Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1923, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. . SATURDAY...December 20, 1083 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busiteds Office, 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave, New York Office: 110 East 4¢nd 8t. Ohleago Of : Tower Buil Puropean Office: 16 Regent St., Loud ngland, The Evening Sta; edition, 1s delive, city &t 80 centn cents per month, with the Eunday morning by carriers within the R menth; dally enly. 45 junday only, 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be sent by mall or tele- ‘phone Main 5000, ‘Collection is made by Tiers at the end of each month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday..1yr., is,m 1mo., T0¢ Daily only. 1yr . Sunday only. 1yr., $2.40; 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sund 3 Daily only. Sunday only. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the ‘use for republication of all news dis- patches credited fo 1t or not otherwise credited in this paper and alto the Jocal news pub. . lished herein. ~All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. = - Loss of the Dixmude. Finding of the body of the Dix- mude's commander in the sea off the Island of Sicily causes the French government to abandori hope for the glant dirigible. It is now believed that she was caught in a hurricane that raged over the Mediterranean several days ago and was disabled and forced to descend into the sea, or was pos- sibly ripped open by the pressure of the wind and fell with all on board. ‘There is nothing to indicate where she went down or when. Mystery attaches to the case of the Dixmude because reports came that she had been sighted in Africa. These reports came from various points, and suggested that the dirigible was secking a landing place, or else had lost her power of safe descent. It is now believed that these reports were caused by mirages, which are com- mon in Africa, coupled with the tmagination of those to whom the fact was known that the Dixmude was missing. Tt is difficult, however, to understand how the figure of a dirigi- ble could appear in a mirage. That phenomenon is caused by refraction of light, and is simply the appearance on the horizon of an actual scene miles distant. If there was no dirigible over Africa at all there could have been no mirage, unless this phenomenon occurred while the dirigible was at sea. It would be interesting to learn more about these reports of “appear- ances™ in Africa. Abandonment of all hope for the Dixmude may not definitely close the matter. There is still a chance that the story of how she came to her dis- astrous end may become known, through the finding of other bodies, possibly with notes prepared in the final desperation of imminent destruc- tion, or the discovery of the wreck- age of the airship. If she exploded and went down a wreck her engines would probably have dragged the fab- ric to the bottom of the sea. Inas- much as there is no suggestion of where she came to grief it is out of the question to search for her beneath the surface of the Mediterranéan, Thus the Dixmude joins the other great dirigibles that have falled to withstand the elements and heve in their destruction taken many pérsons to their death. Campaigning by Radio. Plans are reported to be under way by which the republican and demo- eratic national committees are to be allowed the use of the radio operated by the American Telephone and Tele- graph Company in the coming cam- paign. This is an interesting sugges- tion and potent with possibilities of vast development, although it is not likely to supplant the good old prac- tice of candidates of “hiring a hall” and talking to their audiences ‘“face to face.” ‘The broadcasting of speeches would add to the audiences, however, for un- questionably many people would listen in who could not, or would not, go out to political meetings. Candidates and speakers could make their speeches, too, without danger of being heckled by the opposition. There ‘would be no chance for the radio audi- ences to talk back, and their only re- course would be to “hang up.” The radio company, it 18 explained, will charge the political committees $100 for a ten-minute argument, but will insist that both parties shall have equal privilege of presenting their arguments. The arrangements will involve an intensive study of traffic conditions in the air and the timing of the speechmaking to secure the great- est number of auditors. ————— 1f Polonius had been fortified with modern information he would have in- cluded a few words in his advice about the dangers there may be In Wali street speculation, even if you win. Eiffel and His Tower. Millions of people who have heard of the Eiffel Tower in Paris—and per- haps who have ascended it to view the incomparable scene afforded by ft— have perhaps not associated it with the man who devised and bwiit it. To most of thew: doubtless the name “Eiffel” was but a designation. It ‘was, in fact, the name of a remarkable genius, who has just died in Parls at the age of ninety-one. Alexandre Gus- tave Eiffel, born in Dijon, France, in December, 1832, was one of the most skilled engineers of his time. His first great achievement was the construction of a large iron bridge over thé Garonne at Bordeaux in 1868, 1t was he who devised the method of using caissons worKed with com- pressed air in the laying of founda- tions for piers for bridges. He de- signed the gigantic locks that were & feature of the French plans for the Pdnama canal. Those who look at the Bartholdi Statue of Liberty in New York har- bor are probably unaware that within it rises a supporting structure that was the predecessor' of the Eiffel * Tower. Eiffel designed that construe- tion to hold the immense beonse plates forming the huge figure, and later applied the idea to the gigantic position of 1889. It was beguh two years before that date and completed in time, despite the skepticism of the world. Few bélleved in the possibility of bolting together a latticed frame- work of iron to & height of 1,000 feet. It was predicted that the whole mass would crumple, that it would never withstand the vibrations of the earth, that it would rock in the wind and snap apart, that the elevators which it