1
THE fiEE:- OM AHA,' MOKD AY,' JANUARY 6, 1919.
-The Omaha Bee
'DAILY (MORNIKC) EVENING SUNDAY
POUTPED BY EDWARD BOSS WATER
J I VICTOR ROSEWATER. EDITOR
THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. PROPRIETOR
MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tkt Associated Press, o whica Ths Bee It a member, it uclsiifeit
atltM to las use fee publication of til ni 4ititches credited
to II Of sot otherwise credited In Ull pr. and tlta Ult loctl
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OFFICESi
i -ilile Pewlt'i flit Bulldtnf. Omihe Th. Bee Bldf.
. Km Tors 1M rifle, An. gout Ooitht N HI.
rf M. Urals S H'k of Commercs. Council Blurr li N. Mtlo Bt,
f WtthlnnoB 1811 Q Bt Lincoln Lllllo Bulldltif.
; NOVEMBER CIRCULATION
: Daily 69,418 Sunday 63,095
'ojmo olreultMoB for th DMBtk tubssrlDed tad nan to be
M. 1 Iwd, ClrcnliUon Utoir.
SubscriWs Utvlng tat dty should hvo Tho Be moiled
So thorn. Address changed ftsn requested.
T- One week titl the big doings at Versailles.
I Why should a railroad investigate a federal
judge?
Reports of the alarming illness of the kaiser
uggest that nature may yet answer the ques
tion as to his future.
f ii is an ngnt to Diame the "cootie tor a
million deaths, but the main question is how to
exterminate the pest.
i" Serbia is making quite a war talk for a coun
, try lately emerged from the load under which
'ft rested. six months ago.
Bordeaux-to-Bagdad is quite as alliterative
-and just as practicable as the former project.
i Let the world h ave the service.
Up in Alaska, where street cars and movies
are unknown, the people die from flu just the
aine. And it is quite as cold there as here.
' With the watchfire in the washtub gone out,
j the weird women of Washington will have to
I look up some new outlet for their foolishness.
I Paris is entertaining a more immediate men
ace in the form of flood, the Seine being on
l' Us annual bender. This cannot be stopped by
Yankee boys.
- "It's not the first cost, but the uokeeo." siirli
Lthe city fathers, as they contemplate bills of
I $63,000 for maintaining sixty automobiles one
year. Something wrong here.
t Now with the street car strike and the flu
and a lot of other annoyances out of the way,
let us get down to business and do some of the
real 4hings we have on the program.
.- The state council of defense beat the gov-ternpr-elect
to it, but he will be technically
credited with having redeemed his promise to
liever some of the members from their jobs.
Nebraska could not attend in a body at New
port News, but the boys from the Antelope
later who got ashore there yesterday, must
feKjhe wave of welcome sent them from
.home.
j , Mr. Wilson starts the move to relieve
Europe's hungry by asking for an appropriation
W $100,000,000 ., to provide food for those who
lican not buy for themselves. This will be money
well spent.
I Twenty billions, five hundred millions is
jwhat the railroads represented as a capital in
vestment when taken over by the government
V year ago. This simplifies the problem of gov
ernment ownership.
I . , ' : .g
Mr Baker comforts himself with the thought
lhat if the war had gone on long' enough,
Vmerica would finally have been ready to sup-
?ly its own army. Others are not so easily con
oled over the unpleasant facts.
v The democrats are having quit a time try-
ing to chase Governor McKelvie out of his
iwn comfortable home and into the big, barn
ike house Nebraska calls "the governor's man
sion." If "Mack" rs as wise as we think he is,
he will hold on to his own house.
Another city planning expert has told us
how to spend a lot of money in opening new
And widening and grading old streets, but has
iiot said a word as to how the fund is to be
Raised. This may be all right as an indoor
pport, but Omaha has more important problems
ahead.
; The death of David Lubin may result in the
ermination of the work he undertook to estab
lish at Rome, that of a central bureau for the
tlearing of world crop information. He had
til organization well under way when the war
broke out, its work being carried on afterwards
under difficulty. When Me matter was brought
before congress last summer on an attempt to
ecure a renewal of the appropriation for its
upport, a serious objection was raised as to
the value of the service performed. The Inter
national Agricultural institute may survive
Lubin, as a monument to his enterprise, but it
Ought to be organized as a government func
tion, and not be under private control.
The Nation's War Bill
It appears from figures compiled by the sen
ate committee on appropriations that congress
for the fiscal years 1918 and 1919 appropriated
and authorized contract expenditures for the
prosecution of the war with Germany aggregat
ing tome $55,000,000,000. Contract cancellations
and various other deductions made possible by
the armistice will bring the figures of actual ex
penditure by the United States on account of
the war down to about $33,500,000,000.
i This for two years is a sum ten times the
fioney cost of the civil war to the northern
tates during four years, with a fourth of the
resent population of the United States. It is
more than five times the cost of the Napoleonic
wars to Great Britain, extending over a period
of 20 years. It represents a cost per year
more than double that incurred by Germany or
any other chief belligerent in Europe. It is
an amount exceeding the entire wealth of the
Nation as late as the year 1870.
v- So great a financial sacrifice for the time
given has never at another period been made
by any nation and has not been made by any
p'ther nation at this time. But it brought the
war to a victorious end with a quickness which
has dazed the whole world, and particularly the
enemy world. That is and will continue jo be
the ample justification of so unprecedented an
expenditure, no matter what time will reveal of
the extravagance and waste necessarily attend
ing the vast and improvised outpouring of the
IstfSoVi at?batanci,es .York, .World.
