Evening Star Newspaper, May 14, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, .- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, MAY W te& ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN e e ————————————e e i) THE EVENING STAR With Sanday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY.....May 14, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th 5t. 2nd Pennsylvania Ave. Necv;lYarl (;)éflhm ‘!10 Hl;ll ‘(‘:ld St icago ce: Tower Buildinj Buropean Office: 16 Regent St., London, &lllll& ‘The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, i1s delivered by earriers within the eity at G0 cents r month: daily only, 45 centa"per month: Runday oniy. 20 cents: per month " Orders may besent by mall o to Dhone. Maln 000, Callection 14 made by ca riers at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginis. Dafly and Sunday..1 y: Daily only. Sunday only All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only Sunday only. Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise credited n paper and also the local ne pub- lished herein. rights of publication of cial dispatches herein are alsn reservea. The Federation of Arts. The annual convention of the Amer- fean Federation of Arts begins today in Washington. This organization has been meeting here for a number of years, having its headquarters in a historic building in this city. The ap- propriateness of this selection of the National Capital as the central point and meeting place of the federation becomes more apparent annually. For this is growing to be more and more distinetly the art center of the coun- try. Here are not only three notable pub- lic art galleries, the National, the Cor- coran and the Freer, but several large and important private galleries. Here are examples of architecture un- equaled anywhere else in the United States. Here are murals of the high- est merit and wide fame. Here are sculptures and monuments of rare beauty. Here also are park settings for these works of art, features of the Capital equipment that have no rivals elsewhere. But it is not alone in these physical manifestations that Washington is the center of the art life of the American people. Here originate most of the new great works of public art that g0 to vitalize the cultural spirit of the nation. The American Federation of Arts is @ national clearing house of the in- fluences that make for the higher ad. vancement of the people. It brings together into an organic unit the men and women who are unselfishly and sacrificingly striving for the expres- sion of the highest thought through various forms. It enables them to re- port their progress, to note the needs of the country, to set forth their plans and projects for further advances, Art has become a civic necessity. City planning, so long neglected that our American municipalities became mere congeries of streets and build- ings without regulation or relation save in respect to congestion, has been made a matter of careful study, and many serious faults have been correct- ed. Broader visions have been grant- ed the people through persistent effort by those who see the actual need of wider spaces. Through the schools art is being shown and taught to the children. In the legislatures art is being enacted foto law. Debasing tendencies of mod- ern life are being met and checked in large measure by this infusion of higher influences. In this work the American Federation of Arts has been @ major influence, and Washing- ton welcomes it as it meets once more for its annual session to survey the country and report upon the progress that has been made toward the ideal of national life. —————————— Both national party conventions are expected to show Congress how fast statesmanship can work when an ap preciation of the value of time is aroused in each individual member of a great council. —————————————— French duels are usually harmless, vet they help to clear the atmosphere and suggest that it is better to have a discreetly conducted fight than to carry a grouch through life. A crime wave after & war is only a splash compared to the crime wave represented by the war itself. Potomac Power Rights. ‘The Attorney General has made a report to the House District commit- tee, now holding a hearing on the Potomac power hill, in which he gives it as his opinion that the federal gov- ernment has authority to acquire land at Great Falls and Little Falls and to develop eclectric power. There has never been doubt on the part of gov- ernment officers of the government's authority in this matter, but the ques- tion has been raised from time to time. Land on both sides of Great Falls and the gorge is privately owned, and Virginia and Maryland have chartered water rights to private com- panies. One of .the objects of the Potomac Improvement Company, chartered by Maryland and Virginia in 1784, was to build a manufacturing city on the Virginia side of Great Falls, and the states gave that company the right of using the river to turn water wheels. Mills were established, but when the charter of the Potomac Improvement Company was taken over by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company In 1823, the mills, having no other communication with the outer world than by bad roads, were abandoned. The Virginia Legislature on Febru- ary 4, 1839, granted a charter to the Great Falls Manufacturing Company to manufacture hemp, cotton, flax, ‘wool and other things at Great Falls, and it had the right to buy 3,000 acres ‘of land in one tract facing the river “for a distance not exceeding one and & balf miles.” The company assumed that riparian rights would give it the right to the water power, though the river was in the jurisdiction of Mary- land. That company did not engage in manufacture, was reorganized a number of times, was granted various charter extensions by Virginia snd kept title to land it had acquired. On April 2, 1895, it sold its lands and its rights to the Great Falls Power Com- pany, which was chartered by Vir- ginia March 3, 1894. Its charter au- thorized it to acquire, hold, improve and use water power at or near Great Falls, to construct dams, canals and hydraulic and auxiliary steam works, to generate and sell electric power and to do many other things. On April 6, 1894, the Maryland Legislature gave the company the same rights named in the Virginia charter, and also the right to run electric