Evening Star Newspaper, September 1, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. -WASHINGTON, D. C. IO!DAY. . .September 1, 1994 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busisess Office, 11th St. and Penns ania Ave. + New York Office: 110 East 8t Chicago Offi ‘Tower Buildins Eurepean Oftice: 16 Régent 8t.,London, England. ‘The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning editien, is delivered by carriers within the eity at 60 cents per month: daily only, 45 Sente"per month: Bunday only. 20 conts. per month. Orders may be sent by malil or tele- Pphove Main 5000. Collection is mac by car- riers'at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40 ; 1 mo., 70¢ Daily only . 15yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only . $2.40; 1 mo., 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only . $7.00; 1 mo., 60c Sunday only Member of the Associ ‘The Associated Press is exclusively enmtitled to the use for republ jon of all news dis- Datehes Eredited o It bF ROF otherine credited in this paper and also the local news pub- lished herein. ~All rights of publication of hes herein are also reserved. Labor and Politics. Labor day, 1924, finds organized labor in America at a critical point. It finds the chief organization of the ‘working men of this country formally entering politics in behalf of a specific party. This is a departure from the policies of organized labor in the past. Heretofore the unions and the feder- ation have abstained from partisan- ship save as their individual members have exercised thelr right and dis- charged their duty as citizens to vote their preferences. Now comes the test of the ability of leaders of or- ganized labor to direct the member- ship_effectively in political judgment. It does not follow, however, that labor will vote under dictation. In- deed. already since the Atlantic City declaration of the American Feder- ation of Labor, there have been de- fections. Individual unions have re- fused to be bound by this mandate and have declared that they will not be guided by it to the support of the third party. Some organizations have definitely cast their lot with one or the other -of the candidates of the major parties. In the main, how- ever, the individual members are aligning themselves as their judg- ment dictates. Already it appears that labor cannot be bound to any particular partisan wheel by the ac- tion of a representative organization or conxention. It would be most unfortunate for American labor to identify itself with a particular party. In this country there is no need for “class” grouping in political matters. American work- ing men are exceptionally intelligent and well informed. They understand in the main that their welfare is not a matter of favor by a voteseeking political party, but depends upon the welfare of the country at large, which in turn depends upon the wisdom of the economic policy of the Govern- ment. In England the Labor party now dominates and is making an excellent record. But it is definitely recog- nized that it is only a government by tolerance pending the realignment of the two major parties, one of which is certain soon to take over the ad- ministrative responsibility. In that country labor has learned a very wholesome lesson. It has found that radical change is unwise, and on its procedure thus far the Labor ministry has been moderate. Should the present indorsement by the American Federation of Labor of the Progressive party's candidates lead to a blockade in the electoral col- lege and possibly in the House of Representatives, the “labor vote” may clafm the credit, if credit there be, for such a result. But that credit will be shared by other factors simi- larly enlisted in the same interest. There will be no clearcut victory. For the party that labor has in- dorsed is a party of dissent, com- posed almost wholly of the dissatis- fled of all groups and relations to the American social system. Labor can- not capitalize such a result if that be achieved, for it will be a negative re- sult, and labor alone will not be the acknowledged cause. Advocacy of particular policies is the right of any citizen and any group of citizens. Labor should be unified in behalf of those matters that directly affect it. That unity, how- ever, should not be partisan, and should surely not be given in behalf of a doubtful advocate. ————————- Defense day has already served an important purpose in enabling the American people to serve notice that they do not intend to be caught nap- ping in case any reckless government undertakes a military surprise party. ————— An emblem for the La Follette perty is needed. That amiable old bird, the pelican, who picks up all sorts of things, but exercises its own discretion about swallowing them, might serve. O — A few of the movie ad writers have apparently not yet been made aware of the desire of Mr. Will Hays to limit the' films to that which is decorous and demure. ———r—r—————— The Engineer. Another locomotive engineer, dis- tinguished in his calling, has been re- tired, and has had bestowed on him by a great corporation the honors he has earned. This man, James B. May, a citizen of Washington and a native of our neighbor county of Loudoun, leaves the rails after a service of 43 years. Beginning as a gateman, go- ing to the post of brakeman, then passing to the hard job of fireman on a freight engine, next as fireman on a passenger engine, then as engine driver of a local train and then pro- mbdted to the post of engine driver of one of the fast and famous trains be- tween Washington and New York, he ran that great train for 32 years. With the good wishes and substantial reward from the railroad company he retires, let us hope, to a condition of peace and plenty. Several ' interesting -stories have coms of fate o€ the retirement of loco- motive engineers who have well served the public and the corporations employing them. Generally the public gives little heed to the locomotive en- gineer while he works. Passengers leave the train at the end of the run and pass the magnificent machine that hauled them over parts of the road at 70 miles an hour. Perhape they see a man, and generally not a young man, in grease and