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editorial page The Atlanta Georgian
THE HOME RARER.
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
Published by THPC OFORGIAN COMPANY
At 20 Kant Alabumi Ft, Atlanta. Oa
Cnter^<1 an second-class matter at ooatofflee at Atlanta, under art of March 8. 1171
HKARST’P SUNDAY AMKRICAN and THE ATLANTA OEORCHAN will
he mailed to subscriber* anywhere In the United Ptatea. Canada and Mexico,
one month for MO, three month* for $1 7f>: chanir*- of addrea* made a* often aa
desired Foreign subscription rate* on application
One-Day Campaign forfleorgia
Chamber of Commerce—Ma-
; con and Atlanta Join Hands.
Friday will be Georgia Chamber of Commerce Day in Macon
and Atlanta. In both cities will be launched simultaneously by
bankers, business men and professional men a one-day campaign
to raise for each city its share of the fifty thousand dollar fund
for financing the broad constructive program of the State Cham
ber, in the framing of which program each city has had an
equally important part. For the actual beginning of this or
ganization, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce deserves the
credit, for it was under the guidance and leadership of the At
lanta Chamber that the temporary organization was started in
July. But those now charged with official responsibility in the
organization declare that the remarkable success of the Georgia
Chamber of Commerce is almost entirely due to the enthusiastic
backing given the enterprise by the Macon Chamber of Com
merce. culminating in Macon on September 10th in one of the
most splendid meetings of business men ever held in the State.
The officers of this organization are representative of many
sections and important business interests of the State, Macon
and Atlanta sharing almost equally in these honors. When com
pletely organized, the State Chamber will have affiliated with it
a local organization in every county of the State, and its com
prehensive program includes the upbuilding of the highest and
best interests of every section of this magnifloent Common
wealth.
In every county of the State systematic appeals will be
made to farmers, business men, bankers and professional men to
rally to the financial support of the State Chamber, because all
intelligent men recognize the fact that no continuous program
of constructive work can be maintained by an organization of
this kind unless it is adequately financed. But naturally the
people of Georgia will look to the leaders in the inauguration of
this movement in Bibb and Fulton for leadership; also in its flnan
cial support.
UNCLE TRUSTY!
«>P7Tl*ht. 1W8. InMsnutirmal N«va BsttIc*.
“Well, Elihu, I’ve got to hand it to you! You certainly put one over on me, grabbing off that Nobel
Prize of $40,000 for ‘distinguished services in promoting peace!’ Har, har! I don’t know whether I’ll let
you keep it or not! It really belongs to me, I’ve been supporting you so many years! But this glad holi
day season always makes me feel liberal, Elihu! Pour out some more milk for the dog and cat, and if that
poor gink outside has got the snow shovelled off give him a cup of coffee and a hard boiled egg, with my
compliments! As Villon,the great French poet, remarked:
“ ‘Prince, let us seek the cabaray;
Let’s dance the tango and be gay!
Let’s fill the feed bag with good cheer!
Where are the snows of yesteryear?”’
So, it devolves upon Macon and Atlanta to set the pace for
the rest of the State. As two of the great business and industrial
centers of the State, their vast business interests are profoundly
interested in the great agricultural, social and industrial prob
lems, to aid in the solution of which the State Chamber was or
ganized.
The lesson of Georgia Products Day was taught by the Geor
gia Chamber of Commerce with an effectiveness never equaled
in Georgia before, and not only the fanners of the whole State,
but especially the manufacturing enterprises of the cities of the
State, have been tremendously benefited by this spectacular
method adopted by the State Chamber of impressing upon the
people of the State this great economic lesson.
So, in the fight now being organized by the State Chamber
against the absolutely certain impending invasion of the boll
weevil, which has swept over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
is now slowly but surely making its way through the State of
Alabama toward the western border of Georgia.
In one year this awful pest destroyed in Louisiana alone
two thirds of its cotton crop. Based upon the 1913 cotton crop
for Georgia, this would mean for our State a loss of $112,000,000.
Bankruptcy and business paralysis would follow in the wake of
this destruction exactly as has been the case in Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama, where the dreaded boll weevil invasion
caught the fanners unprepared.
To advertise the great resources of our State so as to at
tract the most desirable citizens to make their homes in our
midst; to meet the effect of the persistent efforts of the West
and Canada to draw our people out of this section; to conduct
a continuous campaign of education along such other lines as
better roads, better educational facilities, better sanitary condi
tions ; these are parts of the great constructive program to which
the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is committed.
The business men of Macon and Atlanta should not, and will
not, hesitate to rally to the financial support of this splendid or
ganization. Those who have been called on to canvass Macon
and Atlanta business men are themselves busy men, and have
agreed to give just ONE DAY to this important work, and The
Georgian confidently believes that before Friday's sunset both
Macon and Atlanta will have done their full share in contributing
to this fund of fifty thousand dollars per annum as merely an
annual premium for the insuring of permanent prosperity for
Georgia.
