davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
Practice Still in Vogue

1t is to this day practiccd to an
extent, and it is, it may be added,
somewhat rough experience for the
fellow who fails to enter into the
joke of it, but it is a short ordeal
for those who go into it with cour-
age and willingness, and, of course,
furnishes amusement enough for the
spectators until they reach the
equator again.
Yes admitted Joe, sheepishly,
they do that yet. But not like they
used to, guess. That's no super
stition any more. It's just plain
rough stuff. Ever cross? No? Well,
/ don't if you can avoid it"
The appearance of a cat on board
sailing vessel once meant destruc-
ton, if not death, within a few days.
In fact, old seamen tell even until
this day, if you can find them and
extract from them some Of their
actual experiences, of officers dying
within a day after a cat-and espe-
cially a black cat-had been found
on board ship.
Whistling was much against the
general order of things on board
ship. But Joe King says they trill
away at the popular ballads all day
long on the shiny decks of the gov
ernment's submarine chasers and
battle cruisers.
1t was permitted in ot..er days, if
in a calm, to WOO with whistle San
Antonio or st. Nicholas, and slow
wind may be made more brisk by
these patron saints Of the mariner.
But after the ship has started there
must be no such conduct. To whistle
when under full speed meant that
fair and satisfactory breeze would
be turned into a gale and loss Of
ship and life would follow. 1t had
been known to happen, was the con-
Vincing argument. And who would
doubt it?
Why, even if Joe King sat and
laughed as | asked him about it, it
nevertheless is true that to the sea-
men Of old there was a burning
phantom ship away out there be-
yond the Narrows-yes, beyond the
extreme tips of our own American
continent-that blazed by night and
sent up such clouds of smoke and
sparks that none dared go within
distance of the shooting forks of red
lest he himself become engulfed in
the fire
A Beautiful, Creepy Feeling
What sport that must have been,
What creepy feelings must have
stolen upward along the spinal col
umns Of those gray-haired old gen
llemen who actually seen" it. It
was the craft Of a pirate of the sea
and burned there to warn all other
captains Of the doom that lay ahead
should they, by any chance, choose
to lead the life Of its owner.
But not to Joe. He is Of the 1920
class.
Tell that to the kids in the primer
classes" he says. "I've been out
there too long He waved hand
toward the ocean. And I had no
reason for disagreeing with him.
Do you remember how we used
to read of the desertion of sinkin.,
ships by rats? Joe King says that's
about half true. But there's no su-
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
"Superstition l. Dead"

"The boys with the vide bottom,
trousers nowadays" commented Joe
rolling cne Of his own, would Pat
you down as a nut or a sufracist if
you screamed when a rat ran ashore
1t amt done any more. That's SUI
perstition. And superstition is gone
There wasn't a more supersetious
bird in captivity than I was when
l went in. Now you could break all
the mirrors in the Cafe des Beaux-
Arts and I wouldn't bat an eye
And hear the tale Of the Flying
Dutchman, as Jal has told Of this
much-heralded spectacle Of the sea.
unbelieving Dutch captain, he
tells US, had - ID in vain to round
Cape Horn against a head gale. He
swore he would do it, and when the
gale became stronger he laughed At
the f=ars of his crew, smoked his
pipe and drank his beer. He threw
overheard some If the crew who
tried to force him to seek a pert.
The Holy Ghost descended upon the
vessel, but, firing his pistol at TIE
apparition, he pierced his osn hacl
and paralyzed his arm. lie cursed
God, and then was condemned -
navigate always without putting into
port, having only gall to drink ard
red hot iron to eat and watch tt
keep that should last for ever He
was to be the evil genius Of the a.
to torment Spanish sailors, the
of his st0rm-tossed bark 10
presage of i'll fortune to ilcA'ess ae-
holders He was to send wate
squalls, disasters, tempest Should
he visit another ship the vine sourai
and all food became beans. If hc
brought or sent letters they could
not be touched on pain Of death and
damnation. His crew We're all OH
sinners of the sea, sal thieves.
towards and murderers, who saf-
fered and toiled eternany and lad
little to eat and less to drink.
It was told US by Cooper that TIE
vessel was of two decks, always To
windward, sometimes in fog during
clear weather, often under all sail
!" 4 gale, and on occasions veerlne
ai.l hauling among the clouds.
"A dizzy drunk with a writer's
imagination, grinned Joe Kirr. as
We wound up ON the Fiying Dutca-
man, must have allowed himself TO
be natural while crossin' the pond
once, and dreamed he saw Ayin' tubs.
They don't believe no such trash to-
day. It's old stuff, old stuff. Where
en- we get a bite to oat?'
Yes, l was very much surprised
to see Joe the other day at the Bat
terry. And quite as Interested in
hearing what he had q say.
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
And as for Such Things as Menmaids
and the Flying Dutchman,
They Are a Joke

