Evening Star Newspaper, January 9, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C FRIDAY. ...January 9, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Ofce: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Offiee . Tower Buildin European Office : 16 Regent St.,London, I The Evening Star. with the Sunday morning sdition, fs delivered by carriers within the ety at 60 cents per month: daily only, 43 eents per month: Sunday only, 20 cents pes month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- Phone Main 5000. Collection 1s made by car- Tlers st the end of each monmth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo,, T0c Daily only ..1yr., $6.00; 1 mo,, 50c Sunday only 1yr, §2.40; 1 mo,, 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., b5¢ Daily only 1yr, $7.00; L mo., 80c Sunday only J1yr, $3.00;1mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Associnted Press 1o exclusively entitied to the ‘uce for republfcation of il news di patches credited to'it oF not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local mews pub. lshed “herein. rights of publication of ecial dinpaiche 50 reserved. No Rights Abandoned. Recognition by the British govern- ment of the “equity” of this Govern- ment's claim to a\ share In German payments for the liquidation of American war damages is a legal as well as a diplomatic triumph for President Coolidge and Secretary Hughes. This Government advanced its claims both as a matter of equity and as a legal right. The British gov- ernment side-stepped the issue of le- gality by admitting the equity, so the legal question becomes an academic one, with the status of having been forcibly advanced by this Govern- ment, accepted by France and Bel- gium and not controverted by Great Britain. It is unltkely that it ever again will be argued that the United ates lost any rights or standing as a belligerent because it failed to ratify the treaty of Versailles. Secretary Hughes was on firm ground when he argued that both in law and equity our rights were unim- vaired. Those rights, he contended, did not arise under the treaty of peace, but by reason of the fact that we were a co-belligerent and a co-victor in the war against Germany. He also took the ground that no two nations could make a treaty which deprived a third nation of its rights. The British gov- crnment had either to admit or evade this contention, or else, by denial, es- tablish a precedent which was certain to prove embarrassing in the future. The Eritish government chose the way of evasion, but the contention having been advanced and not con- troverted, the force of the Hughes ar- sument, either in the present instance or for the future, is unweakened. The British government would not deny, of course, that as a co-bellig- erent we acquired equal rights with our associates in the war. Therefore, unless it was willing to argue that two nations could make a treaty which deprived a third nation of its rights it had to concede that our rights were unimpaired or avoid a pronouncement upon the issue raised. It avoided this pronouncement by conceding the equity of our claims. The British eye v be able to discern some advan- tage in this strategic retreat from an untenable position. If so, the Ameri can Government, having all the fruits Al herein ma; | witt ing to lighten the taxation of the peas- ants and other burdens. 4 For ebout four years the bolshevik government of Russia has been modi- fying its extreme radicalism. Lenin started by gradually relinquishing the anti-capital view. His successors huave carried out the amended Lenin pro- gram, and have gone much further in the encouragement of foreign capital to enter Russia. This latest amend- ment is in another line of develop- ment. It is a move of safety through concession and- compromise. Although bolshevism was conceived as @ means of making all classes equal, it has worked out to the point at which the peasantry and agricul- tural classes have been exploited and subjected to more severe burdens than even under the old regime. Class has not been abolished. The industrial workers and the revolutionary intel- lectuals have been the ruling class. The farmers, who are in the great ma- Jority in Russia, have beep the sub- ject class. Now they have revolted and have gained a valuable concession which may have an important effect upon the future of Russia. It is noted in the dispatch from Mos- cow that this concession resulting from the permanent conference was forced by an increasing discontent among the peasantry, Revolutionary outbreaks have occurred in varfous provinces that heve been rigidly sup- pressed. Now the peasantry is to have a voice in the government, with the right to name candidates. If the elec- tions are honestly conducted the peas- ants are likely to have a majority in the representative assembly, and the Moscow government may undergo a material change. ———— Potomac Power Bill. The Senate bill for development of hydro-electric power from the Po- tomac River has been ordered favor- ably reported to the House by the House District committee by a vote of 6 to 5. The bill is based on the Tyler report and plan for putting the Potomac to the work of produc- ing electric current. The engineer's estimate of cost for the work is $44.000,000. The vote of § to 5 by the committee shows that its oplnion as to the virtue of the bill is nearly evenly divided and a minority report will be made to the House. All the engineers’ oplnions that have been registered hold that the plan is feasible and that the upper Potomac, with ite tributaries. is a mighty possibility for the creation of electric power. As to whether the saving In dollars and cents between the price of Potomac-made electricity and coal-steam-made electricity would Justify the cost of the projact, there is division of engineering opinion. It is a question on which the layman must hesitate to give an opinion. but there are certain general princinles and facts which many laymen can know as well as any engineer. One of these is that the trend throughout the world is toward the use of falling water for the creation of electric current. The layman knows that throughout the