The Morning ; ee MORNING—EVENING—SUNDAY THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY NELSON R. L FLUKE. Publisher. B. BREWER, Gen. Manager. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ths 4m •'-'.(ted Press. of ablch Ths Bm is • member, is exelaslvelr •nil'.«l to it* un for rwpuMtcaltn* of all oves dispatches credited to II *v t otherwise credited in this ;a; er. and also ths local new* published beiela 41! rttbts of reiubUeailooa of cor special dispatch* art also reserved. BEE TELEPHONES Private Branch F.xchange. Ask for tha Department XT Untie Person Wanted. For Night Calls After 10 P. M.: ifwin Editorial Department. ATIantic 1021 or 1042. IW OFFICES Main Office—17th and Farnam *o. Bluffs .... 15 Scott St. So. Side. N W. Cor. 24tb and N New York—286 Fifth Avenue W ashington • - 4 22 Star Bldg. Chicago - • - 1T20 Steger Bldg. Parie, France—420 Rue St. Honor* SANCTITY OF LIFE. An aviator lost in the mountains lias held Amer ica spellbound with anxiety. Sixteen air mail planes give up their official routine to aid in the search. He is found at last, safe and sound on a Wyoming ranch. America gives a sigh of relief, almost as thankful as if he had been a brother to all. Such an incident, where the attention of a whole nation is riveted on the fate of a solitary man brings into prominence the value that is some times placed on human life. In a storm on Lake Superior a tug goes down and the crew of twenty-seven men is missing. Steamers abandon the routes of traffic to hunt for these lost men. At last all but four of them are rescued from n bleak and barren island. “Search for the missing four is being continued," a brief wireless message reports. How could the sanctity of human life be better emphasized? In the conflict of man with nature, the hopes of all, whether participants or spectators, are pinned on man. It is as if civilization were in constant warfare with the elements. Yet how different it is in the more ordinary course of life. United mankind stands against the outside world of nature. Loyally it fights to con quer the air, the waters and the depths of the land* But in the struggle with its own inner nature it has made no such progress. Man is his own worst enemy, oftentime losing the advantage of his triumph over the elemental forces by dissension within his own camp. In spite of the intense sym pathy with the victims of a shipwreck or a fallen tlyer, still in some ways flesh and blood is neid the cheapest thing in the world. On the same day that the newspapers printed the story of those rescues, is an account of two youths who confessed to wrecking a train. After the derailment it. was their plan to rush in and rob the mail car. “They expected the engineer, fire man and trainmen in the baggage and mail cars would be killed or badly hurt, and that they would meet with no opposition." Does not the existence of such moral callous ness in mere boys contrast strangely with the uni versal interest in the fatp of those missing sailors and the lost aviator? Yet it is probable that they as well as the rest of the public were thrilled and touched by the faraway struggle with death. Down in southern Illinois there are five men on trial for the death of a score of miners who were shot down in cold blood. Over in Iowa a former soldier has confessed to the murder of two persons. In \ irginia three men are dead as the result of a quarrel over a flock of turkeys. ft is not only in anger or passion that life is held so cheap. Carelessness takes a heavy toll, too. In a single year 76,000 lives are snuffed out by accidents, many of which could have been pre vented. In Norfolk, Neb., a motorist has just run down and killed a man. A baby lies dead in Omaha, the victim of a rifle in the hands of a boy of 12. On the same day a street car ran into a little girl, and a motorist here ran down a boy. A track la borer at Blair died beneath a train. Seven were hurt in a wreck near Biston. Accidents in indus try take a heavy toll. s Such casualties of every day life are too com mon. ^ et their frequency should stimulate, not dull the public sensibility. Reckless motorists who make the streets a peril arc only a symptom of the universal wastefulness of human life. Some how. a new regard for the sanctity of life must be instilled. Carelessness which exposes one’s self or others to injury must he eliminated. The life on a street in Omaha is as precious a thing as a life at sea or in the clouds. Let us remember the words of the poet: A sacred burden is this life ye bear; l«ook on it. lift It. bear it solemnly. Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly. Kail not for sorrow, falter not for sin. Rut onward, upward, till the soul ye w in SCANDAL AND THE "MOVIES." “Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shall not escape calumny,” said Hamlet to Ophelia, and he uttered a sad truth. Humanity dearly loves to deal in gossip, and lightly handle reputations. How many people are killed by slander, idle and thoughtless, will never he known. A ease in point is that of Wallace Held, moving picture comedian, who is said to he at. the point of death at his home. His attending physician says Reid is suffering from the effects of a reinfection by flu; the tattler* of Hollywood say he has broken down because of his excessive indulgence in nar cotic drugs. Reid's wife and mother deny this; they do not deny that he attended some of the orgies that have been complained of, but insist he was not an addict. Will H. Hays says Reid is a