procedure. Idaho has by its Legislature already acted in advance of the announcement of the Amendment, which will make certain the existence of the proper election machinery for the election in November, 1914, of a Senator to succeed Senator Brady, who has just recently been elected by the Legislature of the State to fill the unexpired term, ending March, 1915, of the late Senator Hepburn. The Legislature of Idaho meets only every two years, and if this action had not been taken at this time there would have been no legal provision for the election of a Senator in the fall of 1914, with the result that after the next Legislature had acted there would arise the alternative, after March 4, 1915, of the State's being without one of its Senators, or the calling of a special election to provide for his election under the Amendment. By the terms of the Amendment the Executive of a State may be empowered to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election. He could not appoint a Senator to fill a vacancy, as is the now prevailing custom, unless the State had passed the necessary statute, making its election laws conform to the Amendment. In some of the States, such, for instance, as Wisconsin and Georgia, where by State legislative action Senators are now nominated by the primary, but necessarily formally elected by the Legislature following the action of the primary, the only statutory change that will be necessary will be that eliminating the provision for the election by the Legislature and substituting a proper certification to the election board for the placing of the name of the nominee on the regular election ballot.

The United States and Guatemala

The recent request of Guatemala to the United States to intercede between Guatemala and her creditors brings up once more the relations between this country and those south of us which are affected by the Monroe Doctrine. The situation is not at all unlike that which was so satisfactorily dealt with in the case of Santo Domingo. Guatemala is a debtor country; and in Great Britain large quantities of Guatemalan bonds are held as against this debt. These bonds, which amount to about ten million dollars, have been outstanding for something like eighteen years, but repeated attempts to obtain payment either of principal or of interest have failed. Great Britain

naturally has been pressing upon Guatemala the need of a settlement; and lately there have been intimations that drastic action might be taken which perhaps means that Great Britain might wish to take possession of the custom-houses in Guatemala and pay herself out of the proceeds. Nothing is clearer than that the United States does not propose through any interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine to aid South American countries in avoiding their just obligations. On the other hand, we stand ready, as in the case of Santo Domingo, to undertake such a control of the financial situation as will put matters on a satisfactory basis with the foreign country involved, provide the extension of the debt in a reasonable way, and very probably at the same time improve the domestic financial situation in the debtor country. This is precisely what we did in Santo Domingo, with the result that turmoil ceased, that danger of foreign intervention vanished, and that the country was put on its feet in a most surprising manner. The fixed American policy of not allowing foreign countries to obtain anything like permanent control of territory does not in the least mean that foreign creditors shall be prevented from receiving their just due; and the sooner it is understood in the South American countries that the United States stands for justice and not for support against honorable claims, the better it will be for all parties involved. A firm and strong as well as just treatment of the matter is what should be expected from our Government, in accordance with precedents already set.

The Balkan Situation

回

Four interesting things have

happened as regards the Balkan situation. First, there has been

a cessation of war, due to the armistice agreed upon by Turkey on the one side and the Balkan allies on the other. Second, the peace terms proposed by the Powers and modified by them have been accepted by the allies. Third, the arbitration of the Powers between Rumania and Bulgaria has awarded the town of Silistria to the Rumanians, perhaps with as much reason as the Powers awarded the town of Skutari, now held by the Montenegrins, to the Albanians. The fourth event concerns Skutari. The Montenegrins have not evacuated it, but it looks as if they would evacuate it, if we may believe King Nicholas's despatch last week to Sir Edward Grey, who presides over the Conference of

representatives of the Powers at London. "My dignity and that of my people do not allow me to submit to isolated orders," said the King. "I therefore place the destiny of Skutari in the hands of the Great Powers." "Isolated orders" refers, of course, to Austria's "orders." Austria has hypnotized the other Powers into demanding that, with an offset of equal value elsewhere, Montenegro shall relinquish Skutari. The Montenegrin monarch may have concluded that, as a war between him and the Powers would be, of course, absurd, he must perforce ultimately yield to their decision. War with the Powers would probably mean the end of Montenegro. Hence, to save herself, Montenegro bows before Europe. The Montenegrins have sacrificed many thousands of lives in the campaign against Skutari. Until lately the Powers did not object to that campaign. Montenegro now finds herself in a position totally different from that at the beginning of the war, for, in her opinion, the Powers have violated the laws of neutrality. To a Balkan State which, unlike the others, Turkey has never conquered, there is a double chagrin in being compelled to bend before force; first, because it is force, and, second, because of the conviction that it is unjust. Be this as it may, all the world loves a fighter. King Nicholas's fame, together with that of his brave Montenegrins, is secure in any event. He may remember that a mightier than he, Napoleon, once had to bow before the concert of Europe. He may also remember, and with grim satisfaction, that the Skutari incident has called a racial power into more active being. The awakening of the Slav power is the most serious factor in the present European international situation. On this we comment upon another page.