United States there is demand for more power and cheaper power, that the supply of coal is diminishing and that at some time it be ecxhausted. Yeal by year coal becomes more éostly and that price increase is reflected in the cost of coalsteam power. The most suc- cessful hydro-clectric engineers and hydro-electric companies are steadily reaching out for more water power and there is a contest between States of victory, will not be disposed to in- | sist upon unconditional surrender. | Both governments be con- | sratulated upop the of one| more obstac to complete cordiality | and full co-operation between the Eng- | slish-speaking peoples. Bach such ob- | stacle that is removed is one | pledge for the future happiness and | prosperity of all the world. are to removal more s Uncle Sam'’s Sidewalks. While there is ground for complaint against householders who have failed to remove the snow from sidewalks in front of their premises, there is rea- son for the citizens themselves to feel sarieved at the failure of the Govern- ment to clean its own sidewalks fully and effectively. The sidewalks border- | some of the public squares in this city have been left untouched in many cases during the present snow condi- tion, and in others have been cleared only for a narrow space, inadequate for public accommodations. The other day when the snow was | melting the sidewalk in front of one | of these downtown public reservations liad a cleared space about 4 feet in width, while the remainder of the | walk was in slush, with puddles in the | depressions of the harder glacial formation. Pedestrians on the outside of the meeting lines of travel were forced to slop through the water. Inasmuch as the courts hold that the sidewalks are Government prop- erty, and there is a doubt as to the right to compel a citizen to re- ove the snow from the walk in front of his own house—though a new law | on the subject has been enacted—it is | surely the duty of the Government to set an example in good citizenship by cleantng 1ts own spaces promptly and fully. The sidewalks around the parks should be the first to be cleared, how- | ever prompt householders and busi- ness men may be for their own con- | venience to remove the snow from in front of their own premises as —— ollectors of antiques display no in- terest whatever in seversl battleships Uncle Sam has on hand. ———— Peasants and Soviet. Evidence that the autocracy of vietism is waning in Russia is at hand | in an announcement from Moscow | that decision has been reached to grant the pe niry a more. active part in the Russian elections. This has come about from a conference held at the Kremlin between Soviet of- ficials and representatives of the peas- antry. The latter class are to be per- mitted to name their own candidates as opposed to purely communistic candidates. They are to be granted what s termed “greater revolutionary justice,” which would seem to mean an Increasing share in the affairs of the country. The Soviet is undertak- ing and private interests for control of stream flow for the production of power. There Is more water power in the Potomac than in many streams which are producing electric power at a profit and engineers' reports for nearly 50 years have been showing that the Potomac may be made to de- velop mighty electric energy. The present plan calls for impound- the water of several feeder reams of the Potomac to maintain constancy of flow. but the produetion of electric power is to be only on that part of the river between Great and Little Falls, where the river has a greater drop and volume than else- where, this being what the geologists call the “fall line,” or the break be- tween the Appalachian plateau and the coastal plain. The Potomac- River and many of the streams that supply it can be made to produce electricity at many points other than in the Great Falls section, and the upper Potomac might be developed into one of the mighty power streams of East- ern America for the happiness and industrial growth of the Potomac Valley from the mountains to tide- water, Whether this should be done by the United States or left to be done finally by private interests is a question on which men of opposing economic schools divide. The people of Washington will rest their faith on the report of engineers in the power matter and will abide the decision.of Congress us to whether this is the proper time for entering on the big work of harnessing the Po- tomac. e r——————— The doings of some of those my: terious Chinese tongs do not appear to differ muterially from those of plain American gunmen. The Annpual School Increase In discussion of the District’s need of More school buildings, provision for which is contained in the now-pending bill for a five-year program of con- struction, reference has been made re- peatedly to the annual increase. in school population, which represeqts the year-by-year requirement of bulld- ing enlargement. No actual figures, however, Lave been heretofore pre- sented. Supt. Ballou has now made a computation, which has been just an- nounced. showing tiat the average an- nual addition to tie school enroliment since 1814, a period of 10 years, has been 793 pupils. Any adequate build- ing program, he says, must make'pro- vision for the increased enrollment in the elementary schoois of 800 papils a year. This means that at least 20 ad- ditional classrocms should be opened cach year, regardless of other con- structions designed to take care of the present congestion. Twenty classrooms represent two large or three smalier grade schools yearly. That should be the minimum THE EVENING of annual construction. If less than, say, three buildings should bé provided for each year the congestion will n- crease. The five-year building pro- gram should be regarded as an addl- tional project. The problem of distribution is diffi- cult of solution. The superiutendent points out that in a five-year period, on the basis of 20 classroums a year to care for the normal population in- crease, the resulting 100 rooms must be distributed as unitormly as prac- ticable. There are 13 elementary school divisfons. Much care, therefore, must be taken to allocate