Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, May 17, 1912, Image 4

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Atlanta semi-weekly journal., May 17, 1912, Page 4, Image 4

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Newspaper Page Text4 THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL ATLANTA. OJL, 5 SOSTH FORSYTH ST. Entered at the Atlanta Postoffice as Man Matter of the Second Class. JAMES R. GRAY, President and Editor. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Twelve months Six months *? c Three months -- The Semi-Weekly Journal Is published on Tuesday and Friday, and is mailed by the shortest routes for earl delivery. It contains news from all over the world, brought by special leased wires into our office. It has a staff of. distinguished contributors, with strong departments of special value to the home and the farm. Agents wanted at every postefflce. Liberal com mission allowed. Write to R. R. BRAD LEY, Circulation Dept. The only traveling representatives we have are J. A. Bryan R. F. Bolton. C. C. Coyle. L. H. Kim brough and C. T. Tates. We will be responsible only for money paid to the above named traveling repre sentatives. NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS. The label used for addressing your paper shows the time your subscription expires. By renewing at least two weeks before the date on this labeL you insure regular service. In Ordering paper changed, be sure to mention your old. as well as your new address. If on a route please give the route number. We cannot enter subscriptions to begin with berk numbers. Remittances should be sent by postal order or registered mail. Address all orders and notices for this de-» partinent to THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL. ' Atlanta. Ga. THE PENSION DISGRACE. ’ I • ’ It is an incongruous and disgraceful fact that as tie survivors of the Civil War decrease in number the government’s pension bill towers all the higher. This year it will aprpoach two hundred million dol lars. although the war was fought nearly half a cen tury ago and the majority of its participants are dead. This item of expense is greater now than it was in IMO and it promises to be vastly greater five years hence. When and how shall we reach a limit? There is litle hope of the limit ever being reached, if the cringing policy that controlled the majority of the House and the Senate and the President himself tn the recent enactment of the so-called dollar-a-day pension bill is to continue. This indefensible meas ure adds something like thirty-five million dollars annually to "the pension account. It Is the most flagrant of all the inroads recently made upon the treasury. It virtually nullifies all the efforts of the Democrats to cut down the government’s prodigal expenditures. It fastens upon the people more tightly still the clutch of a system that is qotorious for the graft it makes possible. Yet, this measure was supported by a majority of both houses of Congress, it was signed by the presi dent without protest and, most amazing of all, it was voted for by the Democratic speaker, Mr. Champ Clark. ' There can be but one explanation of the motives that actuated at least the great majority of the men who tolerated the passage of this bill. They were simply playing politics for the sake of votes. Had this not been a presidential election year, it is deubtful that Mr. Taft would have signed the Mil. For his position on this matter there is at least a vague extenuation, though a truly fearless president would have vetoed it But how can the vote of Speaker Clark, a leader in the party com mitted to retrenchment and reform, how can his surrender to political clap-trap be justified? The man who paddles his own canoe today may •wn a steam yacht tomorrow. It isn’t bashfulness that keeps some men from wanting to meet their obligations During courtship a man boasts of bis idtome, but after marriage he growls about the outgo: Occasionally a fool ma nrobs his family for the purpose of spending the money on his fool friends. A FEMININE DIFFERENCE. ln England yesterday, there began what is per haps the first serious and determined prosecution of those militant dames and damsels who resrot to vio lent methods in their campaign to secure*the ballot Three of the doughtiest of all the suffragettes were arraigned on the charge of having conspired together “to incite the malicious damage of property" and as the emboldened attorney general declared, to launch a movement “which, had it succeeded, would have meant nothing less than anarchy." The British males are at length plucking up courage. Heretofore they have rested content ’with simply imprisoning their pugnacious Amazons and forcing them, willy-nilly, to eat. The prevailing opin ion, however, has been that it would not do to take the suffragette* too seriously or to treat them other wise than with bored toleration. What if they did throw bricks at officers of the house of commons and break