The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 48

EDITORIAL PAGE OF THE BEE THE FRESN'O BEE SUNDAY OCTOBER 3 1937 Shadows Lurk Great Growth Of Cities -Is Marking Scheme In America Taking Inventory Of Fire Hazards Challenge To All mors than 100000 for which it 78 To other words in the modern American city there are only three fourthe enough births to sustain the population at its existing level She therefore must drsw unto herself the difference from rural ares These are common tense rules and a checkup now may save an expensive f-re later for fires are expensive both to the Individual and also to the community Tha greater number of fires the higher the insurance rate Tha reverse also follows and beeides Jhere la the menace to life and the property of others which may be caused if a fire starts There are many other things which should be checked not just once a year although that helpsi but constantly Piles of rubbish should not bs allowed to accumulate Greasy rags carelessly thrown Into corners i 1 tV fire Basements clogged with assortments of odds and ends offer fertile spreading points to mention only a few of the hazards the city type of liv lng has built up It la a good thing to have on week when these and other dangers are stressed when the conn- munlty unites against a common foe and becomes firs hazard con- scloua But valuable as such an object lesson is Its teachings must be carried on throughout the year and by every one Then a united front against firs end its west end byproduct horrors will bo achieved The epochmoking change that taken pliH In the manner of life oT the American people In the last 100 year receives itrik-jrg llluatration In report recently made to President Roosevelt fcy the National Resource committee of which Secretary lekea of the Interior department chairman The report polrte ont that when the conetitution wee adopted there wae not in thl country city with 60000 people: that It wae not until 1820 that the 100000 mark wa exceeded and not until 1830 that any American city could claim 1000009 Inhabitant Today approximately one third of the entire population live In citiea having more than 100000 people When the fint censua waa taken ver 85 per cent of the American people lived under rural condition moet of them directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture Tn 1050 the laat census 793 per cent reaided in urban area and depended on aome form of industry for their livelihood In municipal governments alone L250000 men and women were employed or one out of every thirty persons so classified In the entire country Unemployment also Is revealed to have been concentrated in the citiea In 1935 one fifth of all those getting relief were Inhabitants of the ten largest communitlea On thin point the report saya: The municipal worker is subject to continuing unem-1 ployment for the town is the 1 workshop of an Industrial so-j cietv and the nerve center of 1 the commercial organism Moreover he lacks the reserves of shelter and subsistence Meantime the citiea draw steadily on the population of the rural districts because the birth rate varies Inversely with the eize of the community If the figure 1 Is taken to represent the population that duplicates Itself the report shows the figure for tha rural areas Is 164 for towns between 2500 and 10000 Ml and so forth up to cities of man is reported to have declared the bombings would continue hut that only military objectives would bs bombed And yet ths Associated Press reported of Canton: Observers said the bombers had not damaged a single government building or military establishment in Canton crowded tenements of Nanking Shanghai Canton and other Chinese citiea from tha rain of death that falla on them from the skies Hera Is an Associated Press description of ths bombing of Canton which tells the story: Uncounted corpses Uttered the streets after a aeriea of bombings which apparently surpassed in destructive effect anything Nanking or Shanghai had felt Eyewitnesses were appalled at the extent of tha slaughter They told of seeing weeping women and children searching for lost relatives and of thousands roaming the streets bewildered or deranged by anguish and terror Nearly all the victims were civilians most of them refugees huddled in pitiful camps In Shanghai a Japanese spokes Pioneer Days In Fresno County Benito Mussolini has been exchanging personal confidences with his friend and ally Adolf Hitler Ths ceremonies and hurrah surrounding tha visit of 11 dues to tha home land of der fuehrer are being made the most of to advertise to the rest of Europe how blessed and strong la the tie that binda the two dictators and Inddently to suggest to all and sundry outsiders how unfortunate It win for any who dare to Interfere with their- plana Tha might of tha new armed Germany is paraded before the eyes of Benito but ft is obvious the Idea went further than that all European nations also were let in on the show so they might be properly impressed with war machine But how much of sincere trust exists between either the two despots or their immediate entourage Is another question No German possibly can forget that Italy was a member of the