Evening Star Newspaper, May 6, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Senday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON,D. C. TUESDAY..........May 6, 1824 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave. : Tower 3 Puropean Ofice 16 Regent St London, fagland. vening Star, with the Sunday morning is delivered by carriers within the conts per month: daily only, 45 per_month: Sunday oniy, 20 cents’ per nth. Orders may be sent by mafl or tele- phove ‘Main 5000. Collection is made by car- iers at the end of ehch month. The E edition, city at ceaty Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo,, T0c Daily only. ~15r., $6.00 ; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only. -1yr, $2.40; 1 mo,, 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 85¢ Dally only . 1yr. $2.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only. $3.00; 1 mo,, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exelusively entitied fo the use for republication of all news di tebes credited to It or Dot otherwise credited n this paper and also the local mews pab- Tished herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. District’s Treasury Tax Surplus. The Senate has passed the Phipps bill formally rendering available for uppropriation the District’s accumu- lated tax surplus, which the joint con- sressional District surplus committee has found to exist after all legal or equitable deductions from it have been made. The Capital community warmly appreciates the viger and skill with which the members of the joint sur- plus committee, Senators Phipps, Ball and Harris and Representatives Hardy nd Wright, have pushed and are pushing this measure towurd enact- ment. The bill now goes to the House Dis- trict committee, which in the last Congress approved it and favorably reported it. Like action may probably be expected from the committee in this Congress and by co-operation of the District committee and Repre- sentatives Hardy and Wright of the Joint surplus committee, and with the sympathetic consideration of the ap- propriations committee the bill is like- 1¥ in this Congress to be pushed to enactment. sewhere in The Star today is nted a petition to Congress urging e enactment of this legislation, which was submitted to the Senate after the favorable report upon this bill by the Senate District committee. 1t is signed by the Citizens’ Joint Com- mittee on Fiscal Relations Between the United States and the District of Columbis, representing the Board of Trade, the' Chamber of Commerce, the Merchants and Manufacturers’ As- soclation, the Federation of Citizens’ Associations, the Bar Association, the Columbia Heights Citizens' Associa- tion, the Northeast Citizens' tion, the Georgetown Citize ciation, the City Club, the Bankers’ Association, the Real Estate Board, the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club and the Civitgn Club. It sets forth the rea- sons which in equity justify the enact- ment which will release, on the proper basis of proportionate contribution, the accumulated tax money which Congress has in the past not per- mitted the District to expend for its maintenance and development. Washington earnestly hopes for the speedy enactment of this vitally im- portant piece of legislation. Hylan-Town Politics. All is not happy in Hylan-Town. Tammany is in & turmoil over the selection of u successor to Charles F. Murphy to presifle over the wigwam und lead the tribe. Mayor Hylan has “gummed up the cards" by opposing Surrogate James A. Foley, son-in-law of the late Mr. Murphy, who is the choice of the regular organization and supported by Gov, Smith, who, indeed, suggested him for the office. The first reaction from a recent statement of the mayor against the selection of Surrogate Foley was a joud outery that Mayor Hylan was speaking for William R. Hearst rather than for himself. A veritable torm followed. The mayor came back by denouncing the charge as “bunk.” The New York World said that the mayor's protest was “the voice of Hylan, but the hand of Hearst.” 'y In the meantime the situation is mplicated by Mr. Foley himself Lolding back in the acceptance of the proffered leadership. His hesitation asserted to be on the ground of his Ith. Tt may be, too, that surrender- £ a position whose emolument is & salary of $17,000 & year for a non- paying leadership is being considered. The old-line Tammanyites are up in arms, erying that to let Mayor Hylan “get away" with his opposition to Sfurrogate Foley would be to surrender to Mr. Hearet, and that they cannot afford to do it. The real crux of the situation is said to lie in the possibil- ity that Gov. Smith's presidential proepects might be involved in a dis- astrous row in Tammany prior to the national convention. e ————— While the country at large is look- ing forward to tax reduction, the Dis- ict of Columbia citizen is compelled 10 consider proposals of increases in tax levies that will offset any bene- flts he may attain in the general re- sult. e Proposed Public Buildings. A convincing report has been made to the Senate by. the tommittee on public buildings and grounds in faver of enacting the bill to construct new government office bulldings at Wash- ington. This bill would provide for constructing, at a cost of $50,000,000 over a five-year period, buildifigs for the Bureau of Internal Revenue. De- partment of \Justice, General Account- ing Office, Department of Agriculture, a pational archives building, a bufld- ing for the General Supply Committee and office buildings to house the