Evening Star Newspaper, November 5, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sulidly Mtlrlllllg Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY. . November 5, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. . .Editor ewspaper Company t. and Peansylvania Ave. 110 East 42nd 3t. Buliding. 5t., Londou, England. The Evening Star Buainesy Oftice, 11th New York Othee bicago Liuropean Ofice : The Evening edition, ix delivered ity ab 60 cents per mouth: Nunday month. Orders may be sent b phone Main 3000, Collection ix iers at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., §8.40; 1 mo,, T Daily onl; .1yr. $6.00; 1 mo,, 50 Sunday only 1¥r, $2.40; 1 mo,, with the Sunday morning by carriers within the month; daily only, 45 {own election, Ramsay MacDonald re- | representative ace of radicalism. In Great Britain the party that is Conservative by title i gained the benefit of this concentra- tion. Here thé Republican party has been the beneficiary. Yesterday, while the attention of this country was centered upon its signed the premiership at London, and@” the King summonecd Stanley Baldwin and commissioned him to form a new government. Thus the change takes place before the as- sembiy of the Parliament elected a week ago today. In Great Britain, with its system of administration, the leader is assured from the out- of a-.definite substantial parlia- mentary support. He holds his office, indeed, by virtue of his majority in | the House of Commons. He loses his | new set . All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; { mo. $7.00; 1 mo. | $3.00; 1 mo., 25¢ | 1 Member of the Associated Press. | The Associated Press is exclusively entitled | > the wwe for republication of all news dis. | es credited to it not utherwise credited | this paper and locai news pub- | ed “hervin. AL Fights of publication’ of { The Nation's Will. | Yesterday the American people once | Tore chose their leader and their law- | makers in an election which in some | respects stands unique in the history | of the country. With a total vote! estimated at 30,000,000, argest ever cast, Mr. Coclidge was | chosen for President by a plurality | of approximately 10.000,000, and a 1majority over both of his contestants | combined of 6,000,000. At the latest | reckoning he will receive clectoral | votes, with 139 cast for Davis and 13 | for La Follette. “ This is a remarkable tribute to the | personal character of the Republican | candidates, notably that of the Presi- | dent. During the 15 months of his | service in the White Ifouse he has| impressed the country with his| scrupulous integrity, with his cour- age based on a conscientious devotion | 1o duty and belief in the principles of sound Government, with | common > wisd in admi he been confronted by an adverse Con- | sress, made such by the obstruc- tive factionalism of & group of legis- lators nominally of his own party, he has accomplished results for a by pesslike, economical und yet progres- sive administration. In the contest which closed yester- day Mr. Coolidge was faced with double opposition. An independent movement had started under the lead- crship of one who had gained the ea: and to some extent apparently the support of a large number of proplo.[ threatening to cut deeply into the | Republican strength, particularly in | the Northwest. The Democratic party, | though shaken by the bitter contests | in the nominating convention. pre- | sented @ strong, able man of the high- | est character as its candidate and. | apparently united, waged a strong campaign, agsressive and comprehen- | sive. The result has proved first of all| that the third-party movement is a | tailure, La Follette's strength falling tar short of being @ balance of power in the Northwestern States and bare- | Iy sufficient in his own State of Wis-| consin to give him its electoral vote: It has proved in the second place hat the people are not disposed to| visit upon the President and his party | as now constituted punishment for shortcomings that have been al-, ready corrected. With the people | convinced of the unshakable honesty | of Mr. Coolidge the sharp weapon forged out of maladministration in a | particular instance in one department | of the preceding administration, strik- ing him, dropped harmless and blunt- ed to the ground. . The result has proved, furthermore, that there is no dominant wish for a change in the method of interpreting the Constitution, a duty now intrust- ed to the Supreme Court. It has proved that there is no large public support of radicalism in this country. Finally, this result proves that the people are competent to choose for themselves in a national election. ‘They have overwhelmingly manifest- ed their will. The election will not be referred to Congress, which, in its present state of division, would be in- capable of a decision in accord with the manifest desire of the majority. President Coolidge closed the cam- paign with a non-partisan appeal to the people to go to the polls and vote as their consciences dictated. They have done so, 30 millions or more of them, and by reason of this record- breaking expression the country stands forth with a proclamaMon of its will so unmistakable, so over- whelming that no man can ques tion it. An election such as th ures, as Lincoln said, that “Government of the Dpeople, by. the people, for the people, | shall @ot perish from the earth.” | —————— The importance of a national elec- | tion is demonstrated by the fact that | for one night at least it serves to choke off that great American institu- tion, the saxophone. ——e————— Establishment of a new party is a difficult and laborious enterprise. Much as the public loves novelty, there is a disposition to be cautious about novelty in politics. e —t—— The La Follette phrase, “When I am elected President,” becomes asso- ciated with the old line in the story paper, “To be continued in our next.” Election being over, the politicians will restore the center of the camera stage to the movie actors. —— e British and American Elections. There was a striking similarity be- tween the electoral results in this country and in England in tMe cam- 1xigns that have just closed here and there. In each country there was a threecornered fight. In cach there