Evening Star Newspaper, January 15, 1925, Page 6

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[ THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Fition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY....January 15, 1925 THEODOKE W. NOYES. .. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busigess Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Otfce: 110 East 42nd St. _ Chicago Office: Tower Butiding Furopean Oftice : 16 Regent St.,London, Evgland. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents per month; daily only, 43 cents per month; Sunday only. 2 month. - Orders may be sent by mail or tel phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car. riers at the end of each month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo. Daily onl; -..1yr, $6.00; 1 mo., 50¢c Sunday on 1yr., $2.40; 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., §10.00; 1 mo., $5¢ Daily only.......1¥r. $7.00:1mo.. 60c Sunday only......1yr, $3.00;1mo, 25¢c Member of the Associated Press. I'he Associated Press {s exciusively entitled 1o the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to ft or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news pub- ed berein, Al rights of publication of special dispatches hereln are also reserved. Farm Relief Measures. A lot of encouragement Is to be found in the preliminary report sub- mitted by President Coolidge's Agri- cultural Commission. It would seem that at last the problems of the farmer are being tackled in a prac- tical ‘way by practical men who are disposed to keep their feet on the sround and their hands out of the United States Treasury. It is a de- cided relief to have recognition of the fact that agricultural problems are samenable to the same economic forces by which all other interests must submit to be governed. When the nine men constituting the commission got down to brass cks they quickly reached the: con- clusion that about the only present “emergency” in agriculture has to do with the caitle growers. A lot of things need to be done to smooth the way for agricultural producers in other lines, but none of them re- cuires to done The commilssion has not found that agri- culture as a whole is in condition -of @_ship in distress and about to founder. No hastily constructed and makeshift life-rafts are required to salvage the general agricultural sit uation. There is time for careful planning and sound building of a permanent agricultural program. Even in the case of the cattle growers, the measures of relief pro- posed by the m hav ai strange but none the less comforiing sound, after the epidemic of panaceas with which we have been assailed. No revolutionary legislaticn. no raids | on the Treasury, are suggested. The | finds, In fact, that exist- | ing agencies are fully competent to afford the cattie men the financial assistance ‘they require, and its only | legislative proposal along this line is{ that the agricultural credits act be be overnight commiss commission amended by eliminating the provision | which prohibits the rediscounting by Federal intermediate credit banks of ioans negotiated by federally char- tered credit agencies. That is so modest and so reasonable a request that Congress should grant it without question or any prolonged debate. Later the commission recommend some minor changes in the tariff, particularly proposing a duty on hides, but there are no indi- cations that it is likely to bring forward a legislative program that would necessitate an extra session of Congress. The good start that has been made justifies the hope that a sound and permanently beneficial pro- gram will be worked out. oo Secretary Hoover's Views. s Hoover i of the opinion that there is sufficient room in the present spread of prices between pro- | and consumer in all lines to permit marked reduction in prices of | commodities without loss of wages or profits. This possibility lies in the elimination of waste. His views on the subject were outlined in an address delivered last night to a business con- | ference of delegates under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce of the | United State: i Secretary Hoover, however, draws | » sharp distinction between those who deliberately try to confuse efforts at co-operation in waste elimination with pricefixing and restraint of trade. He swarned his auditors that he was not “hinting at abrogation of the Sherman act, adding that there are processes of wasteful competition which are en- tirely outside legal interpretation of unfair competition. They arise chiefly from ignorance of efticient business methods,” he said, and they impregnate our whole sys- tem of distribution from top to bot- tom.” The only remedy he knows of is_education. Secretary Hoover is re- zarded by business men of this coun- try as one of the deepest thinkers 21pon economic and business problems, and the opinions he expresses are al- ways along practical lines, grappling at first hand with hard facts. When he says that he believes farming and manufacturing producers on one side .and consumers on the other will find it: possible to witness a reduction of the argin between them without re- duction of wages or legitimate profits, liis words should he listened to and his-advice followed. i R on may ducer + Legislators are compeiled. to con- sider “the intricate problem of pre- vesnting houses and ground which | “have come inte great demand from Becoming correspondingly expensive. o Framing the Traffi The joint committee on the Dis- trict traffic probiem has received two easures for consideration, one from “the New York experts on the traflic question who lave been consuited and one from the Engineer Commis- sioner of the District. Both bills propese large additions to the police force to care for traffic regulation & New York experts suggesting 500 more men and the higineer: Commis- sioner 300. Both bills propose addi- tional Police Court judges to hear vaffic cases, With enlargements of \ | ¢ Bill. the court organization, They differ only in details. On these two points there should be no material difference of opinion regarding the necessity for more po- licemen and more judges. It is gen- erally agreed that traffic regulation cannot be enforced with the present number of policemen and with the present court facilities. All violators cannot