anaheim-gazette 1926-03-11

THE ANAHEIM GAZETTE ISSUED EVERY THURSDAY HENRY KUCHEL, Editor and Proprietor SUBSCRIPTION PER YEAR.....$1.50 SIX MONTHS.....$1.00 THREE MONTHS.....$ .50 Entered at the Anaheim, California, Post Office as second class matter. EDITORIAL NOTES SOAP BOX ORATOR PASSING H. L. MENCKEN of the Baltimore Sun and associated papers, who is the uncrowned poet laureate of the liberals in America, in his last syndicate article, complains of the passing of the radical-liberal tribe of thinkers and talkers, of which he has long been an honored leader. He lists William Allen White, Norman Hapgood, William Hard, Miss Tarbell, and Mr. Villard, as among the brave spirits of the past, who have grown footsore from marching, and mouthsore from blowing trumpets to arouse unresponsive audiences. The real trouble with these gentlemen is that they have been undone by American common sense and prosperity. It is hard to gather an assembly of the discontented when fat pay envelopes await every Saturday night, and when the dinner-pail is discarded only because the workman prefers not to be bothered carrying it, and goes to a restaurant instead. Even Mr. Debs, as Mr. Mencken says, in his article, has simply become an interesting historical monument of a discontent that was, instead of an element of danger. But we can stand it. ROTTEN APPLES A CURIOUS verdict is that returned by the Los Angeles county grand jury in regard to the "protection" charges which it has been considering. In effect, the verdict asserts that there are rotten apples in the box, but it does not specify the apples. The jury found that protection money was being paid by various bunco outfits at about the time of the "Big Hutch" indictment, but—beyond saying that the money was not paid to Mr. Smith ROTTEN APPLES ACURIOUS verdict is that returned by the Los Angeles county grand jury in regard to the "protection" charges which it has been considering. In effect, the verdict asserts that there are rotten apples in the box, but it does not specify the apples. The jury found that protection money was being paid by various bunco outfits at about the time of the "Big Hutch" indictment, but—beyond saying that the money was not paid to Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones—the verdict gives no inkling as to where this protection money went, who received it, and whether or not any actual protection was purchased by it. Now protection money is not tossed into the air, to be sported with by the free winds of heaven; nor is it laid upon some mysterious altar, to be masticated in secret by any gaseous god. It passes from one man to another. The grand jury can hardly have found this money simply in transit, without discovering where it came from; and if it found where the money came from, it also discovered where it went. All that the verdict does, then, is to confirm Governor Richardson's refusal to co-operate with Los Angeles authorities in certain matters. It is regrettable that the suspicion apparently cannot be cleared up by a presentation of facts. THE WHITE HOUSE ROOF ENGINEERING estimates that $500,000, one-half a million, will be required to repair the White House roof, arouse a lot of curiosity among the folks whose roof-repairing generally ends with a new coat of shingles. One editor inquires if it was proposed to gold-plate the roof. The engineering office of the war department, however, says that to repair the roof, retaining walls and interior walls with struts and braces will have to be installed, and that the figure on the whole is modest. The White House roof is more than merely a roof. It is copper-sheathed from end to end. It contains part of the machinery for the fire-escapes, and it contains small buildings used for various purposes. In addition, the lighting protection arrangements are very elaborate. It is probably better protected from the possible ravages of lightning than any other building in the country, inasmuch as over the entire surface there is a network of copper cables, all of which lead to various discharge points. While the war department has apparently convinced most of the officers of the government that the renewal of the roof is an immediate necessity, it is understood it is yet having some trouble driving that point in on the President. The possibility of the roof collapsing through a snowfall, which is the latest they have handed out, is not apt to worry a man who was born in Vermont. THE ITALIAN DEBT IT IS unfortunate the distrust of Mussolini is affecting the congressional attitude towards the ratification of the Italian debt pact, negotiated in Washington. It will be most unfortunate if the Senate fails to ratify that all-important document. The opposition, curiously enough, has been recruited from two entirely opposite branches. The radicals here are fighting the Italian debt because they object to the dictatorship methods of Mussolini; certain conservative groups are fighting because of Mussolini's