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1 1 ' f j Tap i j I EDITORIAL RAGE The Atlanta Georgian Published by THE GEORGIAN COMPANY At 20 East Alabama St. Atlanta, Oa. Entered as second-class matter at postofflce at Atlanta, under act of March 3, 1373 HEARST’8 SUNDAY AMERICAN and THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN will be mailed to subscribers anywhere in the United States,. Canada and Mexico, one month, $.60; three months, $1.75; six months. $3.50 and one year. $7.00 Railroads Should Get Only What They Deserve---Nothing More and Nothing Less T HE railroads are before the Interstate Commerce Commission asking for permission to raise rates on the plea thai they need the money. The only question which the Interstate Commerce Commission ought to consider is not whether the railroads NEED the money, but wheth er they DESERVE the money. The railroads of this country have had the most splendid inheritanc^of wealth and opportunity that any institutions have ever had in the history of the world. If they have squandered their wealth and abused their oppor tunities it is not the duty or the obligation of the people of the United States to compensate them for their loss or reward them for their misdeeds. The railroads are the great public service corporations of the country. They should render such public service as would secure for them the grateful appreciation of the people. Yet there are perhaps no institutions in the coun try which are so generally and so justly hated. The railroads have proceeded upon the maxims of two great masters of railroad interests—the elder Vanderbilt—whose motto was: “The public be damned.” And Collis P. Huntington, whose slogan was: "All the traffic will bear.” The railroads, proceeding upon these principles, have nof only op pressed the public, but outraged the public until they have aroused a bitter resentment and a determination on the part of the public to right the wrong of railroad behavior. There is no disposition on the part of the public to persecute the rail roads, but there is a determination no longer to give the railroads more than they justly deserve, no longer to allow them to steal from the public preserves or pilfer from the people’s purses. There is a determination no longer to allow them to overcapitalize in reckless speculation and then compel the country to pay the interest on their overcapitalization. The people have definitely decided no longer to allow the railroads to make the public pay both the PRICE of a monopoly and the PENALTY of a monopoly. The railroads have squandered their substance in reckless speculation and overcapitalization; in the election of complaisant public officials and the corruption of legislatures; in the creation of illegal and oppressive mo nopolies. It is not the part of ths people to suffer under the burden of these out rageous conditions and at the same time to pay the expenses incidental to their formation and maintenance. There are r.o more fatted calves to be killed for the prodigal railroads. Veal is too expensive; the cost of living is too high; the times are too hard; the fault for their lack of prosperity is too obviously attributable to the insistent and persistent wrongdoing of the railroads themselves. Tlie New York Central willfully and wantonly, continually and calcu- latingly, defies public sentiment, outrages the public’s rights and violates the people’s laws. Shall it be rewarded for its insolence and compensated for its illegal acts? The New York Central is habitually haled into court to answer for its intentional violation of the statutes against rebating and its illegal distinc tions and discriminations between favored and unfavored shippers. Shall it be endowed with an increase of income, so that it may pay its fines and show a profit in its illegal transactions, so that it may continue to oppress the public, encouraged by this spontaneous expression of public ap proval? Shall the New York and New Haven, which commits manslaughter as an incident to monoply and robbery as an adjunct io railroading, also be commended and rewarded for its civil and criminal infractions of the law? Shall it be supplied with more money with which to bribe more legis latures? Shall it be offered additional funds to complete its monopoly and additional incentive to misuse its monopoly? Must the public forever pay for the privilege of being plundered? Must the public approve arrogance, in vite further insolence, compensate corruption and commend mismanage ment, monopoly and manslaughter? Certainly not. Let the railroads ask only for what they deserve, and if How To Be Eminent Ii the 1 "oys Could Tal k “Survival Value” A New Phrase By REV. 0. F. AKED, D.D., LL. D. ' ! lililililiP WBIililiii'iillli TIM lillllifli iiliil iIimM 1 IfflliiMT f T wimiTFr iHinnni By ELBERT HUBBARD H OW is a man to persuade the world that he la a very eminent person? If you are really eminent, and you ad mit Is, but the stupid world does not. what must you do to secure for your eminence sufficient emi nence? And If you aro not <*nn- 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 question* 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 the Episcopal Church, receiving promotion and removing from a great Northern city to another part of England, took a flying kick at his one-time uelghbors 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, Congregationalistl. 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 nome prominent ncyi- con form 1st 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 “fell 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-Chrlstian and Imperti nent.’’ He Is ready with the vul gar little boy’s “You’re another.” He asserts that there are In the city non-conformist ministers whose names are known "far and away beyond the borders where 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 preucher tells the reporter. And he Illustrates the eminent cour tesy of a Christian gentleman by remarking Kcnlally 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 r s are w here they are because they have never shown an effective desir^ to be anywhere else. There is not a trade, lousi ness. profession or calling in which old-fashioned virtues of courage and perseverance and in dustry are not title deeds to as large a measure of "eminence” as is necessary for our happiness and usefulness. One of the acutest 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 tlnd 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 \n. And this is all the eminence that an honest man or w\»man needs to worry about. I n=Shoots 11 I WA5 BOUGHT AT TEN LAST NIGHT FROM A LITTlL CLERK, WHO w/l£> /UM0ST >LL WITH FATIGUE THE CLERK WHO SOLD M£ last ni&ht H HOURS. THEY Oot IMF IN THE^ Kush last NIGHT. THa PooH CLERK HAP HAD NO V lYNafT. 