he caught, or. when caught, punished. Most of the members of the present squad ave engaged in merely directing the flow of traffic. There should be a large addition to the force to cope With the evil of rule breaking at other points than controlled intersections. Nobody questions the need of more Jjudges, whether they are organized separately &s a distinct court or merely detailed to hear traffic cases. Nobody questions the need of abolish- ing the present collateral system, which enables the majority of of- fenders, even when caught, to escape with inadequate penalties. Enactment of a traffic law at the present session is the ‘most urgent need for the sake of public safety in Washington. The Capital's record in respect to street safety is shock- ingly bad. Recently, when the streets were covered with hard-packed snow {and fcy ridges the number of viola- tions of the law was diminished. As soon, however, as the sun had com- paratively cleared the streets the ar- rests mounted in. proportion, though, of course, not all viclators were caught.. In other. words, the rules were observed only because it was impossible to mavigate the streets at more than legal speed. was careful ‘because conditions com- pelied care. As soon as the condi- tions changed for the better the old habit of carelessness returned. The fact that the House and Sen- ate committees are working Jjointly on the traffic question encourages the belief that an enactment will be effected at this session. The case is so serious, the need of relief so urgent that this expectation seemed to be justified. R The Muscle Shoals Bill. After 'vicissitudes of unsurpassed complexity the Uil ~providing a method of utilizing the great power plant at Muscle Shcals, undertaken by the Government &s a war measure and now approaching completion, has passed the Senate, radically changed from the form in which it passed the House at the last session. It now provides for the lcase of the power plant for a period of not more than 50 years to a corporation to be formed for the purpose. If the United States cannot make such a lease, on terms that are satisfactory, the Government is to take over and itself operate the plant, for the manufacture of nitrogen and other products, The Senate bill is a substitution for one already passed by the House providing for the acceptance by the United States of an offer by Henry | i a term of 100 years, That offer has now been withdrawn. Thus the Sen- ate bill will be considered in the idlsposmon in both branches of Con- at the present session, there is prospect of conclusive action. The proceedings of the last few days have been marked in the Senate by maneuvers that at the time seemed contradictory, but that have actually followed @ consistent course of elim- ination. First, the Underwood pro- posal was adopted in the committee of the whole, that for leasing to a private corporation formed under Government auspic Then in sub- stitution was adopted a proposal for a postponement for consideration of the whole matter by a Federal com- mission. Next. the commission plan was negatived in favor of the Norris proposition for straightout Govern- ment operation. Finally the Senate | returned to the Underwood proposal, and on the passage of ‘the bill ad- hered to it by a vote of 50 to 30. The delay that has been occasioned in decision as to the best method of utilizing the power plant at "Muscle Shoals has not been a loss, for the plant itself is not finished. The great dam which is to supply the power is still under construction. Should Congress at this session de- cide definitely upon a mode of op- eration the decision will be in season despite the long delays that have occurred. It is the hope of the country that this immenss power plant project will be the means of producing fertilizer from the atmosphere, in the form of synthetic nitrogen, in such quantity and at such a cost as to supply the farmers with a cheap and abundant source of material for en- riching the soil and fostering plant growth. An enormous sum has been expended. Whether the plant can be economically operated remains to be secen. e birds has been heard by all our peo- ple and Washington is a charitable town. Its people never turn a deaf ear or @ cold heart to a callfor help. The birds’ SOS has gone out. The Star recently broadcast a statement by Dr. Paul Bartsch, curater cf the National Museum and professor of zoology at George Washington Uni- versity, that our birds are hungry. Famine is upon them. Bartsch said that “continued blanketing of the birde’ food sources by ice, sleet and snow has brought the finches, spar- rows, mockingbirds and other mem- bers of Washington's feathery flocks Everybody | Ford to lease the power plant ford House on its own merits; and, with a | gress to.settle this question definitely | threatened and likely famine-stricken | to a famine-stricken state.” He sals “If residents of Washington only realized what a pitiful condition their feathered friends are in right now I am sure they woyld take timé to throw them a few grains of corn, a hatful of birdseed, some chicken feed o: a piece of bread every meorning., Unless they do, the bird population of Washington is going to be greatly diminished in numbe Many of us knew, poor birds, that you are in hard luck. When the ground, trees, bushes and weeds were covered with snow or ice, many men and women and the children under- stood what hard sledding it was for the sparrow families and the wild and shyer birds of the suburbs and coun- try. It is sad to think of finches, mockingbirds, cardinals, jays and crows going ‘to bed without supper, getting up at dawn after a cold night's roost and not being able to find a bit of breakfast. Then, to work hard all day and not find a morsel for lunch, and then to go to & cold and cheerless roost without a supper! Hard lines, poor birds, but the people® of -Washington have. heard Dr. Bartsch’s call. Tel not a sparrow starve. Yes, birds, we are scattering slices of bread and many of us will throw out corn and other grain. We will help you through this trying time. We will see that you get enough to eat to keep life in your little bodies and we hope that when Spring comes you will be singing and chirping as happily as birds can. T ebs Terrapin and canvassback duck have almost disappeared from the menu, but the