Evening Star Newspaper, October 2, 1923, Page 6

ITHE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. e WASHINGTON, D. C TUESDAY.. ..October 2, 1923 THEODORE W. NOYES........Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Jusiness Ofice, 11th 8t, and Pennsylvania Ave. ew York Offic 110 East 42nd St. C1 flfu Ofice: Tower Building. 16 Regent St., London, Englaud. ng Star, with the Sunday morning rriers within the city may be sent by mai phone ) Collection is made by carriers at the wud of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily ayd Sunday..1y Daily dnly 1y &unday onl All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 8¢ Daily only. yr., $7.00: 1 mo., 60c Bunday only Member of iated Press. The Associated Press fs exclusively entitled %o the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to It or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local mews pub- Yished “hereln. ~ All Fghts of publication of precial dispatchos also_reserved. Two Governors and Coal. Gov. Pinchot of Pennsylvania and Gov. Smith of New York are engaging in correspondence upon the subject of «coal prices, resultant upon the recent settloment of the coal strike, and the possible prevention of profitcering by dealers at the expense of the con- sumers, in the course of which i the chief executive of the Empire state| ks some very pertinent questions of the Governor of Pennsylvania, and makes seme interesting observations withal. Finding no fault with Gov. Pinchot's allowance of the increased age rate to the miners, as long as this was necessary in the opinion of the Pennsylvania executive, Gov. Smith suggests that no public official should lead people to believe that the cost of producing any commeodity can be increased without increasing the cost to the ultimate consumer unless profiteering can be proved, and he wants to know if the governor has “ny evidence of profiteering so far as Pennsylvania is concerned. Commenting upon Gov. Pinchot's statement that he thought many of the operators could absorb the whole of the 60 cents per ton increase and still make abundant profit, Gov. Smith submits that as these operators are wholly in the jurisdiction of the state of Pennsylvania some action should be taken to see that the operators do absorb. the increase, and not pass it along to the consumers in the other states using the aenthracite produced solely in Pennsylvania. This is a point well taken. As Gov. Smith says, no anthracite is produced in the consuming states, and, there- fore, taking New York as an example, the public service commission of that state has no jurisdiction over ship- ments, for none originate in ew York. Moreover, the Interstate Com- merce Commission regulates .ceight rates on coal shipments from other states. Another telling point is made by tiov. Smith in calling attention to the fact that the state of Pennsylvania has itself added to the cost of coal through the mine tax of G0 cents a ton imposed by the state. Gov. Smith adds that if the Pennsylvania execu- tive has any specific legislation which might be submitted tc the legislature of New York he would be glad to pre- sent it, “but in the first instance it seems to me that the duty and re- sponsibility rests upon you and the state of Pennsylvania.” It would seem that’Gov. Smith has put up a pretty stiff proposition to Gov. Pinchot. ¢ ———— e A Paris jury acquitted & man charged with stealing $30,000, advis- ing him to pay the money back as scon as he can. It was en American concern that suffered the loss, and the suggestion that the culprit make good may be hopefully interpreted as an evidence of friendly national senti- ment which struggied against the im- pulse to show unlimited mercy. ——————— Suggestions that Pennsylvania should see to the protection of coal con- sumers throughout the nation indicate a willingness to give Pinchot every opportunity to make a record. Federal Employes at Washington. The director of the Veterans' Bu- reau annotinces that the personnel of that bureau has been reduced by 2,025 employes since March 1, that of these 1,689 were field agents and 336 em- ployes of the central office, and that the bureau’s roll now stands at 28,182, The reduction in the number of em- ployes of the bureau at Washington is not so large as was feared it would be, but in these times, when there are %0 many demands for retrenchment in the public service and so many efforts by administrators to make economies, some government employes hald office in‘an uncertain way. % The war called to government em- ploy in Washington a mighty throng. The demand was so great and so urgent that it was impossible to se- lect employes with that care and dis- crimination which the government normally uses, and it is remarkable that the vastly expanded national work was carried on as efficiently and faithfully as it was, The allegation was often made that thousands of cmployes more than needed were gathered here gnd there may have been foundation for it. Government executive officers may have overesti- mated their need for workers. ‘But that string was harped on long ago. The government at Washington did the best it could to win the war and it did @ very good “best.” It won the war and won it quicker then tens of thousands of military and non-mili- tary strategists said it could be won. The line between faultfinding and criticism is rather thin and there are 1o signs that the number of ¢ritics in the United States is decreasing. There seems no ground to base a charge today that the gevernment em- ploys at Washington more men and women than are needed to’do the gov- crament'swork. Thercare departments amfl bureaus which fall behind in their work because they have not a sufficient number of employes to keep that work up,to date. Many thou- sands of employes have been "ot -out” of government service . THE EVENING during the past three years, and from ! mates for the next fiscal ya.