Evening Star Newspaper, April 12, 1923, Page 6

16 THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY.......April 12, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES.......Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 150 Nassan St. ‘Chicago Office: Tower Rullding. Turopean Otice: 10 Hegeat Bt., London, Sagland. The Star, with the Sunday morning edition, 1 delfvered by Carriers within the city 2t 60 cents per month; daily only, 45 cents per month; Bunday only, 20 cents per month. Or- gers may be sent by mail, or telephone Main €0Q0. Collection is made by curriers at the wad of eacp menta. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. l yr., $8.: ‘0 1 mo., 70¢ Daily only. 0c 6unday only All Other States. Daily and Sunday..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85c Daily only. ‘13T, $7.00: 1 mo., 80c Bunday only 1yr., $3.00; 1mo. 25c Member of the Associated Press, o 7o Amociated Proms s excinsively entitled use for republication of all news dls- credited ta it or not otherwise credifed this puper and also the local news pub- ishea nErdia: “Al1 "ieuts ‘of pubiieation of speclal dispatches herein are also reserved. < World Court Membership. In view of the traditional policy of the United States in favor of the peaceful settlement of disputes tween nations, it is somewhat difficult to understand expectations of a great political controversy over President Harding’s proposal for adherence to the protocol establishing the Perma- nent Court of International Justice at The Hague. It would be difficult to find an intelligent American who was not in favor of some kind of an in- terrational court and willing that his country should be a member of it. The only possible chance for a contro- versy, therefore, is over the form of such membership, and as that is a matter of detail rather than of princi- Dle, there ought not to be any serious difficulty in reconciling differences of opinion. Tn his speech at Des Moines last night Secretary lloover analyzed the opposition to President Harding's pro- posal and answered objections to it. ‘The objection most often advanced is that membership in the court would involve us in the political affairs of Europe. In answer to this, Mr. Hoover points out that the decrees of the court are based on the processes ©of law, not upon political agreements, and that enforcement of these de- crees rests, not upon force, but upon public cpinion, Under the terms of the proposal as submitted to the Sen- ate, the United States would go into the court only of its own volition; it could be summonsed in neither by the court nor any other nation. There- fore, we would not be required to sub- mit to the court any questions which ‘we regarded as non-juridical or which ‘we held as of too vital interest to be adjudicated. There is nothing in the proposal, Mr. Hoover inslsts, which possibly could be construed as entering the league of nations, by the back door or any other door. The league exercises no control over the court and the court has no obligation to the league. The only connection between them is that the judges are selected by the repre- sentatives of the nations which are members of the league sitting as an elective body. It is this elective bod: he argues, and not the league, the United States would join, and the Hughes reservations would make it plain that we took over no obligations other than to participate in the elec- tion of the judges and to contribute e relatively trifling sum toward the expenses of the court. Secretary Hoover having opened the public debate in behalf of the administration, it is to be expected that opponents of the proposal will now come forward end state their views, and by the time Congress con- venes, mext December, there ought to be a clearing up of all doubtful points and such a crystallization of sentiment for or egainst court mem- bership that the matter can be dis- posed of without prolonged debate in the Senate. Public and the Blossoms. The captain of park police reports to the superintendent of public build- ings and grounds that not one person has been seen this season breaking the flowering cherry trees in Poto- mac Park, and he says: ‘“We appre- ciate the co-operation of the public.” It is pleasant to have this bouquet tossed to the Washington public, but how much it {s deserved is a question. ‘There may be a bit of flattery in fit. Behind those blooming cherry trees stands the majesty of the law and close to the majesty stands a police- man with a shining shield and a big stick. In the case of blossoming cherry trees in a public park the pub- lic has learned that discretion is bet- ter than blossoms. Perhaps if the police power were not so near those trees the devoted public would rip them up root and branch. It is rea- =onable to belleve that if those cherry trees were growing by the side of an old road or on a bit of unguarded pri- vate land near a road the public would not be so respectful. It is the ex- perience of dogwood, redbud, vibur- num and all other blooming shrubs and trees growing in the woods and flelds that the public, though it may be appreciative, is ruthless. ———— Compared with recent outbursts in. the French and British parlia- rhents, American legislative procedure fdkes on the dignity and serenity of n old-fashioned sewing circle, ——————— The White House. Now that the President has re- turned to Washington after his happy sunshine outing we may soon hear of the proposal to have & summer qgapital. As soon as the weather turns warm and pleasant the summer capl- tal idea comes up. It seems to be the @npression of many persons that the Thite House is & most uncomfortable Place to ve in when the daisies bloom and the peaches blush. So far as ‘Washington knows there is mnothing seriously wrong with the White House. It is an old house, and it may not have the up-to-date appointments to be found in the new homes of Wash. ington, but it has & covered porch, and windows giving northern, eastern, . . be- | ‘Western and southern exposure. has a shady garden ebout it, and it is far enough back from the car tracks to be reasonably free from noise. It hes running water, electric lights and a telephone. To the average Wash- ingtonlan it appears to be a fairly comfortable house, in spite of the fact that it is one of the very old resi- dences of the city and not at all mod- ern in its architecture. The