davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
BUM LEGISLATION

Many a bum law is made by bum legislators
who were convinced by bum arguments. 1t takes
a big man to turn around when he finds he is
wrong The little fellow turns around SO fast that
even his wife does not know whether he is COM
ing home or going back down town when she sees
him sidestepping along toward the vicinity of their
home. The big fellow is target for all hands.
You know what he is trying to do and you can al
ways find him where you left him If he changes
his mind on question, you know that he has done
so by reason of facts, figures and study 1t comes
hard for him to change but he will do it when
he finds that some one has offered something
better for the general good.
The little legislative pum has no reputation to
protect, no desire to be helpful, no reason to be
conscientious; neveEhas to be consistent and rea-
son matters out; don't care a Whoop as to results
of the legislation, but merely desires the popular
vote Of the people that he may be elected to Of
flee.
Every one hates to vote against friend, but
when you vote for a bum friend you only vote to
have more taxes bummed from you. Men who
have made success in life by brains, energy and
foresight, have no desire to enter campaigns to
secure offices that only mean days and nights of
hard mental labor to help pull the whole people
up to their standards The great brains of Ameri-
ca today are more interested in making America
the greatest country in the world-peacefu hap
by and contented-than in any individual attempt
to make the Workingmans task harder, that they
may live better.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
WHEN LAW LOSES IT'S GRIP

Are you a lawbreaker? Of course youare How
could you hope to obey all the laws passedby your
city, your state, and your national congress? II
you should employ the most able lawyer IN the
land to guide you, he could not read fast enough
to keep informed as to the new legislation and
multiplicity of court decisions.
One legislature in the west recently sent more
than 1000 bills to the governor. fortunately for
the people of his state he vetoed many of them.
Elihu Root, recognized as one Of the worlds
most brilliant attorneys, said recently that $4,000
statutes had been passed by congress during a
brief period and that an equal number of court
decisions had been made, while at the same time
all the states in the union were grinding out new
laws
Since we can't even hope to know what all the
laws are it follows that we must violate many of
them And since we can not have respect for such
a system are we not gradually reaching state of
mind where we will use our own discretion and be
our own judges of what is proper and what is
wrong?
The fact that thing is LAW no longer i'm
presses us. The man who Graves a drink and can
get it feels no moral restraint. Tell him that he
is lawbreaker and he will laugh and cite IN
stances to prove that you too, are a lawbreaker.
man who prides himself on his good citizen
ship does not feel guilty when he breaks the mo-
tor speed law on the highway. So long as he
doesn't feel that he is endangering the lives OF
others he does as he peaseS Why? Simply be-
cause law itself has no appeal for him. He
knows he can not obey all the laws so he VIII use
his own Judgment as to what is right and wrong.
How can he be expected to have respect for the
statutes when so much foolishness is displayed
and when the thing is so grossly overdone?
The more laws that are passed the less effective
they will become.
No one can seriously claim that justice is pos
sible when the lawyers and the judges do not
know what it is all about.
If we could elect a national congress with suf-
ficient intelligence to wipe the slate clean and
draft a few statutes, written in plain language
and could get the states to follow suit, we might
hope to restore respect for the law and curb the
spirit of anarchy that is steadily being fostered in
all of us-Sunset.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
GRAND CANYON THE MAGNET

Wide recognition of Grand Canyon national
park as scenic attraction, is being shown by the
present trend of road development in the south
west says g. C. Bolton acting superintendent Of
the park.
According to Mr.. Bolton, several highway prof.
ects now being organized are being considered
chiefly to make the park more accessible from
certain sections of the country. All parts of the
southwest are beginning to realize that being on
an improved highway, with direct connections to
the Grand Canyon is great asset from the tour
its travel standpoint 1t is therefore not surprls-
ing to see new highways opened from different
sections to the park as direct route to this Won
der spot has tremendous advertising. value.
The present efforts of those interested in the
Ell Paso-Grand Canyon highway to popularize this
route is an example of how cities in other states
are coming to realize the desirability of having
direct connection with the worlds greatest spec
tacle The benefits to be derived from such a
highway can hardly be estimated, especially
when practically the entire route is over country
rich in unusual scenic features.
The value of all highways approaching the park
will be more than doubled with the construction
of the Lees Ferry road. This will be the only
north and south highway for 250 miles IN either
direction, and with the Grand Canyon as the at
traction, will result in great concentration OF
travel in this area This. will tend to spread out
over all highway approaches to the park, and will
provide a great stimulus to motor-car travel
throughout the southwest. From the tourist
standpoint the Lees Ferry road is no doubt one OF
the most important projects now under consdera-
ton in the entire country.
Road boosters should remember that the open
ing of any new route into a given territory, will
result in improved travel conditions everywhere
The more roads, the more people, is good slogan
to follow.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
INSIDE THE CUP
(Tucson Citizen)

