davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1916-01-24
Once More the Literacy Test.

At no time In the nations history
has there been less excuse for n liter
acy test for immigrants than there is
to-day. The labor supply is already
nlarmingly depleted. The prospect
of serious shortage Is recognized In
all parts Of the country. The future
course Of immigration is not known
to any man. And yet the effort to
exclude honest. competent and indus
trious men because Of the hardship OF
their youth is revived in the House of
Representatives.
The argument that iliteate aliens
make less worthy citizens than those
who can read and write. that they
cling more tenaciously to loyalty to
the lands OF their origin, cannot be
brought forward. Experience has
shown that the ability to read and
write does not assure adherence to
America. comprehension of her ideals
or devotion TO her interests One stock
defence Of this false theory has been
rendered obsolete by the incidents of
the last year, and cannot he used
n gain to influence the judgment Of this
generation.
Representative SABBATH of Illinois
has succeeded In eliminating the ex-
emptions in favor of Mexicans. Gu
bans and Canadians which were part
of the original draft of the measure.
AS II now stands in the committee 1t
provides one rule for ALL and thus
the Objectionable nature of the pro-
posal Is made more obvious The un-
necessary. harsh and i'll Judged pro-
vision Is made all inclusive. Mr.
SABATH wisely has forced it to form
in which no exceptions offer shelter
To Its more timid opponents.
Three Presidents have vetoed the
llteracy test. None has had oppor-
tunity 10 veto it twice. That oppor.
tunity may he Mr.. WILSON'S. If the
Sixty.fourth Congress proves as weak
~ its predecessor; and If it comes to
him. there should he no doubt that he
will improve it,
The sun., 1916-01-24
Railroad Wages and Railroad Rates.

Almost half Of every dollar Of trans.
portation revenue received by the
railroads is now paid out to their EN-.
ployees. How much more OF railroad
revenue indirectly goes to reward
labor in the purchase OF materials
used by the carriers is n matter OF
conjecture. but 1t is n reasonable
guess that fully two.thirds Of the
railroad dollar goes to labor.
There are on the railroad payrolls
now about 100000 men. Five years
ago the average wage Of these EN-
ployees was about $500 year. At
present II Is about $50, so rapidly
md extensively have wages been
forced upward By arbitration proc
esses with compulslons of quasi
governmental character put on the
railroads to meet wage demands
For the first time in the history Of
the railroads they are faced with a
prospect of countrywide claim for
increased pay 10 labor. All over the
land engineers. firemcn conductors
and trainmen are voting on propo-
sition TO submit increased wage de
mands TO the carriers next spring
The vote is forma lily. as everybody
knows what will be the outcome. The
union leaders will he authorized 10
put the screws on the railroad man
acements backed by the threat of a
general strike.
Then there will he II wild popular
clamor for arbitration. Washington
will intervene in some way. arhitra.
tion tribunals will he constituted. and.
according to precedent. railroad labor
will gct substantial part of the in.
crease for which 1t asks.
In all the recent years that this sort
Of thing has been going on accom-
panied by an oppressive Government
regulation of The railroads which has
tended steadily 10 diminish railroad
control over income and expenditures.
there has been very little intelligent
public interest in The question of how
much railroads finances could stand.
Lately there have been some signs of
political appreciation of inevitable
disaster unless pressure nn railroad
income was lifted somewhat. hut II
corner has been turned in railroad
earnings. and IT will again he difficult
TO bring intelligent public opinion to
hear on the principles involved in
public regulation Of the railroads.
II would seem, however. that the
time has about arrived 10 consider il
public regulation of railroad wages
WIS not needed even more than rcgu-
lation Of railroad freight and pas
senger rates. The railroads cannot 60
on forever paying an increasing por-
tion Of their income TO their employees
without an evident necessity Of higher
rates to preserve their credit. II the
Government assumes 10 regulate rates
IL cannot much longer avoid the as
sumption Of responsibility for rail
road wages which have become the
most potent factor in rate making.
The sun., 1916-01-24
In the japanese Ocean.

