Evening Star Newspaper, December 3, 1924, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ‘WEDNESDAY . .December 3, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Buslgess Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Ofice; 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding. Europesa Oftice : 16 Regent 8t.,London, Lngland. The Evening Star, with tae Sunday morning Mition. 1s delivered by carrlers within the €lty al oc ceots per month: daily only, 45 rents pe- month; Sunday only, 20 cents per month.” Urders may be sent by mail or tele- Phone Main 5000. Collection ix made by car- slers ut the end of esch month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. .1 yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70c Daily only. -1 yr, $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Bunday only.......1yr, $2.40; 1 mo, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $19.0¢; 1 mo., 85¢ $7.00: 1 mo., €0c nday only.. $3.00; 1 mo,, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exchusively entitled 10 the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and slso the local news pub Jished Lerein. Al rights of publication of #pecial dispuiches herein are aiso resersed. s e The Presdent’s Message. Returning to the former custom, Presdient Coolidge today sends to Con- #ress his message “on the state of the Union,” notable for its brevity and directness of expression. It ng statements, makes artling proposals, breaks 10 new ground in recommendation. It is a survey of the condition of the Government and a review of the re- <uirements of the Federal administra- tion. It is a characteristic message, simple in its terms, direct in its opti- mism. Economy is the keynote of this mes- rage. Already the President has given cxpression to his desire for rigid cur- tailment of exy ditures, in his mes- sage the budget. He e inclusive communica- urges that the policy of strict economy should be continued in ef- fect. “Perhaps the important work that session Congress can do," a document conveys no surp: no accompanying ow in his mo; tion most of to continue and further re- Government, in order that we may have a reduction of taxes next fiscal year.” While neces- be *“the people their Government is sary thit he declar a policy of economy cuce the cost e costs know must met 10 wat i them no unnece: burde Further tut the P in that tax reduction is possible, esdient postpones his move directior “If at the the Con- | the it | to have a mod- | duction and all | wrm that the Congress may | during the next fiscal yes ¥ - saying, the present session gress has kept within will budget of tax r President indicates the line of re- | vision which he fav he s | that it i free f when expect continued ess business can remain profits taxation and d a system of surtaxes which object mment of success, or the | t of but the | on of the greatest amount of from large incomes. In other he President favors tax re-| ng scientific lines which will | is idle to { | ur | n excess rates have for i their | the puni Ciscouras producti isiness, words, vision a encourage productive enterprise and | burden of rent It is intimated that the agricultural | m sideration at lessen the n nw SE€ its recom- | their 1 present session. his own view er's urgent need-—"mar! the re difficulty is or distribution. The matter inve the entire the countr Favoring u special inquiry into the | proper method of disposing of or lizing the Government power proj: | Shoals, the President to Congress for | consideration and action. though indi- | cating that judgment the field bétter to private enterprise | han to Government operation, The legislation ex- pediting the consolidation of the rail- systems stressed impressive por- message. In the matter wages the President indi- ef that amendment of the | n bhe helpfully made, which, retaining the practice of =.\~-! collective bargaining with ind voluntary arbitration of differences, could also provide sim- plicity and more direct of employes and such legislation will requirements of the situ says the President, “unless it principle that the pub- | Jie has @ right to the uninterrupted | service of transp tion.” One way to save money, the Presi- dent advises Congress, would be to #ass the pending bill for the reorgani- of the various departments. 1 self-evident proposition, and ndations in time for the President fa nost dicates of the ! is en side of complex, ving nomic system of scle his matter in his suited further ways into lar of the railroad zor is in one the most ons of of cates his bel faw ¢ while tematic conciliation relations wal responsibility man ut ution,” Tecognizes the ation This is re passage of the measure now be- *#ére the houses, in some form, should ollow as a means of economy and greater efficiency of administration. Under the heads “Army and Navy,” “oreign Relations” and “Interna- tional Court,” “Disarmament Confer- " and “Outiaw of War” the Presi- dent writes a series of statements which constitute the foreign policy ‘6t his administration. It may be thus summed: An adequate military and al defense without competitive wrmament, with full understand- &g by all other nations that the main- &nnnce of efficiency does not convey v hostile intent: a general desire for ihe promotion of peace throughout the world, but a definite’ indisposition on the part of the country to become a member of the League of Nations or 1o assume the obligations imposed by its covenant; establishment of an in- iernationa) urt before which the ence na\ was States could go voluntarily, |the city post office was made by the Wut to which it could not be sum- moned; awaiting action by other gov- ernments for a European eonference on arms limitation, an indisposition to varticipate in a manner to involve commitments opposed to the freedom of action this country desires to main- 1ain unimpaired with respect to pure- | equitable prin 1to the end of war and careful study of all measures proposed to attain: this end. Thua the message presents few def- inite proposals for action. It offers encouragement for continued pros- perity and for further advancement toward the ideal.of universal peace. It is the expression of an optimism tempered with practical common