Evening Star Newspaper, March 13, 1924, Page 6

" THE. EVENING STAR With Sunday Merning Edition. — WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY......March 13, 1084 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspapor Company | Business Office, 11th 8t. New York Oftice B C Tnilding. London, England. | “The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, 1 delivervd by carriers within the city ‘ai 60 centn per month: Guily ouls, 45 cents per month: Nunday oniy, 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be xent by mail or tele- | phone ‘Main &000. ~Collection is made hy car- Tiers at the ond of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1 yr., $5.40; 1 mo., 70c | Daily only. » $6.00 ;1 mo., 50c Sunday only. »$2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 y Dai’y only Sunday only. LAy Member of th The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for, republication o patches eredited 1o i in this paper and also the lished herein. Al rights of publication of #pecial di-patches heren are als red, = = e i credited ! No Gas Tax Inequity. In deciding to amend the gas bill as passed by the House, the Senate! District committee has wisely and | justly given heed to the wishes of the | people of the District, as plainly ex pressed at hearings held on the ject. The DIl as thus amende be practically in the form prope by the Commissioners, imposing a tax on gaseline soid in the Dist Iumbia, In lieu of the personal prop- erty tax now imposed. This is for the purpose of securing motor reciprocity | between the District and Maryland, | whieh is desired by both sides. Doubt has been already expressed | whether the bill in this form if passed By the Senate will be accepted by the | House. It would, of course, be unfor- tunate if the measure were to fail altogether, thus defeating the purpose of the Commissioners to take advan- 1 of Maryland to on the basis of st But far better would it be thus to lose cut on rec- iprocity than to have this.commend- able and desirable endeavor made the medium of the imposition of an ad- ditional and burdensomo tax, as the| House bill proposcs. | It is gratifying, whatever may be | the ultimate fate of the bill, to see| the Senate committee thu iz- | ing the overwhelming prevailing senti. ment of the District people. The full- | est opportunity was afforded for an | cxpression of that sentiment. At first | doubt was voiced whether the oppo- | 1 recogm sition to the House Dill, with its ad- | Payments on the fulfiliment of the | ditional tax provision, was a reflec- | tion of the feeling of the community. A “mass meeting"” of the citizens was called and was largely attended. When | the question was put, “Do you want | motor reciprocity at the cost of an | additional tax?” the answer was im- | mediate and positive. It was a de- cided negative. | ' Wil now, upon passage of the amended bill by the Senate, which | should be assured, the House take cognizance of this manifest public feeling,and accept thé amendment: That is for the future to determine. Meanwhile it is reassuring to find the | Senate committee thus responsive to ! the local sentiment and bent upon the | cnactment of & measure of equity and | the avoidance of a measure of in- Justice. i H | { Votes of Confidence. i pose they were utilized, but many [ munication is a public. concern and ,mnea' of new roads were built under [to be considered from the standpoint {direction of the miflitary emgineers.{of public interest on the same general ‘These roads were built so that troops | principles as other public utilities. {and supplies Tnight be moved from ene| One of the radio problems to be part of the defense lme to another|seived is that broadcasting ehall not | without being under observation from |depend for its support on the sale any point beyond that line which an (Of Tadio apparatus or on advertising jenemy might ooccupy. Roads were|Of Persons and goods. It may be built behind the defenses throughout , that there is no plan to “hog the alr,” the District and in Virginia to serve | Put the government does well to show the forts which stretched from the|that It is alert and standing ready Potomac at Chain bridge to the hills below Cameron run, south of Alex- andria. . In several cases thewe roads were called “the Military road.” Most of them have passed from the map, though some continued in use long after the civil war, and generally were given new names. One Military road survives on the Virginia side of the Potomac, but the only Military {road in the District is that which was | to serve the interest of all the people ,in the matter of communication and educatiop by radio. Abram Liener’s Retirement. Announcement that Abram Lisner has sold his mercantlle establishment in this city to an out-of-town pur- chaser marks the passing from active ; business of a man who for close upon half a century has been personally and directly engaged in business in !built west from Brightwood, in the | Washington. Mr. Lisner's carcer as rear of Fort Stevens, and which served {& merchant in this eity has been so Fort De Russy and Batteries Kings-ilong and so successful that his re. bury and Smend. There was & sys-)tirement through tho sale of his prop- tem of military roads west of Battery | erty calls for a note of appreciation | ! {1918 from Smead, serving Fort Kearny, Batterios Terril and Rossell and Fort Reno at Tenleytown. Before the building of Military road west of Brightwood the main road across the upper val- ley of Rock creek in she District was Milk House Ford road, from the 7th street pike to the Brookville road. American Dollars for France. American soldiers saved France in the German military in- v American dollars are now saving it from another invasion. Re- cenuy the franc has been falling in value. The declension in exchange has been so rapid as to menace France with a currency collapse similar to that which has eccurred in Germany. German trade has taken advantage of this condition and French in- dustries have been seriously affected in consequence. Now a loan of $100,000,000 has been guaranteed by American banking interests as a means of tiding the franc over the| period of waiting for the adoption of a reparations plan, This loan takes the tform of an unlimited credit of “not less than $100.000,000." mediate effect vesterday was to lift the frane to 4233 cents from 3.85 in the exchange uuotations. When the franc began to fall a short time ago a sentiment was mani- fested in Germany of resistance to any scheme of reparations that might be adopted. This was doubtless in- spired by the belief in Germany that the fall of the franc would mean the collapse of the present ministry in France, the policy of which has been unremittingly to press for reparation German obligations under the treaty of Versailles The form in which this credit is granted, ‘‘not less than $100,000,000,” is sigfificant. It means that more will be available if necessary to stabilize the franc. It means that the resources of the most powerful bank- ing interests of this country are at the disposal of the French go ern- ment pending the settlement ol the reparations question. A report from the Dawes commission is expected oon. Meanwhile the Poincare gov- srnment will insist that the senate ratify the new tax measure, which means the balancing of the French budget, and that it also approve the policy of stopping new expenditures. Until the financial situation has been greatly bettered the government will undertake no new borrowing what- soever except for funding existing floating indebtedness. The im- of the announcement | Prosident Coolidge ‘has unusual| Back of this credit is a combination ground for gratification in the action | Of American banking interests. They of republicans in those states which | are acting wtih wise vision of the have recently deslared in faver of | need of checking the unwholcsome and his nomination for the presidency. | Unwarranted fall of the franc, which More than ordinary significgnce can idffects American investments and be scen in it in view of the political | PutS in jeopardy the whole plan of being made against him by | Settiement of the war issues democratic senators and in the oil in-| Thus American dollars are marching drive vestigation. {in an impregnable line once again to the aid of France. This response to the call for aid, so immediate, so generous, must greatly hearten the French people, as did the response of American manhood in 1917 and 1918 to the call for physical succor. ———— So much liquor is said to be avail- able around Long Island sound that In' the middle west, in the south; and in New England the republicans | have voiced their confidence in him. | fBhey have repudiated the cffort of | sensationalists to drag him into the oil scandals and have demonstrated | that they cannot be stampeded. 1 " In such states as Colorado, Kansas, | Towa and Minnesota. where progres- sive and near-radical sentiment is supposed to prevail, republican voters | showed that they consider President | Coglidge as good a progressive as| . themselves and demonstrated their stability of character in repudiating attacks made upon him in the Senate | and eriticism of him in other quarters. A typical New England state,” New Hampshire, spoke most emphatically | in his favor, even going to the extent 'of defeating onc candidate who was for the President, but preferred to 80| uninstructed. New Englanders are: pretty much alike in thought and it | can almost be set down as certain that he will capture other New Eng- Jand states. In the south he -has carried several states, with more ex- * . pected to follow. By and large, the action of the! voters' thus far registered cdn. be - taken as a:yote of confidence in Presi- #oint Coolidge. in the face of.assaults | " #Apon him _ Modern wealth is naturally surprised \fhat a small sum like $100,000 could { the price has dropped below a profit- able figure The law of supply and demand asserts itself even in the un- derworld —_—— New Jersey has frequent struggles with its “blue laws.” They have at least been held down sufficiently to prevent summer seashore gayeties { from being a failure, ————— The rapidity with which President Coolidge assumed that Congress could act with reference to tax reduction implied a compliment which Congress cannot quite deserve. —————— The damage done by a storm is not to be wondered at. The remarkable feature of the experience is the rapid- ity with which repairs are made and business is resumed. The Air a Public Utility. The government is moving promptly to presefve the freedom of the air as means of disseminating information and knowledge. While it is denied i bv radio agencies that there is thought Military Road. or effort by any of them to obtain a Tt is likely that the name “Military | monopoly in broadcasting, a contrary yoad” will be preserved. The House | OPinion is expressed by some public District ‘committee has ordered a fa. ' authorities directly interested in keep- _X¢reate such a flurry in Congress. vorable report on the Senate bill| changing the name of Keokuk street 1o Military road. That street now ex- tends from Military road at 27th street to Wisconsin avenue, and the bill di- rects that the Commissioners give the name Military road to the whole way. Keokuk streét'is a new eastand- west thoroughfare: which, In connec- tion with Military road, 'makes a through-way between Georgia and ‘Wisconsin avenues. It was not thought well that a thoroughfare should have two names along different parts of its course, and it was feared that the old name Military road would disappear. In building the civil war defenses of Washington roads were cut to serve them. Where there were old reads which would answer the pur- 4 ing the air open to all broadcasters who comply with regulations that have been found necessary. Secretary Hoover, appearing before the House committee on merchant | marine in support of & pending bill 1 which would provide further govern- ment regulation of radio transmission, spoke of the air as a public utility jand said that it is not conceivable ithat the American people will allow . this new-born system of communica- tion to fall exclusively into the power of any individual group or combina- tion. He said it would be dangerous if any person or group were In posi- tion to censor matter sent to people through the air, and he also said that the government should not even be placed in the position of censoring matter broadcast by radio. He em- phasized his view that “radio com-, for his unfaiingly high standards. It is a