4
THE BEE: OMAHA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1921
The Omaha Bee
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OFFICES OF THE BEE
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The Bee's Platform
1. Nw Union Paaaangar Station.
2. Continued improvement of tha No
bratka Highway, including the pa.
ment of Main Thoroughfare leading
into Omaha with a Brick Surface.
3. A short, low-rate Waterway from the
Corn Belt to the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Home Rule Charter for Omaha, with
City Manager form of Government.
Panama Must Accept the Award.
One of the sad reflections in connection
with human affairs is that small things usually
cause the greatest trouble. Thus it is that
Panama, one of the smallest of earth's nations,
has managed to draw an ultimatum from the
United States, the greatest and most powerful
of all. No distinction can be drawn between
' ' nations on account of size when justice is at
issue, for all are equal before the law. On this
point rests the action of our government in
serving formal notice on the Panamanian au
thorities that they must accept the ' award of
the arbitrator to whom the dispute between
Panama and Costa Rica was referred.
The amount of territory involved is insig
nificant, but the principle is big enough to take
in all the earth. A dispute arose over control
of a little section of land where the territory
of the disputants joins on Dulce bay. The dis
pute was carried on for some time, and became
more and more threatening, until finally the
governments were induced to submit the mat
ter to arbitration. Chief Justice White of the
United States supreme court was selected and
the case was laid before him. After full and
careful examination into all the details, Justice
White awarded the section in controversy to
Costa Rica. Panama refused to abide by the
award, and took the field with all its forces to
resist Costa Ricaii attempts to occupy the
region. This war was ended last May by the
intervention of the United States government,
and since then efforts have been made to in
Vice Panama to abide by the White decision,
to no avail.
Now, patience has reached its limit, and the
recalcitrant patriots of Panama are notified
- they must resign themselves to accept a de
cision even though it be averse to their aspira
tions. Of such things is life made up, and even
nations are required to go along with the de-
. crees of justice. The United States will gain
nothing in prestige or otherwise by compelling
compliance with the White award, but it would
lose immeasurably v if it did not. Were evep
Panama permitted to flout a court of arbitra
tion, the way to disorder would be open. That
is why it will always be necessary for even a
powerful nation to maintain something of an
army and navy, as processes of the court finally
must have back of them some agency to make
certain of their execution, and an international
award will need to be supported by sufficient of
' force to make certain of their acceptance. .
This instance will not lead to a catclysmic
war, but the terrible visitation that deluged
Europe with blood started over something that
; on the surface was as trivial as the boundary
dispute between Costa Rica and Panama. Such
little things can not be neglected, for national
honor is far more sensitive and jealous than
individual, and public quarrels can grow from
matters that privately would be unnoted.
Mrs. Storer's Story.
From Faris comes the tale that Mrs. Bel
lamy Storer is to print for "private circulation"
a book that will give her version of the once
ery interesting but now almost forgotten "Dear
Maria" episode. It concerns Theodore Roose
velt, John Ireland, James Gibbons and Bellamy
Storer, and is to explain why Archbishop Ire
land was not made cardinal and' prince of the
Roman Catholic church. When all the charac
ters of this stirring tale were alive, its recital
excited only mild interest, and did not disturb
the current of events to any great extent. What
good can be accomplished by a revised recital
of the details, now that those most concerned
are dead, is beyond surmise. Perhaps the an
nounced title, "Theodore Roosevelt as a Child,"
may give an inkling as to its character. As to
its continued privacy, we may be very sure that
it will not be long after the book is off the press
before its general character and text will be pub
lished so that all may know. Many of John Ire
land's friends thought he would have made a
mighty fine cardinal; quite a few Americans
were convinced that a blunder would have been
made had our minister to Spain and later to
Austria become seriously involved in an in
trigue of church politics. The controversy be
tween the Storers and Mr. Roosevelt was al
most exclusively theirs, and it might with pro
priety be allowed to remain so.
At the County Fair.
