Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1925, Page 6

g ™ THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY.....January 8, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Bustness Office, 11th St. and Penusylvania Ave. New York Offce: 110 Last 42nd St Chicago Office: Tower Bulldin Furopean Office : 16 Regent St.,London, England. Tho Evening Star, with the Sunday morniag edition, ix delivered by carriers within the elty at 60 cenis per month: daily only, 45 €ents per wmonth: Sunday only. 20 cents per mouth. Orders may be sent by mall or tele- Blone Main 5000, Collection s made by car- Flers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia, Daily and Sunday. .1 yr., $8.40; 1 mo., 70c Daily only...,. Sunday only.......1yr, $2.40; 1 mo, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., §5¢ Daily only.......1yr, $7.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only..... 1yr, $3.00;1mo,25c Member of the Associated Press. The Askoclated Press s exclusively entitled { to the ‘use for republica all news dis. patchies credited 1o 1t or not otherwise credited In this paper and aiso the local news gub: Ashed “herein. Al of publication® of spectal Killing Two Birds With One Stone. There is a pleasing the evils in local conditions which President Coolidge is deter- mined to check may be corrected or minimized without inflicting upon the whole Capital community the vital injuries threatened by the obnoxious bill now pending and without slurring or slashing the constitutional rights of Washingtonians. It is indicated at the White House that the main, compelling cause for the framing of the Whaley bill was a multitude of complaints of exc sive rents resulting from the piling up of trusts on property and the con- sequent artificial boosting of rental returns far beyond the figure justified by the original investment. Belief is expressed that the banks, through control of the financing power, could, in co-operation with the great body of realtors, check the trust-pyramiding evil and relieve tenants from extor- tionate rents resulting from this cause. And it is suggested that if through this co-operation the trust- pyramiding evil is successfully at- tacked the main reason for the fram- ing of the Whaley bill will be re- moved and its enactment may be- come unnecessary. This White House suggestion gives our Bankers' Association the oppor- tunity to render the community a great public service, rooted in civic Joyalty and fine public spirit. Doubt- less the bankers will tender, or have tendered, to the President their heart- fest, unlimited co-operation along the lines of his suggestion. The Capital community views rentals-boosting through trust-pyramiding as abhor- rent, both hurtful and hateful; and if by elimination of this evil it can avoid the permanent vital injuries threat- ened by the Whaley bill it will kil two noxious birds with one stone and all Washington will rejoice. No impossible task fs set by the President for Washington. If there has been any punishable criminality in the unsound and vicious financing methods which are attacked, the At- torney General is to see that punish- ment is Imposed. The bankers and realtors of the Capital, with the back- ing of all Washington and with the powerful support of the President, will enter with confidence and en- thusiasm upon the campaign to save the Capital community for the future from unsound financing by the pyra- miding of trusts, from rentals extor- tion based upon vicious financing and from the vital injuries threatened by the Whaley bill. ————————— It is usually necessary for the real city of Washington, D. C., to go to some small faraway town to learn about the gay and reckless night life of the Nation's Capital. L Th s AR The demands of postal workers for better pay will no doubt come up again. They have at least had the benefit of interesting and enlighten- ing publicity. ———l There will be other blizzards. The present experience, one - frequently known in the past, should at last serve to establish a policy of pre- paredness. prospect rental that all a e The Philatelic Society. Philatelic Society announced that it will have clubhouse, or, more properly, a club- room, down town, “where the mem- bers may meet to talk over stamp llection, and exchange stamps and hold auctions.” A stamp exhibition will be held by the soci in the Washington Public Library during the week beginning January 26. Many people will feel a thrill joy that the Washington Philatelic| Society is prosperous and growing. Philatelists are those who love stamps. he’ work of collecting, identifying and classifying stampe has come to the degree of a science and | the collectors have reached the place of scientists. Tens of thousands of us might have been scientists in this sphere of learning, having had the youth and enthusiasm, but somehow the enthusiasm waned and other things called from the happy and ab- sorbing work of hunting, trading and pasting postage stamps Not long ago these gray scientists were as most other boys and girls. They were not philatelists, but plain and busy stamp collectors. Some, of them were called pests by staid and pompous people who had outgrown youth. When' it was lekrned in the neighborhood that. some one had re- ceived a letter from a relative abroad The Washington has of is lists Jostage were made that permission be granted to search the waste baskets. If the office boy was also a collector, and no doubt he was, business arrange- ments were entered Into for trading duplicates. Bold boys would invade the government departments and in- terviews the chief clerks and other | clerké and enybody suspected of hav- ing canceled postage stamps. The special postage stamps used by each department were prizes. Hustling boys would write letters, good, bad and indifferent, to foreign ministers and consuls throughout the United States and to American Min- isters and consuls throughout the world. The subject of each letter was canceled foreign postage stamps. The clerk in the drug store was cul- tivated, and ‘‘proprietary” stamps— those which were on every bottle of cough syrup, box of pills, hair-grower, vouth-restorer, eto.