striking fact that during the forty-five and a half years of his own- ership and personal management he has been located in only two buiidings, originally at the corner of 12th street and Pennsylvania avenue and then at 11th and G streets. Mr. Lisner built his success upon the basis of good faith. He devoted himself almost ex- clusively to his business. During later years he has been in u position to en- | lter into the public service activities | of the community to some extent, hut | never at a sacrifice of attention to the | estubiishment which was his lifework. | Such an example of concentration is | of value to the community as an in- spiration to the younger generation. Hope is felt that in the years of | leisure that are to come Mr. Lisner will be able to apply his interests in ! Washington cultural advancement, al- | rgady manifested by generous gifts in | the cause of education, in the same measure of devotion to a purpose. ———— i i { Congressional discussion of an in-| come tax reduction has only added a | touch of disappointment to the gloom | of the citizen engaged in filllng out kis questionnaire for the collector of internal revenue. —_——— When it is declared that Washing- ton, D. C., Is a wetter city than New York a certain amount of indignation is likely to be feit by eminent civic influences in both cities. ——— The task of oil investigation is un- doubtedly exacting and exhausting. If it is to he pursued much longer those who conduct it may have to work in relays. ———— Much valuable congressiomal time | has been consumed in order to ascer- tain the facts about an effort to leave an unidentitled $100,000 on somebody’s doorstep. ————— Once known as a boy orator, Wil- | liam Jennings Bryan hurls defiance | to his old critics in the reminder that | he has passed his sixty-fourth birth day. i i —_———— i It may have been a timely strato | {gem for Hiram Johnson to put any | idea of financial support, at present, | {as far in the background as possible. ' ——— In a flurry of insinuations as to bad reputations, there is a slight relief in | the contention that Teapot Dome ll: i lcovtred by a perfectly good lease. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. i The Lineman, { I doubt if he knows all the technical - terms That by experts are used in electrical firms, His collar's nét white. His strong hands are inured To weather conditions, and not mani- cured. His nerves are of steel, like the spikes on his feet ‘When he climbs toward the sky in the storm-driven sleet, Though his style is not formed on fashion plate plan, He's what I regard as a Regular Man. | | | In his own conscious strength he is silently proud As he flings himself upward, away from the crowd, To make the light shine and the music | resound For those who are hovered down there on the ground. The work that brings smiling and comfort anew Must often be done by the brave, lone- ly few; And, friend, as you stand on yon trem- ulous span, You're what I regard as a Regular | Man. i Too Remote. ! “You will be appreciated by poster- | ity,” exclaimed the admiring friend. - “No doubt,” agreed Senator Sor- | a disadvantage because posterity | iisn’t in & position to exercise a proper | influence on the next election.” Jud Tunkins says scandal is to the intellect what jazz is to the ear. For a Change. Biil Bings is brave and kind and wise. To lead an honest life he tries. i "Midst s0 much scandal going round, Let’s mention it with joy profound. Economy. “I wonder why Paris fashions went back to abbreviated skirts?” “Paris needs the money,” replied Miss Cayenne; “and one way to get it 1s to cut down on the material with- out reducing price.” Belated Inquiry. “Wasn't Solomon the richest man in the world?” inquired Mr. Dustin Stax. “He is supposed to have been.” “Well, what I want to know is how he managed to get by without an in- vestigation.” “De 'beauty "bout & five-foot book- shelf 'stid of a library,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat it don't take nigh so much time to keep it usted ol | does CAN YOUR TAXES BE CUT? A Series of Articles on the Cost of Government; ‘Where the Money Goes, and Why. BY JOHN F, SINCLAIR, Author of “Can Europe Hold Together?™ CHAPTER XVIIL $796 Out of Each $1,000 for Wam. The national defense act was passed by Congress on June 4, 1920. It was & substitute for universal military training, to which the War Depart- ment was previously opposed. The uct Is revolutionary In its departure from the old American methods. Ex- Senator George E. Chamberlain nfl | Oregon says of the act: “Nearly all the control heretofore exercised by Congress over the Army Is to be transferred, theoretically, to the President, but practically to the chiof of stafft—however, Congress is still permitted to foot the bills. It spells one-man dominance, staff despotism oand militarism to a degree never sur- Passed in the palmiest days of the Breat general staff of the German army.” Tuae act provides for a National Army, National Guard and Organizsed Reserves. Three divisions. A comparison of our war activities now with those of ten yvears ago might prove very instructive and helpful. ‘During this time, according to the 1923 report of the Secrgtary of War, the National Army Hhas in- creased from 92,035 men in 1813 to 132,834 in 1923; the National Guard from 120.802° 'to 160,698; the Or- Heserves from zero in 1913 4 So the total of the the United States has in- croased during this. ten-year period (193 to 1923) from 212,337 men to 310770 men. These are significant figu They tell 4 story we hear all too little about. A word_about the Organized Re- sorves. There are two divisions, senior and junfor divisions. The senior division aims at getting mili- tary training into the colleges and universilies of the United States. This division now reaches 124 col- leges and _universities and 57,000 students. This is less than one-fifth of tho total (61%) institutions, and one-sixth of the college student en- rollment (334,000). The junior di- vision reaches 105 of the 1.200 sec- ondary schools, which are high schools and preparatory schools, where junior units might be main- tained and_ 39000 students out of a possible 0.000 are now recelving military training. Expenxes Shoot Upward. The total expenses, too, have shot upward from $202,000,000 {n 