Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR R . WASHINGTON D.C. “Bustaess e DM 11th St and aia A New (& . 0 Rast- '.I. 5 Y Chicape OMce: Tower: Bulldr lm.-u Office: lfihn-llt London, . home. Mata 5000, - Col ai Funlth:enflofuei-lfil. With Sunday Morning Edition. YR dorevtiamen e Ml Sl March 81, 1984 (THEODORE W. NOYES. .. . Editor that it will have influence upon the | the government has expanded, but the ' coming primaries in. South Dakota |people have come to need more gov-j! and, indeed, throughout the country. It must be discouraging to Senator Johnson. Throughout the progress of the campaign thus far, while Presi- dent Coolidge has been picking up | delegates in New , England, in the south and the middle west, the John- son men have sald, “Wait until the preferential primaries begin to make returns and you will see the real drift | men available for “field, work, | no doubt means mex a of the voters.” erning than formerly. As time passes more. things seem to require public |/ regulation and the things that ‘we used to think were well enough regu- lated seem to need more minute and more elaboraté regulation, The cost of government per capita rises. ‘The office of the bullding inspector tells its troubles. It has only eight which for in- allable Well, we begin to see it how, and specting bufidings in course of con- the drift continues to be toward Cool- | struction, and, so far from being able @. If Senator Johngon cannot carry such a community as North Dakota, Wwhere, indeed, he ran behind Senator la Follette, his chances ecléewhere ‘would appear fo be diminishing. Superpower and Great Falls. Announcement from New. York of an important advance toward & super- powsr electrical system which ~will eventually embrace the nation is of direct interest to the people of Wash- ington, because of the certainty that is: | when the now wasted power at Great the 1 pul . " All rights of Wb‘lclllnu of dispatches herein are also reserved. - Commissioners to Senator King. . The Commissioners in their letter %o Senator King. of Utsh replying to request for information as to pur- ‘chases of various supplies and admin- istration of the zoning law are straightforward and convincing. They make a clear explanation of the pur- pose and operation of the zoning law and are emphatic that no subdivisions ‘afd additions are being made which do not conform to the pian of the city. Their statement as to subdi- visions and adgditions is confirmed by the experience of every man who, con- ltemplating making a& subdivision of dand, has had business with the sur- veyor's office. There are various parts of new Washington which do mnot eonform to the first plan of the ity of the blame, perhaps all the. blame, 1s with Congress. In the 70s and 30s ‘there was much laying out of new suburbs and subdivisions outside of ‘what were the “city limits.” These subdivisions generally- were made ac- cording to-the. “iay of the land” of each tract. There was general agi- tation that the additions to Washing- ton should conform to the old- city plan, and that agitation continued for perhaps twenty years before Congress could be persuaded to pass the high- ‘way act. That act of 1893 compelled conformity to the city plan. Those parts of the city with narrow, crooked and short streets were surveyed be- fore the passage of the highway act, and since 1893 many changes have ‘been made to secure uniformity with ‘the old city plan and it would be desirable to make other changes. We have had building regulations since the city was laid out 133 years ago. When the skyscraper came the people talked much of how it marred the sky line and saw in it @ menace to the appearance of the city. Finally ‘we got a law putting a limit on height of buildings, the allowable height hav- ing relation to the width of streets. As the city grew it was found desirable to protect neighborhoods against buildings which, while they ‘were certainly not nulsances, lowered 4he desirability and value of other property. - A zoning law was recom- mended by the citizens' Grganizations and other civic bodies and the agita- tion covered a long period of time. It was not until 1920 that Congress passed a zoning law for the Capital. The *vision” concerning the future “Washington as the City Beautiful which took concrete shape in the highway extension act and the zoning law, has dominated the people of ‘Washington apd their. presidentially- eppointed representatives, the District Commissioners. The energy and en- thusiasm which pushed to enactment these wise laws were primarily local, and the District Commissioners, and especially an Engineer Commissioner, ‘were the most conspicuous factors in securing the zoning law, which the Commissioners are now to the best of their ability administering. —_——— Spring. The first full day of spring, 1924, does not suggest daisies and cherry blossoms quite so much as gum shoes and chilblains, but March would not be March if he, or she, did not deal us foul days as well as fair. There is al- 'ways vivacity and variety in March. She has temperament, and many kinds of temperature. She keeps common men guessing, and sometimes gives the weather man a joit. Almanac spring arrived in Washington at 4:30 pan. March 20, and about when &locks were striking midnight the snow was ‘with us. There is very little. use in scolding March. Time out of mind she