Evening Star Newspaper, July 31, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR -~ With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. July 31, 1024 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor i e v T The Evening Star Newspaper Company * Business Office. 11th §t. and Penpsylvania Ave. New 'k Office: 110 East 42nd Chicuxo Office: Tower Building, Faropean Office: 16 Regent St.,London, England. Toe Evening Star. with the Sunday morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the eits af G0 cents per month: daily only, 45 cents per month: Sunday only. 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Ma'n 5000. Coliection is made by car- Tiers at the end of esch month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70¢ Daily only . 1yr., §6.00; 1 mo., 50¢c Sunday only . 13r, $2.40; 1 mo. All Other States. “"Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 85c Daily only . 1 $7.00: 1 mo., 80c Sunday only r., $3.00;1mo, 25¢ Member of the As'socilled Press. The Associnted Press is exclusively entitled to the ‘use for republication of all news di *patches credited 10 it or not otherwise credite in this paper and also the local hews pub- Yished “herein. ~All rights of publication of cial dispatches herein are slso reserved. The Bryan Bone. EXidence appears that the position taken by Gov. Bryan of Nebraska on the subject of Defense day was not | the result of consultation with his major associate on the Democratic national ticket. Mr. Davis, on leaving Maine for New York at the close of his vacation, indicated that the sub- Ject was entirely strange to him, The controversy, he said, was “all Greek” to him. Thus it would appear that the Governc of Nebra 4, acting in * that capa took his p on *“Defense day without reference to his political partner. This fact, however, does not reliev the embarrassment that must be felt by Mr. Davis as he finds his ticket associate taking a pronounced position €n an important national question ir- respective of his own views or the| expressed declarations of their party. That embarrassment {s inevitable. It arises from the fact that the candi- date for Vice President on the Demo- cratic national ticket is in advance of the formal notification speeches, which are accepted as marking the beginning of the campaign, striking out on national questions of moment. A presidential candidate is usually expected to assume a ‘‘me too™” He should not, according to all the established rules of the po- litical game. put himself forward as | an independent thinker. He should take his cue from his chief. The nom- inee for President is the chief in fact. He becomes the head of the party as soon as he is named. It is always; cxpected - that the vice presidential nominee will follow his leadership, that he will not try to set the pace. The circumstances in which Gov. Bryan was nominated, however, do hot precisely make for this relation- ship. He was chosen, according to the best information obtainable, in order that Brother William, supposed to exercise still a potent influence in the Democratie party, should be kept in good mood and made favorable to the national ticket. The fact that concession was made to Brother Wil- liam gave Brother Charles a greater- than-usual importance. It is possibie— it is, indeed, a psychological probabil- that this manner of his nomina- tion has affected his judgment of the relation between the two ends of the ticket. In base ball, where teamwork essential for success, they say when a player makes a blunder of judgment that he has “pulled a bone.” He fails 10 do the right thing in an emergency, when quick thinking is necessary as awell as quick action. The belief is “spreading that Gov. Bryan of Ne- braska has in his State executive ca- pacity pulled a decided bone as a member of the Democratic pennant- seeking team of 1924. vice role. is Aithough a s an experienced . -dsoned politician and magistrate, in both of which capacities he must have en- wountered many strange phases of ahuman life, it may be doubted whether J. R. Caverly of Chicago ever en- countered so strange a case as that over which he presides as judge, He s 63 years old and thoroughly sophisticated, which is fortunate, as This courtroom at present is no place For a youthful and innocent person. 3 - — His fame as an inventor and a benefactor, great as it is, would be enhanced if Henry Ford could apply “his genius to the discovery of a so- “lution of the parking problem. - France and Germany have at least “one point in common in the present discussion. They both need the _money. ————— Hylan's Home-Coming. ‘When Mayor Hylan reached home vesterday from the Pacific Coast it -was expected that he would add _Somewhat to the heat from which Broadway was shimmering. It was Eehe hottest day of the season, with an official temperature of 91, but the mayor’'s observations did not add to the temperature. They were, indeed, -of a placid and cooling character. They were poetic. They revealed the nature-lover, a passionate admirer of beauty in the great open spaces. Lest —he be misquoted or misunderstood, or _lest he fail in his enthusiasm to give “ull expression to his emotion, the “mayor had written a “piece” on the Arain, which constituted his interview. - He handed copies to the eagerly await- *Ing press men who greeted him at the station in the hope of sometbing “pyrotechnle. It was a pastoral pro- duction, tender and almost rhythmic “4n its sweet emotion. There was talk ‘of ~vast herds of kine on the great hun- dred-thousand-acre ranch, “a ‘thou- sand head of cattle grazing peacefully _on a thousand hills.”” There was a “picture of “beautiful buildings of _Spanish architecture surrounded by beautiful gardens of ever-blooming 'gorgeous flowers, and orchards of —orange, peach and cherry trees.” By the way, the ‘mayor evidently failed “to learn that a bunch of orange trees is called a grove and not an orchard. { There was much in eulogy of his host. Truly, the mayor did himself proud. If things political go awry and the mayor fails to get a third term at the city hall, or a first term at the State house at Albany, he should have no difficulty in