Evening Star Newspaper, December 1, 1923, Page 6

TI{E EVENING STAR , tlons in the United States within two | large number of the farms and vil- ‘With Sunday Morning l"dlflglg: WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. ...December 1, 1623 THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Bustnees Office, 11th §t. and Penryivania Ave New York O 0 Enxt 4200 St. Tower Building. + 10 Regent 8. Londos, Eugl . Editor European Office The Evening Star, with edition, is delivercd by ¢ 60 ceats per month: per_month; Sunday oniy, 20 cents per . Orders may be sent br el or tele- phone Muin 3000. “Collection 1s made by car- ziers at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payuble in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Datly and Sunday Daily only Sunday oul, All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1yr., $10.0¢ Daily only Sunday oniy. Member of the Associated Press. The Ausoclated Press fa cxclusirely entitled to the ‘use for republication of ull news dis- atgues eredited o 1t or not otherwlse credited n this ‘paver and also the locsl tews pub. lished “herein. Al rights of publication of special disputches hereln ura also reserved. pases e Sunday morning riors within (h datly only, 46 Preparedne: Becretary Weeks, treating the sub- Jects of military preparedne na- tional defense and the monetary ex- penditure Tequired for their main- tenance, gives a most logical and in- controvertible argument in his annual Teport published today. He makes an economic analysls of the national de- fense. Those who have criticized the cost of upkeep of the defensive arm of the government will find an answer which should disarm further com- plaint. Those pacifists who have pro- tested agalnst adequate measures for the protection of this land and its in- habitants will find themselves in an indefensible position. The report departs from the usual dry summary of statistics end par- takes of the nature of a thesis, replete | ; with interesting statements and com- b ments. It is worth everybody's read- i ing, and should be peculiarly instrue- tive and interesting to senators and representatives who later in the ses- alled upon to appropriate - upkeep of the military i, which comprises the Army, Nuvy und the Marine Corps. Secretary Weeks shows the utter absurdity of the charge that the mili- tary establishment constitutes overweening drain upon the federal budget, disproportionate to the totul expenses of the government. He points out that the combined cost the Army, Navy and Marine Corps Is only | 14 per cent of the federal budget, and that the Army alo akes only 6 lm-i cent. He cost th what the n of s that military taxpayers on: spend for luxuries, amuse- ents and mild vi says, the people spend six times as much for soda and confections as they #pend for military purposes; for tobac- co nearly four time: much; I theaters and other amusements more than three times as much. In point of fact, he say %Zen contributes at the rate of less than $2.50 annually for his or her whare of this common security. In the name of all that is sensible is it not | time for the lawmakers and the people at large to tike into consideration the facts surrounding military prepared- ness? Even if the cost were as large as the pacifists would make out, would it not be worth the price of security? But when it is not so large, what ex- cuse is there for neglecw® i ik . each citi- | | Looking a Gift-Horse— i Some persons still look a gift-horse in the mouth, and to outsiders it would seem that this particular gift- horse might be a handsome and worthy steed. Lord Leverhulme owns an i land off the northwest coast of t- Jand. It is the Island of Lewis, large and well pecpled. It is said that a river runs through it where salmon fishing is good, and that “stags and wild fowl tempt the huntsman.” The lord sought to organize fisherles and | other industries under the control of @ company, but islanders objected to ! becoming employes of any company. The owner then offered the island to , the {slanders, but they declined the : Bift, saying that it would cost more | to run the place with its castle and estates than they could make out of the island. Now Lord Leverhulme of- ; Ters the island for sale. Of course, it i may be presumed that the islanders {know their own business, and that they also know something about this island, but mome folk will probably ; comsider them lacking in appreciation . &nd enterprise. It seems very hard to make a charge of lack of thrift or en- terprise against Scotch people. The prospectus seems to show that this is ."' very good piece of real estate, but 1 the islanders decline it as e gift. | After Congress assembles some of the nation’s statesmen wonder what \ Thenksgiving was all about. ——— e Fo “World’s Fair” in 1926, For some time past Philadelphia has { been discussing the question of an- other “centennial” exposition, to be held in that city in 1926 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing | of the Declaration of Independence. Inasmuch as the City of Brotherly Love was the scene of the &igning, and most appropriately the scene of the big fair that celebrated the 100th anniversary of that epochal event, it bas been taken for granted that no other place would bid for the honor of e sesquicentennial. So the Philadelphians have been going ahead without fear of competition. But somehow the project has lagged. There has not been much public en- thusiasm over it in Philadelphia or elsewhere. Yesterday at a public meeting held in the office of the mayor to discuss the scope of the exposition it was overwhelmingly voted not to give a fair of the international proportions proposed by the exhibition association. The vote was 403 to 43. Most of those present, however, favored some sort of a celebration, and voted that it be ‘held exclusively under the auspices of the city. “World's fairs” have gone some- what out of fashion in this country, at jeast since the war. There were four of these great international exposi- | | {number of passports which may be tdecades. First came the quadricen- tennial at Chicago in 1893 to celebrate | the discovery of America by Colum- {bus. Then fn 1901, at Buffalo, was