The Morning Bee MORNING—EVENING—SUNDAY - - | THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY NELSON B. UPDIKE. Publisher. B. BREWER. Gen. Manaser. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Ajeoclated Trees, of which Tbs Bee is e member. is exrfaslvelj cnUtird lu the use lor r«1*1 M test ton of all news dispatches credited to It or not other*'m credited In this paper, and also the local ns*s published hsrsia. All rights of rsptthlicailoos of our apecial dispatches ere Also rsssrvsd. BEE TELEPHONES Trivate Branch Exchange. Ask for the Department AT (antic or Person Wanted. For Niuht Calls After 10 P. M.: 1 ftAO Editorial Department. AT lantie 1021 er 1042. OFFICES Main Offiee—17th and Farnara Co. Bluffs .... 15 Scott St. So. Side. N W. Cor. 24tli and N New York—286 Fifth Avenue Washington • - 422 Star Bldg. Chicago ... 1720 Steger Bldg. Paris, France—420 Rue St. Honore “EASY MONEY” AND AFTERWARDS. Two soldiers are in prison today, waiting trial on charge, of being highway robbers. Wednesday they were in good standing 'in the army of the United States, regarded as men of honor, pledged . to the defense of their country, and by reason of their uniform looked upon by civilians as the rep resentatives of the government, of law and order, and protectors of liberty and property as well. Now they are in jail, and disgraced, shorn of their free dom, a stain on their honorable records, and certain only of trial and probable conviction, with a further prison term ahead. What wrought this change in their situation? One of them says they were told by a former soldier that it would be easy to rob pedestrians and so se cure money to spend. They put the suggestion to test, and were eaught in their first crime. Someone will say, “How about the Denver ban dits, who got away with $200,000 in money?” That may seem like “easy money” to the thoughtless, but those bandits are fugitives, and all the rest of their lives they will be fugitives, until they are caught. Such crimes never outlaw, and justice is sleepless, in time these, and the bandits who have robbed and piurdered in Omaha of late years will be brought to ace trial. While yet they are untaken they have no peace. Each night they must hide, each day they must slink. In every approaching stranger they see a possible man of the law come to take them. They cannot trust their companions, for crime is the par ent of treachery, and each of these criminals knows that his accomplice will betray him if to his advan tage. Only one future is ahead of them, and that is a blank. So the “easy money” they sought is turned to the dearest man can buy, for it is obtained at the expense of good name, character, standing in society, everything that men hold dear and that bring peace of mind. Crime carries Its own punishment, fre quently worse than any the law provides. If those young soldiers could only have pictured themselves in jail, instead of gazing at the false view of “easy money,” they would still be wearing the uniform of honor instead of prisoner’s garb, their future would be one of honorable employment, instead of penal servitude. Doys and young men will do well to remember that crime pays less in wages and more in misery than any other activity of human life. MYSTERY OF THE LOUISIANA LAKE. Discovery and identification of the bodies of two victims of a masked mob in Louisiana makes certain one thing, that law and order in that particular neck of the '.voids is not what is popularly supposed to obtain in civilized America. We have no intention to try any of the culprits, for in the first place that is the function of the courts, and, in the second place, we have not all the facts befor'l us. This, how ever, should not close the door to the expression of an opinion that seems sound. In the United States, where courts are open and justice is free to all, no reason is known for resort to mob law at any time. Ample provision is made for the righting of any wrong, for the punishment of any crime, by due process of law. The accused has always a right to know and face his accusers, and justice is administered in the open. When a secret tribunal, no matter how it is constituted, or by whom, undertakes to assert authority, it becomes a menace, tor it is putting aside the law. Pretending to do justice, it flouts justice, fir there can be no justice when a mob of any sort, masked or unmasked, as sumes the functions of a court, becomes judge and jury, prosecutor and executioner, and inflicts a pen alty it has already agreed to before starting its per formance. In Louisiana murder seems to have been done. Whether it is punished or goes unrebuked is for Louisiana to determine. The mystery of the Louisi ana lake will remain a challenge to constituted au thority in that state until the record of the affair has beer, made public. PURITY AND THE PULPIT. Mote power to Bishop Manning, who has forbid den the appearance of a notorious dancer in the pul pit of St. Mark on the Bouwerie. Not that the pulpit would be smirched by the appearance of an ordinary dancer, for there are plenty who might easily deliver a good sermon, and who well can defend their pro fession. Some are not worthy, though, and these should not be permitted to bring discredit to the others. An apologist for the immoral men and women of the