landing a job as one of hisrecent host’s feature writers. There is surely a niche for him in the great organization which this panegyric praises so highly. So that, whatever happens, the agonies of composition suffered on the homeward journey will not have been in vain. Hog Prices and Prosperity. The humble hog may play havoc with some political plans this year. It would be a pity to have the porkers put the progressives in a pickle, yet that is a possibility. When a little while ago wheat prices rose and re- ports came from the West that the farmers were rejoicing, it was after- ward pointed out by the political pes- simists that this jubilation was pre- mature, that the higher wheat prices | were being paid, not to the farmers, but to the middiemen and grain fac- tors, to whom the farmers had already sold their wheat at the lower prices. Still, the higher wheat prices made the farmers feel a little easier in their minds. And then came the hog prices upward, and corn prices, and now porcine prosperity prevails through- out the great hog belt. Farmers are getting $10.50 a hundred pounds for their hogs in market, or a little over $24 a hog at the average weights of this season. This is good money, a profitable price. The States where the farmers have the most hogs to sell, according to Department of Agricul- | ture reports, include Indiana, Illinois, Towa, Missouri, eastern Kansas and Nebraska and southern Minnesota. | That is right in the heart of the happy | hunting grounds of the progressives, the center of the zone of discontent. There is another thing that is help- ing the hogs to bring happiness back to the region where the La Follette fever is supposed to be burning high. That is the knowledge that has been gained by the farmers from bitter ex- perience with certain phony stocks. Four or five years ago the farmers were prosperous. They had a lot of money. Salesmen of fake stocks mopped up that money without the slightest difficulty. Profits from good crops were squandered in worthless securities, and that was one of the factors of the present depression in the Middle West and the Northwest, in the course of which a number of radical members of House and Sen- ate were elected. In Nebraska alone over $50,000,000 was thrown away on these fake stocks of all kinds. Those Western farmers are now shy of stock schemes. If the salesmen of oil, mining and doubtful industrial securities think to get some of this good hog money or corn money or wheat money, they are vastly mi taken. They may find a few eas; marks, but it is doubtful whether their success in selling worthless se- curities will pay railroad fares, print- ing and postage expenses this year. The hog and wheat and corn money is all going into stock of the right kind—ljve stock: into the payment of debts, into machinery, into motor cars and tractors. And with that money thus invested the farmers of the Middle and North West are in November likely to be much less in- clined toward hopeless third partyism than they. would have been with lower prices. Too Early for Signs of Apathy. Some of the politicians are reported as complaining that they sense & spirit of apathy among the voters in both parties, and say that the efforts of the Democratic and Republican leaders must be speeded up to arodse the voters. Is it not a bit too early in the game to become alarmed on this score? Wait until the speeches of ac- ceptance are delivered and the broad- casting of the speilbinders begins thereafter. Then it will be dollars to doughnuts that the country will become aroused and ‘“sounders-out” of political sentiment be in better con- dition to get a line on the drift of things political and will probably have less difficulty in sensing the senti- ment of the electorate than in previ- ous years. There is every reason to believe that, with three parties in the field, this is to be one of the most stirring campaigns in many years and it is likply that a record-breaking. vote will be polled. Passions of the voters will be stirred by the greatest flood of oratory the country has probably ever witnessed and the “getting put of the vote” will be easier than be- tore in consequence. ———te———— Report goes forth that Mr. Malcolm McAdoo will not follow the example ot Mr. William McAdoo and support the Democratic ticket, because of dis- appointments at the New York nomi- nating convention. This course seems contrary to what should be looked for. In this era of reconstruction Democracy brothers are expected to stand together. et Perhaps Leopold -and Loeb smile during the proceedings because they are among the few sufficiently intel- lectual to grasp the distinctions sought to be drawn as to mental, moral or legal insanity. ——————— The friends of President Coolidge regard him as likely to remain in Washington, not only this Summer, but also .next Summer and several Summets after that. Campaign Policies and Practioes. News dispatches from Chicago tell of the plans and policies of the Repub- lican and Progressive leaders for the coming campaign, while from New York come outlines in a broad way of the Democratic intentions. There is a new thought in the Republicans’ pro- gram. According to the leaders, the campaign is to be marked *“by a quiet dignity and an- ever-present appeal to common sense.” That sounds encour- aging, suggesting ayoldance of cam- paign claptrap designed to deceive the unwary. The Republicans also pro- pose to. bring all sections and factions of the country to “a national view. point” in the consideration of eco- nomic and political questions. That also rings well. It would mean elevating politics and educating the voter to a broader conception of his duties to his country and his fellow man. It is to be hoped that both these plans can be carried out. The La Follette forces in the West are working on an interesting proposi- tion. They will use “flivver” 'forces to comb the countryside for votes. Motor squads of from 6 to 20 cars will be stationed at temporary fleld headquar- ters, maintaining contact with State headquarters. From these stations they will diverge, carrying the gospel of La Follette by word of mouth and in printed form. Chairman Shaver of the Democratic national committee says the Demo- cratic campaign will not open before September. .The Democratic leader does not want too long or too intensive a campaign. He plans to use the radio frequently, but to broadcast only prominent speakers who are likely to attract large audiences. He thinks this preferable to employing a pro- fusion of unknown speakers. 