The Washington times., 1919-12-22

It's Not a Business.
A -Four Billion Balance.
Comic Trust Smashing.
b ARTHUR BRISBANE
(cspyrlsht lslap

"SoS1 q loiOS, WAS SnOCheQ W
learn that his daughter "Uneeda'
planned to marry a hero.
"A hero" said Warield most
earnestly. That's not a business" !"
You might say the same of
motherhood, after reading about
the able young Nellie Bly, and her
most recent effort to make life less
painful for women. Having been
cheated out of a fortune of sew
aral millions, Nelly Bly, knows
shst women need friends, so she
interested herself in mothers and
young girls and their worries.
A man abandoned a baby. leav-
ing this message: For the love
OF Nike give the kid to Nellie Bly,"
Nellie BLY, at once agreed to
adopt it. Then came keen detec-
tves discovering that il was the
stolen "Wentz baby" which it was
not.
II turned out to be young Mr..
Enrfco Lisa, ten months old. The
mother, q widow, was trying to
support herself. her baby and two
other children, aged three and FIVE.
on twelve dollars q week, the rent
. come out of the twelve dollars.
Ssn you imagine that in New
York City!
When she told her story even
court reporters shed tears, which
oro1narlly you could not make
tnem do with anything less effec-
i've than a redhot iron. An i'm
portant Government bureau has
announced that a family of five
cannot live decently for less than
ABOUT y 200 a year; $12 a week is
about $500 a year, assuming that
the young widow could get steady
work at her trade, making arti-
hcial flowers.
Two thousand two hundred dol
Iars year for five would be about
N4o each. or 81, ,760 for Mrs. Lisa
and her three children. Civiliza-
s,on, apparently, has been owing
MRS. Lisa about 81 100 a year, as
IT owes millions of other women.
Nellie Bly, win endeavor to get for
her protege at least part Of what
Is due her, IN the shape of q better
Job.
Truly, being q mother els not a
business" Usually the mother
raises sons not worth the trouble,
and when, in spite of a second
class father, the son amounts to
something, the world erects a
monument to him, history puts in
one line, "his mother was a Miss
50 and So" That 10 all for her.
Ths hads balance Of the United
States Tor tie last complete fiscal
year stands at almost four bill
lions We sent out, in goods,
foo1 thousand million dollars
worth more than We took in.
The Secretary of Commerce
says this wonderful record has
never been approached in the his
tory Of the world. Very crafty
ing TO national commercial pride,
but just how it affects the average
citizen Is uncertain.
Some of the stuff shipped
abroad could have been made use
=, fui in this country, including
Thousands of tons of sugar and
other things that American fami-
hes wanted and could not get. Il
Is possible to overdo shipping out
all the good things, even for cash
in return.
The most prosperous farm is
not the farm that sells all the
fresh eggs, cream, butter end
chickens, letting the farm dwellers
live on salt pork and canned goods.
A farm Is prosperous when those
that live on il have all they need,
with something over TO sell. The
trade balance of four billions
would be more gratifying il YOU
did not read at the same time
about hundreds of thousands of
children in big cities suffering
from malnutrition, which is polite
language for lack Of food.
Prosperity should remember
that revolution broke out in
France and made important
changes after the bslance of trade
turned around ''in favor of
France There won't be any rev.
olution here. The country is rich.
II has the vote and the public
schools to enlighten the voters.
But sending out four billions more
than you bring in is not necessa-
My good news Feed your ma
tons children first.
The Packers Trust is "curbed.
muzzied, brought to heel.' etc. An
official announcement, proudly
violating the infinitive in every
paragraph, tells how the packers
have agreed TO forever disso-
ciate themselves" from trust vic
edness of all kinds 1t reads nic,
ly. and the result will be higher
prices for meat, as you will pres
entity discover. You remember that
you could buy gasoline for 10 or
II cents a gallon before the wick
ed Oil Trust was broken up" by
the same power that now breaks
up the meat trust. What do you
pay for gasoline now,