the new buildings designed to prevent further congestion in sections of the greatest growth. Yet other sections should not be steadily neglected. New buildings should replace old ones without refer- ence to increasing congestion. These replacement needs may be made part of the extraordinary building program comprised in the flve-year construc- tion plan. There are three phases in this ques- tion: The provisfon of additional schoolrooms to take care of the nor- mal increase of population, the con- struction of new buildings to relieve the now congested schools and the re- placement of old, obsolete, insanitary and generally unsuitable buildings with new ones. In all of these con- structions the greatest care should be taken to give the District the best equipment, the most sanitary and the best located, with generous provision of recreation space. r————————— No doubt there are many wonder- ful water-power propositions awaiting development in the Western part of the country. Muscle Shoals has en- joyed the advantage of favorable geo- graphical location and exceptional publicity. ———— It is pertinently suggested by school experts that the growth of Washing- ton calls for Increased educational fa- cilities as well as more public vehicles and more grocery stores. ——o— Statesmanship has as vet found no way to provide for ignoring legitimate debt without setting a bad example to individuals and corporations the world over. e The career of President Coolidge marks a change in American affairs by which prependerant influence passes from the good talker to the good listener. ————— Threats of terrorization by Soviet: ists have materialized, at least to the extent of making Trotsky's followers admit they are a little scared. vt 1f Germany’s payments should start a controversy as to allotment, some of the Berlin politicians would regard the money as desirably applied. c——— As events develop, it begins to look as if the cowbination Trotsky wa ty Lenin. ———e—e— SHOOTING STARS.. n BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Getting No Forwarder, We have talked of Evohution With an interest immense; But it never seems to get us any- where. Every learned Institution. Shows an interest immense | “In the theory which | framed with care. There are lines of erudition which we patiently pursue Untii the landlord sends a gentle note “Your Bill is Due.” The scienfists amaze us. leave us rather blue, For they never seem to get us anywher Einstein Yet they In Summer they remind us That the moon’s & frigid spot; But theyr never seem to get us anywhere. In Winter they will find us Distant suns exceeding hot; | For us they haven't any heat to spare. They tell us of a future race that will be free from guile And hint that we'll be very little while. They lecture and they publish while we wear a hopeful smile— But they never seem {o get us anywhere, perfect in a Practice. “Do you practice economy? ame as 1 did my music lessons when T was a boy,” said Senator Sor- ghum; “a few hours a day which left me perfectly willing to quit and let somebody else take credit for the fin- ished performance. When Achievement Falters, ‘We can fly through the sky. We can talk through the air. With our wealth we can buy Treasures costly and rare. We can ride, in .our pride, Through the sea, far below— But we have to decide That we can't shovel Snow. Jud Tunkins says money hasa queer way of making a man look smart { while he makes it and foolish when he comes to spend it. Triumph of Survival. The moron gayl¥ doth contrive A life of cheerfulness, He thinks o long as he’s alive His life is & success. b Pride of Position, “Why don’t you run for the Legis- lature?” i don't sée the advantage,” an- swered Farmer Corntossel. “I'd rather have people askin' me to vote for them instid o' requestin’ them to vote for { me.” The True Optimist. 1 heard an optimist one day Who heaved a sigh Because some folks. are scrappy. sald he, “The world must be o.k. So long as T m prosperous and happy. “If dishere profanity gits to goin’ any stronger,"- said ‘Uncle Ebenm, gineter git myse'f a job in a deaf an’ dumb asylum.” Lenid and ! | | | gan. |on Capitol THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Senator Wesley L. Jones of Wash- ington backed me up against the out- slde of the oyster house on the cor- ner, and proceeded to freeze me Stiff In a cold wind while he told me of his 18,000-mils Chautauqua trip. T tell this, not to impress the reader with my familiarity with Senators, because he is the only one 1 know, but merely to show what a_friendly man Senator Jones is. And how cold that corner was! The Senator has a big. rugged face, aglow with human sympathy, “No,” said the dwarf In one of Grimms' tales, “something human ls dearer to me than the wealth of all the world.” Senator Jones has something of the dwarf's bellef, otherwise he would not have taken the time to freexe me In the lee of the oyster house while he told of the men he l2ad seen and the places he had been, giving those two lectures a day, months on end. People, people, people! - They were what Interested the Senator, and they are what Interest me, and what in- terests you, all those who read here and elsewhere of the doings of men, the thoughts of men, thelr appear- ances, their likes and dislikes No matter what memories of what strange sights we bring back with us, even from & trip covering 18,000 miles, more or less—or from a dream journey—or from a trip downtown— the laeting tnpressions arc made by people. * * }ike the alternating now attracting us, now repelling. We need the rectifier of love to regeive the best of their impulses and to filter out the bad. This overwhelming interest in our kind on this mysterlous globe that bears us on a strange journey through space and time, this tran- scendent curiosity about other men, women and chiidren, Is our heritage in our general humanity. If it were not for this interest pervading us like sunbeams through the sk curlosity of ours, the writers of novels would go sell shoe strings on the corner. As things are, nothing so grips us as a good story well told. We pick up that earliest of Conrad’s novels. “An Outcast of the Islands,” with