forces. of the Alien Property Custodian, Bu- reau of Efficiency, Civil Service Com- offices spread about the Capital and generally in private structures. The building program proposed in the bill bag been urged by the President in messages to Congress, by the Public Buildings Commission named to make a survey of the government's build- ing needs at Washington and by other public agencies. The Senate committee, after consid- ering all facts, reports that “unless early action be taken by Congress to relieve the present situation it is only & question of time, and a very short time at that, until the government will find itself in an impossible sit- uation due to the rapld deterioration of the so-called temporary war build- ings.” The situation is now very close to what can be reasonably called “impossible.” Many government au- thorities have called the situation “intolerable.” There are still twelve of the temporary, or war emergency, structures in use, and the committee says “they are veritable fire traps, of the flimsiest wooden construction, and present a constant and most danger- ous fire hazard.” The committee also finds that several of them ‘“are crowded to the roof with priceless and irreplaceable records, the destruction of which would mean a staggering loss to the government.” Much public business is carried on in Washington under difficulty and danger which no business ‘man would approve. A large annual rental is paid to private property owners, a number of government-owned struc- tures are but gigantic shacks, em- ployes are crowded, their quarters are insanitary and there is great danger of loss of life and records by fire. The “Twelve-Mile Treaty.” Some weeks have elapsed since the ratification of the socalled twelve mile treaty between the United States and Great Britain, under the terms of which this country has the right to search PBritish ships for contraband liquors within a space of an hour's steaming from these shores. Now it is announced that King George has signed the treaty, and that within a few days it will be transmitted to ‘Washington for an exchange of rati- fications. Until this formality is ef- fected the treaty will not be in force. But as soon as the exchange is made it will be lawful for the United States to pursue and stop and search any British ship within the prescribed dis- tance from shore, instead of the tradi- tional three miles of international custom. While the treaty has been in course | of negotiation and ratification the United States has been strengthening its forces for the execution of the law against the importation of liquors. A large fleet of swift vesseis has been assembled. The plans are laid for a descent upon “Rum Row.” as the fleet of contratund carriers Is called. While | all are not of British registry, it is likely that the line’of anchorage will | be moved out for all of them. Probabiy there will be an immediate move for a transfer of registry from the British to other flags on the part of these smugglers. But such changed registrations will not be surely ef- fective to avoid capture ¢nd selzure. The purpose of such a shift would be obviously that of breaking American laws. Admission of such ships to registry would not be a friendly act on the part of other gov- ernment Many of the rum-runnefrs are Amer- | ican ships, so far as they are regis. tered. Some of them are not registered !at all, but are merely freebooters of the seas. They do not come within the territorial waters, plying outside of the three-mile limits. | The chief problem heretofore has | been to check the traffic between the ships Iving on “Rum Row"” and the| shore. With the smugglers anchored only three miles off shore it has been fairly easy to transship and send the contraband cargoes to the land by small, swift boats. With the radius of possible search and seizure extended to approximately twelve miles—one hour’s steaming—this process of trans- shipment is not so easy. ‘This treaty is still subject to con- the | sideration by the Bupreme Court, ‘which has heretofore ruled that ships cannot bring liquors In under seal for use on outward voyages. This priv- ilege is granted by the new arrange- ment with Great Britain. It remains to be seen whether a concession de- signed to ald in the enfurrement of the law will be construed as in con- flict with the purposes of the statuts. ——————————— In the interests of timesaving it may be as well to proceed with cau- tion in connection with Muscle Shoals 80 as to leave no loophole for investi- gations in the future. : ———————— Politicians ere beginning to wonder how a man can have as much general applause as Mr. Dawes is now receiv- ing without developing an incidental presidential boom. s ‘Whether in the field of art, fashion or diplomacy, Paris can de relled on to turn up with a wonderful staff of bill collectors. Looking for Soviet Collapse. Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaie- vitch, former commamderdn-chief of the Russian armies, who has been quietly living near Paris, has given an interview on-the sitvation in his homeland which expresses the hope of the anti-soviet Russians that the pres- ent bolshevik rule in that country will soon collapse. The exiles from Rus- sis, many of whom are in France, are, it is etated, constantly in receipt of news of & cheering mature. An intense authority, and the moderate groups. The economic situation, for & long time desperately bad, is not improv. ing. Efforts by the soviet government to establish active trade relations with England are not meeting with suc- cess. Discontent with the bolshevik Raussia. The only cbance for the mmin- tenance of the soviet rule in Russia has been for that country to reorgan- ixe its industries on the besis of self- tain itself thus. It has vast resources, comprising all sorts of materials used in the arts and stries, but it lacks the mechanical orgnnization for their devélopment. It is a buying rather than a selling nation outside of, in the past, its agricultural products. But it cannot buy with a depreciated, vir- tually a worthless, currency, and without credit. Now, after seven full years of revo- lution against the czarist regime and six and a half years of soviet rule, Russia is in economic distress, her people are impoverished as a whole and are robbed of initiative by the adoption of communist schemes of state'owned end state-governed enter- prises. The great experiment has failed. Now comes the period of in- trigue for power following the death of the strongest man, Nicolai Lenin. Had another appeared as strong as he to replace him there would not now be the prospect of collapse which so greatly cheers the refugees in France, Tt is naturally assumed that in case of a breakdown of the soviet organi- zation in Russia the most likely party of power will be that of the former monarchists, at least for the first stage of change. In that event Grand Duke Nicholas is generally recognized as leader. He is @ Romanoff, is widely popular, and, as his present interview shows, Ims broad and liberal views. He does not expect, in the eveat of an overturn of the soviet, that all properties sequestrated by the bolshe- vists will be restored. He hopes to see Russia start fresh with such repa- rations as are physically and economi- cally possible, and with a full repudia- tion of the crimes committed in the name of freedom by the fanatics. Low compensation of prohibition agents has been adversely mentioned. A man is not required to accept a position if the wage does not suit him, ‘The assumption that a representative of the government is justifiable in measuring his sense of duty by the amount of his pay check would be a #ad blow to public service. ——————— Rather pretty politics is being played in the argument involving the condl- tions under which producing man- agers and actors will transact busl ness. The public, however, finds the national political game sufficient in in- terest to prevent it from taking its stage entertainment too seriously. —_— The Japanese are reported to be building a supersubmarine. All that this country has had in mind since the earthquake was the notion of a super- soup tureen that needed filling by friendly hands. v —e—————— Now and then a statosman develops an idea that the great essential of political economy is a plan to have the District of Columbia taxpayer con- tribute still more and receive still less. e ——e—e— — Mail will go across the continent in less than a day and a half by airship. This beats the railway train by @ big- ger margin #han the rallway train beat the stage coach. —— e It has been demonstrated that Sen- ate investigators, even without judi- clally determined rights to compel testimony, can develop a great many harrowing details. ———r———————— Democrats of a bygone era would have regarded “light wines and beer” as a ‘very pallid slogan. France will not care whom Ger- muny may be in debt to, 50 long as it i& not to her. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON The Political Farmer. The Farmer! The Farmer! ‘He's now the gentle charmer, As people all the speeches note And then decide on how to vote. He farms but little all year long, But when he works he's going strong. He must prepare his mind for toil As other men prepare the soil, And to the library resorts For agricultural reports. He cuts down every tree in reach; He needs each stamp to mmmke a speech. His roll-top desk he closes tight And sallies forth unto the fight, Or elss he takes to radio To tell us how potatoes grow, And beans and radishes and kale And how the hay gets out on bale. The Farmer! The Farmer! The genial false alarmer! He bids the husbandman rejoice And all he raises is his voice. A Strict Modernist, “Did you study Cleero’s orations ‘when you were a boy?™ “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “And I feel that maybe I'm just as ‘well off. What suggestions had Cloero to offer about the Volstead mct or to sign a petition that he reaches for his fountsin pen withont stopping to read it. How frequeatly we miss our guess ‘When we set out to figger! | We try to make the taxes less. They keep on growing blgger. Lethal Gas. “At least we've gotten rid of the rube who used to blow out the gas.” *He's still with us,” contradicted TUncle Bill Bottletop; “only he works different. He puts the gas in his fitv- ver tank and hits sixty miles an “He used to be the big bad man of the Gulchf™ . “Yes. But be lost his merve when the camera man told him he didn' ter. WITH THE COAST GUARD ON THE RUM PATROL Couldn't Hear the Whistlo—The Gestlemanly Canadian and the Three Hard-Boiled Bums. BY BEN McKELWAY. All night and part of the next day, riding snug and sitting pretty inside Sandy Hook, while the wind howls and the rain beats down and the weather man keeps sending out dis- couraging reports oconcerning . the chances for rum-running. The woather is a better putrol than the coast guard. The rummies can't get alongside vessels in Rum Row when the sea is running high, so they stay ashore. Toward evening the wind Iulls and’ the sky clears, and our re- licf, the coast guard tug Manbattan, contes puffing