Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, November 12, 1912, EXTRA 1, Image 14

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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, 187>. Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail, 15.00 a year. Payable In advance. The Great Gains of Wo man’s Suffrage Worrien have won their full rights of suffrage in ten states -states that cast in all 70 electoral votes. There can hardly he a doubt that this number will he materially increased during the next four years, and that in the next presidential election the importance of the women’s vote, already conceded by politi cians. will be enhanced to such a degree that the appeal to wom en will have a new and transforming influence upon American public life. They who say that the success of the Democratic party is a setback to woman’s suffrage must have neglected to read the re turns. Certainly they fail to understand the force and quality of the feminine influence that pervaded the Democratic campaign. Although the women at the national Democratic headquar ters demanded much more than votes for women, they never for a moment demanded less. And they are planning to move forward to a wider assertion of political rights and duties of women than their sisters of the other parties seem fully to com prehend. The states that voted in favor of woman’s suffrage on No vember 5 are Michigan. Kansas, Oregon and Arizona. In six other states —California, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming—full rights of suffrage had already been conceded to women. Colleges for Poor Girls Much criticism has followed the statement of Miss Mary Wooley, president of Mount Holyoke college, that she does not favor self-educated students, which has led her to explain fur ther why she has taken such a decided stand. “Snobbery is not at the root of my attitude.” she says, “but a conviction that no girl can serve two masters—her col lege and her pocketbook. Back of this work question is the question: What does a college education mean? If it means just book knowledge, memorizing of facts and the solving of mathematical and scientific problems, then a girl might work and still keep up with her classes without injury to herself. “The majority of colleges are gradually coming to the con clusion at which we have arrived—that girls must be prevented from starving their way through college. They starve when they do not eat proper food; that is another reason why I do not ap prove of self-educated students.” Yet no girl ought to be barred from securing an education because she is poor. Miss Wooley’s theory would restrict edu cation to the daughters of wealth and bar those to whom it would give the greatest benefits. Advising College “Infants” With almost heartless indifference for the feelings of those most important individuals, college freshmen and sophomores, President James, of Illinois university, speaks of them as “in fants.” And he continues: "Many failures In college work of the first two years can be directly traced to alcohol and tobacco. Seniors and juniors might build up an excel lent tradition if they would prohibit freshmen and sophomores from smoking and drinking." President James believes there is a time and place for all things, and he warns his charges that they can learn to play poker at any crossroads, whereas what they can do better at college than anywhere else is to develop their intellects. This will probably seem hard to the “infants,” whose ideas of importance are concentrated in a pipe, a glaring hat band and a knowledge of “draw.” but it is good, sound doctrine, just the same. . r The Father of Shorthand By the REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY. IT was three hundred and twen ty-two years ago that Peter Bales published his “Writing Schoolmaster,’’ the world’s first book on the system of writing known as "shorthand.” It seems to be a well established fact that the more advanced na tions of antiquity had something that was to a certain extent equiv alent to our present-day art of rap id writing; but during the dark ness of the Middle Ages all prac tical acquaintance with the short hand systems of Greece and Rome faded completely away, and it was not until the closing decade of the sixteenth century, with the publica tion of Bales' book, that the lost art began to revive. Bales' system was a clumsy one, clumsy from its very completeness, since it contained an arbitrary sign for every word in the English lan guage. but ft was a system of quick writing, a system that worked, however inadequately; and as such it was a new departure from the slow caligraphy which had pre vailed for many centuries. A truce had been declared with the old, a call had been thrown out to the new, and It was only a matter of a .-bort time when the Idea would in fullest results. Between the day on which Bales ib.'i iH'd his book and the pres ent ttin ovt i six hundred distinct •yst< ns of shorthand have ap- I" 11 I. and while each one of them was In one way or another an Im provement on Bales, they are all afui the realisation oi the one Idea that Bales was the first to give the modern world—the idea of quick writing. It was a great idea, and it goes without saying that the man who put it Into cur heads deserves a niche in the ’’Hall of Fame" along with the other real benefactors of humanity. It is quite unnecessary to insist upon the advantages of shorthand. They are obvious and they are weighty. It would be quite impos sible to transact the mighty volume of present-day business without our system of shorthand. The commer cial value today of the idea that was whispered into the world's ear more than three centuries ago by the quaint Englishman goes up into the hundreds of millions. Indeed, if we had suddenly to go back to longhand many lines of business would suffer a great loss, the law courts would be paralyzed, political campaigns would be held up. the press would be mightily hampered, and in a thousand ways we would feel the absence of the stenographer. The Father of Shorthand is de scribed to us by his contemporaries as a wonderful man In many ways. He was a great student, a dear lover of science, an ardent natur alist, and a ta|jgr of such bril liant parts that he shone even among the brightest of the Oxon ians It was only as a diversion that he took up caligraphy, the pastime In which he was destined to be of such lasting service to mankind. The Atlanta Georgian ' Another Fellow Drawn By TAD. * % H-l - ’’l . 