Newspaper Page Text
EDITORIAL PAGE
J Garbage and Politics
M M M
Both Are Unhealthy and Menaces to Atlanta.
i|- Here are some facts about the quarrel over the garbage disposal plant that
J very man and woman in Atlanta should understand:
The crematory which has been in use for several years has been condemned
g ' by the board of health.
An attempt has been made to tear it down, but the destruction of the plant
was held up by a court order.
Contracts for a new plant have been Lt, and it was the plan of those who
wished to tear down the old one to have work on the new building started imme
diately on the same site.
The new plant is to cost $276,800, without electric appliances. With electric
appliances it will cost $378,000. It will consume 250 tons of garbage a day. Ac
cording to the contract it is to be completed in “310 working days.”
If the old plant is allowed to remain idle while the new one is being erected
THIS CITY WILL BE REEKING WITH EILTII AND DISEASE WITHIN A
VERY FEW MONTHS. Garbage will be dumped in every nook and corner of
the town.
Complaints .are already being made, although tin* dumping of garbage has
been going on loss than ton days. Residents of North Jackson street and of
Luckie street near Hemphill .avenue have declared that filth has been deposited
near their homes and that their families are ill as .a result.
Experts declare that *3,999 will repair the old plant and that the day before
it was condemned it destroyed 159 tons of garbage, although it was originally de
signed to destroy only 199 tons in the satin 1 period of time.
The same crematory concern that has the contract here began to build one in
Paterson, N. J., January 4, 1912. It agreed to turn the plant over to the city in
“189 working days.” Thai plant is not yet completed, although it is compara
tively small, costing $79,000, and built to consume 60 tons of,garbage a day.
Another plant to burn 90 tons a day was started at Clifton. Staten Island,
in July. 1911. It was to be finished in a year. Sixteen months have passed al
ready and it is not in use.
James G. Woodward, regular nominee for mayor of Atlanta, declares that the
second credit of tin 1 concern with the contract is rated at between $35,909 and
$5(1.000 by R. G. Dim \ <'<»., so that the claims for financial penalties for tardy
work would be of little avail.
Those are the main facts in the case as it stands. Here are some stern
problems for the future:
If there is no garbage incinerator in operation here for “310
working days,” what will be the situation next summer?
HOW MANY LIVES WILL BE SACRIFICED TO FULFILL
THAI' CONTRACT?
Who will decide how many actual days ”310 working days” are?
As this paper points out every few days, Atlanta is growing faster than
any city in the South. Garbage from the outskirts of the city has to be hauled
four miles through the streets to the present crematory site.
Build a new crematory by all metins, but don’t tear down the old one
until the new one is in operation.
Don’t count the old plant a waste just because the city needs another one.
If $3,090 is all that is needed Io save the old plant, every official in Atlanta
should hang his head in shame if he admits that so trifling an amount can not be
raised to saleguard the city’s health.
The question is resolving itself into a matter of measuring $3,C00 against
the lives of women and children.
Repair the old plant to be operated al least until the new one is com
pleted and you will have no garbage in dumps In hind your house so that your
wives and children will constantly be breathing foul odors and deadly germs.
City garbage and city politics are Atlanta’s greatest menace. It’s a pity
one incinerator can’t effectually destroy both.
I
The Wilson and Roosevelt
Speaking
Governor Wilson gained fourteen pounds in the three months
us his campaign.
Naturally. There is no exorcise so wholesome to the stomach
and the digestive organs as public speaking or public singing when
it is properly done. When a man or a woman learns to use the
muscles of the diaphragm in making sound and to use the throat
only as a medium of expression, public speaking or singing is the
best of exercises.
Governor Wilson speaks easily and naturally from the dia
phragm without strain, and in consequence his voice never failed
him and his health constantly improved.
On the other hand. Colonel Roosevelt, intense and eager in '
temperament, used his throat unnecessarily, rather than his dia- ;
phragm. and was in frequent trouble with his voice.
The superb health of opera singers is a further illustration.
Girls’ Canning Clubs
We have always known that girls are clever, and the depart
ment of agriculture proves it. and here is the proof.