the determination of reading just a few pages, “to see how It goea” and when we come to five hours later we are on page 364, looking regretfully at those mournful words, “The End. A friendly member of the United States Senate can hold us charmed. though cold. as long as he tells us of the queer charactdrs he has seen and the funny things they said. His own reactions, too, in all he saw Interest us, because he, too, is human. “Remember, I am human,’ Markind is electric current, | saia the bishop at the dinner of con- gratulation upon his elevation to the bishoprie. The fact that the Senator spoke twice a day was interesting. not as showing his energy. but because he declared that his audiences became to him after a while merely so much scenery. He came after a while to accept the groups under the big tent as part and parcel of the tabernacle itself, as an Indlspensable adjunct to the spread of canvas, he said. He knew before he mounted the platform just what porticns of his addresses would bring applause, just where old Farmer Corntossel would let out a loud ‘‘Haw, haw,” and at just which line the good housewives would snicker. * = *® You sce, it does not make much difference how we consider humanity whether in the pfece or in the parcel men and women are always engag- ing. Nor do we bave to be a United States Senator to enjoy the spectacle in which we, too, act a part. Heavens, WASH BY FREDERIC Consistency, thou art undoubtedly jewel. Thou adornest, it would appear, not the crown that presses down upon the opulent brow of James Couzens, senfor Sénator from Michi- At least so sayeth the orxcles Hill. One day this week Senator Couzens went to the White House and cloguently pleaded the cause of his friend, Gov. Alexander 1. Groesbeck of Michigan, as an ideal Attorney General of the United States. Next day, following the Sen- ator's example, and. some say, at his instigatlon, the entire Republican mambership of the Michigan delega- tion called on President Coolidge and boosted Groesbeck's aspirations. Now comes the story On December 29 Renator Couzens introduced in the Senate a bill “to prevent and punish the use of political influence in the appointment or promotion of Fed- eral employes.” Section 3 of that worthy measure reads: Any member of the United States Senate or House of Representatives, or any member of a State legislative body, or any State official, or any of- ficer of any State or national polit- jcal organization who makes any re- quest, oral or written, to any chief officer or subordinate officer, or em- ploye of any of the executive or ju- dicial departments of the Govern- ment, asking for the appointment of any person or the promotion of any employe, shall be gullty of a misde- meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined a sum not exceeding $1,000 or be imprisoned not to ex- ceed six months, or both, and shall, moreover, be disqualificd thercafter from holding any office of honor, profit or trust under the Government of the United States.” PR 1f the great proletarian world out- side thinks that rancer and recrimi- nation rule supreme in Congress in these days of partisan bickering, let 1t contsmplate the fraternal scene in the Senate. It fairly reeks with brotherly love. During the roll call on the Muscle Shoals bill .Senators Underwood and Norris, the fates of whose respective bills were at stake, might have been observed hobnobbing like two long-10st comrades of a distant youth. At another stage of proceedings Senator Curtis of Kansas, the regular Republican leader, wan- dered over to a seat alongside Sen- ator Ladd of North Dakota, lately expelled irregular, and held confab with him as affectionately as a pair of cooing doves. ‘The while Senator Dial of South Caro'ina, lately under the lash for an act of Democratic infidelity, threaded in and out of his side of the chamber, arm entwined around a brother Democrat here, elapping the back of another there, as lovingly as If he had never been spanked In his life. * % Senator Claude A. Swanson of Vir- ginla gave the new junior senator from Colorado, Rice W. Means, a tip could casily anu pieas- his colleazues in the United States Senate. “Don’t ask ‘em where they're from,” said Swanson. “Just agsume they're from Virginia. If they're nmot, they'll be ashamed to admit it, and youwll acquire auto- matically a reputation for felicity and tact.” % % % President Coolidge has moved so quickly with respect to the judici- oy's | ary changes necessiated by Justice McKenna's_retirement that _his ‘new Attorney General may be named be- fore these reflections see the light of 11t 1t were not for this great| INGTON OBSERVATIONS | no! While the Senator has i good thne unburdening his soul to me I enjoy talking to a man-rize Senator at close range. Soon we shall proceed along the strest, past the stores with their stuft in the windows, to a restaurant we know and there enjoy the circus put on for the Immense entertainment of all the patrons. Johnny, the counterman, is loqua- cious fellow. His middle name, which even the chef has never heard, begins with L, so probably it is Loguacious. Certainly that would fit. Johnny must have worked in a side show once in his checkered, striped and otherwise decorated career, for this is the way he begin Well, what will you have, brother? What can we do for you today? Here we have a little ham and eggs, or maybe you want a stack o' wheat, or a couple of these fine doughnuts, or a plate of sauerkraut; it's good for what alls you. “What'll you have today, brother?