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SUNDAY. JANUARY 14, 1923
'The Governor’s Transportation
Bill.
-o
The transportation bill introduced
in the Legislature at the request of
the governor, and providing for a
boat line and North Carolina termin
als, i3 carefully drawn and shows i
that the governor is proceeding
cautiously in the matter, and is not
going to hazard the reputation and
finances of the state in an untried
enterprise without a thorough inves
tigation. The act provides for the ap
pointment of a commission and . im
poses upon that commission the duty
of making a thorough investigation
of the facts pertaining to every fea
ture of the undertaking. After this is
done the, commission reports to the
council of state which must finally
decide whether the state will under
take this enterprise. If it so decides
-the state is authorized to issue the
necessary bonds to buy the vessels,
acquire terminals, and do such other
things as may be necessary to put
the line in operation.
After this investigation the state.
ought to be able to determine whether
it can successfully operate these boat
lines without loss to the state and
with advantage to the public as a
whole. If we assume that the state
can properly engage in all kinds of
business, which we have never been
quite reconciled to notwithstanding
the general tendency of public opin
ion, the next question is whether this
business may be engaged in at a loss
of money, or only in case it is pro
itable. Of course nobody will con
tend that public officials may con
duct a business at a loss to the state
when such business may be made to
pay or may be discontinued. The
governor’s bill is broad enough to
authorize the carrying on of this busi
ness or its discontinuance, and if the
business can not be carried on suc
cessfully the people of the state
would not tolerate operations at a
loss.
• we tninK me mu would be
strengthened if it contained a pro
vision requiring the commission to
■ set aside from the earnings of the en
terprise a sufficient*’ amount of money
to pay the interest on the debt and to
create a sinking fund to pay off the
<Jebt when due, because the state is
not justified in engaging in an en
terprise which is not self-sustaining
any more than an individual would
be. On the whole we think that the
act is well drawn and is cautiously
conceived, and that the council of
state and the commission to be ap
pointed may be trusted to handle this
matter with discretion.
-o
Unofficial Observers.
-o
By common consent Senator Reed,
of Missouri, 'is recognized as a man
of a certain order of ability; but
nothing short of the rankest sort of
partisanship could mistake his bit- (
ing invective for statesmanship. ;
Reed,, began his public career' as a
district prosecuting officer, and it i
would have been well fbr the reputa- ]
tion of his country If his political ac- i
tivities, had been confined to the ;
sphere for which his abilities so em- i
iaently qualified him. He 'was the j
outstanding democrat who opposed ;
ratification of the Versailles Treaty, i
and It is quite posible that except'for
bis alliance with Lodge, the treaty 1
might have been ratified in some ac
ceptable though modified form. In :
the arena of the Senate his useful- i
ness is distressingly, limited. His ]
constructive faculty Is of a very low ]
order, and his criticisms are -alwayi
and invariably bitterly destructive
He is gifted with a certain sort of im
agination, the kind which can palm
sunsets, waterfalls and humminf
bird wings, but is utterly lacking ir
the higher attributes of imaginatior
which visualize human rights and as
pirations and sufferings. He has
never been able to work himself out
of the traditional trough of national
isolation, and has remained, and al
ways will remain, a stranger to the
intimacy o fcontact and interest
brought about by modern world de
velopments. Being in himself an
apostrophe to isolation it is natural
to find him again playing the role of
the last of the guards. Borah has de
serted him, Capper has deserted him,
| and every man of vision and unbine
j ed prejudices must desert him.
' Reed’s last demand in his isola
| tion program is for the Senate to
j adopt g resolution disapproving the
presence of unoffilcal observers at
foreign conferences; notwithstanding
that these observers are their the am
bassadors or other representatives of
this government, and that their in
formal part in these conferences en
hances' their usefulness to their coun
try. We sepd representatives abroad
for the purpose of keeping our gov
ernment advised about foreign hap
penings, and the status of a foreign
representative is of itself a repudia
tion of the extreme'doctrine Of isola
tion. If this country could live alone
and apart from the world, it would
not be necessary to concern ourselves
with world happenings or send our
representatives abroad to express
our views and protect our rights;
and were we to follow Reed’s policy
to its logical conclusion, we would
not have a representative in a foreign
land for fear that something might
happen to embroil us in foreign en
tanglements.