held the pan-American exposition to !mark the closer union of the two western hemisphere continents. Two years later, In 1903, the centenary of the Louislana purchase was celebrated at St. Loufs, and n 1915 at San Fran- cigco the completion and opening “of the Panama eanal was celebrated with the Panama-Pacific fair. It is @ question :ther these big shows have materfully henefited any of the cities in which they have been held. They have drawn immense crowds of mioney spenders and, tempo- rarily at least, the pros citles has been promoted. But the citles themselves have spent | sums, «nd in some of the c i ction has been harmful. For adver- positions have becn valuable, but while these big fairs have been held in the four cities named other coni- munities have grown grea(ly without the ald of such publicit; enterprises. Washington has never hud a great international exposition, a ‘“world's fulr,” or even @ uational show of this character. Yet it 18 a singular faet that the world's fair of 1893 was “born™ right here in this city, was projected as a Washingion show and developed up to the very point of the selection of a site by Congress, when in a three-cornered contest between the National Cupital, New York and Chicago the last-named city carrled off the prize. 8o Philadelphia will not have a big world's fair in 1926, but will quietly celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, It will probably not commercialize the birth- day of the immortal document, but will, with a dignity befitting the slon, commemorate the event. ——————— Limit the Visaz. H On the eve of the opening of (‘on- gTess many steamships eve dashing | for American ports with alien throngs ( abeard to land before the quotas are | exhausted. They s to emphasize the need of an orderly and fair system by which immigrants may be admitted to the (v «l States under the ing quet Congri Wrestle exist- | I | catled upon 1o f immigration ques. | wi 1 with the anq tion. Alteady a number of plans have | tivity in the Hel been advanced to put an e conditions Which today men grants, immigration steamship companfes. with properly Vised turned hack Lecause quot 1 to the | imm- | and | mamigrants | passports ure | have been | Steamship companies are | compelled to Leavr fince for | 1ging these lmuigrants to Ameri can sheres, and tl oftic Island, for example, are under u tre- miendous strain during the first days | ©of each month because of the hordes | stations deposited there I A plan must be d ! into effect which will do away with | th hazards. It may be that it will | require a disastrous colliston, with | heavy loss of life, perhaps during a foggy night off New York harbor, be- tween vessels racing for port in an effort to get their alien passengers “under the wire” before the quotas ce closed. Procrastination has been responsible for disasters of many kinds in the past. Proposals have been put forward that examinations of immigrants should be held on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. Such a system would result in a better selection of immigrants and of future Americans. But until & fixed limit is put upon the vised for each natlonality, for en- trance each month, it does not appear that the evils referred to can be eradi- | cated. If the number of passports were so divided, then the prospective immigrant who recelved a passport in December for use in May would be assured of admission into the United States, provided he complied with all the requirements of the immigration laws, whether he was landed in the United States the first day or the last day of May. Under such a system the perils of deportation because quotas | had been exceeded would vanish. The | steamship companies would not be | compelled to race for port, Imperiling | the lives of the passengers and crew in order to avold penalties which they must face if they bring allens in ex- cess of the quotas. ———— The candidacy of Miram Johnson will be managed by Frank Hitchcock. The latter, however, will not under- take to dictate the role his political star assumes nor to supervise the lines he speaks. —_—— Lady Astor wants her son to suc- | ceed her in parliament, thus defving | insinuations that feminine politics may interfere with the caves of | motherhood. ———— So far as Washington's Thanksgiv- ing was concerned the only genuinely inexpensive turkeys were those pa- triotically proffered for the White House dinner. ——— b The primary system does not sim- plity a campaign, but only makes it | longer. ——— Eleventh Street Southeast. Among the important requests made of the Commissioners by the South- east Citizens' Assoclation is that 11th street southeast be resurfaced from Pennsylvania avenue to the Anacostia bridge. This street is paved with granite blocks, laid many years ago In the time of horse-drawn vehicles. Then it was an upto-date plece of street paving. Eleventh street was a main way used by traffic between the city and e large section of the trans- eastern branch country and southern Maryland. It remains an important street, carrying perhaps as much, per- haps more, traffic than Benning road or Pennsylvania avenue east of 11th street. Eleventh street is one of the heavily traveled ways in and out of Washing- ton: It s the way to the Anacostia bridge, and south and east of that bridge to the District line are large communities. Streets frf8m the south- erly end of the bridge connect with Maryland's “state road" through southern Maryland, by which a very viast | not be done as soon as desired by the s the | tising purposes undoubtedly these ex- | | found the police lages of Prince Goorges, Charles and St. Marys countles are reached. Good Hove road, leading east from the Lridge, connects with tho Marlboro road, which is one of Maryland's good roads. Nichols avenue, southward from the bridge, connects with an- other Maryland good rokd passing through the Oxon HNI district of Prince Georges county and with many dirt roads leading through the Poto- mac side of the southern Maryland peninsula. Whether at this time, when paving funds are short, many built-up strects without pavements and a Jarge mile- age of streets and roads much out of repair, the Commlssioners can find money for