| Step right up and put in your order. ! We have plenty more where this came from. Let us have your order, triend. Whatll it be today, brother?” You are delighted to find you are & full-fledged brother to honest John, the counterman, whose worst fault and most delightful proelivity is his ambulating tongue, that cannot keep still though the heavens fall. John's tongue is of the self-starting va- rlety—by no means rare phenome- and it never tires. No, never * % Aboard a street car we proceaded to the front platform, there to take la stand behind the thick-set, gray- haired motorman, who has traveled 12,999,999 miles through the streets of | Washington and is now bowling off | his three mlillionth mile ‘Crabbed old fellow, I'll bet,” vou to yourself as you note the wide | tace, the steel-gray eyes, the deter- | mined lips. He might be anything with- that face. Why, take him out of that blue suit, drag off that cap, put him in a gray sack suit, a feit hat on his gray haed, bet he would pass for & successful merchant any- where. Put him into another sort of blue suit, give his legs a slight st to star- board, he would answer well to the title of “Captain” and take his place in the immortal company of the mas- ters of the clipper ships of the olden days Looks like rain,” you murmur into his ear in suprema disdain of gram- matical niceties. “Looks like it he replies, hands on the controller, eves steadily ahead. | “Been running on this line nigh onto 40 years.™” A proper ejaculation of wonder | mixed with congratulation passes out| of your mouth. The lines of the mo- torman’s 1ips soften. You wonder what he Is going to say now. “See that biz high school there?” he asks, indicating with a toss of his head # great kecondary school struc- ture that stretchies cut to one side of | the tracks for a block. “My girl's in there—goin’ to gradu- | ate next June. =y A cruel and a heartless world—and yet— Humanity finds much to love in It, besides much to do in it, and more to dream. Senator Jones of Washington, you would have been pleased that rainy afternoon when the colorless appear- ing man stopped to view the starved kitten dragging itself along the walk. | | “#e went on—but half an hour Jater | he was back again with a big soap box and a bettle of warm milk and a big saucer. IHe poured the milk into the saucer and left the kitten under the box drinking in & new lease on | dife, ! Yes, as the dwarf said! Something human Is dearer to us thun the wealth of all the world. I WILLIAM WILE printed day. But the diverting sug- gestion meantime is percolating through Washington that the Presi- dent may have a real purprise in store. It i= to the effect that a woman for the first time will enter the cabinet and that the next Attor- ney General of the Republic will be Mabel Walker Willebrandt. Her ap- pointment would follow a precedent of which Mr. Coolidge has been Gemonstrably fond—promoting as- sistants who have rendered merti- torfous service. Mrs Willebrandt has been Assistant Attorney General since September, 1921. The public associates her chiefly with prohibi- tion law enforcement. But she has also had charge of the aqually Import- ant division of tax law cases at the Department of Justice. Californla’s “Portla” has acquired a national reputation as a law officer. If Presi- dent Coolldge is minded to “recog- nize” the women's branch of the Re- publican party, there would be en- thusiastic approval, of Mrs Wille- brandt's choice as Iarlan Fiske Stone's successor. Be it sald In pass- ing that she is young (35), good- looking, tall, human and brilliant. woR kR Pomp that is stately without being spectacular marks official receptions at the White House. The French call them “levees,” the English “drawing rooms” and the Itallans ‘“recevi- mentos’ Mrs. Coolidge, in her ocon- fidential moments, probably would call them just “parties”” The open- ing one of the season last night, the so-called diplomatic reception, was marked by that unostentatious dig- nity for which White House tradi- tions are famed. There is just one touch of Old World ceremonial. That is when the Marine Band, glorious in scarlet, thunders “Hail to the Chief’ and the President and the First Lady, preceded by military and naval aldes and accompanied by members of the cabinet and their re- zpective wives, march down the grand stalrcase rather solemnly and form the receiving line in the blue room, When the reception is over the President and his consort are escorted back to thelr private apart- ments amid another little procession. That's & sign that the party is over. * % %k ¥ One of Benjamin Franklin's de- scendants, Robert Irwin of Phila- delphia, has just passed away at Toklo, aged §1, after a long and dis- tinguished career in Japan. Irwin was a cotemporary of Dennison, Durham and Stevens, who contributed largely to the development of Nippon in the Meiji era. For b0 years he w: a trusted adviser in Japan’s foreign trade and political undertakings and enjoyed the friendship and confidence of two . generations of influential Japanege. Irwin was born in Den- mark when his father was American Minister at Copenhagen. % ¥ % Vice-President-elect Charles G. Dawes will not come to Washington until & day or two before Inaugura- tion. When he has been duly in- ducted into office he intends return- ing to his home, at Lvanston,’near { Chicago, and emacting the role of Cincinnatus until Congress has re- assembled. It Is understood that Mrs. Henderson, Washington's “Grand Old Lady.” is disposed to renew her offer, made when Mr. Coolidge become Vice President, to piace her new (and still untenanted) marble mansion on upper Sixtsenth street at the Vice Presi- dont’s disposal. Gen. Dawes has com- plcted no private vesidential arrange- ments, as far as is known. (Copyright, 1925.) Cancer and Terror BY VERNON KELLOGG Head of the National Research Counetl The newspapers and magazines are giving wide publicity to news, some of It true and some not true, about cancer. Now it is all very well to call the attention of the public to the riousness of cancer, but it is not well to ereate in the public mind a state of terror or panic. In the first place we should know that the statements and figures indl- cating a material recent increase In deaths from cancer need critical scrutiny. They cannot be accepted at their face value. The figures given for carlier years do not fnclude all deaths from cancer. Many deaths re- corded as due to “old aze” were in reality cancer deaths. With increase of knowledge and better diagnostic methods cancer is now more readily discerned. The older figures, used to determine an average death rate, are also not perfectly comparable with the the figures of later years, because of certain differences in geographical and age distribution of the recorded death ca At best, however, the