Evening Star Newspaper, March 20, 1924, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Ed'tion. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY......March 20, 1824 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor A SRS The Evening Star Newspaper Company and Pennsylvania Ave. 0 Eant 42nd St 'hicago OM e: Tower Bullding. Puropean Oflice: 16 Regen! udon, Eagland. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the €ity ai 60 cents per manth; daily only, 45! per_month: Sunday oniy, rders may be sent by phone ‘Main 5000, Collection is Tiers at the end of cach mouth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryiand and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., §8.40;1mo., Daily only. “1yr., $6.00; 1 mo. Bunday only......1yr, §2.40 1 m All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., §10.00 ; 1 mo., Dai'y only ......1yr, $7.00;1m 8unday only......1yr, $3.00;1 me Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusi to the use for repul tion of news {lu‘h!l credited o it or not otherwise credited in e local news pub- 1 z rights of publication of wpecial dispatches Jere'n are also reserved. Specl Qg ool made by car- 70¢ 50¢ 86c 60 More Foreign Shipping Agony. There i3 no occasion for surprise that British and Japanese shipping in- terests are perturbed over the Jdecision ! of the Interstate Commerce Com- mission in favor of preferential rail- road rates for goods carried in Amer- | ican bottoms. Anything at all looking to upbuilding of the American mer- chant marine is bound to perturb | British and Japanese and other foreign | shipping Interests. They are perturbed by the fact that we have a merchant marine at all. It is truc that when ‘we were spending three billion dollars to build our merchant ships Britain and allied nations hailed it as a great and glorious undertaking. But they needed the ships then to help them Win the war. Now that the war is over, it seems to be the opinion of our friends that we should take our three billion dollars’ worth of ships oat to sea and scuttle them. Because ‘we have not seen fit to make this gigantic sacrifice in the cause of in- ternational good will we are a selfish, grasping nation. Every imaginable sort of weapon has been used by foreign shipping interests to discourage American ship- ping, even to propaganda which has led many of our own people to believe ! that something has happened to Amer- icans of this generation which makes them incompetent to operate ships, and that, such being the case, it would be the part of wisdom to intrust our foreign commerce wholly to the more | or less tender mercies of our commer- cial rivals. On top of this hocus pocus now comes the threat of re-; taliation if we dare adjust our railrcad | rates to give American ships a share | of American business. But en this point our friends are | overreaching themselves @ bit. The! proposal of the Interstate Commerce ! Commission is that reductions in frelght rates uuvder the preferential plan elfl) eome out of the revenues of tha railrcads and shall in no way | affect ogean carrying charges. The | fixing OF internal railroad rates is purely a domestic question and is not | affected by the treaty of commerce | and navigation or any other interna- | tional agreement. And when it comes | to retaliation, we should worry! If other nations want to set out upon | such a venture, in the present state | of the world, we feel quite capabls of | looking after our own. ————————— “Street Lighting. The Commissioners hold fast tol thetr plan for better lighting of Wash- | ington streets, and have directed the | electrical engineer to prepare esti- mates to carry out within the next five years a comprehensive street lighting program. The Commissioners will ask in each book of estimates during the next flve years for a pro- portionate part of the cost of this important work. The plan for which | the estimates are to be made provides | for the classification of strects as principal business streets, minor busi- ness streets, main traffic highways, minor traffic routes and boulevards, and it would be sought to meet the| mneed of each class of street. There| will be 2 gradual replacement of street gas lamps by electric light. The need for more light in the streets at night has been told a thou- sand times. Many civic organizations, perhaps all of them, have resolved that Washington's street lighting sys- tem is mot up-to-date. Citizens com- plain of insufficient light in streets at night, and many traffic accidents have been charged to that cause. Strangers comment that while we have a few ‘‘white ways,” most of the strects are dim or dark. Electrical engineers in making up lists of well lighted Ameri- can cities leave Washington off those lists. ———ret——eam No doubt Mr. Doheny is a little grateful to citizens who were willing to take their chances in oil specula- tion instead of coming to him for a direct donation. —————— The latest gossip is to the effect that Mr. Vanderlip hes definite in- formation which he has confided to the committee. | i To be an influential citizen is an Ronor until the influence is suspected of being on *he market. —_—————— Grade Crossings Must Go. {actment with diligence. Commissioners and representatives of the railroad, and there was conaider- able discussion of protecting, or giv- ing additional protection, to people at the crossings. Certain warning de- vices were set up at those crossings ings—that is, crossings where there were neither gates nor watchmen. Installation of the warning devices was looked on only as a temporary means of lessening danger at these crossings, and did not, of course, sat- isfy the sentiment of the people and their authorities. The Commissioners drafted a bill calling for the construc- tion of a bridge or viaddct at each of the crossings. It was estimated that this would cost $500,000, and it was provided that the rallroad should bear a share of the expense. When the bill was submitted to the bureau of the budget it was returned for modi- fication, and the revised bill will prob- ably be sent to the budget this