The Washington herald., 1918-05-19

victim of the war as any. soldier
lost in the trenches.
No doubt, the war was Instrumental
in hurrying the death Of the ENJOYS
of the two neutral nations who passed
away recently, that Of the Alnbassa-
dor Of Chile and the Minister OF
Uruguay. .- ...
1t is a known fact that the navy
lost one Of its most important Off
certs, Capt. volney Chase, a few
months ago, because of the rush OF
war work. 1t is a price the nation
is paying for being unprepared for
, its inevitable part IN the war. Capt.
Chase, in his efforts TO bring the navy
Up to war size and condition, over
taxed his strength and died suddenly
of heart failure, brought Gil by COM
rlete exhaustion.
Consider the Senate's loss OF seven
members by death during the first
year OF war. They were Brady. Of
Idaho; Broussard. of LOUISIANA; Stone,
of Missouri; Hughes, of New Jersey;
Lane, of Iregon; Newlands. Of Ne
yada, and Hustled. of Wisconsin. AS
sociates Of these men know full we'll
that the excesses of work which
strenuous war times imposed had
much to do with fastening the ends
of several Of them.
The truth is that in such times as
these, public servants are subjected
to demands on their physiques which
can not be compensated by any Incl
dental advantages. The soldier has
a chance 10 be killed or manned; but
If he escapes that, he Is pretty GER
tain to leave the ranks a better
physical nan than he entered them.
The out-of-door life. regular habits.
exercise, good air, sensible food
these factors make for absolute bet.
terment Of the soldiers health. The
cfficeholder. too often looked upon as
having an easy thing, knows no such
compensation. He overworks, under
exercises. negiects his golf, finds little
opportunity for fresh air. and willis.
Since the beginning Of the present
Congress's sittings. the political
complexion of the House Of Repre-
sentatives has been actually changed
by the deaths of members. II
death does truly love a shining
mark, the inexorable old reaper
must surely have a special affection
for Democrats. He has carried
away six Democratic senators to
one Republican. and placed in
jeopardy the Democratic control of
Senate that seemed securely
d e m o cratic for a considera BILE
period. In the House, the deaths
among Democrats were so numer-
Gus that at one time. by reason of
vacancies and the election Of Re-
publicans to fill Democratic gaps,
the control of the House might con-
ceivably have passed to the Repub-
licans.
Not only has the grim old man of
the scythe been gruesomely active,
the number of men who have visi-
bly, broken under the weight of ex-
traordinary duties has been long
and painful. One needs but sit in
the legislative galleries an hour to
realize how heavily the hand has
been laid on the leaders. heard
it observed the other day that the
Senate looks as IL ten years had
been put on every pair of toga-
bearing shoulders in thee year since
war began. Just now. Howard Cof-
fin, of the Aircraft Production
Board, is in Georgia trying to pull
himself together from a break
down. Carl Vrooman. the Assistant
Secretary of Agriculture, had to
take a rest some time ago as he
was sick and on the verge of giving
out completely. The list of those in
similar condition or on the verge
of it, is a long one.