has been a pronounced, overwhelming conservative victory. In England, however, the newly formed radical party emerges second in the polling, whereas here the newly formed radi- cal party stands third. In both countries the conservative forces concemtrated egainst the men- and his and patriof Though istration. | could, of course, have no other effect | range of reason for him to be elected | with a new partisanship in disap- | possible element for constructive or- | have been set on firc and heavy prop- office when that majority disappears. | There is in the British system no pos- ! sibility of the executive, as the pre- mier is, in fact, lacking legislative indorsement while he is responsible | for the conduct of the government. | The restoration of the Conserva-| tives to power in Great Britain, un-| der the leadership of Stanley Hald- ! win, will lead to changes both in per ! sonnel and in policies. The organizu- tion of the new ministry will now pro- ceed With the reappearance of famil- lur numes in the list of cabinet um-I cers, and perhaps the appearance of | some not so well known in this coun- | try. Premier Baldwin has a wealth of | material at his disposal. Tn the ranks | the | of his party are many men of a high | order of ability and of experience, | fully competent to assume administra- | tive dut —_——t— | Third-Party Failure. ! Later analysis of the votes cast yes. | terday will probably permit a cleer | understanding of the failure of the; third-party movement to effect such a division of Republican votes as to throw the election into Congress. It even had it been @ promoters hoped. Mr. La ¥ never been a conceivable possi Nor has it been possible within ceessful as its For the clection of lette by a popular vote has lity. the | through a referendum of the matter to Congr It has from the first been regarded as a party-splitting ef- | fort designed to lay the foundation | for @ permanent. thiry-party organizi- tion. Yesterday's voting yiclds no| warrant to expect a definite, enduring party movement. Had the Progressives of 1924 car- ricd 8 or 10 of the Western States, and thereby deadlocked the electoral | coliege, they would have had some claim to recognition as a distinc party organization. They have, how- ever, failed to effect that result. In| Wisconsin alone have they assuredly secured electoral votes, and there sole- ly by virtue of the personality of Wis- consin's “favorite son,” their own present leader, and, in fact. the pro- creator of their party. With this rec- ord they cannot expect to survive as a distinct political entity. In fact, there have been no ele ments of party organization in this insurgent movement. It was a gather- ing together of dissentients of all| sorts and conditions. It was an as | semblage of malcontents, of ultra- | radicals, of moderate radicals, of so- cialists and of some conservative- progressives disposed to experiment proval of the old established parties. There was no unitying force save that of dissatisfaction, Which is the worst | ganization. Despite the indorsement of the La Follette candidacy and the Progres- sive movement by organized labor through the executive council of the American I‘ederation of Labor, the workingmen of this country have not joined the insurgency against the es- tablished parties. Thus again it is proved that labor cannot be ‘‘de- livered” as a unit vote to any interest or for any candidacy. The American workingmen remain individually free of judgment, and will continue to exercise that judgment regardless of dictation. Nor have the farmers of the West supported the third party in the num- bers expected by its promoters. Re- turns from all the great agricultural States show that millions have voted, as they have in the past, as Repub- licans, drawn back to their old al- legiance by their confidence in Mr. Coolidge and reassured of prosperity by the prevalence of high prices for their products. In those States where they have been experimenting in so- cialism they have, it would seem, re- verted to conservatism, which is thei natural attitude of the tiller of the soll. With these two factors lacking as units, labor and agriculture, the third- party movement has in the language of current speech “flivvered.” Yester- day's vote may be accepted as proof that a major political party cannot be created out of suspicion, discontent | and individual personal ambition, —————— W. G, McAdoo and Albert Beveridge and James Cox and Charles Bryan and H. C. Lodge and @ number of other people who have apparently been under some restraint may now step forward and speak freely. e Without producing tangible results of personal advantage in politics, this campaign has evidently provided just the kind of interest und excitement La Follette needed to render his con- valescence secure. » ————————— ‘Woodland Fires. Forest fires are reported from places | far and near. Large and small tracts | of woodland in the East and South erty loss has resulted, and until gen- eral Fall rains set in there will be increasing loss. The woods are un- usually inflammable. The forest floor is covered with new fallen dead leaves and twigs and brush that are of tin- der dryness. The character of weather is attracting’ an unusual number of persons to the woods, and in some parts of the country hunters and campers are numerous. Lighted matches thrown away, hot pipe ashes knocked out, cigarettes flicked away and camp fires have been responsible for the outbreak of fires which have consumed millions of dollars’ worth | tory it was a rel. of property. Many people in the country “post” thelr property against hunting and other trespass, not for game protection, but for protection of their woodland. Fire in the woods means loss and might easily mean also the destruction of barns and dwellings. The thing to do is not to drop a lighted match or burning to- bacco among leaves and twigs or to start a camp fire without watching it with care and finally extinguishing it. 1t is necessary to remind city peo- ple going into the country and to re- mind country people also that more caution in the matter of matches, ashes and camp fires in and near tracts of woodland means the saving | of a great deal of property. ———— Congress. With the election of Mr. Coolidge assured by the direct vote of the peo- ple, interest centers upon the com- plexion of Congress as a result of yes- terday’s ballot. A nominally Repub- lican control of both houses appears certain, but there remains the ques- tion of whethcr that control will be absclute or modified by the independ- | ent attitude of those who have here- tofore grouped themselves in blocs as progressives and representatives of class interests. Had the eclection been close, with the progressives holding the balance of power in the electoral college, or | even with Coolidge and Dawes chosen bare margin there, the progres- sives who sit on the Republican sides v 8 of the House and Senate would have | had warrant for continuing in the role of dictutors of legislation and policies. But terday has given them no such mandate for continued independence of action. 