railways in Mont- gomery County and build transmis- sion lines for electric power to con- nect with manufacturing plants and railway lines in the District. The Potomac Electric Power Company succeeded to the charters of the Great Falls Power Company. The opinion has been given more than once by law officers of the gov- ernment that the United States could acquire any rights needed by it for the use of the water power of the Potomac. ———————— A Favored Convict. A proceeding before a New York commissioner of accounts relative to the degree to which a man convicted of crookedness in conducting a broker- age business served his term of im- prisonment is arousing keen interest in New York despite the distractions of politics. This broker was sentenced for an indeterminate term in the peni- teutiary upon pleading guilty to the charge of defrauding customers, who lost, it is believed, about $400,000. He was paroled after ninety days, but it s now charged that heactually served only a few hours in prison, having been granted liberty by special dis- pensation and the generosity of the warden. Witnesses have testified to seeing him in well known resorts in New York during the time he was supposed to be confined. The judge who sentenced him explains that he granted him only a few hours of lib- erty to enable him to arrange certain business matters. Evidently somebody became very kind, so that the actual imprisonment was a farce. Now it is proposed to re-indict this man and re- try him, and it he is again convicted, to resentence him, with assurances that his sentence will be carried into full effect. 1t is important that this case be followed through. A public feeling prevails that some of those convicted of crimes are not adequately punished and that the larger their means the less they suffer. Their resources en- able them to fight off conviction and final disposition of their cases, through appeals and protracted technicalities. They often gain pardons or paroles, | while offenders of less prominence, humble lawbreakers, are receiving the maximum terms allowed by the law, with no chance for remission. Partiality breeds contempt for the law. This New York broker, who was caught in a wicked swindle, which he confessed, should not be permitted to go so nearly free through favoritism or by means of influence or possibly corruption. Hylan Wants a Third Term. Mayor Hylan has caused a wrinkle to furrow Tammany’s brow by open- ing @ campeign for a third term as mayor. He wrote a letter to the heads of city departments which was taken to indicate the opening of a deter- mined drive for re-election to office. In it he commanded all officials to accept invitations to address the people of the city at meetings of district clubs, taxpayers and civic organizations. The officials are admonished that at these meetings the people must be “apprised of what we have done and are doing in their behalf,” and told of the fight against ‘“‘special interests” by the Hylan administration. The prospect of having to boost the mayor for a third term does not suit Tammany. Many Tammany men are holding office under Mayor Hylan, and will have to choose between support- ing his third-term ambitions or being violently separated from their jobs. A fight with the mayor would be de- plored by Tammany for another rea- son. It might complicate Gov. Alfred E. Smith’s presidential contest. Tam- many is trying to iron out possible and prospective wrinkles in the Smith campaign for the presidential nomina- tion. Mayor Hykan and Mr. Hearst are not very strong for the Smith candi- dacy, and are not particular if a few brickbats do fall in Gov. Smith’s back yard. e —— It is evidently the opinion of Gov. Pinchot that the public ought to know the worst about difficulty of Volstead enforcement as well as about the evils of intemperance. ————— The primary system enables the average citizen to take his mind off the hats in the ring and give undivid- ed attention to the exact date for don- ning his own summer straw. ——w——————— Even a world court might have its difficulty in compelling frank testi- mony by witnesses with interests in Jjeopardy. e, Virginia Rivers at Flood Height. Floods in our part of the country take a prominent place in the news. It is extraordinary that two floods have occurred in the Potomac Valley this spring, and it is unusual that sev- eral Virginia rivers are out of their banks. For years Potomac tributaries in West Virginia and western Mary- land have destroyed life and property, and South Branch of the Potomac and ‘Wills Creek have generally been bad actors in time of heavy rain or melt- ing snow. Flood-loss news comes from a number of places in Virginia. By late reports the Shenandoah has risen higher than at any other time in fifty years, and land that has not been flooded within the memory of most men is under water. At points along the course of the Shenandoah rafircad tracks are under water from two to six feet deep. Flood reports come from nearby places south and south- west of Washington. The Rappahan- nock, according to a late report, was twenty-five feet higher than normal at Fredericksburg, and it must be that above Fredericksburg the North Branch of the Rappahannock and the Rapidan are flowing over lowiands that bhave been believed safe from flood. Charlottesville sends reports that the Ravanna river is twenty-five | above normal, that a number of bridges have been washed away and that the electric light plant and other industrial plants were forced to stop work. It is likely that we shall have flood news from the Chickahominy, the Piankatank and other Virginia rivers not far from Washington. New Boulevard. Infoymation is given by the District surveyor that the extension of Massa chusetts avenue from its western end in the valley of Powder Mill Branch and Its conversion into an automobile drive may be carried forward as fast as road builders with the aid of public money can do the work. Massachu- setts avenue, passing through the site of Fort Gaines at the junction with Nebraska avenue, descends into the valley of Powder Mill Branch and crosses that valley to intersect West- ern avenue, which is planned as a boulevard along the west boundary of the District. The south end of West- ern avenue is at the Dalecarlia reser- voir reservation, and it leads north- east across the line of Massachusetts avenue and intersects the River road, ‘Wisconsin