sense, and based upon an unfaltering belief in the soundness of the constitu- tional foundations of this Govern- ment. B Budget and Appropriations. The budget system does not involve any lessening of the power of Con- gress to determine in detail the man- ner in which the public money shall be spent. The appropriations commit- tees of the House and Senate continue to work as before in the examination of items in the estimates, to ascertain the reasons for requested expendi- tures, to weigh one against another various projects of improvement which are recommended, and all of which cannot, perhaps, be authorized, from reasons of economy. The preparation of the budget in- volves practically the same procedure by the bureau as that of the appro- priations committees and by the houses themselves when the bills are presented for action. Preliminary es- timates have been sifted and sorted and reduced. A basic figure of grand total of expenditures for the Govern- ment has been established, with lesser basic figures for the various depart- ments, bureaus and general lines of | work not susceptible of department classification. Then the detailed figures are allotted, item by item, with care to keep them proportionate. In the preparation of the budget by the bureau more time is avallable than is possibly at the disposal of the com- mittees of Congress. The Budget Bu- reau seeks to furnish the President and Congress with a complete and, in detail, an adequate survey of the Government's needs. It should be considered by Congress as more than an outline. It is, indeed, virtually a draft of the appropriation acts in sequence. Questions of policy naturally arise |as Congress deals with the budget {bills. Still, in the main, they are simply allotments of funds in accord- ance with fixed principles of Govern- { ment maintenance. To depart mate- { rially from them is to throw out of ! gear the whole system of related dis- tributions. In the case of the District, a some- what different consideration prevails than in the other measures which are | embraced in the budget. The major part of the money proposed for appro- priation comes not from the Federal | Treasury, but from the pockets of the | taxpayers of the Capital community. | If the definite ratio principle pre-| vails the amount of the Federal con- | tribution depends upon the total. The | Budget Bureau does not undertake to | determine that factor. The power to! do #o lies wholly with Congress. Last | pring it voted for a fixed sum, not | proportioned to the total. The sub-| stantive law establishes the ratio prin- | ciple. The District's hope is that this | ple will prevail in the | new appropriation act. 1 But whether the fixed ratio or the ! lump sum is adopted” to govern the | Federal contribution the budget fig: ures just submitted for District main tenance and development in the nex: fiscal year should be regarded by the appropriation and the| houses as basic, the result of a care- | tul. painstaking examination of the whole question in full detail by an or- ganization qualified for this task, and with the fullest consideration of both the Federal and the local equities. The fact that the District budget as thus prepared and presented is larger than the current appropriations should not challenge congressional criticism and lead to downward revision. Every | item proposed in the budget is meri- torious. Practically every large item represents reduction of the original proposals of the Commissioners. The District budget, as it now lies before Congress, is, in fact, fundamentally a | sound basis for action, and the prepa- ration of the bill should proceed with the fullest consideration of this fact, | ielding a measure | which will as closely as possible meet | the needs of the District as they are | therein set forth. —————————— Naming & Zeppelin should not be | permitted to go too far in encourag- | ing the champions of ungrammar who persist in saying “The Los Angeles.” ————a—————— A few young Americans appear to be suffering a certain amount of em- | barrassment because of an inclination | to take French farces serfousl { ————— i There may be moments when a mod- | ern Egyptian statesman must wish he were cligible to a quiet niche in a museum like old King Tut. committees Suggestions to Chauffeurs. ‘The city postmaster has again put before the chauffeurs and chauffeur- carriers of his office the need for careful driving. He has told them he | hopes “the post office drivers will| realize their responsibility” and lhe: very important part they play in the | Christmas season. He tells them “the eyes of the people are upon them every minute of the day and night” and he urges them to set a good ex- ample for other drivers and not to think that any special privileges should be accorded them because they are carrying the insignia of the United States mails. The postmaster calls at- tention of the drivers to the difficulty of traffic conditions during the Mid- winter holiday season, and he reminds them that there can be no extenuation for violations of the speed laws. About this time last year an ap- peal, or an injunction, to drivers for postmaster, and notwithstanding the crowded streets, the increased number of postal vehicles, the greater number of trips made by each vehicle, the urge for haste and the law giving postal vehicles right of way, a law which many motorists do not know or do not heed, there was a reduction’ in the ly domestic policies; sympathetic in- terest in the movement under way in various countries for the outlawing of number of accidents in which post office drivers figured. There is something else to be gath- | Follette will not he expected to | Bryan, { bearing the proper | production ered from this. Merchants who have one or two delivery autos, merchants who have fieets of trucks and the taxi companies, which have become numerous and have several times the number of vehicles in the streets they had a year or two ago, might have a heart-to-heart talk or some other kind of a talk with their drivers, to the end that they may ba deeply im- pressed with the safety idea. We are entering the season when Washington streets will be as crowded as they ever have been, and perhaps more crowded