Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, August 19, 1912, LATE SPORTS, Image 16
EDITORIAL PAGE
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday
THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta, Ga.
Entered as second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 3. 1873.
Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By ma!’.. $5 00 a year.
Payable in advance.
The Panama Canal Is the
Property of the United States
A Democratic Congress Should Not Permit
England to Dictate How We Shall Con
trol Our Domestic Possessions*
The Democratic House of Representatives furnishes another evi
dence of its lack of patriotism in rejecting the senate stipulation
that ALL American vessels shall use the Panama canal free, of
tolls The grave blunder of the house consists in recognizing the
right of England to interfere in a canal built entirely with our
money and ENTIRELY IN OUR TERRITORY.
In some of the provisions of the conference report on the (’anal
bill passed Friday by the senate, the house has done well, notably:
First The granting to American coastwise vessels of exemp
tion from tolls.
Second. Admitting to American registry foreign-built vessels
owned by Americans.
Third. Prohibiting railway-owned steamships from use of
canal.
Fourth. Forbidding use of canal by vessels engaged in trade
in violation of the Sherman law.
But in the main thing, which is the recognition of the Ameri
can right to control an American canal, the house has failed ut
terly.
American vessels now engaged in foreign trade, and denied
free tolls by the house, are pitifully few. The difference in the
tolls would have been slight were such ships admitted free. As
' business it is trifling. AS PATRIOTISM IT IS MOMENTOUS.
The Democrats in congress had already denied the country a
navy. Now they surrender the country’s right to its own pos
sessions. A policy of abandoning the navy, abandoning the Philip
pines, abandoning the Panama canal, abandoning everything but
the political jobs that its adherents have managed to get is a policy
of poor patriotism and small Americanism.
The question of our right to operate the canal that has been
dug by American money through territory as much American soil as
Alaska or New York is as great as the Venezuela question, in which
Cleveland’s splendid patriotic action was such as to atone for all
his faults and to write his name in history as one of the great
American Presidents.
The canal is a domestic possession. In his message of De
cember 21, 1911, President Taft points out: “We own the canal.
It was our money that built it. We have the right to charge tolls I
for its use.’’ And Mr. Taft, be it said to his credit, has from
the first contended that the canal was for Americans, and that
means should be found to give to American ships, whether in the
coastwise or in other trade, the right to use the canal free from
the tolls charged for vessels of other nations. Clubbed to their
weak knees by a dead and abandoned treaty, the Democrats in con
gress have taken an action utterly unworthy of men pledged to
carry out the will of a patriotic people.
The Clayton-Bulwer treaty, the one argument used to
frighten the house weaklings by the British and British lobby at
Washington, is now of questionable value, even as an exhibit in a
museum. And the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, in force in its stead,
expressly omits the clauses in the Clayton-Bulwer agreement
which restricted the right of Americans to deal with the canal
then still to be dug—as they chose.
When this treaty was pending Mr. Hearst, fearing that an
attempt would be made to interfere with the rights of the United
States —as the House of Representatives has now permitted them
to be interfered with sent to Washington a corps of correspon
dents and cartoonists to tight for the exclusion of the objectionable
clauses The tight was made. The clauses were excluded. And
years later a dead and driea treaty is dragged from a mustv
pigeon-hole and cited as an argument that Great Britain should
have the same rights in a canal built by the American people as
the American people themselves!
Tamely to submit to this kind of sale of the rights of Ameri
can citizens is wholly un-American. This newspaper has begun and
WILL CONTINUE a persistent tight for the restoration in the bill
of the clause admitting all American vessels to the canal toll-free.
In the meantime write to your Congressman, be he a Demo
crat or a Republican Tell him that you are an American amk
you want him to be one. or. at least, to act like one. Tell him
YOUR money paid for the canal, ami you want ships flying YOUR
flag to use it.
Be earnest and persistent about it, and. perhaps, you can
persuade him that American sentiment is a more important thing,
as far as he i? concerned, than British argument and the argu
ments that are advanced by selfish so-called American interests
that are controlled by British sentiments.
It is worthy of note that in the matter of the canal, as in
the matter of battleships, the senate acted bravely and wisely.
