TIIK HKE: OM-AIIA, Kill DAY, OCTOHER lfi. 1314. THE . OMAHA DAILY BEE FOUNDED BY EDWARD ROoK WATER. VICTOR ROSEWATKR, EDITOR. Th Bee Publishing Company, Proprietor. PEE BflLPIXU, FAHNAM AND FEVF.NTEENTH. gntered at Omaha poctofflce aa second-clana mattae. terms or prnsrmrTinN. py carrier Py mall per month. pr year. tallr and Pnndsy.. " m rallv without Sunday....' c 00 FA-entn and untav I F.venlng without Sunday Ko 4.00 Sunday Fee only ac Pend notice of rnar.se of addrf's or complaint of Irregularity la delivery to Omaha- IW, Circulation tepartment It KMITTA NTR. Remit by draft, express or p"'l order. Only two cant stamps received In payment of am all ae count Personal cheeks, except on Omaha and eastern exchange. Cot accepted. OFFICKS. Omaha The Bee fruiMlnjT Routh Omaha ail N street. Council Pluffi 14 f-'erth Main street. Lincoln-! Little Hulldlna. Chlce-il Tltarat Huii.llnrr New York-Room IKK. V Fifth avenue. Pt. Ixxila-WU New Hank of Commerce.. Washington 725 Fourteenth ft., N. W. - CORRESPONDENCE. Address eommtinlcsMnns relatln to news and edt torlal matter to .Omaha bee. .dltoriat Department fcKPTKMUKIt CIKCTLATIO.N. Freedom of Speech' and Preti. That looks Ilka a tough proposition put up to the overseers of Harvard university to J tu rn Ins one of their moat distinguished professors or forego the prosper of a berjnest which may reach Into toe millions. But the decision ought not to b difficult. A patriotic American once in ad a hlmaelf famous by his declaration, "Mil lions for defr-noe, but not one cent for tribute)." Whether we agree, or disagree, with Prof. Mucaterberg, ours Is supposed to be a land of free speech and free press, and freedom to ex proeg honest convictions should be the corner stone of an institution dedicated to the search for and dissemination of truth. Harrard, nor any other Institution, can afford to sell Its academic freedom for any amount of foreign gold, large or small, In hand or In the future. 56,519 State of Nebraska. County of Douglas, as. Pwisht Williams, circulation manager of The Pes Publishing company, twins duly sworn, says that the avaiage dally circulation for the month of fcep tember. 1MI4. wn M.6t!. DWIfUHT WILLIAMS. Circulation Manager. Rubaoribed In my presence and sworn to be for me, this 2d t"ay cf October, 19H. ROBERT HUNTliR, Notary PubllS. Subscriber leaving the city temporarily should have The Bee mailed to tbciuu Ad dress will be changed as often as requasted. H looks, however, as If Ostend were only half way. : Cheese It on this talk of dragging the Swiss into the war. . ' "Seeing things" up in the air Is no mere Illusion In Europe now. ; Sense of humor may pass current if one bas so commercial coin about him. ' Lucky for those Britishers that the channel , happens to be water, and not land. Those Philadelphia warriors acted as it Boston bad filled them with dum-dums: The war bas sent the price of canaries up another notch. The cat should worry, Sometimes a man acquires the title of "kernel" because of his resemblance to a nut. j The tardiness of frost this fall ought to make pumpkin pie a popular tnld-wlnter luxury. f St Louis folks are talking of reviving their old-time fair.- Well, It was a good one while It lasted. , The way to reform the coroner's office It to abolish It. Why try to reform an unadulterated rattt . "B stands (or Beltrami, Bossies, Beef, Bread and Butter," says a Minnesota, paper., And It might add, also, for "Bunk." - On what Strang meat doe a this our Ptalllnga food that ha hath grown so great? Philadelphia Inqulrar. On the meat of "White Elephants,"' or course. . Come on, Nebraska os, get a good berth with your Christmas gtf.U on the good ship, "In His Name," bound for the little folks of war-smitten 1 Europe. . It Is the longest session I congress on record since the foundation of the republic. More members of congress, more constituents repre sented and more business transacted. , Still the hired promoters of the down-town university campus ought to be able to wage their campaign for the benefit of the boarding-house keepers without resorting to such transparent falsehoods. People of Omaha never bed such a largu choice of good men for school board places. With two or three exceptions, they could not go wrong by choosing any. of the candidates who are In the field. ; Colonel Roosevelt has just filed a deed for a burial lot, which the Baltimore American con- atrues as preparations for the obsequies of the bull moose party. That's too grave a subject to be a joking matter. Omaha Is altogether too full of professional hoboes. We have real sympathy for men who -want work and cannot get It, but no sympathy for men who won't work. We ought to have a rworkhouBe for won't-workers. The grand republican rally took placa eooordUa to schedule, and the torchlight procession waa a das aler. From the account a Icara t)at tha Fourth warn, acirgauon, kk with torches with (J. M. Ultc oock In the van. followaii imnurfut.iu .k. - - , ... ..IV I V , 1l( tha Irlah-Amarican club. ant Khin it ... u..