"MAKING PROGRESS."
The street car men, through) their leaders,
are reported as saying that they feel they have
made progress in the finding of the war labor
board on the issues they raised with the com
pany. We are glad they feel so, and glad, also,
that the war board's ruling has enough in it to
permit the men as well as the company to claim
vindication of their respective positions and
satisfaction of their demands.
But let not the street car men fool them
selves with the delusion that they have gained
anything that in any way repays the cost of
the senseless and needless street car strike
with which they afflicted this 'community for
more than a week.
Let not the street car men try to persuade
themselves they have made the smallest bit of
progress by holding up traffic of a great city
like Omaha in the busiest season of the year
that they couldjiot have made, and would not
have made, by appealing directly to the war
labor board without the strike.
Let it not be forgotten that the company,
right or wrong in its treatment of the men,
from the first expressed a willingness to let
any grievances under the previous award go
to arbitration and that the strike was called in
spite of all this, with a resulting loss in wages
to the strikers of not less than $30,00(3; to the
company of revenues exceeding $100,000, and
incalculable damage and inconvenience to the
people and business interests of the community.
Let not the moral of the war labor board's
decision be lost on either side of this contro
versy. No strike can be successful that is not
backed by popular sympathy and no street
car strike in Omaha can have popular support
that is precipitated in violation of existing
agreements and in flagrant disregard of the
public as the great third party at interest. Only
if the street car men, and we say it with most
kindly intent, learn this lesson from an egreg
ious mistake, have they really made progress.
The President at the Vatican.
Only a sentimental importance can attach to
the visit of the president to the Vatican, but
that sentiment can hardly fail to have its due
effect on the progress of history. The interview
between president and pope" is said to have
lasted half an hour, and it is impossible that any
detailed discussion of world relations could take
place in that short time. Significance of the
visit will rest cm the order of the procession,
from the Quirinal to the Vatican. As the head
of a great church organization, and the spiritual
guide for millions of people resident in all parts
of the world, Benedict has an interest in the
affairs of humanity that can not be gainsaid.
While he is denied any temporal authority, the
political influence of the church in some lands
is quite as great as its spiritual. Especially
will His Holiness be concerned with the future
of the Catholics of Austria-Hungary, Bohemia,
Poland, Belgium and other of the countries in
which the church numbers its great member
ship. Mr. Wilson's presence at the Vatican
must therefore be interpreted as an expression
of disinterested friendship on the part of
America towards the pope, and as such likely
to have its reflection at Versailles. It is merely
a pledge of our devotedness to the square deal.
Y. M. C. A. and Its War Work.
Dr. John R. Mott, general secretary of the
war council of the Y. M. C. A., says criticisms
and complaints by returning soldiers should be
faced and given frank answers. Less than that
would disapppint the public, who gave many
millions of dollars to support the work of the
association and the institutions allied with it in
their activities here and abroad.
Scattered and disconnected complaints
scarcely deserve attention, but the persistent
criticism that has been heard since peace was
declared make it imperative that the facts be
developed and published. That the Red Tri
angle workers covered themselves with glory
is admitted. Evidence is plenty of the self-sacrificing
nature of their service. Unfortunately,
signs point to at least a misunderstanding some
where as to the whole scope of the work.
When the association took over the army
canteen service, at the request of General
Pershing, foundaion was laid for a great deal
of dissatisfaction among the soldiers, who
found themselves paying war prices for articles
they bought, and who could not understand
why this was so. Similarly, folks at home could
not comprehend the necessity of charging sol
diers full prices when so liberal contribution
had been made for the support of the work.
Complete publicity of all the activities of the
various relief agencies should be forthcoming,
that the pubjic may know just where the money
went. This is certainly due the donors, and
will clear away any doubt that may now exist
as to the wisdom as well as the zeal with which
this phase of the war business was managed.
Waste in State Printing.
One of the most remarkable publications
ever paid' for by the taxpayers of Nebraska is
the report of the deputy labor commissioner.
It is not only remarkable for its bulk, but for
the kind of matter it contains.
For example, twenty-two pages are devoted
to the reproduction of poems, bits of verse;
scriptural texts or quotations from philoso
phers, and W. J. Bryan, none of which have
iny place in a bureau report, the whole winding
up with a glorious song to Woodrow Wilson,
pledging him that Nebraska is for him, although
the state had returned a solid republican dele
gation to congress and turned the democrats
out, some time before the .copy went to the
printer.
