Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY. . .January 27, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. «hicago Office: Tower Bullding. European Office: 16 Regent St.,London, England. The Byening Star, with the Sunday morning edttion, ia deliversl by carriers within the €3 ¢ conts per mouth: datly only, 45 cents “per_month: Sunday only. 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele phone Matn 5000. Collection is made by car- Tiers at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo., T0¢ Daily only... .1yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50¢ Sunday only 1yr, $2.40; 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. nday . $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ $7.00: 1 mo., 60c $3.00; 1 mo., 26¢ Daily and § only Bunday oniy. . 1¥r., 1yr., Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press in exclusively entitled to the ‘use for republication of all news dis patchen credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pub lished “herein. Al rights of publication of clul_dispatehes herein are nlso reserved Our Grateful Appreciation. If million peop! he Capital commun appreciative th vote by constituting are gratefully overwhelming House of which perfected th, trict surplus bil District legisla < the people of practically of the every ctment Dis- crisis in e fair play| the Capital has been Cistinctly the issue Congress has in | the final test responded heartily and | faithfully tc for of its unrepr tal constitu-4 ency. The new effect to tb trict of C last Congre and Hardy and Wrigh vivors in this surplus committee last Con gress, have worked vigorously and ef- fectively to put into the law and to make practically the and fair findings of their report cerning the District tax sury Treasury. With th hel Chairman Zihlman and committee, and of ( and the appropriations committee, and of many friends of justice in botk e and House, they have now succeeded. The Capital community owes to them all a debt of grateful appreciation When Congr auth of t Justice the Harris es | who are the sur-| of the joint n operative wise con s in the of Acting | the District “hairman Madden other acting under the zation e new law, appro. priates the District's accumulated sur- plus for the Capital's bene of the District's t as part proportionate con- tribution it will in equity apply this local tax money either in accordance with the ratio under which these taxes were collected or in accordance with the 60-40 ratio which under the new organic is now the substantive law. Washington has consistently urged | that the should equita- bly be spent in ac with the | halfand-half law which alone author- ized its collection, and under which 1t was accumulated the Dis- trict's half of the of then- existing municipal the time, the neglect to meet which needs permitted and caused accumulation of the tax surplus. Washington has also urged that the surplus should be | applied, not to current maint and to a spasmodic reduction of the | tax rate, but in lump sums, dupli- cated under the half-and-half law, to some great and urgent permanent im- provement which for eco- nomical and speedy completion a much larger amount than can be from current revenue after provid ing for essential current maintenance; { as, for example, to bring our school buildings up tv date in number and equipment, a need demanding millions of quick expenditure. The law wis limits the application of the s to such permanent public improve- ments as schools, parks and play- grounds The only other reasonably fair alter- native is to spend the surplus on the indicated municipal needs with the government contributing 40 per cent of the total contribution ance with the existing substantive law ratio of 60-40 instead of 50 per cent in accordance with the half- and-half law which was in operation when it llected, which gave the authority to collect it and under whose terms it was collected. To ap- ply it in this would make the 60-40 ratio retroactive, applying it to money b it was en- acted and under the terms of a differ ent law. Of course, in equity and in accordance with customary busi- ness fair play the accounts of the| half-and-half period should be bal- anced and closed on the half-and-half principle, and the 60-40 ratio should be postponed in application at least until the date of its enactment; and these may be items in respect to which its application should in equity be even further postponed. But a Congress which justly and wisely recognizes the District’s right to its accumulated surplus taxes may safely be trusted to show the same wisdom and the same equity in spend- ing for the Capital's benefit this tax surplus, act of 1 tax surplus srdance to m expens: needs of war to nance requires ca spared i in accord- was ¢ way raised before o The climate moderated greatly, but there is still time for abundant verifi- of the prediction that this be the hardest ter on cation would record v o Capital Co-Operation. It was a real “District day™ yester- day on the House side of Congre and it demonstrated two important facts: &irst, that there is a growing better feeling in Congress, and particularly in the House, toward the National ‘apital, and a disposition to put through constructive, helpful legisla- tion. | of it should result for the District. | the last Congress we saw altogether | or those wishing to acquire an appre- House committee on public bufldings and grounds. One authorizes &n ap- propriation of $14,750,000 for erection of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which would give the Capital City the finest approach of any city in all the world, and which has been advocated since the days of ‘Andrew Jackson. The other includes fn the general pub- lic building bill an appropriation of $50,000,000 to house Federal activities in Government owned buildings in Washington. Then, seven District of Columbia measures were passed on the floor of the House, as follow. The $4,438,154 District surplus bill which has already passed the