neighbor- hood is not as fashionable as it was fitty or @ hundred years ago, but neigh- borhoods never are. The White House has been kept in a reasonable state of repair, and it is sald that some very pleasant people have lived there. To the Washingtonlan who lives in @ modern flat, which means a small tion each summer at Chesapeake Beach, Colonial Beach or Piney Point, the White House seems to be a place which might be made very cool and comfortable in summer. An electric fan might be installed and fly screens put up. Some rocking chairs and a rubber plant might be brought out on the front porch and & hammock could be rigged up on the lawn between the Avenue and the front door. The Rum Runners. It is gratifylng to note that the British government is taking official cognizance of the practice of vessels flying the flag of Great Britain hover- ing off the coast of the United States, laden with lquors eventually to be discharged into American small craft to be smuggled Into this country in violation of the Constitution and the statute. Announcement was made in the house of commons yesterday by Donald MeNeill, undersecretary for foreign affairs, that representations upon the subject had been made by the American government and that his own government had the subject in hand. Mr. McNeill went on to say that it “is very difficult for his maj- esty's government to interfere with {the legitimate export of any articles from British territory, especially as actlon by the British government alone would merely drive the trade into other channels.” The question arises whether the ex- portation of liquors known to be des- tined for ultimate smuggling into the United States can be described as legitimate exportation. The plea that if Britain abandoned the trade some other nation would take it over does not ring convincingly. However, the fact that the British government is alive to the spirit of comity expected to exist between two friendly nations is something to the good in this vexa- tious situation. The undersecretary for foreign af- fairs pointed out that the smuggling of the contraband ashore was done by American small boats, from which it might be inferred that Mr. McNelll was by way of suggesting that per- haps we would do well to carry on a little housecleaning ourselves. The 1 point s well taken and offictal indica- | tions are that governmental agencies may be co-ordinated in the direction of suppressing the smugglers. Immunity Against Diphtheria. The District health department would take an advanced step in estab- lishing & free clinic et which all chil- dren could be examined as to their im- munity from or susceptibility to diphtheria, and at which, should their susceptibility be determined, they could be inoculated against the dis- ease. A proposal to test the children of the public schools.and to inocu- late them against diphtheria will probably be taken up by the health officers with the school aeuthorities. Diphtheria was once one of the chil- dren’s scourges and the mortality rate was high. Means of treating the dis- ease have been applled by which the mortality rate has been very greatly reduced, but the disease is still com- mon and still to be feared. The method proposed by the health de- partment is along the lines of preven- tion, like inoculation egainst typhoid | and other diseases. Inoculation against typhold and smallpox has proved ef- fective, and the number of lives saved is beyond estimate. On the word of the health department inoculation against diphtheria s not an ex- periment. It has been proved to render a person immune for & long period, and the only difference of opin- fon among physiclans is as to the durstion of immunity. i Some of the governors summoned by the President to confer on pro- hibition enforcement may find it em- barraseing to explain why their states are so wet. i ‘They say.an eclipse of the sun has proven the Einstein theory of relativ. ity to be correct. That's a rellef. Now maybe some one will devise & method of telling us what the theory is. i The death of Liam Lynch adds another to the list of sincere but mis- gulded men sacrificed that there may be peace in Ireland. l German military experts insist a buffer state along the Rhine would do no good in case of war. They ought to know, after Belgium. The Veterans’ Burean. Investigation and adjustment of the Veterans’ Bureau go steadily on end will, no doubt, make the institution of great service to disabled veterans. ‘There is much talk of dishonesty. If there has been dishonesty, or if there is dishonesty in handling affairs of the institution, the investigating com- mittes and the present executive of the bureau can be trusted to expose and correct it. It may be a fair as- sumption that overemphasis has been 1aid on dishonesty, if by that word is meant misappropriation end crim- inal misapplication of money. When things seem to go wrong in & public institution and dissatisfaction with its administration spreads the cry of dis- honesty is nearly always raised and very often the charges are not su talned. Lack of co-ordination, dupli- cation of work, delay in acting on pub- lc business and the ill-functioning, or non-functioning, of the machine give rise to charges of dishonesty. The Veterans’ Bureau was an institution that was brought into being with all the speed possible and at a time of national stress. The work it wa: called on to do was new. The force one, and who takes seven days’ \mn-l | tvatton | Howard TH. It | was quickly gathered and it could not be that every officer and employe should be fitted to his task. Theories and conflicting theorfes concerning hospitalization and rehabilitation were forced upon the bureau with good in- tentions and it is belleved that some of the theories did not work well in practice. There has no doubt been considerable confusion. Gen. Frank T. Hines, the director, has spoken frankly and makes changes from day to day in the interest of veterans. Gen. O'Ryan, general counsel for the special Senate committee of investi- gation, is industrious in seeking waste and ineficiency. Tt is very likely that much of the “dishonesty” charged will be found due merely to Inefficiency and that much of the inefficiency was due to the necessarily hasty organi- zation of the bureau and the newness of the work it was called on to do. Meanwhile the director and his staff deserve the thanks