TUB NORFOLK VMBKLY NEWS-JOURNAL , FRIDAY , APRIL 21 , .1911.
The Norfolk Weekly News-Journal
The NOWH , Established 1881.
The Journal , Established 1877.
THE HU8E PUBLISHING COMPANY
W. N. Huso N , A. Huso ,
President. Secretary.
fSvery'Friday. By mall per year , $1.50.
Entered at the postofflco at Norfolk ,
Nob. , as Hccoml class matter ,
Telephones ; Editorial Department
No. 22. Huslnuss OITIco and Job Rooms ,
No. II 22.
The United States patent office has
IsRuetl nearly n million patents. The
first one was Issued In July , 171)0. )
The Burlington road wants 1,000
ntoel gondolas , showing how far-reach
ing Is the Influence of Venetian life.
You can't interest the modern boy
In any calling the returns of which
won't give him an automobile by the
time ho is 21.
The Insurgents wcro well treated on
congress committees , and It remains
to ho seen If they can keep hollering
with their Insldcs full of pie.
Senator Bailey Insists that justice
nhould prevail In the case of Senator
Lorlmer , nnd everything Indicates that
Mr. Lorlmor fears that It will.
Congress is talking of making a
"farmer's free list. " The small boy
long ago placed the farmer's orchard
uud melon patch In this category.
Lots of folks Ho1 nwakc listening for
opportunity to knock , while opportun
Ity Is quietly smoking n plpo in the
living room waiting for recognition.
Congress Is passing a law for pub
llclty of campaign contributions.
These sealed proposals for the job of
ofllco holding are getting unpopular.
Ehbets of Brooklyn says baseball Is"
yet In Its Infancy. Judging by the
yelling In the bleachers , some one still
needs to walk the floor with it nights.
A Roman mirror , nearly 2,000 years
old , ma < to by attaching lead foil to
glass with balsam was recently dis
covered. It was as good as when first
made.
The Mexicans want n free ballot ,
hut as the man once said when his
daughters asked him for a chandelier ,
"they wouldn't play on It after they'd
got It. "
The government has experts looning
after the Indians' eyes. If they are
to be educated In our schools , their
eye for the ball will have to be de
veloped.
The president threw out the ball at
Washington's opening game , but he'd
find it easier to settle the Mexican
trouble than go down and take the
umpire's place.
Double tracks are to bo laid by the
Central Pacific and Union Pacific rail
roads over the whole distance to the
Pacific coast , making the first trans
continental double track line.
Mr. Taft tells the fighting Mexicans
to get away from the border. This Is
like telling the small boy to send oft
his July 4 crackers out in the Jjack lot
where no ono can hear him.
Wisconsin says her butchers must
tell what is In their sausage. The
next thing we hear will be an attempt
to make boarding house landladies tell
what their hash is composed of.
Mr. Bryan was disturbed because
be did not get his laundry bundle in
Indiana. If he were running for of
fice dirty collars ought to be almost
as good a card as calloused hands.
T. C. DuPont has offered to build
the longest and finest road in the
country through the state of Dela
ware n broad boulevard the whole
length of the state to cost $2,000,000.
Now some of those cantankerous
congressmen have made a motion that
no longer shall anyone have the right
to print the encyclopaedia In the Con
gressional Record as n part of his
speechd.
Over 40,000 rural delivery carriers
make n dally round nt an annual ex
pense to the government of more than
$40,000,000. It sewns a strange thing
that they cannot be utilized to handle
parcels as well.
Diaz Is going to give the Mexicans
n real election , so Instead of letting
the president .cast ono vote for the
entire nation , the untrammeled Mex
leans will march up and do as their
farm and mine bosses tell them.
Who won't feel sorry for the death
of Denman Thompson ? Ills plays , un
like other b'gosh dramas , sent ym
awny thinking of the manliness of the
characters rather than of their queer
clothes and awkward manners.
Japan is to build immediately twenty
ty great merchant steamers for the
South and Central American trade
This ought to serve as an outlet fo
the pent up enthusiasm nnd energy n
the Japs , without waging war for n
while.
A Connecticut minister who failec
to draw as large crowds ns he deemed
desirable , tried serving hot luncheon j
half nn hour before service. It proved
a success as a drawing card. The sur
est route to men's hearts still leads
through the stomach , .
A Kansas City woman has recently
been robbed of 1105,000 , and Memphis
has two million dollars to give Mr.