up alongside. She will stick around Sandy Hook and guard the harbor entrance while we are gone. The Old Man géts the weather fore- cast and sends word to the engine room to have steam up in half an bour. Steam comes up as ordered, business of weighing the anchor and we leave Sandy Hook, pass old Scot- land Light and head up the Long Is- land shore. The sea has calmed, a full moon beams benignly from a starfess sky and the engines settle down to ninety revolations—cruising speed for the Seminole. We are nine miles or so_off shore. lights along' Long Beach stretch a gmudy, sparkling necklaos to show the land- lubber afloat where he is. The Old Man comes upon the bridge. He uses his glasses to search moonlit waters off to seaward and presently he points out two faint lights, blinking in the distance. He changes our course slightly to bring us close by the lighta Five minutes more and we pick up four other pairs of twin- kling' stars. They are riding lights of a division of Rum Row—three ers and a couple of steameis which stayed to ride out at auchor the gale of the night befors. The rest of Rum Row is scattered at points nearly over the Atlantic Ocean, probably beating back, now it is calm, to their anchoring places. Steam by Ships. This is our first sight of Rum Row. We slip silently by within hailing distance of ome of the vessels and get her {n the beam of the moon. All quiet aboard, but wooden boxes plled high and made fast on deck tell their own story. One of the schoon- ers, dark but for her riding lights, is pointed out as the “dope ship.” Nobody knows certainly whether she or not, for there is no boarding her to find out. foreign territory. But dark s, whispered among the boot- leggers, say she carries dope with her cargo of rum. And why not? What is casler If you are in the busi- ness than to ship dopa with rum? Dope brings greater profits even than bootleg whisky, and It's much easier to handle. Sinister thought, that— there are many possibilities in Rum Row. Beautiful night for rum-runni might think, with the and the moon full. B delivers the « get no bo dumb. know hout is. run a row, get A load ard and coma honie.” Try it at night, sons o' guns ‘d get lost and head out to sea, like a8 “not. They're low Intelligence, them guys. No brains, see?” Masy Ex-Fishermen. But the scornful helmsman is not altogether right. There rum-run- ning at night. when the water's emooth. Many ‘rum-runners, they say, are erstwhille fishermen, for whom navigation holds uo mysteries and the darkness no terrors. Through the night we steam alon changing our course at Fire Island Light. Morning brings us off Montauk Point. ~ Twelve miles or so off the point lics another section of the rum fleet. But we keep close in shore. More of the Old Man's “rabbit foot™ working. Sail through Rum Row now and we might scare off @ rummy heading for the fleet. But If we keep between them and the shore we can head. them off. Far off to sea, aproaching the rum fleet from the north, there's a speck on the horizon which glasses make out to be a small two-masted schoon- She's tco little to be a foreign vessel carry/ng rum, 80 she's proba- bly American. Worth investigating and ~ forty-fifive minutes' steaming brings us cidser. The officer of the deck yanks. down on the whistle. The cutter >mits a series of short, shrill yelps, loud enough and sudden enough to stare Davy Jones out of his locker. But the schooner keeos on her coursa, her auxillary engin kicking along with a steady put-pu Are You a Sympathy Chaser? BY JOHN CARLYLE This is a editorial for marrisd men. The sverage man in his dy= mestic estabiishment has a failink. It is sufficiently prevalent to be callsd common to thie family-male. =% The head of the house is a sym- pathy seeker. He is especially keen on the scent ‘or sympathy when he s guilty of somwthing or other. He may not be guilty?of a grievous act, not a thing that chuld by any stretch I» called even :.domestically criminai. But somewhere along the Iine he hsk been thoughfless, careless of some- body else’s rizhts and pflv‘fleg“—l:\; different to ‘somebody’s hopes. (' oou;na the scmebody is his wife. & Men are mdre likely to be guilty ¢ this sort of thing than wome the proportion of at least ten to on Having leasned by experience that apology is -8 fruitl . : cures no Hrnal °‘y et “gnorant of the preciss nature of thA offe: oW, is mat- ard Al trae to_form. stupid_male, run i o s o chase for synipathy. ckly. dons his martyr suit. Ho puis on hs mask of injured ano- cence, If the case is, &n. one he hurriedly stirs up & t, plain comfortably and. thing he is really tryln course, is to. turh his Wif his misdeeds l;’tl:.:ulo‘l: of remorse and grief for nary mental, physical and spiritual ills, b He finds frequent occasion — per- haps all in a {hw. minu his own comfnonplace ¢ aggTavated little phys- pertorm: to cast them up in’| heroio mold. - He whines his virtues.