7 The country has ‘“‘gone Republican™ by a decisive majority of the popular and the electoral votes. Mr. Cool- idge, it would now secm, has been given w plurality of 10,000,000 and an | actual majority of 6,000,000 of the to- tal votes cast. He should have the { loyal support of the majorities in the two houses of Congress in carrying cut the policies adopted by the party at tie Cleveland convention and enun- ciated by him in the cougse of the mpaign. Yesterday's vote was a rebuke to the insurgency in Congress which manifested itself during the past ses ion. The closing session of the pres. ent Congress should respond to it. ———— In all this excitement the public has temporarily lost interest in King Tut. Scientific research is at a disadvan- tage, owing to the fact that it offers so little encouragement to people who blow tin horns and throw confetti. ‘The campaign songester who wrote ‘Mr. Coolldge, You're the Man for Me,” may not have been the best poet, but he was the best political prophet. ———— The relations of landlord and tenant | in the District of Columbia do not as | yet reveal Uncle Sam s a proprietor ready to evict Mr. Coolidge from the ‘White House. ———————— After an impassioned flood of ora- £ to hear the cold. impartial remarks of the radio an nouncer. ————————— Completion of the campaign will. for a little while hereafter, leave little or nothing to interrupt the bedtime stories and the jazz. The close of the campaign puts a stop to the highest class of monologue material yet offered by radio. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDEEL JOHNSON. FElection Day, We've marched, while listening to the band, Torth to the ballot casting ‘While looking for the promised land Of plenty, everlasting. | No longer do we have to wait, Election day is over. We've trod the path of duty straight And now we'll be in clover. We've talked of gold that Fortune flings— That fair but fickle charmer; We have discussed the various things That interest the farmer. The citizen through corn and hay And wheat has been a rover. At last we've had election day And now we'll be in clover. Averages. “Doesn’t a public man sometimes get credit for things he didn’t do?” “It all evens up,” answered Senator Sorghum. things he couldn’t possibly help.” Varying Conditions. “Is Crimson Gulch wet or dry?” “It depends on the time o’ day,” re- plied Cactus Joe. “It's wet up to 1 o'clock in the morning, by which time all the liquor has been consumed and the town automatically becomes dry for several cnnsc.cutlv\ hours.” Jud Tunkins says voting might be more intelligent if people were as willing to risk a headache from think- ing as they are a sore throat from hollering. True Economy. A man whose voice he seldom lifts Explained in language wise. oth time and &peech are precious gifts. ‘We must economize.” Safe Remark. “I told him I wouldn't marry him if he were the last man on earth.” “Perfectly safe,” cornmented Miss Cayenne. “You can still permit him to hope. There isn’t the slightest pos- | sibility of his being the last man.” Always Hopeful. And if they beat my candidate, 1 shall not cease my cheers, But say, as usual, “Just you wait And watch for four more years.” “Don’t try to keep out o' politics,” said Uncle Eben. “So long as de gov'ment goes on payin’ officeholders an’ passin’ laws and collectin’ taxes you's in politics whether you votes or not, and in deep.” “He also gets blamed for | BY CHARLES E. A man sends me the following let- ter, which is self-explanatory: “I am 30 years old and for a good many years have done very little reading, although as a boy I read most of Dickens, all of Mark Twain and the usual run of boys' books. “Now I have quite a bit of time on my hands and would like to do some reading along lines that would im- prove my mind without being too much like studying. ‘ “In other words, T am not given much to reading ‘dry stuff’ and yet don’t want to read any modern love stories [ know that you will see what I'm trying to get at i “1 have had only o grammar school | education, supplemented by a 15-year | course in hard knockology,’ and don't lklm\r whence comes this wild desire { for information at this late hour, but II'm sure there are many books I can read and enjoy, at the same time learning something. and enjoy vour articles you certainly manage to t deal out of life. ome day when you have a spare nt pleuse jot down the titles of v g00d books for me and you'll lots of time and trouble through a mass of junk to what I'm after e \ | That sounds like a comparatively easy thing to do, until one actually gets down to the job, then the wealth of great books tends to embarrass one. It must be kept in mind that | find the “best books,” but simply wants do some reading along lines that improve hix mind “without be- ing too mueh like studying.” He further complicates the matter by declaring tha he s not much given to reading “dry stuff.” and yet doesn't modern love stories! Since he is pleasingly confident, how- ever, that I will see what he is “try- )lng to get at,” there is nothing left but to do my best. : Therefore, after muah thought upon this matter, I have selected the fol- lowing 10 books for this reader as my idea of what best embodies his de- sires. . The books are: The Bible. Stevenson's “Virginibus Pueris- Teaves of Grass." ‘Education.” he Thres Musketeers.” Babbitt.” ohiography.” e Ch ®nrol” Whitman's Spencer’ Duma Lewis' Franklin | whither this reader does not ask for a list of | Dicken! {18 |w s “The Janitor's Boy.” ¥ 1o one reading this list will agree with me, but that has ever been the history of selections of this | {kind. When Sir John Lubbock made his list of the “hundred best books” | he started a controversy hardly set- tled yet. Ail' 1 can say, if your ideas differ from mine, is to try your own hand at a list for this sincere mar who wants to improve his mind and yet does not want to be bored in the process. It would be particularly informative, both to this inquirer and to myselt, if others interested in books, particu- {larly librarians, would send me their !ideas and comments. The above list includes great re- |ligious writing, great essays, wonder- | tul “free verse,” one of the best and most fundamental essays on educa- tion ever written, the liveliest novel ever penned, the best picture of mod- ern American civilization, one of the best written and most interesting of autobiographies, the finest Christmas story, a splendid outline of world his- | [tory and a striking example of the s | latest poetry. | 1 found it utterly IN TODAY’S impossible to® A bequest amounting to $10,000,000 b ::fl-qn laft for the benefit of Amer- jcan agricultural chemistry resu{'(‘h by the widow of the great chemist, | Herman Frasch, | Mo more than onc standpoint this bequest ls of extraordinary in- {terest. It is the sequel of the ro- | mantic success of a moneyless Ger- man immigrant who came to this | country when he was 16 years old. | He had acquired some education in | chemistry in Wurttemberg, Germany, and aimost immediately began a carcer as a chemist without a parallel in achievements. Before, he was 24 years old he Invented waxed or parafiin paper, which so pleased the Standard Oil Company that the man- agement induced him to give up other connections and devote his attention to petroleum inventions. The list of his patents for methods !of refining oils is a long one. The greatest success in refining was in deordorizing Canadian and Ohio petro- leum o as to elimingte its sulphuric odor. Prior to that the oil could be used only for fuel and was sold for 14 cents a barrel, while Pennsylvania oil. being tree from sulphur odor, sold for $2.25 a barrel. Dr Frasch made the sulphuric oil as pure and as valuable as the Pennsylvania oil, thereby adding many millions of dol- lars a year to the products of the Standard Oil Company, and also to the owners of oil wells in Canada and Ohlo. ! In Louisiana thers existed a sul- | phur deposit of immense value, but {it was 1,000 feet below the surface and over it lay 500 feet of quicksand, which made it impossible to eink a shaft. Dr, Frasch drilled a well with a 10-inch pipe down through the quicksand, and sank a 6-inch pipe within the larger pipe and a 3-inch pipe inside the six-inch pipe. Then |ho pumped superheated water (355 | degrees Fahrenheit—nearly twice the | heat of boiling water) down the 6- inch pipe, which melted the sulphur at the bottom and forced the melted sulphur up through the central 3- inch pipe. Very simple process, of course, when it had proved a success, though most other engineers and chemists laughed at the plan, while the years were passing before suc- cess. As Edison has remarked: “All that is necessary for success in life is brains—just & little brains!” Immediately after the molten sul- phur began to flow, America ceased to be dependent upon Germany for her supply, and became not only self- dependent, but produced enough to supply all the world's needs, from the six Frasch wells. The flow amounts to 500 tons a day, and it is 8% per cent pure sulphur. d* X ¥ ¥ Although born in Germany, the true | Americanism of Dr. Frasch is demon- |strated by the freedom with which {nis widow, presumably through his {inspiration, has been able to devote |almost his’ entire fortune to the de: velopment of American agricultural chemistry. The bequest will be held by a trust company, and the income from it will be administered by a board of trustees, through such in- corporated institutions of science as the board may select. The history of agricultural chemis- try, up to the present, is not a long \story, though the science has made great strides within the present gen- eration, and is even now upon the verge of other great advances. It is a remarkable coincidence that ithe year 24 of each of the last three centuries has been marked by some outstanding step in chemical advance. In an address given by Dr. C. A. Browne, chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture, October 3, upon the opening of Goessman Chemical Labora- tory, at Amherst, the speaker called BY PAUL V. | Justice | 1624, C, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1924 TRACEWELL. leave the Bible out of this list. How- ever one approaches it, it is great be- yond all questioning, and contains immortal writing that every man ought té* know - intimately. For the purpose of this reader, “The Modern Reader’s Bible,” edited by Prof. Moul- ton, is probably the best. He will find the treatment of the texts therein more interesting than in the orthodox volume with its numbered verses, Robert Louis Stevenson's “Virgini- bus Puerisque,” and other papers usually contained in the same volume, slves one taste of charming essay materfal, and yet will not bore any one with the intelligence manifested by the inquirer. Does this sound dry: “Old and young, we are all on our st crulse” writes R. L. S in ‘rabbed Age and Youth,” one of the essayy in the volume. “If there is a fll of tobacco among the crew, for God's sake pass it round, and let us have a pipe before we go!” Or those lines from “El Dorado’ “O tolling hands of mortals! O un- wearied feet, traveling ye know not oon, soon, {t seems to you, you must come forth on some con- svicuous hilltop, and but a little way further, against the setting sun, des- cry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know vour own blessedness: for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to grrive, and the true success is to labor.” Walt Whitman's “Lecaves of Grass" goes in for {ts novelty and worth. Walt is the wild man of literature. 