week. Under the terms of the bill two grade crossings will remain and three will be eliminated by means of bridge or viaduct and half the expense will be borne by the railroad company. The remaining crossings would be given all the “protection” that can be had by means of gates, flagmen, bells and | lights. This bill, though it does not meet . public wishes, should be pressed to en- It is unsatis- factory in that it does not provide for the abolition of all the crossings It was not long ago that these crossings were far in the country, where there | were few people and little traffic, but the city has grown fast in that neigh- borhood and deplorable accidents show that the grade crossings must go. ' —_——r—————— The Y. W. C. A, Campaign. There are two days left out of the week’'s campaign by means of which the Young Women's Christian Asso- ciation of the District of Columbia set out to raise among its friends and members the difference between its expenditures and its income for the ensuing year. The sum needed was $33,748. This budget difference is but 10 per cent of the whole sum needed for the varied and valuable activities maintained by this organi- ration. Already the campaign has resulted in subscriptions totaling over $13,000. To this can be added $4.000 accrued interest, vet the further sum of ap- | proximately $16,500 should be in hand or pledged by Saturday night in order that the “Y. W." may face the en- suilng year with a clean siate. The sort of benefits conferred on a community by the Y. W. C. A is well known throughout the District. That the association is 90 per cent self-supporting is not so well known, while a fact with which perhaps still fewer persons are familiar is thai membership In the association is not necessary for the participation in its activities and its benefits. The organization is now confronted with the specially pressing problem of properly housing itself. Since the recent relinquishment of its former headquarters, 1333 F street northwest, the association is particularly desirous of building within the next year or two an eightstory building which will adequately house its ever-grow- ing activities and provide under the same roof @ gymnasium, swimming pool, assembly, school, club and com- munity rooms and the cafeteria, | which is one of its greatest assets. The local Y. W. C. A. has an hon- orable and a successful local history, extending back for a number of years. That the local public will allow its opportunity to serve the community | to diminish through lack of co-opera- tion in this brief, modest and neces- sary campaign is exceedingly unlikely. Underwood and McAdoo. Now for the real *‘scrap” between Senator Underwood and William G. McAdoo for delegates from the southern states. Both southerners, Mr. McAdoo born In Marietta, Ga., although now hailing from California, and Senator Underwood. though born in the border state of Kentucky, long identified with Alabama, each has car-{ ried his own state as “favorite son.” Mr. McAdoo's victory in the Georgia primaries yesterday was as pro- nounced as Senator Underwood's vic- tory in Alabama a week ago. Senator Underwood picked up twenty-four del- egates to the democratic national con- vention, while Mr. McAdoo gathered in twenty-eight. So now they can sally forth in the states that are yet to hold primaries for the selection of delegates and wage their campaign, conscious of having the indorsement of their respective states. Yesterday's result in Georgia prob- ably must be especially gratifying to Mr. McAdoo in view of the widespread prophecies among democrats that he would fail of the nomination because of the oil disclosures. He can now “point with pride” to the indorsement given him by his own people and declare that they have faith in him, however others may hold that he “is through™ as a candidate. —————— Chicago musiclans think that radio will enable a few performers to supply melody to too meny auditors. They fail 'to consider the home talent that is no longer developed because the family refuses to have the broadcast- Ing interrupted by amateur practice. —ee 0 Arbor Day in Virginia. The Governor of Virginia has fis. sued an Arbor day proclamation and designates April 11. In his preamble The grade crossing takes its toll of - itfe in the District, as i does tn mz::,"::_::“ e ":,:h;y;',,' other parts of the country, and that | .. 4¢ haturally turn rade croasing near tho norih lmit of | 1 e, "0 tor, "when the warm the District which we call the Lamond | . s tnawing the benumbed earth crossing. has been the place of a BUM- | 19 the flowers are bursting through ber of tatalities. !tbnmnmlm. ool after = long - Wikter's sles lasly busy crossing, but acath seems | to TR FUEL R T S I h::t LR t':‘::".;:"":“;: ! ness and beauty of the tmmortal life :":’ ar"".:“o e dri an | 8round us, where the trees seem to automobile over the tiacks was killed Dy & train. This is one o the remain- ing five grade crossings of raflroad : and highway in the District. g Arbor day & number on the Metropolitan branch of the Bal- timoce and Ohlo railroad in the Dis-|of states have a fixed date, and the| “thinks THE EVENING tion by the governor. Other states having a fixed date for Arbor day are still called to its observance by gu- begnatorial command. In & number of states there is ne fixed date, and the governor by an annual proclama- | i which were called “unguarded” cross- | tion names the day. That is the case in Virginia. In the District of Co- lumb¥a April 16 is Arbor day, and an- | nually the people are reminded of it | by proclamation by the -Commis. aioners. The ploneer Arbor day state is Ne- braska, There the custom was insti- tuted in 1872, and that state now observas April 22, the birthday of J. Sterfing Morton, as Arbor day. | Mr. Morton was the originator of the plan for Arbor day. He was an orig- inal member of the Nebraska terri- torial bosrd of agriculture and of the Territorial Horticultural Soctety, and under the territorial government and after Nehraska's admission to stats hood, in 1867, was one of Nebraska's' prominent men. Many