Eighty-nine pages are consumed in present
ing details of shipment of surplus products, with
nothing to show whether the movement was
intrastate or interstate, or only intercommunity.
Ninety-five pages are used to publish infor
mation in regard to the manufacturing plants
of the state which could have been compressed
into ten pages had it been properly digested and
tabulated.
And perhaps fifty pages more are used up in
discursive consideration of economic problems
not properly included in the scope of. such a
report.
In all, the volume contains more than 200
pages of printed matter, the cost of which ould
have been saved had someone reviewed the
work and carefully revised the material before
sending it to the printer. .Such profligate
waste should be rebuked by somebody in authority.
Right in the Spotlight.
Arthur Henderson, who has sum
moned a conference of international
socalists to meet today at Lausan
nes, Switzerland," is a former min
ister without portfolio in the British
war cabinet, and well known as a
labor leader in Great Britain. He is
a Glasgow man, shrewd, bigehearted,
and loyal to the core to the cause
which he has espoused. From the
time he bcgai work as a machin
ist's apprentice he has always beei.
firomijient in trade unioh circles. He
began his public career as a member
of the Newcastle city council. In
1903 he was returned to parliament
and soon became a prominent and
influential figure in British political
life. During the war he has turned
his efforts toward bringing about a
unity of thought and purpose among
trft
Iowa's Four-Minute Men
the socialist leaders of
countries.
allied
One Year Ago Today in the War.
Berlin temporarily suspended the
peace negotiations with Russia. Pet
rograd dispatches stated an armis
tice had been declared in the Uk
raine region.
In Omaha 30 Years Ago Today.
City Treasurer Rush offered $61 ?
000 of Omaha paving bonds and they
were snapped up by C. H. White &
Co. of New York City at 1.0393,
which is taken to reflect the city's
high credit.
Will Lawler, manager of the Eden
Musee, banquetted the Georgia min
strels with a sumptuous spread laid
in his curio hall.
M. W. English, deputy register
of deeds, is very ill at his residence
on Georgia avenue.
Lt. Gov. George D. Meiklejohn of
Fullerton dined at the Millard.
Grand Island, Lincoln, Hastings
and Fremont want Omaha to come
in with them for a state base ball
league. )
A first-class jeweler can have em
ployment with C. L. Erickson & Co.
at $20 a week.
The Day We Celebrate.
.Marshal Eberstein, chief of police
born 1859.
Most Rev. Charles Hamilton,
archbishop of Ottawa and metropol
itan of Canada, born at Hawkesbury,
Ont., 85 years ago.
Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, U.
S.N., commander of the Ninth divi
sion, Atlantic fleet, born in Ken
tucky, 60 years ago.
Duncan U. Fletcher; senior United
States senator from Florida, born in
Sumter county, Georgia, 60 years
ago.
Joseph Medill Patterson, author,
journalist and playwright, born in
Chicago, 40 years ago.
Henry E. Dixey, long a popular
actor of the American stage, born In
Boston, 60 years ago.
This Day in History.
1819 John Overton, Gen. Andrew
Jackson and Gen. James Winchester
entered into an agreement which
resulted in the founding of the city
of Memphis.
1832 Gustave Dore, the world
famous illustrator, born in Stras
bourg. Died in ijaris, January 20,
1880.
' 1857 Vermont state capitol at
Montpelier burned.
1858 Canton was bombarded and
taken by a combined British and
French force.
1865 Federal military expedition
under General Terry sailel with thT
fleet of Admiral Porter from Hamp
ton Roads to attack Fort Fisher.
1915 Russians defeated the
Turks at Sarikamysh, annihilating
one whole army corps.
1916 French city of Nancy bom
barded by the Germans from a dis
tance of 15 miles.
1917 War council of allied states
men and military leaders convened
at Rome.
Timely Jottings and Reminders.
Sixty years old today is Rear Ad
miral Hugh Rodman, the Kentuckian
who commanded Uncle Sam's battle
ships in the late war, and who is
credited with having seen more sea
duty than any other officer on the
active list of the United States navy.
Robert D. Carey will be inaugur
ated governor of Wyoming today in
succession to Frank L. Houx, secre
tary of state, who has been acting
governor since the resignation of
Gov. John B. Kendrick, on February
26, 1917.
Charles M. Schwab, Bainbridge
Colby and other men of wide prom
inence are scheduled to speak be
fore the eighth annual convention of
the National Shoe Retailers' asso
ciation, which is to begin its sessions
today at St. Louis.
Many important cases, including
several involving the constitutional
ity of the espionage act, are docketed
for early hearing in the supreme
court of the United States, which re
convenes today after the holiday re
cess. Storyette of the Day.
"Can any boy tell me what har
ness is?" asked the teacher.
Not a single boy knew.
"Well," she continued, "is there
any boy here whose fathter works
among horses?"
One small boy stood up and an
swered, "Yes. teacher;mine does."
"Well," said the teacher, "what
does your fathter put on the horse
every morning?"
"Please, teacher, every cent he
has." Washington Star.
HERE AND THERE.