pre war Triple Alliance solemnly pledged to go to the aid of Austria and Germany In case of a war But when called on to fulfill those pledges in 1914 the Italian Government found one excuse or another for evading them And two years later Italy actually joined forces with the Allies to assist in the final defeat of her own pre war associates Today the reasons that compelled Italy to break her word with Germany and Austria In 1914 to join ths Allies In 1916 still are operating And expanding Germany which will absorb Austria and extend her influence down through the Bal-lutns is just as much a menace to Italian power and prestige today as it was then The old Mlttel-European dream waa a nightmare to pre war Italian statesmen Its revival will be just as joyfully embraced by their successors There is a fundamental clash between the aims and interests of tha two countries that no amount of palavering can bridge So the present lavish display of their friendship is mors ostensible than it is sincere And in the mind of each of the smiling and bowing dictators is ths question of which can outsmart ths other in ths final analysis apparently contented and their condition obviously Approximately 2700 natives were aid to bs on ths farm at this time One of ths most outstanding Indians of ths reservation at this period was Chief NIackawa of tha Houaches Tribe At that time there were but sixteen members of tha tribe allvs although once they were one of tha most numerous of the southern tribes Niackawa was ths great chief of the Chuchaucees Chowchillas Potoeuciea and ths Foonnochees which formerly Inhabited tha broad range between ths Chow-chilla and tha Sen Joaquin Rivers and was known as on of tha few Indians who could speak ths language of an tribes from Stockton to ths Tulare Lakes He waa more than six feet in hight powerful In body and said to bs exceedingly graceful In his movements Bumble Bee also of tha reservation was a great or magician of his tribe and was feared and respected by all of ths Indiana Ha was noted for his dancing during which hs would jump stiff legged and twist his body in movements worthy of an India rubber man Lame Bill limping on a deformed leg which gave him hia sobriquet was another of tha native characters on ths farm BUI New Shared (By Lucy larcom) I said it on the meadow path I say it on ths mountain stairs Tha best things any mortal hath Are thou which every mortal hares Tha air ws breathe ths sky ths breeze The light without us and within Life with its unlocked treasuries riches are for all to win Tha grass is softs? to my tread For res it yields unnumbered feet: Sweeter ta me the wild roes red Because she makes ths whole world sweet Into your heavenly loneliness Ye welcomed me solemn peaks! And in every guest you bless Who reverently your mystery seeks And up the radiant peopled way That ens into unknown It will be delight to say "Heaven ia not heaven for me Business men usually have a time of year to taka Inventory when they spend all the working day and sometimes labor far into the night counting this and that preparatory to discovering whether the year's figures will be in red or black Now fire prevention authorities of Vesno are asking that women and children join the men in a slightly different inventory hut one which also will keep out the red of fire Fire Prevention Week will be observed here beginning today and continuing through October 9th a time when every one la asked to take inventory of the fire hazards of every day life and do everything pouible to reduce them What are the chief hazards to ha inspected and corrected? Fire Marshal A Moors lists them as follows: Roofs chimneys cooking appliances and electrical fixtures Hs said: All chimneys should be examined to see no cracks have appeared and each should ha thoroughly cleaned No gas stoves heaters or furnaces should be operated without being properly vented and no heating or cooking appliances should be used without proper pipe connections Fight To A million Chicago citizens recently were sent ths following question by stats and city health authorities: In strict confidence and at no expense to you would you like to bs given by your own physician a blood test for syphilis? A preliminary report was that 95 per cent of the million persona responded with But that waa not the only way In which Chicago dragged the syphilis ghost out of ths closet where it has been hidden for far too many years An airplane called attention to the drive The National Youth Administration cooperated by organizing a children's crusade The Chicago Medical Society threw Its 5000 members Into the warfare end members of ths cooks and pastry chefs union showed tha way by agreeing Its members an overseer of on of tha harvest quads was a one time horse thief who would tell with exuberance of his marauding raids on ranches in ths valley A formidable warrior on the reservation was Bafelista chief of ths Merced tribe who succeeded In routing troope In one of the native skirmishes with whites In 185L He later visited at Stockton and San Francisco determine the numbers and strength of the American people" A thrilling episode in th Ilfs on ths reservation was the native dance