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THEATLANTA 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 S. 1573
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The Shame of Atlanta
| ». ». *
She Excels in Many Things, But She Can Not Hide Her Streets.
“By its highways ye shall know the city.”
True or untrue, this paraphrase, made long ago. contains a
bitter arraignment of Atlanta.
The streets of the metropolis of the South are as much in
keeping with the rest of the city as a team of oxen would be
with a 60-horse power automobile truck.
To the stranger five points in aui city are uppermost: The
climate, the natural advantages, the shipping facilities, the build
ing development and the condition of the streets. There is no
fault to be found with an\ of these conditions except two. One
of these will be discussed later.
The other is the shame of Atlanta it> streets.
From day to day The Georgian "ill give facts and figures
about the streets
If the people's money is being thrown away while the citt is
being disgraced, the people will know it.
Ts the amount appropriated is insiiffivient to finish respectable
highways, the people will know that,
If incompetence is responsible for the thousands of mud holes,
the people will know that.
The time has come when there must boa remedy. Il is all
very well for Atlantans to point with pride Io their city's su
premacy in a hundred things, because in at least a hundred things
she excels; but she can not hide her streets.
Atlanta deserves the best, and she Ml ST and WILL have it.
The Duty of “Instructed”
Delegates
How long does a state's “ instructions” bind its delegates in
a national convention?
This was a question frequently discussed and variously eon
strued at Chicago and at Baltimore. The answer should be plain
When the people of a state in free consideration of several
presidential candidates come to the primary polls and give a ma
.jnrity vote for one of these candidates it ought to he perfectly
clear that the man so voted for is distinctly and definitely the
choice and preference of the people, whose wishes arc sovereign
and conclusive. Il is a matter of common sense and common loy
alt.v that delegates so chosen should expend every effort of advo
cacy and endurance to put into execution the wishes of the people
whose servants and messengers they are.
And this advocacy and effort are by no means discharged as
an obligation when some designing politician or some scheming
interest may urge that the choice of the people is hopeless. No
candidate can be honorably deserted by “instructed delegates”
so long as he is in the lead, certainly not while he has a majority
as the votes, and not even while he leads a loyal and undismayed
minority with a hope of Ins success.
There was more than one delegation which violated and for
swore its “instructions” at Baltimore and at Chicago. If the
states that “ instructed for Clark ” had been loyally obeyed by
their delegates “as long as there was a reasonable hope for
Clark's success” Clark would have been the nominee on the fourth
day of the convention. , '
■ • Os course, all “state instructions” should provide some dis
cretion for the delegates who represent it. The absurdity of rob
bing delegates, of all discretion was illustrated at Baltimore in
the ridiculous case of Georgia bound bv an ironclad instruction
to vote for I nderwood “CNTILIIIS ELECTION IS SECI RED ”
Ender this foolish resolution the Georgians really had no
right to vote to make Wilson's nomination unanimous. The man
who wrote that resolution ought to have his head put under cold
water and be retired from further duty as an instructor of dele
gations.
The Tariff: Platform Com
ment
Il is regrettable that the Baltimore convention committed
itself to the abstract theory that “the Federal Government nn
der the Constitution has no right to impose or collect tariff
duties except for the purpose of revenue.”
This notion that the protective principle is unconstitutional
• is a theory of closet philosophers. Its falsity is a matter of
history. The Democratic party will never attempt to put it into
practice. It is. therefore, not dangerous to the country. But it
stains an honest platform with a touch of insincerity
This newspaper stands, with the mass of the American peo
ple. tor the effectual protection of American industries trom
the competition of foreign countries having a low standard of
living. The Georgian voices the nearly unanimous sentiment of
the country in demanding a rigorous downward revision of the
tariff in all the schedules touching the common necessaries of life.
The trouble with the Payne-Aldrich tariff is that it stretches
out its arms to smite the weak and defend the strong. It pro
tects no poverty, but piracy
Even in the Republican platform and in spite of Taft's
atrocious vetoes of the farmers' free list and the reforms of
the woolen, cotton ami chemical schedules attempted by the
Democratic House—it is admitted that the tariff on nceessaifes
ought to be sealed down. But the Republicans want to have
this scaling down done very gingerly by those who have a
parental affection for the tariff as it stands those who believe,
with Mr. Winona Taft, that if is “tlw best tariff eve; enacted
by a Republican Congress."
