Evening Star Newspaper, January 31, 1925, Page 6

With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY....January 31, 1825 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor Yhe Evening Star Newspaper Company Busivess Ofice, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. w York Office: ce 110 East 42nd St. Chicigo Office: Towsr Bullding, Baropean Office: 16 Regent 8¢, London, England. The Evening Star. with the Sunday edition, fs delivered by carrie ithin rity at 60 cents per momth; vasts per month: Sunday only. mouth. Orders may be sent by phone Mafn 5000. Collection is ius Tiess at the end of each moath, per Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr, $8.40; 1 mo,, 70¢c Daily only.....vq.1Yr, $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only.ve...1¥r, $2.40; 1mo, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo,, $5¢ Daily only. $7.00; 1 mo., §0c $3.00; 1 mo,, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled ™ the ‘use for republication of all news dis. Patches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and aleo the locsl news pub- ! rights of publication of sted “herein Specal dispatches herein are also reserved. Our Five Millions Surplus. he District surplus bill, as passed by Senate and House, cont ins a proviso which removes all possibility of @ legislative understatement of the amount of the District' Treasury surpl actual us on net June proviso was added the Senate District com- as an amendment suggested Auditor Donovan and approved by Senator Phipps, the father of the surplus bill. Without altering the wording of the findings of the joint committee, the proviso adds a dis- claimer of legisiative t to ex- clude the District from the benefit certain ated credits which were omitted the statement net s only because of the had the bene- the ittee by enume inadvertently c from foint s mmit pl helief that the District e of available fit of them in another way The bill, as passed, confirms and renders available as District Treasury surplu not only the amount speci- fied i the joint committee’s report hut also whatever in addition the controller general may decide to be due on account of the specified ex- cepted credits. These credits are: (1) For the sur- plus of revenues of said District col- lected and deposited in the Treasury of the United States during the @scal year 1922, over and above all appropriations and other charges for hat year: (2) for the unexpended bal- ances of District of Columbia appro- mriations covered into the surplu fund by warrant of the Secretary of he Treasury issued on June 30, 192 13) for the proportion the Dietrict of Columbia may be entitied to of miscel- Janeous receipts paid directly into the Treasury during the fiscal year 1822, and (4) for amount erroneou: charged against the revenues of the District for' the fiscal year 1922 account of appropriations made the third deficiency act, fiscal year 1922, approved July 1, 1922, as the amount of said appropriations were charged against the revenues of the e District of Columbia for the fiscal vear 1923, otaling the sum of 2819,373.83. The controller general is to report to the next regular session of Con &ress whether or not the District has these Treasury credite. It ie confident- Iy anticipated that by his report the District's tax surplus available to ap- PI¥ to the District’s proportionate part of the cost of school bulldings, parks =nd playgrounds will be over five mil lon dollars. ‘The law of 1878 declares that one- half of the Commissioners’ estimates ®s approved by Congress sha ap. propriated from the Treasury, and that the other half shall then be ob. ained by taxation of District prop- erty. Every cent of the District five-million surplus was collected un- der the provisions of this law to be spent in the mext vear for the Cap- tal's benefit in combination with an squal amount already appropriated from the Treasury. This money was cted from the District taxpayers hut Congress failed to expend it in obedience to the law with an equal amount of money appropriated from the Treasury in the vear for which these taxes were colle This same failure was repeated vear after year until today. Now Congress has provided for the ex- penditure of this accumulated tax money. Equitdbly it will be spent as a part of the District’s propor- tionate contribution under the terms of the half-and-half law, which alone ed the tax collector toexact ¥ to spend the Dis- Uncle Sam will cor W author When he con trict tax mon bute either an equal amount under | N R | the halfand-half law, or two-thirds | Two Convictions. ! £ the amount of the surplus under!| (Convictions on the same day in Chi the 60-40 rate. or an additional lump- | cago and New York of Forbes and sum payment in lieu of any definite | Thompson and of Means and Felder, proporti contribution | on charges of conspiracy, bring to an It is inco: able that Uncle Sam,lend two notable trials upon which wving collected this tax money solely | puplic attention has been centered for by virtue of a law which bound him |eome weeks, The Chicago trial has o spend the money for Capital up-|peen in progress for two months, the huilding in connection with a like| New York one for @ shorter period, ontribution from himseif, should, by | ywing to'the time-saving procedure | own on neglects and fail- appropriate in obedience to firet postpone for many vears meeting his obligation to appropriate, ~nd should finally so appropriate as to avoid entirely and repudiate his obli- zation of proportionate contribution n respect to this District tax money. It is inconceivable that Uncle Sam would thus permit himself to take mdvantage of his own wrong. ires to te ———— Postal salary with special d creases do not move ery speed — Skating on the Pools. 