-o
France’s and Germany’s
Positions.
-o
Under the Versailles Treaty the
right is reserved to any of the allied
3nd associated powers to take forcible
possession of German territory if
necessary to enforce economic de
mands, when and if the Reparations
Commission declare Germany to have
willfully defaulted in carrying out
its engagements. The stipulation is
dear so there can be no doubt of
France's legal right to the step she
has taken in occupying the Ruhr sec
tion with her economic forces ade
quately sustained by the military.
Great Britain »and the Unted States
do not contest France's legal right,
but gravely doubt the expediency of
the step taken. The last word spoken
by Bonar Law when taking leave of
Poincare in Paris was that he hoped
the French position would prove to
be right, but that he could not dis
miss his doubts; and Secretary
Hughes’ views,' as far as they are
known, are not essentially different.
The course being pursued by
France follows closely that of Bis
mark when the German forces oc
cupied France in 1871, so it does not
lay with Germany to complain
that France’s policy is some
thing new and unprecedented. The
"deifying" of force is admittedly the
work of the Germans, and during the
early years of the war force was the j
Germany slogan. It will be recalled j
that when President Wilson felt con-j
3trained to ask Congress to. declare j
war, he parried the German menace
with the statement that, having put
3ur hand on the plow, we would run
‘he furrow by the application of
force without stint, force without
limit; and this is what won the war.
It is to be regretted, but the truth
stands out too clearly to be denied,
:hat German psychology yields to
nothing but force; nor will it be de
nied that Germany has fallen tar
short of fulfilling her engagements
tnder the treaty, and that the devas
tated areas of Ffance have been re
stored practically at the expense of
French revenues. We can well im
igine French imitation at Germany’s
failure, and at what appear^ to be
;he’want of wilPto pay the penalty
>f her misdeeds; and both Great
3ritain and the United States seem
;o be willing to let France try out
ler experiment before offering rur
her their good- offices for solving
he problem in some practical way.
rhe belief seems to be fast crystaliz
ng that the crisis must' of its own
force work out some practical ad
ustment,
But the position which Germany
akes with reference to the invasion j
>f the Ruhr by. the French is a rather j
tnomalous one. Germany - contends
hat in as much as France has en
ered Germany for the purpose of col
ecting the indemnities which Ger
nany had promised to pay, she,
France, has violated the treaty and ;
hereby released Germany from any I
>ayment of the indemnities agreed. to ;
n the treaty. We are not prepared!
o speak as to the wisdom of France’s
nyasion of Germany for the collec
ion of this indemnity. \ _ --
However, we cannot follow the
ogic of Germany when she admits'
iwing France and being unable to :
>ay, and thep saying that she is re- i
based from payment because France
i endeavors to collect that which Is
due. If a debtor who refuses to pay
could plead a breach of contract be
cause a creditor attempts to ''collect,
: It would be a rather easy matter to
^dispose of our liabilities. 'We doubt
that France will gain anything by en
tering Germany, but we cannot find
it in our hearts to call her to task for
an effort to collect the indemnity to
which she is Justly entitled. The fur
ther we get away from the war the
easier it is to excuse the. aggressor,
but France has suffered more than
any other party to the conflict and
we look ujion her efforts to collect
the indemnity with a spirit of rarity
if not approval.
The Seduction Bill.
