NORTH SHORE BREEZE q 
Tue Oricinat Panama Cana, Tort Brit was re- 
pealed just in time. Had that bill remained upon the 
statute books a veritable breaking of our honorable agree- 
ment by treaty, this nation could have criticized the Ger- 
many abrogation of the treaty with Belgium without 
hypocrisy. The offense of our government in the first 
canal bill was not so serious as the malevolent invasion 
of Belgium, but the underlying principle would have ap- 
peared as identical; that is, the keeping of a treaty when 
convenience and profit warranted it and abrogating it 
when convenience or advantage suggested it. 
un Herosim oF Humanity seems to be much in 
evidence. ‘The Victoria Cross of England and the Iron 
Cross of Germany have been worthily bestowed upon 
many loyal men. A hero is a hero whether he wins a 
Victoria or an Iron Cross. An act of human heroism 
is honored in all hearts. 
Tur Miurtary Apvantacr of the Cape Cod Canal 
was shown on Monday when two submarines passed 
through it to gain time in a manoeuvre. Eventually Cape 
Cod’s famous ditch will be taken over by the government, 
and this is right. 
Tur Income oN Uncie Sam’s InvestMENT in the 
Panama Canal does not yield a high rate of interest, but 
the income to date has been a tidy little sum. The notice- 
able fact concerning the receipts is that by far the largest 
returns have come from the coastwise trade. 
One oF THE Great NeEps of the City of Boston is 
an up-to-the-minute lying-in hospital. This presents an 
admirable opportunity for some charitably inclined in- 
dividual to erect a memorial to a friend. 
Tur Harvarp In.ustRATED MAGAzINE comes out 
with no mistaking vigour for neutrality on the European 
question, but President Eliot is flatfooted in his advocacy 
of the cause of the Allies. 
Av Brverty Last SAtTuRDAY one of the best, if not 
the best recreation ground owned by a small city in the 
State, was dedicated. The commission of which S. John 
Connolly of Beverly Farms, was chairman, has done its 
work well and the speech of the chairman was heard with 
marked attention and was justly applauded. The com- 
pletion of this structure is another mark of progress of 
the present administration, headed by Mayor Macdonald 
of Beverly Farms. 
Tue SHop-KarLy CuHRIstMAs campaign has broken 
bounds. It has been commercialized so early that the 
humanitarian impulse may not appear as conspicuously as 
formerly. It is a human slogan despite its fall from 
grace. Shop early and spare the nerves of storekeepers 
and mail-carriers. It is none too early to lend a hand. 
Our oF OnE HunrTING SEASON into another and out 
of one danger into another! Hunters may well wear a 
red hat, but reckless hunters will even mistake that signal 
crown. ‘The humane spirit in man sees but little fun in 
shooting innocent game. 
Our Townsman, Major H. L. Higginson is eighty 
years young and in the vigour of his life. The Breeze 
for the townspeople takes pleasure in wishing Mr. Higgin- 
ee many more years of happy and prosperous service in 
ife. 
THE VANDALS in a neighboring village are learning 
that offense against property rights of others is a very 
serious matter. 
Otp Connecticut may have had her Blue Laws, 
but Old Harvard may fly all the red flags she wishes in 
the nut-meg state tomorrow. 
“TuRKEY Is MARCHING to slaughter,” says England. 
Phew! But won’t there be a royal gobble. 
COMMUNICATION 
Gas vs. ELECTRICITY FOR MANCHES- 
TER STREET LicHTS 
Editor North Shore Breeze, 
After reading the report of the 
Committee on street lighting, there 
are a few things that I would like to 
call the attention of the Citizens to in 
order that they may understand the 
question when it is presented next 
Monday evening. 
The Manchester Electric Co. has 
submitted a proposition which on its 
face appears to be more economical 
than the contract offered by the Wels- 
bach Street Lighting Co., but we must 
consider that, even if we start with 
60 candlepower lamps, these lamps 
depreciate and loose their efficiency, 
sliding down the scale of candlepower 
until they burn out, and unless the 
Manchester Electric Co. handle their 
business in a different manner from 
other electric companies, these lamps 
will be used until they burn out, so 
that while we may be paying for 60 
candlepower, the average capacity of 
these lights will be very much less. 
The electric light possesses also 
this disadvantage: The lights are 
very uncertain, as every citizen who 
uses electric light in his house is well 
aware, and every citizen who goes to 
church is well aware, that these lights 
go out when the wind blows hard, or 
when the rains fill the manholes, or 
when the tide is extremely high as is 
often the case at the West Manches- 
ter-Beverly Farms line. The fuses 
blow out at the most inopportune 
times, as it goes without saying thut 
a windy and rainy night is the time 
when we most need the lights. 
It is true that we did have very un- 
satisfactory service from the Wels- 
bach Street Lighting Co. last winter, 
which was occasioned by a combina- 
tion of circumstances; the quality of 
gasoline was extremely poor, the win- 
ter was an extremely cold one, and 
the men who lighted the lamps lacked 
experience. 
T don’t think that anyone can com- 
plain of the present service and in 
view of the fact that last winter was 
the only time that we have been 
troubled by the service in the many 
years that we have had this system, 
I think we can be reasonably sure of 
good service, especially if we make 
contracts from year to year. 
The service used by the Welsbach 
Street Lighting Co. in this town is the 
same service that is used by the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts in all of 
their Park System and State Boule- 
vards. 
I am informed that the Welsbach 
Street Lighting Co. make their con- 
tracts the last of December with the 
Standard Oil Co. to cover a calendar 
year, and that if they can make a 
proposition to us after the first of 
January, it will be materially less than 
the price they have been compelled 
to quote now as gasoline is 40% 
cheaper at any garage in Massachu- 
setts than the Welsbach Street Light- 
ing Co. are paying the Standard Oil 
Co. for it now, and I hope that the 
citizens will thoroughly consider this 
matter before they tie themselves up 
on a ten-year contract for electric 
lights. 
Very respectfully yours, 
—A CITIZEN, 
