One of the most interesting experiments in verse, or semi-verse, that we have seen in some time is published in Reedy's Mirror, of St. Louis. It is entitled "Spoon River Anthology," and consists of a series of thumb-nail portraits, usually autobiographical in form, of the occupants of the graves in a village cemetery! Spoon river is a veritable stream in Central Illinois and apparently the portraits are based to a considerable degree upon fact. They are written in very free verse, destitute of either rhyme or rhythm, yet they scem to compel recognition as poetry rather than prose. We publish a few specimens out of several score that have already appeared in successive issues of Mr. Reedy's journal.

faces

Veils pass, and laughing fellowship glows

warm.

You who look on me with grave eyes where rapture And April love of living burn confessed,The Gods are good! The world lies free to capture! Life has no walls. O take me to your breast! Take me,-be with me for a moment's span!

I am in love with all unveiled faces.

I seek the wonder at the heart of man; I would go up to the far-seeing places. While youth is ours, turn toward me for a space

You cannot lift yourself to its rim
And see the outer world of things,
And at the same time see yourself.
You are submerged in the tub of your-
self-

Taboos and rules and appearances,
Are the staves of your tub.
Break them and dispel the witchcraft
Of thinking your tub is life!
And that you know life!

A remarkable sequence of fifty-seven sonnets appears in The Forum. They are called "Sonnets of a Portrait Painter," and the note of sustained passion is an achievement seldom attained by any but the great masters. The few sonnets which we select

I look not on you with content or trust; Nor is there in you aught with power to

bless

Or heal my spirit weary of life's dust. Nay, you are that which, on a leaden day, As endless clouds sluggish with rain pass by,

Leaps brilliant once across the sullen gray, A vivid lightning-gleam in that dead sky. And I, whose days of sun or cloud have grown

Changelessly furled in one gray monstrous pall,

I thirst for fierce lights, triumphs, trum

pets blown,

And you, most wild and passionate of all,

You, the bright madness lightening the

curse

Of reason's dull reign in the universe.

the closing of all the stock exchanges of the world. Every stock exchange in Europe closed when Germany declared war on Russia. Vienna drew heavily on Berlin, Berlin on Paris, Paris on London, and London on New York; New York was one of the last exchanges to close. Jubilantly our newspapers pointed to the fact that ours was the only free and unrestricted market in the world. But it had to happen. Prices of stocks dropped 5 points, 10, 20 or more, until they reached a level near or below that of the panic of 1907. Certain cotton and stock exchange houses closed their doors in New York. Fifteen firms were sniffed out in London. Germany, France, Russia and other countries declared a "moratorium"; that is to say, a period when loans are not callable and all payments are suspended. England and Argentine declared long bank holidays. Prior to the closing of our exchanges, stocks poured into the American market from Europe, and fast steamers raced across the ocean to carry gold to Europe. A madness for selling seemed to have come over the world. On the morning after Germany's declaration of war, cable orders were received in New York from all parts of Europe offering stocks at one-half of the panic prices. These quotations never got into print. In a hurried meeting the governors of the Stock Exchange decided to suspend all busi

ness.

No

The Curb, the Consolidated Exchange and smaller exchanges throughout the country followed suit. stocks could be quoted. No collateral could be sold. No margins could be called. No business whatever in stocks was transacted. How long this situation may continue, it is impossible to foretell. Several days before the outbreak of the general war the demoralization of our foreign exchange market took place. There had been a tremendous outflow of gold from New York

and this was one of the most serious dangers which confronted the American people. In ten days last month we sent abroad $45,000,000 of the metal, in addition to nearly $50,000,000 shipped in July. Europe holds about six billion dollars worth of American

securities and obligations, so it is estimated by Mr. Paish, editor of the London Statist. It could take every ounce of our gold, if given the opportunity, in exchange for these securities.

Uncle Sam Guards His
Gold.