- Uroatch's company of fifty youlha- Tha apoakora vnn fun, governor uawee, ongreiman weaver, senator M&ndaraon. John I Webater a Major T. 8. Clarkaon. Thera were I.OoO torchaa In tha paraaa. i Tha bankers of tha cltv lve rwrf .t a aaanta for eetablt.hing a clearing house In tha city t is prooaoie that th Flrat National bank will Ua place sod H. S. Hughea, the manager, J. M. Stafford and i. F. Dohaney have rorotvad rcoimiaaiona as letter camera. Mrs. E. T. Bean of Vail. la., formerly Mlas Mi Mathaaoa of thla city.,t the a-ueat of Mia. C. Minefield. Tha Uurllngton Muiaourl River raa ovar Ita first bridge at Thirteenth atreet today. Tha preaent atruo ue im oniy temporary ena.w.n tte replaoed by iron brtdga of l'jO-ftot a: an. Rocauiu) of iU health Felix Slav la hag glveo nia saloon tiuaineaa Charlie Goodilch . and aaveral frienda left for Vrand flshlnil &nt hunt In. t.iuv Am lni.4.itlw , porter lavanturlad their outfit and listed the botliea illla an up Another Graft That Shond Be Abolished. The way to reform the coroner's office Is not to elect one man coroner Instead of another, but to abolish the position altogether. The of fice of coroner If a graft, aad worse than a graft. We are not saying this specifically with reference to the preaent coroner or with refer ence to Omaha, but with reference to the office of coroner as similarly conducted wherever It exists. In New York a movement Is on foot to abol- isH the office of coroner as a useless extravag ance and relic of obsolete conditions. Here in Douglas county the coroner's office U the one fee office that lingers in the court house, the only office with no limit fixed by law to the amount of money It can absorb. As we have observed elsewhere, there it no more need for the taxpayers to maintain the office of coroner than there Is to maintain a superintendent of aviation. The bodies of people who meet acci dental or homicidal deaths should be taken In charge by the sheriff, and the Inquiry Into causes of any suspicious death should be con ducted by the county attorney, with the regular resources of his office. So we repeat what we have said at the out set the thing to do Is not to change coroners, but to re-elect Coroner Crosby once more, and then to abolleh the office with the expiration of his term. Below the Head of the Ticket Regardless of difference of opinion as to candidates for governor, no one1 seriously dis putes the superiority of the republican nominees for state offices below the head of the ticket, because In experience, ability and reliability, they are head and shoulders above their oppo nents. For lieutenant governor, Senator Hoagland has a record of fine service in the state senate and familiarity with the rules and procedure, which he would enforce aa the senate's presiding officer. For secretary of state, Addison Walt has been renominated: an old soldier who Is now filling the office satisfactorily. For treasurer, Franklin C. Hamer has been In business giving Information about financial venditions and Investments, useful not only to htm ss custodian of public funds, but also as member of the boards that Invest the school moneys and supervise the state banking. For auditor, Walter L. Minor Is the present efficient, deputy. Industrious, steady, and re For land commissioner, Fred Beckmann has been renominated after one term's faithful per formance of his duties. For attorney general, Charles W. Sears, a reputable, active and aggressive young lawyer, has been called upon to give up a lucrative pri vate practice to handle the law business of the state. For state superintendent, the republican nominee la A. O. Thomas, formerly president of the Kearney Normal school; not only a well- equipped educator, but of proved Independence of the school ring. For railway commissioner, Thomas L. Hall Is up for re-election, after standing at all times courageously for what he believes to be in the Interest of the people. Aa against the opposing candidates, each and every one of these men measure up to higher standards of public service. The Latest Fake Exploded. Our amiable democratic