has gone her willful way, unfeeling. and unthinking of the compliments or tagnts of men. March was wild or this year than is her wont. She has &tven courage to the maple buds and plurality “of 14,836 after 1,780 of North: Dakota's 2,058 precinicts bave reported. in & tofal vote of 111,321 in ‘Tuesday’s “’preferential presidential primaries. o be-sure, this is less than That is regrettable and much | Falls is devoloped it will be linked up with the national system. The eleven companies which are parties to the Iatest “hook-up” agreement are dis- tributing power in Ohio, Pennsylva- nia, Virginia, ‘West Virginfa and Maryland, and with an invested cap- ital of $315,000,000 - are producing 2,000,000 horsepower for industrial and domestic uses. Only a small frac- tional part of the current these com- panies distribute now is generated by water power. But within a year, it is predicted, the group will be linked up !with the Niagara and New England districts, where water power is more largely utilized; with the southern superpower system, which largely de- pends on water power, and with the Chicago district. This big’ forward step in the super- { power program is bound to stimulate interest in the Great Falls project. Superpower has its only justification in its possibilities of cheapening the cost of electrical current and increas- ing its use, and the public mind can- not long dwell on the subject of elec- trical economies without becoming impressed with the absurdity of per- mitting the continued waste of power at Great Falls, Superpower promises to become to the coming generation what steam was to the generation of our grand- fathers and what the internal combus- tion engine is to the generation of today. Electrical development today is where railroad development was thirty years ago—largely in the hands of small companies having no interest outside the communities they serv The possibilities of distribution along national lines, made practical only in the last decade through the develop- ment of long-distance transmission, are only just beginning to be realized. And in dealing with superpower the history of the railroads ought al- ‘ways to be kept in mind. The period of logical and beneficial consolidation of small railways into trunk-line sys- tems was followed by a period of abuses which so embittered the pub- lic mind that the railronds are suf- fering still today for thelr wrong- doing of a generation ago. Both the men ‘who hive their money invested in electrical enterprises and the agen. cles of government should be on guard that no such abuses should be, per- mitted to attend the development of Superpower. i Einstein Attacked. An attack has been made on the " | Einstein theory, and which, according to a dispatch to The Star, ““has startled astronomical and other scientific cir- cles.” In these sensational times nothing -seems safe against attack. The assailant chellenges the theory of Einstein on the progression of the perihelion -of Mercury. The average ‘Washingtonian reads this with amaze- ment, and lays down the sporting page and the Teapot Dome gossip with & thud. The assailant says.that “it turns out that the theoretical progression of ‘43 seconds per century calculated by Einstein and Eddington is entirely erroneous.” It is not only erroneous, but “entirely.| erroneous.”” This makes the case so plain that the average- Washingtonian must wonder why he did not think of it before. Einstein’s ‘assallant’ says thlt “the outstanding progression of Mercury's perihelion of plus 13 seconds per century is consistent with ‘Weber's electro-dynamic faw of planetary mo- tion and with See's new kinetic theory of the ether, both'of which yield a progression of plus 14.5 “seconds per century.” This explanation is'so sim- ple and straightforward that few of us will be disposed to dispute it. If there 1s any subject which ab- sorbs the interest of the normal Washington man more than ‘being able to pay the rent and. keep the grocer in good humor it is the Ein- stein theory of relativity and all that. In every Washington home from the river front to Brightwood and from Chain bridge to Oxon run the question whether the progression of the peri- helion of Mercury is plus 43 seconds to give these meén up-to-date trans- portation in gasoline machines, it is even shy on car tokens to help them in their tasks. ‘The whole District is divided into elght ‘wections for build- Ing inspection purposes, and every one knows what an orgy,of building we have had since the end of the war and-how busy we still are in covering old pastures with, rows of houses and in tearing down old buildings and set- ting.new' ones in their place. It is said that these eight bllild.lf& inspectors are being worked ‘walked to exhaustion, and the building inspector says there are only two so- lutions, one being to have more in- spectors and the other to give quicker transportation to the eight inspectors. No automobiles are avaflable for use of these men and the limit on car tokens is two & day for an inspector. ‘The building inspection office makes a. confession of being extremely hard up when it cannot furnish car fare to in- spectors, It is sald that two of eight in- spectors are plutocrati or extrava- gant enough to own an automobile, and these men are assigned territory farthest from the . District building and they draw $20 a month for the