Evening Star Newspaper, September 16, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. —-—— d WASHINGTON, D. C. @WPESDAY. .. .September 16, 1924 FREODORE W. NOYES. . . . Editor | lowly tasks and studies of soclal con- | ditions, while the friend branched out {in industry and acquired a great for- | tune. The present prime minister of | England is, like some of his predeces: | sors, a poor man. His salary, which comes to him not as prime minister | | but as first lord of the treasur may happen the other way about and the Washington team be beaten by the same margin through the parti- sanship of Pluvius. It is o great race, such a race as has rarely been known in the his. tory of the game, two teams tied for the lead and a third one—just helped * o Evening Star Newspuper Company | £5.000 a year, which is reduced oLy the Senatars' slip—only four games @miness Office, New th St. and Penosylvania Ave. 110 Hast 42nd Chicago Office: Tower Building. an Oflice: 16 Regent St., London, England. Evening Star, with the Sunday morning | lon, {5 delivered by carriers within at 6 cents per month; dally only, 45| @ents per month: Sundar only, th. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- Bhooe ‘Main 5000. Collection is wade by car- Ters at the end of each month. Wate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo. Daily only 1yr., $6.00 1 mo. Sunday on! 1yr, $2.40; 1 mo, 2 All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00 ; 1 mo., 83¢ Daily only . $7.00: 1 mo., &0c Sanday only $3.00: 1 mo,, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all n Patehes credited (o it or not otherwise in this paper and also the local news m lished ‘herein. "All rights of publicatien wpecial dispatches berein are also reserved. ub- | of Germany Seeks Absolution. Germany's desire to join the League of Nations, keen as it is, is not so keen as its wish to be relieved of | Llame for starting the great war. The wtion is a peculiar one. The League Nutions is, in effect, the creature | the tres of Versailles. That | however, is based upon the nciple of Germany's responsibility for the war. Livery punitive provision | i it is conditioned upon that hypoth- sis. It is difficult to see how an in-| national organization which owes| its erigin to a protocol which holds (iermany accoantable for the conflict | of 1914 can rewrite that protocol by emoving the stigma of responsibility in order to admit that country as a new member. For the league to admit Germany, with a declaration of clearance for war responsibility, would be to re- pudiate the treaty of Versailles, which ve birth to it. Tt would be a re- | of question of Premier MacDonald's £3,500 Ly the income tax. His only perquisites are two houses, No. 10 Downing street, as a town residence, | and Chequers Court, as @ country | place. He has no allowance for enter- establishments out of his own purse. The office is really a burden. o can- not pursue- any private occupation while holding ‘Whether there was any relation be- | tween the gift and the baronetey is | not, it would seem, seriously dis-| cussed. Titles have been acquired in' many cases in England by reason of | rich gifts to parties in political cam- | paigns, but so far as known this is the only instance where a member of the government has in any way profited by a donation from 6ne who has been titled. And yet there is not a breath integrity. A national campaign is asent to be- gin in England. The Liberals are al- ready taking the stump and preparing for the next general election, which cannot long be postponed. It is ex-| pected that Parliament will be dis-| solved this Fall. The Labor party may hold its own in the election as the bal- | ance of power between the Liberals and -the Conservatives, but the Mac. Donald endowment is now viewed with | apprehension Ly the Laborites as a serious factor of possible defeat, even for such advantage. The Labor min-| istry has survived longer than was expected, and has written a surpris- | ingly good record of efficiency. But it} has been maintained on the suffrance of the other parties, ncither of which | has been ready for an appeal to the| country. A Closed Incident. Some publicity having been given on of history, contrary to fact. In- deed, the league is not qualified or | mpowered to make such revision, to | the treaty of Versailles, to ab- ! © Germany from the blame that | s been formally and in the minds of | the people of all nations save those of | the central powers of Europe been correctly and justly placed upon her. The German cabinet will meet in a few days to considar this question of | application for leugue membership upon the basis of absolution. This sives time for hearing from the I.| lied countries. There can be no qad: tion of their judgment. None of tix league member nations that weze al- ied in 1914-18 aguinst the war power of Germany and her allies con with | any conceivable righteousness or con- sclence consent to Germany’s demand, if it should be made, that the treaty cf Yermilles be rewrittem. Dispatches from Europe on this sub- Jeet describe the present German move for remission of responsibility as tact- luss. It is at least that. It is indeed foolish for the statesmen at Berlin to expect all the advantages of league membership in the settlement of ques- tions of acute moment while guining a complete clearance on the score of having started the conflict out of which came her present problems and the league itself. Certainly somebody started the ' ‘war, somebody was responsible in 1914 | for initiating the horror. At a confer- ence of the nations held at Versailles shortly after the close of the fighting Germany and her allies were held ac- countable. That verdict has been ac- pted by the world, and all subse-| uent proceedings have grown out of | it. The reparations settlements. ich have only lately been effectea, are con- ditioned upon that conclusion. Mere- Ir to suggest revision and remission | of rcsponsibility is @ move that savors | of bad faith, with something more tangible and practical than league membership in view, however valu- able that may be to Germany. Any weakening of the treaty on this score by league declaration at Germany's instance would impeach the whole reparation compact and start the process of repudiation. Germany has lately met the repara- tion requirements under the newly adopted plan in @ manner to win ad- miration. Now to move, by even a| gesture, for political purposes for ab- | solution from responsibility for the .war is to revive the suspicions of the world. —_——— Experiments are well under way for the discovery of methods to ex- terminate the Japanese beetle and the boll weevil. While the politicians are mpathizing with the farmer, the scientists are sceking to give him practical assistance. ————— Of those who went from this coun- try to assist Russia in promoting radi- | calism not one has attained the dis- tinction of being mentioned as a So- viet officeholder, excepting Trotsky, ‘. 