Evening Star Newspaper, May 25, 1924, Page 30

THE EVENING STAR, With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THEODORE W. NOYES. .. . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: ' 110 East i2nd Chicago Office: Tower Bullding. European Office: 16 Regent 5t., London, England. The Evening Btar, with the Sunday morning tion, 18 dellvered by earriers within the city A% 80 cents ner month: daily only. 45 cents per month; Sunday.only. 20 cents per month. Or- ders may bo sent by mail or telephone Main 000. "Collection Is made by carriers at the «nd of each month, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. and Sunday..1yr., $8.4 only 00 sunday only. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only /00; 1 mo., 60c Sunday only $3.00; 1 mo., 26¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to tie use for republication of all news patches credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and alto the local news pub- ifshed ‘herein. ~All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. ¥ Ayr., No “Patronage” Here! Tt is earnestly to be hoped that the President will be deaf to an appeal made to him by Republican members uf Congress to request or suggest to the Commissioners the appointment of a Republican from Ohio to the post = collector of taxes for the District of Columbia, Should this request be Jieeded by the President and by the ‘ommissioners in response to intima- tions from the White House a worthy and efficient official of the District will e displaced, not because of any fault iy office, mot for any lack of ability, 14t simply to make room for a politi- al appointee as a measure of patron- age. ‘The District has suffered in the past »m having its municipal offices made Pawns of patronage. On numerous oc- casions pressure has been brought to Bear upon the Commissioners for such appointments, and in some instanoes they have yielded. Strictly local offices Jhave been filled, too, by presidential Wppointments of people from outside ef the District without any gain to the municipal services, and, in fact, to its detriment. The fact that such appointments have been made in the past does not warrant continuation, does not justify wuny further departure from what should be the rule of intrusting these duties to Washingtonians who are qualified by experience or by special eptitudes. The District government is efficiently administered, largely by reason of the fact that the municipal organization is based upon merit and continuity of service. The collector of taxes, appointed to that position over ten years ago after a long service as deputy collector, 1s a Washingtonian. He is thoroughly familiar with the work. He has discharged his dutles Without slip or fault. The fact that he was of a Democratic persuasion is of Mo moment in the face of his record, and should not be the cause of his dis- placement to make room for a place- seeker of the opposite political faith. This is not a personal matter, not & question of the collector's own for- tunes. It affects the broad question of the District's welfare. If Washing- ton's municipal organization is to be used for partlsan patronage it will be weakened. Washingtonlans have but few chances for service with the government. They are barred, in ef- fect, from departmental appointments through the illogical apportionment to offices law, and if the present move 1s successful and is followed by others, naturally induced by that success, they may be barred even from particl- pation in their own municipal govern- ment. These considerations should appeal to the President to cause him to an- swer negatively the request for @ par- tisan appointment in displacement of an efficient District man. ———— One of the questions to be con- sidered in preparing a convention ad- dress is how far back the publlc is likely to follow with interest it the =peaker strikes a reminiscent vein. - Expert observation discloses the fact that shortage of oil is not the enly deficiency that the Navy of the future will have to take under con- sAderation. ————— The boom for Von Tirpitz in Ger- many may warrant the French poli- ticians in politely inquiring, “Who is militaristic now?" Will La Follette Take the Field? Indications appear that out in the ‘west it is expected that Robert M. La Follette will take the field next summer as the candidate for Presi- dent of a third party, not a definitely organized party, but just a grouping without specific form of the dis- sentient voters. It is not expected that he will be able to carry enough states, in that role, to win the elec- tion. But the idea seems to be that he will carry a few states west of the Mississippi, and that the electoral votes of these will suffice to prevent the election of Mr. Coolidge, possibly to prevent any election at all, throw- ing the choice into the House of Rep- resentatives, where there is certain to be a deadlock in the vote by state delegations. Tt is stated that Senator La Follette will soon make an ‘announcement de- fining his position. He is recovering from en indisposition, and will shortly take his place in the Senate to fight to the fall of the gavel for certain measures. His words, spoken or writ. ten, will be followed with interest. This does not mean that he is rated zenerally as capable of making a blockading race for the presidency, but at least his presence in the race would be a factor of some importance. A third-party candidacy without a party would be no absolute novelty in American politics. Candidates have heretofore appeared ‘“‘on their own.” Of course, there is always some sort of organization behind such individual aspirants, for under the Constitution no man Is voted for directly by the people for the presidency. Electors must be named, and these receive the, votes. So the moment a man declarea ‘himself for this office he must arrange for the presentation of his ‘electoral | RRAxIes. oL SREDIOUL0 1 ’ where he proposes to conduct & cam- paign. They must be listed in time to get their names on the ballots. This means some degree of organization, and organization means a party, after all. It Mr. La Follette decides to run as an independent candidate he must create & machine of nomination. He must create a party, in effect. He must present himself as desirous of clection, not merely as desirous of preventing an election. For if he ap- peals