SUBSCRIPTION $1.00 A YEAR, SINGLE! COPY 5 CENTS
SATUDRAY, JANUARY 8, 1916.
ON SALE AT THE NEWS STANDS AND N TRAINS
ESTABLISHED MAY, 1902.
WILL EAT HORSE
AS TO HIGH POLITICS
UNCLE JOE IS THERE
TO RECLAIM DESERT
DRINK DE LUXE
BY AL FAIRBROTHER
The Latest Fad Hard on
Old Dobbin.
T MAY have been that
when King Richard
wildly exclaimed, "A
horse, a horse, my king
dom for a horse" that
he was hungry and
didn't intend to beat it.
At any rate New York
has just thrown off the lid on horse meat, and
the inhabitants of Manhattan are cordially in
vited to swat the high cost of living by fatten
ing; up the old, played out horses and then
slaughter 'em, and sit down to a Cannibal
feast. Never before, since New York has been
a city, and never when the Red Man ate his
raw dog on the Island has the killing of horses
for food been allowed, but now, because in
some of the "furrin" lands they eat horse
meat, it is claimed that it is good enough for
those this side the seas. The resolution lift
ing the lid was unanimously adopted, -so it
seems that hereafter the man who wants
something rare can get it cooked done by or
dering horse steak.
"In adopting this resolution," said Health
Commissioner Emerson, "the board wished to
open the way for an inexpensive and healthy
food supply. Hereafter bid horses, instead of
being sold for their bones can be fattened up
and disposed of for meat. While the depart
ment does not precisely recommend the eat
ing of horse meat, we can see no harm in its
use.' ' 1 -
"The horse never has tuberculosis and prac
tically never communicates a malignant dis
ease -to human beings. Consequently- the
strict regulation of horse meat would not be
necessary, as with cows, sheep or poultry, ex
cept that all horse meat should be so labelled.
There is no medical reason to prevent equine
flesh from being edible.
"To show the relative value of such food
abroad I need only cite the report of Dr. Ack
erman, a veterinarian of the department, who
inspected the horse abbatoirs of Paris, Lon
don and Brussels just before the outbreak of
the war. He found that in Brussels horse
meat from England was bringing higher prices
than Argentine beef."
Of course this new order created consider
able talk and the butchers and packers were
interviewed and they all said that there was
no great rush for the new food. Perhaps there
will not be, and Old Dobbin can pass his use
less years in the boneyard, as heretofore.
For our part we wouldn't want to eat horse
meat, because it is coarse worse than the
worst corned beef you can buy at a dirty
stall. Those who purpose selling horse meat
must be specially licensed, and the hope is
that Gotham will not set the style. We would
just as soon think of confiscating a worn out
automobile and eating the rubber tires.
Settled For A Time.
Those who think the Mexican situation is
finally settled" because one wild man came
into camp starved out, need only to read the
history of that unhappy country for the past
three 'hundred years. There will always be
revolution down there. It is the nature and
thhe instinct of the citizens. Whenever one
man imagines he can get following enough
he is going on the war path, and nothing ' will
keep him off unless he is under another flag.
Just what country will finally take Mexico
cannot be foretold. It was up to the United
States to have taken it long ago and settled
the whole difficulty but watchful waiting
is being heralded as a Sweet Boon. It
will soon be discovered that another outbreak
i on. It is a history so old that there is no
other hope.
O : ;
The Law And Fools.
In St. Louis a man is suing a defunct bank
or those in charge of it, for 20 cents. Now
had it been thirty cents we might understand.
But when a man deliberately, and apparently,
ghoulishly, goes to law for 20 cents he is cer
tainly doing Society great harm. It doesn't
look like the courts would stand for such fool
ishness. It will cost the tax payers hundreds
of dollars and the result will be nothing but
the gratification of a crazy man's whim.
The fact is there are about two thirds of
the cases on court calendars that should not
be allowed there. Some day there will be a
way found to keep them off, too.
O '
The Wrong Time.
The New York World says, speak' "'t of the
Peace expedition : "Mr. Ford has f led not
"because he was wrong but becau?" he was
right at the wrong time and in t'.iz wrong
-way." v;-
A good deal in that. In fact we have it on
the authority of the greatest of all Guide
Books that there is "a time for all things:"
Wisconsin Senator Makes In
teresting Revelations.