'who got in on the ground floor. —————— Times have changed. Nobody laughs acw when the Washington base ball @ab is mentioned as @ pennant con- wader. i MacDonald’s Endowed Car. Zrime Minister MacDonald is in an | smbarrassing eituation which has| a-oused the sympathy of most people, ‘while at the same time inciting criti- ~.sm of his political judgment. He re-| ently accepted a life-tenure gift of | valuable stock from a friend as an en- " dowmeat for a motor car for his use. =iy act in itself has not-been =o seri- ondly questfoned as fthe fact that the demor, who is a Tory millionaire, has under the Laborite ministry been - granted a baronetcy. So the quotation of this latest addition to the titled elass is placed at £30,000, the amount of the endowment. The severest criti- olsm, strangely enough, comes from Laborites, which, according to dis- * patches, are really shocked at heart, » though they pretend not to be, be- cause the Socialist premier is under | ebligations to a capitalist. . . As 3 matter of fact, Mr. MacDonald “ has simply made a mistake of tact.| The man who bestowed the stock en- dewment upon him is one of his boy- aesd tands, e co-worker in humble eseupations. MacDonald stuck to his | Gen. Dawes, as recently published in | be interested in a lctter | ican Red Cross, formerly chairman of | { the Shipping Board and later Secre- to an attack upon the integrity of | a weekly journal more noted for its| venom than its verity, the public will | trom John | Barton Payne, chairman of the Amer- tary of the Interior in the Wilson cab- inct. This letter, addressed to the editor of the Independent, a publica- tion which, doubtinz the fairness of the attack in question, undertock to find out the true fac categorically | denies the existence of any basis for | | criticism of Gen. Dawes for his ac- tions in the case in point. The attack centered upon the part played by Gen. Dawes, then president | of the Central Trust Company of II-| linois, at the time of the organization | of the ill-fated La Salle Street Trust and Savings Bank by William Lori- mer. It was implied that Gen. Dawes was guilty of sorry blundering or di rect knavery at that time, and the | rhetorical question was asked as to | “whether @ man with such an action in his record is fit to be Vice Presi- dent of the United States.” The Payne letter, written by a man {of political persuasions opposité to |those of Gen. Dawes, answers that | question with a strongly emphasized | {affirmation. Setting forth the full and | true s in the case, with which he | had every opportunity to be familiar, | Mr. Payne asserts the absolute hon-| esty and innocence of Gen. Dawes | throughout the transaction in ques- 1 | tion, and quotes the appellate court of | Ilinois, which decided the case, in full | confirmation of his assertion. Prior | to the writing of the letter Mr. Payne had written to the chairman of the | Democratic committee warning against | “the mistake of adopting or pre sing | this matter as a criticism of Gen. Dawes, whose conduct from begin- admirable.” ‘Thus is the incident closed, with the public afforded full opportunity to al- locate credit and discredit to Gen. Dawes, his square political opponent, *Judge” Payne, and the editors who saw fit to print an unwarranted slur upon the honesty of a prominent and respected American. ————— Intimations by Leopold that he will write a book cxpounding his philos- ophies represent the climax of a tend- mercenary purpose —_——————— children than there are schools to ac- commodate them. F ——— Perhaps the Leopold-Loeb case will not be forgotten so s0on as many ex: pected. Every 19.year-old boy sen tenced to death in Illinois will remind the public of it. As a conservative nation China in- sists on having an old-fashioned war on hand nearly all the time. Back to a Ti On Sunday woe was caused in Washington because the pennant- secking Senators failed to take ad- vantage of a slip by their nearest rivals in the American League race. But for a home run by an alien bats- man with the bases loaded—than which there is no more effective com- bination in the game—the Washing- ton team would have scored a victory while New York was losing. But that was that, and only that, and the teams remained as they were, with Washington one game to the good. The woe was decper in New York, because the Yankees had a chance to even the race. So there was some consolation here. Yesterday that consolation was swept away, and the woe of Sunday came back more thickly, for the Sen- ators slipped while the Yankees step- ped out, and now the teams are even. The narrow, but sufficient, lead of one game has vanished. From this time on to the end of the race every play will count in double value. To win, the long-hopeful ‘Senators must ac- tually gain at least half a game, by winning on a day when New York is idle through intercession of the weather. And vet that same thing | that which | year ago. He will find the third party, | ning to end was in the highest sense | ency to exploit uhsavory notoriety for | i The problem of supply and demand becomes peculiarly important to pub- | lic welfare when there are more school | behind. The spirit that has carrled Washington to the top and held it there is not likely te falter, and now, with the scene of battle shifted, hopes Ot |are high and faith is strong. i tainment and must maintain his two | et MoAdoo to Help. A dispatch from Paris states that Willlam G, McAdoo is salling today on the Leviathan for home, and he is quoted as saying to friends in Paris: “1 would like to stay longer, but I have decided to go home und do all I can to help John W. Davis' cam- paign for the presidency. Whether it be merely organizing or actually tak. ing the stump, I am ready for it, and, as 1 promised Davis before leaving New York, he can count on me to 80 the limit."” Nothing more could be asked of the principal defeated candidate of the Democracy for the nomination. He is coming home to work for the election of another man to the office to which he aspired and for nomination for | which ho held the greatest number of votes in the convention. Mr. of somewhat different character than was in prospect half a headed by. La Follette, a-really con- siderable facter, more definitely the object of Republican attack than is the Democratic ticket. He will find ! 