nmmra wmmmm SIPP »T5T- TMI 7LMHS1T0V AOVAHOX. ~^g^ iB3BBS5aB3 -TMtJn The Quiet Observer ^1 "Waking the £iiq>ire General Smuts is said to have de- clared that the British Empire is dtad. Empires like other entities have their term, and there appears to be a cycle of activity for great nations and little ones, as well as for trees and other plants, elephants and othor animals. The Homan empire, the Grecian, the Babylonian, the Spanish, the Persian and others had their due life. They flourished, rea^-hed a point of maximum strength and then waned. Sometimes they disappeared with startling sud- denness, but more frequently they gradually faded out, occasionally ab- sorbed into later empires, often linger- ing for generations. As long as any- thing has life it continues to grow. When the growth stops the life impulse is failing and the end may come at any moment. In the case of the Brit- ish Empire the vitality of the impe- rial race is notable and its health and growth unmistakeable. If General Smuts were right we might begin to look for the residuary legatee, if we could not discover the heir. In any- thing of this kind Canada will have a great deal to say, and is not likely to Fet the heirlooms leave the family. British traditions are well established here, and the British stock will more and 'more turn to our great Dominion as their ultimate home. Wheat, Hogs, Cheese and Bees An earlj August summary by the provincial department of agriculture in- dicates fall plowing as above the aver- age, with a diversity of opinion about sowing wheat, the depredations of the Hessian fly having modified some ex- pectations. Essex shipped ten carsj)f wheat at *2.50 early in the month and *2.35 was quoted for new wheat later. With wheat at â- $- or over most farmers are willing to risk the pests. Cheese has been varying from 'Si to '.id cents, the bulk around -5 cents. Co-operative trading has been a factor in this and iither lines including live stock. Hogs are becoming attractive to the farm- ers once more, and taking the prov- ince over with prices at from $iy to $21 a cwt., there are few more profit- able ways of turning farm produce into money. Honey continues scarce and foul brood is widely complaiued of. Alpaugh's method has been found a complete success by all the apiarists who adopt it. At" the end of the season, ho takes away all the comb, empties the bees into a new hive with foundation, and feeds them. The wax from the comb more than pays for the foundation and feeding, and foul brood gets no hold. To Popularize an Election Premier Meighcn's speech at Stir- ling dealt so "clearly with obvious ir- sues that hostile critics emphasized his sins of'omissiou rather than of com- mission. Ho said nothing of a general election. Apart altogether from politi- cal or party policies the average man is not interested in a general election. In fact he is rather sick of elections and does not understand the enthusi- asm of the average politician for the polling booth, the shrine of the nation's liberties. He knows that all he can do is to vote, as in the United States, for Cox or Harding, neither of whom has a mind of his own, but only party loyalty, or else for a scapegoat like Debs, with unpredictable results. Everybody knows that the next gen- eral election in Canada, unless some- thing phenomenal happen in the nuan- time, will alter the whole political sit- uation. Those who have nothing to lose are naturally most eager for the fray, but no one is willing to admit that he has nothing to lose. It is still an unsettled question in many minds whether the party system, as of course the party managers believe, is 11 necessity. We have been so long trained to believe that an orthodox opposition w.as inoxspcnsable to a proper government that it is not sur- prising if the politicians are unable to think in terms of another moi.*. It is like asking the ordinary business man to substitute a metric system for his established weights and measures, or the mathematician to abandon his decimal system for the old duodecimal one. One can count or measure by any standard, and do so accurately, al- though some modes are easier than oth- ers. So it is with the party system. There is no neert to fear the result, whatever it may be and whenever a reduction in the cost of living would popularize it. Capital Can Strike Labor has made a specialty of strikes, and it has apparently become .'uch a formidable weapon that labor has felt that it was irresistible when applied where it was felt to be neces- sary. There has been, however, in the opinion of capital, a decided tendency to overdo