Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1925, Page 38

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Moraimg Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY. ..February 1, 1825 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ... Editor The Evening Star Newapaper Com) 110 East 42nd St. Tower Building. t 8t., Londo: Chichgo Offc European Office: 18 Ry The Evening Star, edition, is delivered by cairiers within elty ai 60 cents per month: dally only centa per month: Sunday oniy, month. Orders may be sent by phione Main 5000. Collection i riers at the end of each month. Rate by Mall—Paynble in Adva Maryland Virgt ¥ and Sunday.1 yr., $8.40:1 mo,, .1yr., $6.00;1 mo., 1yr., $2.40;1 mo., 50c 20c All Other States, Dally and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00;1 mo., 85¢ Daily only . .1yr, $7.00;1mo., 60c Sunday only ....1yr., $3.00;1 mo., 25¢ Member of the Aasoc! The Associated Preas is exclusively eatit fo ithe use for republication of all news di redited to it or Rot otherwise credited paper and also the local news pub- in. ALl rights of publication of mtches herein are also reserved. pecial = American Opinion and D. C. Rights To an extraordinary degree the peo- ple of the United States are unaware of the.peculiar political situation of the residents of the District of Colum- bia. They, of course, never see the District cited in tables of electoral votes or congressional’ apportion- ments, but they do not seem to grasp the fact generally that the residents of the National Capital are disfran- chised Americans, having no voice in national affairs and no representative rights in bodies that enact their own laws. Almost - invariably, however, when the aspiration of the Washing- tonian for national representation is explained there is an immediate and hearty response in support and sym- pathy 3 Relief from this anomalous condi- tion of distranchisement has been sought by way of constitutional amendment empowering Congress to enact a law granting to the District representation in House and Senate and likewise in the electoral college. Such an amendment, if adopted by a two-thirds vote in Congress, would, of course, require the assent of three- fourths of the States, as in all other cases of constitutional change. The citizens of the District, seeking this means of enfranchisement, have never telt doubtful of the approval of the State Legislatures, They have been confidently willing that the proposi- tion should be submitted to the peaple through their State representatives, relying upon the American spirit of tair play and justice. Elsewhere in The Star today ap- pears a symposium of opinions by newspaper editors in 29 states, con- amendments. A specific amendment may carry its own time limit,'as in the case of the prohibition resolution, which required ratification within two years after submission. It was ratified within one year. Unless the specific proposal carries with it a limit of time negative votes may be cast by 5, 10 or 20 or more successive Legislatures of a State and finally a ratifying vote may be given. It is this fact that gives encourage- ment to the advocates of child labor restriction by Federal law to continue their fight. They will seek to secure the greatest possible number of ratify- ing votes during this season of legisla- tive meetings as a basis for further action. They will endeavor also to ob- tain reconsiderations in the Legisla- tures that have already cast negative votes. Their refusal to concede defeat has historic justification, for several of the constitutional amendments have been finally carried after discouraging starts, T W LIS . Farm Relief, or Bunk? 1t is announced that the coming week Is to witness initlation of efforts | to enact into law some of the recom- mendations of President Coolidge's agricultural conference. It is a rea- | sonable expectation that this will re- sult in other proposals for farm relief being brought forward and pressed tor consideration. Against any sincere efforts along this line there can be no just complaint. Congress is not bound to follow the recommendations of the President's commission, and any mem- ber has a right to press any measure he believes for the public good. But there are certain factors in the situation which any member of Con- gress who honestly desires to legis- late for the benefit of agriculture must take into consideration. The member who refuses to take these factors into consideration is animated by some purpose other than desire to benefit the farmer. One of these factors is that in the few legislative days re- malining before March 4 it will not be possible to enact any farm legislation to which there is serious and deter- | mined opposition. To press for con- sideration of projects which are seri- ously and determinedly opposed prob- ably would defeat all farm legislation at this session. It may be there are members of Congress so committed to the theory of Government price fixing or other radical programs that they wonld rather have no legislation at all than the moderate and sound proposals of the President's commission. But if there be such they are not true friends of the farmer, because in put- ting forward their unsound proposals they would merely be making a ges- ture they would know to be futile. Unless there is a revolutionary change in the sentiments of the American people—and there is not the slightest stituting a cross-section of American : evidence that such a change is to be sentiment on this subject. The ques- | €xpected—there will not be any arti- tion was propounded to them for dis- cussion without prejudice, and has been answered freely and with a ‘gratifying degree of understanding of ficial stimulation of farm produce prices through any buying and selling agency set up by the Government and financed by taxpayers’ money. Were it possible to get such a meas- the principles involved in the demand for national representation. The judg- ment expressed in these communica- tions is favorable. It is the thought of most of these representatives of public opinion that if the question is submitted in the form of a proposed amendment to the Constitution it will be ratified as a measure of justice end with the expectation of a prompt action by Congress in execution of the power thus granted. This expression of sentiment is, of course, unofficial