The >eamen'S law. which Woop-
ROW WILSON signed. has given to q
Japanese steamship line the trans
pacific freight business of the South
ern Pacific Railroad. The United
States mails are carried by japanese
ships. The Japanese companies have
now n virtual monopoly of commerce
in the Pacific Ocean.
Has Mr.. WILSON. in the preparat ion
of his addresses in support of the
policy Of national defence he advn-
Gates. given thought Ia the situation
the sramen'S law has produced in
the Pacific: Has he considered the
conditions that. because of its re-
quircmcntS. the nation must overcome
To guard not only the Philippines and
Hawaii hut the western coast Of
continental United States?
We hope so. for if he has we shall
soon know by what act of military
magic he proposes to undo the ma
tional injury that has been worked
Ly the vicious legislation which hears
his signature.
The sun., 1916-01-24
cities like Lcmberg and Przemysl

cities like Lcmberg and PrZemysl
treated the inhabitants with con.
sideration rare In warfare, but of
course there was method in this. In
Lemberg and Przcmysl there is a
very large Polish population and i'm
the Hungarian towns there are
many Rumanans. Cracow. the oh
jective in western Galicia, is more
than two.thirds Polish. There is no
doubt that the Russians after the
disastrous reverse at Tannenbcrg In
East Prussia abandoned their plan
Of forcing way to Berlin through
Thorn. They had TO put their faith
in the army of Galicia commanded by
the scientific soldier RuzsKY. and It
did not seem to be misplaced when
the year 1915 opened.
The scale OF the new Russian often
si,e has not been disclosed. If the
left wing of the vast Russian army
stretched out from the Dvina to the
northern tip of Eumnnia is attacking
in strong force the presumption Is
that the plan of campaign does not
differ greatly from that of the autumn
of 1914. The operations have al.
ready caused. according to report, {,
transfer Of Austro-Germans from the
Balkan front. A substantial success
In Bulowina would be followed no
doubt by an advance upon Lemberc
up the railway from Czernowitz. The
capital Of Bukowina. by the way. IS
not more than seventy miles from tho
Delatyn pass into Hungary.
Again, II the signs do not fail, Ga
llcia Is 10 be the scene of great con-
fiicts and the Hungarian plain is 10
be threatened. There has been an
impression that the Russians easily
overcame the Austrians in the first
campaign. but the truth is that the
Russian losses were enormous. 4
second Galician offensive would OBJ.
viously he more costly, for now the
German General Stan is directing
the armies of the Teutonic allies
They have been in full possession OF
Galicia for almost a year. and every
! strategic point must be strongly in
trenched and fortified. Only with
great numbers. a powerful artillery
and unlimited ammunition could III,
Russians hope TO break through.
The sun., 1916-01-24
THAT THIRD CUP OF COFFEE.
A Grip Enfcebled Roosevcltian Hap
pily Restored.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SrS--Sir: !
thank YOU for THE Dainnedest ltot pl
Theodore Starrctt in answer to una,
Ammi Wright stuff in THE Sun when
came across my vision when ] was con.
fined at home with the grip. ana cou'o
only wrthe with the rot OF II all.
The logic that seeks TO charge Roose-
veIt who was second in the race. with
the infiction upon us OF him VINO no"
occupies the Presidential chair advanced
over the signature of Ammi Wright wen
nigh added commissions to my o'hcr
troubles. But after reading Starrct
was able to go out to-day.
Colonel Rooseveits remarks about not
running again were after his electloH'
not a promise whcrewith to win an clec-
ton, and accepted by the country as a
promise not to perpetuate himselI ii'
Office through or by the use OF Presi-
dental patronage. And with that high
sense of honor that is characteristically
Rooseveltian he lived UP to that prom
Use and removed himself from all con-
necton with Presidential patronage. ana
did not again seek Presidential honors
until sought and persuaded by those VINO
had determined upon La Toilette as the
standard bearer of the ProgressiNes, ou.
found him unavailable and RooseNei'
the only man TO iii the breach.
So say Ammi wrights talk about a
violated pledge, coming upon me in such
weakened condition. reduced me to a
pass that left me only sufficient strength
weakly to mutter, "Oh, judgment, thou
art fed to british beasts and men have
lost their reason"
believe Ammi Wright would have
been a permanent injury to me II Mr.
Starrett had not so quickly followed
with his This talk about vloiated
pledge Is rot. the damncdest rot that
ever was uttered when 1t IL uttered
against Theodore Roosevelt in connec-
ton with his last candidacy for the
Presidency of the United states" SO ]
thank you again for printing and Theo-
dore Starrett for writing The Damned
est Rot" for Ammi Wright.
THOMAS T. CIVILIAN.
WuKEsBARRE. January 22.
The sun., 1916-01-24
DEFACING MORNINGSIDE.
Could Not a More slightly Water Pipe
Cover BE Devised:

To THE EDITOR or THE SUN--Sir' |
am Informed that the building of a
steel frame skyscraper In Moru!ngs,de
Park Is intended IA a protection for an
entrance to the new pipe of the Catsllill
water supply; but this pipe is far down
below the surface of the park. and =
building to cover II could surely he
erected on the lower portion of the park
and In such u Ma! as to hc iucou-
spicuous. Particularly should this he
so when It is realized that the structure
Is for use only in case Of special need,
But instead OF being arranged SO as
To show itself hut little, one secs steel
columns mounting high in air, and with
The apparent purpose of going si!l
higher.
The building is certainly an cncroach-
ment upon the park. Possibly it is
needed, hut surely not on the present
highly conspicuous lines.
Not moment should he lost in taxi
ing down the steel work thus far
erected and in wholly rccasting the To-
cation, shape and size OF the building.
FRIEND OF PARKS.
New York, January 20.
The sun., 1916-01-24
One Progressive Won't Have the Colo.
mel as a Republican.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-SiI: w"
are taught By history apparently that
a people follows men rather than Ideals,
o. to put II another way. they folio"
ideals pronounced by one man and thus
follow the man rather than the ideals.
Thus many who call themselves Pro-
gressives follow Roosevelt as standing
for their IDEALS.
They never seem to consider ideals can
and do live longer than men. There are
thousands of progrcssves who are for
Roosevelt as lorg as he is a Progres-
s.ve. Those men will not follow Roose-
Welt back into the Republican party.
They regard the Republican party as
conservative party, and conservatism IS
the brake that Is applied to the wheels
OF prcgressiNe ideas.
such men realize there is nothing in
common between Progressive and a
Republican. others say there is just one
thing in common, and that IS both de-
sire to win. Roosevelt Is a fine living
picture OF an American, his political
virtues no doubt exceed his political
faults, and as a leader he IL one OF the
greatest II not the greatest so far pro
duced in the United States. The man
who regrets him the most while living
would probably be among those VINO
paid sinccrest respec. to his memory.
Stlll Roosevelt as a President by virtue
Of the Progressive party Is one thing,
and as President by virtue Of the r.
publican party is another thing. for IL
he is a good Progressive he cannot be
a good Republican. II he is a good
Republican he cannot he good Fro
grcsSive.
Some thirk ne created tho ProGres-
siye party. others that he ruined II. The
army had been gathering for wears and
In 1912 he jumped IN ard led il off 10
defeat before II was ready To- be led tp
victory. The whole scene was impu.-
sIve aud Roosevelt is OF an impulsi,c
nature.
!, was probably bad thing for tn"
Progressive party that the incident of
l9l2 happened ia tho Republican party.
There iS bound - he third party L
Will eventually supplant one ~ tho
other parties. Tho Progressive party has
It's opportunity now. Have tho leaders
Sta'csNaushlp 20 grasp the point" That
Is another question.
! was q Republican, became y FRO
rrcssjyo. and under no conditions can
NJ. Roosevelt or any Of his friends
hand me hack to the Republican party
! y1u and vii dn one 90 two things.
either close my cNcs and vote a S'raig IL
democratic ticket o. cleo refrain from
oNc-dSirg tho franchise Like others
I am for Roosevelt as "A PROG rcssiyc, and
there T. ends
II tn" Democratic party possesses a
statesman he should 500 this condition
ard provide for II. II NJ. RooscVci.
paSs"s hack into tho Republican ranks
the Democratic policy should be to place
a StrH Cht out Progressive ON the ticket
for Nice-rrcsidcut. IN Congress ioual
districts where their hopes are Ncry
small they should not nominate hut in
dorso straight out Progressive, The
Democrats PARTY might become pro-
rrcssiyc gradually. but the Republican
parry means conservatism.
\ IGOGREsS I'VE.
The sun., 1916-01-24
PLAN OF A CITIZEN ARMY.
Make the Regular Force n school for
Training Volunteers.