upon the proceedings of that great body with their treble din? The men should preserve an aus tere and truly masculine dignity. They should not be drawn into more than a cursory rebuke of such conduct. But when the women went so far as to throw bricks at plate-glass shop windows, why, then the t*me for drastic reproof had arrived. And so the prime movers in the famous London foray are now on trial and. if convicted, they will be punished in a turiy exam pl ary fashion. » The curious* thing about the suffragette cause in England is that it seeks such uncomfortable means to accomplish its ends. In six or more states of this country, the ladies have won the precious privilege of voting without the slightest recourse to turbulent or painful methods. Is this because our own suf frage leaders are fairer to look upon than their English cousin or because they are more essentially feminine in their tactics and hence more potent in their appeal to the trousered half of society? We recall that in a certain western commonwealth, the ladies dispensed cherry pje among the voters just prior to the election that was to decide" the suffrage issue. Doubtless, the English dames would get farther and-'fare better, If they followed this delecta ble example. He’s a wise man who can 'ompel his mistakes to pay hfs board and room rent. Many a man gets the reputation of being a “good fellow” while going to the bad. The woman who marries for •onven’ence soon discovers there is no convenience in marriage. The man who is able to fight his own battles al ways has friends who are willing to do it for him. THE ATLANTA 'SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL. .ATLANTA, GA., * FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1912. J SOUTHERNER, FORSOOTH! WjIAT AN amazing return of gratitude Con gressman Underwood has made to those southern states that have supported him for the Democratic nomination! He has defended and, through the-power of his leadership, rammed through the house a piece of Republican legislation that strikes at the very root and life of those protective suffrage laws by which Georgia and Alabama and Mississippi and other commonwealths of the south have fortified their ballots against the corrupt and venal negro vote. Congressman Oscar Underwood, touted as ttye one Simon-pure southerner in the presidential iace, has championed the so-called Bristow amendment, which in ultimate effect at least, enables congress to over ride 'uyery disfranchisement law ever passed by the states, and, If it so wills, to send federal marshals and federal troops to displace afld overawe southern sentiment at the polls. Thus has he rewarded the Democrats of the three southern states that accepted him in good faith as a true friend and neighbor. Thus has he shown his magnificent loyalty to the interests and the ideals of this section, and its people. Let us glance« a moment at this Bristow amend ment and see just what Its purpose is, and where it will lead. There is now pending in congress a reso lution calling for th# submission of an amendment to the constitution whereby United States senators may be elected directly by the people, instead of being chosen, as is now the case, by the state legislatures. The underlying principle of this resolution is sound Democratic doctrine and it has been cordially sup ported in the south. But Congressman Bristow, a Republican representative ‘from Kansas, introduced some time ago an amendment to the main resolu tion, which deprives the individual states of any voice whatsoever in fixing the time, the place and the manner of holding senatorial elections. Over these important particulars, the federal congress is given exclusive control. The people of Georgia, for instance, might adopt some special form of election which they would consider essential to political purity and justice. They would undoubtedly apply to the, senatorial, as to other elections, the standards of their negro disfranchisement law; Yet, if this method did not suit the federal congress and if the Republi cans were in the majority at Washington, it is not only possible, but probable, that we should be per emptorily ordered to fling away our own home-made plan and accept on# made by alien Interests in other sections, where conditions are vastly different from what they are in ths south.. And should we decline to do so, congress would unquestionably be author ized, under the Bristow amendment for which Mr., Underwood voted, to dragoon us into submission by federal marshals or troops. In short, congress,’hot the state, would have the authority to fix the quali fication of electors, to enact a force bill to carry out its orders and to flog us back into the ills and out rages thafi marked Reconstruction days. Verily, It was a splendid act of southern patriot ism when Congressman Underwood urged the pas sage of this tyrannous amendment! Not only did he stalwartly ally himself with Mr. Bristow, who, as is well known, introduced the amendment to