only to a certain section, which comprises a small minority of the elec- toral votes, ho obviously seeks not the election of himself, but the defeat of somebody else. Will the voters con- tent themselves with casting merely negative ballots, knowing that the ef- fect of thelr votes, if availing in their states, would be to precipitate a dead- lock in the electoral college and in the House of Representatives? ‘Those questions are doubtless at this time passing through Mr. La Fol- lette's mind. His answer to them, it uppears, will shortly be heard. —_—————————— To Broadcast the Constitution. It has been estimated that the essay orations on the Constitution of the million school children who have taken part in the country-wide oratori- cal contest have been heard In vil- lages, towns and citles in the various stages of the competition by no less than 12,000,000 people. Thus the sig- nificance of the Constitution, its real meaning, its bearing upon the people of this country, have been brought directly into the hearing of more than one-tenth of the population of the United States. Now it is planned to spread this word before other millions. It is pro- posed to broadcast the proceedings at the final session of the oratorical con- test on the evening of June 6. Ar- rangements are now being made whereby all of the words spoken on that occasion, including the seven ora- tions of the competing finalists repre- senting the six grand divisions of the country and the District of Columbia, will be sent forth to many millions, ‘This will be a fitting and appropri- ate spread of words that are certain to be helpful to the people of this country. This competition was started as a means of stimulating the study of the Constitution by th$ young peo- ple of America. As stated, 1,000,000 of them have taken part directly. Doubt- less their parents have been interest- ed, and perhaps many others. In every part of the United States the Constitu- tion has during the past six months been a subject of study and discus- sion and analysis through the en- deavors of these school pupils to win in their respective districts in their states and in their grand divisions. No estimate can be made of the value of this stimulus to wholesome patriotic thought, this work in con- structive citizenship. The students themselves have gained from it a di- rect and intimate knowledge of the Constitution. They have learned that it is a bill of rights, so to speak, a measure of liberty rather than a meas- ure of restriction. They have become familiar with the organic structure of the government. They will never for- get this lesson. ‘Washington is privileged to stand on an equal basis in the finals with groups of states, great areas compris- ing many millions of people. Its rep- resentative's voice will, with the others, be broadcast on the evenjng of the 6th of June. ——————— Street Trees. The report of the superintendent of trees and parking shows a net loss of 200 street trees for the year, notwith- standing the spread of the city. Avall- able funds allowed the planting of 1,100 trees, but since July, 1923, 1,300 died from disease or accident or were destroyed because of bullding operations. The moral is that more money must be spent for street trees if Washington is to retain its em- fnence in this respect. The practice of planting trees along streets was begun in Washington during the first administration of President Jefferson, when four rows of Lombardy poplars were planted in Pennsylvania avenue, dividing it into three roadways. Those trees stood un- til 1832. The city government in 1803 passed an ordinance for the pro- tection of public trees, and in 1816 it passed an ordinance for the annual appropriation of a small sum to care for and replant trees along streets and in the public squares. In 1820 was passed a local ordinance to en- courage property owners to plant trees in the parking along the foot- ways of streets. In 1871 began the real work of set- ting out trees along the streets. In that year the board of public works appointed William Saunders of the Department of Agriculture, William R. Smith, superintendent of the Bo- tanic Garden, and John Saul, the nurseryman, as a commission to carry on the work. This was the celebrated parking commission of the territorial government. During the intervening years we have had a parking commission or a superin- tendent of trees and parking, with public tree nurseries and a force for caring and planting trees. Hopes appear to be entertained by friends of Harry Daugherty that the Montana jury will undertake to veto the emphatic congressional exonera- tion of Senator Wheeler. E et — A new form of pitiless publicity is now suggested in connection with in- come tax returns. A few people would define it not merely as pitiless, but as cruel and unususl. Architects and Washington, The American Institute of Archi- tects at its recent convention gave considerable time to discuesion of matters concerning Washington. The institute has its permanent home here in one of our historic buildings, the Octagon House, and many members of the institute know Washington well. The institute expressed itself as favoring the further development of ‘Washington according to & harmont- ous plan supervised by a commission of competent men. It was said that ‘Washington is being extended: over large greas.githous-adyice from, agehl- tects, landscaps architects or city- planning engineers, The development of Washington 1s remarkable in a material way, but there are things which citizens and other Americans interested in the Capital criticize. It was not until 1888 that Congress passed a law requiring that future subdivisions of property within the limits of Washington and Georgetown “shall conform to the general plan of the city of Washing- ton.” Our Zoning Commission was created only a few years ago, and it is working for the protection of vari- ous parts of the city against the set- ting up of bulldings which the resi- dents of those sections would consider out of place. In the matter of government archi- tecture a number of national buildings out of harmony with the earlier monu- mental architecture have been set up, and in choosing their gites the govern- ment has acted out of line with the McMillan plan of 1900, the designs of the Burnham - Olmsted - McKim - Saint Gaudens commission and the advice of