4 skating carnival on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been planned. It is not often that Wash- ington has such pastime. It is to bs open to all skaters. Water was let nto the basin last night, and the com- mittee in charge agreed that the car- nival should be held on the first two avallable skating days. Without & 1haw the frozen pools will be turned cver (o ekelers in & few bours. The ' ‘L . THE EVENING STAR the 45 2 r mail or thle- e by car- ice fleld will be lighted by colored lamps at night, and the Army Band will play waltzes and the people may skate to merry tunes. Not all the peo- ple of Washington know how to waltz. or tango on skates, but it is said that some @&re acquainted with the art. At any rate, a happy time is promised, and the indications are that everybody in town with the courage to put on skates will attend. There will be a large gallery of non-skaters, and the ice carnival ©f January-February, 1825, will be worth remembering. It is six years since we hud an ice carnival, and that V?s on the Tidal Basin. Considering Our latitude and #he Gulf Stream the skating popula- tion of Washington is quite large. In news reports of ice-carnival plans were mentioned things which many ‘Washingtonians did not know. There have been references to this and that “well known skater,” and it is prom- sed that a base ball game on skates will be played by teams called the Polar Bears and the Snowbirds. These teams are not familiar to some of the people of the city, but every one hopes for a good game. The ice carnival which is upon us will likely take a place in local history. In soma future Winter, when roses bloom in the open and women carry parasols, young men of today, then become old-timers, will say: “Washington winters are not what they used to be. The sea- sons are changing. Why, T remember in January and February, 1925, there was =0 much ice in the streets that the cars got off schedule now and then, people fell Gown on the side- walks and there was an ice carnival on the Lincoln lakes.” et America and France. In the exchange of felicitations be- tween President Coolidge and Emile Daerchner, the newly arrived Ambas- sador of ¥France, the American people may find cause to felicitate them- selves. In the light of recent utter- {ances by French statesmen of vary- ing degrees of responsibility what could be more felicitous, for instance, | than the assurances of M. Daeschner that, with debts of gratitude mutually liquidated, the French are “firmly so- licitous, whenever the case arises, of paying their material debts.’ Tn the remarks of both Ambassador Daeschner and President Coolidge this question of “debts of gratitude™” is taken effectively and permanently out of the discussion of material debts which the government of France owes to the Government of the United States. The Ambassador said: “His. | tory, which often repeats itself in the life of peoples. has demonstrated that France and America have, in turn, ex- tended to each other at critical mo- ments in their existence mutual and efficacious assistance, thus paying to each other their debt of gratitude.” The President said in reply: “It was the privilege of millions of voung, Americans to fight side by side with | the heroic soldiers of France in de fense of liberty. Thus was paid the debt of gratitude.” “And,” he added, “both governments should experience deep satisfaction in their solicituds that material debts shall also be dis-| charged. Friendship based upon clear understanding must and will endure always. Thus two practical men, in a few words, strip a naturally vexatious problem of a lot of artificial vexation and make possible its further consideration on @ basis of essential If the sacrifices of France in the early of the war were for the purpose saving America, as some French statesmen now are trying to make the | Frenchi people and the world believe, Amerida would have paid no debt of gratitude by ding soldiers to { France to help turn back the German | invasion | Ambassador h‘.x s testimony 1 ance treas v the memory of the magnificent effort on | the part of the American people.” No | Bmall part of that magnificent effort was the sacrifices they made to help France in a financial way. @hey are gratified now that France is “firmly olicitous” that this material debt shall be repaid. The material debt wi ance contracted was of dol- lavs. The debt of gratitude which we discharged was paid off in the lives of our young manhood. For so clearly | separating and defining them we are | under & new debt of gratitude to the at and clear-seeing of ere It French Ambassador. % i Congress reports that the District of Columbia is in a healthy financial condition. While the Dblizzard has slightly damaged Washington's repu- tation s a Winter resort the National pital still holds its own’'as a health resort. e heads of Government | departments are generally regarded as inadequate. Cabinet officlals must enonomize the same as others. Salaries for adopted by the presiding judge. The similarity of the charges in the two cases is somewhat superficial, inas- much as the offenses were in 1o wise related. Forbes and Thompson were accused, and arve now convicted, of corrupt scheming to defraud the Gov- ernment in contiacts for the construc- tion of hospitals for the care of vet- erans of the great war. Means and Feltier were convicted of conspiring to bribe Government officials in the matter of the prosecution of a group of persons accused of conducting a business swindle. These two convictions demonstrate that the courts are functioning for the enforcement of the law. Conspiracy is a most difficult charge to prove. Re- peatedly accusations of this character have failed. In these cases there was little confidence on the part of the public in the success of the prosecu- tion. Even now there is a feeling amounting to apprehension lest the verdict of the two juries may be nul- lificd by appeals on technicalities. Al- ready delays have been granted for the filing of motions for new trials. Advantage will doubtless be taken of every possible means of protraction. Herein i where the present process of justice in the United States is de- ficient. That little faith was felt in the suc- cess of the prosecution in the Forbes- Thompson case Was due to the fact that the chicf withess for the Govein- ment was an avowed and bitter enemy of the principal defendant, himself“im- plicated in the cotrrupt practices. His evidence, however, appears to have been sufficiently sustained by other proof to offset in the minds of the jury any doubt that may have been felt on the score of his credibility in consequence of his motive ef ven- geance. The surprise that is felt at theme two convictions in somewhat similar cases is in itself ‘& reflection of the impairment of public faith in the ef- ficacy of the law as now enforced. This slackening of confidence in court procedure is due to numerous failures of