The Georgian, on the other hand, will continue to insist
that the tariff should be scaled down not by “the friends of
the tariff.” but by the friends of the people; and that Ulis
reform should be accomplished not gingerly, but with ginger.
The people will not commit the incredible folly of giving
Mr. Taft and the interests represented by him a fresh mandate
to go on after their own fashion with the "reform” of Uie
tariff. The people will not set wolves to tend the sheep. The
words uttered by Senator James on taking the gavel at Balti
more will be remembered :
"President Taft has the lone and singular distinction of
being the only President in tlw life of this Republic who ever
vetoed bills cheapening clothing to the people, lumber to the
homeless, meat and oread to the hungry Americans ami tree farm
ing implements to the toiling farmer measures that would
have saved to the eonsiinimi; public thr< > buwlred ami tiltv
an i.U.uuk, a tear.”
The Atlanta Georgian
The First View of the Ocean
By HAL CO FEM AN.
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DOROTHY DIX WRITES
Both Sides of the Amusement Problem
9
PROBABLY there is no other
one question that gives rise
to more arguments and dis-
putes in tlie average well-to-do
family than the amusement prob
lem.
The wife wants to go out to
piaees of entertainment. The hus
band wants to stay home and read
the newspapers. Result: Domestic
tireworks.
The wife says:
"I am a good wife and mother,
and a competent housekeeper. I
am thrifty industrious and frugal,
and I am busy all day doing house
hold tasks that can make my fam
ily comfortable, and trying to
make my husband's money go as
far as possible. Ry the time night
comes I am weary of performing
monotonous domestic duties, and 1
would like some change. I would
like to do something that would
give a different turn to my
thoughts, and that would stimu
late me. and brighten me up.
"I love society. I like to dance
I like a good game of cards. I like
people. I am devoted to the thca
,tei. I enjoy going occasionally to
a restaurant for dinner or suppei.
I like to see and be seen, but be
fore I can go atty where of an even
ing I have to have a battle royal
with my husband that takes all of
Ihv pleasure out of it. To get him
to go to a dinner party is--like
dragging him to an execution. To
induce bin* to take me to the thea
ter requires a week of hints ant!
pi t suasion and jollying, and then
he sits up with a kill-joy face and
knocks the actors in the play and
yawns in my face until I get so
mad I vow I’ll never ask him to
take me anywhere again
"We actually have a row over
every invitation we get and he
puts on his evening clothes w ith as
many groanings and mutterings as
if he were an early Christian mar
tyi dressing himself to be led out
to the stake
Wife Wants Some
Os the Diversions.
"He acts as if being married to
him w ptt nic enough for any
waVt.' and that she ought not to
expect or desire any other diver
sion. while I contend that a wife
w ho does* het duty, as I do. is enti
tled to at hast a few of the treats
aftii ma t'iage that a man was
ready enough to give her before
mairiag. When In- was courting
>w.- m\ husband warn* too tired of
THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1912.
By DOROTHY DIX.
an evening to take me to places or
meet me at parties.
"Besides al! this, my husband
needs to go out some for his own
sake. A man gets so narrow who
sees nobody but his business asso
ciates and heats-- nothing talked
about but business and. in addition,
we have children for--w hom it is
ouraluty to make as good a social
position as we can. So it sdbnis it.
me. that my husband 1s unreason
able not to be willing to go.about
with me more."
Husband Says
He Needs Rest.
The man say's:
"I work all day under a pressure
that my wife does not even under
stand. I am giving every Ounce of
strength and vitality that is in me
to my business so thatT can give
my family every possible luxury
and indulgence, and when night
comes 1 am utterly spent, sou) and
body and brain, I am so tired that
I don't care to talk, nor to be talk
ed to, and so nervous that I feel
that J would scream if I had to lis
ten to the inane chatter -of some
foolish woman to whom I was ex
pected to make myself agreable at
dinner.
