Evening Star Newspaper, September 20, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .September 20, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennaylval New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. European Office: 16 Regent St., London, England. The Evening St th the Sunday morning edition, is deli: by carriers within the eity af 60 cents per month: daily only, 45 ceats per month: Sunday oniy. 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone ‘Main 5000. ~ Collection is made 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., 70c Daily only..... 1yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday on $2.40; 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo,, 85¢ Daily only ......1yr, $7.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only. .1yr, $3.00;1mo., Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Pross is exclusively entitled fo the uxe for republication of all news dis. Patches credited 1o 1t or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pub. lished ‘herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. .. Editor An Index, Not an Issue. Study of Senator La Follette's New York speech—which netted $12,000 to the chest of the Progressive party—shows the leader of that or- Zanization to be in a somewhat ex- planatory mood regarding its most conspicuous proposal, that of a change in the mode of determining the con- stitutionality of acts of Congress. Re- cently severe charges have been made upon his lines on that score. Evident- ly they have inflicted material dam- age. Running through the New York address was a tone of apology for the proposal that the power to pass upon the validity of enacted law should be transferred from the Supreme Court to the legislature. Boiled down to its essence, the La Folletite proposition on this score is that the Constitution should be amend- ed so as to make Congress and not the court the final judge of the con- stitutionaliy of legislation. Mr. La Follette said: “The only question raised in this campaign on this sub- Ject is whether the people shall have the right to have such a constitutional emendment as we propose submitted to them for their action.” The people have that right now, and ean exercise it whenever two-thirds of their elected representatives in House and Senate so vote. This is a strictly congressional question, not presiden- tial. A joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment is the only act of Congress which does not require the signature of the President. As soon as adopted by both houses such a resolution automatically goes to the States, to be ratified or rejected by the Legislatures. When three-fourths of the legislatures have ratified the amendment it becomes part of the Constitution. “Our position is,” said Senator La Follette, “that this Government be- longs to the people, and we believe with Washington that they are en- titled to alter or amend their Consti- tution so long as they conform to the requirements of the Constitution in so doing.” Thus it appears that Senator La Follette does not propose an amend- ment changing the method of making @mendments. He proposes a change of the Constitution in the established manner. The discussion, therefore, centers upon the merits of the propo- sition itself, which, as already stated, is a congressional and not a presiden- tial issue. It can be raised at any time. Tt can be raised in Congress. It can be advanced in a campaign when only Congress elections are held. If this present campaign is one of edu- cation to the end of bringing the people to the point of electing a Con- gress two-thirds of which will be pledged to the adoption of an amend- ment changing the method of deciding the constitutionality of legislation, well and good. But this is coupled with a presidential candidacy which in the nature of things political is hopeless, and which is designed solely for the purpose of deadlocking the electoral college and throwing the election of the President into Con- gress, where neither candidate of the Progressive party can conceivably be chosen. Thus the court question is not an honest issue of the present presiden- tial campaign. Yet the proposal of the plan to remove the power of de- cision from the court to Congress is important as disclosing the disposi- tion end desire of the La Follette party, if it may be called a party, radically to change existing and fundamental principles of Govern- ment. It is a characteristic rather than a direct and immediate question at issue. —_———— Efforts on the part of Berlin poli- ticians to disclaim responsibility for the war are creditable to this extent: They show that the B. P.’s disapprove of it. —_———— There are admirers of the plain, blunt diction of Mr. Dawes who still expect him to butt in and qualify as the Billy Sunday of politics. A Million-Dollar Steal. New York's luisct mystery is not a murder, but another form of crime— a missing member of a brokerage house which has failed in consequence of his defalcation. This is not an un- usual situation, but this particular case is peculiar enough to arouse the interest of the big town to a high pitch. The missing man, it would seem, has got away with about a million dollars, which is the equiva- lent of the remaining assets of the firm. Little is known of the man himself, except that he has been with the firm a good many years, having entered as an office boy. He seems to have led a very quiet, unpretentious life, with no elaborate establishment. He has dropped out of sight com- 3lstely, leaving no trace whatever, ex- cept that a little over a month ago he told his partner he was tired and was going to spend a few weeks’ va- cation in Canada. About a week ago a letter came from him which caused some misgivings, for it indicated that he had been doing some “investing” on his own account and it had not ‘been successful. It is now belh(ed that he has, in fact, been speculating with the firm’'s money or securities, which is the same thing, or, worse than that, with the securities of cus. tomers placed with the firm as col- lateral for loans and margins. This process of private dealing with other people’s resources has appar- ently been going on a number of years. It is not dificult to reconstruct the situation: A man who had always lived in modest fashion finally in- fected with