stage says they produce good plays, end so set a good example. Yes, and by their per sonal conduct they more than offset any good they may have accomplished by their performance. These are the whited sepulchres, the unclean, who cleanse the outside of the cup and leave the inside filthy. When actors, dancers, musicians, poets, authors, all kinds and conditions of men and women, learn there are some things they cannot do and be re garded as lit to associate with decent people, the world will be making headway toward a better con dition. This is not prudery, nor Puritanism, nor ITuuasnism. but common decency. A man or woman who sins flagrantly, openly, viciously, who is licen tious and vulgar in private life, has no right to ex pect that people will condone such conduct because the offender is gifted with some form of talent that appeals to popular fancy. Especially such an one has no right to mount the steps leading to the pulpit and dare to lay a gloss of fine words over offenses that reek if the lowest form of filth. When the railroads get through looking at the $473,000,000 lost them because of lowered freight rates, they might take a slant at the billions the farmers have lost because of lower prices on farm products. If the police will only bring in one bandit for •very two bootleggers, c< aditions of life in Omaha will soon be much improved. The parcels post ir. n now know how Santa Claus used to feel. i FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS. Sixteen years ago at the Kansas agricultural ex periment station at Manhattan, Prof. H. F. Roberts selected a number of heads of wheat from a plot of wheat, the source of whose seed was Russia. The next spring Roberts planted the kernels from these heads in what are termed “head rows,” each row being carefully studied during the season and the yield secured in the fall. It was noted during the season that one particular row showed particular promise, and the seed of this row was carefully saved for further trial. The progeny of the row continued to show up well and was fur ther propagated. It is a rather long story of gradually increasing the seed and getting yield results from many sources, but we may pass to the year 1921. In that year it was estimated that 2,000,000 acres of Kanred wheat were grown in the United States. The interesting fact of the whole matter is the fact that all of this wheat was directly descended from one particular head selected in 1906. This particular wheat has made a real contribu tion to the winter wheat industry because of the fact that it is resistant to several forms of leaf and stem rust. It is also slightly earlier and a little more winter hardy than Turkey Red, the best known of winter wheats. Kanred wheat is now widely grown throughout the entire state of Kansas and in the adjacent sections of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado; Missouri and Texas. Messrs. Clark and Martin of the United States Department of Agri culture state that Kanred wheat should lately re place the Turkey Red and Kharkof varieties in a number of states, among which is Nebraska. Trials made in many parts of Nebraska show that Kanred wheat has given superior yields as compared with the commonly grown winter ^heat varieties. The acreage is gradually increasing in the state. The fact that a wheat destined to play' such a part in our winter wheat program originated in a single head selected in 1906 is positive proof of how from small beginnings in the plant world new varieties may arise. It shows the possibilities of such work. Few of us fully appreciate the work of our plant breeders. They work patiently and long striving to develop something better than that which is al ready in existence. Their work makes it necessary to test out perhaps thousands of strains and then to carefully study these and make the selections which they believe will give superior results. All too often people who praise the new variety or strain give little thought to the labor and per sistence required by some plant breeder that the new creation might be possible. The plant breeder gives real contributions to our agriculture. When ever you visit a state or government experiment station and see men working with small rows or small plots in what seems to be a monotonous fash ion, remember that they are playing a real part in helping to feed a world. HOTELS THAT ADVERTISE THEIR CITIES. Someone has said that the hotel is the yardstick by which a stranger measures a town. There is no doubt that many fine towns in Nebraska suffer by this standard. There are others whose name one has only to mention to call up in his hearer’s mind the name of some hostelry where the food and accommo dations have left a pleasant recollection. In the smoking car on a train, mention San Fran cisco, and the St. Francis hotel rushes into the minds of most of those present. In St. Louis it used to be the Planters, which only the other day was closed down. Houston, Cincinnati, Spokane, Portland, St. Paul and Buffalo likewise are favorably known among travelers by their leading hotels. Omaha is not behind hand in its plentitude of good accommo dations. What is true of the nation is also t/ue of the state. Those towns which have or are building good hotels are thereby putting the best foot forward. The