Washingtoni- | ans came to know him well, when in 1893 he wms appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President Cleveland. In 1895 Nebraska, through its lecgis-, lature, chowe for Itself the ‘“nick-| name” of “Tree Planters' state.”” The Arbor day idea made an appeal to the people of other states, and Kansas | and Tennesace instituted such a dayi In 1875 and Minnesota in 1876. Be. tween 1880 and 1890 a day was set apart in mamy states as Arbor day, and it was established in the Dlslrlc‘l in 1919. Perhaps the first man to call gen- eral popular public attention to the forest destruction In the United States was George P. Marsh, an eminent scholar, who treated of the matter in his book, “Man and Nature,” pub- lished in 1864. Birdseye G. North, secretary of the Connecticut board of education in 1865, suggested that states should supervise the planting of trees at the proper time each year. It was in 1885 that Nebraska named April 22, Mr. Morton's birthday, as Arbor day and made it a legal state holiday. 1 Inducements to return to America will be considered by Bergdoll, who is apparently acquiring the impression that his notoriety entitles him to a reception committee and a brass band. The amount of capital that may be involved in a pugilistic deal af- fords an explanation of the great seriousness with which a nation takes its prize fighting. ‘There will be no fears for Attorney General Daugherty if he can hold down the rest of the rumors as suc- cessfully as he has' the one about his resignation. France, respectful toward both brains and money, has declared Poin- care all right, and is now arranging for a general vote of confidence in the tranc. Whenever Mr. Frank Munsey finds it desirable to vary the monotony of print he sells @ newspaper and has a first page sensation all to himself. Even France may be unable to ne- gotiate a loan much in excess of a hundred thousand dollars without a congressional investigation. One or two senators are as busily engaged in making campaign speeches as if it were late summer instead of early spring. The Congressional Record will scon be equipped to go on the newsstands in competition with the mystery story magazines. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. No Escape. The news that's comin’ from afar is |{much more bad than good. Let's no- itice what the doin’s are, right in the neighborhood: 8i Simlin’s hoss has run away, ‘whlch interrupts his toil. The harness got too dry, they say, an’ should be rubbed with ofl. Susanner Bivvins lost her place. A right good cook was she, but on her salads she would waste the ofl with careless glee. Jim Seller’s customers now scold. Of him they've had enough. The oil on some sardines he sold was all in. ferior stuff. From ofl I'm tryin’ to depart. The effort brings a frown. It ‘pears like scandal’s made a start right here in our home town. — 3 Asceticism, *“1 hope you are happy and prosper- ous,” remarked the genial friend. “8ir,” rejoined Senator Borghum, *1 aim to be a true statesman. And as affairs now go, a true statesman is not supposed to be either.” Jud Tunkins sys he mw “Antony and Cleopatra,” and, while it may be good poetry, it didn't strike him as much of a snake story. Ancient Query. Same old question brings dismay! It will never cease. People shudder as they say, ““Where were the police?” Trying to Be Just. “Would you object to meeting a professional pugllist?” * “Not at all,” replied Miss Cayenne. “If alt current reports are true, the men who. do the actual prize fighting are compafatively innocent figures in & very elaborate transaction.” Fire-Water. “It has got so only folks who can i ! afford electric lights are supposed to | 3! buy bootleg liquor,” grumbled Uncle Bl Bottletop." “What difference “If you open & bottle nedr a lamp it's lable to explode.” g . “Many a man" said Uncle Ehen, does. the Nlumtna- = |& continental,’ less paper money used in the dark ! ST, CAN YOUR TAXES BE CUT? A Series of Articles on the Cost of Government; Where the Money Goes, and Why. BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR. Auathor of “Can Europe Hold Together?” CHAPTER XXV. Paying the Bills for Uncle Sam. today for federal expenses than it was $1.600 a day in 1790. Those early days should ever be a lesson in heroic endeavor for these later days. It was John Adams who, In 1774, wrote In his famous diary: “We have not men fit for the times. We are deficlent in genlus, in education, In travel, in for- tune, in everything™ ‘The next fifteen years were dark ones. Was John Adams right after all? Would financial daylight ever come? From 1775 to 1779 the Constitutional Congress issued $241,622.000 1 secured paper money, while several states add »d $309 524 000 more to this fantas total. It all became worthless. It finally took a “bushel of money to purchase a peck of beans.” The expression, “mot worth comes from the worth- days of the Continental Congress. Picture this little nation in 1790 of $,000.000 population, about une-sixth of whom were col red. mostly slaves. There were then but,six cities with a population of 7.500 people and over. Today there are over 1.000 such cities in the country. York was ths people. cities in the United States than New York was when George Washington drove a team of horses At that time New largest, with 33.000 larger from Mt. Vernon to New York to take ' the oath of office as President, and on the way got stuck in the mud. Trade with forelgn nations amounted to $21000,000 a year. goes in and out of American ports every twelve hours now than went in and out of the nation for the whole year 1790, The confederation of the thirteen states. which took place after the revolution, was a failure. The states were not satisfied, neither was the federal government. whi called a “rope of were in a mess, credit was exhausted. bills were unpald. accrued Interest on both state and national bonds was in default. Repudiations seemed about the only way out. Stern necessity forced the calling of the Constitu- tional Conventlon of 1787 ‘What Ceastitation Says. By 1789 the Constitution, had be- come the fundamental law of the United States. Fourteen different sections of that great work deal with the subject of finance. Three para- graphs contain tho meat. Here they a 1. *The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, im posts and_excises: and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United es; but all duties. imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.” 