Evening Star Newspaper, August 20, 1924, Page 6

THE With s EVENING STAR WEDNESDAY...August 20, 1924 $HEODORE W. NOYES. . .. Editor The Kvening Star Newspaper Company Smsiness Office, 11th St. and Pennsylva New York Office: 110 Eant Chicago Office: Tow in @uropean Otlice: 16 Legent St.,Londos The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition. ix delivered by carriers within the eits ai 60 co b eoxland. plone Main 5000 Fiers at the en Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40: 1 mo,, 70c Daily only .......1yr, $6.00;1mo, 50c Sunday only .... . $2.40; 1 mo,, 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 8¢ Diuily only .1yr., $7.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only .1yr., $3.00;1mo, 25¢c Member of the Associated Press. the Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited 1o it or not otherwise credited in this paper and ‘also the local news pub- lished All rights of ‘publication of here 50_reses Collection is made by car- of each month. are Brass Tacks. Expectations, raised by the nomina- tion of Gen, Charles G. Dawes for Vice President by the Republican party, that he would furnish pyro- technics for the campaign, are real- ized in his speech of acceptance. He strikes a note of vigorous denuncia- tion of the radicaiism which is now organizing in the form of a third party. He makes La Follettism one of the main issues of the fight now being waged between the parties. He holds aloft the two flags, the Stars and Stripes and the red emblem of anti-constitutionalism, and asks the country under Wwhich it will go ferward. Naturally Democratic spokesmen will resent the words of Gen. Dawes in thus relegating their party to a subordinate position in the campaign. La Follette spokesmen will also Tesent his specch as characterizing the entire third party movement as one of extreme radicalism. Doubtless Gen. Dawes will be pleased at both reactions. He cvidently intended thus to establish his own party in the role of the country's chief defender @gainst the red danger. “This is a campaign of brass tacks, not bombast,” says Gen. Dawes in h opening words. Everybody knows what “brass tacks” me Every- Lody knows that Charles Dawes is an adept in “brass tacks” demon- strations. He never leaves any doubt regarding his meaning. In this speech he talks true to form. He caus the third party movement by the right name, In thus specitically third party as the real enemy Gen. Dawes rebukes the Democratic party for not having chosen dared to denounce the movement. It had its opportunity. The second Cleveland convention which named La Follette was a fact of history when the Democratic party assembled in New York. Yet the Madison Square plat- form was silent on the subject of radicalism. Complaint is already voiced regard- ing the Dawes speech that it tends to divide the country into “two warring camps,” engendering ‘‘the most embittered sectionalism it has known for a generation.” Expediency would dictate silence on the subject. ien. Dawes is not expedient. He is explicit. He sees the danger and denounces the source of it. 1€ there exist conditions and if there is in progress a movement to condemn which to precipitate “embittered sectionalism,” then it is well that some one has the nerve to utter that condemnation. A political campaign of expediency is comfortable, no doubt, but it gets nowhere. In 1896 expediency would have dictated that the Republican party ignore the silver issue and go to the country with a united front end a divided heart, to leave the question of false finance undeter- mined. Courage replaced expediency, nd the issue was drawn and settled, to the infinite good of the American people. Now the pediency ns. G naming the or s issue is as to radicalism. E: would perhaps dictate “pussyfooting” around the question, =0 as not to offend some of the fa mers and the workingmen who are inclined to follow the marsh light of La Follettism. Dawes will have none of this. He asks the people to align themselves on this question. Some votes may be lost here and there. Many will be gained everywhere. Only on election day will it be shown how many have been lost and how many have been won by this policy of plain speaking on the paramount question. N Tt is apparently considered a mat- ter of duty by several campaign orators to show that they are in touch with the mental processes of the plain people by splitting an in- finitive verb now and then. ———— Weather. Comment is not now “how warm it 1s,” but “how cool it is.” From days that were oppressive to man, but stimulating to corn, we have come to a “spell” of weather which is in- vigorating to men and discouraging, and almost threatening, to corn and most other food plants. The prophets of an early Fall are busy, but it is| . Zenerally hoped that the prophets will miss their guess and that Fall will not be too early. For the good of the farms, orchards and truck gardens near Washington, Fall should not come too soon. A little tardiness in its approach would be appreciated. Spring was late. 1t made many false starts, and true Spring was far be- hind its schedule. When it came it was almost summertime, and there was excessive heat and not enough rain. It was not the best “growing weather,” and corn, tobacco, fruit and table vegetables have generally had hard going. Things that grow in the flelds need a little time to catch up, and an early Fall would not help matters. It is usual in Washington to have oo0oi nights in August, but during same of our recent nights the tem- pamg@ape has gone unusually low. WA Wmeteus points north and west While the fight promoters and patrons | seuse he's gineter have.” of us, but not many miles away, light frosts and a thin dropping of snow have been reported. These common heralds of Fall have appeared in the hill country, where frost always comes carlier than in our immediate neighborhood. There is comfort in the weather forecast for the next 24 hours, and the indications are that showers will be followed by warmer weather. There are signs that the trees and i birds are on the lookout for Fall. Foliage in the woods is still green, but yellow leaves