—were sought. It he were a good clerk every box and bottle in the shop would be bereft of its proprietary stamp. Even in those remote times there were postage stamp authoritles, stamp books and a few.stamp dealers. Few hoys could afford regular stamp al- bums. Most boys got almanacs at the drug store and pasted their stamps by country and set, so far as they could classify them. The window of the stamp dealer’s shop was as allur- ing as one in which a stem-winder, nickel watch or & breech-loading shot sun was displayed. What important purchases, deals and trades were made with the stamp dealers! The cross-word puzzle was a mild distem- per in comparison with stamp col- lecting. sme of the boys remained constant to their hobby and now they are wear- ing spectacles and can deliver, lectures and write hooks about stamps. Honor to these veterans and may they in- crease in number and may they gath- er rare specimens for many, many years to come! The Board of Education. The Board of Education does well to vote an inquiry into an allegation made by one of its members against another. This matter should, indeed, have been taken In hand at once upon the utterance of what was virtually a charge of impropriety in the use by the president of the board of his offi- cial position for the furtherance of business interests. Having been ut- tered without retraction and without presentation of proof, it has rématned a cause of friction and question seri- ously embarrassing to the board. Now it will be brought to test. The allegation having been made in an open session of the board, the in- quiry should be conducted likewise in the open. The law which established the present mode of government for the public school system directed that all sessions of the Board of Education should be hel in publjc. That law has not been steadfastly and uniforrhly observed, however, the device of “‘conferences” having been adopted from time to time to permit secret sessions. Committees of the board may,’ of course, in executive session with entire propriety consider details of school administration, as they are only advisory and not finally deter- minative bodies. The board itself, how- ever, should never assemble save iA open meeting. In a matter of this kind, where the initial allegation has been made openly, the inquiry should be fully rublic to give assurance to the com- munity of & thorough sifting of what may be a baseless, unjust attack upon the integrity of a board member. It is equally due to the accuser and the accused that the case be examined in public session. Disputes between members of the Board of Education are by no means edifying; are, indeed, deplorable. The board sits as the administrative and legislative government of the school system. Complete harmony between its nine members is not to be expected uniformly. Differences of opinion on matters of judgment will necessarily arise. Majority rule, however, should prevail without a manifestation of personal feeling. It is due to the chil- dren attending schools that the board should conduct itself with dignity and without personal animosity. ————— Prohibition will not be regarded as satisfactorily enforced until the charge “driving while intoxicated” is perma- nently eliminated from the police rec- ords. ———— France is the artist nation of the world; but not so artistic as to be always impractical and unbusiness- like. The District in Congress, Agreement between the District committees of the House and Senate upon a program of local legislation for this session will greatly facilitate work. The committees are now con- ferring and it is expected that e list of bills to be pressed for action will be made and that it will lead to the THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8 1995 With a small attendance it is always possible to blockade proceedings by a call for a quorum, which cannot be mustered. There should at least at this session be a definite under- standing that the District’s “time” in the House shall not be consumed by a discussion of other than District matters and that whatever the at- tendance quorum calls shall be eschewed. If only a small number of members of the House are disposed to attend its sessions when it sits as the Dis- trict's legislature they should be willing to forego the opportunity for Record-filling speeches on general miscellaneous political questions. The District would, of course, be delightgd to have the whole membership of the House take part in the discussion of its measures, provided they were de- bated with knowledge and without prejudice, but inasmuch as only a few are willlng to exercise the “exclusive legislation” over the Federal district granted by the Constitution, its prayer is that they discharge this duty iwith adoption of a schedule with assurance of time in both houses for considera- tion. House Leader Longworth at the | beginning of the session stated that the District would be given its full allotment of time during the session if bills were presented in season by the District committee that would not lead to protracted debate. In the Senate, though there is no special allotment of time for local legislation, it has always been possible to secure consideration of meritorious measures. It can hardly be expected that all of the worthy propositions of moment to the District that are pending be- fore the committees will be adopted without debate. On some of them, indeed, there is a pronounced differ: ence of opinion. Even with favorable reports from committee they are sub- the house of the neighbor was be- sleged to get the stamp. Most likely it had already been promised. Bitter disappointment, but not discourage- ment! Knowing that a friend in the neighborhood had a relative in Italy or Russia, the postman or the clerk in the substation was waited on, in- terviewed and cross-examined and a watch kept on the neighbor that no canceled postage stamp might es- cape. Oficen.Jere _visited. and- requesta ject to attack, especially in the House by members of the committée. The District should not be put upon the basis of getting only that legislation against which no objection is raised. In the House of Representatives heretofore “District day” has been an occasion of slim attendance and often has been marked by the inter- jection of extraneous matters. Much of the time has been taken in the dis- cussion of politics at large, of eco- nomic questions, of all sorts of touu. regard for its needs. ————— Gov. Smith and the Legislature. Gov, Alfred E. Smith of New Yok, in a message to the Legislature yes- terday which required three hours to deliver detailed plans for legisla- tion which he recommends for enact- ment. Facing a legislature politically opposed to him, he made a plea for bipartisan consideration of the vari- ous measures he proposed. Gov. Smith finds himself approach- ing a battle with the Republican ma- jority in the House and Senate. Of 19 major points in the governor's message he is in conflict with the opposing party on 12 of them. The immediate response of the Repub- licans to the governor's appeal was the introduction of four bills favored by the governor and indorsed by them. One of the most important points of conflict is over the wet and dry question. The governor is for en- forcement of the Volstead law, but opposed to any further lawmaking. The Republicans want to set up a drastic new law for State enforce- ment. The governor would provide a waterpower authority to control and develop water power under State own- ership. The Republicans are deter- mined to provide for development un- der a system of leases. Fears of a deadlock over the legis- lative program were increased by Republican threat that if thete is to be any compromise the Democrats must do all the compromising. The Republicans take this attitude be- cause of the fact that they have the majority in both houses. By the same token, however, they lack sufficient votes to pass any legislation of their own making over the governor’s veto, In this situation the outlook is con- sidered gloomy for any constructive legislation during the governor's term of office. This is to be regretted, since it is generally admitted that the legislative program submitted by the governor is the most sweeping and farreaching of any that has ever been presented. —_———— Economy is a subject strong in at- tention the world over. Disarmament fairly and effectually provided for would represent a colossal item in that line, —————— So far as pay Increase is concerned the big Christmas tree near the White Houseydid not mean a thing to the postal employes. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Last Refuge. It is good to sit in a sheltered nook And puzzle in peace with a cross-word ‘book, ‘With @ mind from grammar entirely free ‘Where the words are mostly “on, “at” or “the.” Some words are little and some im- mense; But you needn’t mind if they don't make sense; And none of 'em ever sound so strong As the words you use when your golf goes wrong. None of the language is near so rough As what you will hear in a drama tough. And when the story you read aright, Though dull, it is never impolite. There's never a syllable so intense As to bring a blush to our innocence. Ah, pretty puzzle, you cause no pain. You're stupid, perhaps; but you're not profane. Demonstration Favored. ‘Do you favor a quiet inaugura- tion?” “No,” said Senator Sorghum. “T'd rather enjoy seeing a great big public sensation based on something that isn’t in the nature of an investiga- tion.” Extra Help Wanted. A sun a thousand times more hot than ours In distant space does glow. ‘Would we could borrow it for several hours Each time we have a snow, Jud Tunkins says & man who always says just what he thinks is at a terrible disadvantage in conversa- tion with a traffic coop. Restraint. Though nations owing cash may fret, Their future may be bright ‘Who find themselves too much in debt To start another fight. Discredited Proverb. “Everything comes to him who waits.” “Yes,” answered Cactus Joe; “but the rules of the game don’t permit you to hang onto a bobtail flush forever.” Ancestral Wisdom. A monkey shies at alcohol, ‘With sentiments astute, I heard a bootleg victim call, “Why did I evolute!” “Economy ain’ gineter help you much,” said Uncle Eben, “if you is simply savin’ up yoh money foh de next, cap geme* Don’t talk too much. This 15 the tenth—and last—in our series of life's hardest lessons. Most of us ought to give it conslderation first, for truly out of the mouth come the issues of life, as the Bible says. This thing of shooting off the mouth all the time was a big problem when Solomon was a boy. He labored long and faithfully, writing many proverbs, in his attempt to inculcate the wis- dom of a closed trap among the He- brews. Silence! Silence! Eminent philosophers since his day have written in praise ef holding the tongue. Down through the ages the cry has been ever the same: “Do not talk too much. Think before you speak. Never say anything until you have something to say. Do you think it has done much good? My illustrous predecessor has failed miserably, as I will do in my humble turn, if reformation was ex- pected from mere statements of the truth. No, Solomon was too wise to Imag- ine that merely because he sald hold- Ing the tongue was worth while the children of men would automatically refrain from talking on the slightest Pprovocation. Nor does this writer—as the politi- cal scribes modestly say—have the slightest idea that because this arti- cle starts off with the undoubted good advice, “Don't talk too much,” you, gentle reader, will suddenly turn into a paragon of wisdom and silence. * x % % No, in this world we do what we want to do, not what we should. It does no good for my friend to loudly protest that he has been meaning to come around and see me, “but just somehow couldn’t get around to it.”” Politely I smile and accept the ex- planation, but I know that he could have gotten around to it had he really wanted to, and 8o does he, but for the sake of amicable relations we mutually agree to pass it up I will be offering him the same lame excuse before long. It does little good for one to think up many excuses for continuing smoking pafter his doctor has ordered hint brusquely to “cut it out.” But, doctor, 1 never could see that it hurts me. Now if 1t had ever hurt me I would have stopped it, but it simply doesn’t hurt me a bit. How do I know? Oh, I weuld know all righ We do more or less what we want to do, as far as we are able. That is how we can know—when one does not do something—that did not want to do it. This is a generalization, of course. There are many exceptions. But, in the main, the maxim stands: Show me what a man does and does not do, T will tell you what he likes and does not like. * k¥ % So most of us like to talk. Who would deny it! Since mankind managed to turn his guttural sounds into eyllables, combine the smooth vowels with his harsher utterances and give meanings to the whole, he has been proud of his ability to talk. Surely, talk is one of the most mar- velous inventions of man. We are so used to talking that we accept it from others as a matter of course, and in- dulge in it ourselves without o much as a thought, ordinarily. But I am sure that could we be beings of another sphere, who had evolved dif- ferent means of intercommunication, say such as might be Involved in the use of radio waves, and could come abruptly upon this world of gesticulating, talking beings, and see here one making a speech, here another arguing heatedly upon & street corner, here one making a love plea, here viciously haranguing the defenseless, we would be struck dumb with wonder at the sight and eound of it. Of all created things, as far as we IN TODAY’S How dependent is the safety of the TUnited States upon the production and conservation of a bagful of gas? Everybody knows that For want of a pail, the shoe was lost. For want of shoe, the horse was I For want of the horse, the battle was lost. A horseshoe nail is more tangible than a bagful of gas. In the “next ‘war,” according to our military lead- ers—a war which may be delayed be- yond the present generation or might break “tomorrow’—the fate of the Nation will depend upon our bagfuls of gas. Today there is only one bag- ful of helium gas in the world, and it is possessed by the United States. If it wege destroyed, our two great air- ships would be as useless as a battle- ship without fuel or ammunition. It is conceivable that critical conditions might make that one bagful of he- lium worth more than a similarly huge bagful of pure gold—"more precious than rubles.” All standards of values are rela- tive. If, in all the world, there were only one storehouse ef food and one cask of water, we might appreciate the valuation of a starving traveler, who was lost upon the Sahara, when he discovered a purse dropped from a passing caravan—a bag fllled with mere pearls—not life-saving nuts. Battles have been fought to secure a crucial bridge, when the original cost of constructing that bridge had no bearing upon its vital importance at the moment of struggle. Heroes have given their lives in defense of a battery or a flag. But never yet has a struggle raged, as it may soon be fought, over a nation’s world monopoly of & bag of gas having one- sixth the weight of alr—invisible, in- tangible and inert, refusing to com- bine with anything. Not only does the control of na- tional safety lle with the possession of that bagful of helium, but so also lle the possibilities of the study of the sciences and of the proximate development and prosperity of the Nation’s commerce. On January 25 there will be a total eclipse of the sun, and civilized na- tions are sending their astronomers to distant mountain peaks that they may observe the phenomenon from stations above smoke and clouds. Our own astronomers will ascend with their great photographic equipments in the one airship available, but can- not use the second airship because there is no helium sufficient to inflate both at once. Helium was so named from “helas,” the Greek for sun, because the gas was first discovered by the spectro- scope of the sun, and was not thought to exist upon the earth for some years afterward. Yet, after years of familiarity with its unique qualitles, we have only half emough of this “sun gas” to fill the bags of our air fleet, that our sclentists may wit- ness the sun going into eclipse. There is no practicable substitute. A statement made recently by the aeronautio branch of the Navy con- tained this: “The Los Angeles was filled with hydrogen (when it crossed the Atlantic for delivery to the United States), but the successful termination of the flight cannot be taken to rhean that hydrogen is safe, for the airship records are too full of complete dis- asters to warrant such an assumption. The Shenandoah has always been filled with helium, and had this not been the case she might have been added to the list of disasters when she broke away from the mooring mast at Lakehurst in a violent storm about & year ago. * * * That proves beyond a doubt the absolute safety in the worst kind of weather _the airship when bandled by BY PAUL V. COLLINS. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. can know, leaving out the angels and “all other creatures” of which the saint spoke, man is the only one that has marshaled his sounds and glbberings into order and made them do_his will. The dog, with his rough, hoarse bark, manages to make his meanings pretty clear. But by no stretch of the meaning of words can he be said to talk. The cat, meowing, purring, has no difficulty In securing from a household the meat .and cream he craves. But the cat does not talk as we _talk. Man talks not only because he loves to talk, but because he ought to talk, talking being a marvel and a mystery in itself, involving, as it does, the deep recesses of our mind, that mysterious storehouse of time and eternity. So it comes that the dumb among us are looked upon with special pity and every effort made to teach them to talk, or at least to in some way become acquainted with the ideas of the brain which jump out at the com- mand of words. Words, words, words—we know not what they mean—and yet we utter them continually, and shall utter them until we can speak no more. * x X x Yet we talk too mbch. Who can deny it? We talk about nothing when we can find no real topic of conversation, thus showing the un- consclous regard in which we hold this ability of ours. Much of our talk is but sound and fury, as if we realized, in some dumb, animal way, that talk distinguishes us, and that under no circumstances must we let it cease, except during those necessary perfods when we are sleeping or eating. And even then many manage to, talk in thelr sleep. And eating, with thousands, is a combined rite of taking nourishment and conversation in equal doses, so that a dinner is stretched out for several hours and in reality becomes as much of a conversational as a gus- tatory feat. There are thousands of good Women in this land whose main duty in life seems to be to slay silence. Their abllity to string words on an in- visible thread is marvelous. They remind you of those persons who can write pages upon pages, in letters, yet could not write a decent essay to save their lives. These ladies talk about one thing after another, In a perfect stream, that seems to flow on forever, like Mr. Tennyson’s brook, only in this case there is no river for the brook to go to—it just ambles on, and on, and on, its own cause of being, and its own reward. * % k¥ k Still, we talk too much. The great silent men, of whom Me- Cauley spoke, have the best of us. They know when to speak, and when to keep still. Most of us do not know when to do elther. We Just talk. +We ought not to talk when some one says something mean to us. Joseph Conrad has ons of his char- acters say, “You cannof afford to take offense, my boy, any more than you can to stand in the sun at midday The scene was laid in Africa, but the thought is good here. We ought not to talk when wound somebody unnecessarily. We should not speak our minds at any time just to “get it off our chest,” as the popular phrase is, o, at least, only to those whom we ab- solutely know are word-tight. We should not use words of dis- praise except when absolutely neces- sary, for words' are things, and are powerful. Also they are precious. That, after all, is the best reason why we should not waste them by talking too much. SPOTLIGHT we crew of well trained seamen” (mean- ing airmen?) In vesterday's press appeared an Interview with the captain of the greatest steamship upon the ocean, the Leviathan, in which he predicted that probably within his own life- time such ships as his would become as much out of date, through the de- velopment of air navigation, as the buggy has been outclassed by the automobile. * x x % When, in 1921, the first helium wag produced at the latest production plant, near Fort Worth, Tex., it cost $500 per 1,000 feet. Cost had not been considered during the World War, and when the armistice was signed some 200,000 cubio feet of the gas was ready for shipment to the front. After the war, the Govern. ment began pushing the production With all the power at its command, and improvements in the processes of extracting it from natural gas have now brought down the cost to $50 per 1,000 feet. It is promised that with- in a year or less the cost will not exceed $30. But still the matter of cost is almost negligible in the light of its immense importance, so long as we cannot inflate but one airship without deflating the other, and while we are upon the verge of vastly in- croased demands through the build- ing of other Government ships with twice or four times the capacity of the two we now possess, and many others for commercial routes. Naval experts say it would be folly to increase the number of airships until we can produce helium to in- flate them. The present supply of the helium-bearing natural gas is sufficlent only to run the heltum plant at three-fifths of its capacity. Added machinery would avall nothing with- out added séurces for the natural gas, and ‘while the Army and Navy hellum commission is undertaking to Pipe to additional units, the results are yet to be demonstrated. A large factor in the cost of helium s the oumbersome and expensive method of transporting it from the production plant in Texas to the hangar in New Jersey. The units of tanks of steel contain only 178 cubic feet of helium and weigh 1,800 pounds. Nearly 300,000 such tanks must be transported half way across the continent by ‘rafl before an air- ship can be inflated with sufficient gas. The day may come when the airships may be stationed nearer the helium supply. One of the problems 1s how to hold the surplus gas if ever the production catches up with the Nation's imme- diate demand. It must not be left in the ground, unextracted, for there it would be useless in case of emer- gency. It cannot be stored’in reser- voirs without great leakage. The present situation of the difficult problem most favored by the hellum board is to sell the gas to American commercial airship companies, with a lien on it and upon the airships and their crews in case of war. That will probably be the pollcy adopted. ‘There is an outlook for the follo ing commercial airship routes, as soon as the Goodyear-Zeppelin Com- pany at Akron completes the ships now planned: New York aud London, via Halifax. New York and Lisbon, via the Azores. The North Window BY LEILA MECHLIN. Willard Metcalf, a collection of whose landscape paintings is now on view in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, is described in the foreword of the little catalogue of this exhibition as a painter who has consecrated his glfts solely to the service of beauty. “Beauty,” says Walter Jack Duncan, who pays-him this tribute, “occuples the whole of his attention. Palette in hand, he is conoerned with nothing else. Whilst others dispute or vex their minds with idle torment he paints. Revolutions in art may come or revolutions may go; still he paints. His composure in the face of prevall- ing confusion is truly remarkable. Through all the welter of movements and conflicting ideas which mark the history of our times he has moved se- cure and unperturbed, apparently without perceiving anything amiss— superior to freaks and to frenzy.” A high tribute, but to what have we come that sfich an attitude on the part of a painter should be occasjon for remark, should set him aside as one holding special distinetion? Is it true, as Mr. Duncan suggests, that the majority of the painters who have at- tained eminence today are merely “volces struggling in the dark; mutes sighing to be heard, stutterers and stammerers, their medium net so much a means of expression, after all, as an impediment of speech—an ob- struction that rather spoils their ut- terance than renders it articulate?” * ok ok % There s much good painting today, in fact, perhaps at no time have there been more skillful technicians in this art, but it is true, too, ala: that not a great many seem to have dedicated themselves