Life — November 25, 1926 — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

NOVEMBER 25, 1926 “While there is Life there’s Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 598 Madison Avenue, New York Crrantes Dana Ginson, President R. E. Siteawoop, Editor F. D. Casey, Art Editor Sa kind of dividend and by w of thanking some of the voters for going to the polls the other day, Mr. Coolidge would like to hand back to payers of income taxes a rebate on what they paid. The tax produced about three hundred millions more than needed and Mr. Coolidge thinks it would be nice for the tax- payers to have that bs It is a little as though « one had had an operation and the surgeon had taken out a few tonsils, adenoids, kidneys or whatever it was, and pres- ently reported that he could have done with less and offered to put back some of them. Now would you like that done, or would you say— “No! let the tail go with the hide! Let us not have another operation for a mere detail of restitution!” Of course the distribution of money is always welcome, but this return of excess income tax would not do good to the right people. How much would it help the farmers? Not nearly so much as one could wish, It would help the people that are most prosperous, and best pleased already with Mr. Cooli¢ id not many of them are likely to care whether they get it or not. If it could be used to reduce the payments made to us by England or our other debtors, that would be something, but since that does not look feasible, why not blow it in on Liberty bonds and reduce the debt? HE chief matters left for con- ation by the election are the Volstead Act and the farmers. Really Volstead was considerably jolted. More people than formerly think our present Prohibition law is fatally de- side Cram Maxweit, Vice-President Lancuoane Ginson, Seeretary and Treasurer fective and are willing to be counted as of that opinion. Congress, as is well known, is still nominally Dry by a large majority and nominally in favor of Dry legislation as it stands, but in so far as opinion behind Con- gress changes, opinion in Congress will follow suit. In many States now it no longer hurts a candidate to be Wet. Indeed it is apt to do him good. In so far as he stands for modification of present liquor laws he i forward-looking person and not by any means a reactionary. F course the conspicuous figure that emerged from the election was Alfred Emanuel Smith of New York. More people than heretofore think our Governor will be the next Democratic candidate for President. He may be and still miss election. Who can tell as to that? One no- tices, however, that on Trish Day (November 7) at the Sesqui, in a parade of forty thousand men and women from all parts of Pennsyl- vania, the orange and the green ran side by side through the procession and the Grand Master of Orangemen in the United States stood with the Catholics to review t arade. What did the Ku Klux think of that? Governor Smith had earned re tion by being a. first-rate On that ground he got m of Republicans. He is a man of the people, of the sort that can attract the voters to support sound poli and honest service. ‘That is a very valuable talent and much needed in this present world. LIN a an REN, Bae OUDINI was very remarkable, The papers have been full of him, and his exploits, character and attitude of mind. He seems to have been everybody's friend; that is, everybody's ept the mediums’, He did not like mediums and since his great errand in life had been, properly enough, to deceive, he was convinced that their errand just the same, and that they did it; but not so well as he did, nor yet so honestly. If a medium was faking, there was nobody better to show him up than Houdini, but if he was honest, Hou- dini lacked the facilities to detect his honesty. His concern was almost altogether about physical demonstra- tions. He said he could do slate writing, which is a form of communi cation, but one would say, subject to correction, that he never took hold of the main part of the Spiritist acti which is supposed communication of ideas and information from the de- parted. ‘These communications have to he judged by their substance and their quality, and Houdini seems never to have gone in very much for that. The son of a Rabbi, Jewish-borm and bred, he must have been brought up duly on the Old ‘Testament, and can hardly have escaped seeing how full it is of such communications with the Invisible and demonstra- tions of power over matter as he spent a rood part of his latter years in deriamg and denying. He did himself extremely curious stunts by 1s as little understood as some of quarrel between the authentic miracle man and the magician is as old as history. You read about it in the story of Aaron and the magic men of Pharaoh, and again in the story of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, and so on along down to ani through the New ‘Testament. People who be n reincarnation may eas ily believe that Houdini's former self performed for Pharaoh, and derided the, priestess of Delphi, and so on down. We do not know yet the whole story of that man. An affectionate. friendly creature who loved his mother, loved his wife and particu- larly loved publicity of every sort. yet no Columbus, for no Columbus ever sailed to prove there was noth- ing beyond the seas, E. S. Martin. comicbooks.combl