sick man, no matter what the cause, and requires medical care and ten der nursing, and not condemnation; and if his ill ness is because of indulgence in drugs, he deserves to be helped back to health, mental and bodily, that he may be once more useful. And an unverified but circumstantial account says that recently a committee prepared a list of 117 names of those who would have to be dropped, if the moving picture industry' is to be cleaned from the inside, and "Wally” Reid's name topped the list. Reid eliminated himself by an earnest effort to re form, which led to the breakdown, but 116 other potential scandals remain. • All of which causes the ordinary mortal to won der how much of the talk has foundation, and how much is the result of malice, envy or just idle gos sip. For Wally Reid this may be said: Hi* plays were always of a high order, clean and wholesome, with a popular quality of humor that made him a favorite with millions. These will be very slow to believe him a debauchee, and will earnestly hope that he be restored to life and health. When he is strong enough to work again will be time to tell how deep the acid of scandal has corroded the splen did reputation that waa his. ONE CHILD’S CHRISTMAS. He is an only child and has been taught to be lieve in Santa Claus, for he is only 8. Yet even at that age the little fellow has a well developed conscience. Deceit is neither a part of his vo cabulary nor general make-up. His peraistent but innocent questions arc propounded in order to ob tain real facta; yet they gave his victim "that guiltiest of feeling.’’ even though veracity is his must predominant characteristic, for this precocious youngster always detects the slightest variation i from truth. This same "kiddie" is sent to the store on an errand and forgets not only to come home but what he is sent for. When brought to task he is so peni tent and explains so seriously that he saw a little electric train, a steam engine, a "B. B.” gun and a radio Rex, and he is sorry, but forgot everything else; and these words fairly tumble over each other, “ N I’m going to write a letter to Santa ’n ask him to bring every one of 'em." And he knows Santa will do it, for isn’t that what Santas are for? The next day a blotted little letter is dispatched to Santa Claus, and everything on that list must be remembered, else that precious boy will lose faith in the good old myth. As daddy enters the toy shop he feels the joy of the Christmas spirit. A vision of his own son’s innocent face is before him and, mingled with that is another vision of that other babe of the long ago. These words come to him: “Inasmuch as ye | did it unto the least of these," and his memory takes him to an unused attic where discarded toys are accumulating from year to year. From these | thoughts is generated the doubt as to whether he is allowing his only chjld to feel the real joy of the Christmastide. He realizes now that the great est happiness is found in giving, not in receiving. He is not only robbing his naturally unselfish, son of the greatest joy of Christmas, but is warping his generous nature. Thfe Christmas there is no myth, but the true story of the Christ child, and instead of being sur feited with toys, this little boy is taken in as a real pal and is going to experience the real joy of giv ing to those less fortunate. IT REALLY WAS OMAHA'S MINT. Robbery of the Denver mint revives a memory of days before there was any such institution. In the late 80s John A. McShane, then member of congress from the First Nebraska district, evolved the notion of having a branch mint located at Omaha. He already had taken up the matter of making Omaha a port of entry, which move was promptly countered by the congressman from Council Bluffs, who had that town also designated as a port of entry. The mint question went over, and finally, when Mr. Bryan was elected to con gress, it was taken up again. Council Bluffs im mediately renewed the talk of putting a mint there, and the question was solved by eventually locating the mint at Denver. Something of historic interest attaches to it there, for it stands on the site of VLa Veta Place,” the first self-contained apartment house built in the west, if not in the United States. It was erectecj by the late H. A. W. Tabor, sometime senator from Colorado, and postmaster at Denver under McKin ley. Tabor devoted a number of his millions to the task of beautifying Denver; a magnificent hotel, a wonderful opera house, two splendid business blocks, and then the Aladdin's dream of homes of luxury and splendor was realized in La Veta Place, This was deeded to Mrs. Tabor as part of her set tlement when she was divorced by her husband. When the federal government bought it as a site for the branch mint its glory had departed, and it was a rather shabby row of tenements, surrounded by business houses, instead of being the crown of a suburban section. The robbery itself is recorded as the most dar ing ever committed in Denver. Harking back to the days of Tabor’s greatness, one thinks of Soapy ’ Smith and a few others, who operated iq the Colorado metropolis. Their methods were not so brusque or boisterous, but they were quite as efficient, and some of the hauls they made might compare proportionately with the loot of the mint. And, if the account of the escape is correct, the fleeing robbers must have awakened some of the jackrabbits Martin Dennis Corrigan once apos trophized in a meeting of the city council on the banks of Cherry creek. This