‘lr sent by time to time we get officlal state- | the Commissioners to the director of ments showing the decreaseé below war figures of the number of persons | employed at Washington by the gov- ernment. The number now employed is far {the expansion of the country’s busi- ness and the multiplication of govern- ment activities, there is no possibility that ‘the force of employes will ever fall to pre-war figures. There may {be “further reductions in those bu- |reaus and agencles concerned with | the war and certain post-war prob- lems, but these will probably be ab. sorbed by departments whose busi- ness Is steadily growing. It is proba- ble that in ten years the number of federal employes in Washington hav- ing a permanent tenure of office will bere at the peak of war work, ———————— No Milk War. An agreement has been reached by milk producers and distributors, and the threat of a milk war passes. It s Delieved that the farmers and men who ship milk to Washing- ton, the representatives of their as- sociation and the dealers in the Dis- triet would find some way to compose their differences. Tt was felt that, being practical and level-headed men, they would effect a compromise which, though not wholly satisfactory to every party, would be a good deal bet- ter than a war which would dislocate business. In the agreement between producers jand dealers there is no hint of an in- | crease in price to consumers. This is [another reason to give thanks. In many cases where producers and dis- tributors get together they agree to put 2 small tax on consumers. The milk producers organized an associa- tion for co-operative marketing of their milk, and insisted that dealers should buy through that association, though they might buy from the same producers who had been in the habit of supplying them. Some of the deal- ers stood out for the old plan of mak- ing individual contracts with pro- ducers. There was some heat in the controversy at times, but on the whole the argument was carried on with coolness and good temper. But they made ready for a fight. Dealers ar- ranged to buy milk from new sources, { tapping parts of Maryland and Vir- ginia which do not ship milk to Wash- ington. The regular producers of milk for Washington arranged to ship their milk here and distribute it. In the agreement each disputant gains & point here and loses one there. They shake hands, and the milk trains come and the milk wagons make their usual rounds. Ford and Gasoline. If the latest Wall street rumor is true Henry Ford may be going after the presidency In earnest. According to this report he is now negotiating for oil properties, planning to produce erude oil in huge quantities, refine it and sell gasoline to drivers of cars of his manufacture at 16 cents a gallon, regardless of locality. Considering the number of flivvers in use in the United States it is easy to see what a wide- spread appeal this would popular appreciation and support in case the Detroit motor maker goe into the race. Natlrally, if Ford should do this he would start a gas war from coast to coast, boundary. For the flivver is strictly an interstate, country-wide institutlon. | There is no “field” for it. There would, therefore, be no field of gas price-cut- ting short of the national field. The established gasoline makers and vend- ers would probably fight vigorously. It would be a merry war, and it might call on the limits of Henry’s vast for- tune to maintain it. Meanwhile the gas user would be in clover. It is, of course, quite conceivable that if Mr. Ford has this plan in mind he has no ulterior political motive—if the desire to become President of the United States can be called ulterior. Maybe he wants to confer a boon on i the American motorists, or perhaps {ne wants to boom his product. But, goodness knows, the product of his factories needs no boom, judging from the appearanco of the streets of all American cities. Perhaps he just natu- {rally hates a trust and high prices { generally. The soldiers’ bonus is another those considerations that arise to make life a little harder for statesmen | who have to figure out taxation pro- grams: —————— By not going on record with opin- ione of his own, President Coolidge | avolds checking an enormous supply of interesting suggestions. ———— Germany is warranted in hoping that the dirigible Dixmude will be more peaceful in its purposes than the carlier type of Zeppelin. — oo Street Lighting Plans. be greater than the number employed | make o and from gulf to Canadian | of | greater than before the war and, with] H ' i i | i i i i i i the_budget, and the understanding is that when the estimates were reduced to conform to limitations imposed by the budget burcau the iterh for the new lighting system was stricken out. It is dlso the popular understanding that the item was included in the sup- plemental estimates, and @ that the argument in support of brighter street lighting, and with which everybody in the District is familiar, was pressed upan the attention of the divectér of the budget. There is hope that the item may be included in the final esti- métes to Congress, and that a sum sufficient to begin the i»: rtant work of adequately lighting sireets of the Capital will be appropriated next ses- slon. ———————— The Shenandoah. ZR-1, America’s greatest dirigible, made her way successfully from Lake- hurst, N. J., to the flying fleld at St. {Louis in a little short of twenty-six hours elapsed time, leaving her hangar at 6:59 yesterday morning and dock- ing at St. Louis at 7:52 this morning. That was not a remarkably fast trip. An airplane has made the cross-con- tinent flight in about the same time. But ZR-1 is not a speedy craft. At least she was not pressed for speed on this flight. She started in adverse con- ditions with head winds, and for a time made only about seventeen knots an hour. When ZR-1 returns home she will be formally given a regular name. She will be christened by the wife of the Secretary of the vy asg Shenandoah, which is the most appropriate title, as Shenandoah in Indian means “Daugh- ter of the Stars.” It is announced that hereafter American official dirigibles will have distinctive names, and will not be known by algebra-like formu- lae. The cryptic letters and figures borne by dirigibles and planes are merely class titles. They arc hard for people to remember. Not many, for example, recall that the plane that crossed the Atlantic was NC-4, or that thé machine in which MacReady and Kelly flew across the continent was the T-2. Had these machines borne names instead of letters and numbers they would have had much more in- dividuality. During the war it wa® necessary for record purposes to reduce the plane and dirigible titles to' the simplest terms. The letters represented type and the numbers the units. But in time of peace, especially when there are not so many aircraft, names are much more desirable. Their selection will give scope to imagination. If the day of the private plane ever comes probably these domestic or business fiyers will all have fancy names, just | as it was once the custom to name the family motor car. ———————— Sir Thomas Lipton may intend to issue another yachting challenge. In { the meantime the world public is look- ing &t the race borses and the air- ships. Poincare does not feel under obliga- tion to be generous toward Germany with anything except advice about her financial policies. Ttaly will sell/ advertising space on postage stamps. If ail applicants are accommodated letters may have to be as big as billboards. In the present turmoil the former kaiser is apparently willing te look on much like a disinterested bystander. Japan will rebuild, but the seismo- graph continues to suggest a reason- able delay in the enterprise. It would probably be hard to con- vince a resident of Duesseldorf that the war is over. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON A Fair Question. . Upon a far Pacific strand A savage child, A battle bolo in his hand, Was running wild. We said to him, “Untutored elf, You're out of luck! It's wrong to misbehave yourself 4nd run amuck. Said he, “I have n¢ knowledge deep Of war machines. And so I am compelied to keep This simple means. “But from the course now made so plain I shall not fly. 4 1.sec my betters raising Cain ‘Why should not I?” Money .and Politics. “Do you think a bgnker ought to become an office holder?” “I don't see that a banker should be discriminated against,” answered Senator Sorghum. “There might be more excuse for getting inquisitive The Fine Arts Commission has be-| when an office holder becomes a tures which have been submitted with a view to selecting those best suited to remodeling the strect-lighting s: the posts and fixtures ‘“are ornamental and artistic, the idea being to give the National Capital a system of lights in keeping with the dignity of the seat of government.” The present lighting of the streets has been officlally and unoffictally found to be inadequate. The condition is obvious in residence streets in old sections of the city, and the insuf- ficiency of light in streets in the new sections is admitted by everybody More light is needed to increase the safety of travel in the streets and to generally improve the appearance of the Capital at night. ~Complaint ‘against the dimness of streets and the shadows that lie upon them at night is universal, and some time ago a committee of experts in electricity and street illumination 'adopted a plan for modernizing the street lighting system. The expendi- ture for this work was to be spread over a series of years. The sum need- ed is not large when one considers the advantages to be had, and the District is able to pay its share of the cost. A sum for beginning the work was included in the original esti- fore it scveral types of posts and fix- | banker. | No green-goods man can bring dismay. | aristocrat But—whisper—jays must have their.| Jud Tunkins s in his state all a man Wh? is looking for trouble has to tem of Washington. It is said thatjdo is torun for the legislature, Same Old Human Nature. We fear no gold-brick game today. larks. A lot of us bought German marks. i g A City Man’s Impression. “Did you see anything interesting on your tour last summer?” “I did,” answered Mr. Chuggins. “I gazed on the boundless prairies of the west. It filled me with awe not -un- mingled with begret to see that mag- nificent lot of parking space going to : - A Sincere Pessimist, *“The coal supply of the world must be exhausted in @ comparatively short time.” . 3 ““Oh, well,” sighed ‘the ultimate con- sumer; “I guess it will hold out as long as the moriey does. 4 “Self-esteem is mighty .misleadin’, said Uncle Eben. “When a pig grants STAR, WASHINGTON, I XIX—Russia Can Europe Hold Before Dawn BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR It is & huge country. It could swal- 10w up the United States, France, Gér- imany, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom, |Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary. That is hard to gras| But the area now controlled by thé present government of Russia is larg- er than that. Russia would still have room enough left to add to those countries already mentioned an addi- tlonal territory equal to all of Europe outside of Russia. If we can imagine ourselves getting on the train at San Francisco and getting off the train at London, England, all the time in one country, that would give us an idea of the size of Russia. Russia today is more than two and a half times as large as the United States in area and contains 133,000,000 people. That Is what Russia has left after losing, since the war, Poland, Finland, Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania Bessarabla to the Rumanians. She lost an area of 260,000 square miles containing 25,000,000 people. ~ Today the Russian Soclalist federal soviet republic—the officlal name of the Soviet government—Iis a federa- tion of eight independent republics, seven auytonomous republics, five au- tonomou’ republics, two labor com- munes. A total of twenty-two ind pendent political units. Much of the detail work of orgaunization is carried out without any active participation by the central government at Moscow. The tendency of late has been for the central govérnment at Moscow to re- lease more and more power to these different independent units The old monarchy of the czar was overthrown by the revolution of March 12, 191 Nicholas Il was forced to ab . and Prince Lvoft became prewiers under orders from the duma. sslan national legis- k, and on August s premier. “During ne the peasants seized the lands and divided them up among themselves. Kerensky, a brilliant young attorney, had been a socialist advocate, but he tried hard to take a middle course ground and to please all groups. He failed. And on No- vember 3, 1917, the all-Russlan conr gress of workingmen, soldiers and peasunts’ deputies finally seized the power. It was the military revolu- tionary committee of Petrograd which wrested the power from Kerensky Lenin and Trotsky, new names to the world, were lifted to power, and the dictatorship of the proteriat was set up for the first time in a great erea in the history of the world. $1,200,000,000 of Foreigners’ Property Conflscated. Immediately the new government withdrew from the world war and sign ed the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Ger- many. Her war problem over, she turned to internal affairs. All rights of private property were abolished. The government