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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. 1M??. Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier. 10 cents a week. By mail, $5.00 a year. Payable in advance. ! Let the Baltimore Conven- I tion Beware The reactionaries have shown that they are now tn control of the Republican party. The Guard, the jatnsaries of privilege and special interests, have won the first balile, and have routed both the progressive wings of their part). They are hot with the hope that they will carry to success their whole tortuous plot against the people. There is no doubt that the mass of the people—so far as they had a voice in the preparations for the Republican convention —had utterly repudiated the bosses who were in control at Chicago, and had done their best to free themselves from the thraldom of the Republican machine. But the machine ground on indifferent to the voice of the people—careless of the scorn of public reproof. Reactionaries of all names—those who, lor their own gain, call themselves Democrats, as well as those who call themselves Republicans—will no doubt derive fresh encouragement ano a more insolent assurance from what has happened in Chicago. The powers of predatory finance, all the agents and willing servants of the great corporations, will now lay their plans Io capture the Baltimore convention as they seem to have captured the convention at Chicago. It is their wont to gamble for a sure thing and play both ends against the middle. Therefore, The Georgian warns the Democrats who are about to convene at Baltimore that they must be on their guard. The Democratic party in the nation is free from the fat of patronage and the rot of stagnant power. It comes fresh from the people, and it is of the people and for the people. But the Democratic party must bewarel President Hadley Makes a Mistake President Hadley, of Yale, in his baccalaureate sermon sounds a note that will make the thought ful pause. The error of today, he says, is measuring success in terms of dollars, for “the amount of wealth each man acquired or the progress he has made possible.’’ But Mr. Hadley bows his head to mam mon. and declares that the universal standard of worth today is measured in dollars, pounds or francs. Concretely the president of Yale would say: “He is a suc cessful man, he is worth a million dollars.’’ He admits that this is all wrong, but he sees no way to right it. It is the pop ular standard, and he sees no gleam of promise in the future. He declares that the legal and the ethical side is lost to sight in the glitter and the tingle of the coin. Therein is his mistake. He has not. read the sign of the times. Patriotism and love of humanity would be very dead if the people took the pessimistic view of this cold-headed thinker. But who ever discusses the wealth of Washington—the private fortunes of Longfellow or Emerson —the dollars accumulated by Edison? And are those names held in less esteem than that of Croesus? The eminent president of Yale is wrong. Americans do not measure success in terms of bank accounts, and future, genera tions will revere the names of Jefferson and Lincoln and Prank lin when the memories of the Morgans and the Rockefellers and the Carnegies have passed away. The Gift of Loving RY WINIFRED BLACK. •Rwewt are th* dew on the rows. Sweet 1* the flowers of Spring; Sweet are the dew on the roses. Says the po’ gyurt that nobod-y 10-o-eves." T HEARD the man who can play 1 the ’Tiara and Hounds" on the guitar with the blade of his pocketknife singing ns he swept the porch early this morning, and that is what he «ang. So you see yoo are not the only one who is starving for affection. Laugh at you! Not 1 T'd as goon laugh at the forlorn mite who threw her puny arms around my neck at the orphan asylum the other nay and tried to make me say 1 was her really, truly mamma. Funny? There’s nothing funny about loneliness, nothing amus ing In a sad heart. 1 think you Ait pitful and 1 do wish there was some way to help you. but there isn't---not much of away -for what you want. The poor narrow-souled creature you’ve married can't give you bread when you ask for It: maybe he would if he could, but he can't: so he gives you the nearest thing to it he has—and thinks he has done all that Is required of him. It 1b not given to every one, th* gift of loving It is a gift, a great and noble gift; as much a talent as any of the other things we call genius. It takes a big heart to know how to love, and a big soul, too. Be thankful that you have the great gift Enjoy it to the full, but don't waste it. Don’t throw It away nn a poor, half-blind. half-deaf, ilf-alivo creature who can't ap you and what you are try - ing to give him. ' not her