justice, to the great protraction of trials, to the multiplicity of appeals and devices for cvading and postpon- ing punishments.q There is a general demand throughout the country for speedier and surer judicial processes. In the case of Means and Felder greater speed was shown, and the way was perhaps opened for a reform that will at least curtail trial time without impairing the rights of defendants, r———. The Hansom Cab. It was reported recently from Cin- cinnati that Henry Ford had pur- chased from W. J, Mulvihill of that ¢ity a hansom cab in which; many prominent theatrical personages had ridden. It was imported from France years ago and is now to be shipped to Detroit to be added to the motor manu- facturer’'s collection of antiquities of tranaportation. \Vh-ll memories are revived by this latest” acquisition of Mr. Ford! The oNl hansom cab was a popular ve- hicle in its day, a comfortable means of transit. The driver on his seat at the back, high in the air, rode like a charioteer, with his passengers below and in front of him. The cab had a teetering movement that was partic- ularly soothing. There was a certain measure of privacy, and yet plenty of fresh air. The hansom cab wax no road burner. It jogged along. No han- som cab horse ever violated tbe speed rules. The cabby was in no particu- lar hyry to make his trip and get back for another “fare.” Times were more leisurely when the hansom cab was a favorite for a “twosome” ride. Minutes were not of such vital impor- tance as they appear to be now to many people. Transportation was not on a split-second basis. Now and then one sees hansom cabs in the larger cities of this coun- wry, but they look lonesome in the crowd of taxicabs and busses and motor cars in general. Their drivers are alien to the modern atmosphere. Efforts to reintroduce them for gen- eral use have failed, because they are too slow. Only the few people who realize the joy of leisurely transporta- tion are their patrons, and they are not numerous enough to maintain the fleets of hansoms that once cruised the streets. i It is with a sigh of regret that one sees this ancient vehicle, this western rikisha, passing into a museum as a curiosil ‘Will one of Mr. Ford's own products be similarly established as an antique a few decades hence? - The establishment of @ third party is mentioned during almost every presidential campaign. The latest re- sult of this agitation threatens to be that of leaving teveral eminent states- men without any party at all. = ——— <At Jeast one great question is tempo- rarily¥dieposed of. Theaters and mo- tion pictures make it clear that agita- tion for censorship is definitely dis- posed gf. r——— A cert amount of European statesmanship is devoted to the study of how far people may go in creating debts for other people to pay. SHOOTING STARS. | BY PHILANDER JOHNSON As You May View It. Life is a comedy, made for a smile. Let us in gayety greet it a while. Unto the pathway of,pleasure draw near, Though at the cnd it may bring but a tear Life is & tragedy, made {or a tear. Pride all dejected at last shall appear, Still we must follow 'mid dangey and guile . Finding at last but a sneer or a smile. ‘Welcome Februar, We've gotten around to the month, of February again.” “And that's a relief!” exclaimed Senator Sorghum. “During the month of February all a public speaker is ex- pected to do is to offer a few remarks expressing deep appreciation of the character of George Washington.” Supply and Demand. Oh. Hen, for laws we'll have io beg To curb your nerve sublime, If every time you lay an egs You make us pay & dime, Jud Tunkins says you can't always let bygones be bygones. The cold you caught yesterday means tomorrow’s sore throat, ® Municipal Revenues. “So you have at last improved the streets of Crimson Gulch. “Had to do it,” rejoined Cactus Joe. “Automobiles were compelled to go 8o slow there wasn't any excuse for fin- ing 'em.” Often So. Although the statesman or the clerk May play to pit or gallery, The thought that ever haunts his work 1s, “How about the salary!” “Speakin® of supply an’ demand,” said Uncle Eben, “I never knew a time when dar wasn’t mo' folks'dat needed arrestin’ dan dar was pleece: men to ‘tend to ‘em.™ i Our Backyard éorrespondence Colt- tains some interesting notss this Week, as following selection® wiN show: “The Grass family is doing 'very well, after the melting of the snows. (“Miss Violet visited these parts last week, looking mighty pretty in her new bonnet, "Mine Rose Bud Ix_still at home with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Radiance. “The little Flowers are eonvalesc- Ing ufter a spell of sickness. “Grandmaw Foxglove is fesling poorly. “Mr. and Mrs. Lafe Starling spent the weok end with Mr and Mre. Bud Sparrow in_ their new house on the back fence.” Things are beginning to hum in Our Backyard. It may eeem a fat stretch to Spring, looking at the brown grass, with here and thers a plot of Enow left, the withered stalks of last Summer's flowers and the hardy lilac bushes. But if one gazes at them with & certain sort of glass, as he did through a smoked glass at the e¢lipse, he will be able to ses that Spring' is not so far off as he imag- ined The glass he uses is that of ths imagination, through which he seize upon the few facts, as given In the bove corresponderice, and builds up and from them a perfect vista of flowers and fruit. Yes, Spring i= on its way, for a second keed catalogue has come to our doors, this time a gorgeous one with & DIE sar of corn and very red radishes upon the front, and pink, whits and lavender sweet peas upon the back cover. *ox o % As pointed out earlier this week, the seed catalogues are indisputable evidence that Spring ls on its way. With these in hand, the most timid may boldly predict that the beautiful son will be here within three months Yo ‘nice mathematical calculations are.needed. no turning to the higher ntathematics. All one has to do iy look through & seed cataloge and take heart. g Of coures, there are some people Who strenuously declare they prefer Winter to Spring. just as there are optimists who insist they like chicken better than turkey. These latter often say they prefer the “dark meat to the white, if you please.” Now, all of these persons may be set down as liars without mere ado Tt fe more or less of a trulsm that no m likes Winter