of service men and their friends for their zeal in setting the affairs of the bureau in order. —————— Out Upon the Ticklers! Two usual carnival features are to be excluded from thé celebration of Shrine week, and their exclusion will not be regretted by the great mass of people. Ticklers and confettt are under the ban. There is no harm in ticklers, and confett! may be delight- ful, but often in using these things men go too far. The play often gets too rough. The roughneck finds in these things opportunities which he does mot find In other w The Commissioners in approving a regula- tion banning ticklers and confetti will have the thanks of most of the people of the District. In the matter of street venders there s to be another inno- which will be commended. Hawkers of all those things which are hawlked in big, gay crowds will not be allowed in the congested district, which the regulations define as being bounded by Tth and 15th, B and K strects. And cven outside of this dis- trict they are not to cry their wares before 7 in the morning nor after 10 at night. ———————— Rumors of a new German offer on reparations probubly are highly wel- come to Premier Poincare. who just now is being ground between the upper and nether millstones of rad- fcals @nd moderates in the French parliament. ——————— Supy titions or not, the report that Carter, codiscoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamen, is ill—coming | as it does upon the heels of the news of Lord Carnarvon’s death—will not tend to make Egyptolosy a popular profession. —————— A French alchemist claims to bave discovered a chemical formula for making gold. TIf he will sell his secret to Germany the reparations muddl may yvet be solved. ————— It is carrying “prepared to the nth degrec when a complete sct of cocktail glasses is included in equip- ment of the Leviath Certainly no one will accuse the present British house of commons of being “stodzy.” SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Long Ago. Long time ago—dat’s yesterduy— De sun has traveled, so dey say, Clean 'round dis carth; de stars has shone, An’ den gone out; de hours has flown, Through sleep an’ wakin’, since de time When dat ol’ clock set out to chime TUpon de bell 80 sof’ an’ slow, Dis very hour—a day ago. We's had new work, since den, to do; We's had new trouble to git through; We's had new pleasures foh to make Us overlook de cldtime ache. OI' Time keep travelin' ‘round de track; Dar ain’ no sense in turnin’ back, Upon de past, wif looks of woe, 'Cause yesterday—dat's long ago. A Secret of Success. Our congressman is lecturing; started out on tour; We're goin’ out to hear him, for we all feel| pretty sure That even though we can’t agree with what he has to say We'll like it, ‘cause he has a mighty fascinatin’ way. ‘We're not resentful if his observations don’t appear To be precisely in the line of what he said last year. ‘We furnish laughter and applause as liberal as we can. We like him jes’ because he's such an entertainin® man. he's In tariff talk he don’t keep pourin’ figures down your throat, He looms up each minute with a time- 1y anecdote. I've never heard another that's his equal, not by half; If you don’t get much instruction you are bound to get a laugh, Though sometimes I suspicion he would be a bit more strong If, with his story-tellin’, he would learn to sing a song. There's lots of serious folks around to theorize and plan; ‘We like him jes’ because he’s such an entertainin’ man. ———— “Bachelors are nature's joke,” writes a woman philosopher in her newspaper column. But mightn't she be charitable enough to say, like the editor of the joke department, ‘“rejec- tion does not imply lack of merit?" Huntington Herald Dispatch. —_——— Another evidence of the wasteful- ness of the times is putting main- springs in platinum wrist watches, as if anybody cared—Columbus (Ohio) State Journal. 4 “What is your opinion of clviliza- tion?” asks Life. It's @ good idea. Somebody ought to start it.—Louis- ville Courier-Journal. Never blame a child for howling. All of us would adopt that means of get- :ing, things if it would work as well in ol case.—Indianapolis qt-r Down at the great white bullding where Uncle Sam grants letters patent to the original-minded of the world thero is many a chamber of horrors wherein bleach the bones of brain-chil- dren gone wrong. Queer things and bizarre, useful things, utterly hopeless things have been patented by tens of thousands. Nobody ever utilizes such things. No manufacturer ever cuts the dies for the great invention. The patent is bestow- ed, runs its allotted course and dies Wwith never the light of day to revive the Inventor's hopes. Other patents, not in the chamber of horrors, are diverting in their origi- nality. Sometimes they are practical, sometimes not, but always they are original. For Uncle Sam tries never to grant a monopoly on any other kind of thought. 1 had waked “three “up morning, twice by the alarm clocks of my neighbors and once by my own. With the thought that there ought to be & law against vagrant alarms at 6:30 and 6:45 in the morning, I went down to the patent office and asked to see times that something neat and snappy in the line of substitutes for alarm clock They trotted out patent No. §9,925. The inventor claimed that the ordinary alarm clock of commerce either awak ened people with a shock or failed t awake them altcgether s ventor's description, | forated hose about the neck of a person and having the end of the Los- conneet- ed with & cup of water located on But I read no further, only an alarm clock, idea Dbeing that the hells, starts t, the sleeper’s ne The izventor is perfectly secure in his dlaim. One certainly cannot lie in bed after that contraption goes off. Then there was another one—patent 0. 