the venom of avarice, causing a desire for wealth in greater measure, the temptation to use easily available means for playing the mar- ket on the side, perhaps a winning or two, a deeper plunge, a heavy loss, and the necessity of further specula- tion to make good the loss. This has happened manpy times and will prob- ably continue to happen as long as men are intrusted with other people's goods and are weak enough to dis- regard the law of property for their own selfish ends. No one can adequately conceive the sufferings of a man in this situation, the constant anxiety, the desperate moves to cover defalcations, the in- cessant strain of fear of discovery, the expedients to meet sudden demands for particular securities, and, mean- while, the need to carry on in daily practice of business without any sign of concern or distraction. Every dol- lar made by such dealings is earned many, many times in terms of mental agony. There is no punishment that the law can administer for such a crime equal to the torment. Whether this man escapes, perhaps with some of his criminal gains, to lead a fugi- tive life in other lands, or is caught and returned for trial and penalty, he has already paid many times over for his defalcation. Gov. Smith May Accept. The hearts of Democratic politicians were lifted yesterday as result of a number of important conferences with Democratic leaders in New York and Gov. Alfred E. Smith, which lent en- couragement to the hope that Gov. Smith will accept the renomination for governor which next Thursday’s Democratic State convention is ex- pected to offer him. He has given the subject deep and prayérful con- sideration, and has long been under prolonged pressure from the poli- ticians to induce his acceptance. To the Democrats in New York it appears to have been a case of “Save us else we perish.” They saw, it is said, the State ticket likely to go by the board without him. Worse than that, there seems to be prospect of the presidential ticket bogging down un- less Gov. Smith should put his shoulder to the wheel and help lift it out of the rut. The outlook for Demo- cratic success looked dectdedly gloomy in the Empire State. 1t is thought that Gov. Smith was induced in large degree by political considerations to reconsider his de- clared intention not to run. It is said to have been pointed out to him that a twoyear hiatus in political life would militate against any future am- bitions he may have in mind. It is suggested that even with the prob- ability that he may have a Republican Legislature on his hands, if elected, and would be unable to accomplish legislation, he would still preserve his hold as the greatest Democrat in the State and would not incur responsi- bility. The office would be merely a stop-gap for the future. If he should be elected governor and the national ticket should go down to defeat it would be argued that he would then be the greatest Democrat in the United States. For War and for Peace. There is no obvious relaxation of effort to make war more “efficient.” At the meeting of scientists at the Franklin Institute centenary at Phila- delphia an American major general in active service told of new trench mortars of greater accuracy than the old, of high-speed tanks, & 75-mm. field gun of 15,000 yards range in- stead of 9,000, & new 155-mm. gun of 20,000 yards range instead of 12,000, and new types of machine guns and semi-automatic rifles. He said that air attacks on cities would be met by fire from more effective anti-aircraft guns than were used in the late war. He told of other weapons that are now a good deal better or a great deal worse than those used in the World ‘War. One sees from the advance in aviation, the development and multipli- cation of submarines, the invention of poison gases and the increasing power of guns that many nations are mak- ing preparations against attack by other nations. From Geneva comes news of an- other tenor. The Associated Press says that “A protocol on arbitration and security has virtually been agreed upon, and so confident do the leading statesmen feel that it will be ratified by the big twelve of the present as- sembly of,the League of Nations that it was decided today to recommend the convocation of a great interna- tional conference on reduction of armaments in Geneva on June 25, 1925.” —————— German film producers are wonder- ing whether they are going to be obliged to consider Doug Fairbanks as a serious competitor with Herr Wagner himself. ————— Russian Coal. A survey just completed by a com- mission of the Soviet government has jdetermined the existence in North- west Siberia of the greatest coal de- posits in the world, within an area of [several hundred thousahd square miles. In addition to coal, this area contains valuable deposits of sulphur, graphite and platinum. The region is ‘within the zone of severe cold during a large part of the year, but so far as now appears the deposits can be suc- cessfully worked. Naturally it follows that the Soviet government will take over these coal and other mineral deposits and treat them as the property of the state. The question comes whether they will be properly worked and administered. It has been contended in this country that public ownership of all minerals is the only proper course, that private cwnership and exploitation is wrong in principle. Judging; however, from THE EVENING ST, the manner in which Russis, under bolshevik rule, has managed its af- fairs upon the communal ownership basis, there is little ground for be- lieving that these rich finds will be economically developed by the state alone. The possession of this enormous source of wealth may considerably change the viewpoint of those now at the head of affairs in Rusaia. Stead- ily during several years the course of government in that unhappy land has changed. Lenin found that he could not hold strictly to the ideal of anti- capitalism. His successors are depart- ing from it. likewise. Individual in- itiative is now conceded to be neces- sary to put through the essential works of maintaining the industrial life of the country. In this vast deposit of coal and other wealth Soviet Russia has an as- set of value in trading for interna- tional recognition. Concessions for working the mines will undoubtedly be sought from outside. There is no individually held capital