was proposed to operate within it would shake it to pleces. But Eiffel, with full knowledge of his science, proceeded confidently, and the great tower arose triumphantly, standing then, as now, the highest structure erected by man, 1,000 feet above sea level. No man has ever erected so stu- pendously impressive a monument to his own glory. The Eiffel Tower has stood through the storms of nearly thirtyfive years, and is rated to be as stout and durable as when it was made. There is no reason to look for its collapse. It has become more than a mere ornament and place for sight- seers. It has been put to practical use. Valuable meteorological observa- tions have been made from it, and since Marconi developed his “‘wireless the Eiffel Tower has been one of the principal radio stations in the world. Eiftel's contribution to engineering has been a valuable one. Apart from the development of the pneumatic caisson, which solved difficult prob- lems, he undoubtedly made possible the modern skyscraper by his device of steel-framing. The Eiffel Tower pointed the way to the lofty bulldings of the present time. These towering structures, yielding a maximum of use of precious ground area, ere vir- tually the offspring of that taperihg needle of steel in Paris which now stands as the memorial of a great man. Tardy Tag Seekers. With about 100,000 motor car own- ers in the District of Columbia the process of issuing licenses and tags to them at the end of each calendar year has become one of magnitude. This vear it is somewhat complicated by the necessity of accompanying each set of tags with a card setting forth the name of the owner, the make and type of machine, the engine numbers, the bore and stroke of cylinders and the horsepower. quired under the new arrangement with Maryland reciprocity based upon the expected imposition of a gasoline tax in the District. Although the time for re- newal of licenses is definitely known to all to be the first of the calendar year, most motor owners postporne ap- plication until the last days of the year. This time there was perhaps some confusion of mind owing to the expectation of reciprocity being ef- fected definitely before January 1. But even if this had been the case, tags would have been necessary and also a license card, as without & District tag no local motorist can enter Maryland without a Maryland license. It has been suggested that to facili- tate the issuance of the tags and cards they be distributed among the police stations, which are open at all hours and on Sundays as well, 8o that those who still have to obtain their 1924 per- mits may get them with less difficulty and loss of time. Two days remain now before the new tags will be re- quired. It is possible, if a considerable number of motorists remain unserved at the close of business today, to shift the distribution to the station houses for Sunday and Monday, the last days of the year. There {8 no excuse for the postpone- ment of tag-getting until the last hours of the year. They must be had whatever the relations with Maryland, and the District was prepared to dis- tribute them some weeks ago. When 50,000 people apply within ten days or a fortnight at one point of distribution congestion 18 sure to result. And in the congestion much discomfort is suffered and much time is lost by in- dividuals. Forehandedness in this mat- ter, as in others, is an economy. The only thing for the District govern- ment now to do is to accommodate the motor public as far as possible by spreading the distribution over a ‘wider area during the last two days. —_——— Having survived an earthquake, the Japanese are warranted in feeling con- fident that they can mahage so com- paratively small a matter as a cabinet crisis. One of the remarkable features of aerial navigation is the suddenness with which anything so0 large as a dirigible may attain total invisibility. Coal investigation has revealed the interesting and incontrovertible in- formation that the price remainh about the same. Commercial Washington. Washington grows fast, and it means to keep the pace at which it is growing. Perhaps it means to quicken its pace. We are fast headed toward a million population; and the territory geographically tributary to Washington is growing, end should become one of the rich and populous dairy, fruit and vegetable sections of America. In this section there is the possibil- ity of developing mighty electric power. The resources of the Potomac may be tapped by the construction of a hydro-electric plant at Little Fall: but et Seneca, Harpers Ferry and other places are seats for great power plants. On the Patuxent, the Shenan- doah and Rappahannock are opportu- nities for transmuting water power into electric power. We are closer to coal flelds In the Alegheny region than many “industrial” citles. We are close to the lime-making districts of the Monocacy and Shenandoah val- leys, and this lime fed to the sand and clay lands of the coastal plain ‘would make them rich and fertile. ‘Washington is to divide’ honors and profits with Baltimore, Richmond and Norfolk in the trade of a large part of the south Atlantic section and ‘westward to the Ohio valley. From the founding of Washington its people have been progressive in 1 I i THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. O, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1923. bulld bridges and turnpike roads; to! set steamboats going on the Potomac river and to establish steamboat ¢om- munication - between Washington, Chesapeake ports and points on the Rappahannock and James rivers. They encouraged stage coach com- panies, and the corporation of Wash- ington and citizens bullt the Wash- ington canal that this city might get its share of trade with the west, and that there might be water transporta- tion to the center of the city and a short cut between the Potomac river near Georgetown and the KEastern branch near the arsenal and navy vard. Grist mills were built along many of the creeks hear the city, and the corporation established & tobacco Inspection house on the Eastern branch near New Jersey avenue In an effort to divide the tobacco export trade with Georgetown, Bladensburg and Alexandria. We have always talked of extend- ing our industries and we have been gradually doing