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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, 18T3 Subscription Price —Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail, J 5.00 a year. Payable in advance. The Heartlessness of a Cor poration The dreadful story of the barbarities practiced upon a harmless and industrious Indian tribe in eastern Peru by an English rubber company should serve as a blazing commentary on the familiar truth that a corporation has no soul of its own. and must there fore depend, for the humanity of its operations, upon the private souls of its directors. It appears that the operations of a corporation may become absolutely infernal if the directors merely shirk their human re sponsibility and neglect to put any soul into their business. The directors of the company that perpetuated the unspeakable out rages of Putu Mayo seem not to have meant any harm, and to have sincerely regretted that their dividends were derived from Bor gian atrocities. They were and are as innocent as any other board of directors that simply turns its business over to agents and overseers—with the injunction to make money. The tremendous moral of this affair does not'apply merely to corporate deeds done in the inaccessible Andes. It applies to every corporate organization on earth. A corporation is impersonal. But human beings can not divest themselves of personality by going into corporate business. They are bound in common decency to take their hearts as well as their brains along with them. Otherwise they are not innocent of the unpunishable crimes that may result. The Toll of Life in the High ;■ Cost of Living With business conditions fairly favorable, with no very great disaster or serious political catastrophe recorded, a wave of self murder swept over the land during 1911 that is puzzling the statis ticians of life insurance companies. Figures drawn from various sources show that, while there was a marked decrease in the ratio of suicides in cities of 250,000 and more, the increase of suicides in cities of less than 250,000 far outstripped the decrease and has given the country a slightly in creased average of suicides. What is the reason for this? Why should the smaller cities feel the pressure of life more than the greater towns? Actual physical causes, such as bodily disease, insanity, alco holism, etc., can be dismissed at once, for these are fairly constant factors. One theory is to be found in the slightly obscure phrasing of a report submitted by Frederick L. Hoffman, statistician of a leading insurance company. lie says: “This voluntary tribute of human lift' to early death is equivalent to a contempt for a tolerable existence without a parallel in history.’’ In other words, he says Americans are so well off that it is amazing they should kill themselves. Another view is that the prosperity is specious and that the increased pressure on the individual through the increasing cost ol providing for the family is growing so heavy that men and women of tense balance are unwilling to see themselves thrust backward from the advanced position their struggle has won for them. And this is probably the real explanation of the increase of suicide. It is not that, we are too prosperous. It is because the prosperity is taking too heavy a toll on those who seek a livelihood. I Why Not a Bounty For j Merely Living? The Susan B. Anthony club, of Cincinnati, has passed a resolu tion demanding a bounty for mothers. The club wants the state to pay every mother who rears a child to 21 years of age the sum of SSOO or SI,OOO. While the idea is not exactly new, every fresh proposal of this kind comes with a shock to the old-fashioned mind. To pay a mother a bounty for rearing a child should be considered the same as paying a bounty for eating dinner. If such payments are made to mothers, why not an equal one to fathers? Or a public dowry for the bride to induce a man to marry her? Or a bonus to children who care for their parents in old age? Or a bigger bounty than all for just merely living in those I nited States? The Dump Cart in Parade All hail James Ewing .Mifflin, of Philadelphia. This gentle man. who bears an historic name, is not ashamed of his ancestors. Whe.’t the plans for the historical pageant to bo held in Oc tober in the Quaker City were annonne. d Mr. Mifflin at once in formed the committee in charge that he would appear in the parade driving a dump cart. “My ancestors." said he. “made their money in the dump cart business, ami I will celebrate Hie fact by appearing on the seat of a regular cart, handling the reins myself.” Now, glory be that there is a man risen to fame and fortune ■vho will celebrate the humble hod or cart from which his for tune rose. And shame upon the narrow minded men of the com mittee who declare that no dump cart shall spoil the glitter and gold of their “historic” pageant. Yet we are inclined to think that if the parade is really to revive and celebrate the memories of the past Mifflin's homelv cart and horse would more nearly represent the origin of manv of the aristocratic families than would the cloth of gold ami pow ■ dered wigs that the Philadelphia committee seems so keen to kLuw, The Atlanta Georgian The Terror Beasts s>?