The Washington herald., 1917-02-24
Interesting Chats
From Hotel Lobbies

The old Aztecs had q method OF punisn-
ing grafters and corrupt public omcials
that ought to be in vogue these Gays,
remarked Sidney Atwater, Of Ell Paso.
Tex. stopping at the willard. In view
OF the extraordinary miscalculations OF
modern ONCE holders, something drasuo
Is needed to bring them to their senses,
said Mr.. Atwater.
Taking human nature into considera-
ton. and 1t Is the same the world over
ana aiways has been, at least we may
say that the disposition of the average
American politician is the most pliable
OF all. Unless a man In these days is
r1ght up against the jail door or the GAL
lows, he Will, nine times out of ten. re-
peat an onense that will sooner or later
bring him to either of these two places
when an official of the Aztec nation
was found guilty of a breach Of trust,
his fellows promptly beheaded him and
skinned him, tanned his hide, and tack
ed 1t to the seat of his successor. The
next man that came along always had
a reminder OF what to expect In case
ne did the same stunt 1t is an absolute
certainty that If we punished the men
responsible for fires, steamboat disasters.
railroad wrecks and other holocausts,
and punished them right away, the rate
at which these things would diminish
would be astounding. Better to do away
with few greedy men than permit hun
dreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent
people to lose their lives
Some OF these days, enraged bodies of
citizens are going back to the Western
type of punishment for men responsible
for some modern offenses, such as food
speculation, the Eastland disaster, faulty
ralls ana switches, fire traps, and the
IKE. While l do not believe altogether
In mob violence. l admit that / think 1t
is fitting method of treating certain
cases which the courts seem unable to
reach. A few skins tackled on the backs
of our Congressmen's chairs would work
wonders"
"One great thing that the South has
done in recent years is to double the out
put of turpentine without affecting a
greater number of trees" said f. p.
Marks, of Columbia, s. c., registered at
the Raleigh Scientific machinery, more
efficient labor, has solved the problem, u
said Mr.. Marks, who is deeply interested
In this pine tree product. "Old pine
stumps are blown to pieces, and these
pieces are ground as fine as powder and
then sent to the distilIery to be handled
with machinery built especially for this
work.
Formerly we let these old stun1ps rot
In the ground, but we cannot afford to dc
so today. The high price of turpentins
will not permit it. This had effected a
saving of approximately s1O,0 900 durlnE
the past year, and this years output OF
turpentine from stumps and improved
methods of treating and distilling pine
wood will save at least SIS. 600 900 all told
The South is rapidly adopting the
methods of the North. The scarcity OF
labor has greatly affected some parts OF
the South, and of necessity many firms
were compelled to install machinery thai
they would not have installed otherwise
In the long run. think It will help out
the Southern industries a great deal, en-
aoling some OF them to compete success
fully with Northern firms.
The turpentine industry is only one OF
many Industries that have made notable
improvements during the last few years
The war upset the calculations OF many
Southern farmers and this will also work
for our benefit. as lots OF these fellow,
are raising livestock who formerly
scorned the idea. The value of this move.
ment to the worn-out soils In some pa rts
OF the South cannot be overestimated.
In twenty years the South will riva
the meat producing sections OF the West
having abundant rainfall. excellent graz.
ing grounds. and a long growing season .