2. jon or other direct tax shall be laid unless in proportion to the censuses or enumeration here- inbefore directed to be taken.” 3. “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes from whatever source derived, with- out apportionment among the several states and without regard to any census or enumeration.” No. 3 is an amendment adopted in 1913 to neutralize the effect of No. 2 Even beforo Washington was in- augurated and before Hamilton be- came Secretary of the Treasu James Madison, on April 8, 1789, laid the subject of national revenue be. fore the national House of Repre. ntatives. He propused a tariff on uch articles of requisition only as are likely to occasion the least de- lay. Ll us remember that the thirteen states were not now permitted to “coin money; emit bills of credit make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. The act of July 1, 1862, is the basis of the present revenue system. bot™ as regards the objects taxed and the organization for the collection of the taxes. The act created the office of commissioner of internal revenue In our first year (1791); 99.6 per cent of all the government receipts came from customs duties—that from fees collected on goods of othe nations entering the United States. Internal revenue recelpts were very small until 1863. The greatest amount collected from this source during this first seventy-two vears of our na- tional existence was in 1816, when $5.124,000 was collected But it was only 15 per cent of the totai receipts. Land Sale Proceeds Trivial During the early period. and even afterward, some fees came from the sale of public lands, but the total receipts from the sale of the great lands of the United States from 1791 3, inclusive, were less than 0,000, & little more than one onth’s expenses for this year. So up to 1862 we may say that the recelpts from customs duties were used to pay 95 per cent of the total federal expense: The civil war brought us a na- tional income tax for the first time. Also new stamp taxes and other in- ternal texes. Everything was taxes. The federal government needed huge revenue, and nothing was neglected. In 1866 about $73,000,000 of income tax was collected. From that high point the income tax decreased, and finally died out by 1874. But the in- ternal revenue continued. It never from 1 n has yielded less than “Pensions” and “Bonus” Writer Compares Present De- mands With Civil War Awards. To the Editor of The Star. On January 21 a well known lawyer ot Chicago In an address to taxpay- ers stated “if we treat the veterans of the late war only half as well as were treated the veterans of the clvil war, It Is estimated that we will be paying in another few years more than a billion dollars annually for these purposes. One wonders how much he knows of the treatment of the civil war Veterans, those men who tramped to the battle line, ate whatever could be obtained, and the rations were protty bad a whole; got hospital treatment only In extreme cases, and many of the survivors walked part, it mot ail of the distance to their homes when war had ceased. Then a pension was voted. Two dollars a month, and this for twenty- six years, creased $6, then $1 it was ind 0 2‘.";:3 ::sdogndunl‘lg to n:: resent figure of a month, up &vonzy-flvo years of The wid- age. ows of these veterans receive but $30 a month. Most of these pensioners are mainly, if not solely dependent upon the pension, and this with old age and atiendant infirmities. The sums must_maintain life for them. And the ranks are_thinning at the rate of more than 5000 a month. A fow ears will see the last veteran taken Wiy aot provide properly for these no! o old no'ople who_remain of that great hich e us this free na- de for the present - ent to the -ml'a war veteran The majority of these men are employed at remu- nerative tions; many never left the training camps who would partake in this distribution. = Those (njured are now receiv! compen: 3 Are ;ru:flld for better employ- ment, is_country has provided ?Iuhld! for the needy omes In ign lands, but fo n hiome, .. A substan renai th Today there are over 225! More business | to pay the debts | is. | T $100.000,000 annually: $150.000,000 was reached by 1893, $200.000,000 six years he :200‘000,000 . mark was wo {onues and Internal revenue contrib- uted sbout cqually toward the na- { tional expenses. t_The income tax amendment quoted ,above was adopted by the people May 131, 1913. In that year about $35.000, 1000 was turned into the federal Treas- jury from that source. The annual jamounts since then have risen rap- iidly. In 1916 the amount was ap- proximately $125,000,000; the next year $360,000,000. Then America en- tered the war. ‘See the income and ! profits tax revenue jump! 1918 8,999,000 0,762,000 936, 28,137,000 $2,086.918.000 - $1,691,089,000 | Over sixteen billlons of dollars in | 81x_years from this one source alone. The customs revenue during the same | period totaled less than two billions ! of dollars. From 135 employes in 1866, the in- { ternal revenue department had grown to_20.995 employes on June 30, 1923. | What has happened since the days of Hamilton, who was the great champion of indirect taxation? ~Just his. Direct taxation today has taken he place of indirect taxation then. No longer is it necessary to advocate a tariff for revenue. 