<3 c& o?<3 By Garrett P. Serviss 5 Monsters of Teutonic Folk-Lore Belittled by Fossils Found in Germany NEAR the old city of Halber stadt, famous among travel ing Americans for its beau tiful specimens of ancient wooden architecture, there has lately been discovered, in digging for brick clay, a cemetery of mon sters, of the tribe of the dinosaurs, which has not only aroused the en thusiasm of German paleontolo gists (a paleontologist is one who studies the life and remains of an cient creatures of the earth), but has also attracted the special at tention of the emperor, who, de- W ’ // /»■« » Jr t s "ii TKk ■ y / I 'kr fl. \\ 1 J. 1 \v’\ CmvKUBmK i .. , dMBSM MwWatM g / / ' -1. \ w 'WaaHSfiS £ /// f Wfesslll ™ Mi ’// \\ L .wK‘ Z/ rc skeletons recovered and set up in the f >’ I f museum. lighted with Mr. Carnegie's gift of a plaster of parts model of the gi gantic American diplodocus, is now pleased to find that German soil is capable of showing up something of the same kind, if not of equal mag nitude. The photographs reproduced herewith enable the reader to un derstand the startling nature of such discoveries. To see the enor mous feet and claws of these mon sters suddenly protruding from tho ground, as it Is opened ap at a great depth in the peaceful pursuit of clay digging, is an experience calculated to thrill the nerves of the most Indifferent onlooker. One can comprehend the enthusiasm of the paleontologists when such a discovery is made. Their’delight is of a higher order than that of the gold-seeker when his pick discloses a huge nugget of precious metal. They are digging up history which may he millions of years old. They are uncovering the old earth as it was in the days of the flying dragons. They are treading upon some of the very soil that was trod by the monsters themselves. The Dinosaur. T.et us consider the dinosaur. He was the wonder of tho planet in his time. His modern name means “terrible lizard.” from the Greek words DEINOS. "terrible," and SAt’ROS, "lizard." because he had some of the physical characteristics of the innocent little lizard of our day. Sometimes, in some of his forms, he attained an almost unbe lievable stature. The diplodocus was 75 or SO feet long and 30 feet tall. Others were probably as large, such as the brontosaurus, "gitnt lizard," from BRONTES, "a giant." These creatures, varying in size, but always terrible in appearance, were scattered widely over the earth in very ancient times. They have been found in America, Eu rope and Africa, but as far as we know at present the American spe cies held the precedence in size. Hut so much would not be gained for knowledge if the paleontologists were content simply to dig out the remains of these tremendous beasts, and to put their skeletons together and set them up to be gazed at tn museums. The most astonishing discoveries have been made by studying their structure, and com paring it with that of other ani mals. Thus it was found that some of these gigantic creatures were apparently predecessors of the bird. WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1912. A gigantic | T’ f skeleton foot I ' I r of a dinosaur., | A*? I Excavated bones ready for removal. Some of them had feet like those of birds. Others bore many resem blances to the modern ostrich. Aft erward there arose species of birds which had jaws and teeth, showing their reptilian origin. Wonderful Bones. One of the most significant facts about the dinosaurs is that some of the largest of them had bones filled with cavities, the apparent reason for which was to insure relative lightness together with strength. Nature know the great strength of a hollow tube before man had rea soned it out. A dinosaur with hol low bones could grow to a great size without becoming so weighty that he could not run. Some sci entists believe that the running birds of today were derived from some of these creatures. The reaL flying dragons of ancient times (and the remains of some have been found in the rocks) were not of great size—but their ancestors may have been veritable giants, though unable to lift themselves from the ground. One of the things which most strikes the mind in studying these creatures of the past is the evi dence that nature, as well as man." proceeds by means of experiment. She has not developed her creatures suddenly, full formed, but by long S: The Soda Clerk By MORTON BIRGE. Whenever I am anxious to behold a ehap at work 1 stand and watch the movement of the soda water clerk, Especially in summer, when the temperature is high And people swarm up to him and impetuously cry: “Gimme a choc‘lit sody—draw me a lemon lime— Gee, hut this dump is crowded—been here an awful time— Couple <>’ sassaperillas—strob'ry collig ice— Say, on the level, Lizzie, isn’t verniller nice— Got enny maple walnut—here you are, over here— No, 1 don’t want no banana, told you I said root beer— Whadd’ly ’have, try coffee—say, this ain’t orangeade. Don't talk to me, young feller—l know how the drink is made.’’ And thus they keep on coming, with insistent, brisk demand. The soda clerk keeps moving, as he works with either hand. He’s fast enough in winter, but the summer makes him fly. It’s then he demonstrates the hand is faster than the eye. processes of evolution. There is no evidence that man-like animals lived in the time of the dinosaurs. Those giants were then the masters of the earth. They had small brains but big bodies. Yet they had SOME brain, and they form an unquestionable link in the chain of life upon this globe. Never was the power of the hu man intellect better displayed than in the forecast which the great French naturalist Cuvier made con cerning the former existence of gi gantic reptiles, such as the di nosaurs. Cuvier declared, as the result of his studies, that there had been a period when our planet was inhabited by reptiles "of an appall ing magnitude.” possessing many’ of the features of modern quad rupeds. Almost nobody believed him. People thought he was draw ing too much upon his imagination. But he knew that the imagination, when kept under proper control, is the surest guide to new knowledge, and it was not long before discov eries were made which fully estab lished the truth of his opinion, and then all men of science recognized the fact that there had been an “age of reptiles.” It was during this age that the dinosaurs flour ished, and every stroke of the pick disclosing a giant skeleton in the diggings near Halberstadt is a fresh confirmation of the foresight of Cuvier, when that vision of a wonderful lost chapter in the his tory of the earth arose before his masterful mind. THE HOME PAPER Ella Wheeler Wilcox Writes on How Parents Should ig||||S Bring Up Their Children ---and—- KL Child Ideals Should Be Ssf > B Formed First Ten < Years of Life Written For The Atlanta Georgian By Ella Wheeler Wilcox Copyright, 1912, by American-Journal-Examiner. ALL the fathers and mothers in America who believe themselves to be in any way decent and respectable people con tinually deplore the prevalence of graft, dishonesty and every form of thievery in our land. And yet not one pair of parents in ten bring up little children with careful, high ideals respecting the rights and property of their neigh bors and their associates. It is during the first ten years of a child's life that such ideals must be formed in order to become a part of the character. An especially bright, intellectual boy of ten years of age was heard commenting, with regret, on the dishonesty of American politics. He declared his opinion that all politicians were thieves, pocketing the money which belonged to the people for their own usage. Yet the very same day this small boy had stopped by the roadside and picked flowers from a garden which be longed to a neighbor. He at first surveyed the ground with a watchful eye, to see that no gardener was in sight; and he had glanced up at the windows of the mansion to assure himself that no one was looking; then he hurriedly helped himself to a bouquet and passed on. To be sure, the garden was load ed with flowers and those that he had gathered would never be missed. NEVERTHELESS, HE HAD VIOLATED A PRINCIPLE; HE HAD INFRINGED UPON THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS; HE HAD TAKEN PROPERTY WHICH DID NOT BELONG TO HIM. The only reproof administered by his mother when she learned of the fact was; “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.” Then she put the flow ers in a vase and set them on the center table. It was a childish act, she said — the sort of thing that every boy does some time in his life. Yet the act was petty larceny; nothing more and nothing less. Similar thefts occur in every neighborhood where there are fruit trees. A gentleman who has been most generous in the privileges he has granted neighbors, friends and strangers in the use of his sum mer home planted a few cherry trees some years ago, thinking it would be a pleasure to eat cherries from his own trees. So far he has been denied that privilege because his neighbor's children have helped themselves to the cherries before they were fairly ripe. They have not done this openly, nor presence of the owner; they have sought occasions when they thought no one was looking, and they fled from the premises as soon as observed; yet their parents consider this mere “CHILDISH MISCHIEF,” and do not see that it calls for any serious consideration. But this is a spe cies of vandalism, and trains the Letters From the People ENFORCEMENT OF LAW. Editor The Georgian: After over 30 years in the prac tice of medicine and twenty years observation along sociological lines, I am more than ever convinced we need laws to regulate men’s habits, and legislation to restrict the use of alcoholics. It is puerile and folly to say ‘‘you can not legislate morals into men,” so long as we have cities, counties and states with leg islative bodies to enact laws. If laws do not prohibit crime and