Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1924, Page 6

THZ EVENING STAR| Witk Su WASHINGTON, D. C. J"§ATESDAY....September 30, 1924 | y Moraing Editien, "¥EREODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor B — 2% Bvening Star Newspaper Company | 59 Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Offiee: 110 East 420d 8t. Chicago Office: Tower Building. ' §mropeaa Office: 16 Regent 8t.,London, Engla “The Evening §tar, with the Sundsy morning Waition, is delivercd by cafriers within t! @ty at 60 cents per month: daily only, 45 @eats por month: Bunday only, 20 cents’ per meath. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- « Dhese Main 5000. Collection is made by car- Fiors at the ond of each month. $8.40:1 mo., 70c 1 yr., $6.00;1 mo., 50c 1¥r, $2.40;1 mo,, 20c » Daily only Bunday only All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1yt., $10.00;1 mo., 85c Draily only . -1yr, $7.00;1 ma., 60c * unday only $3.00;1 me,, 25¢ Member of the Amsociated Presa ; The Associsted Press i exclusively entitled to ihe use for republication of all news Datches credited to it or ot otherwive credi paper and also the local news pub- herein. ~All rights of publieation of dixpatches herein are 160 reserved. Hoover on Government Ownership. Government ownership of railways and other public utilities is not an is- s between the posedly major, partics in the present paign, but it has been injected | T controversial discussion by the 1a Tollette candidacy and platform, d is troubling the minds of many Thousands of men and women who want to cast their votes in November @ way to serve the Dest interests of their country and of all their coun- trymen. And in the absence of sharp cleavage between the Republican and Democratic positions on vital eco- mic questions, Government owner- ship of utilities has come to the front for discussion to a degree hardly war- rvanted by any imminence of decisive action. 0 more thoughtful contribution to s discussion has yet been made th delivered last cve ning by S Hoover and broad- Ly radio. With characteristic | htforwardness, Mr. Hoover marches straight up to the crux of the question and lays it bare, some- thing that other opponents as well as proponents of Government ownership Lave signally failed to do. 1f the American people are to decide this question rightly, he said, they should . hiuve the reasons set before them in terms of sober social and economic thought, not in vituperation and ap- peals to hate. Then he proceeded to eet down to the meat of the social and economic problems involved. Mr. Hoover showed that to acquire the railroads and other public utilities would require, in the first place, an addition of $40,000,000,000 to the pub- lic debt, and would add between 2,500, 000 and 8,000,000 employes to the Gaov- emnment pay rolls. The voting strength of this mass of officeholders, their wives and dependents would be more than 25 per cent of the whole | wcing strength of the Natlon. and woull be the most powerful of all or- nized “blocs™ using the ballot for nal and selfish endss What that would mean in the way of political eontrol of utilities, of wages and rates 88 n-t difficult to foresee. These of- genizcd Government employes would Bo.d the balance of power in an over- Waelming number of congressional @istricts, and we should have gov- ernment of bureaucracy, by bureau- @racy and for bureaucracy. If therc were any general benefits 0 be gained by such a departure from the American conception of govern- ment Mr. Hoover might reconcile him- melf to the idea, but instead of bene- fits the Secretary of Commerce can e.only burdens to be borne. He has been g good deal about the world with his eyes open, and has not yet found an instance where government owner- ship has resulted in either low-cost operation or efficient service. On the eontrary, all his experience has been that a vastly superior service is ren- dered by privately owned and oper- ated American utilities, and if in any cases rates are lower under govern- ment ownership it is because deficits are created which must be made up by general taxation—a robbing of! many Peters to pay a few Pauls. Mr. Hoover calls attention to the fact that the raflroads and other utili- ties of America are rapidly becoming public owned through the multiplica- tion of holders of stocks and bonds, and he urges as the American ideal £ this character of ownership, with Gov- ~ ernment supervision. to prevent abuses. And he makes the pertinent observation that if the American peo- ple, through their Government, are! not capable of bringing about effective regulation they certainly are not capa- ble of efficient and economical Govern- ment ownership and operation. * oo A decision on the part of Europe to an Rold no more disarmament confer- b, STICES in America would indicate a eonfidence in her ability to settle her wn affairs, which might, on the ~“whole, be regarded as entirely encour- aging. o 1 two major, or sup- Women in Office. A judge in Texas has decided in "’ puling on an application for an in- 3ffubction that Mre, Miriam Ferguson, — Democratic nominee for the office of governor of the State, is qualified gocinder the law for that candidacy. “ sfChe plaintiff argued that women were “miade ineligible under the common law of Texas, adopted in 1840, to hold -“fhice except in wholly ministerial or , €Vddministrative offices the duties of #Fhich could be exercised by a deputy. It was contended that the common —Jaw was kept in force by the State costitution of 1876, and that there is BAoothing in the constitution or the law .the State before or since the a,éuon of the suffrage amendment p@gEmit 2 woman to be governor. —slwas further contended that there < been @& sonspiracy between Mrs. rguses: and her husband, if she were elected, that he should be the res! governor and she the figurehead %2 office. The judge held that none @i these contentions is valld, that under the new laws of Texas the law rule about married | hearing, their. separate property alpgnied. He alse rul that if there is a conspiracy it must [on the subject of low-pressure arcas ibe specifically shown, and that, if it;and such. exists, there is an adequate remedy to prevent her from carrying out such a conspiracy if she is elected. As to the contention of