1t would appear from these outlines that the country is to have a vacation from politics during August, anyhow. And that sounds good. Home for Fesbie-Minded. The home for feeble-minded will begin to function this fall on the fine farm near Camp Meade which the District has bought. The present buildings will be used to house pa- tients who go to this farm for rest and perhaps restoration to health, It will not be long before simple, suita- ble buildings are set up. Money for that purpose was appropriated by Congress last session and the municipal architest is at work on specifications for the structure, which will be of the cottage type and as near fireproof as possible. The plan is that each cottage will have two dormitories accommodating 50 pa- tients. It does not appear from pub- lished accounts that a satisfactory name has been adopted for this cot- tage colony. When the matter was under discussion last Winter the Dis- trict authorities thought it kind and sensible to give this farm a name suggesting peace, happiness and rural scenes and without a hint as to any deficiency in the patients. —————— The time has arrived when a “front porch campaign” need not prevent the public from becoming fairly well acquained with a candidate if the porch is equipped with a moving pie- ture camera and a radiocaster. ———— People who predict that the presi- lock do not show due consideration for the fact that Congress has been having trouble enough. —————— Popular confidence in a European i0an can be fortified beyond question if J. Plerpont Morgan decides to pledge his private fortune to the en- terprise. R In opposing Mobiliztion day Col. W. J. Bryan will scarcely go so far as to propose a ratio of sixteen sol- diers in another army to one in our own. The wedding march Is frequently utilized in Broadway publicity as a musical comedy number. ———on—. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Sermon in Crimson Guich. Old Cactus Joe a boast had made, In moments free from care, That he of nothng was afrad And wouldn't take a dare. The minister had gone to seek A fleld less battle torn. They dared Joe to arfse and speak For him on Sunday morn. He faced a grave, attentive throng. The far-off Sunday school With other memories brought along The simple Golden Rule. He stammered. Something was amiss. And then he said, “Well, pards, ‘That Golden Rule is just like this, ‘Thou Shalt Not Stack the Cards.” His audience first smiled; then saw ‘The meaning in his mind, As he was setting forth the law Fit for all humankind. They cried, “Go on. You've lots of time. Let's have your further views.” Said Joe, “If heavenward you'd " climb, i 3 Be honest, win or lose. ‘When sittin’ into any game ‘Whose stake is big or small, For love, for profit or for fame, Don't cheat; and that's ‘bout all. Saint Peter will not bar your way. He'll call off all the guards Around the gate, if you can =ay, “1 Never "Stacked the Cards.’” The Practical Politician. “1 see -our friend Grabwell an- nounces he is busy doing his share in the campalgn.” “I would not say exactly he's busy doing his share,” rejoined Senator ‘SBorghum. “He's busy getting it.” Labor Shortage. The farmer with a grief profound Surveys the cultivated scene ‘Where lusty laborers gather ‘round To manicure a putting green. Jud Tunkins says a lot of people can think of reforms that ought to be fought for, but most everybody is willing for some one else to be the hero. His Usual Luck. “Wheat and pork are going to be very valuable.” suspectéd they would,” answered Farmer Corntossel. “Why?” “I'didn’t raise any wheat and sold all my pigs.” Paths of Knowledge. The youthful genius brings dismay ‘Who seeks for Wisdom's glories And gets fed up along the way With punk-detective stories, “I HKas. heard political speeches,’” said Unclé Eben, “dat didn’ appear to me to have any more real influence on de course of events dan hollerin’ ‘come seven' in & crap game” - {when a soldler is buried the following | is the procedure: dential election will result in a dead-|. [ titute. is correct. Answers to Questions BY FREDERIC J. HASKE'N Q. What Was the first newspaper printed in Washington? A. The first newspaper published in what Is now the city of Washing- ton was the Times and Potowmack Pocket. It started in February, 17589, the exact date being uncertain. The paper was delivered to subscribers in town by ‘“carrier” at their houses, weekly, on Wednesdays, and to those at a distance by the quickest convey- ance. Q. Kindly advise me where 1 can can get a copy of the personal prop- erty tax law of the District of Co- lumbia?—T. McQ A. You can obtain a copy of the personal proporty tax law from the tax assesor's office in the District building, Thirteenth and Pénnsylvania avenue. Q. Do Englishmen eat as much fruit as Americans do’—E. B. Bl A. Americats consume a great deal of fruit, while England is a low per | sapita fruit-consuming country. There is now an “Eat More Fruit” campaign under way in England. Q. What are the proper services at the grave of a soldier?> In what direction should the shots be fired over the grave?—J. H. M. A. The War Department says| ed into the grave as the priest or| minister _reads & short service. Usually music is played or a hymn is sung. A bugle then sounds taps, alter which a firing squad fires three rounds over the grave. The guns are pointed upward, in no particular direction. After the funeral party leaves the cemetery the cemetertal help closes the grave. | The body {5 lower- | Q. When were postage stamps first | collected ?