this. The tendency to private industrialism will continue and will probably grow stronger. ‘With development of electric power, with adequate bullding regulations, a wise zoning system and the highest possible sanitary supervision there is no likelihood that Washington will ever take on the look of a factory town. And it should be recalled that “factory towns" are going in for civie improvements and making themselves better looking. In industrial citles men now bulld factories that have architectural merit and set them in fine parks. The world is moving on. —_———— Dentistry in the District. If the law regulating the practice of dentistry in the District of Columbia is Inadequate one should be enacted which will insure to all persons treat- ment in line with the best and latest teachings. The secretary of the dental examining board has said that the board will present to Congress a bill for more stringent reguiation of the practice of dentistry, and that there is urgent need for revision of the pres- ent law. The heaith officer of the Dis- trict has recelved a letter from a so- ciety of colored dentists saying thut unqualified and unlicensed men are practicing the profession here and in- vestigation of the matter is under way, but no unlicensed dentists have These cards are re- | been found thus far. Under the law as it is today candi- in anticipation of | dates for practice of dentistry here must pass & theoretical examination and must perform certain technical work before being certified to practic but it is not required that the candi- date shall have a college diploma, and the popular understanding of that is that the candidate is not required to have a diploma certifying that he Is a graduate of a dental school. The law governing practice of dentistry in ‘Washington was passed in 1904, and is now behind the laws of & number of states. Dentistry is a progressive pro- fession, and the relation of teeth to health I8 being emphasized in many ways. The importance which doctors of medicine attach to the theory of local infection gives to dentistry an importance which it was not known to have a few years ago. It is belleved that nearly all dentists practicing in ‘Washington can meet any just and reasonable requirements, but it there are weak and unqualified practitioners they should be weeded out and only highly equipped candidates admitted to practice here. ——— The average Itallan citizen is ap- parently too well satisfled with Mus- solinl to want an election that might develop some kind of a political sur- prise. Advance in oil prices is reported from Texas. As a New Year greeting the announcement will be populariy regarded as a failure. If Henry Ford were a sporting man he would regard Mr, Coolidge not only as a safe man but as a safe bet. Russia claims to have a more benev- olent government, but the excursions to Biberia are still running. A woman is commanding troops for Dr. Sun. It remained for China to set the teal pace In feminism. ‘The Ku Klux factions are encourag- ing the members to take the masks off ot one another. Greece begins to regard Venizelos as one of its most distinguished com- muters. ————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDBR JORNSON. Sad 0ld Story. The Christmas tree was gleaming bright, A fairy scene 'neath flickering light, And every bough that on it grew Held promise of a wish come true. Glittering fancies reveled there Like hopes that soon succumb to care— The trash man came around today And carted the whole works away. Discreet Compromise. “‘WIil you be poorer when you leave politics than when you entered it?” “It's & delicate question,” answered Benator Sorghum. “To avoid any em- barrassments I've decided not to leave politics.” Jud Tunkins says the way some peo- ple say “Happy New Year” is 80 me- chanical that it sounds like a phono- graph record. Chorus of Citisens, A tax reduction would be grand! ‘We really hate to walt Till those who take the task in hand Get through with the debate. Important Recognition. “Her old friends are often worried for fear she won't speak to them,” re- marked Miss Cayenne. “Has she become a social leader?” “No, telephone operator. “1 feel towards ome or two people,” IN TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS “The female of the species’—what is she going to do to the helpless men of America? Seated in the ele- gantly furnished parlor of the Wo- men's Party, in the Petit Trianon of Capitol Hill, this question was asked of two of its leaders. One called to mind that in anclent Greece. the :Imllmu had defeated the Invinol- on. Just what Grecian Invinoibles went dowh to ignominious slaughter be- fore the “Amazons” as had made this classlo boast? Who, being a man, would dare deny anything so de- clared? There I8 a story of Amasons who used nets to capture man antagonists. When & man was thus caught in the unbreakable mesh, he was quickly fxecuted. | Times huve not changed ch, even in these da; “en- tangling” alliances, ey Then there was Miss Lebussa, who succeeded her father in the rule of Bohemla in 700 A.D. She trained wo- men only, in military skill, and gave them all ‘the offices—which answers the question often asked of women What would you do for your coun- try in case of war?’ Reigning only thirty-elght years, Lebussa died be- fore she had gotten through talking b Then all the men perked up and undertook to take up the reins of government; but one of the Le- bussa-trained women—Valasca—beat them to it and became Amazonian queen. She cut off the right thumbs @guarding the interests of thelr children. The present laws in most states give dll the advantages of con- trol over légitimate children to the father, and all the burden and shame of parenthood of the illegitimate child to the mother. Federal legisla. tion under the proposed amendment will rwtlg. such injustice, Tgo ‘Women's rty contends that the present laws affecting women are complex and involved with common law, and that the amendment and the consequent legislation will sime lify all legal aspects and rulings to he great benefit of the women. The Leagus of Women Voters con- tends that wyers are appalled at the complications which will arise under such deral legislation 8o changing ths status of women as to property and other matters. Under present