This is the season when the county fair
blooms; but the man who went io uu forty
years ago and had not been since would never
recognize it for the same. Fashions change,
and the "punkin show and hoss trot" of the
early days no longer prevails. If anything
modern is to be had, it will be found at the
county fair. One enterprising Nebraska county
announces a radio station as a central attrac
tion for the current year. All of them show
airplanes, and races between automobiles have
superseded horse racing. Of course, the fun
damentals of the county fair are preserved. It
'still holds out the opportunity to compare re
. suits in all processes of farming, with the same
difference that is noted elsewhere, all in the
j: :- r .- - tl.tL.J. at.-.. A
j the way to good results no longer are prac
ticed, nor .will the tiller of the soil be content
with them today. As the cradle and the flail
have vanished before the binder and the separa
tor, so have other adjuncts of the olden time
disappeared and better ways of doing things
have brought about more satisfactory ac
complishment. The spirit f the county fair
survives, and will, for it is the spirit of progress.
Ford and the Railroads.
Henry Ford's experience with his own little
railroad may hardly be taken with safety as a
criterion for judging his capacity to operate all
the systems of the country. However, he has
one idea that rings true. Cut out the loafing is
his prescription. When railroad managers
boast of thirty miles a day for loaded box car
travel they are, of course, taking into consider
ation not only the actual distance covered by
all moving freight trains, but the relation of
that mileage to the entire equipment of loaded
box cars. One that is idle at a loading dock,
or has been "spotted" for a consignee, or has
moved but a mile or two in a terminal yard,
cuts down proportionately the ratio of travel
for the whole. If Mr. Ford can improve this
condition, he will go a long way toward solv
ing the most intricate phase of the present day
transportation problem.
His notion of lighter locomotives and lighter
cars is not unique; in the August Atlantic Philip
Cabot has a comprehensive and convincing pre
sentation of the case for the New England
roads, in which he argues forcibly and ef
fectively that the light engine and the smaller
car is the offer of salvation for New England's
industries dependent on local transportation.
Others have been imbued with the same thought,
and it may hold good for that region. Mr,
Cabot is careful, however, to differentiate be
tween conditions in New England and conditions
in the middle west. He views the long freight
trains and huge engines that ply the region west
of Chicago with satisfaction, for they are doing
the work. Whatever else may be said of E. H,
Harriman and J. J. Hill, none will accuse them
of being mere exploiters; they were builders
in the truest sense of the word, and each has
left a magnificent monument in the form of a
great and profitable railroad, whose success is
founded on the principle of heavy engines and
full train-loads. ,
However, the meat of ''the matter has been
touched on by Mr. Ford in his proposal that
"loafing" must be done away with. Greater
service must be had lrom the equipment , m
service. This will require co-operation of ship
pers as well as operators. An idle box car at
a loading dock or on the customer's private
sidetrack is just as idle as if it were set out on
the lone prairie. Not all the blame rests on
one side. When this is fully accepted, and all-
hands get to work to apply the remedy, the rest
of the solution will , not be so difficult nor the
remedy so desperate.
Step Toward The Hague,
Washington Conference May But
Lead to the International Court
Judge Boyd Again to the Rescue.
The procession of the equinox is not more
dependable than Judge Boyd, who occupies the
federal bench for the district of North Caro-
ina, in his opposition to attempts to regulate
child labor by federal enactment. "It shall not
pass," is his motto, apparently, and the French
at Verdun were not. more inflexible than the
judge on this point. Each time he has as
sumed the ground that the effort to set up re
strictions on the employment of children is an
invasion of state's rights, and beyond the power
of congress. Once the supreme court upheld
him; he presents a new point this time, in deal
ing with the right of congress to lay a re
strictive tax on articles into the manufacture of
which child labor enters.
It is barely possible that he may be mis
taken this time, for the supreme court has held
in connection with the Volstead law that con
gress may extend the police power of the na
tion to prohibit what is considered vicious, dan
gerous, deleterious or harmful; in this, of couse,
congress has the support of a constitutional
amendment, but no such foundation underlies
the law that forbids the shipping of prize fight
pictures, and that law is at present being en
forced.
In the absence of information as to the line
of reasoning followed by Judge Boyd, discus
sion of his conclusions is out of the question,
save as to the general theme. He has a second
time disappointed the hopes of a great many
earnest people, who were confident a way had
been found to check child labor in the cotton
mills of the south. His decision is subject to
review and probably will be taken to the su
preme court, where the next chapter in a long
fight will be written.