Washington bon vivant may at least point with pride to the fact that the Chesapeake oyster ab- solutely refuses to associate on any terms whatsoever with the typhoid germ. - There is still an aristocracy of food. ——— There has always beem, and prob- | ably always will be, both among na- tions and individuals, some difficulty in arranging terms of setilement in a manner that will please both debtor and creditor. PR e George Washingtonian importance is bestowed on Muscle Shoals as it is considered with a view to nitrogen for artillery and fertilizer for agri- culture—first in war and first in peace. ——— The majority does not always pre. vail. There are vastly more autos than small boys with sleds, but the latter present indisputable ims for deference in the highways. — M e It sometimes appears to need the correspondence customary in connec- tion with a resignation to show a Government official how much he was | really appreciated, { et Tt is hoped that the March climate will not render a committes on snow shoveling in order in connection with the inauguration preparations. SHOOTING STARS | | BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Real Toil. Everybody’s workin' hard To have a little fun, With comic pictures by the yard And jokelets by the ton. | | To the theater's displa: We travel weary miles, Or dance until the break of day In jazziest of styles. Oft this effort to be gay Proves a weary test. Men become so tired of pl They go to work for rest. Respite. “Do you know anything about the duties of the office you are seeking?” dsked Senator Sorghum. Not a thing,” answered the candid applicant. “Well, that may have 'its ad-| vantages. They'll at least hold off long enough to give you & chance to get acquainted before the critics be- gin to slam you.” Persistences of Nature. One's ‘whiskers ' grow just Iike the Snow, Our carnest protésts braving; Though scraped away, back in a day! So what's the use of shaving? Jud Tunkins says a few grievances are absolutely necessary to the kind of folks Who can’t be happy unless they are holding mass meetings. No Choice. ] “Don't you sometimes feel like walking out of -the theater into the street?” “What's the use? At this time of year the street isn't likely to be much | qleaner than the play.” Relativitie “Would you be willing to elope with a man younger than yourself?” asked the Baron de Sauvian Chaise- Longue. “Tt would we impossible for me to a@mit, cither now or in years to come, that a man of ‘eloping agé was younger than myself.” Possibly Uncle Sam would like to have obligations recognized at least to an extent that will enable him to figure in the recollection of friendly nations as an casy and considerate creditor. — s mt— There will be inauguration festivi- ties worthy -of the occasion. A unanimous popular enthusiasm con- cerning a great national event can- not be suppressed. et The “Happy New Years” are for zotten, but that First of January snow still linge: N = Help the Birds., The call to scatter food for famine- Where are the snows of vester vear? ©°T do not care a rap, When snows immediately here_ Monopolize the map. “Among de man dat got practical advantage f'um goin' through a col- lege,” said Uncle Eben, ‘‘was one dat 1 remembers in particular. He was a burglar. - vt A correspondent asks whether dia- monds are inflammablé, We don't know, but a good many people with money to burn have ‘em.—Portland Evening Express. r——— The scheme .to illuminate Niagara | Falls seunds as if .it had been de- vised by a member of the Amalga- mated Lily Painters of Americ New York Herald-Tribune. ot Congressional Rocord appears with some of its print upside down—thefe- | by enabling many members of Con- gress to read, it without changing position.—Wall Street Journal. bt The most important nut on an aute- mobile is the fellow wko drives It.— Illinois State Journal, | | usual, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. “No_snow too deep!” declared the big sign on the bus sent around by the enterprising transit company to tantalize the neighborhood through which it hopes to run a line. It was @ great plece of strategy. Even the obdurate gentleman wha refused to sign the petition had to admit that the glittering bus looked mighty fine there, billowing up and down over the snow like some huge swan on a placid river. But the snow was tos deep for most people! What a snow it was, to be sure, that first real snowfall of the eason, with its incessant downpour of flukes and sleet. continuing hour After hour, all through the night, until by daybreak the National Capi- tal lay coated with glistening white! Perhaps that was the longest case of sleet on record, at least In the memory’ of us youngsters. Maybe somebody who remembers '43 can recall a longer onc—but certalnly it was of enough duration to suit the mosat enthusiastic clamorer for “real winter weather.” There was nothing. about that first snow that . reminded any one of Spring, Fall or Summer. It was Win- ter with a capital “W," real, for-sure Winter; the kind we used to read about in the story books of childhood days, the sort the old folks told about when they gathered around the fireside. Bven Tom, the intrepid alley cat, re- fusid to go out that night. The warm house suited him right down to the ground. A wiggling of his sensitive nostrils, two eyes pierced into the dark, was enough for Tom. With a mew of disgust he gave it up for the night, abandoned thoughts of war- fare,"returned to his warm chair by the radiator. Yes, sir, a night that even a cat would not go out in' * % The sturdy milkman came along, as at 4 am., his horse ploughing through the alley on schedule time. You gotta hand it to the milkman and his ole horse! Snow and sleet could not stop them. An hour after they went by their tracks and foot- prints were completely obliterated The first real light of dawn showed strango transformations in our alley. Bare flower beds, ugly patches of dirt in yards still showing green Erass were gone, while over all were spread the cleansing mantle of the snow, the blanket of the seeds. Radio aerials. from almost invisible strings of wire, had become white bridges across space, tangible evi- dences of the invisible pans of ether, of that miracle which bridges the seen and the unseen. Across the alley a spring aerial, which had been stretched to