1,292,102, granted to a resident of | «w Haven. Again the familia cnce more, its noise-1 place of the bell ther g arm of ball on the end. The hour for arising clock springs the mechaniem that con- trols the arm, the arm drops and th. soft ball hits'the sleeper in the fa There was a neat little picture fllus- trating the thi The man in the picture got hit one inch west of the off eve. | Huad he been sleeping an Inch far- ither away the ball would have plump- Hero was not | but cold water, the | clock, shorn of its | e water trickling down 1 m clock, minus, r. But in the was a long, up- ht metal with a soft com BY TH Gry 2 MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. it Britain somewhat late in the day about to raise a memorial on one of the most prominent sites in jthe metropolis—in Hyde Park—to the dumb friends who helped the empire to win the war. Nearly half a million of horses lost their lives in the con- flict. Dogs and pigeons employed in carrring information to and from the advanced lines perished in untold | thousands, and sb, too, did mice and small birds to whose assistance re- course was had for the detection of voison gases in the trenches. en elephants succumbed in huge herds to wounds and exhaustion the heavy transport service, and among other victims were donkeys, mules, camels, and even reindeer. Al these non-human allics of Great Britain in the great war are uowW to huve a stately cenotaph in grateful memory of the sacrifices of their lives, and to the Royal Soclety for the Prevention of Cruelty mals' initial subscription of $ {more than twice that amount alrea has been subscribed by the publ and as money is coming in all the time for the monument it pro to be of a very stately character. * % x x Such post-mortem henors to a mals that have played their role in national wars are by no means without precedent. Thus, at the close of Japan's victorlous war with Russla in 1805, a magnificent monu- ment was erected at a cost of nearly $100,000 at Miyagl as a memorial to the horses lost in the campaign, its inauguration being made the oceu- sion of grand funeral services in which the governor, (he leading mil- itary, ctvil and religious authorities took ‘part, and at which the clergy of the Buddhist and Shinto rites re- cited prayers for the welfare and the repose of the spirits—it would hardly do to call them the names—of the horses that had lost their lives in the war service of their country. Sacrificlal offerings of wheat and oats were placed on a large altar, and the general commanding deliver- ed a memorial address, while the troops stood at attention. He recited the services of the horses, the num- ber that had fallen in this battle, and in that. He solemnly thanked their spirits—that is to say, their souls—in behalf of the emperor, of the army and of the nation, for the assistance which they had afforded to their human comrades in wresting victory from the Russlans, and as- sured them that thelr names would be held in affectionate and honored remembrance by the squadrons and by the regiments to which they had belonged in the campaign. The address of the general was, in fact, very similar to the one delivered by the late Admiral Togo when on his_return to Tokio, after the fall of Port Arthur, he attenfied 2 memo- rial service in honor of those who had given their lives while under his command in accomplishing the destruction of the Pacific ocean fleet of Russia. The only difference be- tween the two addresses was that whereas the admiral's invocation was addressed to the souls of dead offi- cers and sailors of the navy, that of the commanding general at Miyagl ‘was addressed to the spirits of the war horses whose lives had been sac- rificed In behalf of their country. * % % % Alexander the Great, not contént with entombing his favorite charger Bucephalus in a superb mausoleum, actually founded and built as a last- ing memorial to him the city of Bucephala, which became one of the most important and densely populated Ggakes ¥ the use of my invention,” read an enticing clause of his claim, “the | person s awakened suddenly and with- out a shock of any kind whatever.” Something well worth having. How does it work? “The device co o e in- of placing a per- | n elevated shelf so thal the water can gravitate to the person. “A valve which is normally closed controls the flow of water from the cup | into the hose. The valve is opened by the action of an alarm clock— the - chemawsy hoiballwoulaheveplumy [niah o Great Britain to Erect Memorial To Animal Heroes of World War ed him squarely in the lamp. The possibilities gave that invention a black eye so faras I was concerned. “Perhaps you are afrald of being burled alive?” politely inquired the attendant. Now, that sounded reasonable. There's no telling when a fellow may be buried. Suppose the Undertaker should be hurrying to keep another date? “Here's an electrically lighted cof- fin" announced my guide. “Some- thing that will give you a second ghance™ So wo examined patent No. 901,407, The pleture showed a gentleman In position to profit by the invention. You would hardly think him dead as he lay there. The slick idea came in at his feet. From that section of his last abode there protruded a peri- scope, all fitted up with mirrors and properly placed electric lights. “Should a person be burfed alive.” the specifications read, “the same will be observed by watchers looking at the mirror at the top of the peri scope.” Cute little idea and so sprightly. Rather hard, it s true, on the watch- ers, but think of the satisfaction to the watchee! But what's that pipe running down he periscope?” I asked. Oh, that,” the attendant explained, “Is to give him air.” interested in bank obbing,” was the next suggestion. “If 5o, don’t fail to look at our man- catching tank, patent No. 1,392,095." The man-catching tank, In its wild s has much the shape of the furnace cellar, minus fts attractive points. Its only good-looking fea- ture is its somewhat tapering walst and that is good looking only be- cause there isn't o much of it to see. *Maybe you're It stands about eight feet tall, is made wholly of thick metal and is {intended for the wautchman to wear. It i3 portable and can be steered by |the wearer wherever his fancy or !the exigencies of the occasion re- | auire. There s a convenient hole in the ‘lfl\hh through which the watchman peeps, and another through which he pokes his gun to shoot the hapless burglar. “One ‘of the most important fea- tures,” read the specifications, that 1t not only permits him to a tack the burglar by weapons or the like, but it includes a novel catching and holding device. | " “By means of such device the bur- glar may be chased, grabbed and | held safel arriv | Two ruthless arms that gather the burglar in a close metallic hug are the mainspring of that part of the invention. Having caught the bur- . the next step is to dispose of wish to direct attention,” the inventor goes on that mechanism in the form of