Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-09-03
Died of a sur



felt"
American Peace Congress.
The rabid militarists and the peace
at any price advocates will have to
take such satisfaction as they can
find out of the present universal dis
cussion Of preparedness" AS a
matter of fact it is not likely that the
United States is going to lose its
head, and there are plain evidences
that from President Wilson down to
the most humble congressman there
is a disposition to carefully map out
a plan of suitable defense for the
United States without aping the mil
itary methods of European countries.
New conditions will be met and new
methods of properly policing the land
and the sea will be provided in much
the same way as cities increase their
''force" when convention, circus, or
a big special function comes to town.
The American Peace society, which
heretofore has made straight ap-
peal for disarmament, will hold it's
annual convention in San Francisco
in October, and it has Belgian, Per-
sian and Swiss speakers on its pro-
gram. The Peace society is in ac-
cord with the sober sense of the
country in favoring proper prepared
ness and keeping it, but it insists
that new conditions should tven-
tually be evolved that will make the
world disarmament not only possible
but practical.
Typewriters and StenOgraphy.
Thirty-five years ago there was not
a typewriter owned by the United
States government and it is doubtful
whether there were a dozen stenog-
raphers. Today there are approx
mately $4,000 employees in the de-
partments at Washington, and of
these fully one-third have either a
typewriter or a stenographer's note
book, or both in front of them.
Stenography and typewriting have
thoroughly revolutionized the man
ner of conducting the government
business, and it is doubtful whether
the public business could be carried
on without these comparatively mod
ern acquisitions. Typewriters and
fair stenographers have utterly de-
stroyed the making of historic state
papers, and the museums of the
future will continue to thrive, as at
present, on displays of the chiro-
graphy of Washington, Jefferson,
Lincoln and others.
The Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson
regimes would have found themselves
swamped if the quill or pen had been
necessary to carry on the work of the
executive office. In that one branch
of the administration there are scores
of stenographers and typists. Surely
the old order changeth, and the ways
of our distinguished forefathers are
pretty crude when placed in compari-
son with present-day methods.
Computing Railroad Swindles.
The interstate commerce commits
sion estimates the losses caused to
the Rock Island railroad under the
Reid-Morse syndicate at $2O,0OO,OO0.
The New Haxen loot has never been
added up, nor has the process been
applied to other big railroads of the
country whose earning powers. as in
the case of the two above roads, were
made a sort of side issue to the stock
gamblers who manipulated their af-
fairs. But Uncle Sam is doing a
good piece of work in regulating
these industrials-and he was none
too soon, otherwise some of their
stocks would have become about as
valueless as Confederate money.
Blowing Up Threshing. Machines.
: The agricultural department has
, prepared an alibi in case the Ger
, mans should be accused of blowing
up American threshing machines
t Several hundred machines actually
exploded during the last threshine
: season. 1t has been found that the
, mixture of dust and air in the cham
t bers of machines are touched off by
r electric charges, and this can be pre-
vented through grounding the cylin
der shafts by running wires from
brush contact with the shaft to ar
: iron rod driven in moist soil.
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