-0
The bill introduced in the legis
i lature, backed by the slate Federa
tion of Women’s Clubs, changing the
rule of proof in cases of seduction un
, der tne promise of marriage does not
; receive our commendation. We know
the purposes and 'intentions of Jhe
promoters of this law are perfectly
sincere, but it is the wisdom of
: changing the statute which we dis
pute. The present law provides that
the unsupported testimony of the
woman is not sufficient to convict one
charged with seduction under the
promise of marriage. This statute
| has been in force in North Carolina
i for nearly forty years, and was
j passed, not for the purpose of pro
j tecting the guilty, but to prevent
I blackmail of the innocent. The ,law
only requires supporting testimony in
order to convict the defendant, but
’saves the Jury the embarrassment of
guessing where the only testimony on
the one hand is that of#a woman who
may be a vicious woman and of a
; man; who may^be a perfectly Innocent
man, or vice versa. The statute was
precautionary and intended as a
safeguard. The requirements or
proof supporting testimony are very !
j liberal.' A letter or other circnm
1 stances would be sufficient, and al
most invariably such could be pro
duced if the charges are true; but the ]
i proposed charge in the law, would |
permit a vicious woman to swear an |
innocent man into prison or disgrace
even if he were to „truthfully testify
■ he had never seen her.
We remember something of rules
of evidence fixed under the Jewish
law, evidenced by no better authority
than the Old Testament, which ought
to be to some extent persuasive to
those who still believe in such estab
lished principles:
"One witness shall not rise up
against a man for any iniquity, or
for any sin, in any sin that he sin
neth: at the mouth of two witnesses,
or at the mouth of three witnesses,
shall the matter be esablished."
Bu when Joseph departed from the
home of his race and became a slave
in Egypt he was no longer protected
by the Hebrew law and fell into the
hands of the heathen Egyptians,
whose laws required no "supporting
testimony.” We recall the malicious
story that Potiphar’s wife designed
against Joseph, and thereby cast him
Into prison. If the Hebrew law
could have been applied, or even if
the Statute in North Carolina, which
has been so great a safeguard for
forty years, could have been resorted
to, Potiphar’s wife would have been
required to produce some testimony
supporting her evidence before she
could have cast Joseph into prison.
We like progress and we wish to see
the State of North Carolina go ahead;
but we are afraid that we are too
prone to forget the land marks of
the past and to refuse to be guided
by the principles which have so long
served the human race. Statutory
morals have not so far been able to
correct faults to which humankind is
addicted, and we hardly expect any
panacea for the wrongs that we com
plain of other than the development
of a high moral character and the
clinging to the Standards of our
fathers. Now that t&e judiciary com
mittee of the house has reported this
bill unfavorably, we think that it
should sleep where it is, because any
effort to pass it should not be suc
cessful and its advocates can gain
nothing by pressing it. .
Resistance By Obstinacy.
1 -o
About all that France must expect
to get out of her military foray Into
the Ruhr basin ■will be a kind of spec
tacular revenge, If the German policy
of “passive resistance” is to be car
ried out. In the reichtag, at Berlin
on Thursday, Chancellor Cu.no in
formed the foreign affairs committee
that “Germany’s reparations obliga
tions would cease to be discharged in j
further dealings with the treaty
breaking powers,” meaning France,
Belgium and Italy. ■
That seems to indicate on its face !
that Germany has repudiated her rep- i
arations debt to France, and' the first 1
step towards it was Chancellor Cuno’s ' 1
announcement that the 'transports^ <
tlon of coal on the reparations ac- (
count ceased at* 9 o'clock Thursday <
morning, by' order of the German '
government. It this means anything,j.
the significance of it is that the Ger- j
nans have decided to resist by stub-;,
borness instead of by force. She re
fuses to quit making payments or
her reparations debt, and France maj
get reparations ' if she can by hei
costly occupation plan. The Germai
government not only refuses to pay
any more reparations, and will refuse
; to pay the cost of France’s military
: venture into the 'Ruhr basin or any
other portion of Germany.
