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EDITORIAL RAGE
The Atlanta Georgian THE HOME RARER
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published Every Afternoon Except Hu nr! ivy
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
At 110 East Alabama St.. Atlanta. Ga.
Entered as aerond-class matter at post of flea at Atlanta, under act of March 3.1873
Subscription Price- Delivered by carrier. 10 cents a week, By mall. $5.00 a year.
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Mothers, Keep Your Babies’
Hands Covered
And Train Them From the Beginning to Keep I heir lingers
Out of Their Mouths
Copyright, 1913.
Millions of mothers worry because "There is something
wrong with the child’s stomach,’’
Digestion is bad, sleep is irregular, the lips are crackled, un
healthy looking—there are signs of the dreaded colitis, which
takes so many thousands of children to the grave.
False diet, foolish feeding based on ignorance, AND EAT
ING AT IRREGULAR HOURS, menace the health of many
children.
The mother that has lost one child or more lives in constant
apprehension, and is almost in despair when signs of illness show
themselves.
We want to-day to impress upon all mothers ONE THING
THAT THEY CAN DO FOR THEIR CHILDREN
One of the most famous and one of the ablest doctors in
this country was called in by a mother to take care of a child
that showed signs of illness, and his first question was this:
"Does your baby put its fingers in its mouth a great deal?”
He then impressed upon the mother—the child was not quite
two years old—that she must above all things prevent her baby
from putting dirty fingers into its mouth.
And this is the idea that we want to impress upon all moth
ers TO-DAY, and that without putting them to the expense of
seeing the doctor quoted above. From him a few words of ad
vice would cost twenty five dollars.
Remember that children arc sometimes poisoned by disease
germs IN THEIR FOOD
But FAR OFTENER THEY ARE POISONED BY GERMS
STICKING TO THEIR FINGERS WHICH THEY PUT INTO
THEIR MOUTHS.
It doesn’t matter how careful you may be, your child is
bound to creep on the floor, to fall down upon its hands on the
sidewalk, to grasp a railing, etc.
Whenever a child’s hands touch the sidewalks, or railings,
or the floor, THEY ARE APT TO COME IN CONTACT WITH
GERMS THAT PRODUCE DISEASE.
In the big cities especially this danger is great.
Ignorant men who should be controlled and punished by law
sit upon the benches in the parks, spitting upon the sidewalks j
where little children are put to play.
This is actually a crime against human life—a crime none
the less dreadful because it is based upon ignorance.
To see a consumptive sunning himself on a bench in the
public park is pitiful. You pity the unfortunate man, as he
coughs painfully, and he deserves pity.
But, as he scatters about him the germs of his disease, he is
actually endangering and often destroying lives of healthy
children that go to play in that park.
It is impossible to keep children shut in. It is impossible to
keep them from the parks and the streets and from crawling
about on the floor.
BUT IT IS POSSIBLE TO PROTECT THEM.
To the mother whom we have mentioned the able doctor
said:
“Keeping your child’s hands washed frequently is a good thing—but
it is no protection.
“Keep COTTON GLOVES ON THE CHILD’S HANDS when it is
playing anywhere outside of its nursery—and, better still, keep them on
also wnen it plays on the nursery floor.
“A child will not put cotton gloves into its mouth—it doesn’t like the
feeling.”
There is very simple advice for mothers that worry about
their children’s health.
If your baby is in the teething stage, you know how the
wise old mothers will tell you that you must EXPECT trouble at
that time.
You are told that teething affects the stomach and causes
sickness, bowel complaint, etc.
Teething DOES affect the child's DIGESTION. But it does
not actually introduce into its system the germs that produce
disease such as the dreaded Summer complaint.
Children are subject to disease especially when teething,
BECAUSE WHEN TEETHING THEY ALWAYS HAVE
THEIR FINGERS IN THEIR MOUTHS, and they are always
introducing dangerous germs into their systems in that way.
Two pairs of cotton gloves for the baby would not cost very
much—and we wish that the managers of big stores would put
such gloves on sale as an act of public usefulness, and advertise
•them at the very lowest possible price.
Occasionally a child suffering from teething will put its
fingers in its mouth in spite of wearing cotton gloves. In such a
case very rough woolen gloves may be procured that will cer
tainly answer the purpose.
Mothers can do much, also, by making it a habit from the
baby’s first day to train it to keep its fingers out of its mouth.
A gentle touch of the hand each time that the little fingers
are put toward the lips will gradually accustom the child to the
notion that its hands and its mouth must be kept separate.
