The National tribune., 1909-04-01

Yale never had a President of the
United States before, and she proposes
20 make the most of it. There never
was such dinner given TO a President
as was given to President Taft in New
York at the Waldorf-Astoria by Yale
men the other night. and Persistent Taft
was as happy as a boy with his first
pair of red topped boots. But my, my,
That simile doesn't work any more,
because a boy of to-day who was made
tc wear pair of red-topped boots or
any kind of boots would kick the toes
out in wrath at having to wear them
at all But you might look at ii this
way. "as happy as Taft was when ne
for. you see. he wore 'em. and he
thought they were just the incest things
that came down the pike.
A sad lesson on the irresponsiblity
OF parents for their children was evi-
denecd in the Police Court the other
day. Two small boys. aged l. and 10
years, were brought before the Juvenile
Court for stealing The boys finally
confessed that they had broken into
a store and taken razors. blankets. pen
knives, blackjaclss. fishing tackle and
pistols. The boys were all loaded up
with this array OF hardware. and ready
To start West when taken ill custody.
The Judge finally got out of the boys
that they had been reading some two
Tor nov els. Two for 4 nickel. you know.
once upon time it used to be dime"
novels which inflamed young. immature
minds and set them off their base, but
now you can buy most of the rotten
stuff for penny Il pamphlet. 1t might
be good thing for parents 10 look
little out at what their children are
reading. Maybe rotten reading might
Zoe barred from newstands exactly as
poisonous candy and cigarets are. If
this could be accomplished it would
lessen the rroubles Of the Juvenile Court
Judges whole heap.
The Snaugural Committee will have
about $500 LETT after all expenses are
paid. of this sum $500 viii be given
the widow of a man who fell from the
scaffeld while decorating the Pension
Office for the ball and died of his in
1uries. A thousand or so will be used
in trying to inform the world that
inaugural date should be changed. and
the remainder of the money will be
given TO charity. Before another in
augural rolls around it is to be hoped
that the country will see the wisdom
Of making the change.
Lake Cemetery to the memory of Hin
ton Rowan Helper. formerly United
States Consul-General TO Buenos hyres.
Alr. Helper was man Of brilliant mind,
but visionary. He had splendid ideas.
but he had no money, and he could not
make moneyed men see things as he
saw them, and so was handicapped. His
whole heart and soul were bound up
in the hope of a railroad direct from
Alaska to Patagonia. 1t was to 1e
known as the Pan-American Railroad.
He was a fair writer. His book, The
impending Crisis" was the best thing
ever put forth, politically. by Sou H.
erIl man. and created-a stir at the tine,
but its day is long since dead, as it was
only book for the. hour. He wrote
several other books. but they were not
brilliant and there was no demand for
them. Mr.. Helper had been a friend
OF many famous men, but they were all
dead and his visions were vanishing.
He was tired, and so he quit. He has
many friends, and they will rear mon
ument to his memory.
Representative Ansbury. of Ohio, has
presented a bill in the House to change
the arrangement of the stars on the
Flag. new formation of the stars is
suggested They would be arranged lin
five arcs in combination, the centers of
the arcs to be the apices of regular
pentagon, the radius of the arcs to be
equal to one side of the pentagop." Now,
Of course. you understand that.
As to the size of the stars, the bill
prescribes that their radius shall be
equal to "one-fourth the distance of
the stars from center to center"
Provision for adding new stars for
new States might be by extending the
arcs.
Representative Ansbury or any other
member of Congress will be spending
his time much more profitably passing
a bill to prevent desecration of the
stars already on the Flag. The Flag
is all right as it is, and nobody will
ever be able To get the War and Navy
Department to put those stars on the
field OF blue in any other way than
paralleiogram. But some awfully good
work Is needed TO keep commercial in
terests from making prize-fghters' belts
of the Flag or using it to advertise beer
and whisky and a thousand other nasty
ways OF desecrIting it.
Inaugural steries are yet good, and
ane of the best is that told by Repre-
sentative Graf, of the Peoria, ILL.,, Dis
trict. Maj $. o. Tripp is the name of
the hero. He is a Deputy United States
DIarshal for the Peoria District, and
started for washington with a couple
VI NUN ItIt
81 Philadelphia. He then hurried on
Washingtonward to take his place in
line as one of the AiGs in-Chief in the
parade. He carried with him his high
hat box" in which reposed the silk tile
he was to wear in the parade along
with some other things. He got 10
Baltimore, and found the town practi-
caliy showed up. He started to walk
to Washington. He located a work
train, and by dint of moral suasion
with some green goods got aboard. but
it landed him 20 miles short of Wash
ington in snowdrift, engines dead.
and he did walk the rest of the way.
He got in about 1890 p. M, got car
riage, which took him TO where his
horse was to be waiting for him, went
into the stables and got into his other
clothes. donned that precious silk hat,
and was at the parade at 1880. smiling
and tired. There was real heroism in
his determination not to disappoint his
superior officer, however.
There died in Washington the other
day Miss Elizabeth Du Fief aged SO,
who had had an eventful career, or,
rather, she lived in an eventful period,
but she herself lived above the storm
clouds. She lived in the house in which
she was born and died peacefully there.
A year ago the site was selected for a
school house, and the Government tried
to buy the land at fabulous sum, but
the old lady said she would not sell.
Then the land was condemned, and
she was given $4,000 for the site, but