The Washington times., 1921-09-25
Today
What Is Happening.
Perhaps an Important Baby.
Life a String Of Beads.
Publishers, Attention!

Il
y Publishers, Attention!
by ARTHUR BRIsBANEL
Copyright. 1s2l.)
A year is a string Of SO beads,
each one a week, and a mans
life is a string Of seventy years,
more or less. History picks out a
fact, here and there, in this week
or that-and so the story is told.
One week Caesar crosses the
Rubicon. Another week not far
away in Father Times eyes
Washington crosses the Delaware.
The Turks take Constantinople,
the Allies take it back-and hate
each other, jealousy.
Columbus discovers America,
Bell discovers the telephone,
steam replaces horses, electricity
replaces steam, the Queen Of
Sheba goes to see Solomon, Wood
row Wilson goes to see King
George, now Europe will be COM
ing over here to see us.
Thus the story runs along,
time lifting US by the scruff of
the neck. gradually. up out Of
barbarism.
What Is worth recording in that
fragment Of life, the few weeks
just past? Not much, apparently.
But you can't be sure. King Louis
XVI, at the eEd of the day on
which the Bastile was torn down,
wrote in his diary RIEN, meaning
NOTHING. He was mistaken.
What had happened was the revo-
luton, and the loss of his head.
He had been out shooting, killed
nothing, and therefore nothing had
happened. You can't judge events
by what happens to yourself-not
even their Importance to YOU.
German murderer killed Err
berger recently, and Germany got
excited, but that is nothing in
history. A line in German books;
nothing in other books.
The great airship recently fell
and killed several-exciting in
America and England, where the
foolish say great flying machines
"are unsafe" It will be forgotten
in fifty years, when flying ships
five thousand feet long cross the
ocean regularly in a few hours.
Our peace with Germany recently
was signed-a mere formality. We
went into the war to get nothing,
and that is what we GOT-except
n debt of forty or fifty thousand
millions and prosperity knocked
endwise.
Something important MAY have
happened. If SO, it happened to
some woman, mother Of one of the
thousands of babies born last
week.
The real news, if we could read
the future, would be found in the
birth list. Perhaps one of those
babies, ugly-to all but its mother
and helpless, will be the real
man or woman fifty years hence.
The girl baby 70 be the first
woman President Of the United
States may have arrived, or the
boy that will harness the suns
power, or the leader, male or
female, able to convince human
beings that mutual aid pays, and
that mutual determination does
not pay.
There was a baby born once
and his father decided to mama
him Oliver. If you had asked
the English royal court what it
thought Of that birth it would
have answered, "Less than moth
ing"
But divers last name was
Cromwell, and his coming meant
q good deal. So with many an
other baby, from Alexander, who
put kings at their highest, to
Napoleon, who made all living
kings (and finally himself) ridi-
culous. 49,,
The railroads report. thank
you, much better earnings. The
right to raise rates, lower wages
and get $500,0O0, 900 from the
public purse ought to help some.
1t is understood that if $780,
100000 1t not enough, the roads
promise to come back for more.
The Irish question is still "open."
There seems a fair hope that 1t will
be settled. A wit defines the situa-
ton as: "An Englishman is Just,
but never generous. An Irishman
is generous but never just" The
Irish will ask just where the Eng
lish justice has shone in Irish his
tory.
If fighting continues It will be
uphill fighting for Ireland. Wales
was conquered, after wars that
lasted long, because she was near
er" to the English power. Steam
and flying bring Ireland nearer
London than Wales was 100 years
ago.
The Russians, eating clay and
grass, are dying of hunger In thou
NJ