Popular opera? It sounds Popular Opera like a contradiction in terms. Is not opera essentially a diversion of the aristocratic or the rich? Is not at least one row of boxes resplendent with jewelry quite as much an essential of opera as the singers and the orchestra? Are not the costumes in the audience as important as the costumes on the stage? Yet there is a movement on foot to establish "popular opera "-and in the one city above all where it might be least expected-in New York. And, what adds another flavor to the surprise, the movement

has been engineered by a club that has been mainly associated with municipal reform. A year ago the City Club of New York gave a luncheon at which the topic for discussion was "Opera." Among the guests present were directors and singers of the Metropolitan Opera Company. Thereupon a committee of the club was appointed to investigate the question whether it was possible to produce opera in New York at popular prices "for the people." The Chairman of the Committee was Mr. Edward Kellogg Baird. As a result of a conference with Mr. Otto Kahn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Opera Company, a plan was propounded of raising a fund of three hundred thousand dollars. This, it is estimated, will make it possible to produce "opera for the people in the people's language (which in New York still means English) at prices that people can pay, from two dollars down to twenty-five cents a seat. The Century Theater (originally known as the New Theater)—a theater too large for the ordinary plays-is to be rented for the new venture. The season, as planned, is to last thirty-five weeks, with a possible addition of ten weeks for opera comique. Already a hundred thousand dollars has been subscribed, largely in big sums. This will cover one-third of the capital needed to finance the company that will carry on the popular opera productions. It is desired that the remaining amount-two hundred thousand dollars in shares-be subscribed by as many individuals as possible. The shares are to have a par value of one hundred dollars each. Stockholders will have preference in the assignment of seats. Altogether the plan seems practical. It certainly is vouched for by men whose practical knowledge of financial undertakings and of opera productions is unquestioned. It has been formulated only after an investigation which included the production of municipal opera in Italy, Germany, France, and other countries, and after the drawing up of a carefully prepared budget. Opinions differ as to the place of opera among the fine arts; but there can hardly be any difference of opinion regarding the great advantage of making all art accessible to those whom Lincoln called the plain people. As long as opera exists (and there is no sign that it will ever disappear) and as long as democracy exists (and that too seems to be pretty much alive), it ought to be possible to bring the two together. The City Club is to

be congratulated on its success in at least introducing the two to each other.

The Old Astor House

Who does not know the old Astor House in New York City? And who has not heard with at least some regret that it is to be no more? It is not, of course, so important a structure as Independence Hall in Philadelphia or Faneuil Hall in Boston. But one feels about it a little as one feels about those older and more historic structures, for, like them, its halls have echoed with the footsteps of the country's statesmen, soldiers, authors, and magnates. The hotel's register bears the names of half a dozen Presidents, and also, among statesmen, those of Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Douglas, Seward, and Seymour, and among authors those of Hawthorne, Irving, Poe, and Dickens. The Astor House dates from 1832. Its location at the corner of Vesey Street and Broadway was considered uptown-the population of the metropolis being then but about two hundred thousand. The solid, substantial architecture of the hotel was in harmony with the solid, substantial character of New York City's growth, and harmonized well with McBean's beautiful St. Paul's Church across the street to the south. It is now in picturesque contrast with the graceful towering Woolworth Building across the street to the north. As a hotel, the Astor antedates two famous Broadway hostelries which have now passed away--the St. Nicholas Hotel and the Metropolitan Hotel. Even the Fifth Avenue Hotel, as far again uptown, was not built until the Astor House had become middle-aged. Other hotels, like the Clarendon, the Everett, and the Windsor, have come and gone meanwhile. Some of those hotels had historical associations, but none had such impressive associations as had the Astor House. It was there that Henry Clay heard of his nomination in 1844; it was there that Daniel Webster heard of his defeat in 1852; it was there that Abraham Lincoln arrived on his first visit to New York as President-elect of the United States; it was there, a little later, that one saw troops file past to be cheered on their way to the front; it was there, still later, that many patriotic committees met to save the Union, the large Southern patronage having meanwhile disappeared from its halls; finally, from its windows one saw the proslavery and draft riots. Thus the old Astor

House, always a hotel famed for good cooking and cheer, has been something more than a mere hotel. It has become a historic part of the metropolis; it has become also embodied in the Nation's history. Its passing will be regarded with real regret.