TO rur E,plror OF THE Si.~-Sir, \
vas, majority of the people Of this
country ar, undoubtedly I'm favor ~:
real pr,pareducss. but a great diver
gcnce of opiniou exists as to the best
means to attain the desired result Tn,
so.ralled continental army cntailing
two months service for three ,onsccu-
,lya ,,.rs is condemned o., all pfar-
ttcaI soldiers as iuadcuuate and i'm
Cousrript.ou, wh.cn .s
hintcd at. Viii uevc~ he accepted h,r our
liberty loving pcopic ln the plpius times
of rc,co increasing the pay OF rcg,I-
lars TO 800 o~ So , month viii not at.
.r.c, NOR. rf.,i to ,Nc army to alv no.
,i.calle extent. \crAer VIII tine ray-
mon, Of $50 4 wear. or ton times that
ar.,ir, To- w..t.,,nrn convert oug forty
,.:sh, scna-a'c bodies OF state troops
into 4 ready. dependable army.
Tho right solution ~ the problem Is
undpub,cd.y 20 r,prcauizo tho I'lifcd
S,a,cs army As a military school for tho
tra!rtuc ~ our citizens We do not
want. nor do 81. need. a standing army
Il 900 0hn or 100000. our present army
IS sufficient to form tho nucleus OF the
now c,,izcu army. NJ, idea Is TO iucnr-
port.c 100. 600 'Soluutccrs" INTO the reg
ll,r army every sN months for SIN
months training. This time Is ample
to train first class nrivatcs About . per
,c,t. or tho volunteers who qualified
The sun., 1916-01-24
STRANSKY'S SUCCESS.
Praise for the improvement Of the
philharmonic Orchestra,

10 THE EplToR or TIr SuN-SIr:
read with Interest the comment of Your
accomplished critic ON tine recent Strauss
concert Of our Philharmonic Orchestra
and was glad to see that THE Sun docs
not follow the general practice Of prais-
uG everything foreign - the dctrimcnt
of the home product. IN" growing APP
prccation. un the part Of the press AS
well As IN" public, whlrh rs Waujfostiug
Itself uy m" large audiences that At
tended the concerts Of the current seA-
sou mus' indeed hr a matter Of great
rejoicing t. the managers OF tho Phil
harmonic.
The playing of the orchestra uudcr
the accomplished leadership of .Io,cr
Sthnshy hss IN the four Years uf hs
tenure shown such steady aud marked
Improvement that to-day it has few
equals on this continent or abroad.
To realize tho extent ~ the WORK Of
rcurGtu2at,ou which the orchestra has
undergone wc should not overlook the
many obstacles that had TO hc over
come ~ wr"di;G out such forcos as
could no louaer hc considered assets for
the realization Of larger artistic aims,
II is true that the orchestra was al
ready, a tine body of Players wheu
Joseph Strinsky took up TN" reius, sue
cecdlng no leas man than the late
Gustav Mahler. TO Improve on NAH
Ter was no easy task, Yet it Is conceded
to-day by every critic In thiS city that
the orchestra IL AT present better than
ever before. TO hear II play I.sZt
strauss. Dvorak, to mention only n few
composers who under the inSpil ing
baton of Stransky have disclosed irre-
sistihl" perspec''vcs, Is an experience
never n he forgotten.
II would be nm lusi, though, not to
say y word Of Stransky's Beethoven. Of
his readings Of Wagner, KcSrr Tschai-
towskN and many others, The New
York philharmonic Orchestra is coming
into it's own. ALFRED l.iEBAS,
New YORK. January 90.
The sun., 1916-01-24
PERFIDIOUS ALBION.
Concise But Comprehensive List of