resurfacing 11th street their problem. But if the work can- veople of Southeast Washington and the southeast gection beyond the East- ern branch it should be done at the earliest practicable time. Eleventh street from the Avenue to the Ana. costia bridge should be a smooth auto- mobile highway. promotion | i Nearby Vice Dens. County law officers can put & law- less and dlsreputalle “resort” out of business when they have a mind to do it. The othen duy & few Virginia of- flcers stormed n “‘resort™, in that part of Arlington county which bears the suggestive name of Hells Bottom. There was a tinie when Washington had much cause for complaint against dives that were operated at Jackson City and elsewhere along the Virginia side of the river, but that was years ago. Generally the law ofticers in the Virginia countles nes Washington seem to know what s going on in those counties and seem wnxious to carry out the law without being prodded to do it by law-respecting people. In the case of this nearby Virginia raid in Arlington county it is said that “this is probably the most effective clean-up of a dive in Hells Bottom in the history of the county.” Wherever disreputable resorts are r the county officers shouid suppre: them. These ‘“re- sorts™ are gathering places for a low type of city man, are places where men may be robbed or shot and where voung men may form the worst habits. A pluce of this sort spreads n evil influence in the neighborhood which permits it to exist. The Vir. ginia oflicers who showed such ac- : Bottom case are to be commended. ——— A demand by Bergdoll for $150,000 because of efforts to kidnap him indi- cates that the desire of the United States government to obtuin posses ston.of him has given him an exag- -4 sense of his personal value. —_————————— sight-cent fare is to Lo per- eight-cent picce ought to be coined to prevent the obstruction » trafic caused by the clumsy pas- genger wiio happens to drop a copper. manent —————————— As conditions develop any effort to put the Hohenzollern family in charge of the German government will call for all the courage they had left over from the w ————— The republican party has its fae- tional quarrels early enough to permit @ prospect of reconciliation before the national conventlon meets. ——— German statesmen are earnest in the wish that some of the political elements In Russia wonld cultivate a greater aloofness of attitude. ———— The position of dictator was once as- sumed by arbitrary force. The tend- ency now Is to make it an appointive office. —_——————— Custom {s inexorable, and & Presi- dent, however silent by habit, must occasionally say a few words to Con- gress. e The local belligerent demonstration would account for a considerable de- mand for arms in the German mark SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Fireside Student. 1 rought the rugged way to tread ‘That our forefathers went, And to the firelight leaned my head On study all intent. A pine knot flickered for awhile, ‘Then left me in the gloom. I sought angther with a smile My volume to {llume. Alas, my effort proved no good. T heard In tones severe The warning: “Don't keep wasting wood. 1t's getting much too dear | Seeking Applause, But Not Laughter. “Are you going to tell any humor. ous anecdotes in your campaign speeches?” “None whatever,” answered Senator Sorghum. “People laughed enough when I said I was going to be a candi- date. I've got to work hard to get ‘em into a serious frame of mind.” Jud Tunking says some people are | fond of children because the little ones feel it necessary to sit still and listen to foolish talk in order to show that they are sweet and obedlent. Campaign Entries. To new improvements we're inclined As candidates we hail. Instead of a dark horse we find A fiivver on the trail. Very Unusual. “I suspect our new butler is & noble- man in disguise,” remarked Miss Cayenne. “Is he so haughty in manner?” “Not a bit. He's just naturally po- lite, obliging and unobtrusive.” “The farmers should undertake to answered Farmer Corn- nly if we put in too much time campaigning wé'll come to be regarded as politiclans undertaking to run farms."” T'd rather hear most men sing dan talk,” said Uncle Eben, “‘so's dey won’ be "bliged to make up delr own words as dey goes along.” / . THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, .D. -C, SATURDAY, DECEMBER- 1, 1923. | | | | - IN TODAY’S BY PAUL The centennial anniversary of the Monroe doctrine will be celebrated tomorrow. The doctrine, which was formulated and announced in Presi- dent Monroe's message to Congress December 2, 1823, was in line with what John Quincy Adams, his Secre- tary of State, had previously express- ed and urged, not only in his diplo- matic relations, but in the councils of the cabinet. Secretary Adams, one of the most democratic of our early statesmen, was the most outstanding “imperial- 1st™ of his time and looked forward to 2 day when his country would cover the entire continent of North Amer- fea. “No pent-up Utlea” was his dream. His doctrine differed from Monroe's fn that it advocated an- nexation by the United States; Mon- roe only forbade farther annexation or colonization In the western hemi- “phere by any European nation, on the theory that such aggression would endanger the United States. At the close of our war of 1812 (In 1815) Mr. Adams proposed annexing Canuda “a8 2 matter of common sense." Tt was on hig Initiative that the treaty with Spain was made in 1819, und ratided in 1821, annexing Florida. ¥k ok % For several years the countries of South and Central America had been struggling for Independence from European powers, As, one by one, they had achieved their independence the new and feeble republics had re- celved recognition by the United States. In 1820 the minister of Portugal proposed that the United States and Portugal ehould unite as ‘“the two ETeat powers of the western heml- sphere"” in forming “a grand American system.” Secretary of State John Quincy Adams replied: “As to an Amerfcan system, we have It; we constitute the whole of it; thers is no community of interests or of prin- ciples between North and South Amer- 1e: This was a rejection of an * tangling allianc, But he furthe