contemporary, the World-Herald, seems to be distressed over the amount which the county will this year pay The Bee for printing the delinquent tax list. The reason, this amount will be larger this year Is that the delinquent tax list covers several pages more this year than last year, and the reason for this Is that it Includes the delinquent special assessments levied by the water board against abutting property owners to pay the cost of extending water mans. The World Herald wants pople to believe that the county would pay loss if thla were printed in the World- Herald or in some other newspaper than The Bee, but this Is where It is egreglously. or will fully, mistaken, for the price ! definitely fixed by taw as aa much per description of the prop erty, and the county would pay the same no matter where printed. The Bee's contract for the county advertising was obtained by eompeti tlve bid. Ours being a shade lower than the World-Herald a There Is just one way therefore to reduce the cost of print fug the delinquent tax list, and that Is for the water board to stop assessing ror water mains ana ior me property own ers to pay up before taxes become delinquent. Our fellow townsman, Constantlne J. Smyth, appearing for, the attorney general In a suit agalast the Southern Pacific out in Oregon, with some of the most prominent lawyers In the country arrayed against htm, Is said to have made "one of the most powerful and brilliant arguments before that tribunal." We congratu late Mr. Smyth, and hope he Is paving tks way with the democratic powers that be for some thing better. The Bee is gratified to know that some of the reputable lawyera of the aUte are going to the legislature next winter with measures to correct some of the shameful abuses now prac ticed in our courts. And we are also gratified to have assurances from these lawyers of appre ciation of The Bee's pioneer effort along this line, which Is causing much discomfort to crooked parasites on the legal profession. SHORT BALLOT AND REFORM OF ELECTION MACHINERY Addresi Belirered by Victor EoewateT, Editor of The Bee, Before the Economic League and at the Request of the League Printed for the General Reading Public. Kieetlona bat a Meatie to an F.nd. "What I have to ay about tha short ballot will. I rxlleve, be hotter underatood by treating the nh)ect as part of a larger dlacuaelon of our election machinery aa a whole, for all thesa details pf regatratlnn, form of ballot and twfthod of voting- are but a means to an and. tha end holns" efficient and reaponalble govern ment conforming- to tha duly espreaaed will of the majority. Tom Meeting- the Simplest Form. "The simplified form of voting la that of a town meeting, and It la from tha town meeting that all tha complicated machinery of the pres ent day election ha a been evolved. In the old town meeting everybody who wne entitled to vnl. nr tr tiart Irltiat a In Iha rnvArnml am aemblcd at the name time and at the same piace, iieuuiiy in tna town hall. Every act waa n . i't r. f lnnat BUlf.ffnv.mttinl Ih. maAlltitf organized by chooilng Ha own presiding officer, on i '-mi j , iwiivis, in ULiicr worun, IIIO ..... m ' I . vj i . 1 1 uinuivi r.' it V I'M L 1 1 1 1 J U election board from among thcmeelvee, and quemionn ana canataacies were put ana no dded, aa a rule, by viva Voce vote, or If any filled, the man elected was often the unanimous cnoire, ana it mom wera mere mora than two namlMitte fa inv rn a nt.r. In fh. I.K.. event, thoae In favor of one man would go to one aide of the haJl, and thoae In favor of his opponent to tha other side, and be counted. mere waa no secrecy about It, no slates, no hallnlfl nn ntutr-vea rf frett,4 tin MMitint mnA nfi conic etn. Only one office waa filled at a time. ana an tne voters Knew me canaiaaiea, or naa them pointed out to them. Only tn caae It was aesirea to nave a secret naiiot were tellers ap- nolntpr! v. Vi mm hlnnW nlree nf natvr wra. nulA around, and each voter recorded by hla own wruten uanoi. r-rom mis rorm or oauoi wa xarm AitmlnnA K .!!