The Sunday Oregonian., March 21, 1915, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 42

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SDOAI, MARCH tl. 1913.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
The Oregonian invites attention to
the opinion of the Attorney-General of
the United States, printed today, on
the Associated Press and Its organiza
tion and methods. It was given in re
sponse to a complaint by the New
Tork Sun that the Associated Press is
an unlawful monopoly, operating in
violation of the anti-trust laws. The
Attorney-General is unable to find any
substantial merit to the Sun's conten
tions and holds that the association is
entirely legal and its practices correct.
Any accurate statement of the facts
as to the Associated Press leaves the
Attorney-General of the United States,
or any other investigator, no alterna
tive but to reach such a conclusion.
It is a fair presumption that the pres
ent National Administration, with its
open hostility to the trusts, would not
forego an opportunity to proceed
against any association or corporation
having the faintest taint of monopoly.
All attacks upon the Associated
Press may be invariably traced to the
Jealousies and antagonisms of rival
news organizations. Its real offense
Is its success as a news-gathering body
and its great supremacy among the
news organizations of the world. It Is
at once a triumph of co-operation and
a model of efficiency. It has no policy
Jmt to get the news, and all of it, wher
ever It happens, and to send it to its
member newspapers in all parts of the
United States. Its cardinal rule is
that all reports of all happenings shall
be made promptly, without color or
Was and according to the exact meas
ure of their importance. That is the
reason why the Associated Press has
the implicit confidence of its news
papers and of the public.
The Associated Press is made up of
nearly 1000 American newspapers,
which agree mutually to interchange
news and to gather it in common for
their Joint benefit. Any other group
of newspapers may do the same thing,
and in one form or another it is done.
There are many news-gathering or
ganizations, one of them as large, so
far as membership is concerned, as
the Associated Press. But the scope
of Its operations and the completeness
of its service are not fairly comparable
to the greater organization. The reason
lies in the superior efficiency of the
Associated Press, and in nothing else,
for it has no special privileges from
Government or state and no opportuni
ties that are not equally open to all.
Anyone mar gather the news, and he
may get precisely the same accommo
dations and rates from the cable and
telegraph companies as are enjoyed by
the Associated Press.
The. fact that the Associated Press
does not admit to its membership every
applicant, nor sell news miscella
neously, is the sole basis of criticism
against it. Just as it is the ground of
the Sun's complaint. But obviously
it is essential to effective co-operation
that there shall be a selected member
ship, so that, for example, the news
service furnished to one newspaper
shall not go at the same time and in the
same form to a competitor in the same
field. The Associated Press has used
a wise discrimination in admitting to
its organization newspapers from every
section of the United States and of
every kind of opinion and practice.
There Is no political color line in the
Associated Press, Democratic, Republi
can, Progressive, Independent and So
cialistic newspapers are alike eligible.
The Democratic New Tork World, the
Independent Springfield Republican,
the Republican Chicago Tribune, the
conservative Los Angeles Times, the
Progressive San Francisco Bulletin, all
mutually subscribe to the service and
rivA Anrl take from one another.
There is no finality, of course, about
and the courts are still open to the
Sun or any other dissatisfied compet
itor: but there is a finality about the
facts and the Attorney-General has
set them forth so clearly and cogently
that they may be said to determine
the policy of the Government toward
the Associated Press and to reflect the
probable attitude of the courts.
BRITISH XAVAI. CAMPAIGN".
Winston Churchill has a most diffi
cult position to fill as British First
Lord of the Admiralty. The British
nation has come to regard its naval
supremacy as almost a law of nature,
and, when an enemy sinks a British
ship or makes a successful fight at
bea, John Bull looks up with a start
and a growl and asks: "What is our
navy doing?" Success of the navy has
required secrecy as to where it was
and as to most of its work, but Mr.
Churchill about a month ago broke
silence and told Parliament what the
navy had been doing.
- During the early months of the war
the British navy was called upon to
keep the main German fleet locked up
in its ports, to clear hostile cruisers
from the sea and to convoy great
fleets of transports around the world
to the main theater of hostilities. Mr.
Churchill said that Admiral Jellicoe's
fleet, "lost to view amid the northern
mists," dominated the situation on
very sea, as yet unchallenged. A
powerful German cruiser squadron
had to be watched for and waited for
In superior force In six or' seven dif
ferent parts of the world at once,
while this watch was maintained in
home waters also.
At the same time the navy had
"moved by sea at home and abroad,
including wounded brought back from
the front, including' Belgian wounded,
including Belgian and French troops,
moved here and there as circum
stances required, often at the shortest
possible notice, with constant changes
of plan, across oceans threatened by
the enemy's cruisers, to and from In
dia and Egypt, from Australia, New
Zealand and Canada. China, South
Africa, from every fortress and pos
session under the crown, approximate
ly 1,000,000 men, without up to the
present any accident or loss of life."