Footprints Versus Fingerprints.
We are inclined to put in with the banker
who says what the secretary of finance needs is
footprints rather than fingerprints of abscond
ing cashiers. A whole gallery ot nnger im
pressions would not have the effect of restor
ing any of the cash that disappeared under the
manipulations of the slippery digits, whose pper
ation has proved again and again that the hand
is quicker than the eye. Defrauded customers
can not use them, nor will they pass current
in the process of refilling the reservoir of cash
they emptied. But a footprint, there's the se
cret; if possessed of one of these another may
be discovered, and in time such a succession as
will lead to the seclusion of the defaulter. If
any memento of a dishonest juggler of other
people's money really is to be preserved, let it
be one by which he may possibly be trailed,
and as long as men do not walk on their hands,
the foot has the better of the finger for tracing
purposes.
Secretary Dcnby is going to clear the navy
of its dry land sailors, as a retrenchment meas
ure. Service is soon forgotten by the taxpayers.
The Missourian who is inflating another
boom for William Gibbs McAdoo is quite ap
propriately named Looney.
The Pennsylvania man who is advertising a
long hard winter ought to run for office and
test his popularity.
Those fire-eating Carolinians in the house
might get a game if they just pick the right man.
Omaha clearings continue to run above
$6,000,000 a day; "business is good, thank you."
Coal diggers are actually digging coal again,'
which may allay some apprehension.
Panama may not like it, but even little na
tions must behave.
Peru, you know, is where the bark comes
from.
(From the Boston Transcript.)
Amid all the discussion of disarmament, so
called, that has preceded and been provoked by
the proposal for a conference at Washington,
we have yet to see any tentative program pre
sented that would provide for a reduction in
armaments afield or afloat by the six powers
concerned. As long as the Anglo-Japanese
alliance remains intact the United States must
consider the combined fleets of those two pow
ers in the organization of any American system
of national defense. That alliance was formed
originally with Germany in view; it can only be
continued with the United States in view. No
exemption clauses have been or will be framed
that will alter the fact that in the event of war
between the United States and Japan, Britain,
as a partner of the Anglo-Japanese alliance,
will be morally obligated to give aid and suc
cor, however indirectly, to her ally. The
Japanese would be foolish to support the al
liance upon any other theory; the British know
that hence the eagerness of the British col
onies washed by the Pacific to denounce the
Anglo-Japanese treaty without delay.
As long as France is left alone and unpro
tected by any alliance against Germany is it
reasonable to expect that the French people
will voluntarily reduce their land forces and
leave the Germans free to work their will and
their way back to power via Russia? If the
United States were willing to guaranty "the
territorial integrity and political independence"
of the French republic at all times and against
all comers. French curtailment of land arma
ments might become a practical proposition.
But it was the unwillingness to do that, among
other old world chores, that was in part respon
sible for the cis-Atlantic repudiation of "the evil
thing with a holy name." 1$ it conceivable that
the American people are so coon willing to eat
their words and reverse their verdict of Novem
ber last?
As long as Russia remains in a chaotic con
dition, the victim of bolshevist rule, is it rea
sonable to expect that the outside world will
be Willing to blind its eyes to the consequences
that might ensue if the armies of Lenine and
Trotsky were the only land forces of large size
left on the globe These questions are asked
not with a view to retarding the work of the
coming conference but rather in the hope that
the obstacles that stand in the way of immediate
curtailment of armaments afield or afloat may
be clearly seen. Otherwise the powers will not
know how to go about eliminating them. If the
United States were willing to permit Japan to
police the Pacific and Britain the Atlantic and
to remain faithful to all the entangling political
obligations that such a dependence upon the
Anglo-Japanese alliance would involve, the cur
tailment of the American navy to a small po
lice force just large enough to keep the peace 1
in the Caribbean might be accomplished, lhere
are among us a few who would delight in such
an arrangement; but the few are a very small
minority of the great American family and they
would just as willingly see the United States
enter into a hard and fast triple alliance with
Great Britain and Japan.