That is all quite pertinent to the
circumstances that the temporary
moratorium granted to Germany ex
pires by limitation tomorrow. Her
dues of 600,000,000 gold marks is
payable tomorrow, but Germany has
already announced that she has stop
ped paying reparations and 4s through
with “further dealings with the treaty
breaking powers.” In the meantime,
a Paris dispatch In yesterday’s pa
pers announced that the reparations
j commission will grant Germany un
j til February 1 to make her indem
■ nity payment of 600,000,000 gold
[marks. 'The inference is that Ger
i many' will not even offer to make any
effort to make a payment tomorrow.
This granting of two weeks more
time to Germany tn make a money
payment is said to have been on ac
count of a request from France, so as
to give France more time to prepare
new moratorium conditions. How
ever, it is believed in Paris that “the
increasing Indication of passive re
sistance by Germany to the French
occupation of the Ruhr has much to
do with it.”
trance, ior me nrst time, seems 10
begin to realize that-she is up against
it. According to the German view,
France underrated the magnitude ot
her collection scheme in the Ruhr,
since it is agreed that unless the Ger
mans co-operate with her in operat
ing the coal mines and other lndus
ries she can not do so to any advant
age herself. The French admit it
themselves and are making efforts to
secure co-operation from German op
erators of the coal mines and iron in
dustries. Possibly, the mine and fac
tory operators may be willing to co
operate, but the German government
itself offers obstinate opposition and
the much larger question will be Ger
many’s decision to repudiate payment
of her cash indemnity duetomorrow.
That is a situation which might
compel France to annex the. Ruhr,
v-hich the Germans ar3 satisfied is
France's real object. She has not
kept her big ar.ny for 'ear of Ger
many, but for 'ie purpose of enforc
ing the Versailles peace treaty in the
French way. Great .Britain saw what
it was all leading to, so she left
France, Belgium and Italy to m ike
the venture. Uncle Sam realized the
ominous meaning of it all and pecall
ed his troops from the danger zone.
Now, it is said, in yesterday’s dis
patches, Premier Poincare hopes to
arrange a meeting with the Germans
to which would be Invited Great Brit
ain, Belgium, Italy and perhaps the
United States. In that event we may
expect more "isolation." France
might make such an invitation, one
Aot at all enticing to the Washington
government. ^
CONTEMPORARY VIEWS.
-0
A GIGANTIC IRRIGATION PLAN
in the southwestern corner of the
United States is an undeveloped em
pire. Experience in the Imperial Val
ley has demonstrated that the section
will have great fertility when it is
brought under irrigation. Yet that
valley is but one small part of an im
mense domain susceptible of agricul
tural exploitation with the help of
water. The water is there in such
abundance as to be a menace. The
trouble is that the precious liquid is
not on tap and under control, and that
it rushes off in periodic floods which
menace the areas already reclaimed.
The Imperial Valley 'and many
other valleys in that section lie below
sea level. The Colorado river flows
above them towards the sea in a silt
made channel built a little higher
each year with the detritus brought
Sown from the southwestern Rockies.
Consequently, when the river bregks
its banks the result is a deluge. Sal
ton . Sea, hundreds of miles long, is
one the turbid Colorade’s unwelcome
gifts to the southwest; and that in
undation would have engulfed they
whole Imperial Valley except for mil
lions spent by the federal government
ind the Southern Pacific railroad.
Engineering science despairs of
making the Colorado river a safe and
friendly stream by effort^, applied to
ts lower reaches. Consequently there
s a. plan now under consideration to
ouild a huge dam far to the north,
where the river issues from the moun
:ain. That is its point of highest sat
uration; thence it loses, water through
evaporation and leak’age. Sponsors
lor. the plan set. forth . that this dam
would impound the largest bulk of
merchantable water collectible any
where in America, that by "its aid un
sold millions of desert acres could b
wrought Into cultivation, and, further
more, that this development, far frofei
lestroylng any natural beauties would
ihange for the better the character of
he most desolate part of the United
Jtates. , .