in Russia capable of organizing & mining enter- prise on such a scale as the new de- posits indicate to be now possible and necessary. Will bids be asked? Will bidders be required to secure the guar- antees of their governments? It has been frequently predicted that Russia would return to moderate government as soon as prosperity re- turned. Perhaps this great coal dis- covery may be a means of bringing about the change from Soviet tyranny to reasonable, truly democratic admin. istration. Legion's New Commander. Washington sends greetings to the American Legion and congratulations upon its /choice for commander-in- chief. James A. Drain, who has just been elected to that office, is eminent- Iy qualified, in terms of personal capacity and experience, to discharge the duty that has been placed upon him. He has been a Washingtanian for a long period, and the people of this city know him as a man of the hghest character, with an intense in- terest in and concern for the welfare of the former soldiers of the country ‘who have fought under its flag in dif- ferent wars. Gen. Drain will render valuable service to the -American Legion. ————— China has a war on hand—being a few laps behind modern civilization and willing to make every effort to cover old ground in order to catch up. In a few decades China will be de- nouncing war as barbarous and im- practical. —_————— Every now and then somebody puts a big bill in the contribution plate of a small church. The money, of course, is welcome, but the effect of the dem- onstration has no social value. The parable of the widow’s mite still holds good. —_————— Among the honorable responsibili- ties open to Henry Ford, apart from politics, are those of helping to solve i the parking problem and to prevent his machines from becoming unman- ageable in a crowd. ———————— ‘When an actor publishes his mem- oirs, he is likely to convey the im- pression that he desires to impress a few points that his press agents, how- ever obsequious, have overlooked. ————t—— In addition to preserving the parks it will be necessary to prevent a& mo- tor congestion that will make it im- possible for people to walk to them or even see them from a distance. —_——— The airship is assuming such prece- dence in naval matters that it looks as if the good old battleships were due for a few compliments and a retire- ment. ———t—— Russian politicians are still earn- estly endeavoring to become as pop- ular in this country as Russian dancers are. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Inevitability. Gray days comin’ ‘cross the hill ‘Where the flowers bloom. Don’t see what's the use; an’ You've got to give "em room. Sorrows come a-driftin’ by— Take ’em with good grace. Though you cannot tell just why, They're bound to have their place. still Resourceful Old Orator. “Did you read Cicero's orations ‘when you were at school?” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “And I happened to be looking over them the other evening. It struck me as remarkable that Cicero could dig up so much good stuff without any League of Nations or Ku Klux to talk about.” “Dough.” To money in slang we refer as the “dough.” We greatly admire what it ought to bestow. But sad is the outcome on which we must look When it's burned by a rather inferior cook. Jud Tunkins says tryin’ to please some men makes ‘em feel so impor- tant that xou don’t get any thanks. Still Serving. “What has become of that old bar- keep, Three-I'inger Sam?"” “‘He’s got a job as near like his old one as present circumstances allow,” answered Cactus Joe. “He's @ bell hop in e Chicago hotel.” Sticking at Trifles. The serious faults, with charity sublime, My friends ignore and let me grope in doubt. But when I wore my straw hat over- time, They didn't hesitate to bawl me out! ““’Most everybody sympathizes wit de poor,” said Uncle Eben; “foh de reason dat ‘most everybody feels kind o' poor hisself in comj on wif somebody else E Answers to Questions BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. T6 settle an argument, on which syllable should the name “Fatima” be accented?—E. B. D. A. The accent is on the first sylla- ble, two pronunciations being given: Fat-i-ma or Fah-te-ma. Q. What is jet?—M. C. A. The Geological Survey says that jet is a dense black lignite which takes a good pilish. Q. What are the qualifications of a Supreme Court and a District Court judge—R. R. A. The President of the United States appoints these judges and there are no set requirements or qualifications for such positions be- yond the necessity of reaching the standard of excellence that the Presi- dent demands. Q. What L J. 8. A. Writer's cramp has been defin- ed as an occupational neurosis to which those who do too much writ- ing, especially with the hand too tightly contracted, are liable. A per- son with the trouble has no control over the muscles of the thumb and middle and fore fingers, although other manual operations are per- formed without difficulty. The af- fection seldom manifests itself till toward middle age. is writer’s cramp?— Q. What is the difference between “wood,” “lumber” and “timber’?— T. W. L. A. The term “wood” is of general application and covers both “timber” and “lumber.” “Timber” is wood suit- able for use In buildings, carpentry, etc, whether in the tree or cut and seasoned. It is also applied to for- est land covered by trees produ: such wood. “Lumber” is timber which has been sawed or split for use as beams, boards, planks, cte. Q. Did any Irishmen come to America on the Mayflower?—M. D. A. William Mullins and Christopher Martin, who are both enrolled on the log of the Mayflower, were Irishmen. Q. Are there any silver mines Kentucky?—K. 8. M. A. The Bureau of Mines states that there are no silver mines in the State of Kentucky. There is an old legend which prevails throughout the coun- try regarding lost silver mines in this State, but there is no foundation for it. in Q. How did the phrase a “Phyrrhic victory” originate?—G. L A This phrase is used to denote a victory won at tremendous cost and refers to the battle of Asculum, in which Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, won a victory over the Romans while sus- taining such heavy losses that he is said to have exclaimed, “Another such victory and Pyrrhus is de- stroyed. Q. How did the chambers of com- merce originate and what is their purpose?