a push button or the like may be used to call for assistance. This mechanism includes wires which may lead to a police station.” Iving the police, of course, the opportunity to be in at the pri | Bnich centers funerals were accorded to the favorite of trade it Asia. State war hor: S of the Roman emperors, ! Caligula and Titus, all the dignitaries of the realm being compelled to at- tend the obsequies of these highly lionored equines, which in life had every_ conceivable luxury, and halters and clothing set with gems, while after their death thelr perfections were commemorated by h ere co uge statues King Frederick the Great erected one of the finest Lutheran churches in Prussian Poland, a magnificent edifice in white stone, which age has failed to deteriorate, as a memorial {to his favorite charger, killed beneath Im at the battle of Kunersdorf. The 'S horse, Babieca, was reverentl buried lr(fl'()ro the gates of the monal tery at Valencia in Spain, and two clms were planted to mark the site Gen. Sherman, if my memory s serv me right, erected a very handsome tonument of white marble to one of the ln‘nrq S Which he rode in the war )| e Secession, while the great { buke ”ll Wellington bullt at his cota. try at Strathfieldsay. soleum, s ataely) sting some $15.000, for the entombment of Copenhasen. the famous charger that he had ridden throuzhout the battle of Watering femalning mo less than seventeen hours in the & Rours in ddle without dls- Copenhagen w. 0 as buried with mil- tary honors. a firing party bcl'rlfx brome: (vhile the ceremony was brought to a cloee by the sounding of “Taps,” “the familiar and 3 most Dathe feature of every soldler's fu_vlmru( (lie late Field Marshal Lord Rob- erts had a splendld granite tomb made for his favorite horse, which, after carrving him throughout the is mem- Afghan war and during from Cabul to Qfable forced march Kandahar, was decorated i - turn to England, by Qu(e?xn\1l(stol;ell With the Afghan war medal and the Kandahar star—honors which, 1 may add, were likewise accorded by the venerable ~sovereign to Bob, the pet of the Royal Berkshire canine Regiment, which was present at the battle of Maiwand, and figures con- spicuously in Lady Butlers painie ing, entitled “The Last - ing. en Stand at Mal: * % % % Whils on the subject of these memo- rials it may be as well to recall that at Rome one of the most plcturesque bridges over the Tiber was construct- ed by a pont!ff some hundreds of years ago as a memorial to the fa- mous flock of geese of historic re- nown, which are said to have saved the mpltal from capture by the for- cign invading hordes through thelr cabiling and thus & irming the gar- rison, while at Asnieres, near Paris, there is a splendid monument to one of the most famous St. Bernard dogs of the St. Bernard Hospice, in Switz- erland, the inscription on the pedestal setting forth that Barry—that was his name—had saved the lives of no less than forty persons. And then there is, of course, still on view In the museum of Cluny, in Parls, Clo- dion’s exquisite tomb of Mme. du Barry's pet canary, bearing the epi- taph writtén by Dorat, and - ing with the words, 2 sonslul “Cl Git, Fifl, Morte 1772, Since the conclusion of the last great war France has erected a num- ber of memorials to animals who gave their lives on the battle front during the great war, one of the most charming memoriais recently in- augurated by the president of the, republic being that to the carrier pigeons. But the mbnument now about to be erected in Hyde Park, London, is the first tribute of the kind on the part of the people to their four-footed and winged come rades of the great war. 1 o —————————————————————————————— ettt IN A FEW WORDS. ‘We should undoubtedly have been in the league of nations—and with- out reservations—had the White House and the Senate been of the same political complexion—both democratic or both republican. —PROF. IRVP(G FISHER. No college professor should be under any restriction save those which he puts upon himself by reason of good morals or good manners. To dlsci- pline a teacher for an expression of Bis political oplnions wouid' be most unbecoming. NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER. One of the good things about war is the way In which ll stimulates a deflr‘ for peace. ‘The stage may have been all right for Booth, Sothern and chktlt,'flr even for lerl(ln and Hart, but it's uo game for a boxer. ~—BENNY LEONARD. If Henry really went to the White House to live there, he would have to go without me. —MRS. HENRY FORD. An iron stomach should be furnished with every case of the synthetic stuff the bootleggers sell. It is not even a first cousin to_real liquor. —PALMER CANFIELD. R Ry B ‘whole wo; meri. RIDDELL, E EVENING STAR, WASHINGTONz D. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 12 1923 THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON BY WILLIAM PICKETT HELM. The North Window BY LEILA MECHLIN Some years ago a group of artists was assembled In a studio at Ogun- quit. The talk was of art, and cer- tain technicalities of painting were under discussion. Emil Carlsen, a collection of whose paintings is now on view in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, was one of the number, and he told with what care he invariably prepared his canvases. The process was a long and laborious one, and a younger painter present questioned tho necessity for such painstaking care. Mr. Carlsen explained that when a canvas was so prepared the picture painted thereon would last indefinitely, there would be no crack- ing, no flaking off, no lessening of effect as the years passed. “But, sald the young man impulsively and wonderingly, “how can you tell that the picture that you are going to paint will be worth keeping? No one csn always produce a masterplece.” “Ah, that is very true,” replied Mr. Carlsen; “but how can I be perfectly sure that it is not golng to be; how can one tell in advance? Why not hope for the best?" * ok ok % The question of permanent painting s an interesting one and palnters themselves undoubtedly give it too littlo consideration. Most unfor- tunately some of the great paintings of the world have lost immeasurably through this cause. Some have faded, others have cracked; not a few have peeled off. The preparation of the canvas has something to do with this, but not everything. If a painter does not have some