The navy was also supplying across
the sea "an army almost as large as
the Grand Army of Napoleon, only
vastly more complex in organization
and equipment."
The German raiding ships at large
had been reduced to two cruisers and
two auxiliary cruisers, and one of the
latter has since sought refuge in an
American port. Mr. Churchill stated
the number of British merchant ves
sels lost up to February 15 at sixty
three, but Gibson Bowles, M. P., at
that time disputed the accuracy of
these figures and by including ships
captured and detained in German
ports increased the total to 155. The
Admiralty apparently does not include
ships seized in German ports, but in
creases the total to March 10 to
eighty-eight merchantmen and nine
teen fishing boats, while Germany
claims to have sunk 126 vessels, in
cluding auxiliary cruisers, mine
sweepers and transports. Against
these figures is to be set Mr. Church
ill's statement that 8000 vessels are at
all times going to or from British
ports.
Evidently mines and submarines
are the most effective means which
Germany has yet used to break down
British naval supremacy. Until an
effective weapon for use against the
submarine is revealed, we may say
that Britain rules the sea where Ger
man submarines cannot operate, but
only in a modified sense where they
can operate.
STATE OF SOXD?
The National wealth of the United
States exceeds that of any nation now
engaged In war. It is nearly double
that of Germany or England, treble
that of France and more than three
and one-half times that of Russia.
"What insurance have we for our
$150,000,000,000 worth of property?"
asks the Illinois State Journal. "The
best insurance is the biggest navy. If
we are attacked, notwithstanding, the
biggest navy in the world is our best
defense." ;
We know of a man who is ardently
opposed to development of our Na
tional riAfortcA vet he is as ardently a
propagandist of health hygiene. He Is
opposed to peace insurance, out strong
for health insurance.
Your extreme anti-militarist as
sumes that we can have no war be
cause we- are opposed to war. The
theory ought to be as good that with
hnhnnli- nlamie blisrhtinfi the rest of
tho civilized world we cannot have
bubonic plague because we are opposed
A STATE OBLIGATION.
PninmMa anrl ("llatsorj counties are
In a' predicament over construction of
the Columbia, River iiignway wnit-n
calls for more than ordinary consid
eration from the State Highway Com
mission. Moreover, there is more or
less of a moral obligation on the part
of the state to do what it consistently
can to right their difficulties.
Both counties voted bond issues to
build the highway, with the under-atanrilnp-
that the Droceeds would be
sufficient to complete a passable road.
But all the bond money has been ex
pended and Clatsop County has paid out
of its general road fund $::9,uuu in aa
dition, yet the road is not completed to
grade in some sections ana mere are
twenty-eight bridges to be built. The
counties are at the end of their imme
diate resources. Unless they receive
state aid the highway must remain in
an unfinished condition for two years
or longer.
It Is now plain that the highway was
laid out with greater regard for ideal
rrnrioi thnn for countv finances. It is
apparent that the road construction
might better have been done in sec
tions by building new portions where
v,ov w-crd most needed and utilizing
temporarily the passable roads that
already existed. But it seems mat
some existing roads have been de
stroyed to make way for what is as
yet an unusable grade and that the
marketing difficulties or tne iarmtr
have been increased rather than di
minished.
The Columbia River Highway was
constructed under supervision of the
3tar Hiuhwav Engineer. The mis
takes made are largely the mistakes
of the state. In private enterprise tne
principal is responsible for the errors
of an authorized agent. So it must
be in public enterprises.
Just what the Highway Commission
can do to give the counties the relief
needed Is problematical. The quarter
mill state road levy will produce prob
ably $225,000 this year. Of that Jack
son County will receive $45,000 under
the provisions of a law passed by the
last Legislature. Tne commission last
year promised Hood River County
tsn nnn fnr the Mitchell Point section,
which sum may be reduced to $40,000.
There will then remain In the runa
approximately $130,000. It is a baga
telle pnmnarpd with the road con
struction needs of the whole state.
Clearly the funds are not ample
pnonirh to lustify the undertaking of
any new work. The $130,000 ought
to be applied to unnnlsnea roaas ana
in such application Columbia and Clat
sod counties are entitled to generous
consideration.
Tho Columbia River Hiehway is a
trunk line of general value to the state.
It Is also a market road for large farm
ing communities. The latter have con
tributed heavily, and the state is pri
marily responsible for the fact that
they are not. assured of immediate
benefits. The state now owes the
counties financial assistance.
READ.
The books which have pleased and
helped sucli a man as Dr. Andrew D.
White are well worth the attention of
other readers. Some tastes may not
agree exactly with that of the great
American historian, college president
and diplomat, but his choice is always
interesting and significant. Dr. White
has made a list of his favorite books
for the college paper published at Cor
nell. It should stimulate literary ardor
in the students of that and other
universities.
College students do not read as
much as they might with profit. Per
haps when they see the extent and
variety of Dr. White's reading they
may make a change for the better.