>—Ww. H. C. A. The chamber of commerce, an organization. originated on the European continent, when the old guild system was gradually done away with. The principal object of having a chamber of commerce was to have a body of businsss men who had the power to act in their com- munity in passing upon municipal and administrative measures in the interest of that community. These were functions formerly exercised by the craft guilds. In America and England the chamber of commerce is a voluntary organization which has no recognized official functions, but is a body of merchants and traders as- sociated for the purpose of promoting their own interests and those of their community. The first chamber of commerce recorded was that organ- ized in Marseille, France, which grew out of a.commission of mer- chants. It was established in 1599 and enlarged in 1650. The next chamber of commerce was organized in Dunkirk, Scotland, in 1700. The first organization in America was that of New York City, organized in 1768. Q. How can the vellow spots be re- moved from French ivory —H. F. N. A. To remove the yellow spots from French ivory, rub the spots with fine pumice and warm water, and ex- pose while damp to the sun under a glass vessel. Q. How many kings have been in the world?—D. O. D. A. There are no actual statistics on this, but Armstrong's Synopsis of Facts and Figures, 1891, says that there have been known to be 2,250 kings and emperors ruling over 75 different peoples. Of these 300 were dethroned, 64 were forced to abdicate, 28 com- mitted suicide, 23 became insane, 100 were killed in battle, 123 were cap- tured by the enemy, 2 were tortured to death, 151 were assassinated. Q. Who was the first Postmaster General of the United States>—R. G. A. Benjamin Franklin was the first head of the postal system of the United States. When he took over the affairs of his office, there were 75 post offices, with an aggregate postal revenue of $30,000 a year. To- day we have more than 53,000 post offices-and sbout 300000 employes. The aggregate revenue collected an expended amounts to about $500,000,- 000 annually. there Q. When a recipe calls for two ounces of bread crumbs, how can I measure them in a ocup?—T. M. A. One cup of stale bread crumbs is equal to two ounces. Q. How ‘does the Weather Bureau measure the velocity of the wind and the annual rainfall>—W. H. W. A. The rainfall at a given point is measured by an instrument con- structed on the principle of the fun- nel. If the big end of the funnel which catches the rain has an area 40 times as great as the tube that leads from it, a rainfall of one fortieth of an inch will register 1 inch in the gauge. Each rain is thus measured and all are added together to get the annual rainfall. The in- strument which registers the velocity of the wind is attached to a pin- wheel and works on the principle of the speedometer. Q. How did vaudeville name?—sS. M. A. This word has in some way grown from Vaux de Vire, the name of two valleys in France. A native of Vire composed -some satirical drinking songs which became popu- lar throughout France, under the name of Vaux de Vire. The name was used for other collections of songs and became corrupted into voix de ville, and finally to vaude- ville. got this Q. Would a tin roof affect a wire- less receiving set?—A. C. M. A. It would and should therefore be well insulated. Q. Is it true that Columbus landed eomewhere else before he landed at San Salvador?—IL. F. S. A. It is supposed by some that Columbus landed first at Cat Island, one of the Bahamas, but San Salvador, or Watlings Island, which lies to the east, has the better claim as the original landing place. (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 need of our readers, and its popu- larity is attested by the thousands who seek information daily. Use this serv- ice and learn its possibilities. Address inquiries to The Star Imformation Bu- reaw, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Twenty-first and C streets northwest. Inclose o two-cent stamp for @& direct 0 as, —— ARTICLE L. The junior high schools of Wash- ington, " which now have passed the experimental stage and form a per- manent and integral part of the pub- lic educational system, will this year for the first time alleviate in a mark- ed degree the congested conditions in the senfor high schools. Expanded gradually since their introduction in 1919, the beginning of the 1924-1925 scholastic year will find seven junior high schools in operation, each draw- ing a quota from the student bodies of the overcrowded senior high schools. A survey of the prospective condi- tions in the senior high schools from a standpoint of congestion shows that each of the seven Institutions will carry virtually the same sized stu- dent body during the forthcoming scholastic year as last vear, when the peak enrollment reached 11,250. Such a situation is unusual. Jvery year since the war has found the senior high schools with larger stu- dent bodies than the preceding year. * k x * The number of pupils eligible to enroll this year in the senior high schools has not decreased. The nor- mal increase of 1,000 is confidently anticipated. But the junior high schools, now functioning on a larger scale than ever before, will swallow up this increase, leaving ‘the senior institutions to struggle along with | the same oversize and unwieldy stu dent bodles that characterized the last term. A more propitious time for the junior high schools to step in and play the rellef role for the veteran senior institutions could not have been planned by school authoritie Without such institutions, the over- crowding problem in the senior high schools would have been more se- rious this year than in the past * ok ok * Despite the fact that the senior high school enrollment is not expect- ed to show any material increase, all of the institutions, with the cxcep tion of Kastern and.McKinley, will be forced to adopt again this year the | makeshift staggered hour or dual | shift system of operation, to accom- | modate their respective student bodies. Eastern, the newest | senior high schools, it | will not have a capacity enrollment | | for several vears to come. Me- | Kinley, although greatly overcrowd- ed, plans to stave off the adoption of emergency relief measures as long as