davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
On the Right Track

When Comptroller Craig announced
there was to be traction investiga-
tion he said the inquiry was to ascer-
tain the physical value Of traction
property.
The plan apparently has been aban-
doned. The statements of Corpora
tion Counsel Burr, who is to conduct
the inquiry, indicate he will seek to
ascertain not physical value but the
sums which have been honestly in
vested in Interborough property by
private capital. This is not physical
valuation. Some of the property
into which investment went has be-
come obsolete and valueless. Some
Of it would cost more than the origi-
nal value to replace.
The basis now adopted Is the one
which is provided for in the subway
contract, and the Corporation Coun-
sci, If he is responsible for the
change Of front, is to be congratu-
lated on inducing the Mayor and the
Comptroller to desist from gallery
playing. If they will only stick (it
Hearst will but let them sticky ii
may be good will come of the inves-
tigation. A year has been wasted
in foolishness, but it may not be toe
late to avoid traction breakdown
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
The Sick Man Of Europe

Paris dispatches say that the
Council Of Three has decided not
to oust the Sultan from Constan-
tinople. The "Sick Man Of Europe"
is to retain his sanitarium on the
Bosporus, and his flag is to fly over
the small segment Of European
territory which he possessed before
the war.
Had peace with Turkey been
made six months ago, the Turk
would probably have been elected
from the European Continent. But
the long delay has softened the
memory of his offenses against hu-
manity. Political considerations
have also intervened to save him.
France and Great Britain hesitate
to defend their Mahomctan popu-
lations by dispossessing the head Of
the Moslem faith from his long
established seat. Neither Of these
powers wants to surrender control
Of Constantinople to the other, or
to Italy or Greece. So the old
European impasse once more re-
news the lease of the "unspeakable"
tenant of the ancient city Of the
Constantines.
All thought of an American man.
date for any part of the Ottoman
Empire has been abandoned. Amer
lean participation in the treaty with
Turkey is also now practically pre-
cluded. We are spectators only, as
we elected to be by not declaring
war on Turkey when the oppor-
tunity to do 20 was open to us.
Europe will decide the fate of the
Sultan and his people. 1t is right
that the powers which fought
Turkey should impose peace terms
on her. The United States is only
remotely concerned in any terri
torial partition which may be
agreed on in the Near East.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
A Great Service

The Bar Association by its reso-
luton in favor of democratic princi-
pies and representative government
and by the appointment of commit
tee to appear at Albany serves at
once itself, the profession from
which its membership is recruited
and the general public. Seldom have
the gentlemen of the law appeared to
better advantage. Their action is in
keeping with the great tradition of
which they are the guardians.
The Bar Association, populated
from the upper levels of the legal
calling, has been reproached for in
difference to popular causes. The
profession as whole to some degree
has been attacked as enlisted in be-
half Of privilege. The baselessness
Of the belittlement is exposed. The
lawyer, summoned by his vocation to
examine the foundations of civil
society, is more than an agent of a
client. His first allegiance is to his
cath as a priest Of the temple of JUS
tice. To him departure from sound
and seasoned principles is specially
noxious. The fires Of this ancient
ideal burn brightly amid all the con-
fusions Of the times.
The committee appointed to inter-
pose in a controversy that arouses
passion will raise the standard of
calm reason and succeed in inducing,
let us hope, many to gather about it.
The missioners of the bar, distrust-
ing theory when not linked to prac-
tical good, and uniting a high philos-
ophy to methods which stoop to life
and enlarge the boundaries of
human happiness, should be able to
contribute greatly to genuine rec
onciliation.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

pears they are champions Of vio-
lence. Are they personally guilty?
Not according to conclusions drawn
by far-fetched inference, but ac-
cording to such evidence as is per-
suasive to the average mind.
The right Of society to protect
itself against tyrannical violence
rests on principles of which the
Constitution is merely an expression.
Any one who would substitute gov
ernment by force for one Of consent
and common counsel is not in any
true sense Socialist. He is an anti
Socialist, and when he adds to this
willingness to apply his doctrine
in acts he is murderous in spirit.
One Of the ugliest words Of the
language is "assassin." And who
were the first assassins? The fol-
lowers Of Mahometan l. w. W.
who held to the moral indiffe1 ence
of all actions; that it was pei mis-
sible to kill those who did not ac-
cept the tenets and obey the COM
mands of the order he founded.
From his fortress he sought to in
troduce a reign of universal terror.
Lenine is a new "Old Man Of the
Mountains" Those who submit to his
dictatorship and become his agents
in fact, may be deemed members
of a new order Of assassins.
Let Socialists organize and argue
as they please. But let them not
behind the pretense of political or
ganization seek to screen a violent
and immoral purpose.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
ANY "Form" You Like

