Evening Star Newspaper, July 2, 1924, Page 6

EVENING STAR, SR : ; , WASHINGTON, D. 4 : s ; ; i ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS b BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN -:THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C July 2, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor + The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office. 11th 8t. and Peaosyivania Ave. New York Offi 110 st v2nd St. Chicago Offl Tower Building. Burepean Office: 16 Regent ,Londou, England. The Evening Star. with the Sunday mornine edition. i delivered by carriers within the eity at 60 cents per month: dally only, 4% cent : Sunday only. 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Main 5000. Collection is made by var- Tiers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..15r., $8.40;1 mo, 70¢ Duily only . 1yr.. $6.00; 1 mo, 50c Sunday only . 1yr, $2.40:1mo, All Other States. ‘ Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00: 1 mo. ‘Daily only ......1yr, $7.00;1n.o. Sunday only yr.. $3.00:1mo, Member of the Associated Press. The Awsociated Press is excingively entitled to the use for republication of ail news dis. patches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper und aiso the local news pub. lished ~her All rights of putlication of Decial dispatches herein are lso reserved. —_— Bryan Is Heard From. Shortly before the opening of the Democratic convention. W. J. Bryan, speaking at Hornell, N. Y.. on his way to deliver a lecture in the suburbs, _said that he was going to the conven- tion. and although he had no idea of getting another chance at the nomina- tion he would be “heard from™ ther He has been heard from. and in posi- tive terms. He has taken the field against the nomination of John W. Davis, on the score of the latter's un- availability as a candidate as the at- torney for large financial interests. Whether his declaration of war will lead to the elimination of Mr. Davis. his statement is of interest and im- portance. “Mr. Da present employment would be a fatal handicap to him in a presidential race,” says Bryan. “He would not carry a single state west of Pennsylvania and, as no Democrat is likely to carry any eastern state against Coolidge, this weuld leave only the south, which has not enough votes to elect a President.” The admission. or assertion. that *no Democrat is likely to carry any eastern state against Coolidge” is cal- culated to send cold chills down the back of the Democracy. This is strange talk from one of the great leaders of the Democracy. Once upon a time Mr. Bryan went into the “enem: coun- try™ and spoke at Madison Suare Gar- den, the very place where the Demo- cratic convention is now proceeding in noisy and indeterminate course. He expected to carry conviction to the east. He was iferously received. But, as he afterward sadly remarked, the people went to hear him and to cheer him, and then they voted against him. Perhaps it is a recollection of that experience that makes Mr. Bryan now say that “no Democrat is likely to carry any eastern state against Cool- idge.” He knows that the electoral votes of the south are not sufficient to elect. He knows that only with a coali tion of the west and the south, a per- fect coalition, can the Democracy suc- ceed in an election. He tried to make that combination in 1896, and again in 1900 and once more in 1508. He failed. He was then a westerner. Now he is a southerner, with the perhaps broad- ened view of one who has changed residence. Mr. Bryan's attack on Mr. Davis may not avail to turn from the West Virginian the tide of votes necessary to nominate. A conviction prevails that the Democracy could not in its present situation do better than to nominate him. Aloof from the factional quarrels of the party, untouched by scandal in any form, strong in his personal and public record, gifted with high abili- tles, he should today be viewed by his | party as the ideal man to lead it out of the wilderness of irrelevancy and bitterness that the New York conven- | tion has created. But here comes Bryan with his veto. He has been “heard from.” He has raised his voice loudly. Is he still a potent force with a checkmating faction in the De- moacracy to prevent this selection? And, finally, is his assertion sound that “no Democrat is likely to carry any eastern state against Coolidge”? If he is right in that estimate of the 'situation the nomination may not be of any value after all. ————————— The man with only half a vote no Jonger felt unimportant when the bal- doting on the platform disclosed the great responsibility that may be at- tached to a very small fraction. e The contest has been so flerce that much tact may be needed to induce certain of the contenders to mean it from the heart when the time comes to shake hands and harmonize. S Nothing has yet taken place to in- dicate_that the primary system is a time-saver at any stage of the proceed- ‘ings. Bring the Conventions Here! Serious complaint has been ex- pressed by numbers of delegates to the Democratic convention that the galleries at Madison Square Garden have from the outset been filled with supporters of Gov. Smith, a leading contestant for the nomination. This is. the first time, certainy for a long period, that a convention has been held in the “home town"” of a serious ;eandidate; although at other conven- ‘tions residents of the states in which they have been held have been in the front rank of those proposed. At New York the work of the con- venition .has' been serfously - impeded by the: enthusiasm of the Smith “rooters,”” who have seized every op- portunity for cheering, and even me- chanical noise making. The most of this vociferation has come from the .galleries'and those who have swarmed upon the floor and have even invaded the aislesof the delegates’ section. o« Washington modestly puts farth the "claim that it is ideally situated for a national convention. This claim has been advanced now and again in the past, only to be rejected because, it ‘would seem, there is “no politics” in coming to the Capital, which has no choosing of candidates. There s, in short, no partisan enthusiasm in a convention held in this city. En- thusiasm, however, may prove to be a liability rather than an asset. It has been more of a liability at New York than otherwise, for it has en- gendered harsh feelings that may have a bad effect upon the party's prospects in. this campaign. Disfranchised