.
Women employed in cigar stores
in Portland, Ore., are prohibited
from working after 8 p. m.
From 10 acres of sweet corn, E. O.
Brown has hauled to the factory at
Vassalboro, Me., 12 loads, for which
he got 11,137. His banner load
brought him $117.
The latest addition to the flags of
nations is the standard of the new
Siberian republic. It is plain white
and green, symbolizing the coun
try's snowflelds and its virgin for
ests. It is said that the cleanest town
in the world is Brock, Holland. It
has been famous for cleanliness
from time immemorial. The yards
and streets are paved with polished
tones Intermingled with bricks of
different colors.
New York Evening Post.
The part played by "organized speaking in
Iowa during the war" is regarded by the His
torical society of that state as deserving of
record in one of the bulletins issued by it under
the general title, "Iowa and War." The speak
ing was of two sorts that of the four-minute
men and that of more than four-minute men.
The latter are old friends. It is in no spirit of
self-glortncation that we say that Iowa has
nothing to teach us about them. Of New York
as of any other state or country, it might be
written:
' "When it came to the test the man who had
been accustomed to taking 10 minutes to 'tret
the audience,' who had been in the habit of
embellishing his talks with anecdote and illus
tration, proved to be a failure in the four-minute
business. No amount of coaching on the part
of the chairman or critic and no warning of the
exhibitor 'could induce him to start and finish
within the stated time.' "
One Iowa chairman reported to the central
office a speech of. 16 minutes by a local celebrity
to whom he had "tactfully pointed out" that to
,.,.,... .u i.t i i ... .
..Kly me (jiduunu lunger man miir minutes
was a direct breach of contract. "What did you"
do about it?" asked a chairman from an ad
joining county. "Well, believe me." was the
good-natured reply. "I forgot him in the next
assignment."
How did the four-minute men originate?
The Iowa bulletin solemnly states, they "sprang
into existence without the aid or comfort of the
National Security league." This would be in
credible except upon the authority of an his
torical society. Credit for the idea is given to
Mr! Donald M. Ryerson of Chicago, who. late
in March, 1917, "foreseeing our inevitable par
ticipation in the world struggle, determined to
do his part in awakening the people to the grav
ity of the national danger." With a friend or
two, and the endorsement of a dozen prominent
citizens, he began to make four-minute speeches
between numbers aj the motion picture thea
ters. His subject was "Universal Military
Training," and he was announced on the screen.
Rut why four minutes? For the simplest of
reasons:
"Four minutes as the time limit seems to
have originated in the fact that it takes approx
imately four minutes to run off a short film in
the motion picture theater."
Moreover:
Mr. Ryerson and his colleagues felt that
more than that time would not be a just request
to make of the theater managers; and further,
it was the general feeling that four minutes was
as long as the average speaker could be depend
ed upon to hold the attention of an audience in
a motion picture theater."
But why so much speaking? Why not rely
upon the newspapers and, if necessary, phono
graphs? .Because, in the campaigns that, in the
picturesque phraseology quoted by the bulletin,
called for "the everlastin' team work of eveYy
bloomin soul," facts had to be presented "in a
manner and a spirit that would convince the
listeners of their truth and soundness and make
them want to do the thing requested." For
achieving this end new speakers were found to
be as good as old. if not better. A wealth of
local talent was discovered. There were even
four-minute boys and girls.
What was wanted was speakers with the
essentials of every effective speaker; to have
something to say, to say it, and quit. "If,"
-philosophizes the bulletin, "the war has taught
43,000 men to do that one thing, surely it has
not Aeen fought in vain." It even draws a com
parison between the winning of the war by
nonmilitary peoples and the winning of audi
ences by untrained orators!
And what of the audience? Instances of re
sentment, we are told, were very few, and were
due, not to four-minute speaking as .an institu
tion, but to lack of preparation or personality
on the part of the speaker. Thus, "These in
stances might be regarded as an evidence of a
fine discrimination on the part of the audience
rather than an exhibition of disloyalty I" Be
sides, if an outsider may say so, Iowans had
been accustomed to chautauqua speakers, and
so may have had special cause for welcoming
the four-minute man. So popular did he be
come that theaterless towns soon began to feel
that they were being discriminated against. In
the -background, as is apt to be the case with
great movements, was the busiest figure of all.
the local chairman -"the man who is obliged
to look up the auctioneer, and ask for four
minutes at the next sale, or call on the presi
dent of the agricultural society and make an
appeal for a little time at the approaching meet
ing, who must persuade the minister to give up
his pulpit to the cause on Sunday morning or
convince the cemetery association that the gov
ernment has a special message which it wishes
to deliver at the next session." The four
minute innovation must have added to our
stock, not of speakers only, but also of diplomats.
Ireland And The Irish.
Omaha, Jan. 4. To the Editor
of The Bee: I have read with
; some patience but more amuse
i nient the epistolary interchanKe
I being carried on over Ireland by sev
j oral of your correspondents. While
I I admit, with Sancho runza,vthat
j "it is a waste of lather to shave
j an ass," the Celtic blood in me
, leaps at the opportunity for en
! gaging in such a lovely row.