and incomplete. It is not a mandate. No mandate can per- haps be obtained. The District is not in a position to submit the question formally to the people of the States in advance of the adoption by Congress of the resolution of amendment. They must wait until by a two-thirds vote “Congress has proposed this constitu- tional change. Yet this present manl- festation of approval is an encourage- ment, and it is the hope of the people of Washington that it will be recog- niced and heeded by Congress as a token of the disapproval by the people of this country of the continued denial of political justice to the disfranchised Capital community. ——— Fears of famine in Ireland will bring sympathy far deeper and more widespread than that aroused by the hunger strikes undertaken by in- dividuals. —— e Scientific descriptions of what an- other war would be like are vivid. A little imagination should enable the world to decide uncompromisingly on peace. ————— In spite of the marvels of modern mechanical science a share of modern respect is still In evidence for the man who invented the snow plow. o ure through Congress, and then to pass it over the President's veto—and not the first, much less the second, event 1s within the range of possibili- ties—such a law would remain on the statute books only until the people could elect a Congress which would make its repeal a first order of busi- ness. And in electing a Congress which would repeal such a law, the millions of Americans whose interest in agriculture is primarily that of con- sumers would be joined by the mil- lions of farmers who do not ask and do not want money legislated into their pockets out of the pockets of their fellow citizens. All the average American farmer asks is a fair deal which will give him a fair share of the consumer’s dollar. The recommendations of the Presi- dent's commission point the way to satisfaction of that just demand. Any proposal to give the farmer artificial profits through unfair class legislation is bunk—and .no one knows this bet- ter than the highly intelligent average American farmer. e A hundred-million-dollar whisky merger in London indicates that pro- hibition is not making the progress in the British Isles that was expected. English sentiment will no doubt re- gard the {nauspicious situation as largely due to the iniquitous tempt: tions held out by the American boot- legger. In addition to spending most of the money Uncle Sam is frequently expected to shoulder the moral re- sponsibility. ———————— Being naturally a rover and a cosmopolitan, Gaston Means may be able to regard a brief sojourn in prison as only an incident in a long and highly eventful journey. ‘The Child Labor Amendment. Advocates of the child labor amend- ment to the Constitution are not dis- couraged by the fact that in 13 of the States the Legislatures have refused ratification, by vote of either both houses or one. They declare their pur- pose to continue the effort to secure ratification by three-fourths States, and regard the present nega- tive vote, which just suffices to estop ratification at once, as a temporary setback, which will be overcoms later. As against the 13 States that have cast negative votes, only three, Ar- kansas, California and Arizona, have fully ratified, and New Mexico and Montana have voted affirmatively in ome house each. If this ratio were con- tihued through the list of States the amendment would be buried, probably beyond the hope of eventual ratifica- tibn. It does not, however, follow that the proportion will be maintained. It may be that the negative votes have ell been cast. In any case, a consti- tutional amendment, without a time limit, once submitted to the Legisla- ture, is never definitely and per- manently defeated. For any Legisla- ture may reconsider a negative vote, whereas an affirmative vote, it is held, 1& conclusive and final. There is no provision in the Consti- tution for the withdrawal of anamend- ment from consideration by the Legis- latures. There is no established time 1imit, although sugsestions.have been made in the past for the placing of ———— Several gentlemen who left the G. 0. P. did not realize that they were traveling 8 strictly one-way thorough- tare. ’ e Horseshoes. A subsidiary company of the United States Steel Corporation, which has of the| maintained a special department for the manufacture of horseshoes, has decided to close out that branch of its business, which formerly was profitable, but which has now dwin- dled. It is stated that only about 18,000 tons of steel is consumed an- nually by this plant for the making of equine footgear, whereas a few years ago their manutacture required more than 100,000 tons, It is con- cluded that the space devotéd to this production can be more profitably used in other lines. Undoubtedly the lessening of horse- shoe manufacture is mainly due to the increase of motor cars. Horse- shoeing has dwindled to the point that it is now rare to find an open smithy on the roadside. 'These old black- smith shopd where formerly smiths were regularly to be seen at work on the hoofs of horses are now either closed or have been turned into auto- mobile repair shops. Usually a gas pump has replaced the hitching post. Of course, horseshoes will still be manufactured. The horse has not passed from the scene. Indeed, in the rural regions horses come into their own at this season of the year such & lmit upon the pendency of all 4 by drawing the sledges of farmers to A THE SUNDAY STAR, 'WASHINGTON, the market towns, Many farmers put up their motors cars for the Winter because they are hard to ‘start and hard to run and more costly than horse pawer. Wagon bodies are put on runners and hauled to town. The improved highways which the farm- ers find so convenient at other sea- sons of the year make good sledding ways in snow season, except in the States where snowplows are used promptly and thoroughly, and even then the sledges are used on the sides. This means that horses must be es- pecially well shod and smiths are undoubtedly kept busy calking their shoes. Perhaps the abandonment of quan- tity manufacture of horseshoes by big corporations will mean that the smiths will return to the making of their own shoes. The ring of the anvil will be heard again as the brawny-armed artisans fashion hoof- gear out of straps of metal. Then, too, there are always