avenue and Connecticut avenue at Chevy Chase Circle. On the plat of the District Western avenue continues northeast from Chevy Chase Circle to Rock Creek Park. When put in condition for travel the Powder Mill Branch section of Massachusctts avenue and Western avenue will be one of the long fine links in Wash- ington's boulevard systemi. Near the reservoir Western avenue passes close to the sites and ruins of the civil war Forts Simmons, Mansfield, Sumner, Kirby and Cross and Batteries Bailey and Benson. It would be feasible to convert the land occupied by the group of old defenses into a public reservation. Western avenue, at its intersection with the River road, also crosses the site of Fort Bayard. The proposed additions to the Capital's boulevard system pass through a region of scenic charm and historic association. e Opponents of Sunday base ball in New Jersey prayed for rain, depend- ing on the churchgoers to face incon- venience for the sake of weather that would discourage pleasure-seekers. It is unfortunate that efforts at reform frequently fail to enhance the comfort of the innocent bystander, but, on the contrary, call for special sacrifices. ——————— It is estimated that from 10 to 15 per cent of the money paid in rent goes to the government in the form of taxes. A tax reduction will interest the tenant who eventually meets the item as well as the owner who makes the direct payment. e ———————— The privilege of silence is properly insisted on by J. P. Morgan. Under the circumstances he is one of the last men in the world from whom to ex- pect any offhand remarks that might encourage idle gossip. —————— Advice to buy next winter's coal without delay may be regarded as a tip that a bear market is not likely to assert itself in a way to benefit the consumer. ————————— One thing to be sald in favor of a bobbed-hair bandit is that she seems to be easier to catch and tame than the ordinary kind. — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Workfulness. Hi Hunkins through the neighborhood ‘Was rated as a shirk. Folks said he wasn't any good Because he wouldn’t work. A new machine Hi figured out ‘With a fantastic quirk. The only element of doubt ‘Was whether it would work. For politics Hi got in line. He toiled like any Turk. His theories were very fine— But none of 'em would work. ‘How smooth the yearswould hurry by, ‘With naught to jar or jerk, If Progress were not hindered by The things that will not work! Unkind Rumor. “Are you going to shake hands with all your constituents.” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum; “with much regret I have resolved to give up the custom. I devoted so much time to that genial pursuit that my enemies are beginning to insinu- ate that handshaking was the most of what I did to earn my salary.” Jud Tunkins says the farmer would be happy if cultivation coald be made as reliable in general agriculture as it is on the golf links. Social Saurian. A social “lizard’s” not so bad As is the predatory lad At heart an alligator—yet Ambitious to become & pet. A Logical Attitude. “Mrs. Flimgilt no longer speaks to old friends.” “They were rather gossipy friends,” said Miss Cayenne. *“She came to the not unreasonable conclusion that they would rather talk about her than to her.” . Art’s Gentle Influence. “What has become of those bad men that made Crimson Gulch fa- mous?” “They’Ve met their match” en- swered Cactus Joe. “The motion pic- ture director has got "em so they don't say hardly anything excep' ‘ves, sir,’ and ‘if you please.’” “In order to keep a man’s friend- ship,” said Uncle Eben, "it may be up to you ’casionally to let him *magine he's got you fooled 'bout a few little things.” Sadness for Radio Fan. From the Bostow Tramscript. A Norwegian scientist says a layer of nitrogen around the earth will make it impossible to communicate ‘with Mars by radio. This is sad news for the chap whose idea of fun is frantic effort to get the most distant station. Public Getting Weary. From the Birmingbam Age-Herald. There are unmistakable signs that the public is getting very tired of mud- g as a substitute for le- {ltl.mflo argument in political cem~ LAST DAYS AND. DEATH 2 OF THE RUSSIAN CZAR Removal From Tobolsk’s Mild BY F. A. MacKENZIE, Correspondence of The Star and Chicago Dally News. PART 1L MOSCOW, April 25.—The zik re- solved to put an end to the trouble by removing the Romanovs. It sent to Tobolsk an agent, Yakovlev by name, with orders to transfer the emperor and his family to the squth, some- where in the neighborhood of Ufa. Yakovlev arrived and at once took full charge. He turned a deaf ear to the Ekaterinburg men, and proceed- ed as though they did not exist. He placed special guards around Nich- olas to protect him and treated him with great courtesy. Then he an- nounced, to the despalr of the Ro- manovs, that they must make ready to_go. The Romanov family numbered scv- en. irst came Nicholas, himself. He apparently showed no overwhelming grief over his loss of the throne. He missed very much, however, his life in the open and his hunting. 'He talk- ed to his guards in friendly fashion. Tradition says that on onc occasion he remarked to Pankratov, looking out of the windows of his room: “How strange it seems that I, who once had all Russia, have now only this little bit of earth to look out on.” “Yes,” replied Pankratov. “And T for fifteen years 1 had only a little bit of sky to look out on in my cell in_Schlusselburg.” Nicholas never spoke to him again, it he could possibly avoid it. Misery, Humiliation for Empress. The empress, Alexandra Feodorov- na, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and descended from the German grand-ducal house of Hes different type. told about her that are utterly false, especially those coupling her name in a bad sense with that of Rasputin. But when her husband was emperor she was the evil genius. When he would have yielded to public opinfon, she prevented it. Religious, her re- ligion had sunk to superstition. Proud with all the haughty pride of the mi- nor German princelings, given to un- controllable gusts of passion, she could never passively submit to her fate. To her every hour after the throne had been lost was an hour of misery and shame. Her most unsclfish quality was her love for her son, the czarevitch. He had inherited a constitutional di ease of the Hesse family, a terri e weakening, exhausting