Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1924, Page 6

-I'HE - EVENING STAR * With Sunday Morning Edition. . WASHINGTON, D. C. JTHURSDAY. ...December 4, 1924 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Gffice: 110 East 42nd St. ‘Chicag Office: Tower B\Il!dllt Baropean Office : 16 Regent St.,London, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, delivered by carrlers within the ity at 60 cents per month: daily only, 45 €ents per month; Sunday oniy, 20 cents per month, Orders may be sent by mail or tele- Dhove Main 5000. Collection s made by car- riers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70c Daily only.. .1y, $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only.......1¥r, $2.40; 1 mo, 30c All Other States. nd Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only. $7.00; 1 mo., 80c Sunday only.. : Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled %o the se for republication of all news dis- patclies credited to it or not otherwise crodited | o this. paper and also the local news pub ! ed ‘hereln. Al rights of publication of pecial dispatches hereln are also reserved. | rent is paid in the use of such make- for reasons of economy and also to conserve labor and material needed in the prosecution of the war. The Government was even then far in arrears in providing for its building needs. The years that have since elapsed have witnessed a material in- crease in Government activity and enlargement of its personnel, and therefore a more serious congestion than ever, Temporary buildings have been erected, inadequately accommo- dating the Government forces. They are in many cases located in public parks, where they are trespassers and obstacles to the proper uses of the reservations. They are decrepit and unsafe. They should be replaced as speedily as possible. Delay is not economy, but is costly, even when no shift structures on public lands. To include in one measure all of the public requirements would weight it down with a financial obligation too heavy for the Government to carry at present. The Public Build- ing Commission’s bill is framed to meet a particular and an urgent need. Let that bill pass on its merits as the most urgent item of Government need. Then if Congress wishes to| proceed with other expenditures, clearing up site questions and per- The District’s Surplus. Eisewhere in The r today is print: 1 petition which . at the session | Citizens’ Joint Committes of | trict asking action on Senate | bill 703 giving effect to the findings of the joint congressional committee concerning the existence and amount of the accumulated tax surplus to the credit of the District of Columbia 1 the Treasury of the United States. This bill has now passed the Senate and has been approved by the House | District committee. It therefore oc- cuples the position of almost finished Lusiness. It requires only considera- | tion by the House for its enactment | | the text of a was ess last haps providing for constructions in other cities, it may do without prejudice to the major work of fit- ting out the United States with suitable businesslike equipment at th seat of gov e nment, | B The Tax Publicity Decision. In the first judicial decision ren-| dered in the income tax publicity case Judge Reeves of the Federal court at Kansas City holds, first of all, that there has been no violation of law in the publication of the names and amounts paid in taxes, for the reason that the prohibition against publicity that remains in the statute relates to the‘return and not to the sum of the tax, which, in the judg- and for the closing thereby of an account which has been pending for & long time between the District and | the United States. i It is of > utmost importance to| the District that this legislation be | cnacted, for by it a net balance of | $4,433,154.92, which has been declared | by a congressional joint committee | to be legally and morally due the District after all legal and equitable | ndditions and subtractions have been made, will be made available for ap-| propriation to the District's| urgent needs of development. “ E of this surplus as an| equitable credit of the District was established after a thorough inquiry y joint committee, which was in- structed to ascertain what funds were | due the District from the United | States, or due the United States from | the District. The committee found | that the United States had recognized credit items in its favor from time to time in the past and had reim- hursed itself from District revenues. o found that over and above s due the Federal Treasury tisfled by assessments on sev- occasions various sums remain due to the District's credit, mainly in the form of District tax money accumulated without appropriation mnd remaining in the Treasury. The amount stated as the District's final net balance, $4,438,154.92, the joint committee recommended to be made available. The Senate bill 703 was drawn to give effect to that recom- mendation. Tt was passed by the Sen- ate and, as siated, approved by the House District committee. With this bill on the House cal- endar with a favorable report, there remains but little to do. A confer- ence is shortly to be held between the members of the two District com- mittees to determine a program of Jocal legislation for this session, with items arranged in the order of merit. Surely at the top of the list should be placed this bill, which is so nearly cnacted, which when passed will set- tle a question of long standing and will release for immediate use money that belongs to the District and which Congress has withheld from appro. priation, The passage of this bill will make possible, for example, the beginning of a comprehensive school building program, denied thus far on the score of lack of funds. But whatever use may be made of it, the final and formal setllement of this credit of District money is an act of equi h Congress should no longer deny. Passage of Senate Dill 703 is merely the last act of a procedure initiated by Congress with a formal avowal of tfinancial obligation by a joint com- smittee which gave full consideration 10 every conceivable Federal offset Rgainst the District’s claim. —————— meet istence a A ‘“quiet Inauguration” will not satisfy the