the promotion or emphasis of the Labor interest to the detriment of the no less essential interest, and it is not surprising that when Labor has made sueh potent use of the strike that capital has discovered the use of the strike also. In a moderate slerd business in one of the smaller Cana- dian cities the staff approached the proprietor recently, and announced that they wanted more wages. They had had four or fi>e increases since the war began, and he told them that the limit had been reached. The fore- man wanted more than the proprietor Mas getting out of the business him- self, and the mone.v gimpl.v wasn't in the turnover. He told the deputation that he had two alternatives for them if they were unwilling to continue on their present basis. He first offered to hand them the ktys and let thtvm run the business themselves, soviet fashion, he being willing to hand it over to them. They" would not agree to this at all. Then, he said, my other alternative is that you get to blazes out of this. Hig raw material cost him four times what it had and an- other rise was in sight. He concluded that with more wages to pay business could not be done. So the plant is locked up, and sits idle. Capital is on strike. The men are looking for work elsewhere. Serious Plague Danger A veij serioua problem is disturBing the minds of medical men and sanita- tion authorities in general. It is the spread of the bubonic plague. It is a far more malignant malady tban small- pox or many other things- of which much fuss is made. We do not happen to have had any outbreak of it in Canada, but if we do the appalling terror of it will make us wish we had taken earlier steps for its prevention. The infection is conveyed by rats and other rodents. The ground squirrels of California are infected and have been for years. Should tho uisease ev»r ac- quire headway, the grippe and influ- enza epidemics will seem sligfit in comparison, and we shall have to go back to the Black Death of 1666 for a parallel. The only means of preven- tion is the utter extermination of all the rats and jquirrels wherever infec- tion is detected. It is chiefly in sea- ports that the danger exists at ^flret, but in a land of internal navigation like Canada or the United States such an epidemic might spread with great rapidity. In Manchuria in 1910 and 1911 50.000 people died of it in three months. Death is usually very rapid in those attacked. There are two vari- eties of symptoms. In India the cases usually assume the bubonic form. In Maurhurio it took a pneumonic form. It is this latter type that is to be feared in the climate of Canada should it ever-gain headway. An Unweklable Third Party Victor Berger, the Socialist leader, candidly admits the failure of the Third Party Convention in Chicago, and gives several reasons. He consid- ers all the thoughtful Labor men to be Socialists and therefore opposed to Samuel Gompers. And he regards the great mistake of the convention to have been in failing to endorse Eu- gene V. Debs. â- •The dissatisfaction of the nation with present conditions, coupled with the enthusiasm of the producing classes, might have elected Debs. To say the least, the present constellation would have given him a vote which would forever have made plutocratic tyranny and Wilsonian au- tocracy impossible in the future. ' ' Thus spoke Mr. Berger, and the sig- nificant part ot his remarks is the iu- dicatiott that Debs is going to recei\o a heavy vote in auy ease. There is not much to interest Canadians yet in the presidential campaign, although the popular impression is that the Re- publican managers have the election :u cold storage already. Ex-Prtsideut Taft is predicting that when llardiiii; is electC'l the League of Nations witfi necessary reservations will be accom- plished. Mr. Cox does not differ great- ly with Mr. Harding on the Leaguf of Nations policy, but if affairs continue in Europe as they are doing there mny be no nations by next March to form a league to please either Mr. Cox or Mr. Harding, and the Bepublicau man- agers will be chiefly to thank for that result. The United States iu Novem- ber may exliibit as unusual a political phenomenon as Outario dij last Octo- ber, but at auy rate we shall kuow al! about it in a little over two mouths. he declared, had only been destroyed to give place to a new imperialism. This is represented by the Uritisb fleet, which Trotsky appears to judge by his experiences at Halifax, where but for the United States government, he woulj have been turned back from Europe. The Baltic Sea, he asserted was but an English gulf. This cor- responds