are numerous, and many of the green boughs are not far from the point of color change. Birds are silent. Little song is heard, and even the chip-chip and other alarm notes are not numerous. Many of the Spring migrants have gone South, and most of those that are with us seem to be gathering in small flocks and. making other preparations for depar- ture. Whether this is because of the recent cool nights, or because their instinct tells them that Fall is near, is one of the many things man does not know. Few of the wild flowers of early Summer remain, and the golden rod, asters and sunflowers of late Summer and early Fall do not seem as hopeful and prosperious as usual. There is no way to have nature sup- ply us with the kind of weather we want, but most of us probably hope for a long succession of warm, bright days with no night frosts in Septem- ber and October. — . Reparations and Politics. Reports from Berlin and Paris indicate that the two ministries will be fully supported by their respective parliaments on the reparations agree- ment. In neither Germany nor France does the opposition wish to “go to the country” on the issue of ratification of measure which means the final settlement war questions and the rehabilitation of both nations. i The German Nationalists, it is re- ported, will caucus on the subject before the Reichstag meets. They are in a difficult position. If they as a party seek the defeat of the government on this subject they will appear at a disadvantage on any subsequent balloting. For the people of Germany want this question settled, and evidently realize that the present settlement as greatly advantageous to them as any plan could possibly be. They will have little patience with a purely political opposition. In France much the same condition prevails. Poincare would, of course, like to see Herriot displaced from the permiership, especially as he has consented to the withdrawal of troops from the Ruhr one of the condi- tions of German acceptance of the reparations plan. Peincare stood to the last moment of his as premier for the retention of the troops in the Ruhr. He fearcd, with an evidently mistaken measurement of the public sentiment, that vre linquishment of this policy would cost him the leadership. He lost the leadership, and his successor appears likely to rethin it after consenting to a reversal of the occupation policy. The plain truth seems to be that both Germany and France want settlement, and regard this present proposal as the best possible in the circumstances. Domestic politics both Germany and France greatly delayed the adjustment. Perhaps it has been to a good end after all, for this present plan believed to be sounder and more cer tain to work out in lasting results than any preceding proposal. It was worth waiting for. If there is in the making in Ger- many a Nationalist reaction, which aims at the overturn of the republic’ and the restoration of the monarchy, acceptance of the Dawes plan will not delay or hinder it. But it would hardly seem likely that such a re- action will closely follow the final adoption of the measures designed to put the plan into effect. The Ebert government will have survived long enough to put Germany in the way of rehabilitation. It will deserve a further lease of life, perhaps a definite and lasting commission. a ca has is The reluctance of Henr: about coming to the Senate may have been due to a disinclination to be an eyewitness to the heartlessness of the police toward flivver parkers. —_—————————— While unable to command presi- dential honors for himself, Col. W* J. Bryan is able to assure his brother Charles that he has not been a bad mascot for others. —_——————— A visiting prince may be justified in a certain amount of doubt as to whether he’ is being entertained or providing the entertainment. e A Sorry Spectacle. An Argentine pugilist who |fornwd here unsuccessfully as chal- lenger of the champion a season or so ago has recently returned to these shores to engage in a bout with a lesser light of the prize ring for the privilege of again meeting the cham- pion. When he arrived he was found to be in the company of a young woman, and the question of this as- | sociation was raised. He was finally admitted., Protest was-made by the American Civic League, which seeks to correct improper conditions in modern life, but it was- ineffective. The head of the organization - per- sisted, and finally sought the arrest of the pugilist on the score that in swearing to his relationship with the young woman he had committed per- jury. It was obvious that the real purpose of this move was to prevent the fight itself, for if the pugilist was arrested and found to be guilty of perjury he would necéssarily be subject to deportation. Much feeling was aroused in the sporting circles of New York by this move. Much bitter talk emanated from both sides. Yes- terday the date for the hearing on the perjury charge was set’for Septem- ber 20. Inasmuch as the bout is scheduled for September 11, it will not matter much if deportation is ordered. Now the clerical head of;the league is expressing tremendois, indignation, per- of the | in | | idea are equally indignant at the attempt to stop the match and jubilant over the degision to postpone the hearing. As much energy has been expended in this case already as would be re- auired to float a great corporation. But large interests are involved. The prize fight game is no small affair nowadays. It is a “big mone; prise. That is one reason why the clergyman leader of the league is so indignant. He avers that money has been used in this case. And the other siru avers that the whole affair is an successful attempt at blackmail. is a sorry spectacle, anyway. —_———————— A Dangerous Lapse. Some of the good women of Maine who are strongly antitobacco object to a picture of Gen. Dawes smoking his celebrated pipe. So the picture is to be withdrawn as a campaign poster. But will this end the opposi- tion to the General? A new danger has arisen. His speech of acceptance furnishes material for severe criticism in the culture belt, which centers around Boston. N less than two split