please his negro constituents in Kansas, but he went still further in his betrayal of southern interests. He voted against and spoke against a counter amendment, offered by Congress man Bartlett, of Georgia. Judge Bartlett, realizing the grave menace which the Kansan’s scheme car ried for this state and section, endeavored to qualify ,it by having the house specifically declare that “congress shall not have power to provide for the qualification of voters within the various states, or to authorize the appointment of supervisors of elec tion, judges of election or returning boards to certify the results of any such election; nor to authorize the use of United States marshals, or the military forces of the United States or troops of th£ United States at the polls during eletcions.” What was Congressman Underwood’s attitude to ward this timely and needful provision, intended to protect the rights and welfare of the south? He turned his back squarely upon <♦ and joined with the leaders of the north and of the Republican camp— with Cannon and Dalzell and Payne—in forcing through a despotic measure that must sicken the heart of every thinking southern citizen. And this he did, despite the fact that he had previously prom ised Judge Bartlett to support the patter's amendment. Is this the stuff of which southern candidates for the Democratic nomination are made? Is this the second Jefferson to whom we are to entrust the great work of restoring our section to its former splendor and bearing aloft its treMtions? Georgians may at least congratulate themselves that they have in congress, jn Judge Charles Bart lett, a representative who stands stanchly by the things they believe in and who had rather deserve the confidence of his own people than to play them traitor for the political favor of other sections. It is gratifying, too, to note that every member of the Georgia delegation in congress voted for the Bartlett amendment and against the Bristow amend ment. And so did everyone of the Tennessee Demo crats vote for the Bartlett amendment. Every South Carolina member voted for it, every Virginia mem ber, evqpr North Carolina member, every Arkansas member, every Louisiana member and. with two exceptions, every member of the Texas delegation. So stood the south. Where stood Congressman Underwood, by the interests behind him as the New South’s prophet and puissant leader? He stood in amazing aloofness; and to keep him com pany were Uncle Joe Cannon and Sereno Payne, the tariff-maker. It should be noted that Mr. Underwood acted not merely as an individual congressman from Alabama but as leader of the Pemocratic majority of the house. His protect could easily have Killed the Bris tow amendment. His acquiescensc and support pressed it through. It is interesting to speculate .on what would have happened in Georgia had Mr. Underwood revealed himself thus clearly before, instead of after, May the first. We doubt seriously whether his own adopted state of Alabama would have rallied to his standard so cordially had she known that a few weeks later he would join in a virtual attack upon her protective suffrage laws; or that the people of Mississippi would have indorsed a man who withheld his needed aid from an effort to protect them against the menace of federal marshals at their polls. For these states, however, all this is a matter of history, and they can only comfort themselves by reflecting that it is better to learn late than not at all. But with the other members of our southern family—the Carolinas and Virginia and Tennessee and Louisiana —how will it be with them? Are they ready to indorse the candidate of the Bristow amendment sames A double wedding is one kind of a four-in-hand tie. A truthful flshennan always knows where to draw the line. , . MR. WATSON’S DUE. Having warned his co-mates of the Underwood camp that he will “head the Georgia delegation to . the Baltimore convention or know the reason why,” Thomas E. Watson proceeds to press still another claim for the service be has rendered their cause. I He insists that with him must go Captain W. S. West, of Valdosta, as a delegate from the state at large; Now, at first glance, this demand may seem rather exorbitant. Some may argue that Mr. Wat son, ambitious though he is, should rest content with the chairmanship and not essay to dictate just how the other places shall be distributed. In these minor matters, it may be said, the state convention itself should be allowed some .oice. It may even be hinted by some of the bolder bretheren that Mr. Watson has waxed a bit presumptuous; that he is trying to “hog” the whole thing, as he himself would elegantly say. Any such protest, however, betrays a pitiful mis understanding of this entire situation. Was it not Watson’s work that compassed the Underwood vic tory in Georgia? Are not the so-called leaders of that cause, from Bankhead down, beholden now and forever to him who carried the slander-pot and crawled to do the particular sort of labor