to the interpretation of beaut. and very many do not seem to take sufficlent time to find articulate expression. In all walks of life it is not merely what a man does, but the way he does it that counts. Until an artist commands his medium he is not free, but technfcal fluencey signifies nothing unless he has something to sa: illard Metcalf paints beautifully. There is nothing fumbling about his method, nothing which suggests un- certainty or hap-hazard. It is skill- ful almost beyond belief, and his man- ner perfectly suits the kind of themes he chooses to interpret. It is the.gentle loveliness in nature which has appealed to him and which he in- variably makes manifest to all be- holders. Looking out over a fair bit of country last summer, a fellow ar- tist said with a wave of his hand, “There you have a Metcalf,” as ene passing in France a clump of willows might say, “Here is a Corot.” To no painter can greater compliment be paid, for the signification Is that he has so truly interpreted some phase of nature that he has made obvious to all its latent beauty. It is as if he were the discoverer of a continent, the inventor of an Mestimably valu- able mechanical device. Furthermore, certain painters have found lure in certain subjects, Inness, for example, loved the luscious warmth and color of open fields steeped in midsummer sunshine; Winslow Homer delighted in the rugged splendors of the rock- bound coast. * % % % It is an interesting point that Mr. Duncan makes when he says that Mr. Metcalf has been undisturbed by the confusion in the world of art to- day, that %whilst others dispute or vex their minds with idle torment, he paints” This detachment and | placidity of mind is distinctly reflect ed in Mr. Metealf’s paintings, and it is a rare quality in the -world today. Elizabeth Luther Cary, art critic of the New York Times, writing recently of Joseph Pennell's Brooklyn etch- ings, ventures the suggestion that the craze for colonial furniture and architectural design, for the things of ous..great-grandmothers’ day, which provails at present is nothing more than = -search for tranquillity and peace, a yearning for quietness among these who are compelled to live in the midst of turmoil, scurrying along with bated breath, with mo time for anything. Perhaps this is true. Cer- tainly few painters today bring their works, as does Mr. Metcalf, to real completion. They have not the time, they do not count it worth the while, nor, for that matter, do the writers; the main object seems to be, in_the language of the day, to get the idea over without ‘waste. A well known newspaper eéditor warned a young writer some: years ago against pinning the clothes care- lessly on the stories she was writing. Today not only are many ideas pre- sented with clothes pinned carelessly around them, but'stark naked. No wonder they make unfavorable im- pression upon the world. A beauti- ful theme is undoubtedly worthy of fine clothing, not ruffles and frills which will hide its character, obscure |§; its identity, but such clothing as the sensitive, trained artist is capable of giving. AP Much of our painting today is frag- mentary. fmpressionists are to blame, though they taugh us much, they en-| couraged us in the expectation of en- compassing a work of art {n a glance. The expressionists have gone even tarther along this road and have en- deavored to present in these lightning For this, in a measure, the | t s for | ness” of the Democratic party. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Was Robert Lincoln ever our representative to England?—L. E. R. A. Robert Todd Lincoln served as Minister to the Court of St. James from 1889 to 1893. Mr. Lincoln is the son of Abraham Lincoln, and lives In Washington, making his home in the historic Georgetown section. Q. What {s the fountain in front of the Library of Congress called?—A. V. A. It is known as the “Fountain of Neptune.” It is one of the earlier works of Roland Hinton Perry, and, while vigorous and effective, is not considered to be as finished and ar- tistic as some of his later efforts. Q. What are the largest and small- est counties in the United States?— G. A. A. 8an Bernardino County, Calif. the largest, with an area of 20,175 square miles, and Bristol County, R. L., with an area of 24 square miles, is the smallest. Q. Will all State Legislatures be in session this Winter?—C. S. A. During 1935 the Legislatures of 42 out of the 48 States will be In ses- sion regularly, and it is possible that extra or special sessions will be held in others, Q. How do Christmas walts dress in England?—H. M. C. A. Nowadays these Christmas sere- naders do not appear in costume. In olden times they wore blue gowns with red sleeves and caps and a silver collar or chain about the neck. Q. Wil rubber-tired vehicles wear d')l\vn”(he surface of a concrete road? —B. R. A. Tests conducted by the Bureau of Public Roads have led Government €experts to the conclusion that rub- ber-tired traffic alone does not appre- clably abrade the surface of a con- crete pavement. Q. Are minerals single elements or a combination of elements?—C. 0. A. The Bureau of Standards says that the varfous metals are single elements, and combine other with other elements, such as oxygen, to form ores, rock, etc. There are 92 such elements, of which 87 have been discovered. The atoms of these ele- ments are composed of two kinds of particles in different numbers and ar- rangements; positive nucle!l and nega- tive electrons. It has been proved possible to break yp some of these atoms into stmpler atoms, and the bellef is tentatively held by some that they were formed originally under high pressure and tempegature. Q. Who were Admiral Dot and Maj. Atom?—M. D. A. A. Admiral Dot was a dwarf smaller than Tom Thumb, who was exhibited by P. T. Barnum. Maj. Atom was the former’s nephew. Q. Of what magazine was Sarah J. Hale the editor>—D. H. S. A. In 1828 8. J. Hale became editor of the Ladies’ Magazine. In 1837 this periodical united with Godey's La- dies’ Book, of which Mrs. Hale was literary editor for more than 40 years. The familiar poem which begins * Tt ahnuw:!' cries the schoolboy” is by er. Q. Is the tense of the subordinate clause the same as that of the prin- cipal clause’—T. P. C, A. The tense of the subordinate clause is not necessarily the same as that of the principal, ,but the tense is determined by that of the principal. Q. Shortly after putting a new fire into a locomotive a terrific rumbling results. What causes this?