But before they do football and other
athletic dissipations must lose some of
their charm. ' Dr. White ascribes the
deepest influence on his life to the
Bible, particularly to the story of
Joseph, some of the Psalms, the sixth
chapter of Micah and some famous
passages in the New Testament. In
his opinion the story of Joseph is one
of the finest specimens of English
style in the world. Very likely he is
right about it. The whole Bible in
the King James translation Is an Eng
lish classic whose excellences can
hardly be overestimated.
In poetry Dr. White's reading seems
to have stopped with the mid-Victorians.
He mentions Tennyson, but not
Browning, says not a word about
Byron, though he likes Burns, and he
remembers Bryant's "Thanatopsis"
and Lowell's "Massaccio" in complete
forgetfulness of Poe's "Raven" and
Whitman's "Open Road." His taste
in fiction Is also a little belated. Scott
is his favorite novelist. He seems to
rejish everything Kipling has written
and advises students to read "The
Hoosler Schoolmaster" and Kingsley's
"Westward Ho."
These are admirable books, but
what students need most Is some ac
quaintance with living literature. Their
class work familiarizes them fairly
well with the dead. Just out of pure
inquisitlveness we wonder whether Dr.
White ever heard of Oliver Onions,
W. D. Lawrence, John Galsworthy,
Bernard Shaw or H. G. Wells? It is
also a little disconcerting to learn that
a man of Dr. White's emirlence has
never felt the charm of Voltaire,
Rabelais, Montaigne or Don Quixote.
Verily tastes differ.
tXITING HOME AND SCHOOL.
Superintendent Alderman's newly
published book on "School Credit for
Home Work" (Houghton-Mifflin Com
pany) Is, as he says, "the narrative of
the working out of an idea." The
idea of assigning credit at school for
work done at home, which -is original
with Mr. Alderman, first occurred to
him when he was principal of the
McMinnville High School. This was
In 1901. Since then he has been
busily working it out and imparting
it to others. He had noticed with
regret the "lack of understanding be
tween the school and the home." The
schoolroom was a little world set off
by itself. It was out pf relation to
life. What was done there did not
concern real workers, and they nat
urally took little interest in it Like
other zealous teachers, Mr.. Alderman
wished to bridge this gulf, which, as
he saw but too clearly, was bad, both
for the school and the family. The
germ of a new thought began to sprout
in his mind one day when he saw a
forlornly tired and nervous mother
walking painfully up the street. Her
aMirhtpi Marv was a vieorous. healthy
girl, but the poorest scholar in the
class. Could tnere possiDiy De any
iiti n (ir-f i nn hptween the mother's
patient misery and Mary's mental
deficiency?
Mr. Alderman thought there might.
He found upon inquiry that Mary
"never helped with the family work
before coming to school." She never
got breakfast. She did not know how
... ..i 1- n . ni il fiha wa.q in fact, an
innocently shameless little parasite
upon ner poor motner. xne iiueo
tion very naturally arose In her teach
er'., minri 'What i the iisp of teach
ing Mary quadratics and the nebular
hypothesis as long as sne is ignorant
of the art of helping her mother?"
So he tried an ingenious experiment,
ingenious, as every new thing in the
world must be, but wonderfully sim
nia T-T a cave, nut ten Droblems to be
solved for the next day's lesson, but,
contrary to all tradition ana prece
dent in school, only five of them
nrera in thA hortk. the Sacred bOOk.
while the other five were "helping
with supper, helping wim tne aiicneii
work after supper, getting breakfast,
dinv tin tho hreakfast dishes and
making the family beds." How the
hoary idols of pedagogical tradition
must have shuddered at the tremen
dous innovation. -
The next day Mary, the dunce of
dunces, shone and triumphed. She
had worked all the problems the
teacher set and she had "worked five
ahead in the book." The stimulation
of her lazy muscles to do something
ncnfni it hnmp had kindled the smol
dering spark of her mind. She was
no longer dormant ana aun. tne
world had acquired signflcance for her.
School had begun to mean something
hptter than the stupid repetition of
senseless words. This was In 1901,
but not for ten years did the new
educational idea begin to produce
large results. as at. raui ua,
the seed had to fall into the earth and
annarantlV Ttprifih hpfore it COUld
germinate and bear fruit. Meanwhile
the author of it was pondering ana
observing. He witnessed on one oc
noinn Via folio ni thp admiration of
all the children in a city school for a
boy no bigger than me rest or mem
who could drive a team of horses and
plow the land for their school garden.
He saw how much all the girls ad
mired any one of their number who
r.r,M malro hrpad or set a table prop
erly. Was there not here a source of
inspiration that had Been negiectea too
long?
At last, in 1911, the idea of assign
ing school credits for home work was
actually applied in practice by A. V.
O'Reilly at Spring Valley, in Polk
County. Mr. Alderman's feelings as
he watched the progress of the ex
periment must have been like those of
some inventor when he beholds his
machine working for the first' time.