American citizens who .enjoy making applause, regardiess of ihe modesty of the person in whose Lonor it is raiged. There may be a slight difficulty in reading a man out of the party” without unduly advertising him, e The Public Building Bill. It is unfortunate that a disposition | Prevails in the Senate to block the | bill which provides for the erection | of a series of public bulldings in ‘Washington for the use of the Gov- ernment by seeking to amend it to «<arry many other items relating to Federal building projectsin the States. As the matter now stands the bill, which is recommended by the Public Buildings Commission, remains on the calendar with amendments proposed providing for constructions in all sparts of the country where sites have heen already purchesed. *'‘The commission’s bill provides for © tota] expenditure of $50,000,000, not more than $10,000,000 in one year, eovering a period of five years. The yrogram contemplates constructions which are imperatively neededsby tie Government for the proper transac- tion of public business and which will save the United States a large sum of money in rentals now paid for inadequate accommeodations. It is true that the United States ! tated. | ment of the court, is not a part of the return. The “return” of the tax- payer to the Treasury consists of a | statement - of his income, profits, losses and expenditures and the sources of income, together with | claims for allowances. He computes ' for his own convenience and guid-| ance a figure of tax according to his | understanding of the law and of the equities of his statement. That com- putation, however, is not a part of the return, in the opinion of Judge Reeves. It may be rejected by the Treasury, which, in @ny case, makes | its own computation of the amount | payable in tex. That computation is | final. | The act of Congress of last May | directs the preparation and opening | to public inspection of lists contain-| ing the names and post office addresses | of the persons making income tax re- | turns, together with the amount of tax paid. This preserves the distinc- | tion between the amount of the tax and the return, the former being open to inspection and the latter be-| ing held in confidence, with a penalty for its publication in any manner. Thus the court rules, and soundly, that publication of the amount of the tax is not a violation of the prohibition | against the publication in whole or in | part of the return. If, however, says | Judge Reeves, the amount of the tax is to be regarded as a part of the re- turn and is to be opened for public | inspection. denial of the right of pub-! lication of the tax assessments by the newspapers is a violation of the first amendment to the Constitution, which | forbids the curtailment of the free- dom of speech and of the press. In short, rules the court, if the amount of the tax as published by the newspapers is not a part of the re- turn, there is no violation of the statute, whereas if the amount of the tax is to be construed as part of the return and is open to public inspec- tion, prohibition of its publication is a violation’ of the Constitution. That permission for public inspec- tion of tax payments is tania- mount to permission of publication is obvious, for any other construction of the law reduces it to absolute ab- surdity. Under such a construc- tion any individual citizen might in- spect the records for his own personal satisfaction, but would be prohibited from telling any one by word of mouth or by letter any mname or amount which he has noted on the.list. He might make a memorandum of names and amounts and yet could not show that memorandum to any one, for such action would constitute publica- tion. Or if oral publication could be made with impunity he might broad- cast by radio, whereas broadcasting by print would be punishable. It was clearly the purpose of Con- gress to permit not only the public inspection of the tax lists, but the publication of such lists for public in- formation. Newspaper publication is the only practical method of public in- spection of the records. If the individ- ual can inspect the lists and the press cannot print the information which he thereby derives, freedom of the press is denied and the Constitution is vio- | | | | Such is the clear reasoning and the unescapable deduction of the court at Kansas City. The United States, mak- ing a test, will carry the case to the | Supreme Court for final decision. Meanwhile, at the instance of the President, a move will be made to re- | peal the publicity clause of the statute. ——————— In case of “another war,” fought | in the air, it may be a relief to find that the big battleship we destroyed | would have been, had it insisted on participating, more of a hindrance than a help, ' ————— Solve the Traffic Problem! At the meeting of the House Dis- trict committee yesterday evidence appeared that the subject of the traffic situation in Washington will be promptly and thoroughly consid- ered. The hope is that action will follow and that it will insure correc- tion of the evils from which the Capital is now suffering. A traffic court, more severe pen- alties for certain violations, such as Government is far behind in its build- ing ‘meeds all over the country. During the war permanent public driving while intoxicated and failing to report accidents; provisions against the escape of justice through for- | timately econcerned | lawmaker | streets of the ition as a means of public education. { The words of eloquent acclaim feiture of collateral and Festrictions upon the issuance of licenses to car drivers are, coupled with the absolute necessity of more traflic - regulating policemen, the chief and particularly urgent needs. A bill embracing these provisions should be easy to frame and should command favorable con- sideration at an early date. Preparation of a remedial measure should net be delayed by discussions over traffic rules. There are wite differences of opinion respecting some of the regulations in force in the District and some of the prac- tices in thelr enforcement. These rules, however, may be modified by the Commissioners, with only 30 days’ delay in enforcement. The traffic sit- uation is urder constant study by a board of officials