The Republican president of the United States in his advocacy of
free tolls set an example for a Democratic house which it would
have done better to follow. But though every possible argument,
not only from a patriotic but from a common sense point of view,
has been laid before the house, its action on the canal almost at the
close of the session has been the culmination of a series of political
mistakes which justify the cynical opinion President Grant ex
pressed of the party years ago.
This is no question on which there can be two American opin
ions. On the one side is the American people, on the other a foreign
power which has sought to be the aggressor in every quarter of
the globe, and which has succeeded whenever might made right
and it met with a weaker nation
The canal is our domestic possession. It has been built -ex
clusively by us. The negotiations that led up to our possession of
the canal strip were approved by the people. The land through
which the canal runs was bought by the United States, ami con
gress voted the money to pay for it. Domestic territory it will
remain, unless the time has come when the the people of
Great Britain is more powerful in the National Congress than the
voice <>f the American people.
St.
The Atlanta Georgian
* * A Giant Ant Hill * *
A Wonderful Mound of Earth Emit by Tiny Insects
MBs
fa'*..
wßuivO Yi -MH
r I HIS photograph, taken In one of the South Amer-
L lean countries, shows a deserted ant hill, one of
the largest ever discovered. It was built by
:: A GREAT EMPEROR ::
Mutsuhito, the Late Ruler of Japan, Brought About Many Reforms as the “Kaiser of the East.’’
/
rpHE late emperor of Japan has
I been called the kaiser of the
East. The story of Japan dur
ing his reign is the story of a
country that has become modern
ized at a remarkably rapid rate.
A few years ago Japan was a land
of feudalism; today it stands for
all that is Included under up-to
date civilization.
The Emperor Mutsuhito was
tailed to the throne when he was
fifteen years of age, in February,
1867. Before Mutsuhito’s time the
emperors of Japan were figure
heads. In 1889 he brought about
the end of the monarchy, and gave
to his people a constitution. Thus,
ho became a ruler in the truest
sense.
One of the first forward steps of
the emperor was to grant audiences
to the ambassadors of foreign na
tions This had never before been
done.
Next, he undertook to bring bis
country Into a single unit of polit
ical strength. The two provinces
of Japan were united, and Tokio
was made the capital. This was
not accomplished by merely raising
the royal hand and saying, "Let it
be done." It created a rebellion,
and the emperor's enemies were
powerful. But he skillfully brought
order out of confusion, and instead
of beheading those who had op
posed him. Mutsuhito promoted
many of them to offices of responsi
bility.
Educational Reforms.
With these preliminary steps
taken, the emperor sent represen
tatives to all foreign courts, and
established consulates. Then the
material welfare of the country be
gan to take its place. Where once
only feudal rights were recognized
men began to think in terms of
telephones, dockyards, nt o dem
transportation, telegraph, electric
power and the like. Large numbers
of Japanese were sent to foreign
countries to get the new learning
and bring it back tfi Japan. Insti
tutions for educational purposes
were increased at home, and tol
erance toward all religious creeds
was established.
Even with all this accomplished,
there was still much to be done.
The emperor is not subject to the
laws of marriage, hut this did not
throw bis mind out of focus,. Ills
wife, the first empress of Japan,
was his confidante and companion.
They lived a life of mutual inter-
MONDAY. AUGUST 19. 1912.
white ants, and is of such strength that it can bear
considerable weight, as the picture shows. A great
many of these ant hills are to be found in the interior
and furnish interesting sights for tourists.
By THOMAS TAPPER.
est in a great question—the de
velopment of their people. Instead
of taking her meals in the back
room, the empress went to the table
of her husband to exchange ideas
w ith him. This means that women
in Japan have a chance. It also
show's that to change conditions
through the whole social structure
one must begin at the top.
That pitiful old rascal. Abdul
Hamid, with his suspicion and his
harem, missed it by a whole life
time. So did all his people.
It soon became necessary to give
J Call of the Wheat ’
By CHESTER FIRKINS.
< s
! With a bumper crop on the fields. '
J the farmers of the Northwest can ?
? not get enough men to harvest it.
i'T'HEY cry for bread, they cry for <
I | bread. <
When Winter walls them <
? ’round.
I The city sees her hungered dead i
? Borne to the burial ground.
? They look in w onder on w orld
; That can not give them food;
? They sleep in icy alleys, curled
> Like beasts within a wood.