disqualifica- tion on the ground of sex, the court holds that, in view of all the decisions and customs of the time, women are eligible to hold office under the com- mon law in the State, unless pro- hibited by the constitution or the statute. There being no such specific prohibition, Mrs. Fefguson is, in the judgment of the court, qualified to stand for office. In this decision there will be a general assent throughout this country. Regardless of the- political conditions and the peculiar cireum- stances of Mrs. Ferguson's candidacy, the issue in this case that has just been decided, and which will now be appealed to higher court, is whether women may run for administrative offic This question Judge Calhoun answers in the affirmative. It is un- doubtedly in accordance with the spirit of the times thus to declare women eligible. Should there be proof of a so-called conspiracy for the holding of the title of the office by one person while another directs the government, that question may, as the court says, be advanced upon evidence for specific but not until election. In | othér words, until the election of the candidate in question it is a moot question which the court cannot take into consideration. To disqualify women from office on the ground of sex would be contrary to the spirit of the nineteenth amend- ment and contrary to the spirit of the times as well, as Judge Calhoun de- clares. Women have been pronounced by the fundamental law to bo qualified to vote in all parts of this country. Those who vote may be voted for, and may serve if the people will. ———— Champions. It may be “the thrill that comes once In a lifetime,” but whatever the future holds for the Capital, Washing- ton has at least scored the supreme triumph of a base ball major league championship. For a generation and a half: the local patrons and admirers of the national game in this city have been dreaming of this achievement. They have seen the Washington team trail along season after season at the tail end of the procession. They have seen it rise twice to second place, They have grown callous to the jibe of other Americans about Washington being “first in war, first in peace and last in the American League.” But they have always hoped that some day a team with the “W" on its uni- forms would win the flag. Now it has come, that coveted place at the top, come unexpectedly, come with practically the same team that trailed last year, but under new, youthful, skillful, resourceful leader- { ship. To say that the Capital is delighted is to put it mildly. Thousands who i have never before been really interest- ed in the fortunes of the local repre- sentatives in organized base ball have become enthusiasts. Those who have heretofore deprecated ‘the idea of being aroused over the performances of 25 or so “hired men” playing a pro- fessional game under rules and condi- tions that may at any time shift them to another city, have caught the fever and are shouting with the rest. This victory of the Nationals, which Washington .hopes is but the token of a greater victory a few days hence, is the result of good management. To Stanley Harris belongs, and is univer- sally given, the credit of leading his team to the front and holding it there against a heavy handicap, and through the nerve-straining period of one of the hottest finishes in the history of the gume. To his capable manage- ment of the various temperaments of his players, his encouragement at all times, his judicious selection of pitch- ers, his persistent spirit is now to be attributed this remarkable achieve- ment, which is cheered by the whole country as never before has a cham- pionship been greeted. One name of those in the ranks of this pennant-winning aggregation is on the lips of all who follow base ball fortunes—Walter Johnson. For 18 years he has pitched for Washington, his only major league club. He has been recognized as one of the greatest pitchers ever in the game. Year after year he has toiled in the most dis- couraging conditions, pitching as well with the tail-end team as with a pos- sible contender for the flag. S8eason after season the hope has been ex- pressed by base ball followers through- out the country that some day he | might perform in a world-series con- test. Now that hope is to be fulfilled. Next Saturday, weather permitting, ‘Washington, with Walter Johnson in the box, will face the New York Giants, formidable foes, versed world-series strategy, @ great team, a team that is hard to beat. Johnson— i What we want is clear weather. No doubt the Weather Bureau is ‘with the Capital in this momentous matter, and that the meteorologists are as much interested in the Griffs, the Bucks, the Senators, the Nats, the Victors, as. other loyal Washingto- nians, Whatever can be done to make a perfect day of Saturday will be done. The extra stand in right fleld in going up, and the clamor for tickets is the wildest ever known. Many persons who did not know until a week ago whether Walter Johnson was a fourth baseman or a movie actor are eating hoarhound lozenges to calm their ach- ing throats. There is great popular excitement, and the weather must be- have. —e———— Clark Grifiith. Washington's enthuslasm for the success of the base ball team repre- senting this city in the American League should include @ sense of gratitude for the persistent confidence and able administration of Clark Grif- fith, who started his local career as manager and then became principal owner and president of the organiza- tion. Himself a base ball player of note, one of the greatest pitchers of the game during his time, a manager of other teams, he brought to Wash- | ington a mew quality in management. In the first yeur of his leadership the ocal team, for the first time in its hit tory, reached second place, a perform- ance which was repeated the next sea- son. He believed in the possibility of a pennant winner for Washington. During all these years of his connec- tion with the local club he has striven to that erd, making combinations und investments, developing the ball park, expanding its facllities, trying ex periments with players and with man- agers. cities, he has been under handicap, but good judgment has finally pr vailed over longer purses. He made a master stroke last Winter in the selec- tion of his