infinitives appear in it. Maybe there are more than two. But of those two there is no doubt. “To again enter that fog of debate,” he says, referring to the proposed referendum on the league question. “To morally rot in a policy of mational isolation,” he says later. Pipes and split infinitives are not supposed to go in the same com- pany. Yet here they are in flagrant evidence. The pipe picture has been turned to the wall. Will the General send out an apology for his two soul- piercing phrases? —_——e—————— As the planet Mars draws nearer, interest in the possibility of com- munition with it grows more intense. “Good morning” from that distant world would mean more to human thought than the most lengthy and ingenious campaign speech. It is the privilege of Science to remind us now and then that we may be exag- gerating the importance of intellec- tual utterances evolved for the bene- fit of a comparatively limited audi- ence. ———raee A Philadelphia inventor equipped a hearse with a musical attachment de- signed for hymns, which got out of order and could not be stopped. The was an ingenious one, but the reminder that “The Band Played On is a trifle too frivolous for a funeral. A plea Loeb of guil Leopold and tollowed by proceedings de- signed nress the idea that the are not to iw believed in solemn and presumably remorseful declaration, even s0 — Suicide reports from of the musical shows indicate that the “tired busine: man” in fact, nearly so weary as a few of the chorus girls. some is not, ————— Mr. Dawes did not mention Helen Maria. but he used gift for earnest emphasis when he said, “La Follette and Wheeler.” his —_—————————— A Buropean composer say never heard any jazz music doesn’t know what it He thrill coming to him. s There ar ill a few forms of man finance that depend on the ci dulity of the purchaser. he and has O Scientists are now talking of reach- ing Mars by means of a rocket. Sec America first. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSO: There is no fear of loneliness, ‘Whatever be your views. Opinions you may still express As freely as you choose. If you declare the world is flat And ghosts are wandering free, You'll have the joy of knowing that Somebody will agree. If you assert that Science shows Irreverent lack of sense, Or that the prophets may disclose Discrepancies immense, As well accepted views you scorn Abashed you need not be; Expectant of a state forlorn, Somebody will agree. Since no one can be always right ‘With megaphone or pen, It's lucky that each error slight Is\shared by other men. And each may plainly speak his mind And strive new light to see. Our faults companionship will find, Somebody will agree. Economy. “You are always talking economy to the public.” . 3 “I've got to take somebody into my confidence,” answered Senator Sorg- hum. “There’s no use talking ccon- omy to my family.” Out of the Running. ‘When wheat and corn are in demand, The farmer sighs at Fortune's tricks 3 And says, “I wish T'd tilled my land Instead of playing politics.” Jud Tunkins says the police are liable to collect so many flivver fines that first thing they know nobody'll have enough change left to buy tickets to their base ball games. Laughing at Trouble. At trouble philosophers told him to laugh. He complied with a rollicking roar. Said the world, quite deceived by his effort to chaff, “Since you like it, we'll hand you some more."” Elections for the Fair. “Are you happier since you can par- ticipate in elections.” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I don’t desire the responsibilities of office, and I'd feel a little absurd if I went into a beauty contest.” “One of two things is bound to hap- pen,” said Uncle Eben: “De older a man grows de mo’ sense or de less It} Another flood in China! Another famine in China! Within the last few days 50,000 people have been drowned, and millions of victims of the same floods are homeless and starving. A farm area as large as Massachusetts is under water, which will stand there for many weeks, and rich farm lands are rendered un- available for the sowing of crops this fall. Millions of people will starve unless Civilization comes to their re- lief. They face a Winter homeless, as well as hunger-stricken, and a com- ing year without a harvest. Droughts in some regions and excessive rains in others have varied the causes but produced similar calamities. The fact that-the suffering is far, far from here, is likely to biunt the keen edge of interest, unless we re- member that humanity is the same everywhere. The World War killed 17,000,000 men in four years, but in 1921 flood and famine in China killed 15,000,000 in a few months, and tor- tured millions more. The desperate sufferers stripped the leaves off the forests and snatched every blade of and every weed and flower, that might live. Terrible tales of cannibalism, too, were whispered. It is estimated that the flood destroved property valued at more than $200,- 000,000. In former centuries, even greater | flood disasters in China were chron- icled—one in 1642 taking 300,000 lives. 1t was the same Yellow River, then, as now, which suddenly shifted its .course to the sea, and converted smiling valleys into stormy lakes, covering thousands of villages. Be- tween 1551 and 1866, floods in China swallowed up more people than the then total population of the United States—from 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 * ok kX There are “cconomists” who argue that by famine, flood and world wars Providence regulates overpopulation. We have also read the theology of our own forbears who taught that ness and loss of property were punishments sent by an angry God to rebuke our sins. Such would now profess that Providence, discovering an overstocked China was correct- ing the “mistake” by tragic destruc- tion of people of ail ages and con- ditions. Is it true that populated that only massacres of millions tinue to feed her surv total population is 321,188 that n average of 135 per square mile. lgium Peovle per square le; Holland has 483 and France- even now bewailing her loss of popu- lation by the World War and her “race sul ‘—huas 189 per square mile The most densely peopled provinces f China are Shantung, with 528 per China is so over- by wholesale an she con- inc ave the total area of China h uge of only 175 per squal and certain provinces have than 500, there must be other with far fewer than the gen- | eral average. | Are not the Chinese intelligent and lindustrious enough to produc ad | g food and fy stall famine ! More than two-thirds are farming. 