Meanwhile we advise mothers of children under five years
of age—and, better still, up to seven years of age—to try this ex
periment of keeping them gloved with cotton when they play on
park sidewalks or street sidewalks exposed to disease germs.
P. S.—Some mothers will say: "Well, my baby always had
his hands in his mouth, and HE didn't have gloves, and HE
didn't get any disease.”
We are glad to hear it. But what is true of one child is
not true of another. And what is true of a child one day is not
true of the same child ANOTHER DAY.
A child absolutely healthy and strong is able to throw off
and get rid of the disease germs that get into its system. A per
fectly healthy child with a heart acting strongly and the blood
in good condition could swallow a good many tuberculosis germs
without getting consumption.
But as soon as something happens, when the vitality is low,
the heart action feeble, THE GERMS ARE NOT THROWN
OFF
They establish a foothold, they breed with lightning rapid
ity, and then it is too late to save the child. Prevention is better
than cure, and there is no better prevention than keeping the
child's own hands from putting diseases into its mouth. 1
EGGS IS EGGS
Absolutely the Last Egg Joke.
The Fall of New Orleans
By DR. T. B. GREGORY.
r 1 >HR fall of New Orleans f>1
[ years ago—was a blow to
the Confederacy from
which it never recovered.
At the time Farragut and Por
ter were steaming triumphantly
up to the levees of the Creole
city the mouth of the Father
of Waters. McClellan was gath
ering his mighty host for the “On
to Richmond'' campaign which
was to end. a little while later,
in ignominious defeat on the
banks of tht .lames; and. guided
b> the matrjileas genius of Lee.
the Army of Non hern Virginia
was to store victory after victory
on the soil of the Old Dominion;
hut at New Orleans the Fed
eral© held the grand strategic
point, the key to the great river
which penetrated far into the
territory of the acceded States,
and divided from its eastern half
the rich cornfields of the West
and Southwest, upon which, later
on. the Confederacy was to de
pend for the bread and meat that
wus to maintain its armies.
The Blockade Policy.
The policy of holding New Or
leans at all hazard, as the one su
premely vital point on the line of
defense, seems never to have en-
tred the minds of the Confeder
ate authorities; and the city was
surrendered without a tenth part
of the resistance that was after
ward made at many points of
much less strategic importance.
From first to last the Missis
sippi River was the key to the
military problem with both sides
Which side commanded that river
would also command the issue of
the struggle.
It was no new thought. From
as far back as the earliest period
of the French explorations on the
North American Continent, it was
clearly perceived by the explorers
that Uiw wus, us well
in political as in geographical sig
nificance. the master feature of
the whole situation. That was
why Frenchman. Spaniard and
Englishman looked upon the
mighty stream with such greedy
REV THOMAS B GREGORY.
eyes, and resolved, come what
might, to contend for it to the last
man.
Jefferson saw the political im
portance of the Mississippi, and it
was for that reason that he was
most anxious to consummate the
“Louisiana Purchase,” or. if that
was impossible, to at least se
cure possession of the city of
New Orleans. The country that
held New Orleans would hold the
Mississippi River, and the coun
try that controlled the Mississippi
River would control the political
fortunes of the North American
Continent. American history,
from the treaty of Ghent straight
down to the final rounding out of
the Republic with the successful
negotiations of the Gadsden Pur
chase, i© full of diplomatic gym
nastics regarding the Mississippi
River.
In the light of all this, it will
he seen how great a victory it
was that Farragut won w hen he
silenced Forts St. Philln and
Jackson and steamed on to the
capture of New Orleans.
Pertinent Paragraphs
When the first symptoms of
love’s young dream do not cause
a fellow' to have a frog in his
throat, they are not real.
The under dog does not care
much for the sympathy that can
not be touched for a loan.
When a man can not carry his
good nature home he had better
drop it altogether.
A young woman in a dream
gown is often a rude awakening
in the matter of a disposition.
Seek the truth, but do not im
agine that every man you meet
is handinsr it to you.
It is often hard in our dealings
to curb the clamor of prejudice.
The man who pays as he goes
does not go at such a rapid pace.
Many a well-meaning cuss dis
plays poor marksmanship.
The most dangerous lie is the
one that is half true.
Breach of Promise Suits
1 ><»rothy I )i.\ Says That Every Man I las a Right to Change His Mind—
No Woman Who Is Really Hurt Will Drag Her Wounds
Before the Public For Money.
By DOROTHY DIX.
A TELLING blow for >*ex
equality has Just been
struck by a Brooklyn Su
preme Court Justice who has
I ruled tljat the right to change
your mind is not the sole pre-
1 rogative of woman. Mere man
has the same privilege.