present manager, to whom he gave full power in the handling of the team, and to whom he now gives | full credit for its success. To Clark | Griffith, therefore, good sport, good friend, is now to be paid the tribute of Washington's ‘esteem, and to be given the congratulations of a grate- ful city upon his crowning achieve- ment. —————— Abundant assurance is given that there will be enough survivors of divorce ordeals and bichloride at- tempts to keep the musical comedy going next Winter. —————————— In the light of experience the Leviathan may as well schedule her trips with a view to making the dry dock a regular point in her itinerary. ————— It is hoped that Germany will man- age to avold wearing a bored and per- functory look when she finally comes into the League of Nations. e —e—— Reports ¢f European distresses do not prevent tourists in quest of a pieasant time from flocking to Deau- ville and Monte Carlo. ————— A few Philadelphians trankly admit | that they are disappointed in Smed- ley Butler. They thought he was only fooling. Curiosity is strong about China’s next fight will be like when she gets this one settled. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Weary World. 0Old World swinging 'round the sun In the same old track, Grinding days out, one by one, And getting nothing back. ‘Wouldn't blame him much if he Slipped a trace some day, Romping off in careless glee Through the Milky Way. Old World has been toiling hard ‘Ten or twenty years. Gentle prospects have been marred. Hopes gave way to fears. Everybody needs a rest For a week or two. 0ld World has to do his best, ‘With still more to do! 0Old World had an awful fight; Ran himself in debt; | Tried to get things running right But hasn't done it yet. Maybe he would learn to smile In his ‘customed way, If he'd just lay off a while And- take a holiday. Attempting No Novelty. “Don’t you get tired of thinking up new specches " “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I mever venture to think up a new speech. T only change the phraseology here and there.” Encouragement for the Farmer, “Barney,” as he is affectionately | The poet or the prophet gleans known in the base . ball world—will have millions of people “rooting” for him. For Washington, whatever the chances in terms of base ball “dope,” is the prime favorite of the country in this forthcoming engagement. ————— Each ticket threatens to leave its head in more or less anxlety about what the vice presidential candidate may decide to say or do. ———————— The Weather Must Be Good! The weather is now an important thing. Washington cannot endure the thought of a rainy Saturday. The people will not stand for it. They are ready to make any reasonable or un- reasonable oblations to Sol and to of- fer wreaths of golden rod and asters to Auster and Zephyrus that they may give us balmy breezes on the great dey we have in mind. If the South Wind and West Wind demand a bunch of orchids they aré willing. The Weather Bureau says it cannot now oredict fair weather for the open- ing of the World Series—spell it with capitals! It is said that stormy condi- tions prevail over the Atlantic States, and tuat a tropical storm. threatens to invade Florida and travel north. Something is also said about “low: ‘pressure areas’ Statea, but most of us are oot “u@’ - 1 A grudging, scant renown; | But he who raiseth pork and beans Hath honor in the town. Jud Tunkins says he's too patriotic to object, but he' feels .confident that | Aunt Hannah's duties as a political speaker are goin’ to keep this year's pumpkin pies from bein’ what they once was. Acute Cosmitis, Somehow I do not feel so well— And yet I know not why! The things that Science has to tell Evoke a constant sigh. T'm tull of Molecules, I'm told. Of Atoms they are made. Which grasp Electrohs that unfold A mervelous parade! Each Atom' is a Universe ‘With Stars and Comets, too. Indeed, I'm feeling rather'worse And can't tell what to do. ‘With vast discoveries I'm thrilled. As here 1 mutely sit; * With Cosmic Fireworks I am filled— How can I feel quite fit? “I ain’ got nothin' agin & mdn dat wants to collect what other people owes him,” said Uncle Eben, ‘“per- over the Atlantic|vided he’s jes’ as enthusiastic 'bout ' whut he owes other Rosple.” With smaller resources than | some of the teams located in greater | what | FLOWERS For the Living Herbert Hoover BY JULIAN STREET One hears with the regular, old- line, standpat, hardshell politicians of Washington, Secretary of Com- merce Herbert Hoover is not popular, in which connection it may be men- tioned that Secretary Hoover has to say “No" from fifty to a hundred times a day, and that he finds it simpler to say “No" in one word than in Afty or a hundred words. He is a busy man with a big job—a job that grows bigger and bigger the longer he is in it, as any job he holds is bound to do—and he finds it neces- sary to economize time. His official day begins at 8 a.m. when he break- fasts with a secretary at his clbow, and ends when the conferces and the second shift or third shift secretary leaves his house at night. Herbert Hoover has the unquali- fled admiration of those whose ad- miration one would most desire. Intellectual men and women, human men and women, able men and women in business and the professions all over the land, ves, and all over the world, are his friends and followers. He Is an idealist, but practical; end intellectual, but ractical, for | his mind is ring mind, a marvelously t instrument de-| voted to the s > of the American people. Unlike some other men in Washing- | lton. Hoover seeks nothing for him- | | self. He does not want political of- | | fice, ne does not want glory: his happincss lies in going quietly ahead, puttifg cvery bit of energy he has| into Ris job. His energy and zeal he probably in- herited, for his father was a black- smith and his mother was a Quaker preacher. They died when he child, and he was reared by Quaker | relatives on farms in his native lowa | won, going to work at the| 400 conferences have been held in| the department with representatives of various industries and professions by means of voluntary co-operation. | | Practically all these conferences have ! | been called at the request of the in- dustries and professions themselves. | . Through co-operation Secretary | | Hoover secured the abolition of the! 12-hour day in the steel industry.