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—s^ 7 I THE STAT£>
VOLUMI ONE
NO. FIFTY-O NE.
WHAT WE THINK OF W 'AT WE SEE
A prominent Western editor, in speaking of the
Jamaica earthquake, and the other disasters which
preceded it in the recent past, referred to them
as “the hitherto unexperienced innumerable multi
plicity of prognosticators of catastrophes.” He
feels so much better now.
The divorce evil is spreading. People sue for
divorce on very trivial grounds these days. An
Ohio man has brought suit for divorce from his>
wife, alleging, as ground therefor, that she drinks
a gallon of rye whiskey every day. It’s not a
divorce that this man is in such a hurry about, for
if he waits just a little, the booze will divorce him.
what he wants is to get himself cut loose from
that thirst. It is expensive to quench a thirst of
that kind every passing day.
Every one has heard of the wish expressed by
the little girl, who said that when she grew up
she wanted to be “A Justice of the Supreme
Court and”—(solemnly)—“beyond human control.”
Grown-ups can appreciate this yearning. All of
us want to be untrammeled, to soar, to push the
horizon back a little. But the case in which the
desire for more room, a lot more room, and unlim
ited space is most imperative, is that of those who
have something to say—or think they have, which
is the same thing—and no opportunity to say it.
To the active and massive brain, pregnant with de
signs having to do with the fate of empires, a chance
and a forum for talk is an absolute necessity. There
must be some outlet or something will bust—
to say nothing of the loss to mankind. It is to
this fact that we owe the existence of the Ameri
can Republic, a monthly magazine of Protest, pub
lished in Atlanta, Georgia, and edited by the Hon.
Sidney C. Tapp, author of “The Struggle”; the
book in which was created Grace Shelton, the most
beautiful heroine of fiction since Beatrix Esmond.
In the February issue of the Republic, all the ar
ticles are written by the editor. The lucubrations
of one whole month are thus spread before the
reader. A number of questions of paramount im
portance to the citizens of this republic (Ameri
can), are settled—finally and completely settled.
And this is eminently fitting; for, with what should
the Republic concern itself if not with the repub
lic (American) ? But, mayhap, there are some who
have not yet secured the Republic (Tapp’s), so
we gladly devote this most valuable space to a
mention, if no more, of some of the questions treat
ed. First comes “Theodore Roosevelt—A JMst Es
timate of the Man.” There have been occasional
articles written for the magazines about Mr. Roose
velt since he became an officeholder, but some en
tirely new views are exploited in the article in
question. We are impelled, irresistibly, to agree
with the conclusion reached, to-wit: that Roosevelt,
while he is honest and patriotic, is, also, vain, that
he loves flattery; and, also, that he is: (1) no
statesman; that he (2) does not understand our
theory of government; and that (3) he does not
ATLANTA, GA., FEBRUARY 7, 1907.
understand what effect his official acts will have
upon our form of government. We are indeed
glad that there is no third term allowed in this
country. Roosevelt is no longer a safe president.
Then we find this question settled, and the tumult
'attaching thereto stilled forever: “Is the United
States Senate, as an Organization, a Body of Pa
triots or a Band of Criminals?” As sad as it is, as
much as we regret to admit it, the latter is proved
to be true. Let us draw the curtain on this point.
There is “An Open Letter to the Editor of the
New York Herald, Sun, Tribune, World, Times, et
al.” We have only this to say, after reading that
letter; if these gentlemen have anything to say in
their own defense, they should say it through a
medium that will carry their reply to the great
body of the American people, and these columns
are open to them. In an article entitled, “The
Colorado Senatorial Shame,” Simon Guggenheim
gets his, good and plenty. Why, he is called a
“smelter”; and the statement is made that his
“smeltering” concern represents forty million dol
lars. We don’t see how any man can swelter
under the charge of being a smelter. It is equal
to being caled a sardine. There are other articles,
all dealing with questions that are now throbbing
and aching w’ith vital concern to the citizens of
this republic (American). But the outlook in all
of them is gloomy. If Roosevelt is what he is shown
to be, and, besides, isn’t what he is shown not to
be; if the Senate is as bad as it seems; if Guggen
heim, soon to be a senator, is a “smelter”—then
this country is going to the “demnition bow wows”
in a hurry. But we await the next issue. Mayhap
it will hold out some glimmer of hope to the peo
ple. If it doesn’t;, if it keeps on this way, piling
up trouble for us to reflect upon, directly the
“deni’d total” will be more than human nature
can bear. But even then, all is not lost. In a coun
try where there lives a man who has the courage
of such convictions, and, also, has the genius to
secure a medium for their expression, anything may
be accomplished. So let us trust, for we can feel
that the worst is already past.