| 5 hin wife's patient ear. flpwmyr'I:::m‘ man! He fools nobody, least of all hir wife. His heroics mock heroios, and afe instantly rec- ized as easy to avoid all this, 4 simple, frank apok logies in dom D o hit the errors, er he they are or not, afd not try to build tes—to refer to. ances’ put. We can hear her engine, but she can't hear our whistle. Search of Schooner. “Better give him a blank,” says the 0l1d Man, and one of the six-pounders bangs away. Then the schooner hears. She heels over and her sails come tumbling down. We drop a dinghy and the junior officer boards the schooner, rips up her hatches snd goes down In the hold. He finds nothing but ice. The schooner's bound for Florida, snapper fishing. We let her go. The rum fleet can barely be pick- ed up with the glasses now. Three schooners and three steamers, four British and two Norwegians. = As we draw near a boat, just visible to the naked eye, leaves the side of one of the British steamers and starts to cross our bow. We change the course to intercept him. Then he shows us his stern and heads out to sea. He's leaving & wake of white foam and making considerable speed. The executive officer orders forced draught It looks like & good chase. The boilers wheeze, the engines in- crease their ninety revolutions to 120 or more and the old ship settles down and to shiver all over lz*lhl puw nose to the trail and up The gunners are at their stations, looking through the sights. fondling the lanyards. But the Old Man hoids his fire. *“He's heading straight for South Africa,” says he. “T've got as muach coal as he's got gasoline. IM follow him there if he wants me to.” But our quarry changes his mind. He spins his boat around, skidding like an automobile on a turn, and heads directly for the cutter, coming up alongwide. Her lone ooocupant comes aboard. He's bareheaded, Wears a sport sweater and a tweed suit with & double-breasted jacket. He looks pish and nerv- peed boat and was try- ing her out. He's a Canadian. he says, visiting friends in New York, and he thought he'd like to see what Rum Row looked lfke. He is searched and only has $38 in his pocketbook. That looks {nnooent enough, until he produces a memorandum book with an expense acoount. Such items as cable tolls to Great Britain, Bimini and Hayana, ‘“cigarettes for Mr. Blank.” “Toothbrush for Mr. Hank.” gaxines and papers for Mr. Swank" and other such entries make Rim look 1lke a shore man for one of the rum fleet. The Old Man de- cldes he's worth Investigating and, besides, he has mupplied us with s sorely needed speed boat Ho is as. signed quarters forward while one of the Seminole's officers casts off In the speed boat for a try-out to see if €he's worth using later on. We continue our course toward the rum fleet, and one of the men on watch picks up another speck on the horizon. this one heading inshore from the fleet. The boiler. begin their wheezing again under foreed draught. The old screw churns the water white In our wake and w about to head him off. He « making for him. so he swerves and decides to give us a run 1o ftest our Epeed. It looks like a losing fight for the Seminole. The speed boat is getting farther awt Now we be- €n to gAin. His engine must have gone bad. Still he keeps up the chase. Wa continue to gain and af- ter an hour’s running are near enough to talk business. The gun- ners, caressing their six-pounders, turn pleading eves upward to the bridge. Shot Lands Near. We try @ blank. The smoke swirls across the bridge and shuts -off our view for a moment, but when it clears we see the boat's still running. It will take more than a blank to stop that fellow. The gunners slip @ solid shot into the breech, squint through the sights and haul down on the lanyard. Smoke swirls across the bridge again, clearing just in time for us to see a great tower of water rise right alongside the speedster. ‘That one came near being a dir hit. It was too close for comfort for the rummies and they turn about The chase is over. As she back-tracks on her course and nears the cutter one of her crew waves a handkerchief, to let us know that all he wants ic great gobs of peace and good will. She pulls alongside. Three bums crawl aboard. One of them is seasick. His face is green. He keeps cussing out his engine. He says it went bad on him, and the fumes made him sick when he tried to find the trouble. They are taken aft to the cabin and searched. The captured boat has a cargo of salty, fresh air. Only that and nothing more. Favors Anti-Weapon Law Writer Backs Proposal Sponsored by Rathbone. To the Editor of The Star: Every law-abiding citizen who lis- tened in to the address of Represent- ative Henry R. Rathbene of Illinois on “Lawlessness in the District of Columbia”® must have wished that the remedial measures he advocated could be speedily put into effect in the Dis- trict. Your paper is always ready to help advance the best interests of our city. t as you have often pointed out, the ease with which ir- responsible persons obtain firearms in the District. Why are bootieggers allowed ‘When they become ‘weapons, wise, why can they not be arrested. Boavy, peasicy mpossd. - Why Should eavy 101 they be allowed to carry death-deal- ing weapons to protect themselves in their law-breaking, that they may fire upon the guardisns of the law? can we mot have a measure passed at onoe, as the fact that &n automobilé '_mna Feady been seriously 1f Dot perma- al serio; n ntly injured by its use. The 1ife of every one using o:: city e personal liberty. NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM REMEMBERED YESTERDAYS. Rob- ort Underwood Johnson. Little, Brown & Co. Solomon and T get along together pretty well. We are not, at any rate, in the habitual state of frenzied retort on the one hand or screaming silence on the other, over the daily dozens of pifilng things that so agi- tate average ocouples. ere is, however, one point upon which Solo- mon end I are, I fear, hopelessly at outs. This is about the way to read a book. Solomon asserts that there is only one way to read a book, one order to follow. Now, in the first place, the statement is nonsense. There are more ways than one, ‘all good, for doing anything under the