complaint, that drained the l1i blood from him. Alexis Romanov was then fourteen Years old. Then there were the four daugh- | ters, Olga, aged twenty-three; Tati- ana, twenty-one; Marie, nineteen, and Anastasia, seventeen. Beautiful, graceful girls, in the glory of their young wi anhood, were the first three. Anastasia was different ph: sically, with an amazingly sturdy physique, like that of a young peas- ant woman. ‘When Yakovlev announced to the Romanovs that they must move the little czarevitch was at the height of one of N periodical attacks. To move him would be to kill him. Then Yakovlev delivered his ultimatum. The emperor must go, but some of the family might stay with the czare- vitch until he was able to travel. Prayers, tears, pleas were in vain to turn him from his decision. There was reason for the haste. Spring was coming on and the thaws would soon begin. If the emperor did not go at once he might have to stay for weeks, for the roads would be im- passable. Ekaterinburg men were pushing on their plans to seize the emperor and at any time might try force. The showed Ekaterinburg reds IN TODAY’S BY PAUL V. COLLINS The meeting of the American Fed- eration of Arts. which opens today in Washington is a compliment to the spirit of Americans. Its promise to use its good offices for the advance- ment of Senator Lodge's bill to have Congress to appropriate funds to erect a suitable national art gallery should come as a breath of ozone to revive the spirits of Congress after the gas attack of its many “investiga- tions™ of foul corruptions. It all be- tokens something higher and finer than sordid materiality in our be- loved country. There are “many men of many minds.” To the politician the im- portance of beauty, aside from mere usefulness, may appear negligible. Then too, there are “red-blooded” masculine men who consider art as too effeminate for their serious ap- preciation, forgetting that there are a hundred successful male artists to’ one woman. There are fussy folks, it is true, who boast of their broad appreciation of all sorts of art, from the architecture of a Lincoln Memorial to the pink and cream pret- tiness of amateur china painting, or even the chef d'oeuvre of the cook, or the “permanent wave” of the coi feure. “Art is long,” is a familiar quota- tion, indicating the weariness of the traveler in its wavs, but art also has another dimension which even Prof. Einstein may have difficulty in measuring. Art is also broad—it not only permits long traveling but breadth’ of comprehension. Art is deep—as deep as the human soul. Art is universal in its language, for the same principle makes art in the picture, the song, the statue, mon- ument or edifice, majestic prose or charming poem. It is beauty, true pro- portion, eternal fitness, x x % % Nobody has ever succeeded in defin- ing matter. We are told the qualities of matter. It is hard or soft; it is hot or eold; it is simple or conglomerate; it is bright or dull, tough or brittle, translucent or opaque. But these and others are its qualities—not its essen- tials. So while art may reproduce matore in appearance—its size and shape and textnre—that is not art. It is not art to deceive the vision, how- ever cleverly, though birds may peck at Phidias’ grapes. It is not art to daub colors where refinement seeks color, or to substitute noise for har- mony, or to print for some distract Hamilet “Words! Words! Words!” ‘when one’s soul seeks the beauty and inspiration of a true “message. How to the point was the retort of Turner to the lady who had protested that she had never seen in Nature the oloring he put on canvas: - = don't you wish you O T e apactiomcope of not the o 8% ereri"ia the understanding oF°the soul, and so_com sion of art is Dot physical sight of paint nor mathe- mu'inl of proportions. O all the stupid of art-ignoram- uses the most idotic is that familiar fession: OO, %‘x‘nuca_n-n eritle, but I know what I like.’ Let it be said in an astronomieal Ot not learned in star-gazing, 1'know what stars and orbits suit me.” Art criticism is only a little less destructive of art joy thsn the boast of art “Monsieur Meissonier, I have come to ask your views on modern art,” ex- D ot e maater: o ires * e 2t AT A%7 T kmow mothing about on Special Train. e, was of a| Many tales have been | Comfort—Flight Under Guard quite clearly that they distrusted Yakovlev, despito his mandate from Moscow. = They thought that he might ald the escape of the prisoners and so placed workman guards of their own across all roads, One group of workmen reached a Wllage and proudly told their errand. The em- peror might come that way. If he did they would arrest him. The peasants listened and then rushed upon the workers, disarmed them and threw them into prison, killing two as a les- son to the others. They still loved their “little father.” Reduced Party Takes the Road. There is no railroad to Tobolsk. The nearest station is Tiumen, nearly sixty miles to the southwest. The empress decided, after much hesita- tion and many tears, that she must accompany her husband. She would take with her one daughter, the Grand Duchess Marie, leaving the other three to care for their brother. The party drove out of Tobolsk In rough coun- try carts. The imperial suite was smaller now, consisting of the old family physician, Dr. Botkin; a valet. Chemudorov; a footman, Sednev, and a personal maid, An Demidova, called by the children Nuta. There was still another who ob ned per- mission to join the party, the elderly Prince Dolgurokov, a former officer of the guards and aide-de-camp to the emperor, who had come to Siberia to share his exile. Anna Demidova had been chosen be- cause the empress’ “fraulein”—maid of honor—was too old and feeble for the hardships ahead. Anna, a tall, fair stout woman over thirty years old, was an ordinary servant, but but rather aped the manners of her employers. She dressed as well as she 1d, laced very tightly and em- phasized all the empress’ haughtiness in dealing with the communist jailers. She did this so_successfully that the communists took her to be really one of the aristocracy and when they de- cided to kill the imperial family thought that they would better kill her, too, which they did. Trying to Dodge Ekaterinburg Reds. Yakovlev had with him a small de- tachment of red troops. A special train was waiting at Tiumen, and when the party reached there Yakov- lev