competent to judge the specific conditions. Action by Congress is not required. But actlon by Congress is required for the establishment of a traffic court and the imposition of jail pen- alties and the prevention of collateral forfeiture and the restriction of licenses by, imposing conditions to insure a greater degree of responsi- bility, Delay in the enactment of such a law assuredly means further accidents, an increase of the death roll and further public demoraliza- tion. This is a matter in member of Congress is hally. in for District’ are themseives subject to dangers which the Capital. They may bet expected, therefore, to view this as | their problem as well as that of the District, and to speed the search for a salution and its enactment into law. which every the the prevail in Twenty Years a Librarian. In honoring Dr. George F. Bower- man upon the completion of his first twenty years of service as librarian of the District Public Library, the people of the District last night at- tested to their appreciation of the ad- vantages and services of this institu- Dr. Bowerman's sertice as the head of | the Library has covered almost its entire history as an organic estab- lishment with a suitable housing. In | these two decades the Library has! grown in many’ ways—in the number of volumes, in branches and in use by | the people. Its circulation of books has increased to a remarkably high | percentage of utilization. i The value of a public institution of this kind is measured by the use to which it is put, and Washington has | shown its appreciation of this facility for instruction and enlightenment. In | marking the end of the second decade | of his service it not only honors Dr. Bowerman but it attests to its own | comprehension of this service. | The development of the Public| Library has not been gained with-| out struggle. It has required constant | argument to secure needful appropri- | ations for maintenance and develop- | ment, and particularly to obtain the | necessary funds for cquipping the | branches which have been made pos- | sible by the generosity of the Car-, Jacobs Bond, May Singi Breen and|we know it negie Foundation, following the initial | Peg Wannamakef—and the new tea ' account. gift of a central building by M. Car-| negle. Congress, however, has bce“l tully persuaded at last of the public need in this respect, thanks to the| large and increasing use of the Li- brary by the people, which has been to & great cxtent the result of the efficient labors of the librarian. | The tomb of old King Tut brought | forward some interesting points *in | ancient history, but it contributes no | records whatever with practical - ing on an interesting modern crisis. | — s Question is persistently raised as to | whether the Volstead act is a failure. | No doubt remains, however, that the man who too industriously violates it is going to be one. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Poet and Plasterer. I used to vow I would not be A hireling slave; I'd fain be free. I'm willing now— And you'll agree— My cash to save. 1 long to sec A chance somehow Put up to me, To claim, quite brave, A plasterer’s Tee. Hauteur. “Why don’t you speak to our boy Josh about his conduct?”’ asked Mrs. Corntossel. “I'd like to,” replied the farmer, “only “Josh is gettin’ so kind o' high and haughty, I'm not sure we're on epeakin’ terms.” The Clothes and the Lady. The pretty garments she so. much admires Have doomed her to a sense of strange unrest. As Art assumes, prescribing her at- tires, That she's most heauteous when she’'s most undressed. Jud Tunkins says in too many cases patriotism takes a holiday when | a man is making his income tax re- turn, Reliability. “Do you think the financial powers are misleading us?” “‘Not once,” answered Miss Cayenne. “When they tell us prices are going up the promise always comes true.” Eagle and Hen. Impress us more or less, Yet some obscurely play the game ‘With tangible success. The Eagle is as fine a bird As yet there ever wuz. The eggs of otr old Hen, we've heard, Bring ninety cents per doz. “Dar’s @ limit to what )Iumu\l smartness kin do,” sald Uncle’ Eben. “De world turns around. once every twenty-fo' hours an’ dar ain’'t no ef- ficiency expert dat kin make it go any faster.” » {deed done us by a friend {change a tear to a grin.” | | Senators, of course, knew its contents THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. It will be better for us in the long run to leave behind a trafl of kindness than to have placed our full quota of footprints in the sands of time. The sandy footsteps may mess up our living room rug and bring down upon our unsuspecting head the just wrath of a very busy housewife. A trail of kindness, however, leaves only a sweet taste in the mouths of all those who come after. Like the odor of pines permeating the cool atmos- phere of a Maine woods, this fragrance lingers with us always. We may be so mean as yet there wlil come a time fuint, far-flung ordor will with a start, to the memory to forget, when the recall us, of a good Inasmuch as we have done good deeds to others we will be measured, not in the stature of heavenly things, but in the fullness of time and in the inner consclence of ourselves. This is one of the surest things in the world, that none of us can get away from ourselves or fool the best In us. That still, small vice in every decent | man and woman calls out at the most unlikely times, and in the least suspect- ed places, to tell us when we are wrong or when we are right. . The very fact that a decent man feels that something is wrong is proof of the existence of that wrong. Others question him loudly, and ask for but he needs none and conscience One wan has a six-tube ‘‘super tube, however, functions just | the sawe in both sets. The mystic mes- | sages from 2,000 miles away are strug- | £ling to get ta you on your single.tube, but unless you have the necessary am- plification you cannot hear them. There is not a day passes but each one of us misses Some opportunity to do @ kindness to another. Our sins of omission are many thnes greater in number than our misdeeds, although, no doubt, it Is true that they may not be as serious as many of the latter. If the number of kind deeds which we might