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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 postortice at Atlanta, under act of March 3, 187, Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail. $5.00 a year. Payable in advance. Much Talk-—More Smoke There has been much talk about Atlanta’s smoke. Council and the smoke commission are disagreed about how to handle the problem. The smoke commission has amended a liberal ordinance, declaring it too stringent, but the city attorney ruled that the commission acted without authority. The impressive fact, though, is that the great majority of the people of Atlanta have definitely made up their minds that the smoke nuisance must be abolished. They are tired of having their offices filled with soot. They are tired of breathing bad air. They are tired of paying excessive laundry bills. They are tired of losing thousands of dollars an nually in ruined goods. They are tired of having their city and themselves always soiled. They know that the smoke nuisance can be stopped, and they know it can be done at an inconsiderate cost to the owners of the smoke producers. When the Chamber of Commerce launched a movement to eliminate smoke from Atlanta a government expert said it could he done to a reasonable degree within 30 days. The smoke ordinance has been a law for more than two month's. The people elect their councilmen to control their municipal affairs. Not only in the light of what other cities have done, but oonchnding from their own reasoning, they know that the control of smoke is a most important municipal function. No one wants an unjust hardship inflicted on the manufac turers. The people simply demand that within a reasonable time the smoke nuisance tie eliminated from Atlanta, and it MUST be elimi nated. 'Former Georgian for Gov ernor of New York » * » Oscar Straus’ Nomination Is a Tribute to a Man Worthy of Great Honor. Oscar Straus, the nominee of the Progressive party for gov ernor of New York, is a former Georgian and a citizen of the high est character, an admirable choice for any public office. His nomination was absolutely unsought by Mr. Straus; it was not for one moment planned by the managers of the party. The convention met; circumstances made it possible for the delegates to act spontaneously, and the result was Mr. Straus’nomination, with an enthusiasm and earnestness scarcely ever equalled in the polit ical conventions of this country. Mr. Straits’ nomination illustrates in real life the power of the independent movement in our politics. In an interview in The Lon don Standard, several days ago, Mr. Hearst said: "The Independent movement tn the United States 1s a real and powerful force. It began with the Independence League In New York and developed strongly In various sections of the country. The advocates of this third party movement are enthusiast*. They be lieve absolutely In the necessity ot a third party to free the country from the corrupt control of both of the old parties. They believe that both of the old parties are In the grip of the privileged Interests, and that the stran gle hold of these special Interests can not be broken. They also believe that there Is no desire on the part of the leaders of the old parties to terminate this association with the privileged Interests, as it is a profitable association and enables these to secure large campaign contributions, as has been shown in the Standard Oil letters, and so to finance and operate their ma chine and party organizations. The third party supporters believe ardently' 1n their program, the main purpose of which is to take the control of government out of the hands of party machines and privileged interests and restore it to the hands of the people. Nearly’ all the measures of the third party platform are aimed di rectly at that end." Mr. Straus is admirably adapted to lead the independent move ment of thinking citizens in any state or in any republic. His life has been devoted to public affairs and to public welfare. As ambassador of the United States in Europe, as a member of Mr. Roosevelt’s cabinet, as an earnest advocate of peace measures, as a private individual struggling for public betterment, and as a member of one of the most distinguished business and philanthropic families in the state, Mr. Straus is eminently fitted for any public office. He is one of three brothers—one. Isidor Straus, distinguished in business, finance and industry, a citizen and philanthropist of the highest standing, recently lost his life on the Titanic under condi tions of peculiar heroism still fresh in the public mind. Nathan Straus, the third brother in this honorable family, has done more for the children of this and all other nations than any other ten men of his generation, and has. therefore, done more than any other for the generations that are to come. Nathan Straus has done for the physical health of children as much as Rousseau, Pesta lozzi and Froebel combined did for the minds of children. If Oscar Straus should receive from the citizens of New York one vote for the life of every child saved by his brother Nathan, his election would be overwhelming. It happens that in this case the election, important as it is, is not the most important thing. Public office is not desired by Oscar Straus. The nomination was absolutely against his wishes. But the nomination is fortunate, as it gives to independence in politics—which this country needs dignity and character worthy of republican government. There can be no doubt that the tribute to Mr. Straus, the expres sion of appreciation of his character, the type of citizenship repre sented by himself and his brothers, will at the coming election