1913 to $355,722,000 in 1923. The Secretary of War docs not like to have this ex- pense cut. In 1922 he wrote to Presi- dent Harding as follows: “This estimate does mnot express the milltary requirements in order to carry out the epirit and object of the national defense act. The result- | Ing figures have been submitted solely on the basis of allowing the material plant of the Army to run down temporarily in the interest of fmmediate with a full knowiedge that thi means a great expense in future y from accelerated deterioration. again in hisx 1923 report: 1 the total number of in- s under military training or in the military organizations has de- creased from 519,041 to 514,010. This not spell progress but rather | reaction. I, therefors, recommend | strongly against the slightest cutting of the budget as submitted to Con | gress. We are already cut below our vital needs.” Let us now look at the expense ledger of this big spending burcau of the go-ernment. (1) The Quartermaster Corps, which furniehes food, supplies, clothing and Army transportation, Spent for the fiscal year 1923 a total of $63,562,000, Of this $15.705.000 was spent for Army “transportation.” corps asks for_$7.000,000 les: (2) The Army Service spent $18,141.000 in fhe fiseal vear 1973, It asks about $6,000,000 less for 1924. Together with the naval air force America has now the second largest air force in the world. In June 1923, there we-e §83 officers and 8.524 men connected with this service. Of the thirty-eight Army officers accidentally killed in the Army in the fiscal year | 1923, thirty-three were killed in the air service. | | i ‘The Panama canal cost §3,604.000 to There has been a good deal of dis- cussion lately as to the exact mean- ing of the word “modern” as applied to art. i In 1925 the French governmsnt pro- poses to hold in Paris a great exposi- maintain for the fiscal year 1923, but | tion «f modern decorative and in- the revenue taken in by the canal was about $1,600.000 a month. 8o this is really’ an asset and not & liability. This item of expense is In- creased n tho budget estimates for 1924 by approximately $3,000,000. 846,000,000 for “Pork Barrel” The increase of military pay in the War Department added $7.872,000 more to the 1923 costs. cut by about $2,000,000 for 1924. ‘Then comes the last big spending bureau of the department—that of public works. In this burean rivers and harbors expenditures within the United States cost the taxpayers a total of $49,049,000 for 1923. This Is what is known as the pork barrel A _littlo over $6,000,000 in the appro- priations for 1924 is expected to be cut from this figure. ‘The balance of the expenditures of the department cons! of expense of the numerous bureaus and divisions not directly connectedl with the ac- tivities enume ‘ated above. A word about the receipts of this department, not ralsed iIn taxes. total of $114 947,000 came into the War Department during the fiscal year 1923. Of this amount $81,~ 226,000 came from the sales of gov- ernment property left over from the great war, The estimate for 1924 cuts this item of sales down to $47,288,000 and to $25.419,000 for 1925. The Panama canal e the other big revenue item; $17,869.000 was taken in in the fiscal year 1923, The esti- mated receipts for 1924 increase this by _about $1,000,000. What about the future of the War Department? In the plan already submitted by the bureau which I8 studying the reorganization of the executive departments the War and Navy departments are again merged into_one, as they were in the days of Washington, to be presided over by a single cabinet officer. It would be called the Department of Defense. Three undersecretaries are provided, fo= the Army. for the Navy and for national resources. Would Take Out Engineering. The non-military engineering ac- tivities of the War Department, in- cluding the board of engineers for rivers and harbors, the district and division engineers’ offices, the Missis- sipp! wiver and California commis- sicners, the board of road commis- sioners for Alaska and the office of buildings and groumds (District of Columbla) are transferred from the War to the Department of the In- terior. The marine activitios of the War Department, including the lake sur- vey office, the inland and coastwise waterways service and the super- visor of New York harbor, are trans- ferred to the Department of Com- while the bureau of insular is_transferred to the Depart- ment of State. 1t is_an excellent suggestion. It will take away all non-military ac- tivities from the War Department. 1t will put the spotlight on war ex- penses. €0 the American people will know the facts of war, not camou- flaged by the good deeds of the non- military activities of the department. The plan should be adopted by Con- gress. To sum up, this great spending De- partment of War is managed by a cabinet officer, who, as. Secretary of War, receives $12.000 a r salary. He is_surrounded by a chlef of staff, who draws $10,000 a year: by thirty- five major generals, who each draw $5.000 a year, and by fifty-seven brigadier 'generals, at $6,000. He directs the military activity of 371,770 officers and men, oonstituting the three divistons of the Army today. This Arry is larger by 158933 men than it was ten years ago. The ex- penses of this department have in the same period Increased by approx- imately $168,000.600 annually. For every $1,000 which the United States spent in 1823 for all purposes the War Department proper spent about $100 of it. It is a big spending bureau. $758 Out of $1,000 fer Wars. For the year ending June 30, 1924, |the bureau of the budget estimates 1 Ordnance Estimate Reduced. (3) The ordnance department spent $8,115.000 in 1923. This is cut by $3,500,000 in the estimates for 1924. This department has to do with the purchase and control of guns, rifies, tanks, field artillery and arsenals. (4) The militia bureau spent $2.