because of the growth of population and the Christmas shopping habit and the greater number of vehicles in the streets. The New Water Supply. Progress is being made on the ex- tension of the Washington water sys- tem, which will ada 100,000,000 gal lons a day to the Capital's water su ply, give a second conduit from Great Falls and materially increase our reservoir and filtration capacity. The chief of engineers, on tion of the engineer in charge of the District water system, has approved the award of a contract for construc-| tion of a tunnel three-quarters of a mile long between the second high reservoir at Forty-fourth and Upton streets and the District distributing aystem at Seventeenth street near the Brightwood reservoir, Six- teenth street. It is said that this the last large contracz to be entered into for the having to do with the enlargement of the water system. Maj. O' says that the new watersworks project on construction of works nnor will be complete and ready for use| under the present | 27, by January 1, 19; plans if the necessary funds are pro- vided by Congress. It is agreeable to note from time to time the course of work on the new consduit and new reservoirs. It is an improvement which the people of the District have sought for many years, and it is be- lieved that Congress will be reason- able enough to authorize the use of adequate funds to press the work with celerity and bring it to conclusion at the earliest practicable time. ——— autobiography by La An Senatc far back as that of William Jennings luded among h a research as who has intellectual investigations into evolution. —_— e There is little hope that the farmer will ever arrive at a state of mind which regards the price of wheat as atio to the cost of & loaf of bread. o After a brilliant success in getting remarkable g clients into on, it remains to be seen whether or Darrow will be equaily suc- ting them nt you o After a man has been “read out of the party” he cannot be blamed if he persistently indicates that thought much of the old party he never | first place. A A confession secured “‘third. degree’” methods is subject to Ko much suspicion that it is likely to leave the se pretty much where it was before, by —e— Several Unitd States Senators are persistent in their determination to distinguish Congress as one of the greatest Grand Juries ever organized r——— Japan could encourage dence by being as willing to sell her large of airplanes Germany is to sell her Zeppelins. s Occasionally a statesman asserts himself who makes it clear that he takes his politics more seriously than he does his golf. . Obregon will hold an honored place cc as in Mexican history as a President who | knew how to retire gracefully. Opinions agree that while it may be a quiet inauguration it will not be a quiet Congress. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Egocentricity. 1 often wonder as I tread The mystic maze of life ‘Why other people should be led Into such useless strife. 1 marvel at the strange desire To mar the peaceful way ‘To which men like myself aspire, And force us to the fray. I often wonder why my views Which seem so sane and sound Should chiefly function to amuse The folks who gather 'round. While trying hard to be polite Unto the general throng, I wonder why I'm always right, While other folks are wrong! The Competition. “Few of our great statesmen have been what you would call handsome men." “And that's lucky,” observed Sena- tor Sorghum. “A campaign is hard enough as it is, without turning it into a beauty contest.” Jud Tunkins says getting into debt is generally described as an embar- rassment, but sometimes it's an ac- complishment. Evolution. Why should I climb, with study grim, A family tree, To meet upon the topmost limb A chimpanzee? Alcoholic Prevalence. “Crimson Gulch used to have a bar- room on every street corner.” “I dunno as we're better off,” swered Cactus Joe. “Now we've three or four bootleggers to e block.” an- got ery The Blazing Hearth. The blazing hearth ‘we much admire; And yet dear father hollers; For every time he pokes the fire It costs him -several dollars. “Santa Claus,” said Uncle Eben, “is only a myth, But so is & whole lot o’ highly conspicuous folks.” * recommenda- | in the | “I believe in an ultimate decency of things; and if I awoke in hell, 1 should still believe in it." These ringing words of Robert Louis Stevenson were quoted by Bishop James I Freeman of the iscopal diocese of Washington at the recent dinner of The Evening Star Club, the bishop adding: “Now isn’t that a fine thought? Those are star-studded words, in- deed, combined into phrases that build up to a climax in the inimitabls way this author was master of. It has been declared that Stevenson ex- !]nn-sse‘d only second-rate thoughts in | & frst-rate way. | Few who have entered into the | spirit of this master of English | prose, however, will agree to that | dictum, r will they be forced to any elaborate refutation. | Al that would be necessary would | be to quote some one gleaming sen- [ tence such as the bishop used In { #peaking against the statement some- times made that this is a decadent age: “I believe in an ultimate decency of things; and if I awoke in hell, I should still believe in it.” | * % ok X { This idea, that dt the bottom of | men and things, there is something | decent and worth-while, 1s, of cour. neither new wlith Stevenson nor with Bishop Freeman. Neither would | claim that it was. The glory of | Stevenson was that he put an old | truth in a poignant and unforgettable { way. To Bishop Freeman thanks for bringing to our attention ““, @ and its expression. | Next to the man who writes a {go0d thing comes the man who tells | us about it. Our literature—and in it 1 include our translations—Is full of wonderful fdeas, wonderfully ex- | pressed, perfect things that volce the | highest ideals and ambitions of men. Yet often we allow them to slumber unheeded between the covers of bhooks, because we do not know or | do not care to get them out for our { beneflt. That is the way of a great | thought. 