63 Per Cent From Internal Revenue. The .government collected $4.007,~ 135,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1923. Of this huge amount in- come and profits taxes contributed 41.89 per cent of it; miscellaneous internal revenue, |ing a total of 65.50 per cent of the total amount from internal revenue alone. Customs duties furnished 14.02 interest premiums and 5 per cent: all other come,’ 11.03 per cent. This gives the story up to date. {The war has changed the fiscal policy of the government. But a new contest is developing. Will the in- come and excess profits taxes gradu- ally be reduced by allowing again the customs revenue, a sales tax perhaps, and other indirect taxes, to absorb this reductfon? ~Or, will the people demand that direct’ taxes, based on ability to pay, be the basic yardstick in securing the necessary revenue of the national government for the future? The problem of the tax exempt bonds serious'y complicates this other problem. Today there are outstand- ing approximately $12,300 000000 of i bonds are free from the &upertaxes imposed by the federal government. Today the federal government re- net incomes in the United States. ‘The rates are 50 per cent on all net incomes of $300.000 and over. Men of large means, since the imposition {of the super income taxes, have been buying bonds the income of which is not subject to this heavy tax. They [have found out that a 5 per cent tax exempt {return on their investment than a istock paying 11 per cent but subject [to the tax. Besides the risk is much less. ! “In 1916 there were 1.296 persons ;having Incomes of $300.000 a year !and over. This decreased to 241 per- ons in 1921, according to the last offiefal report issued by the Treasury. In my opinion the problem of direct taxation will never be successfully {handled or controlled until tax ex- {empt bonds are entirely eliminated. e whole merit of ability to pay in xation is vittated by allowing in | this manner the very wea'thiest class in the United States to receive all of | the benefits of government protection, i without any cost to them, and at the | expense of those less able to pay. [Tt is thoroughly un-American in { theory and vicious in practice. Urgen Direct War Payment, If the American people want to continue direct taxation, and desire Stiff supertaxes to whittle down large fortunes in the future, then the first step is to eliminate the issuance of all_tax-exempt securities. War costs should be paid for by irect taxes, which cannot be shifted and which ‘are based on ability to ! pay. So should all government costs {not directly due to war. But such costs we now know are a mere bagutelle. War costs are the huge iones for which the people of the | world and of the United States must. for the next generation, dig down deep_into their pockets to pay. Tndirect taxes, such as sales taxes, consumption taxes, customs duties, wil! only make the lot of the average man in the United States so much the harder to bear. The history of all modern wars I shows that it is not only the man ’n the street who fights the war, but ae also pays for it. By gradually reducing the direct taxes, such as income and supertaxes, and increas- ing at the same time the indirect ones, the poor man will only repeat what has been true dozens of times in the experience of nations. He will pay the cost of the war. It was Hegel who said that “we learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” Hegel may be wrong. Time only will tell. ht. 1924, In T. §. and Great Britain ogprogae, 1R 10 T 8 10 e Bt AU rights reserved. | i Tomerrew (en;l ding): What It All Sees Error in Article In Eulogy of Dr. Smith To the Bditor of The Btar: May 1 call vour attention to an error In the splendid article appear- ing in The Star of March 9 on page three of part five? This was a Sug- gestion regarding a possible monu- ment to Dr. 8. F. Smith, the author of “America,” by Carroll Quinn Wright, United States Navy, retired. I have long thought that Dr. Smith’s great hymn should be memo- ' rialized in some appropriate manner | tn the National Capital and will be ! glad to take part in any such under- | taking. The error in Mr. Wright's article is that he mentions Dr. Smith as the author of the hymn, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” as well as “Amer- fea” and many others. As a matter of fact, Dr. Smith did.not write this hymn at all. It was written by Rev. John Fawcett, D. D, of Wainsgate, England, in the year 1773. He war & Baptist preacher In charge of a church composed of very plain people and his salary was something. like $200 a year. Feeling compelled to accept a call to a church in London which would be able to pay him a fair living, he was actually moving his household effects out of his home in Wainsgate when the poor folks were so depressed upon his leaving that_they gathered about the wagon filled with disappointment and weep- ing, The situation so moved = Dr. Fawcett and his wife that he ordered l household effects taken out the wagons and returned to the ol manse and begged for a release from London church. Immediately thereafter he wrote the hymn, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds Our Hearts in Christian Love” . _Charies B. the author of on declares that thi i 23.61 per cent, mak- ! eived a heavy surtax on all Iarge‘ bond gives them a better | _WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1924 The North Window I BY LEILA MECHLIN ) | Lorado Taft, the well known sculp- tor, who lectured In Washington last week at the Central High School under the auspices of the Washington Society of Fine Arts, Is one of the most Interesting personalities In the fleld of American art today and is doing more than almost any one else in the profession to create a love of art among th Mr. Taft Is inherently a teacher. It is instinctive to him to give instruc- tion, to pass on to others the knowl- edge which he has acquired through hard study. This teaching instinct is 2 Eift, just a8 much as an ability to model’ or paint, and it is something which cannot be easily cultivated. To bo sure, it Is bred of a generous im- pulse, and only those have it who have a love both for the thing taught and for their fellow man, Ever since Mr. Taft became estab- lished as a sculptor he has gathered around him a little group of ambitious students whom he has instructed and permitted them to serve as his as- sistants, giving them in this way a share In his work and his successes. | Thus his