11- ' Il . Iwlli ' W ■ : ' * - =~~ -----' While walking through a crowded downtown street the other day, 1 heard a little urchin to his comrade turn and say: • “Say. Jimmy, let me tell youse, I'd be happy as a elAm If 1 only was de fellew dat me mudder links I am. ‘‘ (lee. Jim, she tinks dat I’m a wonder, and she knows her little lad Could never mix wid nothin’ dat was ugly, mean or bad. Lots er times I sits and. tinks how nice ’twould be, gee whiz, if a feller only was de feller dat his mudder tinks he is!” My friends, be yours a life of toil or undiluted joy. You still can learn a lesson from tjiis small unlettered boy. Don’t, aim to be an earthly saint with your eyes fixed on a star; Just try to he the feller that your mother thinks you are. ' —ANON.’ Bulgaria Recognized as the Champion of Christendom OUT of his fields of roses, where the precious attar distills its fragrance in the balmy air; out of his orchards of purple plums; out of his silk plantations and his waving seas of tasseled corn; down from his hilly pastures and hie oak-crowned mountains, the Bulgar has suddenly strode be fore the world’s astonished eyes, with the sword of Mars in his hand and the wings of Victory fluttering over him! In the heart of old Europe, where the "Great Powers” had divided the land, and severed the peoples, and balanced the forces, and trodden justice and religion and race under foot, to suit their own selfish pur poses, a new power has arisen with the unexpectedness and the resist less might of a volcanic island em erging from the sea. To the aston ishment and dismay of the diplo mats, the old slave song of submis mission is no longer heard- op the lips of these warriors of the Bal kans, fighting for the faith of their fathers, the honor of their wives, and the future of their children. Changed Face of Europe. The Bulgarian Mars is a real g ’d of war, such as the world has not seen in these latter days. He is a comet in whose light the stars grow dim. He fears nothing, and he achieves the impossible. The guns of English battleships. the threatening gleam of Russian and German bayonets, and the vaunted terror of the Mohammedan crescent and scimitar are naught In his eyes. Numerical odds he brushes aside like chaff. Greater than all num bers Is the strength of his daunt less heart Like a thunderboH lie has de- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1912. By GARRETT P. SERVISS. • molished tradition. In a few weeks he has changed the face of Europe. In one withering campaign he has flung the shredded vanner of the Turk back upon the trembling cusps of the Golden Horn! What all Christendom could not accom plish in six centuries he has achiev ed before the autumn moon that shone over his first victory could return again in her circled orb! He has filled Islam with the first terror that has shivered through its veins since the cry of "Allah akbar!” began to resound under the domes of Santa Sophia. Could even we, looking on across the ocean, with patience see him robbed of the fruits of his victory? Once achieved, could any power really rob him of those fruits? Inherited Love of Liberty, And who is the Bulgar, this new phenomenon in the human arena? The papulation of Bulgaria, at the latest census, was something over four millions—less than the popula tion of the city of New York. Os these about three and a quarter million are Bulgars. Yet, if re ports are not exaggerated, they have put two hundred thousand men into the field! They are a fighting race, although this is the first time since the Turk entered Europe that they have been per mitted to show their true finali ties They would not have been permitted to do that now if they had not acted so quickly that the great Christian (?) powers had no opportunity to intervene. But with the prestige that they have now won who will dare to undo their work? The Bulgar is by race a Finn. His ancestors came into the Bal- • kan region from the valley of the Volga in the seventh century. The Russians have recently learned how the Finnish race loves liberty! The first Bulgars in the Balkans con quered a place for themselves; then they settled down and, to a certain extent, blended with those whom they had begun by subduing. For a i time they won glory in war, but afterward they almost dropped out of sight while the great nations around them were developed. But to every one his turn. The selftshness, the forgetfulness, and the neglect of Europe have fur nished the Bulgars their opportu nity. A short month ago Bulgaria was of less importance than a pawn, left behind and unsupported, on the chess board. Not one reader in twenty knew where to look for Bul garia on the map of the world. To day she stands crowned in the king row. She is, for the moment, the most powerful piece on the board. She has the advantage of position. She is protected by the conscience of the world. Champion of Christendom. She has made herself the cham pion of Christendom. What unholy, self-seeking hand will venture to touch her on the-shoulder and say: “Go back! Let the Turk up again; he is useful to ME?” The events now enacting around Constantinople have already pro duced n revolution, and' volumes will be written about them and their consequences. Reader, you may tell your grandchildren with pride that you SAW THE COM ING OF THE BULGAR Happy are those