recent mandate against Free Masonry in Italy. The merits or demerits of the debt settlement have apparently passed completely out of the discussion. It is felt the vote IT IS unfortunate the distrust of Mussolini is affecting the congressional attitude towards the ratification of the Italian debt pact, negotiated in Washington. It will be most unfortunate if the Senate fails to ratify that all-important document. The opposition, curiously enough, has been recruited from two entirely opposite branches. The radicals here are fighting the Italian debt because they object to the dictatorship methods of Mussolini; certain conservative groups are fighting because of Mussolini's recent mandate against Free Masonry in Italy. The merits or demerits of the debt settlement have apparently passed completely out of the discussion. It is felt the vote when taken will demonstrate that our people all appreciate it is unsportsmanlike to punish a nation and the people of that nation because of disagreements with the acts of the government of the country. The Italian debt pact represents an earnest effort on the part of the American government for a fair settlement with a people who through their economic activities have lifted their country to a position of stability. The agreement as made by the American debt commission is the best that could be made. It is hardly fair to the American taxpayers to deprive them of the tax reduction which the Senate ratification would give them because of the desire of certain of our citizens to register their dislike of Mussolini methods. FEW GOVERNMENT JOBS IT WOULD be really a charitable as well as a humanitarian undertaking to broadcast to the people of the country at large, particularly the young people, that opportunities for government employment in Washington are not only very few, but are steadily decreasing. By reason of changes in the law, for example, the tax department which has maintained thousands on its payrolls in the past, on July 1 will make a very substantial reduction in its totals. In nearly all the other departments of the government by reason of changes in the law, and by reason of the greater efficiency of the remaining clerks, reductions are constantly being made. It is well for the young adventurers to appreciate that practically all the places for which they would be applicants are under civil service. A journey to Washington without a civil service qualification is practically hopeless. Even with a civil service rating, unless a direct order has been received from a department offering employment, it is a wearisome matter. Living costs in Washington are higher than they should be, and already certain charitable organizations have been obliged to assume the burden of returning some of these people, young and old, to their own homes after their little capital had been exhausted. ANAHEIM GAZETTE SIGNS OF SPRING By A. B. CHAPIN HSY — IT'S 'BOUT TIME YOU GUYS WOKE UP CATCH HIM — TAG — YOU'RE IT — AW, NIX, WIFE — NIX, IT'S A TRAP —! FOR EASTER WELL GOOD BYE, FOLKS — WHEN TH' JONES BOY BEGINS DIRGIN', WE FISHWORMS KNOW TH' BULL HEADS MUST BE BITING, AND IT'S TIME FOR US TO LEAVE HOME — OHAPIN 14 Per Cent Increase In Motor Violations Violations of the motor vehicle act were shown today to have increased 14 per cent last year over 1924 in figures released by Will H. Marsh; chief of the division of motor vehicles. During the year infractions of the law brought grief to 76,768 persons. This number faced California courts and received fines, jail sentences or reprimands as against 67,256 for the year previous. Characterizing the figures as a "disgrace to the motorists of California and a sad reflection on the upbuilding influences of civilization," Marsh recommended jail sentences for speeders and reckless drivers, heavier fines for cullder types of violations and the establishment of a strong force of state police as among means of meeting the situation. He also advised a continuance of campaigns designed to educate the public to the necessity of combating the craze for speed. "The increase in the number of machines which is only about 9 per cent does not justify this increase in violations," he said. Speeding and reckless driving were responsible for 49,830 violations or nearly two-thirds of the total. Other violations were divided as follows: Rules of the road, 12,078; bad lights, 6,402; violations of plate rules, 1,358; open mufflers, 3,440; driving without license, 1,455; miscellaneous, 2,202. Marsh's figures show that the division revoked the licenses of 306 persons during the year. Of these 136 lost their cards for driving while intoxicated, and ninety-two others were charged with speeding and reckless driving. CHEAPER "I just saw a doctor and he said I should go to Europe for my health. What do you suggest?" "I suggest another Doctor." THE MODERN MULTIPLE SWITCHBOARD AN EVOLUTION FROM HISTORIC TYPES Law Gilliland Modern Multiple Switchboard It has been said, truly enough, that