- 249,000 in the fiscal year 1923, Of this amount the National Guard re- ceived $24.722.000 and the Training Corps and camps another $3,476,000. (5) The Military Academv at West Point took $2,075.000 for 1923. About the same amount is appropriated for (6) Public military works took an- other $6.087.000 in 1923. This item is cut by approximately $2,000.000 for (7) The finance department is the big Spending bureau of the War De- partment. The greatest amount con- sists of the pay of the Army. There is also an item of $1.015000 for rail- road mileage. A total of $137.472,000 was spent in the fiscal year 1923. This is cut by about 313,000,000 for 1924, Of the mon-military activities of the War Department, the soldiers’ homes took $5.087,000 in 1923 This is increased by about $1,500,000 in the budget estimate for 1924. ' —_— T TR lachieved in material things" How Much of Your Time Is Net? BY JOHN CARLYLE, Have you any idea how much coal,’ of all that is mined in the earth, gets into productive use? You will be astonished when the United Elltell geological survey tells you that only seventy-six pounds out of every two thousand pounds really get into useful production. Listen to this amazingly interest- in the earth. At the outset it is estimated that 600 pounds are lost in mining. After the 1,400. pounds which are left reach the surface, the survey tell us that it takes 126 pounds to get the coal from the mine to the boiler room. Then 446 pounds slip up the smokestack to powder the housetops and soil your washing in the back yard. Fifty-one pounds are lost in radiation, and another fifty- one pounds fall into the ash pit. Then comes the biggest single loss| of all—650 pounds are destroyed In converting heat energy into mechani- cal energy. That leaves seventy-six pounds of coal with which to accom- plish_something. Some day men will learn how to create energy without such terrific waste. Some day coal will be trans- lated Into power with less fuming and fewer ashes. Look a little fur- ther down the future and we may sée huge solar engines, run by the gath- ered heat of the sun. There is a story for the everyday life of all of us in the story of waste energy—in the story of the smoke- stack and the ash pit Have you ever put yourself and your habits under the microscope to determine how much of your time is applied to useful activity and ‘how much fritters up the smokestack of idleness and misapplied labo: You have twenty-four hours per y to work with and to play with. m the time you get out of bed in the morning, time s to alip; minute by minute, through your care- less How can you stop the R o s = gross n Xou can do i3 by study asd Ay that dut of every $1,000 to be re- ceived by the federal governfment in revenue $388 of it will go to military functions and $498 more of it will go to paying the public debt charges. Together, $796 out of very $1,000 re- ceived by the federal government | will go to pay for past or present war activi timate of the most responsible finance bureau of the government. It would seem as though the time had arrived when the whole military policy of the government should be Eiven a thorough investigation by, the Ameriean people from at two points of view—(1) that of re- | ducing the' increasingly terrific and continuous expenses involved in war preparation by having more of a keleton army than at present, and (2) still further joining hands with the rest of mankind in finally solv- ing the riddle of the will to peace instead of the will to war. ong thiz line lies not only rellef from federal tax burdens In America, but the only hope of a war-weary and debt-burdened civilization. (Copyright, 1924, in the United States and Ameriean - Great Britala by North per Alliance. z‘l rights reserved.) ‘Tomerrow—The Veterans’ Bureau. In a Few Words. The nations of the world are drift- ing toward mutual destruction. The idea of progress is to be able to guide tanks, submarines and planes from a distance without humans inside them, 80 they may be laden with poison gases and disease germs. Wholesale destruction seems logically indicated. —SIR OLIVER LODGE. Schoolmasters, shy and retiring souls that they are, ought to buck up and be arrogant and aggressive and :;ka hol{ o‘f lhoh:otfld. (o{ they are e most imj nt people In th ‘whole clflllusocommglgf 2 The man who would galn the vote ghum. “A lot of us statesmen feel at, ing analysis of 2,000 pounds of coal of women would do weil to abatain from partisan attacks on his oppo- nents. Women are naturally inclined to sympathize with the underdog. MRS. HARRIET TAYLOR UPTON. l‘ulu properly, use the expressicn public sentiment. pul lic opinion; but never do we say pub- lic reason, for there is no such thing. —WILLIAM LYON PHELPS. A people that is temperamental is not nearly as capable of a true ot as the practical, ambitious, liberty- loving type one finds in America. —MME. GEORGETTE LEBLANC. ‘The German's idea of sport Is dif- ferent from ours; but for grit and cold nerve I have never seen any one to beat him. —KENNETH L._ROBERTS. We often, and definite planning. Perhaps your office door Is open too much. Your frien: use your desk for a convention hall. . That can be stopped. Perhaps you ‘occupy yourself with forty ' trivial matters a day thirty-two of which might be wisely delegated to an as- sistant. Perbaps you loiter a half hour at each end of an engagement— mhen you arrive and befors you eave. 5 One of the most important of all things to remember daily is that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. Put that theory into practice, even In a matter as trifiing as getting yourself a &rink ' gtady to Eet the biEwest possibl udy e met out of your gress time. It pays. by the Assmciiiel Newe: PR ty. This is the official es- | least | dustrial arts, which is to include architecture, furniture, wearing ap- ! parel, theatrical, street and garden | desigp, as well as all those objects of | BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. How can mah-jong ¢iles be cleaned?—M. G. B. A. The ends and sides may be rubbed gently on fine sandpaper. The faces and backs can be cleaned with a Soft cloth wrung out of soapy water. Care should be taken to keep the sides dry, as the bamboo and | bone are glued together. A small plece of gum camphor should bs kept in the box with the tiles to prevent craft and manufacture which relate | g;.00)0ration. to the home, “objects,” as the circular states, “of all kinds, from the most Q. Why does a dealer offer the box ordinary to the most precious, in %0 | when a man wants to buy a cigar?