ND Murder will out, and most
politics is dirty. "Uncle Ike"
Stephenson, the aged Senator
from Wisconsin has recently
written and published a book for
private circulation in which he
gives some inside pictures of
high-politics together with high
finance in it in Wisconsin, and among other
things he claims that he gave as much as
$500,000 to finance the reform campaigns of
LaFolIette the Fighter. He says that in all
he has given as much as $1,000,000 to the re
publican party. Further he gives it out that
when Fighting Bob wanted to run for the
presidency a lieutenant of Bob's called on him
in Washington and wanted $250,000 as a con
tribution. This, he claims, he refused and
finally it was suggested that $25,000 would
be better than nothing. Then it was that La
Follette, according to Stephenson turned on
him. When Uncle Ike ran again he spent
$107,000 and was elected and the "reformers"
had him investigated. But they showed
nothing wrong. Uncle Ike simply responded
to all callers for his purse was long and fat.
But these figures, if true, and doubtless they
are, show how some of the great reformers of
the age float.
The Season.
This winter has been the limit every
where. It has been blowing hot and cold, like
the Satyr it has been flirting like a pretty
girl. In New York the machine would make
a high dive from sixty to freezing it did the
same in North Carolina and in Arizona, that
land of sunshine that land of Paradise, it
"acted scandalous." In many sections it "friz ;"
in many it snowed ; in others it rained where
it had never dared to rain before and those
who had sought there a dry climate; a light
atmosphere got into their great coats and
sneezed and coughed and blew their nose be
cause nobody had time to blow it for them.
The Arizona climate is a mystery. Down in
the Salt River valley the days will be for a
time as genial as an angel's smile. The sun
woos and wins and beguiles. It is as pleasant
as a dream of Arcadia ever was and then it
will drop down, the machine will, and the
night registers freezing. All nights are cold.
You want your coat off for three hours some
days and the minute the sun sinks you must
have an overcoat or suffer. It reminds one
of a devilish pretty woman all smiles and
caresses for : awhile and then the devil
abroad. It is like the heavy villian in a play.
Smiles and smirks and all gentility and good
manners in daylight a dress suit and a dia
mond pin and at night, in the shadows a
jimmy and a dark lantern. But it is a great
climate nevertheless. While Phoenix tourists
and health seekers were cussing out Arizona
during the recent "spell" the reports showed
frost .below the frost belt in Southern Cali
fornia and San Francisco was ten degrees
colder than ever known.
"(.). say. sinner will you go . '
To" the high lands, of heaven :
Where the storms never blow
And the long summer's given?" ,
-And that, we guess, is the only place
where there is really a grand, cumulative,
wide-spreading never ending all the year cli
mate guaranteed to suit the most fastidious.
We Feared As Much.
And now comes the Pan-American Scien
tific Congress and proposes to prove that the
so-called New World is older than the so
called Old World. The members insist that
they have found caves and broken fragments
of things older than the pyramids of Egypt
that the proof is easy.
Too bad, too bad, that all our idols must be
broken. One of these days we will find that
all our modern things wireless and such,
were so common in "those days" that they
were discarded. The gay old world has no
doubt been in motion some time but we re
gret to give up the idea that this is the New
World. For it is here that all the great dis
coveries are made ; here that all the wonder
ful inventions have been handed out and if
we are old and has-beens it doesn't furnish
the inspiration.
' o-
All In At Seventy.
United States Senator John D. Works, of
California, announces that as he will be sev
enty years of age when his term expires he
will not run again. He says the present meth
ods of conducting campaigns are distasteful
to him; that it takes 'too much energy and too
much money ; and as he hasn't long to remain
on top of the earth he is going to take things
easy. Sensible old man. Willing to cut it out
willing to let loose and forget the glories of
Washington life.
And he is honest in what he says. He in
sists that he isn't exactly in harmony with the
republican party and that next time a repub
lican will be elected therefore he gives up
the ghost. . -
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fj E MAY be getting old in body but
n never in mind. We want to record in
these pages" what Uncle Joe Cannon said
about Preparedness when he was interviewed
in Washington, so we reproduce here his plat
form. Uncle Joe is ready to vote money if
it is in sight but he is one of the pay as you
go men. This is what he said about Prepar
edness : 1
"Preparedness ought to have been provided
for by maintaining a bank account to meet
extraordinary expenses. The Republicans left
such a bank account, but it has been dissipat
ed in the same way the Prodigal Son dispose
ed of his surplus. The President has evi
dently forgotten that parable and has turned
to Ezekiel, the most pessimistic prophet of
the Old Testament.
"He might have found a better quotation
from the old Roman, Tacitus, who said 'Peace
of nations cannot be secured without arms
nor arms without pay, nor pay without taxes.'
The Democrats have been opposing taxes so
long that it has become a habit, while they
continue to spend recklessly as though gov
ernment revenues couhi-Re extracted from
the air, or with the expectation that the Re
publicans would come back and lay another
surplus nest egg in the treasury. I confess that
I do not know how they are to prepare for
preparedness, but it is their affair."
The Reason.
A correspondent in a New York paper
wants to know why if the apple crop is so
big, the price of apples remains out of reach
for many people and good eating apples sell
for from three and a half to six cents each in
New York City.