Mr. O'Reilly proceeded with cautious
common sense. He laid down precise
rules for the work at home, pro
vided for parental supervision of it
and detailed tha exact number of
credits for each task. Feeding the
fhirk-ono mnu equivalent in his scheme
to five minutes' work in the school
room. Making and baking a batch or
bread counted for an hour. Scrubbing
the floor earned twenty minutes'
credit. And so on through a long
list of domestic and farm tasks. A
small money prize was provided for
the pupil earning the most credit.
The results surpassed all expectations.
The school seemed fairly to bubble
with life, and, besides the work at
home, more book studying was done
than ever before.
For one thing, Mr. O'Reilly's school
won inn npr cent that term in a
county spelling competition. But the
good effects did not stop wim mat. in
January, 1912. a group of seventeen
County Superintendents visited Mr.
O'Reilly's school at Spring Valley to
see how his plan was working out.
Thov fnitrid not onlv eood work done
at home and school, but a schoolroom
"properly heated, lighted and ven
tilated," with pleasing pictures on the
walls. The directors had been re
formed, miraculous to say, as well as
the children. On all sides were evi
dences of the pupils' Industry kites,
fnna hlrd houses, doilies. Dies, cakes
and bread. Quite a change from the
inkspots, spitballs ana neaaacnes or tne
old-time- district school. The main
obstacle to the general adoption of
Mr. Alderman's idea is the haunting
fear that home credits will "interfere
ti-tth the nunils' Btudies." Experience
shows that they do interfere, but in a
wholly beneficial way. The pupils
minds are brightened, their energies
aroused and their study so much more
telling that there is no loss, but a
great and substantial gain.
The account of a "stupid" lad at
Auburn, Wash., who had failed In
his high school examinations- is typical
;n uia racnn.1 TTift fill nerintendent
found, - upon- Inquiry- of - the -boy's
father, that he was fascinated by au
tomobiles. Work - was accordingly
provided for him at a garage, for
which "he received credit at school, as
well as cash in hand. The lad had
failed in his geometry. It now began
to Improve. A few months later he "was
doing well In all his mathematics."
The secret of the boy's salvation, men
tally and morally, had been discovered.
Mr. Alderman's book should, and
probably will, profoundly influence the
educational practice of our public
schools.
THE WHEATG ROWERS' PROSPECTS.
The American wheatgrower is now
assured of a continuation for two or
three years of market conditions which
exist only when a large crop In the
United States coincides with a short
crop in -other countries abundance
of wheat to sell at high prices. When
such conditions have arisen they have
either increased prosperity or con
tinued already prevalent good times,
have mitigated or ended business de
pression or have prevented a pros
pective depression.
High prices for wheat were assured
before the war began, for the world's
crop of 1914 was below the five-year
average and was below that of 191S,
although the United States had the
greatest crop on record. Thus en
richment of the farmer was certain
had there been no war. The world
crop of the last three years was: .
vMr Bushels.
?al4 8.708,122.000
ioij " 4.S00.S31.0UU
1U12 '.'.".""1 3.S12.7WS.000
. Of the 1914 crop the countries at
war produced 1,868,000,000 bushels,
divided as follows:
SSSS7-
bKLEZ v::;:::: ::::::::::::::: ?8S8
Prance 260.000.oipO
Germany . . . . 158.000.000
RusTla . 008,000.000
?"kev ... 00,000,00X1
Fnitedy Kingdom - - Z - Z - r - Z - - r .Sg-.SSSlSSS
Australia " " 40.000.000
Largely because of a short crop in
these countries ante-war prices In 1914
were high and would have continued
to rise had there been no war. The
snhsptiiipnt rise has been due to de
struction or loss of crops in belliger
ent countries and to anticipation oi
short crops this year. It is certain
that the countries at war cannot pro
duce normal crops, especially Ger-Rpls-liim.
France and
Turkey. Their production may be one-
third less than tne average, wmun
would cut off one-sixth of the world's
total.
The war has therefore given Amer
ican farmers assurance of at least one
and probably two more years of high
prices for wheat. They have every
inducement to inerease both their
acreage and their yield per acre, for
they can earn a handsome profit on
every bushel
HOW GERMANY I INANCES WAR.
Germany was as completely mobi
azed financially as In a military sense
before the war began, according to a
speech of Sir Edward Holden to the
shareholders of the London City &
Midland Bank. Ever since the Aga
dir Incident she had been organizing
her financial resources for war by
amassing gold in the Reichsbank and
by devising plans to place the wealth
of the people at the service of the
Army and Navy.
It is generally accepted as true that
when the Moroccan crisis became
acute, the Kaiser asked the bankers if
they could, finance a war, and, on
being answered ' in the negative,
them not to let that happen
again. They set to work to comply
with his orders. At tne Deginning ui
1910, the year before Agadir, the
Reichsbank's gold reserve was about
$150,000,000. On January 1, 1911,
the year of Agadir, it had grown to
$180,000,000, and on January 1, 1912,
the year after Agadir, to $200,000,000.