Kspeoially are "Altfh" and Mich
1 ael O'Connor shooting beside the
! mark. Kach seems animated more
by partisanship than by a desire to
' get at the real facts; however,
"Aitch" is nearer than he knows,
while Mr. O'Connor is unfortu
nate In his comparisons, at least.
When he sets Carson and Casement
alongside each other, he merely puts
an emphasis oa the point against
Ireland. Carson was in oontumaev.
! but not against British rule; he
. . 1 . - l .
i Buuftiu auit-i.v ui infaerve uie union
1 of Ireland with Great Britain. When
the war with Germany adjourned
the dispute, the Ulsternieii marched
away to France to fight alongside
their Catholic brothers. Then Case
ment, acting for the Sinn Fein, set
about his conspiracy with Germany,
and sought to inflame an insurrec
tion, not especially to free Ireland,
but to aid the kaiser. Casement,
a knight of the realm and a former
gallant soldier, paid the penalty for
treason. Carson was actuated by a
desire to preserve the union Case
ment sought to disrupt. If an ex
ample of England's justice and
magnanimity were needed, it is af
forded in the case of Lynch, con
demned to death for hia part in the
Boer war. He was elected to Par
liament by an Irish constituency
while a fugitive In France; England
permitted him to come home, take
his seat in Commons, and when con
scription was ordered for Ireland he
sought to counteract the edict by
urging voluntary enlistments dur
ing tho late war. What Irish
man will question Lynch's devotion
to Ireland or the cause of free
dom? The Redmonds and the Dillons
surely are as concerned for Ireland
as the Devoys or the Fords;
one Redmond fell in Flanders, and
his body was brought back for bur
ial by the Orangemen from Ul
ster, who had fought by his side.
Dillon opposed conscription, as did
Redmond, but they both urged the
Irish to enlist and render conscrip
tion unnecessary. For this Dillon is
rewarded by having his seat given
to Prof. De Vaiera (what a name
for a Dublin Irishman!) who was
noted as a "scientific socialist" be
fore he espoused Sinn Fein.
As to Irish firesides, O'Connor is
again entitled to look up the facts.
More peasants in Ireland own their
holdings than in either England or
Scotland;' in fact, not such a great
while ago talk was rife of a revolt
among the crofters of Scotland, who
asked to be treated as well as the
Irish peasants. Rack-rent and the
like have practically vanished from
Ireland, although a most recent
case of eviction is one reported from
a Dublin court, where a relative of
Charles Stuart Parnell sought to oust
a delinquent tenant from the family
estate. Board of Trade figures show
Ireland to be more prosperous than
ever in its history; Sir Horace Plunk
ett has said the situation of the
Irish farmers compares favorably
with that of any in the world. The
shipyards and other factories of Bel
fast are fully employed and are pay
ing well, and everybody seems to be
happy but the Sinn Feiners, who are
hunting trouble.
My guess is that England will give
Iceland home rule in time, but will
not consent to disunion; nor is it
probable the question will be
brought forward seriously at Ver
sailles. In the meantime, the dis
pute will be eagerly pursued by those
who, in the term borrowed by Jerry
Howard from John Finerty, are "in
visible in war and invincible in
peace." MACK.
Is not expected from a woman to
carry out ashes, cut wood and bring
in the coal," said the learned judge
in granting divorce to a woman who
comes from a common laboring
family, and who, in her own fam
ily, lived from hand to mouth.
So, according to the standard of this
judge, it is more proper for a woman
to work in dirty factories, shops and
stores than to take care of her own
housework. And what about all the
good farmers' wives who not only
do not expect their husbands to
carry out their ashes hut raise large
gardens, flocks of poultry, help care
for the stock and even, during rush
times, help in the fields?
Nothing like planting seeds of dis
content by a divorce Judge, and it
doesn't take much analysis to get
at the root of our divorce evil.
- SIMPLICIMCS.
The Magic of Motherland
President Wilson wove a tenderly human
touch into the experience of his "visitin' 'round"
in England when he left the pomp and circum
stance of brilliant ceremonials in London to go
to Carlisle, there to pay the tribute of filial af
fection to the memory of his mother and grand
father in their old home.
More than any other word in the English
language having to do with mortals, "mother"
has a magic that evokes the best there is in tnan.
It is a word that embraces In its significance
love, home, self-foreetfulne'ss and devotion of
the highest type. Thousands of men born of
good mothers have turned out to be wholly un
worthy the women who bore and reared
them, but it is doubtful if there ever, was a son
of such a mother who was not responsive to
some appeal to his better manhood. When the
son is a living honor and an acknowledged
debtor to his mother, as President Wilson is,
the nobler instincts of all mankind applaud and
all good men are moved by such incidents as
those in which the president figured in Carlisle.