problem of management, of course, is an im portant one, and there are indeed some unpromising appearing hotels where good management overcomes all obstacles in a surprising manner. In many in stances improved accommodations for visitors could be provided without anything more than efficient di rection, or a better cook. Some gustatory genius has compiled a book de scribing the dish for which the chefs of noted hotels in various parts of the country are most noted. The recipe for each one is seasoned with a rhapsody. New Orleans is given the place of honor for its cre ole cooking, Baltimore for certain sorts of sea food and Washington and San Francisco for others. Ne braska has no representation in this list, though it produces a wide variety of raw foodstuffs. The op portunity is open for some hotel hereabouts to make the hall of fame with the most savory corn bread, the best steaks or the finest method of preparing eggs. Judge Woodrough is entitled to credit for hie in vestigating of con'ditions reported at a bootlegger’s home, but the story would read better to a lot of people if it contained some announcement that the attorney who misled the court had received some attention. Maybe if those steamship surgeons were to adopt the army practice, “give him a C. C. pill, paint him with iodine, and mark him duty,” the epidemics that break out on “dry” liners would soon end. The women didn’t waste any time in telling Will Hays what they think of him and “Fatty” Arbuckle. Practical Reforestation From the Kansas City Kansan. \ Reforestation is widely discussed, and the federal government has a department assigned to promotion of the work. Every year considerable money is expended in promoting the restoration of timber to the country's resources. There is a plan that might be followed with great advantage to all, promoted by the people themselves. In every section of the United States. That is. the setting of trees on both sides of public roads. Trees would grow as rapidly there as any place, aud would be subject to greater watchfulness than any other place. Hardwood trees, as well as fruit trees, might be set. soon becoming available for shade and of value In keeping roads from washing, while at the same time making travel a delight. As the trees grew large enough to be used for lumber, other trees might be set between them, providing for keeping the supply ample in all portions of the country. The protection of the trees and later provision for thinning them and setting others could be added to the duties of county or township officers. They would fur nish grateful shade in the summer, protection from storms In winter, nesting places for birds, and under them reservations for wild flowers, both of which should be properly protected. In nutting season, the product of the trees might be used to advantage, properly regulated, preserving Joys of ancient days. The living trees might be used as memorials for war heroes or others in the community who had proven their service to the people, and thus acquire a senti mental interest. The idea is not bail>. Road tree organization ought ti^ be organized now to promote the work i / “From State and Nation” —Editorials from other newspapers— Crime Made Kasj. From the Deity Oklahoman The open and notorious sale of firearms and other dangerous weap ons In Oklahoma City 1st a menace to the safety of the community. Anyone who plana to commit mur der, highway robbery or any other crime In which the use of a revolver or other dangerous weapon Is advan tageous, can obtain the desired weapon within a few minutes at pawnshops, here. No wonder so many crimes have been committed here. The wonder is that the number has not been greater. It rests squftrely on the shoulders of the chief of police to put a stop to this sale. , The chief is quoted as saying that the promiscuous sale of dangerous weapons is not illegal. But there is a city ordinance which very clearly makes such a sale, with out a permit from the chief of police, a violation of the law. The law must be enforced, not only to prevent the committing of crimes by individuals, but to reduce the dan ger from a riot, should one ever oc cur here. Under present conditions, rioters could easily arm themselves by breaking into pawnshops. That has happened In other cities, where mobs have held sway. It may be that the chief of police has been advised by someone that the law against the promiscuous sale of firearms is not constitutional, but the chief is an enforcing officer and not a judge. He should make arrests under the ordinance and let the courts de cide whether the law is valid. But Oklahoma City is not the only place In the state where firearms and other dangerous weapons can be ob tained easily. There should be a state law prohibiting the promiscuous sale of such weapons, and officers who fail to enforce the law should lie removed from office. Bus Lines. From the Nebraska City Press Motor vehicle transportation Is here to stay. It is not a sporadic fad. (loomed to die in the first withering blast of unfavorable weather. It is a service which the public demands and the public uses. Bus transportation must be standardized in Nebraska as it has been on the streets of great cities, where the electric surface lines have begun to outlive their useful ness, and there