—L. V. S, A. The Bureau of Mines says that the rumbling is due to the volatile matter In coal which is drawn off as ®as. This ‘gas burns rapldly or ex- plodes. difference between tuberculosis?—s Q. Is there consumption H. E. A. Consumption is an old-fashioned word which was used for the late stage of tuberculosis when the pa- tient was wasting away or being con- sumed, and was confined to this dis- ease of the lungs. - Tuberculosis nowadays does not mean what con- sumption used to mean, because the doctors usually make the diagnosis and much earlier, when the hope of early cure is very much brighter. All con- sumption is tuberculosis, but all tu- berculosis is not consumption, , Q. Is an oil well big enough for a man to go down inslde it?—H. R. A. An oll well that is being dug to any considerable depth usually has a 20-Inch casing in the upper part and a small, slender man could get down in one of that, size. In fact, it was reported that such a feat was per- formed near Los Angeles by Walter McCay of Taft, Calif, known as the “human gopher.”” A master rotary bushing had been lost in the well. and the only way in which it coutd be got out without destroying the well was to send a man down after it. The tool was lodged at the 110- foot level. McCay was lowered into the well with a one-inch rope and wore a- gas mask attached to an oxygen tank, from which alr was pumped to him constantly. It was necessary for him to make six de- scents before he succeeded In grap- pling the lost tool, and he spent al most an hour in one of the smallest holes in the ground in which a mar ever found himself Q. Why is the Sargasso with seaweed?—M. M. W. A. The Sargasso Sea is almost the resting center of the whirl of the ocean_curre in the North Atlan- tic. The seaweed comes from dis- tant shores where wrenched off by t There are fou weed-hampered areas sea so filled other great of little m Sea Q. Why on M ift advanced than |a. w. P A basis Mars is smaller than must have cooled its surface of vears before the earth did. Hence, if there 1s lif; Mars it must have begun long before life on the eartn and would have had far longer period of development. Q. What makes the frost pictures appear on window panes?—F. J. D. A. When the air in a room has a dew point below freezing tempera- ture then the moisture is deposited on the window pane directly in the yform of spiculae or slender prisms of i and it is unde these circum stances that the t delicate fros figures are forme Q. How high from th a Kitchen s A It 4 the worker. belief is that earth and millions is the floor s ulit?—F. A. O. the helg! surface sho at least high enough so tha palms of the hands will rest on the surface when ti =on nds erect For a woman 5 5_inches tall working surfaces should be inches from the Sitting on stool at sink and table is restf makes their height unimpo tant Q. What does the quarter-horse” mea R K. A. A “quarter horse” i3 a term z plied to an individual who can make spectacular records, but cannot be relied upon for a good, steady pace in his undertakings. The term was originally used on the race course meaning a horse in a race who was capable of terrific spced for a short distance, such as one-quarter of mile, and who ended the other three- quarters of the at greatly rc duced speed ang term “a mile Q. Was Covent Garden ever writ- ten Convent Garden?—C. P. G. A. Covent Garden is a corrupted form of Convent Garden, and was originally the garden of the Abbott of Westminster. (The Star Information Burcaw u answer your question. This offer ap- wlies strictly to information. ~The bu- reau cannot give advice on legal, med- ical and financial matters. It does mot attempt to settle domestic troubles, n undertak aus research om any subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and ad- dress and inclose 2 cents in stamps 1 return postage. All replies are sent di- rect to the inquirer. Addresss Freder J. Haskin, director, The Star Informa- tion Bureau, Twenty-first and C stree morthwest.) Democrats’ Debate in Senate Brings Election Post-Mortem When Senators Pat Harrison of Mis- issippl and William Cabell Bruce of Maryland, - repfesenting rather widely separated shades of Democratic opin lon, crossed swords as to Democratic prineiples . recently in the United States Serfate they broughy forth a great line of diagnosis of fthe “ill- Ed- itors, both Democratic and Republican, as well as the middle ground inde- pendents, seem to agree that the “ill- ness” is to be admitted. Referring to Senator Harrison's the- ory that “the party wasn't ready to flashes crudely set down feelings,|3ccommodate itself to the progressive emotions, as well as that which is|3rarianism of 1924 the New York visible to the eve. as it is to believe it, the modernist movement is a revolt against this, a demand for substance rather than superficiality. Almost every .pieture in Mr. Met- calf’s exhibition holds its own as a unified composition. They are pie- tures the loveliness of which one may realize in a glance, but the full meaning of which is only unfolded through longer acquaintance and study. To paint such landscapes Mr. Metcalf must not only see with sur- prising ~ccuracy, but must have ex- ceptional knowledge of the funda- mental principles of art and complete command of his medium. Nature {s many sided. Beauty in nature appeals almost invariably to all. Crossing the Susquehanna on the Pennsylvania railroad bridge two men, strangers, glanced bp simulta- neously from their newspapers and at the glorious view out of the window. As it passed from sight, the train mov- ing onward, the one caught the other’s eve; there was a flash of com- mon sympathy, and as he said “Pretty swell,” the other one mutely nodded. It is such views of appealing beauty, though of a more intimate character, that Mr. Metcalf has painied, and he has painted them because primarily they appealed to him, and he felt the same urge that the chance traveler felt of showing them to others, of sharing their beauty. - * kK k¥ Of the 32 paintings in_this collec- tion only 9, apparently, have passed from the ownership of the artist. Two are owned by the Corcoran Gal- lery of Art, one by C. C. Glover, the president of the gallery; the others by private individuals whose names are practically unknown here in Washington. But as we are judged by art, rather than art'’s judges, what credit this reflects upon these ‘persons’ critical sense, what distinc- tion accrues to them through dis- crimination in purchase. Happily, there is an increasing number of per- sons throughout the United States who are unostentatiously acquiring precious works of art from cotem- To an extent, hard | World (Independent Democratic) says: “The business of the Democratic par- ty is to decide how far it will go with agrari; progressivism to win the La Foilette votes. Senator Bruce, presumably, would go nowhere. Sen- ator Harrison, apparently, would o anywhere. To decide how far to go, what else can hope to win those votes. and what the effect of win- ning them would be upon the integ- rity of the Democratic party as it now exists {s the present problem of the party.” In the opinlon of the Atlanta Constitution (Democratic), “One of the many troubles of the Democratic party is there are so many self-appainted ‘leaders,’ who assume unto themselves, and each for nimself, the right to speak for the party, that it is like a mutinous crew at sea with the only pilot aboard ship chained in the brig. Senator Bruce does not assume to speak as a leader, but bacause he refuses to fol- low the broncho-busters of the wild and woolly Northwest is no good reason why he should be taunted with disloyalty. Measured by the articles of party faith, he is an ultra- fundamentalist.” * ¥ * % t_may be futile” declares the New York Times (independent Demo- cratic), “to revive the ancient doc- trine of State rights, now that so few of them are left, but a Southern Democrat who gives them more than an occasional lip-service is a wel- come rarity. Thée notion that ‘the Government is nothing but a great wet nurse possesses all parties. In the Democratic party it is a gro- tesque and abhorrent _excrescence. The fatal error f the Democrats in this Congress, however, was that, in consonance with the invariable bad judgment of Mr. Bryan, they ceased to _be Democrats.” The Baltimore Evening Suu (independent Democrat- i) sees it this way: “When Senator Bruce stated that the Democratio par- ty has lost the public’s confidence, that was a fact. When he attributed it to a departure from such funda- mental doctrines as State rights and non-paternalistic _Government, that was another fact. Hard facts, to be sure, and bitter doses to swallow New York and Panama, via Porto | porary painters, not because they are|gor the Pat Harrisons, who have made Rico. New York and the east coast of told they are good, nor on account of the prizes and awards which the over the Democratic party into a hy- \brid thing as much Republican as South America, via Porto Rico and | palnter has won, nor I the hope that| Democratic. -Such may fuss and fume ‘Trinidad. " New York and the west coast of South America, via Pandma. mmw% l they are making a good investment, but because of a real love of art and llve with thinge of beanty, and fret, if they will, at the utter- ance of the truth, but enough citi- Aiagnosis of the party's disease at the last election to give the Republican party the greatest ma- Jority in its history.” The Louisville Courler-Journal (Demo- cratic) sa *“Particularly timely was Mr. Bruce's warn that Southern Democrats should cease looking toward | Nebraska, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota for insplration and |guidance. In that observation is packed suggestively a vast deal of political philosophy, for it not only hints the tragedies of the Democratic party history sinc 6, but warns against their repetition.” The Brooklyn Eagle (independent Democratic) optimistical- ly remarks: “Defeat in one or two elections—even overwhelming defeat does ot crush a pa We must al- ways have an opposition if decent gov ernment is to be maintained. Tha orportunism will control both the parts in power and the party out of power is a reasonable prediction.” ey “It was when the revenue bill w: bafore Congress that the Democrats forfeited whatever respect remained for it,” says the Pittsburgh Gazette- Times (Republican.) “There was not much left ’tis true, for the country had been disgusted ere that with tha party’s ‘investigations,’ which proved devold of the senso of justice that is indispensable in those who wouid suc | cessfully govern.” In the opinion of | the Minneapolis Tribune (Repub- lican): “Senator Bruce put his finger #on the weak spot of his party in 1924 in saying its representatives in tha New York convention mounted the party on two hors going in opposite directions. The party was not great |1y relieved of its responsibility by | the fact that Mr. Davis stood for this equestrian staging for campaign pur- poses.” The Democratio party, thinks | the Springfield, Mass, Unlon (Re- publican), “sooner or later, must make a_decision as to how it will regain_its lost prestige’ and vigor.” The Unlon adds: “Senator Ashurst of Arizona considers Senator Bruce no diagnostician, and certainly Se ator Harrison looks at him with dls- favor. It may be suspected, how- ever, that Senator Bruce is the wisest speaker In the Democratic party at the present time, but wis- dom, as always, seems about to be left alone.” ; The Independent Kansas Clty Times says: “Senator Bruce refused to enter into combinations with the radical bloc in the last session of Congress in order to obstruct the administra- tion's program. Senator Harrison was keen for the combination, and if the future direction of the party 1s to be toward absorbing the third party following, Mr. Harrison doubt- less will be a leader in the movement. If the swing should be toward Jef- fersonian standards with the purposs of contesting conservative support with the Republicans, Senator Bruce would figure in the application of such a policy. The more probabief course 15 toward fadicalism: Whether| the most influential counselors of] tho will permit it to go fa a desire to take Into thelr homes and | zens of the republic agreed with Sen-| enough to satisfy the third 13 a question