The next year it grew to $225,000,000,
in January, 1914, to $300,000,000, and
-i umr hpcran to S340.000.000.
The gold reserve has now reached
$530,000,000. Sir Edward quotea an
American writer as saying: "When
the pinch arises, Germany will organ
ize herself economically as thorough
ly and as ruthlessly as she organized
her armies" and he quoted a German
banker as saying: "Every mark will
be squeezed until it shrieks."
Ten days before Austria declared
war on Serbia, that Is, before the
diplomatic crisis had become acute,
the Dresdner Bank sold its securities
and advised its clients to do the same.
When war was declared on July 28, a
great run began on the Reichsbank
for gold and on Joint stock banks for
gold or notes. The Reichsbank lost
$50,000,000 in gold and a law was
passed forbidding it to pay more notes
with gold. It helped other banks by
discounting $1,000,000,000 of the bills
during August, paying $585,000,000 of
this amount in notes. It had the right
to Issue notes to any amount, provided
it held one-third in gold and two
thirds in bills of exchange.
The Reichsbank then established
war loan banks, war credit banks and
war aid banks throughout the empire,
through which government securities
were pledged to the extent of 75 per
cent arid other securities and produce
to the extent .of 45 per cent for loans,
which were made in war bank notes,
having all the functions of-money. In
order to conserve the Reichsbank's
credit, the Issue of its notes, the basis
of which is gold and bills of exchange,
was kept down by the issue of notes
by war and credit banks, based on
securities and property. A careful dis
tinction was made between the two
classes of notes.
The war was financed by the
Reichsbank for the first four to six
weeks, until its discounts and loans
reached $1,215,000,000 and its note
issue totaled $1,060,000,000. By means
of a war loan the government then
raised $1,115,000,000, and by the end
of 1914 had paid Its debt to the bank.
rr v,i insn 1200.000.000 was sub
scribed by persons who borrowed on
securities from war banks, juu,uuu.
000 by depositors in savings banks and
the rest by Joint stock banks and other
people. The people are thus mortgag
ing securities and property to buy war
bonds. At the end of December the
Reichsbank issued $1,000,000,000 of
notes, which carried on the war until
a new loan of $1,250,000,000 was
raised. This is expected to finance
the war until next June, when the op
eration will be repeated. The war is
swtirxr fiprmanv about $10,000,000 a
day, so that in a year the people's
possessions will be pledgea to tne
amount of about $3,500,000,000.
Meanwhile loss of trade with her
enemies has decreased Germany's im
ports by $228,000,000 and her exports
by about $200,000,000. Being able to
import only in neutral ships, except
from near-by countries, she would im
port less goods at higher prices, which
would increase the cost of products
made of imported raw materials, while
she has fewer men to work in her
factories and few ships to export tier
products. In order to maintain her
o-niri cnnnlv sh must have a balance
of exports over imports, but she has
already been obliged to export
000,000 In gold to pay for imports
through Holland and Scandinavia. Sir
Edward predicts that the war will not
cease on account of the gold position
of Germany "at all events within
twelve months, and it may be longer."
War banks have discounted with
the Reichsbank the paper secured by
o,-,!.,, t i na nrrl rtrnnertv and have is
sued special currency notes, which
can be taken up at tne rteicnsDana
and can be counted as part of Its re
serve. These war bank notes thus
form the basis for further Issues of
Reichsbank notes, the ultimate secur
ity for which is the security and
nmnnrtv nf th neortle. One object
of the war bank notes is to drive gold
into the KeicnsDanK, dui tne reiuasi
to pay Reichsbank notes in gold has
caused them to fall to a discount.
Sir Edward's conclusion was that
the proper time to test the sound
nACa nf tho Rurmnn mobilization of
finances would arrive when all those
securities which had. been pieagea
were to be redeemed, and he added
that it was easily conceivable that
enormous losses would then occur to
all those people who had been unfor
tunate enough to have become Indebt
ed to the war banks, the mortgage
banks, or any other of those societies
which' had taken securities and goods
In pledge.
The summing up of the whole mat
ter is that the German people are
mortgaging all they have to pay the
expenses of the war. They are staking
all on victory. If they suffer final
defeat, bankruptcy will fall upon
them. All that they will have where
with to pay the loans will be war
bonds, to pay interest on which they
must pay backbreaking taxes. If they
should win victory in war, they might
be able to exact from their enemies
an indemnity large enough to redeem
the war bonds and thus to enable the
holders to redeem their securities. In
that case, the allies would be near
bankruptcy, having their own wai
debt to pay in addition to the indem
nity. Prolongation of the war seems
to spell ruin . for one party or the
other.