Below the Grand Canyon the Colo
■ado makes ■ no pretensions, to beauty;
md except for Irrigation and power
mrposes 'it appears to have no utility
dther. No ports dot Its shores; the
•lver can gnake no contribution to the
world’s commerce except. bY growing
regetdblbs and frhits carried to mar
ket by steam transport. The Colorado
ornes to the sea, amid a vast confus
pu of sandbars, In the steaming Gulf
if California, shut oft from the Pa-,
dfic by a desert peninsula, and hence
dosed for practical purposes to ocean
raved. In view of all the physical
renditions, this new plan of control
or the must unruly of all America’s
;reat rivers should appeal to the.
:ountry In spite of .its great initial
ibst and the distance of the river
mm important centers oi population.
-Ntw York Evening Post.
Sunshine Laundry Damp Wash Ser- «.
rice. Call 172.—Adv.
IT IS SUNDA Y MORNING
BY W. A. STANBUBY
SALARIES AND SOULS
j "A man’s life consisteth not in
I the abundance of the things
j which he possesseth"—Luke
! 12:15. y
| Many good people have held
! that it is a virtue to despise
property and to smother the in
stincts of the body and the, tem
poral life. Consequently, 7 they
j have gone to live in monasteries
and convents, shut In from the
distractions of the world, shut up
, to meditation and prayer. It is
i reported that at a certain mon
j as,try in Kentucky- there are men
j so completely out of the, world
| that they know nothing of the
j events which have changed the
I whole face of human society in
the last eight years,
j There is only one mistake
I worse than this and that is to
| hold, with much of modern litera
j ture, and with no little of modern
j living, that man’s life is summed
| up and included in possessions,
and in the things of sense. A
little excursion into popular fic
tion or into the story of life as
depicted on the movie screen will
reveal that for the most part,
the dominant ideas are there:
i Wealth, Power, the Sensual. And
*n much of it, the first two exist
as a means to the last.
In a day one of the least of
whose activities is real thinking,
this Is not strange. It is easy to
i be a creature of the obvious. We
respond * instantaneously to the
stimulus of the concrete. Money
and the things it will buy, the
flesh and its gratifications, do
! hot have to offer proof with their
I appeal.' They speak straight to
' the senses. Their worst danger
lies in what they conceal, in
what they blind men to. Jesus
speaks of “the deceitfulness of
! riches."
They premise to bring an ac
cession of life: but they do not,
save vfhen they are made life’s
servant, not its master. For life.
| as human beings ought to know
it has a depth that salaries''and |
! wealth can not fathom, is some- J
j thing higher than the concep
| tions of it obtaining in Holly- |
! wood.
If you should ask the in
habitants of that city their idea I
of life, the answer would be in
terms of revels, and $25,000 auto
mobiles—and the answer <5f
; countless others, in high station
j and in low, —^vould not differ
I essentially.
But if you should ask the
spirit of Louis Pasteur, the 100th
j just been commemorated, the
j reply would be in terms of
; sterilized milk for. babies, and of
J the cure and prevention of hu
; man suffering. And if you ask
j Matthew Arnold, bom also 100
i years ago, he will answer in his
i own words: v
I •
“Children of men! not that
your age excel
! In pride of life the ages of
your sires;
) But that you too feel deeply,
bear fruit well,
' The Friend of man desires.”
There is nobody who knows
better the poverty of riches, or
the importance of income to pro
I duce the deep, inward, real worth
and joy of life, than those who
have been disillusioned by ex- j
perience. And there is nothing j
sadder than the sadness who j
have thought to satisfy their
souls on salaries and purchases, !
and have come, too late, to see :
their folly. |
Truly, it is only the fool, who i;
thinks he can feed his soul on |
goods. Jesus, .who knew life all ,
the way through, . said, “What j
shall it profit a man, if he shalls j j
gain the whole world, and lose j i
his own soul?” ; \
Not in possessions, but in soul, ;,
does the ^abundance of life con- j <
sist. I,
FORECAST BY STATES
WASHINGTON'. Jan. 13.—Virginia
Increasing cloudiness and warmer, fol
ioweu uy lain Suin.ay, ..londay fair. I
North and South Carolina: Cloudy
and warmer Sunday; showers Sunday
night; Monday fair; fresh southeast
and south winds. !