man'' Nonsense. You're a good woman and a sensible one. "h- should you throw away youi h completely Just because the ' -' (a IL d <tea t urc you <-.i can't see w nat he is losing. Don’t lose your life through vour gift of loving. Save it. How? Begin with that little girl of yours. She is cold and undem onstrative. too. You may teach her to be different. Just take that poor little pover ty-stricken nature right Into the warmth of your big heart and she’ll warm up in spite of herself That little soul around the cor ner She came to town from the mountains of Tennessee. She’s homesick and lonesome. Get ac quainted with her Be a friend to her. Ho-w about that girl who's trying to make her way alone In lhe big city where she is so friendless She has a place in one of the big shop* Pretty thing, isn't she? Such big blue, innocent eyes Can't you help keep t'hem innocent? There'S a boy In th* flat just be low you, a rather stupid, awkward fellow all hands and feet He's so lonesome and forlorn h* has to whistle every minute to keep up his courage Why don’t you help him a little? He's saving every cent he can rake and scrape to send hl® little sister to school. Get him to show you her picture and tell you how smart she is and how she’s doing at school Did you see that old mail wait ing on the stops for the postman today? Hie son Is 111 down South somewhere and he's worried about him. Couldn't you cheer him up a bit? Tito world is full of love and of life, and of Interesting things, and human, simple, hoping, fearing people Make some friend among t hem. "Sweet is the dew on lhe roses." ■-ays the po' gyurl that nobody l-o-v-e-s. Do you know who Is more to be pitied than the po' gyurl whom nobody lovc« I'll tell you The poor girl who loves nobody I hut's the real poverty . Don't h i that happen to you The Atlanta Georgian $ Can You Read Design in Nature? & The Atmosphere Might Have Been Composed So That Lightning Would Burn or Explode It (Photographs reproduced by permission from Hearst's Magazine for June.) . . . '■** A-~" ! A Ship Literally Enveloped by Light ning Plashes. By GARRETT P. SERVISS. READ Dr. Williams’ explana tion why the air is not set afire by lightning in the June number of Hearst's Maga zine. Then think about it a while and you will probably find yourself agreeing in opinion ‘with the great astronomer, Kepler, when he de clared that if pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of oil and vinegar and slices of egg had been flying about, in the air from all eternity it might at last happen, BY CHANCE, that a salad would come out. of them—but never a salad so exactly right in all re spects as those that his wife had prepared for him. One of the most interesting re- ■ suits of the progress of science is the opening of our eyes to the as tonishing number of delicate ad justments by which everything in nature is made to run safely and smoothly. Perhaps we unduly flat ter ourselves if we think that this was all done for our particular benefit —but, nevertheless, WE DO GET THE BENEFIT, and many devout minds believe that they can rend therein the hand of a benefi cent deity. Surely, nobody can read there the blundering hand of chance. Suppose that you were In a great mine, buried deep tn the earth, and that you saw, from time to time, a crinkling flash of Are darting through the air. You would shrink into yourself through fear. You w ould believe that at any moment the whole mine might be blown up. You would tremblingly recall many stories of terrible mine explosions, and you would find difficulty in Re assuring yourself, even if some sci entific companion said to you, "Don't be afraid, THIS air can't bum. The flashes you see put themselves out too quickly. There is a little burning, but it can't ex tend. The composition of the air makes you safe.” Nevertheless, you would get out of that mine at the first opportunit>. A Kind of Mine Now, when jou are on the sur face of the earth you are in a kind of mine, from which you can not escape. Every time a bolt of light ning darts through the sky It burns a little of the nitrogen, which is one of the two principal gases con stituting the atmosphere. If that burning extended, as it sometimes extends in a coal mine, where other Inflammable gases abound. It would he all over with you and your com panions In a moment. One mag nificent flame, sweeping valley and hill, and good-bye to this world! But we are protected by the com position of the air. Nitrogen is not inflammable. In ordinary circum stances it will not burn. An Intense electric flash can burn a little of it. lying in the track of the dis charge. but outside that narrow space the heat is so quickly dissi- Editor of The Georgian: Supplementing remarks made by me quoted in your issue of