STARS AND STRIPES
Tampico stands In mortal dread
of being: Fletcherlzed.
• • •
Among: President Huerta s am
bitions is not numbered any
yearning for the Nobel Peace
Prize.
• • •
With regard to bomb throwers,
the police of New York appear to
be pursuing a policy of watchful
waiting.
• • •
Women’s debating class in
Cooper Union, New York City,
decides use of rouge is permissi
ble. Makes no difference—them
as uses it will keep on using it*
December 21 is the shortest day
in daylight—ditto In available
caah remaining to the average
parent.
• • •
Six ships sailed Saturday
crowded with people eager to
spend their holidays away from
home. Spugs, perhaps.
• • •
How is the Secretary of State
to get any Christmas money If
the Mexican situation persists in
chaining him to his desk”
• • •
Two sharks devoured a boat,
fisherman’s sole property, off
Plymouth. One case where the
miscreant was not a lone shark.
An Ultimatum to a Dictator
Our Victories Are in Our Daily Work
By EDWIN MARKHAM
TILLIAM BAXTER OW-
' EX’S book, "The Hu
manities in the Educa
tion of the Future,” discusses the
problem of efficiency with the
emphasis upon a somewhat un
usual aspect of the rise and fall
of the aspirant:
"In doing the work of the world
we see that men must go up or In
the long run they must go out.
Take the simplest illustration, the
men that make the fires in loco
motives on our railways: out of
every' hundred, seventeen step
forward to the throttle of the lo
comotive. six of this seventeen
are advanced to locomotives on
what are called 'passenger runs.’
There Is this sifting of men on
the basis of their capacity to
take responsibility. What then
becomes of the S5 7 Well, there
is room for them to rise in firing,
and so long as they increase in
efficiency on their own level they
are safe; but if they do not so
increase there is other work for
them—in the switching crew, or
the roundhouse, or on the road
bed. and they must go out.
"This is true of every level of
labor. It is a law, inexorable;
rather a grim law. it would ap
pear at first glimpse, but really
benevolent and cheerful; for it is
the basis of the noblest optimism
that we can entertain, and for
this reason: It is easier to go up
than to go down. Note the rise
of a man in his business or his
profession, and you will see that
every step of ascent brings him
to his own, to that in which he is
at home.
"This is the hope of humanity.
that men can go up and be at
home. We can go down, too, of
course, but the whole atmos
phere of a lower situation is
striking and offensive to us, and
we can only by degrees and with
resistance settle down to it.
”It is so in social adjustments,
so in culture, so in art. Raise a
man to better social conditions
than those to which he has been
accustomed, and he will feel an
^expansive thrill of adaptation
that will make him instantly at
home. Let there be an uplift in
culture, in literature, music or
any art, and the soul flutters with
the Joy of a new possession, a
new and congenial environment;
but you can’t go downward in so-
cietv. in culture or in art without
a chill.
"It is so in morals, so in the
achievements of the spirit. Thera
is no compulsion toward the
downward way. No man can
plead his evil inclinations as an
excuse for his fall.
“It is the very nature of spirit
to be qualified by inspiration for
those sudden betterments of con
dition. Any upward movement is
in response to the natural aspira
tion of the soul, and universally
we go upward with Joy, down
ward with regret and chagrin.
“This point may well be ear
nestly pressed, for it is the secret
of efficiency—the animation of
young life with a reasonable in
citement to Improve. None are
more open to such wholesome
ambitions than the young, and It
should be a ruling factor in the
aim of those who teach to set for
those they teach high standards
in the best things,”
i
S OME TIME ago a gentleman
from Richmond, Va., call
ed at our home one even
ing by appointment. He was
three-quarters of an hour late,
and said he had lost his way.
nils wag on Peachtree street!
He came on the trolley and said
he had asked the conductor to
put him oft at the 1300 block,
whereupon the man grinned at
him and said: "We ain't got
) nothin’ like that In Atlanta!”
Last Sunday a gentleman from
Nashville arrived half an hour
late for a dinner engagement.
He, too, had been making a
house-to-house canvass looking
for our number. He was a timid
man, and explained that It was a
little unusual but very nice after
you got used to it!
Has Registered Protest.
Now, we read every day in the
papers that Atlanta Is far ahead
of Richmond and Nashville In
bank clearings and postal re
ceipts’ and yet how far behind in
this trifling particular, which
could be remedied in a week at
small cost!
Our distinguished postmaster
has himself registered a protest
against this disgusting and un
necessary waste of time by the
postman and every other man.
In August. 1912, constrained by
my great love for this city—of
which I am one of the oldest In
habitants—at your request I
wrote several articles along this
line, after making a thorough
study of the subject at the Rus
sell Sage Foundation. In the
meantime, a visit to Panama, with
its horrible climate, caused me
to wonder at our high
death rate and our short
life average (54 years) with
our splendid climate. Mr. John
D. Patterson has lately returned
from a short residence In Pana
ma—he Is overcome with the
dirt He says there is more filth
on one block on Alabama street
than in the whole Canal Zone.