more opposed taking part in any for- elgn policles—and he concelved South Amerlea as “foreign.” In con- fining his own policy to North Amer- ica Secrotary Adams failed to anticl- rate the full breadth of the ultimate [policy of President Monroe in the defense of the entire western heml- sphere against further European en croachments, In 1523, prior to the announcement of the Aonroe doctrine, Necretary Adams rote our minister at Mudrid Is scarcely possible to re wviction that the annexation of Uba L0 our federal republic will he indispensable to the continuance and integrity of the Union” On July 17, ithe =ame year, he boldly told the Ru: n minister “that we should contest the rights of Russia to any territorial establishment on this con- tinent"—referring to Alaska—and he |added, “We should ‘axsume distinctly |he principle that the American ts for angy This was ¢, cover- becam. n tinents are no longer subj | European establishments’” {the first hint of the princiy {ing both continents, of what {the Monroe doctrine. * ¥ % ¥ Within a few months after our boid ldeflnnm‘ of Europe, there was formed the so-called “holy alllance” in which the Czar of Russia, the Em- iperor of Austria and the King of | Prussia swore to stand by each other “as brethren” ‘conformably to tha word of the Holy Seriptures.” In the United States and the new republics of South America, It was feared that one of the objects of this alliance was to seige territory in America, as well as in Europe. Thereupon, Sec- retary Adams prepared notes of de- 1 aguinst any possible encroach- |ment of the pewers of Europe upon any Amerlcan natlon. Whether it was President Monroe or Secretary i ’ BY FREDERIC One of the unknown but potent figures in the United States Senate 1s Henry M. Rose of Michigan, whose title is assistant secretary. His chief function Is that of prompter to the presiding officer. No member of the Senate, not even acknowledged par- lamentary experts like Brandegee, { Lenroot and Moses, has rules and pro- {cedure at his tongue" i During Mr. Coslidge's incumbency of the presidency of the Senate Rose was incessantly his gulde, philoso- { pher and friend at critical moments. Fot fifteen years, ever since Jullus Caesar Burrows brought him to the ! Senate from Michigan, Rose has been spered counsel to per- st‘:::«;“xar&?d‘l:: officers. He suffered 1% stroke during the congressional re- 1 cess now about to end, and it is not ! certain Rose wlill return to his old :d\lllc!- s R ! Mrs. Mabel W. Willebrandt, who ! fays down the law, past and present, | whenever the prohibition statutes {have to be interpreted, has dug up 2 { British Empire precedent of timely | interest. The Californta Portia, who is assistant attorney general of the United States, discovered that the British maintain around the Island of Ceylon & twenty-five-mile limit. It was established for protection of the Singalese ten trade, in Which Sir Thomas Lipten fs the principal factor. Within it the imperial customs au- thorities exercise much farther-reach- ing rights than America now pro- poses under @ lwe)ve-m‘lfles‘nim-r:n- Unite ates has B lems nade. “ffective use of the lese territorial-water limit in ff.'i-";‘m.mng negotiations with Great 'Brltn\n, G W i Among gathering members of Con- gress the commonest talk is that “Andy” Mellon, with his tax-reduc- tion program, has played the canniest politics ,0f the decade. Mr. Mellon bears up blushingly under the com- pliment. When he became Secretary of the Treasury in 1921 he was herald- ed as the one amateur Politiclan of the Harding administration. -In the w York World, his appointment, a Mellon-for-Presi- dent boom has just been launched. The Pittsburgh banker is hopelessly oliticlan—talk. He lets figures ol PP'of his talking. He outsilences Calvin Coolldge, being almost as shy as a schoolboy. In cabinet meetings Meilon is diffident to the point of em barrassment. Since his tax mani- festo electrified the country he has been bombarded with requests for public speeches, but speeches are on the Mellon prohibited list. * %k ¥ ok Miss Ida L. Woolworth of Brook- 1yn, N. Y,, may become Uncle Sam’ ploneer first-class woman postmaster. She has filed an application for the ist the | tip like Rose. | lacking in the chief asset of the typi- | SPOTLIGHT V. COLLINS Adams who subdued, in cabinet the belligerency of the notes 1s In dispute. * ok ok Kk George Canning, Britlsh minister of forelgn affairs, was greatly displeased by the audacity of the Monroe doctrine, in declaring “that the American conti- nents, by the free and independent con- dition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be con- sidered as subjects for future coloniza- tion by any European powers.” Three years later Canning recognized the doctrine as secretary of foreign af- fairs, by declaring that “if France had Spain it should not be with Spain with the (West) Indies. I called the new world into existence to redress the old,” ® rather vain boust, three years after the Monroe' doctrine had been enunciat- ed against his wrath. From that boast, it is sometimes assuined that it was due to Canning that the United States had declared against Kuropean encroach- ments. * 4 ok % The Monroe doctrine has been the basls of several presidential deflances of European empire-grabber nations. The first {mportant instance was the Maximilian usurpation of Mexico, in 1861, under the support o: an alllance of England, Spaln and France, {o collect debts. Prestdent Juarez of Mexico made terms with Bngland and Spain, and they withdrew, but Emperor Napo- leon I of France persisted, and landed an army in support of Maximilian. We were too engrossed with our civil war to interfere at once, but in 1866 an army of 100,000 was sent to the Mexican bor- der, and France was notified to vacate the' country. Sho vacated. Maximilgn was shot by order of Juurez. In 1865 the United States warned Spain snd prevented an expedition to reconquer Banto Domingo. s In 1870 President « nt extended the original Monrue doctrine (which had simply warned against further colonization by any European power) by warning against any transfer of any American territory from one European power to another. In 1895 President Clevelund in