The argument in favor of such an alliance
is chiefly economic; it would cut the cost of
our national defense but the reduction would
be paralleled by a reduction in American pres
tige on the seven seas. We should lose in
honor, freedom of action, trade and influence
far more than we could hope to save on arma
ments. Instead of taking orders from Germany
we should be taking orders from the Anglo-
Japanese alliance. No ' doubt our British and
Japanese friends would be better masters to
serve under than the Germans; but in granting
that have we made out a case in favor of turn
ing over "the freedom of the seas" and the
honor of the Stars and Stripes to the exclusive
keeping of the Anglo-Japanese navy?
It is better to begin now to face some of
the hard facts that will force themselves into
the Washington conference than to raise our
hopes too high and suffer disillusionment later.
A better understanding concerning troublesome
questions now pending in the Pacific will un
doubtedly ease the strain in that theater of pos
sible war; such an understanding might well
lead to an attempt on the part of the six pow
ers soon to meet at Washington to set about
the codification of international law; that begun,
they might then agree upon the terms of a call
to be issued by all the powers signatory to The
Hague society of AH Nations for the third in
ternational conference at The Hague, which
could easily meet next year. Out of that con
ference there is ground for hoping might come
the creation of a permanent high court of in
ternational justice, which would have jurisdic
tion over all justicible cases arising between
the signatories; the creation of anciliary ma
chinery for adjusting disputes before they
reached the stage of litigation; and even an
agreement that the signatory that refused to
submit a justiciable case to the high court, or
to abide by the decision of the high court in
such a case, automatically outlawed itself from
the company of every other signatory.
In the wake of such a harvest m the field
of international relations would come a reduc
tion of the causes that lead to war and there
fore a reduction of armaments with which wars
are fought and by which causes are defended.
4f the Washington conference turns out to be
only a preliminary to the third international
conference at The Hague it will have been well
worth while. That it can do very much more
in the direction of actual curtailment of arma
ments without involving free and independent
America in those "entangling alliances" for
which the American people have no stomach,
appears to us at this writing extremely doubtful.
How to Keep Well
By OR. W. A. EVANS
Question concerning rtygUn, sanitation and prevention of disease, submitted
to Dr. Evan by adr of Th Bee, will b answered personally, ubjct to
proper limitation, whare a lUmpad addressed nvlope la nelod. Dr Evan
will not mak diafaoei or prescribe (or individual diseasse. Addr lttr
In care of Th Be.
Copyright, 1811, by Dr. W. A Evan v
SPREADING INFANTILE
PARALYSIS.
Wa are in the midst of the season
for enldemle infantile natalysls. Sev
eral years ago an epidemic occurred
in winter in Sweden. The New York
enidemle of 1916 wns under neaa
way in May. But the rule is that
the disease does not bocome very
prevalent until August and it is well
under control by October.
The fact that the disease prevails
during the insect season always has
caused insects to be undor suspicion
as the fipreadingr agency, mrticularly
since Infantile paralysis Joes not fol
low the epidemic laws followed by
othed forms or contagion, n is cer
tain that ordinary methods of quur
antlne of the patient do not make
headway. Closing the schools has
not helped to prevent it from spread
ing. It is not worst in tha congested
districts of a city. Cleaning up seems
to make an epidemic worse. At least
vhen Newark cleaned its streets and
alleys thoroughly its epidemic got
worse and in the 191 b xvew xonc
epidemic that section which came
rff lightest was the reRion around
Fire island, where the flty refuse
is disposed of.
All in all it looks as if the health
officers attempting to control in
lantile paralysis have been watching
the wrong rathole.
For a long time it has been no
ticed that when there was a good
deal of infantile paralysis among
people, limberneck in fo-.vls and pa
ralysls in dogs, cats and hogs was
prevalent. A possible connection re
tween the two conditions was inves'
tigated at Buffalo and in Vermont.
The conclusion was that there was
no relation between tno two con
ditions.
Nevertheless Dr. E. W. Saunders
of St Louis and his associates think
there Is a relation, and that a fly
is the agent which spreads the dis
ease among lower animals and in all
probability among mankind also.
The fly is the green fly called the
Incilla caesar. There are many green
and blue bottle or blow flies, but
this one is recognized as being green
with a. sheen of almost rainbow
colors. Lucllia caesar lives on decay
ing animal and vegetable matter. It
likes fish, but it will go farther for
a meal of boiled cabbage than for
any other food. It flies fast, travels
long distances, and is very wild. It
likes hot weather, but it can exist
even out of doors in the middle of
winter. The female lays her eggs
generally on meat, and in a short
time the larvae or maggots have
hatched out.