TO THE EplroR or Tux SUN-Sir: The
proposal To let American officers in
ycstigatc the Baral"ng case az suggested
by Sir Edward Grey Is a suhtcrfuge and
made IN bad faith England knew that
neither America nor Germany would
accept Il. The result is. no iuvcstiga-
tiou and no trial This is the English
desire. craft, cunning and passing
time are the Weapons with which Brit
ain seeks to veil the crime.
The nation that has dcsecrated the
tomb of tho Mahdi in EgNpt, that has
blown Sepoys from English cannon In
India. that has robbed the Bocrs or
their lands and which now drives littl"
Greece to the wall is fine "protrctor
of the little nations" with centuries
OF theft and with blood smoared hands
1t announces itself superior to Kultur
It now fights for civilization, democracy
and humanity against German brute
force" CHARLES \ GEHRIE.
SOUTH ORANGE, y, j, January -
The sun., 1916-01-24
Tactless Uplifters.

In saying that he sometimes gets
tired of hearing the word "uplift'
uttered in his presence. EX-President
ROOSEVELT expresses the feeling of
thousands of his fellow country
men who are attracted to the higher
would like To reach them in their
own individual ways and without the
prodding of fanatics.
The radical trouble with too many
''uplifterS' is that they are merely
rainbow chascrS, endeavoring vainly
to bring on the millennium before its
Devil they go about seeking whom
they may d"Nour, In the nam" Of
Progress. Their aims may he highly
praisowori hy, but their tempo. Ia use
musical phrase, il all wrong. They
are cndcnNOring to stampede The com
munity toward the paths of right
cousnc>S and by the methods they
pursue they make Of themselves n
cross between crusaders and nui-
sanccs, to the great dctrlmcni of the
causes to which they, sometimes, un.
solishly devote their energies.
Colonel ROOSEVELT frankly admits
that after prolonged study of Mac
beth" he finds relief in going to the
movies. TO every "upliftcr,' what.
ever may be his or her reforming
speciality, there should be food for
thought in the cX-Presdcnts confess
sion. All society cannot he reformed
while YOU wnit. The evils that afi,ict
humanity are of remote origin and
are deeply ingrained in the very
fibrcs of tho race. They cannot ho
endlcated by the efforts of single
generation, oven though there were
unanimily in tho minds of mon re-
garding the best method of procedur,
The sun., 1916-01-24
CcnsOrIng the "MOyies."

