|4 Useless as Railroad to the Moon' j From tha Spring field. III., Journal. THERE Is extensive and acrimon ious discussion of the St. Law rence river and Great Lakes waterway. Advocates of the scheme are arousing the farmers of •the middle and far west to the value •of such a seaway in the marketing of their products. But the scheme meets with violent opposition in New York -and Massachusetts and territory near i.by. One argument advanced by the New Englander is that the-seaway is impracticable, that it would' cost wiore money than the country could raise and that, once perfected, it would be useless because no one -would use it. How typically New Englandish are these arguments. If you will go to •a library where old newspapers are ~or\ file, and turn back to 1827 in The Boston Courier, you will find there remarks on the proposition to build .a railroad ^ from Boston to Albany: “The project of a railroad from Boston to Albany is impracticable, as everyone knows who knows the ■simplest rule of arithmetic, and the -expense would be little less than the NJtnarkef value of the whole territory '■of Massachusetts; and which, if practicable, every person of common sense knows would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the moon.” That was published editorially in a Hoston newspaper less than 100 years - ago. But it is not one whit more absurd than the arguments which Boston newspapers today advance against the seaway through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence river to furnish the middle and far western states with water transportation. The “crazy visionaries,” as they were called in other editorials, went -ahead and proved that everybody else was wrong or else was without imagination. Vanderbilt, whose specialty was railroads, laughed Immoderately when the elevated railroad was sug gested. “Whoever heard of a rail road on stilt3," he roared, notwith standing in the construction of his own railroads he was accustomed to carry them across depressions and streams on stilts. He had miles of elevated tracks throughout his rail road projects, but the Idea of doing the same thing in the streets of New York was ludicrous to him. He was doing impossible things himself, but It never occurred to him that others might have visions and the capacity arid power to make them real. Every great project starts with the prediction that It can't be done. Those who say It can’t be done are fertile with arguments to support their position. But somehow, every thing that the world has wanted or needed or that it could use to advan tage has been provided even to flying In a machine many times heavier than the air which supports It. Water, they used, to tell the classes in school, will not run up hill, yet it does and even then did run up hill many times and in many places. The syphon is the simplest illustration of water going up hill. The Panama canal was an impos sibility for centuries because water would not lift Itself over the hills. After the Suez canal had been con structed and greater engineering feats had been successfully carried through. It was urged that Panama was Impossible. Man has not ser iously attempted anything and failed to get the results he desired. . The surest indication that your vision is practicable is the dubious ness of those whose first reaction la “It’s Impossible.’’ Whistled In. / From the Wichita Eagle. The new state administration In Kansas was whistled in by 17 blasts from a steam whistle at the Santa Fe shops in Topeka, This took the place of the customary military salute of 17 guns. It didn’t cost very much to blow the whistle 17 times, and the Santa Fe doubtless will overlook the ex pense and turn in no bill to the state. The firing of 17 guns would have cost a good many dollars. Counting the freight on the guns and the cost of the powder and the time of th# • flrers, probably $100 or so. And why spend $100 on a meaningless and useless noise? That’s the way Jonathan Davis figure^ and he was right. The weft known common sense of the Kansas farmer comes into play. It wasn’t at all necessary to blow the 17 blasts, as fax as that’s con cerned. But some of the folk at Topeka would feel very badly if their town were not recognized as the capital of the state by repetition of a few old forms. And doubtless they found the shriek of the whistles almost as good as the boom of guns. Why can’t we make Kansas famous for Just this sort of common sense? Why cannot this idea of common-sense economy in government become known as “thu Kansas Idea,” Instead of some freak notion or hobby? If the United States army and navy would but adopt this Kansas idea of salutes, what an enormous saving to the supporters of the government-who must pay the bills! What with presidential salutes and admirals’ salutes and secretary salutes and salutes to foreign and domestic flags, great mountains of ex pensive gunpowder are burned up annually, and the ears of millions of law abiding persons are assaulted with the sound that hurts and means abso lutely nothing. A few blasts of a whistle would do Just as well, and would save, in the course of a year, enough money to pay the soldier bonus, prob ably. Why not try out the Kansas idea of saluting in the nation? ENGLAND’S ANXIETY. ■fwjITH