studio has been in the truest | sense a workshop, an ateller, a| gathering place for artists, a center of production, wherein the art im- pulse, destined to spread to other quarters, has been engendered. Be- sides this, for some years Mr. Taft| has conducted sculpture classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the largest, if not the largest, art schools in the United States. Into this work he throws himself whole-heartedly, and when he was in Washington last week he told friends of a most Inter- esting experiment that he had been | trying with this class at the Chicago Art Institute. H * % k% { | As is the caso in all art schools, ‘many of the students have little or no background of art knowledge, the knowledge of the works of the mas- ters of the past which have gone to build tradition. In order to recreate |the atmosphere of the great renais- isance in Italy, Mr. Taft has written !a littie play which the students are H ! {enacting, bringing in as principal|er of heavyweight champlonship, re-! o characters Ghibertl, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michasclangelo. The play ‘opens at the time of the competition (for the doors for the baptistry in Florence; then twenty years elapse and in the next act the scene shifts "to Donatello’s studio. | From Florence Mr. Taft secured casts of a majority of the panels for _the great doors, all that were obtain- 'able, and the others, in the way of jpractice and to complete the model, thave been made under his supervision by the students themselves from full- size photographs: iso a plaster model of the doors will be set up as a part ‘of the scene, and the students who ! helped to model them will have come {into close touch with the work of !the master. In the same way the i works in Donatello’s studio have been | reproduced and during the process of reproduction the students have been ‘led to read about the time in which | | Donatello lived—to relive, as it were, | those thrilling days when these mas- terpieces came Into existence. Mr. | Taft’s delight in_this play-work is unbounded and his enthusiasm, which is of the contaglous sort, spreads to | the puplils. - * x x ¥ enthusiasm as Mr, Taft| It is such { | puts in this work among his pupils iwhich gives true vitality to art, as Stark Young has pointed out in his book of charming essays recently published under the title, “The Three Fountains Mr. Young, who is best known as a dramatio critic and writer on the theater, spent some time last year. or the year before, it matters not when, traveling in Italy; not after the fashion of tourists, but as a keen { observer and friend, who, through {kinship of epirit, came close to the Italians and proved himself capable of entering into their heritage. In a little town in Sicily off the beaten track of sightseers he passed a strange night in a emall Inn and had as his roommate a man of the ple, who, despite the fact that he worked all day and studied half the night. had enthusiasm enough at 2 o'clock in the morning to find delight rather than annoyance in the song of the innkeeper's daughter, who sat late at the plano singing passages from grand opera. It is this enthusi- asm for beauty which, as Mr. Youns | Fightly concludes, gives Immortality ~—deathless life—to art. | "AD through this book there are | {glints of undermtanding of the sig- nificance of art which it would be well if more could possess, for piti- ful indeed is the army of tourists which year after year, summer after summer, often at great personal cost and sacrifice, troops through Italy and returns to America without the least comprehension of the true in wardness of things seen. Guide books do mot give it, lecturers seldom tell it; it is something to be felt, to be learned from the people of the land and to be comprehended In the great silences. But, as Mr. Young remarks, it is this vitality of interest in things of beauty which is the fount of peren- nial youth and which gives to the Itallans, the French and the Span jards a wealth, even In poverty, which the northern races lack. * ¥ ¥ % In this connection it is interesting to note that in an address made re- cently before the Drama League of New York, Mr. Otto H. Kahn express- ed great confidence in the ability of the American public to find enjoyment in art. “We have hers,” he sald, “per- haps the best public to which to ap- peal that exists anywhere—a public eager to learn, quick to perceive and to respond, sure to appreciate and re- tain, spontaneous and generous in its feelings, clean and healthy in its ar- tistic instincts and aspirations, its face turned toward the light and the heights. All that is required Is op- portunity and guidance. * ¢ * Indeed. admitting the existence of traditions and ways which tend to starve emotions, admitting defects of educa- tion which tend to turn out the same- ness of mass production rather than stimulate individual development, | think the American people have one spiritual quality to a greater degree than any other people—and that is idealism. It seems to me the most characteristically and typically Amer- ican attribute.” Evidencing the correctness of Mr. Kahn's statement was testimon: given by Mr. Taft last week of 'lz in esthetic appreciation in different parts of the country vislted recently on a lecture tour. In Kansas, for In. stance, he sald he found & remarkable development of interest in orchestral music among the school children of the state, not only interest but abil- ity to produce music, m of th schools having exoellent student or- chestras; in North Dakota at the state university he found a remark. able development In dramatic art, the students from the farm districts pro- ducing plays, often by one of their own number, with great skill and ar- tistic appreciation, to mention only two of many instances. Retired Officers Held Ineligible as D. C. Heads Te the Editor of The Star: The act providing & permanent form of government for the District of Columbia says that two of the Commissioigers therein provided for i | t| shall be appointed from “civil life.” ‘There Is newspaper talk about the appointment of “retired” Army offi- cers to the positions now oocupied s dally newspapers of ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN Q. Is it correct to say “United States of America” or should the title be “The United States of America”?