took over all transports, communications, dustry, food, money, title to lan of goods, the productive processes of activities, and assumed complete charge of the products of industry and th products of agriculture. By December, 1519, privaté propert: tal was practically gone. {to all property, whether owned by for- «igners or Russians. In this | $1,200,000,000 of property o { vigners within Russta was con ] ovember, 1917, to March, 1921, Russfan government tried t¢ hold {th pure communism. She tried despe {ately to bring order out of chaos. But | matters were going from bad to worse. Her transportation had broken down. Her exports had dwindled to nothin The cconomic blockade of the allics during this time was causing disaster, disease and death to thousands. The soviet government was desperate. It could not function, and the palicy of; conscription of all the peasantscrops outside of what was left to the peasauts for a bare living had resulted in smalier and smaller crop being planted. The soviet government was hanging by ja thread. Then came the invasions from outside by Denekine, Kolchak and Wran- gel, backed up by both men and money from the allies. These invasions saved ym Secretary Mellon, who is for Cool- idge; Giftord Pinchot, who is supposed {to be for himself, and Senator Pepper, who doesn’t know yet whom he's for, met in close juxtaposition on Satur- day. The occasion was the annual outdoor luncheon party of Col. Ken- nedy, a vice president of the Penn, vania raflroad, valley country place near Gettysburg. {Mellon and Pinchot were non-eontro- iverslal in the nth degree when they !exchan[ed greetings. Quoth the Sec- {retary of the Treasury: “Governor, ;Penn!)’lvnn(a'! a great state” Sena- | tor Pepper, hard by, was &S non-com- imittal as h}- White House statement {on the presidential situation. All the {other gods of Penn politics were on {nand—Sproul, ~Stotesbury, Schrwab, Stuart, Schaffer, Sadler and Stack- pole. They run to §'s in the G. O. P. hierarchy in the Quaker state. Calvin Coolidge's performances—past, pre ent and possible—age watched with an eagle eve in Pennsylvania, with two favorite sons of its own. * % ok % Brig. Gen. George A. L. Dumont, French military attache at Washing- {ton, takes more than passing interest in Germany's wrigglings and writh- ings in the Ruhr. Following the armistice Dumont was French" coal commissioner at Essen and for nearly a year was a mine boss of the valley. Gen. Dumont s the type of the mod- ern attache accredited to a foreign government. The day of more or Jess legalized espionage on purely military affairs is gone. Npwadays the effective attache of a' foreign army or navy is the man who knows the most of another country's eco- nomic and_industrial resource: To that end Gen. Dumont is about to make one of his periodical trips of inspection across the United States. * k¥ R Senator and Mrs. Medill McCormick of Tllinois, who together with thelir children are ardent equestrians, em- ploy an English groom. He bears the ic name Of Beatty, is a kinsman of the admiral of the British grand fleet, and when that noble ear] was in Washington at the arma- ‘ment conference, received a call from him. Miss Katrina MecCormick, the i small daughter of the McCormick | household, has become an accomplish- ed little horsewoman under Beatty's tutelage. i | i i | * ¥ ¥k X Another volume of memoirs, dealing with the Washington of Secretary Blaine, Senator Evarts and “Czar’ Reed, is about to appear. The author is Charles R: Flint, New York mer- chant-prince, sometimes called * the | at his Cumberland | the day for the soviets. All Russlans (both white and red) joined hands to resist to the death the incoming In- vaders. This gave the soviet govern- ment time to recover her lost ground. She successfully resisted all the in- vaders. But _conditions continued to grow worse. Something had to be done or the government was lost. The prob- lem of increasing the production of agriculture was. the first consideration. At last on March 23, 1921, the soviet government, under the inspiration and leadership of Nicholas Lenin, declded to o modify the policy of communism that private trading within certain de- fined lim was made legal. This is what is called the new economic policy of Russla—"NEPF’! for short. Seek to Placate Peasants. Since that time conditions in Rus. sia have been steadily.improving. . Es. pecially is this true with regard to agriculture. Under the new NEP Policy the government takes in taxes now ‘from 12 to 15 per cent of the peasant’s crop. The peasant can dis- Pose of the balance as he sees fit. The requisition of all crops by the gov- ernment is gone. 'As a result produc- tion is Increasing. n addition to this new develop- ment, the wll-Russlan oentral execu- tive committee in January, 1922, passed a decree establishing a cen- tral agricultural commission, under the presidency of M. I. Kalinin, presi- dent of the Soviet Republic, with headquarters in.Moscow, the present capital of Russia. The object of this comission s to increase production and ‘to rehabllitate agriculture. So important {s this work in the opinion of the sovict government that Presi- dent Kalinin. himseif a peasant, gives two hours a day to the ring of all cases of disputes betwe peasants which the . local -authoritics e not been able fo wettle.” The government realizes that the contented agricul- turist is fts strongest weapon. This pollcy has already had two im- portant results. It has had the effect of bringing the great peasant class— 80 per cept of the population—into sympathetic relationship with the so~ viet government of Russia. In the second place, agricultural production has o far recovered that the authori- ties expect to be able to export about 5,000,000 bushels of grain for this year, 1923, which. grain they will ex- change for agricultural machinery and other essential {mports. Whether Russia {s yet produing sufficient grain for all her people I am not able to ay, but Russia must have certain im- ports, like farm machinery, to reha- bilitate, and she will sell this year, outside of her own country, the larg- est volume of grain since 1917, Sees Sigus of Recovery. Since the NEP policy was intro- duced, two and a half vears ago, the present government of Russia has been growing stronger —and more powerful. Agricultural production is increasing; ~the citles @re showing increased life. 1 was in Russia in July and 1 saw old buildings being remodeled and_ painted, new plate