It is these larvae which cause the
disease, according to Saunders and
his associates. They have gathered
maggots from- carcasses of animals
dead of limberneck, ground them
up in a mortar, injected the mass
into fowls, dogs, and monekys, and
produced limberneck.
The disease produced in monkeys,
if the doe given is not large enough
to kill quickly, Is typical Infantile
paralysis. When the carcasses of
those animals were fed on by lucilta
larvae and those larvae Injected into
monkeys, infantile paralysis again
was produced.
Wilklns and Butcher of Minnesota
confirm the observations, at least so
far as limberneck in domestic ani
mals is concerned. Saunders says the
lesson Newark made its infantile
paralysis worse when it cleaned the
alleys was because it deprived lucllia
of its usual food and forced it to
feed on human food. At Fire island
lucllia keeps away from human food
because it has plenty of food elsewhere.
The Energetic Bnby.
Mrs. J. A. writes: "My baby boy is
just Si months old and weighs 24
pounds. I bought a baby pen for him
to play in. He crawls to the sides,
pulls himself up, and stands on his
feet no matter how oftvn I sit him
down. Will he get bowlegged?
"2. Are there any bad effects from
taking thyroid for reducing?
"3. Dieting does not reduce rrffe," as
I have tried it for a year."
REPLY.
1. Probably not; but do the best
you can to restrain him.
2. You are running an unjustified
risk when you take thyroid except
under observation.
3. Of course, you have not dieted.
You may fool yourself. Lots of peo
ple do, but you cannot fool me or
the wise people who read this
column.
vox
To Treat Ringworms.
Patron writes: "1. I am sending
my third letter in regard to ring
worms and have not seen a prescrip
tion in your column so far.
"2. I have ringworm spots that
worked out on the back of my head,
and these spots keep gradually get
ting worse and hair falling out
around them. I would like to know
a remedy for this."
REPLY.
1. Had you read the heading of
the column you would have known
that we make no promise to answer
anonymous letters or'to prescribe.
z. xne approved treatment of rintr-
worm of the scalp is burning with
X-rays. After the hair has been
burned away a few applications of
loaine will cause the ringworm to
leave.
Egg Addict's Query.
F. K. writes: "Please tell me if
drinking a dozen eggs a dav can
harm me or cause kidney trouble."
REPLY. 1
I can see no reason for taking so
much proteid and think it unwise for
you to do so unless your physician
lias ordered it for some reason not
stated.
Living Off the Arctic
What the Public Wants
When the principal mercantile houses in Chi
cago petition their Washington representatives
to oppose, the high schedules in the Fordney
tariff, it ought to convince even the most ardent
protectionists that the bill is calculated to en
rage the rank and file of the American people.
The house had gumption enough to kill the pro
posed levy on imports of oil and hides. There
are other levies, and many of them which should
and doubtless will receive similar treatment at
the hands of the senate. The truth is that con
sumers in this country feel none too friendly
towards business interests, because of the whole
sale grouping which was indulged in during and
after the war, and because of the many revela
tions of extortion and graft in numerous trades
and industries. The administration will be wise
f it gives first consideration to the interests of
the public rather than the interests of this or
that powerful industry or group. Let tariff leg
islators wait until tax legislation of the brand
demanded by the people has been enacted. The
public will be better served by low taxation than
a high tariff. Forbes Magazine.
Will the League Stop 'Em?
The discouraging thing about this war be
tween the Spaniards and the Moors is that the
last time they fought they kept it up 700 years.
Obviously if they intend to protract hostilities
to that length again it's a mere waste of time
to read about the opening battles. Kansas City
Star.
Six Cents Worth of Progress.
If, as Washington statisticians now estimate,
84 cents out of every dollar of national revenue
goes to pay for wars, past, present and future,
the nation is making progress. The last previ
ous estimate was that 90 cents out of every
dollar was so expended. Chicago News.
(From the New York Times.)
