The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-10
COMMENTS ON MEN AND
 MATTERS OF THE WORLD

I of August and the first of September sounds like a dream, but no doubt if we had to breast the elements on the vest ern plains the dream would soon become a vivid reality. The west Is a great coun- try, anyway, and can furnish all kinds of novelties from Indian uprisings, prize fights, snow storms and foods to govern ment land scandals and presidential junk cts
 The Woman's Christian Temperance union in Nebraska recently offered prize for a suitable name for new drink guar anteed to be perfectly harmless, and much better than popular punch. More over the new concoction was to be made up of fruit juices so that "the most del- icate woman or the youngest child could imbbe 1t without fear of results. The an- nouncement of this offer gave the para graphers another opportunity to wax hu- morous at the expense of the ladies, and several immediately began to suggest names. One of them goes about it in rhis manner Somebody suggested Judy as suitable word, adding Judy is not Punch, for you know, Punch is the Ticker Then an opening for discourse on the evils of punning is discovered, and the sons guilty of this practice are warned of its perniciousness. The W. c. T. U. is certainly a splendid organization, and has accomplished a great work In this country, but it's members have had an abundance of ridieule to contend against. The funny papers have utilized them for joke purposes until the theme is almost as hackneyed as that of our mother-in- law, but the ladies are undaunted and go about their crusades with all the vigor that characterized the movement in it's inception.
 Now that the time approaches for the husky college youth to pack his dress suit case and hie away to classic halls, talk of the 'cane rush. is being revived. This gentle amusement is an important feature of academic life at many of our larger colleges and is about as near as modern sport approaches to the old time jousts and journeys in which gallant knights tilted for their lady loves. All the excitement and more brutality Is in evidence at the cane rush but the mortal ity list is not so large. In fact the cane rush is not so picturesque or so refined as the knightly combat, for college boys are no respecters of persons-especially when those persons are members of an upper class-and the cane rush is merely a softer name for a free for all fight. in which loss of hair, bloody noses, and
 
 An effort has been made to suppress the cane rush but like great many other att tempts along this line, has come to naught.
 While in America Senor Marconi is re- ceving much attention. In fact he has been so greatly honored that he thinks any kind of demonstration is directed straight at his distinguished person. An amusing illustration of this is given by a metropolitan daily. Marconi was seated in a cafe with some friends when drum and fife started up on the street beneath the window. Being unacquainted with many of our American institutions he did not know that the serried ranks of labor were marshaling for the Labor day pa- thanks with triple salaams for the un- expected demonstration given in his hon. or. Senor Marconi predicts that wireless passages will be exchanged between Lon don and New York within the next year. It is to be hoped that he will not be dis appointed but it would be a wise move for him to buy out competing companies so that the ludcrous warfare that took place during the yacht races may not be repeated If the trans-oceanic messages should get as badly tangled up as were the race bulletins diplomatic mistakes in interpreting eablegrams will be of fre- quent occurrence. P. c.