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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 postoftice at Atlanta, under act of March 3. 1873. Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail, $5.00 a year. Payable in advance. ILet the Baltimore Con ven- I tion Beware The reactionaries have shown that they are now '.n control of the Republican party. The “Old Guard, ’ the janisarics of privilege and special interests, have won the first battle, and have routed both the progressive wings of their parly. 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 lar 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, for their own gain, call themselves Democrats, as well as those who call themselves Republicans—will no doubt derive fresh encouragement ami 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 to 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 bo on their guard. The Democratic party in the nation is free from the fat of patronage and the rot of stagnant power. Tt comes fresh from the people, and it is of the people and for the people. But the Democratic party must beware! President Hadley Makes a Mistake President Hadley, of Vale, in his baccalaureate sermon sounds a note that will make the thought fill 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: “Fie 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 nlar 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. Rut 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 Croegus? 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 Erank in when the memories of the Morgans and the Rockefellers and the Carnegies have passed away. The Gift of Loving BY WINIFRED BLACK. '•Rwe.at are the dew on the roses. Sweet is the flowers of Spring; Sweet are the dew on the mere. Says the po' gyuTl that nobod-y 10-e-eve.*." I HEARD the man who can play the "Hare and Hottnds” on the girt tar with the blade of hl a pocketknife winging an he swept he porch early this mornins, and that is what he sang. So you see yon are not the only •no who Is starving for affectton. Laugh at you! Not T. I’d as soon laugh at the forlorn mite who threw her puny arms around my neck at the orphan asylum the other day and tried to make, me say 1 was her realty, truly mamma. Funny? There's nothing funny about loneliness, nothing amus ing In a Bad heart. I think you are pitful and I do wish there was some way to help yon. but there isn't —not much of a wax for w hat you want. The poor narrow-smiled creature yotTve married can t give yon bread when you ask for It; maybe he would If he could, hut he can’t; so he gives you the nearest thing to 1t he has —and thinks he has done all that Is required of him. It la not given to every one. the 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 t. love, and a big soul, too. Re thankful that you have the great gift. Enjoy it to the full, but don’t waste It. Don't throw It away on a poor, half-blind, half-deaf, tis-alive creature who can’t ap preciate you and what you arc try - ing tu give him Another man? Nonsense. You're a good woman and a .sensible one. 'A’ny should you throw away your ’•ft I ompletely just because the iwr ,ug\ i .tried creature you mari-tcd can’t -ee what he is losing. Don't loae your life through your gift of loving. Rave It. How? Begin with that little girl of yours. She is cold and undem onstrative, too. You may teach her to ba 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. How about that girl who’s trying to make her way alone In the big city where she is so friendless. She has a place In one of the big shops ’ Pretty thing, isn’t she? Such big blue, Innocent eyes. Can’t 'fit help keep them Innocent ? There’s a boy In the flat just be low you. a tather stupid, awkward fellow all hands and feet He’s so lonesome and forlorn he 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 his little sister to school. Get him to show you her picture and tell you how smart site is and how she's doing at school. Did you see that old man wait ing on the steps for the postman today? His son is ill down South somewhere and he's worried about him. Couldn't you cheer him up a bit? The world is full of love and of life, and of interesting things, and human, simple, hoping, fearing people. .Make some friend among them. "Sweet is the dew on the roses.” says 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 loxes'.’ I’ll toll you. The Atlanta Georgian Can You Read Design in Nature? The Atmosphere Might Have Been Composed So That Lightning Would Burn or Explode It • l ■ ■ " j * I — I | A ' St- ™- ... a, i St *--«• •* . I 1 V- i , W I* j, } » zJR I li'.ilE A Ship Literally Enveloped by Light ning Flashes. By GARRETT P. SERVISS. REAU 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 And 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 light in all re spects as those that his wife had prepared for him. One of the most Interesting re sults 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 Ahat this was all done for our particular benefit—but, nevertheless, WE DO GET THE BENEFIT, and many devout minds believe that they can read 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 would 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 burn. 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 opportunity. A Kind of Mine Now, when you are on the sur face of the earth yon 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 1* 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 be all over with you and your com panions In a moment. One mag nificent flame, sweeping vnlley and hill, and good-bye to this world! Rut 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 Tire 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 witli the judges. Many people agree with me, that the 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 trying a case, and for many other reasons which ap pear as trivial. When one of these motions is made under the law as it exists, our judges are required to continue the cases. Should he try them on motion foi new trial, one would have to be granted by the higher court. MONDAY. .JUNE 24, 1912. 