Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 08, 1917, EDITORIAL SECTION, Page 15, Image 15

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    THE BEE: OMAHA. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 8, 1917.
13 .
WAR PALL FALLS HEAVILY,
'UPON GAY LIFE OF OLD BUT
LOVELY QUEEN OF ADRIATIC
- .
People of Italy Live in Daily Dread of Destruction of Their
Beautiful Palaces, But Gradually Have Become Ac
customed to Terror; Roar of Big Guns Sounds
Daily in Their Ears.
DRAMATICS FOR
SOLDIERS TO WAIT
Plan Considered by Drama
League Deferred Until
Y. M. C. A. is
Ready.
fow that hostile hordes are close
to Venice, a description of how the
"Queen of the Adriatic" has lived
through the preceding two and a half
years of war takes on added inter
est and timeliness.
The author, Vergilla Bogue Baron,
an American woman, served as hos
pital nurse with the Italian armies at
theA'ront. Writing in the New York
'Times, she says':
Venice is pre-eminently, as ever,
jthe city of night. It is at war by
night and not by day.
Who could believe, seeing its smil
ing inhabitants busy , at their work,
that one is in the most important sea
port of the Austro-Italian war? Not
even the white uniforms of sailors
and officers, the manifold difficulties
of entering the city and remaining
ithere alter one's idea that Venice is
merely a fairyland in a country at
peace.
All one hears on deserted bridge,
on bright piazza, on the canals, in
cafes and at the Lido is talk of socks
for soldiers, sacks for mountain
passes, cigars for the army, exami
nations in trained assistance, hours of
service at the Red Cross hospitals
.wijyk, work the universal inspiration
-jrk to help Italy pave the way to
iw third greatness. And as men in
Venice in '48 took to horse and gun
and women to tending the wounded,
so the men in modern Venice have
taken to horse and gun and the women
have proven Hheir mettle by giving
to their sacred country all the genius
and intuition that these women's
hearts can give.
Spirit of People.
So as my first day drew to its close
I realized it was this wonderful civic
spirit more than anything that was
keeping Venice gay this mighty work
of those left behind to care for the
sick and wounded, to plan for the bet
terment of the well. I realized this
and also that I was seeing Venice as
I had always yearned to see it, with
out tourists. It has had so many
these latter years, particularly Hun
garians of a class that did not har
rll.mize with the aesthetic setting of
the Piazza San Marco. There are
none now. Neither are there bare
legged German moufttain climbers
wearing the perpetual feathered green
hat. Nor are there the visitors of
all nations, not even the throngs of
Italians. Venice is Venetian. 1 hough
hard hit by the European war because
of its dependence upon non-Vene-tian
residents and transients, it is
learning to fall back upon its awn en
ergies and resources.
The beach of its Lido, a mighty
stronghold of Venetian resistance, is
occupied by soldiers, officers and in
digent bathers; all hotels are deserted,
the navigation of the Adriatic is sus
pended. Venice lives ardently in
working for Italy. And the fortu
nate mortal whose passport had ad
mitted him to the war zone will com
ment on the aesthetic advantage of
having seen Venice purely Venetian.
So, by day, one can never imagine
k Venice a city of war. One even feels a
'sense of peace in looking up at San
.Marso and inding the bronze horses
from Byzantium not in their accus
tomed places oh, well! They are in
a place of safety, somewhere) surely,
out of the war zone, as are other Ve
netian treasures. And what a thrill of
pleasure one feels to see the great
sandbags over the lovely mosaics of
the Basilica 1 One instinctively knows
that bombs will not explode if they
touch those sandbags, and this fact
renders thew beautiful! Neither will
the Ducal Palace cave in should the
fatal bomb explode in its vicinity, as
it is supported by a massive frame
work beneath all its arches.
Protection Against Bombs.
Surely the hand of the Austrian
viator who prepares , to drop his
fissile must tremble so violently that
the bomb will miss or drop innocu
ously into the lagoon. But one is
quite certain that Austrian aviators
will never be near enough again to
menace the city in any way. There
are always French and Italian mono
planes on the alert.
And yet one hears the reverbera
tion of a great siren from the lagoon.
The citizens rush to and fro beneath
the arches. Some there are, the
curious, who seek to get a glimpse of
the still distant Austrian bird. Before
one knows, out toward the Lido, high
in the air, are little clouds of white
smoke. A novice regarding aerial bat
tles believe them to be bombs. But
they are not. One hears distinctly the
explosion of Italian shrapnel, and then
a mighty fusillade. The Austrian
monoplane is being chased from the
sacred precincts. The- citizens are
jocund again. It has been forgotten
at once. Venice, by day, still seems
a city at peace.
k t But at night everything changes.