gas and upkeep of the machine. The other six men get two car tokens a day while the car tokens last, and often they do not last. Then these 'building inspectors plod their wears way from job to job. New York journalism is undergoing remarkable changes. Horace Greeley and Charles A. Dana are still men- tioned with respect, but it may be doubted whether they could keep the pace that the modern publisher has set for big enterprise. The gentle and confiding mood of Magnus Johnson encountered some of the roughest sessions the United States Senate has ever had. A little time must elapse before he can hope for unanimous adoption of the Golden Rule. Returns from various parts of the country indicate a confidence in Presi- dent Coolidge which should help to re- lieve some of the agitation in Con- gress concerning the future of the re- publican party. A nation expects much of its public servants, but it seems a little incon- siderate to ask the United States Sen- ate to familiarize itself with all the intricacies of pugilism and the motion picture industry. Liquor - ships have become so nu- merous as to impede legitimate navi- gation. John Barleycorn has turned from the highways and now obstructs the high seas. Statesmanship has little encourage- ment for the man of sudden weaith, and nofie whatever for the one who goes into politics because he needs the money. Scandalous report has turned to- ward ancient history, but has not yet gone far enough back to draw old King Tut into the oll investigation. ‘SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Genial Influence. I haven't read the books I bought, But I recall with glee The agent who my fancy caught And sold those books to me. My ofl stocks turned out very bad. My hard-earned cash they wrung; Yet kindly I recall the lad Who had the silver tongue. The flat T rented is so small It fills me with alarm; ‘That agent I would fain recall To lecture on its charm. And thus a ray of bliss we find, Though shadows ‘round us slip. ‘We know life can't be all unkind ‘While there is esmanship.” Dreams of Affluence. “Im’t this false report that you have made & sudden fortune going to cuuse suspicion among your con- “it's-going to be-a-ter- rible disappointment to my family ‘whet they find out it's all an_ Mlc fabriation.” Jud Tunkins says the man with a kind heart but & rough exterior may be_ all right, but there ought to be some way of turning him inside out. Investigation, K>ep on, going steady From now till November. I've learned more already Than I can remember. Today I'm reflecting ' Upon a great sorrow, And fully expecting . A worse one tomorrow. the quietest littls towns on the map.” “Yep,” repiied Cactus Joe.' “The ill- feelin’ has got to'be so-common no- body dares say a word for fear of startin’ -mafll mix-up” MA-M “The =evidence - must . have . been “I don’t-belleve the evidence was what convicted me,” answered Bill the Burg. pany. The judge took a dislike to me bthvh‘mabumhw-" “!muwwummu “I think it 'was bad com- | 180K CAN YOUR TAXES BE CUT? A Series of Articles on the Cost of Government; Where the Money Goes, and Why. BY JOBN F. SINCLAIR, Author of “Can Europe Hold Together?” CHAPTER XXVI. 'h! Tt All Shews. In our study we have not consid- ered the growing expenses of the dif- ferent states nor of -their political subdivisions. We have just analysed the national government and hi shown very briefly some of its big | problems. We have taken apart this complicated and intricate machine— growing more complicated and ‘intri- cate each year—and have studied the machinery to see what parts were worn put, what pleces were too small for present-day use and what ones too large. We have not studied the effect of possible new expenses, such %3 would occur in case a bonus was passed. We haye taken the govern- +8s against 1 1 ment as we found it and have report- | 1’:" {row(n‘ out of the last war.. That he uxpnle. of the War bwlfl.ml sre far too heavy now in view of the Present condition of the w. $2.300,000,000 for Vdmln That the veterans of the last war, not Including bonuses given to them of $351,000,000 by twenty individual states,” have already had expended upon them out of the public treasury & grand total of over $2,200,001 t, next to public debt charges, the Veterans' Bureau, dealing only ‘with the soldiers of the last war, is today the most expensive agency in the government, having spent §454,000,000 for 1923, 4 That public debt charges took over 40 per cent of all federal révenus, ess than 1 per tent in That a decrease of ome-half of cent would save an enormous ed it in all its strength as well as in | amount oTr money to the taxpaye its . weaknesses, And now (o lum o) llu‘n. What our investiga. ound out? Many o the big things we the government, Hamilton, tarit and & system of indirect taxa- hat the Fovernment nsed th means to raise its Cel ry revenue because It was the casiest way. Tha ccounting methods ot keeping national books put in in 1730 ‘were \l by the government up. to m‘ that it has so far accomplished, while somewhat than is often claimed, still a gr: deal. That such 2 bureau marks the connecting link in makink not Congress but the Pri ident the general manager of the federal government, and as such not only !he golllhzl but the responsible ead of the natlon. “That t tnu White House was not built by, the United States at all, but by the