1 The average production of wheat per acre in the United States is 15 | bushels; in China, wheat and rice average 25 hushels per acre and other crops in_proportion It will be noted that the basis of this comparison is the acre—not the hore No country equals Ameri- | can production per farmer, thanks to {our lubor-saving machinery. Far from overpeopiing the land, China is capable of feeding the ratio | of Belgium and Holland if she adopts modern farm methods, and could as well sus n a billion population as | the present third of that number. She has demonstrated how well she | mile down through her centurics. licans farm soil that {than three generati | fertility is curtailed by in_spite of our farm colleges farmers’ institutes. The most amaz- ing story of maintenance of soil fer- virgin BY SEY) ARTICLE XVL The main argument of advocates of American recognition of Soviet Russia, aside from the “Eventuall why not mow?" phrase, is the greaft commercial opportunity which the United States is losing by delay in establishing friendly relations with the bolshevist empire and admitting bolshevist representatives with dip- lomatic privileges and immunities into our country. But is the commercial opportunity brilliant and enticing as it is | pal Will trade follow the flag. once floating above an embassy in Moscow, considerable extent more than without that symbol? Are the experiences of foreign business men who have ventured into Soviet Russia of a sort to encourage Ameri- can business to try its luck there? 1 devoted special attention to this problem during my stay in Russia and am strongly inclined to answer all the above questions in the nega- tive. Possibly we ultimately shall come to recognize the Sovief. Per- haps we shall not have the same ad experiences of admitting a warm of bolshevist propagandists and agitators to work up a Red revo- lution and shelter domestic plotters in diplomatic and trade bureaus as Germany, Latvia, Esthonia and Lithuania, all countries in my ter- ritory which have extended friendly recognition to the new Russia. Leav- ing aside these negative aspects of the recognition problem, let us con- sider what the United States can or will gain from recognition. In the first place, the trade oppor- tunity is far smaller than would be expected. The Soviet government, in order to get the necessary foundation for its financial reform and to raise funds to finance foreign propaganda, has adopted a policy of relentlessly throttling imports to an absolute minimum. Soviet Restricts Imports. The import program for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1923, re- stricts imports to $153,768,000, which up to the present time has been strictly adhered to. Included in this $153,768,000 we already have sold to Russia $38,780,000 worth of American | cotton, considerable consignments of agricultural machinery (I have not been able to get exact figures, but a sum of approximately $1,000,000 | has been mentioned) and enough sundries to bring the total to more than $40,000,000. We therefore are getting our share or something more, regardless of America’s refusal to recognize Rus- sia. The bolshevist foreign trade monopoly follows the sound capital- istic principle of buying where it can do so to best advantage. It has gone even farther and _established agancies in the United States to bur cotton and agricultural implements direct, although in its negotiations with European powers for recogni- tion Russia insists that it cannot and will not do business unless the bureaus of the foreign trade monop- oly are given extraterritoriality and exempted from the legal and police jurisdiction of the couatry in ques- tion. Germany, where the trade monop- i, oly's offices sheltered a staff of more | a: The | s square mile, and Chehkiang with 462. | | feet wide at Amer- | the vear until the ns ago, and its | pe give robbery [loe ceatin oun and | ments in roads, and possibly IN TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS tility is related by the late Prof. F. H. King of the Agricultural College, University of Wisconsin, who traveled in China and wrote “Farmers of Forty Centuries.” He told how the Chinese had cultivated two or -three crops a year for 4,000 .years upon the same land, and had increased its fertility, instead of depleting it. But the wastage of labor! The Chinese patience, industry and nar- rowness in tueir intensive cultiva: tion and intensive manuring of the soil are marvelous. They live by the agricultural knowledge of thousands of years ago—not by the advance of recent centuries. American agricul- ture has been revolutionized within the last 60 years. For generations there have been frequent calls for relief of China, ow- ing to floods and famines, which dixasters have seemed to the Chinese unavoidable fate. Ten or twelve years ago the American Red Cross Society undertook to make a survey of the causes and possible means of prevention of such calamities. It sent a_ commission of expert engineers who made a careful and scientific study of the topography. They dis- covered that, centuries ago, a Chinese emperor had built the Grand Canal- - built it not merely dug it—so that it crossed the Hwule Valley upon a high earthen aqueduct, ‘making a dam across the entire valley, neces- sitating rivers to change their courses hundreds of miles to reach the sea. When floods came the Grand Canal | aqueduct held them over an area of thousands of square miles. General deforestation has tended to augment floods and droughts. The engineers cvolved a general plan of drainage and irrigation, Wwhich would cost $40,000,000, It would redeem rich river-bottom land belonging to the government, which could be sold to cover the cost of the