in turn recalls the fact that Davis H. Waite, "Bloody Bridles,” while governor of Colo rado, once made the supreme court take hurried action by training the guns of the Denver battery of artillery on the city hall and declaring that at a certain hour he would bombard the building if the deposed police board did not clear out. In fact, quite a bit of history is stirred up by the episode of the daring robbery at the front door of the mint that might have been Omaha's. j _ Inasmuch as Henry J. Allen will soon retire ; flom tlle office of governor, his address to the klan may not give the hooded brethren nearly as much concern as what Farmer Davis is thinking behind his dosed mouth. • --——— j Another question that keeps coming up in the < m*nd is, "How did the bandits know the exact time the money van was to leave the front door of the Denver mint? Maryland’s governor complains that the federal government is invading the state again. But Mary land ought to be accustomed to it by this time. Mr. Bryan's Alertness --From the Washington Star. Mr. Bryan is alert—keeps his eye steadily on the gun. Whenever questions unusually interesting are in hand or under informal discussion on Capitol Hill ho manages to ‘'make'1 Washington for a call or a brief visit. He lias just paid us a call, spent a day on the hill conferring with friends and exchanging banter with opponents, and passed on to the balmier Florida. He is ever and always a welcome visitor. Something new in the way of gossip about Mr. BO'«n has grown out of the statement that Mr. Norris of Nebraska does not desire another term in the sen ate. and may not care even to fill out his present term. This question is asked: If Mr. Norris were to resign, would Brother Charles, who becomes governor of Nebraska January 1, appoint Brother William to the vacancy? . Two things would appear to make this unlikely. Brother William is now a Floridian—so much so his name has tien canvassed in connection with a sena torshlp in the Peninsula state. A . in the oull hamper him—tie him down to a job. He is at his best foot-loose—at liberty to go here. and yi - ler as the h nor strikes him. .• the political situation seems to call. He is nit associable w. h the hur drum the routine, the eve..-day. what you pleare. As a "rover” h i plays the game with great zest, and should not be dlffer entl : d. He serves himself and his party best in that capacity. “From State and Nation” —Editorials from other newspapers— Now and Then Wilh Salaries and Savings. i From the Wyoming 3tm» Tribune | The other day four Cheyenne men ] discussed frankly their early life and I early struggles. Each has attained I i position of business and social t prominence. In fact, it might be said 1 that all have succeeded to a marked j degree. Yet. each one for years after j lit was through school and earning a living made less than $75 a month. One had earned $70 on his first regu lar job; another had earned $60. a third $60, and the fourth $50. The man who earned $66 supported his wife, gate Jo a month to tho church and saved $7 a Month. The man who er'tied $70. said he saved $30 a month. And the man who earned only $60. though married, managed always to pay cash and gradually Improved his position and earning capacity until today he Is one of the leading busi ness men of Wyoming, his activities covering many parts of the state. All admitted, of course, that condi tions have materially changed, hut with the exception of house rent, they stated that there was but little more than twice the difference in the price of necessities. But the list of luxuries of the nay have materially multiplied, and many of these luxuries are con sidered necessities in the modern fam ily. particularly the automobile and the picture show. The average wage is nearly three times as great as 30 years ago. Each stated that he had opened a bank account and saved a few dollars per mirth on a minimum salary and vet today in Cheyenne it is known tho! there are hundreds of men earn ing firm $150 to $230 a month, who do not have a bank account. It was stated that the em ployes of more than one firm, earn ing wages averaging nearly $50 a week which they receive weekly on tjaturdajs, send their checks in one envelope to a bank Saturday after noon to be cashed and have done that regularly for years. The statement was also made that a surprising number earning about the same wages cash their checks on Saturday night at a great variety of stores and places and have never es tablished an acquaintance at a bank. The bankers say this Is not the case to any extent with the women wage earners. Most of them have opened a bank account. As New Year approaches it would seem opportune and worth while for employers to urge upon their em ployes the wisdom of opening a bank account because it promotes saving, teaches business methods, provides' a check receipt for bills paid anil es tablishes for the depositor an acquaintance which may mean credit when he needs it. One View of the ( ode. from the Hay Springs News. The fact Is that the code hill has nothing to do with the tax levying. It only operates as a budget system of making estimates of amounts re quired for the necessary levies and brings the work within a group of officers instead of leaving all depart ments to a class who are interested in nothing but their salary. It any thing, as in the case shown, it has a tendency to reduce taxes. If the code system would be allowed to stand we believe even the democrats, out side of the political