soot-stained cap and jumper making some adjust- ments to the steaming and throbbing steel monster which is the embodi- ment of the brains of machinists, en- gineers and physicists for genera- tions. No particular attention is given the man by the crowd hurrying from the coaches to the station gates, for he is only the engineer. Yet dur- ing that run this man has had hun- dreds of lives, a million dollars in property and to a certaln extent the reputation of one of the large cor- porations of the world in his charge. His work requires sound judgment, experience, zeal, integrity and readi- ness in emergency. To read a signal WrOng or not to see one might mean disaster. He has carned the post in that cab: by years of experience. His employers, with his record covering years of service before them, con- sidered him fit for the work before they would trust him to take such an important train over the road. He is better man in mind, body and spirit than many of the people who go by with handbags or attended by red caps, and who scarcely give a look at the soiled man in the cab. —— e Back on the Continent. Arrival of the world-encircling American aviators at Ice Tickle, Lab- rador, completes the overseas flying of this pair of planes which have car- ried the Stars and Stripes over vast stretches of ocean, mountain and plain. Soon now they will be here at the Capital, and thence they will fly westward to complete the circuit of the globe, ! This final sea flight marks the end of a seres of delavs and disappoint- ments, which included the failure of one of the three planes remaining from the original quartet that left San Diego March 1. From the time they left the Orkney Islands the avia- tors were balked by ice and fog and severe weather. One of them was forced down into the sea and his plane was wrecked in salvage. In those northern waters the ice problem was the severest of all that had been en- countered from the beginning of the great flight. At last, however, these obstacles have been overcome. Now will come the series of “hops” on the southward leg of the world journey, bringing the planes to this city, it is expected, by next Saturday or Sunday. Here they will stop brief- Iy and then proceed to complete the circuit. It has been announced that | they will not head for San Diego, their original starting point, but will aim for Seattle, there to pick up the line of their outward flight and thus complete the actual circuit in a shorter time than if they went to their first California base. There will be no ceremonies here. The fiyers will sail in, take their rest and trim their planes for the final hops over the continent, and then de- part. The true goal is on the Pacffic coast, not in Washington, and . for that point they will lose no time in starting. They are seeking to estab- lish the first world-circuit record in as low terms of time as possible, so as to make a mark which it will be difficult for any others to reach. But this mark will not stand. It is cer- tain that eventually, perhaps next season, it will be bettered. Possibly Americans will themselves better it. This pioneer encircling of the world by plane will not in itself establish any practical advancement {n avia- tion. It will, however, have demon- strated a possibility, and developed ENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1924, seemed that the youth of these two Chicago murderers would have evoked such a sympathy. But with very few exceptions people are hardened against them and are hoping for the ultimate punishment permitted by the law. If this attitude of indifference and seif-glorification on the part of the Chicago youths is a pose to give strength to the plea of mental un- balance, it is at least consistently maintaiied. It is assuredly a new form of mental disorder, a new mani- festation of abnormality. There have been brazen criminals in court before, of course, men and sometimes women, deflant to the last, unyielding, uncon- trite. But their attitudes have been sincere and have not been sustained for effect or in the hope of lighter punishment. They have taken life and are ready to die in consequence. These murderers have taken life in the most'diabolical circumstances and are seeking to evade the utmost pen- alty. Hence the hope, so freely ex- pressed by the gentlest of people. that on the 10th of this month Judge Caverly will pronounce the sentence of death as a warning to the youth of America as well as in punishment for this horrible crime. —_———— Human Flies. Two “human flies” fell from their precarious perches Saturday night in the course of their exhibitions at Chambersburg, Pa., and Albert Lea, Minn. One was killed and the other probably fatally hurt. This couple of casualties ought to bring to an end these foolhardy and useless displays. As a rule these men are in the busi- ness as a last resort for employment. They give their exhibitions and then take up collections. Sooner or later they come to grief. Possibly there is a “retired” human fly somewhere in this country, but the chances are against any members of this extra- hazardous profession reaching the stage of idleness save through injury. The purpose of these wall-climbing stunts' is to give the crowd a thrill. Just so are the people who go to the movies “thrilled” by the apparently dangerous doings of the actors clam- bering over cornices at great heights from the ground, cleaving to the hands of clocks on towers and other- wise apparently risking their lives. As a matter of fact, practically all of these movie stuntware done in perfect safety, either with nets and platforms immediately below or with the “build- ing walls” actually laid flat on the ground. But even with the knowledge on the part of the audience that these are but tricks with a clever stimula- tion of the imagination, such pictures give a decided “kick” to the be- holders. Probably in the minds of most of those Who look on at these exhibitions of actual climbing is the lurking hope of disaster. Of course, when one of these men falls everybody is terribly shocked. But such a fall provides the real thrill. The “human flies” are betting their lives on the strength of fingers and toes and the steadiness of their nerves. It is a precarious job, and there would surely seem to be some better way of earning a living. ———— China might present a stronger front to the world if her various local factions could arrive at some kind of a gentlemen’s agreement. e — Paris assumes to set the fashion, but pictorial publications frankly credit ancient Greece with the really dominant influence. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Outdoor Sport. The golf club and the base ball bat No thrill conveyed to me, As out in the garage I sat difficulties and perhaps have shown a way to a useful application of the alr- plane in long-range commercial fly- ing. —————— Denunciation may eventually prove effective advertising. This was realized by Col. W. J. Bryan in connection with the Ku Klux Klan, but not with reference to the “Darwinian” theory. —————— By remaining abroad Mr. McAdoo is missing a number of county fair dates that could doubtless be made available to him as a campaign orator. ———————— The “presidential bee” which wan- dered Al Smith’s way is paying pru- dent attention to the prospects of a 1928 honey crop. ————— The retirement of Judge Caverly for two weeks is made necessary by the weight of his responsibilities, but it is no vacation. —————— Efforts to persuade Herrin, I, to take up disarmament as a local policy may yet prove of avail. ‘Why Thumbs Are Down. ‘While Judge Caverly of Chicago.is considering the case of Leopold and Loeb, the youths who pleaded guilty to an abominable crime, and for whose punishment he is weighing on the scales of justice life imprison- ment and death, the public is dis- cussing this question with intense earnestness. For there is & nation- wide feeling on the subject such as has been aroused by no other case in American history. Perhaps one of the reasons why there is a pronounced wish and hope on the part of the people that capital punishment be in- flicted is that at no time since ' their detection and arrest have these two lads expressed any degree of con- trition or remorse or sorrow. Had they repented and condemned their own wickedness with sincerity they would have stood in much better light. But save for a few tears of self-pity that appeared in the eyes of one of the defendants as his counsel waxed eloquent in his behalf in a plea for less than death penalty there has been no sign of realization of wrong. doing. Public sympathy as & rule is quick to spring to the unfortunate, even when he is a criminal standing in the shadow. of the gallows for an un- pardonable offense. The circum- stances of his life, the stress of his emotions, the urgency of his needs will arouse pity. It woud have In August reverie. For in a corner filled with dust, Far from the glaring day, Inspiring me with hope and trust, An old snow shovel lay. I long to flourish it once more In an uplifting cause. 1 shall not pause to holler “fore!" Nor crave grandstand applause. The tennis racquet neat I flout. I'm fed up on croquet, I want to bring that shovel out And get it into play! Commercial Complications. “I can remember when you could buy votes in this part of the country for $2 apiece.” “That was when you could deal di- rect,” commented Senator Sorghum. “Business has changed, and nowadays you've got to pay the middleman’s profit.” Not Entirely Superseded. Athletics and art such a following claim, Apparel seems needless and just & bit tame. However, the tallor and dressmaker still Salute us, the first of each month, with a bill. Jud Tunkins says he'd like to run for office, only his wife, while per- sonally forgivin’, might feel morally bound as a good citizen to vote agin him, Elsborate Agriculture. The farmer-statesman labors now The public to awaken, And every time he milks a cow He has his picture taken. The gentle bovine soon, we guess, ‘Will lose her manners pleasant, And won't stand quietly unless The camera man is present. ° Philosophical. “I think she married him for his money:” “Well,” commented Miss Cayenne, “there had to be some reason.” Scrupulous. “Does Crimson Guich respect the American prohibition idea?” “Sure!” exclaimed Cactus Joe, “We don’t touch & drop of anything that basn’t a foreign label onto {t.” “It T wus to tell & judge,” Uncle Eben, “dat I had o mental complexions dat possible foh me to resist a neighbor’s chicken coop I bet i wouldn® do & bit o* good™ | savants, IN TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS A sclentist of the Bureau of Stand- ards, commenting upon the news that the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. had transmitted by wire from New York to Chicago col- ored Pphotographs with their original colors, remarked that mich a feat was not so great a wonder as that so many unsolved problems of science confronted inventors. When it be- came possible to transmit pictures by electricity at that moment it was cqually practical to send the colors, too. There is little astonishing in adding color to the transmitted pie- tures, for no oolor 1s actually sent OVer 1% electrio current. * % % % It iz an old joke In printing oftices to tell of laymen who ask if the of- fice has any “red” type or “blue" type, forgetting that all type is lead color and that color in printing comes from the ink. In exactly the same sense all negatives in photog- raphy are black and white. Photography 1s chemistry—before it is true reproduction of light. Al light is made up of the elements seen With a prism, plus certain rays not visible, but which are effective in their chemical action upon the nega- tive plate. The prismatic elements of light do not record with the same relative effect upon a negative as they do upon the eye. Rays that are bright, visually—reds, yellows and ETeens—have little effect ypon the ordinary photographic plate. The photographic chemist has met this difficulty only "partly, by dyeing plates so as to increase their sen- sitlveness to the reds, yellows and greens—producing isochromatic plates for making monochrome pic- tures with “color” values nearer to visual truth, aFOF color printing, the chemist “filters out” of the negative all color rays except the particular color whose form and “value” he desires to record. For example, to make a plate for printing red, a gelatin sheet speclally prepared and set be- tween