The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-05-31
AT THE HOTELS.

"a i i lie liz LID.
Notwithstanding every argument to
the contrary, America Is not keeping
pace with European countries, be they
republic or monarchies. in it's system OF
pensioning its civil employees" said Hugh
J. Caswen. Of Pittsburg. at the New VII
lard. last night.
THE government Of the United States
pensions It's soldiers and sailors and takes
care Of them, even going as far
as educating them. n addition to
spending millions upon millions every
year for new war ships. the latest
weapon. &c. II anything happens 70
a soldier or sailor while in the service,
the government provides medical attend
ance and everything under the sun 70
make him comfortable. That IS all well
and good, so far as II goes, but there
are others besides soldiers and sailors
who are Just as necessary IN the admins
tering Of the affairs Of the country. and
these people are the employees and clerks
who look after the administration Of civil
affairs. not military. They are fighting IN
the service OF their country. and are Just
as useful 10 Uncle sam as their uniformed
brothers IN the army or navy.
If the one branch IS provided for IN
the way Of pensions when OLD age makes
them useless" added MI Casweu. why
not take care Of the other branches, too2
i seems there IS very unjust discrimina-
ton in favor OF the armed branch Of the
government. There are hundreds OF
clerks who have given their best years
70 the government. ard who are Just as
much entitled 10 be pensioned as any
body else
The German government under the
wise guidance Of Kaiser Wilhelm. has
the best pension system IN the world.
| The old are taken care OF as well as the
| sick and feeble; those who are out Of
work are provided with employment by
| a government employment bureau, and
| those who are 81 and have no funds
/ wherewith 10 engage the services q a
physician are placed in charge OF a doc
/ tor who IS paid by the city. Every
/ body contributes 20 this universal pen
/ sion fund. The employer. the eupI0ye.
and the government each bears a
/ share. which IS very small. and there
/ fore there is no objection. The German
government long ago recognized that
/ the services Of its civil employees are
just as valuable as those OF its sailors
/ ard soldiers Furthermore, there are no
/ Industrial establishments which are with
/ out that pension system. which the gov
/ erament has made obligatory"
/ George S. Myers. Of Salt Lake, Utah,
who is at the Raleigh. in speaking Of the
/ lakes Of his country said that IN the
| great basin between the Rockies and the
/ Sierra Nevadas lie the ghosts Of many
. dead lakes. Rivers still flow down 70
/ the dry edges and are licked UP by evap-
Grafton and the chinook winds. OF all
the lakes that once lay there. only salt
Lake. Lake Tahoe. and Bear Lake are IeT-
The Southern Pacific rolls for 155 miles
/ across the bed Of what was once Lake
Lahontan. and passengers gazing idly
from the windows may see the terraces
and wrinkles IN the crust Of the fossil
lake which nature destroyed ages ago
Akin 10 these ghost lakes are the lost
rivers Of the Southwest" continued Mr..
/ Myers. Rivers that flow with all the
/ swiftness and clearness Of other streams
near by, then disappear into the earth as
/ mysteri0usly as II they were spirit,
dreams. IN the valley Of the Rio Grands
there are many little rivers Of this kind.
Just south Of Santa Fe is the River
, HOndO, which flows broad and deep for
many miles, then suddenly spreads out
over a sandy plain and disappears.
a few hundred feet from where Il
goes out Of sight there is only sand. as
dry as dust itself. Some Of these streams
end in tiny bracldsh lakes. but most OF
them disappear IN the sand beds. On
the coast OF Mexico there are clear
water streams that discharge into the
Gulf from underground channels many
feet below the level OF the sea. thought
. 10 be the same waters that disappear
farther UD in the States. In the valley
between Pecos and the Rio Grande. be-
ginning near Saudia Mountains. is the
/ head of an old river. with all its t-Ibu-
taries. its falls. its shadows. and its
fascinating bends. II is 200 miles Ions
and many feet wide. but 70 IS only the
ghost OF O. river. for there IS no water
there. It passes by the ruins OF Gran
Quivaria, its bed IS strewn with broken
lava, and it terminates in a salt marsh.
The Indians have a legend that long ago
the waters were deep and swift there.
until one day a great fire swept down the
valley tapping W the waters. leaving
the bed empty. the banks barren, and
the valley depleted forevermore."