with the colossal ignorance of England attributed to Lema ^y those who have met him. And the ob- ject of the Bolshevists is to subvcr all other authority to their rule. The Empress Eugenie Could there be a more pathetic fig- ure than that of the Empress Eugenie, who died recently at the age of ninety- four, who not long before, in the gar- dens of the Tuilleries, when she picked flowers there, it was the clemency of the gendarmes that permitted "this breach of the regulations in the pre- cincts where she had once reigned as empress. The reputed daughter of the Countess de Montigo, it is stated that she and her sister were really .laugn- ters of old Queen Cristina, consort of King Ferdinand, the issue of a mor ganatic marriage with an EaglisB art- iat named "Ward. This is not improb- able and gains strength from the friendship shown Eugenie on all occa- sions and till the end of her life by Queen Victoria, who was a tremendous stickler for court propriety and court convention. It is not conceivable that Queen Victoria would have made an intimate friend of Eugenie had ner birth not been above suspicion. One is reminded of the old story of the Queen going over a list of 'presenta- tions to be made, with the Lord Cham- berlain. '-Who is this.'" she asked, pointing to the name of a Mrs. Cneese. • • Your Majesty may be sure that she is the very creme de la creme, " was the convincing reply. The gaiety went out of Eugenie's life with the decision of the Franco-Prussian war, for which many people hoM her responsible. The fact is that Bismarck would havje. made a war had she been as unwilling as prudence and common souse eouL! have made her. She had a magnificent and historically an unusual revenge. That she should survive to see the ta- bles turned so completely can searcolv have been imagined by anyone in lS7i. She had to live nearly fifty years to see it, and she prayed haru I'or .t all the time. In 1879 when her son, the Prince Imperial, was killed in the' Af rican war, it made the ••rovunche" seem less possible than ever. Eugenie was boycotted by all the other rovnl- ties, and ao ouo protends that "Xa â- poleon was a faithful husband. And now, after all the fitful fever of her life, all that there is to remember is "The glory of a perfect brow. The shadow of a crown." tn ARY had a pretty bird That had become so tame He'd perch himself upon her hand, And seemed fo know his name Rnd three other bird lovers, Right side down, in grass; upper side (town, along basket; upper right comer down, alwig hair ADJUST THE BRAKE TO INSURE SAFETY Proper Braking Devices Are Es- sential at AH Times Bolshevist Education _ One of Russia's greatest calamities, if not the greatest, is the dcstrui-tion of her educational system. It does not take long for a nation to relapse into barbarism, and the suspension of the schools or w^hat virtually amounts to that, will soon have its effect. All the university students have been drafted into the Ked armies. The soldiers are taught by means of speciall.v prepared literature, but this is far from a uni- versity or even a high school stand- ard. The aim, it is stated, is "'to utilize the period of the -soldiers' serv- ice in the interest of his spiritual de- velopment and to make of him a wor- thy citizen of the Socialist state." But the itiuerant militarism of the Red army is no condition for the foun- dation of real learning and wisdom, though individuals may here and there gain much by their experience. What may bo expected of the mess is indi- cated in Trotsky's speech to the .\11- Russian Cetitral Executive Committee of the Moscow Soviet, whore he di- lated on the new aims made clear by the great war. German Imperialism. MADE $8,SOO,000 IN EIGHT MONTHS How Were the Pyramids^Built A new theory of the construction of the pyramids has been advanced by a Calcutta engineer. None of the ' oh\ theories have been generallv accept. -d. the usual one being that g"reat ramp« were built up, while the blocks were hauled and put in place. The new theorist points out that the pvramids were originally coated over "with a smooth casing, a highly polished sub- stance, very thick and verv hard, like Portland cement. It was "stripped off the Great Pyramid in 1357 ajid used to construct a mosque, where it is still to be seen. The new theorv is that this coating was laid on as the courses were built, and that over thi< smooth surface the subsequent block* were hauled on rollers with ropes These ropes or fibrous cables, about three-quarters of a mile long, would have re.