the' Fine Arts Commission. Not much has been done in the way of regulat- ing private architecture. Our butlding regulations have been revised and im- proved from time to time, but builders and architects are almost under no government restraint as to the style or architectural appearance of the houses they put up. The Senate has passed the bill to create a commission to develop and extend the park and playground sys- tems of the Capital, and the bill has been favorably reported by the House District committee. The object of the measure is to give the Capital ade- quate park and playground space and to preserve natural scenery and con- serve stream flow and forest near Washington. That bill was drafted largely through efforts of the Ameri- can Clvic Association. We are making progress in Capital building, and for that we may be thankful. —_————— A government to be known as the “Commonwealth of the Philippines" is suggested by Senator Hiram Johnson. His status as a favorite son is likely to extend westward to include some of the nation's insular territory. —————— Dr. Muck is having difficulty in re- cruiting enough musiclans for his Beyreuth festival, even though they will be expected to specialize on ‘Wagner, with no one required to play “The Star Spangled Banner.” e ——r———— In spite of much promising debate the individual faces the government's quarterly reminder that the only way for the individual to settle his tax problems is to pay the taxes. ——————— In planning a world court the con- sideration of methods for punishing possible contempts of court should be recognized as a slight but not unim- portant detall. ————————— If the present American enthusiasm for outdoor life continues, the high- ways will need widening to accom- modate the automobiles en route for golt courses. ————— A number of Democratic leaders make bold to assert that the primaries do not settle matters as definitely for their organization as for the G. O. P. el A detective who is liable to have personal effects stolen should take memory culture and never depend on a diary. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Autocracy. If I were the monarch of all I sur- vey— Not alone on an island so small— But With courtiers to hark to my words and obey And vassals to fight at my call, ‘What changes in human affairs we would find In the pace we would speedily strike! T'd promote what ‘appeals to my own frome of mind And abolish the things I dislike, “If you were the monarch of all you survey,” Came a voice through Time's cor- ridors vast, “The chances are strong you would g0 the same way That monarchs have gone in the past. You would find that your words were disputed each hour By menials to influence grown, ‘While mischievous persons played pranks with your pow'r By putting bent pine on the throne!"" Not Crowding. “Will you attend the national con- Vention?" “No,” declared Senator Sorghum. “I never shirk a duty. But there is %0 much talent on hand at a conven- tion that 2 man can mebbe show his best patriotism by letting business proceed and not getting in the way."” Jud Tunkins says the only way to get his family to love their home is to put some kind of machinery in it that'll make it sound like the wide, wide world. Pleasure Trip. She i going to Paris for pleasurs. She says, as a matter of course, She is hopeful of bliss beyond meas- ure. She is going to get a divorce. Only Natural. “Your boy Josh says he's going to town to seek employment.” “Yep,” answered Farmer Corntos sel, “I don’t blame him. Everybody feels occasionally like gittin' away an’ lookin’ fur work ’stid o' stayin’ where he knows it'll be waitin® fur him regu- “Was the concert the money's worth?” “No,” declared Miss Cayenne. “The leader of that orchestra is what I'a call & jazz bandit.” “‘Contented folks,” sald Uncle Eben, s Hable not to be very industrious. I has seen only ene men today dat ‘was pufficly satisfied an' he was fast - Awakening of Stay-at-Home Voters Feared by Marshall BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Vice Preaident of the United States. Great is democracy and the pref- erential primary is {ts high priest, Once every two years it enters the holy of holles, offers up sacrifices for the sins of representative govern- ment and sends its scapegoat into the wilderness. 'We have been passing through this religlous ceremony in the several states and we have again auite definitely and positively estab- lished the fact that the people do rule. But there is an aftermath to the situation that is worth consid- ering. The theory of the primary was that the people had no chance to nominate the right kind of men for office under the convention system. It was pro- claimed by those who seemed afrald that the liberties of the people were being wrested from them by design- ing men that all of us must be given an opportunity to express our choice. In this way the free and full opinion of the people would be voiced. I venture to say that in no cam- Dll%n in recent vears has the Re- publican party felt more keenly the necessity of arousing its members to enthusiasm or have Democrats been more convinced that the omens were propltious for the success of their party. ~ Because of the Democratic assault and the stubborn Republican defense one naturally might assume that the people would be aggressive, eager, enthusiastic over exerclsing their right which the primary pro- tected against the boss in politics, The record is not complete, but suf- ficlent to demonstrate the fact that only a small percentage of the voting population had enough interest in the outcome to g0 to the polls. The re- jolcing of politiclans over the suc- cess of their candidates was really over pluralities of a minority. * ok ok ok In the presidential campaign of 1920 not more than one-half the qual- ifled voters of the country cast their ballots. Two years later the highest Vvote cast for a candidate for United States senator was 33 per cent of the total number of electors of his state. ‘These distressing facts cause me to make inquiries in the course of my wanderings about the United States concerning the attitude of the people toward their office holders. T wasted no time on those who make politics a profession. Man after man frankly admitted that they no longer went to the primary, giving as their reasons that there was no way in which they could learn anything