T'm Georgian of June 19, with refer ence to the criminal courts, I de sire to say that the fault 1 find Is with antiquated, old-time crim inal laws, and procedure, not with the judges. Many people agree with me. that tlte time has come when the crim inal laws of Georgia should be changed so as not to allow cases to be continued because defend ant's attorney happens to be in another court dying a case, and for many other reasons which ap pear as trivial When one of these motions is made tinder the Jaw as it exists mu judges arc required to continue the eases. Should he try them >n motion for new trial, one would have to be granted by the higher court. MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1912. k fife*. X Lwtfl CL < aSMMMfiBm MEp- ■M’i II B Rs . f 1 ' - After the Flash the Heat Dissipates so Quickly That the Burning of Nitro gen Stops and the World’s Supply Is Saved From Destruction. pa ted that the burning ceases as soon as it begins. Oxygen, the oth er principal gas of the atmosphere, which is a great supporter and en courager of combustion, is there in abundance, but, nevertheless, the inertness of the nitrogen, its indis position to burn. Is so great that it refuses to catch fire as a whole. It defies the lightning, as a chem ically prepared paper defies a flame. There is a little local char ring, but the fire jean not spread. Now, look in another direction! I*'rom air turn to water. Water is composed of two gases—oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is in flammable. Oxygen is a supporter of flame, although It does not .itself, burn. When they are combined into the liquid called water, which con tains two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen, they do not burn. But take the hydrogen out of the water, as can be done in a labora tory, and It burns with ease. An Experiment That great experimental philoso pher, Michael Faraday, used to de light liis audiences—the elders as much as the youngsters—by put ting one volume of oxygen and two volumes of hydrogen together In a stout glass bulb, and I ben pass ing an qlectric spark through them. Flash! The oxygen and the hydro gen both disappeared in an in stant. and a little water, formed by their explosive combinations, tric kled down the inner side of the bulb. That was all that remained. I was once the witness of a very startling accident due to allowing Laws Need Revision Would it not be a wise amend ment to the criminal law also, which will require all cases to be tried on their merit, and wipe from the statute books al! tech nicalities as to language used in indictments and technical points as to names of parties in indictments, which frequently gain an acquit tal. even for a confessed murder er. The times are too far advanced for these old cobwebs which are an obstacle to the administration of justice to longer remain on our statute books. I wish to say a word about "pis tol totets” who infest this city. If it is necessary to d«> so. the con stitution of the state of Georgia should be amended, allowing evi dence to go before a jury of a pistol found on a man's poison, even though his arrest might hap pen to be "illegal." Our city po lice ha' e the right to make ar rests for violation of city ordi- The Weird Traceries of Light Are the Paths of Electricity Setting Afire the Air’s Nitrogen as It Goes. a little hydrogen to come into con tact with oxygen in the presence of a flame. You know that the oxy hydrogen light used with the stcre opticon is produced by combining jets of oxygen and hydrogen and setting them on fire against a stick of chalk. The intense heat makes the chalk glow' like a little sun. One night, while giving a lecture in New York, the operator of the lantern carelessly allowed a rub ber tube to slip out of place. In stantly there was a lightning flash and a loud explosion, which sent the audience flying, with cries of dismay, out of every exit, though fortunately nobody was hurt. The operator had let a little hydrogen escape, and it had met just enough oxygen to produce an explosive combination. But. if the operator was careless, he had nerve. In stantly he turned a cock that stopped the escaping hydrogen, and the danger was over. Now. remark this significant fact: THERE IS NO FREE HY DROGEN IN THE AIR. The earth can’t hold hydrogen gas. If It gets out it flies away Into space, because its molecules are too live ly to be permanently retained by the earth’s gravitation. But we can imagine a planet having the pow er to hold hydrogen in its atmos phere. Suppose the air of such a planet to contain two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen—and we know no reason why intelligent beings might not be so constituted as to live in such an atmosphere. Then, suppose another