| | Through co-operation he secured| standardization in the lumber trade | which will effect a =aving to the peo-| | ple of the country of perhaps $200,- ' 000,000 annually. He has worked for | two years on a department reorgani- | zation bill, familiarizing himself with | the functions of the divisions which now compose the exccutive side of the Government. The ill Droposes a regrouping of depart- | ments and bureaus on the basis of | purpose, putting an end to unneces- | sary division of functions and to the | overlapping of one department or bu- | reau by any other departments and | bureaus. No such work has been at- | tempted since the time of Alexander | Hamilton, and the bill, if passed, will | relleve the President of an overload | of labor which should be deputed to members of his cabinet, will make the Governmeat infinitely more effi- cient and will save taxpayers fifty to one hundred millions a year. ow and tien Hoover is attacked, but it is hard to find a vulnerable point. If some one says he used re- lief funds to foment a counter revolu- tion in Russia, he has but to point to a document hanging in his office, signed by Soviet officials, in which he {15 thanked in the highest forms for his non-partisan, non-political admin- istration of relief work. If the dis- gruntled attempt. according to the custom of the country and the time, to impugn his honesty, the attack re- bounds on the attacker. You can't | fool the people about Hoover. They know they can trust him When {t is charged that he is not an orator the charge can be sustained. He is not an orator, not a politician, but a much rarer sort of man—a quiet, clear-headed, industrious, hon- est and peculiarly capable public servant to whom is due a rising vote of thanks from the entire nation. (Copyright, 1924, by the Rell Syndieate, Inc.) Tomorrow—Eisie Janis. Wrangell Island Not American Territory To the Editor of The Star: May I be permitted to question your special correspondent’'s contention that by raising the American flag over Wrangell Island (the correct spelling, according to a ruling by a Govern- ment department) that remote spot would automatically come under the jurisdiction of this country? The fact of the matter is that the United States long ago renounced all claim to that isle. Only Japan, among all the natigns, vet contests Russia’s right to a bit of land that is of little or no value. Since 1881 Canada had claimed the island, but not long ago Charles Stewart, minister of the in- terior for Canada, informed the Do- | minion parliament that Canada re- {linquished its possible rights to Wrangell. When Alan Crawford's ill- fated expedition raised the Canadian | flag_on that barren isle, Tchitcherin of Russla protested to Great Britain. |He claimed that Russian ownership {dates back to 1821, and pointed out that in 1915 Russia formally notified the world powers that the island was an integral part of the then existing empire. In reply, the British govern- ment acknowledged Russian sov- | eignty over Wrangell and explained that Crawford’s expedition, like some others, was a private enterprise with- out official authority or backing. This status applies to the expedition, participated in by your correspond- ent, which is on its way to Wrangell. GEORGE 0. GILLINGHAM. Dollars Come Home. For the first time since the armi- stice thousands of American dollar bille hoarded in German and Austrian and Slav stockings are coming back to their native land. That is probably the most prom- ising symptom of European confi- dence in process of restoration which has yet come to .light, for these American dollars, shipped on remit- tance or obtained from tourist. a then secreted in walls and clos were the last hope' of thousands of people in all classes of wealth. They were the barrier against the wolf at the door, the last resource against the specter of starvation. They were the only pieces of paper in which céentral Europe any longer would place a popular trust, at a time when German marks and Russian rubles— symbols of mighty empires mow crumbled to dust—were selling at 2-pence or a nickel per several mil- lions in the London Strand or New York’s Broadway, and were not scll- ing at all in their own countrle: Blank despalr, .the ice that has bound and clogged the arteries of European commerce. is breaking up. The homing dollars are the proof of it. People who 3 year ago would trust only the shining republic of the ‘West have acquired a loyal belief in the recovery and stability of thelr own countries. And that is the first alchemy of the Dawes plan.— l | considerable anniversary | dress, | tion shows that Mr. La Follette hides | | behal {the victim of oppression and slavery WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. White House callers who perform the miracle of inducing the President to talk report that Mr. Coolidge con- templates election day with serene though not bolsterous confidence. Frank W. Stearns {s authority for the statement that nothing ever worries “Cal.” The supreme politi- cal crisis of his career is said to be no exception to the rule. Mr. Cool- idge has run for office 50 many times that the suspense of a campaign is an old story to him. Seeking the presidency of the United States is bigger game than aspiring to the city attorneyship of Northampton. But White House visitors who knew Mr. Coolidge in early Massachusetts days and have opportunity of observ him now declare he is the same im- perturbable and impenetrable person he was then. The President looks upon possession as nine points in the political law. This observer made a train journey with him on the eve of the 1 congressional €lection: Election prospects were under Hiscu sion. “The ins always have the ad- vantage over the outs” was oné of Coolidge’s most eloquent remarks. * ok %k Willis J. Abbot, old-time Chicago newspaper man and now editor of the ‘Christian Science Monitor, is re- garded the original patentee of the theary that the 1924 presidential elec- tion might be thrown into Congress. In the early Spring of this year, long ! before the national conventic and before La Follette's third party inten- tions were known, Abbot wrote a ouple of editorials in the Monitor foreshadowing the situation