Evening Star Newspaper, February 4, 1925, Page 6

IHE EVENING STAR WASHINGTON, D. WEDNESDAY. .February 4, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor 'The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Arve. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago OMice: Tower Buildi Buropean Office : 16 Regent 8t., London, Eagland. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, is delivered by carriers within the city at 80 ceuts per month: daily only; 45 cents per month: Sunday enly, 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mall or feie- phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car- Tiers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday..1yr, $8.40; 1 mo, 70c Daily only % 1yr, $6.00; 1 mo., b0c Sunday enly.......1yr, $2.40; 1 mo, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday .1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo., $5c Daily only T1yr, §7.00)1mo. 6 Sunday only......1yr, $3.00;1m Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also news pub- lished hereln. — All of special dispat: ocat publication ved s of The Tariff Commission. Last Saturday's foolish proceedings n the House, when, in a moment of pique, it struck out the $712,000 ap- propriation for support of the Tariff Commission, is likely to be reversed before the matter is disposed of finally, but the episode may not be ‘without its valuable The recent history of the Tariff Commis- sion does not compare favorably with its earlier accomplishments, and the board is to render valuable service reactions. in the future it must restore itself in/ public and official confidence by get- ting back to the high plane it occu- pied in the beginning. The idea of the Tariff Commission wirs that it should be a fact-finding body, free from political influence and without partisan bias as to the theo- ries of tariff making. It was hailed as an agency which was to take the tariff out of politics. That, of course, was an overly optimistic expectation. Congress is the only body that has authority to determine the tarifi policy of the Government, and the Tariff Commission is the factfinding agency of Congress. Under the exist- ing law the President has authority to reduce rates within specified limits under certain condi- tions, and it is the duty of the com- mission to furnish the President such information as he may require of it. It is no part of the commission’s proper function to seek to influefice either Congress or the President in the ultimate determination of polic: A mistaken conception of duty by some of the commissioners has re- sulted in conflicts within the commis- sion, and as a result the board has at times been in a virtual deadlock. This in itself is evidence of departure from proper functioning, for facts are facts, without regard to conflicting theories as to how those facts should be applied to the science of govern- ment. The Tariff Commission or increase can and should be one of the most useful of | Government agencies, Congress should give it funds sufficient to a proper | doing of its work, and the President will doubtless assure himself thatythe ocommission is composed of men who ‘will do the work properly. Fire Danger at the Capitol. Congress will be told that a fire danger exists in the Capitol. This in- formation has been given to the House appropriations and a remedy is so clearly indicated that i seems that Congress must supply it, During hearings on the legislative ap- propriation bill the doorkeeper of the House told the that the dangerous condition has existed for a number of years, that in the old li- brary space in the Capitol are kept Dbills and surplus documents, and that the place is a fire trap. In the old quarters of the Library of Congress at the west front of the central part of the Capitol there are tons of docu- ments of great importance to the Gov- ernment, and it is estimated by the architect of the Capitol that $44,000 would be needed to construct fireproof file cases for them and give them other protection. It was suggested to the witness that the papers might be transferred to the Library of Con- gress, but the answer was that the documents are constantly being called for by Congress in its work. There are fire dangers in numerous Govern- ment buildings at Washington which the municipal authorities would not allow to exist in private establish- ments, and hundreds of tons of G ernmrent records which might be kept in a central depository, as a national archives building, occupy space that is needed for the transaction of public business. committee, committee ——— Demands that more jail sentences be provided for various offenses threaten a new and interesting form of housing problem. Offenders should be persuaded to curb their reckless- ness ko as to avert a situation calling for funds to build prisons which might be .advantageously applied to building schools, r——— A Plague Spot. Al Americans who are believers in and supporters of law and order are concerned ‘in the state of things in Williamson County, Ill, where for several vears lawlessn, has pre- valled and where recently murders have been committed. Herrin, the county seat, has been the scene of lawlegsness unchecked ever since the mine massacre of September, 1922, ‘when union strikers made an assault upon operatives and officials and slew many of them. Rival organizations of citimens, styling themselves law-en- foréement bodles, have clashed with tragic results. Prohibition enforce- ment officers have been slain. The town and the surrounding country have been ruled by desperadoes. Life has been worth no more than in the mining camps 4% for frontiers in early days. Monday at Herrin a conference was held between the sheriff, repre- it | attorney, representing its opponent, and the county board of supervisors, and after a full discussion of. the sit- uation they decided to.