staged at times la tha evenings around a hugs firs of brush and faggots Ths dancers daubed from head to foot with mixed paint and earth adorned themselves with feathers beads' bones and other articles before beginning their weird gyrations The men wore no clothing except a breech cloth and the women wore loose fitting gowns with beads fastened about their necks and ears Many of the Indians had a pises of bone about two inches long and almUar to a pipe stem pierced through th csrtt-lege of th nose Then began the dance during which as recorded by an early observer "these mad devils leaped and danced howling shrieking whistling singing as they went The women kept up ths wild chant to which ths dancers moved and occasionally two or three of th Rich in my brethren's poverty! Such v-salth were hideous! I am blest Only in what they share with me In what I share with all tha rest The Stable (By White) Here is the drowsy buzz of flies Ths bleating of a wakeful calf Grey miet without lantern gleam That shows the flying duet of chaff A dry chain rattling through a ring The strong sweet tang of warm hone flesh The lowing of a beast that scents The breath of dean cool and fresh The snuffle of an unweaned foal Deep sleep the smell of aa when Long since great kings came to adore And in the straw there knelt wise men Citiea uniformly contain more women than men they have higher suicide rate far more murders and crimes against property but curiously enough a much larger percentage of church attendance Cities have more tuberculosis venereal diseases epidemic malar dies alcoholism drug addiction paralysis insanity heart disease and ranrrr but tha expectation of life is greater than in the rural areas due to better organized public health services It is tha conclusion of the commission that the upward curve of city population will continue and that if The city fails America fail for the criteria of success which our contemporary society cherishes are predominantly those of an urban civilization And 'it further remarks: Most American cities have a facade which turns out to be a false front They are adorned at the center as if for publio display But behind the front are hidden the shambles the slums and the depressing scenes of decay filth and disorder It is against these that the modern city must fight it is declared if our civilization is to continue to enrich human life Charlie Chaplin saya he is going to make another picture In a year or so The poor fellow must be about ready to pais out from over work Thus far no Incident grave enough to provoke a war has occurred In Europe But he par tlent They are all trying hard Baba Ruth la reported to have taken to writing poetry Going from bat to verse it seems The hide of Wally killer elephant is on exhibition In the Flclshhacker Zoo In Ban Francisco Wonder If the sags of Palo Alto baa been there to see the remains? nessee began soon after his graduation from tha United States Military Academy an active military career which Included campaign! of tha Black Hawk War the Seminole War and varied frontier experience Hia military appointments which began as a brevet second lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry in July 1823 embraced: Fint lieutenant May 1829 captain November 1836 brevet major September 1E46L The latter appointment waa for gallant and meritorious conduct and valiant action during tho conflicts at Monterey Mexico Hs later served at ths siege of Vera Cruz in ths city of Mexico in 1848 and on duty at Monterey California in 1849 Fort Miller waa named in honor of this distinguished man by lieutenant Tredwell Moore a junior officer under General Miller and evidently a great admirer of hia superior who had been directed to thia territory with a detachment of troope to aid in quelling Indian disturbancei Gold a continual cause of strife and mishap in the early fifties is referred to by-many historians as being responsible for the founding of Fort Miller the only United States military poet In the Sen Joaquin Valley excluding Fort Tejon In tha Tehachapl Mountains rosy hue Then in a wailful choir the email gnats mourn Among the river sallows borne aloft Or sinking aa the light wind lives or dies And full grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn The red breast whistles from a garden croft And gathering swallows twitter In the skies Lazarus Walks At Noon By Lljyd Frankcnberg In The North American Review) I came then into the cool blue garden air That never on my checks it seemed had olown And on my eyea the first bllni light was known And ca my can the clear new sound wae there Yet alwavj the voices grass and leaf and thin Voice of the linnet in the heaven tree And all toe living day was asking me New Brutality When Attila king of the Huns marched into Northern Italy It frequently was hia custom after capturing a city to put the entire population to tha sword Today his name 1s a synonym for ruthlessness and murder Yet one doubts anything he or his savage crew of barbarians ever did surpassed la ferocity and aheer brutality the atrocities that Japan la now inflicting on China In the sacred name of civilization men gave notice of their approach and sometimes