|uired much less work to make the ramps of older theories. At the same time it must not be forgotten that among the many thousands of sjieci mens of sculpture work on stone, do pu-ting every possible aspect of earlv Egyptian life and manv historical events, which have been " e.xecavated not one has come to light depicting' any phase in the construction of the pyramids â€" one of the most colossal works ever undertaken by mankin,, in that or auy subsequent an-e. " It is well known that the EgyptFans arrived in Egypt from elsewhere and at once established a civilization which thev must have transplanted from else- just as the first American colonists did from Europe. Some sav thev came from ancient -Atlantis, now be- ing investigated by the Smithsoniai. Institute. They say nothing of the construction of the Great Pvramid, which they imitated on a smaller scale because, it is suggested, it was then' before they came. It mav be some time yet before the mysterv is solved of the monument mentioned iu Isaiah xix: 19, to which a date of 7S,000 years ago has been assigned bv ori- ental authorities. Brakes are the only safety device on the motor car and when it is con- sidered that faulty or improperly ad- justed brakes can be quickly correct- ed and made to function properly, it is ofttimes criminal negligence to al- I low them to go unattended to. I In case brakes are not working prop- I erly, it is very likely that they have 1 become coated with oil or grease, which j acts as a lubricant. This condition Is dangerous, for it may oause the brakes to slip when applied. At the earliest opportunity the lining and brake drum should be wiped clean with koroseuc. The brake lining may have become worn so that insufficient pressure is brought to bear against the revolving metal drum and the car cannot bc stopped quickly. A few adjustments which any mechanic can make while you wait, will often comp'eusate for the reduced thickness of the worn ii«- ing. If the lining has become woru bfyouu the margin of safety, it is best to take no chances, but to have the brakes relined. In the selection of new brak* lining the motorist should be gaided by the experience of the lead- ing automotive engineers, who have made numerous analyses and tests oi various kinds of brake lining mate- rials. The wise motorist is satisfied not alone in being able to drive a car, but thankful that he can stop it. lit valu-.'s a smooth, short stop no less than he appreciates a quick, easy getaway. Watch your brakesâ€" -enjoy groat com fort and safety. And while brakes are vital in i'ne safe operation of a car, they shouUl noi be used any more than necessary, in. best way to avoid brake troubles is to use the motor as much as possieie ns a brake on the hills. If you are j;o- ing down a steep hill put the car in second and let the motor hold it back. If the hill is very steep, get into low and slide down. If vou have never tried this you do not realize what power there is in the motor to hold the car back. It is safer and greatly pro- longs the life of your brakes. THE CARE ^ AND FFEDINGi OF CHILDREN By ELINOR MLRRAY Registered Accordir^g to Copyright Act. â-²sraelmc to pay SO per c«nt on all monty loaavd to him for 9i> imy; Cliarlea Poari, former Bos- ton T«8t«unuit dtshwa«ber, is ertdltMi with ksTtng made elsbt aBd «M-h*l( niUlon dollars In eiakt moBtha. Now UbcI« Sam is iBTNtiSBtlBC â€" bnt can find only that Foasl manipulated foreign •orakaBS* ooup«ns. Meanwhile PoBii SBllea and enjoys bis wealth. War Pictures on View, .Mr. Paul Konody. the London art critic who was given charge of the war memorial collection of pictures, is "1 Toronto in connection with the ex- ..ibition of war pictures at the great exhibition. The north and northwct w-ings of the Vine Arts Building and also the temporary gallery erected last year will be occupied with Cau.v dian war pictures. In the eastern wing of the gallery will be found a collection of Canadian pictures. -Vll the war pictures are exhibited for the iirst time in Canada and constitute the final instalment of the Canadian i.ovornment s graphic pictorial record of the war.^ The usual photographic crhibition in the Graphic Arts Biiil.i mg will bo as beautiful and attractive as ever, and the new director. F S ilaines, has secured a fine collection of etchings and designs from Grr-^t .