produced his authority from the government, took possession of the telegraph office and proceeded to get into touch with Moscow. Learning that prepai ifons had been made to stop him Ekaterinburg, he re- solyed to strike eastward and made a big detour through Omsk, joining up with the southern—Ufa—line there. But spies of the Ekaterinburg council had followed the party from the moment it left Tobol They communicated with the Omsk work- ers, who sprang to arms. They sent word that they would blow up the train if it attempted to pass their way. Yakovlev again got on the wir to Moscow and was instructed to t to make his way back through Ekaterinburg It was evening before the train reached Ekaterinburg. There volun- teer drivers seized the engine and took it to station No. 2, where a body of armed workmen stood waiting. At their head were three men. The leader was Beelbodorov, president of | the Ural council, a workman between thirty and forty years old, an ex- treme and fanatical revolutionist Next to him was Didkovsky, a man of very different type, a scholar, who had pent some time in xile in Switzerland. Didkovsky left Ekaterin- burg shortly afterward and had no part in later developments there. Ho is now rector of Ekaterinburg uni- versity. The third of the lecaders was a workman named Abdiev, chosen to be the chief jailer. (To Be Continued Tomorrow.) SPOTLIGHT art. You must ask the art critics about art—not me,” came the jovial but ironic answer. *ox ok x There are art critics who pretend to diagnose or psychoanalyze the art diseases—foot and mouth—which are manifested in “cubist” canvases, like the “smears” by which a microscopist diagnoses “T. B.” or pneumonia. They study the splattered rainbow, and, squinting _learne; tell the heart- passion of the “Lady Descending a Ladder” or “An Epicurean at a Ban- quet” But who ever heard of a Meissonier or Murillo or Raphael afflicted with any of the symptoms of such “modern art?’ It's a disease—a boll weevil of the studio. Let not the “average man” despair of his failure to know art because unfa- miliar with such jargon. Art is the simplest language ever spoken. It is comprehensible to the savage or the child, if its subject relates to some ex- perience, dream or longing of the be- holder. Its soul language needs no learned interpreter, if spoken in pur- ity and beauty. Ban “anecdotal art” from the studio, but ban from the public View art fechnique lacking in soul. When it has no subject or thought for the beholder, all the technique in the world will not save its “tinkling brass and sounding cymbal’ —The art critic who lifts his eves to be- come an art highbrow while raving over the *chic technique” is a nui- sance who ought to be abated; he misses the real raison d'etre of art, the manifestation of true beauty in some of its manifold forms—nothing else. There is as_little relation be- tween the craft of technique and the splendor of a sunset or the pathos of sympathy with sorrow or the purity of the soul, as there is between the levers of a pipe organ, and its thrills, which, without words, send shivers up the spine and tears to the eyes. One is mechanism; the other art. One is Archimedes; the other Millet. One is a means to an end, the other is the goal. * X X ¥ The American Society of Fine Arts will use its influence to support the Lodge blll to create a suitable build- ing in which to house the National Gallery of Art. There is unquestion- able need of such a nucleus of art as a source of inspiration and “bu- reau of art standards.” One of the most famous artists of Washington, speaking with unquali- fied approval of a national gallery of fine art, characterized all galleries as “abominations,” except as they be- come centers of inspiration of the idea beautiful, which should pervade the entire city—the nation. The cluttering together of many pictures or statues, he said, destroys much of the beauty of all, by taking each out of its proper environment, atmosphere and lighting. Its spirit, its message is lost in a jargon of dis- harmony. It is like the discord of many symphonies played at once, each destroying the harmony of all the others. But as the polar star with which mariners are guided, so approved art in:galleries keeps art- ists upon the true course and reveals to the public's appreciation the pos- sibilities and desirability of beauty. From freaks and vagaries deliver us! The gallery, said the artist, is the focal point of beauty, in form, pro- portion, color and suitability to pur- pose, in all things, but its chief use- fulness is its inspiration of apprecia- tion of beauty wherever it exists, and true beauty nowhere exists except in harmony with all its environment and in tune with its purpose—the statuary with its foliage or rocky background and base, the canvas with its sur- roundings and atmosphere, the poem ‘with the mood of its reader. That explains why so many fail to enter the sense' of beauty in a ghl- lery, when harmonies—not alone of color, but of theme—jangle, dnd mes- sages. are in discord. Give us gal. leries that we may see beauty abroad in nature and in the habitations of all civilization. 4 (Oopuright, 1924, by Paul V. Collias.) Politics at Large BY N. 0. MESSENGER President Coolidge has all the poli- ticians guessing as to what he will do with the tax-reduction bill—sign it or veto it. The impression appears to be that he is inclined to veto it in its present form. There are two schools of thought as to possible ef- fect of a veto. One holds that the reasons he will give for disapproval of the measure will be so convincing in justification that the country will approve his course and commend him for his courage, The opposing view is that in no circumstances can he afford to veto a bill calling for substantial reduction of taxes. B The Democratic national committee is apparently expecting a veto and is preparing to throw the blame upon the President and the Republican party. In a current statement the committee says: “If the people who have been prom- ised tax reduction fail to receive it, the blame must rest solely upon the administration. The Democrats and progressive Republicans have provid- ed the plan which reduces the taxes of every taxpayer, large and small, on an_equitable basis which will yield adequate revenue.” * % % % Right there is where the economists and politicians split. The argument against the rates adopted by the Sen- ate Is