Senate, in addition to which it carries a pro- vision for an audit by the Controller ieneral which may give the District $819,373.82 more. The compulsory school attendance and school census bill, Authorizing the Commissioners to close certain streets. Accepting a gift of 28 acres of land from Mrs. Anne Archbold for park purpose Authorizing back re- tirement pay amounting to $68,425.08 to certain retired members of the Po- lice and Fire Departments. Extend- ing Bancroft place between Phelps place and Twenty-third street north- west. Authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to sell property owned b the Government in the rear of 913 I street northwest. On most of these measures the mem- bers of the House District committee were in complete agreement. On sev- eral there were honest differences of opinion, but the proceedings were free from dilatory tactics or attempts to frustrate the plain will of the ma- jority by taking tricky advantage of the rules. By a continuance of that sort of co-operation good legislation and more In too much of blocking desirable legis- lation because some member in either the Senate or House could mot have own way and sought to impose his individual judgment on the major- itv. In that way much District legis- lation was held up behind the Fitz- gerald workmen's compensation bill, which was highly controversial. At the same time honest opposition to any bill can be registered forcefully and as long as there is any that it may be effective This session of Congress has given District legislation the best opportu- nity for getting through on the mer- its of each question that has been given in many years. Credit for this is due to House Leader Longworth and the steering committee, who at | the start of the session declared that | the District would be given all of its regular days and as much more time as especially meritorious legislation might require. Credit is also due to the House District committee, whose | members have reached agreements in | committee and have come before the House with & united attitude on mqr- itorious District bills. If this sort of good feeling and closer co-operation better | days are in prospect for the District, | and the American Congress will find | its work expedited and much more pleasant than under the old regime of | incessant bickering over each District hit chance continues, measure. —— THE EVENING dent’s part that the efliciency of the Government shall be sacrificed, even in the cause of economy, and he real- izes that with Federal growth there necessarily will come increased costs. But these increased costs, so far as possible, must be offset by “reduction in costs of existing activities and the elimination of projects and the dis- continuance of operations that can be dispensed with without interference with Federal efficiency.” He believes we now occupy fields which should be abandoned, and that loyalty to the taxpayers demands reduction in the cost of Government “to a point which will reduce taxes to a point where they cease to be a burden That part of the necessary reduc- tion in costs could and should be achieved by reducing the number of Government employes is one of the points made by the President. “We have superfluous employes,” he said. “It is an unpleasant and difficult task to separate people from the Federal service. But it can be done. It will be done.” The President is concerned by the fact that the Federal pay roll in 1924, including benefactions, reached the staggering total of $1,680,000,000, and he insists that this total must be reduced, not by reduction in salaries nor parsimonious withholding from deserving pensioners, but by the dropping of unneeded employes. He states that the average salary of Gov- ernment employes in the District of Columbia increased from $1,134 in 1913 to $1,749 in 1924, but in undoubt- ed realization of the fact that in 1913 the scale of Government salaries was unwarrantedly low In comparison with private employment, he makes no suggestion that they are overpaid toda: The President Tealizes that execu- tion of his program will involve un- pleasant tasks and will call for sacri- fices. But he wants “to see the sacri- fices of those who are charged with the expenditure of the money of the Government somewhat commensurate with the sacrifices that have to be made in the home by the taxpayers who furnish the money for the Gov- ernment.” “If you become weary un- der this earnest call and pressure for economy,” he added, “think of the beneficiaries of your efforts. Think how they bore uncomplainingly their burden, That will hearten you to re- newed effort.” l by o Predictions based on scientific study | are to the effect that further warfare will practically annihilate mankind. It reason will not assert itself the law of self-preservation should come to the rescue. o A “czar of the underworld” in Chi- cago was shot while alighting from his motor car. There is no place where a czar is any more safe than he was in the old days in Russia, e The number of people content to re- | main at home and work crossword puzzles {s enormous. There is a great | deal more to life in a large city than teas, receptions and the jazzy dance. ———— One of the hopeful and significant | facts in connection with peace prizes is that none of them has caused any | serious quarrel among claimants of | the award. It becomes more and more evident that Washington ought to have grand | opera oftener, so that a somewhat | emotional populace will not take it so much to heart that it is likely to in- terfere momentarily with busines reat musical and dramatic entertain- ment ought to be a part of the cus. tomary life of every city, as readily available to those who appreciate it clation, as base ball is to the deve of sport. The highbrow, like every | one else, pays rent, taxes and fines for | traffic offenses. He should be entitled to his innings in the matter of enter- tainment. t ce —————— The centuries of forgetfulness about King Tut are being compensated for by industrious