the “barnyard solfers” to be supplied with pitching shoes. These horseshoe pitchers are not content with old, worn-out ma- terial. They must have nicely weight- ed shoes, well balanced for the accu- rate work of making ringers. Still, the abandonment of quantity production by the big mills signifies a great change. The horseless age has not come. The horse has re- tained his place in the domestic, and especially the rural, economy. Yet he is passing, just as the roadside smithies have passed. Perhaps some day horseshoes will be ‘preserved as relics. oo Death of the Peach Crop. The weather is not encouraging to those persons who look for signs of Spring, but the public may pardon an observer who calls attention to the fol- lowing message in The Star from Hagerstown: “The peach crop through- out the Cumberland Valley fruit belt is a total loss, and there will be no peach crop here next Summer, de- clared growers today.” The hope is that the Cumberland Valley peach crop may outlive its death, and that the meseage is not so dark as printed. It is not possible that the peach crop of some locality should escape destruc- tion, but it sometimes seems that in order to have a large crop of good peaches in June and July it is neces- sary to kill the crop in February or March. To kill it In January seems a trifle early, but it is fair to accept the destruction of the Cumbériand Valley peach crop as a sign of the approach of Spring. ———————— Publishers and authors claim that censorship of novels with a view to excluding immorality would destroy the freedom of the press. The “free- dom.of the press” is a phrase frequent- ly called into service by enterprises having nothing whatever to do with journalism as it relates to the publica- tion of the daily news and independ- ent comment. The actual “‘press” of this country has suoceeded in so con- ducting its activities as to create no reason for restricting its utterance. It has no occasion to meke common cause with every transient effort to commercialize popular curiosity. ———s It bgcomes evident that the -Repub- lican opinion of Senator La Follette is that he will be lucky to remain a fa- vorite son in Wisconsin without hop- ing to be a prodigal son at the White House. ———— The practice Washington has had in snow cleaning this Winter should insure quick and effectual service in the case of a 4th of March blizzard such as would be worth coming miles to see. —_——— The nations of the world must get together, and nothing promotes an un- derstanding acquaintance better than an oceasional little chat about money matters. e About all that can be said in encour- agement to Charles R. Forbes is that he had a wonderful time while it lasted. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Replenishment. always more, though sunshine pales From shore to shore. Though for a while the radiance fails, There's always more. There ‘With Nature's gifts unto mankind It's always so; New stores of find— Especially them we're sure to SNOW! Only a Symptom. “Do you never think of retiring from office?” “Occasionally,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But the thought never has anything to do with politics. It mere- ly indicates that T am depressed, and that it's time to see a doctor.” Privileges. My fliv with chalk the copper marks. His duty must be done. For several hours a snowdrift parks Where I may stand but one. Jud Tunkins says when people laugh at you cheer up and think of the way they used to laugh at the telephone and the fiivver. Spirit of the Occasion. Will you dance with me at the Charity Ball?" “Of course,” said Miss Cayenne. “I may as well warn you that I am not a very good dancer.” That's quite all right. So far as T am concerned, we will consider it a matter of charity and not of faith or hope.” Clothes and Climate, A gay magazine found its way To Arctic surroundings one day. An Eskimo belle heaved a sigh O'er the pictures it brought to her eye. She murmured, “How fair I might be If fashions so fine were for me. Were I to don garmentsg like these, In a short promenade I should freeze!” ““A good loser,” said Uncle Eben, “is popular while de game’s goin’ on, but everybody loses interest in him next day.” ;\. D. O, FEBRUARY T. [Instinct of Men to Gamble Cannot Be Cured by Statutes BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Vice Prealdent of the United States. Where does business end and spec- ulation begin? What Is the distinc- tion between speculation and gam- bling? We seem to have a mixed concept, maral or intellectual, touch- Ing these questions. The women of the congregation play bridge whist and mah-jong for money and the pastor smiles as he mildly reproves them. But when their husbands sit down to a game of poker the police break In the door and hale them to the station, where they give assumed names and deposit money,which they forfeit the next day. If thelr con- duct gets back to the church we are regaled with a fiery sermon on the evils of gambling. We are told that old man Pros- perity has taken off his hat and overcoat and concluded to visit us for a number of years, perhaps per- manently make his residence in the United States. Belng an unrecon- structed Democrat, T shake my head and wonder why, if this be true, so many people are out of work, why 50 many calls for charity. Answer comes that the poor and lazy always ure with us; that the real mark of £00d times is to be found in the stock market, and that all the fac- tories running all the time, with everybody buying the products of the factories, s not the real test. The barometer which tells the tale, we are assured, is the rise of stocks upon the market. Can it be doubted, Is asked, that prosperity is here when Industrials which pay only 6 per cent dividends are selling above par, and no one is to be found to answer yea. Kok % mind the rise in the stock may be an evidence of im- proving business or only a mani- festation of that great primal in- stinct of gambling in mankind which Is not to be destroyed by clviliza- Hon or the strong arm of the law. When Jacob cut the withes and put them in the drinking trough of the cattle of Laban was he doing busi- ness, speculating or gambling? He accumulated a herd of cattle thereby and became prospgrous. When Ben- jamin Harrison became Governor of Indiana Territory and president of the board of trustees of Vincennes