1 do not know whether you can call his | stuff poetry or not, but you have to call it something. Listen to this: T exist as T am—that is enough: It no other ia the world be aware, content And if each and 1l be aware, 1 eft conte One world Is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself; And whetter I come to my own today, or in ten thousand or ten million years, 1 can cheerfully take it, mow or with equal cheerfulness 1 can ‘wait. Herbert Spencer's *“Education” ought to be read a great deal more than it ix, particularly by parents, It brings out the true basis of life, and places [ the components in their proper places. Nor is it a bit dull to the inquiring mind. I put in Dumas' “Three Musketeers™ to liven up the list, also because it is a great book of its kind. “The Queen's Necklace,” or “Chevalier de Maison Roug: would have been about as good. “Babbitt” was included because, in the opinion of this particular com- piler, it is perhaps the “great Ameri- can novel” Time will tell. Certainly it is a stirring picture of our life, one a great deal truer in outline than many will admit. Old Benjamin Franklin penned a great work when he set down his life and thoughts in “Autobiog- raph Every American ought to read it. There is much improvement of mind, as well as entertainment, in its pages. “The Christmas Carol” the list, because it is the great. must go in t | story of its kind {n all literature. No matter how many times one has read he can read it again with ever renewing delight, especially just be- fore Christmas H. G. Wells' “Outline of History,” | gained such celebrity that many for- get that in 1922 he issued “A Short History of the World,” which in some respects is better than the outline. My tenth selection may seem a strange one to some, but I make no apology for putting it in. It is a splendid plece of work, by a child of 11 years, as every one knows. It scems appropriate that a list which begins with the Bible should end with the poems of a little child. SPOTLIGHT . COLLINS. attention to the fact that In 1824, von Liebig established hi. famous laboratory at Giessen, where he began a series of epoch-making discoveries that changed the course of chemical and agricultural science. In 1724, ephen Hales demonstrated how plants derived food from air. In Von Helmont discovered car- bon dioxide, and pointed the way to a new line in chemistry called “quan- titative experiments.” L Perhaps all this is too “highbrow” | to appeal to the interest of the or- dinary farmer or the man on the street. It is a long stride from Von Helmont to Dr. S. B. Powers of the Department of Agriculture. Dr. Powers has recently capped the climax of agricultural chemistry by a discovery of the fluid in the cotton plant which attracts the boll weevil. He has evolved a syathetic fluld like | it, with which farmers will be en- abled to set bait about their cotton fields. and before the cotton has ma- tured enough to feed the weevils, they have fed on the synthetic balit, mixed with poison, and will be an- | nihilated. When Chief Chemist Browne was asked what the money value of this protection from boll weevil would amount to, he replied that it is lm- possible to make a close ocetimate, since, when all the crop is matured, the prices are lowered, but the near- est figures available indicated a sav- ing of about $300,000,000 a year. That is not all; the Power discovery opens up an entirely new line of Investiga- tion, for what can be done with the synthetic fluid to poison bol weevils may be done also with that element in potatoes which attracts the potato bug, and other elements which feed all sorts of parasites and pests in various plants. * % % Agricultural chemistry—like Paul Jones—has “just begun to fight.” Not only the fighting of pests is its proper function, but also the direct improve- ment of quality, as well as quantity, of crops offers a fleld of incalculable importance. Most readers know that creameries buy their cream according to Its con- tent percentages of butterfat. Few, perhaps, realize that flour millers now buy the wheat from the farmer not merely by the bushel and accord- ing to its weight and color, but ac- cording to its chemical content of gluten. Chemistry! It is now known that when a fleld of wheat is scored with roads for the passage of great spraying machines, the absence of graln from the pathway of the ma- chine does not lessen the total yield per acre. Just as the grain is be- ginning to head, a certain spray shot from the machines as they travel these roads increases the gluten in the grain and enhances the value of the crop, by its quality, just as but- terfat makes value in cream. Agri- cultural chemistry is “just beginning to fight.” * % %% A century ago Von Liebig figured out that in a few more centuries the world would be overpopulated, and ‘would not produce enough food. Sir E. John Russell, F. R. S. of the Rothamstad (England) experiment station, speaking at a conference in Toronto last August, said: “There is a great field for future workers here; at present plants utilize only a fraction of the radiant energy they receive. At Rothamstead attempts have been made by F. G. Gregory to measure this fraction; the dificulties are considerable, but the evidence shows that our most efficient plants lag far behind our worst motor cars, when regarded as energy transformers for human purposes. One hundrod years ago the efficlenay, H | | { FLOWERS For the Living Mnrkilfivm BY JULIAN STREET. Mark Sullivan is one of those for- tunate persons who from childhood knew what career he wished to fol- low. At the age of 12 he sent his first item to a local newspaper, and at 18 he was editor and half owner of a paper in a small Pennsylvania town Later he graduated at Harvard Col lege and the Harvard Law School and £ot Into the “big league” by way of the Boston Transcript, the Ladies' Home Journal ufder Edward Bok, McClure's Magazine under S. S, Mc- Clure, and Collier's Weekly, When I think of Mark Sullivan, my mind jumps back a dozen years to the time when he was editor of Coliler's and I was one of his contributors, and I never recall that relationship with- out feeling, simuitaneously, a glow of admiration and affection for him. Nor is that feeling in any way quali- fied. There is nothing I think about him which, if put into words, would begin with a “Yes, but—-" His qualities as an editor were such as to bring out the best in those who wrote for him. Independent and fearless, he believed in the journalism of opinion; writers whose opinions he considered reliable were given a free hand; he expected them to be accu- rate and just, and if they were accu- rate and just, they could be sure of his support, even when their expres- sions on controversiul subjects brought severe criticiem upon them, upon him and upon the paper. 