“go down the line together” in one more effort to restore order to the county. The State's attorney stated that martial law is the only thing that will prevent more shootings unless decisive and intelligent action s taken by all fac- tions. The sberiff declared, “The county is bigger than I am,” and of- fered to arbitrate differences between the board of supervisors and himself as to the personnel of his staff and his deputies if the board agreed to do everything in its power to influence the justice of the peace not to issue any more permits to carry arm It seems incredible that such a state of affairs should have developed in the center of population in this country. State authority has been flouted, local authority has been prostituted, indi- vidualism has supplanted law. Chaos, indeed, has prevailed. If this were in the far remote regions, it would not be surprising. But it is in the very heart of the United States, in one of the most populous and progressive of the States of the Union. The inhabi- tants are not a back®ard people. They are of a fair, if not a high, average of intelligence. They have schools and churches. They have all the organi- zation of a civilized community. Svidently, judging from the sheriff’ stipulation, promiscuous personal arma- ment is at the root of the trouble. It |is beslde the mark to inquire who started this. The point of importance is that gun-carrying is the rule. Life {is held in small regard. The courts | have not functioned in punishment of crime. What is needed is disarma- ment, less faction, more law, and to |these ends a general, thorough clean-up. 1f the county’s present ef- forts at stabilization are not effective, the State must intervene. Herrin has become a scandal and a menace and an evil example that can be no longer tolerated. Heroes of the North. Hail to Gunnar Kasson, and to Balto, his dog! Kasson is an Alaskan dog musher, and Balto is the leader of his team. To them was assigned the job of carrying diphtheria antitoxin over the last lap of 660 miles on the long trail from Fairbanks %o Nome, city. They made it in five and a half days, a wonderful trip over ice and snow, through the darkness and the i men and dogs cold so intense that were nearly frozen. Kasson would have lost his way, skilled Arctic tracker though he is, but for Balto's keener sense of direction. Kasson has been mushing over the Alaskan trails for more than a score of years. Balto ix rated as the best lead dog of the North., Together they won through and delivered the precious package. To Kasson this was not an extraor- dinary performance, though accom- plished in the severest difficulties. When he was hailed as a hero at Nome he modestly gave the credit to Balto. He became expletive in his de- murrer. “Hell,” he said, “I don’t want any publicity for a little dog mushing. which is only @ part of the day's | work!” That is the spirit of the men | who break the trails in the far distant lands. They go forth and do what is theirs to do and take no credit for do- ing it. Sometimes they fall, but through no lack of will or courage. Sometimes they cannot overcome the obstacles of nature. But more often they win through, as did Kasson with his faithful team of dogs, half | wolves, stout, true-hearted, unfalter- ing huskies. They are wonderful creatures, these | huskies of the North, just as their leaders are wonderful men. They will | fight furiously over their food, and at the word of command fall into place and trot for hours at a time in perfect harmony, tugging and straining to | baul the sledge over rough ice and through heavy snow, only stopping when ordered, enduring the bitterest cold, facing the flercest winds, picking their way with the instinct of the wild creatures where human knowledge fails. The men who flew around the world carrying the American flag through the air for the first time over ali lands and seas were of the type of this in- trepid but humble dog musher of the North. But theirs was an easy task compared with the trip of Gunnar Kasson and his lead dog Balto. They made history. Kasson and Balto have merely maintained the traditions of the North, though in & way to make their names imperishable in the rec- ords of heroism, e Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions are still being unearthed. The latest news is sometimes several thousand vears old. — rt————— So-alled “gay parties” occasionally prove gloomy events, as subsequently recalled. \ Speedy Yet Tardy Justice. Yesterday the Court of Appeals of the State of New York affirmed the convictions of three men for the mur- der of two Brooklyn bank messengers on the 14th of November, 1923. The death sentence of a fourth man, con- victed of complicity in the same crime, was set aside and a new trial was ordered. Unless the governor inter- venes these three men will be executed in about five weeks, or approximately a year and a third from the date of crime. When these four men were taken for the killing of the two bank mes- sengers their trials were pushed with unusual expedition to satisfy a great- ly aroused public sentiment. All the proceedings were expedited, and when the four men were convicted in rec- ord time much gratification was ex- pressed at this demonstration of speedy justice. ‘Although the defend- ants were given separate trials the fourth man was convicted within the time after the murders that is usually occupied by grand jury inquiries. Still. 