by which they won? Not even to the Interests, that poured out streams of lucre, are they so deeply indebted as to Thomas E. Watson, for without him even a huge corruption fund could not have "turned the trick.” This, indeed, is not simply a case of the laborer being worthy of his hire. It is a chse of the chosen king and leader being worthy of his crown and all the.power it conveys. To his late allies, who are his subjects now, Watson may very properly say with the monarch of old France: **l am the state.” They have sceptered him and, so, in all fitness there is nothing for them now to do but to serve hii£. Why hesitate, gentlemen? Come squarely forward and make your due obeisance. Mr. Watson bids you give him the chairmanship of the Georgia delegation. You should do so, taking care to present it on bended knee. He speaks again, saying, “Give mexalso the priyi- Iqge of naming my retinue tb the Baltimore conven tion.” Down quickly, gentlemen, and do your mas ter’s will. For, this is- no day of small things. Whatever Thomas E. Watson demands at your hands, you should deliver in fulfilment of your contract with him. And wihy, pray, should he not name any or all the other delegates as well as himself? Since he captained and won your battle, is he not entitled to name his staff? Verly, this is a wondrous season in Georgia Democracy whan the party’s arch foe and traitor cracks the whip and makes ready for Jiis drive to a national Democratic convention. But Hop in behind, fine neighbors. You have placed the reins where they now lie; you determined the route and bar gained for just this driver. Swing on as faithful footmen. Your journey and your wind-up will be watched by the state with keen amusement, if not admiration. / . At the End of the Rainbow TRYING TO MAKE AMENDE I haven’t slept for a whole week. In faet, I never slept for a whole week in my life. What I mean to say is that for a whole week I have beeen wide-eyed and sleepless because of the pangs of conscience I have felt over my treatment of that good man, Presi dent Taft. ur> A few weeks ago I attended two public dinners at which Mr. Taft was the guest of honor. One din ner was in Illinois and the other was in Pennsylvania. Recently It struck me that soon after those dinners Mr. Taft’s political prospects began to wane. I am afraid that ip some mysterious way I am responsible. I didn’t know I was a political Jonah, but I begin to suspect that 1 am, so far as Mr. Taft is concerned. I had no thought of doing the president an injury. The fact is, I was greatly tickled to think how promi nent It would make me to sit at the same table with him. They charged me double for rrty meal each time, presumably because I insisted on speaking in praise of Mr. Taft, but I spared no expense. Almost immediately after those dinners Roosevelt showed heavy gains in Illinois and Pennsylvania— and in both those states Mr. Taft and I had been seen together! I had not realized that the voters were so observant. I feel awful bad about it. Any man who has been in public life for some years, as the president has, can make enough enemies on his own account without anybody else butting in and pasting jhe Indian sign on him. Just as soon as it was noised abroad that the president had been associating with me his polit ical opponents began to make use of it to his disad vantage. My unpopularity doesn’t hurt me a bit. I’m used to it. But it has proved a serious handicap to Mr. Taft. I have a plan. I hate to put it into effect ,but I am determined to do so. anyway. I've got the presi dent in a hole, as the Illinois and Pennsylvania prima ries show, so it Is only fair for me to do what I can to make amends. I’ll go somewhere and contrive to be seen with Colonel 'Roosevelt—that is. if he doesn’t see me first. I'll even indorse his candidacy publicly over my signature if it seems necessary to go to that length. 4 It may be, of course, that Mr. Taft, who is a mer ciful man, will not want to put so severe a punishment upon his rival. If h pleads wih me not to crush Roosevelt's chances by throwing my support to Roose velt I shal keep still or even talk against the gentle man from Oyster Bay. However, this matter I leave entirely in Mr. Taft’s hands. I feel so mean about my treatment of him that I stand ready to lose Roosevelt the last friend he has by getting his name publicly linked wipi mine somehow or other. I mirfht intimidate the colonel by sending him a letter threatening to speak for him if he doesn’t with draw peaceably from the contest. Mr. Taft might consider whether that would be the best way for ma to help him. I am entirely at his service, for I am a desperate man when I get a cramp in my conscience. Any one who reads this will realize that there are likely to be some starting political developments with in the net few days. STRICKLAND GILLILAN. Texas Turned Over Dallas Times-Herald. The effect of a Woodrow Wilson victory in Texas will perhaps change the political map of the state. On all sides it is