have done but did not care to do were made into pearls, shining with a strange translucence, and put upon a string about our meck, | surely most of us would bear a chain longer and Leavier than Marley's ghost lunked into Old Scrooge's chamber. | And the name of some of those | pearls would be: i | “The chance you had to bfing a| smile to a litile child.” | “The opportunity you let slip by to | “The praise vyou withheld for meritorious work.” “The hand you refused to reach out | to a fallen brother.” i “The hand vou refused to save a fallen enemy. “The word of thanks you failed to send to the man who pleased you.” Alas, the joker in all this is that these things we might have done— | but did not do—were such little | things, so easily performed that at | the time they seemed inconsequen- | tial it is only as weelook back upon hem that they loom large in the eves of conscience. * lite to | o All you radio fans: How many times have you resolved to take your pen in hand to write to stations WCAP and WR{ —and how many| times have vou actually done it? Think back over all the events broadcast do not like the word “radic —~by WCAP — important addresses, Lase ball games, wonder- ful symphony concerts—Mrs. Carrie WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Delivery of the President's message | by proxy Is not a very thrilling per- formance. Mr. Coolidge’'s recent en»l eyclical to Congress, droned to House and Senate by offictal reading clerks, was attentatively received, but evok- ed nothing savoring either of emotion or enthusiasin. Representatives and beforehand, for advance coples of presidential messages are in the hands of privileged persons several days before “release.” In the Senate both floor and galleries heard the message amid that decorum and un- broken silence which customarily give dignity to proceedings in the upper chamber. In the House, which considers itself more human, mild ap- plause punctuated the message at three or four points. On one occasion the acclalm was Ironical. It came from the Democrats. They chortled over President Coolidge's statement that a special commission is Investi- gating the Navy's oil problem, with a | view to safeguarding the reserve sup- plies. s Westward, the star of senatorial empire steadily takes its way. Pow- erful committee chairmanships, with few exceptions, are now in the hands of men from the Mississippi Valley and the plains. Borah of Idaho sup- plants Lodge of Massachusetts at the head of forelgn relations. Johnson of California succeeds Colt of Rhode Island . as chief of the immigration committee. Cummins of lowa takes the place of Brandegee of Connecti- cut as leader of judiclary. With Nor- ris of Nebraska as chairman af agri- culture and forestry, Warren of Wyo- ming chairman of appropriations, Stanfleld of Oregon chairman of civil service, Capper of Kansas chairman of claims, Jones of Waahington chair- man of commerce, Phipps of Colo- rado chairman of education and labor, Smoot of Utah chairman of finance, and three or four minor committees also headed by Westerners, the great open spaces have come into their own in the United States Senate with a bounding vengeance. To crown their domination, Dawes of Illinois will preside after March 4, 1925, while Curtis of Kansas already is majority leader. * ok % In the House the Western country will be most, though not quite, as strongly entrenched as in the Senate. Middle Western men (Long- | worth, Madden and Burton) are the leading candidates for the Speaker- ship and numerous influential com- mittees will continue to be headed; by Midwestern or Western Repre- sentatives. Agriculture, appropria- tions, immigration, insular affairs, military affairs, mines and mining, patents, pensions, public lands, rafl- ways and canals, roads, territories, war claims and ways and means are some of the major committees whose chafrmen hail from Western States. The predominance of the West in Congress may influence President Coolidge to give the East the lion's share of executive plums when the cabinet is remade next year. EE TR John C. Crockett, reading clerk of the Senate, who presented the Presi- dent’s message to that body, was once clerk of the Supreme Court of Tows. He came to Washington many years ago_under the wing of Senator 1in life he will realize, |could have been | mination { Rochester by his first name, | participate in the 1925 maneuvers of THURSDAY, D and_dinner music being broadeast by WRC, and the fine work of Austin Clark and Madge Beck from the lat- re some of the’ artists I listened to with the greatest pleasure, yet have I ever written in to thank the stations or the broad- | casters? Just once, Ought I mot to be hearily ashamed of myself? I cer- tainly should, and am. The only con- solation is that perhaps not,a one who Is reading here, and who has Iistened in, too, has dons much better. We are ro used to accepting what comes over the air that we fall to thank those who provide this enter- tainment for us, “ Certainly we ought to broaden our trail of kindness by writing to the broadcast stations and telling them when something pleases us—and re- fraining from “panning"” every little thing that does not exactly strike our fancy. The chances for little kindnesses in the daily life of each one of us are very many, but we must be on the lookout for them or they will dis- appear more completely than Long- fellow's arrow. - Like his song, the kind thing we do or say today we will find long afterward in the heart of a friend. * ok ok % At home the chances for commenda- | tion are just as many as t oppor. tunities for condemnatio Many parents, however, fail to realize thia, what with busin and household cares. Johnny's report card bearing Es excites little comment in the home ! circle, but just let John bring home a “Poor” on his deportment, and then | the dicKens is to pay. | “John,” wails mother, “why is it that you get such a poor mark in your deportment?” “Teacher says I talk too much.”" “But why don't the other boys get| such a bad mark, too?" “Teacher always catches me."” That evening a most solemn con- clave is held in the library. Father looks omnious over his gold-rimmed | spectacles. The defaleation of a| favorite clerk in his business estab- lishment could not worry him