a vigorous message to Congress thrent- jened war against Great Britain be- cause of her encroachments on Venoe- zuelan territory, with her refusal to arbitrate boundary dlsputes. Great Britaln arbitruted. In that message Cleveland struck a kevnote com- mended to pacifists: “There 1a no calamity which a great nation can in- vite which equals that which follows supine submission to injustice and the consequent loss of natlonal self- respect und honor, beneath which are ohielded and defended a nation's safety and greatness In 2 "Germany threatened a of Venezuela to gollect a President Roose- velt's request that she glve assurance upation of territory Roosevalt sent Porto Rico to com- flect and ve Germany, ve, then reduced the time hours, to recede. She in thirty-six hours of the ight hours' grace to submit aim to on. o las of the Monroe doetrine was when a Javanese cor- poretion aceulred a Harbor in Mag- ydaléna ba lower Californ! E | resolution of the Senate warned | Japan that such a colony would not ithe tolerated. 5 % + | The first draft of the Versailles reaty and league of mations agree- jment contained no r |Monroe doctrine. President | roceived bitter criticism for th fson and a revised draft contalned a {full reservation of the doctrine. Prestdent Wilson made no statement {In connection with it. but a British idelegate explained that what the jreservation meant was that the Mon- roe doctrine would now apply to the whole world, and that in case of fu- | ture dispute the council of the league {of nations would interpret it. This explanation Eritish lwould have put us at the mercy of the league—that the league should ret the dootrine. though the leagne was dominated by Europe, lagaingt which the pol was aimed {Thim, Interpretation wad repudiated by a Senate resolution. which de- clared “that “said doctrine s to be interpreted by the Tnited Statea alone.” and that nothing In the league of nations should ever sffect it. (Copyright. 1923, by Pasl V. Oollins.) Wit om m WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE | postmastership of Brooklyn, a $5,000 post. Four men are her competitors. Miss Woolworth by profession de- scribes herself as a lawyer and ex- ecutive. She was the first woman permanently appointed to the New Yerk city office of the common- wealth's secretary of state. At pres- ent Miss Woolworth is confidential and financial secretary to William D. | stitutional lawyer. * ok ¥ % If the federal reorganization scheme as submitted by Walter F. Brown goes through with a new department of welfare and education, but leaving War and Navy separate, there will be eleven members of the cabfnet. If, then, following the precedent A Harding set in the case of Mr. Cool- idge, the President invites the Vice President to attend cabinet meetings there will be thirteen seated at the cabinet table. Will the doom of our America thenceforward be sealed? * k¥ % Carl Chapin Countryman of Iilinois, who aspires to run for Vice President on the same ticket with Calvin Cool- idge, believes such a concatenation of the cabalistic letter “C" connotes cer- tain G. O. P. success in 1924. Native of Michigan, fifty years old, poet and school-teacher, Mr. Countryman once aspired to he a United States senator from Illinois. He visited Europe last summer, predicts that the 1924 issues will be ‘tax reduction, bonus and im- migration, and says the republicans will sweep the country. (Copyright, 1823.) U. S. Richest Nation With Smallest Army The United States is the richest country in the world. It has more than one-half the world's stock of gold and almost unlimited natural re- sources. Such vast wealth is a con- stant témptation to militaristic na- tions to attempt aggression, yet the records show that America is the weakest of the great powers so far as land forces are concerned. The authorized strength of the American Army is 125000 men, but the actual strength at present is only 112,000. Before June 30 of next year more than 74,000 enlisted men will be separated from the service. The j problem which the military authori- i ties must solve is to recruit men to take the places of those whose terms of enlistment will expire. It is an undertaking that calls for unusual abllity and devotion to duty. - America spends for national de- fense but 6 per cent of all taxes col- lected and but 21 per cent goes for the maintenance of the Army and its civilian components. As an insurance policy against out- side aggression the amount set aside for national defense seems pitifully small, yet there are those who advo- cate still further reductions.—Seattle Times, rvation of the | Guthrie, weil known New York con- j The Library Table BY THE BOOKLOVER The Nobel prize for literature goes this year to Ireland. It'has been awarded to Willlam Butler Yeats, the Irish poet. Mr. Yeats is one of the chief exponents of the Irish national- Ist movement in literature and has been one of the founders of the Irish Literary Theater. George Moore sald that “all the Irish movement rose out of Yeats and returns to Yeats." * ok kK William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin in 1865, the son of an artist. At the Erasmus Smith School in Dub- lin he made many of the friends who were later to be his co-workers in the Celtic revival. One of the first pub- lished volumes appeared in 1889 un- der the title of its leading poem, “The Wanderings of Olsin.” Since that time he has published many ly ics and dramas and has in addition been editor, journallst and essayist, Some of his best lyrics are included In the volumes “The Countess Cath- loe ious Legends und L ics.” “The Wind Among the Reeds,’ “Responsibilities,” and “In the Seven Woods.” The plays of Yeats are near- Iy all based on Gaellc legend and history. Some of the bes v “The Countess C: of Heart's Desire, lihan,” “The Shadow Balle's Strand,” “The King's Thresh- old” and “The Green Helmet' With Lady Gregory he collaboratea in two plavs, Where There Is Nothing “The 'Pot of Brot The Countess Cathleen” was the inaugural produc- tlon of the Irish Literary Theater. “The Land of Heart’s Desire” was the first of his'plays to be performed and was the means of Ris Introduc- tion to the American stage in 1901; it has always