who see history when she makes a stride! THE! HOME PAPER Do rot h y D i x • / Writes on The Unwelcome ( Wife 1 Her Onlv Chance I For Happiness, or j Even Peace of Mind, Is to Get Away Where Her 1 Heart Will Not Be Stabbed Daily. IGET a great many tearful let ters from women who say that their husbands are a-weary of them, and wish to be rid of them. These wives write that their hus bands are brutally frank, and tell them to their faces what burdens they are, how they hate them, and how they long for dealh, or di vorce. One woman writes; “My husband says that he must certainly have been drunk when he picked me out for a wife." Another woman says that her husband is always won dering why some kind friend didn’t put him in a lunatic asylum when he announced that he was going to marry her. Still another says that her husband is always saying that if he hadn't been fool enough to tie up with her he could marry a rich widow. What She Should Do. After relating these insults, and telling how they are neglected and mistreated by their husbands, these women wind up their letters by saying: “What shall I do? Shall I leave my husband or not?” That depends on whether a wom an has the soul of an upstanding human being, or of a dog. To any woman with one drop of free, in dependent blood in her veins, or one shred of self-respect in her character, there should be no such question. She would have packed her trunk and left at the very first intimation that her husband no longer wanted her, and felt her a burden upon him. One can no more understand a woman lingering along as a palpably unwelcome wife than one can understand a woman continuing to remain at ’a place where she knows herself to be an unwelcome guest. That a wife would stay on with a husband who is tired of her and who wants to be rid of her is the more strange, because she is in such a bad situation that nothing could be worse. Whatever ills she might fly to would be less endura ble than those she suffers. Certainly’, to a sensitive woman there can be no torture worse than to live in the close relationship of marriage with a man who hates her; to be forced to note his averted glances; to know’-that he begrudges her even the very bread she eats and the clothes upon her back. The Wise Woman. Her only chance for happiness, or even peace of mind, under such cir cumstances is to go aw;ay where her heart will not be stabbed daily by’ cold looks, where she will be free of insults and reproaches, and where she can live her life in quiet and self-respect, as she can not do as an undesired wife. If a man has money the law will force him to provide for the wife he wishes to discard. As a matter of fact, he will be willing to pay out good money to get rid of her, and if the woman is wise she will put aside sentiment and come down to brass tacks and drive a hard November 1 By CHESTER FIRKINS. OT by the winds that blow: I by the chills that grow; Not by the golden glow Os hearthside ember; But buy the new fur coat; Buy collarette de throat; Buy hubby s (my) poor goat. I know November. Ob. do not think I sigh; Oh. mark not the gray sky; Oh. don't with hot mince pie My Joys dismember! Owe but the furnace bill; Owe but the payments till Ihe lease—next year—we kill; I hat dear Nov-mber. By DOROTHY DIX ’ bargain with him. if he is poo: and has no money with which to pay for his freedom, she does well to go anyway, for there is no other laborer on earth ifho works so hard and gets so little pay as a poor man’s wife. Her only reward is the love and appreciation of het husband. and if she doesn't get these her labor is profitless indeed. There is no woman of ordinary sense and health who can’t make a living in these days and be treated decently in the bargain, and so there is no reason for a wife re maining with a. husband who tells her how tired lie is of her and re proaches her with being alive, ex . cept that she wants to stay. • Unfortunately, there are plenty of women who justify the old adage, "a woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more you beat them, the better they be.” Such women sim ply thrive on ill treatment, and the more they are kicked and insulted, the tighter they cling to a man. Nobody need waste any sympa thy on them, for they are having the time of their lives when they are bedewing your parlor carpet with tears, and taking up your time telling how their husbands neglect and ill use them. They are span iels that crawl back to kiss the hand that strikes them, and they are subjects for our contempt rath er than our pity. Enjoy Their Misery. Nothing can be done for these women except to leave them to en joy their misery and to revel in whining. They are spineless crea tures, worms of the dust without enough backbone in them even to turn, but the woman who has a few sections of vertebrae, enough to make her resent being an unwel come wife, has just one chance to get back her lost happiness. And that is by leaving her hus band. and giving him a chance to find out that the blessing he has de spised is more necessary to his well being than he has realized. Noth ing makes a woman of such value in a man's eyes as to be unattain able. Also nothing makes a man so indifferent to a woman as for her to be always Sally-on-the-spot. The chief reason that men make negli gent husbands is because they cherish the idea that a wife is something you can’t lose. Therefore, a wife’s one and only chance to win back the husband who frankly tells her he is weary of her and sorry he married her is to go away and leave him, and give him the opportunity to find out how much he misses her, and how much she is necessary to his happiness. If he cares for her at all. absence will quicken love, and he will come back to her a repentant and a chastened husband. If he doesn't come back, if he really does loathe her, as he says, then the sooner she knows it. and can set about making a life of hei > own. the better for her.