-ritain anj the I'nitea States, which will prove a feature. The fisheries of the three Prairie Provinces produce annually fish to the value of two million doll.i'rs. Whitefish occupies tlrst place. It abounds in ne.irly aW the northern and western lakes. The loneer von fnK\ a dried frait the sweeter it will be. ENGLISH PORK PIES. Cut into small pieces lean fros'- pork, with a little fat. and s.'asou highly with salt and pcpprr, nn 1 two ounces and a half of salt, in all of the original Knglish recipes availaLe, ;age is prescribed as seasoning but ii.vmo or marjoram may bo substiM*- cd. Six fresh sage leaves, or level t.Tb!espoonful of the dried and pow- dered, is right for three pniunds of pork. The mixture is put into pastry shells, covered with an upper crust of paste, and the pies are baked b.v long, slow, cooking in a not over-hot oven. They may need two hours, or until, when the point of a skewer is thurst into them through the crust, the meat is found to he quite soft. Meantime bones and trimmings of pork arc stewed down in a very little water until the liquid jells when cold, and a little of this is poured into the crust. STEWED KIDNET. One good sized beef kidne,v, warm water, 2 thin slices onion: p>cp>picr and salt to taste, V-j teaspoon mustard, 1 tablesp>oon fiour. Wash the kidney and cut into small cubes, being careful to remove all the fat. Tarboil for lo minutes, remove from the water and dry. Grease a frying pan with a bit of the fat, enter the kidney and allow it to brown. Then cover it with warm water, add the onion and let cook in a double boiler for four hours. Then add the pepper, salt and mustard and thicken the gravy with the Hour. Serve hot with tippets of toast in ramekin dishes or scalloped shell. Elinor Murray is anxious to help every motier solve her problems in connection with the care and feeding of children. Thousands of mothers all over Canada bave bene- litted by lier advice and encour- agement. Anyone who is desirous of receiving information on this subject should write to Elinor Murray. 515 Manning Chambers, Toronto, and the questions will be answered in these columns. Those desiring a personal reply must en close a stamped envelope. (139 ASK TO "SHOOT" ( H1AGARA|N A BOAT Many Answer Movie Company Advertisement Think of going over Niagara Falls in a houseboatl Death came to Charles George Ste- vens when he tried to nde the 158-foet cataract in a barrel. Yet 139 husky young men have gone on record as being ready to try the stont in a houseboat. An advertisement appeared recently in one of the New York daily news- papers eaHing for a man to go over Niagara Falls in a houseboat tor a motion picture film. The reward of- fered was $1,000. The producer ex- pected that possibly five men might ap- ply. Imagine his astonishment when 139 applicants put in an appearance. .â- Vmong them was Allan Law, krother of Buth and Rodman Law. Majority ex-Army Men. The majority of those who applied were ex-service men who were over- seas. Having faced German bullets in France, they said they were more than willing to attempt Niagara i"^lls for a thousand dollars. Another interest- ing fact was that the average age of the applicants wag 23 years. Only a few were over 25. The oldest appli- cant was 4b years of age. Practically every nationality was represented, and among them were two men who did not know what Niagara Falls is. L'pon being informed and beinc shown pictures of the falls, one of them backed out. Of all who ap- plied, this man and one other were the only ones who resigned. Another interesting applicant was Frank Dupree, newspaper correspond- ^ ent, who made the nr«t long distanet aeroplane flight in 1913 from Dover England, to Cologne. Germany, y Most of 'Em After Money. ' When asked the reasons for seek ing so hazardous a job, the majority i said "money.'' Others were lured by \ the chance for adventure. Practically I all were fatalists, who did not for a I moment consider the risk. Another ; interesting feature was the fact that I among them were four bank clerks, j three security salesmen and one life j insurance salesman. I A specially constructed houseboat { was made to be used. It inciuiies tne j compartment and bulkhead eonstrnc- i tion principle used in lifeboats and the hulls of ocean liners. Tests of the craft show that its scientific construc- tion has reduced to a minimum the risk incurred by the daredevil who rides over the falls. Stevens, who lost his life in a barrel- try at the stunt, was ^t barber in Eng- land, where his wife and eleven chil- dren live. He has made parachute drops, high dives and similar feats j man ytimes. He used to put his head j in a lion 's mouth in a circus. I But the question now is â€" will the mo- ti'.'