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EDITORIAL PAGE THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday By THE GEORGIAN COMPACT At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta, Ga. Entered as second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 3, 1373 Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. Br mail. $5 00 a year. Payable in advance. George W. Perkins and the Roosevelt Progressive Party M M » He Has Set an Example That Other Prosperous Men Might Fol low. The Country Needs Able Men to Take an Interest in Politics and Government. The Republican party spent SOO,OOO on its Chicago convention. The Progressive party, managed by Perkins, spent $17,000 for exactly the same kind of a convention—and came back from Chicago $2,000 to the good. Think about that! While Roosevelt was speaking to 30,000 men and women in Bos ton, some one in the crowd yelled, “Tell us about Perkins!’’ Roosevelt replied, “I’m glad yon asked that and then answered it. He said that Perkins, although a rich man. had joined the Pro pressive party and interested himself in politics BECAUSE HE HAS CHILDREN AND CELT THAT IT WAS HIS DUTY TO Do WHAT HE COULD TO MAKE CONDITIONS BETTER IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH THE CHILDREN WOULD LIVE AFTER THEIR FATHER'S DEPARTURE. Mr. Roosevelt also said that Mr. Perkins had made all the money he wanted, and now wanted to do something really useful and worth while for the country at large. This country is glad to see men of ability come out in the open, work politically in the open, use their influence and intelligence, in the open—instead of working in the old-fashioned “rich man's way’’ behind closed doors, using cash to buy those in office, or pro mote legislation. This country needs men of ABILITY in public affairs. Gov ernment means something more than getting offices and dividing them up, something more than collecting taxes and spending them extravagantly. This country needs all of the ability of its ablest men. It should have such men as J. J. Hill working for the nation, instead of working, however usefully, as railroad builders for themselves. The big rewards in this world attract the big and the able men. And the small rewards, outside of periods of great national excitement, attract the small and the feeble men. Our government has been offering small rewards to its cm ployees. while industry, railroad building, great corporations and organizations of all kinds, have been offering great rewards. Therefore, men of unusual power and ability have been drafted into the industrial field and away from the field of politics and of government. It is a good sign when a man like Perkins, as able as any of the big organizers and managers, decides that it is more worth while to share in government than to make additional money. Auassiz. the great scientist, preached a whole sermon when he said. "I am too busy to make money.’’ It would be an excellent thing for America if more of the ablest men should tire of the money making game, as Perkins seems to have tired of it. and should find ■themselves "too busy to con tinue money making,’’ too much interested in public and important affairs to continue working for private profit. The articles in the Hearst Magazine show us our collection of senators and other publie officials acting as toadies, servants and handy men for the big geniuses of the industrial world. It is humiliating to see the representatives of the people and of the government accepting the pay of industrial organizers and act ing as the lackeys of those organizers. The country needs the work of such men as E 11. Harriman, powerful and strong enough to build thousands upon thousands of miles of railroad in a life that ended too soon. The country needs the imagination and power of such a man as -I. Pierpont Morgan, wasting his energies now in the accumulation of money that docs him no good, and spending the money in the accumulation of col lections that will do him no good—although they may be useful to the country in future. A man like Morgan, if he were interested in the United States, instead of being interested in .1, P. Morgan and Company, would give this country the canals, roads and other facilities that it needs, and very soon give it the beginning of government ownership that it needs. The country has been served too long and too often by men who went into politics and got places in government BECAUSE THEY WERE FIT FOR NOTHING ELSE IN PARTICI LAR, or because of a hysterical, half-baked ambition that led them nowhere. One first class BIG man of the type that this country produces in its industries and its railroad building would keep half a dozen legislatures honest. One such man as George Perkins, giving to the business of the people the energy and capacity that he has given to private busi ness undertakings, would be a good, new thing in polities, and a useful man in government. And the people are hound, until thev have to the contrary, to assume that Perkins is sincere in his advocacy of the new party which has antagonized and is de nounced by most of the men rich and influential as Perkins is. A proof of the value of Perkins in a political organization was given at the Roosevelt convention in Chicago. Mr. Perkins directs the financial and practical management of the Roosevelt party—LUCKILY FOR THE PARTY The Roosevelt convention hired the hall occupied previously by the Republican convention. It had the same bands; it printed the same finely engraved tickets. And the Roosevelt convention cost all together in Chicago $17,000, whereas the regular Republican convention, managed by the old-fashioned grafting politicians COST MORE THAN NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS. ' , In othei words, under old fashioned political management, a Republican convention cost about seventy-five thousand dollars or 500 per