You will never forget the night you
stood in the Piazza San Marco and
the giants' hammers struck resonant
ly the hour of 9. Venice is at war!
The electric current in the entire city
has been suddenly disconnected.
What a sublime spectacle awaits you.
There is no light anywhere no
trembling reflection of a candle in a
side canal, no gleam of brilliance
seen through the crevice of a shutter
here and there for all windows have
been made opaque and all shutters
KorroH and covered by curtains
to obscure even the soft'candle light,.
(one candle Deing anowea uy ic
authorities to burn in every room.)
Like City of Dead.
Venice- is like a city of. the dead,
thriving only on the light of the
night sky, which, should it be moon
less is little enough. Little by little
one's eyes accustom themselves to
the darkness. Across the shadowy
lagoon rises the graceful Campanile
-t o., Klnrt in tn moon-
lfcss night, and the eye travels from
it to the mystic San Saulte and the
Redentore, both scarcely visible
,; h Vv. Out of the darkness
of the plazetta stands the Lion of
L pt, Mark, fierce and austere, and near
him St. George looms white, a fairy
symbol, a mystic protector of the
city of silence. Venice in the darkness
offers something new to every one,
something new and sublimely fan
tastic, something exquisitely myster
ious luring one hack to all her ro
mantic legends the Foscari, Marino
Faliero, Gioconda, Caterina Cornaro.
Surely one is living in the Renais
sance, and the black figures that pass
in arfd out among the arches must
be bound on some mission of love
or crime.
And yeb in the midst of this silence
and obscurity one is untroubled by
any sense of fear. The gay Venetians
about 1 are on their way to Florian or
Quadri to drink their coffee or take
an ice. One follows them instinc
tively. They lead one. to hidden mu
sic, for at Florian the band plays in
doors. One finds a table with little
difficulty a.nd the waiter, unaided by
light of any sort, fetches the desired
beverage in no time. And yet the
darkness is as complete as when one
puts out the candle ifl one's room.
Still there are throngs at the cafes.
Here and there across the piazza one
suddenly sees a light something very
like a great name of artillery fire! It
is only a match held in somebody's
hand a moment to light a cigaret.
Woe to the man who keeps it burning
too longl lhere are cries from all
sides, for the Venetians desire to keep
to the letter all military commands.
Darkness and Silence.
- At 11 o'clock the music ceases, but
the throngs remain seated. Some
wander in and out among the tables
to surprise the unwary by pressing in
their faces the electric pocket lamp
possessed by all in the war zone. Out
of the blackness one sees outlined for
a second the charming profile of a
young girl or the broad grin of some
elderly Venetian dame and the whole
piazza reverberates with' laughter.
They are such children, these Vene
tians! After their fun they go, in lit
tle groups, to unfrequented canals and
so, as in times of peace, keep late
hours, only now strains of patriotic
airs are wafted from all parts of the
city. One hates to leave the streets
for the bright candle light f the ho
tel. Here one dwells mostly on one's
surprise at being unmolested in the
obscurity that reigns supreme with
out. And when the night comes, the
moonlight night, and reveals, to you
all the subtle and infinite beauty of
Venice, undisturbed by any artificial
light Venice as it was, as it was built
to be tears come crowding to the
eyes, for it is something one cannot
gaze upon. One feels it is "horribly
beautiful." It is unbearable. Low
on the horizon the moon robes the
piazzetta, brings out white the Schia
vorii, casts its silver blue light across
the lagoon to the islands, fairylike
under its light. San Marco, each
moment, lias a new aspect. Those
mosaics, still uncovered, are brought
into wonderful relief. The moon
light accentuates the graceful lines of
Providing dramatic entertainment
for soldiers at the neighboring forts,
a plan considered by the local Drama
league, will have to be deferred un
til the Young Men's Christian associ
ation is ready to sponsor the work.
This announcement is made by Miss
Kate A. McHugh, president of the
league, following an executive board
meeting, at which the war-time activi
ties of the organization were dis
cussed. The committee voted to abandon
weekly meetings, since most of the
members are busy at Red Cross work.
The local league will maintain its
membership in the national and wilt
place its funds in a savings bank, em
powering the educational committee,
however, to draw upon these funds to
secure any entertainment desired, the
proceeds to go to some patriotic
cause or to put on a dramatic enter
tainment for the soldiers, as suggested
by the national league, when the
Young Men's Christian association
asks for the league's help.