Bryan If ho will settle there. There
mnst bo plenty of loose change lying
around In those sections or else adver
tising rates for Tennessee nnd Mis
souri towns should bo advanced.
About $15,000,000 were spent In the
organized fight against tuberculosis.
This was used In maintaining instltu-
Ions and in the educational crusade ,
nil docs not include that spent in
irlvato cure or In homo care. Intelll-
; ent organized work on such n scale
nust show Increasing good results.
Work on the fortification of the co-
ml will begin on July 1 by the same
uen who did the excavating for the.
anal. Over $3,000,000 have been ap-
iroprlated for its fortification. Dt-
enses will he set up at each end of
ho canal nnd nil around the locks.
? lvo thousand troops will ho kept
hero in time of pence.
There are sixty-six Young Men's
Christian associations organized
among the Sioux Indians. A full
> loodcd , educated Indian Is the trav
eling secretary.The Indians glvo lib-
srnlly to the support of the organlza-
Ion nnd a substantial advancement
n morality nnd Christian living Is re-
ultlng from their work.
A. Chinese traveler In America
vrltes back to his friends that It is
mposslblo to civilize Americans they
are beyond redemption. They ent
neat gluttonously and go for weeks
vlthout tasting rice. They have no
dignity for they are seen walking with
vomen , and even sit at the table with
hem. Poor Americans , It is a plain
duty for China to send missionaries
over here.
A Chicago dressmaker predicts the
ncreaslng popularity of the harem
iklrt because It is the solution to the
problem of finding something entirely
comfortable and yet attractive to
wear. That's the trouble , It's alto
gether too attractive. When a woman
appears on the street In a hnrem
skirt , she attracts such a crowd that
t takes the policemen in largo num
bers to quell the mob.
Champ Clark says that corn Is the
coming crop in the south. He also
contends that if the south In civil war
days had known how to raise corn
the confederate states of America
would be in existence today. The
south was starved into submission.
Cotton was their only crop and they
could neither eat it nor sell it as in
other days to buy food. Now the Ar
kansas bottoms are growing rice , the
eorgla uplands fruit , the Texas prai
ries corn. A new era is dawning for
the south.
West Virginia produces daily over
900,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas ,
which sells , much of It outside the
state , for from 25 to 35 cents per thou
sand cubic feet. It Is being urged that
natural gas Is a product that should
belong to the state and a tax levied
on it for the public benefit. Even one
cent per thousand cubic feet would do
much toward building improved high
ways for the state. Every state has
natural products which should bo used
to advance the public welfare instead
of being grabbed by some greedy cor
poration.
SUPERINTENDENT HUNTER.
Though heartily appreciating the
compliment of having the Norfolk
school superintendent chosen for so
important a position as the principal-
ship of the state agricultural school
Norfolk people who have been watchIng -
Ing the great work accomplished In
the public schools of this city by Su
perintendent Fred M. Hunter , will sin
cerely hope that Mr. Hunter may see
his way clear to decline the new offer
and stick to Norfolk. His going would
be a misfortune for Norfolk.
No school superintendent In Nor
folk's history ever has done so much
to build up the city's educational sys
tern along practical and sanely pro
gresslve lines as Superintendent Hun
ter. He has begun a great work here ;
there Is a great work before him , if
he stays. And Norfolk hopes that he
may find that his own interest die
tates his remaining In his present po
sltion.
His selection by the state unlver
stty regents for the place made vn
cant by the death of Professor Davis
son , only goes to further emphasize
the fact that in Mr. Hunter , Norfolk
has one of the most capable schoo
men in the west
TAFT GETTING ACQUAINTED.
It will not escape attention that Mr
Taft is devoting much more time tc
getting acquainted with the congress
men and the department activities
Last year much more time was spen
In study of the telegraph poles and
railroad ties on his long routes o
travel.
There Is a certain argument In fa
vor of presidential travels , In the fall
uro of Washington properly to reflec
the feeling of the country. The sent !
mcnt of the office holding class pro
verblally misrepresents the sentlmen
of the great mass of the working pco
pie of the country , who are making
their living through productive occu
pations.
At the same time the most econom
ical manner for the president to use
In becoming familiar with the senti
ment of nil sections of the country , is
to rend the newspapers. Ho should
not confine himself to n few journals
of the larger cities , which In their de
votion to purely metropolitan Inter
ests arc the most provincial In the
vholo newspaper field. Let him
lance over regularly , or have his sec-
ctarlcs scan , n few lending journals
n each state , and ho will know the
nner heart of the American people.
