Life — January 13, 1898 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“OMhile there is Life there's Hope.” VOL.XXXL = SAN. 13, 1808. No. 787. 19 West Tarrty-Finst St., New Yor. Published every Thureday. $5.00. yearin advance, to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $2.04 ayearextra. Single coples, 10 centa. Rejected contributions will be destroyed un- tess accompanied bya stamped and directed envelope. The illustrations in Live are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers. ERSONS who get their impressions of what Bishop Potter said the other nightat the Church Club from newspaper headlines and the titles of editorial articles, may suppose that he made Tash remarks. Such lines as “Great Britain's Rule is Best,” and “Bishop Potter Criticised,” set in Jarge enough type encourage such a supposition. It does not appear, though, that the Bishop said anything rash at all. “The Churchman’s Civic Duties” being under discussion, he quoted the opinion of ‘ta well-known writer, that our country is not likely to be so presperous againas it was between 1 and 1 and he said that he thought the Americans had not the same vigilant interest in government that the ish have; that they did not reward hould, and that in con- when ervice as the; good they seemed somewhat lacking cern for the ‘lower strata of society None of these remarks seems reckless, or adapted to be put under headlines of especial violence. He asked: ‘Is there a better governed country than Eng land?” and the question suggested the possibility that he thought there wasn’t. Of course such an opinion as that bor- ders on heresy, but we musn’t be such bigots as not to tolerate it. A good many Americans think that England is better governed than this country. It is almost an ideal country for bishops, and also for persons interested in horse- racing, and for exiled kings and Ameri can heiresses. Whether it is quite so advantageous for poor people is more doubtful, for somehow a great many English poor people find this country -LIFE: attractiveand come hereto live. Whether the average government of Great Bri- tain, including Ireland, is better than that of the United States, is also open to question; but still, as to England, we know she is very well governed indeed, and it’s no harm to say so. either is there any fault to be found with the opinion that we won't again get rich so fast in two decades as some of us did between 1873 and 1893. We hope we may, and some persons of sound mind and good intelligence believe that we will, Others don’t. We can't tell until we bave tried. © O there is no fault at all to be found © with what Bishop Potter has said, which is more than one can say for some remarks of another American. This person, whose name is John E, Ballaine, lives in Tacoma, and is Adjutant-Gen- eral of the State of Washington and private secretary to the Governor. Ballaine has published in the London Chronicle a letter in which he dissents from certain conclusions disparaging to the American republic, lately disclosed by Editor Stead in his recent book about New York. Stead says New York is typical of American ation, and that therefore the American republic cannot endure, Ballaine says that New York is typical of Europe, and not of America at all, He seems to believe all Stead says about New York, and knows and says still worse things himself. But he says that all the rest of the country except Chicago is truly American, and good, and sure to prosper. He assures the Chronicle What there exists ‘in the breast of y American an undying hatred of England, especially of her ruling ciasses,” and for himself es that, though of undiluted extraction from the Norman invaders of land, with two-thirds of his life still before him, he is lying low for that war between the Americans and the British ‘which many of us fervently pray may not long be delayec There, Colonel Salisbu Go get your gun! This young Ballaine is a journalist and thirty years old. On the whole, with his swaggering emp- tiness of military title, he is a suit- eve nuine able person to reply to Stead, who is worth just about such powder as his. So it is well that the Chronicle has printed his letter. Let us hope that the London Times may have read it, and have come to realize that the primary purpose of the Americans who want to fight Eng- land is to get New York pounded up into individual bricks and Manhattan Island cleared for cultivation. ge FF R. E. BENJAMIN ANDREWS of Brown University, has ex- pressed himself in favor of free te) books and free lunches for school chi dren, He wants to have the lunches “palatable, well-cooked, and served un- der the supervision of the teachers or principal.” Oh, yes! Nothing is too good for the school children. Gi! them free books and free lunches, by all means. But is that enough? Ought not pensions to be provided for the parents of school children, that they may be the better qualitied to provide for the eration on which the hopes of our country rest ? To raise the voters and the mothers of the next century is a serious and expen- sive business, It necessitates the pro- ion of shoes, clothing, and many other costly things. It ta time, too, and involves care. Yet it isa work of indis- importance. Many persons who would gladly take part in it are hindered by lack of funds; many othe: who are actually engaged in it are se- riously inconvenienced by the expendi tures it involves. Surely the great work that is being done for the republic by the parents of schoolabie children should be recognized, and the recognition should be handsome and substantial. A pension to the parents of every chiid in school would tend to popularize marriage, and would be an inducement for thrifty pe: sons to raise large families. At present large families are too apt to fall to the improvident, while careful people have too few children, This new distribution of funds would set that evil right. Dr. Andrews’s plan helps the case a good deal, but it does not go farenough, A pension for parents, increasing in direct ratio to the number of children in school, is what we ought to have. pensable