1t does not worry you |about ltself, or buttonhole you in | the market place, or make a perfect | nuisance of itself. ! In calm, dignified content it lles, | waiting for you to come to it. It will not do for any of us to brush | the great things away with a shrug, | because sometimes we find them difi- i ult or lacking in “pep.” It we want | “pep” let us seek out a good dance orchestra and have them pluy “June Night, or “Charlie, My Boy. The great ideas, the perfect ex- | pressions, in their holy place of truth | and honor, neither beseeching us nor | refusing us, wait for the touch of | the understanding hand and the lglnnx'e of appreciative eves. H How long will we refuse to knock | at thetr door? | = ok o | Tn the ultimate decency of things {any right-minded man or woman Imunl believe who will take the trou- {ble to look back over the centuries |and contrast what he finds there with {what we know today, especially in | these United States of America. Ours jazz age, maybe, and no doubt; but let us noy throw up our hands in too much horror at that We should worry! This is a much ibetter age than the seventeenth century ingland, no doubt about that, either. Merry England, with King Charles, or King James, or whichever King it was in the chair, must have been a rerry place, indeed. It wa SO merry, that if such conditions pre- in Washington the Na- Guard would be called out to perverse generation. N TODAY’S is a tional curb a must go! BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Take down your Samuel Pepy turn to that pa e in his truth- ing diary in which he recounts a morning’s entertainment in London. I cannot recall the exact words, byt they run very much like this: “Then I did go out to the gallows to see the hanging of Lord Newburn, and there saw them hang and quarte him, which he did take with as much composure as was possible under the circumstances, and when the huge owd did see this, it gave a great shout of joy." Yes, hurrying with unfeigned joy and right good merriment to see a man hanged, and then torn limb from limb! Just a little everyday morn- ing's entertainment in merry old England. Can you imagine such a scene as that on the Monument grounds? And, if you could imagine fit, would it be possible to imagine a Washington rowd “shouting with joy” over the spectacle? No; we know that the very thought of such a thing is sickening to us, but we do not stop to realize that the decency in us, If not the uitimate decency, 15 at least a huge step for- ward In the right direction, as shown us by Jesus Christ. 1 hasten to say that modern London would as {1l brook such a scene. Bull halting, In which bulldogs were set at tne huge animals, was stopped in England by public sentiment. Today pit fights—bulldogs trained |for battle in a pit—are held only | clandestinely in this country. Any hormal man will thrill to an {promptu dog fight on the street, but |he shrinks from the eruelty of beasts |trained to hurl themselves at each other’s throats. I knew a rough customer who gave up this gorry “sport” after 10 years' participation, becauss he finally came to love his bulldog Nellie better than he did money or excitement. Yes, we must believe in an ultimate decency of things; and If we awake in hell, we shall still belfeve in it! SR Automobile murders, slayings of various Kinds, {ll treatment of chil- dren, these and many other ills are disconcerting, to say the least. Ju- venile delinquency, including petting partles, flasks, clgarettes, these things disquiet us, as well they may. Yet behind them all stands a ram- part of character and decency which shall never be swept away. 1 go down on the street car every morn- ing with a high school girl. and to see her sweet face is a benediction. She is the old-fashioned girl you read about, vet éver new— and the | best part of it is that there are thou- sands like her golng to Western and | Central and Eastern and Business |and Technical and the other | schools of this city. Bless your soul, there are thousands of men, women and children, in this as in every other city, who have not bowed the knee to Baal Their leader is a quiet man in the White House, who thinks more of the dignity of the presidency than | he does of impressing others with be- ing a good fellow. The ultimate decency of things shines from 100,000 church spires and bathes the glorious colors of our flag in an immortal light | It sparkles on the clean hair millions of little children, it dances in the dimples of their pink cheeks. | It wags from the tail of every de- | cent American dog. | Wherever a household gathers to- gether In peace and qulet, there an ultimate decency prevails. It is with us awake and asleep, and whether we | realize 1t or not, for we are the helrs of all the past. and the prophets of the future goodness SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS. There are indications that the pres- ent session of Congress may take | hold of the question of control of aliens within this country with ex- ordinary vigor. Two on this subject, were introduced in the House on opening dayv. Repre- sentative Watkins of Washington re- introduced his bill from the former session which provided for the de- portation of aliens who commit cer- tain crimes against the Federal or State Governments. In the new bill this provision is modified so that de- ortation will take place only upon a cond offense. Chairman Johnson of the House immigration committee has also in- troduced a bill, H. R. 9803. cipal featurs of this measure is that it amplifies the powers of deportation by removing the time limit. Hereto- fore, if the reason for deportation should not arise within three vears in certain cases, or flve yvears in others, the Government was barred from acting. This bar will now be removed, so that an alien can be sent back at any time, when he becomes a public charge, commits a crime, de- velops a contagious disease, or if it is discovered that he has entered this country unlawfully, surreptitiously, conspires to smuggle in other aliens. 