that is now widely discussed. If the situa- tion actually materiali; he will de- serve the prophet’'s crowr * ¥ x % President Coolidge was born on the Fourth of July. but the Democrats remind the country that John W. Da- vis first saw the light of day on & himself— the birth of April 13 is the that which marks Thomas Jefferson. day. People who have faith in co- incidences may be interested in knowing that Jeffe: n wai the first President to be clected in the House of Representatives, in consequence of the electoral college's failure to make a choice. There's the circum- stance, too, that election day that | year, 1800, fell on the 4th day of Novem- | ber, which is election day in 1924. * % ¥ % America’s most inveterate trotter. Charles R. Crane, of Chicago, is having his passports visaed at Washington for his latest expedition. The former Minister to China is head- ed for India, where he cxpects to spend some time during the coming Winter. The mystic East, Crane con- fesses, has an insatiable lure for him globe | | of support. He is as much_at home in Kladivos- tok, Peking, Yokohama, Constanti- nople, Odessa, Cairo or Jerusalem as he is in Washington, Woods Hole, Chicago or New York, in all four of which vicinities he maintains a domi- cile. Many of the British statesmen and diplomats who are ruling India are Mr. Crane's personal friends from diplomatic days in China, Russia and ‘Turkey. . * k% & In light of pending events at the League of Nations, Japan is likely to have a harder time than ever to find a diplomat willing to become Ambas- sador at Washington. Late news from Tokio is to the effect that Mr. Hanihara's vacated post has been of- fered in vain to several notables. It is realized in Nippon that the immi- gration issue has severely strained Americn-Japanese relations. The Am- bassador Japan sends here would be expected to achieve something ap- proaching a miracle, for Tokio con- fidently expects that our present em- bargo on Japanese immigrants will some day be lifted. Baron Matsui, late foreign minister and a member of the Japanese delegation at the Paris peace conference, is mentioned as a likely selection, * % * * It Frederick H. Gillett is elected to the Senate from Massachusetts and the G. O. I’, organizes the next House, there will be a lively scramble for the peakership. 1f the gavel passed un- der seniority rules, it would go to Henry Allen i Cooper of Wisconsin, La Follette Republican, who the Progressiv. ndidate for the Speak- ership last year. Martin B. Madden of Illinois is certain tn-be strongly backed, {f Chicago sends him to the House for his ecleventh successiv Washington gossip names Longworth, now Republican floor leader, as the most likely Re- publican Speaker. The Democrats will name Finis J. Garrett of Tennes- see if they have the say. * k ok ¥ Atlee Pomerene, former United States Senator from Ohio and one of the Government's counsel in the oil Pprosecutions, was a caller on John W, | Davis in Washington the other day. The “man who might have been President,” or at least the Democratic nominee for Presidnet, this y the West Virginian cordial assurance Mr. Davis is deprived of the services on the stump of two par- ticularly valiant Democratic war- riors—Senators Carter Glass of Vir- | ginia and James A. Reed of Missouri. Both have thus far been prevented by illness from taking the active part in the campaign that they planned to do. (Copyright, 1924.) 'La Follette’s New York Speech Fails to Rouse Applause “All the virtues are embodied In me and mine, and all the vices are embodied in the other fellows and theirs.” Thus the Minneapolis Trib- une expresses the general editorial entiment with regard to Senator La Follette's Madison Square Garden ad- s the New York Times (independ- ent Democratic) puts it: “Mr. La llette plays over the subject loose- He doesn't face the fact that the adoption of the amendment would | & Congress supreme: not merely make it judge of ita own acts, but Eive it the power to tear out the Bill of Rights and every guarantee of the security of the citizen. The pretens that Congr. & a Supreme Court would ponder with unuxual delibera- a rich humor under his solemn mien.” The Portland Express (Republican) is also amused over his attempt “to ustify his assault upon the inde- pendence of the judiciary by a quota- tion from Chief Justice Marshall, when “what he quotes was written by Marshall not as a judge, but as a private individual” ‘but “we see nothing in the letter of John Mar- shall quoted by La Follette that would justify the belief that the great jurist would approve what the radical leader urges as to the Su- preme Court.” His main argument, the Chicago Daily News (independ- ent) agrees, “was essentially falla- cious.” For, as the Springfield Union (Republican) points out, he “would return the Government to the people. but in such a way that every pass- ing fancy, every unconsidered whim and dvery notion of a noisy group would take precedence over what is the sober second thought of the whole people. In favoring such legisl tion the Grand Rapids Press (inde- pendent) is sure La Follette “pro- claims himself a far more gullible believer in the perfection of Congress than the averige American citizen,” and “we fear the Senator, if he is sincere, is alone in his childlike faith,” Tk ok In regard to the scandals of the present administration, the Baltimore Sun (In(dependent) claims ‘he brings a strong indictment; but he was not only unfair—he went beyond political license in undertaking to make it aps pear that in their attitude toward these happenings the Democratic and Republican parties ‘are alike as two peas in & pod.” That is not true, and the assertion detracts from the force of the Senator's argument in his own But the moment there is an opportunity for La Follette to profit. explains the Fargo Tribune (inde- pendent) “he is electrified into action and all the Republicans and Demo- crats become crooks of the first wa- ter. That's been his business since he first double-crossed his political friend in Wisconsin and became the new Messiah.” In fact, his speech, the Indianapolis News (independent) believes, “made clear the object of his candidacy, which was to oyer- throw both the old parties and bring about a realignment of political forces on the issue of radicalism—or