conceded that the result can have no pos sible bearing on th# contest for governor. But there axe other political complications that naturally bob up. If, as indiations now point, the Wil son people dominate the Houston convention, Senator Joseph W. Bailey will meet his Waterloo in a Texas convention for the first time in many years. Since the Galveston convention of years ago, when the Demo crats, over the solemn protest of then Congressman Bailey, declared for a modest policy of expansion, the latter gentleman has been the bright particular star of every Democartic gathering in Texas. He has been named as a delegate to every national convention from Texas since the days of Cleveland, and while he has frequently been challenged, his success lias been none the less forthcoming. With Texas going for Wilson all this will be chang ed. The Big Four, or the Big Eight, will not contain the name of J. W. Bailey. The convention may offer him a place on the delegation, but those who know Bai ley do not in any degree expect that he will accept any favors from a Woodrow Wilson convention. Senator Bailey, of course, will not sulk; Kut Senator Bailey will have nothing to do with building a Woodrow Wilson dwelling. He will allow the Wilson men to buid the house before he warms his shins at the Wilson fireside. That much is certain. It is recalled that Senator Culberson was an ardent supporter of the New Jersey man in the contest of Sat urday. This entitles the senior senator to the head of the table. He will no doubt assist in building the Wil son home, and will be first to welcome all late comers. Certain it is, Senator Culberson will head the Big Four or Big Eight from Texas? \ Certain it is, Texas politics has been revolutionized j by the New Jersey professor. Old things have passed • away—all things have beome new. 1 timely tcpico BYMRS.WHartLTO/| THE UjswJBZITK DISTRICT AGKICULTUBAi COL LEGE. May 15. —Last Saturday was a splendid day for an outing, clear cgiough, and yet not too sunshiny.to. be-, come uncomfortable to people out in the open. Some weeks ago I received a letter from some of the most sterling citizens in Cobb coenty, tolling me of their pro posed assembling together near MeLand. where the state lias , planted one of its district colleges, but their picnic had nothing to do with the college exercises. The commencement will come on later. But it has long been the habit or custom of these Cobb county farmers to assemble at Ebernezer-church once a year, have a short sermon and a speech from some one from abroad, clos ing the exercises of the day by decorating the graves in the cemetery with a profusion of flowers. It was my privilege to be invited to this memorial anniver sary, and my good fortune to be able to go and Jae with the friends on that occasion. A railroad trip of 30 miles brought me to Marietta, and an auto trip of nine miles carried me to the place of gathering, and both were accomplished before the hour of 11 in the fore-' noon. Ret*. Mr. Patillo, of Decatur, Ga„ made the trip with us opt’from Marietta and discoursed immediate ly on his arrival. He is a prfme favorite with those/ sterling farmers around Ebefnezer church, and they gave him a hearty greeting on his arrival. I had an opportunity of seeking the district col lege, and of looking into its wonderful progress under many and unexpected difficulties. Professor Hunt and his capable and accomplished tVife have been untiring in their efforts towards mak ing the college a success, and I feel sure that the oth er counties of the Seventh district do not realize the extent of their efforts down in the county of Cobb. It has been a marked tenet in my political faith that education must mean more to a pupil than the mere study of text books, that something must be done to give the student a chance to make a living with public school education and the Georgia legislature shared in'the same idea and intuition when the Technological school and the Normal Industrial college were found-. ed several years ago. These district colleges were intended to give va rious and similar advantages to boys and girls who could not possibly attend these other and very crowded institutions, and to bring stiph advantages nearer to the pipils of the 13 counties composing the Seventh Congressional district. The Seventh district college has had one or two disastrous fires, conflagrations that were serious set backs and hindrances, but the buildings will be re stored ipd with the two new dormitories the equipment will be almost complete as to caring for a great many more pupils than at present. Whatever has been done has been done wfell, substantially, and these capacious and imposing new dormitories will wonders in the future progress of the college. Before concluding this brief notice, I must not for get to mention the splendra dinner that was spread for the guests and the visitors on the 11th, and it was not only abundant but well prepared. Then: was enough and to spare for every one on