( KItn rt friwlav by multiplying elective offices and organizing numeroua political partlea, each feeling it In cumbent to have a candidate for every office nn Ih. HnUal mrA Wuri harmnr. Kv Invttlnir thnLn ritimatlHtted with tha party nomlnatlona to add atlll more camimatea by petition, ueeaune we are no longer able to aaaemble all the, voters of a town or city In one hall at one time, to accom modate them, we apportion them Into voting . district", have polls opened at designated placea mriA lr.tnt nMn hntwftn ftverl hntira tn enahla the voters to come and go according to their own convenience. Tha election otneera are no Inn., .hnaMn hv In voters frnm kmnnr them selves, but are hired for the purpose an seml- profcalonala, anil after tne voter aeposna nis ballot he has nothing mora to do. "Now, In a town meeting- there waa no question about ascertaining tha will of the ma jority, and thera was little opportunity for Jug glery or fraud. Hut too many of our preaent election laws sre built on tha theory that all tha voters are dlahoneet, ana tneretoro put ine burden of proving himself honest, and entitled ' to vote, on tha voter. Instead of tha reveree. Object to Be Kept fonataatly (la View. "In substituting our mora complex election machinery for the simple town meeting Idea, v. , . 1 .1 L p, wtitnta In trUw! Vtrat. to T1 1 VJ 1 1. .."..J. nv vf -'J . ... , facilitate the fre and Intelligent exercise of tum .iff mira eecnnd tn nrotect our elections . against fraud, corruption and coercion to malts sure that tha rtault Is tne real expreasion iha ral vnra hv a maloiitV OT DluralltV. SS ths caaa may be. Does our preaent ballot servs thla purpose, or has It not oecome an odbikch! In the way of accompllahlng theaa objecte? X maintain that tha long ballot tends to deatroy the free and Intelligent exercise of auffrago, and that In so doing It opens tha way tor fraud. Home Faxte Oat of ISabraaka Kxoertencc. "Let me recite a few facta out of our own Nebraska experience. In the laat primary In thla count v. to axDrera himself on each office or measure on tho ballot, tha voter had to make fifty-eight croasmarka. The reason ror mis is to be found In the fact that we have lnaugu r.t.,i hionnlak alxvtiona. and thla year ahoved two elections Into one. We had to nominate not only all tha candidates who would have otner wise been nominated this year, but alao all the candldatea who would have been nominated last year except for a change In the law which added a year to the then Incumbents terma. Wfcai the Loasr Ballot la Comlaa To. "Now, at the next primary election in 191. win hnva tn nominate candldatea not only for all of tha two-year office nominated this year, but also for a lot more for an aggregate of ninety, If tha present law remains unchanged. Tv.1. nf consideration altogether the possible constitutional amendmenta aub- mltted by tha legislature ai me i'nnrr, .ii inin.iivn anrf referendum measures which .,. ,,n at tha election. It also leavea out . of consideration all possible vacanclea in offlca, and all possible new elective oiuoea wn-n be created by tha next legislature.- I repeat. It la not poaalbte for any peraon of average Intelligence to make upwards of ninety erose marks on a primary ballot to choose candldatea for office on which depend tha vital policies and administration of the government, and do it conscientiously to auit even himaelf. Oaeaawork Nomlnatlona aad Elaettone. "What really determines ths nominations to theaa minor offices on which publlo attention cannot be focused? It la the Indifference of tha votere, or tha poesesalon of a catchy name, or luck In dinning to ths coat-tails of some popular candidate for some office that Is In laaua. A few yeara ago we had a primary in which tha office of lieutenant governor waa contested be tween Lieutenant Governor Hopewell, up for re-election, and a man named Walter Johnson, who lived in the remote western part of tho Stat, and, so far aa anyone knew, had nex-er figured In republican polltlca. On the con trary, ha bad been a populist up to a few months before, snd had pravloualy been a can didate for nomination on the populist ticket. Now under thoaa c(rimstancea. If anyone should bo -picked for a walk-away. It should have bean Uautenant Governor Hopewell, who waa a pioneer of the atate, widely known as a Masonlo grand master, had sat on tha district bench had served before ss lieutenant gov ernor, and had made many friends, and few. If any. snemlea. Hut when tha votes were counted. It was discovered that In tha Whole state of Nebraaka Judge Hopewell had only a-out S,0W more votee than hla unknown com petitor. In other words, all but 1.500 yotera marked thelrf ballots automatically according to tha doctrine of chance, which epllt them In two. and Jtidse Hopewell owed his nomination to the 1.W0 who made their votes affective. Long Ballot Dlsfraarhlaes the Voter. "Another defect of the long ballot la seen In ths fact that It dlsfranchlaea a large part of the voteia. The ballot la so coufuslng that It Is Impossible to exercise the suffrage down the whole Una-th of