laws, a husband has property right in the services of his wite, and if she be Injured by an accident, she can sue for damages for her suffering, and the husband can also sue for loss of his wife's services—often much more than he ever before had appreciated those services. But if a husband be injured, the wife cannot claim compensation for the loss of his support. A federal law, under the equality amendment, would give the wife an equal partnership of all property ac- quired after marriage, and an equal part in the responsibility, right and power in caring for their childen; also In the care by the wife of an injured or sick husband, with all her means, in case-he becomes in- and put out the eyes of all men, so | Cpacitated and she has physical or that they could not shoot “the ar- rows of outrageous fortune.” Will modern men take warning? ,There have been millions of Jeanne d'Arc heroines since civilization in- vented war, Women brought about the French revolution and fought in Yes, women—sSalvation_Arm: - sies, Red Cross nurses, ¥. M. ( h/‘\ welfare women, W. A.' A." C. ambu- lance drivers, and brave women who faced the heart-wringing suspense at home—have answered that inane Question: “What could you do for your country in cage of war?” A pompous chalrman weighing 300 pounds asked that sneering question once too many times, and the answer snapped back: “At least as much as you did." xR The Women's Party, of which Mrs. Oliver H. P. Belmont 1s the president and financlal “angel,” and Miss Alice Paul vice president, who plants where Secretary Appolis Anita Hol- Itster waters, wants & “blanket” in the form of an amendment to_the United States Constitution. Such an amendment has beén introduced by Senator Curtis and Representative Anthorly, both of that most con- servative state of Ka 1t reads as follows (8. J. Rea. 21): Article XX. “Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its juris- diction. “Congres: force this legislation. Who would deny that women are entitied to “rights” as well as men? Could there possibly be a more harm- less amendment? The secretary, Miss Hollister, the Women's Party, has reasons shall have power to en- article by appropriate ot | financial means to care for him. plentiful as huckleberries—or strawberries?—why the amendment is needed—for the emancipation of her sisters. “Women are oppressed in spite of the ballot” she declares. And, as If to demonstrate that this is but a continuation of the great suffrage contest, the amendment is introduced in the House by & nephew of Susan B. Anthony. “But Mr. Anthony did not realize what he was doing when he promised to introduce that amendment” ex- plains Mrs. Maud Wood Park, pr dent - of the National Woman Voters—which s not a party. but a conglomerate of all patrioti women—of all parties who women, for women's sake—like artists are for art. i £ x %% The most serious matter connected with “equal rights” refers not to the protection of women, but the saf Germans, Themselves, Suggested League of | e for | It will require the father of illegiti- mate children to share responsibility and cost of their support. * K ok X It will give a woman as much right to choose her occupation as a man has. The secretary of the Party used this illustration: There were both woman and man type- setters working on New York morn- ing papers, when the New York legislature passed a law to “protect women by making it illegal to em- ploy @ woman after a certain hour at night—except scrubbers, cabaret singers and waitresses. Because men thus “protected” them, these woman typesetters lost their jobs, which were at once taken by men. Union labor wants to ‘“protect” women in regard to all jobs wanted by men, ut Mrs. Park, president of the League of Women Voters, answers that certain work, like typesetting and match-making —not ~ matches heavenly made, but the infernal kind made with phosphorus—ought to be barred from women, for lead or phos- phorus poisoning bring physical dis- asters. So with “blanket legislation” the very acts intended to “protect women” Increase their hardships. “When the legislation is a ‘blanket,’ it is hard to strike down what is un- der it without hitting heads of which one would not pull a single hair,” says Mrs. Park. Henator Curtis states that there have been no hearings nor any polling of Congress concerning the amend- ment, hence it is Impossible to indi- cate its prospects. x x x % The United States of America is not 80 progressive in its care of women as some nations of effete Europe, al- though America has long suffered from the accusation of setting its womankind upon a pedestal instead of putting her at the plow, as in Europe. In the Austrian constitution of 1920 it says: “All Austrian citizens are equal before the law. Privileges based upon birth, sex, rank, class or religious belief are abolished.” Similar provisions are in the new titutions of Germany, Czechosla- Free and Hanseatic City of Esthonia, Lithuania ~and ‘Women's vakia, Danzig, real | Prussia. The constitution of the German re- | public, adopted in 1918, says: “All Germans are equal before the law. Men and women have in principle the same civil rights and duties.” ght. 1923, by Paul V. Collins.) How Bergdoll Can Be Returned Accepting as a fact that the release of Lieut. Hoover Griffis of Ohio. and Eugene Nelson of Chicago. from the sentence imposed on them for their un- fortunate—because unsucoéssful—effort to return from Germany Grover Cleve- land Bergdoll, Philadelphia slacker, to serve his prison term, editors again are insisting that some action be taken offi- clally to get the Quaker city draft- dodger back in America. Emphasis is placed by the Portland Journal on the remarks of the German prosecuting at- torney at the Griffis trial, In which he expressed ‘“wonder at the apparent apathy of America,” and the Journal editor asks pertinently, “Can it be that there is some confection between the seeming lack of interest now and the official laxity which permitted the mil- lionaire draft-doger to leave prison to search for his chimerical pot of gold and thereby effect his escape? “That sentencing of Griffls to prison was distasteful to the judge was evident by the verbal flaying that the judge ad- ministered to Bergdoll. Truly Bergdoll n_scorned—a man without a