cent, more than exactly the same kind of a convention managed by a man used to business undertakings It would be interesting to know who got the $75,000 difference in the cost of the Republican convention The fact may also be mentioned that the Roosevelt convention not only cost ohly $17,000 as pared with ninety-odd thousand for the Republican convention, but the Roosevelt convention sold tickets of admission, took in sp).Oiin in eash from the public which was really interested in the birth of the new Progressive partv And when the convention was oxer, the Progressive partv. finaii cially managed by Perkins, had two thousand m eash mor<> than it Continued in Last Column. The Atlanta Georgian THE ARTILLERY OE THE SKY It Can Shoot Ten Miles, But It Cannot Destroy a City By GARRETT P. SERVISS. « IT was a lucky photographer who caught with his camera the pic ture which we see here of a great storm of thunder and lightning rag ing over the city of Paris on the night of July 27 last. This picture shows graphically, and by an ac tual example, what I tried to tell In words in The Georgian a few months ago—viz., that a great city is far more secure against the destructive effects of lightning than is the open country. The view was taken from the heights of Montmartre, looking in a southerly direction over Paris. Away off near the horizon is the lofty dome of the Pantheon; to the left of the center appears the huge bulk of the Grand Opera House. Look at the three vicious strokes, descending simultaneously upon the city. The central one seems to strike close to the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame, This, remember, was the work of an instant. Dur ing the continuance of the storm, hundreds of bolts may have been shot from the sky upon Palis, but no damage was done, although the power of any one of them concen trated might have -ufficed to de molish a building. It is even possible that a greater numbei of lightning strokes be tween She earth and the clouds oc cur when a storm is passing over a large city than when it lias only the unobstructed country beneath it. A city is bristling with points < hureh spires, towers, tall chimneys, etc.—and there is nothing which "draws” lightning like a pointed ob ject, especially if it is composed of metal. A storm may exhaust aii its ammunition. But tn this very circumstance re sides the security of the city. It is so filled with metallic objects, all of them offering ready paths for light ning. that the latter is weakened by dissipation. A great holt is instan taneously divided into a vast num ber of branches, and the force is lost. The inhabitants of the city who keep away from parks and open places are almost as. secure against lightning as they would he if they were shut up inside a huge box composed of an iron grating But in tile country it is different, ail'! tile need of properly adjusted lightning tods is greater there. Greatly Dreaded. Lightning is greatly dreaded in France, and no wonder, since sta tistics show that 10,(100 people were killed by lightning in that country during the nineteenth century. Nearly all of those perished through neglect of the most ordinary pre cautions. They may be said to have invited death by placing them selves in the way of its darts. A remarkable example occurred early this summer, when a light ning bolt instantly killed one of the gieatest noblemen of France, the - _ Your Best Manners and Impulses By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX Copyright 1912, by Ameiican-.loutnal-E.xamtner. IE you are going away with your friends or your family for a vacation take your very heat manners. your very kindest and sweetest impulse- with you There is no benefit in a change of scene or respite from labor if ill temper, nervousness, irritability and fault-finding rule the mental domain All benefit which comes to us must come from WITHIN The woman who stays at home in a happy, cheerful state of mind, de lighted with small pleasures and bent on making everybody about her better for he companionship, will gain more benefit from her vacation than one who goes tour ing in motor ears, sailing in yachts or sojourning in great "hotels, all the time complaining of her sur roundings and he associates ami finding fault with people and things. A man may fa. better refuse to go away on a journey than to go and cast a pall of gloom over his companions by indulging his most unamiable and disagreeable habits. A change of scene and thought is to be recommended to every human being who can possibly arrange such an event. Take Two Vacations. Not once, but twice each year, should every busy worker in the physical or mental domain of labor get away into new surroundings and among new people or alone with Nature The vehicle which rolls contin ually over one track wears ruts. So one kind of thought wears ruts tn the mind, and the mind wears ruts in the face, and premature old age comes. Women in lonely country places, who have few diversions, and who go to sleep with the chickens, and w ho breathe fresh country air. and eat wholesome food, age sooner Ith. tn th' city woman of fashion because they have no variety or MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1912. ' ~~—i L™”” ___ —— A Storm Raging Over Paris, Marquis of Montebello. In defiance of many warnings he ventured out in a fierce thunder storm, passing on foot through open fields ami a woodland. His body was found, half stripped of its clothing, near some trees. He carried an um brella, with a steel point, which may have divirted the stroke from a tree to him. Only a week before this tragedy, a gendarme, in a lit tle country village near me, was killed by lightning 'w'hen he w ent into his garden during a thunder storm. The reach of lightning is some times appalling. It may go a mile, it may even go TEN MILES and reach its victim. It can not be .lodged even when it comes from afar, for it travels with almost tlic speed of light. Some districts arc particularly dangerous because of lite existence of deposits of iron beneath the surface of the earth. The neighborhood of a body of water or a stream is always dan gerous during a thunder stern. Even subterranean water may ‘at tract” lightning. It is rare that lightning enters a loom. If it strikes a house tlic damage is usually confined to the exterior, the root’ ur the chimney.'