The Washington times., 1920-11-11

On Edlson's Beat.
Rhine Power.
A Rockefeller Chance.
Such ls Glory.
ARTHUR BRISBANE


read. Is mistaken in his statement
that Edison is "off his beat" when
he speculates about the immortal
ity Of the soul. That discussion Is
on everybody's "beat." For II the
soul Is not immortal. We are all
wasting our time struggling here.
If it sand 1T SURELY IS
we have q thousand reasons for
behaving rs well as We know how.
Everybody must die alone, go
into the grave or the crematory
furnace alone. Everybody has q
right to think out alone the argu-
ments for and against lNDIvID-
UAL immortality, the only kind Of
immortality that attracts.
The Bible distinctly recommends
and authorizes personal investiga-
ton Of "all things"
"Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good"
France may or may not get bill
lions in real money from Germany.
She is surely going to get billions
worth of power in years to come
from the Rhine, now only half Ger
man. The treaty Of Versailles con-
tanned a few words giving France
exclusive rights to the Rhine water
power, and French engineers are
already Harvesting the great river.
Seven hundred thousand horse
power can be produced. What will
that be worth in the next century?
What would it be worth to the
United States if the son Of John D.
Rockefeller should, on a basis of
minimum distributing cost, Coop
crate with the people in harnessing
the water power of this nation, de-
veloping it and distributing it, as
his father develops the power of
the oil underground?
Henry Cabot Lodge is suggested
for Secretary Of State by personal
boosters.
There is one thing in Lodges
favor-he has as high opinion of
himself as the average English
man has of himself, which is say
ing a good deal. Lodge thinks
little Nahant, his home just off
Boston, every bit as important as
the British Isles. What the coun-
try does NOT want is any more
State Department business based
on the conviction that England is
the real place and the United
States only a pitiful imitation.
Ten billions of gold bonds-real
"gold," not paper marks-have
been given already by Germany to
the allies. Added to the other ten
billions borrowed from US, which
we probably won't get back, this
makes twenty billions.
We know where the American
ten billions came from-patriotic
bond drives, patriotic bowling un-
der the cover of which profiteers
did their stealing, produced those
billions.
The question is: Where did Ger
many find ten billions of gold
bonds? How much more can she
dig up? What will happen to her
after the digging is over?
1t is said that the Pennsylvania
Railroad will reach out into Can
ada, connecting with the Canadian
Pacific. The Pennsylvania says,
"Not yet, anyhow. We do not
know how we stand financially
The plan suggested was for the
Pennsylvania to pay one-third OF
the cost, the Canadian Pacific one
third, and the Canadian steel COM
panies the last third.
That looks like a neat scheme to
dump Canadian steel and other
products of Canadian labor on the
United States market, without
change of cars.
From the Canadian point Of
view, would it be very intelligent
to use high freight and passenger
rates, granted American railroads,
to build up Canadian industry at
the expense of American labor?
From the American point OF
view, if the Pennsylvania has any
money to spend, it would be better
to develop railroad facilities in
America, where they are now ex-
tremely bad.
AS for Canadian steel, what it
needs when it reaches the border
of this country is a good substan-
tial tariff that will keep American
work for American workmen.
E;obt French soldiers. disfiQured