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EDITORIAL RAGE The Atlanta Georgian the: home: paper THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published by THE GEORGIAN COMPANY At 20 East Alabama St. Atlanta. Oa Entered ns aarnnd-rlasa matter at postofflct at Atlanta, under art of March 3. 1173 \RSI 8 St M'AY AMERICAN ai THE ITIiANTA GEORGIAN will be mail*•<: t" subs< : ibers afiywher* :n t!>> United States. Canada and Mexico, t>ne month for $.60; three months for $1 ."5, six months for 13.50 and one year for $7.00; change f address made as often as desired. Foreign subscription rates on application. From Line Jo time we publish here small pictures, each with 11 meaning. We invite you to think about them, discussing them with the family—each member perhaps taking one of the pictures and j writing out his own thought. That would be a good and a useful "family game" for Winter evenings. The brain must be exercised and developed as much as the muscles in the arm. The way to go about it is to fix attention on one subject, think of it, AND THEN WRITE DOWN THE THOUGHTS. There is one difference between pitiful failure and envied sue cess. That difference is THINKING. A million human beings practice billiards, golf, tennis, baseball for ONE that practices THINKING. Thinking needs practice as much as any other effort. And thinking, properly developed and properly used, will do for the thinker more than he could do for himself in any other w*y. Therefore, accustom yourself to use the machine inside of the i biftin. And accustom the children and others whom you influence i to make of thinking a business actually practiced. More Pictures to Think About • I One Thought in | wt w, w Your Own Head lx Worth a Thousand in Some- body Else’s. (Copyright. 1913.) 1 If the Toys Could Talk SHOP EARLY. Make it easier for the clerks and yourself. SHOP EARLY. THE LIGHTHOUSE ON T HE SEA. Life is an ocean, big enough and wide enough. Yet nearly all of us are bumping against the rocks and few see the real shining light of truth. It must be a foggy age in which we live. Think about this picture. About the lighthouse that means | salvation to the great ship intelligently managed, and that means | death to the migrating bird that dashes its life out against the thick glass. The trained mind Is guided by facts, the untrained mind dashes against them, desperately. The intelligent navigator looks at the light, knows just where he is, and how he must steer. The little clam buried in the sand does not see the light at all, and that does not truch matter as the clam never goes anywhere and never thinks. That little clam is the average voter. You could think and write several things about this picture. DEATH—THE BUZZARD—WILL GET HIM. This is a picture of what we call "Success" toiling along nder its load. Nearly all of us have said: "There goes Old Man So and So. What a lot of money he has I” When we see a rich d man go by, we are usually looking at this picture. Death is Buzzard and he gets the old man when the time oonuu to drop the load. Intelligent buzzard—he knows more than the man. For he Lk- ne man and leaves the money. and write about this picture, and it may help you to . sis, the great naturalist, did when he said: "I have ■ i0 Vl ~s to make money." How To Be Eminent “Servival Value” A New Phrase By REV. C. F. AKED, D.D., LL. D. By ELBERT HUBBARD H OW Is a man to persuade the world that he Is a very eminent person? If you are really eminent, and you ad mit is, but the stupid world does not, w'hat must you do to secure for your eminence sufficient emi nence? And if you are not emi nent, but you think you are, how ought you to set about the task of getting the rest of mankind to agree with you? These serious questions are suggested by a discussion which has broken out in one of the great cities of England. Unkind persons will say that the discus sion is painfully English. Unkind persons may be kindly ignored. A finely humorous situation is for the Joy of the whole earth. The moral of it is for us all. A clergyman of th«= Episcopal Church, receiving promotion and removing from a great Northern city to another part of England, took a flying kick at his one-time neighbors in non-conformist churches. For the benefit of un initiated persons who, having lived all their lives in a land of religious liberty and equality, fail to grasp the distinctions of Eng lish religious life, it may be pointed out that the Episcopal Church is supposed to be THE Church of England, while Bap tists, Congregationalists. Metho dists. Presbyterians and all others are merely “non-conformists.” Well, this clerical kicker said that when he went to the city in question "there were at least