University his first officlal act was to authorize a lottery to raise funds with which to endow the university. Since then we have had a long, hard fight to get rid of the lottery. Of course there are millions who do not play poker or bridge whist, who do not buy stocks on margins or pools on -horse races, who do not gamble at all, but what of their abstinence? To my market Is it due to moral sentiment or just | 2 manifestation of cold feet? Many of the States are greatly ex- ercised over the sale of worthless stocks and bonds to persons usually characterized as the ignorant and the unwary. The different States have enacted “blue sky" laws, creating boards and commissions to fnvesti- gate the legitimucy of stocks and bonds offered for sale, to act as sort of a guardian for the investing public. (Copyright, 1025, by 21st Centurs Press.) Some of the concerns approved by these commissions have put out issues of stock which proved to be worse than worthless, 80 now all sorts of safeguards to protect the gambling part of the public are being proposed. * ok Kk X To buy stocks on margin is looked upon as a perfectly legitimate trans- action. The’investor may lose his last dollar, but he has not been gambling: he has been speculating. The com- munity Is not aroused. But when one who has never had the least trouble in going to the bank and borrowing money at 6 per cent listens to some smooth-talking agent with ofl stock to sell, believes him when he says it will pay from 15 to 18 per cent, and deliberately buys the stock, only to lose his money, this investor, accord- ing to modern thought, is not a spec- ulator or a gambler, but the unwary vietim of a swindle. Of course, he could have gone to his home banker and sought advice, and learned that it was no better than a thousand-to- one shot. Buying stock in a concern that promises to pay big returns i of course, gambling, pure and simple. 1 do not know whether it is moral sense or cowardice that keeps me away from poker, the stock market and the seller of blue sky. But I hold that these questions are more of morals than they are of law. There are some things that the Government cannot accomplish, One thing it can- not do is to eradicate or destroy de- sire on the part of certain persons to get something for nothing. * ok K % When two men start in to swindle each other and one succeeds and the other goes into court to set aside the contract the court says to them: “You both were scoundreis, and we have no time to determine relative degrees of turpitude. The law will leave you where you left yourselves™ In In- diana we tried for a time to convict the man who bought votes, and failed. Then we enacted a double- barreled statute granting immunity to either the buyer or seller who first got to the prosecuting attorney and told the truth. This worked, and did much to purify elections. Perhaps our blue- sky laws ought to require a prospec- tive purchaser of stock to Investigate before he buys, render him as r sponsible to the law as the man who sells. No one, of course, can defend gam- bling, nor crookedness, nor dishon- esty. However, it will be vain and idle for the Government to become general guardian for every man or woman who happens to possess the gambling instinct and desires. from time to time, to win a few dollars. ‘What is needed is not more blue-sk laws, but a revision of the corporate laws of the land. The Government should not permit the issuance of & charter to any corporation until every dollar of the capital stock has passed through the hands of the treasurer of State and is in the hands of the treasurer of the corporation under bond. This might impede legitimate enterprise, but it would break down the dividing line between speculation and gambling. We might not do 80 much business, but what we ddid would be measurably’ safe. SEEK NEW COPYRIGHT LAW BY FREDERIC J. A new copyright law may be one of the firat legislative accomplish- ments of the new Congress. It will be If one of the most powerful and picturesque lobbles ever to appear in Washington has any influence with the national solons This law is expected to make It possible for the United States to he- come a member of the International Copyright Union, from which we hav. been barred for something like hal a century. It is also expected to prove an effective demonstration of what Congress can do In the exer- clse of its constitutional authority to promote the progress of sclence and useful arts. The colorful lobby which s seek- ing the proposed legislation is com posed of the leading novelists, short story writers, acenario writers, poets, dramatists, artists, cartoonists, song writers, librettists and composers of America. Wrapped up in one pack- age these personages are identified as members of the Authors' League, but as identified by their professions they are grouped in four gullds— authors, dramatists, artists and com- posers. Less picturesque, perhaps, but none the less insistent upon the importance and need of the proposed new oopy- right legislation, are the organiza- tions representative of the publishing interests and of the librarians of the country. Arrayed in opposition, or at least demanding changes in the measure under consideration, are the associ- ation of motion plcture producers and the unions of printers, book- binders and allied crafts. As the members of the Housa com- mittee on patents put it when they held their public hearing on the bill, it was “big league stuff.” The large caucus room in the House Office Building was filled with one of the most interesting assemblages ever brought together in Washington— men and women famous in the world of literature, art, music and drama— and the Congressmen falrly reveled In the intimate contact with the per- sonage: who, theretofore, had been little more to them than names on books, in magazines, on theater pro- grams, on musical records and the like. Obviously they were quite as thrilled as they had ever been by the brain children of those person- act, they “ate it up,” which is art's retort to the “big league stuff” comment of the committeemen. Notables Who Performed. Not all the notables present ad- dressed the committee. If they had the hearing would have been as long as a Democratic national convention, and quite as engrossing If not as tumultuous. But those who did speak were all headliners. Gene Buck, the