It. and to deny a voter part r his vote la only a smaller degree of dtsfranchis mont than to dny him all of bta vote, liaa- Ballot racllltatee rraad. "Still another thing, the long ballot dix.s not prevent fraud or corruption where tha voter wants to ba corrupt and Is smart enough to carry out hie bargain. Theaa corrupt bargalna. furthermore, are not all carried on In densely populated cities, but are worked Just aa much In country. preclncta. I read a statement In a Lincoln newapkper not long ago describing the situation In one of tha countlea of tha First d'.airlct. where a large part of tha voters In a certain voting dlatrtct had carried out an agree ment to deliver their votes to certain candldatea for a cash consideration, oca one being given, aa a ky. a different naina to write In on tha blank Una for road overseer, tha appearance of that name on tha ballot, and In tha canvassed return, perfecting his claim to compensation. Now. really, why should wa elect rood overseers unless to furnish receipts for venal voters. Three Mays Shot-tea the Ballet. "Assuming that t have proved ths case aralnst the long; ballot, the practical question la how to ahorten It, and the answer Is not so easy, or, rather, while the answer la easy, its application Is mom or less difficult There are two or three ways to shorten the ballot Tha first Is to reduce the number of elective offices; the second Is to h&va more elections, so as to fill fewr offices st each election; and the third is to lengthen the terms of ths offices we have, and make1 them overlapping. If I had my way, I would be Inclined to use oil three of these methods, snd this Is the way I would do It subject of course, to modification of 3etall: nedarlac 3 amber of Elective Offices. "I would reduce the number of state execu tive offices to threfi governor, lieutenant gov ernor end railway commissioner and leave all the rest to be appointed by the governor and confirmation by the state senate. There Is no more reason why we should elect a land com missioner and an attorney ' general by popular vote than there Is for electing the chancellor of the university or thcl profoseor of botany. I would continue to elect the lieutenant governor for the reaaon that I would want to make aure tf on elective chief executive all tho time. I would continue to elect the atate railway com mlmtoner because of hla being charged with many dtitlea Involving public policy that should bn directly responsive to popular demand, "Next, I would reduce the number of legisla tive candidates by requiring separate district! for each senator and, representative, so that no voter would help choose more than one senator or more than one representative. This Is the only logical theory of representation. To choose twelve In a bunch produces misrepresentation. The election en bloc was Justified and retained heretofore because members of the legislature used to choose the United States senators, and It was desirable to have solid delegations for that purpose, but this reason no longer exists, since we have United Htatea senators chosen by direct popular vote. "Then, I would abolish and consolidate a number of present offices. I would merge, for example', the office of county assessor, register of deeds and county clerk. I would make the county ' superintendent, county surveyor, and cleric of the court appointive. I would abolish the office of coroner altogether as fi. useless graft, and devolve such of his duties as should be carried out on the sheriff and county attorney. I would create one new office that of county auditor, and merge with It the audit and control of the city, school district and Water board accounts. I would reduce ths Jus tices of the peace to two or three and make all constables appointive the same ss bailiffs. Separate Natloaal and Local Elections. "In one respect I would multiply our elections. I think I would separate the pyimary"whlch la to determine our presidential polltlca from ths primary which Is to nominate state and local officers. What I mean Is, that every fourth year I would have a separata and distinct pres idential primary, free from complications with state and local candidacies Making; Overlapping: Terms of Office. "Another way to shorten the ballot Is to make longer and overlapping terms. We hs.ve this already In the case of our university regents members of the State Railway commission, members of the supreme court members of our county board, members of the Water board and members of the school" board. I would be In clined to apply this prlnolpls at