Washington is not likely ever to present to a national convention an aspirant for the presi- dential nomination. It has many men who are worthy of selection, fully capable of making good in the presi- dential office; but having mo votes, the Capital is not considered s a source of candidacies. So that it could never be said that & Washington convention would be partisan. This, indee, is the neutral ground, the ideal place for a big party meeting: in fact, for both party meetings. One argument heretofore raised against the selection Gf Washington for this purpose is.that it has no ade- quate .place’ of assemblage, That is true, if a nominating conyention is to be conducted like a circus. But there are several halls here ‘that wouid ‘amply and comfortably seat’all the delegates and alternates to & con- vention, with a margin for'a reason- able number of spectators, convention officials and the press. After all, that is all that is necessary. An audi- torium is in process of erection that will t several thousand people. There is no ground for objection on that score. Perhaps this New York experience will lead to a reconsideration of the party decisions never to regard Wash- ington as a possible convention city. Certainly a convention held here, in the political and physical con- ditions that prevail at the Capital, would be a more satisfactory one than the big Democratic meeting of 1924 in New York. et Japan's Bitter Feeling. A prompt expression of regret by the Japanese foreign minister for the affront to the American flag in the embassy at Tokio prevents the de- velopment of that specific incident into a cause of strain between the two governments. The act appears to have been that of an individual who sought to express the bitter feeling of the Japanese people on the score of the American exclusion act, which took effect vesterday. Throughout Tokio agitations and demonstrations were in progress expressive of this feeling. It is not remarkable that one of the demonstrants should have taken this means to manifest the hos- tility which, the enactment of the law has created. This feeling on the part of the | Japanese was expected before the ac- tion was taken. It was perhaps that which caused Ambassador Hanihara in his first note on the subject to the State Department to express fear of ‘“‘grave consequences” if the legisla- tive course proposed should be pur- sued. But that phrase, however un- wise, did not point to a militant men- ace. It undoubtedly was intended to suggest that exclusion would lead to the development of a harshly antag- onistic feeling toward the United States on the part of the people of Japan. Yesterday at the first sessions of the Japanese houses resolutions were adopted strongly opposing the action of the United States. The House of Peers expressed approval of the ac- tion already taken by the govern- ment, and the lower house asked the government to adopt all proper meas- ures demanded by the situation, be- sides declaring that the exclusion clause violates the principles of jus- tice and fair play and “'stands in the way of the seventy-year-old friend- ship of Japan and America. THat an organized movement to make an issue of this subject prevails is shown by the placarding of Tokio with bulletins enjoining all Japanese to pursue what is virtually, though not avowedly, a boycott against America and Americans. The govern- ment at Tokio cannot absolve itself from responsibility for promoting this feeling so long as the parliamentary chambers act as they are now acting in perpetuation of the dispute and de- nunciation of the American course. ————————— North Carolina was a little slow in waking up to the fact that Josephus Daniels, who so resolutely steered the Navy away from the Teapot Dome rocks, was entitled to his share of the favorite-son mention. e — Among the dear old-time tunes over- looked by the convention band per- formers were “I'm Tired Now and Sleepy, Too,” and “When Reuben Comes to Town.” ——————— chassis, wagon bodies and motor cycles. We get a reduction from § per cent to 23 per cent on tires, inner tubes and other automobile parts and accessories. - /Removal of the taxes on motion pic- ture and theater admissions will be popular, and the removal of the 5 per cent tax on telegraph and telephone messages costing from 15 to 50 cents and 10 per cent on messages costing more than 50 cents will aid the serv- ice of communication and business. ‘There may not be a public outburst of joy at the passing of the nuisance taxes, but there will be a general feel- ing of satisfaction, not alone because of the removal of these taxes, but be- cause of the indication that we are gradually working toward a lower level of national tsxation. ———— The Air Mail. Opening of the regular mail service by airplane between New York and San Francisco causes less stir than the opening of the pony express serv- ice between Missouri and the Golden Gate caused among our ancestors, and there is less excitement and ex- ultation than when all-rail communi- cation was opened between the At- lantic and Pacific in 1869. We have become 8o hardened to big events that it takes earthquakes and presi- dential campaigns to make us sit up and take notice. But the beginning of regular transcontinental mail serv- ice through the air will be set up in large type in history. Washington mail is being carried by the planes that are souring over prairie and mountain range. Five hundred letters went from Washington by train to New York last night to catch the far west mail plane. Everybody hopes that this enterprise of the Post Office Department will be a success and that it is to be a permanent part of the postal service. Hats off to the gallant mall carriers, who are as rich in nerve as the pony express riders who rushed along at ten miles or so an hour, day and night, through all weather and through the lands of savages between St. Joe and San Francisco! ———————————— The music is old and unpretentious at the convention, and the gowns are not invariably of the latest Parisian mode. If the delegates want to see New York as an exponent of art and tashion they will have to return dur- ing the Metropolitan Opera season. e The amount of exhilaration W. J Bryan gets out of a convention cannot fail to cause curiosity as to whether he gets any real enjoyment out of life during the rest of the four years. e The Democratic convention threat- ened to become so highly sensational that a return