All I want to do is to eat my
own dinner in my own .house, and
sink down in my own particuia"
chait in the library, and doze along
over the evening paper. More than
that. I must have this rest if I am
to hold up my end in the strenuous
business competition of today.
"if I go to bed at 10 o'clock and
get a good night's sleep 1 attack
my problems with a clean, clear
brain the next morning, but if I've
been out to 1 or 2 o'clock, and eaten
a lot of Indigestible stuff, and drunk
and smoked too much, my mind is
in as upset a state as my tomach
is. My judgment is clouded; my
tamper is on edge and I'm literally
not fit for business.
"Heaven knows I want my wife
to have every possible pleasure. It's
for her sake and the kids that* 1
toil like a dray horse Let her go
to all the matinees, and teas and
luncheons ami hen parties she
wants to. but why (an t she be
reasonable and !«' me have my
evenings at home in peace instead
of dragging me about to places that
bore me stiff, and where every other
married man looks I*k «■ St tn! bony
on the gridiron"
And there you are. And -■« the
argument goes on over every in
vitation. and ends with tears on one
side, and a banging door on the
other and the queer part of it all is
that: each side is perfectly right
from his or her point of view\
'file solution of the problem' is
only; to be found in compromise,
and. undoubtedly, it would make
for peace in most families if the
wife would Establish the house
maid's inalienable right to a night
out once a week on which her hus
band would accompany her whith
ersoever she chose to go without
protest. The balance of the titne
she could take her pleesuies with
out him at the various afternoon
diversions that women have de
vised to meet this very contingency .
It is unfortunate that the very
difference of their fields of labor
makes men and women look at this
question from opposite angles. The
husband, who is seeing new faces
every minute of the day. and talk
ing to new people, longs for quiet
and rest in the evening. The woman
who lias been shut up in tlie house
all day . often w ith no one to speak
to. longs for fresh faces and fresh
interests. This being true, why
should they not figure out together
a working schedule by which the
man should go cheerfully abroad
with his wife a certain number of
nights •( week, while the balance
site may tebniin at home without
feeling herself a persecuted domes
tic slave?
One Reason Why
Americans Lead.
One of the chief reasons why this
country leads the world in divorce is
becau.s> Americans so often settle
this question in the wrong way by
the wife and husband each going
his or Iter own way—the wife going
in for society, and the husband go
ing in for business, and both land
ing in Reno When you ‘meet a
married woman traveling alone, or
going to balls and theaters with
friends, instead of her husband, you
don't need any other tip as to the
state of affairs in that family.
'if course men sty that they
have.to work so hard they haven't
time to go about with their wives,
but if husbands gave their wives
more of their time and personal at
tention and less money it would be
better for both
After all. it's the people <hat w -
play with w hi> are m-'Si a,- c-sirv
to us.
THE HOME PAPER
Dr. Parkhurst’s Article
Conservation of Human |TJ|n|
Race as an Urgent Need
—and— I
Development of Deserv
ing Men and Women
Written For The Georgian
By the Rev. Dr. C. H. Parkhurst
THERE is one need of the
times that the generosity of
our large givers seems not
quite to have touched, but a need
which, if handsomely met. would
go far toward the conservation of
valuable material that is now run
ning to waste
We have latterly learned to
realize that our wealth in forests,
water power and minerals lias
been dealt with so carelessly and
extravagantly as seriously to im
pair our resources, and to cause
mischief that only the prolonged
pursuance of a more cautious pol
icy will avail to repair.
But our new policy of conserva
tion will not be complete till it also
extends itself outside the region of
our material assets. Very much of
the humanitarian work that is be
ing done is done in pursuance of
the conservation idea, and is an at
tempt to prevent values in human
bodies, minds and characters from
being wasteful!?- sacrificed.
Our thought just now is upon one
particular class of people—men and
women—whose embarrassed condi
tion is making consistent appeal
to any man w ho is know n to be at
all interested in those who have
abilities and ambition, but whose
abilities are rendered unproductive
and their ambitions disappointed
by the imperious limitations of cir
cumstances —people who could do
something worth while, but wtfo
are so hampered by adverse condi
tions that they liave no chance to
get a start.