“*■ row years ago the late Professor Knapp began forming
girls’ tomato growing clubs in the South. There are now about
25,000 girls enrolled in twelve states, and in Oklahoma alone their
efforts have been worth a million dollars.
The girls were taught canning by experts and the results have i
astonished lhe government officials. Here is an instance: A farmer
who had a fine orchard could not sell his fruit to advantage. He
happened to. visit one of these canning exhibitions, and invested
$l5O in a home plant and canned all the fruit on his [dace at a
profit of $6,000.
So far the figures from Oklahoma are the only ones available,
but indications are that in Alabama and Mississippi the girls have
done even better.
This is the kind of thing that will help to reduce the high cost i
vs living.
The Atlanta Georgian
The Correspondent
By PERCY SHAW.
HAVE vou ever‘stopped to pon
llCr '
Now a war is raging yonder,
!ln the valleys of the Moslem vVhere
the cruel Crescent gleams.
That the correspondent waiting
With his heart strings palpitating,
Is the most supremely envied of the
heroes of your dreams?
■ You can see him, tense, ambitious,
; Just a trifle surreptitious,
I Standing on a mighty mountain with
a glass before his eyes.
Taking in the line of battle,
iAH unheeding of the rattle
Os the shells and bullets dropping
like raindrops from the skies.
You can view him quickly writing
In a ciper code inditing
Tlte onslaught on a fortress and the
1 charge of naked steel;
You can watch him prone and
sighing,
I With a wounded finger trying
To paint a wondrous picture with
a humanesque appeal.
' Do not let your castles crumble
IWhen hard-hearted cynics grumble
That they know the correspondents
have to trail along behind;
Put it down to jealous longing
! Which is scheduled as belonging
To a certain class of doubters who
are often short on mind.
I Just combine imagination
S With a genius for narration.
I And you'll see that an eyewitness
needn't be upon the spot;
J Take a chance, it's worth the try
ing,
J And you'll find there’s no denying
' That there's nothing in the papers
that you haven’t more than
sot.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1912.
Are We a Nation of Snobs?
S Copyright, 1912, by International News Service.
■ i WkU WffiA W ™ /
' MW F PEERAGE..
I I S r mfe? te: I
I■ | 9 I aigL***
H USED 13 Y T*'
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1 III&■F Hl rar Wn
Gustavus Adolphus By Rev. Thomas B. Gregory
rp HE death of Gustavus Adolph-
| us, which took place in the
midst of victory on the field
of Lutzw, two hundred and eighty
years ago, was one of the crown
ing calamities of history—a calam
ity not only to Sweden, but to all
the world.
As regards the renown of its
principal contestants, Lutzen was
easily the star battle of the cen
tury, Gustavus and his opponent,
Wallenstein, being the first cap
tains of Europe.
When the memorable morning of
the sixteenth was ushered in. the
battlefield was completely blanket
ed by a cold, heavy fog. which did
not lift until high noon, at which
hour the sun burst forth in all its
splendor and glory.
It was the Sun of Lutzen! Which
the Swedes welcomed by singing
the famous battle song that had
been composed by Gustavus him
self: "Virzage Nieht an Hautlein
Klein" (Fear Not. Little Flock, the
Foe), to the sound of which they
charged down up the enemy.
Long and hot was the struggle, . I
but finally the valor of the Swedes .1
Enterprise in Politics
EMERSON says in one of his
essays—quoting from the
Persian poet Hafiz-—that, "on
the brow of the young man there
sparkles no jewel one-half so gra
cious as Enterprise."
Now, democracy is the spirit of
youth. It has made its difficult
way over the thrones of monarchy
and monopoly, not by the caution
of age. but by the valor of youth.
Perhaps it is not too much to say
that democracy has never won a
battle by Fabian tactics, never
gained an inch by the exercise of
that passive and balanced intellec
tualism which is called the "judi
cial temperament."
As a matter of history, democ
racy is in its very nature a revolt
from the rule of cold and passion
less intellect. It is the protest of
humanity against the scribes and
doctors.