more. Johnny is brought in and given a | ®ood lecture, the net result of which | is that Johnny s made to feel that| he is pretty much of a criminal. | In his heart Johnny knows that he | has done nothing very wrong. Later looking back- ward, that there was a good deal of bunk In that attitude of his pa ts. | But at the time he resents it with only a dull feeling of hurt. And Johnny is perfectly right. He has been treated as an incipient criminal, when he should have been treated as | a son. ! He should have been taken out on/ the lot for a game of bali, and in| the course of that exercise a place found for a fews gentle rdmarks on too much talking | before the teeacher That would win Johnny's heart, and | set him right. But as things are, he Zoes back to school with the deter- to stop talking out in the | open, and do like some of the others —do his talking on the sly On street cars every day passengers have opportunities to be kind to other passengers. Do they take them? They | do not. They step on their toes, or | push them with their elbows, | In offices not a day goes by but one | gets many chances to do good deeds, to say kind words, to leave in the nostrils of others the pleasant in-| cense of kindness. Maybe the world | is waiting for the sunrise, but, while | we wait, let us make the worid, as| . & bit brighter on our own | s classics to the four walls of the cham- ber. Crockett acquitted himself best, | and has held the job ever since. The reading clerk of the House is the stentorian Patrick J. Haltigan, whose magnus vox rose majestically over all | the torrentd of dissension at Democratic nattonal confusion Madison Square Garden last Haltigan fis president of the Name Soclety of the archdjoces: Baltimore, and was the organizer-in- | chief of the vast national convention of that body in Washington in Sep- tember. the | in | June. | Holy | e of | | * x % % i Gilbert M. Hitchcock, former United | States Senator from Nebraska, is be- | Ing groomed by certain Democratic leaders as the likeliest man in sight, to become chairman of the national committee and Hck the party's shat- | tered legions into shape. These plans are based on the supposition that Clem L. Shaver of West Virginia has | no hankering to remain at his post of transitory glory. The Democrats have drawn up specifications for the national chairmanship, which indicate that the choice of the right man bristles with diffculties. They de- | mand in the first place that he be | a big man—big enough to be Presi- i {dent—but a self-denying man. whe | Wil not try to become President. | Then it {8 required that he shall be a | neutral man, by which is meant a | stern Impartiality as between the Mc- Adoo and Al Smith factions of the ;Ullh!!ortr:‘ and bleeding cohorts who | oug emselves to vi - stll in New York, ~ ° D2Vl stand * % % % Representative Meyer Jacobstei the big Rochester, N. Y., district, 1o 1n the Smith-Donahey-Capper class of big vote-getters in the recent elec- tions. Jacobstein, who is a Democrat, carried Rochester City and ten coun- try towns by 30,000, while Coolldge carried them by a majority of slight- ly under 30,000 and Gov. Smith lost them by 10,000. The Rochester con- gressional contest eliminated the Ku Klux Klan issue with a vengeance, Jacobstein is a Jew and his Republi. an opponent was John McInerney, a Roman Catholic. The young Repre. sentative, now re-elected for a second ! term, knows nearly evervbody in for he once was a newsboy on its streets, * ook ok The Navy Department has invited American newspaper editors, repre- senting all sections of the country, to the fleet in the Pacific. Witbur and Admiral Eberl there’'s no better way of “selling” th Navy to the people than to lll.\": th: molders of public opinfon see it in action. Editors who attended the Panama maneuvers last year were delighted with thelir experience, and many of them expect to accompany the fleet to Hawail-next year. bre ent plans contemplate departure of the editorial party from San Fran- clsco on April 15. Accommodations, which will have to be limited to 60 persons, will be furnished aboard ships of the fleet instead of aboard a transport, as was the case last year. When the fleet proceeds to Australia the editorial guests will be returned to the United States on passenger liners. Secretary e belleve Willlam B. Allison. Former Repre- sentative Charles G. Bennett of Brooklyn was then Secretary of the Senate. Thers was such a competition for the reading-clerkship that Ben- nett decided to put all candidates through their elocutionary paces. He had. them read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Farewell Address of Washington and other fiat.orlcu (Copyright, 1924.) | pression. |erences art knows ! the best—his | great unless imentat character. |of art. for the artist himself learns | through comparison. | with |To an artist art is never “shop”; no {ever, | these enthusiasts nothing | & man of great gift and promise, who That Appealing March. From tbe Boston Transeript. ' President Coolidge wants no inaug- ural ball, but does not object to a grand march to the C-’lwk The North Window BY Lml-ll' Speaking of Anatole France, the Abbe Dimnet, who recently lectured here under the auspices of the Wash- ington Society of the Fine Arts, said that he fell short of greatness be- cause he put out his work into the world without regard to the effect it would have either upon those of to- day or succeeding generations. Here is a standard of greatness not fre- quently employed within the fleld of art. How many artists think of their art in terms of relationship to their fellow men? Probably few. Writers doubtless, more than painters or sculptors, have felt charged with a mission, but when this has been the | case in most instances it must be confessed that the product has suf- fered in quality, Wilkle Collins wrote | the majority of his novels with the | purpose of correcting evils in the | life of his day, but Wilkie Collins’ ' name has today almost lost its gla mour. - Hogarth painted pictures the purpose of which was to call atten- tion to follies and weaknesses in the social life of his generation, but as an artist it is his portraits which give him rank. Ten chances to one, when Rembrandt painted biblical subjects it