GOOD FORESTRY.
Fifty young men who have been
tudylng forestry under German exerts -
) erts arrived home the other day , In
hargo of the Blltmoro Forestry
chool. It is pleasant to note that
uch large groups of young men are
earning some principles of tree cut-
Ing other than those prevalent among
awmlll owners and lumber kings.
Up to a few years ago our timber
wealth seemed inexhaustible. Old
nen used to say , regarding oven locn-
Ions In the eastern states , that there
vas as much timber ns In their youth.
They neglected to add that the larger
share of the existing woodland con
sisted of young growths instead of the
majestic forest monarchs of the days
; ono by. When It began to cost about
0 percent more than formerly to buy
vooden material for a house , It oc
curred to the average man that the
umber merchant was not the end of
he law on tree culture.
The present day use of cement ,
stucco and tiles for house construe
.ion shows how the shoe is beginning
.o pinch.
We are beginning to approach the
conditions in Europe , where wood long
ago reached a prohibitive degree of
scarcity. As all travelers know , you
can travel for days across the water
and not see a wooden house. All'over
Trance nnd some other countries , most
of the trees look like great feather
dusters , with a fluffy top of foliage ,
but with the main trunk denuded of
) ranches , so great is the value of any
wood big enough for heating.
Our American lumbermen have
commonly had a preference for the
dollar they might get today by strip
ping off the entire % voodland g'rowth ,
rather than the $2 they might get to
morrow by saving the younger trees.
They raise the objection that saving
; he younger trees requires so much
care as to create prohibitive expense ,
/hey should figure , however , on the
advanced lumber cost , and on the pros
pective value even in ten to twenty
years hence of a growth left after
.hlnnlng out the merchantable timber.
In addition to that , beauty is an as
set. A mountainside scarred and de-
'aced by the relentless sweep of the
saw drives away the nature lover , the
homeseeker and the traveler.
'
EASTER.
A fascinating hour of study could
be spent In delving into the dusty rec
ords to find the origins nnd meaning
of all the quaint and even grotesque
customs that cluster about this holi
day.
day.In
In the middle ages the poor were
feasted in the churches , a lovely cus
tom , though nt times one would judge
the ceremonies were somewhat ns
when the "wets" carry a city for li
cense.
There used to be dances , too , on
Easter day , the clergy told more or
less risky stories from the pulpits , and
the people saluted each other with an
Easter kiss.
The Easter egg was characteristic.
As a symbol of new life about to break
forthvit has a certain appropriateness.
The custom goes back of the time of
Jesus , as the Jews used eggs at the
feast of the Passover , and the Per
sians used to give each other colored
eggs at the New Year. In Scotland
the young people used to go hunting
for wild fowls' eggs for Easter morn
ing breakfast , and the finders were
supposed to be lucky.
Many of the Easter customs come
from the worship of the Teutonic god
dess Ostare , who personified the east
In the minds of all primitive peoples ,
the east had a sacred character. In
Scotland at a comparatively recent
date , the practice of burying the people
ple with their feet to the east , charac
teristic of many savage people , was
maintained.
Our modern Easter parade , as the
correct time to display the trophies of
the semi-annual bout with dressmak
ers and milliners ; has a veneer of pol
ish that the old time buffooneries of
course never acquired. Yet much of
It is still pagan. However , the fact
that one likes to have Sflnio new glad
clothes to wear , ' the satisfaction In
donning garments that are artistic in 1
color nnd design , does not prove that
one has no heart to the deeper har
monics of the universe.
Easter , to all who can see the real
J
things of life , is the daybreak that
scatters the shadows of fear and de
spair and absorption in the mere
things of the flesh.
ON THE BLEACHERS.
No ono has yet petitioned congress ,
so far as we are aware , that the an
nual opening of the major league base
ball season , which took place this year
on Wednesday , should he made a legal
holiday. Stranger propositions than
that , however , have come before oui
law makers.
After clinging like n human fly to j
some outlying spar of a street car , and j
< 'on walking some distance In the sub
urbs of the trolleys" ns our friend
Hnshtmura Togo remarks , "ono hears
n very congregational lynch law sound
of numerous voices doing It nil nt
once. "
There Is nn Intense nnd emotional
seriousness In the scene on the bleach
ers of n big league game. The men
arc peeled down to the legal limit of
clothing , showing there Is work to bo
done. When five thousand men pro
ceed to roast the umpire with n noise
reminding one of. feeding time nt the
zoo , the hampering superfluities of
clothing need to bo cast away.