A Church Lunch-Room

Recently we described the interest of educators and sociologists in free lunches or lunches at cost for city school children. It is not only the modern sociologist who appreciates the important part which nourishing food plays in character-building. The modern church is recognizing the same. natural law in its work. We find an interesting illustration of this fact in a recent report of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City. The church edifice stands on the corner of Thirty-seventh Street and Fifth Avenue, in the midst of the new shopping district. About a year ago the ladies of the church organized a Neighborhood Lunch Club to serve the needs of the saleswomen and shop-girls of the vicinity. The enter prise is not a charity, but is a club in the exact sense of the word, with a rest-room, furnished with a piano, periodicals, and stationery. There are regular monthly dues of ten cents per member, and the membership at present is five hundred and four, with forty-four girls on the waiting list. During the first year of its existence, which ended March 1, 1913, there were 76,000 lunches served at an average price of twentytwo cents each, and the income paid the expenses with a small balance to profit. One of the featnres of the club is that, although there is necessarily a professional cook, the luncheons are served daily, not by paid helpers, but by the ladies of the church, who serve as relay committees for this purpose. When the club was opened there was no effort made to classify its patrons or to make any kind of an official inquiry into the life of the girls who joined the club, or to subject the members to any kind of suasion which they might resent. The year's successful experiment has proved that the club is patronized not merely because of the good food and the reasonable prices, but because of the general atmosphere of comfort, attractiveness, and friendliness. The practical success of this Neighborhood Club as a social force has been so marked that the committee in charge is hoping that the Brick

on

Church may be able to establish a club-house which shall not only supply luncheons, but which will provide a club home for some of the shop-girls who are homeless. In the committee's report it is stated that there are five hundred thousand working-girls in the city of New York between the ages of fourteen and twenty-three. There are several thousands of these girls who are homeless, who" depend for their shelter often upon the 'furnished room' house, whose accommodations are not always attractive and whose environment often is not without moral peril." Here seems to be a great field of activity for the women workers of the churches in our large cities.

White Blacksmithing

Some years ago there was a plumber in a Western city where soft coal predominated. Rivals had cut into his business until he bethought himself of the Efficiency Experts, and sought advice as to how he could increase his business. The Expert said, "If you will follow my advice, I will guarantee to double your business: Paint your shop white without and within. Dress your employees in white, with white shoes; give them white canvas bags in which to carry their tools; let them wear white caps and white shoes when at work; and advertise yourself as The White Plumber.'" This advice was followed. The man was at considerable outlay for white overalls, jumpers, etc., but his business at once began to grow like magic. The housewife who reluctantly admitted the ordinary mechanic with greasy overalls and grimy tool-bag had no apprehensions for her floors and rugs when one of the "white plumbers" arrived. Incidentally, the men braced up, took more pride in their work and in keeping themselves bodily clean. We are reminded of this by the publication in the "Engineering Magazine" of the application of the same idea to a blacksmith shop-of all places-operated in Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. The shop had previously had windows carbon incrusted," the air contaminated with sulphurous acid and carbon monoxide, so that even the leather belting, which ought to last fifty years, corroded in a few weeks." The interior walls are now painted white and repainted so that they are always white. The forges are whitewashed outside and in and maintained white, requiring a few hours' labor once a week.

"The panes of glass are as clear as in a careful housekeeper's home," while the soot, sparks, and gases from the forges are carried through the roof by an exhaust through hoods and stacks. The fuel is kept in closed receptacles attached to the forges, so that there are no barrels and boxes standing about. "The result is a very superior daylight illumination, which must produce results in superior quality of workmanship." The writer of the article in the magazine referred to says that the railway named is controlled by men of ideals, which are applied not simply to the blacksmith shop, but throughout the rest of the system. The public and all employees have free access to all officials, and the departments are run with less average cost, better service, greater returns, and higher safety than previously.