A return engagement of Stuart
Walker's Portmanteau Players is
promised if the players come west.
the ever-graceful Ducal palace, and,
glancing beneath the arches, one feels
they are fantastically deep. But back
and forth, to and fro, wherever they
may wander, the throngs always re
turn to worship before San Marco.
One looks from the giants to the an
gel of the Campanile to the austere
winged lion and then back to San
Marco. All is calm, serene and beau
tiful. There are no songs in the air
as on moonless nights, and one
speaks in whispers; the spell of the
war and the moon hold! all.
,Not many mornings ago there had
been a very fierce aerial battle at
dawn. The enemy had succeeded in
dropping two bombs from an incredi
ble height. But at the sound of the
siren, the Venetians, instead of hid
ing, rose and dressed and went to
the piazza. The noise was infernal.
There came from the Lido the rut-tut-tut
of machine guns, the fire of
shrapnel and shell, and a terrific
fusillade. As the bird flew far out to
sea there wa,s but one regret it had
escaped; and its bombs had been ef
ficacious if only in a small way. The
infant day found the Venetians on
the piazza with cries of "Viva l'ltal
ia!" And an elderly Englishman and
friend to Italy one of the few for
eigners allowed to remain in the pre
cincts of the city raised his fists to
his breast and cried:
Oh, Venice, Venice, when thy marble halli
Are level with the waters,
There shall be a cry of nations o'er thy
sunken walls,
A loud lament along the sweeping; sea.
And the lament of theseWerses at
dawn was the cry of the whole world
the defense of Venice against Teu
tonic barbarism. It was rhetoric, per
haps, this manner of salute to the
enemy's airplane, as was, perhaps, the
"Viva lTtalia!" the salute of the
Venetian people. But these are days
of romanticism and Italy is fighting a
holy war.
Women of St. Paul's Church
- Hold Bazar in Court House
The women of St. Paul's Episcopal
church have an attractive outlay of
articles for their annual bazar to be
held in the rotunda of the court house
next Wednesday and Thursday. The
proceeds, it is hoped, will clear all re
maining indebtedness assumed when
the church was stuccoed last spring.
m
I
V
has mKwmwssL
THE food value of cocoa has
been proven by centuries
of use, and dietitians and phy
sicians the world over are
enthusiastic in their endorse
ments of it. It is said to con
tain rnore nourishment than
beef, in a more readily assimi
lated form. The choice,how-
ever, should be a high-grade
qocoa, "Baker's" of
course.
IT IS DELICIOUS, TOO
Trade-mark on every package
Made only by
Walter Baker & Co. Ltd
Established 1780
Dorchester - - Mass.
REOi U. . PAT. OFF.
;g3g i ' .- " "' 1 i r I, . . .p. in . i .J., j
DENTISTS ENLIST
AID OF WOMEN TO
SELLTHECROSSES
One Thousand of the Fair Sex
to Assist in the Drive for
Funds for Free Dental
Dispensary. rt
Did you ever have a toothache?
If you have ,and know what
means, help relieve some poor kid
dies' toothache.
Saturday is the day set for the $10,-
000 drive for funds to maintain the
Omaha free dental dispensary. Local
dentists who sponsor the undertaking
for the benefit of children who suffer
from poor teeth have enlisted the aid
of 1,000 women to sell lavender
crosses, emblem of the dispensary, to
raise funds for the work.
Each dentist has asked a woman
to captain a team of 10 women, who
will in turn enlist the aid of 10 more
worrfen. The dentists and captains
are:
Dr. E. B. McQuillan, Mrs. H. L.
Scott; Dr. F S. Mellinger, Mrs. Mel
linger; Dr. A. O. Hunt, Mrs. Robert
son; Miss Dixton, team of 20; Miss
McNally, team of 22; Dr. M. I. Gor
don, Mrs. Charles Elgutter; Dr. L.
E. Meyers, Mrs. Meyers; Dr. P. J.
Hunter, Mrs. Hunter; Dr. M. II. Dun
ham, Mrs. T. J. Mackey; Dr. F. F.
Whitcomb, Mrs. B. P. Unitt; Dr. H.
A. Nelson. Mrs. Nelson; Dr. W. L.
Shearer, Mrs. Shearer and Mrs. A.
D. Dunn; Dr. M. L. King, South
Side, Mae Kudrna; Miss Charlotte
Townsend, Miss McNally; Mrs. Delia
Sturk, Hrs. H. K. Moore; Dr. W. B.