states of Virginia and Maryland. the executive devlnmenl. in- clumnx the salary of the President, cost just one cent out of cvery hun- dred dollars raised last yeas ‘That the legislative dapu!men! in- cluding the total expenses of all sen- ators and representatives, spent last year less than w. B erans’ Bureau every eleven day, That the Department of Labor, with a cabinet member in charge and em. ploying 3,200 people, is spending for each year less than the government paying for interest on the public debt avery twelve hours. Arms Cests Are in the Lead That the Department of State, with & world-wide organization, having driving genths o Washingion and | o s of Washington an Started with & proective | Lnder glven the Vet-| yearly. all refunding of th national debt should be made at rat hot only satisfactory to the banker: but to the feapl. of the country who pay the b as well, Tnat soms of the most important ureaus of the government are not the supervision of any cabinet ber. That there are three times as many independent hurelllllllhern are cabinet departments. organization of the government b reaus for economy and efciency— especially the merging of the Army and Navy and tl taking away of all non-military activities from this new department of defense—is very desirable. That such a move prom- ises more for the future, so far as tax reduction s concerned, than for the present. In a word, we found out that the government “spent $3,697,478,000 for the fiscal year 1923.° Of this amount, pensions took 7.19 per cent; Navy, 9.01 per cent; war, 10.62 per cent; Vet- erans’ Bureau, 12.49 per cent; public debt charges, 39.45 per cent; total war expenses, 76.76 per cent. This does not include some national expenses which hsve arisen out of war. hese, then, are the facts in the situation. We complain_of the ex- penses of good roads. I think the amount, now crawling up to nearly $100,000,000 a year, is large. But relatively it s s 1l—only 2.15 per cent of ‘the total expenses for last year. I think refunds of taxes are too large, running up over $150,00 000 in 1923, but relatively to the to- tal expenses this amount is small— only 4.17 per cent. We have come to the end of our study. The facts assembled here are from the official records of th: gov- ernment. They tell a real story. Industry Endangered, He Says. Has the time arrived yet when the 410 offices In 57 countrles, spent for | PeOPI® Of the United States are will- last year just 46 cents out of every $1,700 collected. That the Department of Commercs, employing over 11,000 men, spent only 72 cents out of every $100 of federal revenue. That the Department of Justice, employing about 3.400 people, while subject to some criticism for wpend- ing too much, took for the year I than the United States Navy received every eighteen days. That the Post Office Department, the greatest and cheapest publig hutility in the world, employing 285,000 Deopla‘ cost 'the federal Treasury less for the year than the United Shlel War Department re- ceived for every month of the yea: That the Department of . Agricul- ture, with its 20,000 employes, ex- clusive of good roads, spent about 1% cents out of every federal dollar ap- propriated—less than the Navy De- partment spent every sixty day That the Department of the Inte rior, if we include pensions and In. dian affairs, is one of the large spend ing bureaus, and took about 9 cents out of every $1. But war pensions took about 7 cents out of the 9 That war pensions for 1923 wers greater than in any year in our his- tory in spite of the fact that the civil war veterans are dying at !he rate of 2,500 a month. But the Span. ish war veterans are being lflfl'd g about the same rate. That ti 5,000,000 of veterans of the last war are getting closer to the Treasury through_the -pension office. ‘That 55 per cent of the total so- called costs of the Treuury Depart- ment for 1923 were refu; The amount was $155,000,000 and should be_carefully checked. That the Navy was costing twice as much now each year as it did before we entered the war to abolish war. That the Navy was one of the big spending bureaus. That it took 9.01 cents out of every $1 spent by the government. That the War Department has in- creased from 212,000 men ten years ago to 371,000 men in 1923, and ex- penses have increased in the depart- ment by $158,000,000 annually. That $796 out of every $1,000 spent by the government was absorbed by mili- tary functions and public debt charges BY JOHN CARLYLE (Copyright, 1924, by the Associated News- # Ppapers.) 2 Did you' ever hear of a star that is 215,000,000 miles across? What do you know about that heavenly giant which the astronomers call Betel- geuse? I recommend your contempla- tion of Betélgeuse when you find your affairs resting too heavily upon your sagging shoulders. When the small matters of everyday living pile up so fast that they threaten to “get your goat,” think about Betelgeuse. This titan of the stars is the larg- est that sclence has located. It is 50 far from the earth that the dis- tance is iriconceivable. Light travels 2t the rate of 186,000 miles a second, yet it mu 160 years for the light of Betelgeuse to reach the earth. Perhape the earth seems big to you. lt is only seven or eight thousand iles in diameter, diameter -of monster star is more than two ndred millions of mile: : The circumference of Betelgeuse is -.Imo-z Lo great.for thought to en )pose & boy fourteen years Sia should 2tand upon the surface of | this star ane rifie bullet. Sup- pose the rifle “Fatlet -nould roceed 1 -bordl- nary s ‘would strike the lad in '.l‘ blck of the wh‘n he wis an man years, Fifty-six 1&‘" it Wou 4 nqum for the bultlelt to tra- of uter Il Il for the m! nd tha then, to S about the u:l' menaity and th agnificer (h gt the univera l’ro;n the Erilll an 254 Fitfean ouf pers Y e weet b °'.