"The way to get rid of bad law is
to enforce it." We do not know who
first said that but it has come to be
something of an American adage. 1t
isn't precise statement Of the senti-
ment, because it assumes the badness
of the law. A better expression of the
idea would be that if one desires to
know if law is popular, enforce it.
That seems to be the official attitude
of Assistant Secretary Andrews of
the. treasury department, in charge of
the enforcement of the Volstead act.
While the discussion of the desirable
lty of modifying that law with refer
ence to beer and light wines is at its
height General Andrews announces a
campaign to enforce prohibition with
special reference to these two bever-
ages.
The movement is also timed with a
countrywide poll" or several of them,
to determine whether or not there is
popular support for the modification
lists plans-or hopes. Fortunately
for the polls, they come just in adj
vance of the baseball season, filling
in period of dullnesS. Regardless Of
the results of the polls, we doubt if
any action by congress will be predi-
Gated on them. There is too much
room for error for them to be accepted
as being indicative of public opinion
For instance, in one community where
the vets seemed to be getting the best
of it, the editor of the polling paper
sounded an editorial warning, with the
result that the drys turned the tide
and came within a few votes of equal
ing the vote of the modificationists.
| There was another instance of a col
lector of votes collecting only those
which declared in favor of modifica-
tion. In other cases ballots were dis
tributed Wholesale at church meetings,
with resultant sudden leaps in the
total of dry votes. This was legiti-
mate in an enterprise not handicapped
by any rules on laws but it was hard
ly the way to get representative eX-
preston.
We predict that nothing will come
CT the polls-but more talk. If there
is wet sentiment it must prove itself
at congressional elections, rather than
| in loosely conducted polls. That Arl-
zona is dry is the belief of such acute
political observers as Senator Ashurst
and Congressman Hayden, who are
pledged already to any legislation de-
signed to strengthen enforcement.
One unlocked for effect of such polls
may be the injection of the issue into
local elections. What, for instance,
would be the result were the prohibi-
tionists to decide to raise the issue in
the state election in Arizona this fall :?
So far as we know, the governor of
Arizona has never publicly declared
himself specifically with reference to
the Volstead act. Does he favor modi-
fication? We do not ask the question:;
we merely suggest questions which
the aroused drys may ask.
May it not be that the liberals, who
arc believed to have inspired the coun-
try-wide polls, have conjured up some
thing besides visions of spirits fru-
menti?
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
REMARKS OF THE GANG
OLD TRAILS GETS JUST DUE
(WinSloW MaiD

The people who make their abodes
and places Of business along the Ma
tional Old Trails highway are not the
only ones who will draw big dividends
from the campaign of advertising soon
to be launched by Chambers of Com
merce along this route. Tourists who
have shrunk from fancied or misrep-
resented hardships that have been
described to them will at last be made
to realize that the greatest scenic
country-the country of most his
torical and natural interest in Ari-
zona-is easy of access, and offers
them the best of Accommodations.
Advices from Needles state that a
tremendous barrage of propaganda
based on facts will be released before
the tourist season begins-that ma
tional magazines will carry the story
of the Old Trails supremacy, and
that every convenience and help in the
way of highway information will be
furnished to tourists.
Not only this organization, but the
American Automobile association and
the Automobile club Of Arizona are
pulling for proper recognition for
this scenic wonderland, and newspa-
pers all over the country are carrying
this week stories to the effect that a
complete log of the club affiliated
with the A. A. A. will be furnished
with authentic tourist information
regarding this great transcontinental
route.
Peculiarly enough, every news dis
patch speaks of the coming recogni-
tion as Just" And "just" is just
right. No highway exists that offers
more points of interest, more variety
or more worthwhile side-trips than
this, our own Old Trails
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
NEWSPAPER ETHICS