knowledge of the chemistry of paint he is apt to com- bine colors which chemlcally destroy one another. Also, most unfortunate- ly, all of the colors manufactured to- day for professional use are not all they pretend to be. Maximilian Toch, professor of in- dustrial chemistry at Cooper Union, New York, wrote some time ago a very interesting little book on “How to Paint Permanent Pictures,” in which he explains why some paint- ings last and others do nqt, and in which he gives excellent advice not only to artists, but to owners of paintings, in regard to their care and preservation. Speaking of +Jainsbor- ough, he eaid: “He wia probably the first great painter to use Prussian blue, and I have sesn some of his paintings in which the drapery and dresses were a beautiful green, which was due to the yellow of the varnish, which, when mingled with the blue, produced green; and I have also seen the varnish removed and have the blue come back with all its original intensity.” He tells also of how Sir ‘Joshul Reynolds would not use per- | manent vermillion in order to pro- duce flesh tints, because he wanted {certain warmer tones which only the lakes would give, with the result that even during his lifetime many of the ifaces he painted assumed a ghostlike {appearance, an unnatural grayness. iThe use of the steel palate knife sometimes affects the permanency of a color, turning Naples yellow brown and black, for example. Blakelock, {the American painter, and others of his day, were fond of using bitumen because of its toneful richness, but with the disastrous result of im- permanency, discoloration, and even in some instances an inclination to run. Certain ‘deleterious effects are pro- duced on paintings by the gas which comes from combustion of coal or coke, even in small quantities, and it 1s quite as bad for oil paintings— in fact, even worse—to be kept a great deal in the dark as to have too much light. In fact, sunlight will sometimes restore a painting in a measure which has unduly darkened. The reason the works of old masters, particularly the Italian masters, have remained #o nearly in the condition in which they were when originally produced is that the painters mixed thelr own colors, or had their appren- tices mix them for them, and were really learned in the chemistry of paint. most part have been kept in houses or galleries which were not over- heated and were not subjected to ex- tremes either of heat or cold. It is probably because of poorly prepared canvas that Whistler's great portrait of his mother, owned by the French government, is flaking off. Another instance of deterioration through chemical process is the painting of Niagara by I'. . Church, in the Corcoran Gallery, which, though still very beautiful,’ has lost much of its original brilliancy. * ok ok % But to return to Mr. Carlsen’s ex- hibition, which, as a chance visitor from Toronto took occaslon to re- mark the other day, is quite different from other exhibitlons of cotempo- rary work, evidencing not only mas- terly craftsmanship, but a large sense on the part of the painter of cternal truths. A few wecks ago Clayton Hamilton, the well known dramatic critic, came to Washington to give a lecture be- fore the Washington Soclety of the Fine Arts on “The Drama of Toda: On the afternoon before his lecture he visited the Adams Memorial, by Saint-Gaudens, in Rock Creek ceme- tery, and the Lincoln Memorial, de- signed by Henry Bacon, in Potomac Park, and so profound was the im- pression that these great works of art had upon him that, in compari- son, modern drama for the most part seemed trivial, measured by the same standard, and so full was his mind of the thought that he shared his experience with his audience. The Adams Memorial, he sald, seemed to him the quietest thing in the world, and the Lincoln Memorial in this same quallty nearly approached it. This is a test of great art—a power of aloofness, an ability of maintain- ing, even in the midst of unquiet life, perfect calm serenity. In the pres- ence of such art even the least learn- ed stand with uncovered head and speak in whispers. Emil Carlsen's paintings possess this quality. * X ¥ % It is this expression of serenity ‘which distinguishes to a great extent the so-called colonial architecture both In the north and in the south, and to a degree it reflected the life of the day, which, if at times rig- orous, was at least unhurried. Com- pare the facades of some of the old southern homes, either in town or country, with those of many of the modern homes In city or suburb, and one will instantly recognize the dif- ference. Art reflects life; architec- ture takes on the spirit of the time and it is impossible to recapture in stone and brick and mortar and wood the real spirit of the past. But that epirit, when fine, can serve as an in- spiration, as an example, as a stand- ard and’' a close-following will, in its turn, affect the life of the future. The houses on the old rice planta- tions on the Santee river, near Charleston, are excellent examples of distinctly American colonial architec- ture at its best. The source of their design was undoubtedly the English classic, the so-called Georgian; but they are pecullarly well adapted to the old life on the plantations, and beeause of this—bcause of the excel- lent taste of the bulilders, and still miore their absolute sincerity—they are today beautiful examples of archi- tectural appropriateness in design great works of art in their simple dignity, in harmony with the land- scape of which they have become a part—works of art which like the Saint-Gaudens statue, the Lincoln Memorial and Carlsen’s paintings, possess and st serenity, quiet- ive calmy | | CAPITAL KEYNOTES BY PAUL V. COLLINS - “The man who dynamites the eighteenth amendment to gratify his thirst is just as much a oriminal as the man who dynamites a factory be- cause the culprit does not. approve of our property laws. Men who buy liquor from & bootlegger are vio- lating section 6 of the national pro- hibition act. The rum smuggler on ships of foreign registry is nothing less than a pirate shooting holes into our Constitutlon from beyond the three-mile limit.” That is the creed of Wayne B. Wheeler, general coun- sel of the Anti-Saloon League. He aleo says: “Governors and other offi- clals who refuse to enforce the Vol- stead law are in the same class with other bootlegger: * k¥ Analyzed, it means that it is the same offense to violate one part of the Constitution as to violate any other. It is the same offense, he s, to be implicated in a crime, no matter at which end of the con- spiracy one stands. It is the same offense for a governor a3 for a poor backwoodsman to be a bootlegger. It is the same piracy for a ship to stand outside the three-mile limit and dispatch small runners past the legal blockade to land contraband liquor as it would be to stand ten miles out at sea and fire shells at a coast city. Js there any doubt that the Navy wonld go beyond the three-mile limit in chasing a foreign ship which dared to bombard New York or Baltimore from twenty miles at sea?” ¥ ¥k Here in Washington the Japanese are “saying it with cherry blossoms.” and what they say must be very pretty, or the cherry blossoms could not possibly look s0 beautiful while expressing the sentiments intrusted to them. * ¥ k¥ Thers is something so sacred about whatever {s associated with the mem- ory of our martyred Lincoln that the news that Ienry Ford had offered to buy the collection of Lincoln relics gathered during sixty years by Capt. Osborn 8. Oldroyd, and exhibited in the very house where the stricken President died, comes as a shock to one's sensibilities. Mr. Ford proposes to remove the collection to Detroit. As well pro- nose to purchase the tomb of George Washington or the cracked old Lib- erty bell and remove them to De- troit. Fortunately, Mr. Oldrovd's own sense of the proprieties and the pa- triotic iInterest of the whole nation has held the Ford offer in abeyance until Congress can decide whether it will meet the offer. The nation already owns the house in which Mr. Lincoln dled and it will be preserved as a historic shrine of patriotism. 1t is Inconceivable that the hundreds of authentic Lincoln relics already there should ever be permitted to be removed. * % % The original Lincoln statue, done by Mr. Flannery, will be rededicated June 21. This is the oldest statue of Lincoln in exietence. It has had an ordeal of discard since it was r moved from {ts pedestal and “lost” for some years because of criticism trom an artistic standpoint. It is re- stored by act of Congress and prob- ably will remain for many years. Tt {8 not & work of art merit, but is prized for its history and for the strong likeness of the face to the man it commemorates. It is as a Lincoln relic, rather than as a statue, that it i{s honored. * % % x One of the remarkable facts con- nected with the statues in Washing- ton of the nation's three greatest Presidents s that they were not the | fruit of any real art training. Flannery, Mr. the sculptor of the Lin Also, these pictures for the |coln statue, was a marble-cutter, with no art education whatever. Mr. Clark Mills, who modeled the Wash- ington and the Jackson bronzes, about which so much has been writ- ten lately, was a plasterer, with no art knowledge. He had natural tal ent, and friends {n his South Caron- lina home are said to have given him funds to go to Europe to study sculp- ture. He proceeded on his journey as far as Washington, and—perhaps unfortunately-—was given a commis. sion here for the Jackson group, and that {s as far as he ever went toward the European studies. A personal friend of Mr. Mills {s authority for the statement that in later life he “The Curse of the Pharaohs” Holds the World’s Attention. From the opening of the tomb o Tutankhamen to the traglc climax in | the death of Lord Carnarvon, this “Egyptian epic,” declares the Buffalo | Times, has been “as wild as anything in Arablan Nights.* Indeed, the dra- matic touch colors the whole story to such an extent that even while practical twentieth century common sense and scientific knowledge scout the legend of *“the curse of the Pharaohs,” the feeling that there may, after all, be “more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy” underlies some of the soberest editorial comment. Belittle the ancient superstition as we may, the Utica Press still feels that “there is something enigmatic in the death of this student of arche- ology, coming so soon upon the heels of his great discovery.” In any event, the New York Evening World finds that “the circumstances of Lord Car- narvon’s death almost overshadow the fact itself. Lord Carnarvon was only a man—a fine example, but only an ‘{ndividual. Superstition is some- thing bigger. It 18 a part of mankind in the maes, and older than history,” and, the Lynchburg (Va.) Advance adds, his death will, “until time im- memorial, be associated with the queer and fantastic superstitions of the natives of Egypt.” “Superstitions die slowly, if they ever die,” says the Lexington Leader. “Those who pride themselves most upon their emanci- pation find, upon occasion, that from some unexplored depths the dark hand of magic and necromancy, which played so great a part in the lives of our remote ancestors, is thrust up to disturb the progesses of reason and common sense.” The orient, the St. Paul Pioneer- reminds us, “is essentially the home of superstition,” and it {s, there- fore, not rising that “a retribu- ive construction” has been put upon the death of the explorer, and that weird legends and tales have been brought forth to explain it. It is merely folk-lore and myth that as- cribes the insect bite that resulted in Carnarvon's death to “the resent- ment of the anclent deitles,” and “the form of the protest, too, is entirely consistent with the age and surround- ings. It is just about the way a deity of the upper Nile would perform.” But that mosquito bite, interpreted by present day knowledge, merely fllus- trates to the Flint (Mich.) Journal that “a germ 1s far more to be feared than a curse,” for, as the urg! Sun puts it, “the witches’ broth is 0ot 80 potent nor so real.” ‘There is another u:aory ut forth Carnarvon's directly MM K had sald: “I have never been as happy as a sculptor as 1 was wher I was earning $1.50 a day plastering houses.” Whatever that remark dis- closed otherwise, it certainly proves %g;; he did not get union wages of s The statement that the historis statues of Jackson, Lincoln and Washington were produced by men with Iittle, if any, art schooling is not meant as a reflection upon thetr natural abilities, but rather in regret that with such gifts of birth the: never had the advantages of training to develop their powers. But