must be some sort of regulation which will protect both the public and the men who have taken the chance with the new form of travel and invested their money In equipment. Bus line transportation, carried out to its logical conclusion, means, eventually, a network of hard surfaced roads in Nebraska, for the public will demand that sort of a highway wherever bus lines are found. There is no way to force the busses out of business, and fair-mind ed and far-seeing people do not want to force them out. Patrons want better service, better regulation and such facilities as Will increase the efficiency of the motcr vehicles in the future. Nebraska is "trying out" the bus line in the eastern part of the state. Up to date the operation has been successful, whenever conducted by men who have vision and a sense of proportion. Only those who have not properly gauged the public mind have failed to make good. Those who are sticking to the game are insistent that they shall have protection and the sort of regulation and supervision which, properly imposed, will per mit them to further the interests of the public and expand to meet the growing demand No Moral Disarmament. From the New York Times. Another conference on the limita tion of armament has ended. The meeting of delegates of the eastern European states, convoked in Mos cow by the Russians, has broken up without doing anything, though many noble sentiments were expressed. Re sponsibility for the failure seems to be shared by most of the participants. The Russians started off by proposing to cut down thetr army to 200,000 men if the other states would make proportionate reductions. This, ac cording to Russian figures, meant a cut of 75 per cent—that is. they placed the present strength of their own army at about 800,000. That is probably not far wrong, if wrong at all, as an estimate of the Russian field army, though a much larger number is on the rolls. Some of the smaller nations, which by such a sweeping reduction would have been left with armies hardly sufficient for local police work, seem to have questioned this figure. The Russians retaliated by accusing the Poles of having 100,000 more men under arms than their official statements showed. This is curious, since one of the com plaints heard in Polish internal poli tics has been that the war depart ment was drawing money for many more men than were actually In the army. However, this was not the stumbling block. The smaller states Daily Prayer \V« have peace with God through our Lord Jeaus Chrtet.—Rom. 6:1. Our Father. Thou Who slttest upon a throne high and lifted up. Whose glory fills the Heavens, make us con scious this morning that Thou art not far from any one of us. Thy chil dren. Thou hast revealed Thy near ness to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us to see that our selfishness is the only thing that can separate us from Thee. Take out of our hearts every selfish impulse, and fill them with a holy lov* for Thee. Then we know that there shall be fulfilled for us the promise of Jesus, that Thou, our Father, and He, our Broth er. shall come in and dwell with us this day. Speak to us by Thy still, small voice. Christmas Day has come and gone. We have given and wo have re ceived the tokens of friendship and love. We cannot repeat these gifts every day, but we earnestly beseech Thee that the Christmas spirit may abide in our hearts and in tile hearts of mankind everywhere. Take out of our hearts every trace of jealousy and hatred toward any of Thy chil- | dren, and give us the attitude to ward all mankind which was in Jesus Christ our Lord. Hasten the day when our ears shall hear the morn ing stars singing together and all the sons of .men Joining with the an gelic choir fn the anthem of the first Christmas morning. “Peace on earth among men of good will." Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. REV. FRANK W. PADELFORD. Boston, Mass. NET AVERAGE CIRCULATION for NOVEMBER. 1922, of THE OMAHA BEE Daily.73,843 i Sunday .78,105 . B. BREWER, Gen. Mgr. ELMER S. ROOD. Cir. Mgr. Sworn to and oubicribod before me 1 ! tbit 5th day of December, 1922. 6 W. H. QUIVEY, (Seal) Notary Public | wanted all the participating powers to sign a general nonaggression com pact before talking about reducing their armies; the Russians wanted to reduce first and talk about moral dis armament afterward. Why It Costs Ho Much to Live. From Capper's Weekly. If there had been no civil war. no Spanish war and no world war, 500 million dollars or less would be ample for conducting the federal govern ment next year. This Is precisely what the army and navy cost us now. Instead of one-half billion dollars, it la going to cost three billion dollars to maintain the government this year, and that is a reduction from five bil lion dollars. Two of the three billions are absorbed by fixed charges on war indebtedness alone. It takes a billion a year to pay interest on this debt, another 330 millions for sinking fund, and 500 millions for pensions and disability. This brings the irreduc ible war charge up to more than two billions, which leaves 500 million dol lars to run the government and an other 500 million to maintain tha army and navy. Even on a peace time basis it costs as much to maintain the military branch of the government as tt docs