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EDITORIAL PAGE THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published Every Afternoon Except runout 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 mall. $5 no a year. Payable in advance. I The Hobble Skirt Is Not “a Menace to Virtue” » •! M i But It If Bad for the Health, and Silly. It- Should Have Died Long Ago A medical journal attracts attention usefully by denouncing “the hobble skirt." The editor thinks that the present styles are “a pitfall and a menace to the innocent and virtuous female, and as such are intolerable for our daughters, sisters aiid womankind in general. The hobble skirt is not immoral, or lacking in virtue, because it is not INTENDED to be immoral. Women from sixteen years of age to eighty wear hobble skirts—millions of them—and these women ar* not immoral or lacking in the different kinds of virtue. Thehobble skirt is harmful because it does for the legs and the body what superstition and various forms of ignorance do for the mind. The hobble skirt prevents a freedom and natural gait in walk ing. running and dancing It is responsible largely for the present ‘ turkey trot " and other ungraceful, stupid and more or less indecent kinds of dances. These dances, which consist in hopping up and down in an ugly way and substituting wriggling and raising of the shoulders for natural, graceful movement, have become popular as a result of the hobble, which will not let the feet move freely. • A woman with part of her dress or a rope or a silk sash tied around her ankles is restrained in her movements —interfered with in free walking, which is the most wholesome of exercises—and her health is injured. The hohble skirt is part of a half-silly, half-depraved effort to hamper the freedom of women and thus develop an unnatural, mis called beauty This can be seen in the extreme in the tight shoes of the Chinese, which compel the poor creatures to hobble through life, in the dreadful, abnormal condition of fat developed in their daughters by Hottentot mothers, making them so huge in one particular way that they c.an scarcely walk, or the cruel fattening of other women of desert regions by mothers that stuff them with camel's milk. A woman thoroughly hobbled, whether it be with the hobbles of fat on her body, with the hobbles of class, prejudice or supersti tion on her mind, or the hobble of the modern skirt around her ankles, is much to be pitied. She is as sad to look upon as was that thoroughly hobbled lady, the Democratic party, during the last few days of the convention, and that is saying a good deal. What women want th freedom —in the truest and highest sense of that word —freedom of thought, freedom of action, freedom to take part in all great public affairs, freedom from that shameful condition of inferiority which through the ages has compelled them fO make of themselves a changing, pitiful plaything for man, who would not give them equality. A Progressive Democracy vs. a Retrogressive Navy Since the Democratic platform has declared for an “adequate navy—sufficient to defend American policies, protect our citizens and uphold the honor and dignity of the nation’’—is there any fur ther reason why the Democratic majority in the house of represen tatives should not cease to play politics and meet the patriotic sen ate amendment for two battleships and additional cruisers. Thare is no longer'either justification or excuse for Democratic delay in this vital matter. The weather vanes of public opinion, as exhibited in political conventions and platforms, turn all one way toward a larger and complete navy If the Democratic majority is afraid of public opin ion and afraid of losing votes by a sufficient appropriation for the national defense, that fear is now stripped of its terror The Republican convention and the Republican platform point edly condemn the Democratic parsimony in refusing to vote the ad ditional battleships and demands a stronger navy. When Colonel Roosevelt’s third party convention assembles next month we may oe sure that one of its strongest planks will be a ringing declaration for preserving and even advancing the status of the navy. And so the three prongs of the American sentiment, as express ed in the platforms of the three great political parties, prod sharply and insistently the mistaken policy of the Democratic house. The time for definite action has come. If is up to the Demo eratic house to say now in action, rather than in platitudes, whether this is to be a progressive rather than a retrogressive Democracy. It is impossible for the party to go before the country as pro gressive when it stands retrogressive in the national defense. The Democratic party can not possibly assert a forward mission if it takes a backward step in reducing the American navy to a fifth place among the navies of the world. The country will laugh at the profession which is belied in action and will resent the un patriotic and un-American policy of the house naval program. The challenge of public political opinion now calls squarely and resolutely upon Mr. Oscar I nderwood and other obstructionists who have delayed a progressive naval program to meet the demands nf their own platform and to vote the battleships which.arc m eded for the country s honor and defense. The Atlanta Georgian FRIDAY, JULY 12. 