lined with canvas and filled with
water, has already been prepared.
The victim, seated on a platform
laid over it, is blindfolded, then
shaved by the barber, and finally
plunged backward into the water
officers escape by paying a fine in
money or rum.
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
Nothing Else Matters

through hell for you / know I'll be
proud of her. said his father firmly
II don't have to be sure. She's
already gone through he'll for me-
said Dick. Then he told h'A story.
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17

is SO dreaded as the female brewers
Of he'll broth. Like the priests of
the Middle Ages, they can raise a
prime quality Of storm by tossing
sand or stones in the air, and, like
Congreve's Lapland sorceress, are
supposed to live by selling contrary
winds and wrecked vessels"
In illustration Of an example Of
the old mariners antipathy to the
mere mention of certain forms of
animal life, it is remembered that
once, many years ago, of course, an
old sailing craft in the Mediterra-
mean harbored two old Quartermas-
tcrs, who were heard during the
morning watch exchanging in the
cockpit dismal experiences of their
dreams the night previous. One
wound up by saying:
Bill, | was never so afeared in
my life. When I woke up it seemed
as true as day, and l was all atrem-
bic like an asp on leaf"
"Pipe down." roared the other.
Don't mention that reptile to me.
He's hoodoo on shipboard."
Not only were there fears of hu-
man forms and of stray steamers
containing dread figures, moaning
in agony at their long imprison-
ment, but there were we'll founded
Cat least so thoughO beliefs that
great, blue lights appeared from
time to time on the tips Of ya1a-
arm or masthead, and at the bow
sprit-cap long flames would throw
weird shadows and flashes upon the
water Falconer told of it thus:
High on the mast, with pale and lurid
rays,
Amid the gloom portentous meteors
blaze"
Thought 1t Good Luck
Among the Latin seafaring races
the St Elmo's Fire, especially if
seen double, predicts good times ard
fair sailing ahead. 1t is declared to
be an evidence of Heavens care for
ship and crew.
THAT stuff" drawled Joe, Of
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17

-
noted her we'll set head, her quiet
gray eyes, her slim tailored suit and
her simple speech and carriage. He
took both bandaged hands tenderly
into his own.
you'll never know how I feel to
have a daughter like you" he said.
And this" cried Dick happily,
dragging up Scott, SIS Rhoda's
father and, excepting you, the BRAIN
lest railroad man on the Eastern. -
If what this youngster says is
half true remarked the general
manager, II know where for three
years we've been hiding superin-
tendent under a bushel."
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17

wv HEN Rhoda came in, the
w general manager Of the
Eastern Railroad silontlv
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17

n EsPITE the loss of approxi-
~ mately a million lives during
New-York tribune., 1920-10-17
Womcn's Dark Powers

For Of all spell workers of hu-
nan form" said Mr.. Kelley, "none
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

At any rate the Reds do not appear to be tarred with
the same brush as some Of our friends at Washington
They are not yellow.
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

no less than SIX strangers, coming to Nogales within
few weeks with the bond election pending; with capital
and investing here Does that look like capital is re-
training from investing here Mr. ONei and Mr. Herald?
---O---
Sir Douglas Haig says the British won the war; Gen
era Pershing insist dhe Americans won it. and now Mar
shall Foch to the front claiming that he bfad the ka
by the air of divine inspiration "Me and God" are
great!
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

Now who says everybody is profiteering? Post
master Mcintyre will sell you two cent stamp for two
cents
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

When cataloguing the frates Of your neighbor it
might be well to remember that he is probably according
you the same brand Of courtesy.
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

The son Of an eastern college professor went to
France, made hero Of himself was decorated all over
came home made fool Of himself forged check, is
in JAIL and decorated in quite different manner.
The daily morning oasis., 1920-01-15