countr The St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that a “movement is on fool, headed by Maurice Sussman, a former German soldier, who fought the Ameri- cans in.the Argonne and lost his right arm, to get & million signatures to a petition to the German government to set Griffis free, He recognises in the American lleutenant a true soldler and heartily condemns the action 'of the German government in protecting a coward and a traitor. It is to be hoped the German government will see the wisdom of extcndg:ll cc‘llammey u‘an G:l':\o-. The attempted abduction wasa - Honat ontburst, which the law might well condone. * ¥ ¥ X The Miaml News Metropolis, the Springfield News and the Dayton News all agree “Grifis acquitted him- self in a manly, courageous manner” at his trial, and that his excoriation of Bergdoll before a hostile audience must have impressed the Germans with the feeling that “patriotism in Ameriga Is a .lnfululy impressive element, which will lead a young man of prominent family In his own coun- try to start out upon an adventurs of this character with no other ides in mind but to bring to justice a man who had betrayed his country in the hour of its_greatest need. Griffis goes to.prison. But the chapter is notend- ed. Some day Bergdoll will get tired of wandering around in a forelgn land. He will be beset by his con- sclence, which will show him his cow- ardice in plain and unmistakable terms. Then the situation will be re- versed.” To which the Lansing Capi: News adds: “Few have any use for & known coward, be he friend or foe. It does not dishonor Griffis to {sy the g.nll:' for his fallure’” The sing tate Jonrl?t‘ also I.Ill.l‘lll “the nation is weary of the doll ung:'ubufly. every = closer into the net, has made the in- fiiction of penalty more necessary. L In the opinion of the Topeka Capi- tal “the most pregnant suggestion made during the trial was that if Bergdoll is wanted in the United States the Btate Department might itsel? of the right of extradi- Hon. | Prom the expressions of the th Gel not desire B oLl and would be giad to et Fia "ot B 2 Bl > But 8o law tors loose out of sympathy would only demoralize law enforcement and make it ridiculous. If there is no way for the law to fasten its grip on_ Bergdoll then this case is in a bad way, but the court indicated a way out that would comply with the forms of law.” The Fort Worth Star- Telegram characterizes this effort of Griffis and his associates as “a mad- cap performance, but such as to win the admiration of brave men every- where, even those who felt the neces- sity of punishing them for it. For Bergdoll's part, the episode at Moss- bach only served to demonstrate that his status has changed from outlaw in the United States to outcast in Germany. Loyalty is the common currency of manhood. In any lan- guage he who has it not is rightly despised.” The impression, even at Mossbach, as the Manchester Union sees it, Is that “the men convicted at the tri may be said to have come out of the affair better than Berg- doll has. That renegade is left with- out even a comforting idea that he enjoys the liking or the respect of the people among whom he has taken retuge. If he has a fair share of brains he will have to make up his mind that he blundered abysmally in his whole course of conduct. * X x X The suggestion is made by the Grand Raplds Herald that inasmuch as there is doubt whether Bergdoll can be extradited, “Germany might deport him as an undesirable alien to the land from whence he came. Berg- doll has enjoyed an amnesty already which is a stench In American nos- trils. Some day elementary justice requires that the account be legally squared. Germany enjoys a rather unusual opportunity in this respect to prove a chastened friendliness.” ‘The Bergdoll ‘‘halo having faded,” the Charleston Mail suggests ‘“it is a pity the Washington authorities did not seek to effect an exchange a few weeks ago of the German spy who was oned for Bergdoll. If any legitimate way remains for obtaining thi itor it should be found.” This is also the opinion of the Waterloo Tribune, which points out that “he finds now that Germany, where he was recelved with open arms, doesn’ like & deserter any more than any other country. Germany hag si: him up last for what he is—a no- accoun! The Albany News sounds & note of warning against any further atte: to kidnap the slacker, though “no one in America likes to have Lieut. Griffis imprisoned. But there should be no further unlawful attempts to kidnap the slacker, who xn:?”l worth the little finger of one American soldier. Throneless Royalty And Tinsel Crowns The son of an Austrian prince blew out his alleged brains because his father would not let him wed the daughter of a merchant. The old man in his isolate pride declared that for more than 1,000 years no son of his house had married beneath his tation. Now, although his principal. ity has disappeared, he still holds h! ridiculous pretension to rank and so- oial position. There are a half doz a:ng;nn princes working in Ameri- ‘ber sho that are just as flufty as Albrecht. The boy should have kicked the an in the shina and nn" iclent prince in off with g s £ " . & to The Library Table BY THE BOOKLOVER It 18 as & study of Paris war psy- chology that Edith Wharton's novel, “A Son at the Front” will perhaps have permanent literary value, though it s & very finished plece of art viewed merely as the story of one of the many boys who fought for France, and the father, mother and stepfather whose hopes and anxie- ties all centered about their son at the front. Most of.the chief char. acters of this war novel are Amer! cans elther living In Paris in August, 1914, or coming_thers for various reasons during the war. The indi- vidual and up_reactions of these eople and their French friends, first o the posaibility of war at all, in July, 1914, and then to the various phases of the war are depicted in & |manner which proves Mrs. to be artist. ‘Wharton much a psychologist as an LI ‘When the war oloud first blackens the sky toward the German frontier, Campton, the artist, his divorced wife and her husband and thelr circle of friends are divided into three class: First, those who have war funk; sec- ond, those who quote Norman Angell and belleve that another war