better than Spring. chicken better than turkey, dark meat better than light meat. They may think they do, but—tha thing is simply impossible, that is all there is to it. As for really pre- ferring the dull, cold Winter to warm, bright Spring, Nature did not make mankind with that preference. A healthy, red-blooded man ma honestly enjoy his Winter, especially if he has the optimistic trend of mind which enables him to gat the best out of every season, every day every contingency But down In his heart he feels the urge of Bpring-along with the rest of mankind, and Is just as contented as the rest of us to discard his clinging Winter underwear and heavy over- coat, and to give up shaking the fur nace, shoveling coal, shoveling snow and freezing his toes off while he calls the cat. The latter animal probably does enjoy Winter even more than Spring, since his normal temperature is 101 degrees, his pulse 160, and his stylish fur overcoat fits him to a T. * % ¥ It strikes one as soméwhat absurd to IN TODAY’S . BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. 5 ste & bud on the radiance in January. It has been theré ever since late last Pall. At that time a continuance of warm weather would have brought it out, but the cold nipped it, and it has remained steadfast all Winter. The bud s a sort of mummy, kept in- tact against more pleasant weather, when Its Ka, or spiritual double, as the Bgyptians had it, wiil be born again. But surely the winds and snows yet to be our portion will kill it at last, and when Spring comes it will find nothing but @ small hard lump there. Withered, withered, withered. How ‘many of us have kept our buds of hope 80 alive as this littlé bush? ‘When the snow melted from undér the back porch, one of the last places it left, what 46 you imagine we found there? A violet! To me it was mofe inter- esting than the eclipse, and it was much more pleasant to the eyes. Just a little thing, nestling there under the Bnow, not very large, of course, not very blue, but there was enouwgh size in it to mark it unmistakably a violet, and plenty of color to let the ‘eye delight in it. The violet does not have to be a “ruffled monster” or as blue as indigo to be a blue vielet. It is something like the sweet pea, which depends for its charm upon its intimacy. The sweet peh must be observed close to be ap- préciated, since its odor is evanescent, and its coloring subdued. Beveral other little flowérs struggled into bloom in our back yard, blossoms scarcely worth the name, so immature that no one except an expert could possibly have identified them. 01d Dr. Johnson said of a dog’ that walked on its hind legs that the won- der was not that he walked well, but that he walked at all. So, with these little flowers, the marvel was not that they were flowers, but that they blo somed at all The foxgloves, having stood the brunt of Winter next the house wall, are not looking very good at this writing, but probably will come out all right. The grass scems to have held up agalnst the cold season very well, ine @eed. It Is thick and brown, with that peculiar mixture of hades seen only in a dormant lawn. Here and there are patches of green The_white clover, sown in thin places takt Fall, is very bright at this time, White clover is used in most grass seed mixtures, serving to tie the sward tos gether with its matting effect. The clover is somewhat expensive, 80 to 90 cents a pound, but its rapid growth makes it well worth it. Even the best lawns will develop from time to time bare spots whers the ordinary grass does not meem to do very well A little white olover sown on these places soon remedies the defect. White clover is just about as pretty as any #pecies of grass, to my way of thinkin In addition it is very hardy, and the nitrogen-fixing bacteria around its nodules help the entire lawn. : Sparrows seem unusually fat this Winter. Although 1 have never been able to muster up the enthusiasm about birds that I have about dogs and cats, still T appreciate the little fellows, and am glad to see them well and happy. Bréad crumbs spread on the recent big snows were much enjoyed by the sparrows, and the visiting starlings. Tha agitation (n flower magazines about cats seems to me somewhat overdone. I haven't seen a cat catch a bird in vears. Most of the songsters seem able to take care of themsalves very well, when it comes to evading cats. A cat, if ordinarily well fed, only stalks birds as sport, and it s a poor fiyer that cannot escape them These pre-Spring notes are set down here in the firm oonviction that Spring actually will be down this way soon. | The gardener's anthem is the old negro spirituel, “T want to be ready.” SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The supporters of tha child labor amendment to the Constitution which is now before the State Legislatures are in the same status as was Na- poleon Bonaparte when his génerals told him the battle was lost. Na- polkon replied that though that might be true, thers was vet time to win another battle—and he snatchad viotory out of defeat before the sun went down The press has reported within the last few days that the child labor amendment is loat, since it is alleged that 18 State Legislatures have voted against it. Yet the poleons of the supporters declare that the fight is not lost, 13 Statés have not voted it down, and even if they had, they might vet reconsider and vote the other wa. When a Legisglature once accepts an amendment to the ¥ed- eral Constitution, that sacceptance cannot be recailed, they allege; but when a Legislature rejects, it may reconsider and accept. This conten- tion Is supported by high legal au- thority, though it has never been passed upon by the Supreme Court There is no time limit upon Legis- latures for their consideration of a proposed amendment. After Con- gress has once proposed an amend- ment, it has no further power; it can- not recall its proposal it cannot alter or amend the original proposed amendment. . At least, there is no precedent for such a change, al- though Senator Borah has under- taken to make a precedent by his proposal to reduce the age limit of the pending amendment from 1% years to 16—a limit which Congress rejected before tha action sending the amendment out to the States for rati- fication. The Borah suggestion would be equivalent to a recall of the origi- nal