of pro- gressivism—and conservatism,” but the Senagor “threw little light on present conditions, and gave no good reasons for electing him—the colossal egotist of American politics.” As Senator La Follette would have the Nation see it, adds the New York Evening Post (independent), “there can be no true faith but the La Fol- lette faith, and La Follette is its prophet. The ‘soulless system,’ he says, has its foot on the neck of the Nation, but it is doubtful if even a La Follette believes these things.” But while “he pictures for his fellow- countrymen a most engaging millen- nium,”” the Providence Journal (inde- pendent) is convinced thdt “old Doc La Follette is merely at his old game of brag and bluster, and he would be an amusing political phenomenon if he were not s0,dangerous a mischiet- breeder.” * kX% As the Cincinnati Times-Star (Re- publican) sees it the Senator's speech ¥was as bitter, as fllogical and as far from the facts of our time in politics and life as La Kollette's speeches al- ways are when he gets going right.” The Senator, suggests the Topeka Capital (Republican) *“‘would have the country believe that it {s a run-down state and is becoming more and more to the practical business interests, but wages were never higher, jobs for labor were never more numerous and labor organizations are going into the bank- ing business and the industries as they mever did before.” Profiteering must A _supreme. Journal (independent), which goes on to say: ‘There is no program; there is an outburst of indignation; there i8 the admonition to leave it all to La Follet! On the tariff, what? railroads, what?> What about taxa tion? s the mere word of a man who has been bossing Wisconsin any sort of assurance that he can find a way of reducing the Nation" 1t is hard to find in the anything more than the words of Chau- tauqua audiences heard from him years ago.” After all. the Duluth Herald (independent) considers “it is hardly fair to Follette to be nite anc his proposal of remedic est that it he were he would immediately lose two-thirds of his following.” ey Although the New York World (Democratic), believesi that the La Follette-Wheeler campaign would set a stiff pace for the other candidates, it finds the speech weak, for “in the way of ideas, in the way of issues, in the way of program, this speech which any conventional politiclan might not have said.”” Ex- cept, as the Manchester Union (inde- pendent Republican) mentions, “he was less affirmative than a keynote orator ordinarily i He hedged somewhat and got into explanations of previous declarations. The Lynchburg News (Democratic® however, concludes it would be idle to pretend that the speech was lacking in power.® It was fashioned by a consummate master of forensic artistry. It was skillfully de- signed by the Nation's foremost apostle of radicalism, to appeal to the discon- | tent of the unthinking, to stir class hatred, to solidify into one political whole &ll citizens who are dissatisfied with constitutional government and would promote revolutionary changes in the substructure of the American Government. In many respects it sug- gested the utterly unscrupulous prompt- ings of the conscienceless special pleaders.” Do Schools Waste Time and Money? BY -l-('le CARLYLE Mark Thomsen, former president of the Cleveland board of education, is a man who has had unusual experience in dealing with schools, school teach- ers and the law governing the taxes for school purposes. He has just made some very serious charges. There is nothing that demands your more intense interest than your schools. Turn these charges over in your mind. Do they apply to your schools in this state? Thomsen says: That the public is not getting as much for money spent for education as it 1s entitled to. That teachers are not sufficiently well trained. - That the compulsory school age of sixteen that obtains in some states is crowding high schools with pupils who are not fitted for high school training and who would be better off it employed outside. That too much time is wasted in long summer vacations. He urges the opening of school plants 300 days. out of the year. ‘That the fchools have assumed too much of the moral training that prop- erly belongs to the home. That there is grave danger in ex- tending the school age downward. The kindergarten operates in some instances as a nursery, relieving mothers of a responsibility they ought.| to_assume. But Mr. Thomsen is a friendly critie, He admits that at the worst schools give taxpayers more for their money than any other institution. ‘The fact that we get a lot of value for our money should not blind us, however, to the possibility of organ izing our resources in such a way to do and to get a great deal more. These charges have great value, They are commended to the consid- eration of the board of educatlon in this and every community. Wo pay_a great deal more for teachers. We have a right to expect & great deal more. Not many years ago elementary teachers in large cities were paid about $500 a year. ‘Today the mini- mum is nearer $1,200. High school teachers, who used to be paid from $1,200 to $2,000, now re- ceive all the way up to $4,000. Some veceive more. Life is short and schoolhouses are idle too much of the {down before us in features resem- gave | On the | speech | there is nothing in| NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM SEA POWER IN ANCIENT HISTORY. Arthur MacCartney Shepard. Lit- | tle, Brown & Co. ; The past becomes luminous and use- ful precisely in the measure to which it 18 brought forward alive and set | bling thos: that mark cur own pres- ent, in problems not greatly diffar- ent from our own. This is the living thread of history, constant in funda- mentals of fact and sequence. This is the line along which general interest | is_ever €resh, where meanings are | simple and lessons clear. The rest of | history is for the student, curious about far origins, and fitful growths, and strange departures, and faint| survivals, and elusive relationships, | and the abstract philosophic outlook upon the progress of mankind. It is | past that in “Sea Power in Anclent History” Arthur MacCartney Shep- ard moves forward into a place be- side the question of sea power in the present. * o ok ok Every book perpetrated in these