Prometheus io bring fire to that planet, or sup pose a flash of lightning to dart through its atmosphere, like the. electric spark through Faraday's bulb. There would probably be one gigantic explosion, one All-en veloping flame, ami then another "deserted world" w ould roll through space, covered with a lifeless film of water, formed by the combina tion of the gases of the exploded atmosphere! He is a madman who thinks that this world of ours ONLY HAP PENS to be a safe place of abode. nances. yet the law is such that tile arrest is technically illegal to snch an extent that evidence, which might be a concealed pistol, can not go to a jury. 1 earnestly hope that the move ment to revise the criminal laws, started by the convention of Geor gia judges, will receive serious and prompt consideration at the hands of the incoming legislature. While I am on this subject, why not adil to the gaming laws, bet ting on horse races and baseball games, and make the same a crime—-especially this “hand book" business'.’ I am sure the baseball people would rise up and call the legislature blessed, and even the horses would hail such a. law with joy. The pernicious ac tivity of these "handbook" fellows should he put an end to. Verv respectfully vours, JOSEPH A McCORD. Atlanta, Ga.. June 20, 1912, THE HOME PAPER The Education of the Voter Nq. 2—lnitiative; Referendum An Easy Explanation of Some of the New Political Terms. By THOMAS TAPPER. IT is important for the citizens of a republie to know some thing about its government. If you help to elect those who make laws, you are in part respon sible for the result. Our form of government, that of a republic, recognizes the people themselves as the source of power. Reading the daily paper of late you have come upon a number of . new words which spring out of the political situation of the day. These words are Initiative, Referendum, Preferential Primary, The Recall, and the like. What do they all mean Keep in mind the fact that the Federal Constitution does not es sentially take precedence over State Constitution. In fact, one supplements the other. Also, keep it in mind that a Constitution is always the result of progressive history. This fact, progressive h-Lptory. made it necessary to add fifteen amendments to the Consti tution of the United States. There is one further thing to remember: History is progressing now, in 1912, it will keep on progressing, or misfortune will swallow us up. H. The words Initiative and Refer endum do not occur in the Federal Constitution. But in Article I of the Amendments it is stated that Congress shall make no law pro hibiting the right of the people to petition the Government for a re dress of grievances. It is import ant to remember this petitioning right of the people. In politics, the words Initiative and Referendum are frequently used together. The Referendum is nothing new. and wc shall see. The word Initiative in this con nection refers to the right of he people, of you as an individual voter, to initiate, or start, or or iginate legislation. Any petition on the part of the people—you are one of them —-for the passing of a desirable law is the Initiative. The incorjgiration of this principle into has been brought about in South Dakota, lowa, Ne braska and California. I-ocal application of the initia tive has long been known. When the people of a town frame a pe tition to open up a new street and present it with sufficient signa tures to the town fathers they have availed of this privilege. Often a governing body refers a ques tion to the people. This is the Referendum. The whole gist of the matter has been successfully put by Dr. Oberholzer in his treatise on the Referendum. Shall the law. he says, which has been passed by the state legisla ture apply to a particular locality? Our Women Workers By ELBERT HUBBARD. A GREAT life insurance compa ny. whose actuaries have more than a national repu tation for soundness of reasoning, has recently given its agents some instructions on insuring the lives of women. I quote: “Whereas, this company has not heretofore thought best Io insure the lives of women, it is now ac ceptable for you to secure applica tions for policies from women as follows: "1. Accept, applications only from women in business or from wage-earning women who have people dependent on them. ”2. Do not accept women with an income that is not derived from their own property." From tins I assume that these hard-headed actuaries, who elimi nate gallantry, poetry and senti ment from their calculations, re gard married women and women who have things provided for them as uncertain propositions to insure. Wage-earning women are rea sonably happy. Steady, systemat ic work meahs health. The com petent man tn’ womftn is a