amendment after some States had accepted it. The suggestion has re- ceived no support: Tp to the time of present writing amendment has been definitely Arizona, Arkansas and been rejected by both It branches of the Legislatures of Texas, Louisiana (the Senate rejecting it and has the House voting “indefinite post- ponement”), Georgia, South Carolina, North Caroling, Kansas and Dela- ware—7. The Massachusetts Legisla- ture has not vet acted: the referen- dum vote of the people against the amendment only advisory, mnot binding upon the Legislature. The proponents recognize that the ad- visory vote would influence the pres- ent Legislature, therefore they will endeavor to delay legislative actlon until a new Legislature is elected, and In the meantime a “campaign of education” may enlighten the people as to the scope and purport of the movement. In four States only one branch of the Legislature has acted adversely, the other branch mot Yet voting. They are New Mexico, Ohlo, Wyoming and South Dakota. Washington is counted with the four, although its action consists only in voting a pro- posal to submit the question to a popular referendum. * % k x In the campalgn throughout the Nation concerning this effort to give Congress power to regulate child labor much has been sald about the opposition of farmers to permitting Congress to forbid their boys and girls up to the age of 18 years to work on the farms. Such an idea has been fostered by the opposition through its circulars and advertise- ments, and it is pointed out that most farm papers take that view. The secretary of the League for the Passage of the Child Labor Amendment replies that when Con. gress, belleving it bad full power without amending the Constitution, passed two laws on the subject neither law undertook in the re- motest degres such drastic inter- ference with the work upen farms. Also, that the same arguments made against a Federal law now would 2pply to State laws, and yet no State has ever attempted to encourage idle- ness of children either upon farms or in cities. Some of the farm editors, claims the secretary, are con- trolled, not hy their humane instincts in behalf of the children, but by their advertisers, since the support of afl farm papers comes almost entirely from advertising, not from subscrip- tions. The advertising is controlled by manufacturers, and it is their in- ‘fluence, not that of farmers, which is masking armer opposition.” On the contrary, the farm publisher with the widest farm support in America is Senator Arthur Capper, and next to him comes E. J. Meredith, former Secretary of Agriculture, and both of these farm leaders support the amendment in their publications The truest indicator of what Con- gress would' do if given the consti- tutional power to enact uniform leg- islation for the entire country upon this subject is the acts it did pass when supposing the power existed, argues the secretary of the league. * % The first child labor act was passed in 1916. It provided that no child under 14 years of age should work longer than eight hours, six davs a week, with no night work, and it made any attempt of a manufacturer to ship products of child labor violat- ing the above terms a criminal act, it the shipment becme interstate. ‘When the Supreme Court ruled that that law was beyond the power of Congress a second law was passed .n 1819, which put a tax of 10 per cent upon all gobds made by child labor When such goods crossed a State line, Even before the Supreme Court ruled out that law on the ground that it Wwas an attempt to do by indirection what Congress had not power to do directiy—regulate child labor——it was discovered that there were thou- sands of children emploved in mines and textile factories who would not be protected by it. The products of their labor could stand a 10 per cent tax and yet be profitable to their ex- ploiters, who would simply reducs the wages to cofrespond to the tax, making the child pay the tax intend- ed for its protection. In some States children work 11 hours a day, and there is no restriction as to physical tests or educational limits. * % % % ‘With headquarters at Charlotte, N. C., there is a so-called “Farmers’ States Rights League, In of Troy, N. C., which has supplied a scors or more of the leading farm papers throughout the country with large advertisements sek- ting forth the statement that the child labor amendment meant that no child on the farms would be permitted to do chores or other farm labor until over 18 years of age. In the last issue of Labor, an organ of unioh labor supporting the amendment, appears what purports to be an expose of this “Farmers States Rights League.” It alleges the league is not composed of nor supported by farmeérs, but its president is a cashier of a cotton mill bank, and its other of- fcers are all cotton mill employes—none farmers. The writer of' the advertising Is the editor of the magazine organ of cotton mill owners of the South. No dues are paid by the membership, but the coetly advertising {s paid by “volun- tary subscriptions” from undisclosed contributors, according to Labor. The supporters of the amendment working to defend childhood say they have no strong financial backing to meet such interests. (Copyright, 1925, by Faul Y. Cellias.) A THE LIBRARY TABLE BY THE BOOKLOVER ‘The rather billous and Irritable do- rhestic life of the Carlyles is again brought to mind by a new volume of Carlyle letters, written by Jane Welsh Carlyle to members of her family between 1839 and 1863 and now edited by Leonard Huxley. These letters, the last dated only three years before her @eath, are over 200 in number and are addressed to her uncle, John Welsh of Liverpool, and his two daughters, Helen and Jeannie Welsh, 12 and 18 vears the juniors of Jane Carlyle. The letters were carefully preserved by Jeannis Welsh, atter- ward Mrs. Andrew Chrystal and de- scended to her only daughter, who has recently been petrsuaded to permit their publication. * ok ok K The daily life at No. 5 Cheyne row, with Mrs. Carlyle's frequent house- cleaning upheavals and her unremit- ting efforts to prevent all noise, is alluded to and described with an in- timacy possible only to the hearest relatives. Her lifelong struggle with 1l health, due to some obscure cau ADpears as a constant handicap. In spite of it, however, she seems almost alwaye to