their intended victims could escape But there is no escape for ths hordes of helpless women end children huddled together in tha In the year preceding ths founding of the fort prospectors already had entered ths district and engaged in several skirmishes with natives during which several whits men wars killed Troops both federal and under tha authority of tho governor succeeded in ths Spring of 1851 In gathering soma 1500 Indians on the little flat by the river a mile above Rootville later to become Millerton tha first county seat This was accomplished by persuasion of arms and by gifts of beef and flour Thera United States Indian Commissioner George Barbour began a seventeen day successful peaca treaty negotiation During tha session a log building was erected to house the troops and named Camp Barbour in honor of the commissioner Despite the signing of the treaty further trouble waa anticipated with ths Indians and in May 1851 a military post was established at the sits of the camp A group of adobe and wooden buildings were erected in presidio style around a central parade grounds Lieutenant Moors' was the first officer In charge of the fort No serious Indian trouble arose again until ths Indian War In Tulare County in 1856 when reinforcements were sent from the fort which was evacuated by would submit to tests to eliminate a possible source of infection Dr Reuben Kahn left hia University of Michigan post to direct tha campaign and to supervise teste using extract of beef heart to product the telltale precipitation In syphilitic blood Ths Chicago campaign against syphilis Is notable because it has brought twentieth century forces ef publicity work Into ths fight but other cities and other states ara doing on a more quiet scale what Chicago has tackled with logan and airplanes carrying banners And a short time ago ths word was not spoken In polite society It is refreshing to see tha enthusiasm which baa been dominant in ths fight against syphilis sines America sensibly dragged it out in public put It in one corner of a squared ring put on the gloves and took ths other corner for a fight to the finish By Brown Maloney Of Tha Baa Editorial Staff men would break from th circle and dart howling right through th firs" A habit among th Indians of th period which would terrify a modern mother waa their manner of caring for their bablea and youngsters The infanta were either packed In close grass baskets in which only an open specs was left for th head or were left to roll around on the ground always In a stats of nudity They appealed to thrive on the treatment however Memories of three aboriginice contented in tha majority In their new homes provided by the white man will be recalled With historical Interest long after the total extinction of many of the tribes till living in ths hills of tha county And whst of Fort Miller and Millerton? Ths former unecathed by tha many early day floods both largo and small dua to its distance from ths river and the latter always touched by high water and with many homes washed away In tha avalanche flood of 1867 soon will bs settled to their final rest beneath th lake waters to bs formed with the building of Frlant Dam It will be a sorry finish for ths birthplace of Fresno County end th sit of such famous historical landmarks The Celestial Passion (By Richard Watson Gilder) -O white and midnight sky! starry bath Wash me in thy pure heavenly crystal flood Cleanse me ye stars from earthly soil and scath Let n-t onj taint smaln in spirit or blood! Receive myeoul ye burning awful deeps Touch and baptise with ths mighty power That In ye while ths dark planet sleeps Make me all yours for on blest secret hour! glittering host! high sngelle choir! Silence each ton that with thy music 'ara Fill me even as an urn with thy white fire Till all I am Is kindred to tha tare! Make is thy child thou Infinite holy Bo shall my days bs full of heavenly light What possible excuse can Japan give for these unspeakable acts? What military objectives are to be gained by such wholesale and unnecessary murder of non combatants Japan has lost any claim to recognition as a nation Her armies In China are setting a standard for inhuman savagery that would make a Genghis Khan or an Attila blush with envy of them canvas two or three being shops and the majority of them drinking saloons end billiard and population is Mexican or the lowest class of whites and on this day they seemed to bo given up entirely to dissipation" These examples do not serve however to piece Millerton In that category to which she rightfully a seriously Independent small pioneer community boasting of all those trades and businesses which point to her being at her hight a model settlement The ghost of Millerton can boast of newspapers hotels tha most famous of these being the hostelry operated by Ira McCray and George Rlvercombe who arrived In Millerton In 1854 grocery stores butcher shops a blacksmith shop and numerous other i enterprises Surely a spectacle of its time and a vivid memory to those pioneers who Journeyed through Its fertile fields during the fifties was ths Fresno Indian Reservation established by the government on the Fresno River