—R. T. 1 A. The fancy for stamp collecting | began a short time after the issue of the first British penny and two-penny stamps in 1840. Dr. Gray of the Brit- ish Museum began collecting them | soon after their appearance. An ad- | vertisement in the Times of 1841 asked for gifts of canceled stamps for a young lady. In 1842 the new hobby was criticized by Punch. In 1860 stamp collecting began to be systematically carried on with regard to different kinds of paper, water- marks, ~perforations, shade of color and distinctive outline. In 1862 a| teacher in Paris required pupils to| collect and paste stamps in atlases | and geographies according to coun- | trics, and this may have been the | first ‘form of systematic classifieation of stamps in a collection. Q. Why are ambassadors to Great Britain called “Ambassadors to the Court of St. Jame: A G. A. The Court of St. James's, commonly. though less correctly Court of St. James, is the usual d nation of the British court; so-called from the old Palace of St James which was long used for royal recep- tions, levees and drawing rooms. Q. How long have boxing gloves?—A. T. D. A. It has been supposed that the first glove contest was the battle be- tween John L. Sullivan and James J. Corbett for the heavyweight cham- plonship In 1892, This was the first big glove contest in America. There is a record of a boxing bout in France between two English boxers in 1818 which mentions the fact that both men wore huge padded gloves. more the g~ boxers used Q. What proportion of the popula- tion of the Philippines are Christians? —F.T.M A. In 1918 the popuulation of the islands reached 10, of whom 9,463,731 were classed as Christlans, and 888,999 as non-Christians. Q. Did Gen. Grant demand the sur- render of Gen. Lee's sword?—G. V. G. A. Contrary to-the popular belief this incident. did_not occur. . In the possession of Robert Underwood Johnson at the time that he pre- pared Grant's memoirs were Gen. Grant's signed words in his own handwriting: “There was no demand made for Gen. Lee's sword and no| tender of it Q. How many men were killed in| coal mines last year?—T. T. A. The Bureau of Mines says that in 1923 there were accidents in and sround coal mines which resulted in the death of 2,452 men. This output of coal for the year was 641.476,000 tons, the fatality rate being 3.82 per million tons. Q. What salaries do air mail plane aviators get?—T. A. F. A. The Post Office Department says that the salary of an aviator in the United States Mall Service is as fol- lows: Base pay is $2,000, plus 5 cents a mile for each flight. Q. How are stamps applied to stamped envelopes? Can one be cut from an envelope and used on another one?—L. J. 8. A. The Post Office Department says that the stamp is embossed on the envelope at the time the gnvelope i made, and is a part of the envelope itself. If the embossed stamp Is cut| from the original envelope, it is not good for postage: If attached to an- other envelope. Q. Can children’s cotton clothing be rendered fireproof?—M. T. E. A. Into the starch used for muslins or other light and fluffy material used for dresses, etc., put an ounce of alum or sal-ammoniac to about three or four quarts of the starch when ready to use. Q. When is Midsummer eve?—F. S. A. Midsummer eve falls_on _the night before the festival of St. John the Baptist, June 24. This used to be observed in all parts of Europe. Fires were kindled In the market places and the young people leaped over the flames or threw garlands into them. Dancing and singing played a part in the festival. Q. What does “avatar” mean?—H. A. “Avatar’ comes from a Sanskrit word meaning a “descent.” It is ap. plied particularly to the descent of Hindu deity to earth in a manifest form, either for beneficent or retribu- tive reasons. It corresponds to the Christian term “incarnation.” Q. Tell something of the history and aims of the American Bible So- clety?—F. M. F. A. The American Bible Society was organized in New York City, 1816, to encourage a_wider circulation of the Bible. In 1841 an act of incorpora- tton was made, and in 1852 “Bible House” was bullt, one of the oldest office buildings in New York City. The board of managers consists of 36 laymen, and the object is to translate and circulate the Holy Scriptures to all the ends of the earth, and espe- olally among the benighted and des- It is strictly undenomina- tional, and during 100 vears 117,130,- 711 volumes were distributed, printed in 164 languages. ‘The society is maintained by bequests, endowments and subscriptions. Q. Should “gas with an “e” or an A. Either “gasoline” or “gasolene” ine” B be spelled L. J. Q. What is sea-wrack?—F. P. A. Sea-wrack is any marine vege- tation cast up on the shore, such as el grass or grass-wrack. Q. What_has become of the Ger- man liner “Imperator?'—A. W. A. , A. The Imperator is now the Cun- arder “Berengaria. f (Did you ever write a letter to Fred- eric J. Haskin? You can ask our In. formation Bureau any question of fact Sk o e Sasier &8 & peremol et e 0] P TS o et o v pene s cents in stamps jor LONDON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. BY FREDERICK WILLIAM WILE. American politics has always baffled the Britisher, and his interest in it, even during a presidential campaign, Is not lively. He considers such things as primaries and the electoral college far too complicated to be worth understanding, and when you attempt to explain to him what may happen If the election is thrown into Congress he calls for help and changes the subject. The nomination of John' W. Davis by the Democrats naturally attracts attention in Lon- don, where he earned great popular- ity during his ambassadorship at the end of-the war. Britons are too wise to take even the appearance of sides fn an American presidential contest— in this year of all years. They re- member what Grover Cleveland did to Lord Suckville West on a historic occasion. But our British friends are gratified that one of the major par- ties has placed in the field a man who knows Europe from first-hand knowl- edge. * x % x Wickham Steed, former editor of The Times and now editor of the re- juvenated Review of Reviews (founded by the late William T. Stead), tells a story which, he says, established John W. Davis' reputation in England as a master of tact. The.Prince of Wales in 1921 was a guest of honor at a lord - mayor's dinner on his highness' return