the development of modern telephone service began with the building of the first switchboard. For some months after Alexander Graham Bell had filed his patent and successfully transmitted the first sentence of speech, the telephone business was not, strictly speaking, a service at all. Telephones were leased in pairs to a subscriber who wished to talk between his home and his place of business, or with some other particular subscriber, the connection being made by a permanently established connection between the two instruments. This arrangement afforded communication between two telephones, but it did not make possible the inter-communication which is the very essence of modern telephone service. This came with the first apparatus for switching the circuits from one line to another—a crude, experimental switchboard made by E.T. Holmes, who operated a burglar alarm system in Boston. This provided means of interconnection between four Boston banks. It is interesting to note in passing that the president of one large financial institution in the Hub ordered a telephone, which Holmes had installed without his knowledge, removed, declaring it to be a "playboy" which had no place in the world of business. The first switchboard placed in service on a commercial basis was opened for service at New Haven, Conn., in January, 1878. It provided apparatus for connecting eight lines. Other early switchboards were the Law Board and the Pyramid Board, illustrations of which are shown above. These were but two of many designs which, though put into actual, commercial service, were hardly more than experiments—steps in a somewhat groping search for more efficient switching apparatus. The evolution of the modern manually operated universal switchboard really began with the crude apparatus shown at the right of the above group of early switchboards. It is a far cry from this board of 1870 to the type with which visitors to the central office of today are familiar. The switchboards used in large city exchanges often accommodate as many as 10,000 lines and are most complex in their mechanism. The manufacture and installation of these large boards involves a multitude of delicate operations requiring painstaking attention to details and the most craftsmanship skill. A single switchboard of this type, for example, may have more than 2,000,000 separate connections, each of which must be soldered by hand. In operation, the modern switchboard resembles a gigantic loom. As one looks down the board, with scores of pairs of hands moving steadily but unhurriedly, one thinks of the telephone cords and plugs as skeins and shuttles and of the operators as weavers who daily fashion the warp and woof of a nation's wire-borne speech! OBSERVATIONS BY A CONTRIBUTOR THE LOST CHORDS "WHEN I was a boy back home," said a man the other day, while in a reminiscent frame of mind, "I remember my father used to crush up a lot of apples. He put charcoal and straw in the bottom of a 32-gallon keg and poured the apple juice into the container, when it filtered through, to remove the pomace. Later a finer mesh of the burned wood and straw was used to thoroughly clarify the sap, which was then placed securely in an oaken barrel. About two weeks later a peck of good fresh-shelled corn was added as a keeping quality. In the winter time things sort of freeze up back there and along in the spring, after the thaw, when neighbors paid a friendly call, father would go into the cellar and bring up a big pitcherful of the cider. You know," said the narrator, as he paused a moment, thinking of those days of long ago, "everybody seemed happy; so joyful, in fact, that they would lift their voices in song. Really they would become intoxicated with delight, and would render that beautiful ballad, entitled 'Sweet Adeline' with capital effect and full of resonance. Other selections, including 'Down by the Old Garden Gate,' the 'The Vacant Chair by the Fireside' served as encores. But those songs now have been relegated to the realm of things long forgotten. After discussing crop prospects and the news of the day, and while the host would insist on just one more before you go, the guests would depart for their homes feeling glad for having been among those present. Them were the happy days," said the man. THE WORM HAS TURNED A PRESIDENT of a state corporation, who has juggled with other people's money through so-called stock sales, has been convicted in court, charged with violation of the State Corporate Securities act, and will be punished. It is said there are others of the same stripe who are likely to be brought before the bar of justice. GRASS LOOKS GREENER ACROSS THE WAY SPEAKING of divorce and marriage, two well-known movie stars have expressed their opinions about tying and slipping THE WORM HAS TURNED A PRESIDENT of a state corporation, who has juggled with other people's money through so-called stock sales, has been convicted in court, charged with violation of the State