Persons with whom their passion
for baseball IB limited nnd governed
by certain fundamentals of case nnd
comfort , seek the grand stand. The
true blcacherlte docs not feel nt home
there. The reserves of society there
tend to check the ( low of his pristine
and primitive emotions. Ho wants no
wire netting to blur to the least ex
tent his eyesight in the climax of this
nrdcnt drama. There Is relief to pent
geysers of feeling , nnd a chnnco to
Identify himself as also a ball player ,
by catching such foul balls as may
como his way.
Leaning forward on the edge of the
scat , his hat tilted back , cigar ex
tinguished , score curd covered with
pencilled computations , with punctua
tion of awesome howls sent hurling
over the arena , the bleacherlto gives
evidence of how Intimately this throb
bing experleiK'O penetrates his Inner
being.
Down on the reporters' bench the
strain and stress of these conflicting
forces give birth to a grotesque slang.
The whimsical humor that christens
the ball the "pill" or the "pellet" and
the left field the "left garden , " occa
sionally hits on forms of speech that
remain permanently Imbedded In the
language.
COLD STORAGE MEN NIPPED.
Ordinarily the despised , rejected
and embattled consumer looks and
feels just like those pictures In the
funny papers. There the common
people Is represented as a knock-
meed and apologetic midget , looking
ip In fearful pathos at the big bellied
creatures labelled the trusts.
But even the Lilliputians once had
Gulliver captive. Although the con
sumer is nn insignificant atom by his
onesome , the combined power of his
passive resistance may become an av
alanche.
When it was announced n few
weeks ago that the butter and egg
dealers would not make good on their
normous deposits in cold storage , the
consumer began to. straighten up his
Htle back , and his wrinkled and tense
countenance began for once to show
symptoms of a grin.
This week it is wired from Chicago
: hat the butter and egg dealers of the
country have dropped ? 5,000,000 to
$10,000,000 on their merry Jlttlo game.
Ono can already see the consumer
shaking the rheumatism out of his
legs by dancing the can can about the
kitchen.
Over and over again men seem to
forget about the Iron clad operation of
the laws of supply and demand. The
two inevitably tend to equalize. Skil
ful speculators may capture some tri
umph oi modern science as a means
of forcing the man who buys against
the wall. But sooner or later new re
sources are sure to open up and the
economies of the people to set at
naught these devices.
Since eggs nave been so high , the
trick of putting down dozens of hen
fruit in various preservative prepara
tions has become common in many
homes. Thus the cold storage men
have been fighting against the com
petition of thousands on thousands of
thrifty housewives who laughed at
men who were Investing thousands In
costly warehouses to force them to
pay high prices , when they had a little
reservoir of their own serving quite ns
effectively.
You may corner the butter nnd egg
supply for a year or two , but not for
long. The farmers of the country are
a vast independent force. They have
been quick to see the chance for
money in dairy and poultry supplies ,
and to meet the need at prices under
those the cold storage men could af
ford. The latter must have learned a
useful lesson.
TOM JOHNSON.
Tom Johnson , who has just died in
Cleveland , did not succeed In getting
street car rides for three cents. But
he did a number of things that even
his opponents would admit were very
serviceable.
Ordinarily you can't get the voters
to pive sustained attention to public
nffalrs. They are interested In nn
election largely as a sporting proposl-
tlon , a race between two men. But
when it comes to principles Involved ,
or still worse the intricate problems
of finance , the average voter would
rather pay his taxes for graft than
read head-achy figures.
Tom Johnson somehow made these
tiresome details of budgets and frnn
chlses take on human Interest One
night In the heat of summer ho got
12,000 people Into a tent , where they
listened for two hours while he nnd
nn opponent argued the dry details ol
the traction deal. Ho made the cltl
zens feel that they were stockholders
In n business corporation called the
City of Cleveland , and that If thoj
wanted dividends they must attend
directors' meetings.
Another of Tom's characteristic
novcs wns opening fifty baseball din-
uonds In city parks and on land own-
d by private Imlllvduals. Thus nn 1m-
ncnso amount of boy power which
thenvlso would have tended to smash
hlngs was turned Into n wholesome
Mmnncl.