Wonder if it could be the tariff. Wonder
if it could be on account of preparedness. It
is because the men who sell apples place the
price. They want a profit for handling them,
and they demand it and get it, as they should.
The tariff has nothing to do with products. It
has when it comes to manufactured articles
but fancy fruits do not let the tariff bother
them. We see oranges selling for a song a
box but when you count freight; when you
count decay; when you count two or three
men's profits you are lucky to get them for
less than sixty cents a dozen.
The American people buy what they want,
if they have the price. The dealer knows this
and he puts his own price on all fruits. He
can afford to do so and he does so. A cut
price on apples wouldn't increase the sales
very much. Diamonds have no real value ;
the average man doesn't know one when he
sees it -yet people walk up and pay the price
affixed and think they have a bargain.
We Wonder.
Wonder how the tourist got along before
the post card came into existence. These
days millions of them arc sent yearly; every
body who travels must send back some cards,
and often so full of himself is the sender that
he dreams his plain initials will reveal his
identity. The other day we received a postal
card just two initials on it, and to save us
from Bagdad we can't figure out who sent
it. Some- friend, doubtless but we have
passed it up. -
o
Looks Pretty Good.
Looks like Big Business was going to have
a chance this Presidential election. Looks
like Wilson isn't going to attempt any hostile
legislation, and Big Business isn't afraid of
republican policies the policies of protection
and progression which have made Big Busi
ness possible.
Fact is, many of the wise ones are now pre
dicting, freely, that Wilson will never be
elected. If the stories are true that the slogan
is going out "Beat Wilson" and republicans
and progressives enlist in the common cause,
it is Good Night, Woodrow, old boy.
There is certainly something doing on the
political checker board. Teddy is in on the
game how far no one knows, but he is
watching the ticker and it is said that he,
too, says: "Beat Wilson."
Remember.
The winter fly is the one that does the mis
chief for the Spring. Swat him now. That is
the advice from the best authorities; and we
all should lend a helping swatter.-
Irrigation Will Do It, Says
Secretary Lane.
ENSIBLE suggestion that of
AK-V Secretary of the Interior Lane
JjT when he calls for more irrigation
&
f4
wants to reclaim the and lands
and shows that fifty million
more people could make a living
and money by farming lands novJ,
absolutely idle a wild waste of
sand and cactus. Mr. Lane proposes that Con
gress pass two bills that will do much for the
development of country. One of these is a
water-power bill governing the use of public
lands for hydro-electric development. The
other is a general development bill, providing
for a practical method of disposing of our oil,
gas, coal, phosphate and potash "without dan
ger of monopoly or misuse."
He declares that the great West can pay for
its own development by applying the royalties
from oil, gas, coal and phosphate to develop
ing the public lands, which only await a pro
per supply of water.
Those who have seen the desert reclaimed
in the west, the southwest and northwest
know that where there is irrigation crops are
abundant and never fail. We have recently
been strongly impressed with this proposition,
because in the Salt River Valley of Arizona
where thousands of acres of rich land have
been reclaimed because of the Roosevelt dam,
a government enterprise, crops are abundant
and great wealth is being brought from what
was for years an arid desert. You can ride out
a few miles from that Valley outside the ir
rigation ditches and you are in a vast desert
nothing in sight but sand and cactus a waste
absolutely.
If Congress were to heed Secretary Lane's
suggestions and make it possible to reclaim
the millions of acres of waste land and let
the men who bought the farms pay back the
money to the government as is being done in
other places, it would be a far greater move
for Preparedness than buying war ships which
must become obsolete. One must necessarily
see what irrigation docs before he can fully
comprehend the magnitude of the Secretary's
recommendations. But it is a grand scheme
a scheme that would enhance the wealth of
this country billions of dollars and be a
source of perpetual income.
Poor Debbs.
Mr. Debbs, the great socialistic orator, who
has spent several of his declining years in
riding Pullman cars, in a talk recently went on
in this wild fashion about war:
"The workingman who turns soldier today
becomes the hired assassin of his capitalist
master. He goes on the murderers' payroll at
SO cents a day under orders to kill anybody,
anywhere, at anv time.
"This is the vile, abject thing we call a sol
dier. Lower than the slimy, dripping depth
in which this craven creature crawls neither
man nor beast can ever sink in time or etern
ity." The Capitalist master the loathsome crea
ture who keeps alive the socialist who con
tributes money to labor which in turn throws
into the hat of Debbs so he can ride his Pull
mans and explode his expletives is always
first in the mouth of the man once called
Gentle 'Gene. But Gentle- 'Gene soured on
the world. For a long time he was a "good
fellow" good to his own detriment good un
til he became a confirmed dipsomaniac then
he soured on all the world. Then he became
the evangel of Evil sailing under the flag of
Socialism. But his ravings excite nothing
but pitv. There is no fear in him, for Gene
has too" long displayed his fire works. As it
was said in Holy Writ, "let the wild ass
bray."
o
For This Year.
