- ★ ★ - by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 10, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 40.

— ★ ★ —

By Editor

Paying the Bills

THE Socialist leader in the German Reichstag, Herr Bebel, warns the Social-Democratic Congress in Jena that as a result of the Morocco dispute the word will go forth, "Arm on sea and land," and that probably a great navy bill will be presented in the Reichstag, and with it taxation bills to cover the cost, which will mean further increase in the cost of living to millions of Germans.

The German Imperial Government started in 1871 with no debt, but since that time it has steadily exceeded its income. Recently the deficit reached more than a hundred million dollars a year, which led to the deadlock in 1909, and to Bülow's resignation. Income and outgo are not yet balanced; the empire and States combined have a debt the same as that of Great Britain or Russia. It pays in interest about six times as much as that of the United States, and nearly as much as that of France. But France has this advantage,—that French people own the French bonds, and have besides enormous sums invested in other countries, including Germany. By calling loans they are now greatly embarrassing German finance, showing how the money power could be used in world politics. "France is increasing her banking capital," says the New York World, "Germany her debts." The German army cost in 1910, excluding colonial troops, $203,382,000; her navy, $110,638,700. Besides this, it withdrew from work nearly 700,000 young men in the flower of their strength. The great prosperity of Germany, the World tells us, remarked by Mr. Edison and other travelers, is a prosperity built up in part by running in debt, and hampered by a war extravagance whose motto is, "After us the deluge." Herr Bebel is striving to avert the cruel consequences of war extravagances.

A novel experiment is under way by Harvard, the sending of two brothers, Buffum by name, across the continent on foot, the one to feed upon animal food wholly, and the other upon vegetable food. Between them they are to trundle a wheelbarrow across, and sleep out-of-doors every night. They are to carry on the wheelbarrow sufficient supplies to meet emergencies. Dr. Sargeant, of Harvard University, wishes to make a test of the relative merits of the two kinds of foods in endurance. Harvard pays the bills. We predict triumph for vegetarianism.

An overly and ultrapatriotic teacher in New Jersey put a girl out of school because she would not salute the American flag. The father declares that the girl is a British subject, as is he himself; that he believes in implicit obedience to all the laws of this country, but could not forswear allegiance to his own country. There is more or less of idolatry in the general flag salute, anyway. We do not think that public schools are helping to make patriots by their demand that the flag shall be saluted. It is a sort of State-religion fetish that does not make any better citizens.

There have been a plentiful number of serious accidents of late, in connection with air-ships. Just recently two men fell into the ocean at Brighton Beach, near New York. Grahame-White wrecked his $10,000 monoplane, and almost killed himself. Another ran into a wire fence and wrecked his machine. An aviator at Dayton, Ohio, Frank Miller, September 22, was burned to death in mid-

air, when the gasoline tank of his machine exploded; and at La Crosse, Wisconsin, the same day, an aeroplane dragged along a row of buggies, and caused forty runaways. Fortunately no lives were lost. The same day another aviator in Ohio, Castellane, fell to his death at the Mansfield fair. September 19, at Dewitt, Iowa, Rosenbaum, an aviator, fell from an overturned aeroplane 600 feet, breaking every bone in his body. And there have been others. Robert Fowler has had two accidents, but he has not been seriously injured himself, tho he has injured his machine, in attempting to cross the Sierras. After reaching a height of 8,000 feet his engine stopped. He still hopes to be able to make the passage.