Nash, Mrs. Nash; Dr. J. M. Prince,
Mrs. Prince; Dr. Blaine Truesdall,
Miss Ann Young and Mrs. Trues
dall; Dr. W. A. Cox, Mrs. Joseph
Murphy and Mrs. Fred Lightfoot;
Dr. P. T. Barber, Mrs. Barber and
Mrs. O. M. Smith; Dr. E. H. Bruen
ing, Mrs. Lee Huff; Dr. C. E. Brown,
Mrs.-R. J. Abbott; Dr. II. C. Miller,
Mrs. J. R. Dodds; Dr. F. J. Des
pecher, Miss Clement; Dr. C. J.
Emerson, .Mrs. C. J. Emerson and
Mrs. Charles Leslie; Dr. N. C. Chris
tenscn, Miss Malone; Dr. C. H. Giet
zen, Mrs. Gietzen; D. O. C. Gold
ner, Mrs. Goldner.
Another Commerce H. S.
Teacher Joins the Army
Clarence E. Rice of the High
School of Commerce faculty joined
the aviation service two weeks ago.
Ernest Simmons was selected to fill
the vacancy a week ago and after
four days he, too, quit to enter mili
tary service. The High School of
Commerce faculty has been hard hit
by the war. (
COUNTIES LINE UP
FOR WAR SAYINGS
State Director Burgess and
Secretary Palmer Return
From Speaking Tour;
Establish Agencies.
Ward M. Burgess, director of war
savings for Nebraska, returned to
Omaha Thursday from Hastings,
where he went in company with Wal
ter ,V. Head, vice president of the
Omaha National bank, and Secretary
Harry O. Palmer, of the war savings
campaign. Mr. Burgess reports that
the city of Hastings and Adams coun
ty are now thoroughly organized and
at work in the sale of war saving cer
tificates and thrift stumps.
While at Hastings Mr. Burgess
spoke in the Kerr opera house
Wednesday night, and later met with
the county committee, organized for
Adams county, under the leadership
of V. A. Taylor. Mr. Burgess de
clared that every cent of private ex
penditure which is not really neccs
sary for the health and efficiency oi
the individual involves a diminution
of the goods and service that should
be available for winning the war.
During the day Mr. liurgess sec
retary, Mr. Palmer, addressed 800
pupils in the high school on the need
of saving, and outlined the plan of
the war saving certificate and thrift
stamp. He also spoke before four
ward schools.
Mr. Burgess spoke at Hastings
Thursday.
The work is well under way for the
establishment of agencies in Omaha
for the sale of war stamps. Joseph
Barker, chairman of the Omaha com
mittee, is authorizing agencies at de
partment stores, drug stores and other
public or semi-public places where the
public can conveniently purchase
thrift stamps and war savings stamps.
Agencies have already been estab
lished at the following downtown
places: Postoffice, Brandeis stores,
IUirgess-Nash company, Haydcn
Brothers, Orchard & Wilhclm com
panv, Thompson & Beldcn company,
A. Hospc company, Benson-Thome
company ,and the Owl Drug com
pany, Harvard drug store, Twenty
fourth and Farnam streets; Chiton
Hill pharmacy; Charles E. Lathrop,
Fortieth and Farnam streets: Barnes
' umacy, Fortieth and Cuming, and
ilnut Hill pharmacy, Fortieth and
lilton streets.
Savs C. J. Ernst of School
Board Will Resign Soon
A member of the Board of Educa-
tion, who does not wish to be quoted,
says C. T. Ernst, president of the
board, will resign at the end of this
month.
Mr. Ernst is out of the city. Ru
mors of his prospective resignation
were heard several months ago, but ai
that time Mr. Ernst did not wish to
commit himself.
Thomas A. Fry, vice chairman of
the board, has practically said he in
tends to resign.
These members are among the old
guard of the present board. ;
Makes Survey of Peru
Grads in Omaha Schools
W. N. Delzell of the Peru state
normal is making a survey of the
work of Peru alumni, who are teach
ing in the Omaha schools. Superin
tendent Beveridge announced that he
will hereafter keep a record of all
Omaha teachers who have been grad
uated from Nebraska state normals,
that he may co-operate with those in
stitutions in detecting weak places
which should be strengthened.
That extra room will pay your coat
bill. Kent it through a Bee Want Ad.
HAVE COLOR It! CHEEKS
Be Better Looking Take
Olive Tablets
If your skin is yellow complexion pallid
tongue coated appetite poor you have
a bad taste in your mouth a lazy, no-good
feeling you should take Olive Tablets.
Dr. Edwards' Olive Tablets a substitute
forcalomel were prepared by Dr.Edwards
after 17 years of study with his patients.
Dr. Edwards' Olive Tablets are a purely
vegetable compound mixed with olive oil.