A religious census of Elyria, Ohio, taken recent
ly, revealed the fact that not more than six thou
sand out of the population of fourteen thousand
attend church. The ministers of the city preached
about the conditions; whereupon some one sgning
himself, “Non-attendant,” sent a communication
to the newspapers in which he said that the churches
pay so much attention to wealth that the middle
class of people are driven away. He cited the
recent re-election of Mr. John D. Rockefeller as
superintendent of the 'Sunday school of a Cleve
land church. This up the ministers, who
hastened in their sermons next following the pub
lication of the communication, to the defense of
the church. Rev. W. C. Dawson, a Methodist min
ister, declared that the church cares nothing for
wealth, and that if Jesus should return to earth
today He would find congenial companionship in
’son of Mr. Rockefeller and other multi-mil
1k Now that is one of the disadvantages
of gx ’th. No matter what happens, or what
argume. anywhere, from making a decision
on the win jT in a baby show, to the digging of the
Panama Canal, poor (a term of sympathy, only) Mr.
Rockefeller has to be held up to criticism. Wa
are out qualified to judge as to the congeniality
of Mr. Rockefeller’s society in the event in question,
but we are reminded of a remark made once by a
most irreverent and wicked boy, who was the Hor
rible Example of our childhood’s community. In
our community was a deacon, of the cross-grained,
gallows-faced variety, whose religion was curdled,
who drove hard bargains and extorted usury during
the week, and on Sunday was the chief ornament
of the amen corner, rejoicing in the promises of
wrath for the evil-doer and equipped with an in
stantaneous sparker which never failed to explode
“amens” at the proper places. The deacon, driv
ing to town one day, saw the Horrible Example
sitting astride a fence by the roadside eating ap
ples. The Horrible Example requested the accom
modation of a ride to town; the deacon refused it.
“Why,” said the 11. E., “you are all alone.”
“No, I’m not,” responded the deacon; “the Lord’s
•with me.” “Then, He’s awful careless about His
company!” said the IT. E., and skedaddled.
•
Mother Nation is in Atlanta. She is not using
her hatchet. She is lecturing. She is the star at
traction with the Ten Nights in a Barroom com
pany. The company presents the play, and just be
fore the last act Mother Nation comes out and
talks. She says she is not a prohibitionist—that
she is an annihilationist. Iler methods are origi
nal, and in the beginning of her career she might
be said to have been impulsive and eccentric; for
when a particular saloon began to grow a burden
upon her she at once went and knocked it galley
west and crooked. She was critic’sed by some and
the owners of the bar furniture which >he wiecked
were almost hurt with her; but she is the most glo
rious exemplification of the fact that America is
a free and unlimited country that can be found to
day. And we point to her with pride. She has
been in jail, but she is now at large. There were
people who suggested the foolish house for her,
but their suggestions were not noticed. Now comes
our time to express our opinion. We have talked
with her and haxe watched her face as
we listened. She is a good woman. She
has suffered through the curse of drink, and she
knows, absolutely knows, what intemperance means.
She has a loose screw about her mechanism; but
most people who have got there seemed, when
viewed from certain angles, to have a misplacement!
in their machinery. Mother Nation has proved her
faith. She has given her all to the establishment
of a home for the wives of drunkards and sh 4
is now giving her strength and her life to the cause.
It is true that she lectures at a theater, but realty
(whisper), there are worse places.
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