8 crimes which will be penalized with deportation include violation of the liquor prohibition laws, the narcotic laws and the so- called social laws. The cost of deportation, except in | cases where the cause has arisen after entry, i to be assessed against the transportation company or the | contractor or procurer by whom such {alien was unlawfuliy induced to en- iter the United States, except when | such deportation occurs more than |five vears after entry. | * K ok * | 1t is understood that this measure The special |1argely originates in the Department | lof Labor and is the result of the seven vears' experience in enforcing | the 1917 law, of which basic law it is | practically in the nature of amend- | ment. | There are several condltions which | must be faced in the control of unde- sirable citizens of alien birth. One of these conditions is that our power to digpose of aliens rests partly upon the willingness of their country of birth to accept them back after they have been absent some years. We cannot dispose of aliens in mid- ocean; they must be taken to a coun- try willing to accept them, and with which we are on friendly relations. For example, Russian anarchists, it they once get in America, cannot be returned compulsorily to Russia, for we do not recognize the Russian gov- ernment. All such “reds” are immune from deportation, though it is exactly that class at which deportition {8 chiefly aimed. When such countries are willing to aecept the returning alien, the problem is simple—as in the case of the deportation a few years ago of Bmma Goldman and her anarchist assoclates, sent back to Russia. But we. cannot force any country to take back its citizens, against the laws of that country, and there are several countrles which have laws forfeiting all citizenship rights and status of natives who vol- untarily absent themselves 10 years. ERE This law of limitations on the re- taining of the rights of citizenship by an absentee native brings peculiar complications with the other laws, r quiring military duty of all its na- tive men. It a native of any Euro- pean country evades his military re- quirements and escapes from his na- tive land, he may acquire full citizen- ship in the United States, and if he measures | The prin- | be absent from his native land' 10 years he loses his citizenship there. Yet if such a man return on a visit| to his native land, he is liable to ar- rest thege and to compulsory en- listment In the army, even of the country of which he is no longer a citizen. And his adopted citizenship in the United States does not help him out of that service. No law that we might pass would have any effect jupon his military obligations under the circumstances. His only safety Is to remain out of the jurisdiction of the government with which he would sever connection. The Scandinavian countries have such laws, canceling the citizenship of natives who absent themselves 10 | vears, though they make it easy for Such to regain citizenship by only six months’ residence and a declara- tion that they desire repatriation. | Germany had such a law, but repealed | it by the Delbruck law of 1914, just | prior to the outbreak of the World War, when she desired to recall as many citizens as possible. Holland and Belgium have such laws, not even re- quiring 10 years' forelgn residence, but merely a residence abroad under circumstances indicating an intention to make 4t permanent. Ttaly and France are punctilious in requiring military duty, regardless of the for- falture of the rights of citizenship by forelgn residence. Hence it is very easy to become “a man without a country” by forfeiting citizenship in the native land, without acquir- ing it in the land of adoption. * ok ok W There is many a tragedy In con- ion with deportations. An alien may have come here 10 or 15 yvears ago and entered without the formal- ity of inspection—he may have cut corners by slipping by the inspec- tor, or may have gotten over the Canadian _or Mexican border unob- served. He has lived here and been a useful and law-abiding resident, working industriously, married an American woman, anr reared a fam- ily_of American-born children. Then there comes a time when he wants to be naturalized, perhaps for the sake of his family. He makes application for his first papers, and at onoe the law officers discover that the applicant has no record of la: ful admittance; he is an alien, unlaw- fully here. All his 15 years or more of residence go for naught; he must be deported. But his American fam- ily need not go; they are all Amer- ican-born ocitizens. ~There are no funds to deport them. The law will tear the husband and father from his family and send him back to his native land—providing that land will recelve him. Perhaps he had come away evading his military 4duty; he will now be fined and Imprisoned for that violation of law. He has for- feited his citizenship in his native land, so that he has no rights his native government is bound to re- spect, and no claim for protection upon . America, whose government has torn him from wife and children and deported him as an undesirable alien. Under the existing law, this case would be eased by the statute of limitations—five years from arrival— but the present bill proposes to abolish the limitations, and enable the Government to deport whenever the original violation is discovered. The law has not hesitated to sepa- rate families at the ports of immi- gration; it now would also sepa- rate them at the ports of exile. (Copyright, 1924, by Paul V. Colllns.) Popular Idea of Safety. From the Peoria Journal. B Most everybody's idea of safety first is for the other fellow te take all the precautions. im- | high | 1 of VITAL THEMES - Giant Power for All the People. By GIFFORD PINCHOT, Governor of Pennsylvania and Former Chief of National Conservation Work. The greatest advance in the con- servatien policy since Roosevelt lles in giant power. We are leaving the age of steam to enter that of elec- tricity. What Increises in the com- fort, convenience, safety and happi- ness of life it wiil bring no man can yet foretell, but we know already that these changes will make over the conditions of human living. The coming of steam gave men standards of production and living never imagined, before. But steam power had to be used where It was produced. That is why the workman must go to the factory and why gteam concentrates people in the towns. Hereafter we shall bring the pow- er to the workman, instead of the workman to the power. Unlike steam, electric power can be delivered easily and