possible. Frank C. Daniel, princi pal of the school, expects to accom- plish this by increasing the size of | the various classes i A high school class | is considered the st size. Many of will have 40 pupils or more | vidual instruction will be sacrificed to | a certain extent | McKinley experimented with the | dual shift and staggered hour met ods of relieving congestion sever vears ago, but was forced to aban {don it entirely because of the inter- | ference complex in the manual train {ing and other shops. By increasin the size of the classes, Mr. Daniel | hopes to remedy the congestion prob- | lem until McKinley moves into its | proposed new building. | | The shortage of high school accom- | modations would have become in- | tensified this year had not the junior high schools come to the relief. | additional accommodations for high | school pupils have been provided |ditions are under construction at Western and Dunbar, but it will be six months and longer, perhaps. | before they are completed. Statistics compiled by school au- thorities show that on November 1, | 1920, there was an accumuldted | shortage of accommodations fc 1,634 high school pupils. This was increased in 1921-1922 by a growth in enroliment of 1, pupils, and | . of the seven is believed, | Despite White House official denials political gossip for many a dayv wiil revolve around the real reason why Secretary Wilbur's naval expedition | to the Pacific coast was summari interrupted. Opinion is about equally divided as to whether it was Cal fornia politics or oratorical indi: cretions anent Japan that resulted in Mr. Wilbur's withdrawal from the mischief zone. One of the daintiest morsels now pirouetting across the Capital's eager tongues brings Sec retary Hoover into the picture “They say” that the ancient feud between Hoover and Hiram Johnson is at the bottom of the affair. The | Secretary of Commerce is alleged to | aspire to be the Republican Peader of California. 1f Hiram has one am- bition left in life, it would be to| throw himself across the path of any | such project. It is an open secret| that the Coolidge and Dawes fortun in California, while promising, ca not be trifled with. Johnson is re- ported to be ready to be regular if he is not unnecessarily riled. The story goes that there was danger of Wilbur, who is a Hoover man, rub- bing Hiram the wrong wav, so he was brought home to attend to his naval Knitting. Tk ok x X Democratic managers admit that they have had hard sledding in get- ting their national campaign onto a real fighting plane. In the same breath, they acknowledge that the reason is that it's taken all this time to line up the warring McAdoo and Smith factions and induce them to trot in double harness. It is be- lieved the Rubicon has now been crossed. October will find both Me- Adoo and Smith themselves, and any number of their one-time bitter parti- sans, on the stump, Bast and West, Nerth and South, for Davis and Bryan. Daniel C. Roper, McAdoo's preconvention lieutenant in this re- gion, has been 100 per cent for the ticket from the outset. In Illinoi: leaders like George Brennan, who was an ardent Smith man, have grad- ually taken their coats off and rolled up their sleeves. Next month, the Democrats cheerily assert, it will be all hands on deck, and working like Trojans for the common cause. * k k ¥ Now that Mrs. Burton K. Wheeler is on the warpath for the Progressive ticket and_Mrs. William M. Adams (John W. Dayis' daughter) is home from Europe to campaign for daddy, it only remains for some woman re- lated to the G. O. P. standard bearers to take the field. Nobody is so well fitted for that job as Mrs. Coolidge. The first lady of the land wouldn't have to make speeches to win votes for her husband. She would only have to be Grace Goodhue Coolidge, and smile. Somebody told the President's wife the other day that the deadliest blow Chairman Butler could deal the opposition would be to send Mrs. Coolidge on a swing around the cir- cle a couple of weeks before election. She has never played politics. This is left to “Cal” in the Coolidge family. * Kk K X In the outer office of the Attorney General there is standing a life-size portrait of President Coolidge, that has an interesting history. It is the work of a former inmate (a counter- |filled with 2,300, | Navy or Marine feiter) of the Federal penitentiary at Atlanta. The artist never saw the President, but has luced an amas- faithtul him in, ofly WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1924. e e 0 s DISTRICT’S SCHOOL PROBLEM Inadequate Facilities for Education of Youth a Re- proach to the National Capital. BY JAMES E. CHINN. again last year by a gain of 418. With the junior high schools ald- ing the senfor high schools, the peo- pla of Washington must squarely face this stubboru fact: That with the additions to Western and Dunbar, the overflow of pupils from the five other high schools would fill a new high school larger than the new Eastern. * % k% Central High School, Washington's artistically beautiful and largest school- house, which has displayed an o crowded sign ever since the war, is cx- pected to establish a precedent by b ginning the 1924-1525 scholastic year with a student body smaller than’ the preceding vear. The problem of con- gestion, however, will not be minimized Stephen E. Kramer, former assistant superintendent of schools and now prin- cipal of Cent arefully stud. ing advance enroliment records, said today that Central will open Monday with stration of approximately -100 less than last year's record-breaking enroliment of 3,400, Mr. Kramer did not include in his fig- uree, however, those pupils from out-of. town schools which the high school ad- mission board will assign to Central The Mount Pleasant _high school in- variably gets the largest percentage of the admission bhoard's assignments, and when its work is completed the pros- pective enrollment figure may be in- creased 385050 less than last ars peak. At any rate, Central does to k. | not expect a larger student body than t year. To the gradualiv developing eystem of Junior high sche < '8 his respect for keeping ever- increasing stude ody within its 192 1 bounds. The new Macfarland Junior High School, on Towa avenue at Varnum street, is Central's greatest aid, because it will enroll in its ninth grade many of the pupils