its length on the hor zontal, now bowed to the ground with its welght of molst snow, as if the burden was too much for it Garagés, ordinarily not things of beauty, although of great utility, ust be confessed, had become glant doll houses, peaked with sugar coat |ing during the night, their roof-ridges clean-cut and sharp with frosting Fences, too, had been glorified, each rail and wire being many times its normal size and pictured in a new glory of usefulness and beauty. Even the humble garbage can back by the gate bore a great hat of white more preposterous than those ridiculous huzzar hats sometimes worn by hu- manity. And still the snow fell, without a stop, as if snowing was the normal procedure of nature, not sunshine and shadow, rain and rainbows, sunrise and sun. of days and nights which makes up our time and eternity * x & Now that the shouting and the tu- mult has died, now that the cursing at the snow—and at officials who dld not and ;thén .did remove it—has ceased, let ‘us;-calmly consider to- ~IN TODAY’S BY PAUL V. COLLINS, It is authoritatively stated that a | famine is likely to attack Washington within the next few weeks - which will carry off some thousands of its in- habltants. The threatened victima are. “éven as you 'and . I"—bipeds—but, while we are “unfeathered bipeds,” | these fellow creatures have natural mil- linery such as not all of us can sup- port. A startling news story a few days ago gave the first inkling of the tragedy confronting our many friends, the birds, cut oft from Winter supplies of food, by the snow and alest, and consequently looking in distress for the quick establishment of “soup houses” by the charitably disposed. humans— but the big humans are so slow, and picking is so desperately poor: And there are a lot of birds which live in Washington, aside from those employed “in_Government.’ Talk about the rent situation for human tenants! It is mothing, com- pared to the high cost of living, when all the seed supplies are cormered by Jack TFrost. The saucy glish spar- rows—those social climbers—seem to Dbe the first to find every new boarding house. But cfe of them got ocaught up with, just outside of Dr. Gartch's bird cafeteria a few dars ago. The professor runs this lunch counter upon a shelf besids his own breakfast room. Thers was one of those bour- geois eparrows pushing jn ahead of Mrs. Cardinal—she of true-blood | lineage, who is too polite to eat until her distinguished husband has dined, for she knows that it is his royal right to"dine alone and first. » So when Mrs. Cardinal saw, with horror, that little” whipper-snapper of an English sparrow upon the feeding board, ehe was £o Indignant, says Dr. Gartch, that she hopped right over to him, picked him up by the nap of the | neck, carried him to the edge of the table and just dropped him. Then ehe withdrew until her own lord and mas- ter had come back and finished his repast. Manners? Birds are ex- quisitely trained in etiquette, accord- ing to the customs of their best So- ciety. Ask Dr. Gartch, curator of bird ology, National Museum. He is pri vate secretary to their best families. All the birds know him and trust his good tact and judgment, even in settling family jars. He tells us that when Spring comes apace Mrs. Cardinal wil]l take on greater im- portance in the family relations—she knows her prerogatives—and, instead of hiding in the kitchen while the lord of the household dines, she seats herself at the first table and calls upon his laziness to feed her first— and he does just that. She is then too busy, for hasn't she to get the cradle ready and the layetts finishad? Spring is difterent from Winter—just like that. Last week Old Man Cardinal in one of his tantrums was abusing Mr: Cardinal and chasing her about the house in a scandalous mahner, until she would stand it no longer and she flew straight over, close to the win- dow where she saw Dr. Gartch look- ing out. The Old Man did not dare attack her there and she knew it; so| did he. Dr. Gartch is chief of police in Birddom. When he squeaks with his hand against his mouth & whole flock of crows will swarm around him ready for any raid he orders. * % % % Tt is a musical treat to sit with Dr. Gartch in the early mornings, just inside the room, beside the bird cafeteria, and there listen to the morning bird concert. There is pair of mocking birds, for the first @uet. 7The singer mocks and laughs (%1 in the endless procession | gether the benefits we derived from that first real snowfall. For surely the trafc problem is only one phase of the matter, al- though at the time it seemed to be the one and only consideration, did it not? Yet were we mistaken, as we often ar For what did the snow do for us? First, it took us out of ourselves, made us forget ourselves, our suc- cesses and our failures. The one uni- versal topfc was the snow. How to get down town, how one was to get back, what was the matter with the street cars, whether one should try to take the ca? out of thi garage, whether, if one got it out, it would get stuck In the road halfway to the office—these were some of the topics forced upon the 500,000 per- son (optimistic estimats) of a great eity. = ‘I'ie snow took ail of us out of our- selves in exactly the same way the world series base ball games did—i. e., made every one think upon the swme thing at the same time. Such mars thinking {s good for the soul, It does, to & certain extent at least, veplace narrow, individual thinking with broader, community thought. In the case of our snow it gave us one big topic for conversation—and what a blessing that {s! ‘Mr. A. stopped talking about houses, Mr, B. ceased lamenting his poor coal, Miss C. gave up for the nonce her plea for better Manchurian children, Mrs. D. found there was something olse interesting in life bsides her five hopetuls. The snow, too, gave chance to pan somebody. Grave phitosophers may agonizingly de- clare this to be a base aim, and per- haps it is, but it - is so human, brothers, it Is so human! I love to knock others—and so do you—and the snow gave me a grand and glorfous opportunity. What in the thunder was the matter with the street cleaning department, why didn’t it clean? What was the matter with the snow ploughs on the straet car tracks, why didn't they plough? What was wrong with the taxicab companies, why wouldn't