Johnson did not make much of n
ticccss of three cent fares. But ho
vas early In the field with the notion
hat street car franchises are nn ns-
set which cities .can sell for good
noney. To he sure so much has now
been said about this that every gran
ger seems to think Rockefeller and
Morgan are bidding against each other
o run n trolley line up through his
vood lot. But Johnson's work nt least
lemonstrnted that n fairly capitalized
railway In a largo city ought to sell
rnnsportntlon for less than live cents.
In these days when so many men
are sipping the sugar sweets of for
tune acquired by some other man's
oil , the American people hnvo n
warm place in their hearts for n man
Ike Johnson , who began nt 15 ns an
errand boy , and got ahead by doing
hlngs Instead of receiving the gifts
of life with a passive hand. If such a
nan has committed errors and fol-
owed whimsical notions , ho has at
east been true to that grand principle
which so many of us have forgotten ,
to "Do with our might what our hands
hid to do. "
AROUND TOWN.
It's a cinch youv'c got your Easter
mt by this time.
But Is It paid for ?
Day after tomorrow the hen will be
gin getting credit again for what she
Joes. What makes such plagiarists of
the rabbits , anyhow ?
Now look here , Union Pncliic , Nor
folk can take a joke as well as any
body. You slipped one over on us
ast year when you promised to start
: hnt new depot by June 1 , 1910. You
Cooled us all right , and we give you
full credit for your cunning. But
dnough's enough. Let's get down to
brass tacks and either begin building
or come out frankly and admit there's
no intention of replacing that filthy
old shack now serving as a depot ,
with a new station.
The day of all the year when the
weather man is put to ( he test , Is at
hand. The whole world's now hat
depends upon him.
What's become of that old supersti
tion that if it rains on Easter Sunday ,
It will rain for seven Sundays there
after ?
One Norfolk coal dealer has been
wearing an overcoat all week trying
to make people think It was cold
enough to need more coal.
Got your Easter automobile ?
Norfolk needs n hospital.
Yes , the Easter hat Is hat-ched.
But low shoes are still in the incu
bator.
And will stay there just as long ns
this game of F. G. keeps up. .
We're anxious to know whether the
World-Herald will put a slug head
over the episode at Bull Run.
Those front page cartoons have
some friends , after all. Noting a crit
icism recently printed , n Clearwater
subscriber writes : "I will say that I
think they are all right. The ono that
represented two boys out hunting rab
bits , one with a gun in hand , standing
near the end of a hollow log , and the
smaller boy about midway of the log
pounding on the log with n club to
chase bunny out , and bunny sticking
its head part way out of the log , re
minded mo more forcibly of the times
when I was a boy and chased rabbits
in the winter than If you had written
a whole column in describing the
sport. And the one showing they little
boy with a broad smile on. his face
digging for flsh bolt , and then where
his mother called him back to take
care of his little sister that is a true
representation of one of the disap
pointments of life. Perhaps such as
only a little boy can feel. If you want
to drive a boy from homo and the
farm , just deprive him of those Inno
cent recreations. "
A Norfolk man buys grey neckties
that will harmonize with tlie blue-
grey color of his beard , just after a
shave. How's that for vanity ?
Your grass seed coming up yet ?
Hasn't anybody had radishes out of
their own garden ?
And if so , how do they expect to
get newspaper publicity on the mat
ter , without proving their claims to
the Around Town department ? ( P.
S. The same rule holds good on
spring chickens. )
Those dainty little showers are the
dope for the grass seed.
By the way , how many months ought
gross seed to tnko before you begin
to get something to show for your
money ?
What would you say If you had liv
ed to bo nearly ono score years and
ten , before you ever got n cold sere ?
And what would you DO ?
Wo know what to SAY , but what to
DO has us jonahed.
After a cold has hung onto you for
three blooming weeks , you begin to
get pessimistic.
It's n great sensation , of course , to
bo filled with hope each ono of these
balmy days , but you begin to wonder ,
after whllo , whether or not you'ro goIng -
Ing to gut anything else out of the
gnmo besides hope.
Norfolk needs u hospital.
A hospital that can euro colds.
Here's hoping they won't get Hunter
away from us.
The Furnace Golf season Is over ,
but the Kama still hangs on.
And buying Ice and coal on the selfsame -
same day , isn't what it's cracked up
to he.