Georgia: Cloudy and warmer Sunday;
by Sunday nierht: Monday fair | j
and cooler; fresh southerly winds. <
i la. !>';.:/■ Sunday; warmer in ex- ;
treme northeast portion; Monday fair i
fresh east to south winds. <
Extreme northwest Florida. Ala- 1
bama and Mississ ppi: Cloudy Sunday, !
showers in the interior; Monday fair j 1
and cooler; fresh southerly winds. j I
STANDARD AMERICAN ANM
VI,
1923 World Almanac Add* Va|Uabl
New Featnrea and Is Better '
Than Ever.
- The World Almanac is preser .
the American public for the
eighth year of its publication im- '
in form, handier to consult, ea' ..
<ead, better printed an- on - t
paper.
Readers who in constantly ir.r-.
numbers have testified to its v
a book of daily and constant t-'
will'find the tables of statistics _ • v,o
up to the latest possible date by nl' V1
of departments in the Nations',
ernment, in the States, in ■
(and particularly in New Yor,;
and by men of. authority in - o
trade and industry, and in so i? Vo
cational and religious ; o; . -'V
throughout .the country.
New statistical tables pro=-.
latest census figures regarding ~:K_
tion, vital' statistics and ir.hj.
which are supplemented by thro, ? ;
Departments of Agriculture. Com:
Labor and the Interior, ail
forth In clear form the material ,,-x
of the Republic.
In addition, The World Almar. r=.
sents this year descriptions of Y
oral states of the Union and its ; -
encies, and descriptions of all to- ;
eign countries with their color.;-? a:,
dependencies, carefully prepared
most condensed form from * f
available authorities here and a -00;
Much of this material has beer, furb
ished or revised by the embassies. >?a.
tions and consulates of the cour.tr.«
concerned and by The World Aim...-.a. 5
correspondents abroad.
The record of the year 1922 is
with greater fullness than her-: -
Tile reader will And the carefully
piled chronoligy or diary of the y-:
record of scientific progress, the . -
the death roll, the benefactions, tits
law and other new and important
the full election returns, and the ,
plete sporting events and reccriis -
which he is accustomed. He wii: ai?
9nd new features in authoritative re
views of the financial world an 1 bon,-;
market, with the range of prices : r
stocks on the Exchange un to Decem
ber 1, 1922; also special reviews E.
oor and strikes, American relief .. ,,
in Europe, the great progress made in
aviation, the creation of the Irish Fm •
State, the rise of the Fascist!; the pla:
iorm of the British Labor Party, and 1
• nother field, reviews of the year :
the book world, art, music and rh»
lrama, and in ‘wireless telegraphy ana
telephony. *
Big problems of the year pa?> .ar.d
.he year beginning are presen-«d is
special articles which will be welcomed
lor quick reference as the day’s nmv
vill demand. The Reparation Commis
sion furnished the figures showing
Lctly what Germany has paid in cash
md kind and what the armies of o:c
>atfon have cost.
The exact figures of the interallied
iebts owed to the United States mi"
inpaid interest are furnished by rh
iecretary of the Treasury. The treat!-'-?
>f the Washington Arms Confere;;---?
ire given In full with resultant efte-t?
in the great navies of the powers. Ts
irogress of the League of Nation?
hown by the secretariat. The ?«:•
lient of Soviet Russia's finances is th
liven out officially at the Hague. Ti
ssential points of the Soldiers' B-.-mp
Jill veto are recorded, and so also
hose of President Harding's messaa
n the Ship Subsidy Bill, together mi"
. statement of the affairs of the Unite'
Itates Shipping Board, and sorr.a fa?
■n the enforcement of the Prohibit:-::
Aw.
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est yourself in politic and economic events, i
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