that they will not produce ade- quate revenue and are not to the ad- vantage of the government. The Democratic politicians are pinning their faith to the theory that the plain people will not be able to figure out the fine-spun arguments of the cconomists, but will regard the cas only in its larger and practical as pect—that they do not get the re- ductions. *x % * The Democratic national committee in the same current statement dis- closes what is to be its line of at- tack on the administration and the Republican party. “The special in- terests behind the defunct Mellon plan are dying hard,” says the com- mittee. “These interests control the most powerful propaganda ever or- ganized in America. This propaganda represents organized wealth and every predatory interest in the coun- try. " The special interests in whose behalf this propaganda is put out re- ceived from the last Congress a re- duction in taxes of $515,000,000, while the average and small taxpayer re- ceived practically nothing. The Demo- cratic plan adopted by the Senate will | henefit every million and_ odd gle” one of the six income taxpavers, while the Mellon plan would have benefited substantially less than 10,000 Mellonites.” * x % ¥ Suggesting that there are intima- tions from the White House that the President will veto any tax reduction bill other than the Mellon bill the state- ment of the Democratic national com- mittee goes on to say that “this sim- ply means if the veto intimation Is carried out that over £,000,000 income taxpayers are to be denied equitable tax reductions because Jless than 10,000 taxpayers of the multi- millionaire class cannot have their higher surtax rate cut in half. * % % % Here is a new one in political organizations. It is composed of young women and is called ‘The League of Youth.” Umph; sounds good. Tts purpose is to capture the vote of the twenty-one-year-old girls of the nation. The movement has been organized by Mrs. Emily Newell Blair, vice chairman of the Demo- cratic national committee. Branches have been started in several colleges and universities by Mrs. William Atherton Du Puy, national organizer of the league. The girls forming the League of Youth are asked to pledge themselves to work for the party and to organize the young voters in their home towns while there on vacation. They will also be enrolled as campaign speak- ers. * * %k * A fine old row was raised between the wet and dry Republicans when Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler of Colum- bia University came out in advocacy of modification of the Volstead act. It will be remembered he said the Re- publicans stood in danger of losing eleven states unless they took an out- spoken liberal stand on prohibition. This has aroused another distin- guished collegian, Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president emeritus of Harvard University. Dr. Eliot said that com- plete prohibition enforcement is_in sight. He held that neither the Re- publican nor the Democratic party would dare adopt a_wet plank. Dr. Butler’s statement, Dr. Eliot contend- ed, would neither dishearten the drys nor bring reinforcement to the wets. * X X X The National Grange now takes a hand in the controversy. L. J. Taber, master of the National Grange, prophesies that if a wet plank goes into the Republican national plat- form that party cannot carry a single agricultural state in the nation. And there you are. Dr. Butler says the republicans may lose eleven of the industrial states if the law is not liberalized and Granger Taber says they will not have a look-in with the agricultural vote if it is done. Looks like hard lines for the Re- publicans. Somebody must be mis- taken in his prophecy. But, anyhow, the Republicans are going to shy at that wet plank like a mule at a white stump on a moonlit road. * ¥ X % Another storm signal is set for the Democratic national convention. Senator Underwood's managers are going to toss the Ku Klux Klan issue into the bear pit. They will ask for an anti-Elan plank in the Democratic national platform. Let the innocent bystanders look out as the bricks be- gin to fly. Anyhow, Semator Underwood has the courage of his convictions and would like to give the party a “shot” of the same brand. He has fought the Klan from the outset of his_cam- paign for the nomination, and though died by the “Kian, Do mead.housh e s head, thor bioody, is unbowed. - e * X ¥ x The first vice presidential nomina- tion contest has taken form with the opening of headquarters at Cleveland. Missouri puts forward Gov. Hyde of that state and National Committee- man Babler has gone to Cleveland to take command of the Hyde boomers, accompanied by the chairman of the Missouri state central committee and the next member of the national com- mittee. e argument presented in favor of Gov. Hyde is that Missouri is a close state and the presence of his name on the presidential ticket for second place would strengthen and bring out the Republican vote for the whole ticket. It is expected this fore- banded move of the Misseurians will be followed by the early presentation of other candidates. Gov. Hyde was recently indorsed by the Republican state convention. * k% X A presidential ticket has been placed in the field by a political or- ganization frankly advocating over- turning: the capitalistic: system by the ballot, if possible; by force, if necessary. Forty delegates tgm fif- v.m‘mn‘-‘ met T Hmork onday and formed the Socl -Labor.party. They adopted resotutions of sorrow over the death of Lenin of Russia. Q. How long has there been a the- ater on the site of the President Thea- ter on Pennsylvania avenue?—C. H. G. A. In 1861, under the management of 8. W. Glenn, the theater on the site of the President Theater today was known as Carousi's, His was the first theater on this site and the perform- ances were recognized as first class. Carousi was the owner of the prop- erty. It may be of interest to know that receipts are held by Mr. Anton Heitmuller of the Heitmuller Art Company showing that Joe Jefferson received $100 as his week's share of the performance in the Carousi The- ater. The other actors were paid from $8 to §18 a_week. The theater was rented at $20.83 a night, this amount heing paid nightly. After the time of Carousi it was known as the Theatre Comique. Then it was Ker- nan's theager. called the Lyceum. Jnder both of these names the bur- tue shows were glven. It changed ands later and was known as the Capitol, and afterward the President It was destroyed by fire on December 11, 1919, and afterward rebuilt as a fireproot building. Q. Is Gertrude Atherton a “miss’ or_“Mrs.” and what is her age?” —W. W. A. She is the daughter of Thomas and Gertrude Horn, and was born October 30, 1857. She is therefore in her sixty-seventh year. Miss Horn married George H. Bower Atherton, who is now dead. Q. Will one used to playing an up- right piano find it difficult to play on a grand?