enterprise. The Chinese government proposed to float a loan to cover the cost, but then came the World War, Stopping the project. Since then the political situation has made the federal government helpless, * oK K ok For the relict of the flood-and- fam- ine-stricken of 1921 an American committee, headed by Thomas W. Lamont, raised $6,000,000, It then or- ganized in China prominent resident aliens—mostly Americans—and native Chinese 1nto the international com- mission to administer the relief. This done mainly through building macadamized roads with the labor of the famine sufferers, who were paid in tood. not money. They built 00 miles of good roads, suitable for automo- biles, and the law now requires all vehicles using such roads to run on or 10 inch tires, in place of the Chinese narrow tires, which destroy :1...l:w:|). In the last three years vads thus constructed aggregate 2,000 miles. In all China there are only 7,000 miles of railroads, where she needs 100.000 miles, 3 There is a great region de water, where, in a dry season, all crops I.‘fil for lack of irrigation. In connection with the 1921 relief by the American Red Cross. an engineer discovered that a well 15 feet deep, § the bottom and 5 feet at the top cost $36 and supplied un- failing water enough to irrigate three a an average Chinese farm, The American Red Cross announced that it would pay half the expense for| every such well the farmers would put in, and it thus assisted in creat- ing 3,600 wells, thereby watering IPUMJH acres. Many more wells have since been dug, unsubsidized. - The international commission is now a4 permancnt organization for relief. To it the Red Cross Society has al- ready cabled $100,000 to meet im- mediate emergencies. It is estimated tute of 1t | that $10,000,000 will be required, in- can | olugi Eoat by utilize the knowledge which has come | cluding the cost of carrying the star- ving from the present flood through harvest can mature. the past, will not money, but in food, as ages in making permanent improve- modified plans of partial flood prevention. (Copyright, 1924, Ly Paul V. Coll This relief, as in RUSSIA SINCE LENIN The truth about that country as it is today, in a series of uncensored articles by an observer who spent months in Russia studying conditions. [OUR B. CONGER. than 700 Russian and German Com- munists, is undergoing a trade boy- cott and rupture of normal diplomatie relations for an attempt to interfere with revolutionary activities con- ducted from the trade oflices in Berlin. Shall we get any larger proportion of Russia trade if we recognize Rus- sia? Scar The Russian govern- ment buys our cotton because it must have it.” Our agricultural machinery because the Russian factories are not ble now, any more than before the war, to manufactu successfully the mors complicated types of machines, such as reapers, hinders, thrashing machines and tractors. It has am- bitious plans to supplant American by Russian cotton, grown on irrigated lands in Turkestan and the Caucasus, and to manufacture our perfected and patented farm machinery in Russian factories, and will dispense with these American imports as fast, but only as fast, as it can realize these plans, More Trade Now Than Before. We already have a larger share, well over 25 per cent, of the restricted Russian import trade than we could normally expect, considering the geographic propinquity and superior knowledge of Russian_ conditions of Germany, England and Scandinavia. It is a greater proportion than we had before the war. The amount of licensed imports is not apt to in- crease materially for a long time. The bolshevist authorities are firmly committed to the policy of lim- iting -imports to a minimum ana keeping well within the proceeds from their exports. The development of the export trade, which they hoped to bring up to 437,000,000 rubles ($225,400,000) during the cur- rent fiscal year, promises to be too slow to permit any large increase in the program for some time. This year's favorable trade balance is built almost entirely on grain ex- ports, grain and timber being the only exports showing an increase over last year, and grain exports, as I indicated in a previous article, are not apt to increase quickly beyond the 1923-24 mark. Exports of all other commodities, including flax, hemp, hides and furs, are smaller this year than last. Another limiting factor is the very narrow buying power of the peas- antry, who make up 90 per cent of the Russian population. Americans hoping to develop trade with Russia must eliminate from their minds the idea that the Russian millions can in any way be compared as spenders with similar millions of Americans, Germans or other races. Textile Parchases Small. The statisticlans of the Russian textile industry found, -after careful investigation, that fhe annual buying power of the peasantry for textiles per capita was only 17 cents. Two bolshevist experts on the govern- mental commercial and industrial program committees, attacking the problem of peasant purchasing power for all commodities from different angles, placed it at 500,000,000 and 900,000,000 rubles, respectively. Even according to the more opti- mistic professor, who.was interested in making out.as lagge a market for BY C. E. TRACEWELL. Some liked fat girls, And some liked slim, But any kind of a real girl Would do for him. He liked a girl Who would be a pal, A regular feller's Regular gal. She had to have An angel's fire To be the gal . Of Tige McGulre. —The Lady of Tige McGuire. ‘The hero of the above ballad would have been suited easily in Washing- ton. For him would have existed neither the problem of the mariner cast on an island with but one maid or the puzzle confronting the lone man at a seashore of girls, Washington young people of the feminine gender offer a brilliant, flower-garden girlscape to the ob- server. Let no man say the shoes do not fit. Who is there who is not in- terested in girls? As for most of us, we are frankly of the persuasion of Tige McGuire, and the older we get the more a pretty face appeals to us, so many facets has one of these bright diamonds. The very latest phase