T SEEMED imperative for the
United States, in the mad rush for

gold that ensued in Europe, to take measures to guard its store. Our stock of gold is, fortunately, of impressive proportions. The government, so John Burke, the treasurer of the United States, declared, stood ready to meet any demand, having a stock of $1,280,

000,000 of gold in bullion and coin. He added: "That is more gold than any other country in the world possesses and almost twice as much as the stock of gold of any two other countries. We could meet a demand for nearly $300,000,000 of gold for shipment abroad and would still have a billion left. We have $400,000,000 of gold in the mint in Denver, nearly as much in Philadelphia, with stocks of gold in Washington, New York, San Francisco, and other places." Nevertheless the press exhorted the government to take additional steps for protection. "Could anything be more rational," asked the New York Sun, "than a refusal by the United States, the government and the banking and business community acting together, to permit Europe to draw on this country further for the expense of the mad courses on which it is about to embark? After declaring, through its governmental and business representatives, that it proposes to honor all legitimate drafts

upon it after Europe has made its peace, should not the United States now announce to the world that if Europe is going to plunge into the abyss the United States does not intend to go down with it?"

A

The Gold Supply in America.

T THE time Mr. Burke issued his comforting statement there was over $1,280,000,000 in gold in the treasury; but of this sum, slight ly over one billion was the trust fund against which our gold certificates are issued. The trust fund belongs to the holders of gold certificates, not to the government.

An additional $150,000,000 constituted the reserve against greenbacks and treasury notes, and it is required by law that this reserve be maintained at its present status. There was left in the general fund and the treasury only about $85,000,000 available for export. The interest on the public debt, which annually amounts to nearly $25,000,000, must be paid in gold.

The United States gets her gold from import duties. This source was at once largely cut off. The other way to get gold is to sell bonds—a course which we will be slow to take as long as the market is as demoralized as at present. Even allowing for the annual $90,000,000 output of our mines, we were in no position last month to export $300,000,000 of gold.

own industries, as we have expected, in the face of a wholesale destruction of capital in Europe?" Heroic measures have been taken. Gold was rushed from Washington to the financial cen

ters.

Congress amended the banking law so as to permit the issue of over a billion dollars of emergency currency if considered necessary. Clearing houses went on a certificate basis. An arbitrary rate was fixed by representatives of the big foreign exchange houses in the attempt to establish some basis for settlement where the market had disappeared. Finally the bankers mutually agreed to discourage the exportation of gold by every legitimate means. Emergency currency was authorized by Congress under the amended AldrichVreeland Act and its issue began promptly. It is taking the place of gold certificates and greenbacks, which are being drawn into the bank reserves. The new bank notes, like the old, are promises to pay legal tender. They can be presented at the bank for redemption and the money received can, in turn, be presented at the treasury for gold. As gold export again becomes possible, the issue of this additional currency may only serve to facilitate it, unless extraordinary measures are taken to guard against it. As an alternative to suspending specie payments, the banks may discourage customers who seek to draw on their account for

export purposes. They may agree themselves to raise the rate of

among

discount to a prohibitive point on all loans the proceeds of which are intended for export.

Our Currency Problems in the Near Future. T is to be deplored that the new Federal Reserve system is not in operation so that we might have an effective central organization for At presraising the discount rates. ent it does not seem advisable to attempt to organize and start the new The enormous transfers of system. bank reserves made necessary by such an action would only render the situation more chaotic. The gold certificates and greenbacks which should nor

mally flow into the banks will build up their lawful reserves and increase their If $500,000,000 is capacity to lend. drawn into bank reserves in this manner it will be legally possible for the banks to increase their loans by from two to three billions. There will be an incentive to lower the rates of discount on commercial loans so as to lend this enormous sum. If the banks yield to this incentive no difficulty will be experienced in financing ordinary busiWith discount rates low, the task of preventing a further gold outflow will be tremendously more difficult. Easy access to capital will impart a hectic flush to those lines of business which are not too seriously

ness ventures.

affected by the tie-up in foreign trade. Unless the banks exercize caution and impose a good stiff rate of discount on even ordinary loans, we shall have to fear inflation and its inevitable aftermath of prostration.

A

Finance Methods Abroad
During the War.

