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EDITORIAL PAGE THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta. Ga Entered as second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 3. 1879 Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail. 16.00 a year Payable in advance. You Agree That the People Should Choose the Pres ident—Don’t You? KMX If You Do, You Are in Fayor of Preferential Primaries, Initia tive and Referendum—And Control of the Public Generally. There is an interesting condition at Chicago. The regular politicians, owned by the regular corporations, are not able to nianagr things in the regular old way. Ordinarilv. they would have gone quietly to Chicago. Ne gro delegates and white delegates, controlled through the power of national government and patronage, would gather at Chicago and name Mr. Taft for the presidency. And the people, iro mat ter how thev might feel, would have nothing whatever to say about it. Rut this vear something different has been done. The peo ple have been permitted ar primary elections to express their preference. Tin .' have had a cham-■ t<> say what particular man they wanted for president of the I’nitcd States. Therefore, the choice of a president has not been loft ex clusivoh to corporations, bosses and political hacks on the pub lic pavroll. Those that want Roosevelt have had a chance to say that they want him. Those that want Taft have had a chame to express themselves. In the Democratic camp, without the preferential primary and the chance which it gives to the public, the bosses might have named the distingushed advocate of Chinese labor. Profes sor Wilson. But jhey can’t do if now. since the biggest Demo cratic cities have declared that they would have nothing to do with Wilson, and that they wanted Champ Clark. The conventions arc interesting, worth while. They have a meaning this year, because back of them and preceding them there is the expressed will of the people. In the past the man who wanted to be president stayed quiet and silent in his own house. The great thing was not to talk, not to be known, not to do anything or say anything—and then at the last moment convince the corporations and the bosses that you were a safe man and would safely serve them after elect ion. • That is changed now the thing to do. now that the peo ple have a chance to express their preference, is to do some thing that will interest the people show interest, show activity, show power and integrity. The man who can now prove himself powerful, honest, re sourceful and a real democrat is able to go before the people and say. “I want to be president if you want to have me.” In the past, when the bosses did the whole thing, that could not happen. The preferential primary, which is part of the general idea of REFERENDUM, or referring important matters to the peo ple. will extend in all directions. The referendum, in the shape of the preferential primary, lets the people say whom they prefer for president. The ref erendum. regarding laws, constitutional amendments and other important matters, will give the people a chance to say what they prefer to do in regard to all such matters. And when the bosses hold back, and the politicians hold back, and matters are not put before the people, then THE IN ITIATIVE gives the people the right and the opportunity to begin legislation or any public enterprise on their own account—the machiner.' is ready under the initiative for the people themselves to start what thev want and put it through This country has suffered because the citizens, as a whole, WERE NOT INTERESTED IN GOVERNMENT. They knew little about their rulers, little about the men chosen for office, little about the laws passed. Whereas THE CORPORATIONS, THE BIG. DISHONEST AND SEI,FISH MEN. KNEW ALL ABOUT THOSE THINGS. Corporations and bosses knew every candidate, just what he would do. ami therefore th. v took the right kind for themselves AND THE WRONG KIND FOR THE PEOPLE. It is tm wonder that the people were not interested in gov ernment. since they bad nothing to sa\ about it. We are not interested in the management of China or of the planet Mars, for we have no power then and consequently no interest. Now that the people hav power, interest in polities, m gov ernment and in the character of oftieials. we will develop The excitement over this convention will be a verv small thing as compared with the conventions that are to come Intelligent men AND THE WOMEN As WELL of this country will choose the employees to look after their welfare and do their big work in office. PRE EE K ENTI AI. primaries, the RE CALL, which allows you to put a dishonest official out of office; the REFERENDUM. which refers things to the people, and the INITIATIVE, which lets the people begin their own legislative and other work those are the things which will make this a real republic and make the word democracy a reality instead of a corporation joke. It is not sufficient that AOl should understand this It is not good citizenship to say. “Oh. I know all about that. I have it all by heart." It is good citizenship to talk to others, m Px . plain to your neighbor the meaning of the preferential primal"., the meaning of the initiative, the referendum, the r.-.