!i picture stunt be cailed off TRAVBIilNG WITH CHILDEEN The very small bab.v needs sj^eci.i; attention when taking a railway jour ney. He can make his mother's lift a burden for the hours or days he is on the train. When the journey is a matter of days preparations should be started long beforehand, so that the mother will not be too tired before she starts on the trip. A tired mother usu- ally means a fretful baby. I remember seeing baskets made after the style of the old telescope va- lise â€" the half of such a basket seems to be a splendid arrangement for baby 's bed. Best assured if he has to depend uii his mother's arms for a resting place he is going to be a cross baby. Put the clean clothes for baby in the bottom of whatever kind of bed you manufacture, and a piad over them to make a mattress. A small pillow to put under his head, a light cover to throw over him when sleepiing, a piece of veiling to leep cinders away, and a bottle of cooled boiled water, very eightly corked, should all have n pmct in the basket. When he gets restless give him r drink of water and lay him down in his bed. He will go to sleep: and, if he is still sleeping at a time when you must change cars or leave the train, it is as easy to carry him in the basket as any way. If not too warm, put a thin bonnet on baby when he sleeps; and place tiny will make the surroundings more quiit pads over the ears if you think it and like his accustomed sleeping place. If the bab.v is old enough and cunning enoi-jrh to attract the attention of fe! low passengers, you may have trouble Some people think they are giving th> mother a rest when the.v take her baby for a while, but as a general rule they talk to him, and jump him up and down i>r give him tastes and sips of fruit or cand.v, until the child is quite 'ipset. It ma.v take courage on your part to refuse these friendly advances, but it will be easier on you in the end, and it can give no offense what- ever to intelligent people. " By William Willing. After long resisting the temptations held out by the motion picture, George Arliss, one of the most distinguished actors of the stage, has succumbed. He will be presented by Anarew .). Callaghan Productions in an elaborate film version of "The Devil" In th\- stage play .\rliss scorcii his first grm success. Miss Ann and Master Michael Cu dahy, children of the noted Cudahy family of packers, have done so well in Monroe S?alisbury "s new play that they may be exploited as stars under his guidance. In the production of the two-reel pictures starring Tom Santschi, some observers see support for the predic- tion of one of the screen's most noted directors, that the da.v is passing wh(<n five reels will bo arbitrarily regarded as the necessarv length of a feature film. Lew Cody's third special production for Robertson-Cole has been titled "Occasionallv Yours." In the cast of "Twin Beds." the Carter de Haven comedy production which Lloyd Ingraham has directed. William Desmond, the well-known star, maintains his reputation as a li^ijt comedy actor to high advantage. For the first time since she became a star, Mabel Normand is pla.ving a dual role in her new Goldwyu picture, "What Happiened to Kosa." HINTS FOR DECORATORS Each piece of furniture should be selected, first, to meet a definite need: second, to harmonize with its surround- ings. The costliest furnishings lost much of their beauty when viewed against walls and floors of the wrong tones and colors. -•Vn effect of spaciousness can be pro duced in a small house by the use of similar wall treatments iu adjoining rooms. If the house is fo be made a home, its furnishings must reflect the per sonal tastes and activities of its occu- pants. The greater part of the tire insur- ance in Canada is held by British com- panies. The net amount at risk is t4.904.396,000. of which <i2,559,022,0O0 are covered by British policies. Fatty Arbuckle having finished ' " The Traveling Salesman," will next be the pivot of a film version of "Brewster's Millions," with Betty Ross Clark as leading woman. At the conclusion of his current contract with Vitagraph, Larr.v Semon will probably form his own produciI^c organization and release his pictures through First National or United Art- ists (the Big Four). HOW TO WASH WINDOWS BAPrOLT A professional house cleaner ence told me how to wash my windows easi- ly and rapidly. Use a piece of chamois skin about 15 to IS inches square. I'se warm water, wring out the chamois lightly, and wash over the window. Then wring the chamois out of water until as dry as possible, and rub over the window. This will take off all moisture and there will be no lint left. The windows will shine, and once tried. you will never wsish your windows by the old way. \ substitute for imported edible gelatine is being made from a sea- Iweed in the Philippines,