With bond issue pending, six new concerns come to
Nogales and invest about hundred thousand dollars,
within few weeks Yet Mr.. ONeill asserts capital
refrains from coming to Nogaes" Go, tell that to the
marines, Mr.. O'Neill
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Plank L avoring
Mandate for
i. S., Is Plea
Intervention Held Insuffi-
cient Unless America Acts
to Save People of Sister
Nation From Themselves
Experiment Is Not New
Success of Policy in Cuba
and Philippines Pointed
Out to Justify Action
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Mexico is a problem. 1t is a
problem, that the Republican party
must offer solution for in it's 1920
program. 1t is not enough to say that
We shall intervene or that we shall let
them seek their own salvation-stew
in their own blood, if need be-but it
table policy that will put an end once
and for all time to the riotous and
disorganized state of affairs in Mex
leo. What is the policy that will end
the condition of anarchy and be to the
best interests of the world, of Mexico
and of the United States?
An imperialistic attitude is not
solution 1t will not be permanent,
for it will not satisfy Mexico. But
there is a method and an attitude that
cannot help but be satisfactory to all
the parties concerned. 1t is inter
vention with the purpose of establish
ing a mandate over Mexico, with the
purpose of taking control Of the Mex
Jean government, administering it to
the best interests OF the Mexican peo-
pie and turning it over to them when
the time has come that they can gov
ern their own land
The last eight years have conclu-
sively proved that to leave Mexico to
its own affairs results in nothing but
q combination of revolution and blood
shed. Is it not our duty as neigh
Dor, as protector Of the weaker
states of the American continent un-
der the Monroe Doctrine; is it not our
duty toward the oppressed peoples of
Mexico to do something to end this
chaotic condition? They cannot do it
if alone. Who, then, but the United
States is the power to aid them?
We should intervene in Mexico to
set up stable government. We should
then administer it to the best interests
Of the Mexican people, under a man
ton, through sanitation. through all
the methods we use in the United
States, we have brought the Mexican
people to the point where they can
govern themselves, we can step out
with the full assurance that we have
done our duty toward Mexico, toward
the rest of the world and toward our
selves.
This plan is practical. It has been
successfully worked in the Philippines
and in Cu.,a. 1t is not an imperial
istic plan. 1t Is a rational, fair policy
which we must pursue to settle the
matter permanently.
Why not plank in the Republican
platform advocating this rational form
Of altruistic Intervention:
"Beleving that the Mexican situation
requires our intervention, we offer a
practical plan of intervention under
the mandatory principle. We propose
to set up and administer a government
in the interest of the Mexican people
until such time as. through education
they have become able to govern them
selves in an orderly manner. We be-
lieve this plan of altruistic interven.
ton offers practical solution of the
serious Mexican problem, and we
pledge ourselves to the rational car
rying out Of this principle"
IRVING H. WARSHOW.
Sheldon Court, Ithaca, n. Y.
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28

tain bronze bar In the Standards
Office in London. Our standard of
weight is the pound avoirdupois,
also at the Standards Office in Lon
don. All these standards Of meas
urement are constant. Their mag
nitude is the same to-day as it was
yesterday, and will be the same to-
morrow. The standard of value is
the same in name only. We call it
a dollar to-day, just as we did in
1914; its weight is the same, but
its value varies.
To overcome this condition, which,
1t is evident, works continual in
justice, we must devise plan
whereby our standard of value will
be constant. Irving Fishers plan
might work and it might not. It
deserves careful study at any rate.
The Republican party should pledge
itself to create q board of experts
to puzzle this thing out. 1t is a
problem fraught with intricacies
and complications, but not so diff
ficult, it seems, as to be impossible
OF solution. Despair Of success be-
fore an effort has been made will
avail US nothing, where success will
mean so much. MORTON MEYER.
Princeton, N, j..
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Conditions of the
Platform Contest