some eighteen miles from Millerton Known also as the farm the reservation was chronicled by a newspaper published in 1858 as having 700 acres In grain looking finely A large number of Indians ara upon tho place many of them at work ditching carting Old And Could leave and through what door To Jeanne (By A Newberry Choyce) And when you' search through wounded France To find tho cross that marks my rest I think the gross will hear you come And tell it to my eilent breast So for a moment In my Bleep A smile around my lips shall move And bil my soul be near To -whisper to you of my love To tell your heart how eafe I lie And dream my dreams all through -the years And you' will still your aching grief FOr fear you hurt me with your' tears So shall I wait In perfect rest My gladdest dream until you pose To know that even death must hear Your loving footfall in the grass Curiously enough and perhaps unknown to many persons ths man for whom Fort Miller and Millerton were named and who is mentioned whenever one speaks ef the pioneer days in Fresno County never visited cither during his lifetime In fact Major General Albert Miller a Weft Point graduate of 1832 and known throughout bis Ufa as a vigorous and fearless man never came closer to the sites which to this day honor his asms than ths city of Benicia where hs served as commander of tha United States Army Post from 1850 to 1852 Recorded In ths archives of the war department the only detailed account of tha life of this outstanding early day soldier is to bs an only too brief recurd of ths swashbuckle career of a pioneer warrior and leader One has only to reed this record filling In imagination ths gaps overlooked by history books to visualize an account of his Ufe which ended on December 7 1852 at tbs Benicia Barracks It is to be doubted that many men lived a more thrilling life and gave more service to hia country than thia patriot who died at tbs age of 49 General Miller a native of Ten To Autumn (By John Keats) Ssason of mists and mellow fruitfulness Close bosom friend of the maturing sun Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round tha thatch leaves run To bend with apples the mossed cottage trees And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core the gourd and plump the -1 sheila eet kernel to set bud-ore ire later flowers for "think warm days will cease ier has o'er brimmed -anelr clammy cells jf where are the songs of Spring? Ay where are they? Think not of them thou hast thj music too While barred clouds bloom the ro'i j'ine day And touch the stubble plains with i troops shortly thereafter Troops returned to tha post during ths Civil War but it was abandoned in 1866 and Its buildings sold Ths last duty of tho troops stationed there was to maintain order in Merced and Fresno Counties where talk of secession from the Union was prevalent Soldiers stationed at the fort journeyed for their entertainment to Millerton which In the first few years or her existence was said to have enjoyed a lively if not hilarious existence plus the usual lawlessness of a frontier mining town Interesting highlights of these days are to ha found recorded by historians and In newspapers of tho period One of these referring to the laxity of public officials said county officials and ths officers and men at Fort Miller had a very agreeable time with Millertonltes and everything waa conducted In a loots devil may cars sort of a style County court was adjourned on day to give ths jury an opportunity to attend a horse race and the board of supervisors would adjourn twenty times a day in order to go and take a Rev Ingraham Kip Episcopal bishop of California who passed through Millerton enroute to Fort Miller in October 1855 wrote of the village ms "consisting of some twenty houses most Through What Door? (By Adelaida Love) In this hall of a thousand doors I stand bewildered Through which of these through which of these is she fled Who was here beside ms only moment since With song on her mouth and a golden light on her head? She was gone ftom me before I could senes her going Who never left me before who wae always near Tha lovely companion the most to be desired Whom all mar hold unutterably dea- This much I it waa not' through' tha door of sorrow She fled nor! the portal of pain but her -withdrawal Was trackless as any sinking of 'the moon Or ring of flocks toward warmer kies in the Fall Though I should beat on eaca door in turn imploring Her to pppear cite would come fort'i no mere I am left to puzzle how youth so soundlessly Selected Poetry rP Where have you been Lazarus where have you been? The locust crept like blood beneath the skin Passing unseen between the legs of grass And like the pulse of conscience was hie rain Lazarus where have you been where have you been? It was as If the wind tha wandering skies The gravies and the locust held their breath And sight and sound and time and life and death Lay like coins upon my open eyes Chartless (By Emily Dickenson) I never saw a moor I never saw the sea Yet know I bow the heather looks And what a wave must be I never spoke with Gcd Nor visited in heaven: Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given 1 1 Sz i i.