they even answer the telephone? And what, in the name of high heaven, was the matter with the telaphone girls, that th¢y wouldn't even give one & chance to call a tasicab company? Think what the snow did for the boys and girls and their trusty dogs. New sleds went into commission for | the first time. There was much run- | ning to and fro, much shouting, mucn sculrying through drifts and rolling over in the same. | Snow men and snow forts, dear to children since Napoleon's day, went |up in a thousand yards at once, in the Northwest, the Northeast, the Southeast and the Southwest sections |of our city. And the surprising thing us a grand | was that the snow man of the North- | west looked exactly Ilke the snow man of the Southeast, and the snow | man of the Southwest was a dead ringer for the man of the Northeast In this universal fun there was| one discordant nots. It was the| meow of the cat, sending malediction | louder than that of a coal dealer or a Congressman upon the wet and good- for-nothing whiteness that incum- | bered the city. Perhaps the best thing the snow did for us was to make us realize more than ever just how smooth and beautiful our atreets are, in the main —with some exceptions of course, like R street on the hither side of the creek, etc. As Pennsylvania avenue began to clear up, how it did look! How easy under. foot! We séemed to have sud- denly acquired streets such as we never had, or, if ‘we had.them, we had forgotten we ever possessed. For cleaning off the snow, gentle- men, is only one part of what we get for our taxes. SPOTLIGHT | { { | from Fall to Spring. Listen to the beautiful whistle of that blue jay. See how funny he is when he eats corn! First, he swallows two big grains, whole; then, he nibbles at the third, holding It in his bill and break~ ing it. and swallowing the bits. Look at those downy woodpeckers —the rascals—who have evicted the wrens from their home when the Bird Rent Board was not on the job, and they have pecked, and pecked that tiny entrance until it no longer fits a wren, but is just right size for a downy woodpecker. The wrens had no lease, for leases are no longer given In Washington; the birds know that. - Besides, there is a scarcity of comfortable -apartments, at raason- able bird rents, that even the English sparrows have been building new nests, which they never do If they can find 3Ry unoccupied knotholes or chinks under weatherboards twhere they can crawl in. How human they are | There s such a mixed society of birds in Wasghington that one might even call this city a “melting pot” for bird immigrants, if the name were not so suggestivé of potpie that it would scare away the timid wings. There are the myrtle warblers, which stay with us all Winter; the hermit thrush. the red-headed woodpecker, the flicker, ths American and the white-wing _croasbills, the white- bellied and the red-breasted nuthateh, the golden-crowned and ruby-crown- ed kinglets, the meadowlarks in the open fields (If not snowed under), the Winter wren, bobbing his tiny head; the juncos (snowbirds) and all the sparrows—the song sparrow, the white-throated, the true, ths field, the ciripping. Even the English spar- row earns our sympathy by his grit nd self-dependence. He is the orig- inal propagandist for all the birds. Spread vour feast and the little Eng- lish sparcow will be first to dine; then, in his generosity, he tells all the other birds, and they, too, come He even invites the squirrels if there is corn or nuts. ¥ % Dr. Gartch is the first naturalist who ever banded a bird so that it might be identified later. He assures bird lovers that they are right in be- lieving that the same bird réturns year after year to its familiar haunts. Thanks to the initlative of that great naturalist Theodore Roosevelt, bird sanctuaries are now established and protected all over Amerjca. 1If a privato sanctuary be set up upon one's porch or in a nearby tree, the birds will find it and befriend their benefactors year affer year, a$ true peie and sweet sercnaders. Bird song is tuned like our own harmonies, says Dr. Gartch. with the same intervals between notes as our musicians give us. Not liké the notes of the Orientals, which have four ine tervals where we have but one. The birds have the same overtones as our own. | Dr. John Muir tells of his lying/ quietly in the deep woods of Cali- fornia and singing to the birds and squirrels, until they forgot to be afraid. and would ciamber over him and answer back to his music. But alack-a-day, if he sang “Oid Hun- dred.” Neither bird nor squirre! would stand for that; away they | would scamper, scolding at him for his bad taste. Dr. Gartch can call erows about him with a whistle, can carry | on a long discoursg with all b'rds and squirrels, discussing in murmured de- bate every topic. but he has never tried to sing “Old Hundred.” (Copyright, 1925, by Paul V. Collins.) The North Window BY LEILA MECHLIN The two exhibitions that are at { tracting most atiention in New York at the present time have been brought to this country from abroad. One is the retrospective exhibition of ish paintings which is being shown in the Grand Central Art Galleries under the auspices of the English- Spezking Unjon from January 10 to February 2§, and the other s the collection of paintings by the great Spanish artist, Ignacio Zuloaga, which opened in the Reinhardt Gal- ‘eries January 4 and will continue to January 31. During tbe first week that the Iatter exhibition was open it was visited, acoording to report. by over 3,500 -persons, and at any time during that period the Zalleries whereln these pictures were hung see the printings to advantage. British exhibition, which opened with a reception to the British Ambas- sador, is proving no less popular, but of the two it is certainly the more conservative, the less sensa- tional. There has been considerab'e agl-| tation recently, both here and abroad concerning the desirabllity of an ex- change of art as a means of increas- ing international good fellowship and understanding. Art {4 a universal language and is used, supposedly, for the expression of ideals. It is, there- tors, common ground and basis of sympathetic understanding. To an exhibition of paintings of thie sort sent to this country for these rea- sons most courteous and hospitable reception should be