No Sensible Person
Would Advise Pampering.
•‘Der anfang ist imfner schwer.”
say the Germans.
It is comparatively easy to build
a ship: th6 crisis comes at the
launching.
It takes more steam to start a
locomotive than it docs to keep it
running.
Once a seed has begun to ger
minate we can pretty confidently
count on its becoming a shrub or
tree.
The same holds true of young
humans as of ships, engines and
flower seeds, that the rub comes at
the beginning.
No sensible person would advise
tlie pampering of a fledgling.
Things can be made too easy for
the young aspirant as well as too
hard. #
An ambitious fellow can go up
a pretty steep grade if he has grit,
but he can not pull himself up a
perpendicular.
Enough- slant must ne put into
the clintb to give him a scrambling
chance to get to the top. And
that chance is what a lot of
young people—boys and girls—do
not have.
::: ::: 'Together ::: :::
By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
Copyright 1912. National News Association
WE two in the fever and fervor and glow
Os life's high tide have rejoiced together:
We have looked out over the glittering snow.
And known we were dwelling in summer weather,
For the seasons are made by the heart I hold.
And not hi outdoor heat or cold.
We two. in the shadows of pain and wop.
Have journeyed together in dim. dark places.
Where black-robed Sorrow walked to and fro.
And Fear and Trouble, with phantom faces.
Peered out upon us and froze our blood,
Though June's fair roses were all in bud.
We two have measured all depths, all heights.
We have bathed in tears, we have sunned in laughter;
We have known all sorrows and delights—
They never could keep us apart hereafter.
Whether your spirit went, high or low.
My own would follow, and find you. I know.
If they took my soul into Paradise.
And told me I must be content without you.
I would weary them so with my lonesome cries.
And the ceaseless questions • assed about you.
They would open the gates and set me free.
Or pI -p the.' would find you and bring you to tn*-
We are thinking only of tho-?
who have in them the makings nf
something, who are aware of i
fact and who are brave enough to
do what they can themselves, bin
who can not do it all. can not make
opportunities when there Is noth
ing to make opportunities of—
young people who have an art Im
pulse and want to cultivate ft: or
a genius for mechanics or a pro
nounced leaning toward teaching,
journalism, preaching, no matfer
what, but needing just enough :■>
help get them on their feet and <o
put them on the road.
A Few Dollars Will < « J
Conserve Human Effort.
Not to give such ones an initial
push means a waste of value, it i
neglect to conserve resources more
valuable than timber or wafer sup
ply.
Sometimes SSOO w ill do It. or even
SIOO. if only it be enough to help
the wheels to begin to turn.
Or the need may be for mone’’
enough to buy a little farm, giving
a mortgage on the land as securit' .
Appeals for just that kind of as
sistance are reporting theniselvr,
■constantly.
Who now Is the man of large
wealth that wants to create an en
dowment. the income of which shall
be applied in the manner proposed'
We have had immense mone' 7
donated in the interest of advanced
education, gifts that inure especial
ly to the advantage of those who
have already gotten quite away
up the incline, money without stint
for the construction of magnificent
buildings.
It is said that, if a man resident
in Boston dies without leaving half
a million in bequest to Harvard
university it is considered suffi
cient ground for breaking his will
All these bequests are attracted
to men and institutions that ar»
already favored. but the poor,
struggling, capable and ambitious
boys and girls at the bottom of the
ladder have, comparatively speak
ing. very little done for their en
couragement.
If They Have Ability
That’s Half the Fight.
If the?' have ability and grit, they
do not need much: but if the? have
those qualifications, society, the
state, the schools, the world's busi
ness. the church, can not afford t n
have their powers of effect wasted.
Eine and competent humanne-'
is more necessary to the world
than crude oil and timber.
Men and women, capable ind
confident, are the best product of
our civilization, and the recovery
of such from helplessness to use
fulness is one of the best euti r
prises to which men of wealth • an
give their hearts and apple ilwir
m ea n s.