librettist, who has made many of the Ziegfeld shows, was master of cere- monies for the proponents of the measure, and himself contributed a snappy half-hour to the performance. For the publishers the spokesman was Maj. Putnam, head of the oldest publishing house in the coumtry, who told the committee he had been ap- pearing at congressional hearings on the copyright question for more than 40 years, his experience antedating the birth of several of the Congress- men. When he was asked by one of the youthful members if he would be present at later hearings to an- swer questions that might be asked of him he said that he hoped to be, “But,” he added, “when a man reaches the age of 81 he hesitates about making definite commitments for an Indefinite future.” Another veteran was Robert Under- Wwood Johnson, one of America’s great poets, former Ambassador to Italy and present editor of the Century. Dr. Johnson's copyright activities also date back to the law of 1891 and the amendment of 1909. Augustus Thomas, dramatist, spoke for his pro- fession, and no one was listened to more attentively. Ellis Parker But- ler, author of the famous “Pigs is Pigs" story, convulsed the crowd with a recital of some of his experiences with an inadequate copyright law, one being his selling of the motion picture rights of the “Pigs” story for $25, only ‘to learn they were HASKIN valued at $10,000 a few yvears later by the purchasing company. That in itself was not funny, he sald, but he made the telling of it decidedly hu- morous In truth, the affair was largely an experience meeting, the need of a new law being argued by stories of the innumerable ways writers and com- posers have been deprived of a fair hare in the returns from their crea- tive efforts because the old laws did net give them adequate protection in their rights. John Phllip Sousa, “the march king,” realized the munificent sum of $35 for “The Star and Stripes Forever.” CRarles K. Harris, com- poser of ballads famouk a generation ago—"After the Ball,” “Always in the “Hello Central” and the like— once shown the picture of a shipment of 500,000 phonograph rec- ords of his songs, and all he got out of it was the satisfaction of, seeing the picture—not a penny of revenue from the records. Broke But Happy. Harry von Tilzer, who has written more than a ‘hundred song hits, told how, in spite of the success of his songs, he was In finaneial straits, not even owning his own home. “Mine has a mortgage on it,” inter- jected a member of the committee. “Mine has two, first and second,” retorted von Tilzer, “and 1 owe two months' office rent.” I'm broke, but happy Will Irwin, noted war correspond- ent, novellst and short-story wrlter, detailed experfences he and his wife, Inez Haynes Irwin, had had in being deprived of the sale of valuable rights in their productions solely be- cause under the existing law they could not establish their title to those rights, and, of course, the hearing was not concluded without reference to the amazing case of the Rev. Edward M. Sheldon, who realized virtually nothing from his book, “In His Steps,’ which sold by the millions of copies, merely because through a misunder- standing of the law he deposited one copy, instead of two coples, of the original edition in the copyright di- vision of the Library of Congress. The authors insist that they want exactly what the Constitution of the United States says they may be given, the exclusive right, for a limited time, to their writings. They want to be able to dispose of their rights in toto or in part. They want the United States to become a member of the International Copyright Union, in- stead of malintaining a position of “magnificent isolation” along with Russia and China, 8o that a copyright in this country will become immedi- ately effective in all other countries. They want the mere creation of a plece of Mterature, art or music to establish a copyright, instead of be- ing required to comply with a lot of legal formalities, under which they may be deprived of their rights by mere technicalities. In short, they say they want a law in the United States that conforms to the laws of the 34 nations iIn the International Unlon. One of their chief obstacles is the opposition of trades unionists. Pres- sure from the printers and other la- bor unions forced into the existing law a provision that no foreign book, etc., can be copyrighted In this ¢oun- try until it has been printed here, their leaders insisting that American labor ' must be protected against cheaper labor abroad, and Congress vielding to that demand. The Constitution says Congress shall have authority “to promote the progress of sclence and the useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the eXclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” As Augustus Thomas told the com- mittee, there is nothing in that about partial rights, or about the rights of anybody else save the writers and inventors. ——— “Huron Farmers Still Have Beans ‘Worth a Million,” says a Michigan paper. Trifiing, trifiing. Any city man knows that his bean is worth more than that.—Cleveland Flain Dealer, - 152.5-—PART 2 Capital Sidelights How the Government has grown, with a trend toward government by bureaus and commission was em- phasized the other day by Repre- sentative James Byrnes of South Carollna, who called attention that 10 years ago there were 20 commissions, boards and bureaus listed in the Con- gressional Record, whereas now there are 39 independent establishments, that cost about half a billlon dollars a year. As late as 1916 there were 27,243 employes in the Government service outside of the 10 established departments presided over by mem- bers of the Cabinet. Eight years later, in 1924, there were 51,643, Representative Byrnes pointed out that while members of the House re- celve $7,500 as salaries, and the same amount has just been allowed to as- =itant secretaries of great depart- ments like War and Navy, an assist- ant to a member of the Shipping Board is getting $10,000, almost as much as a Cabinet member. He cited as an evil growing out of government by commission the de- mands upon citizens for reports, say- ing that such commissions and bu- reaug vie with each other in their ef- forts to annoy the citizens “until the average business man's life is just one blamed report after another.”” He quoted from a