given. * K K * The pictures in the British exhibi- tion are not for sale. They have been generously lent by their owners, who have deprived themselves of their possession temporarily and have as- sumed the risk of allowing them to travel across the seas in order to demonstrate a friendliness toward the people of these United States. CUnder these circumstances adverse criticism is silenced. There are several interesting fea- tures of this British exhibition which, hgwever, may well be remarked, one of which Is the fact that herein works by cotemporary painters are hung slde by side with the works of the painters of the great English school of the ecighteenth century without in the least detriment to either. We talk a great deal about the old masters, little realizing per- haps that the masters of today are old masters in the making. Further- more. there has been a prevalent be- | et that modern works could not be hung with old works and that there- fore if one were so fortunate as to aoquire an old master it was neces- to banish from the the works of modern masters. The Phillips Memorial Gallery in this city has already done something to dispel here this misapprehension, for from the beginning Mr. Phillips has dar- ingly hung in juxtaposition the works of masters of all schools and all periods, thus proving the univer- sal of art—great art. % A mecond interesting thought sug gerted by this British exhibition is with regard to the quality of works by masters of the great English school already comprised in American public and private collections. Here is a collection got together by Alfred Yockney of London, under the super- vision of Sir Robert Witt and John Sargent, selected from private as wel as public collections and purposed to show us in America, or at least in New York. the high quality of attain- ment by British artists. Yet for al- most overy painter's work shown— painters of the eightheenth century of foremost reputation—we could to- day produce from our own public or private collections Fere fn Americe a= 800d, If not'better, outstanding exam- ji ple. Which does not mean, however, that it Is not a privilege and a pleas- ure to thus emlarge, through the op- portunity this exhibition affords, our acquaintange, but does indicate that our collectors have lLeen' extremely discriminating in judgment and that our opportunitfes are greater than wé have perhaps bsen aware. It is fn the works of the Jesser mas- ters and the modern painters that this | exhibitiow offers new material end Rolds special Interest. There are two charming portraits of Laura and Charlotte Walpols by Francis-Cotes lent by O. Gutekunst, and a beawtiful self-portrait by J. Watson Gordon, lent by the Royal Scottish Academy Among the cotemporary painters there are interesting works by the late J. J. Shannon. who, by the way, was an American by birth: by Lavery, Augustus John, Sir Willlam Orpen, Furse, Muirhead Bone and James Me- Bey. the Imst two better known by their etchings than their paintings. Like the works of our own artists, these cotemporary British painters are frank in expression and apparent- iy sincere. *x % x A special feature of this exhibition is & group of 10 paintings by our own John §. Sargent, who is, to be sure, a member of the Roval Academy and the Royal Water Color Socfety, but a citisen of the United States. These works, with but one exception, are all owned by Sir Philip Sassoon and have never before been shown in tha United States. They are eminently worth secing. They are, more still, occa- ston for patriotic pride. Mr. Sargent, the American, more than holds his own In this collection of works by British painters, and despite his long residence in England his painting is more akin to that of the American school than the British. ‘When we'¥ee in the British National Gallery paintings by Sargent and Whistier and the late Frank Millet labeled “Britie school” we have a little fesling of resentment, but in this present instance what is there to say when the painter himself is ac- countable for such listing? Does Mr. Sargent belong to the British or to the American school, or is he an out- standing manifestation of the fact that art has become international and that there sre no longer naticmal schools? % To such a suggestion the Zuloaga exhibition gives the lie, for Zuloaga is essentially of Spain, and whatever he paints he makes Spanish. This is equally true of his portraits of American women and of Spanish peasants and bullfighters. As Chris- tian Brinton in the foreword to the catalogue of this exhibition says: “Zuloaga’s art is eloguent of count- less latent atavisms, an art permented with the spirit of imperious abeo- lutism, an art that frankly bases it- self upon the imperishabie heritage ot El Greco, Velasquez, Valdes Leal and Francisco de Goya. One glanoe at the fervid, unflinching composi- tions of Ignacio Zulvaga and you are tace to face with the austors yet ardent integrity of the Spanish soul. 3 Here Is something that, In its passienate primitivity, transcends the trivialities of art for art.”” But why should American women wish to be paintod - in - Spanmish costume with Spanish background, and, if they do 50 choose, can the Spanish painter be | biamed If while executing the order he covertly cheek? Zuloaga's art is as essentially for- eign to things American as anything that could be imagined. In its own way It Is great art, but it is not our way. Perhaps for that very reason it may be all the better. Certainly Spain and Sweden, the most isolated of the countries of Europe in recent times, have produced the most virile art. Mestrovic, o long as he re- mained a Serbian, produced sculpture of vast interest and merit. As soon, however, as he became international ized, the quality of his work fell off. puts his tongue in his ame room | Q. How many brothars has John Barton Payne?—g. C. IL A. The Hon. Jobn Barton Payne has two brothers, Amos Payne, War-| renton, Va, and Hugh Goldie Payne, Washington, D. C. Q. At what age are Government employes retired, and what pension do they receive . L E. z A. The Civil Service Commission says that 2 per cent of the pay of ‘& Government employe is deducted each month for a pension. To be pensioned an employe must have reached the age of 70 years and been at least 15 years in the service. A certain per ‘cent of the salary Te- ceived in the past 10 years s grant- ed as a pension. This matter is de- cided by the chist clerks of the vari- ous departments. Q. Tn the days when Washington was bullt how fast did stagecoaches travel?