The arctic explorer, Roild Amund
sen, interviewed at Seattle about his
expedition to the North pole, says
that he has made a contract for the
shipment of supplies for seven years
to Nome, the starting point of the
expedition, next May. It Is reported
that Amundsen has no faith in an
alleged theory of Stefansson that an
explorer can live "off the country"
on a polar quest. Amundsen is
tiuoted: "North of 85 degrees there
is little animal life. In the dead of
winter nothing short of dynamite
would penetrate the ice to the depth
where fish can bo obtained. One
must take food along on dog sleds."
It is improbable that Amundsen
could have taken seriously a story
circulated in Seattle that Vilhjalmur
fe'tefansson was planning a pout ex
pedition without food supplies.
The latter explorer is a man of as
much intelligence as daring, and
must be familiar with arctic lite. a
ture. Admiral Peary was the only
authority upon conditions beyond 85
degrees, and in his "dash" for the
pole he saw no animal life of any
kind. Except for pressure ridges the
ice surface for many days' march
was monotonously level, with infre
quent leads for soundlnsr- No man
could have lived in that desolate ex
panse without sled rations. In
Peary's story of the North pole there
is nothing about supplying the larder
with game after the base at Camp
Columbia was left behind. In that
region musk ox and caribou were
abundant enough, and fish could be
had if they were wanted. One of the
most remarkable pictures in Peary's
book shows the rigging of the Roose
velt lined with the horns of musk ox
and caribou, but the hunting was
done on the land of the far-scattered
Eskimos, or not far north of it.
Stefansson has been a mighty
hunter of arctic game, but he could
have no illusions about living "off
the country" at 85 degrees and north
of it. On the shores of the Arctic
ocean he has lived like the Eskimos
on seal, bear, ox, caribou and fish.
but he was generally in touch with
the natives. Sometimes It was not
possible to live by hunting. In the
winter of 1909-10, which he spent at
Cape Perry, Alaska, he would have
perished if he had attempted to
prove the theory attributed to him
He found that "the let-alone policy
of the government, the cupidity of
traders, and the ignorance of the Es
kimos themselves had practically de
stroyed the caribou."
Stefansson would hardly contend
that it is safe for an explorer to push
north very far beyond the last Es
kimo settlement without the usual
rations. On his expedition of 1913
18 he encountered on Dolphin and
Union straits Eskimos who had never
seen a white man, and he lived a
year with them. He explored Vic
toria Island, Banks Island, and
found new land north of Prince Pat
rick Island. There was usually
game to be shot, but the explorers
were almost at an extremity for fat,
indispensable in the arctic regions.
In one period starvation threatened
them. "It was, indeed," Stefansson
wrote, "a period of famine not only
for human beings in that district,
but even for wolves, all of which
were skin poor." His furthest range
was far short of 85 degrees. Ac
cording to a' report of June 23, Ste
fansson. was planning to explore arc
tic territory "to the north of Can
ada," and had no intention of seek
ing the pole.
Real New9 from Florida.
The melon crop in this section this
year has been fair and would have
been exceptionally good had there
been more rain. The long drouth
during the growing season cut down
the size, and there has not been as
many large melons as usual. The
cantaloupe crop has been good, and
quality first class. William L. Wil
son of the Bay farms brought to this
tewn the past week the largest wa
termelon we have seen this year, it
weighing 53 pounds. It was perfect
in form, and an all around beauty.
He also had some fine honey dew
melons, a variety that is being grown
more and more each year. Panama
City .(FJa,) Jot.
A Breath of Sanity.
(From the Mew York World.)
A return to sanity in the Russian
question may be noted in the dis
cussion of famine relief in the su
preme council of the League of Na
tions. Premier Briand remarked
that the Russian people, who had
fought with the allies at the begin
ning of the war, might justly look
to them now for help. To make cer
tain that help should be given
promptly and effectively he pro
posed "that all the allies join with
the United States and the other na
tions who are interesting themselves
in relief through Red Cross societies
and other private organizations."
Mr. Lloyd George, while expressing
himself as in hearty agreement,
pointed out that something more
than private relief would be neces
sary. "Relief," he declared, "must
be organized immediately on a great
scale, not only for the sake of Rus
sia but for the sake of the world,
because typhus, cholera and other
plagues incident to famine would
cause more losses than the last war."