CCORDING to the N. Y. Times, England, France and Germany promptly adopted measures for the financial support of their war operations. The British Parliament voted a war appropriation of $1,000,000,000. In Germany a bill was introduced to appropriate $1,250,000,000. The French Parliament authorized the Bank of France to increase its note circulation from $1,340,000,000 to $2,400,000,000 and to abstain from paying out gold in exchange for notes. Only in the case of France was there any definite indication of how the money was to be raised, aside from drawing on government funds already in hand. The N. Y. Times quotes one financial expert to the effect that the European nations would be able to carry on the war for several years so far as financing is concerned. New forms of taxation might be the chief resource. All of the European nations at war have built up large gold reserves and have taken steps to preserve them. This expert predicts that bond issues may be sold as readily as the billion-dollar indemnity was provided by patriotic Frenchmen after the Franco-Prussian war. Illustrative of a few of the methods which might be used, he says in part:

"Great bond issues are more easily absorbed than is sometimes supposed, in cases where an appeal to patriotism is behind them. This is particularly true in Europe, where there is always much money hoarded. In the past foreign securities have been heavily sold in order that the holders may invest in their national war loans. In the present instance this recourse is removed for the time being by the closing of the exchanges, but this situation may be changed before such loans are authorized and opened for subscription. The banks are practically compelled to take the loans and carry them until finally absorbed.

"Finally, irredeemable currency may be resorted to, altho this is hardly likely to be done except in Austria. The extent to which such currency may safely be put out, however, is much better understood now than when it was abused with disastrous results in earlier periods, and its use is therefore not at all out of the question."

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Note these amazing facts:

Today some tires are costing one-third more than Goodyears. Their price-or less-buys a half-inch wider Goodyear. And the wider tire will fit your rim.

For instance, their price on a 30x3 will buy a Goodyear 31X32. Their price on a 36x42 will buy a Goodyear 37x5. So on other sizes.

Or you can buy four samesize Goodyears for the price some ask for three.

So the price of some tires will buy you in Goodyears a wider tire, or one extra tire in three.

Too-High Prices

Nowadays, 16 makes of tires are selling for more than Goodyear prices. Those prices, we claim, are too high.

Goodyear prices buy the utmost in a tire the best we know after 15 years of research and experiment.

They buy four great features found in no other tire. And they buy the tire which outsells any other-the tire which holds top place in Tiredom after millions

have been tried.

Our prices are low because of mammoth production. They are half what they used to be. But smaller output and higher prices do not signify better tires.

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Our All-Weather tread-the tough, double-thick anti-skid. It is flat and smooth, so it runs like a plain tread. But no other tire grasps wet roads with such deep, sharp, resistless grips.

In No-Rim-Cut Tires, at Goodyear prices, you get all those extra features. Any dealer will supply you.

call for their reservists, provided ships can be obtained for transporting them out of this country. Our ability to export our food products and manufactured articles will depend entirely upon the marine situation. If this war illustrates anything, it is the crying necessity for an American merchant marine. Those of our industrial activities which are in a position to profit by the foreign needs of Europe and the elimination of foreign competition in other foreign markets are practically paralyzed by the inability to ship the goods on American or other neutral vessels. In 1913 the United States exported more than $2,000,000,000 worth of goods, only 9.1 per cent. of which went in American vessels. England carried considerably more than one-half of all our exports, while Germany, the next largest carrier of our goods, transported approximately 14 per cent. No other nation carried as much as 5 per cent. and about 85 per cent. of all our exports were carried in the bottoms of vessels registered under the laws of the countries which are now at war. Washington took steps promptly last month. to provide the American shipper with a merchant marine which will be exempt from attack and seizure and which possibly may enable us to transport our commodities with almost as much ease

as in the past. In giving American registry to foreign-built merchant ships, the United States Congress will enable the American shipper to reap the advantages of the high prices which will be paid for supplies to be used in Europe. Of course this presupposes that the passage to Europe is not blocked by vessels of war. We will be enabled also to supply in part the markets now suddenly left open to us in South America and in the far East.

G

American Industries Chiefly
Affected by the War.

RANTING the possibility of establishing a merchant marine, it remains to inquire concerning the direct effects of the war on certain industries. In the manufacturing industries, where the United States is a large shipper to Europe, there will be, outside of war supplies, a rapid falling off of trade. This has already been indicated by the decline of approximately 20 points in the market price of International Harvester Company stock. The European market for harvesting machinery has been temporarily wiped out. The same is true of cash registers, automobiles, petroleum products, copper and copper goods, sewing machines, typewriters, mining and milling machinery, starch, tobacco, and office and industrial supplies. While we lose these markets in Europe, she is our competitor in many other markets in the same line of trade. The European losses should be offset to some extent,