The Washington times., 1921-11-09
Today
An Afternoon Hanging.
New House of Lords.
Give Her the Air."
china's Sad Plight.
Arthur BRISBANE
Copyright Issl)

rranh LiKrcRnl yesterday att
ernoon. walking in the corridor
Of Chicago's Jail. made a desper-
ate attempt to escape. trying to
strangle a prison guard. Other
guards hurried him TO his cell.
Tho unusual attempt Of a con-
aemned man to escape is not the
interesting thing about Ligbegni.
Tomorrow they are going to
hang him for wife murder. and
That isn't the interesting thing.
either.
It's the fact. first time in the
history Of hanging. thcy are 60
inK to hang him in the afternoon
Instead of at dsybreak.
This murderer is to be saved
Tor afternoon hanging. $50 that
all criminals and murdevers in
the prison may be awake. know
what is happening, and realize
that crime doesn't pay"
They will howl. yell. and hoot,
and some of them perhaps will
tremble as the murderer is
choked to death by majestic gov
ernment.
The Jail keeper should know
that murderers and criminals are
NEVER awake. If their minds
were awake they would not be
criminals. And he should know
that shielding Of blood makes men
bloodthirsty and the taking Of
life makes men indifferent to
taking life.
To stimulate crime and increase
murder let the State, which should
set a good example. hang man
late in the afternoon and make it
q show, not a warning.
In Germany a new house of
lords appears, based on money
government. Twelve hundred of
the richest industrialists say to
their country: "We1l help you
nay your debt: you can have a
thousand million gold marks now;
but YOU must run the country
OUR way. Our way means,
turn the railroads over to US: no
government ownership. It means
abolish the eight-hour day. 1t
means run the country as we
thir' it should be rum"
The radical papers howl. but
howling does not produce a thou
sand million gold marks.
The new money house of lords
CAN produce the money. Radi-
calism can't.
No scenario writer equals real
ity In the bandit world. Consider
the hold-up of a mail car on the
Illinois Central. "Give her the
air." says one bandit with his
Sgun against the engineers head.
The engineer pives the air. put
tino on airbrakes.
"Stop the engine Just the other
side of the bridge. with the pas,
seneer cars on the trestln and
the mail cars where we can get
at them" -,
That is done-in fear of death.
A Pullman porter looks out and
drops dead. The bandits shoot
well. Mail clerks refuse to open
doors. "Stench bombs" used for
the first time in banditry. are
dropped through the ventilators.
The clerks must open the doors
or smother. They are ouened and
the clerks are beaten almost TO
death.
Two bandits omen mail bags
while other bandits continuously
s~cbon~e ~Lots with psssnr oors.
An automobile roars away in the
dark and it's over for that time.
You turn from that to read
about six killed in a little cleo
tion dispute in Breathitt county,
Kentucky, and how Mr.. Joyce:
blissfully welded to Peggy OF
the same name, complains tear
fully that she beat him and made
him unhappy.
War seems to have let loose
tie fierceness of human nature.
Unfortunate China, in need
of protection from Japan as a
fat goose needs protection from
a weasel, stands in sorry plight
at Washington. She has failed
to pay money borrowed from the
Continental and Commercial
Chicago Bank to carry on her
government. The money was
not lent for the sake of profit,
but because the Government of
this country at the time advo-
Gated and approved the loan,
wishing to help manufacturers
and exporters, by enabling China
to buy.
Sad is the plight of a nation
. as big as China unable to raise
. and pay five and half millions.
We ordinarily talk of China's
population as 400, 100000. The
probability is, as learned
writer has recently pointed out,
that the population is nearer
500, 900, 900. For the census is
taken by taxpayers interested in
L..n;po down the numbers. For