glasy fronts being installed in many stored in Petrograd and Moscow -and other cities; -streets were being re- paired and new street cars being in- rtalled. Stocks of goods in the stores were fliling up rapidly and food was cheap and plentiful. At the Hotel in Moscow in July of this vear I had a dinner consist- ing of ble soup, fish, fried i ohicken, potatoes, vegetables, a let- t nd tomato salad. ice cream, ke and coffes for 35 cents. sia since the revolution has been through the most horrible suf- fering yet experienced by a modern nation. . She has touched the hottom economically, flnanciaily and so- cially. ough it all the soviet govern- | Th ment has survived untll today tha government of Lenin and Trotsky is not only th but, judged by all former . oné of the sirongest in Europe. At this time it 15 in a very strong position. estion, -than, Js:; Can this govern- {men® last? This we will take up in our next articl & | Tomorrow: Is Russia Coming Back? ght, 1923, in United States and Great ain’ by North Americun Newepaper All Tights reserved.) Copy g - WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE |idge while in Washington, found him “extraordinarily English” in make- up. In respect to his modest bearing, reticence suggesting shyness, and physiognomy, Sir Roderick thinks Mr. Coolldge cuts the figure of the Anglo- |Saxon statesman of the best type. | Jones is on his way around the globe, which Reuter's, like the British Em- ire. girdles. ' His news agency is | “semi-official” and when it deals in foreign news is commonly regarded as | the, spokesman of Downing street. During the war Sir Roderick, who re- ceived ‘his gournalistic training in Africa, was in cherge of “cable and wireless propaganda.” His chief job was to counteract the Baron Mun- chausens of “German Wireless.” 3 * ok ok ok October ushers in the season when public men at Washington are hom- barded with requests for speeches hither and yon. The President is by no means the only one in demand. Cabinet ministers, members of Con- gress and foreign diplomats could easily put in the bulk of their time “being with us tonight” from now until the after-dinner season is over. It is no longer considered undignified for a statesman to accept pay for a speach. According to his fame, the honorarium ranks anywhere from $50 to 3500 an appearance, plus ex- penses. Borah is asked oftener to de- liver addresses than any other notable in Washington. *ik ¥ *x Thefts of “diplomatic liquor” at Baltimore are said to be of common occurrence. A distinguished member of the Washington corps is mourning, for the second time in succession, the loss of a shipment of a dozen cases of champagne. He finds the in- surance companies disconcertingly prompt in paying compensation. Em- bassles and legations, which import their vombustibles = in _quantities, ‘bring them to Washington from Bal- timore under heavy guard. (Copyright, 1928.) Says Cash Customers Get Unfair Treatment To the Editor of The Star: There is a great need in this city for a Protective Assoclation for Citi- zens. " The merchantsard protected against dishonest buyers by the mercantile assoclations and the Merchants’ Pro- tective n, but the honest purchasers have absolutely no redress ‘when dealing with unscrupulous mer- chants. It is too often unsafe to cash for goods that have to be delivered. There is always Some excuse on tho part of some merchants for mot de- 1 ~ | livering the goods the customer or-|ue of a AMERICAN NIGHTS ENTERTAIN- MENT. Grant Overton. Appleton, Doran, Doubleday, Scribners. The world of books is an overpop- ulated world wherein the unwaywis reader promptly becomes either hope- lessly lost or helplessly confused. Turned loose in the great metropolis of books this average reader is much like the stay-at-home set down for the first time in the turmoil of Lon- don or New -York. If, as in earlier years, reading were confined chiefly to a few skimmed off the top of the general population the situation would offer no problem. But nowadays everybody reads—that is, almost everybody. There obtrudes right here the “discomfiting ratio of illiteracy that the war round-up disclosed. Still, after all, practically every one-does read. "To meet this general and ac- tive interest each year produces an increasing rabble of books, all clam- orous for recognition, all solicitous for acceptance. No wonder that plain reading men and women lose thelr heads and send out a persistent SOS for light and leading. In answer, lists of best books spring up like mushrooms, lists for summer read- ing, lists to meet every imaginable mental stir of the people. Reading advice drips steadily from the spigots of general knowledge and special preferency. * ok k% a blue moon, there comes along one who walks the puzzling crisscross gtreets of the city of 10,000,000 books unpretentious fellow, even though he turned out to be filled and packed down with current bpok lore, books 15 mighty swelling in its ef- fects sometimes. Overton strolled in like any other mere man, behaving and comfortable-like, he almost at once commenced to talk, pretty much to himself, it seemed. Certainly there was no hint of an audicnce in his manner. Oh, yes, a whale of a one wild messing around them for things worth while; ® * * not quite ® ® ¢ a post set up here, o light strung there you; * ¢ these placed rather by a i then in a minute or so he was talk- about Joseph Conrad. From these in the neighborhood of Gene Stratton Porter and Harold Bell Wright. In between, he stopped here and there for Edith Wharton and Zona Gale, ington, for Arthur Train and V, Sack- ville-West. (For the last of these s 0n). To Christopher Morley ho Bave Morley s by temperament unsuited to aeven the most accommodating of pigeonhol What was he saying tashion, analyzing the outstanding work of these authors. At least, I bit In the world like the stiff for- was It o casual going along with this / or that one, taking it up here word, there in a phrase, yonder Once in a month o' Sundays, once In as if he were patrolling Main street Such a one came in a minute ago. An A rarity, for an intimacy with no more like a literary pundit than ot of books: * * °* enough to drive hopeless, though; * s s on, not his “post,” not his ot of folks working together. And ing about John Galsworthy.and then he swung off and away, bringing up for Joseph Lincoln and Booth Tark- he has clearly & genuine literary pas- a little monologue all by itself, since about them? Well, he was, after a suppose he was, but it sounded not a malism ofthe usual analysis. Rather ‘ + clipped conclusfon. Yet, in sum, 1 in his home town on the Wabash. could you or 1.