Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, October 16, 1914, Page 6, Image 6

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    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.