been hix most popular vlay. Yeats early hecame interested in magic und occultism and in his essay, “The Celtic Twilight,” he tells some of his expertences with practitioners of the occult. He is by nature a my tic und all his poetry Is permeated with mysticlsm and symbolism. The supernatural is mingled with the he- in his treatment of Gaelic leg- Since the Nobel prize i Jiter- is given for “the most distin- d work of an_idealistic tend- " the award to Yeats seems e pecially appropriate. George Moore has given a descrip- tlon of the appearance of Yeats, under racter Ulick Dean in velyn Innes.” liad one of those long Irish ces, all In a straight line, with flat, slightly hollow cheeks and a long chin. It w clean shaven, and a heavy lock of bluck hair was alwayvs falling over his eyes. It was his eyes that gave the somber, ecstatic char- acter to his face. They were large, dark, deeply set, singularly shaped and they emed to smolder like fires In caves, ping and sinking out of the darkness. He was a tall, thin young man. and he wore a black jack- et and a large necktie, tied ith the ends hang!ng loose over his coat. * X k ¥ A study of a temperament which appears also predestined s presented by W a Cather in her latest nov “A Lost Lady" Mrs. Forrester, sec- ond wife of Capt. Danlel Forrester of Sweet Water, raflroad man and con- tractor, was tw ty-five years young- n her husband. This discrepancy in ages seems to have d littie to do, however, with the development of her temperament. Sweet Water was “one of those gray towns along the Burlington raflroad.” betw and Denver. The grayness and dull ness of the town seem also to have had no connection with the course of her life. The fact delicately indicated by Miss Cather in telling the brief narrative is that Mrs. Forrester wad type old as the beginning . Homer's “Cressida.’ was borrow! by both Chaucer and was one of the earlies tives of this type to be celeb literature, Abbe Prevost's “Manon Lescaut” and “The Lady of the- melias” of Dumas fils were two f mous modern Cressidas. Chastity was not among the possibilities for or Mrs. Forrester. ew of Judge s Capt. Forrester's lawyer and friend, of the real character of Mrs. Forrester is a situation full of repressed dra- matic intensity. In the early morn- ing Niel rushed away from the For- rester house disillugioned. “Xiel found himself at the foot of the hill on the wooden bridge, his face hot, his temples beating, his eyes blind with anger. In his hand he still carried_the prickly bunch of wild roses. ® ® ¢ In that instant between stooping to the window sill and rising he had lost one of the most beautiful things in his life. For the first time cvnicism began to grow In his mind. ‘Lilles that fester, he muttered, ‘lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds’ * * * Beau- tiful women, whose beauty meant more than it said—was their bril- liancy alwaye fed by something coavse and concealed? Was that their secret?’ A few years later Niel made another discovery. “Niel had often wondered just how much the captain knew. Now, as he went down the hill he felt fure that he knew every- thing; more than any one else; all there was to know about Marian For- rester.” Toward the end, just before Mra. Forrester, a widow then, left Sweet Water forever, Niel sorrowfully knew that she had fallen still lower— had, In fact, placed herself beyond the tolerance of even her most de- voted and blindest friends. * ok ok * The District of Columbia ranks above all the states of the Union as a magazine-reading community, accord- ing to a table published in the No- vember Journal of the National Edu- catlon Association. The article cited is a study of the distribution of the circulation of ten of the largest American magazines, all having cir- culations of from 700,000 to 2,000,000. The argument of this article s that the most reading is done in the states where educational facilities are best. * ok ok ok The middle west is so used to hear- Ing itself called flat, dull, uninterest- ing, lacking in scenic beauty, that it ought to be very srateful to John T. Faris, who has written a book called “Seelng the Middle West,” in which he represents that great central sec- tion of our country as rich in varied beauty. The tour followed by Mr. Farls begins with a steamer trip up h at lakes to Duluth. From Du- 1uthhe goes up Inta the Dakotas, then couthward into Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, then north again through Missouri, Towa and Wisconsin. He travels down the Mississippi to Cairo and then by way of Pittsburgh Teaches the Ohio river and goes to its mouth. He finishes his tour with Tilinots, Indiana and Ohio. Mr. Farls is_much interested in the history of all the states through which he travels, as well as in their present industries and methods of life, Va- rious places noteworthy for climate or scenic beauty are well described, as the Ozarks, various mineral Springs, the sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan, the upper stretches of the Mississippi with the adjoining lakes, so tempting for canoe trips: the mountains of the Dakotas and the islandsand wooded shores of the great lakes. The volume contains nearly 100 illustrations. P Rudyard Kipling’s name as a story writer has appeared so infrequently, for several years that the editor of Boy's Life is to be congratulated on being able to publish a Kipling story in the December number of the Boy Scout magazine, “His Gift” is a Boy Scout story, and a rattling good one it is. The Boy Scouts of America have recently secured a fund from one of the educational foundations for the improvement of Boy's Life and are proceeding to make an ex- cellent magazine that should appeal to boys of all ages. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC }. HASKIN Q. How long' has the city of St. Louls had the same status in the state legislature as a county?—S. A. A. It has had such status since 1914, Q. What_does the term Pancho mean which was freguently applied to Villa?—J, J. F. A. Pancho is a colloguial Spanish word literally meaning “paunch,” or “belly.” Q. Which s the near horse and which the off horse?—P. R. O. A. When driving behind a the horse to the left is the horse. Q. How long will fruits canned in glass jars keep?