. During a violent storm the safest place is the center of a room, w here there is no open communica tion, such as a fireplace, with the mental food and dwell on a monot onous level of unchanging views. Therefore, vacations and little journeys and visits and trips arc to be recommended as beauty treat ments and old-age preventives as Bl i ft i jj ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. well as cures for mental and physi cal maladies. And they are helps to success in , any line of endeavor, since they enlarge the vision and increase the mind's capacity. But none of the benefits result from vacations if the mind i.s filled with discontent, ill temper ami carping criticism. Should Have Stayed Home. A man was urged by his wife to take a week’s vacation with hei. The man wanted to go into the country; the wife urged the sea shore. and the man yielded. He went with his wife, but every mile of the journey was devoted to grumbling and ill humor, and every hour of the vacation was spent»in regret that he had not gone elsc i where, and when his wife fell ill he I aid In knew omething of the kind ;KSexterior. If you are very fearful, “you may insulate you self by sit ting in a chair with its legs rest ing in glass tumblers, or, as some do. by lying upon a feather bed. Naturally you would not choose an iron bed. Some Warnings. But these are extreme precau tions, and few would think it worth while to adopt them. You are practaeilly safe if you stay indoors, closing windows and other open ings, and keeping away from stoves, stovepipes and fireplaces. If you find yourself perforce out of doors during a thunder storm, avoid the neighborhood of tall, iso lated trees, and do not follow a stream or the border of a lake. Keep away, also, from wire fences. Most of the destruction of cattle by ligntning. in recent years, occurs where they have huddled close to a metallic barrier. Don’t carry an umbrella in a thunder storm. The Marquis of,Montebello’s fate is a sufficient warning on that score. Submit to be soaked with rain rather than take shelter under a tree, and, for your comfort, remem ber that, in almost any' case, you have many chances in your favor to one against you, and that death by lightning is probably the most painless to w hich a living being can he subjected. It is quicker than the nerves. would happen, not realizing that his state of mind was one which would attract and produce misfortune. Ear kinder would it have been had he remained at home or quietly insisted upon going to the country. To yield a point to another is not a courtesy or a kindness unless it is yielded graciously, amiably and I with every effort to make the sit uation agreeable and pleasant. Two people may leave a palatial and luxurious home and go into the discomforts of a small hotel room or a farm house, and yet they may find delight and benefits untold of in the change if they are good eom lades. real friends ot tender lovers. The delights and benefits are all results of mental conditions—an un selfish desire to please your asso ciates. happiness in seeing others enjoy life, satisfaction in getting and giving the best of life in every situation. These arc the qualities which make every vacation a success, every journey one of benefit, every change a pleasure and the return home to work a new delight. Husbands and wives, parents and children jog along in the home for months without really seeing one another as they are. How to Get Benefits. But in the close intimacy which travel and boarding house or hotel life necessitates the prominent traits and characteristics stand forth prominently repealed Therefore, before you go away on your .vacation it is w ell to brush up y our manners, to take a fresh hold on your will power and to fertilize your affectionate nature so that your family and your friends and the strangers you will meet may be benefited by your companionship. And in doing this you will re ceive real benefit yourself from yourself and return refreshed and happy and self-respecting when the outing is over. THE HOME PAPER Elbert Hubbard Writes on The Assassins In the Days of Old t;he “Assas sins” Devoted Their Lives to Truth, Justice, Purity, Right, and Their Business Was to Give Everybody a Square Deal. By ELBERT HUBBARD Copyright, 1912, by International News Servica THE word "assassin” was once eminently respectable. It was first used in the twelfth century in Persia. It signified a member of a Mohammedan relig ious order. These assassins devot ed their lives to truth, justice, purity, right, and their business was to give everybody a square ' deal. They took their name from the leader. Hassan, and were called Hassanites. or Hassassins. Then some enemy of the order called them Hashassins. or hashish eaters. These men were fired by religious zeal until they ran amuck, killing every one who tried to oppose them. People thought they were Intoxi cated by hashish, or the juice of the hemp plant. This may have peen so, but a man Intoxicated by religious zeal, or drunk on success and his own oratory, is quite as dangerous as 1 an individual who is simply plain drunk on dope and drugs. The word "assassin" was taken up by the French and circulated, first as a slang word, and then it got fixed in the dictionary, and when the English adopted it, it be came legitimate. Proud of the Name. These Assassins of Islam were proud of the name and gloried in it. The secret Order of Assassins existed from the