about the candidates, Responsibility rested upon ne one for the nominations, they sald, which fact made participation merely a gamble. Man after man also admitted that they no longer voted in the gen- eral elections. T gathered that they COMMUNITY BETTERMENT BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Data are being compiled to show the progress that has beep made In the community betterment work un- der the direction of the federal coun- ¢il of citizenship training, which was created by Prestdent Harding ten months before his death. The report is in preparation and will be pub- lished in the near future, after it has been formally approved by the coun- cil of which J. J. Tigert, commissioner of education, is chairman, and Maj. C. R. Mann of the War Department secretary. It will be shown that more than half the states are actively interested in the work, and that the movement gives promise of attaining the. pro- portions of a natlon-wide drive. An immediate, tangible result, it is said, may be a large increase in the num- ber of votes cast at the November elections, for the duty to vote is be- ing emphasized as one of the first obligations of good citizens. President Harding created the coun- cil, it was announced, “to makg con- structive suggestions as to how the federal offices may co-operate to se- cure more effective citizenship train- ing, both in their own work and in co-operation with all other public and private agencles throughout country.” One ‘of the first things it did was to prepare & chart showing the activi- ties of all the federal offices with respect to citizenship training and the relation of various governmental bureaus to various groups of the pop- ulation. Next it prepared a ‘“‘commu- nity scorc card,” setting up general standards by which any community can make a survey of itself and as- certain how it stands in the matter of good citizenship and the promotion of the public welfare. This score card is merely suggestive and com- munities that take up the work are urged to modify it whenever it may be found desirable so to do. The need of such surveys, as explained by the council, lies in the fact that citi- zens generally have indistinct and inadequate knowledge regarding many things which affect the life and welfare of their communities and make for either good or bad citizen- ship. Prestdent Coolidge’s Appeal. The council has no authority to im- pose anything upon Individuals or communities, and whatever is done must come about through the efforts of voluntary organizations that now exist or may be formed in any com- munity for this special purpose. It was explained that no attempt was made to define the term “community" or to limit the size of the community to which the score card may be ap- plied, but that it might be applied to a rural or urban school system, to a small local community, township, city, county, congressional district, state, or even larger unit, as might seem’ desirable or feasible in any given case. To .glve the movement its second- ary impetus, President Coolldge last October addressed & letter to the gov- ernors of all the states, in which he appealed to them to co-operate with the “federal council. Te suggested that each governor appoint a state committee, similar to the national body, which should set up community standards for the state and work in an advisory way with clvic organiza- tions in all local communities that might be interested. o date favorable responses have been received from some twenty-five states. Wisconsin is sald to have taken up the work most aggressively and to have gone farther with it than ny other state. A commission has been named there that has worked out a score card especially adapted to urban groups and a ‘‘better cities contest” has been started, with sub- stantial prizes for the smaller city and the larger city that makes the best showing. This contest will be opened in June and will run for the eriod of one year. As yet it is not nown How many cities will enter the competition, but the Interest manifested indicates that the spirit of rivalry is keen throughout the state. How to Score a Community. Making & survey of a community, or scoring it, is done by some exisi ing organisation, such as a chamber of commerce, or by & committee cre- ated by the people interested in the project. The federal council suggests only that there should be enough peo- ple engaged in the work to make it thorough and not burdensome to the lndl'ldflll worker, and that the un- iven the widest possi- ble publ that eyery person in the community will know what is go- Ilfl..klnr'l?- city had come to regard office seeking and office holding as a greatly advertised business. They denied that contests are waged over a political question or a theory of government. They seemed to belleve that elections were battles between politiclans with suc- cess dependent unon billboards, news- paper advertising and lighographs tacked on telephone and telegraph poles. As they had no knowledge and no means of learning whether the falry tales about the candidates were true, or the attacks on them were false, they were unwilling to bother themselves. How far this view has permeated the 50 per cent of our voters who stay at home ction day 1 am unable to say, but there is some reason why they do not cast their ballots, 3 * Kk ok X All this was sorrowful enough be- fore the recent disclosures in Wash- ington made it worse. There is, of course, a universal condemnation of crookedness in high places the hopeful sign. But with the con- demnation goes the opinion that it is impossible for the average man to ascertain who Is honest and who is dishonest. There is a fear that mod- ern polities may have reached a low point in morals. The danger is that the 50 per cent who do not vote may suddenly come to life, band them- selves together, and set out not only to throw out dishonest officials, but to destroy. the system under which they got ‘In, on the theory that the system 1s really responsible. In view of the general difference, one query which arises is whether the people are as anxious to pick out thelr canididates ey the protagonists of the primary theory said they avould be. Perhaps their failure to vote is traceable to a condition of mind in which 1 found mygelf. Believing it to be the duty of the citizen who has been given the privilege of vot- ing to discharge that duty, I rode all night in order to reach Indlan- apolls on primary day. 1 was pre- sented with a ballot that contained %0 many names, the owners of which 1 had never seen nor even heard of, that I was simply aghast. I desired to do my duty, but faced this ques- tion: “Shall I vote blindly for some one I don't know, or shall I fail to vote?" In the end I voted only for such of the candidates as I knew. * ok ok K Did the people who voted in the primaries that have just been held know for whom and for what they were voting? I hope they did, but T doubt it. I fear me that one-half the people pay no attention to the making of nominations and that one- half of those who participate in the primaries_know nothing concerning the qualifications of the candidates who offer themselves for office. 