the grounds. It was indeed a sumptuous repast, and of the very best. My share in the exercises came in the afternoon, ana I had a most attentive arid generous audience while I sought to. impress the boys and girls with the value of character as exemplified in the life of Gen. Robert E. Lee. They gave me a standing vote of thanks, and followed me to the waiting auto car with their bless ings and good-byes. I enjoyed their hospitality to the fullest and the day in Cobb county will ever remain a green spot in memory with me. . N We had a. delightful ride back to Marietta and I am almost ready to say that Cobb has done a little more in the matter of good roads than some other counties with which I am more familiar. There were also many splendid farm houses on the route as you will find, no matter in what direction you may go In Georgia. ’ TALK TO YOUR HEARERS. NOT TO YOUR OPIN IONS. In speaking of two able ministers a wise man said: "A* is absorbed in his subject, while B is only con cerned with his hearers.’" ( The pulpit has too much self-absorption and too little of appeal and application, and the elaborate nre llminaries of pulpit exercises are too often a dead weight ort the sermon. The preliminaries are general ly half the exercises. In fashionable pulpits 50 min utes are sometimes consumed with choruses, solos, vol untaries and chants, etc., before the text is announc ed. The singing is generally done by proxy and with flowers, music, preludes and interludes, fine clothes and handsome surroundings, the hour is spent very quietly in pomp and state, and then the folks disperse* for dinner and the “water of life” remains stagnant. ’ If somebody should come in the door with hands aloft crying “Seek pardon of God today, for Death for you is waiting,” it would give the most of the women hysteria and the men nervous proseration. , And yet, the only certain thing in life is the com J ing of death. If our divines believe there is no safety outside of God’s pardoning mercy, why do not they cry aloud and spare not? “Save the perishing!” "Get out in the lifeboat, for your fine ship is sinking under you!” t There is a gj'eat deal said of the growing and gen eral indifference to religious exercises, and the scarc ity revival seasons, and that young men prefer to go anywhere but to church on Sunday mornings, of dese cration of the Sabbath, of lack of reverence for sacred things, and the worship of wealth, yet the land is filled, yes, crowded, with ordained preachers and cost ly churches. The fault does not lie in lack of oppor tunity. It lies deeper, and this question is always pertinent: “Why neglect so great salvation?” My opinion is worth but little, as I know, but the Salvation army which seeks the poor and suffering in tne by ways and open streets, comes nearer to the gospel call than any great religious organization of our time. A IS IT TO BE TEDDY OK TAFT? I believe our humankind are born with the racing spirit inside of them. ~Even little tots will shout to see a race between flee dogs, and grown-ups will race auto cars at the risk of life dnd limb after they are gray headed. / Anybody who has covered their three-score and ten years ought to be willing to take life easy, but I find myself looking in the daily newspapers to count up votes between Teddy and Taft. I am told that the small boys clutch at baseball news and that pretty girls go nedrly wild watching a baseball game, so I am in a big company I suppose when I watch the race between T. and T. Tens of thousands are, like myself, •watching the race. I may be mistaken, but I think Teddy will make the trip when tIA Chicago convention holds its meeting next,month. However, there is nothing certain in mod ern politics. When I was young I often heard it said, everything might be relied upon but the decisions of a petit jury, and I later on have often been told that nothing was certain but death and taxes; but politics has shown itself full of unexpected and often plttmful surprises. The rupture between Teddy and Taft seems to grow and widen. From being strong and embracing friends they are nearly arrived at the “cussing” stage of dislike and disagreement, all of which makes tne race sad but interesting. To come down to brass tacks. Mr. Taft should he willing to stop off with four years in the White House He is neither a ‘Washington or Andy Jackson, nor a big general like Grant, or a war president like McKin ley. He is'good timber for a judge, as modern ju lgas go, but is no big star in a White House firmament as I see him. If it hadn't been for Teddy's favoritism Taft wouldn’t have been in it at all, and it makes a sort of rough house to see the creature defy its creator. If Teddy gets left he may set it down in his book that he can make mistakes in his politcal selections, and if Taft gets left he may set it down that four years was a-plenty for him. and he should have given way to some of the folks who have aided his ambi tions hitherto. HOW ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER? After