Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, May 29, 1913, Image 18
EDITORIAL RAGE The Atlanta Georgian THE HOME RARER
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
PubUehed Every AftExcept Kunday
By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY
At 20 East Alabama Ht., Atlanta, Ga.
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The Stalwart Senate Should
Stand by Our American
Merchant Marine
The United States Senate fronts an opportunity and a duty
in dealing with our merchant marine.
Public attention is rapidly focusing upon American mari
time conditions, and it is high time that it did.
The favor with which the readoption of the early American
discriminatory maritime policy is regarded by the thoughtful
press and by influential Americans who are indifferent to foreign
protests and threats is additionally reassuring.
Even more important, the people are realizing that an Ameri
can deep sea shipping will form an urgently needed and entirely
lacking secondary reserve for our navy.
Mr. Underwood’s mere insertion of the thin edge of the
wedge of discriminatory duties in his tariff bill has served to
arouse both national and international interest.
Public indorsement of the policy is so strong that the stal
wart Senate should promptly DRIVE IN THIS WEDGE. It will
separate the United States from its trade agreements and con
ventions with other nations whose people know that the American
navy will remain weak so long as it lacks the resource of a strong
American shipping with officers and men.
The House tariff bill only provides a discount of 5 per cent
of the duty on imports in vessels of American register. It ap
plies to less than half our imports—only to those that are duti
able. It applies to only 10 per cent of onr imports from South
America, the othef 90 per cent being duty free.
That discount will not suffice to attract American capital
into oversea shipping with the new duties so low. The pending
provision would give foreign yards the building of all the ships
its enactment would bring under American register.
And finally there are conflicting opinions as to whether or
not the withdrawal of the United States from trade conventions
and aOTeements that now estop it from applying the policy is as
suredly provided for.
THE SENATE MUST REMEDY EACH OF THESE DE
FECTS AND OBSCURITIES. We must have a whole-hearted
and not a half-hearted readoption and enforcement of the policy
that gave American ships the carriage of 80 per cent of our im
ports and exports during all of the more than sixty years it was
previously in force.
There is an overwhelming American demand for the repeal
of all restraining conventions and suspensory laws that per
petuate our present maritime importance.
The need of the Nation, the need of our Navy, and
the need of our foreign commerce alike demand it.
The Senate must infuse vigor and vim into this section of
the House bill, so that its enforcement will All every American
shipyard with orders for oversea ships that will reassert Ameri
can maritime independence and carry the American flag over all
the seven seas to the business ports of the civilized world.
H n H
Big Business Men
And Despotic Power
Judge Gary is the working
head of the greatest industrial
corporation in America—the
United States Steel Corpora
tion.
He is especially notable among the big business men of the
country because he believes and has constantly declared during
the last few years that the great interstate business concerns
that now control most of the output of the necessaries of life
MUST CEASE TO BE ARBITRARY AND DESPOTIC IN
THE USE OF THIS POWER AND MUST SUBMIT THEM
SELVES TO PUBLIC AUTHORITY.
Speaking to an organization of his business associates last
week, Judge Gary remarked: “The President of the United
States recently said that honest business need not be afraid.
Well, let us be honest. Let us take him at his word; let us as
sume that he means exactly what he says.”
The Georgian takes occasion to say that SOMETHING
MORE THAN WHAT COMMONLY GOES BY THE NAME OF
“HONESTY” IS NOW REQUIRED OF THE INDUSTRIAL
LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
What is required is that big business men shall have the
high intelligence TO HATE THEIR OWN ARBITRARY
POWER OVER THE INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION OF
THE COUNTRY.
It is time that these men should come to understand that
it is absolutely impossible for the republic to submit to irre
sponsible power of any kind. IF THE REPUBLIC IS TO EN
DURE, THE ECONOMIC DESPOTS CANNOT STAND.
The principle that all power over the essentials of life must
be in the hands of men accountable to the people is the principle
upon which the political and legal systems of the United States
are founded. This is no fine-spun theory. It is a part of the
everyday consciousness of the American man.
It follows from this principle that whenever any man in
America is seen by the people to be exercising a selfish and
unregulated power over the people’s lives, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE
FOR THE PEOPLE TO REGARD HIM OTHERWISE THAN
AS A PUBLIC ENEMY.