element, would eventually acknowledge that it is all right. Terrifying Etiquet. From the Tacoma News-Herald. With all due gratitude to the com pilers >and publishers of books on eti quet, a humble representative of the struggling public feels like uttering one wail of complaint. Cnnnot the advertisers of these life-saving works present their volumes without throw ing such abject fear into the hearts and minds of eligible readers'.' One may have partaken of the pleasing olive—both green and ripe— for many years; one may have ridden countless miles on Pullman cars; one may have dropped daily forks in restaurants, or even accepted intro duction with untutored self-assur ance, without ever knowing oneself ridiculous, conspicuous or a boob. Yet. when asked sudden and personal questions about these matters from the almost human pages of an adver tisement of a book on etiquet. tlie hypnotized reader gazes at the words in awed fascination, and the mischief is done. From that day on. his banquets and travels 'and social activities are l haunted by the fear that he’s going to slip up on some little trickery con vention. Sooner or later, as the psychologists warn him on other ad vertising pages, his marvelous pow ers of concentration will lead him to perform the very acts he has been dreading. A now problem arises. Should he purchase the six weeks’ course in prac tical psychology and acquire poise and etiquet by overcoming this fear thought, or should he end it all by buying the handy etiquet volumes and learning all the rules therein with the help of a de luxe memory course? Some one should write a book to i guide the public. In this matter. \\ ho Khali Rule* From the Cincinnati Enquirer. Speaking at Lake Charles. La., a member of the Ku Klux Klan, in full regalia, a few clays ago told a great n.udlence: "We have come at a. time when the I principles of Americanism, as defined by the Ku Klux Klan, must be ac cepted by everyone, and they will be accepted by everyone In this state, for we will force it by the battle of the ballot." All great questions in this coun 1 try properly should he settled by the ballot, with the understanding, al ways, that the ballot shall represent the free expression of individual judg ment, he a ballot undisturbed by un due coercive influence. The principles of Americanism usu ally are espoused and supported by electoiSs who are not afraid to expose their faces, who make use of no se cret conclaves in the furtherance of their purposes, who invite the fullest publicity in their controversies, who recognise the laws, federal and state, as supreme and sufficient in them selves to preserve orderly govern ment. By virtue of what right does the Ku Klux Klan of Louisiana assume to define the principles of American ism? By virtue of what right does it assume to take over the civil and political control of a sovereign state of this union, as Governor Parker charges it with seeking to do? There Is no room in America for NET AVERAGE CIRCULATION for NOVEMBER, 1922, of THE OMAHA BEE Daily.73,843 Sunday .78,103 B. BREWER, Gen. Mgr. ELMER S. ROOD, Cir. Mgr. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 5th day of December, 1922. W. H. QUIVEY, i (Saal) Notary Public dual government, super government, or for any subsidiary government which may conflict with tlie constitu tion and tend to disrupt the tradi tional principles and practices of a political and religious tolerance which nave made this nation justly famed throughout the world. The situation in Louisiana, as dis closed In recent press reports, is both deplorable ami ominous. The Inter jection of religious questions directly into politics never has been counten anced in America and never should be. Recent troubles in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon indicate the trend of a movement sinister In its potentialities for evil. American principles we stand by. We all are for separation of church and state, all for free schools, free speech, free press. These blessings are guaran teed by the Federal Constitution. They have the sanction and support of the law. They have been justified in the experience of the people. They need no invisible support from any Invisi ble. arrogant authority. No secret order, no matter what its plans, pres tige or purpose may be, should have the power in this country to name its Judges, governors, senators, presi dents. or to direct the enactment and enforcement of its laws. This peo ple still nuiy be trusted to conserve and support democratic principles, and they can do that without the mumming disguise afforded by a pil low' slip, a night gown and a mask. A Book o) Today THE FIGHTING HUGE, by William M*o l.eorl Ralnc. Bought on-MIfflln com pany. If you enjoy a gripping western story, with the benign and the malign elements thrown into strong con trast, and a compelling love Interest dominating the plot, you will not he disappointed In Mr. Raine's new book. In the class of fiction where it right fully belongs, It is a worth-while book. Mr. Itaine, who was a newspaper man in Denver for a period of years, traveled widely through the great western country for the material he has used in writing a series of in teresting and entertaining western books. "The Fighting Edge” tells us about Bob and June, and also tells us that love will find a way. Bob is a youth, ‘timid in the first instance, but who develops innate traits of courage and determination. The hero of the story finds himself after many vicissitudes ami all on account