The Chicago whip. (Chicago, Ill.) 1919-19??, 1927-11-05
The Grist Mill
By
PATRICK B. PRESCOTT, JR.
1. Redistrict the State.
2. The Mitchells Die.
3. The Lesson of the Stars.

John B. Fergus has won deci-
sion calling for the re-apportionment
of legislative representation through
J out the state Of Illinois. Judge
decision which declared the present
Michael Feinberg handed down the
law unconstitutional. In his ,decl-
sion the jurist points out that IN
der the terms of the constitution II
is mandatory upon the legislature to
re-apportion the state every ten
years.
The great fight re-districting the
; state has come from those counties
to the south of Cook County. They
have feared that if the state were
re-districted according to population
the county Of Cook would have SO
! many representatives aid senators
that Chicago would control all of
the legislation of the state.
There is a great deal Of truth in
the contention of those men who
hail from downstate. For the needs
, of the whole state are more varied
than those of the single county of
Cook. 1t probably would not be for
the best interests of the entire state
if one county could dominate the
Legislation of the state. But the fact
remains that the constitution pro-
vides for this measure of representa-
ton however unfortunate its results
may be. And as long as it is the
law of the state, it should be obeyed
and respected.
The great trouble is that it is an
old American game to respect and
enforce only those parts Of the law
and the constitution as are agree
able. 1t is true in the enforcement
Of the federal constitution. It's true
in nearly every state of the union
where unpopular laws are part Of
the code.
In the case Of the eighteenth am
inendment it is sought to have item
forced because it seems good politics.
In the case of the fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments it is sought
to ignore them because their en-
forcement does not make for pop
ular favor. But the law should be
the law until it is changed. And for
his stand in Reinforcement of the
letter and the spirit of the constitu-
ton the presiding judge is to be
commended. This will give to the SUI
preme court an opportunity to force
the legislature to obey the law. And
the establishment of such a prece-
dent will make for greater respect
for the law and for greater fairness
to the county Of Cook.
John J. Mitchell, the great banker,
and his wife were killed in an auto
mobile crash out near Libertyville,
! Illinois, on Saturday last. Both virtu-
ally died on the spot.
The world mourns their loss. And
the surprising thing is the utter sin
-cerity back of the regrets which
came as the result of their tragedy.
The natural question to ask is, "How
does it come about that this man Of
affairs and of millions could become
so beloved?"
And the answer is to be found in
the words Of small store keeper
who was near unto tears over his
death. He said:
'Mr. Mitchell was just a fine big
man. 1t didn't matter whether you
had on overalls or not, he received
you as a IAN"
That, hen, is the secret of his
success. He was human all through
his climb upward. He bore his hon
ors simply and with dignity. This
was true not only Of himself but Of
his gracious wife. The Mitchells
grew up with their community and
helped make their community grow
up with them.
They never grew too big for the
town or the people within it. They
were just folks. They carried their
honors well and with fitting dignity.
They were of the royal cloth yet
they never lost the love of average
folks.
Prof. Shapley Of Harvard states
that the solar system, of which the
earth is a part, is over 5000 light
years from the center of the Milky
Way. Light travels six trillion miles
year. So the sun is something like
Sc thousand trillions of miles from
the center Of the Milky Way. 1t
means that the sun is not the center
Of the universe. 1t is but small
factor-one of the thousands of mil
lions of stars that go to make up
the Milky Way. And away off to the
side.
The interesting thing is to note
how the mind of man grows. In the
beginning man thought himself the
centre of the universe-he was an
| thropocentric. Then he believed his
own locality the centre-lococentric.
But as he developed his universe
grew. In the second century, A. D.,
Ptolemy, the Egyptian, discovered
the theory Of the planets. But he
made the earth the centre of his
system. In the 18th century Copper
nicus changed this. He called the sun
the centre. Calico sustained him
and he went to prison for his pains.
Now, after :-our centuries, mans no.
ton of the universe again changes.
1t gets bigger. The sun no longer is
the centre. It's off to the side. The
universe is bigger than for 400 years
| man thought it to be.
7, Now note this. The greater man
/ finds the universe, the smaller he
finds himself. There you have it
the slow growth Of education and
evolution. For true education is to
know your true size and place
against the great things Of the uni.
verse. And out of knowing the uni
verse comes religion. Because, know.
! ing it is to worship its Creator. Fl
nally, from this same knowledge Of
the universe, must come the broth
erhood Of man. To completely know
of billions of suns, each with it;
own planetary system, each inhab