publicity such as would have been impossible in ancient Egyp- tian days when a man desirous of say- ing a few words to the public was obliged to work by hand with a paint brush or a chisel. ———— The railway grade crossing con- tinues to settle altercations as to auto- mobile right of way without the aid of traffic police. JES——— Trotsky surpasses Mussolini in literary output, but does not approach him in disciplinary accomplishment. ———— Economy in Government. That President Coolidge's insistence last year upon economy in Govern- ment expenditures was not for cam- paign purposes only, as scme of his opponents tried to make the country believe, was evidenced last night when he addressed the eighth semiannual session of the business organization of the Government. He told his as- sociates in responsibility for expendi- tures that they must not only sustain the good record for economy they have made, but that this record must be bettered. Expenditures during the coming year, he said, exclusive of debt reduction and postal outlay, must be brought under $3,000,000,000, and to accomplish this there must be a reduction of $62,000,000 in the budget now in course of preparation. With this accomplished, the President ex- pects a surplus of $373,000,000 to be achieved, and on the strength of that surplus proposals for tax reduction are to be made to the next Congress. The President believes the country is entering upon an era of increased business activity and material pros- perity, and that with increasing busi- ness it is to be expected revenues will be increased, but he is adamant in his stand that increased revenues shall not be absorbed in unwarranted increases in Federal expenditures. The Coolidge program Is to utilize in- creased revenues in part to discharge the public debt and in part to make Second, that sincere co-operation among the members of the House Dis- trict committee works wonders in get- ting bills through. Two important measures were fa- vorably reported yesterday by the possible lessening the burden of tax- ation. He wants the business of the Government conducted on the same | The fuel that must keep us warm | the radio.” o The unmistakable esteem in which | France's Ambassadors to this country are held, again shows that it is pos- sible to talk business without interfer- ing with friendship. e The Prince of Monaco is seeking to | borrow money to protect his interest | in Monte Carlo. And the prince was always considered such a lucky gam- bler. e SHOOTING STARS. 5Y PHILANDER JOHNSON Optimistic Determination. “I mean to be an optimist,” Said Hezekiah Bings. “I'm sure we'll easily resist All sorts of serious things. The Fourth of March will storm. Rents will not cause a frown, see mno In price will soon go down. “I've heard about George Washington, Who couldn’t frame a fib. His conversation would not run To cheeriness so glib, From following him I must desist. What pleasure fiction brings! I mean to be an optimist,” Said Hezekiah Bings. Labor Saving. “You appear to like speaking over | “It means less physical exertion than the old way,” answered Senator Sorghum. “There isn't a crowd in waiting to shake hands with you.” Bad Guesser. ‘When the outdoor air’s at zero, Then the janitor's no hero And the heat supply is held in close control. When the temperature is rising, He displays & zeal surprising— He takes off his coat and shovels in the coal. Jud Tunkins says after seeing so many smugglers and grafters enjoy- ing themselves he has about come to the conclusion that a guilty conscience doesn’t hurt as much as the teacher used to say. Matter of Direction. The pleasures that we rashly win Too often leave us sad. The joy ride is a merry spin Till it goes to the bad. Spoken With Feelin; Tt was a very bad play!” It was,” agreed the actor. 'And so much profanity? “I rather enjoyed the profanity. Every time T was called on to use it I thought about the author.” Encores. The encores now are growing less. A great eclipse appears And is acclaimed a grand success, Yet won't be back for years. “Unenlightened folks,” said Uncle prudent lines that make for success in private enterprise. There is no intention on the Presi- Eben, “used to be skeered of an eclipse, and even now I's satisfled to have it jes’ about as far eway as it fa STAR, WASHINGTON, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. : Spring has ¢ome. Oh, tra la Ia la a! If this burst of lyricism strikes Yyou as a bit previous know that the fAirst authentic slgn of Spring came to my house onc day this week. Therefore there is cause for re- joicing, despite the snow and the sleet, the gray skies, the other evi- dances of this Winter of our discon- tent. For, no matter what the weather, Wwhen the postman brings you the first seed catalogue of the season Spring 1s on its way. The seed catalogue is more indisputable evi- dence than the song of the first robin. When one removes the wrapper and sees that big colored picture on the cover of the old gentleman wheel- Ing along a barrow loaded down with big ripe tomatoes and succulent ears of corn, and huge cabbages, and car- rots appetizing enough to make a rabbit leave his happy home, then he knows for certain that Spring has come, despite all the eviden ot nature to the contrary. It Is Spring in the heart, if not in the visible world, and, after all, is not the former the most important place for Spring to visit first? It avalls little, the vernal season out- doors, with its singing birds, clear skies, gentle breezes, if bleak Winter prevails within the heart of man. Better a warm heart of gentleness and appreciation, a Springtime of thoughts and ideals, than a Winter of spirit, where the groundwork of life lies covered with harsh feelings toward others, where the horizon of the mind never lifts beyond one’s own selfish desires. * o oK % The first seed catalogue 1s chock full of pictures, as all sced catalogues are, The big seedmen know the value of them. This first harbinger of & pring has many beautiful colored il strations, besides hundreds