There is no exaggeration in this
statement. Russia's danger is a dan
ger to every nation on earth; its
loss and suffering will be shared to
a certain extent by every civilized
people. If a quarter of the reports
of its condition are true, no private
agency, no combination of private
agencies, can begin to meet the
situation. And in spite of all that
can be saidy in their disfavor the
people of Russia are .human, their
government is human. Every prin
ciple of humanity and self-interest
demands that Russia be salvaged,
whatever it cost.
The premiers of France and Eng
land are aware of this fact. The
government of the United States,
with a surplus of food and ships at
its disposal, hesitates over technicalities.
Theater Costs.
From the Baltimore Sun.
Whether the theatrics! managers
who got together in Now York to
discuss lower costs are going to suc
ceed in presenting shows more
cheaply remains to be seen. And it
is also open to question as to wheth
er the public will greatly benefit.
There Is no doubt, however, that
American shows are expensive. Cer
tain operatic and theatrical stars re
ceive salaries about which, in these
troublous times, little is said, and
the cost of stage settings, gorgeous
out necessary, is a constantly mount
ing item. Moving picture producers
bitterly assert that they cannot com
pete with cheap, foreign productions,
even though they have the advan
tage of quantity production, organized
aistriDution and a presumably clear
understanding of what American au
diences want. The New York meet
ing of the magnates talked about
stage employes and musicians, but
one can guess that waste motion and
wasteful expenses are not confined
to the lower levels of the profession
and its adjuncts.
Let's Remember Sambo Johnson.
When you next eat ice cream, enn.
sider the debt you owe to Samh
Johnson, negro pastry chef in a New
York tavern, who gave the world its
first dish of ice cream 105 years ago
this month. For years Sambo had
a monopoly on the manufactnra of
ice cream because he kept his process
u. i-iuaeiy guaraea secret. All that is
deflnitely-Jknown about his discovery
a mat it was an accident, and a
happy one. It mieht not ha a ha a
idea to erect a monument somewhere
io samno. And while about it, sur
round his memorial with nthr n
the men who gave us the other things
unit neip io make summer endur
able artificial Ice, lemonade, re
frigerators and fan s. Fitchburg
Sentinel.
What's the Answer?
If less people paid Income taxes in
1920 on incomes over $1,000. thnn
there are registrants of automobiles,
what is the answer? A n d o v e r
Townsman.
Freight Rates on Hay.
Omaha. Aug. 20. To the Editor
nf The lies: The Association of Rail
wav Executives have published an
article under the caption, "Has the
Farmer a Real Grievunce," in which
they say that some blame their
troubles on "freight rates" and claim
that this is the cause of low prices
for grain and live- stock. They say
further that "the decline in prices
of farm products began before
freight rates were advanced and
would have occurred if freight rates
had never been advanced.
Assuming the facts to be true as
stated in this article, that the de
cline In prices was entirely due to
adjustment of conditions to the pre
war basis and that prices on some
farm products did begin to decline
before the advanced froicht rates be
came effective1, does it seem logical
for the railroads to advance the
freight rates at the time that market
prices had started on the downward
trend? In other words, just at the
time when farmers were being bur
dened with lower prices, the rall-
roads, instead of adjusting their
rates in the same direction, slap on
a heavier advance in rates than had
ever been made before.
Freight rates on hay were ad
vanced 25 per cent during the war
time period, then a further advance
of 35 per cent wai inde on the
Increased rate, August 26, 1920.
These advances, together with the 3
per cent war tax, which is still ef
fective, figure a total increase in
rates of 73.8 per cent over the pre
war basis.
Between January 1, 19?0, and the
time that the 35 per cent Increase in
rates became effective, tlu average
price of No. 1 grade alfalfa on the
Omaha market was $l;8 per ton.
The -average prlco at the present
time is $16 per ton. Since the ad
vanced rates became effective, prices
of hay have shown a steady decline,
thn reason being as we sec it, that
the prohibitive rates have restricted
thi consuming territory which It is
possible to reach within the limits
of the transportation costs that the
traffic Is able to bear.
The railroads claim that their in
crease in revenue has amounted to
CO per cent, whereas their increase
in expenses has amounted to 110
per cent and apportion thnlo increase
in expenses to these four Items:
65 per cent advance in cost of ma
terial and supplies.