—A. M. A. One historian estimates that the stagecoaches of those days, lumber- ing over rough and dangerous roads, went at the rate of about two miles an hour. Q. How large a throng gather to hear Lincoln's first inaugural ad- drese?—G. G. A The number has been varisusly ectimated at from 50,000 to 100,000, It was the largest gathering that until -that time had assembled on Inauguration day. Q. Do letter carriers furnish their uniforms, caps, etc.?—A. 8. A. The Post Office Department says that letter carriers and substitutes are required to procure uniforms at their own expense. Q. Can a Senator mittees at once.—J. A. A Senator may committees at the usually does so b on two com- L F. gerve on several same time, and Q. What is the record for produgtion for one cow’—I. I ha Department of Agriculture | says that De Kol Plus Legis Dixle. a Holstein Friesian, holds the world record for milk and butter fat, pro- ducing 33,464 pounds of milk and k ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKI wave. The section that was damaged, however, has been rebuilt. A sea wall Is being built at the presen time, ‘and Congress has appropriated 151,500,000 for a harbor to bs bui': at Corpus Christi. It wil] take abeu three years to complete this. Q. What are the French spol claims?—F. L. A. They are for damages incurred by American. citizens through the dep- redations by French privateers in the eighteenth century. After the treaty betwesn France and the United States was sigred the United States assumed the obligations of the French government to reimburse its citizens. Up to 1905 $4.000,000 had been appropriated by Congress and many hundred claims settled, but no appropriations have been made since. There are now 1,500 claims without adjustment. Q. Pleass tell m an overact L. S A. The thyroid gland produces an internal secretion which is necessar: to health, When altered in character liatton the symptoms o ve thyroid and its cure | it produces the symptoms of nervous- ed | D€S8 and irritation of the heart, and frequently others, such as goitre and bulging of the eves. Cases of thyroid trouble £hould be carefully weighed by a competent physician, inasmuch a8 he must be thoroughly familiar with the case before. attempting to treat it. rays have been used in some cases with great success, while in others surgical measures have to be resorted to. Q. Is the Washington Elm Cambridge, Mass, still standing? {C. P.B. A. It is no'longer standing. It fe! when workmen cut the limbs on { Octover 27, 1 A scion 6f the tres was planted on the spot, and a bloc of the old clm was presented to Yal University. | Q Was Fanny Crosby, j writer married?—D. G A. Fanny Crosby, the-blind hym writer, was marriad March 5, 1858, 10 | Alexander Van Alstyne, who was also blind. Their one child died while a infant. Fanny Crosby's hymns | poems total over 5,000, the hyn and 1.345.3 pounds of butter fat in one year. ¢ Q. How located in M. B. A. Recent statistics published show that there are now 29 fox farms op- erating in the Province of British Columbia, where a few years ago fox farming was an unknown industry. Q. Has Corpus Christi, Tex., been rebuilt sinée the tidal wave destroy- ed it?—-M. J A. The town of Corpus Christi was not wholly destroyed by the tidal many fox British farms The Future of Article TN The Filipinos talk about independ- ence as though we were wjthholding from them an inestimable boon which they had previously enjoved. As a matter of fact, they were never free, never have had political liberty and have never been self-governed. They have always been a subject people. ruled by an external power. All that they have learned of government they have learned since the American occupation. We, have been too I with them, too easy, and have de- pended too much upon the supposed regenerating forca of education. We thought that . the schoolbook conld solve all’ problems. Unfortu- nately, we have given merely a¥uper— fidal ecducation. 16 a eonsids mumber of natives @nd half-breed; the latter, residing wfestly in Manig of Spanish, Chinesa and .hative mix- turs, have shown mental aleftirefs and have developed Into. supdle poii- ticians, © glib" lawyers and facile writers. 5 These people of mixed blaod. are the ©Ones, in the main, who are mak- | inx all the noise ‘and tumult about in- ‘dependence for the sintster and selfish | -purpose of governing. and, it s gan- erally - feared,” oppressing the isiands. Philippine Bank Looted. The Philippine National into the hands of the natives during the Harrison administration. and was looted to the extent of about §40,000. {000 gold. The Filipinos, as have a decided gift for public ing and writing. but as vet shown no talent for administrative work or for patient. constructive toil. Their idea of nolitical public morality is that of the Spanish colonial rylers. who governed them to their own profit for several centuries, 1t is represented to the peopls of this country by the professional | dependence proagandipsts from the Philippines that the inhabitants of the islands are a unit in favor of independence. Such is not the case Many strong tribes, such as the Moros, are heartily and wholly opposed to in- dependence. They say that they fear the manipulations, intrigues and greed of the professional politiclans | In Manila, who, they believe, are seeking to get control of the Islands | wholly for selfish, corruot ends. | It is believed by intelligent for- eigners in the jslands and by peopie in the Bther parts of the Orfent who give the question study country were weak enough to yield to the demands of the industrious shouters for Philippine independence the islands would be plunged, within six months in hopeless revelution, for the cans and foreigners. Houge Stake In Islands. the American people lightly to vield to the arguments for independence advanced by the Filipino junta in this country. We have a deep and varied interest in maintaining con- and sailors fought for theee island: we have madeshuge expenditures to protect them for a quarter of a cen- tury, and it seems oniy fair to:those American enterprises which want to put capital