This protest has been justified
in philosophic terms by the pro
foundest of modern thinkers—such
as Kant or Goethe. These have
tried to teach the world that the
abstract Intellect is barren and fu
tile, and that men are truly wise
only when they give up the attempt
to think out away to right living
and determine to commit them
selves to the current of experiment
and adventure—to live and learn.
and the brilliant tactics of their
leader won the day. Wallenstein
was beaten to a finish. At last he
had met, not only his match, but
his master.
But it was a dearly fought vic
tory for the Swedes, for in win
ning it they lost the life of their
great commander and king. In the
thick of the fight, just as the last
line of the Imperialists was being
broken, Gustavus received the
wounds from which he was to die
in the field he had so gloriously
won.
"Lead me to the rear,” said the
dying man, "but not through tile
lines, lest it should discourage the
men.” The words were scarcely
spoken when another volley from
the enemy emptied the royal saddle
and tile mighty captain was dead.
Although finishing his career at
the early age of thirty-eight, Gus
tavus had already won the renown
that can never grow old. In the
elements of his character and in his
genius as a military man. Gustavus
may well be called the Epaminon
das of modern times. Like the il
lustrious Theban, he was a pur
and noble man, "without fear and
Thus Democracy ia no fool in its
striving and daring, its urgent
pressure for progress. It is on good
terms with the best that lias been
thought.
Perhaps Thomas DeQuincy was
not quite right in saying that "the
intellect is the meanest of all hu
man faculties.” But he was a real
democrat in his perception of the
truth, that the intellect should be
the servant, not the master, of the
creative will of man—that the will
must bridle and bestride the intel
lect if It would ride to its heart's
desire.
The present point of these re
flections is that the Wilson admin
istration can not succeed by the
methods of caution, circumspection
and delay that have brought such
pitiful ruin upon the Taft adminis
tration. Indeed, titere is ample
warrant in the character of the
president-elect, as show n in his
past career, to say that he will
not try to succeed by such methods.
Wilson is a scholar—but not a
pale scholar. In him "the native
hue of resolution" lias never been
"sleklled o'er by the pale -e u»t of
thought." He loves action and
events.
In all of Governor Wilson's say
ings and doings there is an accent
of youth and faith—a spirit like
THE HOME PAPER
r without reproach.” guileless, hon
orable, kind and true. And like the
victor of Leuctra and Mantinea
again, he was matchless as a dis
ciplinarian, organizer and tactician.
Among the battle winners of the
ages he holds a supreme place. He
I created a “new deal” in the game of
i war, and may be said with perfect
i justice to be the father of modern
i warfare.
It was Gustavus who first taught
| cavalry the most effective way of
charging; he revived and gave new
emphasis to'the idea of Epaminon
das —that of the heavy column
brought suddenly and powerfully to
bear upon some single point of the
enemy's line —and he completely
revolutionized the artillery arm of
the service.
That God “moves in a myste
rious way His w onders to perform"
was demonstrated to perfection
when Gustavus Adolphus fell at
Lutzen. Could he have lived, let
us s-iy. even ten years longer, he
would in all likelihood have chang
ed the whole course of European
history—and changed it tn away
that would have been a blessing to
. the whole world for ages to come
By Charles Ferguson
that of Mazzini's “Young Italy" and
"Young Europe," a kinship to the
vision and venturesomeness of
Lammenais.
Wilson is keen-eyed and inqui
sitive to discover the exact fact.
He has the discretion that belongs
to builders and craftsmen. He says
he knows nothing of agriculture,
but he has the patient foresight of
farmers.
It is because Mr. Wilson is an
out-of-doors man in his habits of
thought, a man conscious of the ir
refragible laws of chemistry and
physics, that he strikes hard’when
he is ready to strike. He knows
that there is in nature no mercy
for motionless things, no safety for
drifters and derelicts. If one would
sail and be safe in collisions, one
must sail faster than any other
craft.