en courage other men of the highest character and independent thought to interest themselves in public affairs and accept public responsi bilities. As Mr. Hearst said in the interview above quoted: the pr a.!tentlment In the United State* is tremendous. The men who class theinM-hea as progressives no matter to what party they be long. ' onutitute i considerable majority of the voters of the United States.” I> progressive sentiment in our country, this independent | ' "io- ( >f lb,. eiti/cuH M i|| welcome Oscar Straus and the high F citj. ■ h-: ip iUl d principles for which he atuuds. The Atlanta Georgian A Drama Amid Settings 1,400 Years Old Ihe Open-Air Theater of the Ancient City of Carcassonne and What It Recalls PLAYING THE "CID” IN THE ANTIQUE CITY. By GARRETT P. SERVTSS. tTsHERE is one feature of life I in old Europe for which we have no exact equivalent in new America, and that is the FETES (a FETE means a "feast,” or a celebration > that are annually given in many ancient towns and cities. They not only serve to arouse and perpetuate local and na tional pride and patriotism, but they are the delight of artists and of all persons who have either a taste for the picturesque or an ap preciation of the scenes of a past age when they are vividly brought before the eye. Possibly our continent is now old enough, inasmuch as several hun dred years have elapsed since white men first began to do things within Its borders, to have something of this kind to recall its former days, but among us the spirit that in spires fetes is yet generally lack ing. Perhaps p thousand years from now there will lie splendid fetes in New York, having some of the ruins of its skyscrapers for a background and serving to recall to the men and women of that time what life was on this continent in the days when the first feeble at tempts at aerial navigation were looked upon as modem miracles. But 1 have no intention to dis course on the general subject of fetes; I wish simply to call at tention to a very remarkable ex ample of this kind of celebration which has recently occurred in the old city of Carcassonne, in south ern France. If you ever go to Eu rope you must try to see Carcas sonne. There is a modern town and an ancient one. side by side, and it only the ancient one that has much interest for the traveler. But Its interest is supreme. It stands on a little hill and it looks—but I can hardly tell you how it looks, How to Build a Fortune * 5R No. Q— Protection i. z | > HIS is how a business man de-* I scribed a young man as a desirable employee and cit izen : 1. He should take an interest in his work. 2. Do nothing to injure his health. 3. Hence: Have- simple habits. 4. Carry as much life 'insurance as his income permits. 5. Have some money, even if it be but little, in a bank. If he takes an interest in his work he will soon get a better place, for a wise business man is seldom found who overlooks a promising employee. But, he added, they do sometimes. If he does nothing to injure his health he can work with all the strength there is in him. If His Habits Are Simple. If his habits are simple he will waste none of his income; but he will learn how to enjoy life sanely as he goes on from day to day. He must carry some life insur ance if any one is dependent on him. Ami he should acquaint him self. as soon as he begins to earn, with the necessity to a young man of tills kind of protection. With a little money in the bank he is prepared for an emergency. In brief, al! these five items 1 have mentioned give him a degree of in dependence that makes for content, and they certainly make a good citizen. 11. This sounds reasonable, anil the more one thinks it over, tile more reasonable it becomes, it is true, however, that countless young men never attempt to put themselves in tins class. Tin- reason is that tin i are playing the most popular game MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1912. for, unless you have seen some thing of the kind, you can have no means of making a comparison. For one thing, it looks as old as the rocks and hills, and as desert ed as a wilderness. And yet it is a. whole and complete city, with its walls, towers, houses, churches, streets, battlements and dungeons existing as in their pristine time, and simply lacking its inhabitants. Nobody lives in it except caretak ers and watchmen. A Mental Picture. Suppose the city of Albany should be deserted by its inhabitants; then let century after century pass over it. leaving its great capital and its other buildings standing intact; finally imagine yourself visiting it and finding it in the same condi tion. a thousand years or more lat er. and you will have in your mind some idea of the appearance of Car cassonne. Only Albany is not a fighting city—except for politicians —and it has no stout walls to re sist besiegers, no gates with port cullises. no loopholes through which to shoot with crossbows, harque busses or musketoons, no donjons, no barbicans, and no torture cham bers. Carcassonne was a fighting city for 1.500 years—battling against Visigoths. Saracens and enemies of every kind—and it has kept all these things, except the people who used them. They have vanished, leaving their city in a state of pres ervation more complete titan that of a specimen in a museum. It is the mummy of a medieval city and the most perfect thing of its kind in the world. In this antique city, which they have taken the utmost pains to keep intact, repairing where neces sary the’ ravages of time, the French this summer have cele brated a fete than which nothing of the sort could be more interesting. Inside the deserted city, with its walls and towers for a background By THOMAS TAPPER. in the world, it is called the Hand to Mouth game. Its rules are: 1. Let tomorrow take care of it self. | y I | Fw f JF I I “ -.1 THOMAS TAPPER. 