The amended espionage act as it
existed during the war prescribed
penalties for the punishment Of
whoever, when the United States is
at war, shall willfully utter, print,
write or publish any disloyal, pro-
fame, scurrilous or abusive language
about the form of the government
of the United States"
This section, although in nowise
forbidding criticism of the "form"
Of the government provided there
was nothing disloyal, profane, sour
rilous or abusive in the language,
was thought by many to go too far.
The Department of Justice appar-
entity shared this opinion. 1t did not
prosecute for verbal attacks on the
form" Of the government.
Debs, it is true,- was indicted on
this ground, but the count was with
drawn, the trial judge as to this di-
recting = verdict Of mot guilty"
Justice Holmes, when upholding the
Debs conviction, pointed out that the
verdict rested only on the charges of
melting insubordination among the
military forces and Of obstructing
enlistment.
The Graham bill, as reported to
the House, drops out the words re-
lating TO attacks on the form" Of
the government. 1t was apparently
realized that it was difficult to draw
tho line between permitted and non-
permitted criticism. So the "Reds,"
whether Of the parlor or the soap
box. may go a. far an they like in
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

est the truth If restricted to the first
page headlines Of newspapers the
country over. But that is narrow
fund Of information. And it varies
from paper to paper, according to
it's place Of publication, its grade of
audience, its politics.
So the colossal ignorance Of fairly
important names and events, words
and titles, that any roomful of sup
posedly literate people will exhibit is
only what should be expected. The
fact is true regardless of wealth,
blood, education, occupation. The
we'll informed, the we'll read mind,
is a rare, rare exception in our hope
full democracy, quite as it was in the
darkest monarchy. For most Of us
what we know is the most pitiful
fragment Of total knowledge about
anything.
What is the answer? The only
clear one, we should say-as far as
it goes-is that it is a perfectly
sound instinct which makes people
want and demand leaders. There are
many more fragments Of knowledge
loose in a democracy than in a des-
potism; the need of wise leadership
is, therefore, if anything, greater.
What everybody knows is not enough
with which to run a bootblack stand,
let alone a government. A realiza-
tion Of this fact, we should guess,
would be just about the most essen
tial ingredient Of universal knowl-
edge in democracy.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
The Eight-Hour Home
Problems That Confront the En-
ployer Of an ASSISTANT

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: There is nothing that so disturbs
my peace of mind as the effort to estab-
lish an eight-hour day in our homes.
One writer in we'll known house.
hold magazine praises the system most
enthusiastically, and describes to the
minutest detail its working in her own
home; children, guests, sickness are all
departure on time of the eight-hour
assistant.
AS the eight-hour assistant refuses
to do laundry work, she hires a woman
for this important branch of work. AS
the eight-hour assistant does not have
time for all the cleaning she hires a
woman for third day in the week to
do the cleaning, and as the eight-hour
assistant arrives too late to prepare
breakfast and leaves too early to get
dinner she employs a high school girl,
who "sleeps in," to cook these two meals,
to assist her Saturdays and Sundays and
to remain with her children evenings.
This writer's home is a nne-room
house; her children, three in number, are
of school age, and an intelligent editor
has yet to be convinced that her eight
hour assistant, as portrayed above, is a
hollow mockery and sham, to say moth
ing of the expense of her system.
Fifteen dollars for the assistant;
$3.50, a too modest estimate, for the
laundress and cleaner, and 81 a week
and board for the high school girl. A
very respectable portion of a $4,000 OF
$4,000 year salary.
ELIZABETH B. ROGERS.
Danbury, Conn, Jan. IL, 1920.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

desire for complete independence is
artificial In these states, and their
greatest hope for the future is that
they may join with Russia, but re-
tain local self-government, an end
which is much more likely to be at
tanned if they are not now utilized in
such way as to make them appear
the enemies Of united Russia. Their
economic welfare demands such n
union, and it will be far better for
the Allies in the future than to have
them become economic appanages of
Germany. 1t seems to me, therefore,
wise to reconsider somewhat, in the
light Of realities, the position taken
in your editorial
JEROME LANDFIELD,
New York, Jan. IA, 1920.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

picturing the government as low
down contrivance and Washington
as a skunk when he helped make it.
There is only one limitation kept in
the Graham bill, namely, that men
may not advocate an overthrow by
force. This is the only criterion.
Will our radical friends be willing
to tell the truth when sobbing how
liberty will be lost if the Graham bill
becomes law?
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
Philadelphia's New Regime