the camera lens and the nega- tive, will eliminate all rays except red, though it will look like an ordinary black and white plate. Simllarly, the ather two primary colors are photographed. each for its own plate. * X % % In preparing plates for printing by the three-color process three sepa- rate negatives—each recording one of the primary colors, only—are photographed onto an equal number of metal printing plates. But be- fore reaching the metal, the rays of light from each negative pass through a screen containing myriads of minute perforations, and only such rays as pass through these perfora- tions reach and affect the metal surfaces of the proposed printing platgs. The plates are then treated in an acid bath which eats away the metal except where it is protected by the tiny dots which have been touched chemically by the screened rays. The dots are so minute that there are from 60 to 200 to a linear inch, according to the coarseness of the paper surface on which the print- ing is to be done. % x % The process of sending pictures by wire is more than thirty years old. It was used In the early 90s in exchanging portraits of the King of England and the Kaiser, which were printed in London and Berlin. So old is the invention that its patent has expired. For picture transmission, either by wire or radio, fine parallel lines are' used in the place of the printer's dots. The process of reproducing the color effect is identical, except that the radio at the recelving station uses films of red, blue and yellow, to color the light from the respective negatives. This light is focused upon the stereoptican screen from the three negatives, simultaneously, one upon the other. * % kK The superimposing of the three colors from separate color negatives is in use in the “movies” with charm- Ing effect. Instead of the film being 2 successiap of single pictures, each negative fs In triplet— for the red, blue and yellow rays, respectively. As the three beams of light pass out of the projector, each beam passes through a gelatin screen dyed the Proper primary color; the beams, now colored red, biue and yellow, respect- ively, focus, superimposed, upon the stage screen, producing not only the primary colors in their purity, but all the soft blends of a painting. As a painter blends his pigments upon his palette and applies the mixture to his canvas, so the movie projector blends its colors upon the stage screen. The colors, thus already blend- ed, reach the eye, but with modified brilliance. * Kk x It has long been taught that when all the prismatic colors are combined they produce pure white, and when the prism analyzes a white sunbeam, it breaks it into “all the colors of the rainbow;” but no artist ever suc- ceeded in mixing upon his palette “all the colors of the ralnbow,” and making white—all make “mud. 1f the separate colors are put upon segments of a disk, and the disk set in rapid revolution, the red, blue and yellow are lost and pure white is produced in the eyes of the beholder; thus demonstrating how much better 18 the retina for the mixing of colors than the artist's palette. ' The modern impressionist painter, following the method of the great French colorist, Manet, puts his pure colors upon his canvas in little dots or splotches, in juxtaposition. They blend only In the eye of the beholder, thereby preserving greater purity and brilliance of effect. The Manet dis- covery has not yet been applied to color photograhy nor to “color pic- ture transmission,” for in all such cases the separate colors are super- imposcd instead of justaposed—the blending being done upon the paper or screen, rather than in the eyes. As expressed by a famous artist: “The greatest ‘person’ in a picture is light.” *x ok K * The process of reproduction of col- ors, either in photography or print- ing, has nothing to do with the proc- esses of transmitting negatives or scenes over long distances, either by wire or by the Jenkins method of radio broadcasting. While the wire transmission will carry the picture from one point to another single point, the radio broadcasting will fill 1 the ether with the so-call color” negatives, from which a thou- nd or ten thousand stations can “tune in" and record pictures for plates which will print three-color process pictures, provided they are equipped with the special receiving apparatus. The old timer who thought he was “painting the town red” has lost his occupation, since the radio can now paint the whole continent red, yellow and blue in a minute—or rather paint the eher with its radio waves. (Copyright, 1924, by Paul V. Collins. Perhaps Mars Was Really Spying on the Earth Is it to laugh, this talk of human beings walking the face of Mars and signaling to their earthly brothers? Scientists do not know: they admit it. And editors, taking the word of are equally puzzled. Some laugh, professing their ignorance. Some laugh to cover their ignorance. And some take the matter seriously, maintaining only, “Some day we shall know!" Last week Mars was nearer to the earth than at any other time in 120 years. For several weeks it has been a bright beacon in the southeastern sky. But now the gap between the two planets is widening. “We'd like to emit a long, loud guffaw about those radio signals from Mars, but as we used to say back in ‘the days of real sport’ we ‘dassen’t’” the Omaha World-Herald admits, for “it's too risky to do that now. It used to be,” the paper con- tinues, “that you could dispose of a thing by saying, ‘it can't be done,’ but now you no sooner get the words out of your mouth than somebody comes along and does it” And as the orcester Daily Telegram concedes, “Mars may be {nhabited, and Martian sclentists may even be trying to get something across to us” or they “may be on the way with a erew of Martians in a rocket” but “mean- while a good many of us are much more concerned about the terrestrial price of bread and butter.” * ¥ % % There's another side to the ques- tion. The Manchester Leader puts it: “Just what would be the result of a talk with Mars? Although neigh- bors perhaps, we are not on back-lot terms. If it is said quickly and with but little thought the matter of some 30,000,000 miles is but a mere trifle. But it is