The Washington times., 1920-10-19
Today
Very Old Stuff.
On Making Rain.
England's Black Cloud.
Mrs. Astor, Immigrant"
u ApTutrp RRISRANE
By ARTHUR BRISBANE
Copyright. isls)

Mrs. ASt0r, ImmlVTdnt.
BY ARTHUR BRISBANE
Copyright. isiS.
Mr.. Cox's management Is using
the old device Of the magician and
the "Three- Shell Man"
The magician who read the
mind" or took rabbits and gold
fish out of strangers pockets
always had his stranger plant
ed in the audience.
The "three shell" gambler Al
ways has about him his confed-
crates that appear to win large
sums.
Mr.. Cox's managers carefully
plant in his audiences confeder-
ates, supposed to be hostile, that
shout questions carefully prepared
in advance. For instance, what
about Ireland?" or some other
question, for which Mr.. Cox has
an answer already prepared, need
ing only the question from the
hostile questioner" to get started:
When the hostile questioner
appears, other confederates shout,
throw him out"
Then Mr.. Cox, chest expanded,
advances, saying, tremolo: mo,
don't throw him out. We are for
free speech here. Let him put his
question"
The hostile gentleman asks his
question again, and out comes the
cut and dried answer, and the au-
dience that does not know how the
shell game is worked, or the pat
ent medicine game, or the presti-
digitator's game, says to himself,
"Mr. Cox is nice little fair man."
Such tactics, however, do not
make a man President of the
2 United States. For there isn't
any we'll planted "hostile" critic
that can ask any question that
would enable Mr.. Cox to make the
League of Nations acceptable, and
the League is the issue.
Mr.. Cole, formerly member of
the royal air force, announces at
Port Arthur, Ontario, scheme
for making rain.
He intends ito spray the clouds
with liquid air" He and his
father are forming can aerial ir-
rigation company" to produce
rain at will.
1t may interest Mr.. Cole to
know that about twenty years ago,
befores the flying machine had
been perfected, this writer sug-
gested the use of exactly that
scheme, the idea being to use
lighter than air balloons .or high
towers, with explosive shells to
scatter the Liquid air" The plan
was developed on paper, with Mr..
Morrill, Goddard, editor Of the
Sunday American, to the point
where it was shown that it would
work.
This may save Mr.. Cole expense.
Needless to say, like Ill other
inventors, the writer has an inn
provements on the plan which Ne
firmly, believes will work, and
which probably won't. Z,
In England has come the real
crisis. It interests the whole
world. A million coal men are
striking. Labor, which is now as
fully class conscious" in England
as ever was the German social
Democratic party before the war,
may back the coal miners with a
general strike.
The first day after the strike
fifty are injured in clash in Lon
don.
There are black clouds over
Britain, with the troubles in the
Far East, uprisings among Asiatics
ruled by England, war in Ireland,
and the workers of England
threatening.
The English have in Lloyd
George as able and resourceful
leader as there is in the world,
undoubtedly. But when a crowd
of bona fide workers in London
carry the red flag, when the most
powerful leader next to Lloyd
George, Smillie, of the miners,
talks of taking over the property
of the nation on what is practi-
cally Russian "Soviet" basis, the
situation may be too much even
for the resourceful Lloyd George.
Certainly when that gentleman
comes to die he will end busy,
eventful life.
First, he worked for the rich.
They hated him because as chan
cellor of the exchequer he put
them on their feet with wise tax
alton. Then he carried Eng
land through the war. skillfully
manipulating the United States
among other nations, as he did it.
Now the workers have turned
against him, and denounce him as
the wealth of England denounced
him ten years ago. And North
cliffe, most powerful individual
in England, is helping to push
Lloyd George over the edge.