You will know them by their olive color
To have a clear, pink skin, bright eyes,
no Dimples, a feeling of buoyancy like
childhood days you must get at the cause.
Dr. Edwards' Olive Tablets act on the
liver and bowels like calomel yet have
no dangerous after effects.
They start the bile and overcome consti
pation. That's why millions of boxes are
sold annually at 10c and 25c per box. All
druggists. Take one or two nightly and
note the pleasing results.
WHITE EAGLE'S Indian Oil, Known a
RATTLESNAKE OIL
The old Indian remedy for the cure of
rheumatism, catarrh, hay fever, sore and
iwollen joints, Btiff muscles, all kinds of
pain, croup and diphtheria, tonsilitis. Used
by the Indians for hundreds of years, and
always been known for its great drawing
qualities. Won't blister, perfectly harmless,
Denetrates without rubbing. This great Oil
will limber you up and do away with your
rheumatism and pain. Just one application
and your pain ii gone. Will penetrate
through the thickest of sole leather In
few seconds, anfl the only medicine of this
kind that has ever been placed In the mar
ket. Relief and a cure awaits you. Thousands
of people will testify how they have been
relieved and cured by this wonderful new
Oil. It's a new version. Every bottle Is guar
anteed to give perfect satisfaction or money
refunded. Sold by all druggists at 60 eenta
per bottle. Trade supplied by the Richardson
Drug Co., Omaha, Neb. Advertisement.
p ALAT ABLE Pleases the most
exacting taste; made from pure, whole
some ingredients good for tired nerves. A
genuine thirst-quencher nourishing and de
licious. Appropriate for all occasions. Drink
STORZ in every season.
Served wherever invigorating and refresh
ing drinks are sold.
Ideal for the home. .Order it by the case.
Storz Beverage & Ice Go.
Webster 221.
MM
J - " V
Notice Every Pair of Walk-Over Shoe in Our Store is Included in This Profitleta Sale. '
The Greatest Shoe Values
Omaha Has Ever Known
Are to Be Had By Those Taking Advantage of the
WALK-OVER PROFITLESS
SHOE SALE
Men and women readily recognize in the Walk-Over a shoe of Quality, a
shoe that has been made and sold on Hi merit for the past 41 years. We doubt
if you ever heard of any Walk-Over Shoe having before been sold at a Profitless
Price to the consumer yet that s exactly what we
offer you shoes at a Profitless Price.
House, Street and Dress Shoes for the Women.
Street, Dress and Work Shoes for the Men.
Many Sizes for the Young Lad and Girl
Attending School.
300 Pairs Men's Black and
Tan Calf Shoes
English and high toe (H f gi
lasts. Profitless 2h,VyU
' shoe sale trice
Others From $4.15 to $8.95.
The Above Price
is Less Than
Factory Cost.
PHOENIX HOSIERY
The Walk-Over Boot Shop carries the largest as
sortment of colors in Phoenix Hosiery of any store in
Omaha. Buy your Phoenix Hosiery now, as prices
Sdvance January 1st.
Who Wouldn't Buy Shoes
At Our Profitless Prices?
000 pairs Women's Shoes, button
and lace, in blacks d 1 ,QC
and tans, sizes 2 to 0 V 1
Walk -Over Boot Shop
317 SOUTH 16TH ST. BETWEEN HARNEY AND FARNAM
America's Most Pomilar Xmas
The Victrola "4"
BY ALL MEANS GET YOURS
URDAY
Wouldn't You Spend That for a
Genuine Victor-Victrola Like This?
It's a
Surprise
at the
Don't doubt it because it's low priced.
Just phone Douglas 1662 or mail that
coupon, and we will send one to your
home, then TRY it if you do you'll
surely buy it.
Pr
ice
limit)
Healyour child's
sick skin with
Resinol
The minorskin troubles to which
infants and children are subject
itching patches, bits of chafing,
rash or redness so easily develop
into serious, stubborn affections,
that every mother should have
Resinol Ointment onhandto check
them before they get the upper
hand. Doctors and nu rses recom
mend Resinol for this with the
utmost confidence because of its
harmless ingredients and its suc
cess in healing eczema and similar
serious skin diseases
Resinol Ointment U told by til drertisti.
50
Left
HAIR BALSAM
A tot!t impwattan of merit
to end laat dudraC
t. or KaejiaMaf Coloc in
hf at7 tom p or Fmimi Hair.
9 n.w vivnnm
Corner
i
ISth and
Harney St.(
Omaha, Neb.
AHo 33S
Broadway,
Council
Bluffe, la.