1 feel that in the end the Warwicks who always have stood behind the throne, will make the kings who rule nationally and locally. (Copyright, 1924, by 2ist Century Press.) arranged under five heads: development, health and ph velopment, 'vocational dev g patriotic development and social and moral development. To each of these divisions a maximum score of 100 oints is assigned. making a possible | tal Tating of 500. | Such of the divisions Is subdivided | and assigned a maximum score. For | instance, under mental development, | literacy of popuiation has a maxi- mum score of 15, provisions for el mentary and secondary schools, 46 school " attendance, 30, and public library, 9. Again, under patriotic | development, preparation for exercise of the franchise may be scored up to 40 points, while exercise of the fran- chise Is allotted 60 points as a maxi- mum. Thus greater importance ix attached to the actual voting than to the preparation for intelligent voting. Preparation for the exercise of the franchise is ascertalned by the ques- tionnaire: “Are issues of the elec- tion discussed by pupils in vour schools? Are school children taught a sense of the moral obligation to vote? What percentage of the fo eign-born inhabitants eligible for naturalization are naturalized? Are enough cldsses conducted to teach all applicants for naturalization, both English and the responsibilities of citizenship? Is a ceremony provided when inducting all applicants into citizenship?” Exercise of the franchise is deter- mined upon the basis of the per- centage of the legally qualified voters who register, who vote in the pri- maries and who vote in the final electionc. Once a community has diagnosed or chartered itself it will know, pre- sumably, wherein it is deficient and what should be done about it. President Harding, in his last dis- cussion of the subject, said that the broad, general objective of every community should be the American ideals set forth in the preamble to the federal Constitution—"to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the bless- ings of liberty.” “The nation at its best will not be better than the aggregate of all its citizenship,” sald President Harding. “We need to find a commanding and dominating national intsrest, and I belfeve it would be found if we could contrive to set before all the people the full meaning and implication of that simple statement about the aims and purposes of our. government, which is found in the preamble of the Constitution." State and City Named Washington Deplored To the Editor of The Star: I have not had an opportunity to become familiar with the merits or demerits of the resolution which Mr. Johnson of the State of Washington has in charge in the House, to have the name of Mount Rainier offisially changed to Mount Tacoma, but while on the subject of changing geogra- phical names in the far northwest I want to call attention to the confu- sion and blur which naturally arises in the public mind from having a prominent city — which is also the Capital of the nation—on the Atlantic seaboard named Washington and a state of the same name on the Paciftc coast—the same as would be the case if the state of New York were on the Pacific coast and the great city of New York on the Atlantic. Perhaps Seattle and Tacoma might be able to compromise on the dispute now going on between them over the name of the mountain, by permitting the great mountain to be known as Tacoma and the state to become known as the State of Seattle, or vice lin Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Representative Jeremiah E. 0'Con- nell has just been re-elected presi- dent of the Providence County Ken- nel Club for the fifth consecutive term. This club puts on a big show each year, second only to the one held in Boston. Mr. O'Connell is the owner of Rose- mere Kennels, Jicensed under the American Kennel Club rules. He has been breeding collies, Pekingese, Eng- lish bulldogs and Boston terriers for elght years, and has been an exhib- itor for gix years. He 18 well known as a judge of col- lles, holding a judge's license in the American Kennel Club. He judged collies at the last Washington dog show and has accepted judging en- gagements in New England during the coming summer, including one at Brookline, Mass, June 17. Last summer he was asked to judge almost every show In New England. This is a handicap, because it eliminates him from showing his own dogs. His eighty-acre farm, Rosemere, is eighteen miles from Providence. He has won more than 500 first prizes with his dogs, practically all of which he bred himself. Mr. O'Connell owned and bred Champien Rosemere Rambler, one of the best known collies In the east, who was made a champion at the age of seventeen months, and who_died suddenly several weeks ago. There was only one other male champion in New England at the time, and Cham- pion Rosemere Rambler beat some of the best dogs in America for the title. Mr. O'Connell still owns the cham- pion's mother, Rosemere Tesseldra, Who is almost through her cham- plonship, which he expects to win this summer. While Mr. O'Connell has bred Pe- kingese, English bulldogs and Boston terriers, he likes collies best, specializes on that bre: declares are ““most intelligent and affectionate.” * ok ok The radio public and the newspaper public are quite famillar with the fact that President Coolidge recently sent out a successful aerial S. 0. S. to recover the missing White House cat, The public has also been quite gen- erally informed regarding the fact that Mr. Coolidge was