2T all, by way of press and speech, | some new issues, brought about by developments outside of the conven- tion proceedings. e will find the Democratic candidate “treating ‘em rough” on the subject of the oil scan- dal, concerning which Mr. McAdoo may find it difficult to display much enthusiasm or denunciatory indigna-| a conditioning precedence of achieve | tion. He may be of assistance on the subject of farmers’ aid. He may con- tribute some observations on the tariff. The present attitude of labor, which organically is formally for La Follette, may inspire him to pointed observations about his own claims to labor support, although there is some question whether he can transfer those claims to the nominece of his party. Mr. McAdoo's first contribution to the campaign will be highly inter- esting, in view of all these circum- stances, if he should be assigned to duty as a speaker. But, as he inti- mates, he may be set only to organ- izing work, which, perhaps, would be more agreeable than taking the stump, all things considered. ———— Analysis of the effects of Defense day must convince the candid ob- server that it has brought the possi- bility of war no nearer; having served, in fact, as a reminder that such an| enterprise is too serious to be pulsively undertaken. ——————— Citizens who regard Congress as a more. or less gbstructive influence are now viewing with alarm the possibil: ty that the House of Representatives may assert itself in connection with unusual delay in announcing the election results. ——r————— The La Follette people have an ir- ritating way of cheering the regular im- | national parties when they abuse each other. German statesmanship is still in need of a few more “‘sphinxes. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOLINSON. Spellbinder, Katydid is singing Out among the trees, Consolation bringing ‘With promise of a freeze. “Snowflakes soon will glisten ‘Where the flow'rs are hid"— It's a joy to listen To our old friend, Katydid. When there is a reason For some public grief Speakers come in season, Promising relief. Of the cares that darken Life, we'll soon be rid; It's a joy to harken To our old friend, Katydid. Transportation. “Modern invention enables sound to travel with the speed of light.” “It's a great achieventent,” declared | Senator Sorghum, *“and yet we have | to admit the old-fashioned ways have heir advantages. An idea going 186, 00 miles per second is not nearly as likely to land in good shape as one that utilizes a railroad train with rear- platform facilities.” Disproportion. That prodigy is incorrect And doomed to painful quarrels, ‘Who starts with so much intellect He hasn’t room for morals. | Jud Tunkins says nobody ever has #s much patience @s he thinks an. | other person ought to possess in the lmme kind of trouble. | Overwhelming Question. | Though public programs go amiss i As policies we frame, {1 do not care! But tell me this: | * Who Won the Base Ball Game? Time for Restraint. “As a citizen you should be bold and | speak vour mind.” “Most times,” said Mr. Chuggins, “but not when a bicycle cop pulls Anticipating a Future. “People are always disposed to pet little children.” “T ain't in favor of the custoln, commented Farmer Corntossel. “A few years ago a kind old gentleman patted my boy Josh on the head an’ told him he might be President some day. Josh has been puttin’ on airs i over the family ever since.” “Pears like de only thing women can’t do 'bout as well as de men,” said TUncle Eben, “is to sing bass in de chotr,” McAdoo will find a campaign | { NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM [ THE LIFE OF ¢ Horace Green. VIN COOLIDGE. Duffield & Co. Ivery man Ix a legend, either in | the muking or already in @ state of | fultiliment and finlsh. A legend meas- ured, maybo, by only narrow nelgh- borhoad Iimits or, maybe on the oth- er hand by a world reach of influence and Interest, A clear dvantage of tho growing legend over the complet- od ona I thut unybody may take & hand In its making, an exciting ad- venture that frankly discounts the seanoned values of the finished and embalmed brand. Just now the leg- end of Calvin Coolfige is springing to lusty growth under the enthusiastic nurture of a host of observers and students, reporters and recorders. Better' (han anything else do the pPeople of the United States love a Koing concern. Its assured eMclency mooth gearing, high power, ready dynamic response-is in accord with the spirit of the country, a beat of its own heart, in fact. At the moment Mr. Coolidge stands the most con- spicuous and satisfylng example of this twentleth century product. A Eoing concern of true American pat- tern, too—the native.soil, the simple lite,” advantages scarce, opportunity shy, promises faint. A hard road to travel. up hill and rocky, way sta- tiong infrequent and of no great out- look. Then a hill crest. Then an- other. Finally the mountain top—be- lv;w, the earth and the fullness there- of A legend worth having some part in, this. So followers at heel come flocking, and students at range, recorders, interpreters, review- til doing their t to reduc man to formula, to fasten hi phrase, to shape him geverally tidy uses of historian, prognost : prophet. graphy, sk , analyt- ical study, hearsay und plain gossip lending a hand to the mal | Coolldge legend. o mendous travail of t |littered a mouse. @ recalls the tre- © mountain that For the common product of this prodigious zeal of en- | deavor 1s, so far, no more than 4 cou- ple of designating tags, “silence” and “luck.” Nor has any one, vet, at- | tempted to link up the two in Bugges | tion that the habit of silence may be | ment which envious is cas| or that this | great extent {the