1 never knew Mark Sullivan to back down before the counting house or the subscription Ifst. thermore, the gift for encouraging those who wrote for him with a kind of praise which was peculiarly stimu- lating because it was judiclous. And the fact that his praise was judicious was due, of course, to the fine critical quality of his mind. But though his mind is critical, it is not carping. He is one of the most understanding, generous-hearted men I have ever known, and is as free from prejudice as any ons I have ever known. In- deed, T have wondered whether any human being can be actually as free trom prejudice as Mark Sullivan seems to be. He has the friendship and respect of prominent men all over the world, and particularly among Jjournalists. politiclans and statesmen his ac- quaintance is enormous. His friends are of various types. One of my great debts to him is that through him I came to know Roosevelt, to whom he was very close, and in re- cent years, when I go to Washington, 1 find him visiting among the public men who are his neighbors or enter- taining literary men and their fam- ilies, who are forever coming to the Capital. Mark Sullivan’s political corre- spondence, syndicated In many news- papers throughout the land, and his articles on political conditions pub- lished in the World's Work Magazine | have given him an enormous follow- ing, and it is precizely the fairness and the balanced judgment which I have mentioned that cause him to be spoken of as one of the leading po- litical commentators of the country, and to be followed alike by Repub- | licans and Democrats. His political prophecies have been aordinarily accurate. on he exhibited an amazing power of divination, and he is widely credited with being the Davis-for-President man, having ad- vocated the Davis nomination six years ago. This is a matter of record. Besides his regular newspaper and magazine work, he is now engaged in writing a four-velume history of the United States for the quarter century from 1900 to 1325. No man in the country ix better qualified for such an undertaking. Sullivan has lived con- tinually in the midst of the Nation important activities, has known the leading figurcs of the country, has worked with the authors and art and writes with crystaliine lucidity. My knowledge of his intellectual qualities, his equipment for his task and- the manner in which he is at- tacking It, combine to entice me into the field of literary prophecy. I pre- dict that Mark Sullivan’s histors will placed among the most valuable andard works of our time. (Copyright, 1924.) Warns Against Fraud. To the Editor of The Star: Having been a consistent reader of the Evening Star for at least 35 years and a resident of the District during that perlod, I desire to relate the following, in order that you may in form your readers, if you so desire, and | by such service render it difficult for the offense to he repeated: Monday of this week while engaged at my desk in the Fendall Building, I was sud- denly confronted with a caller who immediately passed through the wait- ing room over to where I was en- gaged, and with a broad smile and extended hand, and being aided with an extremely frank countenance pro- ceeded to assure me that I was being greeted by one I had favored some ¥ears ago, and who had returned with a heart bubbling over with gratitude. However, without burdening you with details it is sufficient to relate that| his story was so real and his clear blue 50 honest that when a doubt crept into my mind it was dismissed with a decided rebuke, and my own resources rallied to the assistance of my caller; assurances came thick and fast, I was to receive from my friend ogEs, potatoes and practically every- thing produced on a first-class farm, including a turkey, and all in return for this former and alleged favor ex- tended by me years ago. “The climax was reached when 1 was further as- sured that my caller was to all ap- pearances and by his own expression as pleased to greet me as if he were in the presence of his own dear father, who had passed away years ago. With my defense completely swept aside and my mood more than receptive, it was with the case of taking candy from a kid that my caller secured without the least of further negotiations a loan from me in the sum of $5. He had sought the sum of $10 which he stated was need- ed to release three crates of turkeys, one turkey of which, and the best, of course, was to be set aside and de- livered to me at my home. Oh, boy, how real it seemed to be! But alas I am now in a normal state once more, my five is gone for good and Barnum is again sustained, for my conceit is a thing of the past, and I am ready to subscribe to the doctrino that: Every man is a sucker at some time In his career. WILLIAM A. LEE. of an engine as a transformer of en- ergy was about 2 per cent; now as a result of scientific developments, it is_moro than 30 per cent. Today the efficiency of the best fleld crops of England as a transformer of energy is about 1 per cent; can we hope for a similar_development in the next 100 years? If such an increase can be attained, an ordinary crop of wheat would be about 400 bushels per acre, and farmers would feel sorry for themselves if they obtained only 200 bushels.” The average vield of wheat in the United States today is about 15 bush- els per acre. It is very obvious, therefore, that agricultural chemistry is the greatest fleld of possible benefit to humanity that even science can Ppoint out, and that thers is work for the Frasch millions, and for all that the Government can do, In its development. (Owright, 1924, by Pact Y. Cattined He had, fur-| In the last | original | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN Q. pare S.D. A. In a recent speech President Coolidge compared wages pald by a concern operating here and abroad which made the same products with exactly the same equipment, during the month of August. The average eight-hour wage was: Italy, 96 cents; Belgium, $1.10; France, $1.36; Ger- many, $1.46; England, $2.28; United States, $5.60. How do wages in America com- with wages pald abroad?