reading about the overflows and the loss and consequent suffering I conclude that I would not buy any farming land in the Mississippi region, even if I had the money and it was a bargain counter offer. It is painfully apparent that tne river is constantly filling up its ofcannel and the people over there are constantly piling up sand bags to hold back the wa ters. and when the snows melt up north and the spring rains fall the old river simply runs over on the out side ,of the sand bags and then the mischief is don». The river drains off the water from untold millions of • acres of land, commencing away up near British Amer ica and taking in the immense flow that comes on with other great tributaries all the way down to the gulf. That water must go out somewhere and it does seem preposterous to believe that a walled-in barrier can be built up securely on top of the ground, and especially with willow withes and sand bags to do it with. Upless some opening can be had above New Orleans to divide the river flow and turn the overflow into a canal with a short cut into the gulf, the people over there will still be sweating over sand bags and drown- WOMEN'S HATS AND SOMETHING ON THEM BY DB. FBAMK CRANE < A good many things have been said that should not have been said, and a good many things have not been said that should have been said, about women's hats. phrase of the philosophers, con sidered apart from the feminine creature beneath it, apart from its fellow-millinery, apart from this season's styles, apart from everything, viewed alone, set up on a pedestal in the court house or on a fence poet in the front yard, the female headgear would be Indeed a spectacle. It would be no sin to fall down and wor ship it, for it is U)ce nothing on ear tn, nor in the waters under ‘he earth, nor in the heavens above the earth. A philosopher, coming back to life, having once abode in Greece, where -they knew every* thing, and meeting the mtssv-E* newest hat lying on the bed where she always puts It when she comes home from an after noon’s social adventure, would be stumped. He could, as he stood in the bedroom, possibly under- Enk stajid the gloves from their resemblance to the humin hand, also the shoes,* the galoches, the veil, and the paraeol, but what the dlckene that thing might be, all twisted, warped, and skewed, with dabs of ribbon and knots of impossible flowers, that would be past him. He would probably conclude that it was some sort of a beehive or rat trap. / But the hat is precisely the one object in Nature ♦hat is not to be considered apart. It is the chief symbol of conformity. The last place you think of in dependence is in hats. We revolted, fought, and died gloriously’ against the king and law of England, but none of us were ever brave enough to draw the sword N in rebellion against the Hatter. To say “mad as a hatter” is a joke. The hatter is absolutely the most safe and conservative being that exists. The first thing one does when he goes crazy is to wear th* wrong kind of hat, or none. Honestly, can you con ceive of a madman wearing a nice, new derby? So we must think of women’s hats, not as isolated affairs, to be perpetuated in bronze or marble and pre served in museums. I A painting by a great master, done for an altar, is out of place on the wall of your parlor. So a hat designed to be the last and topmost explosion of a., certain "female really ought never to be taken off. Oft it is a nightmare of art, a njjxture of menage rie, aviary, hothouse, and ribbon counter; on it is our darling’s own sweet self, leaping to the verge of her personality, yet holding on with both hands to the style in vogue. A man, in his hatness. can only conform. Knox, or Stetson, or somebody designs the peculiar flare of brim and convexity of crown we are to wear, and we go and buy It. If we should dare question its beauty and fitness the hatter would send for the police, knowing us to be at least anarchists, possibly “outpa tients of Bedlam." But a woman not only conforms, she also expresses her individuality. She is twice the man. » Her hat is not only in style, but It Is herself. Bat tened down as woman is by convention and propriety, the only chance she has to take a lunge into personal ity is to get a hat vldth a feather three feet long, or one shaped like a milk pail crusted with roses, or a clump of stiff ribbons sticking out like the hair of a native Fiji, or a misshapen thing that resembles a piece of chewing gqm after taking. Let us have done, then, with sneers at angel face's task in personal roofing. Let us be thankful that her instinct for crime takes so harmless a form. ing in spring overflows 100 years hence. The silt and debris that is deposited by the strug gling torrent every year will continue to fill up the channel and the prospect seems good (or bad) to make a big lake after awhile and widen the river propor tionately because of the fillup. 