presented with a white collie. But up until now the public has not been let in on the secret that the | President’s favorite pets just now are ten mongrel cottontails. Somehow or other, an old she rabbit got Into the White House grounds. It probably escaped from some Easter egg roller. The President was much interested in it. The next day his interest was multiplied, for it was found.that over night nine little cottontails had come into existence, . The President, who, as 1s well known, hus a very conservative dis- position and usually preserves an un- ruffted mien, t much excited and p discusse i rangements for a hutch for the little tamily. The other day he was out walking with @ secret service man and talks ing, 'K\:h h in If is quite unusual for’ “Silent Cal,” who is accustomed to doing his walking in thoughtful silence, ‘with the secret service men tratling. But on this particular day he was quite chatty about his new pets. Finally the secret service man =aid: “To tell you the truth, Mr. President, T haven't seen the rabbits.” M es lent Coolidge stopped abrupt- ¥, “What, you haven't seen my rab- bits? Turning back, the President said, ome, we will go and look at them right now.” Thus the Presi- dent’s constitutional walk was aban- doned and he took his recreation in playing with the little cottontails. * k% * Members of the House during the last couple of days have been exam- Ining with interest two large ele- phant's tusks and a number of pho- tographs which have been displayed the Writing room just off the Speaker's lobby. These are trophfes of Representative George Holden Tinkham's hunting trip last summer. The two elephant’s tusks weigh 122 pounds, and they are six feet ten inches long. This elephant was shot on Sep- tember 23, 1823, near Kenya Moun- tain, Kenya Colony, formerly British East Africa, fifteen miles north of the equator and 250 miles south of the Abyssinian border. The pictures show Representative Tinkham with other trophies of the hunt, including lions, rhinoceros, leopards, hippopotamus and jackals. Representative Tinkham had pre- viously given a notable demonstra- tion with firearms. The Congressional Directory gives him credit for being “the first "American to fire a shot against the Austrians after the decla- ration of of war by the United States egalnst Austria, at Capo d'Argine, on the Plave River, December 11, 1917. The title of ‘Chevalier della Corona d'Italia’ was conferred upon him by the King of Ttaly. This title he has not accepted because of the provision of the Constitution that no person holding any office of profit or trust shall without the consent of Congress accept any title from any king or foreign state. The letters patent and insignia of the title are in the pos- session of the Department of State.” * ok % K While the proposal of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution for action by Congress which would give the Natlonal Capital a distinctive flag was under discussion, Represent- ative Thomas L. Blanton of Texas made a casual remark that his state had been under seven flags—French, Spanish, Mexican, Texas Republic, Confederate, United States and its own state flag. The first settlement in Texas was made at Matagorda by the French, who in 1600 were expelled by the Spanfards. 14 afterward became one of the states of the Mexican Confed- eration. In 1821, when Mexico threw off the Spanish yoke, Texas and Coa- huila constituted a state of the re- public. It was'shortly after this that the first American colonists were per- mitted to enter the territory under government patronage. Within ten years over 20,000 had settled between the Sabine and the Colorado. In 1830 the Mexican government placed them under military rule, from which, with accompanying impositions, originated the war of Texas independence. The Anglo-Americans were_assisted by volunteers from the United States, and the war was terminated by the defeat of the Mexicans under Gen. Santa Ana at San Jacinto, where he was taken prisoner by Gen. Houston, April 21, 1836. From 1837 to 1345 Texas was an in- dependent republic. ‘1t was admitted to the United States on December 29, 1845, in_spite of the protests of Mex- ico, and a war with that country en- once versa, for I believe that it would be far better if the State of Washington possessed some name more descrip- tive, distinctive, original and indige- nous to that particular section of the country, as would be the case were it known as the “State of Tacoma” “State of Seattle,” “State of Spokane," “State of Columbia,” “State of Cas- cadia,” etc., etc. As it is, I belleve it works to the detriment of the State of Washington to possess the same name as the na- tion’s Capital, with the result that it is robbed of a distinct individuality, which it is entitled to possess, the same as Alaska, Oregon, California, Colorado, etc., for nine times out of ten when the name Washington is mentioned one will think of the na- tion’s Capital, and this will but in- crease with the passing of time as the Capital of the United States galns in population, wealth, etc., and the re- public likewise increases in power and prestige throughout the world. JAMES CLEVELAND LONGSTRERT, sued. The new state sold to_the United States government for $10,- 000,000 all the territory west and north of the present boundaries be- tween the headwaters of the Rio Grande and the Arkans: but it re- served the control and disposal of the public lands within its borders, which have proved a magnificent source of revenue, and also the right to divide into five states should future growt! and development justify it. By a small majority the state se- ceded from the Union in 1861 and was the last to submit, being under mili- tary control for 'several years. In 1868 a new constitution was adopted and Texas was restored to the Union in 1870. Texas is the largest in area of all sta‘es in the Union—265,780 square miles, or approximately 9 per cent of the entire area of the United States. The state capitol at Austin, finished in 1888, was second in size to the Capitol at Weshington, in the United States, and the seventh largest build- 4 MEN AND AFFAIRS BY ROBERT T. SMALL Flivver owners who have bemoaned the fact that Henry Ford will not “doll-up” his automobiles so as to giveé them the “flash” of other cars, should see some of Uncle Henry’ steam engines. The locomotives of