was not with the intentlon of mak- ing the Bible more widely known, but becaues the subject in itself of- fered dramatic and artistic possibili- | tles. It would be foolishness to sup- pose that Corot rose at dawn and | painted his exquisite lyric land- scapes because he thought they would sweeten the life of those who saw them. No, art i8 produced primarily through the urge to give expression | to the voices of the spirit * ok ok % The great artist glories in produc- tion, though creation may not come easy. Art Is a thing in itself and is sufficient unto itself. Only can it be regarded as a means to an end when it is considered as a medium of ex- It is an intangible thing, inexplicable, vet unmistakable. rano de Bergerao was an artlst had the power of beautiful expres- sion. This was what Rostand meant us to understand when he created this amazing character. It is the di- vine gift, portrayed by a half dozen sentences in the use of words, the slightest sketch, a few bars of mu. sic—and there you are; and it has the Dower with those who recognize 0 cal ort! h e nd oretl forth the keenest delight * Xk & % But to an extent the Abbe Dimnat | was right. Great artists have a pride | in thejr art «nd do not send out| Into the world the children of their | brain half-clothed or in horrifying | ugliness. Such disregard for public | ovinion is more than half the trou- | ble with the so-called modern art of | today. As Chaliapin, the Russian singer, said in an interview published | in The Star some weeks ago, there | s a tendency among the younger | Beneration to do their practicing in | public, to think that anything is good enough that can be “put over, | whereas the great artist who rev- | that nothing but | best or her best—is g00d enough for the people. | Great art will never have a detri- | mental effect, because art cannot be i£ true, and the truth need never be feared. Furthermore, | neither a great painter nor a great | sculptor will ever want to send out | into the world that which is merely | ugly, for ugliness In itself is an offense to those who love art. Some- | times, to be sure, ugliness may be so | mitigated by strength that it becomes | almost beauty. but this is a different matter. As Challapin has said, the scientlst does not give out his experi- | ment until it has become successful, | until it is completed, yet much of the | Dpaifting that we seo today in exhi- bitfons is essentially of an experi- Perhaps this is to the development almost eseential * k¥ % or perhaps one should say a socfable, profession, and yet the great artists in almost every instance have been men or women who were capable of standing alone, who produced more or less in isola- tion, who mixed comparatively little their fellow men and hav taken but small part in public affair This is not to be interpreted, how- ever, as lack of public spirit, but rather absorption in their own fleld. subject is as Interesting, as absorb- ing: hence with those who do not speak his language he is dumb. De- lightful are the conversations, how- hich go on behind “north win- dows"—studio talk. And if to the layman-listener it would seem that to mattered but that which the brush of the painter or the hand of the sculptor could bring into existence, he must remember that it is through these gifted few, that permanent beauty s added to the world. What would the world be today 1t { all art were blotted out? A dreary place indeed. There would be no Gothlc cathedrals, no Parthenon, no Venus de Milo, no Victory of Samo- thrace, no paintings by Rembrandt, or Rubens, or Van Dyck, or Titlan, or Raphael, or Michelangelo; here in our city no Lincoln Memorial, no great Capitol building, no fine resi- dences, no_sculpture in our public parks, no Dupont or McMillan foun- ains, no Library of Congress, with fine mural paintings: and in our homes no beautiful furniture or hand-wrought silver, no pottery and porcelain—a strange place indeed. * ok % Anatole Le Braz, the Breton poet, told at a luncheon given in New York some years ago of a Breton palnter, had been blinded in the war. He had been in the habit of going to the painter's studio, and, learning of his misfortune, he called upon him—a friend desired to purchase one of his works. The painter, sightless and broken in health, greeted him cheer- {ly and asked him to select the paint- ing that he thought his friend would desire. The tragedy of the painter's! misfortune pressed %o heavily upon | the_poet's heart that emotion found it: vay into his voice. “Do not pity me,” the painter said with perfect calmness; “It is of little consequence that one painter should lay down his brush; the great thing is that art should go on—that is what matters. ‘Weep not for me. * ¥ ok ok In a clty in Florida is living today an artist who for 10 or 15 years has been crippled by rheumatic gout. Now he has to be lifted from his bed to a wheel chair. The joints of his arms and fingers are bent a4 stif- fened; he is & great sufferer. But through his instrumentality an art museum association has been formed in that city and the spirit of art is kept alive. He was trained as an architect, but in these later years he has taken to painting. Referring to a sketoch made reoently, he said in a letter to a friend: ‘“Mrs. L. says it is the best thing I have done. She evidently sees what I tried to express and which to date scemed to fail me. You must not expect much from my works; if only you get an inkling of what I am trying to say and hope to more legibly some day I will be sat- isfled.” Here i3 an artist, further- more, who has not been satisfled with mere production. Gathering around him the boys and young men, has let them know what art means to him and bas given to them new meaning in life, not because he wished to improve them, but because he instinctively wished to hand on to others his own joyous emotions. This, after all, is the wellspring of art, | tion—number, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J]. HASKIN Q. How can any one reach the Animal Rescue Farm?