*.:.":.¥..e.,...,.. s eoes E3rcs of the malverse, whel '.her calls it God or vnt-nr be calls will ls as stars or strai nl o the munnnl- Spanss universe, he must be ever spir- ly near-sighted. He will forever great - conceptions of great mfi“fli‘not sufficlent for mian, if really has an immo: h soul and it {3 actually on hik thirough eter- nity, w nn merely an mt:‘eo': rflltfi‘tfl the llmlfl“ fl: U'f"-l. i 14 ml‘""- Think of m‘ s o Dayond etara. It will do | lnu?-n last | o ing to attack the whole public policy Of national defense and the financing of it as it is now conducted, in the same way as they attack the prob- lem of public health or of any other contagious, disease of long standing? Are we to continue to believe that our stome-age conception of national de must continue until the last nationis wrecked and the last fiseal government is debauched? War and modern industrialism cannot continue to live in the same age. No force in the. world is so detrimental to modern industry as war. One or the must be eliminated or the mod- ern industrial plant as we know it will g0 down in a wreck. Even: the United States, the richest in the world having an year larger than that Europe combined, was not able ot to carry on in the last war without t-mu the awful suffering_in the riod succeeding the war. Witness Phe wholesale bankrupteies of entire states in the west. Witness the exodus of over one milllon farmers, finanoially wrecked and discouraged, moving from the farms into the in- dustrial hoppers of ‘the great cities to compets with men there who them- selves were looking for work. Look at the wreck of Europe. She was not so rich when the last war started 'as we were MOr was she 50 favored by nature. The destructive forces of the world and their champions are ruling man- kind today. They are demanding and continue to demand more armies and more navies in every country. Our country is no exception. The constructive forces of peace and plenty can scarcely be hearc above the din and nolse of war and preparation for more war. If the tax- payers of America want to reduce taxes, either now or in_ the future, the only hope.lies in the abolition of this whole war business and a determination at all costs of a will to what 1 get out of a_study gf the mational budget of the United Stat « l‘fit. m in Ullhfl States and Great rican N r R ANl T 220 The End. Seeks World-Wide Peace. Writer Deplores Lack of Imcren Shown by Legislators. To the Bditor of The Star: Presidential possibilities appear to be the prevalling pabulum provided by our'dafly- papers for public con- sumption. But instead of setting forth any particular . party proposals for our tions fof world peace and prosperity, what is tlie picture presented by the political fleld? left as his dying bequest to the Sen- ate the task of finding some method by which “our own United States' might take its rightful place as lead- er in establishing peace through ju: tice, and its consequensegood will among men of All races and creeds, Utterly oring this urgent need, the Senate seems mainly occupied. in exposing. the scandalous unfitness ‘of fl;fl aspirants for the vrulden‘hl chair. By all means let any \meonvlnnd criminals be denouneed and’.exposed, no matter how high their .social standing; Our ;“r;"l of" 'é"fli" e sufficient and efficien y convlet and punish all these. Even there my be. tuah guilty .n‘lc are we therefore, lnn.al(l o belng world leader: doomed the world's lau hlnc-uuk? ll th-re t9 be no noblnr work before Congress, which has done lip service to tite our two -lately honored Presidents, than the business of mmunl recrimi- muon by heated po tical partisans? ‘Will nome iraise a voice to remind our Cofgress and our citisens of ‘Woodrow Wilson's fourteen points, ; :m“mhnn o‘:r G‘P&ll{y efore. the: 2 agreed to " aemiatioe ‘which brought & de- nrlufl of 30" to all hearts, war-sick, Does nmcn to take the only common-gense method of preventing umlo M‘h in ofld.ht,mm “staggering as Lln!d Hs o Qo‘ e tells |Il they *“staggered an: -t-nzled" 0 the {AIS. when, as he dueunlo I have no doubt, w u.ld nvc averted it”? An interna- tional eourt for such judicial discus- sion has been for half a century an ideal advocated by America's hldlns statesmen. Clnu not we h‘;ve, 1ns! of persol IIQ. llllll.tn! of each f" tform on is all-important R t\l'-ill‘ Justice for force? May, we not be definitely told what ither party has ‘;’.