— more comfortable, cheerful and agree- lable” The United States has been asked to participate and has been of- fered one of the best sites for & building or group of buildings, on the Seine not far from the Grand Palais. The opportunity would seem invit- Ing, but among the regulations for exhibitors set forth in the circular of instructions is onme which decla that works admitted to this exh! tion must show “new inspiration and real originality.” They must be exe- cuted and presented by artisans, art- ists and manufacturers who have cre- ated the models, and by editors whose work belongs to modern deco- rative and industrial arts. Reproduc- tions, imitations and counterfeits of anclent styles will be strictly pro- hibited.” And here comes the question as to what is meant by modern, and also who shall be the judge of ‘new in- spiration” and “real originality.” If by the word “modern,” cotemporary is meant, well and good, but if this is to e interpreted as modernism, then happily the majority of works by American craftsmen and manu- facturers would be excluded. What- ever modernism in art may do for us in the future, it has not yet produced works of real beaunty, works which, one is Inclined to belleve, would “make life more comfortable, cheer- ful and agreeable.” And who shall eay that the works of the modernists show new inspira- tion and real originality? Have not their makers themselves boasted that, to the contrary, they reflected a re- turn to barbarism, to primitive types? Have not some of the most extreme of these Innovators sought inspira- tion in the South sea islands or in the works of Egyptian antiquity? Is it ever possible in the art of the present day to completely disregard tradition? EE A distinguished German architect has lately been making a tour of some of our American cities in search of evidences of modernistic tendencies on the part of our American archi- tects, and he claims to have found more than he had anticipated. His definition of modernism in architec- ture is work which is without tradi- into consideration the use of new ma- terials. Fortunately, architecture is an art of construction, and unless certain laws are regarded the building fails down. This has prevented violence in this field of art. Also, we in America demand a certaln element of beauty in our building, which is. after all, the saving grace. Yet all will acknowledge that we have borrowed prodigiously from the past and from other nations and that we have been content to repeat rather than made an effort to develop individuality of ex- pression It is impossible, and thriftless if it were possible, to completely cast aside tradition, but it is unwise to let tradition harness the future. To be original merely tb be different is absurd. but it is bad policy on the part of the public to insist upon sameness, to require production con- tinuously along old linesy *x % 23 Now and then a distinguished for- elgner comes to the United States and astonishes us by the discernment of certain qualities of which we our- example, Shaw Desmond, giving in the current number of Scribner's an account of the recent tour he has made of our west, prophesies that “out of the grandeur and the terror”™ of such cities as Chicago, a city in which, he claims. man serves the machine and success {8 the measure of triumph, “the American poet of { ithe future will weave his fancles,” and {that “out of such horrific beauty the { American literature of tomorrow will be born.” “Men with the clanging of a Swinburne, the imagination of a Da Vinci, and the dark fantasy of a ! Poe, will yet arise” he avers, “in this city of the lake, to sing to the! world the story of 'the birth of a clvilization which is to chango the | nistory of the white race.”” “Anv one | !'is blind,” Mr. Desmond is elsewhere ! quoted as saying, “who says there is | no American literature and art” “You have,” he declares, “a growing literature that is developing into something as strictly national as anything abroad, and full of power {and Beauty” And then he added. most wisely, most stirringly, “and one must look to beauty, to the arts, to save the best in civilization.” * *x % % Along this same line comes 2 re- port from Cambridge, Mass, to the effect that President Lowell of Har- vard has said: “The American people are taking a constantly increasing interest in the fine arts, an Interest which must continne if our country is to acquire in the refinements of civilization the i it has Wit~ nes.ing to this increase in interest are the facts that in 1894 there were but two professors in the fine arts division at Harvard. This year there are seventeen professors and Instruc- tors in this department, giving forty- four courses to 450 students. Testifying to the same effect are certain statistics derived from the most_recent edition of the American Art Annual, which lists in the United States today 124 art museums, 644 art socleties and associations, 357 art schools with an enrollment of nearly 110,000 pupils, and 6,686 painters, sculptors and illustrators who have shown their works in exhibitions of established standing within the last two years. The attendance at art museums is also convincing evidence of the same erowing interest_ The Chicago Art Institute and the Metro. politan Museum, New York. during the past year had an attendance of approximately 1,000.000. The attend- ance in Toledo, howevet, which was only a little over 135,000, was much larger in proportion to the popula- tion, which, according to the latest census, is only 243,164. * % k¥ In this connection attention may well be called at this time to two very tangible compliments that have been paid to our National Commission of Fine Arts by two great foreign na- tions, Great Britain and France. Following our example, and urged 1 by the excailent service rendered, the ritish governmernt has lately or- ganized and established a Commis- sion of Fine Arts on practically the same lines as our own, a commission composed of the most distinguish- ed British painters, scuiptors and architects, headed by a layman. The compliment paid by France war of a slightly more personal nature, inasmuch as it was the award of medal of honor to Charles Moore, chairman_of the National Commis position sion of Fine Arts, for distinguished ' service In the advancement of rt and architecture, in el L. les- a mmullmm‘t':'i’he work of the commission, the activities of which Mr. Moore has long directed, and therefore a matter of national as well as local pride. In this connec- tion it may filtingly be sald, how- ever, that few have done so much for the estabiishment of high \fandard in public art in general, and the development of the oity of Wash: ington al artistic lines fn ticaias, 20 Ghacien Moscn, U This item s | far as they contribute to make life|F. L A. The bureau of internal revenue says that the law states that after a cigar has been removed from the box it cannot returned. It is, therefore, customary for a dealer to ioffer the box when a customer is pur- chasing cigars. Q. What [s the origin of the word “caucus”?