sun. In the second place, Solomon is dogmatic and offensive in his flat- footed manner of declaration. He thinks, I'm sure, that he is living up to his name. A silly and conceit- ed motion, miles away from the truth. For the old Solomon was of & mind so broad and flexible that he oould: find ways and reasons aplenty for anything the world that be himself desired’to do. How- ever, this one—the one at hand— goes on to say that & book must be read in the order of its setting down, page by page, chapter by chapter till the author himself puts the final perfod. Now I contend that there are many books that should be read from back to front. Much of history should be read that way, for the sake of immediate appeal, for direct at- tack, for a sound nucleus of inter- pretation. Agaln, there are books that rize to their communicable best through selecting from them here and there such topics a8 are nearest to the reader's own interests and de- sires. “Remembered Yesterdays® be- longs, obviously, to this class. So I say to Solomon: “I See that at the beginning of his book Mr. Johnson has quite a family tree set out. Here is your chance. You elimb up into that tree and stay there as long as you want to. As for me, I'm going on. I'm eure that this well known gentleman has an excellent father and mother. Everybody has. I'm sure, too, that his grandfathers and great-grandfathers, over 80 far back, were most admirable. I'm not much interested In that, though if I have time T'll come back for them. I'm much keener, though, over the fact that he has an up-and-coming son whom we all know.” And, to shut off comment, I fall into communion with the table of contents for the l':k;‘ "‘f_t'flll::;llnt out of its rich- oking “yesterdays” those th: special call to ma. o ot mAke * % % » Questing down the list for my own | immediate point of approach, I can but see that these “yesterdays™ are of wide and varfed appeal. Room here for many tastes and interests to make their contacts. Naturally, there ip a good deal about writing and writers—novelists, poets, journallsts, editors. Much, too, about other fields drama, music, painting. fill some of these Others are round- &d out with experiences drawn from the professional and social life of the diplomat and the diplomat's wife, A £reat many persons come and g0, in and out from these old days. Indeed, a surface glance declares it to be a h‘nuk of personalities, | resting and flcaut personalitios, giving each and place an added sig- luster. A more le . Droves it to be of events by wa. interesting folks ake themselves manifest Here is & speaking picture of Manhattan as it was something like fifty years ago —a composite, woven of its physical and material aspeets through which is interwoven the pattern of Its in- tellectual and esthetic Hfe, Here, too, dating from the civil war, these yes- terdays’ projcct certain outstanding features of national importance wherein authors and artists lend a hand to save some points of great natural beauty from lawle: and brutal extermination. A rich book, from which to choose one's starting point. * % % % Mine? I &hoose first Mr. Johnson's “The Incomparable Duse.” A near theme these days. And the author goes back to a yesterday of 1802 when Signora Duse with an Italian company plaved to a scant house in New York, only its upper gallery crowded with enthusiastic and ap- plauding compatriots of the great artist. “At the first moment we rec- ognized dramatic talent of the first order and from that evening we be- came devoted-admirers-of her beauti- ful art™ Then Mr. Johnson sums the art of Duse as one “inspired by a deep intelligence that' goes to the depth of the philosophy of her char- acters,” and animated by a delicate subtlety and sincerity of method, both_of which unite to proclaim her the “incomparable.” This is the mo- ment to read the author's considered and grateful appreciation of Signora Duse. * k% % Playing vagrant among a distin- guished man’'s memoirs? Something like that A delightful episode this one, I think. When just a youth, Robert John- possassed, American youth is, or was, with a pas- devotion to the spiendor of Emerson, Loweil, Whittier, Holmes and and a friend made up their minds to deliver in person to the sags of Concord something of the tumult of adoration p_and down in of his woodplle, reciting some of his most inspiring odes—and then they went sorrowfully away, not having been able to muster the requisite q ety can we not have the law in the ot ‘changed pol licemen | g a person violating the arrest nth amendment of the Consti- at once instead of giving him escape while the policeman is ting up.a prohibition officer and reporting to him that he may mak the arrest? llxfl than such an the fabric-of an elaborate alibi out of 1 rs of , martyrdom Shd Tacok neroice. Lt him 0 about seelin, al Earope is at the turning is anoth: says point, which that Ewrope, ergflm ANSWERS TO QUESTION: BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Inside the Washington Monu- ment, I notice that some of the tablets given by various states and orghni- zations are decaying. What causes this?—J. G. R. ' A. The decaying of stone is due to changes in temperature, causing ex- pansion and contraction, or to some acid in the atmosphere. Q. Are thers any birds in thé United States whose nests cannot bLe found?—0. B. A. There are a few birds seen in this country, the nests and eggs of which no one has been able to locate. ‘The two best known of these are the blue goose and the wandering tattler. Q. Can an airplane raise fitself from the ground without the wind which the propeller throws back?