economically 10, 100, 300 miles from where it is produced. The Pennsylvania giant power plan proposes that the vast benefits of the new electiic age shall be controlled and guided In the public interest. In waying that 1 take no account of public or private ownership. The #lant power plan deals with things as they are. But it insists, and in- uists most strongly, that In the coun- cils at which the new developments will be planned the public shall sit |at the head of the table. The giant power plan pour all power produced in a given region into what might be calied a pool of power, out of which energy for all purposes shall be taken by all users. It plans for huge power stations, not only at the falls of rivers, but especially at the mouths of coal mines, from which great trunk transmission lines, carrying the pow- er to smaller lines, will combine the many present.systems of the State into a single working unit, deliver- ing electricity far more oheaply than at present for the innumerable uses of industry, traneportation, the farm and the modern home. Giant power and super-power must not -ba confused. Glant power will create for Posmsylvania the single great pool of power I have described and will do it under the watchfu! and guiding eye of the public. Super- power means merely the exchange of ismall amounts of surplus power be- tween companies as, and only as, the commercial interests of the companies shall dictate. Giant power is a publicly controll- ed project, with untold possibilities in better conditions of life and work for every human being in America Super-power is a commercial project with profit as its object and its limit The giant power plan is too large to be realized at once. It is also too sound to fail. It can and it will bring to our people a type of material civilization higher, finer, healthier and happier than the world has ever known. proposes to (Copyright, 1924.) THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 3.—Biography Aud I would tell you of venturous men, Sailing 8 chartiess sea Last week's article spoke of the value of blography in furnishing the reader with friends. This week at- | tention is called to the possibility of knowing a hero of the north, one of whose most dramatic experiences is described in “Adrift on an Ice-Pan.” One would not expect a person to re- tain his sense of humor while he drifts out to sea on an ice-pan, facing practically certain death. Dr. Wil fred T. Grenfell writes, I could not help feeling even then my ludicrous | position, and 1 thought if ever 1 got | ashore again I should have to laugh {at myself standing hour after hour | waving my shirt at those lofty cliffs ! which seemed to assume a kind of | sardonic grin, so that I could almost i imagine they were laughing at me.” ch is the caliber of the man of Wwhom has been said, “His simple faith has been the motive power of his works, to whom pain and weari- | ness of flesh have called no stay since | there was discouragement never, to { whom personal danger has counted | as nothing since fear is incompre- | hensible.” How Dr. Trudeau triumphed over the handicap of tuberculosis and | blazed the trail to the conquest of the disease is told in his autobiography. He teolls how he cared for his sick brother, lived and slept in the room with him, obeying the doctor's in- | junction to keep the window closed: of his own bitter hours on learning that the diseaso had fastened itself on him; of his journey into the Adi- rondacks, with no hope of a cure for himself; of his growing bellef in the efficacy of a fresh-air treatment; of the experiments in his little labora- tory, and of his sanitarium, which furnished the model for so many later similar institutions. Another fighter of disease is P teur. The whole of his noble life is laid open in Vallery-Radot's “Life of Pasteur.” The sclentific world in which Pasteur lived is veraciously and vividly portrayed and Pasteur's contribution to selence de- The book pictures as well the simple, affectionate and kindly man and honest idealist, whose life was full of the most beautiful thought of others, and for the ad- vance of science to the neglect of himself and his private interests. Another gallant friend is Clarence Hawkes, who, without evesight and with the loss of a limb, became a dis- tinguished naturalist, and did those things which call not only for the keenest eyesight, but also for minute observation. He writes, “If I had not stored up myrlads of priceless pic- tures of fleld and forest under all the changing conditions of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, my life would have been beggared, indeed.” A pioneer in many senses of the word, Dr. Howard Anna Shaw is well worth knowing. Straightforwardly and with keen observation, humor and a rich fund of anccdote, she tells her picturesque experiences as a child on an immigrant ship on & stormy 'sea, her' hard-working girlhood in Michigan and her brilliant career as teacher, Methodist preacher, doctor, lecturer and suffrage leader. Traffic Suggestion For Crowded Periods To the Editor of The Sta The street railways of Washington carry more passengers during the period from 7 to am. than at any other time of the day, and fewer pas- sengers from 9 to 11 a.m. than at any other time. If the public schools should open at 9:30 instead of 9, a large part of the street car trafic would be di- verted from the most crowded period to (he least crowded period. The schools would, of course, ve- main open half an hour later in the afternoon, but this would not put the school traffic into the most crowded afternoon period, which is from 4:30 to 6. THOMAS W. GILMER. Penalty of Civilization. From the Baltimore Sus. Heathen people are those who need fewest padlocks. Q. How many patients do our hos- pitals receive in a year?—C. B. A. A census taken by the Washing- ton Radio Hospital Fund for the pur- pose of endeavoring to endow beds with radio equipment shows that 42, 000 patients are cared for annually About 6,675 people are constartly in the hospitals, with an average stay of *Hree weeks. Q. Was the land given to the Gov- ernment when Camp Melgs was es- tablished?