too much of a trip to be taken in one day, even by an over- ambitions motorist.” The Rochester Herald just can't help wondering about Martian amaze- ment at our progress in the 100 years since the planet's last visit. “Through the Martlan telescopes,” the ‘paper opines, “our whizzing motors, crazily dashing from nowhere to nowhere; our short-skirted and bare-armed flappers, our flapping-trousered sheiks and our pulsating city streets must have afforded food for contempla- tion.” Mars may be spying on the , the Brookiyn Daily Eagle sug- gests, in which case “Phobos will keep an eve on the order for 140,000 machine guns placed by Japan and Great Britain, while Deimos will watch the. outcome of America’s 8ire to elevate her naval guns and aiso give close at- tentlon to a national defense day Wwhich carries mobilization orders Which do not call for mobilization.” * x % * The San Francisco Bulletin is skep- tical about the appeara: - tians, 1f ‘such there pe " warer om Mars might 100k more like some of the strange things you gee in the aquarium,” it offers, “anq if tney dld, £00d heavens, what would the women be “1lke?" And as the New York Herald-Tribune fears, “lite there may have halted with horseshoe crabs or glant reptiles or whales or nover- developed animal life at all, ang Mars hat walk. *xox oy And then again, if g4 marion says, s Mars is inhapy an_older, ‘wiser race. vlnm we, Waterbury Republi 4 “any r:r:hor effort “on the <5, 05t terrestrial sclentists to comm with it should be droppeq at mee s for “we human belngs may e oneri. ing & humilialing, exposure of our- selves as relatively mere anthrapold apes in the #aale of compara- tive intelleot.” To the Objection that we shouldn’t know the languages if messages were sent here, cinnati Times-Star vou have enjoyed the operas from the 200, we shall be content with & fow strains of 1 the spheres’ should w-:.“.:.‘: Flam- this way.” But, to be serfous, the fact that various and differing sig- nals wers picked up at Mars' closest opposition, the Grand Rapids feels sure .“demonstrates that evi- dence of this sort will be forever guesswork and confusion.” * X % % Yet, on the other hand, “it is a de- cldedly empirical assumption that ours is probably the only body in the universe that has an intelligent life, that we alone are wards of the Creator and that all the other heavenly bodies are but playthings of the Divine power,” the Chattanooga Times maintains. And it is possible, according to the Boston Evening Transcript, if the ‘canals’ are merely gigantic fungi—as Willlam Bay sup- poses—that these ‘fungi’ are good to eat—and who knows but that given the seed and germ of life, the fungus may develop consciousness and intel- ligence.” The story of Mars “science will know some day,” the Vancouver Sun is sure, “and if the human brain con- tinues to develop along specialized lines as it has done so markedly in the past 50 years,-it is certain that direct communication’ with the Mar- tians will be an accomplished fact.” There is much that might be gained, the Buffalo Evening News believes, for “we might get from these far dis- tant folk a proper measure of values, a readjustment of perspective that will make us see the humor of our smug_ seriousness.” And yet there is consolation for the disappointment of having had Mars just 34,000,000 miles away, and not established connections, ~ For, as the Springfleld Union says, “Reality so often knocks ~the foundations from the air castles built by anticipation. If Mars had signaled to us, it would have been a magnificent adventure for & time. It would have been won- derful. Then it would have been ac- cepted. Then it would have been transmuted into the commonplace by the very prooess of being. The pos- sibilities of the realm of fact have now gone from us. But fancy is left and the excitement of speculation will not be dulled, by disillusioning actual- ity.” Rail Line to Latin Land. Road Connecting New York With Buenos Aires Under Way. The growing good will between this country and the states of Latin America has had to surmount many obstacles, of which the chief has been impaired communication between the peoples concerned. The distance in miles and the distance in Viewpoint were almost equally great, and both of these obstructions to intimacy helped to foster that vague illusion of strangeness with which one country regards another far removed from it. Latter years have seen an amazing contraction of the viewpoint, until al- most the point of common under- standing is reached. In so far as.the national leaders are concerned there ig no longer any gap at all. Frequent con. ferences and a constant spirit of official neighborliness have assured -Latin American leaders that their best friend is the United States, while contact long has convinced Americans that the em. pire unfolding to the south wiil share with the United States the future of the 1d. Nel: vrz::flns to interpret the peoples one to another and thus effect on a large popular scale what already has been done-for the few. Transportation facili- ties provide the key beyond any doubt, and railroads and highw: must be the avenues through which the populations can flow_in either direction as readily as Canadians and Americans cross the en = D'A:‘wmvlafion is the P: | storm, Press| “York: wif #ad words of tongue or pen, ddest are these: ‘It might have been.” The most irritating sentences are distinctly another story. Candidates for first prize in this respect are put forth for national honors as follows: “Why did you do \hat?" “Why don’t you do this? More homes have been wrecked, more tempers spoiled, more good chil- dren made bad children, on account of these two questions than from any other combination of words whatever, I belleve. Search the’ world of books, old and new. Go through the ancient records, from the Talmud to the Bible. Take the latest mountains of volumes which unthinking publishers annually pour upon the reading world. If any one can find two worse sen- tences, bearing more implications of meanness and woe, than the two pointed out, he will deserve a medal for dragging them f. -th into the light of day. That i3 what we do here, focusing attention for a few minutes daily on some