? 1 cry for men. 1 cry for men
> When rolls the harvest wain ?
i And far upon my fields again
S Waves bright the ripened grain.
S 1 look in wonder on the ways
s Os them that can not give
s The little labor of few days
< To let their children live.
S They cry for work, they cry for ?
work
( Within the smothered town,
< Where miseries of ages lurk
< To crush and cast them down.
< 1 cry for aid, 1 cry for aid.
< I call for them to come
; And glean the riches God has laid ■
? I'pon my prairie home.
< And 1 will give them life and heart. J
? Will they but lend a hand
j Ami hasten from their sordid mart s
? To save my golden land.
j i >h. cornel < *h. come, ye blinded j
men!
} And take the gift 1 hold,
J That wnen the hune< r ■ omes again ,
J Thy sin shall not be told.
strict business attention to the sub
ject of national defense —that is,
to a competent army and navy, big
enough and well equipped. In po
litical circles there was disagree
ment on the question. Mutsuhito
examined the matter for himself.
The proposition was extensive and
expensive. He looked around for
the necessary funds to pay the bills.
The result was the announcement
that "from this day and for six
years the household expenses of
the emperor will be reduced so that
300,000 yen may be contributed an
nually toward the national de
fense." In the course of time the
Russians arose to a point of order,
and Japan replied.
Born in 1852. the emperor’s six
tieth birthday would have fallen on
November 3 of this year. Tn 45 of
these tiO years a new’ nation has
emerged; has come forth for the
people to take its place with other
progressives.
Japan seems to have gone into
business with the motto: “Begin
and keep going!"
Sometimes we are inspired by the
biography of a man. We begin to
see that' other men’s struggles in
dicate that, by struggling, we, too,
can come out into the light. We
can learn the same from the bi
ography of a nation., Too many
men from 40 to 50 let go of the
progressive life and slip back into
the absolute monarchy of let it go.
There are no return passports from
that country.
Neither emperors nor other w ide
awake thinking men ever wear out
the easy chairs of the palace. The
Abdul Hamids do that. Out of this
difference springs a good many
! conditions. When Mutsuhito had
; quelled a rebellion he offered the
! ringleaders places of trust in of
-1 flee. When Abdul caught an ene
my he gave the royal nod and the
i gentleman was dropped into the
> Bosphorus.
The Moral in Business.
It is the same in business. The
> real man moves on and forgets his
enemies. The others forget every-
, thing else.
Thus"the emperor became a great
v orld figure. He set an ideal for
j his people to be pursued long after
( he is gone An ideal is a sort of
S never-maturing bond. You can
s cash your coupons regularly, but
the principal must always he de
fe’ i' d or you go out of business.
When the pinch comes, cut down
. [ household expenses and set the yen
> aside tor your proper ih fen. e.
THE HOME PAPER
Dorothy Dix
Writes / —x
...of—
F -
1
The Reason Why
All Husbands I
a n d W i v e s
Lie to Each
Other
By DOROTHY DIX
ALL husbands and wives lie to
each other. Otherwise Reno
would be the largest city on
the map. It is the more or less
white, or gray, or black fib that
makes domestic life tolerable.
Probably every married couple
regrets this necessity of dallying
with the truth and of diluting it
down tn the degree that makes it
sit comfortably on the family
stomach. Certainly it is not the
high ideal with which a bridal pair
start out. They are strong for ve
racity and perfect frankness, but
after one or two run-ins w-ith the
plain, blunt facts they go-quietly
and secret!}' and unostentatiously
off and qualify for membership in
the Ananias and Sapphlra clubs,
for they perceive that speaking the
truth is a luxury that we can in
dulge in freely only with our ene
mies. and occasionally with a
friend, diut never, never with our
husbands or wives.
Unless, of course, you are one of
those born fighters who are never
happy except when he or she is in a
scrap. And most of us are poor
spirited creatures who like some
degree of peace at home —which is
not compatible with too much
truth.
As a matter of fact, neither hus
bands nor wives will endure the
truth. Each forces the other to lie.
Each is actually driven into pre
varication when he or she would
much rather tell the truth.
A Man Doesn’t Really
Enjoy Lying to His Wife.