of black and white photographs. Here you may see pictured everything from tremendous tomatoes to giant doubl dahlia-flowered zinnlas. Here we have a page, all In green, of “the rliest, largest, highly flavored pea grown; the best of all peas may be on your table early in June.” Gee! Looky here, Mandy, what the book says about these wonderful peas: “The " immense size of the pods, borne, in such great profusion and so liberally filled. insures & bountiful sup- ply at all times.” But look at this—here is a melting marrow that seems to be Jjust| about as good. “Easily grown. Pods | large. Peas delicious. is another variety “The standard large podded pea. Delicious quality. Enor- pea pea we | we must select the want—wait a minute—here is another | variety. Enormous pods filled with | perfect peas.” Here is another—it must | be good—listen: “Early, big cropper, | extra fine quality | We seem swamped with a plethora of | peas. Which pea shall it be? Each variety s equally great, seemingly, | how are we to know which to choose? | The only thing left is to toss up for it. | Just a socend—here is one we missed: “The attractive pods contain eight to ten peas of delicious quality.” What | could be better than that? And here Is a letter from a man in Maine, 1ying ‘Peas were wonderful. I never had | anything to equal them. They were | loaded with large pods containing eibght to ten peas of fine flavor. Let's order those wonderful peas! How much are they? Why, 10 cents a | package. Hem, perhaps they are only | half as good as those up there for 20 cents a package—maybe we had better order some of those after all. * x Xk X Even the city gardener who con- centrates on flowers is Interested in the first half of the handsome 200 page catalogue. This first section is devoted to vegetables and farm seeds Though a gardener Erows never a radish, he cannot forget that the IN TODAY’S BY PAUL V. A bill has already passed the House| and is now before the Senate author- izing the Commissioner of Patents to | destroy, or otherwise dispose of, the| old models of inventions held in stor- age In the overcrowded Patent Office. These models occupy a space of ap- proximately 45,000 cubic feet—equiva- lent to a row 900 feet long (three city blocks), 10 feet high and 5 feet deep. They are practically all kept in boxes | out of sight, hence, in thelr present | condition are neither useful nor in- teresting, while none is in service for reference. With rare exception, none is less than G5 years old, since the requiring of working models with applications for patents ceased in 1870, unless called for by the com- missioner in cases where drawings proved inadequate to determine the praoticability of the device on which a patent was requested. It has been suggested that there is ample space in some of the war-built temporary buildings, where all of these models might be put upon dis- play, at least temporarily, making an interesting and informing museum of the evolution of invention during the last century and a quarter. In all cases, the original patents—run- ning 17 years with occasional renew- als—have long since expired, but there 18 recognized a progressive evo- lution in invention, and also the pos- sibility that even the futile attempts of inventors who lacked some essen- tial for perfecting their ideas, may suggest to other inventors some de- vice which would prove successful. In an address by F. W. H. Clay, As- sistant Commissioner of Patents, de- livered some time ago before the ex- aminers of the Patent Office, the speaker sald: “Each Invention {s Inevitably the seed of future inventions. Even| thdugh it is itself never used, its in- fluence never ends. There is never any possibility of stepping backward in the progress of knowledge, no mat- ter how small the improvement.” From tbat standpoint, why denature the “seed?” ask those who désire that the old models be put upon display rather than be destroyed. Probably in no other 45,000 cubio feet In the world is there so much of romance and tragedy condensed as lie there in these models. Nor are there elsewhere so many mileposts of human progress as they constitute. * ok ok K It was indeed fortunate that the requirement that a working model be always filed was abandoned in 1870, else the hardship of such a require- ment would have made prohibitive the patents which protected the most complicated machine ever invented, so far as known to the Patent Office experts—the most tragic failure with the most Ingenious mechanism—a machine to set and distribute mov- able type, Invented by J. W. Paige. This machine was first patented in the late 80s; improvements were cov- ered with additional “patents” in the early 90s, and a working model, which had cost half.a million dollars, was shown at the Columbian Exposition. It was 8o complicated that two mechanics who had worked upon its comstruction became insane, and when it was at last made practicable, nobody except the inventor and his chief mechani- elan could operate it. Yot it was a |In the heart of every man and woman |playing together, the evening song of | bages. |learned that vegetables are the maln end of gar- dening, after all. Very properly the seedmen devote the first portion of thelr annual cata- logues to the vegetable seeds, roots, etc. The reader may be generations removed from the farm. Perhaps the nearest he ever gets to a tomato on a vine is when his train runs through the Eastern Shore, and he sees from the window the acres of red, ripe trutt. But a thrill passes through him, just the same, city man and white-collar man though he be, as he turns the pages of his seed catalogue and runs across the really beautiful pictures, in full colors, of the big tomatoes: and the cabbages and the beets. And there is an old friend—the girl who was in last year's catalogue—holding on as faithfully as ever to the stack of Hollana cabbages. One sees that this particular cab- bage resembles the modern American ®irl In at least one point, or rathe two. The cabbage is “a little legg: says the catalogue, Here is a dark red beet that would &0 Into our garden, it we were going to raise vegetables this Spring. “Prob- ably the best of the larger sorts,” the book declares. “It succeeds equally well at all seasons, and is one of the best to sow in early Spring, to suc- ceed the extra early and medium crop sorts.” * Ok K % But ah! here is the section we pre- fer, all of us with a 2x4 back yard Here is the flower seed portion, oceu; Ing the last half of the catalogue. Here we have the aid In selecting flower seeds for varfous purposes and situations, and hints on culture of flower seeds, and a picture of a man handling a cold frame, and little illus- trations of the wrong way and the right way to transplant seedlings. Ah, Sweet Alyssum, Aster, Calliopst: Candytuft, Celosia, Cosmos, Dianthu Hollyhock, Larkspur, Marigold, Migno nette, Nasturtium, Pansy, Petunia, Phlox, Poppy, Portulaca Verbena, Zin- nia—where in the world will we find anything more beautiful than you! Even your names are words of beauty, resplendent with the fragrance of memory even more sweet than the actual odor of your bright blossoms, blooming for a month and a day that we may be happy agaln For Springtime is the day of happi- ness. Let those who will say they like Winter best. They are only joking. Spring s enshrined forever In looking over the names of flower friends one wonders if names are beautiful because of flowers, or simply in themselves, comes to the conclusion that they s0 lovely because of both. . If men had searched the combinations f sounds and letters purposely to s lect pleasing names for the flowers, with no other thought in mind, they could not have achieved better results. There is the Columbine, the Rose, the Aster, the Peony, the Artemesia, the Auric the Celosia, softer in sound than the very Chinese wool flower itself, the Carnation, the Violet, loveliest of all flowers and names. Harken to the music of the Morning Glory, the anthem of the Crysanthe- mums, the symphony of the Delphinium and the Heliotrope and the Gypsophila our, the and | are the white Moonflower. Iere are the shy Forget-Me-Nots, and the pastels of the Sweet Peas, de- butantes of the garden, clothed in thelr costly, sweet simplicity, done for- ever with frills and flounces, leaving mere ornaments to the humble Cabe The debutante Sweet Peas have the true glory of dress lies in line and shade, not in laces or vivid color. ldly turning the pages of this first catalogue of the Spring, we dream of Althea, the Rose of Sharon, and of that shrub with the grand name, Hyd- rangea Paniculata Grandiflora. Yes, there can be o~ doubt of Spring is here! it. SPOTLIGHT . COLLINS. “'success.” It set movable type, with greater accuracy and speed than any human typesetter could do, but, just then came the Mergenthaler linotype for casting whole lines from metal dies, which superseded the demand for ‘the Paige complication, and the inventor's genfus went for naught. The Paige invention swept away Mark Twain’s fortune of $300,000 and forced the famous author to recoup his finances with his “Following the Equator” and subsequent books. Per- haps but for that success-failure, Mark Twain might never have felf the stimulation to effort which insured his fame and fortune. The United States patent system is the model of such systems through- out the world. All industrial nations, except France, have adopted the “American m,” and to the policy of encouraging inventive genius is at- tributed the leadership of Americans in labor-saving progress and pres- tige. * The first patent granted in Ameri- ca was given by the General Court of Massachusetts, in 1641, for a new method of making salt. The Federal right to issue patents to Inventors is provided in the Constitution, and the first patent law was adopted in 1790, whereby the issuing of patents was assigned to a board consisting of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and Attorney General. These officials, headed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, took the responsi- bility so seriously that few patents were issued. The drastic administration of the law, due mainly to Jefferson's op- position to monopolies, caused great dissatisfaction among inventors, and in 1793, the law was so revised that all applicants recelved patents, as a matter of course, unless it was proved in advance that the claimant was not the inventor, or that the al- leged invention was not novel and useful. That law continued in effect until 1836, and brought In its traln much litigation, putting the burden of in- vestigation of facts and merits upon the courts, Instead of upon the Patent Office. Under the Ruggles law of 1836 (still in force with some amend- ments), there have been Issued nearly 1,400,000 patents, and the administra- tion of the Patent Office today re- quires nearly 1,000 employes. The “father” of the present patent law was Senator Ruggles of Maine; the “stepfather’ who corrected the waywardness of the system and re-| formed its many abuses was Col Samuel Sparks Fisher, the leading attorney of his day, who in 1869, gave up @ practice netting him $40,000 a year to accept the office of Commis- sioner of Patents at $4,000 a year. He served about a year and a half, but so great was his genlus that the re- forms which he installed are still fundamental in present day adminis- tration. It was at the request of Commis- sioner Fisher that Congress in 1870 authorized the abandonment of work- ing models with all applications for patents, the commissioner deciding that proper drawings (except in rare {otn ! tor blended mainepring of impulse in the | NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M RECOLLECTIONS OF A HAPPY LIFE. Maurice Francis Egan. George H. Doran Company. This title is an invitation that no one is likely to decline. For its accept- ance offers, from at least two points of view, a rare experience. First, that of coming upon one who under the shadow of a ghort future Is still able to gather brightness out of his past. The prospect of speedy eclipse precludes, as a rule, long thoughts upon old periods of sunshine. Again, the human, looking backward, 18 prone to stress hardships rather than to dwell upon easements. A natural impulse, this, since somewhere with- in every man there is a hero hidden away under the cowardices and re treats of dally existence. In a retro- spect, through the simpls plan of for- getting the pleasures and remember- ing the pains, this hero, so long ob- scured, comes out into the partlal daylight of that which he has veurned $o to do and to be * K K K Maurice Francis Egan refuses to have anything whatever to do with either the one or the other of handi- cap or expedlent. Therein lies the rarely stimulating quality of sharing his experfences here. In the face of a rapidly shortening future, he is no more serene in the face of doom than he is seemingly unmindful of its ap- proach. And in respect to his own past, the hero complex fails to divert him’ from the joyous recognition of a life that is nine-tenths happiness. Scholar, philosophe: author, critle, aiplomat—friend. He stands four- square to all the winds of disaster and defeat A fine adventure in life, this—to go along with Maurlce Egan, the happy man. * x x % A part of the rich Indian Summer jov of Mr. Egan we shall never be able to reach, no matter how much we may strive toward it. For not all of us can set out on this adven- ture of happiness in the fecund birth- right of the Irishman, steeped in the rare tradition and the romantic lore of Ireland. Nor have we all the whimsical humor, nor the same brand of sentiment, nor the signifi- cant exclusions, and equally im- portant inclusions, of the typical blooded Irishman. These peculiar essences we not seize, except vicarious] can enjoy them thoroughly. Since, however, they serve the purposes of atmosphere rather than of substance, we need not we the | forego the delight of the ome while | stimulation of the as we trav long in the com- pany of this waywise man whc extreme subtlety of mind and action comes toward us in a bearing of childlike innocence and simplicity Friendship and religion—a genius for the one and a reasoned passion the other. These stand as the gathering the life of Maurice Francis Egan. What- | ever point in his career he is bring- ing out by way of this enterprise or that preoccupation, these ments emerge without effort on the author's part, without his conscious- ness even, as reason and explanaion of attitude and effort * k% Philadelphia, New York, Washing- ton, Copenhagen—these the chief | centers around which the recollec- tions gather. These the sofl out of which one is able to trace the yearly growth of a career—one of the most deeply interesting aspects of the whole adventure. One lingers longest here over the years in Washington Over the earlier days when young Egan was a student at Georgetown College, dipping in hours of leisure into the social life of the Capital, playing the role that agreeable young men have been playing ever since in the perennially man-scarce domain of polite society. H city in President Grant's administra- tion, with Miss Nellie Grant a quite “advanced” young woman—forerun- ner, no doubt, of the emancipated de- butante of the moment. This picture of Washington is a huge canvas por- traying everybody “worth while” in politics, diplomacy, letters, society. Hundreds of anecdotes bring one and another of the notables to the fore— all men and women about whom there is a tremendous and an acutely sur- viving curiosity. It is, however, the administration of Theodore Roosevelt that Mr. Egan takes the most unqualified delight. Under his skillful and genial touch dozens of characteristic sketches of Roosevelt himself appear. An enormous amount of walking and talking, adventures wherein foreign policies and domestic plans, literature and sports, general views and personal {deas get a tre- mendous airing and a vigorous sun- ning at the hands of this indefatig- able American. Here is a good one, a good Roosevelt story “It was early in June, 1907, a week or two after I had received my com- mission as Minister to Denmark. I was on my way up Connecticut avenue under threatening clouds, hurrying home to dress and say good- bye at the railway station to Senator and Mrs. Carter. One of those violent storms so common in the Summer was brewing. Suddenly I saw Presi- dent Roosevelt swinging along the al- most deserted street. And just as he greeted me a deluge fell from the heavens.” “‘Lovely weather,’ take a walk!' turned back. “‘I'm on my way to the dentist downtown,’ he said. ‘We'll have plen- ty of time for a good hike. “It seemed to me as if the very center of all the rainstorms of the season had opened; but nothing soak- ed his enthusiasm. He walked and talked, swinging his stick and ex- plaining to me the atrocities of which nature fakers were capable. I paid a rather divided attention. The cold water trickling down between my skin and the collar of my coat para- iyzed my understanding. The streets were almost deserted, but a solitary cab with a drenched driver and a de- spaiting-looking horse came toward us at a slow trot. “President Roosevelt sald: ‘T'm afraid I can't make you understand what I mean about the way a wolf ought to be stabbed. Stop!' he yelled out to the cab driver. The man, awak- ing, from despalr, and very much flattered, drew up his horse. Mr. Roosevelt began to draw a dlagram in imaginary lines on the chest of the animal, the driver growing wetter and wetter and more interested. As for me, I was soggy. Finally, after many complicated explanations, the President nodded to the cabman, and remarked: ‘I think now that this gentleman understands.’ and we went on at a rapid pace, tralling clouds of molsture into -the ante-room of the dentist, to whom the President intro- duced me. ‘This is my Minister to Denmark,’ he said, ‘and he's now in a position to explain to those good Danes whbat mistakes these self-con- ceited nature-fakers make. I mur- murred a proper good-bye, and man- aged to get home, dripping, in the cab which had slowly wandered after us in hope of a fare!” Just a lighter moment in the life of an important and busy man, who contributed soundly to education, to the practical aspects of religion, to atesmanship in his representative capacity abroad, to letters in his own writings, to editorial competency, and who contributed also to the greater he said, ‘let's cases) were safer than models in re- cording the essentials of a machine. (Copyright, 1925, by Peul V. Coilisa) things of friendship, of understand- ing, of sympathy, of a smiling out- look upon the whole of life itself, two ele- | he pictures the | in | BY FREDERI Q. In the Corcoran Gallery I find a plaster cast of the Pleta by Michel- angelo. Can you tell me when this commission was executed?—E. T. A. When Michelangelo was 24 he executed the Pieta in Rome (1489) by order of the abbot of St. Dennls. The original is in St. Peter's, Rome. Q. Who was the speaker at Wilson memorial service?—P. H A. He was Dr. Alderman, presi- dent of the University of Virginia. the Q. How many nations were repre- sented in the last Olympic games?— D.'R. & sented athletes Forty-five nations were repre- in the 1924 games by 1,430 Q. Who prepares the college board examinations?—A. D A. College board examinations are prepared by a number of college pro- fessors and high-school teachers. These people are called examiners and thelr names can be found in the annual report of the secretary, 1924, College Entrance Exami 431 West One Hundred and Seven- teenth street, New York City. - ‘Southern Pacific as fuel in locomo- Q. When did th begin to use oil tives?—G. L, A. The Southern Pacific Railroad Co. says that it was in the year 1900 locomotives. Q. Could a man see an object miles out at sea?—G. R. M A. A pereon on the beach with his five feet above level an object floating on the 2.9 miles away. Should the object have a height 40 feet it would be visible over 11 miles. A mountain 6,000 feet high should be visible 100 miles, provided the air is clear. The higher the object t ater its visibility, and the high observer's eye the wider his ran of vision, 20 sea can se water Q. What are young seals called?— are called pups, despite the fact that the adult males are called bulls and the females cows Q. Can the moon be se North as St. Michaels, Alas A. There is no place on the surface of the earth where the moon is never visible. Q. Is there extant portrait of Alexander Trumbull>—C. F. D. A. John Trumbull executed such a portrait fn 1792. It has recently t {placed on exhibition in the C | of Commerce, New York City Q. How tall was the giant that played in a movie with Harold Lloyd? —p. /@ ex a full-length Hamilton b amber A. John Aasen, the man who playe with Harold Lloyd in one of his re- cent pictures, weighs 460 pounds and is 8 feet 934 inches tall Q. What is the term applied to the loes of volce?—F. W. E A. The term is aphonia Q. Is the site of the old town “Carchemish of the Hittites” known? |—w.v. A. A huge mound marks the site of Carchemish, on the banks of the old Euphrates. Q. Who held Lincoln's hat during the first inaugural exercises?—W. S A. Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln's bitter political opponent. Q. For whom was Constantinople named?—H. O. A. Constantinople derived its | name from Constantine the Great, who removed the seat of the Eastern | Empire there, dedicating it May 11, 330, Q. How can I get employment as & Government hunter?—R. F. R. A. Positions as Government trap- pers are filled by the men in charge of the work In the several Western States where it is being carried | The wages paid depend on the experi- ence of the individual, who Is re- quired to furnish the necessary camp equipment and one or two horses, Radio Will Not | | Broadcasting of a ‘“de luxe” pro- gram by John McCormack an Lu crezia Bori, soprano of the Metropoli- | tan Opera Company, from a New Yor radio station has won such genuin popular approval that exponents the legitimate stage are sald to be frankly worried about the future of their anclent calling. William A. Brady, veteran theatrical producer, goes so far as to regard radio as “the greatest menace the theater has ever face implying that people will not con- tinue to pay admission fees when they can pick free amusement out of the air in the comfortable seclusion of their living rooms. “Reports from New York would ap- pear to support this rather ambitious prediction,” says the Kalamazoo Ga- zette, adding that Broadway play- houses, on the evening of this concert on the air, “suffered a serious reduc- tion In the size of their audlenc and & number of banner attractions, usually good meat for the ticket scalper, had seats to offer at box of- fica prices.” The New Haven Res- ister, however, declares “The claim that the concert lessened the attend- ance at New York theaters is unsub- stantiated and of chiefly local con- cern. However, it seems impossible that the demand for legitimate plays could be permanently affected by the improvement of radio programs. The advent of the phonograph did not ruin the concert business. The coming of movies did ngt close legitimate the- aters. A betfer type of radio enter- tainment may cause minor adjust- ments, but it seems unlikely that it will do lasting damage to any one. Its benefits are incalculable.” S “The microphone was told again and again that Mr. McCormack and Miss Bori make records for the Victor, remarks the Worcester Gazette, “and that the songs they were singing were recorded and the records for sale. Thus the Victor Co. was enabled to aistribute samples of its products to a potential buying public of 6,000,000, more or less. What old-fashioned auditorium can possibly vie with that? And the theater? Well, it looks as if Mr. Brady can go on worrying.” What is this thing, says the New York World, “now broadcasting artists like Bprl and McCormack to an unseen audlence of 6,000,000, if not the first great contrivance of this age for keeping people home?” The World adds: “Heretofore we have had a succession of things which made it easier or more inviting to switch off the parlor lights and go seek pleasure and excitement elsewhere. There has been the automobile, so popular now that there is a motor car for one American In every six. There ha been the movie, bringing first-rate actors into towns which used to sece one minstrel show each season. There has been all manner of development in rapid transit, making it easier for people to reach dance halls, theate and Coney Islands. Now comes the radio insisting that the place of en- tertainment is in the home. Radio the new defensive armament of eve- nings spent at home—daring the movies and the theaters to come to closer quarters for a test of strength.’ Referring to Mr. Brady’ the Columbia Record says: ation Board, | that the company first used oil fuel in | inventive | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS C J. HASKIN for which an allowance addition to his wages. The Govern ment furnishes the traps used, and the pelts of all animals taken are Government property and are turned in to the inspector In charge, whe disposes of them in accordance with the regulations. Q. A be is made in How old fe He was bos years old batini?—M. P. 8. n in 1876, so wil 50 during the present ar. Q. Why did America change from “old style” to “new style” calendar when England did?—J. H. R England made the change in 1 nglish ecolonles | America were aff 1 thereby. Q. How before the the consti statute has K. A, | ber many cases Supreme Court In_whic utionality of a Federal questioned? have baen been We find no record of the num- of times that such cases have before the United States urt, but approximately sions adverse to the constitution of acts have been handed dowr Only nine of these were by the bare majority of 1. | Koverns the Phil At the present time t pines are general, of the U the Senate the Phil are {legisla Q. 1s the LR P, A. The Torrey rrow belt g ted States and The made ted rs of the the: rent States rr th extent promising size than on its how E Q. What ate?—Q. A. Horsepo! numerically equal t pounds term origi- is a unit of 3 nute or used in expanding replacing the in holsting tish mines. has been of November the war was cost 2pproximatel It the armistice was declared, United Sta meaning of the is derived from which originaily es and used to crown of the Virgin Mary. As a ry, in its present use, was insti- tuted in honor of the Virgin by Dominic. im and of rc Q. What is the origin of the expr sfon of *good-bye”?—O. L. A. This term is a corruption of ths phrase “God by with ye used fin Elizabethan times as a valediction. Q. How cleaned ?—] A. Soiled cleaned ped in s nay playing A M playing cards may be rubbing with a cloth dip- rits of camphor. cards be (Have you asked Haskin? He does not know all the thinga that people ask him, but he knows peopie who do. Try him. State your question briefly, white plainly, and enclose two cents in stamps for return postage. Address Frederio J. Haskin, Director, The Star Information Bureau, Twenty-first and C Sts. N.W. Put Theater Out of Business, Says Press not think it theater has bad as that. The been heading for the wild woods, because it has not dellvered the goods. When it read- Justs itself to such conditions as it is facing it ould to carry on at a reasonable The rallroads are motovizing; the farmers are gang- ing up; the theaters had just as well recognize th ang sign as others.'” In the face of such competition, sug- gests the Louls Post-Dispatch, “added to that of the movies, it i3 no wonder that Mr. Brady is alarmed The theatrical p ducers will have to be up and doing, improving their out- put, advertising it more extensively luring the pub! out of its snug 1i tening chairs by offering something as good or better. That will be good for the producers and the public.” T “The fact that so many staved at home to listen to McCormack, and vet others did patronize the outstand- ing successes ought to reveal to the producers the hunger for better en- tertainment,” thinks the Mllwaukee Journal, which adds, “The producers should realize that they can't draw crowds merely by bringing pressure to prevent such radio concerts in the future, while continuing to do busi- ness in the same old way.” Whi the Chicago Daily News thinks “When the boadcasting of programs by first rank singers and other artists ceases to be a novelty, people will clamor for the theater once more. The lure of the spectacle, the tllusion of real life produced upon the stage and the attraction of ‘going some- where’ amid the crowds and the bright lights will remain the thea- ter's, and no competition either by radlo or motion pictures can taka them all away.” “If McCormack’s music appeals over the radio,” suggests the Louis- ville Post, “it will create an eager- ness to hear him in person. The phonograph never caused any con- cert hall to close its doors. Instead of fright Mr. Brady should display gratitudo to the radio. It is creating business for him.” While the Omaha World-Herald observes, “it is hard to believe that an institution so old and honorable as the art of mum- mery is to be driven completely into eclipse by this upstart form of en- tertainment which is free to every- body who cares to go exploring the air with a cat whisker. If it leaves the stage to connoisseurs of the drama and drives the mere amuse- ment and sensation seekers home to the loud epeaker, the readjustment will not be a complete loss.” In the opinion of the Spokane Chronicle: “There is 4 place in modern life for the drama, the moyie and the radio. Mr. Brady, who is so concerned over the future of the theater, wlill probably have to adapt his business to changing conditions, as will other producers; but that an institution | which has survived through the ages from the days of the ancient Greeks can be ruilned by radio development is not probable.” The Reno Gazette believes “stage men and women need fear only the rivalry that will follow the invention of some device by which motion pictures and vocal lines will be given simultaneously 1 every hous is as