trom Canada. was down for the final speech on a program which included addresses by | the lord mayor, the prince, and Mr. Lloyd George (then premier). the prince and the premier deeply stifred the distinguished audience. Davis' turn came. Before him lay a sheaf of notes for a prepared address. But the Ambassador, conscious that Gufldhall was under the spell of what prince and premier had said, deter- mined to avold an anti-climax. Lift- ing his glass, he sald: “My Lord Mayor, Your Royal Highness, Your Excelléncies, My Lords and Gentle- me: 1 have the honor to propose the health of the Lord Mayor.” And that was all. The great audience caught the point and Davis took his seat amid a thunder of applause and cheers. Many sald it was the speech Both | of the night. * % % * Little is known in Great Britain of the personality of President Coolidge, but American visitors are often préssed to discuss it. From what they have read of “Cautious Cal” Britons are convinced he is a man of the type of mind and temperament who would fit ideally into their own public life, which is the highest trib- ufe they can pay any foreigner. His campaign utterances will be closely studicd here. Ambassador Kellogg is an effective missionary in the Pres- ident's cause. He s no oppor- tunity to depict Mr. Coolidge in the right light, and especiaily to contro- vert the theory that the President is the uncompromising head and front of the _Republican solationist’ School. Senator La Follette visited Europe a few months ago and spent some time in England. The La Fol- lette-Wheeler movement is looked upon here as more or less the coun- terpart of the British Labor party idea.” 1If it should be any chance prove triumphant, there would be Britons to claim ‘that America had at length gone the way which Ger- many, Great Britain ~and France went. respectively, with Marx, Her- riot and MacDonald. . i * % x % Jt is the common thing in London to say that the Ramsay MacDopald government is In office but mot in power. By that, of course, is meant that the Labor government has no majority in the House of Commons and, theoretically, could be turned out at any time by a coalition of Liberals and Unionists. Everybody says that_is exactly what would happen if Labor ever tried to “do its stuff,” i. e. enact socialistic or even semi-socialistic legislation. To date MacDonald has steered so middle a course that he has kept wide of the coalition rocks. Undoubtedly his prestige is being enhanced from day to day. He has made no serious Blunders. If he gets some order out of the European reparations chaos. his hold on public estéem will be very Strong. very strons. —ia The shabbiest establishment in Lon- don is the untenanted American Em- bassy, at 12 and 13 Prince’s Gate, Hyde Park—the gift mansion Dbe- stowed upon the United States three vears ago by J. Pierpont Morgan. Al- though Congress appropriated $150,000 for renabilitation of the place, not a stroke of work has been done to that end. Nobody knows why. Meantime the two houses, which are to be knocked into one, are literally going to rack and ruin. The windows are dirty, the lawns unkempt, the walls streaked with grime and dust, and the whole aspect of the institution that of a shack in the slums. On either side are the splendid homes of aristocrats and plutocras, and directly across the way is the park, now re- splendent In midsummer glory. Mean- time Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg are ten- ants in a Mayfair mansion, Crewe House, for which they pay out of thelr own pockets an annual rent of $12,600, or about three-quarters of the am ador's salary. * ok % x No sooner Is the sverage American, If he be of the male persuasion. ar- rived in Londontown than he proceeds to deck himself out as much like the native of the gentleman species as he possibly can. He rushes to Piccadiily tor spats, a walking stick, a pair of Kloves (to carry, not wear), a soft hat 1o supplant the straw he brought with him and & fop (silk) hat for the state occasions to which he hopes to be invited. The American Bar Asso- fation almost sent up the price of toppers” when its members learned that the “morning dress” required for the King and Queen's garden partv called for that kind of headgear. * % *x % Radio is not approximately as wide- Iy developed In Great Britain as it-is in the United States. There are only about a million receiving sets In use, and the number of habitual listeners- n probably does not reach 5,000,000. The licensing system is responsible for the fact that less than one-tenth of. the population consists of radio addicts, as compared with our 40,- 000,000 or 50,000,000 fans. KEvery Briton who has a receiving set must Pay @ government licensing fee of $2.25 or $3.37%. depending, respec- tively, on whether the set is manu- factured by the British Broadcasting Company or is homemade. The gov- ernment gets 50 cents of the fee; the balance goes to the broadcasting com- pany, which is a trust formed by the companies manufacturing radio ap- paratus. Anybody using a set with- out a license is subject to a fine of $450, or six months' imprisonment. un- der ‘the act prohibiting the mainte- nance of wireless receiving stations without & license. Bands, artists, speakers and others who furnish radio programs are paid for their services by the broadcasting company. * % % x One of the proletarian boons con- ferred by the Labor government is the opening of Hyde Park to taxi- cab traffic. Previousiy only private vehicies had access to the park. The new government also raised the motor speed limit from 12 to 20 miles an hour. “Why didn't we think of that?” Winston Churchill, who was in office under Lloyd George, iamented, when the plain people gave thanks for the pemocratization of trafMc in Hyde ark. * x % % ‘The Prince of Wales, who will soon be in the United States, wants the American people to know him in some other capacity than merely that of “a regular fellow” who falls off his horse systematically and frequents Parisian cabarets. He is, in fact, one! of the hardest working young men in Great Britain. His daily program in busy times like these slsclans a series of activities