least to the district' Judges give them longer terms, and vote for one-third of them at a time on tha same plan that we vote for supreme court Judges. The fame might be done with our county offices, and could with advantage be done With the membership of our state senate, making It a more permanent body than the house. "It goes without saying that to bring about alt these changes would require constitutional amendments, as well as statutory enactments. But with our Initiative, it would not be hard to formulate and submit the whole scheme with, or without the consent of the legislature. Abolish Swallowlt-Strale-ht Partr Circle. "Just a few words more with reference to the machinery of the' election, because the length, form and slse of ths ballot are, ss I have said, merely a means to an end. "With a short ballot we are free to abolish the party circle, and Inaugurate what Is known as the Massachusetts ballot, whereby every voter must by his own erossmark Indicate a positive choice of the candidate he prefers. Pcrmaneat Reajlatratloa of Voters. "Here In Omaha, South Omaha and Lincoln I believe In no other Nebraska clues we already have registration of voters. In OiMia and (South Omahatwe have a permanent registra tion, and. by the way, let me recall that I auggested and advocated a permanent registra tion long before It materialised. I appeared before tha legislative committee which took testimony here tn 1911, and urged a law creating a permanent registration bureau under super vision of an electtona board made up of tha clerk of the district court the county clerk and city clerk of Omaha. I believe In permanent registration, and in nonpartisan administration of election machinery, although I do not believe in any method adopted that over-rides the principle of home rule by making the' election commissioner appointive by. and responsible to, the governor at Lincoln, Instead of to our own . people. Reaalre State-Wide Resist ratlaa of Vetera "Hut what I started out to say Is that I would favor state-wide res 1st ration and enrollment of all tha voters in a similar manner. It such a check and safeguard Is good for Omaha and Lincoln, It would be likewise salutary tn the smaller towns and rural districts. A small step has already been taken In that direction In tho law providing for compilation of a voters mail ing list, to which the secretary of state ia to send copies of the official initiative and refer endum pamphlet. Obvloualy, If we had state wide registration, that mailing list would be ready at hand; not only that, but accurate and up-to-date. Vote-at-Home System Shoald Be Devlec-d. "1 will Indulge a atlll further thought as to tha ballot of the future at the risk" of being called for being too progressive. I hope to ses the day when we will have not only a short ballot but a ballot that can be prepared and marked at home, whee the election officiate will send out to each voter, at the address from which he la registered, a ballot to be Identified by number and signature, which he may study and mark at his leisure, and return on a desig nated day through the moils. The only objec tion to this I can- conceive of la that It might break Into the aecrecy of the ballot, .but the secrecy of the ballot la Intended only to protect tha voter against coercion by otbera There Is no aecrecy now for any voter unless he wants to keep his ballot secret, and he could continue to do so' under the vote-at-home plan If he wonted to. It mttfht be suggested that thla scheme would be too expensive, but tnvestlKa tlon would show that It would be less 'expensive than tha preaent method, even with paying full postage rate on sending tha ballots out and bringing thera back. That would be only 4 centa per vote, and there Is no place in the state where we can poll votes st an election booth for so economical an outlay. Short Ballet aad Simple Eleetloa Machla. ery Safaard Fop alar Guverasaeat. "Give us a short ballot without a party circle, official terma of reasonable length and over lapping, one to a district for legislative repre sentatives, atate-wtde reg-Utratlon and enroll ment, and th vote-at-home, and If the people do not then get the kind of government they want It will be their own fault' Futility of Forts Indianapolis News: The question, "Why Is a fortification?" Is becoming harder and harder to answer. And those persons who opposed the fortification of tho I'anama canal still feel that the money was wasted. Cleveland Plain Dealer; It required actual war to prove that the strongest of modern forts cannot withstand