in the Wash- ington girl's dress, to be seen on F street in increasing numbers every day, is the modificd Empire, or some- thing like that, a dress that has a high waist line, sloping up in the back. Poiret, the Parisian dressmaker, would not recognize that description, but my readers will. This old-new design is being affected by the so- called “younger set,” the subflap- pers and the flapper: It has slipped into town quietly, first one dress being seen, until now scores of them are ambulating around on F street and the other thorough- fares of our great and glorious city. The dresses with the hand-painted flowers down the front have had their brief—very brief—inning. Now it is the turn of this high-waisted gown, which runs back to the Empire, fa mous in the history of politics as well as dres: . The Empire, it will be recalled, had its genesis in the nightgown. Getting right down to the brass tacks of women's dress, there never was a more beautiful, becoming or more modest dress than the nightgown. Its extreme simplicity is charming, while it is %o natural that it charms from that angle, too. It was the basis of the graceful ancient Greek costume, natural sim- plicity in cdstume, than which there has been nothing prettier down the ages. Come right down to it, have| men's costumes made any improve- ment on the toga, etc.? Did not Julius aesar look every inch the well dressed man? Eix ik e TLhis latest in girl's dresses, then, is simply a nightgown Jfor street wear, caught high at the waist, with a new kink introduced by sloping upward in the back. Designing women's dresses must be a fascinating occupation, something like playing chess or checkers. The game is always the same, the fun comes in the new combinations that arise at every minute, Let a waist line down—and the women buy it. Hike,it up a few inches—and they buy that, too. The mystery of fashion still has the world in its grip, despite the tremendous advances made by women in simpli ity of costum Let no one mistake me here—I think that woman, in some ways, has evolved for herself during the past ten yvears a better, more natural and better-looking costume, after a cer- tain standard, than man has been able to devise for himself. The Parisian designer, Paul Poiret, has been quoted recently as giving up all hope for men as dressers, declar- ing that they dress “like clerks,” and refuse his ideas of more ample and cloaklike garments. Honestly, there is something to that. For a long time it has been the custom 1o think of men as being be- yond the trouble of styles and fash- ions, and that is so, in a sense, but in getting his standard business suit man certainly has tied himself around with belts and garters and collars and incased himself in tubes, when maybe he might do better for himself and the passing world. Your flapper, in this flapper's era, has a standardized costume of her own that is mighty good looking, that is simplicity itself and that is eminently fitting in the sense of be- ing proper. Most of the women who violate the canons of modesty in dress are well over the flapper age. If you do not believe this, make a note to watch for it next time you are downtown. The next striking thing about our girls—a whole city full—is the num- ber of bobbed heads one sees, It is interesting to note the in- crease in this fashion of hair dres; ing during the past year, and wonder whether it will keep up. The girls declare it will. They say it is more comfortable, easier to handle and much cleaner. One man, who did not think much of bobbed hair, but did not make any out- cry when his wife got her hair bob- bed, after being an interested ob- server at close range of this method, came out with the following obser- vations: “Honestly, T have been converted. At first it seemed a bit unwomanly to me. 1 guess I was a slave to the old conventions. My subconsicious mind just wouldn't let me like it. “But now I am all for it. T! case in which familiarity does not breed contempt, nor distance make the heart grow fonder. I find myself fancying bobbed hair more and more. Let me whisper—women with long hair now strike me as looking messy, all that useless stuft coiled up around their heads.” When it comes to beauty of facc and figure, Washington girls do not have to take off their hats to any girls in the world. This is true, perhaps partly because there are so many girls here from all parts of the United States, but, being here, Washington claims’ them all. Many mere men, returning from their vacations, are finding this true. Go to the seashore, or to the moun- tains, go any place, anywhere, then come back to Washington. The first thing you will notice is the girls. They are pretty, well fed, well dressed, well groomed, much better looking in every way than the girls at the place you left behind you. The “Washington girl” has been de- picted in plays, but never properly. Yet you & in meet her any afternoon on F str.bt, by the dozen. Plenty of brains, too. s is one the Russian state industry as possi- ble, the individual peasant will buy in all not more than $3.50 per annum. The other says $2 is all. The bol- shevist program counts on supplying this to the last possible copeck from the etate-controlled industries. The grasping pressure of taxation, which takes more than 30 per cent of the marketable surplus of the peasant’s crops, will keep this buying power down permanently, Of course, the exporter who will sell his goods on long-term credits, the nation which will loan the Soviet government the money to buy in- dustrial commodities, can sell any desired quantity on these terms. There is_also the way of concessions, of mixed companies with the bolshevist government as senior partner, but as | year being scarcely as great as often I shall show in the next article, the experience of those who have tried them has been far ffom satisfagtory. Copyrigut, 1924, by Public Ledger Co.) ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. What is the variation of tem- perature on the Isle of Pines?