eml ! whose ¢ ity | con thi; by the heedles: ed off “luck”; achievement may to a be the clear logic and I¥ing form of a silence content is habitual activ- elong lines of public interest and ro. Nobod, t, has done even or the | * % * | _“The Life of Calvin Horuce Green, is a sin seuson’s windfall of Coolidge literature It is, however, a leaf with color of its own, arly an inGi in an abuy that commonly implie uniformity an unpreter tious book. rule, appeais | to the pedant, or perhaps it app | such of pedantry Ty autho sesses. Mr. Green hus successfully re- sisted this seduction in the interest of a free and fresh approach to his subj He may well have said to himself, - be the old xoak.” “I'll just loaf {along the Coolidge trail, sopping look of it, the feel of it, the Epecial stir of it, trying to make out how it took hold of this boy and man, what share it had in the making of him.” Mr. Green loitered a bit around Ply- mouth and Northampton, and over ac Amherst, and down in the Le lature. and up at the governor's pla and | along to the vice presidency and, finally right into the White Housc itself. Along the way he let everybody talk—the neighbors, the school teacher, the shoe maker, the grocery man, college profe: sors, law partners, legislative collcagues, | political friends and cnemies. All ta | ing right up to this moment that marks the opening of a new presidential cam- paign. A many-sourced, informal pro- | Jection. Its immediate purpose that of | Tescuing certain dependable and il- | luminating frazments from an olecur- {ing whirl of contradictory and mislead- {ing detail. Deeply interesting in th | capacity. A further usefulness the scope and character of th | will, serve, undoubtedly, a good purpose | as authentic material for future studies |of American character and American politics, rightly evaluated through the j agency of & proper perspective. ! few days axo President Coolidge | received at the White House an im- jportant group of labor representa- tives. Te spoke of the interests of labor, talking plainly and reasonably {of the inherent rights and legitimate privileges of the organization. From i this immediate approach reached out to matters of vital concern to | labor—immigration, tho tariff, taxes. | An outstanding feature of th | dress | straight across to the keen intelli- {gence of men on his own level. For direct,’ pointed, precise, concrete statement, this address stands an oasis in the whirling sands of politi- :al bombast and sweeping political promise that is at the moment being offcred to the capacity of a nation of illiterates and morons to inflame party strife @nd to subserve the in. terests of personal political ambi- tlons One finds Mr. Green's study of Cool- | idge filled with evidence that this is ithe man's habitual mode of meeting | obligations—personal, business, po- {litical—all the obligations that being |an American citizen implies.” One | does not see Mr. Coolidge, once, turn- |ing a sudden corner to avoid a meet- {ing, nor trimming at any exigency to | get away from decision. Never does expedlency se nor opportunism. | “Gov., Coolidge,” 'so an older story {runs, “if you issue that proclamation | you will defeat and probably destroy | the Republican party in Massachu- setts. You will certainly make it impossible for vourself to hold an- | other public office.” “It is not neces- sary for me to hold another office.” and the governor ‘“‘wgnt about hi business.” " Here he is talking away back in 1916: “It may be that there would be votes for the Republican party in the promise of low taxes and vanishing _expenditures. * * * Good government cannot be found on the bargain counter. We have seen sam- ples of bargain-counter government in the past, when low tax rates were secured by increasing the bonded debt for current expenses or refusing to keep our institutions up to the stand- ard in repairs, extensions, equipment and accommodations.” Again: “When you substitute patronage for patriot- ism, administration breaks down. We need more of the office desk and less of the show window in politics. Let men in office substitute the midnight oil for the limelight.” j _“Politics is not an end, but a means. Tt is not a product, but a progess. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. * * e Office-holding is the Incidental, but the standard of citizenship is the essential. Government does not rest upon the opinions of men. Its results rest on their actions. This makes every man a politician whether he will or not. This lays the burden on us all. Men who have the ad- vantages of a liberal culture ought to be the leaders in maintaining the standards of citizenship. Unless they can and do. accomplish this result education is a failure. The power to think is the most practical thing in the world. It is not and cannot be cloistered from politics.” “Do the day's work. If It be to protect the rights of the weak, who- ever objects, do it. It it be to help a powerful corporation better to serve the people, whatever the op- position, do that. Expect to be called a stand-patter, but don't be a stand- patter. Expect to be called a dema- gogue, but don't be a demagogue. Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as sclence. Don't hesitate to be as Coolidze, study. It i | | | ! farther | up the | And_eo | les in | ad- | is that the President talked | v THE TRAFFIC PROBLEM BY ERNEST GREENWOOD Secretary of the Conferemce on Street and Highway Safety ARTICLE V! The place of Insurange in any safe- ty and accident prevention program is too often regarded as that of of- ficlal bearer of a financial apologia. 1t is said that the insurance com-. panies are not concerned with an ac- cident until after it has happened; that their sole function is to indem- nity the insured after his loss due to the accident. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is probably no organi- aation or group of organizations spending more time or money on the study of accident prevention than the insurance companies. The Na- tional Bureau of Casualty and Surety Underwriters, the membership of which includes practically all of the stock companies writing various lines of automobile insurance with the ex- ception of fire, has a research depart. ment devoted entirely to this work. In addition to thiy the bureau contrib- utes heavily to the work of the Na- tional Safety Council. Life insurance companies, recognizing that the mo- tor vehicle has introduced a factor into life insurance not in their cal- culations when the mortality tables were designed, are also vitally inter- ested in street and highway safety. * % % % ‘While admitting that the primary function of insurance is to pay the loss caused by the accident, the com- panies are extremely active in pre- vention work. While they are ac- {tuated in the first instance by the | purely humanitarian aspects of a pro- gram of couservation of life and limb, i they approach the subject from the i practical point of view of the loss ratio. The loss ratio is the barom- | eter of trafiic accidents and the ex- | perience of the companies | greatest value in loweri | dent rate. , In this donnection insurance has a Ing of the material ard practical argument to |for @ few hours of joy-riding. {offer in favor of the organization of | communities for accident prevention. |1f the accident rate is lowered the loss ratio will be lowered, and as the loss ratio is reduced the premium | rate naturally follows. A community can actually save money as well as {lives by adopting those which will reduce the number of trafiic accidents on its streets. “Save money in automobile insurance pre- miums,” says the insurance man, “by ‘eutting down your accidents. | Strange as it may seem, insurance | exceutives are generally opposed to { compulsory automobilc insurance, As {a matter of fact, while it would in- {crease the volume of business it would multiply hazards and losses amazingly and inject into the situa- tion a thousand new complications. i Miles Dawson, the New York insur- lance aetuary, says these increased | loss would increase the premium rate 75 per cent. Others say auto- mobile insura rates would be doubled. Phillip O. Deitsch, secre- tary of the Maryland Motor Federa- | tion, characterizes the bill for com- pulsory insurance introduced in that tate as “an asinine and discriminatory piece of legislation, * standpoint of safety an v is of no value whatso- possession docs not make inclined driver more if anything it gives him a se of security which tends to maka him more reckless. He has shifted the responsibility for hils reckless- iness on the broad shoulders of in- | surance. While {public of some compensation if a | ariver bumps a pedestrain into King- |dom Come it is in no sense a pre- | ventive measure. A ‘majority of ac- {cidents are caused by irresponsibles and many, if not most of them, are preventable. But they cannot be pre- vented by the assumption of respon- sibility by insurance for damage done | by the criminally inclined and the ine | competent. | Furthermore, if a liability policy {shall be precedent to the issuance of !a license, as the proponents of this {scheme claim, it has the effect of making the underwriters say who shall and who shall not drive auto- mobiles. I the underwriters get |loose and begin to write everybody |it will create an equally intolerable | situation. | Compulsory automobile insurance | will also open the door for a new | drive for monopolistic State funds { ‘egislating all insurance companies | out of the automobile insurance field. | Advocates of the compulsory insur- |ance, whether it be workmen's com- | pensation or automobile or any other { form, claim that insurance demanded by the State should be furnished ex- From the automobile po ever. Its the T Sdward N. Hurley of Chicago has accomplished the seemingly impos- sible in inducing France to get down to brass tacks on her $3,500,000,000 debt to the United States. Hurley is the baby member of the World War Debt Funding Commission, having by President Coolidge. He was chosen as the third Democrat on the com- mission, which, by law, must have at least three members of that pe suasion. The other Democrats are Representative Charles R. Crisp of Georgia and former Representative Richard Olney of Massachusetts, both distinguished sons of distinguished fathers. Mr. Hurley rambled unof- ficially through the finance minis- tries of allied Europe during his summer vacation, Other governments than France may step up to Uncle Sam's counter and settle as a result jof the Chicagoan's astute activities. |He dropped some useful hints in ! Signor Mussolini’s direction anent | Italy's unsquared account of about 2,000,000,000, i * K ok % | President Coolidge had a welcome j caller the other day, George W. Long of Boston, who turned out to be a long-forgotten former fellow mem- her of the Massachusetts Assembly. Mr. Long had been allotted the statu- tory three minutes on the President's busy calendar, but as soon as Mr. Coolidge recognized him there was an invitation to dine at the White House. As Mr. and Mrs. Long were honeymooning in Washington, their glory. “Haven't brought any dress clothes along, Cal” said Long. “Never mind,” replied the President. “You'll have to take pot luck any- how.” So did Mrs. George W. Van- derbilt, who also was present. d ok ok ok Senator La Follette was 69 in June, but laughs at the qualms of his friends who think he is incurring dangers in embarking upon a whirl- wind campaign. The Progressive lead- er says there is no physical exercise that keeps him half as “fit” as speech- making. Twelve talks to the proletar- iat within twenty-four hours are “the daily dozen” that do him the most good. The country at large has not yet learned the correct pronuncia- tion of La Follette’s name. About as many people accent the third syllable as accent the second. The latter is the one on which “Fighting Bob” him. —_— reactionary as the multiplication table. Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. Don’t hurry to legislate. Give ad- ministration a chance to catch up e i s i . vernor kept on sa - LG M, is of the | ig the acci- | expedients | it does assure the | been appointed to it only this year| visit ended in a blaze of unexpected | clusively by the State. This means new departments, many new jobs end an added burden of indirect taxation to be borne by the non-automobile owners as well as the owners. Con- soquently, a certain class of poli- ticians are urging it in 24 States. * ¥ ¥ % Insurance companies in their search ‘or accident prevention measures are paying more and more attention to the theft hazard. There is a very definite relationship between stolen automobiles and accidents. Stolen cars are most often used for “quick getaways. Thefts of high-speed cars are increasing rapidly and creating a material hazard on the highways. The motor car lends itself easily (o banditry, and any reduction of this theft hazard will result in a| reduction of the highway hazard,| thereby contributing to accident pre- | vention. Legislation requiring the certifi tion of title to u car is being advo- cated as a means of theft prevention and some States have adopted it. It all States would pass similar meas- ures it would practically put a stop to thefts of cars for the purpose of selling them, but would not put a stop to the theft of cars for joy-rid- ing or for temporary use for illegal purposes. For the purpose of pre- venting the latter classes of thefts insurance companies are giving re- | duced premium rates on cars cquip- | ped with certain types of locks. The | question arises as to whether or not all polic hould contain a war- | | ranty providing that the company {will mot be liable for loss from theft if the car is not equipped with an | adequate lock which the | Buarantees to keep in good working order and use. Unfortunately the courts are too |often inclined” to be lenient with | young persons who “borrow” a car The |Joy-rider " is one of "the greatest ! menaces on the road and is at the {head of the class of irresponsibles. | The mere taking of another person’s | car is prima facie evidence of a maxi- {mum degree of irrcsponsibility and | this class of offender should be ac corded treatment quite as severe u the deliberate thief who takes a ca | for either the purpose of selling it or for some illegal purpose. | * * * % | 1t is not difficult to visualize the important place cupied by insur- ance in any accident prevention pre gram. It has a contribution to make [to almost every phase of it when dealing with such subjects as |¢lty planning and zoning or engi- | | neering and construction, the expe- | |rience and conclusions reached by the ! | underwriters are invaluable. The! | physical conditions in congested arcas which seem to be within the | particular province of the planner| and the engineer are all reflected in |the insurance hazard, in the loss ratio |and in premium rates. It is, however, extremely difficult for the automobile nsurance writer to follow the lead of the fire companies in the matter of inepection. The fire hazard is | fixed; it is always in the same plac - The automobile hazard, however, mobile; it is here today and |another State tomorrow. With an| adequate and uniform system of | {licensing drivers and of reporting ac- | cidents the insurance companies can introduce the moral hazard into auto- | mobile underwriting and, traveling around the circle, the fact driver has been refused insuramce could be taken into consideration | when acting on an application for a | 1 nse or for its renewal, hat the driver of an automobile should be able and willing to com- pensate for any damage he may do admits of no argument. If he has| no assets and does not even own the | car he is driving some means for guaranteeing the public against | financial loss must be found. It has | heen suggested that legislation mak- ing the actual owner of the car re- | sponsible would provide this guaran- | tee. This would make it possible to seize the car, at least. Further- more, it would cause all automobile dealers selling cars on time for a <malil oush payment and a bundle of | promissory " notes to require their purchasers to carry liability insur- ance. If these time payment pur- chasers could not obtain liability in- surance—and the underwriters should scrutinize this class of risks most carefully—then the sale would not be consummated and one more men- ace would be kept off the streets. (Copyright, 1924, b:lcn;wu! News Features, oc. a Lven | | is | in | that a WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS . BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. self lays emphasis. This observer re- cently heard a soapbox champion of La Follette call him *“La Follette,” with the “fol” as in Napoleon. * ¥ ok It's an open secret that one of the things keeping Chairman Butler awake at night is the campaign si- {lence of four western Republican | United States Senators—Norris and Howell of Nebraska, Johnson of Cali- fornia and Brookhart of Towa. Their masterly inactlvity on behalf of Cool- idgo and Dawes has always been ominous and now is becoming op- pressive. Norris and Brookhart are running for re-election as regular Re- publicans, rolled up his sleeves for the G. O. P. national _ticket. The entire quartet |are suspected of strong La Follette | leanings. with the possible exception of Howell, who is Republican national committeeman from Nebraska. Hiram | Johnson's predicament is tragic. He | not only damned the Coolidge admin- istration up hill and down dale in his and La Follette, If ever a states- man had nowhere to go, that baffled and disconfited person is the Golden Gate's shattered idol. Senator ‘“Pete’” Norbeck of South Dakota, who was for Johnson for President, has been aboard the Coolidge bandwagon for some time. * k¥ % George Washington appears to have been almost as thrifty a citizen as the present occupant of the White House. While the American Bar Association was recently visiting Sul- grave Manor, the ancestral home of the Washingtons in England, Sir Charles Wakefield, a former lord mayor of London, presented to Sul- grave Institution an original Wash- ington letter, dated Mount Vernon, 1788. It was addressed to a Mr. Car- ter, in Fredericksburg, and asked him to look after the upkeep of the grave of John Dandridge, Mrs. Washing- ton’s father. The letter ended: “I would thank you for ascertain- ing the price beforehand, having from- disinclination to dispute ac- counts felt, in too many instances, the expansion of tradesmen's con- sciences when no previous agreement has been made.” * * x % Although they have troubles of their own, the Atheninans ought to be watching with sympathy the tribu- | lations of Capt. Paxton Hibben, U. S. A.. who is now undergoing court-mar- tial for his alleged bolshevistic views. While Hibben was on American re- lief work .in Armenia and Greece, the city of Athens honored him by nam- Ing ono of its new streets “Avenue Paxton Cayright, 19000 L | the but neither of them has| ill-starred California primary fight,| but there’s no love lost between him | Answers to Questions BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. What is the size of an ele- phant’s foot?