~ Slumping down, easy light, here was literary criticism at its best—approachable, even sociable. The real point of Mr. Overton' dropping in for a talk came, how ever, one is sure, when he slipped into moments of easy reminiscence about the real men and women be- hind their books. None would know better than he that here, after all, wagthe real point of contact between a bok and its reader. “What sort of pergon is this writer? Where does he Hve? Who are his friends? What does he do every day when he Is not being an author? How much of him eludes them? No idle curosity at all. Admiration rather tinged, mayb with envy of the power that can pro- ject in such truth and beauty that Which we feel and possibly possess with no such gift for its expression. intimate touches gave new s to old readings. They proved to . as well, among the best and most quickening things that Mr. Overton had to say in the whole of his rich and ;bestowing hour among these writérs and their books. * %k % From these writers and their work Mr. Overton fell bafk into certain ad- ventures in reading. In not time at all he had spread the magic carpet and upon it we were whirled away— now, through the realms of actual space, now into the far domain of the mind. And round and about us stood a mighty company—its mem- bers, each the old Haroun himself come back to body. Famed travelers, all, spreading out before us the wonders of the world and the mar- vels of the Imagination. There fol- lowed then a “breathless” hour in which the men of mystery and the men of laughter strive one agalnst the other for leadership in the lists of man’s entertalnment. After them the playmakers and the poets came trooping, and right there wo sat up, straight, as one is likely to do when he sees’a friend in the crowd. We caught a glimpse of John Hall Wheelock in his “unhurried. ascent to the highest rank among cotempo- rary American pdets.” (We are not quoting Mr. Overton here. While he feels just about this poet he would never have said it that way.) * ¥ ok % A little half hour of talk went into what Mr. Overton called “Lost Pat- that something “Individual in scheme or style, something wholly personal in flavor,” that essence which a writer here and there may have caught, once, wholly and uni . What he meant is lllustrated by°:i‘3e he said about George Moore's “Hail and Farewell.” “We shall never have & writer like George Moore, not even George Moore,” Then, entirely wide- awake, quite up-and-coming. Mr. Over- ton talked about the world of books for children. Of course, Alice led off, but the rest came on at a proper distance. All but “Susanna’s Auction,” which failed to get in at all. That hurt my feelings, for Susanna is a child that minds a slight like everything, and I love Susanna. Then Mr. Over- ton got up and shook himself out and said he must be getting along. “Why don't you put all that into a book?" sald I “I will—I have,” sald he. And surely enough he had, for not long after the book came my way. Talking about books—well, here is one that for its kind cannot be bea en. Not a big book, yet it has about the whole of the current writing fleld spread out within it. ‘Good house- keeping, you see. Sense of orde: The gift of simphfication and ar- rangement, Willingness to throw a fow things away to give full place to things important to the spccial purpose of the matter in hand. The content of ‘this book {s masterly in scope. It covers the fleld of current literary production. It possesses a keen sense of values In literature. It adds a stors of intimate personal iknowledge of sharply vitalizing ef- fect. One likes Mr. Overton's spirit. No high-brow—but he knows. Fine literary. appreciation without any ex- clusive airs about it. Frankly ac- cepts the judghient of a million or so sturdy American folks about the va book. The fact that a pontif- i ther of -the trusts.” Flint names his|dered in a satisfactory condition, and |{sal few would not consider the story autoblography Sealing Wax"—a paraphrase. of ‘a mous fine by the Wi X rough the Looking Glass’ it has been a factor in_ America's fereign. trade, notably with South America, for half a century. In a chapter on Blaine and reciprocity treaties, he tells of his first conversation with Speaker Reed on the subject. “Reciprocity2”. .ex claimed Reed. “What in hell is reci- |’ procity?” Y * ok ok % Rt .Q.q"wno called on President Cool- his -order made satisfactory, he .is mmpl-ti‘l‘y iggored. 'he purchaser mnm: er engage a lawyer. or give 8 Se e M the other hand, those who pey on time—or never pay at all—have ry advantage. They are treated with unfailing courtesy. Clerks fol- low them around, bow and scrape and see that everything is satisfactory. the merchants, are at counsider- 50! - rooms, mxc ers, the maliling ottbul.gmn o s jgash customers pay for and left all wround, A B—M “Men and Ships and | when the customer endeavors to have | for a minute Is nothing in his young Iite. He stops out with the majority in the cases brought out here. One ikes that. It is as sound as it is un- usual. - Now, it I were looking for a really useful book to give me fair direction in a much beclouded matter, and if, at the same time, I'd like to got close to a thoroughly equipped gulde—a knowing sympathetic man with nb end of good sense about him —why, I'd take this iman and this ook. Interesting that four publishers appear to feel just m{-“'m. :tle. all four are s o & Nights gets into his stories and what part; ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Where is the highest point afound Washington?—S. A. N. A. The geological survey says that the highest point in Washington is Tenleytown, which is 420 feet above sea level. Q. By whom was sky-writing first suggested?—W. O. W. A. It was first used in England in 1911, when airplanes were a curiosity. Jack Savage of London, While mak- ing a flight, noticed that his engin was “oiling up.” This gave him the idea of writing letters in the sky. Q. Whete is the largest pouitry farm in the United States?—E. P. R. A. The largest is tho Corliss at Petaluma, Calif., which has a capas ity of 30,000 fowls. The largest poul- try farm in the east is Laurelton. %xlg:;voad. N. J., with a capacity of Q. What kind of wood {s best for bows and arrows?