—O. P. A. The Humane Education Society, which maintains the Animal Rescue Farm, gives the following directions for persons desiring to go there: It is best to go to the Congressional Country Club by way of Bradley lane and Wisconsin avenue, and when this point is reached make a sharp turn to the right, go to the village of Potomac and continue on this road for two and one-half miles. The farm is located on the right- hand side of River road. There is a sign over the gate. Q. How should the name of Gen. Lejeune be pronounced?—A. J. A. The popular pronunciation this country is Luh zhoon. in Q. What is the name of the Saint Gaudens statue in Rock Creek | Cemetery?—E. F. G. A. It is correctly called the “Adams Memorial.” Saint Gaudens had no intention of symbolizing “grief” in designing the figure. He said that to him it represented the soul face to face with the greatest of life’s questions—"If a man dle shall he live again?” Q. Does the stock the L 8. A Bureau of Fisheries Potomac with bass?—V The Bureau of Fisheries savs that the bureau stocks the Potomac River yearly with bass from Cumber- land to Mount Vernon. Q. here did President Harding speak on the transportation problem on his last trip West?—S. D. B. A. The speech was made at Kansas City, Mo., on June 22, 1923. Q. Have you any figures on the growth the radio business?— B. R. F. A One of large radio com- panies in 18 annual report shows gross sales of radio equipment for the last three calendar vears as follows: 1921, $1,468,919; 1922, $11,286,489; 1923, $22,465,090, Q. Are many st by motors?—B. M. V. A. It s stated by Lloyds that motor-ship construction now repre- sents about one-third of the entire ship building of the world, with some 800,000 tons now being built. The United States has 66 motor ships of | over 1,000 tons. Q. Have wolves ever been used as | sled teams instead of dogs?—D. I S. . An Ontario trapper, Joe La Flame, Is reported to have a team of timber wolves which he has broken and trained to draw a sled. Q. What ducted by W, T, A. The director of the census lists the major inquiries made by I bureau under three heads, social, in- dustrial and fiscal. Social: Popula- distribution, composi- tion and characteristics: occupations; the blind and deaf; institutional popu. lation—dependent, defective and de linquent classes; births; deaths: mar riage and divorce, religious bodies. Industrial: Manufactures: agriculture quarries and oil and gas electrical industries—light and power stations, electric raflways, tel- ephones and telegraphs; flsheries; transportation by water. Fiscal Wealth, public indebtedness and tax ation: financial statistics of States and cities. In addition periodic in- quiries are made, including: Survey of current business; production, con- sumption and stocks of cotton: num ber and activity of cotton spinners cottonseed and cottonseed products stocks of leaf tobacco: animal and vegetable fats and olls; wool con- sumption and stocks; activity of wool machinery Q. How many jails are there investigations are con- the Census Bureau?—W. in | the country?—C. T. J. A. There are 3,693 county and city jails and workhouses in the Unitel | States. Q. Is there such a thing as .a practical motor cycle with one wheel?—C. W. Defends Sales Method. Writer Says Houseto-House Callers Are Fair. To the Editor of The Star; Under the caption “Housewives ‘Warned to Beware of Peddlers,” in your issue of the 28th November, port remarks that were allegedly made by “George M. Roberts, District super- | intendent of weights and measures,” in which he is made to say: “It {s unreasonable to believe great factories are established and an army of agents and venders sent throughout the country solely for the purpose of saving money for the people. “These agents speciaiize in dealing with women, who they believe will ac- at face value the statements made. eddlers of this type,” Mr. Roberts sald, “are not licensed by the District.” 1s it not misleading to group together peddlers of the swindling and deceitful type with the law-abiding local repre- sentatives of well known reliable manu- facturing concerns which deal directly with the people through the medium of reputable salesmen and salesladtes. un- der the slogan of “Frem Factory Consumer,” or some such term? Is it not perfectly within the law to | to house for | solicit orders from ho wearing apparel, hoslery, etc., as it is to take orders for groceries, magazines, newspapers, books or any of the neces- sitles or luxuries of life? And for this no license is required by any commu- nity which {s not hampered by short- sighted locai ordimances which forbld such liberties by prohibitive license fees. s it agreeable to the man or woman who seeks a lawful living by this means of going from house to house to receive insults from ill-advised people who seem to indulge the thought that they are & “nuisance,” and that they have no right to work for thelr bread at this un- enviable calling? Are there not local dealers whose wares can be looked on with doubt? And are there not salespeople in many of our stores who are conscienceless about their statements which they | expect the gullible people to “accept at face value?” Are there not merchants, who, if not commanding it, nevertheless ex- pect their salespeople to deal in “trade lies” to deceive the people and | to make sales? And these merchants, do they mot buy their goods largely through salesmen, who go from store to store to solicit trade? And from out of town, too, and do these mer- chants conduct their business “solely for the purpose of saving money for the people?” There are millions upon millions of dollars going out of thls com- munity annually in insurance pre- miums, say to New York Clty, and it is not permitted to return to the| communities out of which the State of New York is being enriched, no, not even in first trust mortgages— the State’s people alone get this benefit, and we hear not a single word | of_complaint! But when a few ple who must find something to do to obtain an honest livelihood—and a legal one at that, by geing from house to house, & great hue and cry is raised against them! Some day, some of those who now sink out of sight in their deeply cushioned chairs to read a newspaper brought to their house by some industrious newsboy, may be glad to earn an honest penny by this means, when perhaps no other avenue is open to them. Let the other have a decent chanc to earn a decent living. S. A. WHITE. industrious peo- ps now being run| you re-| to | | A. An Itallan ' policeman named Gislaghi has invented such a unieycle which he calls a veloelta. It is also known as a motormota. It consists |of a large pueumatic tire ana an in ner hoop of steel which carries the driving mechanism and the driver | while the tire moves around it. !x Q. l“('lhn 1; duralumin and who nvented 1t? Is it i iaxsat a kind of steel? A. Duralumin is an alloy of cop- per, manganese and magnesium with | &bout 94 per cent of aluminum and was first made by Alfred Wilm in | Germany In the development of the Zeppelin airships. It is not a kind t steel. ? Q. What is the Zodiacal light?