-all and to show hyn that the time has come lor the citizens of this eouu try to govern the country. n _ The Atlanta Georgian HE NEVER HAD A CHANCE That Is What Nine Men Out of T*n Who Are Failures Say. Look Out That You Don’t Say It Yourself. By TAD i F y . L-utanflumanngiL- M fii W I , » ;■ "Htl si? it F 1 I 1 lay co t AO j, • Nfcjy toe i i- ■ i tew <-jt MMF IBwk. • J w CT p Ml' igMHMMivF v ■ ; MH -Ayr W-- ~ ' 1 ijL Ji Wl FOF''' No. 12. Yura made his headquarters in Ihe Bowery saloon, as he knew of no other place where, he was as welcome. For two years he was there helping out on odd jobs. He couldn’t do much. He swept out, ran errands and washed the windows. The boss gave him bits of lunch and allowed him to sleep on the stairs. ■ The regulars kidded nld Yum now. Gray hairs began to sprinkle in among the black, and once every week regularly Yum got a black eye in an argument. He was seldom without a shiner. Some of the gang liked Yum, however. He The Pathways of Empire . Good Roads Are the Arteries That Carry the Life Blood of a Nation. ONE of the greatest projects for the advancement of the power, wealth and civilization of America is the plan of a transcon tinental highway, running uninter ruptedly from the Atlantic to the Pacific —a highway 3,200 miles long, on which one may start from New York in his motor car. or, if he chooses, in his buggy, and. rapid!? or leisurely, as he may prefer, go all the way to San Francisco, trav eling continually on a hard, smooth, perfectly kept road, whether the way lies through the Appalachian hills or the plains of the middle West, or the snow-topped peaks of the Rockies. Highway Now Follows Lead of Iron Road. Forty-three years ago the en gines met in I'tah. "half a world tie hind each back," as Bret Harte put It. at the junction |>olnt of tlie first transcontinental railway ever constructed anywhere on this plan et. It was characteristic of Ameri can enterprise, which seizes the newest and the swiftest things first, ilia' tbe railway should precede the highway in surmounting the crest of the continent And now tlie highway, whose ad vance is an expression of the set tied purpose of growing people, Is following the lead of tlie road of iron A few weeks ago. as you may read In the June number of Motor magazine, there was organized at Kansas City 'he National Old Trails Read a-rociatlon. whose aim Is the r*ali.ation at the earliest possible moment of the project outlined above. Tlie fact must be recog- 1 MONDAY. JUNE 17. 1912 To Be Continued. By GARRETT P. SERVISS nlzed that this project has grown out of the wonderful development of the motor car. which has done more than any other influence for the improvement of the roads of this country. Perhaps, before many yerfrs have elapsed, it will he pos sible to make the trip comfortably between New York and San Fran cisco, in an ordinary touring ear, within the space of a week. * The name "Old Trails" awakes recollections of some of the most romantic scenes In the history of the great West. The ('umberland pike, Braddock’s road. Boone's Lick Road, the Santa Fe trail. Kearney’s road—whose imagina tion is not stirred at the mention of IS those name?, by recollection of the 1 adventures and perils of the early pioneers, who braved the hardships of the wilderness and the dangers of Indian attacks, to spread Amer ican enterprise over the marvelous W est, with no stop this side of the Pacific shores? To follow, on a magnificent highway, borne In a swift, smoothly running car, the weary trail of the "Argonauts of Forty-nine.” lured by the golden sands of California —what could be more romantically interesting? But 7 Per cent of American Road Are Improved. But this trans-continental high way has better claims than mere romantic or scenic Interest upon the people of this great nation. W'e hove always led the world in rail way construction, but we have hitherto been behind in road mak ing. Only seven per cent of our American roads arc improved— i. e.. built upon Scientific principles and kept in repair -while in Europe, w hich has, all told, less than half as man' miles of road as the I'nited States, practically al) the road; a l ® improved. There a'e hi. tori, rea sutia for this, but those reasons could tell funny stories and do card tricks. He “ mooched ” drinks when one of the rounders decorated the mahogany with a piece of change. Yum was a good-natured boob. He was the butt of most of the jokes, and the bartenders used to point him out as the guy that never had a chance. Yet Yum had to eat and sleep, and there was his home. He picked up a dime once in a while doing a small errand and occasionally got a hat or a coat, from soing sympathizer. He was living; that was enough. have ceased to apply, and row, at last, the tables are beginning to turn, for we are spending more money anjiually on road improve ment than France, Germany and England combined. But we must spend more yet, and we are rich enough to do it. The narrow-minded idea once entertained by some persons that' Ihe making of improved roads, is simply a benefit to the fortunate owners of automobiles, is fast giv ing w ay to a more enlightened view as farmers begin to realize the fact that the good roads help them even more than they help the motorists. Stimulus of Cross-Continent Highway Incalculable. The stimulus that would be af forded by a great trans-continental highway would he Incalculable. It would give rise to improved roads on all sides. They would branch out from the main artery in every direction. To aay nothing of the practical advantages, mere shame would soon banish all the mudhole roads in the country traversed by the great highway. To understand what enthusiasm the cause of good roads Is capable of awaking, read the accounts in Motor of the cele bration of "Good Roads Day" in the suites of Washington and Colo rado The people turned out for a new kind of holiday—a holiday of 'work. Whole brigades of volun teers set to work with picks ant shovels and teams and road-mak ing apparatus, and they had one of the most enjoyable times of their lives. And why should they not? There is nothing so delight ful and nothing so healthful as work, when ihe workers are inter ested tn what the' are doing. All work and no play may make Jack a dull boy. but al! play and no work makes him i duller boy, e'en on a holiday. THE HOME PAPER Dorothy Dix Writes ...of— ; XdiWWib.'' The Friendship of Man and ' Wife —and- What the Phrase “Friend Wife’’ Means By DOROTHY DIX THERE is «w slang Phrase that always makes a hit with