non-conformist ministers of emi nence there. When I left there was not one’'—and the fat was in the fire. The local newspaper, one of the great dailies of England, saw its chance. It sent an interviewer to some prominent non-conformist ministers to ask them, in effect, how they enjoyed their non-emi nence. One supposes that the ed itor who sent out his interviewer had little hope of success. He is familiar with the Scriptures. He knows, with the Hebrew proverb- builder, that in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. But he thought it was worth try ing. They “l’ell for it"—blessed , phrase, untranslatable into Eng lish! Every man-jack of them fell for it. Not one of them was Immodest enough to declare him self eminent. With delightful brotherliness each suggested that the others were. Their unanimi ty was wonderful. The preachers in question were conscious of each other’s emi nence. One of them says to the reporter that he is inclined to doubt whether any notice should be taken of the statement of Brother W. So he proceeds to sit up and take notice that these re marks are “spiteful and uncalled for, un-Christian and imperti nent." He is ready w ith the vul gar little boy’s “You’re another.” He asserts that there are in the city non-conformist ministers whose names are know n “far and away beyond the borders whore Brother W. is unknown.” Asked by the reporter for names, he modestly declines. This is a very good beginning. "The eminence which most minis ters covet is that of being known as Christian gentleman.” another preacher tells the reporter. And lie illustrates the eminent cour tesy of a Christian gentleman by remarking genially that Brother W. has been guilty of "an act of impertinence." The delusion of eminence is first cousin to the delusion of luck. In the long run a person generally gets the position to which he is entitled. A negligent person is negligible. Too many of our fellow s are where they are because they have never shown an effective desire to be anywhere else. There is not a trade, busi ness. profession or calling in which old-fashioned virtues of courage and perseverance and in dustry are not title deeds to as largo a measure of "eminence” as is necessary for our happiness and usefulness. One of the aeutest business men that America produced in the last generation was in the habit of saying: “Never have anything to do with an unlucky man, for there is no such thing as luck." He meant that if a man is always down and out. and if he can find no explanation of it but bad luck, there is something wrong some where. There is a reason for it, whether you know what the rea son is or not. And you had bet ter beware of a man who always has that silly excuse ready. The man who hits the right nail squarely on the head, and hits It hard enough and hits it often enough, generally has the luck to drive it in. And this is all the eminence that an honest man or woman needs to worry about. A NEW phrase has been added to our vocabulary. It is the expression, "sur vival value.” Actions have survival value ac cording to the degree of good that grows out of them. The act of planting a tree has a survival value. The man who planted the tree had the job of doing; the tree adds to the value of his real estate, but the tree will exist long after the man has turned to dust. Advertisements that increase good-will possess survival value, literature that contains wit, val uable information, uplift, pos sesses survival value. All worthy acts, all honest work, all sincere expressions of truth—whether by pen or voice —have a survival value. Civilization is a great, moving mass of survival values, aug mented, increased, bettered, re fined by every worthy life. Man dies, but his influence lives and adds to the wealth, the happi ness and the welfare of the world. Art distinctly has survival value. The artist appeals to the age to come. What he produces is dedicated to time. He does not look for a quick return. Hate, revenge, jealousy, doubt, negation, have no survival value. Courtesy, kindness, good-will, right intent, all add to the sum of human happiness. Not only do they benefit the individual who gives them out. but they survive in various forms and add to the betterment of the world. All deeds, whether work or play, should be judged with the idea of survival value in mind. The difference in men is large ly in the way they use the hours that are their own. Tell me what a man does between 7 and 10 o’clock in the evening and I will tell you what he is. Also, I will tell you where he will be ten years from now’. In America is a vast army of commuters who ride back and forth night ana morning between their country homes and the places where they do