bulletin issued by the Federal Board for Vocational Train- ing, entitled “Diary of Home-making Activities,” which showed that women are told that they should report such information as “Planned _evening party with party,” “Helped Billy put on overalls,” or “Punished Billy for hurting - Alice”—commenting, “As 1t any woman on earth would ever have time to do anything if she stopped to jot down all the information that these people in the departments want them to jot down and report. And if they sent back that Information what in.the world would the board do with 1t?” * x % % Have you ever heard of the big ice pool of Alaska? Representative John E. Rankin of Missisippi told his col- league about it. All the streams in that region are frozen up in the Win- ter, 8 or 10 feet thick. After the long, cold, dark Winter the people are %o anxious for a change that while wait- ing for Spring, which is heralded by the breaking up of the ice, they spec- ulate as to when the Ice will go. A large clock is placed on the bank | of the stream, and to it is fastened a | long wire, the other end of which Is attached to the ice, so that when the ice breaks the clock Is automatically stopped. Then guesses are sold as to | the exact day, hour and minute the clock will stop. Whoever guesses| nearest right gets all the money paid for the privilege of guessing. In 1323 ice pool at Falrbanks amounted to more than $11.000. o ox Every member of the House irre- spective of party or bloc interest, agreed with Representative Henry L. Jost of Missour! when he paid a trib- ute to “Mother.” He said: “Think of all the splendid relationships you have known in life. Is there any one of them that can transcend that which sprang from the travail of her who first put her arms about vou? Is there any other word in the Eng- lish language that gathers and ex- presses more of life han. the word ‘mother'? Is there anything so pure and so sweet as a mother's kiss? Is there any interest so unselfish and 20 genulnely true as that of a mother? Surely he who has heen warmed as a baby and into manhood by a mother's love is blessed of God. | Representative Jost was speaking | tn behalf of the proposal to allow mothers of deceased World War | veterans to visit the graves of their sons in Europe. He reminded his fellow members that “it was the mothers of thix land who furnished the millions of soldiers for the Amer- fcan battle line and it was their con- tributton, their sacrifice and their sorrow that made the Stars and Stripes triumphant.” ¥ ok e Congress has just been reminded of ‘pur debt to Italy. Representative Edward J. King of Illinois has pre- served for future generations an in- teresting paper on this Subject pre- pared by Charles E. Fafirman, curator of art works in the Capitol. by having it inserted in the Congres- sional Record. He was not referring to the debt on account of the dis- covery of this continent by an Ital- ian, but to the fact that Italian ar- tists adorned our Capitol Bullding. Mr. Fairman pald particular re- spect to the work of the two broth- ers, Giuseppe and Carlo Franzoni, many of whose relatives are now living in Washington, and both of | whom died here. All the works of the former were destroved by the | British when the Capitol was burned | in 1814, but records exist showing that he had done many remarkable pieces of sculpture. Some of Carlo Franzoni's earlier work is preserved in the Vatican, Rome, and Louvre, Parls. * ok ok The recent eclipse of the sun so im- pressed Representative Hays B. White of Kansas, “when in a few moments the pall of night, with its chill and darkness settled down over a large portion of our country,” that he told his colleagues he realized for the first time in his life that the following lines by Lord Byron might have been inspired by just such an exhibition: 1 had a dream that was not all a drs The bright sun was extinguished, stars Did wander darkly in the etarpal space, Rasless and pathiess, and the fcy earth Swung blind and blackeniog in the mooaless air. Morn came and went, and came, and brought no day: And men forgot their passions in the dread of this their desolation. All of which, with attendant ap- and the {ington plause, showed that sentiment is not dead in Congress. * * X X In these days of “dry America” with a rum fleet doing a land-office business offshore and a Coast Guard fleet doing its best to protect the in- tegrity of our shore, it is interesting to see just how wet this country is, physically. Representative Harry B. Hawes of Missouri is witness. He tells us that in addition to 25,000 miles of navigable streams we have a coast of 21,354 miles. The Great Lakes represent a combined length of navigable water of 1,400 miles, or as far as from Paris to Constantino- ple, There are some 20 first-class rivers of from 100 to 600 miles in length emptying into the Atlantic Ocean from the Appalachians. The Calumbia River on the Pacific side is 1,400 miles long and the Colorado is 1100 miles long. * % x “The Old Oregon Trail,” which re- minds us at once of Bridger, Kit Car- son, Buffalo Bill, the Applegates and Ezra Meeker, with its grave of “the unknown dead,” which traversed half a continent and over which covered wagons and ox teams went In 1843 and saved the Oregon country to the United States, and over which the empire builders, 1,000 of them, trav- eling 2,000 miles In dally battle, 1is the “world’s most historic highway.” Representative Addison T. Smith of Idaho, one of the States carved from the “Oregon country,” has just asked Congress to provide for proper mark- ing of.this historlc route, and has placed in the Congressional Record an intensely interesting history of this trail prepared by Walter E. Meacham of Baker, Oreg. ————— “An Invalid was cured when a wvild boar dashed into his bedroom.” We've also known tame bores that any self-respecting in- valld would recover to escape.