who otherwise would have entered the freshman year at Cen- tral. * ok x x Although advance figures show that > ‘s student body will not be the staggercd-hour system of operation, adopted several vears AZ0 as a temporary means of relief from overcrowding, will be continued ughout the new term. only on a larger scale. By this arrangement classes will report at different hours The freshmen and sophomores will be assigneldl to-classes opening later than the junior and senior classes and will remain at school longer in the afternoon Mr. Kramer hore of the on has planned to first and second vear the staggered-hour pro vear than last. and thefe- wore pupils an opportunity e a complete program vear were precluded from taking such subjects as drawing and physical training on account of the abhreviated program Theoreticalls¥ the 500 pupils gram t by g to tak classes last capacity of Cen- It is comfortably With a student body 400 it is not hard to understand the facilities at the Mount Ple titution, despite its size, have seen overt xed. * % x Central first began to feel the in- flux of pupils during the scholastic vear of 1919-1920, when Robert A Maurer was principal. The enroll- nent then totaled 0 pupils, and it was found impossible, with but 50 recitation rooms in the building. to organize the school on a six-period basis. The staggered-hour system was dreated and the school opened at $:30 o'clock instead of 9. The problem has become increas- ingly complex annually. Every avail- able room in the building is taxed to apacity throughout the day. Now, w enrollment, Mr. Kramer is planning to give every pupil the best educatian. pe under the handicap of a studen; 1,100 larger than orig- tnally WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. though it might have been made 10 years ago, instead of today. The painter has sent the picture to the Department of Justice in the hope Coolidza. adherent may it. While he was doing Atlanta for tampering with the currency. he asked permission to paint some allegorical pictures on the ceiling of the prison chapel. They are pronounced by connoisseurs to be 4l works of art. The warden of a penitentiary, who saw the pic- has since commissioned the ex- convict to duplicate them there. * * x One of the jokes of the political season is the readiness with which enators, Representatives and politicians, newly arrived from Eu- 'pean steamers, proceed to issue cular statements on the presiden- ! situation. Though most of them ve been globe-trotting since the conventions, they have no compunc- tion about rushing in where only wiseacres ought to tread. Spokes- men of all three parties are playing the meaningless game * ¥ k % Want to be an immigration sleuth on the Canadian or Mexican frontier and help Uncle Sam nab bootlegged aliens? The Civil Service Commis- sion has called for examinations for aspirants to such jobs on October 8. The pay is $1,650 a vear. Evidently fellows who can shoot from the hip are preferred, for the qualifications say that the first chance will be given to men who have served in the Army, Corps or in such hard-boiled organizations as the Texas Rangers, Pennsylvania or New York State constabulary or the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. * koK ok American interest in Wrangel Island dates from the year 1867, when the United States whaling-bark Nlle passed by it, and, recognizing it as the land described by the Russian Admiral Wrangel in 1820, christened it “Wrangel Island.” Wrangel put the place on the map, but never set foot on it. In 1881 Capt. Hooper, com- manding the United States revenue cutter Corwin, together with several of his officers, landed on Wrangel. Later in the same year the United States warship Rogers surveyed the waters of Wrangel Island and named it Rogers Harbor. Traditionally, new land comes under the sovereignty of the country of the national who first lands on it, but in international law it has never been held that mere dis- covery conveys a permanent title. Uncie Sam is not likely to contest Soviet Russia’s flag-raising on Wran- gel. (Copyright, 1924.) Col. Sherrill Hits Vandalism in Parks To the Editor of The Star: I wish to express my appreciation of the letter appearing yesterday in The Star_on the eubject of “Vandalism in the Public Parks.” If we could arouse public sentiment along the lines of Miss Newlin’s article it would not be o ex- psnsiye to keep the parks clean, and there would not be 5o much necessity for the cleaning we are required to do. Very ‘truly yours, C. 0. SHERI Lieutenant Celonel, Corpe. are to buy time in put | Some | was | h what appears to be a peak in the | other | RILL, of Engineers.: The Library Table RY THE BoOKLOVER | The last fow years have seen in- |creased smphasis placed on the idea that journalism s a profession rather than simply a craft or vocation. The war, und especially the after-the-war, attitude of newspapers as organs of public opinion toward wayward eco- {nomic and political opinions induced by post-war conditions have subjected newspapers to such attacks, as that by Upton Binclair in the “Brase Check,” as to put journallsm on the defensive. This has led journalists to define and 8tate or restate the principies underly- ing the profession. The numerous new #chools of journallsm that have recent- 1y been established have emphasized the professional character of journalism and have called out the many texts treating not only the technical routine of newspaper work, but also books out- lining the principles upon which jour- nalism must be based in order that it may rank as a profession and hold the confidence of society. * * x x Casper S. Yost, who is described on the title page of his book as “editorial editor” of the St. Loujs Globe-Democrat |4nd who is alo president of the new American Society of Newspaper Editors, says that he has been led to try to formulate “the principles of journalism" because of his conviction that there is a growing need for such a statement and definition. He states that although Journalism has taken its place among the great professions * ® * it is, in fact, so new that it is only now begin- | ning to realize within itself that it is not a mere aggregation of individuals pursuing a common voeatior, but an entity, whose rights must be guarded, whose integrity must be maintained and whose responsibilities