Motherhood, always held in reverence in
Christian lands, has taken on a more beautiful
significance than ever before in the last four
years. Men have carried their concept of it
nearer to that of divinity and in doing so have
themselves come more under the potent sw'
of that Godly estate. At the shrine of a mother's
memory a son, whatever his station in life, be
comes a boy again. President Wilson became
just that, and the yearn that moved him was
shared by all other good men, whether their
mothers be living or gone, near or far, gray
haired or in Ahe prime of their womanhood.
Minneapolis Tribune.
America's Air Force
Despite the unfortunate experience of the war
aircraft program, it seems that the American air
service m France gave a very good account of
itself. While the United States was unable to
approximate the number of airplanes which the
aircraft board promised would be sent to France,
the men of the American flying cors did their
part nobly in combating the air forces of the
enemy
According to a report made by Major Gen
eral Harbord. American airmen in France
brought down a total of 854 German airplanes
and 82 German, balloons, while the American
losses were 271 planes and 45 balloons. The
total casualties of the American air service were
442. of whom 109 were killed. 103 wounded. 200
missing. 27 taken prisoner and three internedfl z
In view of the numerous lengthy controver
sies that have raged upon the subjeat. it is inter
esting to learn that up to November 10 a total
of 6,472 planes of all types were received by the
American air forces in France. The total per
sonnel of the American air forces in France was
2.161 officers and 22.351 men at the front, with
4,643 officers and 28.353 men in the service of
upply.
These facts indicate beyond question that
the American fliers acquitted themselves with
credit in this branch of the service, as did their
helpers. If the aircraft board had been one-half
as practical and earnest as its human material,
the record of the United States in the air war
would have been brilliant Washington Post.
Reply to Pagan us.
Omaha, Jan. 1 To the Editor of
The Bee: Thanking you in advance
for your generous custom of giving
your readers space to relieve their
minds on current events. Recently,
"Paganus," in airing his views on
the Irish question, informed Irish
agitators, "Your enemy is not Eng
land; your enemies wear black
robes." These must be Catholic
priests. Now isn't that a queer de
fense against the freedom of Ire
land? Belgium is also a Catholic
country from the king down. Still,
It is said England went to war for
the freedom of Belgium, whose en
emy must also wear black robes.
Even the Hun did not justify the
theft of Belgium on such cannibal
like pretenses. If Ireland must be
governed without her consent, be
cause of her religion, then wh set
up all these Catholic central Euro
pean countries on their own hook
and deny freedom to those wearing
the yoke of the allied countries?
One-third, at least, of the U. S. mili
tary forces are Catholics. How are
you going to explain this matter to
them, Paganus? You have some
job. We are listening.
WATCHFUL WAITING.
Evil of DJvorce.
Omaha, Neb., Jan. 2. To the Ed
itor of The Bee: One of the most
serious questions that calls upon
our country for readjustment and
reformation Is the question of di
vorce. When the matters arrive at
a stage where there is more than
one divorce to every three mar
riages, as it is in Douglas county,
there is something radically wrong.
Marriage Is no more a sacrament as
taught by the church. The frivolity
with which it is contracted is only
surpassed by the frivolity with which
it is broken. "I take thee for bet
ter or fir worse; for richer or for
poorer: in sickness and in health,
until death do us part," as pre
scribed by the old church law is con
veniently changed Into, "I take thee
for better, for richer and 'the first
time I shall get tired of you I will
ask the court for a divorce and com
pel you to pay heavy alimony."
Why such decline in a sacrament
or institution, if you please, that
should be the holiest amongst holy?
The answer is courts, i. e., judges.
There are other contributing causes,
but they are only secondary. The
main cause of our mounting divorce
is a Judge who sits on his bench
from which he doles out divorces
right and left when often, by proper
tact and reprimand he could pre
serve the family and by refusing di
vorce avert ten other.
Not very long ago a judge in
Omaha granted a divorce, plus
heavy alimony, to a town woman
who married a farmer. "It is evi
dent that this woman has been used
to a different life and that she can
not reconcile herself to farm life,"
said the judge, and proceeded to sen
tence her to a life of leisure by bur
dening the spoiled and ruined life of
her young husband with heavy ali
mony. And hundreds of women
within hearing learned of the luck
of the city lass and seeds of many
other divorces began to sprout If
the judge had said to this woman
ttat she entered into marriage with
open eyes, that since she had chosen
a farmer, her duty was to adapt her
self to farm life, no doubt not only
that family could have been saved
but friction in many others averted.
Another statement that will cause
many germs of divorce to develop
and multiply came from the same
Judge last week, "In these days it
Dr. Glecson Protests.
Omaha, Jan. 2. To the Editor of
i the Bee: I wish to voice a protest
j against the too evident abuse of your
public pulse column. We all enjoy
a clean, healthy discussion of topics
that engage public attention, tut
when you allow your paper to be
come a medium for such filthy trash
as expressed fh letters signed "James
Irvine" and "Paganus," it Is time for
respectable people to protest.
Your-- paper is supported by all
classes and when you begin to print
such letters as mentioned above you
insult all Catholics, whether of Irish
descent or otherwise, and you are
slipping into the class of the Menace
and kindred Journals, which are for
bidden the use of the mails.