‘.flu‘.? destruction of ;zmnflgnh:y m Called “The Putiorer” John M. Browning was calléd a “putterer,”. and it often wak said that he liked to “Sllt fuss m“" his shop. His ather was & gunsmith, snd when very young the boy liked to play around the shop in the then frontier town 'of Ogden, Utah. He was fourteen when he. decided he wanted & gun and got:pérmission of his father to “putter’ about the 0, | ®rapheap. He made a mussle-losder that even his father admitted was £00d, and. coples of it were in de- mand by hunters and trappers nearby. He loved to roam the woods and hunt, and he supplied the family with game on trips outside of school hours. But he continued to wofll about the shop, and in_hi twenties invented his first. l|nt‘a- shot rifie. His father and brother made many and sold them. The Win- chester Arms Company offered him a big sum for the patent and he wold Ha lurued to play. lht banjo, co! tinued to tlnker? op and vented many types ot firearms—the ‘Winchester rifies, Remington shot- guns and automatic rifies and many others. Foreign converns took up his | to entions and his ideas revolution- ized the firearms of many nations. As the result of further inventing |OT he turned out the automatic revolver, then thé automatic gun that was |® known as the Colt's tachine gun, the only machine gun used in the Span- ish-American war. When the worid war broke out Browning was working on an auto- matic rifie that could be carried by soldiers. Germany seized his arms factory in Belgium, cutting off an immense revenue. Four years later the United States government adopt- ed the Browning light and heavy {machine gun, proclaimed to be the ! best ever invented. Browning’s lnmm Jjumped to §1.- 000,000 a year, was knighted by England and deflfl&ed by many other countries. He was declared to be the greatest firearms expert of the time. many said he Fpoutiaed to putter,” to hunt, and during fime to play his banjo near his Ttie shop at Ogden, just as he had been doing for many years. ’ (Copyright, 1924.) Vigorous Action Upheld. Democratic Attorney . General Favored Force to Clear Land. To the Editor of The Star: In the press reports of proceedings before the oil Investigation commit- tes it appears that a letter of President Harding was put into the record, in which he said that unless & trespasser upon the Teapot Dome naval reserve withdrew “he should be ejected.” The report further shows, from the testimony of Gen. Lejeune and Assistant Secretary Roosevelt, that thereupon Mr. Roosevelt, as act- ing secretary of the navy, issued the | necessary orders to the marines “to protect the naval reserve,” from which ofl was about to be removed without' regard to the right of the United States therein. This use of the marines—as to which Mr. Roossvent teetified, “There was noLMnl' in my mind but to protect the reserve”—was characterized by Senator Walsh as an “outrageous use of the military forces.” How he would have characterized failure of the administration to prevent the re- moval of oil from a government n does not appear. But as to the use of the military forces for the protection of reserva- tions set apart for the purpose of military defense, it is refreshing to turn to the opinion of a distinguish- ed dem tic- Attorney General of the Unitel States. The question be- fore him lnwlved merely the laying of & across land ‘“ap- Purtenants co Fort Porter, and -not to the removal of anything of value to the United States. But Attorney General Black could not understand how or when the: United States “be- came humble enough to forego the privilege of self-defen: The opinion, found age 106, volume 3, of the Opinions of the At: torney Gen: is so brief, so much to the point, and such good reading, that I inciose a full copy,. whicl ought to interest laymen as weil as lawyers, or even senators, in these hyl!@rlofl days _of political ot- boiling. DUANE E. F‘Op Copy of Letter. Attorney General's Office, 8eptember 29, 1857, o have sent.me the report of Lisst Blunt, from which it a a ny, | ea T8 Cana bat v . _has_com: certain work in _the Niagara river, with the intention of a railway track ovsr the Iand of the. United States appurtenant to ro:' Porter. etal New | /ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS HY FREDERIC J, HASKIN X o American Ingti- ornnl.ui"—v. ;‘ Institute ! Buunzh wfi ory efil in xs'«'w. A ¢ time. up the presen meml of mere than u.n 0 members. nlt‘h: it the I‘l rut" hi s h";r‘h ‘l: ‘ort or ship over whicl is flylu’ h- ngaged ln%. tle?—J. T. e fla% Is not lowered at sun t dnrl : a battle, It Hies until the end of the engagement. Q. Is'a n‘e elu-lnol as a fish or a vegetable?—G. A. A ‘sponge is one of a group of ll;ll;:ll representing a fllll.lnet hflm o porifera. -c'lltd animal w1'-h three- l Il orl. ‘without a true digestive cav- ity, suppdrted usually by calcareous er llllelo&- l])ll:ll , the - body ml’ permes; d _passages col taining minute chambers lln.d b’ nann-u. mlland, monadlike nges are hermaphroditic, muu !lnl 57 urulmn B‘ll. lhe "lm and bassine “through q Who won the first English Derby?2W. (0: H. A. 1t .wad won by Diomed on June |1, 1830. & s there aby_ real vory other -}d&" tasks?—R. H. e formerly given €6 of the teeth Bl Of et T et ular and “forming by " thett decussation minute losenge-shaped ‘spaces. By this character, which is represented by every poftion of any transverse section of an elephant's tusk, true ivory may be distingulshed ' from g¥ery other kind of tooth substance, ifrom every counterfeit, whether de- rived from tooth or-bone. Although from their large size and from their density, can be used for.the same purposes in the arts as those for which true ivory is employed. Q. What was the family name of Lora Delaware, colonial Goveraor of Virginia?—C. G. D. A. The family name of Lord Dela- ware was Thomas West. The name “Delaware” was originally spelled “De la Warr.” Q. What is fiat money?