the executive and legislative, agri culture, roads, public health, diplo matic service, labor, public lands, Maska, our island possessions and nil the rest of the government's busi ness combined. If the nations would quit the war foolishness It would cost them to live just one-sixth of what it costs them now. What About the Code? From the Noligh Leader. Charles W. Bryan was elected on a platform which declared In favor of a repeal of the code administration law and holds he has the mandate of the people for its repecal. A legisla ture with a large republican majority in both branches, was elected on a platform favoring its retention. The legislature must repeal the law, If it is to be cast aside, and it is not there fore clear that the voters gave a man date for Its abolition. That some fea tures of it need amending experience has demonstrated, and this Is far more likely to be what happens than its repeal. A New Atmosphere. From the Kooky Mountain News. It is not all “beer and skittles'' for our Lady Astor on the other side In these days of proletarian Ism. The rise of the laborites In parliament and of “nationalism” in the party with which she Is affiliated Is placing her on the defensive. Fortunately for her, she has a quick tongue and plenty of pluck and she. can be counted on to wear down her oppo nents. Lady Astor is rich and she is an American-born and the wife of the son of an expatriated American. Nat urally she is at some disadvantage. Bhe was the first woman elected to the house of commons at that, and there are few women members in this parliament. A certain amount of re sentment exists regarding her and her climb in politics. Before we condemn too severely the opposition that has arisen to the titled American member of parliament let us reverse the table, as it were, and imagine what might happen if, for instance, a comparatively poor Eng lish woman should come over here, marry the son of a rich Englishman living here, and enter the house or senate. Our 100 per cent Americans might have something to say. Wiser heads in England are glad to have Lady Astor where she is for dip lomatic reasons, and they are glad to have the help of the Astor millions in these hard times, but.politics Is poli tics and in England there is little of give and take In the game. There are no M. Q. rules. Common Sense Presents That Don’t Cost Money. Almost everyone possesses some thing within him that would help, en courage, or uplift another person. What quality do you possess which you might use’to help another? Perhaps you feel that you have lit tle or nothing, being a common every day sort of individual with Just about brains enough to make a living. Well, it is something to be able to support a family, but you can go a little greater length and say a kind word, can you not? Sympathy for those who need sym pathy. You ran do this. You could lnconveniencq yourself a bit and get around to see and call on certain ones you know cannot get out themselves. It would not hurt you to sit by the bedside of a sick friend, to carry a book to a convalescent, nor to take a word of cheer to one who Is 111. No financial outlay nor talent Is re quired to be helpful. Giving aid and comfort to the soul Is sometimes more appreciated than gifts bought with a price. All of us are too self-centered, too grasping, too eager for our own com fort. This Is a season for overcoming selfishness. Give yourself. (Copyright, 1922.) -ROYAL MAIL * “The Comfert Route" to EUROPE Now York—Cherbourg—Southampton—Hamburg Famous "O'* Steamers Renowned for Unsur passed Accommodation and Service In ail claseei “ORDUNA” Jan. 10 Feb. 21 Apr. 14 “ORBITA” Jan. 31 Mar. 14 May 5 “ORCA" Mar. 31 May 12 June 16 "OHIO” Apr. 21 June 2 Make Reservation; now for Spring and Summer sailings. Full Information from any agent or The Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. 117 W. Washington St., Chicago | Pboneo Dearborn 1367-1368 9 . j i Big Ships JAPAN * tOdayt CHINA % todays MANILA % IQ days Canadian Pacific •—and luxurious service by the “ Empresses". Sailing fortnightly Irom Vancouver. British Ccxum bia, to the Orient. *'Giants of the Pacific" Further information from local cteam ship agents or R. S. FIWORTHY, General Agent S. S. Pace. Dept. 40 N. Dearborn St., Chijcgo ■ ■■ 1 i — ■■ ■ I “The People’s Voice’’ Editorial* from roodors of Th* Morning Boe. Roador* of Th* Moraine Bon nr* invited to us* this coluasn frssly for expression on matters nf publk interest. — -- Favors Potato Grading. Omaha.—To the Editor of The Oma ha Bee: I have read with consider able interest Mr. Kastner's letter In the Deecember 20 issue of Tho Omaha Bee. I was astoflished and really amused, to say the least, on his stand on the potato grading law. I am quite familiar with problems confronting the farmer in general, and more particu larly in the west, both under dry farming and under irrigated condi tions. and I fully realize that owing to the semi-isolated position of the farmers of America as compared with the farming class in some of the European countries, wherein they live in villages and are compelled of necessity to more closely associate with one another than do our farm ers, in view of this condition there are some peculiarities, and they are largely due: First, the Isolated life of a farmer leads him t