The Tribune invites ysu to write
plAnkn for 4 Republican platform
and to write letters about plAnis
proposed by other readers through
it, columns.
6sr ths hsst phnn and letters
The Tribune ot1ers these pxtxes;
For the beat plank .S5eeAo
Fer EAa second best piank. 2$eAe
For e.eh Of the eight next
Best ptanks 80. --....s.. 1oeSo
Fer the best letter = daily
p91xe OF ...-~-...~ss~.. WV
Fer the best letter In tie
whole competition ..~.. 1oe1o
Tks Tribune win maks mp . plat
fern Of ten planl<s to be determined
By your votes. Tho ten issues 70
esivtng the most votes win be the
planks. Ths ten planks that best
express the chosen issues VIII bs
selected for tia prize awards.
Each plank II Limited to 100 Woxo9.
f two planks or letters Of equal
n,sxtt the shorter viii Be chosen.
Every plank and lsttsT must bear
the name and add1ess Of The sender,
although q nom do plume VIII be
published Il tho writer desires.
Tho contest win close at midnight,
April 90, 1920. Manuscripts w1l not
be returned.
Tho Judges Of ths contest WIN Be
three Of Tho TYibune's editors. They
vii base their decisions on sound
thinking and brevity, clearnsss and
| strength OF statement
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Public Denunciation
As Weapon in Strikes
High Living Cost Condemned
as Providing Academic
justification
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The railway strike forces as to
realize, if we have not already realized,
that the industrial problem Is one of
the greatest facing our country to-day
This has been called an "outlaw'
strike, because the men went out with
out waiting for the order from their
accredited leaders. In fact. the walk
out continued in defiance Of the ex.
pressed wishes of these leaders. This
circumstance must give us pause. Such
condition could not have come to
pass were not strike talk and the
strike weapon in too general and wide
spread use. If striking were an unusual
occurrence outlaw" strikes would be
inconceivable.
We are ready to consider the remedy
for this state of affairs. Public indig-
nation, now at white heat, must be
sustained. We must not allow it to
lapse; we must not take walk-outs for
granted. Here is a great opportunity
for the newspapers. 1t Is within their
province to keep aroused public senti-
ment against the strike. If the public
can be educated to brand every strike
with unpopularity, then that form of
action must soon become rare.
Secondly, the source of a good deal of
unrest must be eliminated. Conscien-
tious and unswerving efforts should be
made to reduce the cost of living. While
living remains high the striker has at
least an academic justification which
cannot be gainsaid and which can be
be used as pretext again and again
Such efforts will be rewarded with sue
cess, for an appreciable percentage OF
the cost Of things is artifcially main
tanned. ELIAS BLECHMAN.
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28

re"plng the 90 per cent profit; he
weS'S sustain an equs! loss.
We arc accustomed to censure a
man for speculating on IT,. stock
market and yet we are all specu-
lators who make investments of al
most any sort just now. A reac-
tion must come some time, it seems,
and when 1t does come we will be
either in luck or out Of it, accord
ing as we are creditors or debtors.
For this reason great mercantile
houses and department stores are
cautious about stocking up. They
are selling what they have and are
waiting patiently.
Obviously, the class hit hardest
by the "5o-cent' dollar are the sal
aried and professional men. A
$4,000 salary, for example, repre-
sents only $1,000 to-day.
The remedy lies In the change Of
our system Of standards Of value.
Our standard Of length is the meter,
\ or the yard, distances whose values
are constant. The meter is tho dis
tance between two marks on a
platinum iridium bar in the Inter
national Metric Bureau at Sevres,
near Paris. The yard is the dis
tance between two rulings on a GER
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Party to Win
That Picks Best
Man, He Claims
Time for the ''Old Guard"
to Consent to a Change
in Leadership or Party
VIII Perish, Is Warning

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: We face crisis in world and
nation. The Republican party also
faces a crisis. There are many who
love 1t, but those who love it most are
thinking sincerely and are not heard
for their much speaking. The next
Presidential convention will either
sound the death knell of the party or
give it regeneration.
When a great ship steers for dan
gerous shoals, the remedy is not to
sink the ship, but to change the rud-
der. If the mates and quartermasters
are suspected, it is not scuttled, but
owners make certain that men Of diff
ferent ilk constitute the new crew!
Such simile illustrates the situation
of the Grand Old Party to-day.
The "old guard" is fighting to main
tain the same old control "Camouflage
bit to retain the race" is the order
| The old plan has worked for SO many
years that there is every evidence that
it will go again. And it will, as fa1
as nomination goes, unless thinking
men and women awake. There is JUS
one way to reawaken the confidence
in the party, and that is to earnestly
and sincerely seek to uncover the mar
who is fitted to give this nation tht
best administration.
Such q man must be chosen solel!
for his predominant qualification ant
regardless of his so-called party rcgu
arity. The test must be his American
ism and his humanness.
= The highest duty, therefore, of ever
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Intervention Seen as Solution of Mexican Issue
To-Day's Prize Letter