is eco- nomically impossible, and third, the fatalist chiefly Frenchmen, who know that the war will come and that it has always been Inevitable. Camp- ton has for days been vainly trying to make a living portralt of a vain French soclety woman. Suddenly he finds that he has succeeded. “The war- funk did it for me' he says. “She's frightened to death about Ladislas Isador (her lover), who is mobiliza- ble” Campton himself is onse of the ineredulous about war. To his anxious conclerge he says, smiling: No—no— nonsense! War? Can you imagine any. thing more absurd? “Can you now?” Paul Dastr shrewd and patriotic Frenchman and old friend of Camp- ton, thinks differently. “My _ poor, poor Campton,” he says, “there'll be war In three days. * ok x Then, swiftly, mobilization is order- ed and every one realizes that, in spite of all the reasons against it, there s war. The reactions all change. Paul Dastrey curses his luck that he is too old for the front, but In spite of his lameness rushes off to join an ambulance staff; Fortin- Lescluze, the famous physician, leaves within twenty-four hours for a hos- pital at Lyon; all the young French- men are mobilized, “theirs not to rea- son why": Harvey Mayhew, delegate from Ut N. Y., to the peace con- ference Hague, who has gone from Paris by way of Luxembourg, learns a few things about the Ger- man army that change him from a garrulous pacifist to an equally gar- rulous raconteur of atrocities: and meanwhile Campton and his forme wife, Mrs. Anderson Brant, are leav ing nothing undone to keep their son George (born in France) from being sent to the front. Tt is through the various “pulls” of Mr. Anderson Brant, head of the Paris branch of an Ameri- can banking nhouse ‘that George is finally provided with a safe staft ap- pointment. * % x % ‘The war is several months old. All types of war charities are organized. Barnest men and women work day and night providing for refugees and the destitute familles of soldiers. So- ciety women clothe themselves as Red Cross nurses and turn their homes Into hospitals. Every one is ashamed to think or speak of anything but war. For a while Campton hides in the seclusion of his studio becauss he still resents the intrusion of the war on his private hopes and plans. Then he, too, is drawn into the whirlpool of excited, ceaseless war activities, * X ok x Then when the war has lasted a couple of years comes the next phase. The steady ones, like the Americans Boylston and Adele Anthony, work on as tirelessly as ever. The more selfish and unstable becoms weary in well-doing ‘and abandon their unac- customed work in order to “recreate” themselves and ‘“forget the war.” Campton goes back to his painting. | Meanwhile, quarrels and recrimina- tions are splitting the committees for charities, clairvoyant imposters ara growing’ rich from the credulity of distracted mothers with sons at the front, and all the time “pull” is working its miracles everywhere. The most thoroughly consistent person, psychologically, " in this _little war world is Mr. Anderson Brant, who, kindly and usuaily tactful, never loses his faith in the power of “pull” and money. ~When the first American regiments arrive in Paris the cheers that greet them are the cheers of a people welcoming a savior. t was as_though the volce of Paris had sprung up in fountains out of her stones.” * Ok X The initial number of the American Mercury, dated January, 1924, has just been published. This monthly review is edited by H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan. They deny that they are radicals, but proclaim that they “are committed to nothing save this: To keep to common sense as fast as they can; to bélabor sham as agrece- ably as possible: to give a civilized entertainment. The reader they have in their eye ® ¢ ¢ {a the normal, educated, “well disposed, unfrenzie: enlightened citizen of the middle m norit. The most striking features of the number are a group of four poems by Theodore Drelser (a new line for him), & sheaf of letters by the late James G. Huneker, and “The Drool Method in History,” by Prof. H. E. Barnes. The February number will contain a play by Eugene O'Neill 2nd a short story by Sherwood Ander- son. * ok K % Gerhart Hauptmann, one of Ger- many's most famed pre-war writers, has just produced a story which might have been, like Rabelals’ “Gar- gantau” and “Pantagruel” inspired by the Renaissance. “The Heretic of Soana” is a defense of surrender to nature as against self-restraint and freedom of thought as against au- thority. A young priest of Italian Switserland falls in love with an {111 erate, but of course beautiful, peasant girl and for her abandons his voca- tion. He then proceeds to change all his_beliefs to suit his course of action, and for obedience to the church sul stitutes a worship of the occult fo of nature. At the end he develop: philosophy of egoism which is cl to megalomania. * ok x Dr. Sslmon Reinach, a great French scholar with a gift for writing clearly and attractively, has published sev- eral brief manuals on various flelds of knowledge, including “Apollo,” & handbook of art, and “Orpheus” a general history of religion, published in 1909. The five concluding chapters of the latter were devoted to Chris- tianity. These the author has r written and revised and published a “Short History of ristianity. The author writes in the belief that Chiristianity is the test of all human institutions, use It suits the temper of progressive and labo rlous nations and adapts itself to the most_various conditions of society.’ Dr. Reinach is the master of short characterizations. Ha le clear, incisive sad never dull. * K * X The Isle of Man has been made both & real and a romantic place for many who have never visited it by the movels of Hall Caine. Years ago the ‘Booklover was carried to this English island by the place vividn of “The “nm:l’x” lndD'The Deemster.” ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Does the Prince of Wales ex- pect to visit his Canadian ranch agaln?—F, H. A. It is stated that he intends to make visits to his Alberta ranch an- hual events unless affalrs of the em- pire interfere. Q. How long have colleges grant- ed degrees to graduates?