— A A A A. The wind from the propellers does not 1ift ap airplane. The ma- chine is lifted by the resistance of the air against the plames which are being drawn rapidly through the alr by the screw action of the propeller. Q. Is thers such a thing as heat lightning?—M. W. A. Heat lightning is ascribed to far-off lightning flashes, reflected from higher strata of clouds. Q. Does Japan raise enough rice to feed her people?—N. W. A. Thero is a yearly shortage of rice in Japan that has to be made up by importation. T. Shidachi says that only about 15 per cent of the area of Japan is under cultivation This is an interesting fact in %on- sidering the modern problems of overpopulation and food shortage in this island. Q. What state has the longest period of below-zero weather in the | United States’—E. W. W. A. The weather bureau says that no exact compilation has been made of data along this line, but it is probably safe to say that the state of North Dakota has temperatures below zero for & longer period each year m:.n, other states in the Union as & whole. Q. What is the size of the throat of & whale?—H. H. A. The blue whale, the largest | aniimal alive today, reaching a length |1n excess of eighty feet, with a mouth s0 large that ten to twelve men could stand therein, has a throat but about eight inches in diameter. This is one of the whalebone whales. all of which feed upon minute crustaceans, espe- cially the little red shrimp which is about three-fourths of an inch long. As much as four barrels of this shrimp have been found in the stomach of a blus “whale, not full Are Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital the same fnstitutfon?—N. K. They are separate institutions ded and endowed by Johns Hop- s. Johns Hopkins Medical School part of the university and is close- Iy allled with the hospital. The total gift for these institutions was more | than $7,000,000. | @ Please give Babe Ruth's height, | weight e, which even then was anad age.—E. P. A. He is thirty years old, six feet |and two inches tall and weighs 205 " pounds, One of the reasons members of Congress want to adjourn, and mot simply recess, early in June is thelr anxiety to begin campalgn work at home as soon as possible. If House and Senate are kept in session throughout the summer it is going to play havoe with countless statesmen up for renomination and re-election this year. There are many states with more than 100 counties. Candi- dates for the Senate are required to make speeches and do glad-@knding in every one of them, as a rule. If Congress sits till September, as many authorities think s possible, thes will have to be tall hustling @uring the two months between that date and election time. Any number of eminent gentlemen on Capitol Hill, especially from western regions, are on the anxious seat. They are cager to look after their fences with the least possible delay. These are in disTepair in a variety of communities, mostly Republican. * ¥ x ¥ Calvin Coolidge ranks as a hermit, but his friends say that's just an- other of the myths which legend has fastened onto the President. They'll tell you, for example, that the reason “Cal” has introduced the innovation of planting himself in an armchalir on the Pennsylvania avenue porch of the ‘White House instead of on the south portico, overlooking the private grounds of the Executive Mansion, is Mr. Coolidge's_desire to see things and people. immensely prefers the moving panorama that he can watch from the front to the merely horticultural vista which he can contemplate on the other side. The President, too, prefers entertain- ment when he goes out at night to mere intellectual uplifht.” Not long ago the Coolldg:u saw Sothern play “Hamlet.” Members of the party liked it so well that they suggested visit- ing the play a second time. The President demurred. He &aid he liked 10 be amused at theaters. * % x ¥ The War Department has just com- pleted a design for a distinctive Dis- trict of Columbia flag. It's a combi- nation derived from the coat of arms of George Washington. If it is not too late this observer ventures a sug- gestion. He got It from the words which_emblazon the swinging doors of a Washington hotel, and which, in a way, symbolize life at the National Capital ~ On_the doors are the_ad- monitions: h™ and *Pull” not incorporate them in ton’s flag? x F % % Pitcher Walter Johnson of the Washington American League base ball team has-a young hopeful, aged seven, who is just old enough now to be told that the year he was born America went to war. “Who won the '?" ddie asked his mother the oy, opla, satd Mrs. John: son. oll, what was the score? Eddle wanted to know. * % Senator Carter Glass of Virginla planned to be in mid-Atlantic this weaelk, on route to an international to- bacco congress, at the head of a dele- gation of growers from the Old Do- minjon. Evidently the approach of the Democratic national oconvention determined Senator Glass to remain at home at thls witehing hour. His ‘friénds expect the former Secretary of the Treasury to be In strategic po- sition when the McAdoo vote in Madi- son Square Garden begins to disin- tegrate. One of Sonator Glass' sis- ters, Mrs. Blair Banister, is an officlal of the Democratic national commit- tee. She edits the Fortnightly Bulle- tin, the officlal organ of Democratic women’s clubs throughout the coun- and is chi@l @eplstant to Mrs. Washing- Q. What were the immodial Scources of the plots of “As Like It" and “A Winter's Tale’ M. D. A. “Rosalind,” by Thomas L and “Pandosto,” a mnovel by I Green, gave Shakespeare the gestions for these plays. Q. Please tell me how to some easily digestible liquid for a sick person.