1912. THE SO-CALLED POOR By HAL COFFMAN. t I II Bifis fc lh > ; F- fits hr- ' ■y?jß ■■ ■■ 1 1 %I * j I -i B' a? _ n-fei ' 'Zy i m-? 'U H MM * WfWOw ti hJi.' ' ' Senator Elihu Root, in a speech delivered recently, was talking of "a diffusion of wealth which should inspire cheerful confidence in the future,"" and he used these exact words: "Witness the 9.597.185 separate savings banks’ accounts, with $4,212,583,598 deposits in the year 1911. BY THE SO-CALLED I’fMtß." Those words—“the so-called poor"- came to Mr. Root on the spur of the moment, and they expressed his real thought and feeling. Those who believe that there really ARE some poor people in this country, and that the poor are a reality and not a “so-called" fiction, will iTmomber this saying. What Would Happ en If Husbands Were Frank Absolute Frankness Often Endangers the Happiness of Many Homes 44 1 T T''ULDN’ T >'" u liß e •<’ V V know what he thinks of . you?" one woman asked another. They had been talking of a Sphinxlike, and, because si lent. interest-provoking man. If be had talked much. tin spell would probably have been broken. No." replied the other, a note of alarm in her voice; "not always." Vet a little English woman, who recently married the grandson of the ■poel* Longfellow, tempted the gods of discord by saying that the . ideal husband is frank. Rash lit tle woman who reckoned without moods! Moods are mental weather. Some times the sun of the spirit shines gloriously, and at such time it is safe to be frank. The sunshine has Irradiated and beautified the land scape of facts. But there be times w hen the sky is overcast. Perhaps this mood portends a downfall of rain, a rattling of verbal thunder and lightning. Or it may only be t temporal.v eclipse of the sun of good humor. But heaven spare us absolute frankness at these times! Some Questions That Husbands Do Not Like Maybe the little bride confused terms. What she wished to -ay may he. "The idea! husband is truthful." Certainly no normal woman wants lying answers to those ancient, honorable question? "Where have you been?" and "Why are you late"" Husbands do not like flier*’ questions Thei bore them. But the just husband be lieves they are one of the inescapa ble evils of married life, and he gives answer more or less truthful, according to circumstances. The only man 1 know who had the hardihood to dispute his wife's tight to ask these questions, dis puted also his mother's, and he has been divorced, as he deserved. Truthfulness may be construed as an accurate answering of ques tions put; frankness as the volun tary forcing of facts upon us If the bridegioom last week acquired by the hardy spirited bride who has been quoted is truthful, he will it'?'ier reluctantly when she eye Do you think this fro* U becom ing Not quite so becoming as By ADA PATTERSON. . the one you wore yesterday, dear." But if he is frank he won’t wait for the question. He will say at breakfast —that trying meal which temperamental persons should eat alone—" What's the matter with that dress? Yotl are looking worse than I ever saw you." Difference Between Frank And Truthful Husbands. In ten years she may say "I lost my fresh color w hen I came to America. I’m dreadfully pale. Pon t you think so?" If he is mere ly a t ruthful husband he will an swer "You ate a little paler, dear. We must take a run down the coast to freshen you up." If he is a frank spopse he will not wait for ques tions. hut will announce: "You're looking horribly faded. You’re not nearly a pretty as you were when 1 married you." If the.bride is as spirited as a wife I know. she will The Wedding Veil By MINNA IRVING. Grandmother wore it long ago. [■ Mistily flowing down Over the stiff and shining silk Os her lilac wedding gown. Over htt blushes, swift and bright, over her golden curls. over the blossoms on her bren. t. Over the «been pf pearls. Robed in billow s of bridal white Under the clouds of lace. Mother, breathing her marriage vow s. Knelt in her girlish grace. Oh. but she was a picture rare. 1 have heard my father say. Framed In the ivory -tinted veil. Upon her wedding day Lift it out of the cedar chest. Where it has folded lain. Now its delicate spray s must drape The form of a bride again Look! entangled anting the threads. Withered and brown and dead. It keeps a sprig of the orange flowers Once crowning a fair young head. Dear sweet woman, who laid it by With tender and loving care, With fragrant rose and lavender leaves For another bride to wear! May all your virtues