—J. D. A. The Isle of Pines hag one con- tinuous Summer, the variations of temperature throughout the entire occur In a single Summer month in many of the Northern States. It is rare, indeed, when the thermometer in Summer on the island registers as high as 90 degrees, and in Winter the mercury never falls below 50 degrees. Q. How many crops of alfalfa are raised in a year in the Salt River Valley?—T. S. A. Aifalfa is cut from six to eight times a year in this Arizona valley. Q. Why do some people call whisky hooch?—W. H. O. A. Hoocheno—or Kootznahoo—was a spirituous liquor concocted by na- tives of Alaska. It was named after am Indian tribe and the word con- tracted into hooch. The term was afterward used as a synonym for ar- dent spirits. Q. Are there more people in Chi- cago than in the State of Wisconsin? —W. R. A. The population of the State of Wisconsin for 1920 was 2,632,067. The population of Chicago for 1920 was 2,701,705, Q. Are the Belgians a Latin or Semitic people?—G. A. M. A. The Belgians are neither a Latin nor a Semitic people. They are the descendants of German and Celtic tribes with an admixture of Latin. Q. Ts there any law against wear- ing the feathers of any bird?—D. W. B. : A. There is no law in this country against the wearing of feathers. There is a law prohibiting the sale of aigrettes, the plumage of the white | egret, but no law to prevent one from wearing these feathers who al- ready owns them. The tariff act of | 1913 prohibits the importation of the feathers of wild birds into the United States for commercial purposes. This law is said to have caused much smuggling, especially of bird-of-para- dise feathers. Q. What is the Quéen's Pipe?— G. C. M. A. The Queen's Tobacco Pipe, also known as King's Tobacco Pipe, is a nickname popularly given to a kiln of peculiar shape in acorner of the London dock warehouses. Formerly contraband goods, such as tea, cigars and tobacco, which had been smug-| gled in were burned. Now only dam- | aged or worthless goods are burn»d.\ but unclaimed or seized goods are | sold periodically. Q. verdict of scien- tists in regard to the “White In- dians?'—L. S. A. Three of the “White Indian have been brought to New York and | examined by distinguished anthro- | pologists and ethnologi Although the men of science are not entirely agreed on an explanation of the| strange blondness of these people, the weight of opinion is that they are probably albinos—or, as Mr. | arsh, who brought them to New | York, puts it, pseudo-albinos. Apart | from_their color they are like the| n Blas Indians among whom they were found and show no indication of any Caucasian blood. That blond- ness of the sort should be common | in Darien seems improbable, for al- binism is nowhere common: but there is no other solution of the problem that seems so likely. What is the Q. Is there any record to show when clocks first came into use?— M. E. A. A. It is uncertain when the first clock was constructed. Its invention is claimed by many nations. There is a tradition that the first clock was jnvented by the Chinese in the vear 2.000 B. C., and another that it was invented in Germany in the cleventh century. The first clock of | which we have any description is the one which was set in the tower of the palace of Charles V of France in| 1379 by a German named Henry De | Vick. As to Noise on the Washington Streets To the Editor of The Star; Your comments now and then as to unnecessary noise on Washington streets are mnoteworthy, but—the Inquiry is mada in all kindliness of apirit—why do You not go after the real noises? \ Instead of hammering away at the inoffensive huckster and the pushcart man who are in the legiti- mate business of selling their wares, and whose noise in any case would be futile against the remainder of the din, consider the unnecessary dis- turbances made by utterly obtrusive people, who may be presumed to have had at some time in their lives the advantages of cultural surround- ings and good association. One of the real noises and a highly annoying one is the screeching that car owners are permitted to indulze in when they are held for a few moments at crossings for the safety of the pedestrians and the trolley patrons. Nothing could be more unnecessary, not to say inexcusable, for one can get anywhere in the city in a car within a few minutes. The grins on the faces of these people are hardly less exasperating than their offending noise. One of the most unenlightened dis- turbances, to say ths least, that city like Washington, boastful of i educational advantages, can have is the honking of idlers along the curbs who are out to entrap girls and young women into compromising situations. At the hands of these irresponsibles, insults and offe happen regularly to women who w along the streets or wait at car stops While the writer stood with a young woman at a car stop on last Thursday evening, one of these (we do mnot like to accord to him the dignity of manhood) started his car into the curb, but was instantly made aware of his mistake. The same week horn after horn was tooted at a young woman who walked only a block to call on a friend at a hotel. Some time ago a story of terror was related by two young women as the result of being followed and vyelled at for blocks by such creatures in a car. Every woman who is required to meet this experience at the hands of these subnormals should make every effort to take the number of the car and put the facts in possession of the police, so that the owners of cars thus uged may be as definitely spotted as if their pictures were in the rogues gallery, for that is certainly where they should be. Their licenses should be revoked, for they are as dangerous to civilization as are the white slavers. Another offense to decency is the prevailing practice of advertising a wedding by a snorting, madly honk- ing procession of automobiles trail- ing a cluster of tin cans through the streets, especially on Sunday, when it is presumed that human beings will at least try to demand a little more of themseives in ‘the direction of decency. It may be that the rural districts and the main street towns are still addicted to this low-brow practice, but it is doubtful if it is more prevalent in those sections than in Washington. No group of people should be per- mitted _to. take possession of thé L 1 | to destroy most germs | pia | carfare Q. win 1.'D. G, A. The Geological Surver savs some kinds of stone are quite poréus and will absorb considerable quan- tities of water, while some marblcs and granites are practically im- pervious to moisture. stone soak up water?” that Q. What are the “Sayings of the Seven Wise Men?'