into legimate projects in the Philippines that théy should have an opportunity to do so under fav- orable conditions. Though the Philippine Islands are able to supply this country with a large part of the tropical products which we consume, they are not da- ing §0 mow beeauss of the dog-in the-manger Attitude “of the Filipine politiciane, who refuss to givé Ameri- cans a squars deal. Tf capital In this country could be assured of fair treatment in the Thilippines, and conld know that the government would not be turned over to | | 50 years, the islands would be de- veloped rapidly ard the well being of the. péople enormously enhanced There would be an abundance ~of work for all classes, substantial wages would be the rule and the islands government, in turn, would profit. by this agricultural and in- dustrial activity. Means of communi- cation would be multiplied; educa- tion of the right sort would be made accessible and sanitary administra- tion widely extended. Internationn] Danger Signals. There is another danger that must not' be overlooked in considering the granting of independence to the Vilipinos. 1f the Utlited States were to withdraw from the islands and currender its sovereigniy, the Fili- pino people would be #n independent pation, Straightway they would be beral | Bank fell| in-| that if this| and that théere would be no security | lives or property of Ameri-| . { Tt would be a great mistake for trol of the Philippires: our soldlers | the | Filipino peliticians within the next| (It is certain that you pu-:le dail | over questions that we can answer fo {yon. You are confronted by problems | grawe to yow. which can be answercd | easily by us. Our attention is directe {m-r/m to matters of fact. In matters | legal, medical and fnancial we do mot | give strictly professional, cdvice, b even in these we can often smooth wou way and provide the contact you need with technicians. Make o pramtice asking us what you do ot Juow. Ad- |'dress” The Star Information Buren t Frederio I Haskin, director, Twenty. | Arst and C streets northwest.” Iiclose | cents jn stamps fo- return postage.) the Philippines By FRANCIS B. LOOMIS. | without means of self defense, and {that fact, taken with their unlimitec {capacity for getting into troubl their lack of training and self-re straint, would mean that they prob | ably would be involved in embarrass ing complications with the national { and governments of foreign countries within a short time. They would 1 | & prey to any ageressive, ambitiou | nation which chose to conquer ¢ oppress them. We have a grave dut and responsibility in this case would be extremely emiss in performance of that d and in the discharge_of our responsibility if w Jere 1o turge OVer, t 10,000,006 mostly heM-cf¥illzed people £ontrol celue 3 fd% Thovaand politiciars_jn Manila large a measire 0f autonsn are ‘at- presewt scif-governing Yery:great extant. They have Aeed, more libert: today than is con patible with their greatest good ar the continuance of best relations wit this country. No visitor to the Phi ippine Islands who travels extensiy {1y outside of the large cities and | towns can be convinced that the Fi pino people are ready for the great experiment of self-government inde pendently of the protecting and guid- ing hand of this Nation. High Percentage of Illiteracy. | se 10 intrig In spite of the efforts which have been made to educate the Filipinos. the percentage of illiteracy Is couragingly high. Ignorgnce and su perstition are still widespraad. O: of the most competent writers on the Filipino people in the iglands is Dea C. Worcester, who was Secretary the Interior 'and a member of Thilippine commission. He save th one of the easiest kinds of busines to start in the Philippines, and of the most profitable to conduc the establishment of a new religio last vear there was e nded by disorder and rie the activities of the “color Mr. Worcester, referring to a sim outbreak a few years ago, saye cor cerning the “colorum.” with hea quarters on Mount San Cristobal, a extinct volcano: “People visited th | place and paid huge sums in order to | persuade the god to talk to them. A big - megaphone, carefully hidden away, was so trained that the voice of the person using it would carry across a canyon and strike the trail or the other xide. Tt payments we satisfactorily large the god talked with those who had made them in a most impressive manner when thev reached this point in their homeward journey, “We have also had the Cabaruan fiasco in Pangasinan, in the course of which a new town with several thousand Inhabitants sprang up in a short time. There was a place of worship where the devout were a prayer day and night. There was also a full-fledged Holy Trinity made up of ‘local talent. Unfortunately, some of the principal péople connected With this movement became involved in carabao stealing and other forms of public disorder, and on a trip to Lingayen I saw the persons who had impersonated God, the Son and the Virgin Mary in a provincial jail. We have had “Pope Islo” In Negros, who was in reality the leader of & strong ladrone band, and we have had vari- ous other popes elsewhers who cupled themselves in similar ways | | Miraculous Healers Prosper. Jardly a year passes that miracu lous healers do not spring into ephen eral existence in the islands, and the people invariably flock to them in thousands. “The belief of the common people it asuang and in the black dog which causes cholera is well established. A very large percentage of them are firmly convinced of the efficacy of charms, collectively known as antinz- anting, .supposed to make the bodies of the wearers proof against bullets |or cutting weapons. Within ths past | year d bright young man in Parana- |que, a town imediately adjacent Manila; insisted that a friend should strike him with a bolo in order that he might demonstrate the virtues of his anting-anting, and received an in- jury from which he promptly died Again and again the hapless victims of this particular superstition have gone to cértain death, firm in the conviction that they could not be harmed.” . The. Worst. of ‘it is.that even th native press does not dare to combut such superstitions, if indeed those who control it do not still themselves hold te them. /' |

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