At the meeting of the Arizona
Daily Newspaper association held a
week or more ago at Bisbee, a resolu-
ton was adopted to the effect that the
names of juvenile delinquents should
never be published unless the circum-
stances surrounding their offenses are
such that the giving of the names is
demanded for the furtherance Of
justice.
Some little time ago this paper was
l1arshly and bitterly criticized-the
editor is charitable enough to believe
that his critics were merely thought
less-because it refused to print the
names of some youngsters involved in
a runaway escapade. 1t is pleasing to
know that his refusal, at that time,
to make public these names squares
exactly with the opinion Of the lead
ing editors Of the state.
The law can draw no sharp line be-
tween crimes; it can not say that any
offense against the statutes may be
suppressed or condoned; it's sole func-
tion is to inflict the proper penalty on
proof of guilt. But there is a tre-
mendous difference between a real
crime and the foolishness of youth, a
difference that everybody with an
ounce of brains can see. To publish
the names Of juvenile offenders is to
brand them for life-a far worse
punishment than their needless of
fense merits-and no newspaper IS
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
THEY DON,T GET ON

Representative Tinkham, who is
fighting the World Court, said in
Washington:
"The Anglo-Saxon and the Latin
temperaments differ profoundly. That
is why we find it hard to get on to-
gether.
"When an American talks to a
Frenchman, an Italian or Spaniard,
he is bound to put his foot in it, and
vice versa. Anglo-Saxons and Latins
after a little intercourse, feel like the
man who said:
"'Women are hard to understand
eyes? How so?'
"Last night | told woman | was
dancing with that she carried her age
well, and she was offended
Realty
eyes, really. And then, to placate
her, | told her she didn't carry it well,
and she wouldn't speak to me.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
justified in taking upon itself such
HEADLINES AND HUMANITY
(Nnrales Heraldl

No country is any better than the
headlines of its newspapers. This
saying is as extreme as it is trite;
but what we mean to say is, many
people do not go deeper into the ques-
tions of the day than the information
contained in headlines and the
thoughts they convey. We are a ma
tion Of headline readers. AS one has
said of songs, one might also say Of
headlines: at would rather write a
nations headlines than be its ruler"
In the newspaper profession the
headline is supposed to practically
"tell the story" for the busy man,
which includes everybody. And we
have just run across the champion
headline writer of the world. Over a
story of man named Doolittle, who
was charged with failure to provide
for his nine-year-old son, there ap-
pears this head: "Doolittle Does Lit
tie For Little Doolittle." And so, why
read any further
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
LOW DOWN IN AGRICULTURE

Prompted by curiosity, farmer
had grown crop of flax and had a
tablecloth made of linen. Sometime
later he remarked to visitor at din.
ner, 81 grew the table cloth myself,
"Did you reallyw she exclaimed
'How did you manage it?"
It was obvious the guest had no
idea of how tablecloths came into be-
inr, so the farmer lowered his voice
and in a whisper replied, "lf you
promise not to give the secret away,
iii tell you" (Pause). Il planted a
table napkin"
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
An OnIOUS COMPARISON

A live wire salesman rushed up 20
the home of a doctor in small vii
lage late one night and asked him to
come at once to distant town.
The doctor cranked up his flivver
and they drove furiously to their
destination. Upon their arrival the
salesman asked, How much is your
Zee, doctor?"
"Three dollars" said the physician.
Here you are" said the salesman,
handing over the money. "The blamed
garage keeper wanted fifteen dollars
to drive me over, when | missed my
train"
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
MENTAL LAZINESS