2. A short life and a merry one. 3. Better a drink tonight than a quarter in the morning 4. And if 1 die? Let wife and children, and father and mother, look out for themselves. This may not be the written creed, but it Is the living action No man probably would admit that h> is willing to let those dependent on (as you see in the photograph), in the open air. on a stage resembling a parterre in front of a castle, and with a great audience seated under the sky, they gave representations, by famous actors and actresses, of classic French dramas, recalling the manners, costumes and scenes of the olden ages. It was an exhi bition of the French sense of the harmony of things, which we do not possess as perfectly as they do. One of the plays presented on tills remarkable stage was "The CM,” of the celebrated dramatist Corneille. "The Cid” is a drama of the heroic days of Spanish chivalry, which brings before our eyes the ideas and the doirfgs of an age which has not ceased to be inter esting because it is past. Blit on this occasion the repre sentation derived a thrilling inter est from the fact that the vanished inhabitants of Carcassonne who once dwelt on this spot, who walked through these streets, who manned these walls and kept watch from these towers w’hen an enemy’s army was seen approaching with its bat tering rams, its catapults, or its culverins, and Its armor glittering in the southern sunshine —that these people would have felt per fectly at home amid such scenes as the actors were representing. More than one imaginative spectator half expected to see watching faces, armed men, women in strange cos tumes, looking down from the old walls at the sight of this revival, on their own ground, of the scenes and deeds of their day. One com-’ rnentator remarks that their ghosts must surely have been there! A Lesson For Us. There is a lesson for us in this. Because our past is relatively brief, and our progress bewilderingly rap id, we are apt to think too little of bygone times. We have no Carcas sonne. but we have glorious mem ories of a great oast, and we ought to cultivate them more. him take their chances. But he makes them take chances. He may love them and hope they may never want. But it takes more than fair words to make them safe. There are thousands of men who go on from day to day, leaving the family exposed to the most cruel danger through waste, extrava gance and selfishness. The tragedy of the unprotected family is witnessed every day. if a man really has any pride in the woman he marries, and in the chil dren they bring into the world, he will get dow'h'-to business and be gin to do things.for them. If he is anything beyotid a bluff at the art of living, if he actually means to be honest toward those dependent on him, he will believe fully in the statement of the busi ness man at the head of this arti cle. Must Work On System. He must work on this basis, even if it costs him severe self-denial. He has gone into the game, and he must not only realize how serious a game it is, but he must be a good player. If lie is single, and no one de pends on him, he still has his own future to protect, or he becomes a burden to his friends or the recip ient of charity, if he can get it. in his old age. He would far better stand on his own feet. A lot of nonsense has been written about our independ ence. It is far better to think of their dependence; of the extent to which other lives have come into our keeping. Take the five statements at the beginning of this article in good faith. Then those depending on mu will have placed their faith! whne it is safe. THE HOME PAPER W. R. Hearst on Free Trade Americans Won’t Permit It Wilson’s Views Theoretical Special Cable to The Atlanta Georgian. LONDON, Sept. 16.—The London Daily Express, which pub lished the views of William R. Hearst on the Panama canal eon. troversy. prints the following: To the Editor of The Express: Sir—You ask me how the views of the various presidential candi dates in America on the Panama matter and other matters will af fect England's interests. I do not think there is any great difference of opinion entertained by the three leading candidates in regard to this canal question. I think I can say that the American people are practically a unit in support of President Taft’s attitude on this question. The newspapers which took a position in opposition to President Taft and in support of foreign claims and home corporations have been whipped into line with Presi dent Taft's attitude by the force of popular opinion. I do not think that either Mr. Wilson or Mr. Roosevelt would jeopardize his election by taking a position in opposition to Presi dent Taft's attitude. Abuses Need Correction. You people in England are ardent admirers of Mr. Wilson because of hfs free trade views and because they think that the policy of free trade on the part of the United States will benefit England. I do not think that a policy of free trade will be permitted by the American people. I am supporting the Democracy In this campaign, but politics in the United States is in such a transitional period that the word Democrat or Republican does not definitely fix any particular princi ples, and I reserve the right of my own opinion as to what consti tutes true Democratic tenets and proper progressive principles. * I do not approve of Mr. Wilson's policy of a tariff for revenue only, nor do 1 think that he improves his position when he declares In sup port of gradual reduction of the tariff. A gradual reduction of the tariff means a continual reduction