to the customary front- page news features, thrilling as they were, seem a comparative relief. —_———— As a publicity expert of no mean at- tainments, Mr. Bryan was alert to the importance of seeing that the K. K. K. got no front-page advertising space in the Democratic platform. —— et ‘W. J. Bryan devoted as much ora- torical energy to keeping three words out of the platform as once sufficed to stampede a convention into nominat- ing him. —— e In addition to the present excite- ment the Democratic leaders face the suspense of waiting to see how Mr. La Follette is going to take the final news. — After a little time for consideration the delegates were able to propound the genial query, “What is a minority platform report among friends’ SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Criticism. When the latest presentation Close to Broadway was revealed, Many viewed the demonstration ‘With distavor ill concealed. Though in eloquent expression The performers well were versed, They were bound to make confession That they weren’t well rehearsed. Every one had his own story That he thought a proper piot; Every one had dreams of glory For himself in that bright spot. But confusion and redundance Soon were working at their worst. There was talent in abundance, But it wasn't well rehearsed. Sure Thing. “Of course, you were sure from the first that the convention would have to end some time.” “Yes,” agreed Senator Sorghum. “It stood to reason that the hotel people wouldn’t let the delegates stay after A number of delegations were in. | their money gave out.” clined to stick to their notes as faith- fully as the brass band itself. Nuisance Taxes Go Tonight. Many of the imposts which we have come to lump under the title “nuisance taxes” will pass at 12 o'clock tonight. The revenue act approved June 2 gave a respite of thirty days to a long list of miscellaneous taxes which have been troublesome to pay and collect, and which in the aggregate have been a burden, and the respite expires at midnight. Some of the taxes from which we will be freed are those on moving picture and theater admis- sions, telegraph ppd teléephone mes- sages, candy, checks, drafts and promissory notes. taxes on musi- cal instruments, watshes, silver-plated flat tableware, variows forms of jew- elry, riding habits, hunting clothes and, pleasure boats will be &amd‘ Taxes on hunting knives, dirks, dag- gers, stilettos and metallic knuckles will also come off, though there has' been no popular opposition to taxes on such things, and it is essumed that these taxes were abandoned because they were unproductive. It cannot be that many persons are now interested in dirks, daggers, stilettos and brass knuckles. Certainly in Washington the only interest people have in them is that they shall not be sold at all. ‘Wwe are to be relieved from An Unwilting Will. The delegate would holler At the weather so unkind. He often changed his collar, But he wouldn't change his mind. Jud Tunkins says after bein’ a dele- gate he’ll be glad to listen to some music that's meant for dancin’ instead of for killin’ time. Discretion. “You don’t seem to have much around your house.” “Perhaps not,” replied Mr. Meekton. “There are circumstances under which it is discreet to be on record as present but not voting.” Repudiation. A chimpanzee sat on a tree And watched a delegation ‘That lost its head and wildly led A curious demonstration. “My tribe,” he thought, “has always sought A logical existence. Our young we rear to persevere For peaceable subsistence. “I'll freely may, if ever they From simians sprang—these screech- ers— They chose the kind that didn’t mind Their parents or their teachers.”” “Some o’ dese gemmen,” said Uncle Eben, ‘‘would dodge & heap ¢ head- ache if dey start wif ice water stid o’ y ®he flag 13 pi IN TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS “Hats off! Along the street there comes A blare of trumpets, a ruffle of drums, A flash of color beneath the sky: Hats off! ng by!" Hundreds of spectators lining the sidewalks of the Nation's Capital last Memorial day stood stolldly gazing at the flag marching by, and never thought it needful to show respect due from patriotlsm by removing their hats. Will the same show of disrespect mark Independence day on Friday? In both national conventions—the Republican at Cleveland and the Democratic at New York—all rules for the use of the flag were flaunted. Old Glory was bunched in fantastic ar- rav: iy bore portraits of party leaders and national characters, contrary to all rules forbidding the attachment of anything to the Hag or inscription of anythinz thereon. It was multi- plied “ad finfnitum, ‘and thus made common in decoration, whéreas the Army and Navy rules and. whereever law "has been enacted comcerning it, restrict the use of thé emblem of the nation to a single flag, with bunting for all decorations and re- quire that it hang straight—never draped nor festooned. . * K % % A year ago. on Flag day, June 14, there was held in Washington a na- tional flag conference, opened by President Harding. The President then said: ery salutation makes my con- ration to the country and the flag little_more secure. Your purpose is to bring to the flag becoming use by civillans in America. 1 hope you will succeed in formulating a code that will be welcomed by all Amer. icans, and that every patriotic and educational soclety in the republic will commit itself to the indorsement, and observance and purposes of the code that you adopt here. That ought to be the result of this convention.” This week Washington is favored with the presence of thousands of teachers—men and women, who in- spire the rising generation with re- spect for the national emblem. One of the chief points of assembly for these teachers s the burean of edu- caion, in the Department of the In- terior, and even there, the halls are ablaze with hundreds of American flags. twisted and “draped” contrary to the law of the District of Colum- bia and the rules of respect for Old Glory. This desecration is not by the visitors, but by public officials pre- paring decorations in their honor. * x ok % In a pamphlet prepared by Col. James Alfred Moss, United States Army retired, in which he sets forth the rules and etiquette of the flag, the following keynote is given: “A good principle that will always make sure of the proper and correct use of the flag is to use apd handle it as you would your mother's pice ture. No