The Washington herald., 1915-12-21
Seen AND HEARD
BY GEORGE MINER
tCopyhsht, isls.
By ths Mcclure NevspspfT 6yndiote1

-~eess-
III Copyright ISIS
By No Mcclure Nevspspr syndiots3
New York. Dec. 3o.-rime was when the
navy department had to scrape these
broad United States with a fne-tooth
comb to set men TO enlist. All sorts OF
tricks and allurements were used. Lee
turers were sent out with moving pic
lures showing the delights Of being .
jackie. The country was plastered with
posters as though the service was a cir.
Gus. II the department was conducting a
bargain sale or had a gold brick to dis
pose Of or was promoting a wildcat mine
or had an edition de luxe to place II
could not have worked harder to get
recruits. There was a continual bailyhoo
for them.
That's all passed.
They come without asking now.
Can Pick the Best.
The United States navy is now. and
has been for \ long time. at a point
where II does not need to look for men,
said Admiral Usher I'VE have more ap-
plicants than we can take. and We can
pick the very best men. The navy's legal
quota is absolutely complete, and the
only vacancies now are caused by the
discharge OF men whose terms expire. At
the present time. there are few of these
because discharged men are re-enlisting al
most to a man. They believe that the
United states may get into troubles be-
fore this war Is over and they are
anxious to stay in the service.
We don't need any press gang. Quite
the contrary. and the navy is no longer
the refuge for undesirables. They can't
throw the village drunk OF on Uncle Sam
nowadays. The United States navy does
not take any man unless II has first salts
fed itself that he Is OF good character.
That Is a prime requisite. The body OF
enlisted men is as fine a society as you
will find anywhere. There are no GRIM
inals in it. and there are not going
to be-
All of which shows that upIift has
been busy with the navy Admiral
tsher's fine society suggests the IF you
please" insisted on by the admiral In
Pinafore." However. as long as the
jackies can fight and shoot let them be a
Browning society in their leisure mom-
ents IL they want TO.
Handing . Bin 10 Bim.
The recent death Of Col. Abe Gruber
wit. Few could understand how such a
little man could hold such a store OF
sarcasm and invective. / recall one in
stance Of IL at a national convention
BIN. the Button Man" had achieved
fame and fortune In the manufacture Of
campaign buttons. He had come to con-
slider himself a prophet because he made
his buttons In advance and always picked
the right name to 60 on them.
Previous to this convention he had made
Ip millions of buttons bearing the name
of the man he expected would be nomi-
mated. But another candidate was
chosen ana his millions Of buttons were
4 dead loss. Gruber met him coming out
Of the convention.
You arc not BIN the Button Man."
said the colonel. You are Bum the Bit
.en Man.
Herman A. Metz. who. before the war
vas the biggest dye importer In America
md was also formerly comptroller of
New York city. says that so much has
'een written by laymen about the manu-
'acture of dyes in this country that IL
las upset and misled the trade He tells
ne he spends more time correcting misin-
formation than doing anything else
Gen. Leonard Wood tells me that or
lers have been issued which prohibits
trmy officers from discussing for publica-
ion the preparedness program. There's
hat same old muxzIe again.
when Honesty DidnI Pay.
In the exuberance of his youth and en- |
husiasm GIenmore Davis took y play
allied Tho Song OF Songs" out on the
Dad and booked IL in some Canadian
'ities. II promised well. The play Is |
rom the German OF Suderman Tfiis fact |
5. Of course. duly credited on all the |
printing and posters. Word came from
he Canadian managers that on account !
4 that word German the play could not |
'e given in Canada. II was impossible |
o cover it with stripping. and so Mr.. |
Davis had to lay of his company for two |
weeks in the middle OF the season until |
lis dates in the United States came |
round.
Glenmore Davis is now a violent peace
PARTISAN. If We had been pirates and
stolen the play and said nothing about
'uderman or German or anything, else"
Davis. lit would have been all
light. We wouldn't have lost those two
weeks"
This sets me TO wondering IL sauerkraut
las been censored from the Canadian
ill Of fare. Is its importation barred /
There is tremendous lot of it made l
n the western part Of New York State
md sent all over the country in quarter
'arrels and two-gallon cans. Lots of II
'oes to Florida, where they can raise
abbages as well. II not better. than any
lace in the country.
This fact has come to the attention of
he man who invented a famous brand
4 breakfast food and he is down in
florida now arranging to establish sauer- /,
raut factories and also canning estab-
to use up the fruit that or
inarily goes to waste. He told me that
n the whole State OF Florida, where
ruit and vegetables grow so abundantly,
here is not single cannery worth the
anne. A Seattle capitalist is back OF
is enterprise.
Patrick Francis Murphy. OF New York.
.ondon and Paris, and after dinner
anne. wonders why there were no wire
.ss reports from the squirrels on the
eace ship. Is It that they were starved
D death? None of the Passengers dis