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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
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The United States Should
Own the Home of
! Thomas Jefferson
ppp
No Doubt Mr. Levy, a Rich Man, Will Think the Matter Over
and Be Glad to Sell His Property at a Fair Price.
The first man in the history of the United States is George
Washington. The second man undoubtedly is Thomas Jefferson.
The nation owns the home of Washington, takes care of it
and maintains it for the benefit of all the people.
The nation SHOULD do the same with the home of Thomas
Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson's home is now the private property of Mr.
Jefferson M. Levy, a member of congress from New York state.
Mr. Levy is an amiable and a rich gentleman.
He was named for Thomas Jefferson, but he is not related to
Thomas Jefferson. He would not be giving up “the home of his
ancestors’’ if he consented to sell his property to the United
States.
There may have been some exaggeration in the statements
as to Mr. Levy’s failure to keep the Jefferson home in first-class
order, or about difficulties encountered by citizens anxious to
visit the historic residence.
There is no denying, however, that the people ought to own
that place, and that Mr. Levy for a fair price should give his
consent to ownership by the people. He has, of course, derived
no income from the place, and perhaps a fair estimate of the
value of the place—assuming, as we safely may, that Mr. Levy
would not be willing to make any profit out of it—would be
the price paid for it originally by Mr. Levy’s family, with 5
per cent added from the day of purchase to the present day.
Should that seem too high a price, a fair sum could be
agreed upon by an impartial committee.
Congressman Levy, in common with all the other inhabi
tants of the United tSates, shares the benefit of the magnificent
work done by Thomas Jefferson. We are inclined to believe that
upon thinking it over carefully he will be willing to share owner
ship of the Thomas Jefferson homestead with all the people of
the United States.
Meyer Pleads for a Patri
otic Naval Policy
The annual message of the secretary of the navy should awaken
some millions of sleepers in this country—and cut short their
dreams.
Mr. Meyer’s rousing cry is a demand for an adequate navy.
He says we are not now nearly strong enough as a sea power to
compel the turbulent nations of the world to let us alone.
We have about thirty-three capital warships. Measuring by
the strength of our neighbors, we ought to have at least forty-one
battleships and battle cruisers.
Mr. Meyer admits that the Panama canal will, in practical effect,
nearly double our naval strength, but insists that that fact has been
duly allowed for in his present estimates. He says that without
the canal our security would demand the doubling of the greater
navy that is now required.
The Hearst newspapers have been tireless in their insistence
that there should be two new battleships this year. It is a minimum
claim—probably quite insufficient. The general board of the navy
says that we should have at least four new battleships this year. It
says that even so we should merely replace those that must soon go
to the junk heap.
The secretary of the navy points out the fact that if we are to
have only two new battleships per annum, we shall soon sink from
second to fourth place in the scale of naval powers.
Here is Mr. Meyer's catalogue of the additions to the navy that
should be undertaken next year:
Five battleships; three of them dreadnoughts and two of them
battle cruisers of a type not now exemplified in our navy!
Sixteen destroyers, six submarines and two gunboats.
A fleet of auxiliaries, including transports, supply ships, tugs,
tenders and a dry dock.
Mr. Meyer asks also for the creation of a naval reserve of fifty
thousand men. He insists that the provision for the development
of military aviation should be of unlimited scope.
This is a naval program adjusted to the actual facts of our in
ternational situation. Those who do not like the program may
quarrel with the facts, but they are not likely to change them.
Whoever will take the trouble to glance about the world in
these days will see on every hand the menace of international an
tagonisms. It is regrettable. But it is so.
Every means should be taken to allay these antagonisms. What
ever will help to establish relat ions of mutual advantage and friend
ly understanding across political frontiers should be favored and
assisted hi all good men. We should develop international com
merce. international culture, morals, laws.
But in the meantime we must stand our ground, without
malice, with universal charity—but self-sufficient and strong. We
must be strong, not merely for the, sake of defending ourselves and
our property, but mainly for the sake of guarding and perpetuat
ing the democratic civilization that we arc laboring to build up.
On the very day when Secretary Meyer issues his new naval
program. Premier Borden, of Canada, stands up in the Dominion
parliament and asks for a vote of $35,000,000 for the building of
three battleships as great as any afloat .
He explains his plan to give Canada a voice in the foreign pol
icy ot the British Empire, in words that seem threatening to our
continental peace. Perhaps such a threat was not intended Let
tw hope ho.
Nevertheless there are many menaces from other quarters that
are unquestionably real.
» building up „f moving
The Atlanta Georgian
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Top picture shows a singer demonstrating lung gymnastics—by breathing, raising and low
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Lower picture: Strengthening a pupil’s diaphragm; placing an additional volume on the
pile which has to be raised and lowered by breathing.
THE other day I met a mail who
was on the ill-fated Titanic.