me, and that is ''Friend wife.” Do you get that” Friend wife! It's what every man should be able to call the woman to whom he is married, and yet not one man in ten thousand could truthfully use the phrase. There are wives who are sweethearts, wives who are af finities. wives who are sparring partners, wives who are. debating opponents, wives who are tyrants, wives who are slaves and domestic drudges, but how seldom a wife who is a friend! Yet the best thing that any woman can be to her hus band is to be his friend. It is the n hole of the law and the prophets as regards how to be ha.ppy though married. What is a friend? A friend Is the one of whose companionship you never weary—the one without whose presence no pleasure is com plete. How many men do you know who feel that Way toward their wives? The average wife is many admirable things to her hus band. but she is seldom a compan ion. He esteems her for her noble qualities, but he doesn't take her along with him. if he can help him self. when he wants to have a good time. Can Pick Married Couples By Bored Expressions. If j’ou desire to get a line on how little companionship there is be tween the great majority of hus bands and wives watch them at the theater, or at the restaurants, or any of the other places of public amusement. You will see them sitting up In a silence so thick that you could cut it with a knife, yawning in each other's faces be tween the acts of the play, and stuffing themselves on bread and butter at the restaurant while they wait for their order to be served. Not a word have they to say to each other unless they get Into a scrap about what they shall have to eat, or whether they put the cat out of doors when they left home. In any company you do not need a diagram to show' you which are the man-led couples. You can pick them out by their bored expres sions. Then did vou ever notice the pit iful paucity of conversation in the home? Husbands and wives seem to have literally no topic in com mon except the bills and the chil dren The average family circle might be composed of mutes for all the cheerful and interesting talk that goes about it. Yet the hus band may he famed as a wit and a raconteur in society, and his wife considered as unusually bright and vivacious In company. Roth of them have plenty to say to other people, but they have nothing to sav to each other because they are not friends They may be lovers, but the lovers' litany is? short, whereas the repertoire of friendship is exhaust less. You soon weary of asking the adored one “Goose ducky is oo?” and telling a woman how beautiful, and wonderful, and angelic she is. but you can talk forever to the friend whose mind is but a mirror in which you see your own thoughts glorified, and who touches no -object but to turn a brighter and more entrancing light upon it. What is a friend? A friend is the one to whom vou can go with every joy and sorrow, certain of understanding, sure of sympathy and help. How many men find such a friend in their wives? How many women have such friends in their husbands? So few, so trag ically, pitifully few! Wife Becomes Hysterical If Husband Is Frank. It .Is one of the heartbreaking facts of matrimony that one of the first things ,that the average hus band finds out is that he can't even be frank with his wife without her going into hysterics. He has to lie to her when he wants to stay downtown of a night and play a game of cards, or go to dinner with some man. He wouldn't dare to tell her that he had happened to meet some woman he knew near the door of a restaurant and had asked her to lunch with him. He'd only tell these things to his friends and not one of them would be "friend wife.” Why. the great majority of men Are not Sufficiently friendly with their wives to even talk over their business with the ladles, or to open up their hearts to them and show them their hopes, and plans, and ambitions. When they want to talk about real things like that they go to some man. It's mighty sel dom that a man finds his real con fidante in "friend wife.” Nor are women any more for tunate in this respect. It doesn't take long for a elever woman to discover that if she wants her household machinery to move smoothly she must keep most of her real thoughts and ideas to herself, and all of her troubles, and that the best way to work her lord and master is to make him comfort able. and obtrude her soul longings on him as little as possible. When a woman wants to discuss a problem play, or a new novel, or her clubs, or the suffrage move- - ment. she is rarely fortunate enough to be able to do so with her husband. For the average man isn't interested in the things that his wife is, and he doesn't even make a pretense of being. There fore. the wife's friends are of her own sex if she is a good woman, and of the opposite sex if she is a foolish and a flighty one. but her j best friend is not. as it should be, friend husband. It is because there is so little friendship between husbands and wives that there is so little marital happiness, for the last estate of married life must either be friend ship or ruin. Home Goes to Pieces if Not Founded On Friendship. ' Ihe romance of courtship Is a tissue of chiffon that wears to rags and tatters with a year or two of married life. Passion dies of sa tiety, and then the home must go to pieces like a house of cards un less it was founded on the solid rock of friendship. After the glamour and the thrills of youth and beauty and desire are gone wedlock becomes the ball and chain that bind two prisoners who are linked together to do a life sen tence at hard labor unless they have a friendship for each other that makes this enforced compan ionship a never-ending joy to both. Therefor . when a man hails the partner of his bosom as ‘Friend Wife” we know that he has given the high sign and the password to the Lodge o£ Happily Mar nec<i fewfiUail *