— 0. H. A. “The United States of America” is correct. Q. How far does oxygen extend into the sky?—J. F. A. The atmosphere extends about 100 miles above the earth. It is esti- mated that it has a slight oxygen content at that height, but oxygen is not present in quantities to support human life more than a few miles above the earth’s surface. Q. Kindly give me figures on tho subject of the length of sentences of Ereat English writers prior to A. Edmund Spencer averages about fifty words to each of his prose sen- | tences. Richard FHooker averages about forty-one. Milton sometimes has more than 300 words in a sen- tence. Macaulay's sentences average twenty-two words. Q. What are called the “threo pil- le_r-N oé the British constitution'?- A. The magna charta, the petition of rights and the bill of rights have been s0 called. Q. Who Invented ice cream sodas? —W. 8 A. It Is not definitely recorded just who_first suggested ice cream sodas in their present form. Snow-cooled beverages were known to the Jews, ancient Greeks and Romans. It f recorded that In Rome a certain Quintus Maximus Gurgus, nicknamed the Glutton, wrote a recipe for a similar preparation in one of his books. Q. Which man was holding the belt as heavywelght champion at the time -‘Vha.cls J;’)hnson fought Jim Jeffries?— A. In 1305 James J. Jeffries, hold- tired from the ring. In July, 1905, Jeffries refereed a fight between Mar- tin Hart and Jack Root. t won, and Jeffries presented him with his title. Other fighters claimed the title also, and in 1910 James Jeffries re- entered the ring to defend the title against Jack _ Johnson. Johnson knocked out Jeffries in fifteen rounds. Why did the soldiers call mt~‘ Q. 3 land “blighty"?—N. M. A. This originated with British soldiers in the Indian service. In an Indian vernacular, Bilayati stands for Europe. It is a corruption of the Urdo word wilayat. Q. What were Bunyan's last words? M H A. “Take me, for I come to Thee." Q. Is comted rice injurious to the health?—C. B. 8. A There has always been consid- erable discussion and misunderstand- ing as to just what is meant by the terms polished and coated rice and whether coating injures the food value. Polished rice has the bran, the germ, the gluten layer, and some of the outer layers of starch cells removed from it. The common prac- tice in the rice mills in this country i to coat polished rice with very small proportions of glucose and talc. The coating makes rice whiter and more lustrous, s a rather costly operation, millers and dealers believe that it pays. Since rice should be thoroughly washed through several waters before it is cooked. probably only very slight traces of coating remain. There Is no evidence tending to show that coated rice, when properly washed and cooked, causes any digestive dls- turbances due to the small amount full of coating left in the food. There is. therefore, no danger in using coat- :'dhzicem-: & pent ot ) mixed dict ce has been properl washed and cooked. e Q. How much maple sugar is pro= duced in Quehec?—{ Ta = 2 A. The province of Quebec accounta for 85 per cent of the C: duction, maple 1923 amounted to 1,25 and maple sugar to § Q. Where did the Phoenician alphu~ bet and the Greek begin?—J. C. C. A. The Phoenician alphabet endod with t, and u was the first of the let- ters developed in Greek and added to the alphabet. Q. D. H. A. This form of coasting upon = sled with no runners beneath its flas | surface was probably improvised sy | the Indians to bring In their gams | over the snow. ¥ | et Q. How long have tram roving over the United Stat A. Thers is no record of the first | appearance of the tramp in America, | but his first statutory recognition was in New Jersey in 1 He recognized legally states. The Americau tramp differs from the heggar or vagrant of other countries in his for Iness for stealing rides on the railroads. In a five-year period there were killed and 25 } In the United Statex, & number in cess of the total numbers for ployes and passengers. From onc¢ half to three-fourths of tresp are tramps. Q. What food adds lime to the body?—F. H. L A. Milk 18 the chief food for lime. Lime is used especially in the bones and teeth, but is also found in other tissues and in the blood Lack of lime in tho diet causes soft teeth and poor bones. Who invented toboggans?—il, \ . What and where are the hizh est and lowest points of land in rope, both as to altitude and latitu —A.E. D. A. The highest point o urope is Mont Blanc, The lowest Is the regio sea coast of the Netherlands, parts of which are twenty feet below sea level. Regarding the latitude, the highest point is the North Cape, 71% 117N.; the lowest, Cape Tarifa, Spain, adjoining Q. Are there sixty-fourth notes in usic?>—F. W. R. A. There are sixty-fourth notes in | music. They are called hemidemisemi= quavers or semidemisemiquavers, Such a note is written with a stera and four pennants. | Q. What book in the Bible does not | have the word “God"” in It?