—New instantly IOrleans Times MEN AND AFFAIRS BY ROBERT In all this discussion of interna- tional debts it is well to consider the tax burdens of the various peoples involved. The National Industria} Conference Board of New York has figured it out that since 1913 taxes in both ths United Statex and Great Britaln have increased 250 per cent and those in France 300 per cent. During the same period the tax bur- den or ratio of taxes to national in- come, has increased §0 per cent in the United States, 167 per cent in Great Britain and only 25 per cent in France. Today the tax burden in the United States is just half that in Great Britain and about two-thirds that jn France. The tax conditions prevailing in the three countrieX are vastly different, and this {s the explanation of the strongly contrasting percentages noted above. The tax burden falls only upon those who pay taxes. Where taxable earnings are distributed among a great number of people the percent- age of taxes against the individual is not so heavy. This condition is true of the United States. In Great Britain the percentage of tax pay- ers {s far below that in this coun- try. Therefore the rates against T. SMALL. thing worth telling occurred in executive seasion. it was surs to have a first-page position in the papers There is no dignity in the world quite comparable to that of & new Senator. Generally he has read much of the traditions of the Senats and naturally he looks forward to the first time the doors shall be solemnly closed and the public and emploves excluded to the end that high mat- 1ers of state may be discussed by the elder statesmen and disposad of with a silent wisdom impressive in its exclusiveness. In turn it ix always with a shock that the Senator picks up the next edition of the papers telling tha whole wide world what has happened within the sacred sanctum sanc- torum. All of this he regards as an invasion of senatorial rights and privileges. Ordinarily executive ses- |sions are for the purposs of con- |sidering the fitness for office of the various men nominated by the Presi- |dent.” It 1s in executive session that the Senate “advises and consents” or doesn’t advise and doesn’t consent, |Here also the treatfes with foreign |powers are considered and acted | upon. those who do pay taxes in the United Kingdom is much higher. The gov ernment, getting nothing from the poor and the unemployed, has to “soak the rich” That is why the burden here is only half that in Great Britain In France today there are more taxpayers than at any time in the history of the republic, and therefore the tax burder is more widely dis- tributed. This is due to the Increase in territory since the war, the fin- crease in population brought about by the addition of Alsace and Lorralne and also the virtual absence of un- employment. Strikes and unemploy ment have hit England hardest of all the countries in the war. National earnings in France have increased as rapidly as they have decreased in Great Britain. The French people always have detested and resisted direct taxation. They have not mind- ed taxes on tobacco, matches, and coffee and other commodities, but when it comes to digging down in the old sock or sabot when the col- lector comes around, they read to talk revolution * ok Washington would not be if it were not for the sional flurries over the wide publicity given to “executlve” sessions of tha Senate. Some of the nawer Sasnators in the National Capital appear to take these alleged secret sessions serfouslv. They ought to know that there never was a time when if any Fifty Years Ago In The Star Complaints of discrimination against Washington in the matter of freight S 3. rates on the rail- Disoriminating 5.5 0 e T Freight Rates. city have been voiced for many vears. Fifty years ago. there was no Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate the schedule of transporta- tion charges, and The Star now and then had occasion to publish matters pertaining to these charges. In The Star of January 2 1875, is a Jetter from a resident Beltaville, Md slgning himself Play as fo lows: “AS you weéra on the the interests of the merchants Washington 1 desire to awake your attention to the discrimination against your city and in favor of Baltimore by the Baltimore and Ohin Railroad Freights from Washington to way points on the Washington branch are in some instances fourfold of those from Baltimore. As an example, the freight on a barrel of flour from Washington to Beltsville is 50 cents, the distance 13 milee The freight from Baltimore to Beltsville, 27 miles, is 25 cents. And =0 of other freights. Now, while the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is asking favorable legls- lation of Congress, let the merchants move in this matter and let them insist that the railroad In question shall have no favor granted until the freights shall be so regulated that Washington shall be at no disadvan- tages Many persons along the lina of the Washington branch prefer to deal with the merchants of Washington, but are unwilling to pay the extra freights. are Wash- of "air loakout for of . * % The steamer Lady of the Lake. ning between Washington and Nor- Steamer folk. was burned to the water's edge at her wharf Burned. in the latter city on the evening of January 28, 1575. The steamer was to have salled the next day for Washington, and had on board a full carge, which was entirely lost. She was owned by George H. Plant & Co., of Wash- ington, and was valued at $80,000. She was built at Wilmington in 1%65 at a cost of $139,000. Originally de- signed for the Lake Pochartrain, La., trade she was transferred to the line plying between Portsmouth, Va.. and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and in 1870, was put on the Washington-Nor- folk line in place of the steamer Coit. o * ¥ Half a century ago art in Wash- Ington was developing to the point Organization When its votaries were sufficiently numerous of Artists. to form an organiza- January 30, tion. In The Star of 1875, is a paragraph in a column entitled “Overtones,” which was a regular feature of the Satur- day issue at that time. “It Is pleasant to know that meas- ures have been set on foot looking to the organization of an associa- tion for the promotion of art in Washington. In times gone by such an organization flourished here, with good results, and it is not to be doubted that great good would be accomplished through the efforte and influence of a similar assoclation at the present time. There are enough artists‘now living here to make up, together with the more active and enthusiastic lovers and patrons of art, quite a soclety, and there are talent and social qualfties enough among them to make its meetings not only beneficial in their effects but pleasant and attractive in them- selves. - There is no place in the coun- try so well adapted, for a variety of reasons, for its art center as Wash- ington, and it would be largely the missfon as well as the natural ef- fect of such an assoolation to make that fact manifest to the public, both here and elsewher: * * % It has often been said that Wash- ington is one of the easiest cities in the world In which Topsy-TUIVY (5" fina one's way, s but 50 years ago, Street sl"l " to judge from the following in The Star of January 30, 1875, the most scrupulous care was not taken in the labeling of the streets: “In passing from the Capitol to the junction of the Metropolitan line of cars, corner of Ninth and F streets, one may count 13 lamps upon which the little signs bearing the names of the streets are either upside down or ‘hind side afore.’ The same erratic arrangement may be noticed in other parts of the city, and the observer is left in perplexing ignorance wheth or the contractor who furnished the run- sugar | Nowadays even the shadow of the |delicacies of other times has dlsap- peared. Foreign countries and for- eign relations are discussed in open |session. Warlike words are hurled |across the xeas and over the bor- |ders. If anvbody doesn't like it lat |'’em come and knock the chlp off |our shoulder. The strange part of it is that the louder and ruder a |Senator talks about other peoplas tha oftener he votes to do away with an jarmy and a navy In any event, young Senator Reed |of Pennsylvania, who fought over- seas and believes in an army and a navy, is nevertheless opposed to publicity of executive secrets and would if he could punish any re- |porter who dared to print a story about the going-on behind the heavy |oaken doors of the Senats chamber |The flurry won’t amount to much |Senator Reed has been in Washington |a little more than two years. Prett |soon he won't care A AR s Marcellus Foster, editor and pub- lisher of the Houston Chronicle, who {has been in Washington the pas | week, is surprized that the people of the East should be surprised ths Jim Ferguson is doing most of “Ma Ferguson's work as Governor o Texas. It seems that the peopls i | Texas knew all along that in | for “Ma" they were voting for *Jin {So there has been no element of su prise 1o them at all | (Copyright. 1925 [ Heard and Seen | | The cat Jack Spratt, continues to | enlist the interest of friends of his tribe. During the past week I re. ceived meveral more letters concern- | in& him and cats in general. From the number I select two for presenta- | tion here. | The first is from Mrs. W. T. R. Greenwich, N. Y. e writes “I llke your cat tales and hope to | see many ‘more of them “My father loved his cat and after | hix death 1 found this little postical | tribute to his among his papers and imagine you would enjoy and ap | preciate it | “Wishing all success your cat tales.” etc The poem, entitled follows you ant My and 1 Just At Ausk at me chamber door. Four 1ittie whita fopt atand on (he foo 1e white fest o my knes. | But never a_hesrt so mu | Never a grateful sou And that is the way | Evory dar This rapty through Watihing my ¢ Through a fame Whether Stocks go tacks o down Falthtal forever ' can be T s cat loves me Ob. ms little kitty, the world is round, |In it full many ' friend I've found When I wan rich they bent the kaee. When I was pbor they frowned on mé But rich or poor, you hate loved me siill Fou shared the good as you shared the ill; So'while we live. and when we die, Mas we Ve togeiher. my cat aod 1. * * % Doz fanclers may think that praise of the cat a bit too much, but let them ra call some old favorite pet of their own, and then be silent. Cats can and do { manifest affection, although not so uni- | versally as the dog I have known people tremendously at- tached to canary birds or old Poll pa rots. After all, a pet is a pet, it makes | no_aifference ‘whether it be dog, cat, horse or bird The second letter is from E. R of this city, and reads: “I am vers glad that the cat, Jack Spratt, came back. We have been watch- ing the behavior of that cat through sour ‘stories’ in The Star for some time, and his rations of meat, etc. “It takes me back to the days when I lived with my father and mother in a little street. Caroline, near Six- teenth and T streets, prior to 1912, when we were owned by a large tom | cat. white with black spot on' ite | head, and a black tail “IL would meet ma evenings when |T was out. half a block away, and ‘Yowl' to get in the warm housa. He was a great pet, and as my father fed him with raw meat. would maka quite a fuss over him. When my father died, in 1912, the cat seemed to miss him; I would feed him as my father did, but he did not seem to be satisfied, and as he was getting to a ripe old age. 14 or 15 years, gradually got feeble and finally died that Summer. “Our cat had no name; he was known in the neighborhood as ‘Croggon’s cat’; most evervone knew him from his great size and beauty. but most of all from his welcoma howl when he met us, if any of us were out in the evening. “We have never had a cat since; on our return from Indiana to live, in 1914, we have had an apartment, where cats are supposed to he ‘persona non grata’ and certainly would lead an unhealthy life. But we are still cat lovers, and appreciate the feelings of another lover of the cat. “Keep on with your cat And pat Jack Spratt for me There you have two good cat pic- tures, one of a little she cat with “crystal eyes,” the other of Croggon's cat with its inky tail and prodigious yowl of greeting. And I am reminded, some way, of Yon Lam's famous cat. Now Yon Lam was a Chinese laundryman in a small town. He was the only man of his race within miles. He won fame during the World War by re- piying, when some one told him he could buy Liberty bonds on easy installments, “Me pay cash, allee same help win war damnes quick.” Yon Lam had a tabby cat of which he was very fond, so much so that every time she strayed away he put the following ad in the paper: “LOST—One girl cat. YON LAM." C. E. TRACEWELL. —_— stories signs or the individual who devotes his services to cleaning the lamps 18 to blame. At any rate, as these sign<are intended to guide strangers, comparatively few of whom ase cockeyed, it would be well to have the names of the strests given cor- rectly and ‘up side up. Imagine the feelings of a stranger. in a hurry, reading 'Mass. Ave. N.W.' or 'Penna Ave. SE’ upsidedown.” l i