must be recog- | nized, by its individual parts.” His in- teresting book defines the standards of Jjournalism, its obligations to the e lie, its aims and ideals. Tt is a sober and orthodox discussion of such topics as the truth in the news, the delection and rejection of news, personality in the | newspaper, editorial responsibility, the freedom of the press and the ethics of journalism. * % x % topic forms the entire “The Ethics 8f Journal- son A. Crawford, head The last subject of ism,” by the Kansas State Agricultural Col- lege. This is a much more thought- provoking book than the one by Mr. Yost. 1t gives a fuller statement of the perils and pitfalls, the sins of omission and commission experienced | by the press. It quotes at length from some of the severest critics of | newspapers, such as Upton Sinclair. | Walter Lippman, Samuel Hopkins | Adams, Freemont Older, Oswald Ga | risan Villard. and he meets these | criticisms and tries to construct the principles and standards of practice | in journalism that shall further the best interests of society. Both vol- umes contain copies of several codes of newspaper ethics. particularly the “Canons of Journalism,” adopted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1923; both, likewise, give the Marion Star's code written by | the late President Harding. Prof. Crawford's book contains nearly 20 such codes, either in use in individual newspaper offices or adopted by edi- | torial associations. His book, which is a very timely and constructive contribution to thought about the place of the newspaper in society, will be of interest to many others than practicing journalists. * k x ¥ One answer to the question so often raised as to the kind of books one would choose to read in enforced soli- tude will be found in “Black Laugh- ter” Llewelyn Powys, the author of | this “Robinson Crusoe” of the con- tinent of Africa, who lived for so many years where he rarely saw a white man, thus describes his Sunday reading. read every line of vSl’ialu':riéal'(‘ three times over, I read | Burton’s “Anatomy of Melancholy’ | and every word that Matthew Arnold had ever written. And most restora- | tive 1 found the long urbane sen- tences of the latter's prose, prose | that kept alive in me the happy | knowledge that life contained other | concerns than a fretting preoccupa- | tion, with material gain.” * ¥ ¥ x The man who evers Summer sends home by express, as a result of his vacation in the mountains and woods, a | parcel of several small balsams, spruces, | cedars and pines. to eet out on his city lawn or in his city back yvard, and who | every Spring digs up the browned ekele- tons of the same little trees and throws them in his city trash cans at the alley zate, should read the book “Cultivated Evergreens,” edited by L. H. Bailey. It contains a group of articles by special- ists on transplanting, soil preparation, mulching, pruning, fertilizers, tree sur- gery, evergreen - diseases and their remedies, as well as the adaptation of j evergreens to landscape gardening. The | book is intended primarily for horticul- | turists, foresters and landscape archi- tects, but the amateur gardener with only a small piece of land and a taste | for fir trees will also find it helpful. * % % x The recent visit of the Moscow Art Theater to this country will make many eager to read the story of the artistic life of the founder and director of the theater, Stanislavsky. His book, “My Life in Art,” is full of interesting ex- periences in connection with the drama— |efforts to clevate the theater, to im- prove acting, to introduce new forms jand methods, to represent life more realistically and eympathetically. Con- stantin Stanislavsky was born in Mos- cow in i863. He became interested in the stage in childhood, when he was taken to the opera and heard the great Italian eingers. During this period he also began amateur acting, in which he imitated his favorite actors. In 1897 he began the plan for a new type of theater which developed into the Mos- cow Art Theater. Since then this the- ater of artistic realism has produced the plays of the leading Russian drama- tists—Chekhov, Gorky, Andreyev, Gogol, Toletoi, Pushkin—as well as plays of Knut Hamsun, Ibsen, Maeterlinck and Shakespeare. | * X * *x Not long ago Albert Ldward Wig- sam, author of that much discuseed book, “The New Decalogue of Science,” was in Salem, Mass., to give a talk. Every native whom he met immedi- ately told him that he was in the “whaling center of the world.” In the evening when he had been duly Introduced, Mr. Wiggam arose tower- ingly—he is a tall man—and leaned toward the audience: “I hear this is the whaling center of the world,” he said. “It no doubt is now, but when 1 was a boy it was down behind my mother's barn.” - * ¥ ¥ ¥ In the Autumn Amy Lowell's long- expected blography of John Keats will be published. It will be in two volumes_and will be glunrued with 32 unusiial portraits, brints and fac- similes. Among the new matter that should make the book of special in- terest will be seven hitherto unpub- lished letters by Keats, five unpub- lished poems, excerpts from recently discovered letters front Fanny Brawne as well as certain hitherto unknown letters from his brothers and friends. A In a little volume, “How Is Your Heart?" Dr. 8. Calvin Smith discusses methods of preventing damage to the heart and methods of caring for a weak or defective heart. He warns his reader that one of the most frequent causes of various heart diseases is the American habit of overeating. The taking into the body of more nutriment than is needed or can be assimilated merely throws a heavy burden on the circulatory and eliminating systems and causes early breakdo i of the department of journalism of | THIS AND THAT BY C. E. TRACEWELL. To keep from talking about one's self all the time is one of the most difficult things in the world. At the same time it is one of the last fauits a man is willing to ad- mit, and one of the very last to be dug out of the complex mental life, because it lies so close to the secret springs of being. Many men are willing to confess to their sins, admitting that they are fools a good part of the time, and llars sometimes, and not all they should Be a good deal of the time. Few there are, however, and far between, who as readily esntcas the one and sole