vice, then nullify your laws against murder, theft, arson, seduction, adultery, etc. Everybody knows that we have laws against such, and everybody knows that they are violated. Even In Atlanta the laws regulating the running of automo biles are violated every day. Shall we repeal all such laws because they are not universally enforced and entirely prevent such crimes and vices? Such a course would be folly and result In chaos. All laws are enforced according to the standard of moral and in tellectual development of each community. Are near-beer saloons and alcoholics necessary for the physical and moral development of mankind? If not, they should be prohibited because the evidence is incontrovertible that they tend to producp disease and degeneration. Statistics teil us that crime, vice, insanity and physical degeneracy are on the increase. If Atlanta and Georgia have inebriates, imbeciles and intellectual, moral and physi cal degenerates, she is responsible for their existence. You and I mind of a child to wrong ideas re garding the rights of others. The same child would probably be ashamed to enter his neighbor’s house and steal cherries from the pantry shelf; but flowers and fruit, growing on the property of a neigh bor, are just as’ much his own as though they had been plucked and carried indoors. These fine distinctions of what constitutes honesty, refinement and good breeding should be taught by every father and mother who de sires children to become desirable citizens of the United States. They should become a part of the teaching of every public school. It is much more Important that chil dren should be. impressed with these principles of high honesty and fine breeding than that they should be taught drawing, anato my or Latin. We will never have cleaner politics or fewer criminals and law-breakers in the land until we have more parents and more teachers who make it a business to impress upen the minds of little children the necessity to consider the rights of others in the small daily matters of life. A peddler of cakes and condi ments found his cart nearly empty. As he emerged from a house where he had been delivering packages a bevy of screaming youths, under fifteen years of age. ran out of reach, laughing at his look of con sternation. They were children of respecta ble, church-going residents of the little suburban resort. It seemed to them an excellent jest to steal the man’s cakes and cookies, and feast upon them, while his back was turned. A child’s mind should be formed before It reaches six years of age to regard other people's property with respect. This can be done by daily chats and pleasant conversation of the parents, fashioned to the under standing of the child. Little boys can be made to con sider another boy’s marbles and tin soldiers as personal property, not to be used, or touched, without the owner’s permission and knowledge, and never to be marred or injured. Little girls can be made to re gard other children’s dolls and toys in the same light. The impression should be indelibly fixed upon the delicate mind texture that any vio lation of this rule is vulgar and in dicates lack of good breeding. Chil dren so taught, by tactful and con siderate parents, will never become thieves; and will never be guilty of petty purloinings of neighbors' flowers and fruits. Schools and Sunday schools may profitably employ a few moments three times each month, at least, to direct young minds to high, fine ideals in these small matters. It will save work and expense for courts of justice in years to come. And it will make the world a. sweeter and more comfortable place for growing generations. have a hand and part in their production. Some men are willing to assume that great moral respon sibilitity for a few dollars. I am : not, and I raise my voice against such an action. I challenge any citizen of Atlanta or of the state of Georgia to prove that we have any moral right to li cense any near-beer saloon to . Ci 'll alcoholics that tend to produce dis ease and degeneration of the race. Atlanta, Ga. R. R. KIME. FREE DRINKING WATER. Editor The Georgian: I read your article of July 6 rela tive to the destruction of fli> ~ as 1 protection to health, and I enjoyed it, just as I do many of your edi torials. There are other reforms I needed as a protection to health. ; and I sincerely hope you will your paper and influence to bring them about. To my mind, one 0 the greatest needs of At'inta is 1 public sanitary toilets. Oth- r gr cities of the world have th- m. - !l I think the city fathers shomd up the matter at once, with ' to establishing such for the con' lence of the citizens. . h There is another matter " ' ’ needs attention. I find the: no places where the public : free drinking water, in th of the old artesian well t * l ‘ to be public hydrants on T-'.TA the downtown corners. > ■ . thirsty person wishes water J, she must beg it of a soda " 4 ; . man or store keeper. b!" , should provide free drinking purposes in the I section of town. . m I JOHN H. JOHN-’* I 37 Savannah St., Atlanta, Ga. ■