Corporate Securities act, and will be punished. It is said there are others of the same stripe who are likely to be brought before the bar of justice. GRASS LOOKS GREENER ACROSS THE WAY SPEAKING of divorce and marriage, two well-known movie stars have expressed their opinions about tying and slipping the matrimonial knot. In this instance the head of the house, with considerable ego, says: "If you can make a garden spot out of a rubbish-filled back lot, you've made a success of life, I think. That's what I've done." But, who filled the back lot with rubbish? How about the mate forsaken? LOSING ITS BLOSSOM ASAD-EYED grandmother, who was testifying as to the age of her granddaughter, who has slipped from the paths of virtue, was asked the whereabouts of the mother. The aged woman heaved a sigh, and as tears bedimmed her eyes, replied: "My daughter left home soon after her baby was born. I don't know where she is." THE GOLDEN GLOBES "ORANGES will bring home the bacon this year," said a well-known eastside grower the other day. "I mean by that, that the price for good fruit will range high. There is a large crop and nothing has happened to injure the trees or fruit this year. There has been no cold weather, and severe winds have not occurred. A good orange grove in this vicinity is just about the best investment that a man can have. Basing his labors on a period of ten years, the industrious grower, the man who is not afraid of work, can realize well on his capital. No doubt Orange county, and particularly the immediate sections in and around Anaheim are unsurpassed to raise good Valencia oranges," said the man, as he gave the limousine the gas. TREAT 'EM ROUGH THE climaxes to some photoplays go awry, or something like that, in the opinion of some movie fans, who sit breathlessly through a performance, only to see the windup, as pictured in their minds, dashed to pieces through what they believe is an inappropriate finish. When a "district attorney," who starts out to cleanup a town, meets a woman supposed to be soiled, but who really is soul pure and, after clashing several times, the heroine horsewhips the reformer during a fit of anger, only to be forgiven later, and when both repent, embrace and shed tears, and later marry, Uncle-Reuben inclines to the idea that that surely must be unadulterated, honest-to-goodness love, and maybe its better it ended that way after all. OVERTURE—DETOUR THEY say in the paper that one thousand high school girls in a big city up the boulevard have organized a club, its object being to abolish petting and spooning, and to furnish young men with copies of their anti-hugging resolutions. A well-known speaker had launched into his theme of existing immoralities and causes thereof, and the speaker stressed the point that the OVERTURE—DETOUR THEY say in the paper that one thousand high school girls in a big city up the boulevard have organized a club, its object being to abolish petting and spooning, and to furnish young men with copies of their anti-hugging resolutions. A well-known speaker had launched into his theme of existing immoralities and of cures therefor, and the speaker stressed the point that the greatest business on earth today is "bringing a child into the world and bringing it up to wholesome, happy and useful maturity." SANCTITY OF THE HOME AN EMINENT attorney was defending a man in court charged with murder. The man, in a fit of anger, had killed a fellow who had betrayed a member of his family. The prisoner was at the bar of justice. The lawyer made an eloquent plea for his client, and painted a word picture of the grief-stricken wife and her children, waiting at the gate leading to their humble abode for the husband and father to come home. The attorney, in his final plea to the jury, asked, "Won't you let him go home?" The man was acquitted. YOO-HOO! LISTEN, GIRLS SUN CULTISM thriving in London has spread its branches to America. The secretary of the Sunlight League of Great Britain declared that this new form of nature fashion will take America by storm in 1926. "Almost nude women with lightly veiled silk sheatings and men garbed in transparent attire will be the popular bathers at all of the fashionable shore resorts this summer," says the secretary. "Maybe the American culturists don't dare go as far as European members of the league, but they can start with back to nature modes step by step, and it won't take long for our American friends to learn the art of bathing in God's own costume. Sleeveless waists, low necks and short skirts revealing the knees will be the proper street attire for members of the sunlight league in America this year. It would be better not to wear stockings at all—but I guess that's asking too much just now." The secretary says that anyone who is ashamed of the human body as God made it is nothing more than a prude. She also declares that women within a very short time will be stronger than men unless the male discards half the clothes he wears.