—D. G. { tion, but of the time, and which takes | Jnot a member of the citrus family. selves were scarcely aware. For! ishe felt perfectly at home—while a A. The word “caucus” is a cor- ruption of the Calkers’ Club, founded by Samuel Adams for the purpose of recommending the best men for office, Q. Did the Indians have horses be- fore white men settled in Americat— I A. Horses were not known to the Indians prior to the advent of the white man in America. The first horses scen by the mainland Indians were those of the Spanish Inyaders of Mexico. A few years later De Soto brought the horse into Florida and westward to the Mississippi, | while Coronado, in 1541, introduced | it to the Indians of the Great Plains. i Q. When were public started in Scotiand?—J. D. W. A. Elementary schools were estab- lished in_ Scotland by the provisions of the elementary education act of 1872, Prior to that, however, educa- {tion had been regulated by the Scot- tish parliament. = As early as 1696 an act was passed for settling schools, providing for the rmainte- nance of a school in every parish in connection with the kirk. Q. What (s the legend of the broken hand—the one Otis Skinner mentions in “Kismet” *—N. T, 8. A. Mr. Skinner saye that he knows | of no legend of the broken hand. It ! was a device of the author of “Kis- | met” for the purpose of the identi-| fication of a lost child by its father. Many orientals wear what is called | the hand of Fatima, or Fatmah, which ' {1s regarded as a lucky charm. In) | conventionaliged form it is worn | most frequently suspended . from a | chain around the neck. It is one of | | theso little hands which Is referred {to by the author of “Kismet” | Q. How many building and loan associations are there in the United States?—A. M. H. A. As of June 31, 1923, according to the data of the United States | League of Local Building and Loan Associations, there were 10,009 such associations in this country. | nQ, When did Abrabam Lincoln's mother die? Is her grave marked? {—AJ. G A. Her death occurred in Indiana, | at a time when a frightful pestilence | called “milk sickness” devastated | the gection. A stone has been plaeed | over the grave of Mrs. Lincoln by | { P. E. Studebaker of South Bend, Ind. The inscription reads: Hanks Lincoln, mother of Pres | Lincoln, died October 5, A.D. 1819, {aged 35 years. Erected by a friend of her martyred son, 1879. Q. Is the Kaffir orange like the oranges. raised in this country?— C. F. M. A. This fruit, which has been in- troduced into the United States, is schools | i 'When ripe the fruit turns vellow and has a fragrance like cloves. The seeds contain a small amount of strychnine and the flesh is edible, having the . flavor of brandied peaches. ! Q. Of the entire population in the ! United States, what percentage is { Roman Catholic?—T. G. A In 1922 there were about 15,- 000,000 Roman Catholics in this coun- try, forming about 1’ oceab of th. entire popuiation iy e, = . How does street car thr tarn?—M. O &, A. The switch Is thrown ,dide to a current of electricity passing.througi {an clectro-magnet which is ized {by current comtrolied from a_boin: lin advance of the switch. J£ the motorman passes this point with th. current on. the switch is thrown. £} he coasts by this point the switch i not thrown. Q. WIII' you tell me the name_ of Washington Irving's home in - New York and what city it Is in?—E. D. G. A. “Sunnyside” Is the name of the house in which Washington Irvinge ,ra«ldpd at irvington, N It was originally known as “Wolferts Roose" and was built in the seventeenth century. Q. Why is_the little red ca by Turks called a fez?—C. A. Formerly Fez, a capital of Mo rocco, was the chief place of manu- facture of the red fez cap. The colr was produced from dye made fron a berry grown nearby, motgrman on A ow the spitch on o 1 P _wor Q. How did the interrogation poirt originate?—s. P. A. Probably the question mark orig- inafed in the placing of the letter “q" over the letter “0," these beine the first and last letters of the Latix word questo, meaning question. Q. Were the medals which wer put on the casket of the Unknowr Soldier buried, or were they remo: —A. W. K. A. The bunting flag which covere: the caskct on its fourney fro France w buried with the bhody « the unknown soldier. The silk ff which covered the caskcet while @ body luy in state and during, ti funeral ceremony Wwas removed, te gether with all medals conferred t: foreign governments and ourown. Q. Was Henry Clay as great orator as Webster?” L C. P, A. While Carl Schurz ranked Clar above Webster as an orator, othc authorities of the time incline to the view that Clay held his suditors by the power of his personality rather than by the substance of what he sald. Webster impressed his hear- ers both by his presence and by ‘a romarkable combination ~ of clear thought and magnificence of diction Q. What does it _mean when a painting bears the word Pinxit?— E. V. A “Pinxit" is a Latin verb means “he painted it"” 2speci: in the period of the Renaissance was ¢ tomary to use this word in signing a canvas, just as ster vic 1in makei used the word “faciebat meaning “he made " Q. Has the term fait accompli a - special significance in diplomatic lan guage?—F. A. K. A. Fait accompli, an accomplished tact, denotes in diplomacy an event that has happened and must be ac- { cepted or recognized as definite, how: ever disagreeable. Q. Is there such an estate as th Key or Idwards estate in New Yor city that is the subject of litigatior Tooking to_division among possibl. heirs?—R. N. A. The surrogate court of the county of New York says that ther: is no such estate in that office; tha: there is no such property in New Yorl city awaiting the discovery of heirs Q. How long have houseboats beer in use?