The people are patient with private monopolies only so long
as there is a reasonable doubt whether they really are private
monopolies. But as soon as it becomes perfectly plain that cer
tain men are levying private taxes upon the people, the people
cannot and will not any longer have patience with such men.
Judge Gary has pointed out the right road for corporate
managers who are suspected and who suspect themselves of be
ing monopolists. Many months ago he told a committee of Con
gress that the industrial trusts must be controlled by the Gov
ernment—even to the legal limitation of dividends and of com
modity prices. In short, Judge Gary is the one corporation man
ager in the country whose intelligence has been absolutely clear
on the point that no monopoly can endure in a republic—EX
CEPT A PUBLIC MONOPOLY.
In quoting the words of President Wilson last week, Judge
Gary spoke truly enough—but feebly. He has often spoken bet
ter from other texts.
It is not by mere scrupulosity, not by mere freedom from
rascality, that big business men are to set themselves right before
the country or to set the country right in the light of its demo
cratic tradition.
THE COUNTRY EXPECTS TO SEE AN UPRISING OF
BIG BUSINESS MEN. WHO ARE AMERICANS MORE THAN
THEY ARE MONOPOLISTS—WHO HATE ARBITRARY AND
DESPOTIC POWER AND ARE DETERMINED TO PUT IT
DOWN. #
A Touch of Sun
• •
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• •
• •
• •
By FERA.
Rev. John E. White
Writes on
The Biggest Politics
Three Great Races—the Teu
ton, Slav and Mongolian—
Are Lined Up on the Map of
the World, and the American
People Are at a Perilous
Point About It.
WRITTEN FOR THE GEORGIAN
By REV. DR. JOHN E. WHITE
Pastor Second Baptist Church
I T was stated that Dr. John Bas
sett M|>ore had been brought
Into President Wilson’s admin
istration with no reference what
ever to polities.
That was a very great mistake.
Dr. John Bassett Moore is First
Assistant Secretary of State pre
cisely because he is such a poli
tician — the broadest, biggest,
world - wideliest politician at
Washington.
The sort of politics that absorbs
Professor Moore’s attention is not
as scrappy as the race for Con
stable in a small town, but for
variety, strategy and ominous
ness it is the big game of the
world.
It has been Professor Moore’s
’ life work to study the vaster
forces of the human movement
called civilization. He is the as
tronomer of the Democratic ad
ministration. With his telescope
sweeping immense political areas,
he locates the points of disturb
ance in the field of civilization
and tells his superiors what to do
about it.
He keeps a wise eye on the
great mass formations in the
scrimmage of nations and races.
He has a man’s job all right.
The Big Line-Up.
At this moment three great
races—the Teuton. Slav and Mon
golian—are lined up on the map
of Europe and As4a.
They are looking each other in
the eyes and each is confident of
its ultimate ascendency. This is
politics more than continental or
International. It is the biggest,
deepest, most titanic situation of
human competition the mind of
man ever contemplated.
The smaller questions occupy
ing the foreground of public inter
est are bagatelles compared with
the issue presented by racial ambi
tion. Such immense energies are
involved that to think of them
as let loose upon each other ap
pals the imagination.
Outside university cloisters,
from which Dr. John Bassett
Moore has emerged, few people
have dared to entertain the prob
lem of collision on so colossal a
scale. Within each of these great
race masses we are told that in
stinctive tendencies are not con
trolling the point of view of di
plomacy, and these tendencies
have become manifestly contrl-
petal.
The family disputes within each
of the race groups are to grow
less and less frequent under the
resistless pressures of race uni
ties. Quarrels between England
and Germany, for Instance, or
between Russia and the smaller
Slav States, are decreasingly ca
pable of serious consequences.
The get-together race move-
Letters From The Georgian's Readers
FREE SCHOOL BOOKS.
Editor The Georgian:
The Constitution of Georgia pro
vides for free public schools and
provides a school fund for the sup
port of such schools. The Consti
tution further provides for local tax
ation for public schools.
I hope that the Legislature will
pass a law authorizing the State
School Commissioner W some other
public authority to purchase for the
use of the public schools of the
State all school books necessary for
the children attending the schools.
This law would result in the sav
ing of thousands of dollars annual
ly to the people of Georgia.
I do not think the State Itself
should embark in the publication of
free school books, but I am sin
cerely of the opinion that the State
and towns and cities should furnish
free school books.