Mr. Ford's personally owned and con- ducted railroad, the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton, are just about the class- fest things ever seen on two steel rails. As a matter of fact they are the sport model Rolls-Royces of the rallroad world. It was the good fortune of the writer to gaze upon two of .them at Springfield, Ohlo, recently. One was a dream in nickel plate, the other was a vision in brass. Both of them glinted and scintillated in the sun. They stood out in regal splendor among sordid box cars, coal cars and cabooses. It was hard to believe they could belong to a railroad which devotes itself almost exclusively to freight and has but one local pas- senger train in each direction every ay. The nickel-plated wonder had all the “flash” that the most devoted fol- lower of the new art could desire. Nickel-plated headlight, nickel-plated cylinder heads, nickel-plated bell, nickel-plated boller bands, great nickel-plated embossed monogram of “D. T. & L" on the tender, nickel- plated hand rails and the steel tires of the eight driving wheels painted a glittering white. All of this dolling- up applied to the other locomotive, brass taking the place of nickel. Just what Uncle Henry has in mind by lavishing all this attention upon his locomotives, no one can say. But somewhere back in the master mind there must be a reason. * ok kK It's a swell thing for a newspaper correspondent to go to swell places where he can meet swell people Take the Kentucky Derby, for in- stance. At the cloge of Derby day the writer was sitting in the office of the two Kentucky colonels who have brought racing in the Blue Grass state to its present high degree of popularity—Col. Matt Winn and Col. Andrew Vinnie. A great stream of persons and per- sonalities was pouring in_and out of the office. Most of them had come to thank the colonels for some ex- pected favor or courtesy. At last_a dominating personality came in. He stood some six feet tw From a rugged friendly face the iron- gray hair rose in a stiff pompadour. He wore a gray checked suit, which some swell dressers might have called a bit nolsy. His tle was a pink windsor—honestly it was. Across his shoulder was the strap of his racing Coughli h Heard and Seen Radio is becoming more and more responsible for a tvpe of story that until the last two years was claimed by fishermen and “nature fakers." It is the story hard to believe Every word of it may be true, but the grand result is that the average listener finds himself doubting the tale. Here {s the latest radlo story. It has nothing to do with long distances covered with a crystal set, or getting San Francisco louder on the “loud speaker” than the local staticns. 1t has to do with a poodle dog. This dog is the pet of a local house- hold wherein is a radio set. Some friends were visiting the family the other night. The radio, of course, was going full blast, the “loud speak- er” living up to its name. No one, however, was paving any particular attention to the music. All at once the guests noticed the dog sitting up on its hind legs, its forepaws waving in air. “What's he doing that for?” a visitor. “Why, he always stands up like that when he hears ‘The Star Spangled Banner,”" replied the host. They declare they taught him to recognize the national anthem during the war and that now the melody never comes over the radlo but what he stands at attention. * * * A world war aviator once said that the greatest thrill he ever got in his life was in the critical moments of a hotly contested chess game. Only lovers of the anclent game can appreciate that remark fully. Others will doubt that such a “slow poke” game as chess could have any mo- ment as exciting as fiying over a bat- tle front. Yet, after all, the aviator had play- ed both games and knew what he was talking about. The “thrill" is expe- rienced in the mind, and the reactions of the mind constitute the game. That is why radio proves a thriller to many. It possesses the power to raise the blood pressure, much as aviation or an exciting game of chess. Recently a crystal set owner got a hold of a tube set and started out to explore the ether. Hear him tell i asked turned the dial slowly. T wasn't much {mpressed. It wouldn't mean a thing to me If 1 got a distant station. That was what I had said, and it was what T meant. Then 1 hit something. I jiggled this and that, got the sig- nals cleared up, and realized it was a man making a speech at a banguet or convention of some kind. After a while came the announcer. “It was WBZ, Springfield, Mass, 1 had hit the first crack out of the box! You fans who get California may smile at my simple enthusiasm, but will sympathize as you recall a like moment. I suddenly realized that my heart was beating furiously.” * e The so-called “Irish bull” has long held a corner in the hearis of those who like clean fun. Two men were watching a neigh- bor screen his house. He is making a mighty good job of it,” sald one. ‘He certainly is,” replied the other. have just one objection,” said the first. “He has his screens nailed in. If he wants to lean out the sec- ond-story window he will have to go down stairs and walk out the back door.” - * % “You are corduly invited to see “The Princess in the Tulip, by the Simpson Opera Co. Friday, 15 mi. to 4 o'clock. P. S. Please do not forgit ticket.” Such was the Invitation which brought back memories of childhood days to residents In a certain neigh- borhood last week. The play was given in a basement, following much ado over the col- lection of tickets. You were given your tioket, but you had to have it, or out you went. May was the bright particular star of the “opera company,” in the role of a fetching white tullp who could dance, but got bashful at the last moment and would not. There was Charles and Helen and Caroline and Ted and all the other erformers. There were no “lines,” ut none were needed by the versatile actors, such is the imagination of childhood. CHARLES E, TRACEWELL, nounced in a voice which fairly tocked the room. “I'm from Chicago. 