'Photographs reproduced by permission from Hearst's Magazine for June.) I\/ V; mWI SHP/ i WBI After the Flash the Heat Dissipates so Quickly That the Burning of Nitro gen Stops and the World's Supply Is Saved From Destruction, pated 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 ting, but the fire can not spread. Now, look in another direction. From 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 his 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 then pass ing an electric 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 O& I® - Would it not be a wise amend ment to the criminal law also, which will require all cases to bo tried on their merit, and wipe from the statute books all 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. 1 wish to say a word about "pis tol toters” who infest this city. If it is necessary to do so. the con stitution of the state of Georgia should lie amended, allowing evi dence to go before a jury of a pistol found on a man’s person, even though his aricst might hap pen io be "illegal.” Out city |io live have 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 hydrbgen light used with the stere oplicon 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 butt. The operator bad 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 bo one gigantic explosion, one all-en veloping flame, and 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 spelt that the anest is technically illegal to such nn 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 seriouj and prompt consideration at the hands of the incoming legislature. While I am on this subject, xvhy not add to the gaining 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 anti call the legislature blessed, and even the horses would hail such a law with joy. The pernicious ac tivity of these "handbook" fellows should be put an end to. Very respectfully yours, Joseph a. m.cord. Atlanta, Ga.. June 20, 1912. THE HOME PAPER. , The Education of the Voter No. 2—-Initiative; Referendum An Easy Explanation of Some of the New Political Terms. By THOMAS TAPPER. IT is important for the citizens of a republic to know some thing about its government. If you help Io 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 ?.bdory. 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. and it will keep on progressing, or misfortune will swallow us up. 11. The words Initiative and Refer endum do not occur in the Eedetal 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 polities, the words Initiative and Referendum are frequently used together. The Referendum is nothing new. and we 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 incorporation of this principle into practice has been brought about in South Dakota, lowa, Ne braska and California. Local 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 il 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 s-ome instructions on insuring the lives of women, 1 quote: "Whereas, this company has not heretofore thought best to Insure the lives of women, it is now ac ceptable for you to secure applica tions for policies from tvomen as foliotvs; “I. 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 this 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 arc rea sonably happy. Steady, systemat ic work means health. The com petent man or woman is a good moral and financial risk. A married woman may be 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 cases tn public hospitals are per formed on women. But of the wage-earning, wealth-producing women, no more go to hospitals proportionately than do men. It is men who take the physical risks of the xxorld —it is men who operate railroads, tunnel mountains, sail 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 endum. Where shall the referendum ba taken? The people will decide by the initiative. The REFERENDUM results when laws are prepared by the legislature and are submitted In 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- . lislt a right to be heard on any z question of state laws. The required number of signa tures to the petition is not uni form in tlie 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 Jaws 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 po litical questions that my opinion Is Intelligently formed on any pro posed measure of legislation? Do I -actually know a about it? ; Do I keep in mind when I vote THE ONE GREAT MATTER J THAT AFFECTS ME DIRECTLY I —the prosperity of the country? | Do I vote with a sane point of view as to property protection, to the purpose of taxation, arid so on? Between the 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. Let him be a re former in the truest sense of the 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 to insure men xvho 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 and shielded on every side. From this there is only one conclu sion, and that is, that to be mar ried and keep house. And to havs an income and do nothing, are hazardous undertakings. It is not the dangers of childbirth that make women a bad risk—it is the paucity of their Ilves. 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 placed in the* 1 same category. The real fact is. few women, comparatively, are admitted Into the work of the world. Woman is A 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—no 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 lives, improve ihelr mental and physical estate, and make them better risk'. Also, 11 will make them better compan ions <>f men.