When the boilers burst, and
the great ship took her final plunge,
my friend felt himself going down
into the waters. Being an experi
enced swimmer, he involuntarily
knew enough not to inhale. He held
his breath, but he did a good deal
of thinking.
So down he went, but he knew,
though, that soon he would be com
ing to the top, and it was only a
question of being able to hold his
breath long enough to escape im
mediate drowning.
When he felt himself coming to
the surface a great joy possessed
his soul. As his head came above
the water he reached out his arms,
flattened himself on the surface of
the wave, as nearly as possible,
and took in a great big «breath.
Then lie looked up at the stars and
gratitude filled his mind.
He was still alive: his senses
were intact; he was able to think,
to breathe, to realize, to see the
shining stars. He felt as one who
had been dead, like Lazarus, and
returned to earth. He was alive!
His Sense of Gratitude.
But suddenly there came to him
the thought that he could only
swim for a little while. The water
was icy cold, and he began to look
around for deliverance.
About 100 feet away he saw a
floating spar, and it came to him
that if he could reach that spar it
would, indeed, be Paradise. So he
struck out for the spar. It seemed
to be floating away from him as he
swam, but through great effort he
reached it, grasped it with his
hands, drew himself up and then
sat on it.
When he felt that It was holding
his weight he was relieved. Again
he wau tilled with n great sense of
gratitude. And as he aat on that
spar, holding on with hands and
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1912.
A Titanic Recollection
By ELBERT HUBBARD.
Copyright, 1912, by International News Service.
• feet, he looked up at the sky in
thankfulness.
He was alive; and to know that
this spar was holding his weight
filled his soul with joy.
But tile wind was cold. His frame
was chilled and he knew that it
was only a little time that he could
hold on.
The Privilege He Asked.
Just then he saw a boat pulling
away, at 50 or 100 yards distance.
He shouted, and called again and
again. And slowly the boat turned
in his direction. It came nearer
and nearer, and he knew that if he
could once get in that boat and
feel that the boat was under him it
would be Paradise indeed.
And in a few minutes the wish
came to pass, and he was in the
boat. He was exhausted, too weak
to even lift his hand. But the
joy was exquisite; he was with hu
man beings.
So they floated with the tide, and
they pulled the oars. After a long
time a flush of pink came into the
east, and they knew that day would
soon come.
And then they saw a great gray
like form, with many lights, away
off in the distance. They prayed,
they wept, they waited—there was
nothing else to do.
The Carpathia came nearer, and
my friend breathed a great prayer
that he might be able to climb the
side of the ship and He on the deck.
That was all he would ask —sim-
ply the privilege of lying flat on the
deck, and knowing that the ship
was beneath him.
And his prayer was answered.
He climbed up the rope ladder and
knelt <>n the deck in thankfulness.
But soon he realized that strength
had gone out of him, and he begged
that he be placed in the meanest
■room In the steerage, just so it was
a bed and he was covered with
blankets.
Sorm. of th' mothers and ehil-
' dren in the crowded steerage made
room for him. and when he was in
the bunk he said to himself, “Sure
ly, this is paradise!” and he closed
his eyes in gratitude.
But after an hour or two the cry
ing of the children, the smell of
cooking, the presence of many peo
ple began to pall on him. He felt
that he must get away from this
mob. So he called to a petty officer
and begged that he might have a
cabin.
And a bunk was found for him in
a cabin. And here in this cabin he
was very happy, and he said, "This
is paradise, indeed!” And he rest
ed and thought, and tried to write
out telegrams to send to his friends
when he reached shore.
He slept soundly that night, but
when he awoke in the morning he
realized that the cabin wasn’t ex
actly right. And so he asked the
steward who came to wait on him
if there was not a berth somewhere
in a cabin on the upper deck. And
the steward said that every bunk
was full excepting, possibly, one
berth in the captain’s cabin.
This Story’s Moral.
And so my friend took pencil in
hand and wrote a letter to the cap
tain of the ship. And this is a copy
of the letter;
“Dear Sir—This cabin in
which I am located is right
alongside of the engines. I hear
the clank and clash of machin
ery all the night time through.
1 am awakened by the noise
and foul air, for this cabin is
very small and illy ventilated.
“I understand that you have
a vacant bunk in your cabin
on the upper deck. Kind sir,
please send word by bearer, al
lowing me to occupy this cabin
with you, and 1 will ever be
’’YOCR SINCERE FRIEND.”
No answer came from tile cap
tain But the moral of thia t|*ue
story is this; Nobody is ever satis
fied with anything after he gets it.
THE HOME PAPER
Judge Wm. D. Ellis
Writes on
The Divorce Evil ■T* i a
Separation Is Increasing More
Rapidly Than Population;
One of Every Twelve \
Unions Dissolved. * 1
Written for The Atlanta Georgian
By Judge Wm. D. Ellis
Os the Atlanta Circuit.
ARTICLE I.