that keep him go- ing day and night, and often on the wing from one end of the kingdom to the other. His job is to represent the royal house on an endless variety of public and semi-public occasions. The unaffected, tireless and smiling manner in which he weathers the con- stant ordeal is responsible for his popularity, which amounts to down- right affection. % e Every American visitor to Britain is cross-examined about prohibition. There is a dry movement in this country, but there seems little pros- pect, in the measureable future, that it will ever get anywhere. Labor, it is said, would oppose it. tooth and nail. The British liquor interests leave no stone unturned to advertise the epidemic of lawbreaking that is alleged to have resulted from pro- hibition in the United States, and urge Britons to take timely warning from that horrible example. Our country is depicted, too, as succumb- Ing in terrifying degree to the drug Rabit. as one of the direct effects of grohlbltlon. Britain has not gomne ack to pre-war liquor licensing laws. Hourse of sale ‘in public houses (saloons) are still restricted, though not as much as in war-time.' Drunk- enness is not wholly eradicated, but it is vastly less than in the old days. *® 2% This observer asked one of the foremost industrialists of Great Brit- ain—a steel and iron magnate ot Sheffield—for the British business view of America's high-tariff policy. He rejoined: “We, of course, think it is a mis- take from your point of view; that it is restricting your exports 'and is locking in your gold; is undoubtedly costing you $315,000,000 per annum, and increasing the cost of production and the cost of living On the other hand, there is no doubt that we are finding it easier to compete with American manufacturers in other markets, owing to your high-tarift olicy.” RO (Copyright. 1924.) Press Gratified by Defense Plea of Guilty Cause for gratification is found by the press in the action of counsel for Leopold and Loeb, confessed murder- ers of the Franks Yoy in Chicago, whose pleas were changed to “guilty,’ leaving to the presiding judge the determination of the penalty. Thus the public is saved from an open court airing of ghastly detalls and, in the opinion of most editors who have commented on the case, the ends of justice best will be served. “In a day when legal quibbles over the responsibllity before the law of mental defectives is frequent and when obvious cheating of justice is common,” observes the Springfield Union, “this attitude is, gratifying on the part of the defense. that might, if it wished, spend unlimited time and in an effort to escape the The Chicago Daily News feels, “the issue in the extraordinary case has been greatly simplified and re- duced from both a legal and esocial point of view to the question wheth- er the defendants deserve clemency from the court. To the vindication of the law itself no obstacle has been interposed as matters have shaped themselves.”. It is a wholesome thing for justice, according to the Milwaukee Journal, “that there is to be no spec- tacle of an attempt to free these young vty * K k¥ As the New York World sees it ‘Rarely before has a judge been re- quired to commit himself so clearly on the issue of capital punishment. The crime was committed. It was ab- solutely deliberate. There were no extenuating .circumstances. If ever there was a. case wherein capital unishment ‘was indicated under the aw, it-is called for here.” Belleving that the public interest could have been served in no better .way, the New York Herald-Tribume suggests, “the only evidemce which is now to be submitted-is.that which is alone in Franks Case forted “in the assurance that the ar- guments pro and con will be consid- ered by a judge learned in the crim- inal law and presumably a trained and clear-headed logician, proof against mere emotional and senti- mental attack.” The Duluth Herald is glad “the public ix spared the sick- ening details of a ghastly revelation of the depths of horror to which ab- normal human minds can sink.” In the opinion of the Newark News “the plea of guilty and the statement of counsel represent not so much a sur- render to the inevitable as a last-ditch defense in a desperate extremity. Wip- ing out the expected reliance on insanity to save Leopold and Loeb from the ex- treme penalty, their counsel retains a doubtful opportunity to employ _some fine shading of the element of moral re- sponsibility and the chance of convinc- ing a dispassionate judge of what he ad- mits no jury could be convinced—that the extreme penalty should be with. held.” The Flint Journal considers “the move was a shrewd play upon psychol- ogy, upon the chance that the court would not undertake of his own respon- sibility to impose the death penalty. Another possibility, the Sioux City Jour- nal notes, is that Attorney Darrow may intend to demand trial if the court passes sentence more severe than is ex- pected, and “it to most persons that Leopold and Loeb have better than an even chance to save their worthless lives.” x : * ko k “Clarence Darrow is ehrewd,” agrees the Brooklyn Eagle, “his plea of guiity on behalf of Leopold and Loeb is clever,” for “trial will go on without a jury, the defense merely seeking to pre- sent evidence as to the moral responsi- bility of the young men and frankly acknowledging that the defendants ‘should be permanently isolated from so- clety,” ” but “whether this will actually save the lives of the criminals is uncer- tain,” because “we have little doubt that the prosecutor is fully confident that he can prove the youths entirely sane and worthy of nothing but_the death pen- aity.” The judge “will have to face the issue squarely and surrender to the con- sequences of his decision.” concludes the Reading Tribune, and “it is his job that sympathy, D S erliiy o Gagen & il “os a nation.” ! THIS AND THAT BY C. K. TRACEWELL. Most bobbed-hair ladies think .it adventure enough to go to the beauty parlor to get their “crowning glory” clipped. Washington girls and women by the hundred during the past six months have succumbed to the lure of the short locks. Men of the Mational