Do you men find ono hat In ten
that's comfortable ?
Hero either.
Wo see by the paper that the Mex
ican army routed the rebels. When
they got through down there , we'd
llko to have them como up hero nnd
rout n cold In the head that wo could
direct them to , If they're anxious for
more war.
( There Isn't any possible chance of
the cold getting well before the end of
the war , that's n cinch. )
No wonder Tnft stirred up trouble
for us with the Mexicans. Didn't ho
wear a red necktie ? And haven't the
Mexicans , trained in bull fights , learn
ed long ago what red means ?
ATCHISON GLOBE SIGHTS.
As a rule , luck is hard work In dis
guise.
A white He I'ncsn't ' hold Its color
very well.
A bird In the hand Isn't worth much
for catching insects.
You probably expect too much from
labor-saving machinery.
Some men put too much confidence
in a confidential secretary.
Many people work harder to land a
job than they do afterwards.
No woman feels dressed up unless
she has on n ficsh pair of hose.
It is easy to believe a man's flsh
stories when ho gives you flsh.
No matter If we don't know wo like
to have people ask our opinion.
Farmers have become so prosperous
that there is no longer a crying de
mand for plow shoes.
Man is such n conceited animal that
he never believes his steady wishes he
would go home so she could get a
little sleep.
It may be that some mean men ob
ject to the harem skirt because the
wind doesn't have any chance of get
ting action on it.
A man may be old enough to know
better without knowing better ; n good
many overlook their opportunities for
acquiring Information.
When a man breaks down because
he doesn't take care of himself , he
likes to blame It on overwork In
order to become a martyr.
As a timely topic at this season , the
Lancaster Literary society will en
deavor to determine which tastes
worse , beer or buttermilk.
If you don't appreciate Daughter's
efforts on the piano , she will get even' '
with you by telling you how much
you lack the Finer Sensibilities.
Count McGowan recently had a falling
i
ing out with a neighbor. "That
man has sure broken his pick with' '
me , " is the way the count describes It.
If a man has an extravagant wife ,
and doesn't discourage her extrava
gance , she is pretty apt to be the kind
of a woman who will think him a' I
brute.
"Dressy" is a sissy-sounding word ,
whether it is that kind of word or not ,
nnd we object to having n clerk spring
It on us when wo order a pair of No.
9 shoes.
A woman may brag some If she In
duces her husband to go to church on
Sunday , hut she hasn't perfect control
'
of him unless she can take him to
prayer meeting.
Women like to kiss the babies , and
a politician feels that ho must All j
of which Is very hard on the babies
who aren't old enough to care for that I
sort of foolishness.
Besides being larger than a hunting
coat , the average automobile coat
doesn't fit ns well. Which is our no- !
tlon of some superlative In the misfit
line.
A boy may bo modest In most par
ticulars , but ho can't ride a bicycle
without touching the handle bars , and
keep from showing that ho feels as
superior as a congressman feels.
Parties to a divorce never get the
lavish praise that was handed to them
when they were married , though it
frequently happens that they deserve
felicitations on the last act as well as
the curtain raiser.
When Daughter engages In the
burnt wood fad , she accomplishes ono
good result , oven if her products are
not works of art ; she gives the piano
and the neighbors a chnnco to take
some much needed rest.
Count McGowan went to a show the
other night During the first net
everyone in the company joined In the
chorus. "I guess they arc in n hurry
to get through , so they are all singing
together. " said tbo count
SATURDAY NIGHT
iERMONS
BY
WJPdJVI&ftft ,
THE MYSTERY OF TAIN.
Text , "It wo Butter w ahall alio rel n. "
-11 Tim. II , 12.
It's rnro food for your Infidel friend.
He IcniiB back niul vlown you ni
though he were n visitor from another
planet "Why does your God allow
pain ? " Bays ho. That sounds judlclnl.
Makes you blink. "If Uo Is almighty
why doesn't llo abolish It ? " Notice
his "If God" air. "If
I wcro . Ho wcro
all loving would Ho permit It ? " That' *
a squelcher ! You wrlgglo and squirm
mentally. You cough and strangle
llko n dog that's swallowed n fly. Before -
fore you can stammer forth somcthlnir
about the waya of Providence bt'lng
Inscrutable ho la gone and you feu !
as though you had been caught burnIng -
Ing Incense to your house cat. Then
you remember that you would have
liked to ask his theory of why the
"blind Impersonal force" he believes In
pcrmltH pain. Ills non-God Is as cruel
an your personal God and doesn't
profess loving Intelligence. Ltut ho'a
gone and you're nlonu with your pain.