place, thing, institution, condi- tion, quirp of human nature, this and that of life and its reflections in order that they may be seen more clearly. By s0 dojng the mental atmosphere is, cleared, much as the air of Wash- ington is revivified after a thunder- when thunder and lightning have swept away some of the heat and sultriness generated here below. “Why did you do that?" There. are many good men and women who, all unconsclously, ask the above question almost every time some one. tells them something. Jt may be news of a book purchased, or a ‘suit of clothes; it may be word of ¢ course of action, or a ‘question of policy. It makes no_difference. “Why did you do that?” is the in- variable reply. That is the first tRought that ieaps Into their minds, so out it comes. The unfortunate part of it is that those so afflicted are almost always unaware of their malady. Come before them in your new suit. You think it a pretty nice outfit. The man who sold it to you said so, any- y. The verdict of the mirror was favorable. Varlous astute judges of attire have passed upon it. “How do you like my sult?’ innocently ask. Riggemout Shop.” “Oh, why did you do that? auto- matically asks the other. “Why didn't you buy it at the Fixemup Store?” * ok x % This bore always brings forth these sentences in pairs. His first reaction is: “Why did you do that?’ Coupled with it comes “Why don’t you do this?" 1t is bad enough to ask a man why he does not do something other than what he has done, but worse to add insult to the injury by demanding to know why he did not do what some one else would have done. Hell is empty, Aad all the devils are here. Such is the feeling that assails one when this Why Guy gets into action. The impertinence of his questions makes the blood boil. The trouble is there is no real way to combat him. Who can reply to a Why? Explanation involves one in endless debate, which is just exactly what the other, in his ~secret mind, of course even unknown to himself, de- sires most of all. The Why Guy is a born “argufier.” Nothing delights him more than arguing, laying down the law on everything under heaven. When he asks one why he did so and so, he is spolling for a fight. He is a touchy individual, too. He is like the book agent who demands for himself the right to ask you to buy his sets, but will not accord you the equal right of refusal. The man—or woman—with the ready “Why?' is no first cousin to Schumann and his “Warum?” There you “I bought it at the is no music in this modern “Why?" | To the ears of those accustomed to its unpleasant sound it more nearly resembles the croak of a raven. It is, in fact, a perpetual croaking, one of the habitual ways in which such persons take out their spleen on the world in general. It must always be remembered that the per- petrator of this outrage is the worst sufferer from it. This is the pleasing thing for the afflicted to recall, for if there ever was a case where retributive justice was more merited than this it is hard to recall it. It is as with the biblical gent who dug a pitfall for others and fell in it himself first of all. * X x X Think of the countless little ones whose _lives are made miserable by: “Why? Little Mabel comes runaing flushed with play. “Oh, 1 found the nicest puddle’ she shouts. “And I had the most fun wading!” “Oh, why did you do that?" growls Sweet Mamma. “Why didn’t you stay out of the water, like Mary Smithers. Mary didn’t get her feet all muddy.” Poor Mabel stands abashed. Alas, fair child, many older than thee stand helpless before the same question every day, and know no better how to answer it than thou! & “Mr. Jones, I ordered the new set, and think it will be the very thing,” reports Mr. White to his bosa.: “Why did you do that, Mr. White?" sharply retorts the boss. “Why didn't Yyou get the other set we discussed?” ‘Whereupon poor Mr. White launches into reams of explanation, mone of which satisfies Mr. Jones at all, as both he and Mr. White know all the time it will not. In countless homes, in hundreds of offices, wherever men and -women meet, the fruitless argumert begun with a “Why" goes om, to the ulti- mate satisfaction of none ‘of the parties involved, for it is a question that cannot be answered. Dante was wrong when he said that over the gates of hell is the sentence: “Give up all hops, ye who enter here.’ 7 Over the gates of hades thers is en- graved a single word, an awful word, that sends the new soul -Shrinking back, his hands over his eyes. In letters touched with fire it gleams above the portals. The word is: Why? * x x * If this word were banished by law from the dictionaries, and by common consent dropped from the speech of the people, more sweetness and light would creep into the lives of thou- sands than from any other compar- able action whatever. No doubt a soclety for the preven- tion of cruelty to Why would arise or an association for the repeal of the ‘Why amendment. Men would get up in their places and exclaim mightily that thelr per- sonal rights were belng violated. Why bootleggers would flourish, peddling the forbidden word at a dol- lar a look, with dictionaries contain- ing it selling at fabulous prices. - Finally, however, with real ens forcement, nobody could ask “Why?? about anything. “Why did you do that?’ and “Why don’t you do this?” ‘would be lost to mankind. s ;hu project is planned to connect New th Buenos Aires by rail, a dis- tance of 10,000 miles. Of this huge de- sign approximately 7,000 miles of the route is completed. The chief parts of the road lacking are to be found in the northern countries of South America—in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The im- mediate effort is to persuade the coun- tries where the road is incomplete to push this work as the most important constructive task of the time. ‘What it will mean to both North and South America to have ready and con- tinuous -docess the “length and breadth of the two great continents of the West- ern-Hemisphere only the future can tell. ;l‘!n n"l; it will mean a l;;' l“l!lm:nt world commerce and the expansion of the Americas on a ecale hitherto un- dreamed of is & certainty beyond argu- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. What is meant by the “distaft side"?