epidemio days of authorship should be required by law to frame sound justification for its descent upon a defenseless public, Mr. Shepard an- Ucipates this ralutary reform by a | ustification not only sound, but one | that offers, besides, a distinct lure to readers, both those of the student | type and the larger class of outfarers | tinto all fields of general interest and | { common coneern Sea power today and sea power |among the ancients are, in essence, {identical. That is, they are identical in fundamentals. So this author says, and it is along this line that he sets the general course of the study in| |hand. His sound justification for the |story is based upon this clalm, one, that proved, gives his book an un- | questionable place of importance and | interest in the modern outlook upon history.' A large claim, though, and {upon its face a doubtful one. For has not the world progressed mighti- {ly since those ancient days? Has inot science in this long and active Elnll«rlm 50 multiplied the art of ma- terlal progress as to change the very | face of nature itself? Not quite. That is one of the things which sclence has not done, not vet materially changed the face of nature. And it is | this geographic stability of the good, old earth that, clear up to the present {time, has made the fundamentalss of |Bea power what they have ever been. What they were when the first ad- | venturing peoples of recorded history | sailed out into the adjacent waters that were at once protection, eppor- i tunity, menace. In proof Mr. Shepard | |links “that far past with our own Im-| | mediate present. He brings it right! {up to the naval armament reduction { conference of 1921, in order to let us | see that the ancients and the moderns are alike in purpose, that they are {one in the spirit animating their re- spective maritime activities. A dra- {matic_and illuminating conjunction, ! this, calculated to 1ift the past #= a |new importance, to supply the pres- {ent with a vital meaning, to project | the future in a line of logical devel- opment as against a simply erratic |and fortuitous advance. Upon this single but vital funda- mental the author builds in adequate detail the multitudinous changes in {method, in the means to reach a de- sired end, that have attended the |enormous ~ strides of science, that| have followed upon the growth of mankind in complexity of lifs and toward a larger conception of the es- sential unity of all the peoples of the earth. To those having a mind for it there i here, besides, a fascinating and | profitable line of comparison and con- trast set up between the mere me- | chanics of the old sea craft and the new, revealing in those primitive in- ventions the seed of what have come | to be the present marvels of con- | struction whoso purpose, nation by nation. is that sea power which early | man sought and seized, which he held or lost either to the rise of great peoples on the one hand or to their de- cay and submergence on the other. All preliminary matter, this, to the business of the story itself. Alto- gether essential matter, neverthe- less For it not only gives a good accounting of much that would other- | wise be held as plainly arbitrary and | unaccountable, but it sounds & cali one of the living chapters out of the | 5 {13 years. Another Answers to Questions BY FREDERIC J, HASKIN Q. On what basis was the zern of Fahrenheit's thermometer fixed A W. H A. Fabrenhait temperature Winter of thermometer. Q. What is the meaning of “Erin go bragh”?—J. B. K. A. “Erin go bragh” is the old war cry of the Irish. It means “Ireland forever.” Q. What is Harry Houdini's cor rect name and is he an American? J. adopted the coldmst that he observed in ths 09 for the zero ef.his A. Houdinl was born on April 1874, in Appleton, Wis. His name was Harry Weiss, but has been changed legally to Harry Houdini. 7—A. S. It was built in London from Covent Garden to St. Martin's Lane Ly the London County Council in 1562, Q. Does the peanut actually be- long to the nut family?—S. N. A. The peanut {s not a nut. It belongs to the same family as the common pea and bean. The term “nut” was applied to it on account of its flavor, which is glmilar to that of some true nuts. Q. Which vertcbra the axis?—L. A. E. A. The second vertebra of spinal column is so called bocat forms a pivot upon which th bone, th atlas, rotates, carr skull. Q. What is bull baiting?—F. T. A. This was a sport once popular in England, but declared illegal i 1835. A bull was attacked by doa: and sometimes the nostrils of th bull were blown full of pepper to in crease his fury. Another form of th sport was to fasten the bull to < stake by a long rope and then se bulldogs at him, one at a time, whick were trained to seize the bull by the nose. The bulldog seems to have been developed for this sport from @ short-eared mastiff ca alaunt. Q. Who coined the expression “While there is life there is hope™?— M. D. A. This is attributed to Cicero, the exact quotation being, “While the slck man bLas life there & is known Q. What was the nameof Abraham Lincoln's son who died while he was President?—¥. T. A. This son’s nam Wallace and he died House, March 15, 136 was William the White the age of Thomas (Tad), died in 1868 at the age of 18. Q. Who applied the term “a na tion of shopkeepers” to the English? A. Samuel Adams used the expres- ®ion, in an address delivered at the State House, Philadelphia, August ! o Q. Of what is air composed?—S. R A. Nitrogen and oxygen, in the ra- tio of 78.21, respectively, are the prin cipal constituents of the earth's at mosphere. Q. Did the Tnited States Govern ment every pay Gen. Robert E. Lee for his home, Arlington?—E. S. S. A. The heirs of Gen. Lee wero re- imbursed for this property in the sum of $150,000, elthough the estate was assessed at only $34,000. What are the German names o Berengaris —R. A. The Leviathan was the German ship Vaterland, with tonnage of 64.100. The Majestic w the Bismarck. with a tonnage 56,651. The Berengaria was the Im- perator, with a tonnage of 32,0! The Homeric was the Columbus, with a tonnage of 34.693. This ship wa: under construction during the war and was not completed until 1922, formerls Q. What is a sunstone?