Those busy guardians Of public
morals whose idea of first aid is leg
islative action are clamoring for Fed
cral censorship of the movies" Their
demands are embodied in the Hughes
Smith bill before the Committee OF
Education of the House.
Under present conditions the film
producers are restrained and their
patrons morals guarded by public
sentiment. II censorship established
by three StateS and n National Board
of Censorship. Against one or more
of the State boards. in Kansas. Ohio
and Pennsylvania. there have been
made accusations Of political in
fiuence. of sclf.nterest or of unfair
ness. Against the Board Of National
Censorship there have been no sound
charges of unfnirne>S. and so far as
iS known no charges of political in
tiucncc ar self-intereSt.
The National Board Of Censorship
i made up of committees represent
ing eighteen charitable. religious or
educational organizations of this city.
and all the members. with the cNcep-
lion Of II small "tlicc force, give their
services free. This board has in
>pcctcd practically all the pictures
shown in this country. In four months
of the past year. the last for which
II statement i at hand, II inspected
BIS reels. II condemned forty reels
entirely and the presentation Of the
subjects ~ twenty-five others. thus
eliminating 1860 feet of film, entail
ing n cost To the manufacturers by
keeping the pictures off the market
of S9S,9S5.6O.
In considering the reels the board
judged them from their educational
value, art and skill Of production. on
tcrtainmcnt value and moral effect.
Regarding the moral cf'ec, it cndcav-
orcd To determine "what kind of i'm
petus To action. thought and feeling
will bc given tn the average spectator
as net result Of witnessing the film"
And II would seem that with this
broad minded standard before them
the members of this disintcrcstcd
board would he fully rs capable to
judge fairly and honestly as the hold.
ers Of paid political jobs.
Public sentiment has been hard
at work as regards movies" Any
one who has compared the present
pictures with those shown few
years ago will recognize this fact. Il
has been shown. too. in the refusal
of almost every city in the country
To permit pictures Of recent prize
| fights to he exhibited, even in cases
to which the Federal inhibition does
not apply From the last report of
the board is taken the following
paragraph;
''The increased experience Of the pro-
ducers the development of motion pie
| ture artists. tho classification Of the
| theatres. the influence of more cultured
audiences and the popular adoption OF
motion pictures into education, all Of
which are even now in process. will in
time bring about conditions so diffcren,
from the present that censorship may
perhaps not be necessary"
There appears no really good rea
son for the Federal Government fur
nishing LOT of good fat jobs at tho
expense of the movies"
The sun., 1916-01-24

cumbent on them to avoid the con.
tamlnation Of the rapid transit lines
lest their judicial temperaments be
exposed to insidious contamination
Moreover, do not taxicabs constitute
public service. and is 1t not the duty
Of the enlightened Investigator to
learn all that he can about them?
Il has been urged by some that the
money Of the taxpayers should not be
spent on theatre tickets for fortunate
committeeman and their friends. But
Senator THOMPSON has ready reply
for this. In way. theatres come
under the philosophic classification Of
public service institutions; and no.
body dwelling north Of Yonkcrs is un-
aware that certain dramatic offerings
TO the deficiencies and obliquitles Of
which the residents Of the town are
blind offend good taste and good
morals Could visitor to the city
officially designated to redeem 1t from
it's evil ways do better than inspect
the histrlonic productions and give to
his benighted fellows the benefit of
his discerning criticism? How great
would be the value Of the Thomp-
sonian approval. How crushing the
impact of the Thompsonian condemna.
ton! That reform of the theatre for
which all enlightened men long would
follow Immediately the disclosure Of
Niagara's mature judgment.
True. Mr.. THOMPSON has not yet
revealed his intentions with respect Of
his committees experiments in taxi
cabs and its visits to places OF theatri-
cal amusement. But his hand has not
vet been disclosed. HIS enemies. pow
erful though he admits they are must
not rejoice too soon. The Hon. GEORGE
L. THOMPSON is n person OF great pa
tience and infinite resource.
The sun., 1916-01-24

Correspondence of the ChristiGn Heroid
Another great possibility of the future
Of Alaska Is the raising OF reindeer for
the United states markets. have visited
the reindeer herds, and the slaughter
houses at Nome, where the deer are even
now being killed, 10 he sent In cold stor-
age to san Francisco and Seattle. Tho
shipping OF yeniSon has already begun
and the time IL not distant when fresh
deer meat from Alaska Will be sold in all
of our cities. Just a. fresh Alaska salmon
and halibut arc sold to-day.