IIOIXAXD'S CENTKN'NIAU
One hundred years ago Holland and
Belgium, rescued from the dominion
of the conquering French, were
erected into a united kingdom by the
treaty of Vienna, which settled the
affairs of Europe after the fall of
Napoleon. The union, thus somewhat
violently effected, endured until 1830,
when the Belgians rebelled and set
up a kingdom of their own, which
was formally acknowledged in 1831.
Since then the two little countries
have pursued their separate ways, in
good fortune and evil, always in more
or less peril of absorption by their
powerful neighbors, but always pre
senting a rather formidable morsel
for any beast of prey, however huge,
to swallow. Holland would naturally
have celebrated the centennial of her
rescue from the French this year, but
the disturbed state of Europe and her
own troubles as a neutral seem to
make it unwise. Just as the United
States has foregone its planned cele
bration of the hundred years of peace
with Great Britain. No doubt the
brave Dutch will privately rejoice
over their emancipation and their
present immunity from war and its
horrors, but it Is said that there will
be no public ceremonies.
Thn Dutch have so much glory to
remember that it can be no great hard
ship to them to let tnis one anniver
sary go uncommemorated. They came
Into history together with the Belgians
in the days of Julius Caesar, who
penetrated their marshy, river-dissected
country after he had ended
for the moment his wars In Gaul.
"Bravest of the brave," the great
Roman called the Belgians, whom he
never conquered. The best he could
do was to form an alliance with them.
Seventy j'ears later the Emperor
Drusus led his legions a little farther
north, to the Island of the Batavians,
the ancestors of the Dutch, which lies
between two channels of the Rhine.
Warring upon these unconquerable
barbarians, he fared no better than
the great Julius, but he finally won
their friendship, and their country
became a famous recruiting ground for
the Roman legions. Their men were
known from the Euphrates to the
Atlantic as good fighters. By the
Christian year 400 the inhabitants of
the Low Countries had become thor
oughly Romanized and had forsaken
their barbaric Idols for the Christian
God.
Then came the Salian Franks from
beyond the Rhine, who overran and
pillaged the Netherlands, subjecting
the people to terrible oppression, but,
like many another subject population,
they ended by conquering their con
querors. The Franks- were converted
to Christianity, merged with the old
Belglc and Batavian stock and con
tributed their share to the sturdy
character of the modern Netherland
ers. The next invaders were the
Northmen from Scandinavia, who rav
aged the Low Countries as they did the
rest of Europe throughout the ninth
and tenth centuries. Out of their
settlements among hostile subjects
grew the feudal system In the Neth
erlands, which was firmly established
when Peter the Hermit preached the
first crusade, in 1096. The principal
heroes of this strange adventure were
Netherlanders, Godfrey of Bouillon,
Duke of Lower Lorraine, Count Robert
of Flanders and many more almost
as famous. The crusades hardly ac
complished their ostensible purpose
of rescuing the Holy Sepulcher from
the heathen, but they filled Europe
with a spirit of enterprise which never
afterward expired, and the Dutch and
Flemings had their full share of it.
The cities of the Netherlands began
to cut a figure In the twelfth century.
The burghers, clustered within their
walls, extorted charters from the no
bles by such pressure as 'they could
exert. Little by little their liberties
enlarged until such towns as Ghent,
Bruges and Tpres became self-govern-t-ontthivs
like Florence and Genoa,
in Italy. At first they were oligarchies.
but the guilds of workingmen grau
ually acquired political power and
..ittmQtf.lv manv cities of the Nether
lands became almost pure democracies.
This lasted until the niteenm cen
tury, when the land was overrun by
the ambitious Dukes of Burgundy,
who aspired to build up a great em
pire between the North Sea and the
Mediterranean. Bruges was the most
nA,.rihinir ritv of the Netherlands in
those grand old times. It had a good
port, a population or pemaps
and was the center of the world's
trade. Weaving was the principal in
dustry of the Flemish towns, and they
enjoyed a monopoly of the English
raw materials.
The Burgundlan power ended with
Charles the Bold, who was defeated
and killed by the Swiss at tne oatue
of Nancy, in 1477. His daughter,
Wnrv nphn inherited thfl Netherlands
in good old feudal style, merged them
with the countless possessions or tne
Habsburgs when she married Maxi
milian nf Austria- Marv's son. PhiliD
the Fair, married Joanna, daughter
of Ferdinand ana isaDeua ana neiress
of Castille and Aragon. Their son,
Charles V, who was born at Ghent
in the year 1500, inherited the Low
Countries in 1506, upon the death of
thtlln hta father. Charles assumed
the reins of government at the age
of 15 years. He was one ot tne most
powerful monarchs who ever lived.
Rnsirlna thp Netherlands, he ruled
Spain, a large part of Italy and vast
possessions in tne new worm. At tne
age of nineteen he was elected Em
peror of the Holy Roman Empire.
