Life — December 16, 1926 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

“While there is VOL. 88. 2302 Life there’s Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 598 Madison Avenue, New York Cirantes Dana Guson, President R. E. Surrwoon, Editor F. D. Casey, Art Editor LWAYS, id espe- cially just now with Christmas so imminent, we should look on the bright side. Con- sider, for example, the Marlborough divorce d how many good points there are for us to keep in mind. It may be recalled by those who are old enough that the imme- diate instigating cause of the Marl- borough wedding was that the roof of Blenheim was leaking. After the Duke's heir married Miss Vander- bilt, Blenheim got a new roof, always spoken of as a first-class job (copper very likely), which is probably still tight. Now Blenheim is not very highly regarded as architecture, but it has associations, and is valuable as a monument to the great fact that admirable character is not essential to usefulness in times of crisis, for the Churchills, including the original Ma'lbrouk, have owed their distine- tion in this world not so much to goodness as to talent and vigor. But, as said, the roof on Blenheim is still tight so far as known. Another point that is cheering is that the Vat- ican has proclaimed that in cases of over-persuasion, resulting mari are null in the eyes of the Roman Church. If the Roman Church can stand that the rest of us ought to. It is a good stand for somebody to take and may perhaps be more con- veniently taken by persons not ther selves expecting to marry. The fecl- ing of the Protestant ministers, in- cluding not only Bishop Manning but many others of other denom- inations, that the Vatican has been in annulling a very regular Cram Maxwett, Vice-President La puoRNE Gipson, Secretary and Treasurer Protestant marriage may lead to a consideration of the re Church to present-day what authority, if any, it really h and in what measure that authority is useful to the institution of mar- riage. There is something the mat- ter with it. The cases that come up make one wonder whether — the should any longer have Civil law, whi Church law, once controlled a lot of matters which have passed away from it to the secular courts. Mar- iage has so passed too, as far as gal rights go, but the shadow of the Church is still on it and, as we see, at times makes curious cases and troubles. ion. HE services of clergymen in marrying people are acceptable and lend themselves more agreeably to the kind of weddings that a good any aspirants s prefer to start with, but once having married, the Church is obliged to leave it to the parties concerned to get along to- gether if they can. If the marriage goes wrong the Church cannot do much, and the next steps, where there are some, have to be taken by the secular law at the instance of married persons who want to change. So far as responsibility is put on the sufferers for what they do, that is not to be regretted, in view of the tendency of the times to organize for the regulation of all people ac- cording to the ideas of the regulators. It is in the papers on the author- ity of the Associated Press that a National Father-and-Son Committee has started a movement for a father- and-son holiday, probably in the Easter vacation, to stimulate greater intimacy between fathers and sons, That is truly wonderful. What the country really needs is a Fool Killers’ Day, located in the month of March or some such time of year when the weather is apt to be bad and people feel cross. One would not body actually killed on Fool Killers’ Day. People in excessive quantities are already being killed in this coun- try. The selection is haphazard, though in Chicago where thugs kill thugs and possibly in Herrin, IIL, some good killing may be done. But all that one would wish Fool Killers’ Day to accomplish would be to locate the fools and scare them back into their holes. At present that is being done with considerabl the case of the prohibit From day to day supporters of their ac- tivities are throwing up their hands and admitting that Prohibition as now practiced under the Amendment and the Volstead Law is a failure and needs medication. © any- nthusiasmn in ists, inglish Language Congress the other at Philadelphia was advised to “revise the alphabet and save a billion dollars a year.” A person described as “Dr. Dewey of Harvard University” g this advice. Perhaps there is such a person, perhaps there was such a congress, but the advic bad. Dr. Dewey's idea is that by a_ revised alphabet and new spelling printed words would take up less space. But it is quite obvious that no such change as that is wanted. The news- papers are the best example of cur- rent use of printed words. Look how many they have spent on the Hall trial! See how many they used telling about the visit of Queen Marie! What newspapers need is to have a succession of printed words about something to balance the ad- vertisements in their valuable and respected sheets. Saving words is not the part of their game at all, not nowadays. When Fool Killers’ Day has been instituted, Dr. Dewey had better spend it in his cellar. E. S. Martin. comicbooks.com