figures are bad; they put cancer on a plane with such murderous discases as pneu- monia, tuberculosis and kidney af- fections. But theré is nothing in this which need create panic. Cancer is not an infectious disease It does not sweep over the country as an epldemlie. It is not even caused by a germ. At least it is not proved that it fs. Nor is it definitely heritable. What cancer is 18 well known. What actually causes cancer is not known. It is a riotous growth of cells in_one or more spots in the body, which Inetead of becoming specialized to perform a particular useful func- tion, preserve a generalized or primi- tive character and continue their mul- tiplication without regulation. Unless this unregulated and ever increasing &roup of cells is cut out by a surgical operation or killed by radium or X-ray radiation, it may so invade and interfere with the normal tissues and organs of the body as to cause death. Cancerous growths do not usually be- gin before middle age. and deaths from cancer occur mostly in old age. In that respect it is at least a be- nign disease compared with those other deadly afflictions that cut off the child or adolescent befose reach- ing the years of achievement. What causes or starts this anar- chistic behavior of cells in a body in which all other cell growth is regu- lated by the needs of the body is so far undetermined. The most that is known about it {8 that cancer often begins at a point of chronic frrita- tion, either external or internal; a broken tooth against which the lip rubs, a pipe held always at one place in the mouth, a spot of chronic in- ternal fnflammation. There are many reputed and adver- tised cures for cancer. Some are consclous fakes. Some are honestly believed in by their more or less ig- norant orlginators. The real cure for cancer will probably not come until the real cause for cancer is known Scientific men_are working hard at the problem. It will be solved. (Copyright.) THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 3. Real People Portrayed in Fiction. A recent iSsue of the Rulletin of the New York Public Library con- tains a list of books ih which real Pgovle appear as characters, romans &’ clef. ecompiled by Earle ¥ Wal- bridge, librarian at the Harvard Club of New York City. Though not very trustworthy pictures of the charac- ters portrayed, these novels are en- tertaining, and afford an interesting postscript to the real blography which has been under discussion in the previous articles of this series. The list Is too long to quote more than a selection of the tales, thess which are given about some of the more familiar characters. The full list may be consulted In the reference room of the central library. Daudet, Aiphonse: Kings In Bxile.— Axel Is a thinly disgulsed portrait of the Prince of Orange. Christian 11, King of Tllyria, is & portrait of Fran- cis 11, the last Kingof Naples, who lost his throne in 1880. Dickens, Charles: Barnaby Rudge.— Dickens is supposed to have taken Lord Chesterfield for his model in drawing the character of Mr. Chester. Dillon, Mary: The Patience of Joh Morland.—A political novel of Wagh- ington about 1830, Kitty McCabe s Margaret O'Neille, who married John Henry Eaton of Tennessee, Secretary of War in Jackson's cabinet and aft- erward Minister to Spain. Du Maurler, George: Trilby.—Little Blllie is sketched from Frederick Walker W§1840-1876), famous firtist and {llustrator. whose early death blighted a brilliant promise. Ellot, George: Middlomarch.—Ac- cording to Mudze and Sear's “George Eljot Dictionar: Dorothea Brooke is Mrs. Mark Pattison (later Lady Dilke). Will Ladislaw s George Henry Lewes, the Rev. Casaubon is Mark Pattison, Oscar Browning is Tertius Lydgate, and George Eliot's sister, Chrisyana Evans, is Celia Brooke. Ford, Paul Leicester: The Honor- able Peter Stirling—There is no doubt that a great deal of tlie popu- larity of “The Honorable Peter Stir- 1ing” was due to the universal recog- nition of its hero as a portrait of Mr. Grover Cleveldnd. Hawthorns, Nathaniel: The Marble Faun—Hilda is a prophetic picture of Hawthorne's eldest daughter, Una; Kenyon is a portrait of Paul Akers, the sculptor. Kipling, Rudyard: Stalky & Co— The Hon. G. C. Beresford is the original of McTurk. . Meredith, George: The Amazing Marrlage—Gower Woodseer is sald to be a sketch of R. L. Stevenson. Meredith, George: Diana of the Crossways.—Diana Warwick's history is founded on that of Caroline Norton, one of -the three beautiful grand- daughters of Sheridan, immensely admired in the society of her day and popular as poet and novelis! Sedgwick, Anue Douglas: The Encounter.— There can be little doubt that In Ludwig Wehlitz the author has presented a study of Nietzsch Sinclair, May: The Divine Fire— “The Divine Tjire” is the one book of May Sinclalr's that everybody likes. It is the stovy of a genius, a char- acter said to be the prototype of the poet, Ernest Dowson. Stevenson, ~Robert Louis: The Wrecker.—Some of Loudon Dodd's experiences were those of Will H. Low. Jim Pinkerton is a genfal, far- away carleature of S. McClure; Corpl. John may be identified with John S. Sargent, the great portrait painter. Tolstoi, Ley: Anna Karenina.—Con- stantine Dmitrich Levine, especially in_ his religious experiences,. is in a Iarge measure Tolstol himself, as Matthew Arnold has pointed out in his “Essays in Criticism: Second Serles.” Wells, H. G.: Mr. Britling Sees Tt Through—Mr. Britling is & trans- parent poriralt of Mr. Wells—an amazingly frank portralt. He has never before produced so engaging.a likeness of himself. We are not speaking about his private life, of which we know nothing, but of his Ideas, his imaginative thies, his character &9 a man of letters. ANSWERS TO Q. Which is larger, tions or the new Navy JROK. A. The width of the bulldings is the same—560 feet—but the Navy Bullding s 860 feet long, whila the Munitions Building is 780 feat in length. The Navy Bullding has a gross floor space of 948,182 square feet. The Munitions Bullding’s floor space s 847,250 square feet. Q. D4 Andrew Carnegie furnish the money to bulld the Pan-American Building?