Make up your mind that for this year you
will speak nothing but good words for your
town. If something happens you don't like,
keep your mouth shut and go about quietly
attempting to correct the evil. But don't sit
in the cigar store and around the hotel lobbies
knocking, knocking all the time. There is
nothing perfect here below, we all know
that, but your town will be more perfect if
vou'have a kind word and a boost for it in
stead of a knock. The man who said a knock
was as good as a boost was trying to make
the sore place feel pleasant. It is not.
. " : : 0
Say About July.
'Long about July and things will be warm
politically. Then the big conventions will be
over. Then we will know what Teddy is go
ing to do and what Bryan is going to do.
Then the fur will fly and fly furiously.
If all goes as predicted this 1916 campaign
will be one of the most interesting in many
years.
Well, we need some internal gayety to
keep down our sorrow concerning the trou
bles beyond-the sea.
V
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Cut Out on the Western
Railway Trains'
HE WHOLE country
seems to be determined to
hit Old John Barleycorn a
good one for this .year.
Most of the railways in
America have discontinued
the sale of whiskey and
beer on their trains. In the
west on Tanuarv first
eral roads which had kept up the bar room
practice on their trains de luxe cut it out and
with but few exceptions the railways of Amer
ica are without booze.
Recently the anti-saloon league of New
York state sent letters to all' railway presi
dents asking them to please discontinue the
sale of Old John on their trains. Inasmuch as
the letter contains some information as to the
amount of dry territory in the Empire State
we copy a portion of it. This letter says:
"This letter is sent, pursuant to formal ac
tion of the board of directors of the Anti
Saloon League of New York, which represents
the large majority of the churches of this
state, to yourself and the other presidents of
railroads operating in New York State which
have not already acted in the premises, to call
to your attention the fact that a large number
of towns voted 'dry' at the recent election
and that now 485 towns (townships) in New
ork State have voted to prohibit the sale of
alcoholic liquor in every form, and twenty
six others to permit its sale only by drug
stores on physicians' prescription.
"Many of these towns are traversed by rail
roads. Granting that a dining car is a hotel,
the fact remains that in 511 towns out of 932!
covering half or more of the area of the Stated
not even hotels are allowed to sell liquor and
every sale in dining or buffet cars within the
limits of these towns is a violation of the
State law, which is not covered by possession
of a Federal liquor tax receipt."
It is interesting to know that in New York
state there are 485 towns already dry. This
shows that with the exceptions of the great
cities the sentiment is against licensed bar
rooms. Verily by 1920 we will have National
Prohibition.
Naturally.
Every Christmas holiday or as soon there
after as possible and practical, we read long
screeds about the wanton waste of our for
ests in taking from them Christmas trees.
The Christmas tree is going to be always an
institution and if a man owns a farm and
wants to raise trees on it ,he should have the
same right to sell them as a nurseryman has.
Surely it would not be claimed that our for
ests were being desolated if nurserymen sold
trees for Christmas. And if I have an old
field or you have an old field and I want to
let the young pines and cedars and firs grow
there and cut 'em down Christmas times, and
sell 'em for Christmas trees seems I should
have that right.
But the fellow with his conversation comes
in and talks until about the first of June, then
he switches on the horrible casualties on the
Fourth of July.
And so runs the world away.
. The Colored Chauffeur.
There is getting to be a serious question
down in these pine woods and that is what
to do for a chauffeur. The colored man is
proving irresponsible. A dozen cases recently
cited prove this fact. The wrecking of the
big new car of Colonel Benchan Cameron is
an instance. It was one o'clock in the morn
ing and the driver had stolen the car, to all
intents and purposes, and completely wreck
ed it. There seems to be some sort of fascina
tion about a car, akin to the fascination of a
hen roost, when a colored man has a half
chance. The time is rapidly coming when
people who own cars will have to dig down
deeper and employ responsible licensed, and
mayhaps, bonded drivers. It is coming to
this. Because when a two or three thousand
dollar car is smashed it means something.
Mr. Bryan Still After Him.
It is noticed that Mr. Bryan isn't puffing
Mr. Wilson to any great extent. The front
page of the Commoner these days contains
what might be called hot stuff and M.r Wil
son is right under the tobasco bottle, and the
stopper is out.
They Take It Hard.
It is said that Colorado takes her prohibi
tion law harder than any state in the Union.
But it won't last long. Gradually men will
sober up and look out on a newer, a brighter
and fresher world and wonder why they ever
clamored for drunkard . making establish
ments. . .