Wake up, Mr. Editor, and brush
the cobwebs from your eyes.
JOHN J. GLEESON, M.D.
"An Ireland on Their Hands,"
Glenwood, la., Jan. 2. To the Ed
itor of The Bee: The witty George
Bernard Shaw has observed that he
would like to keep his Investments
in the north of Ireland, but would
prefer to live in Dublin; or, in other
words, he thought the inhabitants
of protestant Belfast were better
business people than in the southern
or Catholic districts, but that on ac
count of the blue laws in the protes
tant portion, it was not a very agree
able place to live.
In all this discussion on the merits
of home rule for Ireland, we hear a
great deal about the bad laws of
England and the general Irish dis
content, and comparison is made
with the French system of assimilat
ing alien races like the Flemish and
Italians, who are now part and par
cel of the French renublic.
It is apparent to anyone who 1
ever visited Ireland that the chief
complaint against "English misrule"
"English bad laws," which com
plaint one hears echoed on all sides,
is the great lack ml tact displayed
in the British rulers, believing that
laws that suited Great Britain would
also suit an entirely different race,
differing from the English in their
religion, their ideas of life, and in
many other ways. It is well to re
member that Fitzgerald, who trans
lated, or really presented, Omar
Khayam, was Irish (and an agnos
tic) and one of the morals taught
by that great work is that "a hair
perhaps divides the false from true,"
and if such is the case why fret
about enforcing your pet ideas on
the other fellow. The English
statesmen have always been as anx
ious as other reformers (in places
closer home) to force their own
views and ways of life on the Irish,
by act of parliament. For example,
the best horses in the world are
raised in Ireland, and for centuries
horse racing has been a national
sport, but the English laws, by pro
hibiting betting on horses, have
killed the sport (for the time being)
as their brother reformers have suc
ceeded in doing in New York. Then,
again, the English enjoy Sunday blue
laws, and desire no more in the
way of amusement than hearing a
church service in the forenoon and
a walk to tbe cemetery in the after
noon, and to insure the Irish enjoy
ing the same benefits they have en
acted as many laws on the subject
as town councils in small towns In
the U. S. A., all of which makes for
friction and discontent.
' It is well to recall that when the
United States army of occupation
left Cuba for the second time some
years ago that the first act, passed
in the first month by the Cuban
assembly, was the repeal of the alien
acts which limited amusements,
proving that in a country which was
inhabited by a Latin race, and not
an Irish race, that these same blue
laws were similarly regarded, as op
pressive and contributive to discon
tent It is in these and similar matters
that the British have shown that
they have not got "the viewpoint" of
their neighbors, and until they do
get that viewpoint tHey are likely
to continue to have "An Ireland on
their hands."
WALTER BURWELL.
Stale Press Gomment '
Kearney Hub: Judge Munger of
United States court at Lincoln has
rendered a decision which denies
the light of the president or the di
rector general of railways to issue
orders in any matter of railway op
eration that over-ride the laws of
congress. This is a timely halt
Wayne Herald: There ought te
be some way to give more perma
nency to the roads of Nebraska. A
highway is graded and nicely
smoothed, and then comes along
rain or snow, followed by travel, and
the work on the road is half de
stroyed. Trained and experienced
in the greater task of war, people
oimht to have the courage to tacklt
and secure permanent road building.
It would benefit every farmer and
every todwnsnian.
Fremont Tribune: An Omaha
doctor of some repute has set hit
seal of disapproval upon the quar
antine as a remedy for influenza.
He says the dir.ease is caused by tht
"outside influence of a miasmatic or
heavy-laden humidity in the air
which is due to the constant inter
ruption or disturbance of the upper
air currents fop the past three years.
view it as we may. But that s the
way he view's it. It used to be said
these disturbances caused rain, but
this year we had a drought in Ne
braska. Will we have to wait as
long to find aut they don't cause
"flu?"
Nebraska City Press: Nebraska
has a "Blue Sky" law on the statute
books but it is inadequate. Thers
are still many loop-holes through
which Irresponsible and crooked
stock and bond salesmen can unload
their worthless "securities" on a
population that has grown careless
through too much prosperity during
the past two or three years. Ne
braska has a lot of money Just now,
but lt is not necessary to waste lt In
order to get rid of it. ' Most people
investigate financial offers befoM
they are accepted, but a lot of peo
ple merely take the salesman's word
for it and squander their money.
When they are "stung" they look
with suspicion on legitimate busi
ness propositions and the honesl
concern Ruffers in consequence.
The state legislature should devise a
plan to make the Blue Sky law a lit
tle more binding.
CHEERY CHAFF.
"I nee whr th president of aom mill
company In New Tork lias been arretted
for arson '
"Don't believe It. No milkman woulJ
want to call out the Ireman ana hr
'em waate that much water." Baltlmor.
American.
Mrs A. Tour husband told my hus
band that hta word was law at home.