—N. M. A. Milk, eggs and gruels probably the most important for for the sick. Beef juice Is nourishing. To make it, cut meat into small pleces and heat slightly; then extract the juice means of & meat press or lenm squee: Beef tea has littls 1o ishment, but is stimulating. To mi it, soak chopbed beef in wa an hour: cook. slightly over water until it becomes redd brown, stirring the while E son. ‘Albumin water ix pouring the white of one 4 one-half pint of water into « b tie and shaking the mixture we A nutritious orangeade is made beating the white of an egg one teaspoonful of sugar, and ing the juice of an orange und f ounces of water. Barlcy water often permitted when no other foc is allowed. To make it, add tablespoonful of pearl barley to o quart of cold water; boil It ¥ hours; add water from time to tin.. Strain it and add enough bole water to make one quart. th. Q. Are there more blind me: blind women?—A. 8. A. Of the enumerated b 1820, 30,160 were males and females. Q. What is sausage poisca: —H.C. H. ) A. Sausage poisoning is the used in Germany for botulism. Q. Why are undertakers A. Undertakers were formerly known as ‘funeral undertak The present term is merely a traction of this expression Q. What s the precious stone?—C. E. A. Probably the most expensive stone in the world is the stone known as the oriental amethyst This is really & sapphire of ame thyst color. Our amethysts are only quartz. 1 amethysis, emer: rubies and sapphires belong to fhe corundum series and are all of ths eame composition. There are only a few of these valuable orient: amethysts in_the world and the are guarded by Indian rajahs. Q. Was Noah Webster a graduate?—F. T. A. A. He entered Yale University at the age of sixteen years and wus graduated at twenty. A great par of his life was devoted to education years being devoted to the compos! tion of a dictionary. He aided in founding Amherst College. Q. Who was Iron Mask?—B. A. Opinions still differ as to t identity of the prisoner confined the Bastile who was known as i Man with the Iron Mask. He was buried under the name of March) and has been eald to be_ the I of Vermandois: a son of Louis 3 an elder brother of Louis XIV: twin brother of Louis XIV and & son of Anne of Austria; Count Mat- thioll and others most valuable nosh college gSha Man With the (Have you o guestion yow wan! on- swered? Send it to The Star Informo tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin. direc- tor, 1220 North Capitol street. The oniy charge for tMs service ia £ oemis in stamps for return postage.) WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS | BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Emily Newell Blair, vice chairman the national committee. * % k% Judson C Welliver, who has a member of the White House since the mdvent of the Hardir ministration, is recovering Naval Hospital from a seriou eration for gallstones. Welliver, bas had a distinguished journ career, functions at the Preside elbow as a liaison officer betweer White House and vox popull has access to the mail bag and daily burden of letters from the pls people; keeps in intimate touch wi'l public” opinion as reflected in t newspapers and generally has his ca afiixed to that particular port the ground where it will do the al ministration the most good. “Jud” was a high priest in the Roose velt progressive movement. He on duty on the Marion front | in 1920. During the world war W liver was an erican newspa correspondent in London. * k% Mark Twain devotees in Was ton will foregather in force on evening of May 10 to launch the n tional movement for turning * birthplace, at Florida, Mo, into a shrine for the admirers of H berry Finn and Tom Sawyer. nental Memorial Hall, the beautifu! headquarters of the Daughters of th? American Revolution, will be scene of a meeting In whieh ( George Harvey, Irvin Cobb, ¢ Clemens Gabrilowitsch (Twaln daughter) and others will participat The object is to raise funds for the cenversion of the old Clemens hom stead, near the Mississippi River & mecca which will attract ) constituents throughout the ag:s letter from President Coolidge be , which describes Twain characteristic Amorica %% % ‘When a dictionary of the Washn« ton political language is compil-/ !t will contain definitione like this Publieity—Your views on a gV subject. Propaganda— The other fallows e s, Non-partisanship—Your own entation of an issue. Partisanship—Any attitude position to your own. (Oapyright, 16M.) Why Should Aviators Pay for Good Road-? To the Editor of The Star: ‘What about this two-cent road ¥ on gasoline? Does that appls motor boats and airplanes? A if so, do you think it is fair. sonally, I don't I can't see how they can tas © motor boat for using the roads, wi ! it rarely ever does. The samo D° plies- to airplanes. They mig charge the airplanes for the us: © the Milky Way, but I don't think thys would be proper. They do have to keep the Milky Way in © pair, g0 why soak the aviator? T've never seen any road repairnicl working on Hampton Roads; in fuct this road has been sadly neglect" and is very rough in places. b motor boats will have to pav 2 cents just the same. it is immaterial to m the only time I use gasoline i the fall, to clean my last year's hil. but I ask you, Mr. Editor, do ou think it is falr to those poor unfor- tunates who own dirplanes and speed boats? Théy have to use =0 much gas they never use Jhe