—)I. E, A. If the cans are properly scaled, the contents will keep indefinitely, though after two or three years the product is ant to become soft and mushy, and there is a loss of flavor. team near ©O. How long do honey bees. drones and queen bees live?—J. J. B. A. Working bees and drones are supposed to llve from one to nine months, while the life of the queen How many years before Christ King Solomon reign’—$. 1. C The exact date of the birth and deain of Solomon is w controversinl subject. He was born between 1033 and” 1053 B.C., and dled between 950 and 620 BC. He ascended the throna probably between twelve and four- toen years of age and relgned forty vears, Q. did Q. What three large cities highest in the United States?’—R. L. B. A. The three highest cities in the [nited States with more than 200.000 population are: Denver, Col. 79 feet: Atlanta, Ga. 1. feet: Minne- apolls, Minn., 840 fe re the Q. When was Creasv's Decisive Battles of the World lished ?—T. M. A. This book, written by Sir Ed- ward Shepherd Creasy. an English "ifteen * pub- torv In the University of London, was published in 1 It was favorably recelved by critics and by the read- ing public. Q. Wil blueerass erow dry or wet soil?—M. R. L. A. Speaking generally, Kentucky bluegrass reaches fits hest develop- ment on fairly well drained sofls be- tween the Allegheny mountains and the Missiesippi river. Q. How much weight does a ho, gain each day?—E. G. % A. A gain of one pound a day is considered over the average for a normal hog. Many of the hogs on government farms have gained be- tween a pound and a pound and a quarter a day. better on Q. What was the calling of Her- bert Hoover's father?’—C. E. A. He was a blacksmith in Towa and died before his on was twelve years old, Q. How?long did the children of Israel live in Egypt?—Z. C. D. A. Four hundred and thirty most of twhich time they bondage. Ex., 12:40. Q. 0. ¥ were ! ars, | in €. 0. D |currency. “The ~soviet straight flat currenc sov government as chervonets is a ban | issued by the Soviet State Bank, the ruble issued b, such. a the bee Is rarely more than three years | professor of modern and ancient his- | What are chervonets rubles?— O ahs i A-—Russia has two forms of paper | The | te currency | first issue having been begun about ' ten months ago. unit chervonets is Tubles (35.14). Q—Is the Pall Mall G, published?—A. D. . aseitsaathty A.—This paper has just - corporated’ with the Evening: atann ard, an event of considerable im- portance in newspaper history, The par of the €qual to ten gold Q—How many nurseries fo, v Ing forest trees does the goversnn; maintain?—F. A. W. : A—The forest gervice such nurseries at the pre one fn Washington, one in one {n Colorado, two in in Minnesota, one In Michigan. oo one in West Virginia. The larges; fg Savenac Nursery in Montana, whicn produces about 2,300,000 trgeq ot nuaily. : has eight ~ it i ¥ ontan: Nebraska, ona Q—What was the popular eotsi for diamonds about 1300 o 5 R. H. A—At that time Tifr were in vogue. Q—What was_the origin honeydew melon?—M. B. B A.—The original seed of the dew melon is ‘sald to b was planted at Rocky and crogged with other varieties two or three seasons. The so-called honevdew melon is resule A yet this melon has not been hrou into a stable condition of reprodu, tion. Q—Who was the author o me write the songs of a peor care not who makes the laws"”. A ndrew Fletcher of (1653-1716) in a letter fc quis of Montrose sald, "I k wise man that belfeved t | were permitted to mak lads he need not care muke the laws of a na Q. Was the Iroquois | burned a new building or rer one?—R. D. A. The commissloner of of Chicago says that the Theater building was new; ater was opened to the pul Thanksgiving eve, about thirt days previous to the fire, whict curred on December 30, 1903 Q. What {s the difference betw:en Latin and Italian?—E. E. A. A. Italian is a romance developed from Latin. The d ment has been from the infle: to the analytical type of Italfan is much more vocalic Latin, dropping final cons softening the harsher com Q. Where than s and inations e straw brald used In hats come from’—A. R. G A. In the United States straw hats are made from braid that is ¢ imported from Italy, China and Japa Of the various materials which gear the most important 1s straw. The straw must have of “pipe” between the knots and must possess a clear, delicate, golden color and must not 'be brittle. The m valuable straw is from Tuscany from the Tuscan plaits the Leéghor hats are made. Many substan, sides straw are used in brajds hats and bonnets. Among these be noticed willow and cane, as weil as palm. The famous Panama hats re made from the leaves of the screw pine. (Let The Star Information Bure deric J. Haskwn, director, rth Capitol street, answer your question. " The only charge for this service is 2 cents in stamps for re- turn postage.) F Bratiano’s Efforts to Aid the Agrarian Rumanian Peasantry BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. Although a patrician to his very |finger tips. Jean Bratiano, Queen Marie's most trusied political adviser and prime minlster of Rumania, is the idol of the peasantry. who furnish 14,000,000 out of the total population of the 17,000,000 of Greater Rumania, and he is correspondingly execrated by the aristocracy, to which he be- longs by birth, and which formerly monopolized the ownership of the land. They have been harsh and ty- rannic landlords, mostly of the ab- sentee type, who squandered abroad the revenues which they cxtorted trom their peasant tenantry, flaunt- ing in foreign lands the nobiliary ti- tles which they were forbidden, Rumanian law, to bear and make use of in their own country, and convey- Ing, everywhere in Europe and in America, a completely erroneous im- ple—-an impression of what are known in France as the rastaquoualr The real Rumanians, even the peas- antry, clalm to be the true descend- ants of the legions who were sent to colonize the country in the reizn of the Roman Caesar Trajan, near 2,000 years ago, and are proud and self- possessed, with a great native dig- nity of manner and bearing. especial- Iy those of the older generation, who ing the