As a judge of the superior court
of the Atlanta circuit, I have pre
sided in hundreds of divorce cases
and have, of course, had unusual
opportunity of observing th(j effect
upon the home, the lives of sepa
rated husbands and wives, the chil
dren of divorced parties, and upon
the community at large, as brought
about by “family jars,” culminat
ing in applications for alimony and
suits for annulment of the mar
riage tie. I have become accus
tomed to regard the divorce ease
as the “divorce evil,” and I never
close that particular part of the
court proceedings known as “the
divorce docket" without apprehen
sion for the future, and without a
general disgust for much of what
in this regard is now upon us.
A Growing Evil.
The trouble is that it is a growing
evil; it grows out of all proportion
to most other ills of life, and a
study of statistics will show that
it grows not only with rapid
strides, but it grows in its appli
cation to all classes of people, and
apparently grows in the toleration
of people who once looked upon it
with horror.
In a volume issued by the United
States census office in 1911, entitled
“Special Reports—Marriage and
Divorce, 1867 to 1906,” is set forth
an immense amount of statistical
information on this subject, and
from the two volumes I have culled
the figures and conclusions which
will be set forth in this paper.
It is demonstrated that the di
vorce rate is higner in the United
States than in any foreign country
except Japan, and that, in an aver
age, the annual number of divorces
per thousand population the United
States exceeds Francd, England,
Germany, Norway, Sweden and
Austria almost two to one. This Is
a bad showing for our boasted civ
ilization, for our claim to exalted
ideals, for our demand for the sanc
tity of home, for our efforts to ele
vate and educate our children, for
opr religious views and for our
clamor for pure and Intelligent citi
zenship.
Great Number of Divorces.
Another distressing situation is
shown in the fact that in the United
States the rate of increase in di
vorce is far greater than the in
crease in population. Between the
Party Gone; “Ring” Off
By N. P. BABCOCK.
THE telephone rang, and she answered the call;
He stood with his hat and his stick in the hall.
He heard her say, “Yes,” and he heard her say “goose.’’
Then, after a pause, heard her say, “Os great use.”
He was an eavesdropper, but what could he do.
When only the back of her neck was in view? *
He couldn’t give warning that he was close by.
He just had to wait, as would you, or would I.
"Yes, dear,” she said next. “I’m expecting him now.
Not quite that amount; oh, you did, did you? How?
Perhaps you are jealous. You’re not? I don’t know.
He’s the prize of the year, so I couldn’t be slow.
“Yes, father is willing, and mother Is glad;
She says I neglected the last chance I had.
You haven’t forgotten; well, I was a dunce.
I won't let a good thing escape more than once.
"Get used to his looks? They’re not really so bad.
1 don’t have to kiss him. Oh, that’s just a fad.
She does? Well, I always thought Bars was a goose.
Why, as a protector I’ll find him of use.
"Now, listen! I know what I’m talking about:
He comes of the very best stock—yes, no doubt.
They all tried to get him; they hadn't a chance.
I pulled a few wires before he left Erance.”
Tin Count de la Puree turned pule where he stood.
"Perdition!” he muttered, and took to the wood.
For how could ho know she wo* making report
To a friend of a costly French bulldog she’d bought?
years 1870 and 1880 the increaw
in population was 30.1 per cent, and
of divorce 79.4 per cent, while fa
the decade from 1890 to 1&00 the
rate of increase in divorce was
three times the rate of the inereas*
in population.
Statistical evidence (declares thl»
census report) tends to show that
the chances are that not less than
one marriage in every sixteen will
probably be terminated by divorce,
and that it seems reasonable to
suppose that the ratio will be near,
er one out of every twelve. What
a horrid spectacle this presents to
the man and woman who, doing
their duty in the present, hope for
the future of their children and
children’s children, who yearn for
the time when posterity will enjoy
all we have today and be more
enlightened and elevated to enjoy
the good things that may be dis
covered, or enlarged, or perfected
in the future. This statistical in
formation develops many Interest
ing questions, none of which, how
ever, tend to encourage the hope
that this divorce evil will abate, un
less some ralcal effort is made and
put into effect to make divorce
' more difficult to obtain and less
respectable in the estimation of th*
best people of our country.
Higher in West.
The divorce rate in the United
States increases as one goes West
ward. The highest rate per 100,dOO
estimated population was in the
Western division. In that division
it is four times that reported in the
Atlantic division. The North cen
tral division was almost two anil
two-thirds times that of the North
Atlantic division, while that for the
South central division was two and
three-quarters that of the South
Atlantic division, whicii latter in
cludes the states of North and
South Carolina and Georgia.
Including all causes for divorce
permitted by the several states of
the Union, twice as many divorces
are granted to the wife as to the
husband. For habitual drunken
ness about three times as many di
vorces are granted to the wife as
are granted to the husband. For
cruel treatment divorces granted to
the wife exceed those granted to
the husband by approximately ten
to one. For desertion divorces
granted to the wife exceed those
granted to the husband in the pro
portion of about two to one.