man, for example, would ever think of hanging several pic- tures of his mother in the same room, or placing her picture where it would become soiled: nor would he ever think of exposing to view a torn or faded picture of his mother.” '0l. Moss further says: “Not more than one Hag should be displayed on any vehicle or buflding, or ;‘1: any room. “Flag not to be draped. The flag of the United States is an artistic Evell proportioned emblem whose beauty should not be marred by draping. Drape with red, white and lue bunt- ing, but not with the fla, Americans sometimes beliéve that no other nationality appreciates its flag so thoroughly as do the people of the United States. In an address delivered some time ago by the then chairman of a committee on the flag appointed by the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, it was stated that practically all other countries have laws under which desecration of their flags can be punished, but no such federal law exists in the United States affecting other than govern- ment territory. Yet in other coun- tries there is little occasion to en- force such laws, for desecration of their flags is so repugnant to public sentiment that such an act is almost unheard of. The speaker added: “Some forelgn countries which huve no spacial legal provision re- ferring to desecration of, or insult to, the national colors, have similar articles in their respective codes of Jaw, which provide that any one de- stroying or injuring any object, des- tined for public utility or public decoration, shall be liable to im- prisonment and fine." It is believed that the overabun- dant display of Old Glory in Amer- ica makes it “common” in the minds of the disloyal or thoughtless, and thereby makes desecration more eas- ily tolerated. Much of its misuse comes through the substitution of sentimentality in place of sentiment. Are not Ameri- fans overgiven 'to sentimentality and lacking in deep sentiment? Wit- hess the enthusiasm of cheering when “the boys” embarked not to Meome back till it's over, over there, and the readiness of the masses to declare that the war was over, even while thousands of broken young Americans sick and dying for Old Glory—too often neglécted, of visits of sympathy at their bedsides of pain and loneliness in hospital wards. lay * K K x The flag is a holy symbol and de- serves veneration. It is the visible token of the holiest aspirations of men and women toward all the un- sullied ideals of a free democracy, for which they or their dearest relatives and friends—their ancestors and the heroes of every struggle “that lib- erty shall not perish from the earth Zhave offered their lives and all that went with thelr utmost efforts to maintain and preserve. . » He who has not seen his country's flag afloat in a foreign port h: failed to experience some of life warmest thrills. But only the sol- dier who has witnessed Old Glory break through the fog or smoke of battle, waving triumphant in battle victory, has felt the overpowering emotion intxpressible in human lan- guage. It tells no story of the cru- elties of hate or of bloody struggle in passion, it expresses no personal greed of ambition, but it speaks un- earthly eloquence of purity, of right- eousness, of justice, of liberty tri- umphant, of solemn separation from sordidnese and unworthiness, of self- effacement that the true should pre- vail. Standing in gratitude and reverent salute before its spirit, realizing the blood of sacrifice its 'vermilion be- tokens, the purity of purpose and courage in the white prayers of its millions who have died for what it means, the celestial faith in its blue, the eternal, unchanging right in its stars—that is, its pure gold—not the tinsel of decoration. Sign of a nation, great and strong, To ward her people from foreign wrong; Pride and glory and honor—all Live in the colors to stand or fall “Hats off! The flag is passing by!™ iCopyright. CONVENTION OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE CONVENTION July 2.—New haustibly HALL, New York, York seems inex- interested in the con- vention, notwithstanding that it is the most blase and jaded of American cities. Here we are in the second week of the Demo- cratic commotion, and the demand for places in Madison Square Garden and the space in the newspapers and the excitement generally are as great as ever. The hotel people claim the crowd hasn't disturbed them. They say the world series base ball annual brings many more people to Man- hattan Island than the convention has done. * % % Melville E. Stone, director general emeritus of the Associated Press, paid his first visit to the convention hall on Monday, and wandered naturally into the press section. He remarked to old friends that he was a reporter at the last Democratic conventl held in Madison Square Gargen. In 1868, when Horatio Seymour was nominated for President. 2 * * % x Republican scouts in attendance at the Democratic show were rein- foroed early in the week by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Longworth of Ohio and Senator Spencer of Missouri. The holders of G. O. P. watching brisfs in the Garden think Coolldge and Dawes have no cause for worry in anything likely to emerge from the enemy’s convention. One of them sums up: “We were never in danger of losing the presi- dential election. We did have fears about holding the Senate and House. We are confident now we_ shall not lose these, either. The Democrats came here with a ‘political fortune and have squandered it.” * X k% There has been a good deal of won- der why the committee on resolu- tions, acting through William Jen- nings Bryan, oonceived the after thought of passing a vote of regret in memory of Warren G. Harding. The inside explanation Is that the Republicans in recent convention as- sembled in Cleveland failed to héonor the momery of Woodrow Wilson, so the Democrats decided to adminiater what some of them here are calling a lesson in political good manners. * %X X % Carl S. Vrooman of Illinols, dirt farmer and former assistant secretary of agricultare, is sald to be the author of the Democratic plank on agricult- ural affairs. It has not gone as far as rural radicals desired, but Vroo- man, who Is in close touch with west- ern sentiment, believes it not only goes far enough, but stands out in striking contrast to what he asserts the Républican platform failed to do for the farmer. s * % * % Some of these days, perhaps soon, some of