knowledge to their eyes her ampla page. Bich win the epolls of time, did ne'er inrol Obill penury repressed their noble rage 4" frozs the genial current of their eow. LR On the same day that will witness the rededication of the Lincoln statue there will be launched a nerw movement for the beautification of the nation’s capital. This is not a local community nor a local city. Tt belongs to the whole nation and is Roverned, and partially supported, b: Congre It devolves, tuerefore, upon its owners, the natfon, to maxe the most of {t; for this is, as it were the front yard of America. So there is to be an Amerlcan civic association. whose function will be to confer with gome fifty of the rey scatteres resentative cities, widely with the view to aw: all & sense of respon in the beautificat Capital. Washin of the most bea world. but as yet spots” have been developed. city planning will be s Speakers will trave cities to address civie n Thera may be devised some features which will give the co-operat cities an opportunity for self-expres- sion In the capital—not in erectins memorials of their own cities, but I- making the capital in fact a nationa’ pride, fitting their own ideals. It is the capital which stands fo America’s best in a way that no othe: city can possibly do. Every othe: city s distinctly local In characteris tics. Even New York, the leas American _city in the country, teatures which diffarentiate it fror. every other—in its allen populatfor. if nothing else. Washington is note worthy as the concentration of America. * % %% The difference between great ps triotic love of America and narrovw provincialism is that patriotisn grows with knowledge of facts, white provincial prejudice thrives best on fgnorance of shortcominga Therefore, to recognize the dersets of the country is more patriotic then to shut them from sight. The United States commissioner of "education John J. Tigert, points out that illf- eracy {s one of the great menaces o the natfon, and one which 1s grow ing more serious rather than improv ing. He estimates that if illiterac reduces the earning power of worker only 50 cents & day it means a reduction of eficiency amountine to $825.000.000 a year. He means th the actual production would be creased by that amount annually 1f illiteracy were wiped out. Dr. Tigert points out that that esti- mate s based upon the United States census of illiteracy. That is so no- torfously inadequate a showing that it results in an understatement of fact. In proof of that charge he cites the Army test. which showea that 25 per cent of all the men draft- ed could not read and write—read & newspaper they had never seen be- fore and write a simple letter to their home folks telling of their exper! ences so far in the Army. In shor 25 per cent of the young men—and women—cannot express themselves intelligibly. i The remedy? Dr. Tigert recom- mends that all schools be opened tor night schools for adults, there, he says, “every evening of every week in the year offering courses that will attract {lliterates as grown men and women. At the same time, because of this, create a desire to overcome their great handicap. To reproach the illiterate for being illiterate is the worst possible way of correcting the evil. ? * % & The appalling feature of the situ ation is that the public generall: fails to comprehend the national menace that it faces; else it would pay school teachers, build schools and stop llliteracy as it would a devas- tating epidemic of the plagu (Copyright, 1923, by P. V. Co EDITORIAL DIGEST ation” of the tomb here is a possibility | of course,” the Wheeling Intelligencer jconcedes, “that the Egyptians of hirty-three centuries ago concealed a deadly poison in some of the bLoxes ’or jewels in the Pharaoh’s tomb. Wwhich, when touched by human hands, would bring death. It i3 pos- sible, of course, that this was the cause of Lord Carnarvon's death” “Those old chaps at least, as does the east to this day, know more about Polsons than 1s in the modern tex:- ooks,” the Knickerbocker Press (Al- bany) suggests. But “if a Zulu, & Kickapoo Indlan. or even an uninstructed Inhabitant of the Nile valley should accept theorles of this sort, it would not beo surprising” to the Détroit Free Press. ‘The surprise comes when “ono finds in great centers of civilization edu- cated men and women ready at a mere hint to invoke a theory of dis- ease invented to meet the intellectual needs of the stonc age. While “skeptics laugh,” however, the Sioux City Journal suggests that “the thing is very real to many persons who are famous for their learning,” and it is because “such unquestionably intel- ligent people as Arthur Conan Doylo and Marie Corelll talk sagely about ‘the curse of the Pharaohs’ " that the Waterbury Republican finds “matter for wonder far surpassing any arous- ed by the rellcs found in Tutankh- amen'’s tomb. “It is exceedingly easy for anybody to laugh at the superstitions of the other fellow,” the Nashville Banner ints out. “Everybody knows there s no real significance attached to su- perstitions, but there are really very few of us who are not more or less influenced by them.” Lord Carnar- von's death was the result of “pneu- monia or nemesis,” the Norfolk Vir- ginian-Pilot suggest: ind “today the verdict is pneumonia.”” But that vor- dict is pronounced with “subconscious reservations suitable to an age that still hates to walk under a ladder; that still avolds raising an umbrella in a room; that declines as & matter of course to seat thirteen at a table; that hangs swastikas from watch chalni that knocks wood, and, in many sections of rural United E!ltel. still seeks to locate underground water with forked twigs.” And the Providence Tribune rmises that “many men who are laughing at the superstition connected with the epi: sode would not light three on ome match.” Even accepting without reserves tion the diagnosis of pneumonia and blood infection, which “doctors cer- tainly have a better formula for treating than King Tut dreamed of. it is still possible, the Omaha World- Herald suspects, that “thirty-five hundred years from now medical ci- ence may have formulae which will demonstrate many things now dark to us. If we smile at some ancient superstitions, no doubt history will re- peat itself ages hence in that our de- scendants may smile at our ignorance of cause and §ffect,” with the “des [of a Pharaoh.