have een “the paseing show” with the eyes of a hurforist After the death of Mrs. Bterling, mother of Carlyle's friend, John Ster- 1IAK, her husband, to whom Mrs. Car- Iyle always rofers as “old Sterling,” clung to Mre. Carlyle for comfort. She gave it freely, as she alwavs gave of herselt to friends in trouble, but her keen mind ironically estimated the intensity of his need. She savs: “But T begin to see he is merely pro- longing his wailing in the view of exploiting my compassion and met- ting better treatment from me than he hae been used to. His real sor- row {s already pretty well cured! Al- ready!” After a prolonged bout of housecleaning and refurnishing on Mrs. Carlyle's part, during one of Carlyle's “journeyings in quest of health,” he returned “as bilious and out of sorts as he went away,” and procaeded to upset everything she had done, all because a cock in the neigh- Borhood crew at 6 for two mornings and disturbed his sleep. So the car- penter was brought back and ordered to seal the windows of Carlyle's slecp- Ing room with wooden shutters pad- ded with cotton. Then “as theme will prevent the sleeping with windows open, zinc pipes are to be Introduced thro' the walls to let in a sufficiency of fresh air! You are to observe by the way that it is only when the win- dows ars wide open that this distant cock ever makes itself heard and that the simple expedient Which Pearson suggested—of shutting the window and opening the door—would have Bolved the problem effectively and much more cheaply than all this apparatus of stuffed shutters and zinc pipes!” Later, when the nolses of cocks, dogs and planos becams too much for Carlyle to endure, he had a ‘“sllant room.” lighted from above built on the roof. * x x % Mre. Carlyle's Jealousy of Lady Har- riet Baring, afterward Lady Ashburton, the devotea friend and admirer of Cariyle, aléo appears from time to time in these letters. Usually, howaver, her attitude toward Lads Harriet ia one of half-amused admiration, with intervals of genulns liking. She seems never to have really disifked her, at least suf- ficlently to prevent her epending weeks at a time at Lady Harriet's homes at Addiscombe and Bay House Alverstoke. On the whole, her feelings toward Lady Harriet wers probably not altogether uniform, but varied with circumstances, 8 do the fealings of most human beings. At different times she writes: “Lady Harriet is ths woman of largest intellect 1 have ever seen.” “Her lady- hip was, as usual, without caprices or any sort of questionabllities for me." “Lady Harriet asks in her last letter will I coms to Rome next Winter, and she alwhys means every least syllable she sags.” But thers are other letters in which plque and a feeling of being slighted are evident. “T begin to have a real admiration for that woman—her fascination of Cariyle proves her to be the most masterly coquetts of modern times.” “Lady Harriet, like the queen, must have her court about her wherever she goes or Stays, she has summoned Cariyle down to the Grange for & week at the least—and he never by any chance refuses o wigh of hers—the clever woman that ghe is" “Lady Har- rlet will need him at the Grange—at various places”” “So the Lady Harriet wills at present—and her ladyship's will is become the law of this house—even her whims are as imperative as the ten commandments!” Almost any woman will sympathize with Mre. Carlyle's re- entment at Lady Harriet's negiect of her during an illhess suffered on one of her visits to Bay House. “Lady H., of Course, never once came near me—and It was by a sort of continual interposi- tlon of Providence that I could get & cup of tea or anything I needed—one morn- ing my breakfast was brought in and placed on my bed by one of the foot- men!!! who had been entreated by C. to see after it, and who could not find any woman servant at lelsure.” These letters confirm Mrs. Carlyle's statement in one of them that “thers is no sorrow in life, no weakness in human nature that {8 not intelligible through my own experience.” * % Two translations of Russian fiction which have tecently appeared seem to show that the' traditions of Dostoi- evsky and Turgenfev are being kept alive in Russia of today. “The Clock,” by Aleksei Remizov, transiated by John Cournos, has the typically mel- ancholy, hopeless atmosphere which we assoclate with Russian literature. It i& a brief novel with & simple theme—a family struggling against the triple misfortunes of poverty, disease and general bad luck and succumbing finally to elemental forces too powerful for any human resistance. The clock, wilth its blind, mechanical movement, is the symbol of the eternal monotony and inevi- tableness of life. The second plece of fiction is “Tales of the Wilderness, by Boris Pilniak, translated by F. O'Dempsey. Thera are 11 tales in all and most of them are so chaotic that it {8 dificult to find in them any real narrative. In faot, the author seems at times far more interested In va- rious side discussions than in the thread of his ory. Nevertheless, some of the tales have a haunting Impressiveness. “Death” describes the gradual decline of a very old man. “A Year of Their Lives" is a stron ploturs of a brief, unhappy period. “The Bnow Wind” and *Over the Ra- vine” are animal stories with a bleak, wild, barbaric setting in the Far North. ok % % Sherlock Holmes has become a by- word in the mouths of the facetious ublic, and the simplicity of his de- uctions has proved good materlal for tal Many of them have One is the follow- ing, retated by A. Conan Doyle in his “Memories and Adventures.” A cabman was supposed to have taken Rim to a hotel in Paris. “Mr. Doyle,” he cred. gazing at him fixedly, “I per- celve from your appearance that you have been récently at Constantino- ple. I have reason to think also that you have been at Buda, and I per- ceive some indidation that you were not far from Milan.” “Wonderful! Five fratcs for the secret of how you di1d 1t? “I looked at the labels pasted on your. trunk,” said the astute cabby. ————— Thé real test will come, if the Hon. Miriam Ferguson of Texas and the Hon. Nellie Ross of Wyoming should appoint lady colonels on their staffs in the character of uniforms they may design, and it's our guess they would produce something less ridi- culous tham the he colonels usually @0.