the more ardent league of nations Democrats are going to get up on their hind legs and vociferously ask to know why the convention al- lowed Henry Ford's personal attor- ney to write the league plank. It is an open secret that Alfred E. Luck- ing of Detroit is the father of the league referendum plank adopted by the convention in face of Newton D. Baker's passionate protest by a to-1 vote. Simon-pure Democrats here point out that it is a little in- congruous_for them “fo repudiate Woodrow Wilson in favor of Henry Ford,” especially as the motor king (s an open and avow supporter of Calvin Coolidge. Had e league e e e 25 was at one tim ce it w So " the Tacking. Ford-Coolldge. con- mpotion would have been brought out luflu Bye people to church on Sun- on the floor of the convention, There was consternation among the superstitious members of the Virginia delegation Tuesday night when a gust of wind blew down the portrait of Senator Carter Glass, in the ves- tibule of the Waldorf-Astoria. = It crashed to the mosaic floor and jmashed into fragments. “Glass is en,” lamen c Droken.” ted one of his con- * % % % Franklin D. Roosevelt has been asked repeatedly by members of the New York delegation to permit the use of his name when the Al Smith boom has run its course. But the cousin of T. R. stubbornly declined to assent to anything that might even remotely resemble disloyalty to his chief. Mrs. Roosevelt, whose maiden name was Roosevelt, and who also was related to the late President, is as accomplissed a politician as her husband The management of the mith campaign has rested jointly in their hands. gty * % % % Probably for the first time in Amer- ican history a woman has been voted for tn u Democratic national conven- tion as a candidate for the presidency. Half a vote was given on Tuesday, on the twenty-fourth ballot, to Mrs Car- roll Miller of Pennsylvania. It was a compliment to her little speech last week seconding the nomination of Gov. Smith. Mrs. Miller's recital of her variegated family religious af- filiations, all non-Catcholic, caught the convention’s fancy. She enhanced her reputation in Madison Square Garden by delivering an effective three-minute attack on the Ku Klux Klan during the celebrated midnight debate. * x % ¥ Chairman Walsh s giving numer- ous congressional colleagues a chance to wield the gavel in Madison Square Garden. Senators Harrison, Kin Heflin, Kendrick, Robinson and Owen, and Representatives Garrett, Upshaw and others have had their turn at presiding. Numerous women, too, have been honored by the chairman, éspecially during the announucement of ballot results. Mrs. Izetta Jewel Brown of West Virginia is the plat- form favorite among the women who have appeared there. As a former actress, she has the presence, the enunciation and the manner that fit the occasion. * k x % A European diplomat, envoy of a ‘well known kingdom at Washington, having accepted the hospitality of the Democratic national committes as a platform guest has sat bravely through the convention from the start. Agked by this observer how he liked the show, he replied: “I'm taking my medicine.” * x k¥ The Pattangalls of Maine, husband and wife, are delegate and alternate, respectively, from their home district. While the former governor of the Pine Tree State was functioning on the committee on resolutions, Mrs. Pattangall served as his alternate on the floor. “You understand, 1 shall vote as 1 think best,” she sald to her lord and master. “Of course,” re- tojted Mr. Pattangall. A little later s. Pattangall with her vote pro- ceeded to def the minority plank naming the Klan, which her husband had submitted to the convention. Bells With a History. HASTINGS, England.—Rye church bells, which have a history dating back to 1360, 'are to be rehung. They had a great adventure in 1368, when the French landed at Rye, then a seaport, illaged the town and carried off the 118 to Normandy. Ten years later the men of Rye and Winchelsea sail- ed across the channel to recapture the bells, which they brought back in_triumph. The famous peal has Politics at Large BY N. 0. MESSENGER NEW YORK, June 30.—No national political convention since those of 1896, Republican and Democratic, have been more interesting and ex- citing than the Democratic national convention in New York. The con- trast between the two is maarked. In the 1896 conventions the questions at issue were material—financial, In fact. 1In the Democratic convention of 1924 a new element was inter- jected, a dangerous one, fraught with appalling and infinjte potentialities of domestic strife and discord. This is something new In American politics. Hitherto the religions and the races have pot been thrust into the maelstron of politics. Catholics and Protestants have dwelt side by | side with the Jew in political amity. They commingled at the polls with- out thought of differing upon other than political issues. There were Re- publican Jews and Protestants and Democratic Protestants and Catholics. The negro took his own political ‘choice, regardless of religion. * % % * At this hour the nation finds itself confronted by a new element, the in- terjection of religion in domestic poli- tics. How our forbear: they can look down from c gions, must wonder at this situation. They who founded this government essentlally upon the principles of re- ligious liberty. * x % * It remains for this vear of grace 1924 to have this crisis come to America. Who can foresee the out- come of candidates that have arisen in the Democratic mational conven- tion. William Jennings Bryan, tne great preacher, since he s more a preacher than a politiclan, glimpsed or rather it should be said sensed, the situation and most earnestly and clo- quently tried to forestall What hap- pened in the committee .on resolu- tions without avail. X ¥ ¥ All signs, omens and portents at this time indicate that the civic ef- fects of the flareup in the Democratic convention over the Klan plank are likely to be more serious than the political. Indeed, it might be said with truthfulness that the political consequences are even at this time discounted. The anti-Klan leaders have openly assented to the fortunes of war in their defeat, in so far as the political aspects of the question are concerned. They were beaten by a nose and that's all there is to it Gov. Smith, George E. Brennan of Illinois and’ the lesser lights of the anti-Klan leaders have come Into camp and declared fealty to the