past century. including wars and Invasions, such as that of 191 and of revolutions and of econom disaster. * % ¥ ok Premier Bratiano, who, together with Eleutherios Venizelos. the mas- ter statesman of Greece, and Nicholas Pachich, the grand old man of Greater Serbia, constitute the most outstand- ing figures and factors in the affairs of the southeast of Europe, has long realized that, already prior to the great war, In & land such as Ru- mania, where the peasantry repre- sents the bulk of the population, agrarian reform was Imperative; In deed, the principal prodlem of the n: tion. Since the great war, which re- sulted in the doubling of the area and population of the kingdom, the issue became still more urgent and acute, especlally in Transyvivania, where the territorial _aristocracy was almost exclusively Magyar, and, consequently, disaffected to Ruma- nian rule, and determined to spend all the money that they could squeeze from their Transylvanian estates, if not in Parls, at any rate at Budapest. * % % X The efforts to modify the system of land tenure in Rumania 80 as to raise at least some of the peasants to the condition of small proprietors were inaugurated under the previous reign. But the measures did not go far enough to prove satisfactory, the lots were too small and the holders still remained too dependent on the big landlords for wood and grazing. More- ver, Semitic money lenders took ad- 3.3‘2.36 of the ignorance and land hunger of the only partially emanci- pated peasantry. Indeed, the condi- tions were so unsatisfactory that a law was passed in 1896 prohibiting further transfer of land to the peas- antry. This culminated in & peasant uprising in 1907—e sort of “jacquerie’ —which was characterized by atroci- tles and by subsequent military sup- pression with every circumstance of Tity. h?!'l“:!lg Jean Bratiano, then, as now, premier, revived the question of agr: rian reform, but was obliged to post- pone legislation on account of the world war. Finally, in 1921, he se- cured the enactment of two law under which communal pasturages were established throughout the king- dom and some 20,000,000 acres of land were expropriated and transferred to the terrible hard-working peasantry, ‘who displayed the greatest eageruess by | pression of the real Rumanian peo- | have seen and suffered so much dur- | v. Many paid cash, either with savings which they had hoarded, or with money borrowed from co-oper- ative banks; others availed them- selves of the provision whereby pay- ments can be spread over a period fort ears. Expropriation was ap piled, not only to the large landowner class, but also to the private property of the king and of the members of the royal family, to the church lands to the crown domains; indeed, to all estates exceeding in extent & mini- mum which varied according to the district and according to the extent to which the owners were resident or absentee. These measures of expro- priation have been carried through regardless of influences of a political, social or financial character. with degree of impartiality and integrity which have considerably increase:l the respect abroad for the integrity and patriotism of the Bratiano gov- ernment. * * % * Bratiano is one of Europe's most pleturesque statesmen. Under sn appearance of extreme frivolity, love of pleasure, indifference to public af- fairs and to the serious sides of lifc, he conceals a degree of political acumen and a skill in walting pa- tiently for the psychological moment and then taking advantage thereof which approaches genius. Possessed of a large fortune inherited from a line of ancestors who during the past 500 years have played a his- toric role in the annals of what is now Rumania, he is thoroughly inde- pendent und somewhat cynical. With- out being a dandy, he is assuredly superior to every other statesman in the old or new world, in thoroughly maeculine elegance. He devotes his leisure to lawn tennis and to bride He is an habitue of salons, rather than of government offices, leaves all the details and the drudgeries to carefully seclected subordinates and spends as little time as possible at his desk or in the parliamentary chambers. One would imagine from his lateness in rising and from his indifference to time that he paid no attention to politics. Yet nothing es- capes him. He is aware of every intrigue and conspiracy, either in the kingdom or elsewhers in the south of Europe, before it is hatched. He is devoted to Queen Marfe of Ru- mania, who thoroughly understands him and has never wavered in her gonfidence in his cleverness and loy- alty. His father, old Ion Bratiano, fre- quently in prison, and even sentenced to death prior to the relgn of the late King Chgrles—but little contretemps of that kind have fallen to the share of almost every statesman of any im- portance in the southeast of Europe— and his son, the present premier, was imprisoned and tried for his life by the pro-German governor of Mar- ghiloman at Bucharest during the oc- cupation of tthe greater part of Ru- mania by the ex-kaiser's field mar- shal, von Mackensen, and the latter's armies, part Teuton, part Austrian. part Bulgar and part Turkish, in This agrarian reform which Jean Bratiano is carrying through without fear or favor, while it may at first re- duce agricultural production, yet is accomplishing more than anything else toward reconciling all the peas- ant population of Rumania, no matter whether native Rumanians in blood and_speech 6r Hungarian, or Saxons, or Ukrainlans, to the rule of King Ferdinand and of Queen Marie, and makes for peace and justice. Its re- action n the neighboring states can- not fail to be considerable, for every- where in the southeast of Europe the peasants are the préponderant ele- ment of the population. During the war they did most of the fRehting, and since then they have paid most of the taxes. It {g of the utmost im- portance, therefore, that they should feel, as land owners, that they have a stake in the country and in tho agricultural development of the na- tion. But it has needed an aristocrat of the type of Jean Bratiano to ap- preclate this and to carry through the vital and savagely opposed measure of agrarian reform, -