unemployed parading the Mr streets of London and millions " of workers finding their gov ernment doles insufficient, these are nerve twitching days in England. Talk is being hears In the land that, In a country less liberal, such as America, would land the orators in jail. It is the sort of oratory that frequently has preceeded revolu tions. This, from a speech by T. Gavan Duffy, a labor member of parliament, describing his experi ences at the opening of the House of Lords, is a sample: The place was a flash of diamonds and brilliant colors. One woman who was nearly naked to her waist, wore a great diamond tiara and a wonderful necklace and had great straps of Jewels around her body. I’ll guarantee she has not the brains to put on the jewels. It was a lady’s maid, the daughter of a workingman who put the Jewels on for her. I do not exaggerate when I say that the diamonds on that woman's half naked body are worth at least enough to feed all the unemployed In London for three months. It Is the unemployed inside the House of Lords who make the crowd of unemployed*outslde. My lords and ladies and the titled government officials probably are doing a little serious thinking these nights, when they have turned out the lights and are settling their heads in their pillows. Mother Entertains for Daughter. From the Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune. They tell of a party which was given t>y mother and the married daughters for little sister of high school age. Con siderable effort was made for the eve ning’s amusement of games, and a spe cial three-course dinner had been pre pared. When the young guests arrived they "paired off” and went automobile riding most of the evening, returning in time for refreshments. Some of the guests remained outside and asked that the food be served them in the cars. Following a recent heavy snow every motion picture studio in New York had cameramen out snapping winter Beenes. These are stored away for future use. Canada reports that tourists, mostly American, spent Jioo,000,000 In the do minion last year. Most of the money was for entertainment and recreation. A ban on special days in public schools of Newark, N. J„ is announced by the superintendent. "Bird day.” "road day" and the like have become a nui sance. Some of Kngland's unemployed are. getting married because two can live more expensively than one. The dole is increased when the workless workman takes a bride. • Three Cents and $300 a Year. Prom the Kansas City Star. The small cost of disease prevention and the hea$y charge of neglected at tention to defective persons are con cretely shown In two reports of health agencies recently Issued. The biennial report of the Missouri state board of health reveals that nearly one-fourth, of the children In state Institutions for the blind lost their sight because of an eye disease in Infancy. The disease could have been cured by the application of silver nitrate, at a cost of 3 cents per child. Now there Is not only the cost of maintenance In the Institutions but a preparation for a drain on the state’s revenue when the children become eligible for blind pensions at about $300 a year each. The board's report further shows that In one year 6,403 babies died of prevent able diseases in the state; that more than one-foyrth of the persons now be ing paid blind pensions in Missouri lost their sight from the “absolutely pre ventable disease” of trachoma, and that 120,000 or 60 per cent, of 200,000 school . children examined “were suffering from i defects which could be corrected easily.” The board Is convinced that the limited funds It has had at its disposal have been expended in a manner to produce "dividends In human lives.” Some day It may be realised that true economy in public health work, by city, county or state agencies, Is In early at tention to physical defects, rather than late attempts to cure disease. The English are pushing to comple tion as rapid fy as possible the Lloyd dam in India, named for the gover nor of Bombay. It is one mile long, 190 feet high, 126 feet thick at the base. This dam, greatest of Its kind in the world, will protect 800,000 acres from flood, store and supply water to irrigate 900,000 acres and cost mil lions of pounds. It will prevent for all time the dreadful famines In one part of India. That's an Intelligent reply to Gandhi's statement that the British are only a curse. The wise British know how to colonise. That dam sup plies something for the Indians to think about. It compares favorably with Mr. Gandhi's hand loom, which is his pitiful little remedy for all In dia's evils. The Early Bird. From Judge. Salesman—Can I see that motorist that was brought here an hour ago? Nurse—He hasn't come to hta senses yet. "Oh, that's all right. I want to sell him another car." Minneapolis is to have a civic music week. A massed chorus of bootleggers might offer, “I Love You Still." In Haiti (he wholesale and retail pric es of kerosene are generally the same, and dealers iflake their profit from the sale of the sSSpty ogns. SECRET OF FRENCH CHEESE DISCOVERED Roquefort cheese had been made in France since 600 A. D. Only recently a process has been discovered by which it can be made in the United States. The discovery was ma