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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
, Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
.V it Eest Alabama St., Atlanta, Ga.
Entered as second-class matter at postofflce at Atlanta, under act of March 3. 187»
Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail. 35.00 a year.
Payable in advance.
Much Talk-—More Smoke
Thpre has been much talk about Atlanta’s smoke.
Council and the smoke commission are disagreed about how to
handle the problem. The smoke commission lias 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 he 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 be
done to a reasonable degree within 30 days. The smoke ordinance
has been a law for more than two months.
The people elect their councilmen to control their municipal
affairs. Not only in the light of what other cities have done, but
concluding 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 6e eliminated from Atlanta, and it MI ST be elimi
nated.
Former Georgian for Gov
ernor of New York
M H
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. Straus’ 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 in the United States is 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 .enthusiasts. They be
lieve absolutely in the necessity of 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 OU letters.'and so to finance and operate their ma
chine and party organizations.
“The third party supporters believe ardently in 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 Io 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 anv
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 tin 1 interview above quoted:
"The progressive ,-entlment in the United States Is tremendous The
men who class themselves as progressives no matter to w hat party they be
long constitute a considerable majority of the voters of th? United Stater "
Dus progressive sentiment in otir country, this independent
majority of the citizens will welcome <hwar Straus and the high
citizenship and principles for which he stand"
The Atlanta Georgian
A Drama Amid Settings 1,400 Years Old
The Open-Air Theater of the Ancient City of Carcassonne and What It Recalls
' < "~ ' -A
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i A >
PLAYING THE “CID” IN THE ANTIQUE CITY,
By GARRETT P. SERVISS.
zqpsHERE is one feature of life
in old Europe for which we
have no exact equivalent in
new America, and that is the
PETES (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 a thousand years
from now there will be 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 modern miracles.
But I 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 Erance. It 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 is 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 * No. g—Protection
e J A 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 docs 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. And he should acquaint him
self, as soon as he 'begins to earn,
with the necessity to a young man
of this kind of protection.
With a little money in the bank
be is prepared for an emergency.
In brief, all these five items 1 have
mentioned give him a degree of in
depen<l< nee that makes for content,
and they certainly make a good
citizen.
11.
This sound* reasonable, and the
more one thinks it over, the more
reasonable it becomes. It is tru< .
however, that countless young men
never attempt to put themselves In
this , lass. The reason Is that they
are playing the twist populat game
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1912.
for, unless you have seen some
thing of the kind, you can have no
means of making a comparison.
Eor 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 capitol 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, barque
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 than 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.
lb *
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THOMAS TAPPER.
2. A short life and a merry one.
3. Better a drink tonight than a
quarter in the morning.
4. And If I die? Let wife and
children, and father ami mother,
look out for themselves.
This may not be the written
creed, but it is th* Hy ing action No
man p reliably 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
this remarkable stage was “The
Cid," 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 doings of an age
which has not ceased to be inter
esting because it is past.
But 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 when 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
mentator 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 bewllderingly 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 ns st, 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 down to business and be
gin to do things for them.
If he is anything beyond a bluff
at the art of living, if he actually
I 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 he 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. ~
I’ake the tive statements at the
beginning of this article in good
faith. Then those depending on
you will have placed their faith
where it is
THE HOME PAPER
W. R. Hearst on Free Trade
-r**? <••+ -r«-r
Americans Won’t Permit It
4-e-r +•+ +••5-
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 con
troversy, prints the following:
To the Editor of The Express: tries: “We will lower our bars to
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
his 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 I think that he improves hfs
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 taiiff
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 taiiff fences.
If we sacrifice our protective pol
icy we sacrifice our one opportun
ity to lower the taiiff 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 wt van say to foreign cuuu-
your products if you will lower
your bars to our products." But if
we have no tariff fences, we Lan
make no such beneficial bargain
Mr. Wilson must not be like the
dog in Aesop’s fables who let g 0
the bone that he actually had In
order to grasp at the reflection tn
the water. If we sacrifice any ad
vantage that we actually have ws
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 to
the products of all the nations of
the world and their markets still
closed to the products of our own
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 in 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 all mankind.
Others of our business men, like
Carnegie, are 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 Mr. Wilson s
guidance, and in 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 al! 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 to
endow.
It must also be an interesting
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 due
to the fact that England has had to
her sorrow some experience with a
free trade policy, while American
statesmen are educated In the books
of theoretical English economists
which were written before the free
trade theory had opportunity
practical experiment and refuta
tion.
J do not wonder that Engli?' -
men are interested in this phas' '
American politics, but I think that
the sound sense of American citi
zens will prevent any foreign coun
try being unduly benefited at
expense by the hasty application r
the undigested theories of some '
our well meaning but inexperb mrd
statesmen.
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEAR3T.