—G. E. D. A. Fiat money is paper currency of government issue which is mada legal tender by fiat or law, but does not represent, or is not based upon, ’specle and contalns no promise of redemption. : Q. When were cars first used to propel boats?—E. C. P.. ‘A. Paddling was probably known before rowing. Boats with oars are found in the earliest pictorial monu- ments of Egypt about 2500 B.C. In these some orews are facing the bow. and others the stern. Later the hiero- glyphs show the oarsmen facing the stern. Q. When a man of India loses caste does_he descend into the caste be- neath him?—N. F. A. In losing caste, a man does not IN TODAY’S BY PAUL Is Seriator James W. Wadsworth, jr, emulating his great federalist predecessor of New York, Alexan- der Hamilton, In his effort to correct the' orientation of the United States Constitution away from the legis- latures of the sovereign states di- rectly tq the people? The age-long differencé of view- . point 28 to whether this nation is a confederation of- forty-eight sover- eignties,. all acting. through their own legislative bodies and jealously guarding their citisens from inter- ferénce or control by a centralized government, has not yet been wholly mettled, in spite of Daniel Webster. It awaits Senator Wadsworth and his twentieth amendment. History relates that when Congress met in Annapoils, December 23, 1783, to thank the commander-in-chief of its victorious army, all members of Congress. retained their hats . upon their heads, in token that they rep- resented the sovereign states of the Union. the members do well |u they - sucosed in retaining their heads—not merely their hats. How much _else_has grown up to distort democracy? * ¥ *x % There were years of weakness and confusion while the 'thirteen states ‘were held together with the rope of sand called the confederation, where- ‘|by each state remained independent. t{In 1787 there:assembled 3 convention nllmmfll Xwnuth-w h to fm the vfl il f rfi!d:;nu R 4n_injunction to the protection of her own right hand. ln !hovry she still dollu her liability (o ice it theory com: g Ampdent enough to invade her property -her to abandon it, and get the, a_ court before she can retake it. sved, but in pract very lttle, If 4ty man o corperation whe Gecree of If that be the rule, her immualty from law The ‘late President | Parir the officers of iy’nhn Forter, "or meat It wal be amo am, vwni.vm-;e' 2 Hon. John B. Floyd, Secretary ‘w.';_“"-__ In a Few Words We have been swept Into an &ra of constitutional amendment mm. parable only to that in Franés during the period of the Frénch f&wlnunn. Hrentn Sbookasiier when “‘.,.".a"'g,, enc] o At .“"fi".a‘x‘::‘x"x‘:?;“ 3 : do no n rature.” All great fmyentions-ef have| been turned to a use the very opwllt. of that which their: verers in- tended. Watt hoped steam would emanaipate man from loll. but where- q;, the SRVAg® W averake ;mry automobil a.na o offer.me a & No poor man should ever hold oflln If senators of wealth had been elected ®. vnme pay t.::‘m ‘wouldn't n_atny ofl ART BROWNE (Pn-ld-u; to amend the Articles of Confedera- tion. 'The Virginfa plan, offered by Gov. Edmund Randolph, still dealt with the states only through their legislatures. It proposed that in case any state refused to obey the man- dates of Congress the cenmtral gov- ernment should make waf upon it to compel gbedience. Alexarider Hamilton presented his pian, which based no branch of gov- Srnment upon authority of the states, being more national than_the Vlrrlnll plan, derived all power rectly from people. ton plan was the opposite of the state idea of Randolph, though Hamilton was an aristocrat in bi ship. When,safter long debate, James Madison drew the basis of the final Constitution it8 opening expression was that of Hamilto e, the people of the United States; in order to form a “per- Zost unlon, o s do ordain and es tablish this Constitution for the S | United States of America.” It was thus declared an act of the people directly, ana not indirectly % |through ‘their legislatures. The Gon. stitution strangely provided that 'when it was to be amended not the people. but thé state legislatures sbould be clothed with the power d¢ od to the- legisiatures in the origi- DAl adoption o2 ks ein bod * ¥ k. k 3 Now, after more than a century and & third of experfence, it is proposed by this modera’ descendant of "the great federalist of New York to cor- rect ‘that. faulty method of. .amend- ‘ment, and get back to the sovereign people, from whom not merely ‘the federal goveinment derives'all of fts, y. {Constitutional powers, but who' are thie source of whatever power the state legislatures exercise. The Wadsworth amendment doss &0_the, ‘whole way, but. Propgses that after. gress shall have sub< thereon: until at | Tlll have a...‘é‘., oouut\monl amend- lectors as R : ‘Walsh of Mon- nmmmmmmuu- comes an outcast. Q. Will you kindly give me briet history of ‘the -fiz“i’. of_“Grief”: by Salnt-Caudens In Rock Creek. ceme- tery?—L. C. A The status of Swnt-Gaudens in k Creek cemetery s not correctly . The uulpmr ot thi otion. cial name of the figure is “The Adams Memorial” Mr. Henry Adams comatissioned the famous. American :l’ eatest of questions: e, -shall he live n? thought km'n Hil ?n'a o Haw : poem * ana' uenced the sculp- tor in his conception of the figure. What aré the symptoms Rflmj.hl. poisoning?