—E L. H. A. The book of Esther does not | contaln the word “God.” ! Q. What Is an attestation clause? J—H T H A. The clause which precedes the { signatures of witnesses to documents which must have such verification of signature is known as the attestation clause. Q. Which of Browning’s books was the last one published before he died? —A. W A. “Aslando: Fancles and Facts,” a volume of poems, was published on the day of the death of Robert Browning, December 12, 1889. (Amy reader can get the answer td any question by writing The Star In~ formation Bureau, 1220 North Capitol street. This_offer applics strictly to in-| Jormation. The bureau cannot give ad-; wice on_legal, medical and financial mal- ters. It does not attempt to settle do mestic troubles, nor to wndertake ex-: haustive research on ann subject Write your question plainiy and briefly. Give: name and address and inclose £ Ccents in atamps for rcturn postage AU replies are sent direct to the inquérer ) = WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC Senator La Follette's readiness to run for President on a third party ticket has caused all of the rather elder statesmen to take a new inter- est In life. Age is the objection in- stantly raised to the availability of Senator Ralston of Indiana as the democrats’ white hope.. La Follette, who Is approaching sixty-nine, is more than two years Ralston’s senfor John Barton Payne, who has a presi- dential boomlet, is six months older than La Follette. Calvin Coolidge is almost the youngest candidate on either side, being still on the sunny side of fifty-two. Hiram Johnson will be fifty-eight in September. Mc- adoo has recently turned sixty. Sen- ator Underwood will be sixty-two In May. Homer Cummings of Connectl- cut—a name that will bear close watching in democratic calculations— is a youngster, like Coolidge, being just on the verge of fifty-four. B ‘Washington's newest author is Da- vid 8. Barry, sergeant-at-arms of the United States Senate, who has pro- duced a sparkling volume of memo- ries called “Forty Years in Washing- ton.” It ramifies back into Grover Cleveland's first administration, when Barry was correspondent. of the N York Sun, under Charles A. Dana. Later he was the represemtative of the Providence Journal. Then Barry aegenerated into an officeholder. As sergeant-at-arms of the Senate he has enjoyed the friendship and confi- dence of a whole generation of our public men, but journslism remains his first love. There is 2 quaint ref- erence to the author's ruling passion thelin the dedication at the front of | {8250 Barry's memolir: “To my dea: family, who have lived In an atmosphere of rustling newspapers, tinkling telephones, clicking typewriters and slecpy mes- seuger boys, wondering the while what It was all about, this book Is dedicated In the hope that it wil help them to understand and forgive.” P . 'When friends and constituents call on Representative Martin B. Madden of lllinois at the Capitol these days he points with pride to a statistical exhibit set up In the members’ lobby. It was prepared by the Navy Depart- ment in connection with pending na- val appropriations and shows how, thanks juintly to the Washington conference and congressional watch- dogging, expenditure on the fieet Is gettin pre-war normalcy. In 1918 the Navy cost $209,843,850 a year. 1919 it was costing $2,765,~ 035,474 ienceforward the fieet bud- get was cut in three, and so steadily and drastically reduced in successive ¥ 4 appropriations amount to only $440.045,940. For 1925 they are estimated at $363,553,719. %% 7 In connmection with plans for the tirst pan-American press conference in 1935, Dr. Leo 8 Rowe, director of buck to South American newspapers seldom contain the writings of well knuwn United States publioisis. If we fole lowed the shrewd practice of coun- tries like France, italy and Germuny, men like Borab, Underwood, Root, McAdoo and Bok would be more or less regular contributors to the it P Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, San Mlfldl encour. WILLIAM WILE | det, Gabriel Hanotaux, Aristide Briand and Paul Deschanel to write for the South American press. Nitti and Orlando occasionally ventilate Italian views, and Dernburg. Bern-' storff and Harden periodically place Germany’s case before Brazilians, Ar+ .gentinians, Peruvians and Chileans. + 40 * Almost everybody likes his post- man, except around about the Ist of the month, and there is a general in- clination to hope that the increascd: pay bills now before Congress will be enacted. But Postmaster General New—who shares the postal service's desire for ~ higher wages—is com- pelled to take a hard-headed. though, not stony-hearted, view of the situa- tion. Unele Sam's Post Office De- partment Is not quite self-sustaining. It is run at a deficit of something lika $30,000,000 a year. If the pending proposals to raise the salaries of pos- tal clerks and mail carriers are | passed. they would involve a cost of from $130.000.000 to $200.000,000. The money would have to be derived from higher rates of postage, unless the department's present deficit were 3 be increased four or five fold. % ok ¥ There's a vemerable gulde at tue Capitol who has an amusing “line” which he springs for the benefit of sight-seeins tourists from the sticks, When he reaches the region in quess tion, he explains: “Now. this spoty folks, Is where our British cousins! during the war of 1812 started thej! fire that burned down the old Capitol- Nothing like that is likely to huppes” ) again. In the first place. we've bes come warm friends, and the other it Isn't necessary to mens 0. * % % H Here's a confab by the Rev. Dr. | Charles Wood. pastor of the Church iof the Covenant, Washington: ’ Fair Parishloner—Doctor, | suppose.. you've been noticing my absence from church a good deal lately. Dr. Wood—Yes, to tell | truth, 1 had. Fair Parishioner—Well, you wouldn't have seen me here today except | that our aerial blew down in last i night's storm, so that 1 couldn't hear Iyon by radio. Which the same explains why m: a sky pilot throughout the country is worrying over diminlshed attendance at divine services. \ (Oopyright, 1924.) !Inaction of Congress In Annuities Scored To the Editer of The Star: Your editoriais concerning the annuities to federal employes wers lendid and much appreciated by all But why Is it that Congress done nothing since the hearing the subject? The present session of Con, i3 Bocoms mittees has even reported bills of -made any move whatever to accoms ?:Ilh this much needed and just legis. tion; at 1 " lation; at least, none that the retired § nof v, there t very grave d ! that 1t will be allowed to aritt ::'.fyf: until the close of the session, when there will be a general clug of busi, ness which will crowd out the retin ment measure? You know this bas often happened. ‘There is no question about the ngé“ Justice of this legisia; . ) you the' ?the Pan-American Union, suys that|h8lf gone and neither one of