90 per cent advance in taxes.
144 per cent advance in price of coal.
124 per cent advance in cost of
labor.
We do not question the correct
ness of their figures, but it occurs
to us that perhaps the greater part
of the increase in the cost of mate
rial, supplies and coal -an be at
tributed to the prevailing high cost
of transportation which these com
modities have to bear, the same as
they do commercially.
If a business organization carrying
a heavy overhead expense appor
tloned their expenses on a small and
diminishing volume of business, the
selling price of their product would
become prohibitive to the buying
public nml tho organization would
boon go bankrupt.
On the other hand, with reason
able prices within the reach of the
buying public, the increasing volume
of their sales would yield aatisfnc
tory returns and they would be pros
perous.
This is precisely the position tl-aC
the railroads are in today. The
prices of their product (which is
their service) are too high Tho
volume of their business Is steadily
decreasing, as shippers will not ship
as much as they would with more
coultahle rates, or else the shippers
will avail themselves with more ero
nomical means of transportation,
such as boats and auto trucks.
A much greater volume of busi
ness created by lower rates could ba
handled by the rallroadH with the
Fame labor and expenno they are
now under. F. A. MATTHEWS.
The Essential Quality.
The leading item in a question
naire Is, after all, the simple In
quiry, "Are you able-bodied and will
ing to work?" Washington Star.
A Mutter of CompuHson.
Flying is said to b as safe as
canoeing. That Is one of the worst
knocks flying has yet received. Hot
Springs Sentlnel-Kecord.
. Tho (Jood Time Coining.
You know, we are awaiting with
considerable Interest Pussyfoot John
son's invasion of Germany
Houston Post.
PAX VOBISCUM.
Blow out the candles; set the camp (loot
wide;
Climb to your bunk; goodnight; aweel
drenma galore.
Now all the ellver night flood like a tld
In through the low rump door.
Through mile and mile of forest, over
dark.
Hoarae etreama that fall to lake th
moonlight pill
Down broken glory road; one human
aparK
Strike from cndleM mystery of th
nuia;
Where from the guide camp voices.y
laughter low
Puncture small nick In the silence'
intensity.
And through dim window-pane on
candle glow
Stand a man' aymbol In th night'
immensity.
Each of us tiny moth may above him
Tho glittering million sun ot worlds
unknown;
Lord, what la man that You are mind
ful of him.
Seeing the universes are your throne?
Blow out the candles; set the camp door
wide;
A sleepy pulse of waters throb along
the shore.
Now all the peace of. God flood like a
tide
In at the low camp door.
Mary Raymond Khlpman Andrew, in
Scrlbner' Magazine.
The Hotel That
Typifies a Town
IN every city one hotel is the
embodiment of the best that
the city affords; it typifies and is
an inseparable part of the com
munity. Considering Chicago in terms of
hotels, one naturally thinks of the
Lasalle or the Blackstone. In
Des Moine3 it is the Fort Des
Moines, in Lincoln the Lincoln, in
Sioux City the Martin, in Cedar
Rapids the Montrose and so on.
And in Omaha
"Built and maintained for those discriminating
Americans "who instinctively demand the best.
a
I-
Three Omaha Hotels
of Merit
CONANT
SIXTEENTH
V HARNEY
David B. Young. Manager a. Rate 12.00 to 3.00
SANFORD SSI
Joo. F. Eg an. Manager v Rates tl.SO to J.SO
HENS HAW
SIXTEENTH
FARNAM
Jo. H. Kccaaa. Maitagtr jv Htu f 1.90 to ti.00
All Fireproof Centrally Located
oa Direct Car Line from Depots
Our reputation of twenty year it back of these hotels.
Guests may stop at any one of them with the assurance
of receiving honest value and courteous treatment
Conant Hotel Company. Operators
a
Phone DOuglas 2793
rrtWiHqiiittwOfTk
OMAHA
PRINTING
COMPANY
MM aaiua MMN
Oh
TTntT aW AB MnTTaVl ftAMrfll H
IS V
CCMNIRCIAl PRIHTCR$.LrTH0rUPHERS -STEClOlECMBOSJOW
lOosc.tcAre evicts