Capital, hus- bands, sweethearts, brothers, have stood aloof while this universal bar- bering has gone on, If the operation turns out successfully they are the first to crow. If not, they keep wise silence. It may be stated right here that in the majority of cases the bobbing 18 a success. That fact s shown beyond. peradventure, indeed, by the continual procession of women. to the shops. g If bobbing the hair were not some- thng more than a craze or simple fad it would have died out long ago, llke ping pong or diablo. The fact that it is on the increase shows there is something to it. * % % % One local girl, however, had her real adventure In bobbed hair after she had her dark locks cut. By the way, should it be bob hair, ‘bobbed hair, bob-haired or bobbed- haired? Maybe Francis De Sales Ryan, who has been keeping Wash- ington in the straight and narrow path of English undefiled for many years, can help out. This girl, the bobbed-hair heroine of this tale, got into more trouble as a result of her new way of wearing her hair than did Helen of Troy. Helen let her shining glory “run wild,” with the result that her charming head is glven credit for having sunk a thousand ships. Who can say—if Helen had bobbed her hair the whole history of the world might have been changed! * k¥ ¥ To get back to the Washington &irl, however. She is a little miss who, at time of this story, bad a good with a big local concern. How her bobbed hair got her fired from her Jjob is the purpose of this writing. No, you are all wrong: the bess did not come into tne officc the next day, take a look at her and exclaim: “Miss Smith, 1 will have no bobbed- hair girls in my employ. 1 will stand for rouge and powder and will admit that you put them on with discretion. 1 am game for touching up the eye- lashes, If necessary, or pinking the finger nails. Nobody In this shop ever heard me kick about short skirts or send out an order that waists had to be higher in the neck. But I draw the line at this short-hair business. Miss Smith, vou are fired!” No. it wasn't ilke that at all. It is an entirely new sort of story, and if you have any doubt about it just hang on to the end. You will see! *x % x Miss Smith—we will call her that for convenience, for she is a real girl and might get angry if her true name were used—had a nice job with | her firm. She is—or was—ambitious to get ahead. That was one reason she got her hair bobbed. It was so much less trouble to fix, took less time to ‘wash and dry, looked better, felt bet- ter. Ask any of your woman ac- quaintances. She did her little job well, then in her epare moments looked around for something else to do. She had read some of these eficiency books, you know—the sort that gives vou per- | fectly good advice. The trouble with them is that the boss never seems Lo have read them. Sometimes he doesn’t seem to know what he ought to do! Miss the job Smith studied other jobs, as well as filled her own. She was ready | in case of need to step into the shoes | of the employe just ahead of her. | Had she done this, in a literal sense. | of course, she would have presented a strange sight, as Miss . her superior, wore number 7 oxfords. Miss Smith wears 3%. * * ¥ ¥ One day she heard that there was| to be a meeting of the male em- ployes of the firm. Women were not invited. Firm business was to be discussed in a big way, with out-of- town officials present. It looked like a big night. Miss Smith wondered how on earth she could get into that meeting. She tricd suggesting to the boss that she be allowed to take notes, or just at- tend as a guest, but was met with polite refusals. It was to be a “stag affair,” pure and simple. “Just because you've got Bobbed hair won't get you into that meet- ing,” declared Jimmie, the office boy, with an affectionate grin. It some one had stuck a pin.into the vivacious Miss Smith her reaction would have been no greater. “By George!" she astonished Jimmie. have bobbed hair into that meeting! * * x ¥ A hurried trip to the beauty parior late that afternoon and Miss Smith had the best “shingle bob” you ever saw, or any one ever saw. She Jook- ed just like 2 boy. ‘When she refired to her room and got into the suit of clothes that Jim- mie had loaned her she looked exaot- 1y like a boy. The possessor naturally of the much coveted “boyish straight” lines, Miss Smith would have passed as a slender young man almost anywhere. Later that evening, however, as she confidently stepped into the bril- lantly lighted building where the important office meeting for man employes was being held, s feeling gt trepidation suddenly came over er., It made her feel as she did that morning she went to the beauty par- lor for the first time and uttered those historio words, “Bob my hair.” This time, however, it was as if she had entered the portals of the largest men’s barber shop in the world and all the patrons were eyeing her as she walked down a hall 10,000 feet long to the only empty chair. * ¥ X % why 1 will get Whew! She entered the dooy, but.nobody sald a word. She went to her seat, but nobody paid any particular attention. She sat down, and the men kept on talking. She smiled shyly, but-no one said anything. She began to realize. the loneliness | of men among men they do not know. Then the meeting started. “Big” offi- clals of the company made spesches’ Firm matters were discussed. 1t was just a simple staff meeting. There was no reason why she should mot have been there. It interested her very much, though, and she was sorry when the evening was over. Elation filled her heart as she start- ed for the door amid a mass of com- rades all bent on the same objective. Here she was, a .girl among 200 men, and not a one had recognize hei - Bhe neared the door. Dne more ste ind out! ith a crash she slipped on a rug, fell against a large screen. slid to the floor, pulling the screen on top of her. - .~ Men hurried to help. They pulled the screen off, and as she lay there an-unholy. desire to laugh-came-oves- her.. . .