similar rights and, if fore
ed to temporarily omit the recall,
could later amend the constiution
so as to include it. This fact led some
constitutional lawyers of the honse
and senate to think that the presi
dent’s veto is a rather useless docu
ment, if Arizona is really determined
to have her ow^n way.
The president had no objection to
the New Mexico constitution, but sines
the two territories have been linked
together in their long fight for state
hood, New Mexico must wait also un-
till the recall muddle is settled.
There Is no doubt that the prefi?
dent has made the recall a national is
sue. and his veto will be heard from
in the approaching national cam'
palgn.
the party that put him there "would in-
volwve a tremendous wrench,” without
saying what would be wrenched, and
intimates strongly that while the col
onel would probabi hesitate to wrench
himself, he would not be so squeam
ish about his followers, many of whom
would vote for Wilson in preference
to Taft “even though the ex-presi
dent himself were to sacrifice his per
sonal predilections to his sense of par
ty loyalty.”
It is a fine, illuminating article, and,
while it hold up no quotation marks to
guide the reader in picking out just
what the colonel said, it certainly has
plenty of earmarks to give it the ne
cessary veri-similtude, an^ It will
dwoubtless pass current for Roosevelt-
tender wherever circulated. Mr.
Brooks says that while not quoting
the colonel as to anything at all, he
understood he was not to given even
“the substance of his major indiscre
tions,” which leads the reader to won
der how big the biggest of them could
have been.
Again, and for the last time, it Is a
most illuminating article.—Baltimore
Sun.
■
Mr. Taft’s Course.
The most important result of the
special session of congress is the re
habilitation of the democratic party
in national affairs—not from the
standpoint of partisan advantage but
from the standpoint of the public
welfare.
It is Infinitely more important in
the light of Mr. Taft’s evident deter
mination to commit political suicide,
as manifested in his use of the veto
power to destroy tariff legislation to
reduce the cost of living.
Mr. Taft’s blunder Is indefensible,
almost Incredible. We say this more
in sorrow than In anger, for it is
best for the country that both can
didates for president in 1912 should
be excellent men who represent
sound and truly progressive princi
ples. For political reasons of his own
Mr. Taft has deliberately chosen ele
ments of his party, arraying himself
in equal hostility to progressive
democracy and its natural ally insur
gent republicanism. Mr. Taft’s own
conduct gives added importance to
this democratic rehabilitation in its
relation to the public welfare.
Mr. Taft’s veto policy makes tariff
reform and tariff reduction the burn
ing Issue of the 1912 campaign. It
makes a coalition between the dem
ocrats and the insurgent republicans
not only logical but Inevitable if the
Insurgents are to retain the flim
siest threads of political consistehcy
and conscience. It opens the way to
the election of a democratic presi
dent unless the democratic party,
should destroy its own chances by j
going to extremes.
Our form of government cannot
success full be carried on without a
sane, vigorous opposition, and for
moral force. It became hardly more
than an attachment to one republican
faction or the other, and nowhert
was it taken seriously.
Democrats themselves had begiin
to doubt the fitness of the democratic
party to govern, and when a demo
cratic house of representatives was
elected last fall it was common beliel
that the democrats ■w'ould proceed tc
make fools of themselves at the first
opportunity. None of these pessimis
tic prophecies has been fulfilled.
Under the leadership of Speaker
Clark and Mr. Underw'ood the dem
ocrats in the house have followed
an intelligent and consistent course
in respect to all questions that cam*e
before them. They have carried out
their promises with moderation and
common sense. The democrats in the
senate in the main have followed the
leadership of the house, and there i3
little in the record that requires ex
planation or apology.
Had there been a republican house,
no Canadian reciprocity bill could
have been passed, no corrupt prac
tices act would have been enacted,
no steps would have been taken to
, compel further reductions in the du-
I ties that affect the cost of living, no
light would have been let in on the
operations of the sugar trust and
the steel trust, nothing ■n'ould have
been done to eradicate the corrup-
*tion that Is inevitable when one par
ty is too long in power. Even in so
far as Mr. Taft has been progressive
■he would have been thw'arted by the
very elements of his own party with
which he has now alllde himself. All
tnese reforms have been forced by
. the mere fact of a virile opposition
which could command public support
and confidence.
Thus far the Democratic party has
proved by its record in congress that
it can keep its head. We have an op
position again that can intelllgentb
voice public protest against public
wrong. We have a two-party repu
lie in place of a one-party republic.
Thanks to a rehabilitated democ
racy under sane leadership, Mr. Tat
surrender to privilege finds the cou^
try with means of redress, -s
York World.
SALOON AT TAILOR SHOP.
New York, Aug. 26.—In explaining tc
Deputy Commissioner Dillon why
were off post. Policemen William Shee
had and Edward Finland revealed a
new view of the utility of saloons.
The strenuous exercise of
had literally torn a genuine coat o •
ton from his chest, Sheehan said, a
having no needle, thread nor even
much as a sewing machine upon -
person he entered a saloon to ,
an ice pick with w^hich to make a
within which to anchor the rec
trant button. Sheehan declare
knife was of no use because a r
- — niiin? wo,& .
sixteen yj^rs there was no opposi-1 hole could only be made with an ic
In Washmgton worthy of the pick. Finland said he went in
name. The republicans controlled j pigt Sheehan. The deputy fined ea
the presidency and both houses of 15 days’pay.
congress. Their majorities were over-
w'helming. The democratic minority
carried little political force and less
Bad handwriting is often
cover a lot of poor orthography.