Dem- ocratic party. There ~was nothing else for them to do, to be sure. They could not bolt, for' there is no place to go. But as to the civic effects, no man can tell. It was said in the onvention that the Kilan is a dying institution, but Mr. Bryan and others contended that the precipitation of the Klan question and the subsequent discussion and irritation will result in renewed efforts by the Klan and increased resistance by the opposition One hears many predictions by the politicians that the uproar over the Klan issue will redound to the ad- vantage of the Republicans and such statements as “Coolidge’s luck is still with him.” Well, that remains to be seen, in the light of the foregoing statement that the political effects are likely to be subordinated to the civic effects. These Democrats, as history has shown, have a great way of fighting like blazes among them- selves, and after the shindy is over, wiping off their bloody but unbowed heads and going after the common enemy with united front. e An_interesting side-line talk among the Democrats in attendance upon the convention relates to the possi- bility of Senator La Follette organ- izing a third party movement. The senator, it must be admitted, has been playing a very foxy policy on this subject. He has been keeping both the Republicans and the Demo- crats guessing as to his prospective course. It is well understood that his plan has been to stand over both parties with a club, menacing them with a third party unless one or both should adopt platforms “liberal enough to conform to his ideas. The Republicans in their convention at Cleveland made no sort of pretense conforming to his political ideals or theories. They went ahead and made their own platform on Republican lines. The Democrats did the same thing in framing their platform. They knew they could not meet the drastic La Follette theories and, sadly, if fearfully, bade him good-by and went their own benighted way. * x x % The best belief of leading Demo- crats here is that the senator is bent upon taking the field at the head of a dissenting party, including all ultra-liberal elements of both parties, excluding, of course, the Communists and Socialists, whom Senator La Follette has expressly and scornfully repudiated. 1t is recognized that Senator La Follette made a stroke of Sstrategy in throwing overboard these -be stowaways. Tl as “Ie ‘the fishermen who threw Jonah overboard to the whale. v thought their passenger was Eoedoes Hhator La Follette was sure that his proposed passengers would be. It is said that the senator has become aware that he is suspect- ed of being too ultra-liberal and that he is now in position to stand as an exponent of liberalism, that vague term without specific metes and Lounds, susceptible to the mind of the man in the street, and that if he runs on & third-party ticket he will be in position to command the sup- port of a considerable following in both parties, drawing from each. * x % % man is entitled to claim that he car say which party will suffer most losses to its own ranks If Senator La Follette runs. That will remain to be developed in the polling. But the political gossips clalm that he would drain heaviest from the democrats. This is the way they figure it out: They contend that the unmistakable popularity of President Coolidge. Which is discernible to any fair- minded man; the country's confidence in his safeness, conservatism and all that is a sign that this year there is a groundswell of sentiment leaning toward conservatism and against radicalism. They insist that the Democratic party is less conservative and if the real radicals are not satis- fied with the Democratic platform they are likely to run away to La Follette in numbers greater than there are discontented Republicans. * * k% Democratic leaders found their ho’:;};euwn checking a defection from their ranks to Senator La Follette upon the assertion that their platform is liberal enough to satisfy any reason- able liberal, and that if any man is Qissatisfied he would have left them anyhow and Jjoined the Socialists. They count that man as dead loss from the outset and to be written off the books chargable to profit and loss. There is no doubt about it, the Dem- ocrats in the national convention are powerfully proud of their platform— well, that is to say, barring the planks on the league of nations and the Klan. On the first count the vote showed that an overwhelming majority were satisfied with the league plank. That vote included men who are just as loyal to the ideals of Woodrow Wilson as Newton D. Baker himself, but do not consider Mr. Baker's proposition as politically practicable for the pres- ent situation. On_the Klan plank they are not al- together proud, all of them, but here again it was a_question of political utilitarianism. Even Mr. Bryan was frank enough, and he is not always in- genuous enough to be utterly without political guile, to say that the majority plan was to serve an emergency. It was confessedly politically utilitarian. ‘Well, that is nothing new in either party. If politicians always went into the rarefled ether of ideals and ethics, it would not be politics that the rank and file could recognize. Enough has happened at the Cleve- land New York conventions to assure the prospect of one of the liveliest political campaigns this country has witnessed since the epochal gold and lver campaign of 1896. That, as was stated aforegoing, was the solution of a problem of economics. The im- palgn will ha Saihic ampaot. being ‘s contest be. Q. Are people allowed to the Shenandoah?—J. L. A. Visitors are not allowed aboard the Shenandoah at Lakehurst, N. J., owing to the delicate instruments which are on the airship. However. special privilege is sometimes given allowing people aboard. Q. 1 argue with my mother that it is useless to turn the gas higher after the boiling point is reached. Do foods copk faster if permitted to boil vigorously? A solution might help to lower my gas bill.—R. L T. A. When liquids have reached the boiling poine the temperature ceases to rise and the heat supplied Is used in changing the llquids into steam. Q. How much room is taken up by a folded parachute?