—O. L. B. A Headashs, pain in the musocies, thirst, tense pain in the vommn: S0 pUEEng Aty symptoms of ptomaine. er- fatio feature of true Moma.lna polson- ing is thatthe patient remains weak for a long period, and that rocovery is vle(ry slow, often requiring several weeks. Q. What is the he derivation of the name Chesapeake?—V. C. A. Chesapeake is an Angliol version of the Algonquin Indian K'che-sepi-ack, meaning ununtry on a great river. 5 Yy Floase describe 3, bosmerang.— A. Boomerangs are made of the green acacia weod or some other hard trea, treated with fire. They average two and a half feet in length and two and & half inches in w iath, The boomerang is convex on one side fat on the other, with a sharp edge along the convex curve. Q. Do some Episcopal ochurches have a confessional?—J. B. W. A. Some of the Episcopal churches of both Europe and America that are known as * church” have the institution of auricular confession, although the priest does not take upon himself the giving of penance 23 in-the Catholic Church Q. What kind of of nems cats make?—P. R. J. A. W1l cats inhabit dens and lairs among rocks, in hollow trees or dense thickets, without any special prepar- ation. Q. What is the liquid in the storm glass on thermometers?- . W A. The liquid in the l!x.u tube of a storm thermometer is a mixture of camphor, saltpeter, sal-ammoniac, al- cohol and distilled water. Q. Did all the Japanese and Chi- nese of Hawaii become Americans ghen the United States annexed Hawaii’—R. B. A. The bureau of naturalization says that only those Japanese and Chinese residents of Hawaii who were native-born became citizens of the United States when. it annexed Hawali. of do wild (Readers of The Evening Star cam get the answer to any guestion by addres: ing a letter to Ths Star Information reau, Frederio.J. Hoaskix, director, 1220 Norti Copttor strost. Faclose s cents tn tamps for return postage.) SPOTLIGHT . V. COLLINS York view that “we, the people” who adopted the Constitation constitute the only proper authority for amend- ing it, the Walsh plan hrovides that all amendments proposed by. Con- gress (or by two-thirds of the states acting” without the initiative of Con- gress) shall be submitted directly to the popular vote withoyt any con- sideration by the Jegislatures. Vi Ak This proposal fs combated by Senator Wadsworth, on the ground that fhe masses will not debate a fed- eral constitutional amendment so as to comprehend its purport, while the legislators' in the state assemblies would understand the merits and ob- jedtions. and could better interpret them to' their constituents. He wants amendments, therefare, to o before the legislatures, providing the people fwill have ah opportunityto vote for egislators favorable to their own views on the amendment. He assumes that such an amendmesnt would be the dominant issue in a-state campaign. Yet Senator Wadsworth cites ex- amples of gross insubordination of state legislatures to the voice of their constituents, and his illustra- tions of historic fallure in this re. ! e to register th h their legislatures e supporting the Walsh lde-. ol fiure democracy. * ¥ x X Sepator Wadswortli poifits to the case ]%Ohhlo in the fmatter of the eighteenth- amendment. The new state constitution 0f Ohio 'provides that amendments fo<the federal Coustitu- tion -must’ “he submitted to popular vate ‘and.ca#mot bé- ratified merely by..ths"state leislature, Yet when the eighteetith amendment was sub- mjitted" to Obio, by Corgress, the leg- islature ratified it, while the popular vote opposed 1t-by a majority of 250,- 000 The urmu States Supreme Court held that'legislative ratification was all that 'was required, since that was mhat the federal Comsyitution .called or. In Massachusetts the people voted against the “eighteenth amendment by a majority of 133,000, but the legis« lature ratified it. Maryland and California, by populas vote, opposed the eighteenth amend- ment, but their legislatures ratified it. Iowa voted against state prohi. bition at -the polls, but the legisla. ture adopted it. § * k ok % In Texas, when the nineteenth amendm| (woman suffrage) wag voted do Ppopular vote, the leg- islature, withih, a month thereafter, ratified it The stite nouutuflon of Tennes. see, like that of Ohio, forbiiz & vota en a constitutional t by & hold-over house, yet when the nin teenth amendmént the Governor of 'hnneme called 2 spe- clal session of the héld-over legis- lature, whose majority favored wom- E uffrage. Enough members left o tate to break the quorum and defeat the vote, but when re« turned a week la er, the vote ratified the amendment, by hgid-over mem- ®ers. How, then, is this a “govern. ment by the people?’ % * X ® % All these Incldents indicste that leg- islatures are actuated by complex mo- tives, and are not always subservient to the people, morever, the people do _no; know the meaning and intent of g amendment, .Even as Lincoln decl;nd\aa Ppeople "1 can be fooled. Aside from the ten -m;’clmuu | adopted in 1789, immediately after the Constitution, there have been but nine acc 15 years. It is not the intent of er Senator Wads- worth or Senatof Walsh to make more ‘difficult the needed ¢ ) 4 7 ~ i more democratic. Aceépting the New approval of the power h"I.zll“- ‘ - 3'-*«4 thoe ~original Soa o Constitution. “(Clprright; 1924, 1 Paal V. Colline.)