— 0. L. M, . A. The sun is circled by a ring of matter, somewhat like the rings of Saturn, and extending into space for { more than 100 million miles, which 18 known 1, usironomers as the | Zodiacal light. | Q. Is it bad for the hands to wash them frequently in cold weath- er?—C. H. P. A. Some skin specialists say that if your skin gets dry and harsh in cold water you should wash vour hands as little as possihle, avoiding strong soap and hot water and drying | them quickly and thoroughly Q. How long should a tent last? —B. ¥ B A. The Bureau of Chemistry says that white untreated canvas, such i is used for tents, remai: servicea’ for from one to five yvears, or occa sionally longer, depending upon its { quality, the conditions under which | it 1s used and the care taken to keep it from mildewing. | Q. Is it possible to see Saturn's rings with a 68-power telescope?— gic A. The Naval Observatory says & power of 20 diameters has sufficed to show the rings of Saturn, but in gen- { eral, a power of at least 50 diameters | should be used. | Q. How does the highest temperature | in Australia_compare with the highest in the United States”—T. G. L. A. The temperature in Australia has reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit, while in southern California the highest tempera- ture, 134 degrees Fahrenheit, was ob- served Q. With whom did hydrotherapy orig inate?—C. L. T A. Hydrotherapy, e use of water as a remedy in the cure of sickness, was largely employed by Hippocrates ir the treatment of many kinds of disease t is mentioned by Horace, who speaks of the physiclan of Emperor Augustus using this method for the treatment of {ailments throughout the middle ages ikewise there were many practitionere | who used hydrotherapy. In 1820 Vincent | Priessnitz began & new era for the water cure. The undoubted merits of hydro- therapy called to its defense many men of standing in the profession who becam interested and studied it scientifical and from their advocacy has sprung up the school of hydropathic physicians. Dr. | Winternitz of Germany, in 1883, laid | down the scientific principles of modern | hydrotherapy Q. What does Kris Kringle mean” —M.EW. Originally {t meant Christ Child. om the German diminutive form indel. Tt is commonly used now as Santa Claus. Q. What was the quickest nine-inning game ever plased in major league base ball—W. W. Q A The shortest game on record was played in New York by National League | teams on September 28, 1919, The game {lasted 51 minutes, and the score was { New York 6, Philadelphia 1. (Readers of The Evening Star should end their questions to The Star In | formation Bureau, Frederie J. Haskin. director, Twenty-first and C_streets northwest. The only charge for this sert ice is £ cents in stamps for retwrn post age.) VITAL THEMES How to Avoid Oil Scandals. | BY IDA M. TARBELL, Author of the History of the Stardard Oil Company. Waste is not merely letting the gas burn when not needed or throwing | fresh bread into the garbage can: it | worst form is doing a thing in an | amateurieh, round-about way wher | a proved direct way is at hand. | ~ Take the oil scandal—we'll be talk- Ing it for some time yet! When Al- bert Fall, Secretary of the Intesior decided that the Navy should open its oil reserves, in order, as he claims, to get money to bulld storage for Navy oll, he devised a method of do- ing the thing which has put him and all those connected with him under grave suspicion. A substantial ground for this suspicion, generally over- looked outside of oil circles, is that Mr. Fall's own department has de veloped in the last 25 years a method of opening to the public oil lands un der Government control which daes all Mr. Fall says he wanted to ac complish, and does it without scanda or favoritism He had under his nose a brilllant example of what can be done by this method in the fairness and efliciency with which the oil lande of the Osage Nation are admintstered by his de- partment The Osage Indians own 1,600,000 acres of land—much of it ofl produc- ing. Blocks of leases are offered an- nually at public auction by the Gov- ernment’s agent. Thirty days before the sale accurate descriptions of the leases are scattered through the ofl world. The highest bidder gets the lease. Tn March of this year 52,000 acres were bid in at a sale, netting the Osages $14,000,000 in bonuses. Thirty-five days after this auction the first well was spouting and their royvalties began. Mr. Fall must have known that this has been going on for 22 years, and that In this time the Osages have re- ceived from bonuses and royalties more than $142,000,000. Under this system of gradual development they will have oll leases to auction off for { many years, and for many more they will be recelving a steady Income from royalties. But Mr. Fall says that he did not want to advertise the naval leases— he wanted to sell them secretly, in order that nobody would know that storage tanks were bullding in the Hawailan Islands. He could hardly have taken a better way to advertise that fact! | Under the approved and what ws | may call the legal way there would | have been at least a chance of se- irecy nmder hie m-thod there wasn't [ the ghost of a chance. My, Full's proc wue was the acme | of wastefulness—granting that he turned over the naval reserves for |the reasons he gives. It would have been hard to improve on the way his department was handling similar cases.” It would have been hard to |1ay out a more ineffective—and stu- pider—way than the one he took. (Copyright, 1924.) Speed Limit Only. From the Los Angeles Times. X They don’t need parking restric- tions on the road to ruin.