—F. L. B. A. The averagc size of an ele- phant's foot for an animal 8 feet in height is about 4 feet fur the cir- cumference of the fore foot. There is [a record of an African elephant 10| feet 3 inches high with a fore foot & feet 1 iuch in circumference. Q. What percentage of the money received from games played in the National League does the visiting club get?—F. A. E. A The ratio of the gate receipts between home and visiting teams used to be 60-40, but at present time since taxes and commissions are flg- ured in the ratio it is approximately 65-35. Q. Kindly inform me why my Ger- man_police dog who is five months old does not keep his ears up?—J. T. | A. A local veterinarian says that as a rule Gelman police puppies do not keep their ears up until after they are six months old and some | dogs never do. It is advised that you massage your dog's ears once or | twice a day with cocoanut oil. Q. Can lobsters travel rapidly?— CCR A. Lobsters are very® active and may, if transported several miles from thelr original habitat, find their way back. They can shoot backward very rapidly and it has been stated that they can go “25 feet in less than E ond.” Q. Did Indians kill Sitting Bull?— H. D, W A. An Indian agent sent out Tn- diun policemen to bring Sitting Bull to the agency. Some of Sitting Bull followers raised a disturbance and i fight Sitting Bull was shot L Indians named Bull Head and Tom- ahawk. This took place at the Standing Rock Agency near Fort Yates, N. D., December 13, 1530, Q. Was Gen. De Kalb of Revolu- tionary fame a German or a French- man?—S. A. Baron Johann De Kalb was born in Bavaria, Germany, but was trained !in the French army and accompanied ‘Laflu'elle to America. Q. Which has the most food value, a pound loaf of whole grain wheat bread, or a pound loaf of bread made from white flour?—W. H. T. A. Whole wheat bread, as chased, contains 1,114 calories pound, whereas oréinary wheat as purchased, contains 1,132 per pound. Q. Mar a man who has been out of the active service for several years ingpect his record which is on file in the Navy Department?—E. Lo A. The Navy Department says that any man may obtain information he pur- per read, jories | desires from his record on file in the | 1y Woud Le bitt Navy Department, but he is not al- lowed to lock through it personally. Q. How much Portland cement is used in a year?—W. J. C. A. The Portland cement industry his grown from a production in 1883 of 90,000 barrels to a consumption in | 25 1 of 13 Q. What is meant by —E. R. C. A. Raw sugar means dirty sugar. It must have been subjected to heat to be in a sugar state, but it has not et been refined, so is known as Taw.” 000 barrels, raw sugar? Q. Yhat is flake white?>—R. E. F. A. Flake white is composed of pure white lead in scales ground up with oil or gum water into a pigment. Q. What was the Battle of the Rosebud?—R. W. B. A. The Battle of the Rosebud was a battle between Federal troops and the Indians, fought shortly before the Custer massacre. torious in this encounter, which oc- curred July 17, 1876, on the banks of the Rosebud River. Q. What relation do the channel catfish and the blue catfish bear to each other?—H. J. C. A. The Bureau of Fisheries sav that the channel catfish, the blue cat- fish and the white catfish are all the same. The names probably differ in the various sections of the country. Q. Tf a foreigner bacomes natural- ized after his children have reached their majority do the children become citizens by virtue of thgr father's naturalization?—E. C. L A. They do not. It will be neces- | sary for them to take out naturaliza- {tion papers if they wish to become citizens.. If, on the other hand, the father of children born outside the | United States becomes naturalized be- | fore the children are 21 vears of age, those children automatically become citizens. | @ what poriion of the lana of | the earth is in forests?—C. L. O. | A Twenty-seven per cent of the |land of the earth is in forests. Of the total land area of 52,372,000 square miles, 14,140,440 square miles are forest land. | | Q. How long would it take to count a billion,—W, D. C. | A. Counting continuously at the ‘rate of 200 a minute, 12,000 could be counted in an hour, 285,000 in a 24- { hour day, 105.120,000 in a vear and a billion in a fraction over nine and | one-half years. [ | Q. Why is the present time said to | be the twentieth century when this {is only 1924?—A. K. A. The twentieth century is the { period beginning with 1901 and ex- tending to the year 2,001. | century comprised the year 1 to 100 inclusive; the second century the years 101 to has the greatest percentage of Jews A. The town of Woodbine, N. J., has 2 population of 1,900 and is 100 per cent Jewish. Chelsea, Mass., with a population of 43,426 has 13,000 Jews. Q. How old B. D. A. The principles of osteopathy were discovered and formulated by Dr. Andrew T. Still in 1874. The first college of osteopathy was opened in Kirksville, Mo., in 1892, is osteopathy?—N. Q. How long ago were Paisley shawls made?—F. N. K. Paisley shawls began early in the nineteenth century at Paisley, Scot- land. Q. What was the origin of the Rhode Island Red chicken’—S. E. S. A. Its origin was similar to that of the Buff Orpington in England. It ‘was a local race of poultry found ex- tensively in Rhode Island, produced by the farmers themselves without apy definite breeding and from uncer- tain stock. It is thought by some authorities that a considerable foun- dation of this local Rhode Island pouitry ‘was an old smooth-legged Cochin-China stock; but that ordi- nary Cochins were also largely bred is undoubted, and there is strong evidence that the Asiatic stock was considerably crossed and intermingled with Brown Leghorn: (Space can be given in this column to only a few of the questions that pour into our office daily. Those which are believed to be of greatest public interest are selected for publicalion. Any reader is privileged to ask any question he chooses, however trivial or profound, and it «All be answered direct. Inclose @ two-cent stamp with your query, and address The Star Information Bureau, -first. and G streets