—A. Q. Is it possible to change hydro- gen gas for helium once a dirigible is built?—L. F. B. A. The ZR-3 and the Shenandoah can be flown with either hellum or hydrogen. The airships can be de- flated and reinflated with cither of thess two gases. The ZR-3, which made its trip inflated with hydrogen, is now deflated and will be inflated with helium, as it is against the pol- icy of the Navy to use any other gas than helium. Q. What is & terrapin?—I. C. A. A terrapin is any of several species of fresh water or brackish water or mud turtles of the family Emyidae, natives of tropical and the warmer temperate countries. The family is represented in the United States by about 20 species. The word “terrapin” has no exact significance, but in the United States it is more commonly applied to the diamond- back terrapin. Q. Are the white specks which are often seen on graham crackers caused by mold?—A. A flour. The sheet of dough, beforc passing through the rolls and under | the cutter of the cutting machine, is slightly dusted with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolls a cutter. These specks do not in- icate mold. Q. Is there a principality called Graustark? If so, where is it located? J. A M A, Graustark is a principality which exists eolely in the mind of | The au- George Barr McCutcheon. “East of thor has recently written the Setting Sun,” the locale of which | is the Graustark referred to in his earlter movels. Q. What tn the differsnca between Pocahontas and anthracite coal?— T. C. 8, A. The Bureau of Mines says tha: Pocahontas coal contains about 1 per cent of volatile matter, whi Pennsylvania anthracite contain: only from 2 to 7 per oemt volatile matter, Pocahontas coal is much softer, cannot be screened to size like | anthracite, has more heat value, but is not so clean nor smokeless. Q. What State had the largest pop- ulation in the first census?—G. A. R A. Virginia had the largest popu- lation in 1790, the total being T47,610. Q. How is the immigrant quota found?—A. A. H. A. The recent immigration bill limited the number of aliens that might be admitted from any country to 2 per cent of the number of D ple arriving from that céuntry cording to the 1890 census. Q. Pleass suggest a method by which to keep lingerie straps from slipping off the shoulders—A. M. A On each end of a narrow tape or ribbon, about three inches long, sew, respectively, the two parts of an ordinary dress “snap.” Attach one end to a point about an inch from the neck line of dress or blouse on the under side at the shoulder. In adjusting the snap include the lingerie strap within the loop thus formed. \ Q. Would you please inform me recarding the death of Mar: of Scots? Was she beheaded?- A. Mary, Queen of Scots, became entangled in a conepiracy against her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England. She was brought to trial demned, ruary 8, 1387, at Fotheringay Castle. Q. Has the climate of any part of | the world changed materiall H. M. A. There have been no well au- thenticated changes of climate within the past 2,000 years. Changes due to man, such as deforestation, agri- culture, the building of canals, rail- Wallace’s Work These white specks are dusting | and con- | and was beheaded on Feb- | roads or telegraph, have only a local effect: k Q. What is the name of ths dec- oration that soldiers wear composed of a cord around one arm, fastened on the shoulder’—C. I, I A. The name of this decoration is a fourragere, and it is an individusl decoration given to each soldier a unit which has been decorated a whole. Q. When were the first and last eruptions of Mount Shasta?—A. R. ¢ A. Mount Shasta has had no erur tions within the period that it has been known to white men. In com- mon with Mount Lassen, the erup- tions began in Tertiary time (tho time interval immediately following the Megozoic cra) and continued down to a very recent period of time. Mount Lassen hax been active within the past three years, but Moun Shasta has remained qQuiescent. D. B. W, sdinburgh, Q. Where is Dun Edin> _A. The old name for Scotland, was Dun Edin. Q. Do both m and mosquitos bite?—I. B. F. A. The female bites, but it is not an established fact that the mals oes. femals Q. Where was the first California misston?—J. T. D. A. Father Junipero associates founded the first mis: P Roman olic one, at San Diego | ‘)Acs. In 1835 the pueblo was organ:. | making San Diego the oldest m pality in the E ra and his icebers is abos ter? Where are most of them fo G K. A. Icebergs are much more in the south-polar regions t Northern Hemisphere. About ‘ seventh of their entire bulk is above ¢ surface of the water. | : | _Q_ What part of the populatior | South America is in Brazil>—T. M. T | A Almost half of the people in Sout America live in Brazil This countr however, comprises almost half the'lan! of the continent. Q Are cows that are good milker: al6o £0od beef cattle?—H. 8. A. “The milking tendency in cattle is | ascociated with a conformation of bod: ! which prevents the animals from vield- [Ing e greatest quanuty and the best ‘lq\ia.l;() of beef. | Q. what histor. old Fort Marcy, Va . B. L. | A. Fort Marcy is near Chain Bridgr lon the road to Leesburg, Va. It wa one of the northern forts during t vil War which comprised the Ar gton linc of defense, and was b » Gen. W. S. Smith's division. connected wit Q. What is compass rose?—M. S. A. This is a circle graduated to grees or quarter points and placed o1 chart for reference regarding lines anc | courses and directions. Both magnet {and true directions are given. Q. Where did the Colorado euga: | beet webworm come from and when was it first heard of in this country?—AL A ON A The sugar beet webworm is & lar to the garden webworm, and is s named because it has developed as & serious pest of the sugar beet in K ebraska -and Colorado. It is . native of western and central Europe and northern Asia, and was evide: introduced on the Pacific coast, as it ! was noted in Utah in 1869. This pest did not_begin to attract notice in United States until the beginning of tho development of the sugar beet industrs, ua tree?