—S, P. A. The present academic degrees do not date back continuously fur- ther than the middle ages. As the titles doctor and master show, they were originally nothing more nor less than licenses to teach. Q. When Washington held recep- tions did he shake hands with his visitors?—D, A. A. A Thistorfan tecords that at the Tuesday afternoon levees “Wash- ington recelved them with a digni- fied bow" and allowed guests “to pass on without the shake of the hand.” Q. Is it painful to cattle to cut oft their horns?—C. T. A. Clippers or shears for the op- eratlon of dehorning have been in- vented wherewith it is performed quickly and with comparatively lit- tle pain and scarcely any disturb- ance of the animal's normal func- tions or condition. Q. What do the names Morocco, Alr'efl;f Kongo and Abyssinia mean A. Morocco is from the “Maghrib,” meaning far west; ria, from the Arabian “A meaning {sland or penin from name of tribe “Mosicongo,” Abyssinia from the Arabic “Habash. meaning mixed and referring to the population. Q. When was the protective tariff first heard of in the United States?— P. 8. B A. The first plece of legislation by Congress after the adoption of the Constitution was the tariff act of July 4, 1789. The main purpose of this was revenue, but protection was, also extended to certain industries which it was desired to encourage, such as glass and earthenware. In 1816 protection was extended to tex- tiles, hats, cabinet wares, leather and paper, and in 1824 other indust were demanding protection. there was a protective tariff so high that it was called a “tariff of abomi- nation Q. Was “Monsieur aoox:h Tarkington's first B. A. Tarkington's first novel was “The Gentleman From Indiana,” pub- lished in 1899. “Monsieur Beaucaire” followed in 1900 Q. How fast are the finer tapes- tries woven?—G. T. I A. In high art haute-lisses tapes- tries, well filled with perscnages, the artist-weaver can weave only about a square yard in a year. These tap- estries are woven on upright looms. Basse-lisse tapestries, those woven on horizontal looms at which the weaver works with his feet as well as with his hands, are produced about one-third more rapidly. It requires twelve to fifteen vears to educate a novice in the mysteries of the pro- fession. Q. When was “The Blue Danube” first played?—W. W. A. “The Blue Danube’ waltz of Johann Strauss was first played at the Dianasalle, Vienna, on February 13, 1867. In the same season it was given at the Paris exposition, with Italian Count’s native Alge Beaucaire’ book ?—>. Strauss conducting. it was heard in London at the Cov. Garden promenade concerts. . At Vienna and Paris it was given in its original form, for orchestra and chorus, but in London, after some three weeks' rehearsal, Strauss ae. cided to diepense with the chorus, ‘t)hai,l it was performed by orches nly. Q. What relation Is the Queen of Rumania to Queen Victorie? 2ae s, ¢ A. Queen 2 ie of Rumania 1g x granddaughter of Queen Vietorla® of England Her father was a grand duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; he mother was a Russian. - Q. How large must a workshop be to b known as & factory?—C. L B, A. In modern usage the term fa tory covers any establishment, with its ‘buildings and equipment, used for the manufacture of goods. The legal definition, however, varies widely different states, but is usually based upon the number of workers. One such extreme definition makes a fac tory “any place where two or more persons are engaged in working for hire or reward in any handlcra: C. D. Wright's definition reads: *A actory {s an establishment where ! workmen are collected for the pose of obtaining greater and cheaper convenlences for labor than they could procure individually their houses; for producing results b their combined efforts which th could not accomplish separately, for preventing the loss occasionéd b carrying articles from pl to plas during the several processes neces sary to complete their manufacture Another distinguishing mark of a factory is the ownership of all t} tools or implements of production by the employer Q. How In that autummnj oung_a child can be con victed of a crime?—W. R. A. No act done by any person un der seven years of age is a crime. Q. Why ara canary birds often kep in mines?—K. R. A. The presence of deadly carbor monoxide or white damp is easily tected by its effect on canaries, they are often employed for ti reason. Q. What is the difference batwe: s a sanitarium and a sanatorium?- ST, A. The two words are often us synonymously netimes the use the word sanitarium 13 restricte institutions where the treatm: prophylactic or preventive. Q. When were the Grand Cent: and Pennsylvania statfons in N York city started?—C. G. A. The Grand Central menced in July, 190 the public February 2, Pennsylvanja station was June 15, 1908, and was opened vember 27, 1610, was co Q. How many kinds of Honit lace are there?—P. K. R. A. There are two kinds, and applique. Q. very sour milk than just turned?—A. F. A. It is important that the soda be graduated according to the sour- ress of the milk (Readers of The Eveming Sta showld send their questions to Thr Star Information Bureou, Frederi J. Haskin, director, 1220 North Capi ‘tol stroet. The only charge for this service is 2 conts n stamps for re turn postage.) Body Seized gulpi Should more soda be used wiil milk that has Because of Poisoning Rumors BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY. On the demand of the Princess Minutolo di Bugnano, wife of & sen- ator of the Kingdom of Italy and by birth a lineal descendant of that Count von Fersen who, a Swedish of- ficer on the staff of Gen. de Rocham- beau, at Yorktown, was associated, until a few months ago, in & roman tic fashion with the history of the ill fated Marie Antoinette of France, the body of her only brother, Count Jacques Adelsward de Fersen, has been seized by the police authorities at Rome a few hours after its arrival trom Capri, at Rome, for the pur- pose of cremation. The ncess claims that her brother succumbed to polson, administered to him by one of his questionabie frlends who, immediately upon the count's death, on_ the island of Capri, produced a will bequeathing to him his (the count’s) entire _fortune, ~amounting to over half a milllon dollars and the handsome villa on the island where de Fersen had made his home for several