northwest) The Sioux were vie- | The first | 0 inclusive, and so on. | Q. What city of the United States | A. The manufacture of the famous, THIS AND THAT BY C. E. TRACEWELL. The man you have to bandle with kid gloves is a nuisance, a bore, a dix turbing «lement in the home and of . something of a disgrace to bu manity and a reflection upon the Creator. If anything has been left out, ™he reader can put in from hiswowa experfence with the type. Tk | touchy gentleman is not a murdere he just murders friendship and cordial ity. { He does not steal, he just thleves away good will among men. Walle he would scorn wrson, he is not at all adverse to setting others and himsel afire with ill considered words. When it happens to be a wo | Who must be handled with kid glove heaven help us all! £ | There aro few homes which at som {time or other have not had in tl | midst xome one whose touchy natur made life almost unbearable, carly every office has at le; sometimes an employe, someti boss. 1f the latter, the employ grouchy, taking their note from their superior. The astute, visiting an of fice, can tell what manner of man is in_charge without cver seeing him The crowd is another place wher: the man with a chip on his shoulder may be found. Even a base ball parl { has been known to harbor the sh | Since a street car is nothing bLut little mob ou wheels, it is not su= Prising that many perso ¥ be handled with pads there daily These people like to thin selves as “sensitive plan more deeply than matter of fact generally merely thin-skinned sufferer an inferiority complex even lesst Iy veiled. The amount of harm they inflict or others is entirely out of proportier {to their worth. =TI cught to stopped eference to that earth, amon | 2 1o b or tHen who b ob! et of good will The commonest home type of the | species is the respected relative Wwho { tells every one else what to do, and how to do it. and if it is not don: | there is the dickens to p: Such an estimalle | ten he is very estimuble in many wa —has to have mor {than a king #ets no {is to be any living with The most innocent remark he i construe E 1 affron {a perpetual state of fear that the may “offend Uncle John Getting right down to Dawesian | brass tacks, there is not a darn rea son in the world why Uncle John | should not be offended good and hard er but good medicin: | for him. | He has a nasty habit, however, | creating s an uproar when som: |one, more daring than the rest, c | him to book, that normally t fense is not repeated. Poor Uncle John must not b bed the wrong w He has fortunate disposition, you know, it is best to take cognizance otherwise no telling what sort of |rampage he mway go on. Mavbe | throw a bLook through the wir or talk out real loud, attracting the { attention of neighbors, * * Who is this Uncle John, in the name {of all that's holy, in a fa th {he should be treated deference? Isn't he a ma rest of men, with perhaps more | the usual amount of failings? not, like Shakespeare's Sf same organs, affections, the rest of us? Yet every one werars padded kid gloves of softest texture when deal- ing with him. If he were a giganti | pussy cat, snarling when it is rubb. | the wrong way, he could not be mort | feared. g What Uncle John really needs is vift Kick, or the ministrations of a g club, to take a bit of the conceit out of him. | When he starts on a rampage ever: one else ought to show him how to d it. 1f he hollers, the rest ought to holler loude He should bLe led firm Iy to a quiet corner, and ther once and for all to cut out sense. o rut 1 un- i than % % % % There is littla Loui a sweet child—until otherwise. Dressed in her litt frock, she seems an angel fallen fron heaven, with her bright hair and blu eves. *You have to handle her with the ol id gloves, however, or she won': play. Just let one little thing g0 to h disliking and immediately she up a howl that can be heard all ove the block. Maybe she found out, when a baby that the harder one screamed the quicker one got what one wanted Many loving mothers make that mis- | take. Any little Louise has not | forgotten. b | “Now, don't tease Louiss, Bobby warns mother. “She’ll seream.” Yes, that is perhaps the best thinz | Louise does. ! ! | he decid £ aitik Many a good man has hampe | nis chances in an office by bei {touchy. If he is what is know | some "firms a: “contact man” silly term—he rubs customers the wrong way by his very attitude, to begin with, for there is somethinz about being thin-skinned that betray itself. When a man is always on the 1ook- out for slights to his dignity, he man- ages to find an astonishing number of them. It is in this as in many oth matters: until the attention is focuse things happen that are not even nu ticed. 1 suppose many persons have bec | bitten by pet cats, but mot until i man died of the bite of a stray alle |cat did such wounds attract atten | tion. Then one begirs to hear about others. Being touchy, our friend gets touched, and, being touched, he get: all the more tender. It is & vicious circle, one that has no beginning and no end. The only thing to do with the poor fellow is hit him in the head with a club and wait for him to come to_his senses. In crowds and street cars the man who has to be handled with kia gloves alwayvs is having his toes stepped on, both literally and figur- atlvely. 1f two look his way while laughing, they are laughing at him Certainly! In a car, if a passenger attempts to go by her—feminine sen- der this time—she is being rudely pushed. Certainly he is singling her out for insult! * % % % Fear, arch enemy of mankind, what gives this private and public uisance his sway. For fear of a “row” he is tolerated in hundreds of families. he gets the best of every- thing, because the rest are afraid to say anything. Now no man or woman ever was supposed to act this way, following the cave days, when everybody acted much as they pleased. Civilized so- ciety presupposes certain necessary repressions. Criminals are brought to time— sometimes; kidnapers often are caught and punished; blackmailers put into) jall, and thugs “sent down. |" But the man who must be handle with kid gloves continues to makd lifo miscrable for all those he loves and who love him, simply because he is not recognized as the enemy o. soclety that he really is. ‘What he needs is, not kid.glowes| but the mailed fist.