—H. D. L. A. The forest service says that hickory and yew are used for making bows, while ash and oak are used for making arrows. Q. Please explain operation of pro- portional voting systems which, ac- cording to the newspapers, obtai; in the Irish Free State—D. M. C. A. The secretary of the Assoclation for the Recognition of the Irish R public says it would be almost im- possible to explain fully in a few words the system of proportional vot- ing in Ireland. Briefly: Several can- didates are nominated for each office by each party, the voter registering first, second, third, fourth or even fifth choice. It is necessary for clec- tion that a candidate recei®e a ma- jority of first-choice votes of a num- r of second-choice votes more than double the number of any first-choice votes received by any other candidate, and so on. Should a candidate re ceive a surplus of votes over the num- ber needed to elect, these votes would be credited to the next candlidate for office of the same party. Q. How can I clean a mesh bag?— G A. One way to clean a mesh bag is to apply with a plece of cotton a preparation consisting of liquid am- monia and chalk. Let this dry and then wipe off with a soft picce of cloth. This prepagation can be bought from a jeweler. Q. Which noise can be heard far- ther, artillery or thunder?—C. J. A. The greatest distance at which thunder can be_ heard is fourteen to eighteen miles, but it is not generally heard at a greater distance than nine miles. In the recent war the shel and bomb explosions and the noiso of the fifteen-inch guns of the Ger- mans and the allies in France were heard in the eastera part of England | at distances up to 150 miles. Q. What kind of money is used in the Hawailan Islands?—A. R. W. A.'United States money is the legal tender of the islands, but other kinds may be in circulation, due to tl various nationals doing busine: there. Q. At times the electric starter on my car will not work, although my battery has been tested and found all right. Can you tell me what the trouble 187—E. S L A Farm Mechanics says that the reason your starter works spasmod- ically when you have a fully charged battery is because of a dirty or cor- roded terminal on the positive post of the battery. Remove both cables where they fasten to the battery posts and scrape them and the posts clean. Then replace them and pour a small amount of oil over them. The oil will keep out the corrosion which causes | the trouble. Q. What is the view of sclentific men’as to the origin of oil?—F. J. D A. The generally accepted theory lof the origin of potroleum is that it comes from the decomposition of the remains of myriads of minute forms of animal lifc that existed ages ago. The oil contained in these microscop ic bodies forms petrolmiz. Q. Will the varnish on an expensive plano check?—A. E. A. The varnish on all pianos checks but usually need give the owner no concern. The checking of varnish on a_wood surface cannot he prevented With a reasonable degree of care, the appearance of @ piano is not impair- ed, since the lines caused by check ing aze scon only under closo iuspec on. Q. What i; fortles" A. Th: s a sailor's term for th seas between 40 degrees and 50 d grees north and south of the equator It is applied particularly to the part of the Atlantic ocean which. lies {n the forties, because it is a stormy region. s meant by tho “roaring Q. Who said that virtues are only disguised vices?—O. E. T. A. In the Maxims of La Rochefou cauld, his moral philosophy is sum- med up in the maxim that stands s the epigraph at the head of the collection, “Our virtues are most fre- quently but vices di Q. Where at Rockford, Il st camp. Tho maximu: £ this camp was 6 amp Lee, at Petersburs, Vi, Was t <t largest, With Ximum capi ty of 60,335, Q. Is merciry found in the form ir which it is used?—A. K. A. Mercury occurs native In the metailic form, but by far the larger part of it is obtained by distilling the native sulphide, cinnabar, in « current of alr so regulated as to burn the sulphur of the sulphide while leaving the mercury in the metallic state. Q. Is it true that cyclomes have driven straws into wood?—R. L. B. A. Willis Luther Moore in writing of ‘the unmeasurable speed of rota- tion tornadoes says that he himself has seen wheat straws that were shot by the wind of a_ tornado one-half inch into the tough body of an oak tree, and a two-by-four pine scantling driven through five-eighths of an inch of solid iron. Q. Where was the first Methodl Chiirch established in this country? E. P. A. Immigrants from Ireland and gland brought Methodism to_ the Tnited States. One group headed by Philip Embury formed what was call ed the First Methodist foty. ‘America, in New York, in 1706. About the same time Robert Strawbridge began to preach and form eocieties in Frederick county, Md. Some clain that the Maryland beginning was pr or to that of New York. The matter is in controve . What was the first medical mag. Rz?ne in the United States?—G. C. . A. The Medical Repository, a quar- terly, was the first medical journal published in_America. It was founded in 1797 in New York under the ed! torship of Samuel L. Mitchell, Edward Miller and Elihu Smith. Star Information Bureau Haskin, director, 1220 Vorth Capitol street, will answe wour questiom State it plainly and briefly and inclose 2 cents in stamps for return postage.) (The deric_J. Demand End to Sacrifice ‘ In Useless Freely accepting the doctrine that soldiers wnd sailors must risk their lives in some experiments for the fu- ture defense of the country, editors are loath to agree there was any ex- cuse for the loss of the naval balloon in Lake Erie last July at a cost of the lives of two officers, and of the destruction of the American entry in the Bennett race very recently, when two additional American naval offi- cers perished. Back in 1906, when the cup first came into competition, there was valuable material for meteorolo- gists to be gathered from the reports of the pilots. But times have changed, as editors point out, and the drifting gas bags seem to havé mno place in modern life. Therefore comes an al- most united demand, Why continue these balloon races As the Milwaukee Journal puts it, “¢ we must risk costly equipment and the lives of men whoee training has made them of service to the coun- try, let us do it in some form of con- test that at lgast holds promise of valuable results.” The effort on the part of certain offictals to justify the race also incenses the Boston Tran- Script, which insists “there is no