good moral and financial risk. A married woman may ho com petent or she may not. She may be happy' or she may not. It is quite unnecessary to question her —she will not tell the truth about herself, and it is exactly the same with a woman who lives on the bounty provided by either a live man or a dead one. Four-fifths of all the surgical eases in public hospitals are per formed on women. But of the wage-earning. weal th-producing women, no more go to hospitals proportionately than do men. It is men who tak£ the physical risks of the world—4t is men who operate railroads, tunnel mountains, sal! ships, mine ores and build build ings that scrape the sky. Yet. in spite of these facts, the The people will decide by the refer- v endum. Where shall the referendum he taken? The people will decide by the initiative. The REFERENDUM results when laws .ire prepared by the legislature and are submitted to the people. The INITIATIVE re sults when laws are prepared by • the people and submitted to the \ legislature. 111. The initiative in respect to local conditions is frequently adopted. When in South Dakota, as many as five per cent of those who voted for governor in the previous election sign a petition they estab lish a right to be heard on any 4 question of state Jaws. , The required number of signa tures to the petition is not uni form in the states and municipali ties in which the initiative is op erative. In the city of San Fran cisco fifteen per cent of the votes cast at the last election are re quired: in the state of California, 50 per cent: in lowa, 75' per cent, and in Nebraska, fifteen per cent. ,» To submit laws to the vote of the people is a live and important question. It is not a new princi ple in American politics in local ap plication. The education of the voter should convince him wheth er the initiative is a principle that is capable of expansion from a narrow to a broad application. Are the people, as a rule, fitted to give judgment on legislative, measures? To answer the question, ask your self: Am I so careful a student of no litical questions that my opinion Is intelligently formed on any pro posed measure of legislation ? , Do I actually know anything about it ? Do I keep in mind when I vote » THE ONE GREAT MATTER ') THAT AFFECTS ME DIRECTLY j the prosperity of the country? I Do I vote with a sane point of 1 view as to property protection, to the purpose of taxation, and so on" Between tlie man who thinks upon the right of the franchise in this way and the man who crimi- • nally disposes of his vote for a price stretches the whole range of voting intelligence. All the conditions that may sur round us as a people depend on whether the voter is intelligent and responsible, bet him be a re former in the truest sense of ths word. Let him also remember that ) many writers and papers are in clined to regard the reformer as working heaven and earth in his own Interest This is the right and proper thing to do if. at the same time, his interest Is the greatest good to . the greatest number. { insurance actuaries much prefer io insure men who are abroad In the world doing things than to accept risks on women who abide in the safety of the home and are pro tected qnd shielded on every side. From this there is only one conclu sion, and that is, that to be mar ried and Veep house, -ind ro ha m an income- and do nothing, are hazardous undertakings. Tt is not the dangers of childbirth that make women a bad risk—it is the paucity of their lives. If it were the dangers of motherhood, the in surance companies would not re fuse women over 50. but married women, and those unmarried, who are provided for, are plated in the same category. The real, fact is. few women, comparatively, ate admitted into the work of the world. Woman Is the slave of her housekeeping -the slave of a man. When she gets married she throws up her job. And in New York, if she is a school teacher, her marriage is equal to a resignation. Hence the misery that leads to the ether-cone, the liga ture and the scalpel. And that Is the reason why life insurance companies, as a rule, will not insure the lives of married women. The average married wom an has no high purpose In life po output for her ambition, no rock upon which she can strike her in tellect and cause the welling waters of life to flow. She has tasted of life and found it alkaline—all there is for her now is submission. She is a passive party. So the insurance actuary, viewing the average married wom an with his cold, calculating, finan cial eye, declares her a hazardous risk, and passes her up. Give women the ballot! it will help to enlarge their Ilves, improv, their mental and physical estate, and make them better risks Also, it will make them hettbr compan ions of men.