The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-25

1T was the day OF primal things,
OF orators with eagle wings,
OF shooting ticks and hotel bars,
Where fongregated sons of Mars
1.-THE day 5hen sword and printers ink
Broke chains of slavery, link by link:
When from the dizzy house top heights
Began the howl for woman's rights.
at was the lay of flowing booze,
OF Sunday DRINKS and Monday blues,
When printers got too blooming gay
And editors more fame than pay.
Mr.. Cavaness's resume of forty-four
stanZas was replete with the revival
Of striking characteristics of the early
day country editor. now long passed
away. He paid his respects to. the
old-time tramp printer, thus:
"A frequent caller was the tramp
With breath all odorous and damp;
A species passing. mostly dead;
One Ieft-well known-Muskogee Red"
This to the paper magnates:''
I'D rather reach the better land
With printers ink upor my hand,
Than grasping in it bags of gold
The paper magnates have and hold
Incidentally, Mr.. Cavanesst men
toned that he is "hot-footing it, to-
ward II.
The editorial convention will close
this afternoon with an election of
officers.
Gretchen on Filipinos.
and heartily supported US during the
war. They went over the top on ev-
cry liberty loan, Red Cross or other
war drive as .oyally as the people did
here at home" Mack Gretchen of the
SGdSWick Paragraph told the editors.
They equipped an entire division of
$4,000 officers and men to answer the
presidents call, which is some proof
of their loyalty and an evidence of
their appreciation of what America
has done for them"
Mr.. Gretchen only recently returned
from an official sojourn in the Phil
ippine islands. The impression he
gave the editors of the far away pos
sessions of Uncle Sam was that he was
most favorably struck with everything
over there, including the climate,
which he stated is ideal. In more
than a year he spent in the islands
the temperature was never above 100
or below 65-''just one long June from
years end to years end" he stated.
Mr.. Gretchen, speaking from the
American viewpoint, termed the is
lands "a forgotten land"
Islands Almost Forgotten.
Twenty years ago our boys of the
Twentieth Kansas were making his
tory in the Philippines" he stated,
and that country had first page pref
erence position in every daily news
paper in America. Twenty years ago
Funston was a popular hero and our
people knew of Aguinaldo's every
movement. - At that time Cavite, Cor
regidor ana Caloocan were names
familiar to every American as are the
various places on the European battle
line today. But time has brought in
evitable changes. Brilliant General
Funston has travelled the long, long
trail: Aguina1do is a peaceful tiller of
the soil on his Cavite farm; Corregidor
is but q nernbOrV of other DAYS and
the Philippine Islands are practically
forgotten by all but a few faithful
officeho1ders and an occasional blum
dering tourist
MIR. CrStcher classed as "a hoary
old chestnut" the idea that Japan
plans to "gobble up our eastern pos
sessions" Just forget it along with
the rest" he admonished.> Japan has
her eyes on China where there is big
! ger game nearer home"
He gave some interesting data on
the islands-there are more than 200
| in the archipelago; the population ex-
| ceeds 1O,000,000; the population OF
Manila is more than 300,0 the COM
bined area is nearly double that OF
Kansas; there are more than 100000
children in the public schools and they
| are taught exclusively in the English
! language, which is the common lam
| guage of the islands today; the savage
| or wild tribes bear about the same
! relation to the civilized population
! that the Indians do to American ciyili-
Zation, and even the wild folks" are
anxious to have thier children edu-
Gated in the public schools; the Fill
| pinos are practically governing them
| selves and the islands have been self
i supporting for years; there are prac-
| tically no American troops in the is
| lands now