Except England, France and Scandi
navia, no part of civilized Europe
escaped his dominion. It was Charles'
misfortune to begin his career with
the advent of the Reformation, which
kept the world in a turmoil for the
next century and a half. He Issued
strict edicts against the propaga
tion of Protestantism in the Low Coun
tries. Male heretics were to be burned
at the stake and women buried alive,
but In spite of everything the new
doctrines spread and repressive meas
ures only provoked a spirit of
rebellion among the people.
Charles' son, Philip II, made matters
worse by his ruthless tyranny. The
lesser nobles were finally driven to
organize open opposition to the In
quisition. Under the name of "Beg
nr" thou holdlv defended their re-
litHnn until the Duke of Alva put
down all protest by his Council of
Blood and his savage army, vmuam
the Silent, Prince of Orange, began
effective resistance to Spain by grant
ing letters of mark to privateers who
went by the name of "Sea Beggars."
These bold seamen rapidly cap
tured Brill, Flushing, Delfthaven and
Schiedam in the Summer of 1572.
The oppressed provinces flew to arms,
and the long struggle for liberty be
gan, which ended in 1648, with the
complete triumph of the Dutch. For
the next half century they were the
dominant naval power of Europe and
the world.
KNOW I.I. DO K WTTHOCT PROFIT.
In May, 1913, at San Francisco, Lin
coln Beachey said:
You could not make me enter an aero-
- . i. - Mint nf . r.v nlvpr I'm done.
I've just read a list of twenty-four aviators
who have Deen Kiueu wnuw ujius.
boys were like brothers to me.
The mother of one of thorn, Horace
l ... a nnt tn touch H ( r inn
xiet&riiy, vcncicu !
any more tricks. But he said. "Mother. I
must be as good as Beachey." and he's
dead.
Welsh's wife begged Mm to cut out tlie
spirals. - "Beacney aoes mem. u
And he's dead.
Nine months later Beachey was back
in the game. In January, 1914, at
Los Angeles, he remarked:
ii. nnt flawit has not lived.
HO wuu ii " ' " -
Flying Is safe enough now: It only requires
practice, patience ana courage. auu in
careful that's all. ,
Beachey's later comment was true.
Early in the history of aviation it was
thought by many that the weight in
cident to a stable heavier-than-alr ma
chine would forever preclude safety.
Yet an armored type of aeroplane has
been developed. Some carry several
passengers. Fatalities among those
who have practice and exercise care
and courage now rarely occur. And
hundreds of aeroplanes are In use daily
in the theater of war.
Beachey knew the requirements of
safety in the air, but he did not obey
them.
There Is interesting Jitney news from
Memphis, Tenn. The jitneys have been
in unrestricted competition with the
streetcars for several months. The
streetcar company now announces that
It will not only curtail its service, but
will reduce salaries of employes and
lay others off entirely. The retrench
ment policy calls for a reduction of
10 to 20 per cent in the wages of all
men now receiving $60 per month or
more.
Tho girl who, at seventeen, has been
married three times, ought to have
something of a record by the time she
reaches the age limit for getting mar
ried. After a few weeks of blustering and
bluffing, the Administration has sud
denly found it expedient to agree with
the allies In their blockade order.
Portland has all the luxuries In its
new citv barn except vapor buths for
the animals. However, the horse
chambermaid Is resourceful.
Parcel post shipments of food to
Germany are being made from Chi
cago. It is likely the food will enter
British mouths.
Russians nearing Bosphorus, says a
dispatch. Too bad It isn't phosphorus
they're nearing, according to the Ber
lin view.
The Turks report sinking three hos
tile battleships. Must have been some
thing radically wrong with those ships.
We knew who would back down if
the combatants stood pat in the wran
gle over American commerce.
America Is practically feeding Bel
gium. May be feeding 'em all before
the rumpus Is ended. '
Just now the ball fan feels very
much as does the small boy Just be
fore Christmas.
Another eruption at Lassen. For the
special entertainment of Fair visitors,
we take It.
The war correspondents "at the
front" -are now "fighting" last Fall's
battles.
Smoking out the Turks appears to
have developed Into something of a
task.
Anyway, It's easy to decide where
to spend this Summer's vacation.
No rest for the wicked. Now we
must begin swatting the fly.
Heavens! Spring housecleaning Is
upon us once more.
The opening game looms big on the
immediate horizon.
Italy Is fingering the trigger In nerv
ous fashion again.
Ball fans can stand this suspense
little longer.
Henceforward watch out for the
traffic cop.
Sign of. Spring: The snakes are out.
Gleams Through the Mist
Br Dc's Colllaa.
Th. Rant of the
(Hiram R. De Lays, of Blrmlasham. Ala.,
has been arrested on the criminal charge of
telling a copr of a paper published oui.lda
the state, which contained a liquor adver
tisement. This crlms In Alabama Is pun
ishable by a fine ot not leas than $50 nor
mors than $500. or Imprisonment at hard
labor for a term of not mora than ai
months. News story.)