For instance, a man doesn’t real
ly enjoy lying to his wife about
staying downtown of an evening. It
hurts his self-respect, and degrades
him in his own- eyes to have to con
coct a fairy tale about having to
work overtime, or a man from Osh
kosh having come on to see him
about some important trade, or
having to sit up with a sick friend,
and he despises both her and him
self as he goes into a telephone
booth and tries to put the weak
fabrication over the wire.
He would much prefer saying:
"Hello, is that you, Maria? Well,
this is John. Say, I've met up with
a bunch of the boys and I'm going
to stay downtown and have dinner
and play poker. Yep. We’ll have
plenty to drink, and I am staying
because I want to, and because I’ve
got a right to enjoy myself in my
own way occasionally and I expect
to have a bully time, and goodness
knows when I'll be home. So don't
sit up for me.”
That’s the truth that the man
would like to tell his wife, but he
doesn't dare do it. So he tries to
subdue the joy in his voice, and
whines out something hypocritical
about wishing he could come home
and be with his darling little wife,
and how he hates to be kept away
from her, and so on. And Maria
has forced him to be a liar because
she wouldn’t stand for the truth for
a minute. Any man who would
admit that he had spent an even
ing enjoying himself outside of the
bosom of his family would meet
such an ocean of tears that he
would be drowned in it. Therefore,
the prudent man puts on the life
preserver of falsehood before he
approaches the briny deep.
And women force their husbands
to be liars regarding other women.
Ninety-nine wives out of a bundled
will naively remark to you: "It is
so queer, how unobservant my hus
band is He never notices how a
woman looks, or what she has on
or anything about her. I will say
to him, 'Wasn't that a beautiful
woman we passed just now on the
street?’ or ‘lsn’t that woman a
stunner in that opera box?’ And
he 11 say: ‘Oh. I suppose so. I never
noticed her.’ Honestly, I believe
all women look alike to him. I
never saw a man so indifferent.”
Wifey Is Responsible
For His Mendacity.
And you smile as you reflect what
a gorgeous liar her hubby is. and
you know perfectly well that wifey
is responsible for his mendacity.
He acquired that vice after his first
Incautious remarks after the wed
ding about some peach that he re
ferred to In terms.of admiration.
He hasn’t forgotten what occurred
on that occasion, and henceforth
it is discretion and lies for his
where other women are concerned.
If men are driven to the use of
subterfuges in matrimony, how
much more so are women! An ab
solutely truthful wife is an un
thinkable proposition. She never
has, and never will exist. All even
moderately veracious women are
old maids.
No man will endure, the truth
from any woman. Still less will he
put up with it from his own wife.
Men require to be bamboozled by
women. They like it, and demand
it as their right.
Every woman who gets along in
reasonable peace and comfort with
her husband has to do’ it by art
and diplomacy, and not by plain
above-board dealings. She has to
pretend that things are true that
she would have to be a fool to
believe. She has to act the hypo
crite. and keep it up, or else there
is trouble.
Romen don’t enjoy this. They
would far rather speak the truth if
their husbands would let them, but
they won’t. A woman would like to **
come out flat-footed and tell her
husband that she wants a new dress
and intends to have it, and that
she thinks she earns about nine
times more than she ever gets by
the cooking and sewing and mend
ing she does, and that it makes
her perfectly sick to have to
wheedle every cent she gets out of
him. and that she thinks he’s a
self-conceited, egotistical old mush
because he can be worked by a lit
tle soft soap.
But She Doesn't
Tell Him the Truth.
But she doesn't tell hint the truth.
On the contrary, she lies to him
about how grand and noble and
smart and big he is, and how gen
erous she thinks he is to give her a
dress, and how lucky she is to have
such a husband. And as she fin
ishes she says to herself: "There,
you made me do it. And the sin s
on your soul, not mine.”
Nor does she dare tell him the
truth about how tired and bored
she gets of his society, and of how
glad she is to go away in the sum
mer and leave him. and she pities
him for how he's going to miss
her and the children, and then both
of them wonder if the other is as
big a fibber as he or she is.
And so it goes, and the more
gifted the romancer the more es
teemed is he or she as husband or
wife, for truth has no place in the
domestic circle, it is ever the most
unwelcome guest, and the minute
that a husband and wife begin tell
ing each other their real opinions
and the unadorm d facts in the case
the> an headed tor the divorce
court.