1 just wanted to tell vou that I had a swell time here today xwellplace, belteve me. and "1 hredes Baw 80 many swell people Al you Poople treated me swell and Tjwant to tell you I don't forget nobod® that treats ine swell 1ike that 5 When he had gone the writer 16AY ed that our swell visitersa was pone other than the famops “Huth House John" of the Windy ity gnot one of the big political poawerss o t middle western metrage e 8 too bad he could not Lowe, hes accompanied by his swell friend gf long ago, “Hinky Dink." 007 x ok % % Scarcely had the lreesy House” left the rosm when jr a man who was h « If an world 1 to find a direct oppost have produced one more compiete than in the person of “Charlie" Sabin, president of the great Guare anty Trust Company of New York. Tall slender, repressed, sauve, quiet, he moved into the inner group of the office carrying with him unconscion 1y an atmosphere of unobtrusive finement. An alert, keen, quickly analytical face w relieved of all austerity by telltale smile lines about the eve Later in the evening nature was to be more Mr. Sabin was being ra coldness and the closen “You are all wro Sabin. “Bankers erous persons fn the world. have more faith in human n: than any other class of business professional men. If they didn’t h this faith, if they didn’t have vision, if they didn’t have a trusting na- ture, the world of finance could not move along. Instead of being cold, we warm hearted, amiable and quite altogether, as they say in a New Yaorh play, we are really re- markable fellows, Mr. Sabin is not a_race goer. tracks about New York never s him. But he is one of the thousan who go to Kentucky year after ve for the runnirg of the gr thoroughbred classic. The New York banker was the guest of a Kentucky banker, Jamer B. Bro who is also a member of the Kentucky Jockey Club. With them was Col Grayson, M. P. Murphy, another N York financier, with a great record of world war work. First he was Eu- ropean commissioner of the American Red € s and later he became ‘fin-r a major and then a lieutenant colon onthe general staff of the 42d or Rainbow Division, He received not only the D. S. M. from his own coun- try, but high decorations from France and Italy as well. (Copyright, 1 by Consolidated Press A Fifty Years Ago In The Star On the 16th of May, 1574, a largs reservoir Williamsburg, Mass gave way and 1 Williamsburg ~the resulting tor- : rent through Disaster. populous valley 13 lives were lost and enormous property damage was done. George Cheney, o gatekeeper at the reservoir, at the first sign of disaster, mounted a hors: and sped down the valley to warn th people. He doubtless saved m; lives by his prompt action. The Star of May 18, 1874, thus speaks of 1l tragedy: “The details Hampshire “Bath et ankith been searched it could not the this about t < of hanker insisted Mr re the most The at of the accident Mass., calle mind _the iy realistic ription of # similar flood that forr most exciting chepter in Charles ade’s novel, ‘Put Yourself in Hix In all the particulars of th- Qiscovery of the fatal leak in the e bankment of the great Teservoir high up among the hills; the fearful rapid ity with which the leak gained from the thin stream first noticed at ti small crack in the crown of the e hankment, until the vast body of pent up water lept out from its bounds. carrying all before it; the subsequent incident of the messenger-horsemun galloping down the valley to warn the People: the incredulity with which the warning was at first received and the general features of the scene of destruction, the story of the novelixt is almost literally that of the matte of-fact reporter of the flood In Mas-- achusetts. The fact illustrated in both is the immense power of wale in motion and upon artificial emban} ments which restrain _its course ir one direction. And Reade's stors though given with the graphic dr scriptive touches of which he is mas ter. is really little more than tne actual narrative of & similar that occurred at Sheflield, England, on March 11, 1864, when the Bradfield water reservoir burst and sent its waters to carry death and disaster throughout the neighborhood of th great manufacturing center of Shef fleld, when the country for fourteen or fifteen miles about it was then flooded. Hundreds of buildings and much property were destroyed, well as the lives of about 250 pe sons. “Of course, there would be a dis position to blame the engineer who lald the embankment, but it would seem to have been constructed of great thickness and with all apparent solidity, but the difficulty {s in making any artificial embankment sufficient strong to resist the enormous pre sure from a body of water restrained at an elevation. The piled-up earth will crumble or crack at some ur suspected point and prisoned v ume of water speedily finds the tin opening and widens it into a fre channel. The devastation carried 1 the flood down the valley of the T tapsco some years ago, depopulating Ellicott City and other villages and settlements, will be remembered illustrative of the fearful power nr water when once under heagway down a narrow gorge.” 5 * [ - * % This disaster caused some appre hension in Georgetown on the scor of the possible fail- Georgetown ure of the high service reservoir in ReSeIvoil. 1nar city ac. Wis- consin avenue and R street. But The Star in its issue of May 19, 1874, re- assured the public, announcing that the Georgetown reservoir had walls of brick, cemented and bound. in 2 way to withstand a pressure many times that they were called upen to bear. In a later issue it was related that water was first pumped into this reservoir during the civil war, but the bottom gave way, the leak being fortunately discovered in time to pre- vent damage. The water was drawn off and a new bottom was put in since which time there has been no sign of weakness. It was originally designed that this circular brick structure should be covered by a brick dome, but this intention was only partially carried out and the curved wall, cut off at half its height, was surmounted by ornamental fron work. The Star saye: “This reservoir supplies 5,000 people in Upper Georgetown with water, and in the event of an accident to the pump or reservoir they would suffer from a water famine. As it is, the supply is often reduced on Monday morning—the pump being idle on Sunday—to half a million gallons. There should be a larger reservoir on the higher ground north of this and another and more powerful pump, so as to keep one at work all the time. In event of & break in the present reservoir the pressure would be partially relieved by openi the several valves which connect the high service.with the.mains dawntown