~Charteston Evening Post. Q. Wwhat Ream (afterward Mrs. have with. the im; connection did Vinnie Richard Hoxie) peachment proceed- 1hg8 againkt Presi@ent Johnson? —A. A E. A. As Francis E. Leupp tells the story, Secretary Stanton insisted that Ross of Kansas was preparing to go over from the majority to the mi- nority. Gen. Sickles as selected to call on Senator Ross the night be- fore the roll-call and try to hold him fasy against the President Ross was llving in the house oecupied by Miss Ream and her family. When Gen. Sickles called, Miss Ream hap- pened 6 meet him at the door. She ushered him Into the parlor, but re- fused o let him see the Senator. Miss Ream held him at bay until dawn the following morning, when he gave up the ‘effort as fruitless and went home. It was Ros¢' vote that saved John- son. Q. What size are bacilli’—C. K A. The largest bacillus recorded is about 1-500 of an inch long and 1-5000 of an inch: wide, while the smallest known form has an average size of 1-50,000 of an inch by 1-125,000 Q. Where does the Gaekwar of Ba- roda keep his famous jewels?—C, C A. The jewels of the Gaekwar of Baroda are kept in the Naszarbag Palace in Baroda. They are valued at many million pounds. The finest thing in the collection is @ pearl neck- lace valued at 50 lacs, or approxi- mately $2,500,000. The jewels are only produced for inspection when a special order is procured, signed by the Maharajah and several heads of departments. The Gaekwar is a pro- tected Mahratta prince. The state has been tributary te Great Britain since 1802 Q. What ix a sundog”—W. T. R A. When other combinations of re- flections from enow crystals occur 80 as to double or trebie the bright- nese of spots in the parhelic circle is the reflection of the suniight form- ing a band of wkhite light around the horizon at the apparent angular alti- tude of the sun and usually passing through if. Q. Would my brother, who served in the 8. A. T. C, receive the bonus? —B. K. A. Men serving in the S. A. T. C. are not entitled to the bonus unless they actually enlisted in the Army Q. How many national banks are there in the United States?—G. W A. At the close of business Janu- ary 14, 1925, there were 8,025 na- tional banks in the United States Alaska and Hawali. National bank notes in circulation January 1, 1925 amounted to $705,441,665 Q. Whh# does the prefix “Mc meéan?—Zz. M. 1 A. The prefix “Mc”’ or “Mac” in Scottish clan hames means “sen of. Q. When were carpet sweeptrs in- vented?—R. B. & A. Revolving brushes for sweeping rooms were invented in 1311. Re- volving brooms for sweeping streets were in use in 1835 Q. How ma nity cheste?-C. A. The community chest pian is in operation in more than 150 citles in the United Ktates and Canada. The institution through which the money is raised and distributed generally reports to the national association of community chests known as the American Association for Community Organirzation. For this association the National Information Bureau, Inc., 1 Madison avenue, New York City, acts as execuflve secretaf: Q. How thick is gold leaf?—J, J. T. A. It ranges from 1-200,000 to 1-250,000 inch in thicknese. Q. Does ali printing matter on ported boxes or merchandise “Printed in U. 8. A.” on it?>—M owne have commu- ex- have s A. The W¥nited States Chamber of Commerce says it is not necessary to place the words “Made in United States” or “Printed in United States” ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J]. HASKIN on American-made goods. This is dons in some cases, but it is not compulsor; Q. What ig the general attituds to- ward the use of the spit infinitive” P. H. A. One authority says, “Althougi there is an increasing tendency to put the adverb between the preposition to and the infinitive, careful writers frequently find o place for the adverb either before or after the infinitive Q. When did the break out?—H. 0. W. A. It began January 1, 1581 vil war in Chile Q. How much coal is produced in Canada in a month? How does the production in recent menths compare with that of four or five years ago?— oo A. The output of Canadian coa! during September amounted to 902 593 hort tons, an increase of 28 Der cent over the tonnage of the previous month, but somewhat below the av- erage month for the past five years The Rreatest increase was 132,000 tons in Alberta to a total of 265000 tons per menth. Q. When was the word “tiara® firs used to designate the papal crown? P.T. D A. Joseph Braun says: “The firs Pproven appearance of the word tiara as the designation of the papal head covering is in the life of Paschal*l (1098-1118) in the Liber Pontificalis Q. How many public school chi dren are enrolled in the United States?—C. N. M. A. Frank M. Philips of the Furea of Education, Washington, says tha there —are about 24,000,000 publ scheol children enrolled in Americar public schools. Tha nurmber is ir creasing at about 406,000 vearly. Q. Please tell me were made, at the iast year?—R D. T, A.In 1924 166,000.000 coins made at the Philadelphia Mint. how many coins Philadelphia Min Q. What will prevent raindrops bead ing on giams?—D. H. F. A. To prevent raindrops or water from beading on glass, wipe off the glass with a piece of cloth wet with glycerin. The first few drope re main as drops epreading and showing a tenflency to rum, but as the drops increase in number thev come int contact with each other and coalesce forming a smooth transparent film of water over the entire surface which it no obstruction te vision Q. What is the difference betweer skilled and unekilled laborers?—G. A A. Skilled laborers are thoee re quiring such training in a particular occupation as would invelva material industrial loss in transference tc other occupations. Any laborers who do not have to serve an apprentire ship to learn a trade are unekilled laborers, Q. I8 there land at the Nerth Pole —W. LW A. This northern extremity of the earth, is in the midst of a hollow which hoids no Jand in the neighbor hood of the pole itseif. The mosr northerly lands possces gnimal 1i muek-ox, reindeer, Polar bear, wolf fox, ermine, land birds, as well as in sect life, and during a few sho: weeks in Summer, brilliant fower Human life is found within some 700 miles of the North Pole Q. How does the Naval Observaior find out the exact time and what k ‘('Y clock records it?—W. W | A The basie of reckening standar | time at the United Sttaes Naval Ob servatory is transit observation o the stars. The obrervatory has thr standard clocks running in » constans temperature vault, electricaily wount and sealed to kecp the air pressure constant. Meridian circle observations of eelected stars are taken regulari: on clear nights and from these obser vations the errors of the standa clocks are determined and correcte, (Let The Star Information Frederic J. Haskin, first and C streets morthwest, emswr vour question. The only charge for this service is 2 cents in stamps for retur postage.) Burea Director, Twenty Press Divided Three Ways On Senate Oil Probe Verdict Consensus of American editorial opinion on the final verdict of the Senate on the Teapot Domre investi- gation may be broadly divided into three viewpoints. There are editors who applaud the final verdict, a proving the Walsh commitee’s’ m jority report, others who condemn it s political hokum and @ third and rather large group who have reached the decision that the final verdict doesn’t settie anything. “The opinion of the United States Senate on the Teapot Dome scandal findings of ita committee is entirely without value because of its politica character,” Journal (independent epublican). The Journal adds, “While some of the Senators may have voted with a sense of judiclal responsibility, it remains that the majority report was adopted on a strict party vote.” While the Chicago Tribune (Republican) com- men “They all voted their politics —and nothing else. When the scan- dal exploded in Washington politics instantly made the alignment. 1t was the same before the investigation that it was afterward. The people will never get anything out of the po- litical Investigation of & political scandal. The politicians will make it all black or all white, and what they wil do was decided before they knew anvthing of the matter which asks their verdiet.” * ok x ¥ “The public will not be impressed by this strictly partisan vote says the Fargo Tribune (Republican), by those representatives of parties which tried to make the Teapot Dome affair a major issue in the campaign on the theory that the investigation had indlcted the whole Republican party. If there has been guilt, the public believes it is personal and not political. Tt said %o in the No- vember election, when it demonstrated its confidence in the administration by an overwhelming vote.” In the opinfon of the Cirtcinnati Times Star (Republi- can): “Albert B. Fall is Albert B. Fall, and may there never be another cab- inet Secrstary like him. His case is in the courte, and his case is the beginning and end of the ofl scandal. By their credulity of evil and of false report, by their attempts to trespass on the prov- ince of the courts, by the violence they i to the rights of individuals nd by the desperate folly of their courses the men who took the lead in these inquisi- tions brought the Senate into general contempt. The country remembers. It the Senate shall also, it may regain its old place in the popular esteem. But ill have & long road to travel.” he Senate action arouses little in- terest for the issue passed away with the election,” says the Bangor Com- mercial (independent), which adds: “There can be slight objection to the vigor of the censure of Mr. Fall. As regards Mr. Denby, there is room for a difterence of opinion, many believing that his attitude was a correct one, others that he erred in judgment.” In the belief of -the Linceln Star (inde- pendent): “If the Senate had failed to confirm the Walsh findings, the attor- neys appointed by President Coolidge and approved by the Senate might have faced even greater difficulties. It would be the equivalent of congressional ap- proval of the transaction which is being A declares the Minneapolis | |attacked in the courts.” The Grand | Rapids Press thinks, “the Teapot Dome cage had its Senate climax in much ths same manner ae the Newberry case- by a decision no American citizen can rely upon, a political choice hetwee: two political documents.” “More often, thess days savs the New York World (independent Demo cratic), “there is a sectional vote | | the Senate than a vote cast strictly on party lines. It is, in fact, onl when a question of whitewashine somebody or confirming some pres dential nomination comes to a vote that the country is reminded of the Senate's center aisle and that it ha- two parties. Such a question wa reachéd when the Senate voted in adopt Mr. Walsh's report condemn ing the lease of the naval oil re serves. The vote was along strictl party lines, only Senators Boral Johnson and Norbeck deserting the Republicin regulars to vote with the Democrats and the La Follette blo for acceptance.” However, the Atlanta Journal (Demo cratic), gets more comfort from the result. The Journal says: “This re port, adopted in the Senate by a vote of 40 to 30, is a token of the In tegrity that still dominates fn our national 1ifé and entitles its author to the gratitude of every Amarican While in the opinion of ths Brookiyn Eagls (independent « Democratic) “The two record votes are the rea testimony of the Senate to the work achieved by the Montana Senator in exposing the greatest administratio scandal since the daye of Presiden Grant.” “What lies beyond,” says the Pitts burgh Sun (independent Democratic) “depende upon the prosecutions now under way. The general collapse of public opinfon in the matter wi make hard the path of the Gou ernment's attorneys” It is true the Knoxvilie Sentinel (indapender.: Democratic) believes “that tha find ings of Walsh report were confirmed by a vots of 40 to 30 but It was the mors or less irregular Republica Senators that stood to théir previouslv recorded convictions and voted with the Democrats, while the highly re spected regulara registered Dy thej votes their rather thinly sentiment that since the election seemed to show that the popular voice condoned the iniquity of the oil steal it might be considered all right for them.” —————— Retirement Act May Cut Personnel To the Editor of The Star: There 18 an idea In connection with the President's desire to pare down the roster of Government employes (o & minimum that appears to have beer overlooked. This is that if the re tirement act now on the calendar i« brouglt out and passed hundréds of those .of retirable age the nerv!c&. thereby Presiden’ would ~ {eave avcomplighing the without causing rdship. ' S. €. Koo