B. r. Turnipseed Of Lander univer-
sity said at a Greenwood receptions:
''Do you know why we are con-
tinually being assured that we can
learn Greek in three lessons by radio;
that fortnight's correspondence
course will make us famous cartoon
lists, and that a man can easily be-
come an ALB. or LID. by phono-
graph?
"Answer--Because we're so lazy, be-
cause we simply won't put forth any
intellectual effort.
"We're like the boy who said:
"'Uncle Joe, will you please wash
my face?'
"'Gee, aren't you big enough to
wash your face yourself?
eyes, but I'd have to vet my hands
end they don't need it.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
AN ANCIENT POLITICAL TRICK
Miami Rulletin)

Among the many things under the
sun that aren't new are the tricks and
articles of professional politicians.
With an election only a few months
away we observe that senators and
congressman are "using their great
Influence" at the national capitol to
get various and sundry "appropria-
tions" for pet projects of the home
folks" attached to many bills. Then
enterprising press agents of these am
bilious politicians send out stories
which would lead the voters to believe
that the appropriations will all be
forthcoming. It's a whiskered trick
that never fails to catch a few more
ineXnerienced votes.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
THE HUMAN SIDE
OF LIFE
a SUCCESS SECRET
+ !. + = !. + + + !. + + !

The late Thomas F. Manville, the
asbestos king, never tired of insisting
that success in business depended on
success in choosing efficient managers
and overseers.
"The unsuccessful business man"
he once said to New York editor,
"is apt to depute authority to such
poor creatures as young Seth Hig-
gins"
"Seth's pap sent him to the mill
one day to try to sell the seasons
wheat crop.
"Seth got hold Of the miller and
submitted handful of wheat to him.
The miller examined the wheat very
carefully. Then he said:
How much more has your pap got
like this 2"
"He amt got no more like it,"
young Seth answered. ut took him
all morning to pick that out
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
HAD AN ALIBI

"Want to join the Legion, buddy 7"
asked Legionnaire of husky young
man.
"Can't, wasn't in the service"
"Why weren't you?" the veteran
demanded.
@My intentions were good" was the
rather reluctant explanations. i
went to a recruiting office and doc
tor walked up to me, looked at me
kinda hard, an then thumped me on
the chest. | wasn't in the habit Of
letting strangers get rough with me,
SO thumped his chest-an' | didn't
get out of the hospital until the war
was over"
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

"You look tlred!
Eyes, I've had bad day. The OF,
flee boy of mine came in with the old
story of getting away for his grand
mother funeral so just to teach nm
a lesson ] said | would accompany
him."
DHe took you to the baseball game,
| suppose 2"
"No such luck! He told the truth for
once. 1t was his grandmother's fu-
ncrali"
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
VOTE OR BE FINED

The commonwealth of Australia like the United
States, has been bothered by the absentee voter,
the citizen fully qualified who has ignored his op-
portunity. The average of eligibes who vote has
been about the same in Australia as in the United
States but the fact that forty per cent of the peo
pie refraned from attending the polls worried the
Australians At the last session of the Australian
legislature with very little discussion, a compul-
sorry voting bill was passed imposing penalty of
ten dollars on those who failed to vote. At the
last election ninety-one per cent of those enrolled
exercised the franchise and the credit is given to
the new law. In New York the legislative league
has unanimously endorsed bill in the state egls-
lature at Albany which also fines non-voters ten
dollars each
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
(Arizona Republicanl

What steps, if any, have been taken
to recapture Murderer Nash, who es-
capped from Florence several days
ago? And is the guard who facili-
tated his flight still on the payroll?
Here was another argument against
the abolition Of capital punishment.
II Nash had got his belongings, we
would know where to find what was
left of him.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

It being the fashion to coin new words to de-
fine various types of discourtesy or lawessness,
why not have one for the motorist who gally
splashes pedestrians with street debris at every
opportunity. He will soon be abroad in all his
glory once more and proper cuss word for him
might relieve good many boiling tempers
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
A BIENNIAL MANIFESTATION