—W. S. H A. This is a variety of aventurine feldspar, or oligoclase, which yields when polished, internal reflections. emanating from crystals or flakes of iron oxide. The finest specimens showing a brilliant play of color, come from Norway. |to keen interest, it enmeshes ones {curiosity and whets one's appetite for the story itself. An old, oid| | story, o we thought, probably a dry | | story, g0 we feared. In effect, hap- | pily, neither old mor dry. As mew, |instead. as the still unbellevabie ai | ship, as succulent as the morning's | news on the great flcets hovering | around the shores of the wide world | itself. ik Now for the story itself, about which one needs to say little. For. it a man knows enough to lay a foun- dation such as this, so rooted in a sense of the unity of man's life and growth, so grounded in the truth that we of the present must have old knowledge supplied in such stable features and problems as most nearty resemble those of our own time, and if that man is able to set that foun- dation in words and phrases and sentences that make pictures all moving along in a line before one— why, that man can be counted on to tell a high and romantic story in a| high and romantic marner. And | that is just the way he does tell this story, even though it be the authenti- cated record of a theme belonging to the sober annals of an ancient | eople. o B So here is the story of certain| great seafaring nations of the past;| Greece and Rome the chief of these; Phoenicia and Carthage contributing to the main development of sea Pow- er. Each of these in its time and place is sct down. Then the causecs that led each to fare out upon the waters till the sea became its prov- Ince, its means of growth. Other sea- bordering peoples 1laid a similar course. Then confiict—sea wars, with their victories and defeats—all are set down here by nume and date, and circumstance and effect. You know these names, some of them, for your histories have gone over them for you. And, while this book is history “_owns up to it; indeed, makes the claim straight—you will read it in the spirit of adventure, adventure that -is true. And the tremendous business of claiming the sea and holding it went on. The claim mov- ing out Into trade and increasing con- tacts and growing civilization. The holding of the sea culminating in wars, in & further conception of sea power, in the growth of further means to meet this most desirable end, in a dawning conception of the international {dea .as against the merely national ideal. And all the time victories were being counted for more power and defeats were being scored on the side of decaying na- tions. The same old story that is always the new story. Mr. Shepard tells it with knowledge—oh, heaps of knowledge, all run down to their Iast ecintilla of truth and all a ranged as an orderly and scholarly man would arrange it. So, if stu- dents of the Navy or of more general history need a book on this subject, here it is fit to their hand and need. For the rest of us, just the general readers who are interested in a lot of things, Mr. Shepard comfortably fol gets the burden of hif knowledge— that is, .he forgets it to the extent that He makes it a laborious oftering time, Schools must be given the bene- fit Mk"'?: m'an Mcq\ll(o-lnd intelli- il of organisatiol B heir contribution to civilisation is to us. He puts color in it, and actlon, and high emprise, and daring, and bits of most Inteéresting information —about pirates and thinge—so that the general reader.delights in the story and geta the profit of It be- I e Q. When I marry a Canadian girl will she Fave to come within thc quota from Canada —S. P. A. All Canadians are allowed to enter the United States and will ex- perience no difficulty in doing Your wife will be admitted to the United States upon the payment of the $8 head tax. Canadian-born citi zens do not come under any Qquota but are allowed to enter the United States at any time. Q. Is it the leaf or the sced of the Jimson weed that js medicinal?—R. J A. Both the leaves and seeds of the jimson have medicinal properties. The leaves are collected at the time of flowering, and, the entire plant is cut or pulled up and the leaves stripped and dried in the shade. The leaves are poisonous, causing dili- tion of the pupil of the eye, and arc used principally in asthma. For th collection of the seeds, the capsule: should .be taken from the plant: when they are quite ripe, but s of a green color. The capsules should then be dried for a few d: wher they will burst open and the seeds can be readi shaken out. Thes should then be carefully dried Q. telescope at the Univer: igan?—M. U. U. A. It is a refracting telescope wi'l a inch lens. Only three of the kind in the United States surpass it in size. The telescope is being & sembled, but after a short time it Is to be dismantled and taken to South Africa for § or 10 years of study of the southern sky, by university pro- fessors. . What is the size of the mev ty of Mich- Q. Did Solomon write Ecclesias- etes?—M. M. O. 5 A. Scholars agree that Solomen #id not write Ecclesiastes. The style of the language used is of a later time, and probably- the book is a compila- tion of many writers. Q. Who started the idea of having a mail order business?—¥. G. G. 1 A. The mail order idea is credited to Montgomery Ward, who inauguraged the plan in 1§ Q. What Is the difference betwéen courting, flirting and spooning?—, ; O. A. Wo suggest the following defi- nitions for the three words: Court- ing—making love to a woman for the purpose of marriage; flirting— making love for mere amusement or pleasure of conquest; Spooning—n- dulging to a &illy extreme in demén- strations of affection. Q. How did the god-tree name?—F. B. H. : A. The superstitious veneration of the natives of the tropics for the.silk- cotton tree gave it the name of god- tree. (The Star maintaéns for the Snd prot of we condpes S service wnder the directorship of eric J. Haskin. The soope of the. is national and fnternational, 884 :no subject is too elementary or too broad to enlist the personal ailention of @ spe- cialist. Address The Star Information Burcau, Frederi¢ J. Haskin, Director. Twenty-first and C_streets northaoest.) gt its sides. Willlam A, Moffett, rear ad- miral, U. 8. N, thinks this a highly worthy book, and from his pince of Knowledge and authority says so in a foreword of out-and-out approvak