of the tariff and the continual dis turbance of the tariff means con tinual disturbance of business. It would be much better for the Democrats to adopt a very definite tariff program, and then, if elect ed, carry out exactly that tariff program, and thereafter allow business to proceed In confidence and security and with a thorough knowledge of established condi tions. There are some abuses in the tariff which need correction, but for my part I believe in a proper tariff for protection, and I believe that the growth of the unexam pled prosperity of America has been largely stimulated by the principle of protection in spite of certain abuses in the system. Mr. Wilson says that we have grown to such a point of produc tion that we* overflow our own mar kets and that we must extend our markets and open up foreign mar kets to our produce. This is quite true; but one reason that we fill and overflow our own markets is because legitimate pro tection has prevented the product of foreign manufacturers and for eign cheap labor from invading our markets and crowding our own manufacturers and our own labor ers out of business. If we have had such splendidly prosperous business conditions at home, it would not be well or wise to alter too rapidly or too radical ly the system under which these splendidly prosperous business con ditions have, been developed. Fur thermore, we can not secure the markets of foreign nations merely by reducing our own tariff wall. We must reduce the tariff wall of foreign nations. Greatest In the World. By demolishing our own tariff fence we may get out of our own pasture, but we can not get into the pasture of foreign nations until we have demolished their tariff fences. If we sacrifice our protective pol icy we sacrifice our one opportun ity to lower the tariff bars of for eign countries. It is only by reci procity that the tariff bars of for eign countries can be lowered. If we maintain our protective fence we can say to foreign coun- tries: “We will lower our bars to your products it you will lower your bars to our products.” But if we have no tariff fences, we can make no such beneficial bargain Mr. Wilson must not be like the dog in Aesop’s fables who let go the bone that he actually had in order to grasp at the reflection in the water. If we sacrifice any ad vantage that we actually have we must be sure that we are going to get a corresponding advantage tn return, and if we should sacrifice Injudiciously our protective policy, we should find our markets open tn the products of all the nations of the world and their markets still closed to the products of our ow n nation. Mr. Wilson also disapproves of American business men and consid ers them “ignorant” and “provin cial.” I am almost disposed irrita bly to contradict this statement of Mr. Wilson. American business men are the greatest business men in the world and have made America the great est business nation in the world. They are accumulating 1n America the wealth of the world, and they are employing their wealth in a way which excites the admiration of the world. Some of our business men. like Rockefeller, are endowing universi ties for the advancement of learn ing and supporting institutions of medical and surgical experiment for the benefit of our own people and of al! mankind. Others of our business men. Hke Carnegie, a.re endowing libraries for the dissemination of universal knowledge and maintaining observ atories and other scientific estab lishments for the extension of sci entific research and the develop ment of scientific pursuits. Others again, like Morgan, are assembling in America the art and library treasures of the world for the development of our tastes and perceptions and for the higher cul ture of our people In the refine ments and intellectual enjoyments of life. Lecturing Business Men. Our business men have been able to do all this without Mir. Wilson = guidance, and tn spite of his poor opinion of them It Is just possible that under the guidance of college professors these “Ignorant” and “provincial” business men of ours might not have accomplished as much for themselves and their country as they did when left to their own resources. Mr. Wilson’s dogmatic and di dactic declarations have all the positiveness of the pedagogue who has theories on everything and ex perience in nothing. His is the cus tomary attitude of the college pro fessor who knows everything, hav ing read It in books, where it was written down by other college pro fessors with equally infallible knowledge based on equally uni versal inexperience. It is an Interesting thing to see a college professor lecturing practi cal business men on the practical problems of business from the musty rooms of one of the college’ which the practical success of these business men had enabled them • endow. It must also be an interestin? thing to Englishmen to note that America is considering the advis ability of embarking on a free trade policy, which England is consider ing the advisability of abandoning This paradoxical situation Is du** to the fact that England has had to her sorrow some experience with t free trade policy, while American statesmen are educated in the books of theoretical English economist - which were written before the free trade theory had opportunity of practical experiment and refuta tion. I do not wonder that English men are interested in this phase o! American politics, but I think that the sound sense of American cit'- tens will prevent any foreign eour • try being unduly benefited at " expense by the hasty application the undigested theories of some ou well meaning but inexperienced statesmen. WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARS’