Evening Star Newspaper, January 2, 1925, Page 6

'8 THE EVENING STAR, 'WASHINGTON, 'D. O, FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1925, THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ¥RIDAY..ces...January 2, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busivess Office, 11th Kt. and Pennaylvanis Ave. New Yori: Offce: 110 Fast ind St Chicago Office: Tower Building. [European Office: 16 Regent St.,London, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, ia delivered by carriers within the city ‘at 60 cents per month: daily only cents per month; Sunday only. month. Orders may be sent by Dlions Matn 5000, Collection fs m Tiers at the end of each month. e by car- Rate by Mail—Payable in Advauce. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1 yr, $8.40; 1 mo, T0c Daily only. . 1yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50¢ | Sunday only i1yr., $2.40; 1 mo,, 20¢ All Other States Daily and Sunday.1 yr, $10.60: 1 mo., $5¢ Dally only.......1¥r, $7.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only......1yr., $3.00;1mo, 26c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusiyely entitled to the use for republication of all news diu- | Patches credited to 1t or not ofherwise credited | in this paper and also the local news pub- | lished “hereln. ° All rights of publication of | epecial dispatches hercin ace also reserved. The French Debt. The matter of the French debt to the United States incurred in the great war has been discussed somewhat by conflicting storfes and statements emanating | from both sides of the Atlantic. One | fact alone has been clear in the course | of this discussion, Which is that the | Tnited States will not remit the debt. | while it will not insist upon harsh terms of payment embarrass France by undue pressure. It has also been plain that this Government will not permit dictation by other powers respecting the settlement of the obligation of France to the United States. A few days ago there was cause of surprise in the presentation of the| French budget, which made no pro- | vision whatever for debt settlement. | Soon came a statement by Finance Minister Clementel explaining that this omission did not signify that France is inclined to repudiate the debt, which cleared the air and caused a much better feeling here. Now comes a report from London, which is officially verified, that the British government will make no ob- jection to the United States granting a moratorium to France for the set- tlement of her debt, or to aMowing her a lower interest charge than ap- plies to the British debt. The only| condition implied in the British posal is that the French payments to America should be shared equally by Great Pritain. This, in effect, it i stated, carries out, in part, the state- ment of policy made in Parliament by Winston Churchill, chancellor of the exchequer. While he objected to ¥rance’s paying America without financing her debt to Great Britain, he had no objection to such an operation if France should simultaneously ar- range the matter with the London government. It was inferred from his statement that Great Britain would resent the grant of better terms to ¥rance than Great Britain has re- ceived in the discharge of its debt. It would now appear that Chancellor Churchill has to this extent been re- versed by the present government's decision to permit a different arrange- ment between France and the United States, provided there is simultaneous payment by France to Great Britain. It would now seem that the way 1s clear for @ debt settlement that will satisfy all three parties. This has been accomplished by diplomacy and is a triumph of good sense. The TUnited States cannot remit this debt. Tt will not be usurious in its collection. it will not stand for dictation from another power. No dictation is to be attempted. France is willing to pay on easier terms than have heretofore been proposed, and the way would seem open now to an adjustment both equitable and satisfactory to all with- out disturbing the friendly relations now existing between the three coun- tries. much and confused pro- ———————— The annual literary output makes it clear that nobody ever makes a reso- Jution nét to write any more New Year postry. r———————— So far as all business reports are concerned, it is also a snappy New Year. ——— Radio. Secretary Hoover, whose depart- ment regulates radio, said on New Year eve that radio has begun to en- rich American life. He sai “The greatest development in broadcasting during the past year has not been in the application of new methods of transmission and reception. It is rather In the change in public atti- tude. Listeners are becoming more and more appreciative of the real serv- ice of the radio, and increasingly criti- cal both as to the character of the matter furnished and as to the ef- ficiency with which it reaches them.” The broadcasting stations are carry- ing radio to a higher plane as a means of public entertainment and education. The indications are that while the number of radio set owners increases there is a substantial increase in the number of those persons who think of their sets as agents for useful informa- tion and for that kipd of matter which is described as education and cultural. The indications are that fewer persons look on a radio set as an interesting toy, and that fewer are using it for that matter which may be called trifling amusement. Tt is the practice of set owners to consult the dally pro- gram printed in the newspapers and mark or make a note of those parts of the progmm they would like to hear, It is prokably the new user of radio who listens to the whole pro- gram from the “Good evening” to the “Good night” of the announcer. As time passes the radio user's mental slant shows itself, and gen- erally he asks for instructive matter. The broadcasters learn of this through the mail. Announcers ask for com- | tions | ers ana favorable letters. The matter which, by the same standard, may be con- sidered ordinary or poor draws few or no favorable letters and many objec- tions. It is evident that the broad- casting stations are industrious and enterprising in putting on the air the best matter they can obtain, are guid- {ed by their own and their listeners’ | opinions and are checked only by the matter of cost and the unwillingness | of some persons to stand before the microphone. During the meeting of the American | Assoctation for Advancement of | Science In this city a number of short popularly phrased speeches on scien- tific questions were broadcast from the local studios, Scientific bodies in Washington are contributing to the diffusion of knowledge through the local broadcasting stations, and some of these addresses are put on the air by distant stations. On New Year eve addresses by high-placed and cele- brated clergymen of the Roman Cath- olic, Protestant and Jewish congrega- were radioed to hundred thou- sands and perhaps to millions of peo- ple in America. In music transmis- sion there is movement toward the highest plane. A celebrated symphony orchestra on the air and famous sing- players draw an immense crowd to the headphones and loud speakers. A new phase is that the phonograph and record making com- panies are putting their recording artists on the air. There is advertising in this, but what of that if the great singers and instrumentalists of the world, singing and playing the great musie of the world, perform through the air for millions of people? ——— Washington Walks to Work. Washington mostly walked to work this morning. It was an unusual and bably a not altogther pleasant ex- perience. Yet for most of those who engaged in it there was some physical profit. For walking has become an al- most neglected human performance, that is, walking for more than a few rods at a time. In these days of trol- ley and motor cars the average per- son thinks of his legs as something handy for short-range transportation, not for use for a mile or more at a time. The walking was not of the best, as regards footing. There were ruts and sli places, with much discomfort tfrom the conflict of traffic lines, as motor cars crowded into the paths beaten by the pedestrians. The buried car tracks were the favored lines of travel, and there was undoubtedly much satisfaction on the part of those who plodded along past the stalled street cars, with their persistent pas- sengers waiting for the impulse that did not come. Washington does not suffer often from such a condition as that which prevailed this morning. Its snows are usually light enough to be handled by the car companies without difficulty or much delay. But there was a qual- ity about the snow which fell last night that defled the sweepers and track cleaners, A single stalled car blocked the road. Before it could be started again the tracks were buried, and the convergence of the motor traf- fic on the car routes packed the snow down more tightly, until its removal became & matter of the greatest diffi- culty. Of course, there were complaints. There are always complaints when the ordinary routine of life is disturbed and some discomfort is caused. Doubt- less the major topic of the conversa- tion this morning throughout the city ‘was the incompetence of the car line officials for not keeping the tracks clear. Very likely there were many thousands who felt quite capable of doing better themselves. Much mis- placed talent was disclosed. Those who reacted to the highly emotional impulse that is often awak- ened by the unusual called the storm a “blizzard,” They little realized the gross misuse of the term. Washing- ton has had a few blizzards in the past half century, but yesterday's and to- day’s visitation was surely not one of them. A blizzard is something that those who have experienced it will never mistake, a bitter cold, far below zero, a gale of wind and a blinding drive of hard, sleety snow that cuts the flesh and causes utter exhaustion. A storm somewhat of this character struck Washington 26 years ago and did heavy damage and caused some deaths. This present experience is merely e pleasant diversion from the normal in comparison. But hyperbole aside, this is not the sort of thing that the average Wash- ingtonian would choose if choice were his. It means damp feet and perhaps iliness, tired muscles and perhaps loss of business. It means disarrangement of plans and possibly a complete up- setting of schedules, But it does not paralyze the community, and taken al- together the Capital escapes thus far with only a discomfort that may be set down now to the credit side of the account, as a part of Winter's penal- ties already paid. —————— Certain discussions relative to Euro- pean debts are calculated to arouse \curiosity in the minds of language students as to what the French idiom is for letting the other fellow walk the floor. e From the superficial information available it appears that Trotsky has arrived at a crucial point in his career, where he must decide whether he will retire or start something. ————— Samaritans and Others. The motorists of Washington whose cars were in service today may be divided into two classes, according to their performance this morning, the considerate and the selfish. Considerate motorists offered transportation to all they could carry. The selfish ones paid no heed to the plodders whom they passed struggling to get to work on something like “time” and making heavy weather of it. The considerate motorist looked for chances to render service, even though he had to stop occasionally to take on and let off his passengers. The selfish motorist was merely interk upon the best route and the smoothest path, regardless of the people on foot. forced into the mid- ments and they get them. That mat- ter which, by what one assumes to be e good standard, is considered en- lightening and educative draws many dle of the street by the unclean side- walks. The strange part of this is that those who drove downtown with empty seats this morning, who might 50 easily have rendered aid to others, were themselves a few years ago in the same situation. They have not always been car owners. They were walKers once themselves when car lines were tied up by snow and the walking was hard. They doubtless looked with envious and perhaps re- proachful eyes at drivers spinning past with room to spare in their ma- chines. Perhaps it was just habit that caused them to drive on unheeding, passing the plodders in the snow. But it may be hoped that this habit will not persist. When the next big storm comes and the car lines are tied up, and thousands of people are walking to or from work, every motor car should be filled to capacity. At the end of a day those drivers who thus lend aid will have a much better opin- fon of themselves. ety 1t may be possible to make the cus- tom of giving fortunes to institutions of learning and of art so general that in time the centers of taste and intel- lect will be majority stockholders in the great commercial enterprises. The Socialist may yet find the economic system coming his way, entirely with- cut violence. e Sclence is not expecting any star- tling revelations for the year 1925 on the same lines as the King Tut dis- coverfes. After all, these ancient mon- archs, so far as modern affairs are concerned, usually prove of little serv- ice, excepting as terrible examples. r———— New York reports the most enthu- siastic and unrestrained New Year celebrations in fts history. According to all accounts the occasion was even more hilariously impressive than the Democratic national convention. —_—e——————— Many of would regret to see William Jennings Bryan weaken in his assault on the Darwinian theor which, however scientific, is regarded by the average individual as highly uncomplimentary. ———— A number of prominent citizens re- fuse to manifest any excitement over the method by which Muscle Shoals is to be rendered serviceable; among them, Mr. Henry Ford. e Business experts agree that this year will be one of extraordinary pros- perity. It looks as if President Cool- idge might continue to keep silent and let the money talk. e Bootleggers may yet help to solve the prohibition question by making liquor so bad that nobody will want any. e France does not yet find it easy to realize that there is consideration due | bill cqllectors who speak various lan- guages. S Lo Hints that Germany is getting ready for another war, if taken seriously, merely suggest the possibility of mors work for the alienists, PR, R SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Year, New and 0ld. We hailed you,| “Happy New Year,” Jjust a day or two ago. ‘We pictured you a little boy, with lots of time to grow. We told about your innocence, so joy- ous and complete, And loved you as a little myth, with chubby hands and feet. Of Nineteen-twenty-four nobody takes the pains to brag. Who cares about the number on a worn-out license tag? And yet, on close inspection, as the hours so swiftly flee, I must confess, vou look just like the same Old Year to me. Already you have whitening hair, and furrows in your brow, you confront the questions, ‘When?” and “What?” and ‘Where?” and “How?” As Like all the other Years, when you your many burdens view, You do not seem quite Happy, nor ap- pear s0 very New. And it really seems much better to discover you intend To be no romping infant, but to be a patient friend; And when the merry moment of dis- guise is past, to find A Year much like the others, but more helpful and more kind. Arts of Oratory. “How did you come to forget the first few lines of your speech?” “I didn’t forget 'em,” answered Sen- ator Sorghum, “There are times when it's best to seem modest, and I wanted this audience to think I was so over- ‘whelmed by the occasion I was liable to have stage fright.” Congestion. Do we want another party? Let's us consider this with care. All our sentiments are hearty And there’s music in the air. Band wagons gay and clever Come crowding to the placep— ‘We wonder how they'll ever Pick out a parking space. Jud Tunkins says it ain’t fair for the Government to pay the kind o' salaries to make an office holder’s friends sympathize with him because he's not workin’ for a private cor- poration. Contributing to An Occasion, “Do all the members of your in- tellectual advancement organization make speeches?” “Oh, no,” answered Miss Cayenne. “The more useful ones make the tea and sandwiches.” New Year at Crimson Gulch. Agin the bootleg licker flows i Supposed to be a New Year hit. The sheriff will take keer of those The undertaker didn't git. “Dar 'pears to be nuffin’ Science can't discover,” said Uncle Eben, “’ceppin’ to reduce de expenses at- tached to de discoveries already dis- covered.” : % BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Two curlous looking men stood side by side in the photograph. Ome had very long hair, tucked up at the ears in ‘two grotesque “buns,” such as those affected by the Moqui Indian &irls, and later by thousands of Amer- lcan women, who perhaps, did not realize where they got their style in hair dressing. The second.man was a hunchback, with his head set close on his wide shoulders. He had plercing eyes, and was smoking a long cigar, which stuck out from his mouth in a per- tectly horizontal line. Nine out of ten persons, looking at the photograph, and not knowing who the two men were, would exclaim, “Some pair! Look at the guy with the hair—and who's the funny little fellow?" Yet those two men were great men In their day and generation, which was not 80 long ago, either. The man with the hair was Elbert Hubbard, famous philosopher and craftsman of the everyday life, and the other was Charles Proteus Stelnmetz, great electrical “wizard.” The former died aboard the Lusitania, the latter last vear. The fact that nine out of ten men would laugh at the photograph of them together shows but one thing, and that thing very, clearly: That most men are glven to under- estimating their fellow human beings. We expect a king to look like a king, a philosopher to look like a philos- opher, a great inventor to look like an inventor. Most of us judge only from super- ficlal “looks,” and are more struck by the hair, or cigar, or some other surface characteristic, than we are by the inner worth of the man This is one of life’s h sons—the fifth in our series—to learn not to underestimate others. We ought to try to think first of the real worth of our friends, children, bosses, employes and enemies, rather than of some little peculfarity at which to laugh. * ok k% Underestimating those we know be- gins at home in the dafly family life. Little Johnny is not much of a kid, in the father's eyes, until Bill Jones comes around €ome day, and says: “Say, Bill, that is some boy you got—scme boy, that kid—why I saw him—" Then Jones launches into a deserip- tion of Johnnie's deed, something or other that excited his admiration, Afterward father has a new conception of Johnny. It seems a shame that it is neces- sary for an outsider to point out the worth of a child before the parents realize it themselves, this is the state of effairs in thousands of fam- ilies. How many children have their lives made miserable for them because their parents continuaily harp upon the sup- posed virtues of some other child! The mother of little Jane will hold up a playmate, Margaret, as & para- gon. It your dress clean like Margaret?” or “Why can't you get as good marks in your lessons as Margaret?' The upshot of the thing is that the very name Margaret becomes a thing of loathing to Jane. It Is “Margaret this” and “Margaret that” all day long. As a matter of fact, the virtuous Margaret is not a whit better than Jane. In after life she runs away with a bootblack and turns out distinctly no better than ehe ought. CETEES Most people regard with easy tolera- tion their best friends. Yes, Bill Is a fine fellow, and a good provider, and ail that, but he will not set the world afire. To get down to it, just between us, of course, Bill is a bit lazy, you know, and— So it_goes. The ladies have their own methods of appraisal, which we need not enter into here, as it has been discussed a Uniting on the Traffic Problem V—Traffic Must Flow Freely By ERNEST GREENWOOD, Secretary National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. ave endeavored to emphasize in previous articles the fact that the natural laws governing the flow of traffic are just as definite and fixed as the laws governing the flow of water. Laws, rules and regulations for the control of trafic could be made comparatively simply and would be easily enforced if we could attain an absolutely free flow. If, however, the traffic problem is to be solved—and by *traffic problem” I mean both a reduction of the accident rate and an improvement in the fa- cilities for the movement of traffic both the States and communities must be prepared to spend money, and spend it quite as freely as the traffic engineer would like to see the traffic flow. Money must be spent for re- search work, for education, for an adequate motor-vehicle department to administer the motor-vehicle law, for the elimination of grade crossings, for the highways themselves and for the removing of obstructions to traf- fie. When I speak of “obstructions” I do not mean simply physical bar- riers to the vehicles themselves, but I mean also such obstructions as ob- structions to proper driver vision. Agree Drivers Should Be Licensed. Authorities are agreed that all mo- tor-vehicle drivers should be licensed, and that applicants should be given an adequate competency test before this license is granted. This will cost money. It will take a large staff to properly determine the ability, as well as the physical, mental and moral fitness of an applicant for such a license. It also takes a large staff to investigate accidents, report on them property, and to police the highways in such a fashion that sooner or later, by means of drastic penalties, the speed maniac, the criminally reckless and the incompe- tent are driven from the road. Adequate forces of traffic control officers in the cities and special high- way police, mounted on motor eycles, to police the highways arc matters of the greatest importance. Very few cities in the United States can claim to have enough traffic police- men and very few rural highways are adequately patrolled. This means the expenditure of considerablesad- ditional money for our police depart- ments, but neither laws nor courts are of much value if we do not have enough officers to see that either the laws are kept or the violators of them are brought before the proper courts. Need of Funds Emphasized. It will take money to bring about the gradual elimination of grade crossings, which, as the committee on construction and engineering says, “should be brought about by munici- palities, States and rallroads joining in an energetic campalgn to carry elimination work forward as rapidly as funds obtainable will permit, with an equitable distribution of the ex- pense.” In the same connection it is interesting to know that the commit- tee on public relations is so im- pressed with the importance of the elimination and protection of grade crossings that it recommends prior- ity be given to them in the alloca- tion of capital funds by the railroads over expenditures for other safety measures. In any event, any program for the elimination of grade crossings will take large sums of money, whether it be done by the relocation of highways or by the separation of grades; and the taxpayer in png Way, s always “Why don’t you keep | thousand and one times before. Suddenly some day Bill, to our in- tense amazement, arrives With a bang. He “gets there® with a smash, and we secretly wonder how he did it. The next time we meet him in the strect we greet him with restraint. He Is somebody and we are painfully aware of it. We are chagrined that ve never noticed It before. It is all our fault, t0o, because he I3 just ex- actly the same man now that he was before. If we had been more intent on find- ing his good points we would have been the first to point him out as the big man he really was. That Is why the discoverers of Presidents and others who finally “arrive” are so proud to tell the world that they were the “original So-and-So man. Properly estimating others ls that rare. ok ok % Employers often fall to recognize the worth of thelr own employes. It is in this matter as in the, popular song of the musical comedy, “Eve body Else's Girl Looks Better to Me Than Mine.” Since this is & fault of human na- ture in general and not confined to “bosses,” no specific blame can be at- tached.” It is human nature, that is all, the most contrary, curious thing in all natur Employes, in their turn, are wont to fail to appreciate the good points of their employers. They look with envy on the jobs up the strect. They are ou the outside, looking in, 5o they do not know the bad points of the other place. Here, as in all the other walks of life, the prime necessity is to look with eves of understanding. So many persor m to be born with some- thing in them that constrains them to resent people, happenins, things. Everything that exists calls for re- sentment, Just why this curious | phase of character exists is a matter | for angels, not men, to solve, and it wlill take the former many aeons to do the job properiy, but the simple fact of its existence Is evident to any one who will think for a moment. The hearty, outduor man resents the indoor, studious life of another and falls to take in the many good points the little fellow has. There- fore he underestimates him and con- sequently has no regard for him. The little fellow, on his side, is Just as apt to underestimate the big man and secretly sneer at the low brow. Each is wrong, wrong not onl from the other's standpoint, but more especially from his own, for there is nothing surer than that as a man thinks {n his own heart mo is he The fact that we resent, that we laugh at others, that we generally underestimate them, rebounds more | on our own character and life than | it strikes the other man That is the practical point of it We ought to properly estimate others more for our own sakes than for the suke of the other fellows. Especially we ought to try to see the | good points in those we do not like— those who come as near to being “enemies” as most of us have In this, our civilization. Check up on all the men and women you know and make a particular list of those you do mnot like, of those you are inclined to laugh at or even sneer at. Then questior.: What is wrong with us? Not what Is wrong with them. No The big question is, what is the mat- ter with us? There is an old saying— and it 1s a good éne—about there be- ing so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it hardly behooves any of us to laugh at the rest of us. This is a hard lesson to learn—this of not underestimating others—but | we must learn it or others will un- deggstimate us, as we will deserve to be. let us ask ourselves t or another must be prepared to pay the bill. It will take money to widen hight ways 80 that they will properly ac- commodate the gmotor-vehicle traffic of today. Tn thls connection it must be remembered that the motor bus is becoming an {ncreasingly important unit in our transportation system, while the hauling of freight by large trucks, particularly for short hauls, is of it¥elf a great transportation en- terprise. In the reconstruction of present highways and in the building of the highways of the future these passenger-carrying vehicles and com- mercial trucks of unusual size must be taken into consideration by the highway engineer. It will take money to carry out the recommendations of the committee on engineering and_construction of the Conference on Street and High- way Safety to sccure additional land for right of way, not only for th purpose of widening tie highway but for the removing of obstructions to drivers' vision at sharp curves and at road intersections. Headlight Glare Problem. It will take a very great deal of money indeed to bring about what, in my personal opinion, is one of the most practical solutions of the head- light glare problem, and that is the adequate illumination of rural high- ways as well as of city streets. If our main traveled highways could be adequately illuminated, there would be no need for anything in the way of headlights except dim lights to Indi- cate the car itself. Such a project is {administration |dents of Italy show VITAL THEMES Why Mussolini Will Win. By Robert Underwood Johnson, Ambassador to Italy, 1920-21. With the press of Italy largely against Mussolin! it might be thought rash as well as bold in him to an- nounce at this time an appeal to the people In March—the more 80 be- cause, his present favorable Cham- ber of Deputies was elected on his artificlal plan of arbitrarily giving two-thirds of the seats to the victor- fous party, while he now proposes to B0 back to the normal method of election, The “dangerous second year” of a business enterprise has a gounterpart in politics in the reac- fons that follow success. Mussolini stands between two fires—opposition from the ultra-violent, the sordid and the unsatisfied in the ranks of the Fascistl, and from those who sin- cerely believe that his methods are subversive of representative govern- ment. Against him are two former premiers—Orlando, the able and pa- triotic Sicilian statesman, and Glolittl, the aged head of many cabinets, shrewd and saturnine. Moreover, the Soctalist and Communist parties and a dissatisfled and violent press are putting thorns in his path. But all over the political world there is a lon against theory as contrasted with performance This feeling has incontestable force in Italy, as elsewhere, and just now a record of able administration is Mussolini's trump card. What- ever errqrs he may have made, hLe has kept strictly to the policy of economic reform which 1s putting Italy on her feet. In 1920, during my official life in Rome, I publicly ven- tured my judgment that Italy is one of the most conservative countries in This statement was based industry, the thrift, the in- dividualism, the cheerful tempera- ment and the rapid Ilncrease of her people, and thelr quick recovery of morale after the war, The Airst of the silen g, The frat of the somber Go. i, This joyous conservatism is the background of Mussqjin{'s success in fiscal reforms. He has had a reason- able people to work for, and, sure of thelr approval, he has cut to the quick in his economics, The prime object in political con- tests is to create a supreme issue se that the people will not listen to the issues raised by the opposition. The recent report of the Itallan minister of finance, De Stefani, shows that Mussolini's steady course of business is having signal suc- cess has virtually no unem- plo few that a distinguished Italian recently told me that he was not wasting any regrets over our tmmigration law, his countrymen all being needed at home. The minister's budget actually shows a surplus, and promises a bigger one next vear, with a reduction in taxation upon food and other prime necessities, and a further improvement of public utilities ent reports from resi that this policy and that of maintaining public order have won the approval of the average citizen, and that, in general, in spite of Fascist disloyalties, this sentiment may be relied upon to support Mus- solini in the coming electorial con- fllct, which he has astonished his opponents by precipitating. More- over, there is no equally commanding figure to oppose him and his great lieutenant, Prosperity. (Copyright, 192 Italy Re 4.) The First Submarine Was Propelled by Hand To the Editor of The Star: I note in the issue of The Evening Star of December 30, 1924, on page 11, in an article concerning the new na tional monuments, a statement that the first submarine run by steam de- stroyed a Federal vessel off Charles- ton. The Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley Is undoubtedly the one re- ferred to, but she was propelled by the manual labor of the crew, who manned the cranks of the shaft, which in turn revolved her screw pro- peller. This little vessel produced a series of gruesome disasters, but at the same time revealed, perhaps, the most conspicuous and unadulterated hero- ism in our history. On five occasions she sank, and in all only two or three men escaped. Once she sank at a wharf and two men, if my memory serves me, succeeded in getting out of the small hatch or manhole. Just before she complctely submerged one of these men had his foot caught in the closing hatch and was being carried down. A doomed seaman below by exerting his strength released his threatened but more fortunate ship- mate. In order to learn the capabilitles of this craft it was decided to test the endurance of the crew in remain- ing submerged, as there was no pro- vision for renewing the air. In one test they remained a considerable time after the candle used for illu- mination had been extinguished by the vitiated air. It took a deep and glorious cour- age to march up and man the sal- vaged vessel as the bodies of her former ‘crew were removed. There was not much to buoy one’s spirits— not mich of the exhilaration of bat- tle in turning a crank in a cramped iron vessel fashioned frocm a steam boiler. ? On the night of the successful at- tack on the U. S. S. Housatonic the Hunley was not utilized as a sub- marine, but proceeded on the surface —just awash. She has never been re- covered, and probably lfes under the remains of the bottom of the Housa- tonic off Charleston bar. GERSHOM BRADFORD. Capella Is Now Near no longer an experiment, but has proven both its practicability and its great value not only as an accident prevention measure but as a police measure as well. It will take money to establish a system of State-controlled traffic courts in order that the law be ade- quately enforced. Such trafilc courts are an absolute necessity, both in the interests of uniformity and in the curbing of the reckless and the crim- inal. No system of enforcement will be complete until special courts for the handling of traffic violations, un- der the jurisdiction of the States themselves, are established through- out the country. Estimates of Cost. All of these things and many others Wwhich must be done if the crisis which we are facing is to be properly met mean the expenditure of large sums of money. It is doubtful, however, if these expenditures will total any such sum as §400,000,000 to $1,000,000,- 000, which the trafic accidents are costing the Nation annually. Even if they do, or even If they cost twice as much as the cost of the present ag- gregate fatalities and personal injury accidents, the money will,be weil spent in the saving of lives and suf- fering, and I am enough of. an opti- mist to believe that it will not be spent grudgingly by the people of the United States. 2 (Copyright, 1925.) Matrimonial Vision. From the Philadelphia Public Ledger. The many schoolgirls who have been marrying of late to escape school will find that their education is Just The Heavenly Zenith To the Editor of The Star: Capella, a golden sun of night, is now sparkling close to the firma- mental zenith, between the constella- tions Perseus and Gemini. During the earlier eyening hours It is east- ward from the zenith, at the top of the constellation Auriga. In this constellation there are about four other suns, less noticeable in bright- ness. Another name for Auriga is the Charioteer. Capella, also, has another name, the She-goat. And, firmamentally near the She-goat, we see three rather dim stars, forming a small acute tri- angle, These three stars are known as the Kids. They are cailed, re spectively Epsilon, Eta and Zeta. Golden Capella s a bright first-magni- tude star, there being only four brighter st in the star-lighted firmament. ' Its distance from our earth approximates half of a century, that is, light-rays leaving its flery surface tonight reach us around the year 1974, providing, of course, that our world is still in existence, 50 years hence. Respecting this bril- liant, beautiful gem of the darkened skies in Lamp's Aratos, we read that: Capella’s course admiring lands; B sailors. hate her inauspicions *face. CHARLES NEVERS HOLMES, Reading, Mass. Does the Best He Can. From the Birmingham Age-Herald. 1t were well for lots of people to remember that the forecaster does not guarantee the weather; he simply agrees to make the best predictions hs can, g. gflur- was Leo Wheat buried? A. The Bureau of Vital Statistics n- forms us that the body of Leo Wheat is burled in Glenwood Cemetery. Mr. ‘Wheat's death occurred in 1915. Q. Who paid for_ the construction g't the Washington Monument?—E. D. This monument was erected at a total cost of $1,187,710,31. Three hundred thousand dollars of this was raised by individual fres will offer- ings and the remainder was appro- priated by Congréss. Q. When was gas first used in the White House?—E. O. D. A. Gas wad Introduced fnto the White House December 29, 1848, dur- ing the administration of President olk. Q. Should the city and State be written on the same line on an en- velape?—E. F. G. A. The Post Office Department pre- fers them on separate lines. This en- ables postal employes to classify the mail more rapidly. Q. Did Rube Vickers breal the dis- cus record at the Olympic games? E. McE. A. The world record for throwing the discus is the following: Eight and one- half foot circle, 156 feet and 1% inches. J. Duncan, United State May 27, 1912, made this record. Rube Vickers is a professional, consequently never fea- tured in the Olymples. Q. Let me know the date first big fire in Boston?—T. E. A fires that occurred in Boston was that of March 11, 1702, when 100 buildings were destroyed valued at about § 000,000. The great fire of November 9-11, 1872, destroyed 600 buildings govering 65 acres, valued at $73,000,- the Q. How petroleum E L A. The Geological Survey says the organic theory of the origin of petro- leum is most generally accepted. Crude petroleum of paraffin base is believed to be formed of vegetable debris and petroleum of asphaltic base is belleved to be formed of organic matter containing a large proportion of animal matter. Substantially the same products are obtained from petroleum of either base except asphalt, ‘which is obtained from is formed?— wax, which is obtained from paraflin- Aceous petroleum. Paraffinaceous pe- troleum contains a larger proportion of kerosene, gasoline and other high gravity products than asphaltic pe- troleum. of Q. Please give a short sketch Mrs. Fiske, the actress.—C. F. A. Minnie Maddern Fiske was born at New Orleans in 1865. She went on the stage when still a child and at 15 was a star under the name of Minnie Maddern. During this period she played with John McCullough, Laura-Keene, etc. In 1890 she married Harrison Grey Fiske and retired for five years. She then returned to the stage in her husband's play, “Hester Crewe.” 1In 1901, she opened the Man- hattan Theater and produced a num- ber of plays herself. She did much to popularize Ibsen in America. IN TODAY’S BY PAUL ¥ i It is a startling statement made by enator Capper and Representative Brand of Ohio that the public of America is paying every day $300,000 for bread which is not delivered. At % cents a pound, that means as much bread kept back as would be eaten by 7,500,000 hearty citizens, counting half {a loaf a day per man. It would load a train of 47 cars, each containing 40 tons of bread. It amounts to $109,500,- 000 a year, which would pay the in- stallments of the soldiers’ bonus be- fore they become due, and would keep on paying an equal amount perpetu- ally. The very staterhent made b: the Representative and Senator makes one hungry to think about it and wonder If Queen Marie Antoinette was right in prescribing cake when the rabble was crying for the bread which was lacking. B X * The Brand-Capper bill now pending in both branches of Congress would make it obligatory, so far as concerns interstate shipments, that all bread shall be in standardized loaves of half a pound, one pound and pound and a half. No longer would it be legal to “meet competition” with 14-ounce loaves, claimed to be a better grade than the 16-ounce loaves. No attempt is made by the bill to enforce stand- ards of purity or superiority of in- gredients. The entire aim is to stand- ardize weights of loaves. By that measure alone It is hoped to so inspire State Legislatures to enact similar standardization of weights for inter- state bread traffic that the allesed tricky weights of loaves will be elimi- nated and the consumer will know that he is getting a pound for the price of a pound. ¥k $ The shortage does not exist in the District of Columbla, for within the last year a similar law was passed, which corrected the practice of short weights. Eleven States have similar laws, but the estimate is for the daily shortage of delivery applies to the other States alone—$300,000 a day shortage in only 37 States These figures are vouched for by Representative Brand, who counts that 120,000,000 people eat 60,000,000 pounds of bread daily and that 65 per cent of this bread is made by bakerles in the 37 States—30,000,000 loaves of l4-ounce bread—and that with a shortage of two ounces per loaf—but Why go into detalls? In Mr. Brand's own State of Ohio the bakeries used to call a 12-ounce “bis- cult” a loaf, weighing it by troy weight as if it were pure gold, four ounces per loaf short weight. He estimates that the consumers of New York City pay daily for $10,000,000 worth of bread which they never get —the price of several skyscrapers daily. * kX ¥ Prior to the war, when wheat sold for a dollar a bushel, bread sold for 6 cents & pound; wheat has sold since the war around a dollar a bushel, but the average price of bread has been 8 cents a pound, and even then the pound has too often ranged from two to four ounces short. But the same increases of costs have gov- erned other foods, and this legisla- tion does not attack that phase of the matter. Some of the represent- atives of the large bakery organiza- tions have urged that they be per- mitted to make short-weight loaves, provided they state the weight on the label on each loaf what is its welght. This would be prevented under the proposed Brand-Capper bill, upon the assumption that the buyer would pay little attention to labels, while look- ing at the comparative size of the loat, where a shortage of two ounces would not be observable to the casual observer. There is no argument ad- mitted by the supporters of the standardization which justifies ir- regular weights. They contend that the sole reason for a l4-ounce loaf is to deceive the buyer Into assuming that it is the same as the pound loaf. How much does it cost to produce a pound of bread which sells for 8 oontal X One of the earliest -destructive | asphaltic petroleum only and paraffin | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN _;vnat per cent of milk 1s water? A. There is 87 per cent water in Wwhole milk and In skimmed milk 920.5 per cent, Q. If a foreigner comes over on & foreign ship as a seaman, can he get a Job in a factory here?—J. T. A. The Bureau of Immigration says that a seaman may have 60 day in this country before he is consid- ered a deserter from his ship, and after that he is a subject for depor- tation. Q. What was the te! Vistied Atherisry, by D oeu RN A. Authorities do not know defi- nitely just what disease was referred to as the plague in Athens. Accord~ Ing to the description by Thucydides, the plague ravaged Athens in the second year of the Peloponnesian War, 430 B.C. A large percentage of the population had taken refuge in the city and subsequently the number of deaths was great. The epidemls does not seem to have been the rea Oriental plague. ) Q. Where is Mrs. Samuel Pey has read so ofte A. The portrait bust of Mr: is in the City Church of St. Olave. Hart street, London. Pepys occupled a pew (now demolished) from whick he could view the statue. the portrait bust of about which one ately 7—G: Pepys Q. Please give me the derivation of “hale” and “hail."—B. McN. A. Hail from the Anglo-Saxon haegel, which means “frozen rain.” {Hale is from Icelandish heill meaning und, Q. | James | prize ring?- ¥ | James J. Corbett defeated John | L. Sullivan at New Orleans on Sep- | tember 7, 1892, for the world cham- | pionship.” The b 1 rounds He was defeated March 17, 1897, by Bob Fitzsimmons Q. How many “conscientious objectors” war?—A. L. M. L. A. The War Department says that 3,389 men were listed under the head of conscientious objectors. Q. Wha A. This |arms of a {1t is loz | hung cornerwise {ually to the w | give public notice | mise. When and for what perfod was rbett champion of the en were classed as during the panel hment ?—W. on which re displayed r square, but s attached u the dwelling t LK the n | Are D. D. and Ph. D. honorars ?—W. D, A. The Bureau {that the D. D {honorary degree | 2ducation is always ar 2 degree for . D. degree, degree, course is requi (Frederic J. Haskin. | this paper to hanate inquiries of ou | readers, and you are invited to call upo: him as freely and as often as you pleass Ask anything that is a matter of fac |and the authority will be quoted There is no charge this service. what you want dress, and inclose 2 return posteyr formation B director, Twenty-f northwest.) SPOTLIGHT ’. COLLINS. is employed b As and al uts in stamps fo ddress The Star In Frederic J. Haski st and C E sign your na In England, where bread is m from wheat bought from America, i sells at ts a pound; in Italy, France and Gr bread made from American wheat retails for 3 cents a pound. In America it nearly double what it does in I !nnd, and rearly three times the price in other European countries, covered by Representative Brand, who recently toured Europe for the ex press purpose of collecting such dat In England the methods of distribu- tion are similar to those in ou country; in France and Italy bread is sold in bakeries and also retailed by women, who carry it from hous to_house. There is a_close-at-home guide to the cost of the materials in of bread “made in America." United States Army bakes bre: very large quantities and keeps e cost figures, which show that the av- erage for the material in a pound loaf is 1% cents for a loaf like that which retails in civilian markets fo. 8 cents. Thas leaves a spread of 61, cents to cover labor and overhead cost. One bakery in Washington supplies the Navy with bread, under contract for $3.69 per hundred pounds, and that covers labor and overhead costs so that there appears to b ; profit absorbed the whol le; and retailer amounting to more than 100 per cent above that basic con tract cost when it c to selling a pound at § cents. Representative Brand, therefore, is merciless in de. manding, with Shylock, his fu pound. own is While bread cos than it aid in 19 crease of all food c S0 that there t more : average in 0sts is 48 per cent 0 does not appear spe- cial ground for attacking bread more than the rest of H, C. L., ex- cept as to full weights. Flour costs 60 per cent more than ip 1913, bu: the statistical bureau of the Depart- ment of Labor points to the figures to prove that the cost of flour hea little relation to the price of bread and even the higher wages paid the bakers cut no figure, since 2 bakery which produces 100,000 loaves a day does it with three shifts of 18 or 20 men each. The work is done by ma- chinery, from the mixing, kneading, patting and baking to the wrapping There is no hand work. The differ- ence between the Army costs for material and the Navy contract cost shows the spread covering labor and a reasonable overhead and profit, it is argued, while the other 100 per cent net covers retail distribution and retail profits. o the large balkerics profiteer- Representative Brand so fig- nd backs his jdea with these By the census of 1920 there existed in 1918 25,000 bakeries, with a total capitalization of $509,- 000,000. Today between 200 and 300 large baking corporations are under- taking to merge and capitalize at $600,000,000, basing their capitaliza~ tion upon a showing of profits justi- fying $600,000,000 without touching the rest of the 25,000 comparatively small bakerles with a total of $509,- 000,000. If the profits justify swell- ing the caplitalization more than 100 per cent without four years, where do they come from? * *x ¥ Lest Americans start the new year with a complaint at thelr hard lot In facing an increased cost of living of 148.8 per cent compared with 1913, look at Hurope. In France the increase is 486 per cent; in Belgium, 550 per cent; in Den- mark, 231 per cent; Italy, 580 per cent; Finland, 1,111 per cent; Czecho- slovakia, 997 per cent, and Bulgaria, 2,853 per cent. But Germany—pros- perous Germany—shows an increased cogt of living of only 126.9 per cent. Perhaps the Dawes plan will con- sider that. These are official sta- tistics from the Department of Labor. (Copyright, 1925, by Paul V. Coltind Are ing?