Mr. Patterson was born and
raised In Atlanta, but Atlanta has
become a stench in his nostrils
since he has seen the possibilities
of the better way.
Well, my suggestions about a
city plan, a social survey, an ex
pert engineer marking the streets,
numbering the houses and fixing
things so they would stay fixed,
and a few other little things,
served to bear a little fruit, but
It was only for a short time that
there was a small stir, some dis
cussions, some resolutions, some
committees, and then we had a
relapse, and our civic temperature
went down again to zero. The
only result apparent, so far as I
know, was that we did have a
social survey.
Gave It Publicity,
As for the social survey, that
part of my suggestion was adopt
ed, more than a year later. Three
experts came, saw, and reported.
What then? The report was read
and pigeon-holed! It Is unbe
lievable, but true
Why? There was nothing dras
tic or extreme In the report—it
was far more rentle and kind
than could have been expected.
The finger was put firmly but ten
derly upon the spot, the disease
diagnosed, the remedy named.
Then what? That seems to have
been all.
How different In Syracuse, as
I formerly pointed out. When
they had their survey, some years
ago, they had a map made of it,
sixty feet long, and hung It In the
largest retail store in town, show
ing plainly every weak point in
the municipality. The four larg
est organizations In the city, the
Ministers' Association, the Cham
ber of Commerce, the Federation
of Trades and the Associated
Charities took P up and gave it—
PUBLICITY!
sermons were preached In every
church, essays were written in
every school, mass meetings wer»
held every night In different lo
calities, and in one year’s time
oyracuse blossomed like a rose.
Now what possible end Is to b»
gained by concealment? Much Is
already known about Atlanta. It
Is public property, published by
the Government of the United
States that 1n spite of our unriv
aled climate wo are the THIRD
TYPHOID city In the country,
ranking next to Birmingham and
Nashville. Why then conceal the
enemy? The disease is not nec
essarily fatal, the remedy Is sim
ple enough, all that Is needed Is to
follow the wise prescription that
we have secured and all will he
well.
Of course, Mr. Editor, I am
nothing but a woman, but 1 de
mand to know what right any
body of men has to Withhold vital
Information, fraught with all the
issues of life and death, from their
fellow-citizens, when a little time,
a little attention, a little money
and a little knowledge would
change our whole complexion.
The Law That’s Needed.
Said a distinguished gentleman
to me yesterday: ‘Madame, if
Atlanta were put on the footing
she deserves, I verily believe you
would see 400,000 people here in
two years.”
Let’s stop talking so proudly
about our clearings and our post-
office and our skyscrapers, and
get us out a microscope in place
of our horn, and see if by next
Christmas we can not reduce our
typhoid and tuberculosis.
Now, wouldn’t It be nice if we
could walk out New Year’s Day
and find that Santa Claus had
brought us the century plan for
numbering our homes, such as Is
in use all over the civilized world,
Atlanta excepted?
Atlanta Is so free and easy, do
as you please, go as you please.
Perhaps that is why we are so
popular. A gentleman on the
street car the other day asked the
motorman if he had been vacci
nated. “No,” he said; “I am Just
taking the place of a friend who
Is in the pesthouse.” If we had
a law requiring that everybody be
vaccinated, especially those who
come in contact with the public
as street car men, wouldn’t It
prevent the spread of loathsome
smallpox? Wouldn’t it save the
city some money and the people
some trouble? Have we not a
right to demand such a law and
its proper enforcement?
MRS. W. L. PEEL
Writes on
Needs of Atlanta
Let’s get a microscope in
place of the horn and take
an inventory of what should
be done in the matter of
civic improvement, she
says.
By MRS. W. L. PEEL
at RARE AND SWEET s
BY WILLIAM F. KIRK.
R ARE and sweet, like some old wine
Near Belshazzar’s heathen shrine.
Sweeter t’ an the roaes crushed
In their neat
On her breast
When Love reigns and all la hushed I
Sweeter than the million kiseea
Sirens promised to Ulysses;
Rarer than a loyal friend
When misfortune comes to rend;
Rarer than were Virtue’s bowers
'Midst the Babylonian flowers;
Sweeter than a babe's caress,
Rare one, aweet one, whisper "Tea."
In=Shoots
Because a girl has a baby face
It Is no sign that she does not
possess a grown-up disposition.
• • •
When you are patting yourself
on the back someone may be
longing to kick you.
• • •
Do not borrow trouble, unless
by so doing you can relieve some
sufferer of the burden.
As a rule, the dletetical cranks
are the fellows who can afford to
eat often.
• • •
It Is difficult to put talk in the
mouth of any man and have it
come out aa you desire.
• • •
lere are lots of alleged plane