—H. E. H. A. The land on which Camp Meigs was built was not given to the Gov- ernment. It was leased at a rental of $750 a month, then raised to $1,000 a month. The land was leased from the American Securfty and Trust Co. and has been returned to the owner. Q. Do the air stations at Langley Field and Bolling Fleld have perma- nent quarters K. F. B. A. langley Field, Va, has perma- nent quarters. They are brick houses of English architecture. These houses vary in size. The quarters are fur- nished. At Bowling Field the quar- ters are small one-story shacks, tem- porary buildings, partly furnished. Q. How many pages are there in the House and Senate?—R. H. A. There are 21 pages appointed in the Senate and about 40 in the House of Representatives Q. What schools did_Al Smith of New York attend?—M. W. A. Gov. Al Smith attended a paro- chial school and has an LL.D. from Manhattan College and Fordham University Q. Where can 1 get accurate infor- mation regarding business conditions in England’—N. B A. During the past year the Bureau | of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has issued reports covering almost all phases of economics, trade and industry in Great Britain. Some of them were: “Will British Business Recover?” “Housing in the United Kingdom,” “Trading With and Trad- ing Within Great Britain” and “Re- view of British Finance in 1923.” Q. How wide should the widest trucks be?—J. D. M. A. The American Automobile As- #oclation says that the law recom- mended by highway engineers for | truck width is eight feet Q. When will the new hotel at Lake Louise be ready?—R. L. A. The Canadian Pacific Railway | Company says that the Chateau Lake Louise will be finished in time for jnext Summer's business. The new chateau will contain 280 rooms with baths, with one entire floor devoted to the rotunda. One of the features of the building will be that from the ground floor up to the dining room the walls will be practicaliy of solid plate glass, giving guests a wonderful view of beautiful Lake Louise. | { Q. Are births and deaths registered | throughout the United States?—W A. The registration area for births and deaths now includes 38 States, the District of Columbia, the Territory of | Hawali and 19 cities in non-registra- | lean ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN coast service service and a transatlantic Q. Is the number of insane people increasing or decreasing’—P. T. A. Reports from 750 institutions for the care of the mentally diseased. feehle-minded and epileptics show | that the number of their inmates in creused from 234,139 in 1922 to 345 171 in 1923. The rate of increase, 4.2 per cent, is approximately three times as large as the annual rate of in crease in the population of the United States. For the 13-year period from 1910 to 1923 the increase In number of such persons was approximately 65 per cent, while the growth of population during that period was about 20 per cent. These figures arc from the Bureau of the Census. Q. Does marine insurance cover damage done to cargo by rats?—M. A. 1f the proprietor of th chandise {njured can prove that ship was not furnished with a cat recover compensation from owner of the vessel. Q. Ts “dove” =as the past “dive” correct?—E. M. A A. While the form “dove” fs used colloquially there is mo authority to support the use of the word. The correct form of the verb in the past tense is “dived. mer- the He the tense Q. Who discovered oxygen?—H. ) A. The gaseous element oxvgen was isolated by Priestly in the vear 1774. Priestly’s claesical researches in pneumatic’ chemistry led him to discov when red mercurie ox ide LY the sun’s 8l decomposes into a colorless g ed “dephlogisticated air,” e mer omewhat earlier, per haps, Scheele, In Sweden, independ ently discovered ox and give the name of empyreal air. Short afterward Condorcet suggested the name of vital air. Lavorsier, how ever, was'the first definitely to estab- lish the true character of oxxgen and it was he who first gave it its present name. is heated ray and mahwrlut o (1hx° cause of the r n Brazil last Su. - J. C. K. S A. The following were some of the reforms sought in the uprising In Brazil led by Isadoro Lopez in the state of Sao Paulo in August: Lower taxes, better educational facilitles secret ballot, separation of state and church, reform of the cu ad ministration, prokhibition of interstat imposts, revision of state boundaries to reduce the number states i the republic oms Q1f a guarantee check is certified the signature the ount?>—E. T. L. A. The certification of a check does guarantee the signature of the draw er as well as the amount. Q. Has any city as beautiful sun} ‘n gardens as Portland, Ore?—H. 7T A. Portland is supposed to have the finest sunken gardens in the United States. does as well a Q. When was the Mason and Dix on line established”—D. 0. N A. The Mason and Dixon line was tion States. ““The Man With the Hoe' first Q. Wa published in a book or magazine N T A. Markham's poem was first lished in 1889 in a newspaper. Q. How many vessels our merchant marine?—N. E. A. According to the report of th commissioner of navigation, on June 30, 1924, the merchant marine of the {United States, ncluding all kinds of documented vessels. comprised 26,575 vessels of 17,7465 tons, of which 2,847 of tons were 1,000 to: pub- have we in | | i | | | | lines being plan- | Q. Are regular passenger using ships like the ZR-3 ned’—H. H. L | A. Commercial services using the | large dirigibles are under considera- | tion In several countries. France con- itemplates a line to her African col-| onfes; Spain Is talking of a regular weekly four-day service between Se- | ville and Buenos Aires, and England is projecting a line to India and the Far East. In this country private interests are considering a coast-to- | World Politics’ Revealed at ity of the world are numerous and excellent in the opium conference s Geneva, but probabilities are some- thing else, in the opinion of many American 'editors who express no great amount of optimism in the final outcome, due to the complications of international polities, which many believe looks first to the commercial possibilities and afterward to the morality. “Just how closely humanitarian motives will be affected by the prob- lems of international politics will probably