- - - 8he giggled. - GONDOLIER FIGHTS FORHIS EXISTENCE Venice Sees Struggle to Keep Ancient Craft Against . Motor Boats’ Rise. E FOR CENTURIES SUPREM Evolution of Environment Like Flippers of Seals and Ducks’ Web Feet. A recent.demonstration by indig- Dant gondoliers in Venice because of the iricreasing use of motor boats on the canals of the city may have the MoKt alementary economic considera- tion at its roots—the fight to hold one’s Jobimbut there is much more at the bottorn of it as well, according to 2-bulletin from the Washington head quarters of -the National Geographic Society. “Venice's environment evolved the gondola almost as truly as an aquatic life changed legs into ffppers for seals or put web féet on ducks,” says the bulletin. “Venice not only has ‘water avenues,’ large canals in wh {motor boats can operate, but a duechanically-propelied craft would be out of the fiue‘:um Probably no other boat as large as & gondola. even though driven by oar or pole, could navigate these emal channeis successfully. Extreme 1 ness of draft;-and ability swerve ‘about agilely ght to turn and requirements mad Vanineis el ade by Venice's cana trafic. and every linc and curve of ola seems designed to achicve these ends. & i Like Skate Gliding Over Surface. “This distinctivé craft is more like a skate gliding over a surface than & boat ploughing inte it Both ends | urved up and the bottom flattened. The weight of the gondolier in the stern tends to raise th and the boat seems cager to ciimb out Of thé water at every stroke. Al though a few motor boats have oper- ated satisfactorily for years on the broad Grand Canal, one can imagine their troubles in a trafic jam on even the medium-sized waterways (o be not unlike those of a farm truc Set down ameng the darting, dodgln, cabs of Fifth avenue. ven if it were not surely pro- tected by the existence of the smalier canals, ‘sentiment would fight ably with the gondoliers for tha life of their institution—for it is little less. One can hardly imagine Venice with- out gondalas. And the gondoliers themselves are an important factor in Venetian life. Henry James called these sturdy, sun-burmed, water-1 ing men ‘the true children of Venice They typify much more closely than the merchants and = try. on their pile-m: Epirit of the founders of Ve built up among the waters the gaualed maritime world power of it ay. Black by Law. “The visitor o Yenice for the 1 time is sure to be disappointed the appearance of the gondola. much that is'Tomantic has been asso- ciated with .these boats that the stranger unconsciously expects therm to be gayly decorated. But each is like all the rest, a mber, unrelieved black. The powerful council of the old Venetian republic provided for this dusky hue back in the sixteenth century, and the requirement has been followed as faithfull ver since, if the mighty ten still held unques tioned powers of life and death over all the citizenry. One explanation of the queer law is that Venet! 8 were squandering too much mo vieing with one another in decking their gondolas with co: rappings. A other iu that it was to lend prestige | to authority. At any rate the edict | excepted the gondolas of the doge and thee foreign ambassadors which were richly embellished in gold and crimson. Ganges of Prosperits. “At the height of Venetian pros- perity the wealth of certain individ- uals might be measured by the num- ber of gondolas they maintained as in America today one’s bank account may sometimes be inferred from the automobiles he owns. At the present time -there are relatively few pr vately owned gondolas. They ser as taxicabs with ‘stands’ at promi nent points along the canal banks Some Venetian families hire a gon- dolier and his boat from mon month; and as is true of chauf tn_some moderately well-to-do lies in the United States, the gondo- lier, when not rowing his boat. may act'as butler or general man-servant about the house. “The gondola is first mentioned in manuscripts of 1094 A. D. but had probably been evolving from forms not greatly different since the first Venetians took up their abode on the lagoon mud-banks several centuries earller. The unusual craft has flour- ished only where it was born, and is hardly known in other parts of the world save as a curiosity, or to give a breath of Venice to the ornamental lakes of world fairs. One of the few transplantations of the gondola that has been attempted was to the Grand Canal that Louis XIV built at Ver- sailles in 1674. These boats, a giflt of Venice, unlike their patterns, were brilliantly decorated. ~ A colony of Itallan gondoliers and their families was established in the Parisian suburb and remained until the French Revolution.” Bridge Rated Unsafe. Harpers Ferry Structure Said to Be Damaged by Flood. To the Bditor of The Star: 1 was indeed glad to read vour very timely and appropriate editorial in last Saturday's Star concerning the Harpers Ferry’ toll bridge. 1 should not complain regarding the exaction of a toll for crossing the Po- tomac River from Maryland to Har- pers Ferry, but the construction of this toll bridge at the present time is a public menace. The damage to the bridge caused by the recent floods has been only temporariiy repaired and it would have been 'better toj have closed the bridge entirely an erect a__new structure during the Summer ‘months rather than run thef risk of a very serious accidemt whic!l wauld possibly entail the loss of life It ias my experfence in crossind the bridge on Friday last that I had to back my machine completely off ‘the bridge onto the Maryland side be- cause another automobiie was coming in_the. opposite direction and there was no room for both cars to pass The bridge is privately owned: hence it is a toll bridge and will doubtles continue as such as_long as it is privately owned. . However, _unless ‘either the State of Maryland or West Virginia takes prompt_actien for :the protection of the traveling public who cross this bridge 1 fear a very serious accident is likely to occur. “In my judgment the structure of the bridge is unsafe and rather than making temporaty repalrs, an entirely new and modern bridge should have been built aftér'a span had been washed away by the May flood. The present structure is a relic of the past generation, wholly nauited - to--present--day-smodes- of HARRY J. GERRITZ.