—C. N. O. A. While palatial houseboats wern used by the Roman emperors and have been In continuous use in China since early times, the houseboat of modern days first appeared in Eng- land aboui 1860 and came to this country late in the nineteenth cen- tury. (Readers of The Evening Star con get the answer to any question by Gddressing a letter to The Star In- Jormaton Bureau, Frederic J. Hos- in, director, 1220 North Capiiol street. There is mo charge for this service except 2 cents in stamps for retwn postage. Al replies are sent direct to the inquirer.) ~ WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Rear Admiral Charles P. Plunkett, who says Washington is the wettest city In the United States, had a real hand in ending the world war. It was one of his naval batteries that fired the last shot on the western front a fraction of a minute before the armistice was declared on No- vember 11, 1918. Plunkett is one of the hard-hitting,’ plain-speaking sea dogs of the Navy. He superintended the construction at the Washington navy yard of the great l4-inch naval | railway batteries which were sent to Pershing’s army, and then com- manded them. in action. From July to the armistice, Plunkett's “Big Charlles” pounded the Germans mer- cilessly and effectively. Five years ago Admiral Plunkett was in charge of the Navy’s famous transatlantic fight. He is a Washingtonian by | birth and was graduated from An-; napolis with the class of 1881 L F F X% Although the California-Japauese hearing before the Senate immigra- tion committeo this week dealt with | a critical tasue, the. sessions were punctuated with merry quips. An earnest emissary of the Immigration Restriction League was dllating on| the “melting pot” and quoting Israel | Zangwill's invention of that term as a description of America In the midst of his dissertation, Senator Pat Harrison interrupted to ask “wheth- er the melting pot is any worse than | the teapot.” Later on, V. S. Mc-| Clatchy of Sacramento, archpriest of | the Japanese exclusion movement, | told the committee of the new scheme | of “Kankodan” brides, devised by the Japanese, as he alleged, to take the place of the suppressed ‘“picture bride” system. McClatchy had just called the “picture bride: -who were picked out by correspondence—"‘mail- order brides.” Senator Shortridge of California said that was a nisnomer. *““They're female-order brides,” he ex- plained. The “Kankodan" bride, it appears, is one that a Japanese resi- | dent of the United States selects |n1 the course of a sightseeing trip to his native land. “Excursion brides" Is California’s rendering of “Kankodan brides.” * ® ¥ ¥ Mrs, Coolidge, like the Presi- dent, takes regular “constitutionals” through Washington, sometimes for | considerable distances from the White House. On & recent occasion a rain- storm overtook her and she was com- pelled to seek refuge in the Senate wing of the Capitol—where she said telephone call to the White House summoned an executive automobile. The First Lady meantime took upl her station in one of the public lob- | bies, for the most part unnoticed, chatting 1y with a policeman she ! used to know when “Cal” presided over the Senate. * x * % Representative Johp Wesley Lang- ley of Kentucky, who received an ova- | tion in the House when he protested his Innocence of alleged corruption charges, once was disbursing and appointment clork (B the ceasus bu-| , sideration. réau. A member of his saff, a young woman who was able, but cantanker- ous, threw an inkwell on a certain occasion at a fellow clerk who had ‘aroused her temperamental ire Everybody expected she would be detached from service pay roll. To the general as- tonishment, sho emerged from Lang- ley’s office'with a broad grin on.her face. “Well, what's happened?" 'sho was asked. “The chief- merely said, Shake.'” the young woman explained: “and added: ‘I've been wanting to d that very same thing for a lons time! promptly the civil * £ % ¥ It would be difficult to organize a more convincing demonstration of western radicalism’s grip on the Wash- ington situation than Is provided by current events on Capitol Hill. The two senatorial investigations now in progress—oil and Daugherty—aro headed, respectively, by Ladd, mon- partisan republican of North Dakota, anad Brookhart, radical republican of Iowa. Their leadership of the bir probes hallmarks the domination of La Follette, too. Both Ladd and Brookhart are usually “Fighting Bob's” trail. * % % ¥ President Coolldgs, in denying pardon to Edward A. Rumley, sen- tenced to Atlanta in connection with Germany’s war-time association with the New York Evening Mall, enunci- ated a principle which has becomo White House policy on executive clemency. That is, that a person con- victed of a federal felony after duc process of law must enter upon his sentence and actually “do” time be- fore commutation will be considered. President Harding adhered to that practice, and Mr. Coolidge is perpetu- ating it found in * %k * % Senator Hiram W. Johmson was conspicuously missing from the Jap- anese immigration seance at the Sen- ate, although It concerns the Pacific coast's paramount domestic issue. Johnson is a member of the immigra- tion committee. In his absence Sena- tor Shortridge functioned as a pinch- bitter. It is activities like those now keeping_Johnson from official duties in the Senate—his campaign for the presidential nomination—that have Sost_him & lot of his old-time favor in California.Citizens of that state have been complaining for five years that Hiram “is so busy running for President” that he relegates his sacred dbligations as a native eon of the golden west to secondary con- The coast exclusionists had hoped for valiant aid from John- ‘son during the fight for legislation against Japanese immigration. * % % % Hoover’s Department of Commarce. which regulates radio, has a hard- luck story ‘from a mah in Chicago. He's been using a broadcasting eta- tion there for propagation of a worthy cause. Recently he Invited his invisible audience to telegraph ex- ressions of its views. They did so. ith a vengeance. Within a week ho found himself called upon to pay $6,000 In “collect” messages. . (Owpyright, 1006)