—J. T. W Q. What is a Josl A. This ie an expression for a lows, and comes from the fact th Joshua hanged five kings to five trec Q. Are many of the French soldier still “unaccounted for’?—F. 8. S. A. The French ministry of war, announcing the final officla} statistice, said that there are 361,834 men whos. fate is unknown. Q. How did Bunker Hill guts G. N. H | name was given it ia memor r Hill near Belfast, Ireland | fartrt (Hove you a question you wamt an. swered? Nend it to The Star Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskim, direc- Twenty-first and C streets morth- The only charge for this service cents in stamps for return postags.) for Agriculture Praised Extensively in Press From all parts of the country come editorial appreciations of the charac- ter and work of Henry C. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, whose death is deplored as a loss to the farmer and to the Nation. “In both his private and official life,* writes the editor of the Sioux City Journal of the late Secretary's home State, “Mr. Wallace had been highly respected, trusted and ad- mired by those who knew him. As the owner and editor of Wallace" Farmer he had been highly esteemed in Iowa. Mr. Wallace was an up- standing man, a representative Mid- { dle Westerner and a thorough Ameri- can.” The agricultural interests “lost a capable and courageous champlon, adds the Sioux City Tribune, for Kkept the faith with agriculture in th face of constant pressure to make him swerve from the path of con- science and duty.” The Des Moines Tribune parti larly regrets that death should have taken Mr. Wallace just before rather than just after the inauguragon of a new President, because “it would have put the seal of official approval on his great work in Washington, to be offered the post again at the hands of those who differed from him in some of his plans,” but after all “this is something he would have thought but little of himself, and it matters not one whit in the estimation of those who knew him, for the thing that counts is the tear that unbidden starts in the eyes of so many people | in so many walks of life who knew Mr. Wallace.” * % ¥ The Lincoln State Journal thinks President Coolidge will not find easy to fill his place to the general satisfaction of the farmers, for “Sec- retary Wallace was in spirit more the farmer, perhaps, than any other man who has held the agricultural port- folio.” The Kansas City Stars says: “He showed his capacity as the cffec- tive champlon of farm interests. He was earnest and never tiring in his efforts. His department con- ducted efficiently. He knew from his own experience the comparative im- portance to the farmers of the vari- ous activities of the bureaus under his direction. He was able to bring the farm point of view to the cabinet councils.” He had “the courage to speak his mind, let the opposition to his counsel be what it might,” con- tinues the Minneapolis Tribune. “American agriculture has lost a leader of the very first order,” in the opinion of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which declares “as Secretary of Agriculture he used his influence to give constant and powerful ex- pression to the viewpoint of the farmer, and if a somewhat better and more sympathetic understanding of agriculture now prevails at Washing- ton than frequently has in the past, -that is due in no 1 measure to the efforts of Mr. allace.” 1In thie position, as ia others whicd had it claimed his energies before his eleva tion to the cabinet, the Dalla: Journal finds “he gave preof of his capacity and character, reflecting credit upon himeself and upon the administration in which he served.” R r “Secretary Wallace,” observes the Albany Knickerbooker Press, “served as a cubstantial and well trusted bridge between the National Capital and the man on the farm. He knew the problems of the farmer in term. of rail and water rates, in terms of crop prices and seed prices. Hc did his work quietly. His adminis tration of the Department of Agri- culture was fruitful of resulta: £ood to the farmers of America’ What the net results will be fron | Mr. Wallace's administration no one. immediately, can say, the Indiana- polis News thinks, “but the outlook all in favor of guin for agri | culture.” | _On the side of education alone, t | News says, “thero can be little ques- | tion that the effective work under- taken when Edwin T. Meredith was | head of the department was carried forward without interruption; then there is the co-operation with the International Institute of Agricul ture, with a view of improving on methods of collecting crop statistics, a movement of great sigmificance to farmer interests.” The greatest single merit of Mr Wallace's official life, the Newark News suggests “was his persistent opposition to the transfer of the national forest reserves from his de- partment to that of the Interiom which would have been a death blow to conservation” Citing another ex- |ample of his honesty, the Dayton News holds “it is to his credit that where Albert B. Fall as Secretary of the Interfor would have Opened Alaska’s natural resources to ex- ploitation by privileged interests, Mr. Wallace vigorously fought the policy and in the end succeeded in persuad- ing the late President Harding that the Fall program was Inherently Wrong, unjust and unfair—this strug- gle for Alaska gave oxpression to Mr. Wallace's honesty of purpose and was an index to his high character.” These two contests waged and won by him, the Ohio State Journal con- cludes “entitled him to the affection- ate regard of the public and should give his name a secure place in his- tory,” for “these contest§ made plain the fact that he had carried ifito pu lic life the same principles of hono and good business he had employed i his private life and business.” In thi era, “when so many crafty politi- cians are trying to confuse and ex- ploit Western agriculture,” the New York Herald-Tribune is positive “Mr. Wallace's shining merlt was _that he was never anything but the farm- er's honest and competent counselor and his unselfish friend.” is