Come soon or Into pain will get you.
It ushered you Into the world ; It may
bow you out. However , the amount
between birth and death Is curiously
exaggerated. Three rainy Sundays out
of thirteen will tempt the preacher
( also his excu.se making church mem
ber ) to declare that "It always rains ,
on Sunday ! " Souio of our pain wo
have earned honestly and ought to bo
ashamed to mention It. Human wars ,
with not only shot and shell , but ex
posure nnd camp diseases , have hand
ed down quite n few to our human
credit or discredit. Modern psychotherapeutics -
therapeutics prove that envy , jealousy ,
hatred and some other unenviable
traits are responsible for quite tt
brood. It's not very pollto to blame
God for these.
Pain n0 Warning.
Pain Is n signboard. Your physician
tells you. "Scientifically pain results
from or accompanies deranged , over
strained or otherwise abnormal action
of the body nnd serves as a warning
of danger. " True. Nature warns there's
something wrong. Don't hush the pain
remove the cause ! Hushing the pain
Is removing the red lantern , the dan
ger signal , from n wreck on the road
Instead of removing the obstruction.
Without pain ' practically every 111
would be fatal , because the cause of
the pain would not bo removed.
Ever see u mother watching her year-
old toddler ? The button box , the stove ,
the scissors , the steps , even "kitty's
claws. " are unknown quantities nnd
qualities to baby It doesn't know palu
hence mother's watchfulness. After
awhile "the burned child dreads the
fire" and some other things. Without
pain the race would bo wiped out of
existence. Some babies of older years
would walk heedlessly In front of trol
leys fenders are needed even now ;
others would wander over precipices ;
fame would cut hands and lingers off.
Pain Is a protection.
Philosophy of Pain.
Your Infidel friend's questions start
ed from wrong assumptions. He has
many such. One is that what hurts is
necessarily evil. Another is that pres
ent Immediate happiness Is the chief
end of life. And his notion that n God
of love would not allow suffering
shows he has a crude Idea of the na
ture of love. He would train his sou to
hellovo that boy scouts arc best de
veloped on Ice cream sodas nnd cake ,
while his daughter's basketball team
best builds muscle on pickles and
fudge. Love Is an unselfish devotion
that seeks another's highest good ,
whether for the moment It gives pleas
ure or pain. Life Is not an entertain
ment ; it's an education.
This world Is God's university. Death
is commencement day ; palu has been
prominent on the faculty. The oak is
a tree plus some storms. A statue is
marble plus the chisel. A soldier Is u
man plus battle. The martyr is flesh
and blood plus rack and fagot. In
aviation the first rule of flight Is to
turn the machine against the wind.
Mankind rises through adverse winds
of suffering. The higher your nerve
organization the more you suffer. Tear
an arm out of a crab , It will still live
indeed , may grow n new one. Tear
an arm from a man , he will die.
Man's body Is a marvelous harp. "But
do not subhuman creatures suffer ? "
Yes , but only relatively. Cut some of
the simplest forms of life In half and
they go on their way two existences
now instead of one. "Doesn't the Hsu-
wormwrlggle under the hook ? " Yes ,
but it wriggles before the hook touches
It "And the horse ? " Yes , the more
highly organized be Is the more he
Buffers. But even he has been known
to hobble around on a broken leg. nib
bling grass In apparent contentment.
"And the 'Inferior * races ? " I have seen
on one of the reservations a half dozen
Indian boys with n playmate down
jabbing pins In him to make him yell-
unsuccessfully.
"Our light afflictions , " says Paul.
Somehow the pounding is turning out
bronze doors with beautiful designs.
The shearing nnd the weaving nnd the
dyeing are bringing out beautiful
tapestry. Take away suffering ? That
would take away the power of the
soul to endure. 'Twould rob us of pity.
\Ve would lose our heroes and martyrs.
It would take , away love , redeeming
love , that pays n price and smiles at
It * loss. Take away pain ? Then it
would take away the Christ on IIU
cross , made through perfect suffering.
The day on which the wife becomes
a regular ad-reader was a day of oven
better fortune than the ono on which
the husband had a salary-raise !
*
m m w *
News want ads are effective.
I
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