In Birmingham. In Birmingham
Ths regiments of purity
The Demon Rum with vigor slam
And send him screeching up a issai
And Hiram. Hiram R. De lya.
Is thrown In prison, so they say.
For ho obtained, possessed and had
A paper with a liquor ad.
A minion of the Iemon Hum
The Judge will sentence neavnys
Which I maintain Is going some
ii.., th line of nurlty.
Whn Hiram can be haled to jaU
Because he had di.played for sale
a m.,,ainA which carried soma
Advertisements of Demon Rum.
In rtlrmlngham. In Birmingham.
It must be great to read the news.
Where censors sharp their sclsaars sla
Through everything that prates of boose.
And men like Hiram csn be jugged
Because one ad was not well plugged.,
It's hard to figure. I opine,
Just where at last they'll draw tha Una.
They cannot let ths Bible sell.
For It la a pernicious book.
In which, so the Apostles tell.
Red wine from water Jugs they took;
And singers Into jail they'll fling
When "Comln' Through the Rye" they sing;
Twere better they should Improvise
"Drink to me only with thine eyes."
In Birmingham, In Birmingham,
Where loud the hunted Demon skirls.
Bright habitat of film and flam
It must be a One place for squirrels
To flit through mansion halls and huts
Whers there are nuts and nuts and nuts.
And where because of lit of ala
A man may be haled off to Jail.
Light on the reason why Illiteracy
Is so prevalent In Alabama. Wtat'l
the Incentive to learn to readT
e
Solemn Thought.
O, bulging meld, who. on the hoof.
Will weigh -'00 pounds or more.
I cannot longer hold aloof.
My spirit must arise and roar:
"Why w.111 you buy, why will you don It
The dinky Tlppcrary bonnet?"
see
Luke McLuke. of the Cincinnati En
quirer, ha served up these additional
capsule tragedies:
e e
Hunirry man;
Wlfey's pics;
Funeral tin;
"Tnere he lies."
see
Husband wised;
Wlfo surprised;
There she lies;
Two black eyes.
e
A local genius. "B. B." perhaps an
antl-vaccinatlonist, suggests this:
see
Vaccination;
Suppuration;
Cremation.
see
Not satisfied with that, however, he
goes on in another vein:
Boy snow hill sled cosst
Joy go spill hesd post
Ol! woe still dead ghost
He Incloses a diagram in which hs
shows that each of the five vertical
columns forma a separata capsule of
tragedy. ..,.,
Our only complaint is that he did not
fix it so that it could be read diagon
ally either way; slg-zlg: or taking
every other word in each alternate
line, and making' In each case a per
fect capsule.
If one atarta out to be elaborate, we
believe In being it.
e e
There Is perbups a certain moral
significance in the fact that the death
rate among villains Is greater in the
movie houses than In the higher priced
the iters.
e a e
Why a woman will ride In s Jltnay
is bound to be largely a mystery: for
there's not a living chance of her ever
being able to beat It out of a nlckol on.
an old transfer.
e e e
There was a man In our town
And .he was wondrous wise;
He watched for signs marked Safety First
At all times, with both eyes;
And while ho read each sign's advice.
And always tried to do it
Some carelr.s guy would spot his goal
Aud always beat him to It.
see
One reason why sister Susie can af
ford to donate the shirts she sews for
soldiers Is because her allowance Is
kept up by slater Susies dad sowing
cereals for soldleis, and sister Susie's
brother smelting steel for soldiers,
e e e
When the laurels of the world begin
to look cheap and stale to the success
ful man, he can still look back and
thrill over the moment when tho snare
drummer In the Home Town Braas
Band allowed him to hold tha mualo
for him.
MISS HAMI.KTS SOLIIiOaCY.
To wed or not to wed. that Is th. ques-
W-hether"tl. better after all. to marry
And be cajoled and bullied by a bus-
Dan u( , . e
Or take up stenography or c
And slave, alas: lor ."
To ,OVel"to?wd-nd by a wedding end
the struggles and the thousand petty
That ""ayes" are heir to 'tis a rarw
vocation . ,
Devoutly to be wished for! To love-
To wed perchance divorce! Aye, there's
For In that dream of bliss what Jolts
When we have cast aside our little Jobs,
Must maKe us uj. - -
inouBin
That makes so many splnstars asltat.
For who woum bmi '"'
The employer's Jokes, the chief ersrk'i
contumely.
The Insolence of office boys, the m
Of last ween S stUBiea "
fair , , , .
When she herself might quickly end
By ge'u..1' inarrlcdT Who would not
exchange
A dingy ofnee for a kitchenette
A keyboard for a cook stove or a
But thaTthVdread of something worse
to conic. . .
After the honeymoon that lite of
cnance .
From whose dark bourne so many have
reiurnu
By way of Reno fills us with d l array.
And m.tlces us tuit "
nave
Than fly to evils that we know not ofT
Thus cowaraico "lo,l, a " - -
mny MARGARET NILBAH, .