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Imitation Of money after
war is inevitable under our present
financial system. Imitation is ac-
companied with q rising scale Of
prices and falling purchasing
power Of our money standard, the
dollar. 1t Is common knowledge
that the purchasing power of
dollar to-day is approximately one
half of what it was in 1914.
Or, if we designate the dollar Of
1914 as our standard Of value, the
dollar of to-day is worth but 80
cents. In other words, if. you or
l had let mortgage on farm in
1914, the farmer. in paying it off
to-day, would be reaping profit of
so per cent on the transaction, for
he would be giving US the current
"50-cent" dollars in exchange for
the standard dollars.
On the other hand, if we lent
him another sum of money to-day
and in the course of few years the
value of money was to rise again
to its pre-war level, he will then be
obliged to pay US standard dollars
in return for the "50-cent" dollars
we lend him to-day. We would be
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
The Ten Leading Issues

Upsets in the standing of the ten
leading issues of The Tribune's Re-
publican Platform Contest continue
with the end of the contest only
three days away.
After having led the field of is
sues since the beginning Of the con-
test, Foreign Relations, with 56e
votes, is to-day dislodged by Labor
and Capital, 567 votes.
Social Legislation, which was dis
placed from tenth position yester-
day by Administration Reforms,
is again holding tenth position by
margin Of ono vote.
Hero are tho results to date,
1. Capital and Labor........ 5s7
2. Foreign Relations........ 5e2
3. Amcricanization ......... 4S1
4. Army and Navy Programs. 46s
8. Cost Of Living. 347
6. Constitutional Reforms. 315
z. Bolshev1sm ............. 289
s. Education ............... 258
8. Conservation Of National
Resources ............... 214
10. Social Legislation ....... 1874
A total Of 6,8e4 votes has been
cast for the twenty-seven issues.
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28

loyal Republican voter is to study the
record of men now available as Presi-
dental possibilities, and with a mind
entirely free from bias to ask him.
self the following questions, and let
honest intelligence answer.
First-What man has had the larg-
est measure of experience in actual
administration (not politicaD dealing
with problems of national and inter
national Importance?
Second-What man seems more nearly
to typify the middle ground between
the old school "stand pat" class privi-
legc methods and the dangerous radical
revolutionary tendency now prevalent.
Lastly, what man during the war years
has given the best evidence of. con-
structive organization ability; accom-
ranying it with aggressive methods,
and as a consequence, has produced the
greatest efficiency in terms of result -!
Remember the advice of that great,
Ar-sghted genius-Abraham Lincoln
you can fool some Of the people
ell of the time and all of the people
some Of the time, but you can't fool
all Of the people all Of the time"
RAYMOND T. BROWN
222 Fourth Avenue, New York City.
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28

the work Of conserving our natural re-
sources without further delay, the diff
culties confronting this country may be
easily visualized. The matter of de-
forestation is most apparent on account
of scarcity Of timber on the one hand,
and, on the other, in the i1npoversh-
ment of perennial springs.
Some progress has been made toward
demonstration, but the activities should
be intensified to offset the great waste
already incurred
JOHN M. CARROLL.
ga Seventy-sixth Street, Brooklyn.
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Party Urged to Conduct
ssBetter Citizenship" Drive
e Editor Of The Tribune

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: The Republican party should
sponsor a systematic "better citizenship"
campaign. Through such a campaign
believe not only that better under
standing Of mans obligations to his
fellow men and his fellow workers will
be brought about, but that conditions
of labor will be materially improved.
1t would result in clearer conception
by each bread winner of the part he
necessarily plays In determining eco
nomic stability or chaos.
REX A COLLINGS.
1873 North Maple Avenue, East
Orange, N. j.
Improve Perennial Springs
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Unless we take heed and develop
New-York tribune., 1920-04-28
Bonus Bonds Advocated
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: AS it is estimated that 50 ,OOO,-
100000 would be necessary to give a
bonus Of $50 month to all service
veterans, the United States could issue
a bonus bond for that amount in de-
nominations of $50, maturing $780,
100000 each year for twenty years, to
bear interest at five per cent.
Instead of disposing of the issue
"Liberty" issues, the bonds could be
given direct to the men. A. V.P.