descend to me W ith the woven lilies pale t'f this priceless feasure of antique point. Grandmother? wedding veil. i"tort: "Do you suppose you are th% handsome man I married?” If he be simply truthful and she asks him if he thinks she has paid too much for a rug he w ill answer; "Maybe they did overcharge you." The frank man will exclaim; "There is no limit to your extrava gance." The truthful man. when begged to tell her whether she is becoming unbearable, answers; "Youi nerves arc a trifle upset, dear; you need rest." The frank man will rush into trouble with the remark: "If I had known what a bad temper you have I wouldn't have married you." The truthful husband will an swer the inevitable post-matrimo nial question: “Do you love me as much as you used to do?” with "True love never changes." The frank man will not mince delicate matters. She will have no illusions when the conversation with him is ended, and he may have no wife. It would be rather painful to know what people think of us at all times, their actual appraisement of us at the moment. Because of their mood, or ours, yve might have a lower rating than we would have received yesterday, or than that we w ill get tomorrow. The lightning flash of anger might show us ourselves in away that we would never forgive the speaker, and would be hard press ed to excuse in ourselves Moods are mighty, but their reign is bless edly short. Blessed be the man who invented silence! In crises it has saved bloodshed and spared broken friendships Critical Situations Saved By Silence. Many a critical situation has been saved by enveloping it in the blessed veil of silence, for thoughts make no sound, and theie is always hope that they' may change. Mark Twain inscribed on a pho tograph l have seen: “Truth is precious. Let us economize it." Doubtless he had suffered at the hands of some volunteer of un pleasantness who called himself frank. The world has some ugly, tagged rocks of fact. Life will be more beautiful if -we screen their ugii • mss by planting flowers of consid eration about them (a n at least refrain from brutality in the name of frankness. THE HOME PAPER The Education of the Voter THE THINKING CITIZEN He Is the One Great Asset of This Republic of Ours By THOMAS TAPPER. L I THE great asset of a republic is the Thinking Citizen. You. as a voter, will find that the whole proposition involved in our form of government is as simple as possible. First, we declared our independ ence (1776>. Then we made a constitution < 1787). The Declaration of Independence was our first use of the Initiative. By this declaration we deposed the English king as ruler over the destinies of the colonies. THAT WAS OUR FIRST USE OF THE RECALL. The constitution begins with the words: "We, the people of the United States. • * • do ordain and establish this constitution." This was the use of Initiative and Referendum. Thus, these comparatively new words are only recently adopted names for POPULAR PRIVI LEGES that have been in opera tion for nearly a century and a half. The Federal constitution applies to the republic as a whole, exactly as a state constitution applies to a single state within the republic. The president, senate and house of representatives stand to the re public as a whole, exactly as a gov ernor. senate and house <or assem bly) stand to a.state. The State Is Republic In Miniature. The state is, in fact, the republic in miniature. In like manner, these, three fac tors of government (1) president or governor. (2) senate. (3) repre sentatives, are the people in minia ture. Hence, the more perfect the ar rangement is by which the people shall say who among themselves shall run the affairs of nation or state, the more truly have we es tablished a popular form of gov ernment. Any step that takes the selec tion and 1 election of the people's representatives out of the hands of the people themselves is a step away from the true principle of the republic as it was conceived by Jefferson. Washington and their associates. n. The privilege of voting begins at 21. A man may be so fortunate'as to live to exercise this privilege for 50 or 60 years. You can well understand that the first vote may be cast in doubt and uncertainty. But the second and third and fourth and after should be the expression of a point of view that is becoming clearer year after year. You. as a voter, have to assist in providing the republic with men to do its work. Or, you may have the Letters From the People OWNERSHIP AT TALLULAH. Editor The Georgian: Tile Georgia Power Company has had articles printed in the Atlanta papers in which they say that the dam which they are building at Tallulah Palls will back up the wa ters of the river and form an im mense lake, which will be more beautiful than the river as it now is. and that the water will run over the dam on into the channel of the river and that the dam will not dis turb the falls. The power company is