Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-10

house prevail.
A NUMBER of the Philadelphia
"A Civil War veterans have been
greatly concerned over the action of
the managers of the National Home
for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in re.
lieving from duty General Joseph s.
Smith, for a long time Governor of
the Southern Branch. National Home,
Virginia. There are no charges
against General Smith except that he
has come to be eighty-two years Of
/ age. and has reached a point where
his physical condition must be taken
into consideration, as they related to
| the management of an institution
| where the lives and the comfort of
the comrades are concerned.
The old boys who. in their declining
years have been enjoying the environ
ment of Newport News and Fortress
Monroe, had come to regard Governor
Smith as a typical Yankee soldier to
| whom they could go with their
troubles. and from whom they could
expect a word of cheer.
Speaking for a number of these old
fellows, Comrade w. H. Brady, late
Sergeant Major 106th Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and for many years city
editor of the Press under the late
John w. Forney. pays Governor Smith
touching tribute. He observes that
the veterans have come to regard the
governor as a father. The board of
managers. LJwever. look upon the re.
tirement Of Governor Smith as one
of necessity due to conditions over
which neither he nor they are able to
exercise control.
Without saying so in so many
words, the attitude of the board is that
"Old age Is tyrant." an axiom which
is somewhat neutralizcd by the re-
quirement Of the new pension law that
a certain old age and a certain prev
: ious status must be established before
the new Civil War pensions accrue.
NJHiLE we are talking about the
w poor" farmer and his $3.50 wheat,
let us give prayerful consideration to
the wealthy" urbanite and his auto
mobile. 1t is true that the price of
farm machinery has gone up, but that
can hardly be contrasted with the in
creased price of wheat, since the wheat
| consumer buys wheat for use three
times day. while the farmer does not
buy machinery quite so often. But
since we are told occasionally of the
, advantage the industrialist has over
the agriculturist, let us make com.
PARSONS with regard to automobiles,
which some people now contend are
luxuries that might be dispensed with
during the war.
1t develops from statistics pre-.
sented to the Ways and Means Com
mittee that in Iowa, where they raise
wheat, there is one automobile for
every eight people. The record in
Nebraska is the same. In South Da-
kota, a strong wheat State, there isi
one automobile for every ten people.
How is it in New York. where
wealth is supposed to run riot? In
the great Empire State. which with
Pennsylvania. Massachusetts, and Hi
nols, pays the bulk of the income taxes
of the nation, they have one automo-
bile for every twenty-five people. In
the keystone State, which is also a
large wheat growing State as we'll as
the greatest industrial State, we have
one automobile only for every twenty
six people. And it is fair presump-
ton that if we were to confine the
comparison to the city of Philadelphia
it would be found that there would
not be one automobile to fifty people.
Thus we are enabled to discern
whether the walking is as good on
the farm as it is in the city.