business in the city. The majority of these com muters expend this hour, night and morning, in skimming the newspapers. Some sit and talk. Others simply sit. Others there be who indus triously play cards. For the most part, card playing has no survi val value. I know commuters who have played cards for ten years. These men are no wiser, no better, and their lives are no fuller than they were ten years ago. Out of every hundred commu ters you will find, perhaps, one man who carries in his side pock et a copy of Emerson’s “Essays.” Carlyle’s "French Revolution,” Buckle’s "History of Civilization,” or some other good book. He may not read very much of it, but the book Is his com panion. If he merely peeps into it and reads half a page a day, in five years he will be a trans formed individual—he will be differentiatel from the "bunch.” Emerson added to the wealth of the world when he gave us the expression, the "Law of Compensation.” Herbert Spencer did the same for us when he referred to the “Law of Diminishing Returns.” Ernest Haeckel did as much when he spoke of the “Law of Pivotal Points,” and the unknown man w’ho flung out the words "Survival Value.” made us his debtor. Thoughts are the result of feel ings. The recipe for good writing is write as you feel, but be sure you feel right. But before you write you must have an equipment—a literary kit—of mouth-filling, ex pressive, far-reaching words and phrases. Through language we touch finger tips with the noble, the great, the good, the competent, living or dead, and thus are we made brothers to all those who make up the sum total of civil ization. ln=Shoots All w’ant to lead the simple life. But few can agree as to the defi nition of the word simple. * * * * It is better to boast of a nice cemetery than, have a town en tirely without attractions. * * * It is wiser to select something within range of your ammunition than to aim too high. * * * The modern dogs of war appear to be of the barking variety. * * o Charity that begins at home often gets cold feet. * * * The smooth talker is sometimes full oi ragged fight. r ■ ,,H What is the Touchstone for a Woman s Age? Not Birthdays, Nor Looks, Nor Clothes, Nor Complexions: They Reveal Nothing Nowadays—Perhaps Mental and Spirit ual Youth Makes a Woman Young, Even After Her Body Has Grown Old. By DOROTHY DIX. T HE other day a group of women were discussing age, that topic always interest ing to their sex, and how you could tell how old Ann is. ‘‘Not by birthdays,” they ex claimed with one voice. ‘‘There’s no such foolish way of telling a woman’s age as by the years she has passed. A variegated as sortment of birthday presents doesn't make a woman old. There are women who are mere debutantes at eighty, and others who are the oldest inhabitant while still in their cradles,” “Nor can you tell how old a woman la by her looks nowadays, said the woman In the taupe suit, “for It’s only the very young who have any character lines In their faces. “By the time a woman gets old enough to acquire a real human expression on her countenance she begins, to have her wrinkles Ironed out by massage, so there are no little telltale lines left around the eyes and mouth by which you can give a guess at how many Sum mers, and also Winters, have rolled over her head. “It’s granddaughter who has got the crow's feet now, and grandmama whose face is as smooth as a china doll’s.” "And everybody wears hand made complexions,” agreed the woman in blue, ‘‘and even the mere chits are sporting gray hair, just as all the old dames flaunted ma hogany colored locks two or three years ago, so that your eyes no longer give you a yardstick by which to measure a woman’s length of days.’’ As for Clothes, Women of 16 and 60 Wear the Same Now. “And as for clothes,’’ wailed the woman in the red hat, “there’s no difference between the things that sixteen and sixty wear, unless It Is that sixteen Is a little more dig nified and conservative in Its taste. Why, the only thing that makes me suspect that I’m getting old myself is that I find myself passing up good substantial dark colors in favor of baby blues and pinks and that I sort of lean to ward hats with Queen of May effects, and when a woman of my age begins to yearn for millinery with wreaths of flowers it’s a sure sign of the approach of senile de mentia.” “V ell,” said the woman In taupe, “my test for approaching age In a woman is to notice whether In her conversation she shies away from dates as a nerv ous horse does from an automo bile, When a woman avoids lo cating anything In any particular year it’s because she doesn't want you to get a line on her. "Another test that never fails sclousness that she is growing old, and who Is getting