trying to -idestep the issue. The question is not whether the darn will destroy the beauty of the falls, but wheth er the legislature of Georgia is go ing to allow the state of Georgia to be dispossessed of fifteen millions of dollars worth c-f . If the ..power company own the land bordering on the Tallulah river, they have a right, under the law. to stop the flow of the water entirely. If they do not own this land, they have no right to build a dam or any other structure on this ’and. whether it will mar the beau ty of the scenery dr not. Every lawyer, except corporation counsel, who has examined the rec ords and survey of this land is of the opinion that the land has never been granted, and that it is still the property of the state of Georgia. The corporation officers should know that they have no title that will bear being aired in open court. Their coupsei should know that the po«er company does not really own the contested property. Either this ■ or they do not deserve the reputa tion which they bear as being among the best lawyers of the state. The corporation says it is anx ious to have suit brought to de cide deflnit'elv and finally their title The Tallulah Falls Conservation | ambition to do some of it yours* ’ What is the question involved" Only this: Who can do this -or. in the best possible way. When the roof leaks, you go out to find a man who is long on fixing leaks in a roof, or you do it you • seif if you are able. But not oth erwise. Hence, you are called upon 'o cast one vote for a man to fill a leaking roof office. Who gets the vote? The man who can do the Job perfectly and without loss of time. Having this one vote to cast on the leaking roof ticket, you would no more vote for a grafter than you would for a thief. Why? Because it is your roof. Well! this is your country. Remember that every public offl cer must be chosen, so far as you are concerned, for one quality alone. That is his ability to keep whatever roof he has charge nf i n perfect condition. TH. This point of view shakes ail the dreams and nightmares, all th* shadows and empty- noises out of politics, and places the whole sub ject on the basis oF business, pure and simple. When politics <meaning thereby the efficient administration of any public office) begins to appeal t.> you as the business of the public, do not fail to remember whose ths republic is. It is yours and votjr neighbor's, your fellow workmen's, the motorman's and the baker's. Most voters think the republic consists of Mr. Taft. Mr. Roose velt, Mr. Root, Chauncey’M. Depen and a few groups of men called the "money interests." As a matter of fact. IT CONSISTS OF SEVERAL MILLIONS OF CITIZENS, amqpg whom each of these men counts for one. just as you do. But there comes in a difference when you begin to analyze men. That difference may be expressed thus: Some think, and some do not think. Tlie Thinker Rises To the Very Top. ■ The thinker rises to the top. and the rest fall under and hold him up. Now. the 1776 Declaration of In dependence can not make vou think, and the Constitution of 1’ ; ‘ can not compel you to think But if you have any interest in running tlie business of the nation so that your own roof will not leak, you must draw up your own Declaration of Independence and your own Constitution. If you draw these up so that the republic of your mind is prop erly established, you, too. " ill i ' r to the lop and Parking association has of fered to furnish lawyers to bring this suit and to bear all the ex penses of this litigation. If th’ suit is brought, it will not cost th p state of Georgia one cent. The cor poration says that it wants the suit brought. The conservation a-. '- ciation is ready to bring this -ui’ Under these circumstances, it is th duty of the legislature to gratis all nartiesand call on the governor to authorize the suit. CHARLES G. REYNOLDS OPPOSES WILD LAND DIGESTS. Editor The Georgian The wild land tax digest s - shou 1 be abolished. There is no wild Im" 1 in Georgia, or should not be A' the land now held assessed and tax ed at a few cents or dollars t wild land, ought to be assessed and taxed as improved land, and be made tn bear its part of taxat'o- The wild land digests give rise to conflicts of title and lltigatio: There are cases where for yea one or more persons have claim certain tracts as wild land t’ some one else has claimed 1 same, or a part of the same land. Having two I gests and no uniform system designating improved land th-'- conflicts necessarily arise If the state should designate ery tract of land in Georgia number and require that every '■ veyance designate that numbe be legal, even if other descript:-' , be given, it would make titles mo J certain and prevent much Utt* tion. It would also be easy !■> ■ termite whether all the lands returned for taxation, and al < easy to equalize their valuation ilm purpose of assessment and tax ation LLEWELLYN J BROWN Social Circle. Ga,