—J. H. A. The dlstaff has always been con- sidered the peculiar emblem of fem- inins occupations, and the term “distaft side” is used to signify the mother's side of the family. Q. When was the first Christian missionsry sent to Japan?—U. O. T. A. The Jesuit, Francis Xavier, who was afterward canonized, was the first Christian missionary to Japan. He landed at Kagoshima on the 15th of August, 1549, and remained in Japan until November 20, 1551. Q. How did the term “blackmail” originute?—D. L. S, A. This term was applied to rents received in work, grain or baser money, distinguishing it from rent received In silver (mailles blanches). Q. What kind of clover can be planted without hulling the seeds G. Q. 8. A. The Department of Agriculture says that this type of clover is known as bur clover. Q. My dog feeds on grass. Does this indicate a deficlency in his diet?—R. S. M. A. Green grass has been called the dog’s medicine chest and he should tave constant access to it. Q. Do sea gulls drink fresh or salt water —C. N, B. A. Sea gulls drink fresh water. They build their nests and raise their young along the sea coast, where there is plenty of fresh water avail- able for them. Q. To settle a dispute can the word “today” be written without the hypen?—R. V. D. A. The word “to-day” is incorrect without the hypen. Q. What fish can be put in a swim- ming pool to destroy frogs and bugs? —C. L. K. A. The Bureay of Fisheries saye that goldfish and carp both are fre- quently used in pools and ponds to destroy baby frogs and small insects. Q. WEat is the meaning of “R.L" as used in connection with the name of the King of England?—M. S. R. A. Used in this way, the letters “R. L"” stand for “Rex Imperator,” meaning in Latin, king and emperor. Q. Please advise how liquid afr is made and how it is used? A. Liquid air is prepared by sub- lecting air to great pressure and then cooling it by its own expansion to a temperature below the bolling point of its constituents. It is used chiefly as a refrigerant. Q. How do the diamonds lately found in Arkansas comvare in qual- ity with South African diamonds?— W. A. G. A. The Geological Survey says that the Arkansas diamonds and those of South Africa are about the same in quality. Q. Is it possible to get a collection of West Point Songs?—P. T. G. A. A book of 42 “West Point Songs —Songs of the United States Military Academy” has been edited and pub- lished by Lieut. Philip Enger, band- master, U. S. M. A, and F. C. Mayer, organist and choirmaster, U. S. M. A. | wQ What was the Mayflower com- Pact>—C. H. E. A. On November 11, 1620, an agree- ment known as the Mayflower Com- pact was entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower the text of which was that they covenanted and combined themselves “together into a civil body politick, and to en- act, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, con- stitutions and offices, from time to | time, as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the general good of the colonie.” Q. Has Congress appropriated any money to combat social diseases?— W. D. A. The passage by Congress in July, 1918, of the Chamberlain-Kahn bill made available the sum of $4,100,- 000 for the fight against venereal dis- eases in civilian communities. Q. How long has butter known?—G. T. A. Butter has been used from early historic days as you will note by consulting ~Genesis, xviii.8, where occurs the first Biblical mention of the product. Its use is traced to 2,000 years before the Christian era, when it was used to some slight ex- tent as food, but its chief function was to serve as an ointment to be used aftef bathing and for burning in lamps in place of oil. Q. How much was the cotn called the pagoda’—V. K. D. A Pagodas were silver and gold coins of various kinds and values, formerly current in India. The star pagoda of Madras had an intrinsic value of $1.80 to $1.93. Q. Please give the characteristics of the different food groups—T. M. A, Proteins are muscle-building foods, carbohydrates give strength or energy for work, fats give bodily heat, mineral salts regulate body processes and build up bones and other tissues, fat soluble vitamines promote growth of body, water soluble vitamines protect the body, preventing varlous diseases, water liquifies blood and other body fluids, regulates temperature, carries waste away from body and furnishes 60 to 70 per cent of body weight. Q How wide is the Jordan River and what is the fall from source to mouth?—0. L. W. A. The Jordan rises in northern Palestine and flows through a nar- row, rocky bed into the Lake of Gali- lee. From this it emerges and for 65 been Attack on Southern Women Resented To the Bditor of The Star: I rote a front-page story in the issue of August 29, “The G. A. R Chief Flays Southern Women.” I am writing this in defense of the South- ern women. 1 am surprised that a soldier of the standing of the com- mander-in-chief of the G. A. R. should make war on women. I am writing as a veteran of the Spanish-American War and the son of a Union veteran of the Civil War. I do not know the reason for a “Defense day,” for, in my opinion, every day is a defense day In the United States. So why se- lect one day and withdraw men from their daily labor? In 198 the Southern women' sent their sops to. defend the rights of |’ the Unjted States. Again in 1917 the Southern wotnen sent forth their sons to. cross the séa to fight for the United States. I have heard of many instances where Unjon soldiers made war on_defenseless women in the South. I could cite insances where a Southern woman.dared a soldier in the uniform of the United States to strike her down with his saber. These-are exceptional instances, and the person who wore the uniform was a disgrace to his country. I take ex- ception to the remarks of Commander- in-Chief Orenberg for his uncalled- for remarks, and I say the women of the South should have -the right, to memorialize their dead without question. I am not a native of Vir- ginta, but I am now a citizen of that State; and I find her people and the people of the South in general hos- pitable and God-fearing and ready to stand for what they believe is their right. Possibly Commander-in-Chief Oren- miles, direct, or 200 miles winding; ° traverses an exceedingly rocky,” pre- cipitous path, until it falls inte the north end of Dead Sea. The river throughout its course is exceedingly shallow in the dry season. Ths aver- age width is from 30 to 50 yards; At its mouth it is 180 yards wide. The plain of the Jordan is subject to gTeat Inundations during the. rainy season. The total fall of the river from its rise to its mouth at the Dead Sea, which is 1,312 feet below sea level, is 2,300 feet. Q. At what time in the Fall is it safe to trim . soft maple trees?