busy try ing to stop the clock. “You know how it is. She> gone along, like the balance of us, thinking that she’s drunk at the fountain of perpetual youth, and then, one day, she takes a look In the glass, and sees that she has got fat, and settled-looking, and that her hair is turning gray around the temples, and lines coming about her mouth. “Talk about your panics! She’s in a blue funk, and she beats it down to the nearest beauty par lor, and boils and bakes herself, and has her poor body pounded into a pulp, and begins to do without everything she wants to eat. And she tries to youthify her conversation by giggling, and acting kittenish, and talking girly-girly stuff that sounds as If she had softening of the brain. "I pray God on my knees to save me from acting the fool when I cross the age line.” “I think,” said the woman with the long feather in her hat, “that the real test of age Is not physi cal, but mental. It depends upon the suppleness of your soul, and not your body. We Are Mentally Young While We Can Grasp New Thoughts. "We’re young physically just as long as every muscle is flexible and pliable and quick to make any change and movement, and we are young mentally—really young—just as long as our minds are alert to new Ideas, new thoughts and capable of taking new points of view. “The first sign of physical age Is when we begin to stiffen up at the joints, and to prefer to sit and watch others play to playing ourselves, and we have begun to grow old mentally when we begin to think that all modern progress is foolishness, and that the old ways are the best ways, and when we want to hear the old music, and read the old books, and harp upon the past. “1 don’t mind admitting, in con fidence, that the first realization I had that I was growing old came a few months ago when I found my self shocked at all the new dances, and comparing them in my mind with the dances that prevailed when I wasa girl. I'd been saying that the tango and the turkey trot, and so on, were indecent, and all of a sudden I recalled that that was exactly what my mother had said about waltzing. She had com pared the waltz unfavorably with the lanciers and the quadrille of her youth, and her mother had considered the lanciers and quad rilles vulgar, romping dances as contrasted with the minuet of her days. Young People Now Find Nothing Shocking in Modern Dances. "And I observe that the young people now find nothing at all shocking or suggestive in the dances of to-day, so it’s Just a case Is when she always says 'we girls’ did so and so, and when she always prefaces every reminis cence by remarking, 'I was very young at the time.’ If you will notice you will observe that all the little youngsters in college call each other "women,” while ladies who are forty, or half passed, always speak of them selves and each other as ‘girls.’ ” "Right-oh,” exclaimed the wom an in the black hat, ‘ all of those signs of age are signs that never fail In dry weather. But what we think of a woman's age doesn’t matter. "It’s what she thinks that counts, and the most amusing and pathetic thing on earth is the sight of a woman who has had It dawn suddenly upon her con- of other times, other manners. "And another tip I got that I was growing old was that I couldn’t reconcile myself to the new clothes. I was horrified at the tightness and the thinness, and the splitness, and I wanted a good old fashioned, roomy skint with plaits In it, and with petticoats under It, and a waist that came up high In the neck and long in the sleeves.” "And what did you do?” asked the woman in the blue hat. “I went and bought me the ex- tremest clothes 1 oould get,” smiled the woman in the black hat. “Well,” said the woman in taupe, “I can tel! eractly how old a woman Is. I ask her where she stands on suffrage, and If she doesn’t be lieve in it I know she’s forty-five if she’s a day. You could find a hen's tooth quicker than you could find a young woman who doesn’t believe in equal rights for men and women.' STARS AND STRIPES ] Aviator who escaped the fire of Austrian guns by rising 4,000 feet must have felt highly elated. * * * It is reported the navy refused men with flat feet. May be only a misunderstanding. * * * Maeterlinck says boxing is a violent exercise. Evidently he has never seen two of our White Hopes in action. packet or needle The man who gets a reputation for being clever generally has to sit up nights to keep it. * * * A big mistake to refuse thin men service in the navy. They’re not so easy to hit. * * * Radium to be obtained from Colorado ore, says The London Daily Mirror. A pleasing reflec tion. * * • Shocks of a recent earthquake described as a "series of bumps.” Should have read "serious bumps.”