1 ITS J05T AS THAT tH£ L/rrfE KIP5 To-PAY WONT KNOW OF Tttfc nsep| FRAU-U.FRK WHC u llliiln THE LITTLE GIRL V1 * ll! FROM WHOM / WAY PURCHASE P WAS ILL FROM OVER WORK . ^HE WONT { HAVE ANKCflRI^jms VfflT I H£A«PPWTXf n«6P cie«K5py| SHE. vVISHEP CHRISTMAS MAPI yfMrtv] we ruRCHASe.p AT THE LAST MINCm py A LAPY wHo s#a;ip|| HAVE TH°P<ktr cf optea MOTHER'* CttlMWAN-1 THE CITRKS to-pay ee-’ |cpi>se op think'in tr THOSE R»R| SA 1 Ull A NEW phrase has been added to our vocabulary. ’* the expression, “sur- Yival valu6." .... ..dve survival value ac cording to the degree of good that grows out of th^m. 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 Tleeds, 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 and 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 yOf 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 who 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. oS WINDOWS as (Gleanings from Leigh Hunt.) By CONSTA/NCE CLARKE. SHOP EARLY. Make it easier for the clerks and yourself. SHOP EARLY. All want to lead the simple life But fev can agr*e as to the defi nition of the word simple. • • • It 1* better to boast of a nice cemetery’ than have a town en tirely without attractions. It is wiser to select •omethinsr with n i;imro of • our ammunition than to aim too high. The mode’ll dogs of war appear to be of the Darning variety, f Char.tv that begins at home often gets cold feet. • • • The smooth talker is sometimes full of ragged fight The man who waits should he a good watcher Tne fellows who have sotne- Thlng to say and do not know how to say it usually do the most of the talking It is easiei to learn to endure than to learn to love. STARS ANI) 'STRIPES The fur anklet Is said to be nice, soft and warm It should prove a great attraction to the moth. • • * Onlv a half ounce of radium in the world, but 1,000.000 torts at the bottom of the sea Chance for deep-sea fishermen General Valle says he will cat his Christmas dinner in Mexico City. Not be enough of it left by that time to even eat • * • Money - nd to be scarce in Mexico. Wh> go so far afield? Woman aids in rescue of cat from top of tree. Had it been a mouse SHE’D have been in the treetop. • • • Senate pays out nation's coin for ‘grapefruit knives Without exact knowledge of what a grape fruit krlfe is, we think a grape fruit without a grapefruit knife would be more useful than a grapefruit knife without a grape fruit Importation of arms forbidden ;n Ireiand No matter. they trow their own shillelagh*. Gaby Deslys says the American man is a great big baby. What does he care so long as he’s rocked in the cradle of the dol lar? • • • Connecticut has a woman 102 years old. What makes It no ticeable is that she didn’t eat a mince pie and dance the tango on her one hundred and second birthday • • * Giants and White Sox are mak ing a hit in Japan Why not send a baseball team to S Pe tersburg instead of Pindell? New York actress arrested for appeari «g in play dealing with vice. Didn't know there were any other plays this season. * * • Business doctor says other doc tors guess wrong 44 times out of 74 pneumonia cases. Bound to get some right if they diagnose same disease all the time. • • • Sun now has a spot of over 400.000.000 square miles. “Spot” seems a sort of diminutive name. * • • Do not give the fool too much rope. He may iaaso you. O UT of my window In the drat pale light Gray morning slowly shivers into sight. Far off the mountain, shed the mist, of night And dawn emlles in a rush of saffron bright Ov«r the sky—the bending apple trees Drop rosy rain and perfume on the bree„ Out of my window. And when it Btorms the softly pattering rain Draws shadowy pictures on my window pane Blurred apple tree* that twist and moan and sl*h On my window sill a broken butterfly, Gray mountain, outlined on a leaden sky Out of my window. And when at night I throw my casement wide Ail the great shadowy, throbbing world outside Stir, into. life-drenched applet™ ‘Aft Through the dark garden where no shadow, lift; Faint atars thick studded in a „,ver m1?t ^ Hang paling in a sky of amethyst Dear dream world, pulsing throui-s ,, Help me to read thy sec?eu Out of my window. aright > they desire more consideration from the public let them show more consid eration for the public. Let the railroads not attempt to coerce the citizens, but to co-operate with them. Let the railroads not treat the country as if it were a conquered pro vince and the citizens a subject people. Let them not, like the New York and New Haven, plunder and pillage a section as if they were the ravaging columns of an invading army and the people’s property their spoil of war. Let them rather strive earnestly and intelligently to develop the coun try through which they extend. t Let them endeavor to add to its resources, to encourage its production, to increase its wealth and so themselves to profit in proportion to the pros perity of the whole community. Let them not form illegal monopolies at excessive expense for the evil purpose of oppressing the public, but let them create legitimate combina tions for purposes of greater economy and greater public service. Let the railroads, in a word, do their full duty to the public and they will receive full recognition and reward from the public. But when the railroads come unregenerate and unrepentant before the Interstate Commerce Commission with the unconvincing plea that they need more money with which to continue their profligate course, they have no case, either before the public or before any honest court. If the railroads have not all the money they need they are no exception to the average individual and institution in these times. Adversity is more or less general. The administration which the rail roads worked so hard to elect is partly responsible for the aggravation of the depressed financial conditions. No one nowadays has all the money he needs. Few have even what they deserve. Therefore, the railroads should ask only for what they deserve and should get only what they deserve—nothing more; and, of course, on the other hand, nothing less. WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST. •r s !