sub- stitute -for common eense anywhere at any time. Regardless of the find- ings that may be tugned in by off clal investigators, we 'hope Washing- tfon will not permit the entry of any American balloon in any race where the officers refuse to take into co sideration existing weather condi- tions. The loss of these officers i their country's loss, and the lesson of their brave sacrifice must be taken to heart.” The Indlanapolis News insists there is doubt whether “even as a sport” balloon racing is worth while, and, as for solentifio results, “it has been shown beyond doubt that storms in the upper alr aro likely to be en- Countered at any time and that in a storm the free balloon is & death trap. The officers who gave their lives in line of duty to make the most of the races are victims of the Stubbornly held conventlon that the free balloon is still a useful aero- nautio instrument. Henceforth the government. should contrive to have fis air observations made by men Wwho have every advantago of safety afforded by aeronautical discoveries. The very fact that “threc persons were killed even hefore the first bal- joon took the air’ secms to the Nashville Banner to ‘“emphasize again the question as to why wo have balloon races anyhow,” al- though the Lynchburg Advance feels called_upon to point out the Amer- fcan Bennett entrants “would have been the victims of much adverse critictsm had they not taken a chance. No similar oocurrence should be per- mitted in the future. Sanity above all things should prevail in aviation. This view is amplificd by the Boston Traveler, which believes as-bag aviation—if 1t can be called aviation, When thers is no device for steering Zis a proposition for fair weather, Tot foul” It is the opinion of the Asheville Times that. the “tragedy should_have a sobering effoot upon man. It should make him less boast- ful in his claims that he has estab- iished mastery of the air and that he scales the heavens with impunity. "The question pressed home by the tragedy, -as the Springfield Repub- lican sees it, is “What good is a bal- loon?’ That paper recalls the various deaths due to the gas bags, and points out “the case for the balloon distinot- ly is different from the airplane. With airplanes ascending over 35,000 foet the need of a balloon even for meteorological obeervation . seems largely to have ceased. As a means of transportation the balloon seems Qefinitely o back number. Unless evi- dence can be presented to the con- trary balloon races may well bo aban- doned and atténtion concentrated on risks which are more uscfully taken. In connection with the latter sugges- tion the Cincinnati Commercial Trib- une aptly insists that “foolish risk s not sportsmanship. No doubt in the developrent of useful inventions in Balloon Races: of science lives of me be lost. Th: because out of demonstration and the evolution of experiment risks | must be run, the offer of premium for competition in such behalf is as | commenda it is legitimate. But progress does not call for hazards | that manifestly cannot help. Circum- | stances and conditions of the present disastrous Bennett cup race renewal { bear evidence that if this was mot | wanton sacrifice it was sacrifice for want of proper considerations of life.’ Even worse is the characterization by | the Columbia Record. Which feels “these races are nothing but epec- | tacies of men defying the elements, staking their lives agalnst their luck to make a Roman holiday, perhaps. for the crowd.” Aviation In {tself is so dangerous an art, or pastime, that the Danville Bee insists its rieks “are sufficiently long and gruesome without willfully adding to them the lives of dauntless men,’ hile the Binghamton Press adds “this sort of thing may be sport. but we are bound to say that we can’t see what earthly utility there is in it.” If there reaily i§ anything at all to be gained through balloon tests the Manchester Union suggests “the time seems to have come for some sweeping changes in arrangement i although even that hardly would help. inasmuch as, In the view of the Har- risburg Patriot, “contests of this sort emphasize the ‘sentiment of interna- tional rivalry rather than the search of scientific knowledge.” This s es- peclally true, the Springfleld Union hold: inasmuch a no_form of air- craf! as been de ed that can brave any and every kind of weather condi- tion, least of all those dependent upon inflammable and explosive gas for their lifting power and subject to the caprice of the wind. 'For One “Silent Night” For D. C. Radio Stations To the Editor of The Star: There are several conditions in ra- dlo broadcasting here in Washington which T think might be changed with approval of the great majority of listeners and I venture to suggest the discussion of them in The Evening Star. Tho programs of the Telephone Company and the Radio Corporation stations are excellent and very en- joyable, but these stations have prac- tically a monopoly of the air while they are operating, as they make it very difficult to tune in outside sta- tions. The season Is coming when we may expect to hear far-away stations quite distinctly and it is very inter- esting to hear them. I therefore sug- gest that we should have one “silent night” each week, as they have In Chicago and some other cities; that is, 2 night in which the local stations are silent so that we may tune in distant statlons. Monday night is perhaps preferable, as far western citles can be heard without interfer- ence from Chicago, On Monday night this week, for in- stance, the Schenectady station was coming in strong, but was immedlate- 1y drowned out when RCA began broadcasting. Out-of-town stations would furnish a_continuous program until late at night but for this local interference. The two big local sta- jtions should be satistled with six eve- nings of the week, and I think the ma- Jority of listeners would be glad to have a “night oft” for out-of-town programs. Another * suggestion is that the dance music which is belng broad- casted from 9 to 12 p.m. two or three evenings a weck 1s probably appre- clated by very few people. I think a majority of radio fans would mugh prefer to have this omitted and to be free to tune i distant stations iu the late lLiours. = 1 would like to see a discussion of these_suggestions in the columns of The Star and I feel sure that the ra- dlo stations will fall in with the ‘wishe f the majority of their au- s O the IS A WATSON. i the progress { cessity must the w i