It Is to be confidently expected
therefore that Wilson'will put nd
mere sinker in hi< cabinet, and no
cork-jacket to float with. He will
surround himself with counsellors
wh > understand that th.- secret of
success in modern polities t o
keep in motion—that the higher the
momentum the greater the securitv
and that tht invlnciblt standards
Os Democracy, which have been
carried hitherto by the drive and
::l " "'orid’s youth, can not
get farther bv -anv n ’
Dorothy Dix
Writes on
Man’s Chief
Eart h 1 v
Blessing
By DOROTHY DIX
AWESTERN railroad has de
elded to dispense with the
services of all o f its em
ployees who have not happy homes
This is a drastic exemplification
of the truth of the Bible axiom
that to him who hath shall be giv
en, and from him who hath not
shall be taken away even tha
which he hath.
Certainly it is tough luck on the
man who has a shrewish and nag
ging wife and a slovenly home to
have his job taken away fro ra him
on account of his misfortunes, and
to be deprived of whatever peace
and comfort he can get out of ?
long run that takes him away from
the scene of his misery. Perhaps
the reason that trains are so often
late is because so many conductors
and engineers are not in any 1 rry
to get back home.
Aside, however, from the s rfaes
cruelty of such an order, thei
be no question of the wisdom ot ths
railroad in making it, for happiness
in his home life is an actual tangi
ble asset that adds appreciably to a
man's efficiency.
Interfere With Business.
And this applies not only to rail
road men, but to men in every
walk and calling of life. Between
the man who goes forth to his labor
from a peaceful, cheerful, well-or
dered home, and the one who goes
forth from a home that is a well
of bitterness, and unrest, and strife,
there is not only the difference be
tween happiness and misery, but
between success and failure.
Nor is the reason for this hard
to find. We all have just a certain
amount of strength anl vitality and
nervous force, and if we consume
this In fighting home conditions we
have not got it to give to our work,
and the work suffers in conse
quence.
At the best, modem life is heart
breakingly strenuous. . Corny o., nr
in every line is as fierce a
among ravening wolves. Every i
is forced to work at high pressor
with every •nerve and sinew and
brain cell speeded up to the limit
The Inevitable result is that the
end of the day finds him exhausted
in mind and body, and whether he
goes back to his labor the next day
with fresh energy and hope and
courage, or exhausted and discour
aged and despairing, depends upon
the kind of a home that he has.
If he goes at night to a home that
is literally a haven of rest; if he is
set down to a good dinner of whole
some and well-prepared food; if lie
is petted and coddled, and made
much of until the very memory of
the rebuffs he has received during
the day are wiped out of his mem
ory, if he can spend a quiet, rest
ful evening over book and pipe, or
with the friends he enjoys; If the
face of his wife across the hearth
stone from him is turned always to
him with a look of love, and of un
derstanding and appreci
there are little children w)..-
her on his knee and whose arms are
about his neck: if, in a v ■
whole atmosphere of his home is
one of sunshine, and tenderness,
and sweetness, it works a daily
miracle for him and renews his
strengtli and ability every time ht
touches it.
He Hates to Return.
Such a man goes back to his
"'ork with a rested body and a clear
head. His mind is not distractec
■ lorn his business by domestic wor
ries and anxieties. He can give the
best tjiat is in him to his labor
without having to force back into ;
corner of his mind the recollection
of the last scene at home. More
than that, in his love for his wife
and children and his desire x
make his home even more beauti
ful, he has the strongest possible
incentive to work harder, and do
better work all the time.
Ear otherwise is it with the -
who, after his hard day’s labor, re
turns reluctantly home to a plan
that is a perpetual battle gro»"
He has to summon up his
to put his key In the lock, •
he knows the complaints, the <’
reling, the hysteria tl
face, or the untidy room in which
he must sit and the miserable food
on which he must poison himself
His home life exhausts him mor' 1
than the most fatiguing labor, and
he goes back to his work with
stomach upset, nerves on edge, anc
a soul surcharged with bitterness
He is literally unfitted in mind and
body so do good work, or exercise
clegr judgment.
if you will notice among your
acquaintances you will observe tha.
when a man breaks down with
what we call nervous prostration
there is nearly always some ‘l°'
mestic tragedy at the back of
For one cause or another, his home
life is miserable. It isn’t work *
shatters health; it’s worry And
long as a man has a happy "
he can do almost any amount "•
labor without collapsing under
strain. Happiness itself 1? ■■
that is worth all of the drug«
the pharmacopeia.