the battering of the most powerful of modern guns. The photographs of the rained Belgian works are sufficient evidence thst the Ingenuity of the military scien tists has done far more for the offensive than for the defensive. Springfield Republican: That modern artillery would do enormous damage to anything short ef steel armor. was known before this war, but the full extent of such damage seems to have bren under estimated. Apparently the fort of the future, If there are to be forts, must not only have its turrets thickly armored both on the sides and on top, but the Im mediately surrounding slopes ss well must be so armored. If possible, aa to cause projectiles to glanoe off and prevent the slopes from being blown away. New Tork Post: It will be difficult, hereafter for war ministers to demand millions for structures thst are certain to prove .merely the tombs of their de fenders, in addition to this the question must also be asked whether the money which may be lost by the shelling of so great and rich a city as 'Antwerp does not exert a powerful If unconscious In fluence asalnst .the defenders and In favor of an early surrender. In the fu ture It should be a powerful argument against fortifying any great urban marts of trade. New Tork World: If forts ore so value less as a protection In time of war as might seem from the experience of Bel gium, the question remains to puxxle the layman -why such enormous pains hove been token to build them. Why have both France and Germany placed so great dependence upon thera? Have the beet military experts deliberately been deceiving themselves T la similar circum stances would the German forte of Mets snd Strassburg and the French forts of Verdun. Toul, Eplnal and Belfort have been so easily forced to surrender. SAID IN FUN. "I'd like to see a one-hoss shay," re marked the city visitor. .-P"1 of do-" said his countrv host. "The nearest we can come to It now Is a one-cylinder car." Louisville Courier Journal. "Men don't gossip," sold the superior person. "No." replied his wife, "they let the women gossip. The men merely come home to dinner and listen cegerly to any news their wives may have picked up." Washington Star. "I guess my neighbor Is going to have a new car after all." "What makes you think so?" "1 see he has succeeded in putting a second mortgage on his house." Louis ville Courier-Journal. Dick I thought you were not going to give Miss Bankem anything for her birth day ? TomI wasn't But how could I re fuse? She sent me a bunch of forget-me-nots the day before. Judge. "That man's been In the wars. He told me of all the men he killed and all the wounds he got" "Then I suppose those are his scars of glory he was showing," "Nope; that's where our dog bit him." Baltimore American. "Tou must mind your feet If you want to learn the new dances." "Never mind the footwork, professor. Just teach me the holds." Pittsburgh Post "Where did you spend the summer?" "Where I lost my Identity." "Eh?" "Among my wife's relatives, where I'm simply known as 'Mary's husband.' " New Tork World. appoint aftofVa A&utmnA One Safe Home Match will light all four burners is large and strong, flame "takes hold." The We do not exaggerate when we say that you can get as much real service from three Safe Home Matches as from five ordinary matches. They are non-poisonous, too. For that reason alone they should be in every home in America. , Try to light a gas stove with a short-stick match. If the stick does not break, or you don't burn your fingers, the chances are about three in five that the rush of gas from the burner will blow the match out If you are exception ally fortunate, you may light one burner possibly even two. To light the others, you have to go through the same rigmarole. With one Safe Home Match you can light all four burners. The stick Sc. All grocers. Ask for them by name. ny There Is Honest Shirt Service in McDonald Shirts MCDONALD shirts are made to fit and to wear to perfection. Pay the price you prefer (I I and up) and you are positively assured of service and style, for sScra are no poor oualioes, Every garment is made strictly on honor, and styled to meet the needs of aSe moment For worm, for play, for travel, for hurt ting, for fijhing, for golfing, for outdoor and indoor wear there's a style chat will please you. IfdniM cars hai been avaa s all OS oWiU fit, (ulw and Anurt. fw "Say of" an eta ' er ' wear mc G DonctL fiiris Year ckxtaar f kabarduhar hat W. l i XktlicnM nd tailerwi im America for wU ! .ktrttkot by the rV. .. .ViV 14 Mr. C.. AI. Jot'tK. Mtssvn.