topic of their con- versation is their precious selves. Yet the number of this bore is legion. Every office has at least one, every home has its supply, every- whers the I—I—I chap is found. High and low estate knows him. * ¥ ¥ ¥ More time might be spent profitabiy considering this man, than bawling out the “yes yes” man, he who is the echo of his superior in all things, who never has a mind of his own who is scared to speak out. This latter specimen is found every- where, too. He is the unofficial rub- ber stamp of chief clerks in Govern ment departments. ‘Whatever the boss does is right to him. “My boss, when right or wrong, my boss” is his motto Surely he is loyal. Lack of fealt cannot be charged to him, unless one considers that real loyalty involves the truth, when pleasant, but, pleas ant or unpleasant, the truth The man who talks only about hin self is much more widely spread through the body politic. He is o common a type that no one but is ac quainted with him. In this matte men are the worst offenders. As fa: as my observations go, very few women are afflicted this way. Talking about one's self mostly consists of talking about one’s work Lack of perspective is what causes ali the trouble, making friends shrink from meeting this bore. The trouble is that this man fails to take into consideration just what he does. * ok x % Let us consider just exactly wha' it is such a man does, in order tha' We may test ourselves, and see we, too, fall within the awful circl Rest assured that none of your kind friends is going to tell you about it. The clever ad writer w calls our attention to “halitosis,” or bad breath, knows a thing or two No one, no matter how close on may be fo another, is going to tel him about a thing Jike that. This a thing one has to find out for him self. It was Napoleon ITI, I believe who one day was told by a favorite who added, “Every one else will de clare T am a liar.” So his majesty discovered later, after blowing hi- breath into the faces of many cour tiers, all of whom lied loyally. If your chief topic of conversation is yourself and what you do, and what vou like, and what you do not like you can be pretty certain that 99 per cent of the people you meet will seem to be interested. That is the trouble with this trou- ble. Tt is fed and fanned into a flame by one's friends and relatives. Most people are tolerably polite. Often even seemingly rough customers have a deep sense of innate politeness when it comes to going out of their way to avoid offending others. Here is a case in point. When a man is selling automobiles, for in- stance, and talks of nothing but au- tomobiles, and particularly the car he happens to be selling, no one is going to call a halt on him. Tell Sam Jones about that car every time you meet him, he will swallow it cheerfully. Sam is not golng to blurt out: “In heaven's name, ston talking about automobiles! All you do is talk about automobiles. As for me, I am interested in shirts—that i= what I sell. Let’s talk about shirts.” No, Sam is going to listen politely enough, having a neighborly feeling for you, and also a mild interest in vour brand of car. No matter if he meets you every evening, and every time vou talk automobiles, he will manage somehow to work up an in- terest in the topic. If you could only hear what he says when he gets home to the wife! “I met that darn bore talking about automobiles again” he says. “All that fellow can talk about is the Snapdoodle Floating Six, and I wouldn't have one of them boats on a bet. He ought to take a course in eitquette.” * ¥ % % Coal men talk coal, writing men talk writing, grocery men talk gro- ceries, soldiers talk war, navy men talk ships, street venders talk bal- loons and talking mice, retailers talk retail, radio men talk radio, street car men talk street railways, political candidates talk politics, orators talk talk. If you only met any one once, it would not be so bad. It is when you have to face the same bird every dav that the curse comes. Talking coal with J. Russgll Chestnut is not so bad once in a while. After six steady months of conversation running most - ly to anthracite and bituminous, how- ever, one has a mad desire to force J. Russell into discussing the Phila- delphia Symphony Orchestra. “T say, J. Russ, what do you think of the allegro movement from the Beethoven ‘Third Symphony”?* Wouldn’t old J. Russell curl up in astonishment! Probably he would not. He would ten politely until you got to talking about the fiery climax, when he wou!d break in: “Fiery climax is good! Say. have you got your coal in yet? T can let You have some fine white ash stove—" * ¥ X X Very few of us escape boring others in this way at some time or another. Most of us have to be pretty careful about it. We are interested in our work, of course. This work is, for us, the most interesting thing in the ‘world. The point is that it may not be the most interesting thing for the other fellow, in fact, often does not interest him in the slightest. If your chief topic is new to him, he will be in- terested for a time, that is all. The man who wants to avoid bering others in this way has to be on his guard all the time against two things: 1. Talking about himself and his work. but, righ Letting the conversation steer around to a point where he can begin on his favorite topic. I do not mean to be stiff or stilted, or that a man should absolutely shun himself and his work as a topic. Far trom it. Extremes are seldom good What I do mean is that here is some- thing to think about, something for each one of us to check up ourselves on. Since the average person, however, will never suspect he is in the slight- est degree an offender in this matter of talking about himself, there is but one way to solve the problem. Let each of your friends and acquaintances be to you as a different pipe in the great organ of life. Press one stop, and you get milk, and all about it; press another, out pours wholesale groceries, and how to sell them. Play upon another, you get the mel- ody made up of salesmanship and cash registers. Your musician friend can tell you a lot about music. Your golfer knows his golf. Your baby knows its games. Accept them all as you find them, and make the best of {t; for most of them will continue to talk about themselves in the long run, do what ever we may or say about it!