twelfth century down practically to our own time, and members of the order still en dure. They were fatalists, and were taught that if they died in the par ticular work to which they were assigned, their souls would imme diately gravitate, to Paradise. For 200 years the Order of Assas sins hold all Asia Minor in terror, and instituted some very Dark Ages. The Assassins struck in the dark, and the government was powerless to locate the murderers: in fact, of ficers of the government themselves were often members of this Order of Assassins. The whole thing was very much like the Camorra of Italy, or the cheerful White Caps, of which America has had quite a taste. The world should beware of men who come in the name of reforma tion. demanding that the world shcAdd be made over according to ideZl plans which they themselves have formulated. Any man who is better (or who tiiinks ho is better) than the common run of humanity' is apt to be a dangerous individual and may easily gravitate into the sacred Order of Assassins. The Mahdis that have appeared from time to time in the Orient, es pecially in Asia Minor, Persia and Turkey, have belonged to this Or dfr of Assassins. The word “Mah di” means one who leads us out of captivity. Each of the dozen or so Mahdis George W. Perkins and the Roose velt Progressive Party Continued from First Column, had when the convention opened—something quite new, as politi cians will admit. I he country needs to get rid of political hacks aud professional candidates. It wants to interest in politics and in government the ablest men that the country possesses. Wherever big work has been done in a country, it has been done by men of power—and usually by men that have proved successful in something else besides politics. George \\ ashington was a good soldier—and about the richest man iiuthe country, when he did his great work for this republic. Nobody suggests that he ought to have kept out of polities because he happened to be rich. •Jacques Coeur was the. richest man in Europe when his power of organization and his great capital were put at the service of France in a crisis brought on by incompetency in government. Disraeli, who did so much for England—more than any other man, perhaps, except Pitt—was a man of great power, and would have been a man of vast wealth if he had thought it worth while to make money. lie made millions for England in his purchase of the Suez canal bonds, and hundreds of millions in other ways. If other men, having proved their ability in the big industrial work of the country, will follow the example of Perkins and take a share in government and a place in politics, they will do much to in crease efficiency in government affairs. And they need not abandon their big undertakings—if those undertakings are legitimate. A man should he a builder as well as a talker and a lawmaker. The ablest men in government have been unusually able in practical affairs. The wonderful tight that Voltaire made against oppression and vile injustice did not prevent his building up a prosperous com munity and making himself a very rich man. Neeker was a great business man. as well as a great statesman. Colonel Roosevelt should not seem to apologize for having Perkins with him. On the contrary, he should bg, proud of having started a progressive movement that can attract successful men. and not merely attract the hacks and the failures of other political parties that Mohammedanism has pro duced has called himself "The Mahdi.” There was one particular Mahdi that turned the Soudan Into a trail of danger and death about the year 1880. This Mad Mullah’s business was to restore the Soudan, and eventually the entire world, to a condition of peace, equity, justice and prosperity' through destruction of the forces that he said were strangling the plain people. He Took to the Desert. This man took to the desert with a few hundred followers. At first they were unarmed. They lived on the contributions of the Faithful. A little later, when contributions were not forthcoming, they made raids into the towns and villages, and collected their own. Soon they were transformed into a formidable mass of cavalry, riding stolen horses. The restless, the worthless, the uneasy, all those who had noth ing to lose, quit work and followed the Mahdi. Ideal communities were to be or ganized. A new distribution of goods was to be the rule. The rich and the governing classes were to be eliminated. The rule of the people was to be supreme. The revolt grew so great that the Khedive abandoned the Soudan. General Gordon, known as "Chi nese Gordon,” was sent out by the English government to treat with the Mahdi, and. if necessary, to de stroy him. Gordon arrived at Khartoum in 1884. He issued a request to the hostile Soudanese to lay down their arms, and return to their homes and go to work, promising them Immunity from punishment for their offenses. The reply of the Assassins was to cut off Gordon’s communication with Cairo. Gordon did not have any idea of the number of men he had to deal with, and nobody yet knows how- this disorganized, un organized mass of humanity, that fed off the land like grasshoppers, shut Gordon up with his 10,000 sol diers in Khartoum. Held Him a Captive. The besieging hordes held him captive for ten months. Finally, Great Britain dispatched an army to the relief of Gordon, under General Wolseley, who ar rived within two days march of Khartoum. But through the treach ery of certain people in Khartoum —for whom General Gordon was fighting—the gates were throw n open and the hordes came tum bling through, and Gordon went down to his death. • Only the death of Gordon aroused the British nation to the danger of this rule of the mob. Kitchener was sent to the Soudan with an army, and it took him twelve years to put down the rebellion started by these religious progressives who thought to. make the world over.