years. The circumstances of the seizure of the body by the police for purposes of investigation and the strict surveillance which has been e tablisheg over the man named as chief beneficiary in the will, as well as the influences involved by the sis- ter and senatorial brother-in-law the Count de Fersen in the matter, have created an enormous sensation throughout Italy and have attr: attention to the strange and unhappy career of the dead man. * ¥ % x Just about twenty vears ago the columns of the newspapers in Paris were filled with the more or less velled details of a seandal in Which a certain Count Jacques Adelsward de Fersen was concerned. He was charged by the police with maintain- ing, at his large and richly furnished bachelor apartment in the Avenue de Macmahon, a sort of temple where the so-called “black masses” and other analogous rites of a forbidden and unholy cult were solemnized in defiance of the laws of God and man. These odious and infamous cere- | monies were attended by a number | of young men of much the same stripe as the Count de Fersen, and also by several elder men, Who hastened to leave France for a prolonged voyage abroad whon they learned of the sud- den descent made by the police upon the premises of the Avenue de Mac- mahon and the arrest of the count and a number of his assoclates, in- cluding two young men who styled themselves Counts de Warren, and the selzure of all sorts of parapher- nalla, of tapestries and the paintings, etc., adorning the black mass temple. The trial resulted, in spite of the; eloquent defense of the count by the eminent lawyer Henri Robert, who has just been elected to membership of the Academy, in a sentence of SiX months’ _imprisonment against the count, who was the subject of greater leniency than his assoclates by rea- son of his delicate health and also be- cause of his name, while the two de Warrens and certain of his other as- soclates, in whose behalf no such mitigating _circumstances could be put forward, were condemned to a eo‘\lylo ©of years' imprisonment. § * k K K Additional importance was given to the entire affair by the discovery that the Count de Fersen was en- gaged ot the time to be married to & young girl, bearer of a historic French name and whose great-grandfather had held the office of grand chan-' cellor of France. Naturally this scandal had the result of the im- mediate breaking off of the matoh within a month of the date fixed for the wedding and in the deportation of the count from France as soon as he had served his sentence. Utterly dosperate, the oount deter mined terminate an existence ‘which, condemned &3 he a | was to 80- intoler- a dangerous but not a fatal woun from which it took him the best part of a_year to recover. Next, wil the hope of rehabilitating himself, he endeavored, under a false nam to secure enlistment in the Forelzn Leglon of France, where no ques- tiofis about antecedents are asked But he could not fulfill the ph requirements needed and_thereup undertook a voyage around t »rid before finally sottling down on lovely island ¢ Caprl, whic er since the days of the Ro Caesar Tiberius has been identified in the minds of the publlo with postry and with art, hut also with A memory of the worst scandals of the old Roman Empire. *x ok % Jt may be recalled that the late Alfred Krupp, the ohief owner and son of the founder of the great Ger man ordnance and steel works con- cern it Essen, after he had made Germany too hot to hold him, by the aberrations of his private life, sought refuge in Capri, intending to emulate the Emperor Tiberius. He died there very suddenly, under oir- cumst which have always re- malned v ed with a certain amount of mystery and which Jed Emperor Willlam and several princes of his house and high dignitaries of his governm to attend Krupp's fu- neral at ¥ n n person, for the purpose of e oring to give the Hle to the stories current of suicide and of murd Count Fersen, accordin, lished reports, lod, 1ike Alfre xistence ' at Capri than questior to be b * to a4 Krup which w and whi otted by all t and Amerfean residents o id, and also by the batter ans. In fact, He lived there ¥ h alone with tho compan- ion’ who is now under suspicion of having poisoned the count for the sake of his fortune. * % x ¥ It is only a few months ago ‘.at I called attention, in these letters, to the sensational discovery, among the secret archives of the Imperial house of Hapsburg, in the sealed vaults of Hofburg Palace, at Vienna, of a number of letters and documents gravely affecting the reputation of Count Axel von Fersen and contain- ing extortionate demands for money upon Queen Marie Antoinette, upon her sister, Archduchess Amelia, Sov- ereign Duchess of Parma, and upon the then Austrian Emperor Francis 11, that is to say, the nephew of Queen Marle Antoinette, and which put an_entirely different complexion upon the stories of his alleged ro- mantic and unselfish devotion to the 11l fated Queen of KFrance. The documents showed that the ount had, first of all, obtained Dby importuning from the queen a sum of 1,200,000 francs in gold and then a quantity of her dlamonds which had been transmitted to him through her sister, Archduchess Amelie, Who took his receipt for the money and jewels. Only a very small portion thereof can have been spent by him in the organization of the unsuc- cessful attempt to convey the queen, the king and their children to safet: abroad. © ‘When some years after- ward the count had the impudence to demand of the Austrian emperor, verbally and in writing, the suni of 1,500,000 francs which he clalmed to have paid out of his own pocket in his efforts to rescue the queen, he was confronted by the emperor with his signed receipt for tha amount in question, a document the existence of which he had evidently forgotten. This serves to explain the very cold manner in whcih Queen Marie An- toinette referred to the Count yon Fersen during her public trial for her life, and which convinced most people present, as well as the care- ful readers of the evidence in court, atill_preserved in the National Librar: in Parls, that ehe retained no illu sions whatsoever about the disinter- estedncss of the count and that what- ever bellefs she have enter- tained In his chi obliterated by W%A tion with_her