—A. G. N. A. The Etude says that from a per- former’s point of view there is prac- tically no_difference in_action be- tween an upright and a grand piano. Without any change in method, one can play with the same facility on the one as on the other. There is no difference in the use of the pedals. Q. What men's Bible class is the largest?—L. V. M. A. Louis_ Bliss, teacher of the vaughn Class of Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, which class has a membership of 600 men, says that the Taubman Class, which holds its rvices on the beach at Palm Beach, if., and which has an enrollment of 1,000 men, is probably the largest in the country. The First Baptist Church of Kansas City has a class of 750. Q. On_what day of the week are there the fewest steamship clear- ances?—A. G. A. There are fewer steamship and vessel clearances on Monday than any other day of the week except Sunday. Q. What bait is_used for catching sturgeon?—F. W. E. A. The bureau of fisheries says that sturgeon is caught by SNagRIng. It will not take any bait. Snagging done with a hook and line. A very heavy linen thread about one-eighth inch in diameter is used for the line. The hook should be very stout and from three to four inches in length. Q. I Would Let Child Work. Writer Says All Play Detrimental to Character Development. To the Editor of The Star: May I add a word supplementary to the talks over the radio during “Boys' week” regarding the child and his requirements? i Every one's idea considered with another's makes for continuity of action for the betterment of precon- ceived plans. That 1 do not agree with this idea of so much talk about play for boys and girls, over the age of ten, does not_mean that my ideas aren’t open to_discussion, but just the fact that I have been a child myself makes me able to review childhood. One should hesitate to dive into this subject without due thought; it i the thoughtless word of those grown into maturity which plants and nourishes the weeds of thought in the child, a condition none of us would, for a moment, desire from our own word or act, and yet we can trace in after life, where progress has been hampered, because of the unfortunate utterances of false con- cepts and misdirected kindness, even this idea of play. It is admitted that “all work and ne play makes Jack a dull boy,” but there is another maxim, “Satan finds some mischief still for 1idle hands (minds) to do,” and as true as Isaiah's “line apon line, line upon line and precept upon precept, pre- cept upon precept.’” This is such a full question, so vital to so many little ones, that great care and study should be given be- fore a decision and the active in- s should be “wise as ser- th it possible to estimate how It is a conceded fact that between the ages of ten apd sixteen years is, perhaps, the most vital period of any child’s life and a wholesome employ- ment, instead of idle hours, makes for character development at a time that never comes again into any life. 1 have seen children get tired of play and group together on the ground and sit for hours, and I cannot help but think that here is a pitfall yawning under our very eyes to draw in the child, the opportunity evil communi- cations is looking for, or they go home cross and ill natured, because the body is tired and fretted; so for conscience’ sake, let those who are interested in childhood look to it that all angles are studied, for the best good of the com- ing generations. Play is the very least, really, to con- sider; that is a by-product, as it were, and makes its own place. You find many anemic, frail children among the idle, and many grow up with distorted ideas of what life really means, and it is significant, if one stops to think it out. The children need real friends, not faddists. Do be the real friend and con- sider the future in planning for their happiness. Make them individuals with individuality, at the start, because they are going to fight it out on this line with self-will and rebellion, and between the ages of ten and sixteen. The world is not a playground, nor is life a joke, the idea doesn’t make them good citizens; it does make them selfish and inconsiderate of their neizh- bor; give them character first, what- ever happens, then the mental develop- ment will take care of itself, as surely as day follows night. 1 am_speaking, now, from the view- point that we have all been children, and who of us are without some qualms and anxiety for our own children, turned out on the vacant lot or stand- ing idly on the street corner, until 10 and after, at night I can look back upon the play hours, and I shudder now to think of the temptations, in conversation, in acts and in thought. At this age the liberty given to children is infinitely more vital be- cause of the many angles of .danger surrounding them and it seems un- fair to the child. Glve the young a chance, by moth- ers and fathers being in unison, then the child can’t throw out, “Ann or John's mother let them do thus and s0." thereby breaking down some good rule for the other mother and child. It is the home we want to look out for, to make it the center, where we can manifest a happy, alert sense of service; to teach, at the right time, protective thoughts for themselves and others. Can we do this if we turn our children loose on the vacant lot_from early morning until night? Children are sensitive beings, and they have a deeper nature than' they are given credit for. We should rec- ognize this, and treat them accord- ingly. Correct them in private, If necessary—it has a better result, and they retain their self-respect, and gains unrcbellious obedience and a Toftier understanding of each other. “Something to do” grows with the child if you make them understand that it is to be their experience in after life; it is training them to be better citizens, to be more considerate of others and teaches them that life is not a huge play hour. It will help them to play later on, because the early working experience has stablilized their character, and given them thought and discretion. L. D. WHITE. A long ago a forest e fire occurred’ A. The forest service says that underbrush that has sprung up. sirs the fire afid the amount of healip, that has occarred on the fire-scarreq trees woald indicate the time of e fire to an experienced woodsman. - Q. What is the i pointed start—F. Cope Of e I8t A. In heraldry an etght-pointed sta- 18 termed an entmig it Dok % Q. How many new paper dolia- bllls will it take to equaj the vexl:hé»' of & silver dollar?