—H. O. L. A The Pan-American cost $1,000,000. Andrew Carnegie gave $750,000. The remainder was contributed by the countries repre- sented in the Pan-American Unfon. the Muni- building - Building Q. Who was the fattest man who ever lived?—G. C. C. A. Miles Darden, who at the time of his death, In Tennessee in 1857, woighed more than 1,000 pound, sald by some authorities to have been the largest man of whom there is| any record. He was 7 feet & inches in height, and at the age of 47 welghed 871 pounds. He was 59 years old when he died Q. Did the Young Men's Christian Association orizinate in this coun- try?—A. €. A. The first Young Men's Christian Assoclation in America was organized in Montreal in 1831. Q. Do German police doss grow cross as they get old?—G. W. A. German police dogs. while they do not seem demonstratively affec- tionate, are stanch and loyal, and conduct themsel with quist dig- nity which is equaled by few other breeds. Many doxs in old age become not have this tandency any more than dogs of other bree: Q. Would gasoline as a wash hurt the body paint on a car?™—E. E. H. A. It is not advisable to use gaso- line as a cleanser on an automobile finish unless you are attempting to not be removed by clear water and pure soap. Gasoline will tend to qull the finish of the automobile. Q. How much do hen cggs weigh?— J. MeM. A The Department of Agriculturs says that there is no Government standard for the welght of an egs. as the weight varies considerably. However, eggs that are of a 'good average size usually weigh 24 ounces a dozen. Smallér eggs weigh as low as 18 ounces a dozen, and some ex- :eptionally selected size eggs weigh 32 ounces a dozen. Q. How great a distribution has the victory medal by Fraser had?— €. G. D A. It is said that, next to the “buffalo nickel” the vietory medal has had the most wholesale dlstribu- tion of any coin of recent times. Q. How does a person feel after a radium treatment?—M. K. A. The Public Health Service says that the average Individual after a radium treatment experiences no sen- sation whatever. Q. When and where 2id the Erie Rallroad first run?—G. F. snappy and cross, but police dogs do | remove some grease or dirt that can- | QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN that an atom cannot be measured & rectly. 1ts welght must be calcu lated from various physical and chem ical laws. Q. How many lepers are there the world?—A. G. A. Tho number of lepers in the world s estimated to be about 3,000 000, two-thirds of them being in China. Q. Which port has the larges number of steamship lines departing trom 1t?—J. P. C. A. Fully 200 lines of steamshlps are in operation at the port of New York—a record not achieved by any other port In the world Q. 1t a houss faces directly south by compass, will the sunshine at noor enter at right angles the year round?—G. A. D A. No. The sun is due south 3t local msan noen about the middle of April, the middle of June, the first of September and the latter part of De- cember. About the middle of Febru ary the sun is due south about 14 minutes after local mean noon; abou | the middle of May, about 4 minutes before local mean mnoon; the latter part of July, about 6 minutes after local mean noon, and about the firet 0f November, about 16 minutes befors local mean noon Q. What system fs used by Japaness to dwarf pines?—O. T. A. The Forestry Sérvice says thut the system used by the Japanese to dwar{ pine trees is kept secret b them. o Q. How often does the hlosd clrc late through the body in 24 hours?” A M A. Tt takes about 15 seconds for | the blood to pass through the bods Therefore, in 24 hours the blood would | pass through the body approximately | 3,000 timea. Q. Why does the State of New York recognize a divorce obtatned say, In Reno. when the grounds for divorce in Nevada are so differen: from the grounds New York?’— E. T A. The Constitution of the United States ‘jmposes certain obligations upon the States In their dealings with each other, Section 1, Article IV, pro ¥lding that “full falth and credit shall be given in each State to the publis acts, records and judicial proceeding | of every other State.” This clause | has been held to mean that in civil ses, when the courts of one Stu have given a judgment such judgme will be reco, fo | the courts of every other ¢ | out a new trial. It also m contracts lagally entered Into in « State are bind'ng and enforceable | another. In the ma of divorce | by this clause a State is required recognize a divorce granted in any | other State, even though it may have been granted for reasons for which the laws of the first State would not allow a divorce. The only restriction which courts have upheld in t interpretation of this clause of Constitution 1s that the State grant- Ing the dlvorce shall have jurlsdic tion over the parties; that I, thut the party should have a a f residence within the State and that proper notice of suit should be give A. It was first chartercd and ran from New Yori City Pa. -Q. Ts thers a lawful manndr of preventing structures in mapped streats before the streets are legally opened?—W. S. A The proposed new the city of Greater New in 1832, to Erie, charter of York pro- ful. The bullding commissioner can- not grant a permit to build In the bed of an unopened street. However. the applicant may apply to the board of appeals, which has power to grant a permit with eonditions that will limit the proposed structure to & comparatively inexpensive sort and yot assure a fair return on the in- véstment. In Massachusests legisla- tion is being sought empowering mu- nicipalities to condemn an easement in favor of the public over tha bed of unopened strests. preventing strue- tures pending opening of such streets. Q. Can the measurement atom be taken?