States, calls our attention to the plans for the coming session of the Summer School at Madrid, which was held for the first time during the summer of 1912, and which we brought to the notice of our readers about a year ago. The school, which is held under the auspices of the Board for the Promotion of Higher Studies and Scientific Research in Spain," will be carried on in Madrid from June 25 to August 5, under the direction of Professor Pidal. Its chief purpose is to afford an opportunity for foreigners to acquaint themselves under the best possible conditions with Spanish literature and Spanish history. The pamphlet announcing the school and its course, which the Spanish Minister has been kind enough to put into our hands, states that the tuition fee for the term of about six weeks is ten dollars, and that especial provision is made for the board and lodging of men students and of women students, the latter being taken care of in the International Institute for Girls. The expense for board and lodging runs from one to two dollars a day. In addition to the regular lectures there will be opportunity for conversation and acquaintance with Spanish teachers and students. The syllabus of the course includes lectures on literature, grammar, and history, and practical exercises in composition and in conversation on current events in Spain. There will also be excursions to art museums, private collections, and

other places of interest, under the guidance of officers of the school. With the rapid growth of the use of the Spanish language in this country, and our relations with the Philippines, Cuba, Panama, and Central and South America, we should suppose that many Americans would be glad to avail themselves of this unusual opportunity of combining a vacation visit to one of the most picturesque of the Spanish cities with study of the Spanish language under such unusual auspices. Fuller information may be obtained by addressing the Secretary of the Junta para Ampliacion de Estudios, Plaza de Bilbao, 6, Madrid. To those, even, who cannot attend this summer school the announcement is of interest. for it is an indication of the great forward human movement which is manifesting itself in Spain. In this genuinely democratic movement the King of Spain, whose gallant bearing when his life was recently attempted by the worst enemies of democracy aroused the admiration of Americans, as well as of his own people, is a sympathetic and active leader.

A Memorial to John Bigelow

The memorials to distinguished Americans which have taken the form of lifesized or colossal portrait statues have not, as a rule, been very happy-unless it may be said that a thing which excites good-natured but derisive smiles is somehow or other related to happiness. Any effort, therefore, to perpetuate the memory of a really memorable American by some other method than the statuesque is a hopeful sign of a growing belief in this country of the fitness of things. Union College, under the presidency of Dr. Charles Alexander Richmond, has proposed a memorial to the late John Bigelow which ought to be of interest not only to the alumni of Union College but to the entire country. John Bigelow, who died a little over a year ago at the ripe age of ninety four, was appropriately called the first citizen of New York, and was certainly one of the very first citizens of the United States. It is not necessary here to retell his services as a writer, a journalist, a statesman, and a citizen. He was one of the most honored of the alumni of Union College, and was a contemporary of William H. Seward, the great Secretary of State, who was also a graduate of Union College. It is an interesting and singular coincidence that William H. Seward,

Secretary of State for the United States, and Robert Toombs, Secretary of State for the Confederate States, were graduates of Union College. Among their fellow-alumni were Governor Hartranft, of Pennsylvania; President Chester A. Arthur; Governor Hoffman, of New York; J. Sterling Morton, Secretary of Agriculture; and Senator Preston King— all names distinguished in the history of the United States. Union College has, in proportion to its size, had a notable relationship to American statesmanship and civic life. It seems to us, therefore, to be a very happy conception on the part of President Richmond to embody John Bigelow's name in connection with Union College by the building on the campus of a "John Bigelow Memorial Hall, with lecture halls and rooms devoted to the studies he loved-history, politics, and literature-and the establishment therein of a John Bigelow professorship of political science." The memorial hall and the professorial endowment will require not less than one hundred thousand dollars. An unusually distinguished committee has been formed to indorse and promote the enterprise, among which appear the names of Justice Charles E. Hughes, of the Supreme Court, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr., Mr. Andrew Carnegie, and Senator Root. Contributions may be sent--and we very much hope generous contributions will be sent-to the treasurer of the committee, Mr. Oswald Garrison Villard, the "Evening Post," New York City.

The New Version

of the Old Testament

123

The soon forthcoming English version of the Hebrew Bible, on which eminent Jewish scholars have been engaged for years, is a matter of keen interest to the English-speaking world. Several years ago an eminent rabbi declared that Judaism was indebted to Christianity for having circulated the Hebrew Scriptures throughout the world. That this has not been a perfect gift is the answer given to the question, What need, then, of a Jewish version? Its promoters say that the translators of the Authorized Version, and also, though in less degree, the authors of the Revised Version, naturally, even if unconsciously, brought into their translations the Christian point of view, and for that reason alone their work cannot be accepted as a standard version by the Synagogue." For a similar reason the Protestant