of June. The young woman of the story is "a trifle in the great scheme of things, only a poor ragged girl from the hack country, the daughter of a convict, poor hill trash, as she had once heard a woman of Glenwood whisper.” But June emerges from her lowly estate. Jake Houck, the villain of the plot, meets the fate he deserves. Bud Hollister is a cojy boy with a. heart as true as steel. For the children there is no gift with more solid pleasure than a good book. The following publications are all that could be asked from the standpoint of beauty and interest— truly a preferred list: "Two Begs," by Carl Ewald, the great Danish naturalist: a delightful story-history of mankind. Published by Stokes. "Blackboard the Buccaneer,” by Ralph D. Paine, with illustrations by Frank E. Schoonover. The Penn Publishing company. “Though the Cloud Mountain,” by Florence Scott Bernard, with eight illustrations in color by Gertrude Kay. The story of Jan, who meets Mary and Her Bamb, Alice of the looking glass. All Babab gnd all the other characters of juvenile fiction in a series of wonderful adventures. Published by Bippincott. "The True Story of the United States." by Elbridge S. Brooks: pro fusely illustrated. Bothrop, Bee & Shepard Co. "The Teenie Weenies: Under the Rosebush.” story and pictures by William Donahey, who has made these characters well known to readers of The Omaha Bee. Published by the Reilly & Bee Co. “The People’s Voice” Editorials from readers of The Morning Bee. Readers of The Morning Bee are invited to use this column freely for expression on matters of public interest. , Against Sorting rotators. Alliance, Neb.—To the Editor of The Omaha Bee: I want to answer a statement published December 12 in regard to potato misers favoring the compulsory grading law, by * I.eo Ktuhr, late secretary of agriculture, at a meeting of the Potato Improve meat association at Alliance. The Potato Improvement association here consists of about 2 per cent of the growers In this county and they are connected with buyers and shippers of potatoes. This is the bunch that favors a compulsory grading law. As It appeared In the article of December 12, all growers were in favor of it. That is a mistake. The members of the Potato Improvement association all arc for the law, but they are such a small number they ure not to be recognized at all when compared to the potato growers in this county. Another item .Mr. Stuhr forgot to mention is that potato growers of this county and adjoining counties have a petition before the coming legislature, signed by 95 per cent of the growers, for the repeal of the state grading law' altogether. This law is a curse and disgrace to (lie potato growers of the state of Ne braska. It is an infringement on the rights of the American people, growers Apd consumers alike. Last year were thousands of bush els of good, mtable potatoes went to waste on account of this grading law. This law cost the growers of this county at least $75,000 In cold cash by grading our potatoes. This year there are thousands of bushels of good eatable potatoes that never were dug out of the ground on ac count of the grading law. If the peo ple of Nebraska will wake up nnd make a demand on their representa tives we can get rid of this curse of a law against the potato growers. What hurts the grower hurts the consumer. If any of those high col lar, high salaried agriculture men had the interests of the potato grow ers in their hearts they would not be for this grading law. That is what they are doing—cutting the growers’ throats nnd lining the pock ets of the shippers and speculators. The time Is at hand when people will rise up and demand just laws, laws that have common sense, not such crazy radical laws as the state potato grading law. l,f any of those high collar agriculture men want to answer this, just tire away. I will be there with the goods to prove every statement I have made. LEO KASTNEIt, Jr. I ncle Sam Bigger Than Bootleggers. Blair. Neb—To the Editor of The Omaha Bee: Mr. John Davidson’s let ter in The Omaha Bee is just a little amusing. I wonder if he thinks he is “Some pumpkins?" Possibly, when he leads this squib, he will think the writer is a squash, and possibly he is worse. Not this wisdom: “The fact that we spend $10,000,000 of the peo ple's money In an effort to enforce this law also confirms the fact that no law is worth its room on the stat ute books unless it can be enforced and upheld by the duly constituted Police powers of the state and city." Why not repeal the law against hold ing up a man for his money? That law does not prohibit. The papers are loaded to the brim with stories of robbers in action. Many other crimes are common, but, of course, the com mon herd of bootleggers is different. We will just say to these fellows, "Go to It. boys, you are too big for Uncle Sam.” A. SQUASH. Attacks Rural Education, Central City. Neb.—To the Editor of The Omaha Bee: I see in the Saturday Bee some one says the public "School teachers of today are not efficient and advises more pay that they may be better teachers. But few’ think we have any better schools or turn out a better product for life's work than we did 20 years age when teachers' wages were one third what they are today. Tuition is 400 per cent higher with no better results. All of this extra Money to Loan on Omaha Real Estate Present Interest Rate Charge Is 6% I lor Christmas] L. E. Waterman Company, 191 Broadway, N. Y. Chicago Boston San Francisco Wotta Life! Wotta Life! WU.lW