—W. A. H. A. The “Sayings of the Seven Wise Men” are the mottoes which were in- scribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and were “Know thyself,” b Simon of Athens; “Consider the End,” Chilo of Sparta; “Suretyship is the precursor of ruin,” Thales of Miietos; “Most men are bad,” Bias of Prienc; “Avoid excesy” Cleobulus of Lindus; “Know thine opportunity,” by Pitty- cus of Milene: “Nothing is impossible to industry,” by Periander of Corinth. Q. What is meant by the balance of trade?—G. B.“D. A. The balance of trade Is the dif- ference between the value of the to- tal imports and the total exports of a country. Q. Is Edra Lyall living?—. J. M. A. Ada Ellen Bayly, who wrote un- der the name Edna Lyall, died in 1902, Q. How many members of the A. F. married French girls>—M. E. A. The War Department says that 2,009 American soldiers were married in France during the war. Q. Did David Starr Jordan, former president of Leland Stanford Univer- sity, work his way through college? —M. W. P A. He did, and is proud of it. e had little money when he joined the first class that entered Cornell Uni- versity, but_he managed to pay bis way through college by waiung on table, husking corn, taking care of lawns, digging ditches and tuto Speaking of the manner in which ha financed himself, Jordan onc i “A young man is not worth educa who cannot work through colle that wa Q. Is it true that a toad can live for months without air?—C. B. 0. A. During the Winter season, when it is in a state of hibernation, & toad may live for hours, perhaps days, without air. In the Summer time, when its system is active, it will dic in a few moments if deprived of 4ir. Q. What is the difference between sterilization and pasteurization of milk?—E. 0. 0. A. Sterilization is which the temperature raised high enough or long enough to destroy spores. This m, i a process by of milk is maintained 11 germs and seldom_em- because it gives the milk taste. In pasteurization th rature used is high enough only including di- 1ose of tuber- iled temps . kerms, such as and typhoid. Q. What is the difference betweecn a hand-played and a machine-played roll>—S. J. B. A. A michine-played roll er-pianc is one which is a machine according to the notes, not being played at all. A hand-played roll is played by a musi n, and then cut, thus incorporating the variation, af the human touch for cut b = 1f vegetables become scorched should be done?—C. C. A. Plunge the container in which they are cooking into cold water. Al- low to stand a moment. Remove the vegetable, being careful not to take up any of it which clings to the pan. Q. How many free negroes wero ere in the United States at the be- ginning of the Civil War? A. There were 0 free negrocs and 3,953,760 slaves in this country in 1861. Q. Which i are Q. wha of Thomas Moran's in_the Capitol of the G A . “The Grand Canyon of the Yel- wstone” and the “Chasm Colorado” are the Moran pa hung in the Capitoi. Th States Government paid $10 for them. atmosphere with the expressed inte tion of making of themselves publi pests and nuisances. Droper or nances would have an ameliorativ effect on the whole population. The types who have no regard for society a whole must be taught it by ths opinion of the majority of decencs- loving citizens. Whether they be bootleggers or what not, they must be restrained by the voice of soc in the form of law until they achieve a sense of responsibility toward the public good. J. C. GRAY. Let the Treasury Probe Be Thorough To the Editor of The Sta I wish to xpress through your worthy columns a protest against the hostile attitude assumed in cer- tain quarters toward the investiga- tion into the affairs of the Treasury Department now being conducted by a Senate committee, After the Fall, Forbes and Daugh- erty affairs such an air of outrag.d innocence is grossly hypocritical, es- pecially where the millions of dol- lars of public funds are being paid, to influential corporations as tax re~ funds. From personal observation I know that by far the great majority of men employed in the Treasury De- partment are honest and miserably paid public servants. They should not be condemned because there may be a few men.who are unworthy of public confidence. or the vindica- tion of these men a full, open and thorough investigation should be con- ducted. It as a result a few more heads have to fall, and it matters not whether they be Republicans or Deni- ocrats, T am sure that this country will survive also this calamity. DAVID GRAND. New York City. Pay of Substitute Teachers. To the Editor of The Star: ‘When the agitation for higher wages for teachers was on, I won- ider why the substitute teachers were not mentioned. The substitute teach ers with whom I am acquainted arc housekeepers, primarily, and they teach to add to the income of the home, but they afe experienced teach lers. They drop their home work at moment's notice and go wherever they are needed in:the city schoolst They are paid 32.40 per day. Out o this sum they pay two car fares und sometimes two additional bus fares, and furnish sheir own lunch. If the substitute teacher could afford it, she might hire a maid to do her house work while he teaches, but she would have to pay the maid $2.30 per day, her both coming and Eoing and give the girl her lunch. So the house. work waits until the teacher get home in the evening. She then gets dinner and finishes up after night Sometimes the teaching job lasts half day, sometimes two or three days, sometimes a week. I do not know who sets the price on the substitute teacher's services, but 1 would very much like to know with what they compare the value of* her work to be able to set that price at $2.40 and still retain their own self respect. MRS. A. M. GARDNER.