When the Roosevelt schism was at its height,
preceding the Chicago convention, some wag dis
t1ihuted dodgers proclaiming that at certain
hour at a certain point off Chicago's lake shore,
Roosevelt would walk the water-whereat a
Roosevelt follower is quoted as taking the point
out of the waggery by saying, "He can do it. too!'
One is reminded of this by the press agency at
tending the forthcoming announcement Of the
political plans of his excellency, the governor. In
a communication to local paper, the executive
hints rather broadly that he may be an opponent
of Senator Cameron this fall, while subsequently
the public was advised to look for the forthcom-
ing issue of certain weekly newspaper, for the
announcement that he will again be a candidate
for governor-for what term our staff antiquar-
ians have as yet not discovered. For whatever
position on the team he decides to try for, there
will be those who will say that he can get it.
But whatever he decides to run for, his decision
will lack spontaneous character, inasmuch as
probably everyone has believed that he will never
retire from public office voluntarily.
All that is necessary is to fill out the blank
space indicating the name of the office Office
holding has become second nature to the gov
ernor; his political behavior is heliotropic, with
manifestations every two years.-Tucson Citizen.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Palm Beach society is said to be swapping but
lers Nobody objects to that. 1t is the somewhat
prevalent practice of swapping husbands in so
called society that suggests material for sermon
iZng
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Florida's invitation seems to be pretty well
summed up in Numbers, 10th chapter, 29th verse:
Come thou with us and we will do thee good"
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

A woman member Of the British parliament re-
Gently spilled eighty-three columns of speech.
Wait till some Of our senators hear about this.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

An optinist is a man who treats dollar as if
it were dime, but man who treats a dime as If
it were a dollar is only tight-wad
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

q The city election will be held on the fourth
Monday of May-May oath. Lots Of time to think
it over and pick good ones.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Henry Ford is said to deplore the passing of the
barn dance. And who, pray planted garages
where barns formerly stood?
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Who remembers the old fashioned butcher who
used to give each of the children big frankfurter
when you went in to pay the meat bill on Satur-
day night?
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Mussolini would seem to be in need of reminder
that the sun of Austerlitz was followed by the
gloom of st. Helena.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

AS soon as he got word that the senate had
adopted the World court resolution Deacon Jones
came to town and traded his army musket for two
pounds of honey.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

A mouse at meeting of the Womans club in
Ell Paso made the motion to- osadjourn unanimous,
except as to the chairman; she was probably on
a chair
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

They say life isn't as colorful as it used to be
and one reason is that there isn't any more red
woolen underwear.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Germany's first request after she gets into the
League of Nations, if she does, probably will be
that the league take a mandate oversaGrover
Cleveland Bergdoll.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
ExTRAyAGANCE CURED

Hub: Been shopping and vlsltlng,,
er? Took lot Of taxis, as usual, |
Wife: No, dear, only one this time
Hub: Really? ),
Wife, Yes, darling, / even Kept 1t
ali the afternoon to be sure.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
HAIR AND POLITICS
{ Miami Bulletin)

The editor of The Arizona Daily
Star indicates he would oppose a
woman for governor of Arizopa IN
event she had bobbed hair. Within a
year, he predicts, long tresses will re
turn to feminine favor and suggests
that we wouldn't-not for a fleeting
moment-want an old-fashioned gov
ernor! We believe he's guilty of a
prognostical error. It's our hunch
that bobbed hair will remain in style
as long as The Star continues to
shine. And, personally, we'd support
a short-haired woman for governor
before we'd lend our humble aid to the
election of long-haired man.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Employment in the United States is increasing
steadily. Most notable is the increased activity
of the agricultural implement industry, showing =
gain in employment of eight per cent In all the
industries surveyed, eighteen of the twenty-five
showed gains in employment. Average weekly
earnings were 116 per cent greater than in jury,
1914. Real wages, that is, the amount of goods
the present dollar will buy as compared with the
dollar of 1914, were 26 per cent higher in Novem>
ber 1925 than in 1914.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

Frank and Blanche were having
their usual spat over where to spend
the vacation season. my goodness" "
cried Frank, "do you think your judg-
ment is as good as mine ?"
"No, no, dear" said Blanche, with
whitening score. "Our choice of part
ners for life shows that my judgment
is not to be compared with yours.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19

One way to find out how many double crossers
there are in the community is to run for county
office.
The Coconino sun., 1926-03-19
HE HAD ONE

"There are some dogs" remafked
Robinson, chat have more lntelll-
gence than their masters"
"That's quite right" said Green,
'I'vc got one like that. ;"