In a breach of promise case, in
which a fair lady was suing a
faithless swain for renegging on
his promise to marry her the
Justice made the following rule:
“In the modern days of suf
frage agitation,” he said, “we
must not be too severe with the
men. as long as no unfair ad
vantage has been taken of the
, women
“I am not going to let this
young man rot in jail because he
has changed his mind about mar
rying this* girl. We must remem
ber that the lady always reserves
to herself the right to change her
mind at any moment, and it seems
to me the man ought to have the
same right,”
Good for the Judge! That de
cision is based on good sound
sense and justice. Moreover. It
proves* what wo suffragists have
always contended, and that Is that
equal rights for women will mean
equal rights for men. and be Just
as much to men’s advantage as
they will be to women’s.
The breach of promise suit has
never been anything more or less
than blackmail disguised as senti
ment. No woman whose heart
was really hurt would drag her
wounds before the public for the
sake of a little money. No wom
an with a vestige of delicacy or
refinement in her composition
would try to force a man to mar
ry her who had tired of her and
was trying to get rid of her.
Not a Business Deal.
,11 is absurdity to contend that
a proposal of marriage is in the
same class with a b mi ness prop
osition. and that a man should be
held financially responsible for not
carrying out a matrimonial en
gagement as he would be for not
fulfilling a business contract. The
very essense of courtship are the
emotions of love, attraction, fasci-
natipn and desire that a woman
rouses in a man’s breast, and
when these are gone—when he no
longer loves her, when she no
longer attracts nr fascinates him
and he has ceased to want her—
her claim upon him is forfeited,
and as a matter of fact, it would
be a nice point of law to decide
whether the woman who can no
longer deliver the goods isn’t the
one who has defaulted on the con
tract. and not the man.
Moreover, Cupid is no piker. He
is a dead game sport, and when
ever a man or a woman sits down
to tho love game he or she must
play the limit and take the risks.
In addition, this is also to be said
that although women generally
get a cold deal in matrimony they
hold tho trump hand in courtship.
For it is the custom of men to
wdo maids with flowers and
candy, and books and theater
tickets, and restaurant feeds, so
that Romeo has paid his score as
DOROTHY DIX.
he went along, and even if he
balks at the altar the account still
stands in the woman’s favor.
Truly, ’ti« better to have been
wooed and jilted than never to
have been wooed at all!
In deciding that a man has a
right to change his mind about
getting married and cannot be as
sessed heavy damages for doing
so the Brooklyn Justice has done
a notable service ^to humanity.
The breach of promise ease should
he thrown out of court and a man
not only given the privilege of
withdrawing from a matrimonial
engagement if he decides that for
an\ r a son it w ould he best for
him to do ^-o, but he should be
backed up by public opinion in
doing it.
Thousands of men, carried
away by the impulse of the mo
ment or some wave of transient
sentiment, have popped the ques
tion to girls that they knew' were
unfitted to be their wives, and
rued their folly before the words
were off of their lips. Thousands
of other men have honestly
thought themselves in love at
the time they became engaged to
women, but found themselves
disillusioned long before their
wedding day. Thousands of men
are so completely out of love and
disenchanted with their prospec
tive wives that they would rather
face the hangman than the
preacher on their marriage morn.
Want to Be Jilted.
These men would give ten t
years of their lives to unsay the
words they have uttered, to take
back the promise they have given,
to be free of the women that they
know will hang like millstones
about their necks, but they lack
the courage to break their en- a
gagements. Many a man does
everything in his pow’er to force •
the girl to jilt him. He picks
quarrels with her. He neglects
her. Sometimes he even tries to
tell her that he doesn’t love her
any more, but the more he at
tempts to break away, the tighter
she clings, and the more she
weeps, and in the end he gives 1n
and lets himself be led like a
lamb to the ©laughter because he
hasn’t the nerve,to hurt her or
to be branded as a quitter.
Let no man think that he is do
ing a noble and heroic thing to
marry a woman after he has
ceased to love her. He is doing
her the most cruel wrong that
one human being can inflict on.
another, and it would be a kinder
act if he killed her than it is -to
nfrarry her. He is sure to neglect
her. to let her see how she bores
him and what a burden she is on
him, and to break her heart with
a thousand little evidences of his
indifference.
It takes his martyrdom out on
her. and she pays every day of
her life for his having been co
erced into an unwilling marriage.
