The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-08-21
state CAPITAL HAS
BRAND NEW HOBBY
Columbus Is Mostly Inter-
ested in Baby Contests.
PEOPLE TIRE OF OTHER NEWS
Whole City 10 Going pelirlOusly Wild
Over Infants, While Mothers
Aspire to Have Most
Perfect Child.
o. A. DONOVAN,
Special Columbus Correspondent.

D. A. DONOVAN,
Special Columbus Correspondent.
Columbus, Ohio.
COLUMBUS has got hold of brand
new hobby. 1t is getting tired OF
the referendum frauds and peev.
ish over the Mexican embroglio.
It is even weary of the tariff squab-
BILE and the round Of news that
drifts in from the national capital
every "a hours. So 1t turns with sighs
of relief and evident satisfaction to
babies. Yes, just babies. 1t wouldn't
be stretching the truth in fact if it
were said that the capital of Ohio is
going deliriously wild over babies.
Thus far this summer there have been
three baby shows held under the aus
pices of one of the local newspapers
not to mention other smaller shows
held under other auspices. These
events aren't actually shows, although
to the curious they amount to real
circus In fact and in truth they are
contests, baby contests, in which in
fants vie With one another in points
Of health and soundness of brain and
general physical makeup. The proud
est and happiest person in the world
Is the mother of q winning baby. But
the mothers are by no means all the
interested persons. AS before men
toned the whole city is going daft
over the baby contests. The fashion
able horse shows of New York haven't
thing on the baby shows right here
in Central Ohio. Here the people are
becoming connoiseurs on babies and
people who formerly couldn't recog-
nize real live baby in broad daylight
can tell you now how many ounces
Of certified milk baby ought to be fed
and how many times day.
Great to be "Perfect" Baby.
incidentally it's great thing to be
a perfect" baby. 1t must weigh so
much and measure so much and have
such and such a shape to the head,
and there must be so many inches be-
tween the hip and knee, and so many
fractions of inches between ear and
the nose. The head must measure a
certain number of inches and the con-
tour Of the face and the dimensions
of the body must be so and so. The
contestant to win, must be in perfect
health. The slightest indisposition
would lose it scoring points. Then
there are physicians who do nothing
but test the mentality of the tiny en-
tries and proud and satisfied Is the
mother Of the baby that scores 100 in
the so-called mental test. AS for the
babies, they don't take the slightest
| bit of pleasure in the scoring. Most
of them weep plaintively during the
whole process. Others take the thing
as a matter of course. On the whole
the contesting baby is pathetic bit
Of humanity, protesting against the
whole contest business, and often
silently pleading that mother or nurse
cover it's nude little body from the
curious stares of hundreds of on
lockers.
State Investigation.
There is to be general state inves,
tigation of the manner in which boats
are handled in Ohio summer resorts
The cause is the accident in Buck,
eye Lake, Licking county, last Thurs
day wherein a boat load of colored
persons sank. Thus far eight bodies
have been recovered and IT is feared
that others are in the lake. The
charge is now made that the boat, a
small launch, was greatly over
crowded. The Office of the state su
perintendent Of public works has al
ready delved into the Buckeye Lake
disaster and is determined to spread
it's inquiry all over the state.
Wants Sentence Set Aside.
One Of the grounds on which Abra
ham Smile, a Turk, who Is serving q
life sentence in the Ohio penitentiary
for murder, is that the state did not
properly name the woman whom 1t &C
cused him of numbering. The charge
against Smile was that he killed {
woman known as Lucy Smile" Now
comes the alleged murderer with the
contention that no such woman aE
"Iucy Smile" was murdered and tha
therefore he was wrongfully impris
oned on the charge of killing her. HI
wants the sentence of the Hamilton
county courts to b set aside.
New Law Is Upheld.
There is rejoicing in the office o.
the new state agricultural commission