— E. I 8. A. Soft maple’ trees may be trimmed late in the Fall after the growth has stopped for the Winter. Q. What 1s amber?—D. A. A. Amber is a fossil resin of vege- table origin. It is found In great quantities along the coasts of the Baltic Sea. Pieces have been found occasionally weighing 12 to 13 pounds. Q What is the best insulator for fce?—J. H. F. A. The Bureau of Standards says wood is the best insulator. How- ever, it iy as impossible to keep an ice box could without melting the ice as it would be to keep a stove hot without burning coal. Of coufse, an ice box should be so constructed as to prevent the heat from the outside getting into the interior of the box. Q. Give a short biography of the life of Pastor Russell.—D. V. A. Charles T. Russell was born at Pittsburgh, Pa, February 16, 1852, died October 31, 1916. In early life he was a Congregationalist, but be- came an independent preacher and advanced a new theory of Bible teaching concerning the punishment of the wicked and the imminence of the 1,000-year millennium foretold in the Book of Revelation. It is said that he had over 50,000 adherents to his doctrines, and that 3,000,000 copies of his writings on the Bible were sold. Q. Please tell me how to water- proof the back of an oid -Brussels rug—M. W. P A. In order to waterproof textiles it is neceesary to soak them in the waterproofing solution for several hours, This would prove impractical for a carpet. We would suggest that you give the back of the carpet one or two thin coats of a first-class grade of varnish, being sure to let the first coat dry thoroughly before the second is applied. Q. What is the verse that Includes the line, “If I can’t pay, why I can owe"?—A. C. E. A. The line is from a stanza in Heywood's “Be Merry Friends,” which ‘Let the world slide, let the A fig for care, and a fig ! If 1 can't pay, why I can owe, and death makes equal the high 3 sdients are there in gumdrops?—A. M. A, A Gumdrops are made of granu- lated sugar, water, gum arabic, flav- oring and coloring. Q. Has the constitutionality of the elghteenth amendment been tested in the courts?—L. W. A. A The United States Supreme Court on June 7, 1920, handed down a decision in_the case of G. C. Demp- sey and C. Feigenspan, plaintiffs, in which it sustained the constitu- tionality of the eighteenth amendment. Q. When was the first interna- tional yacht race sailed?—G. M. A The first race took place August 22, 1851, when the American's yacht “America” defeated the British yacht “Aurora” by eighteen minutes. Q. For what part of his Guild Hall speech in England was Admiral Sims reprimanded by William Howard Taft, who was President at that time?—M. E. A. The particular part of Admiral Stme speech referred to was: “If the time ever comes when the British empire is seriously menaced by . an external enemy, it is my opinion that you can count upon every man, every dollar, every drop of blood of your kindred across the sea.” Q. What is the value of an ounce of gold?—V. L. H. A. The mint value of gold does not fluctuate, but remains oonstant at $20.67 per ounce of pure gold. The unit in weighing gold Is the troy ounce. Q. To what people is the term “Greaser” applied?—0. H. P. A. In the southwestern part of the United States a Mexican is often called a “Greaser,” just as an Italian may be referred to as a “Guinea” in the East. Q. What combination of cards will count 25 and 26 In cribbage’— 8. G A A. There are no combinations of cards in cribbage which will total 25 or 26. L Q. What city largest?—L N. R A Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the largest city in Africa. (Are you ever hampered for want of information? Do you wonder and blun- der through misinformation? This col- umn was instituted to serve a very ap- parent meed of our readers, and ils popularity is attested by the thousands who seek information daily. Use this service and learn its possibilitics. Ad- dress inquiries to The Star Information Burcay, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Twenty-first and C streets northwest. Inclose @ 2-cent stamp for o direct reply.) in Africa is the berg does not know that many mem- bers of the Daughters of the Confed- eracy are daughters of Union sol- diers, many of whom wedded South- ern women. So when he raises the issue as a sectional one he will find little sympathy. Our Nation has out- grown those things. We have mul- titudes who know and care little about the war of ‘61 to '65. Great cities have grown up since that great war, and a very large portion of the population are all recent arrivals from other parts of the world. Sixty years have gone into the past since the close of the conflict, and we are a new Nation, undivided by the hatred of sectionalism. Why keep up the fire, especially against the women? THOMAS R. MECHEM. Veterans o.f‘i.i;98 Support Defense Day To the Editor of The Star: The District of Columbia Com- mandery of the Naval and Military Order of the Spanish-American War gives its whole-hearted support to . the purposes of the national author- ities in requesting a Defense Test day on September 12, proximo. The veteran officers of this national order remember, with always recur- ring pain and indignation, the delays, hardships and manifold unnecessary sufferings imposed upon them and their companions in arms in the ranks during that brief war, and which were! almost wholly due to lack of previous preparedness of the country ' for any sort of military operations on_a war scale. We will heartily co-operate in this effort to ascertain the potential strength of the nation for its defense in any emergendy. We are 100 per cent pacifists, plus 100 per cent prep= arationists. SAM W. SMALN, i g ¥ ¥