Sadly misgoverned for many years,
Philadelphia advertises the turning
over of new leaf. With the ex-
ception of the Blankenburg admin
istration, which ended four years
ago, the unhappy record is long ex-
tended. The new Mayor, J. Hamp-
ton Moore, for some time a promi-
nent figure in Congress, especially
by his devotion to national water
ways, has taken his seat, with bet
ter chances of success than Blacken-
burg, "the Rupert of reform" He
is, for one thing, practical poll
tician in the best sense. He has in
the new council of twenty-one men,
bers eleven who are sure to support
him-a narrow majority, but wide
enough to serve. He has begun by
making excellent appointments. The
heads of departments are able and
honest men, sworn foes to the in
efficiency and graft that have made
the name Of Philadelphia synonym
for municipal rottenness.
New York has been cursed, but
Tammany even in the worst days
probably never reached quite the
depth of Philadelphia. New York
was never absolutely controlled by
men who made a living out of city
contracts. It was never completely
subject to political pull. With whole
wards under the control of the
bosses, with magistrates and police
protecting criminals and semi-crimi-
nails, the decent citizenship Of Phila-
delphia has been quite submerged.
1t had the votes, but it did not use
them. Philadelphia, in famous
phrase was corrupt and contented.'
OF all American cities it has been
the most discouraging to the re-
former.
Mayor Moore begins we'll. He has
the confidence Of the community. He
has the unanimous support of the
newspapers. His department heads
are trusted. He has four years in
which to do his work. Before these
are over Philadelphia hopes to have
a police force out of politics anc
clean streets. 1t hopes to see rapic
transit, port development and other
great municipal projects achieved
Looking reluctantly at it's owr
Mayor, New York congratulates it!
neighbor.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
A Labor Fortune
HosU John Mitchell Made Hh
Quarter of a Million.
CROWDED
To the Editor of The Tribune.

10 the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: In recent issue of The Tribune
Mr. Robert j. Grimshaw referred IN.
sinuatingly to the fact that the late
John Mitchell had left $250,00O, and
stated that his family was quarreling
over it. It is a fact that he left
$250,o00, but it is not fact that ther
is the slightest friction in reference to
It's disposition.
AS one who, for twenty years, wss
intimately acquainted with Mr.. Mitchell
and for three years O908-'1D was asso-
ciated with him daily in the work Of Ii.
National Civic Federation Che having
been at that time chairman of its CON-
mlttee on trade agreements), permit me
to say word in defense of one who
cannot defend himself
No one who knew John Mitchell would
believe for one moment that he ever took
dishonest dollar or was canable Of
doing dishonest thing The very fact
that he came 10 the National Civic Fed
GRAFTON at less than half the salary
offered him elsewhere. and also refused
high political honors because its worry
gave him an opportunity to help develop
better relations between employers and
wage earners, is conclusive evidence that
money getting was not the dominating
motive in his life. If there had been
anything dishonest in John Mitchcil's
makeup, he could have made much more
than S250,000 during the great snthrs-
cite coal strike In fact, it was com
mon runior that many efforts were made
to buy him off; but not enough money
could have been piled in front of him
to cause him to swerve one hairs
breadth from what he believed to be bis
duty toward his people.
think l can throw sjdelight or
Mr.. Mitchel's activities that will explain
how a labor man with $4,000 salary
could die. leaving s250,00o. without war
ranting suspicion of wrongdoing. We
who knew Mr.. Mitchell intimately were
aware that after he left the labor move
ment he developed a keen business
sense with respect to investments in
stocks and bonds, practically every ven
turc proving successful, as the result o.
his almost uncanny shrewdness. At tnal
time the money he was making Though
his lectures and the sale OF his books,
together with what he had saved during
his presidency of the United Mine Work
ers of America, enabled him 70 accunu'
late a little fund, which naturally. be
desired to invest wisely-and this small
beginning laid the foundation of his
moderate fortune. Furthermore, many
prominent men in the business worioe
who admired him as man. were OH!
too glad to give him valuable irforms'
tion and advice. One stock which NJ
bought at $Sl went up to $3.50, another
bought at $l10 went to $3.50. 1t coes
not take many investments OF this nn'
to enable a man to accumulate s25oVV'
in ten years.
The exceptional ability that Jeh"
Mitchell showed in handling the wo'N
of his organization, if turned into 0p'''
ness channels years ago. would ns''
netted him not only s250,000 but many
times that amount
RALPH NJ EASLEt'
New York, Jan. IL, 1920.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
The Case for the Dog
The Tribune.