—K. D. A. The Bureau of Standards says of an As .Unf ortunate Editors from all sections of the country seem to be unanfmous In the opinfon that the removal by Gov. Jonathan Davis of Kansas of Chan- cellor E. H. Lindley of the State Uni- versity almost on the eve of the gov- érnor’s retirement from office has been another of those unfortunate moves which show ths error of po- litical vontrol of education. Says the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Whatever the facts may be In the particular case, this controve lustrates again the danger fo higher education of political or semi-polftical control” In the opinfon of the Bal- |timore FEvening Sun: “At this dis- tance it is & matter of littls concern whether the chancellor of the Kansas University ought or ought not to be fired. The point of interest lles in the fact that just such rows are in- evitable when education enters a mesalliance with politics. One of the charges made against the deposed chancellor s ‘political activity." It is not llkely that any such charge would be laid had the alleged politi- cal activity been in the Interest of the present State administration. Po- litical activity is @ sin only when it 1s detrimental to the powers that be.” % dox % From Indlana, whence Dr. Lindley went to Kansas, the Indianapolis Star says: “Gov. Davis merely discredits his State and its eductaional system in the estimation of Hoosiers, when he undertakes to oust Dr. Lindley from the post of chancellor of the uniyersity. The people of Indfana have known Dr. Lindley too long and too well to take seriously the com- plaints of Kansas politiclans concern- iug his administratio Those wha best know Dr. Lindley, says the La- tayette Journal and Courler, “declare that the charges brought against him by the present and outgolng Gov- ernor of Kansas are unfounded and most absurd. Lindley Is charged with holding aloof from the students: with being aristocratic, with insubor- dination, partisanlsm and procrasti- nation.” The Worcester Gazette quotes . Gov. Allen as having sald: "TI'd Iike to know if the university, under Lind- Jey, {s running the State, or if the State is running the university comments: “If Dr. Lindley tried to run Kansas, how could he have re- mained aloof? And if he was aloof how could he run Kansas? And, any- how, how could anybody run Kansas with both ‘Henry and Me' In that State, alive and kicking, particularly kicking? There may be something the matter with Kansas, after all, but it tsn't envul, that's & cinch. “The schools must be taken out of politics everywhere,” declares the Kansas City Journal. “Already edu- cational circles throughout the coun- try have been infected with the be- lief that Kansas is under the same system of political manipulation which Gov. Walton established in Okla- homa.” However, in the opiniomw of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, “broadly speaking, State imstitutions vides a method that {5 sald to be law- | Thus New York must recognize Ne | vada divorces if it be shown that the | plaintiff had a legal residence in Ne | vada and the defendant had boe | legally notified of the euit Q. Wphere is the Black zine published—L. L. P | A 1400 Broadway. New I + Fox maga York City Q. Wil frost cloudy?—D. T. I “ A. Trost occurs when there is olear sky and ifttle wind. Hea {1ow clouds act as a blanket, proveni- ling the earth from givinz off its | heat. A moderate wind is generally |an_ effective deterrent of frost. since {1t keeps & thin layerof cold air from | forming near the ground, mixing the warmes alr of the upper regions with M. | (Let The Star Informatiow Rurra Prederio J. Haskin director, Tawenty-fir | and € strects northwest, ‘answer wour | question. The ony charge for this ser |ice is 2 cemts in stamps for retw postage.) occur when it Removal of University Head Seen Political Tangle of higher learning never can be en- tirely taken out of politics, because in some degres they necessarily in- ject themeelves into polities. In manv States It is regarded as a political fact that the head of a State institu- tion of higher learning must, in add tion to his other duties, be a ‘prativ smart politician,” who can confab with the influential men of the State and hobnob with members of the Legis ture to get generous and iucreasi appropriations. That's the yeal spot in thess rapidly swollen. Stat endowed Institutions of some the Westorn States.” The University of Kansas, declares the Tulsa Tribune, “has been thre the fires of political turmoil. Tt been kicked around like s political ping-pong ball, not by Its professors or by its presidents, but by the two many two-by-twice minds that have sat in the legislative chamber at To- peka and by governors whose political perspective was as pitlably meager as that of the governor who has now exercised more power then judg- ment." The New York system by which World criticizes the the Kansas Univer sity is controlled, a State board of ad- ministration, the three members of which are appointed by the governor and can be removed by him. “They must be uncommonly wise and versa tile men,” says the World. “In addi- tion to supervising the higher educu tion of the State, they have charge of the State prison, paroles, the State Agricultural College, the Insaie lum, the three normal schools.. the house of correction for wayward boys and the houso of correction for wayward girls. After the governor they are the lords high everythinz se. They are, along with other high and diversé qualitles, poli- ticlans. Need we point a painful and obvious moral? Education is & ten- der plant, and it withers and dfes in the heavy atmosphere of political cigar smoke.” Jnited States Bureau of Ldu- eays the Lincoln State Jour- recently made a rurvey of tbe Kansas situation, and denounced the paid board system in unstinted terms It was recommended that the law be repealed and the educational insti- tutions be placed in-the hands of an unpaid board of nine members. Sal aried boards of control have heen tound efficlent in managing some State institutions and activities. In education they have proven a fallure as'a rule. The Kansas situation adds evidence of the weakness of the system.” The Pittsburgh Sun quotes Willlam Allen White, famous Kansas edilor, as saying: “The discharge of Chancellor Lindley is pure politics The episods {3 oné of those God-sent incidents which &t one man's es- pense are sent to arouss a State. The ultimate result. the Sun saye Mr. White Believes, “is that the Uni- versity of Kansas will ba lifted be- yond the reach of polfticians of withered minds by the crusadiug wrath of an outraged citizenry.”