Mrs. B. Yea, It's one of those lawi
that are never enforced. Boston Tran
script. Overheard tn a downtown store, a wo
man addressinR a bluejacket:
"And hew Is your friend fretting- along?"
"He ain't my friend, he's my cousin."
Detroit Free Press.
But
TIs
O, SAY, CAN YOU SING?
O, say, can you lng, from the start to the
end.
What so proudly you stand for when or
chestras play It;
When the whole congregation. In volcii ,
that blend,
Strike up the grand tuna and then tor
ture and slay lt?
How valiant they shout when they'ro firtt
atartlnff out:
'the dawn's early light" finds them
floundering about.
'the Star-Spangled Banner" they're
trying to sing,
But they don't know the words ot tht
precious, bravo thing.
Hark, "tho twilight's last gleaming" has
some of them stopped,
But the valiant survivors press forward
serenely
To "the ramparts we watched," wnoo
some others are dropped,
And the loss of the leaders is manifest '
keenly.
Then "the rocket's red glare" give th'
bravest a scare. V -
And there's a few left to facs "tho bombs
bursting In air";
'Tls a thin line of heroes that manago to
save 7
The last of the verse, and "tho homo ot
the brave." '
Chicago Standard.
Opposes Foreign Langunges.
Omaha, Jan. 1. To the Editor of
the Bee: The importunate question
whether German and all other for
eign languages should raWbolished
in this country is causing quite a
hubub. A fine-drawn analysis of
this question will decide one to plead
for the negative. The forces op
posed to the banishment of foreign
languages are gregarious and incon
siderate. They are the foreign-born,
and love to infuse eloquent sophistry
In their talk about their old coun
try. This noxious activity will but
det0 the spirit of democracy, and
it should be obliterated as far as
possible. The banishment of foreign
languages will tend to alleviate the
animosities of folk. It will insure a
permanent standard of Ideal and
will make people less individualistic,
more wholesome in their support of
democracy. A PATRIOT.
RIGHT TO THE POINT.
Minneapolis Tribune: "Nothing
succeeds like success"; all those
strictly neutral countries are pro
ally now.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat: With
Pershing and Wood both boosted for
the republican nomination for presi
dent, the civilian candidates would
have a hard time attracting atten
tion. P
Kansas City Star: If Mr. Scheide
mann and other Germans keep on
telling how much their country Is
in accord with the 14 pointsa good
many Americans will be getting
those points out and reading them
again.
Jack Frost, Icy Frost and Snow
Frost are all real people. They live
in Portland. Ind. Jack Frost is the
father of the family and he was so
well pleaspd with his own name that
he gave his daughters names as
chilly as his own.
-VfHY-7-r-
f BuIjwb It Owt-tUcx Tr
ONLY WEIGHED 97
POUNDS, BUT HE
NOWJEIGHS 137 x
t f i r nr.. XT i tlI
Lawless .3 ays no r? wvb
and Out When Ha Began
Taking, Tanlac.
"When I first began taking Tan- .
lac I only weighed ninety-seven
pounds and was just about down
and out," said 0. D. Lawless, the
well known Omaha produce mer
chant, residing at 604 South 28th
Street recency, "but I now weigh
one hundred and thirty-seen, nd
so far as my health is concerned,
I couldn't ask to feel much better.
"I have not gotten all my lost
weight back yet," he continued;
"for I had dropped down sixty-one
pounds, but I am still taking Tan
lac and expect soon to tip the
beam at one hundred and fifty
eight, my weight before my
troubles began. I tegan suffering
from stomach trouble and getting
into a run-down condition fire
years ago, when my appetite went
back on me. I lost all desire for
food and everything I d'd eat
caused nausea. I had to give vp
my coffee and many other things I
like best, as I could not retain
them, and the only ining mai nan j
way agreed with me was iruits.
There were terrible pains in my
right side, which would almost
cramp me double two or three
times a week. I became uneasy,
fearing appendicitis, and no one
seemed to understand my case or
do me any good. I just kept suf
fering and losing weight until it
looked like I would shrink up to
nothing.
"My condition had become no-
flahL tn nil who knew mp nnrl
while talking over my case with a
friend one day he asked me why
I didn't try Tanlac. Weir, this put
me to thinking mere mignx Do
m i m A
sometning w xaniac ior me, ana
there certainly was, for I have ak
ready picked up forty pounds an
my old-time strength and energj
have come back to me. I hadn't
finished my first bottle until the .
pains, which I feared were caused
by appendicitis, had disappeared.
I can drink my coffee now and eat,
just anything I want and never
have the least trouble with my
stomach. So you can see why I'm so
strong for ,Tanlac. It has made t
life worth living for me and I feel
like I ought to pass the good word
along." .
Tanlac is sold in Omaha by all
Sherman & McConnell Drug Com
pany's stores, Harvard Pharmacy
and West End Pharmacy underthe
personal direction of a special Tan
lac representative. Also Forrest )
and Meany Drug Company in South
Omaha and the leading druggist i
each city and town throughout 3
state of Nebraska. Adv.