1 Whten there is less of flood there are enormous crops made on this rich black soil but when the wa ter gets on a bender there is nothing but distress and destruction, as it is proven in the present year 1912. The old red hills of Georgia can get to be very poor, but you don’t need a skiff tied at your back door to escape with your life. HEREDITY AND ITS PROBLEMS. I do not suppose any sensible persons will dispute the fact that circumstances of birth have vital effect on the infant as soon as Its little e'yes open on the*light of day, but it would be a blind reasoner who will no’ admit that the unborn child already inherits the facial resemblance and figure and various peculiarities of its progenitors, because the infant, without its own ef fort, shows these things as soon as its natural color comes to it after birth. While there is only one infant there are two parriits. and the child draws its inheri tance from both of them, but the Infant can have its father s red hair-and its mother's dark eyes no matter how many or national types they belong to be fore marriage. We know that children inherit tendency to disease, although locality and environment have much to do . with health and hygiene. We know that criminal ten dencies can be traced in families as well as consump tion, goitre or cancer. We know that the liquor appe tite will be handed down, and diseased mentality will show* up in idiotic offspring. WeT know that inebriety will weaken character. •. * And yet we pay small attention to any of thest things in seeking bur mates, or mates for our off spring. It is the outside vain show of wealth and im portance. things that perish with the using, which overcomes a sane and sensible protest, because of plain hereditary ailments. The whole land Is crowded with weakly mothers who are continually under a doctor's care or the sur geon's knife, while people wonder that their jwn daughters and granddaughters are so frail, or their sons so inert, if, indeed, there should be no offspring, which sometimes happens. ' One of the things that angels will desire to look into has been the wilful folly of those who failed to study themselves while they were only educated in roots and languages, belonging to the dead nations that have passed out of sight, while they had vital study always rft hand; namely, "study thyself.” THE TWO ORFHANS. * More han 30 years ago the play of “The Two Or phans” as acted by Kate Claxton, was the sensation of an entire winter, especially after the Brooklyn play house caught on fire during one «f her performances, and a number of persons were burned and trampled to death. But facts are stranger than fiction. When I the Titanic was tilting downwards to the bottom of i the sea a pale, haggard man ran to a boat just pushing | off with two little tots in his arms, 3 and 4 years old, wrapped in saloon blankets, and dropped them in the j boat where some ladies were already sitting. There: was no room for the man and the great ship quickly ; disappeared and all those who had no chance for es cape went down. It was surmised that the man was a widower, bringing the motherless children to friends on this side of the Atlantic, but all else is mystery save the facts as here stated by the press reports as told by the rescued. . A kind lady has taken them home with her and tl>e two little orphans will lie cared for, but who can meas- , ure the agony of that despairing father when ne thus ' gave bis little darlings into the hands of strangers, knowing his own doom, without a word of explanation or giving even a name for a direction as to their fu ture. In the haste and darkness parental love was hrts only motive, and the very beginning of these little or- \ phans - lives.was a tragedy. They are French children, : bright and joyous, and we can but hope that good luck may be theirs from now to the end! PLANT FOOD CROPS, FARMERS! When Irish potatoes sell at $2 a bushel and corn brings >1.25 on time, the value of food crops Is ap parent to the dullest mind, or the laziest of farmers. If you plant either corn or potatoes you have some thing to sell that will bring good money. It seems that cotton wilt be cut off perforce, because we cannot i get the crop planted in time for a crop, but we cer tainly can raise both corn and potatoes, if planted by July 1 or even later. Out in the west potatoes are a main crop because potatoes bring twice the price per bushel. Because the seasons are so much shorter than ! In the southern states, potatoes will make where cot ton cannot be grown to profit. It seems to me that our farmers would do well to remember that food stuffs will soar to higher prices , so long as we fail to make abundant food crops on our own soli. With plenty of corn for bread, for stock ani a price like we are now paying, we should have abundant corn crops. With potatoes that will bring eyen 31 •’ per bushel there will be a chance to get mofiey for ' ’ use and taxes. When you are satisfied that the season has be come unfavorable to make cotton then plant corn and potatoes to the limit.