10 the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Responding to Mariette B.
Stuckey's request for assistance in as
certaining whether dogs think, am
pleased to refer her to Mark Twain's
What Is MANI" which l believe will
dispel her doubts on this subject con-
clusively and authoritatively. 1t is a
serious, though not heavy. work, rep
resenting the authors mellowed judg-
ments touching the nature of the mind
of all living things, from the ant to
man. His theory is that mans mind
and a rats mind and a dogs mind all
function in the same way and are lin
tied in their power and depth of
thought by laws which are altogether
beyond their control. instinct, which
Clemens defines as "petrfied thought" !"
plays but small part in his system of
science.
Ecclesiastical authority has naturally
not accorded a warm welcome to the
great humorist's philosophy, because it
strips man of his grandeur and glory"
and drags him down to the level of the
brute. While it must be admitted that
little impiety and sacrilege do ad-
here to the book, nevertheless it is q
verltable storehouse of biological and
even historical information, and laws
bare caparisoned truth.
noticed some time ago that II T.
Mencken included "Wha+ Te No~ ,r
list of what Haywood Broun would
call must" books.
HARRY SHAPIRO.
New York, Jan. 13, 1920.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
The Coming Tower

The Ultimate Joyance
Far be it from me to disparage the
glee to
Be garnered from fiction and drama,
From poems and pictures, ssthetical
structures,
From Beauty's complete panorama
No praise I refuse to each separate
Muse:
l burn with fame scientific
But Obi for the spark it distills when
the market
Is boosting my Southern Pacifcl
I love "1olanthe" he"-there's naught better
than the
Said piece for 4 spiritual tonic;
l yearn for tho tune of some Boris
Godunow,
Some strains Of the sweet Philhar-
monic.
The baton of Stransky, or exc of
BOdanZKy,
Occasions a state beatiic:
But here's to the song of the tape when
Pm long of
The market in Southern Pacifci
I'm fond, as Two hinted, of all that is
printed
OF parchments, papyri, and vellum;
Pm nuts, I confess, on the subject of
Chess
(It's massage for my weak cerebel-
lum).
Pm hopelessly mad for a planketed
shad,
For turtle soup, salmon, and pullet
BUT GIMME A BLOCK OF RE-
LIABLE STOCK
AND A FIRM LITTLE MARKET
TO BULL ITl
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
Russian Geography
New York, Jan. IL, 1920.
(Frcm the Kansas City Star

(From the Kansas City Star) go.
A Bolshevist revolt at Irkutsk souh''
bad, of course. but not nearly as nsd -
it would if we knew where Irkutsk VS.
Somehow the more we hear about doihs'
In Russia tho more rcconcilcd we ~
TO our blissful ignorance of thas eo""'
try and what 1t thinks 1t 10 trying
do and why.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

When a proofreader or linotyper
causes US to err, we cannot refuse to
do further business with him. But
the engraver who made Mr.. Deems
Taylor's watch read "reminisse" in
stead of "meminisse" gets no more Of
our trade. The big dubl
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

The Coming Tower Contribs' Union,
in convention last night assembled,
desired to add its name to those who
want early ratification Of the Treaty.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
TO "A LOWLY ONE"

What price the clarions of our nominal
country?
I stand and back to you my words repeat
And so bid fond farewell to all and suntry
Impossible being 1t with them to compete.
business Of S,licide)
WILLIAM RosE BENHr
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Assccated Press Is exclusively entitled to the
ase fo< republication os all dispatches credited
se II or not otherwise credited IN this paper. and
also the locai Of spontaneous origin published
herein.
All rishu Of republication Of all other matter
herein also reserved.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
SubSC1HToN nATES-By MAT. Including
rstasA IN TH1 UNITED STATES AND
GUARANTY

feu ean purchase merchandise advertised In THE
sn rs.u, YIN e. sssSSss .. sasS
y pay yeur msaey back upon request. No red taps.
Ne quibhllhS. We make soot promptly u the
adsegtIser dee net.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
Keep the Eyes Closed!