—C. R, S. A. Twenty new' dollar bills wi equal a silver dollar in weight, Q. Can a postmaster appoint h brother-in-law & clerk " in " th - office?—C. A. W. S A. The Post Office Department says that a postmaster may appoint hic brother-in-law as a clerk in his pos: office provided that not more than two members of his family are under tt« civil service. Q. Will damp cotton ke s fresh if packed with them".—nS,.hQ'.elr\' o A. On the contrary, cotton will ab sorb the moisture. Damp moss is used :;"many florists when shipping flow Q. Who was the first Gi eler in clay?—K. M. B. A. Butades of Greek to model in clay. runs that his daughter drew u wall the outline of her lover's sh upon which her father mode face of the young man. He the model along with the c that it was his trade to mak. was about 600 B.C. n the Q. What is the source of the gy tation “The poor shall be soid for a pair of shoes"?—H. C. A. o They sold the righteous for and the poor for a pair of 'S is found in the Bible—Amos second chapter, sixth verse Q. TIs 12 o'clock midnight consids ered 12 am. or 12 pm.?—B. H A. The Naval Observatory says that the proper designation for mig- night is 1 5 some shoes called A. Brogues were originally heavy coarse shoes, and took their nams from the Gaelic word ‘brog,” which meant a shoe. Q. Kindly say whether birds can smell.—J. K. A. While the sense of smeil in birds is not as completely developed as in reptiles or mammals, they do have a sense of smell (Readers of The Evening Star com pof the answer to any questson by address- ing Frederic J. Haskin, Director, The Star Information Burcau, 1220 Nowth | Capitol street. Write your question piain. Iy and }Jficflu. and inclose 2 cents n stamps for return postage. All are sent direct o the inguirery T Mr. Congress’ Chilly Little Boy AN ALLEGORY There was once a portly, pink-taced gentleman called Mr. Congress, who had a pale, thin, little son names Government Clerk. The large gen tleman had many good things to ea: and wore a big, thick coat to keep himself warm in the winter. Wher the little boy was young the winters/ were mild, and he did not need a heavy coat himself, so he did not envy his father's more comfortabl- clothing. But after a time the win ters gradually became very bitter Then the little fellow suffered from the keen, dcy winds, and the food which had been sufficient for him in the mild weather did not warm hi: blood, He saw his father buy himself « new fur coat, much heavier and warmer than the old one, and he asked him timidly if he too could not have a warmer coat; not a fur one, of .course, but just enough warmer to keep the chilly winds from shooting through him. But the father replied: “You don't need a heavy coat like T do. But I will give you some nice, comfortable mittens, called bonug mittens, and you can lay them agaipst one part of your body and then another, and that wiil be enough for you, my little son. It would not look well for you to have a fur coat. Peopls would say I am an extravagant father.” And so the little boy gratefully took the bonus mittens, dnd when the icy blasts came along he would take them off his hands and warm first one part of his body and then another with them. But he nevead could get warmed all over at the same time. Then one day & little lad next door named Germany, came to the fence and stuck out his tongue at litile G. C's father. That made the old gentleman angry, and he teok his cane and thrashed the lad, who slunk away grumbling and growling. The ~weather grew colder and colder, and plump Mr. Congress wrapped his fur coat tighter around his portly frame so that the bhitter winds did not strike him at all But little G. C. was miserable. He begged again and again for a warm cost fo himself, and said: “I am wearin: this old, thin garment that you gave me long before the winters ehanged in temperature. I don't see how I can stand it any more.” Bwt. the ther always replied: “But, my dear little son, you must recall héw warmly dressed you used 1o be in that over- coat when the winters were so mild. There were many little boys who didg not have nearly as warmsa one as yours.” The father did not &o on fo say that those same little boys w hose coats had not been as warm as (. C.'s In the mild winters all bought splgn- did warm ones when the cold wintérs came. And so little G. C. tricd. to remember those early days, when his jacket had really been too warm for One day the little lad next door, named Germany, came to the fence crying and whimpering that he was very ‘hungry. He begged Mr. Con- gress to give him some money for food. Little G. C. was frighiened for he thought his father would thrash Germany for his impudenge. But what did the plump gentieman do but draw out a fat wallet gnd ount out ten million pi for the little neighbort » oo °F MOpeY .G C. rushed forward and said Oh, father, please let me have same of that? T could get me such a warm Coat, with it and not have to press v bonus mitten: v ang lo{.‘ge r. S against my bpdy ut Mr. Congress pushed him away and said: “No, my little son. Think what a noble example we can se to this little lad. He will grow upfand have children and tell them what an T am and how f = g AndUhis children will sgeer stick out their tongues at me. This Tl be in the newspapers ail over e world, and evel the | ry one will praise “But, father, my bonus mittenssare not warm enough. I am sufferifig Mr. Congress grew very stern. It you don’t shut up I am afr T will_have to take away your g‘f’ tens from you. If they don't do any good there fs no Sense In lottige vou keep. them d so the little boy goes on, & atter day, laying his “mittens or against one col pal his body. and thon. anether mith never a hops of getting warm' st over at once, AR A ’