A few of the reasons for my opin
ion are as follows:
1. The child of the poor man has
the same chance to obtain an edu
cation as the child of the rich or
well-to-do man.
2. The “thorough system of com
mon schools” provided for by the
Constitution of Georgia is thus made
in fact a “thorough system’’ because
to the free schdol house and free
tuition is added free school books.
3. The work of the school can be
begun without delay when school
books are furnished at public ex
pense and thus become effective
from the beginning of the school
term.
4. Uniformity in the use of school
books throughout the State is thus
secured—although under the Georgia
adoption law uniformity Is already
obtained in the County schools.
5. The common schools, estab
lished for the education of the com
mon people, are made popular and
attendance is encouraged and pro
longed
t>. The school books are public
property and through the use of
them respect for public property
may be taught.
am* following States have laws
ment is dominating the motive in
world politics and the indications
are that the Mongolian race will
be the first to arrive at the goal
of solidarity in a political game.
The Japanese Imbroglio.
Here is uncovered the back
ground which renders American
complications with Japan at the
present time a subject of intense
solicitude ail over the world. The
London Times is not given to
groundless alarm and Its For
eign Editor, Sir Valentine Chirot,
has Just sounded a solemn note
on the subject:
“The ultimate point of dispute,"
he says, "does not affect the
United States alone, still less Cal
ifornia, It is a world question
essentially. Fears of the inhabi
tants of the Pacific slope may be
premature, but they are not en
tirely groundless. They spring
from the instinct of self-preser
vation and if the present minor
dispute is composed they will as
suredly recur."
Commenting editorially on the
situation, The Times says that:
“However it may be settled now,
the issue will have to receive the
earnest attention of the white
races in times to come.’’
The American people have
heretofore occupied a superior at
titude toward this “big politics”
and has kept away from it, but
fate seems now about to thrust
upon us the necessity of putting
out our hand toward it.
It is impossible to exaggerate
the consequences which depend
upon the hand we put out. If it
is a fist we may as well get ready
to tax ourselves, our children and
children’s children with the cost.
There will be the price of trouble
enough to last a hundred years.
Putting Our Fist In.
The expense of warships and
army equipment is an insignifi
cant item in the reckoning. The
losses in markets affecting Amer
ican labor and capital, and par
ticularly the cotton trade through
a long period would be stagger
ing.
But the really great sacrifice
that a gladiatorial attitude our
part in the problem of big poli
tics would exact of us would be
the surrender of the moral su
premacy in relation to these
things which the founders of the
American republic committed to
us and which the historians have
cheerfully accorded.
Is It not our better destiny to
play the part .of a big, fearless,
chivalric brother with courage,
firmness and wisdom, and with
fairness* and patience, than to
seek the role of the “Big Fist,”
or the “Big Stick” with the com
monplace distinction which his
tory has committed to all its
boastful and selfish peoples?
providing for free school books for
the public schools: Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu
setts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania,
Nebraska, Maryland, Wyoming and
Utah.
SHEPARD BRYAN.
Former Member Atlanta Board of
Education.
WHY 13 A FIRETRAP?
Editor The Georgian:
The Georgian quoted Professor Sla
ton, superintendent of Atlanta pub
lic schools, the other day as saying,
“The Atlanta schools are flretraps.”
The firetrap may be avoided by
insisting that the architect observe
the following simple rules: Every
school house of more than one story
should have at least two stairways,
located at extreme opposite ends of
the building, so that should fire
break out at. say. the east end, and
block that exit, the west end stair
way would be the last part of the
building to burn.
The stairs should not be located In
the main corridors, where they would
form a trap in case of panic, but
in separate stairw f ay halls* runnir-*
out at right angles to the main cor
ridors. They should land in impie-
diate proximity to the exits, so the
pupil will not have to run through
the building looking for a way out.
They should be 4*4 feet wide, and
have small round hand rails on both
sides.
The main corridors leading to exits
should be entirely free from ob
struction of all kinds. The corri
dors should give free and unob
structed passage directly to exit
doors that open outward at a slight
push from inside.
Have all the steps that lead to
the first floor on. the outside of the
building, so that If, in a rush to get
out, a child falls or is thrown down
he will be on the outside, where he
can be rescued. Have no inside
vestibule steps.
Locate heating plant near the cen
ter of the building, in an absolutely
fireproof room, with entrance from
outside the building only.
CHARLES W. CARLTON.