—R. M. A. The smallest space in which a parachute can be folded fs approx- imately 18 by 15 by 4 inches. inspect Q Hag the prize been awarded for the best answer to the question “What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?” M. E H A. Mrs. Esther M. Hollander of Paltimore won the prize in the con- test conducted by the Baltimore Sun. Her answer was: “A Republican is a person who thinks a Democratic ad- ministration is bad for business. A Democrat is a person who thinks a Republican administration is bad for business. Hoth are right.” Q. Is there a legal reason that executions alwaye take place on Fri- lay in Louisiana?—A. M. A. There is nothing in the laws of the state specifying that executions must take place on Friday. The day is left entirely to the discretion of the governor, who has the authority to name the day. It has been the custom, however, to select Friday. Q. Are linseed and flaxseed the same? What is O. P. oil meal? Is such meal good for chickens?— W. M. G. A. Linseed and flaxseed are the same. “O. P.” stands for old process. Ofl meal is fed to chickens, particu- larly during the molting season. when 5 per cent ofl meal will help the growth of new feathers. Q. How much of the timber that is cut is made into sawed lumber?— TR A. Of the total annual cut in this country of 22,500,000,000 cubic feet of standing timber only about one-third is sawed lumber, including dimen- sional material and sawed ties. The remainder is used for such purposes as pulpwood, mine timbers, hewed railroad ties ‘and fuel wood. Nearly two-fifths of the timber cut s used or tuel. Q. Are there schools for teaching whistling?—F. G. B. A. There are institutions that teach whistling, especially employing it as an aid in remedying speech de- fects. Q. Can you suggest a slogan or watchword for preventing fires in the national forests?—V. A. M. A. One of the forest service *“don’ts’ might be paraphrased thus: “Use your own common sense to help pre- Serve your own forests.” Q. Is it lawful to add fruit to make jelly?—J. S. A. The Department of Agriculture permits the use of additional pectin in the making of jellies. A decision is now pending as to whether or not pectin to B. New Premiers Help it is necessary to state on the label of the jelly glass that pectin has been added to the fruit. If this is required the reason will not be that the addition of pectin is injurious to health, but because every label must accurately represent the product Q. Did the arcient Romans have any knowledge of dentistry?>—W. D. J. A. Records are incomplete, but it {15 known that the Romans used false teeth and possibly bridge work. The filling of teeth s of later date, dental bibliography written in 1 fixing the date of the introduction of this branch of the profession a t o profession as abou Q. Was E. Mariitt, the novelist, a man or woman?—F. A. 8. _A. E. Marlitt was the pen or Eugenie John. She was born At Are stadt, December 5, 1835 and died there June 22, 1887, At seventeen she was sent to Vienna to study music but be- came de up her musical career. She spent eleven years at the court of her foster-mother, the prin- cess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, but finally returned to her native town. Q. What is the diffe unit weight or mass attraction betwesn the poles of the earth and the equator? A. The Naval Observatory says the loss of weight in going from the poles of the earth to the eguator is 1.189. This result is based upon :v?"m;xands of pendulum observations ade in many diffe arts h e rent parts of th Q. What stimulant and how much of it is contained in coffee”—G. W, P A. Caffein (Cs Hw N, 0,) is the substance which contributes to co its chief physiclogical ctivity acts on the bra a stimulant Hutchison determined hat a cupfu of good coffee, made from two ounces of freshly roasted and ground coffee to a pint of water. contained nearly two grains of caffein and three and & quarter grains of tannin. nce in Q. When was manual trainin - troduced in schools?—C ¢ H© A. The earilest official recognition of manual training as given in = land, were Uno Cygnaeus organized a plan for such work in primary schools in 1858, and where such in- struction was made compulsory for certain pupils in 1566. Sweden soon :‘?;Y lr(—L‘olgniZ«"d the importance of ch training and gave a s P he mo\‘vrfienv‘d gave an impetus Q. What is th 0. M. A. The Amara-Kosh, of Amara is a vocabul roots compiled by the marian, Amara Sinha It contains 10,000 wc metre, to aid the memors Amara-Kosha?—F. or Treasury y of Sanskrit skrit_gram- Q. How did Albertite get its B Q. Hom tite get its name? A. Albertite is a pitch-like mi eral of brilliant jet black color, which was named for Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. (The Star Information Bureau il answer your question. This offer applies strictly to information. The bureau can- not give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles. nor to undertake exhaustive research on any subject Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and address and inciose 2 cents in stamps for returmm postage. All replies are sent direct to the inquirer Address Frederic J. Haskin, Dirctor. The Star Information Bureau, 21st and C streets northwe: Europe Toward Peace, Editors Agree New hope for Europe is seen. by the American press in the recent meeting of the British and French prime ministers. The plan decided upon for a general allied conference on the reparations situation and the employment of the league of nations as a means of smoothing out a num- ber of obstacles, editors agree, show the drift toward a settled and definite allied policy toward Germany, and the brightening of the general situation throughout Europe. “Both governments by this time recognize the necessity for a united allied_front,” in the opinion of the New York Evening Post, which holds the debision of MacDonald and Her- riot for an allied conference “pre- supposes an _expectation of agree- ment,” therefore, “it may be taken for granted that interallied differ- ences have to an appreciable extent been overcome, or at least submerged in order that the Dawes plan may be succeesfully carried through. £, 1t Great Britain and France “act shoulder to shoulder in putting the Dawes- plan_into operation, if their respective prime ministers allow no secondary consideration, no personal arguments, to affect their united action,” the Boston Transcript argues. “{hen Germany will understand that no further evasion or blustering can save her from keeping her promis for this reason, “the meeting between M. Herriot and Mr. MacDonald is of the very greatest importance to l|e world" Chequers Chourt not only aneltered the responsible heads of