be seen before the opium conference at Geneva finishes its work,” says the Kalamazoo Gazette, which adds: “It is generally accepted now that the drug evil constitutes a world problem and can be effectively combated only by some kind of con- certed action by all the civilized na- tions. So far, every one.of the gov- ernments represented at the Geneva conference seems convinced that the oplum traffic must be drastically curbed, but there is already evident a wide difference of opinion as to what regulating measures should be adopted.” American’ delegates to the confer- ence. headed by _Representative Stephen G. Porter of Pennsylvania, have offered a sweeping program which contemplates the restriction of the growth of the drug-producing plants and the eventual elimination of the traffic entirely. This plan, in the opinion of the Pittsburgh Gazette- Times, something to talk about. Manifestations at Geneva, however, are convincing that the dominating Oriental country and some of the Oc- cldentals are not vet ready to put an | end to the traffic. Japan is more con- | cerned for its right to maintain a | injurious practice. The Chinese gov- ernment {s not capable of fulfilling any prohibition it might decree. Other Asiatic peoples under Western tutelage are indisposed to surrender what seems to them a good thing and their suzerains are reluctant to at- tempt forcible repression. * ¥ ¥ % The economic side of the question bears heavily against the moral side in the opinion of the New York Times, which observes: “In some of the pro- ducing countries the.revenues from opium are large and the number of laborers emploved considerable. But we have ourselves managed to solve such problems at home and we should be willing and able to give a helping hand to others in getting rid of what is incidentally a curse to thousands in this country. In conference the Spokane Spokesman- Review sees ‘“a startling reminder that ‘East is Bast and West is West, [and never the twain shall meet.'” | The discussions in the conference, ac- cording to the Spokesman-Review, have revealed “too plainly that the profitable opium traffic has a power- tul influence in high official circles.” “It should not' escape observation, declares the Providence Journal, that the antagonisms aroused so far at the conference “relate not so much to differsnces of opinion regarding the Possibilities for good to the moral- | the | first surveyed by two Englishmen | Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon retween 1763-1767, in order to estab- sh a defin'te boundary line betweer. | the States of Pennsylvania and Mary - land. Its ~ establishment settled State controversies which lasted more than eighty vears, and its exact Ic cation s 39 degrees 42 minutes ¢ onds north latitude. Q. What city In tha United Stat. has the greatest commission row: R. 8. A. While all cities have such 4 tricts, probably none compares wit} Chicago’s South Water street in siz and In volume of business transacted (The Star Infor answer your question strictly to information. not give advice financial matte to settle domestic dertal nation Bureaw wil This offer applies The bureaw can icgal, medical an: It does not attemp troubles, nor to u e erhaustive vesearch on any sub ject. Write your question plainly anc briefly. G i mame and address anc inclose 2 cents in stamps for retur postage. All replies are sent direct to the inquirer. Address Frederic J. Hask director, The Star Information Burea Twenty-first and C streets northwest.) Dark Side Opium Parley suppression of the opium trafec |they do te charges that present |rangements for handling the business | yield greater pros to one natior than they do to another. In other | words, the question the morality |of the nefarious traffic is being mad, | subsidiary to the q of the | equitable distribution of the profits. A fair solution of the problem, in the opinion of the Brooklyn Eagla, will be one “that gives the recogni tion both to the Caucasian ar Orfental coneeption of the 1 opium, and the effects of its use the two conceptions are very harmonize.” The- Milwaukes | sees hope of ultimate good convention b “it i that for the first time in Turkey and Persia, which hetween them “produce practically 1l the opium used in the manufacture of morphine and herion, are sitting in a |drug control conference.” And 1he {Chicago Daily News beliaves *if ladopted and enforced by the part |pating nations the agreement pro iposed by the United States would constitute a long step toward the suppression of the world-wide trafi |in habit-forming drugs. While mos |nations are unanimous in condemning the evil, they are divided between the {moral and the commercial aspects of actual suppression. The drug evil i condemned in principle, vet the drug traffic continues.” | * * The Pittsburgh Sun nations “that profit by the existin order are traditionally chiefly inter ested in offering a palliative to pro | test.” and that the chief obstacle to & speedy understanding lies in the fact that “when it proposed to estion Journal om the years believes th profitabla trafic than to outlaw an | SUPPress the opium trade they draw up high-sounding declarations con- cluding with the promise to change conditions ‘as soon as practicable.’ The St. Paul Dispatch expresses little hope for tie successful out- come of the Bonference because “The preliminary conference which was to have done much essential spade work, has not only blown up with nothing accomplished, but it has been the scene of a disgraceful brush b, tween the Japanese and British dele- gates, and it has revived in a vio- lent form all of the distrusts and suspicions that seem to be inevitabla | whenever the powers attack the drug problem.” The Cleveland Plain Deal- er also takes this view and re- marks: “What seems like a rather petty squabble between Great Britain and Japan has brought about the failure of the preliminary conference and leads to apprehension that the main conference with the United States participating will fall short of substantially beneficial results.” —————— Some Prosperity. From the New Yerk Herald-Tribune. The Regublican campaign commit tee had several thousand more dol- lars than It needed. Also several million more votes.