The affection of a man for his
wdfe cools down from the boiling
point to sub-normal even when
he’s crazy about her when they
got married, but Heaven help the *
unfortunate wolaan whose hus- *
band's love was at the zero point
on their wedding day! Believe
me. she knows what a long, cold
winter is like.
Therefore, in justice to himself
and kindness to the woman, any
man should take advantage of his #
right to change his mind if he de- *
cides that he has changed his
heart, no matter how many en
gagement rings he has given, nor
how many vows of constancy he
has ©worn. Let him duck and "
run, though he were at the very
foot of the altar. It would save
his life, and be a blessing to the
woman.
What Are the Real Wonders of the
World As it Exists To-day?
By GARRETT P. SERVISS.
^ /j AM convinced,” says an
I epistolary friend, "that
the Panama Canal is th
greatest wonder of construction
that the world has ever known,
and I don’t see how it is over to
be exceeded, unless the United
States should carry out Mr
Hiker’s idea of diverting and con
trolling the Gulf Stream by
means of a gigantic jetty thrown
across the banks ol Newfound
land. But I should like tq know
whether you regard such things
as a true measure of the su
periority of modern times.
Couldn’t you make a list of s con
modern wonders that would hot
ter represent the real progress of
mankind ?”
Has Been Going Forward.
If I were going to offer a list
of seven modern wonders, con
ceived in this sense, of the ap
plication of the mind to some
thing outside Itself. I should wish,
find, to define the term “modern.”
and I would make it include the
three centuries that have elapsed
since the days of Galileo. The
world has never gone backward
since his time. He was the first
great experimental philosopher,
and when he dropped a ten-
pound and a one-pound cannon
ball from the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, and proved, by occular
demonstration, that they took the
same time to fall to the bottom,
he overthrew forever the ancient
method of drawing blind infer
ences about the physical world
out pt the mind, instead of using
the senses as a teat and the in
telligence as a guide and inter
preter.
So, I should head the list of
seven modern wonders with the
discovery of the Law of Gravita
tion. which Galileo began experi
mentally. and Newton completed
mathematically.
To that law—although we do
not yet know what gravitation is \
in its essence—we owe not only
' our accurate knowledge of the
univ* rse, but many of our great
est engineering triumphs.
Second on the list, in the order
of time, might stand the Invention
of the Telescope, which, as a
means of research, must also be
credited to Galileo, w'ho worked
entirely in the modern spirit of
GARRETT P. SERVISS.
using the mind as a means ami
not as an end in the exploration
| of the material world. By the In
ver-l ion of the telescope, and its
coralIary, the microscope, modern
man enabled himself to penetrate,
at the same time, the mysteries of
illimitablt space and the secrets
of the realm of the infinitely lit
tle.
Third, let us place the devel
opment of the science of Chemis
try, which has taught us so much
about the constitution of matter,
and w r hich, some think, may yet
rewal the secret of life itself. To
reveal only a small part of what
chemistry has achieved would, in*
itself, require a long article v
There is hardly any part of human
life and activity in which it doe6
not play its role. But there are
certain things that have grown
out of chemical experimentation
which are, perhaps, worthy to
stand by themselves in our list.
Among these I would put, as the
fourth wonder, Photography. Be
ginning as a means of obtaining
pictures of the human face, more
accurate in their details than the
hand could draw, photography has
now become a means of discov
ering things invisible to the eye,
both upon the earth and in the
heavens. The greatest astronom
ical discoveries of recent years
have been effected by photogra- ^ *
phy. By using the X-ray, and by *
selecting certain chosen wave© of
light, we can picture., by photog
raphy. things hidden behind bar
riers impenetrable to ordinary
vision, and things on distant bod
ies in space which are veiled from
the eye by the confusing effects
of too many kinds of light f f
Fifth, I would put the inven
tion of the Spectroscope, an in
strument which enable© us to
analyze light and to use it a© a
means of investigating the nature
of substances and bodies, not
only upon the earth, but also tn
the sky. To the spectroscope we
owe our knowledge of the consti
tution of the sun and the other
stars.
Present Inventions.
Sixth, comes the use of T0teo«
tricity, in telegraphy, and in th»
production of light, and the transr*
ference of power. These thing#
are so recent that everybody
knows all about them, or, at least,
knows what their nature is.
Seventh, the establishment of
the l.aw of Evolution. The “idea
of some such law was dimly prea-
•ant in the minds of some anolent
philosophers, hut, after their man.
ner, they never thought of teat,
ing it by close observation of na»
ture. Most of them used their
minds with about as much practi
cal effect as a miller would use
his mill if he merely set I he i
wheels turning, grinding only air
and getting nothing but air out of
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