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: l see that University Of Mich
igan professor bewails the fact that
the ouija boards are becoming a Sc
rious menace to this country.
/ have this remedy to suggests Let
the operators keep their eyes closed
while waiting for the spirits to move
and believe all difficulties will vanish.
JOHN 4. VINCENT.
Mayfower School, New Rochelle, N. Y,
Jan. l3, 1920.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

We appeal to Mr.. Edward Conlln,
president Of the National Umpires AS
sociation, to draft law regarding
stage tennis players. In "The Sign
on the Door," for example, Mr.. Neil
Martin, as Alan Churchill, enters with
a tennis racket and is garbed for
play. But he wears a necktie, and the
heels of his shoes would cut up any
but cement court.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
LEMUEL.

Contemplation Of "The Sign on the
Door" leads to the conviction that
not act the way non-fction husbands
and wives do. There is generally,
with the book and stage pairs, some
secret, some corner of the past, that
is not disclosed to the husband or the
wife. But the fact is that every in
cident of the past has been told SO
often to a husband or wife that
when one of them says, "Did I ever
tell you about the other, needing
not to wait for the end Of the SEN
tence, says, eyes, fifty times"
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15
A VETERAN SPEAKS

r." There's q new gang OF contribs
growing up and I'll bet some OF em never
even heard OF Sindbad." d."---Extrnct from letter
by Morrie in answer to eight berries.l
For this. I sweated out declining years,
Naming tho Boss's maiden ono meg
volyum:
Fearing the zinc with complex. Treudian
fears,
Expressing maple sugar to his oolyum.
New gangs now Rlorify tho Canning Tower,
Am but one with Nineveh and Tyre?
Is gone the guerdon. gone the tenuous power7
Who tapped the voltage on my private
wirer
Years have not folded oil my face in creases,
Nor time decreed my pristine labor done,
Baby Contribs creation never ceases
I have wife. and daughter Opus i.
SlNDpAD.
On the wall Of Hipparchus's office,
in Raleigh, is a map Of North Carolina,
which reveals three towns suitable for
assembly purposes--Red Top, Radical,
and Allreds. And the jazz writers
should be committed to Worry and
Blues, N. G.
OF course, the terpschorean teach
crs will convene at Dancy, Miss; or
Waltz, Mich; or Lightfoot, Va.
''Bungl The Trusty Rifle Had Done
Its Work. Another Redskin Bit the
Dust. Bang! And Another Measured
His Length on the Ground"
the so-called dime novel, the worst it did
for me TO make me a refined school
ma'am t"Bad enough" do l hear some one
remark?) Well, it isn't score of years
since the time ! used to camp on my
brothers trail for hours at q stretch, trying
to discover the secret place in which the
latest copy of 1.-THE Liberty Boys Of rs"
was concealed. In every issue with his
fist Dick Slater caught the Redcoat squarey
between the eyes" and invariably 'the Red
coat fell to the ground with thud." All
that I am or ever hope to be In the line
of dction l owe to 1.-The Liberty Bows"
Three cheers for Dick Slater, and may his
overworked knuckles recoverl
whenever he had plunged
the family into debt by his gambling
would go away for several months,
wandering while his wife kept the
family together by needlework.-Evea
ming Post.
Obviously, observes VIII. NJ, she
used tho chain stitch.
Lugging homo the wine when 1t is
red IS one Of the pleasant occupations
OF our busy citizenry just now.
Probably the Paradise Press was
first to use the extremely current word
in its headline, "Noted Pair Ousted
From Grot."
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

ovasd and pubtshed daIy by Nsw York Tribune
irc, New York corporation Ogden Reid. Prest
Ressn Reid. Secretary: =. A sutcr Treasurer
Address Tribune Building 1S4 Nassau Street. Now
fesk- Tslspnocs. Beekman 5000.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

Lugging homo the wine when It is
red IS one of the pleasant occupations
Of our busy citizenry just now.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

AS Far as the Eye Can Reach
(FYons The Boston Herald)
Tho peak of high prices looks more
like tablelund.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

Probably the Paradise Press was
first to use the extremely current word
in its headline, "Noted Pair Ousted
From Grot."
New-York tribune., 1920-01-15

OF course, the terpsichorean teach
crs will convene at Dancy, Miss; or
Waltz, Mich; or Lightfoot, Va.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

FOR The WEEK

SAN Bern AEn ANP yor opr~
="
on FEHKS AKl ;N, AR h'oTrs THEATRE
s4Tl sRI f by e 70 GARDEN
A,INt
nERTII. '1cc '< Or it!:tkT> DE-
r, l "oon LONGER rErry~ WAKES