two great European states, but the ng schools of thought ve tariff, governmental regula- Do e fiwavs and other economic questions. In addition there will be ide issues of many kinds. As the cards fall now, it promises to almost outrival the 1896 campaign. * X ¥ % i heat and fervor of the presi- demtiai® ivmation, we are likely to overlook the importance of the com- {ng campaign for the House of Repre- sentatives. Don't let's do it. The history of the present Congress should be a warranting to let go all holds of that subject. The choosing of the next House is almost if indeed not nearly as important to the country as the salection of a Chief Executive. It has been demonstrated in the past fow months what a powerful influ- ence the lower branch of Congress exerts upon legislation of primary im- portance to the nation. The House fs %o closely divided at present as to practically render impotent the pow- er of the President. All the prospects at this time forecast a succeeding Congress still more divided along ines. P % ext President, whether he be Republican or Democrat, will find “on his hands,” as Grover Cleveland re- marked, & new Congress, senators and representatives. He wiil have to go fo. the new Congrers for support of his administration policies and pos- sibly face a virile party opposition. The Congress may make or break his administration. ‘Senator La Follette, it is known, is intent upon acquiring control of the House and Senate through the in- crease of his present balance of pow. er held in both branthes of Congres: Few of the more astute politicians think that he deludes himself into the hope that he may be elected President of the United States. It does not seem to be in the cards. But it is admitted to be easily in the range of possibilities that he may be the con- trolling power in the Congr * X X ¥ 1t is said that he will concentrate upon gathering in men in the House and Senate who will follow him in his platform and ideals. Now. it falls out that the American Federation of La- bor is intent upon the same program as applied to labor. The federation will concentrate upon the selection of men, be they Democrats or Renub- licans, upon whom it can depend -to carry out labor’s demands. So there you have the possibility of two blocs in the next House—the La tween two opposi! Follette radicals and the federation of labor’s specialists. ‘Where does the ordinary eitizens seem to have & “look in” in all these designs and devices, anyhow? Indianapolis News contends “it was also host to the idea that, without British and French co-operation, the recovery of the continent from war burdens is a hazardous undertaking. imperiling what has been salvaged from the past and inviting new rali ance on force as a arbiter of destiny i “Such meetings as that between Her- riot and MacDonald appeal strongly to the American idea of practicality and common sense,” observes the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and, “if all international conferences could be conducted in the same sensible manner disagreements would probably be fewer.” The spirit ex- hibited after the meeting inclines the Providence Journal to believe “if it is humanly possible, they will devise a mu- tually ‘satisfactory scheme that will enable France and Great Britain to pull together henceforth.” Aithough confer- ence calling has been rather a popular pastime, the Reading Tribune expresses the hope that “more will come of this particular parler than usual.” There is for the first time since the war, according to the Detroit Free Press, “a prospect of genuine co-operation ba- tween France and Britain. which spells more teamwork in Furopean diplomady all around.” The main thing, the San Francisco Bulletin maintains, “is thebr general agreement in regard to permit- ting Germany a chance to pay her debts. and if that can be arranged. no matter by whom, Europe will make a real be- ginning on the work of reconstruction.” Calling attention to the fact that the premiers agreed on every point brought up for discussion, the Sioux City Journal declares “the” entente cordiale has been renewed in a way that surprises the whole world, and charges other premiers and prime ministers with responsibility. if not censure, for not having accom- plished the same ends years ago.” The aftermath of the conference, the Miami News Metropolis is confident, means “fresh hope that some definite good will result in the interest of world peace. The Springfleld News savs thal “HerrigR and MacDonald are in closer accord on vital European questions than ang pre- vious premiers of the two nations since the war ended,” and, “Franco-British co-operation is necessary if the universe is ever to get back on a logical basis.” * k ok % “The essential thing is a epirit of confidence and this needs to be culti- vated on both sides,” points out the Springfield Republican, which insists “the starting point is to ecreate in Germany, as Herriot and MacDonald should between them be able to do, the conviction that the allies do not intend to use unfairly the power given by one-sided disarmament, and that the end sought is the reconcilia- tion and rehabilitation of Europe.” The New York Herald Tribune feels that “the strengthening of the un- derstanding between Great Britain and France has brought Germany to terms on the disarmament question.” A Germany without the will to peace, says the New York Times, “must re- main a danger in Burope. and it is to encourage the German will to peace by showing the futility of war that allied policy should have for its main purpose.” and, “that purpose is achiéved when Great Britain and France lend hearty support to the league of nations.” “Expectations should not become too sanguine over the outcome of this conference,” the Springfleld Union reminds us, because “Germany has still to achieve the internal unity that will permit its acceptance of the plan, and Premier Herriott has yet to prove his_control over the fidgety French parliament.” The Pittsburgh Gazette- Times, however. notes that “a condl- tion, not a theory, confronts the French nation, and this fact may in- duce the political Teaders of France 1o modify a policy which has thus far rendered difficult, if not impo: sible, any settlement of reparations along the lines of the Dawes plan. At any rate, the Minneapolis Tribune concludes that “things look hopeful for a practical application of the Dawes plan as a solvent of the trou- bles of Europe.” -