'a vear has passed since those convictions were recorded, a year of appeals, These men, of course, have had their right of review, and there is no evidence that the appellate process has been unusually protracted. Yet the fact remains that so much time for the relief of that disease-beleagured | blinding glare of occasional light, in| the crime and its punishment -has waned. It is necessary to retell the story of the murderous hold-up. The deterrent effect of conviction and pun- ishment is greatly weakened. Appeals procedure is so slow in this country that the record in the case of the Diamond brothers, ¥arina and Pantano is typical. The dockets of the appellate court are crowded. The law allows long lapses for the filing of mo- tions and briefs, for arguments and for consideration by the courts. It often happens that two and three years pass between convictions in the lower courts and decisions in the up- per, with further delays following. It is not uncommon, indeéd, to find the law in final execution five years after the-commission of a capital crime. If the Diamond brothers and Faripa are executed within 15 months of the date of the murder of which they have been convicted remarkable expedition ‘will bave been scored. Jurists agree that this slowness of procedure is faulty, and is responsible for the weakening of the law. They have sought means to correct it. Two methods alone will effect the needed reform, amendment of the statutes re- lating to appeals, and enlargement of the courts to enable them more speed- ily to dispose of the business which the criminals of this country make for them. Movies for the Young. Motion picture shows especially adapted for children, and to be ex- hibited for an admission charge of 10 cents, ought to prove an unquestioned success on- the first try-out. Millions | of dollars have been expended in this country in the making and showing of screen entertainment. Some of the most famous and important events of history have been reproduced for the public of today in falthful detail of incidents and settings. The same is true of the literary classics and time-honored dramas of the legltimate stage. But therp have been few pic- turizations of the children’s classics, or those for the boys and girls who have graduated from ‘“Jack and the | Beanstalk” and “Red Riding Hood.” | The few that have been produced| have|been exhibited at prices too| high to come within the limits of | the average famlly purse. If the Motion Picture Producers and Dis tributers of America can bring to the children of this country their own stories of fairyland and treasure trove at an admission price low enough to permit universal attendance, a grate- ful nation of men and women will a few years from now undoubtedly stand witness to the value of invest- ment in morals through suitable and | wholesome entertainment for young | minds in the molding. 1 ———————— The work of getting antitoxin to diphtheria sufferers at Nome has been | arduous and full of peril. Science has | done much; yet in order for humanity | to reap her benefits there must still be hardship and sacrifice. The world is as far from providing an existence of ease as it was when intelligence | first dawned. Instead of making life easier science has speeded it up by filling it with more possibilities and greater rewards and by lessening the spirit of dumb resignation to fate. —————————— The solicitude in seeking treaty ar- rangements not calculated to provoke a trade war is abundantly warranted by the fact that a trade war involves s0 many possibilities of developing the original and more serfous kind of war. e Hopes for the inauguration climate would he more confident if the ground | hog had ever shown any influence whatever with the regular weather authorities. ——rate. 1 | Aviation is' now regarded as more important in the event of world war than navigation. ———— “A number of people in the Capitol are beginning to doubt whether it will ever be possible to find an Attorney General who is absolutely satisfactory to the United States Senate. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Freedom of the Clothespress. ‘We're grateful for a country free— There may be some restrictions ‘That call for jailing, or a fee, For various derelictions. Each day some new offense we find That baffles and confuses— But any one may wear the kind Of clothes his fancy chooses. ‘With trousers wide or trousers trim A lad may go a-roaming. A lass in garments broad or slim May toddle in the glgaming. The things which you must never do Just now are very many— But you may wear what pleases you; A lot, or hardly any. Proceeding With Caution. “You do not appear to be making | your old efforts to lead your party.” “No,” said Senator Sorghum. “These days, a party goes right ahead and the best I'm trying to do just now is to step along and not be left out of the procession.” Home Hunting. We care not for the house or land Round which the breezes quiver If a garage is near at hand In which to leave the flivver, Jud Tunkins says if going in for guessing contests was considered real gambling we'd every one of us be liable to arrest. * Developing a Market. “That stranger appears to be under the influence of alcohol!” “Don’t trust him,” said Cactus Joe. “He's probably a representative of the Sneke Ridge moonshine distillery tryin’ to get you interested and take your order.” Hope of the Future. They say young people must improve The world and keep it on the move. Oh, children, be not too severe- In speaking to your parents dear. “A prize fighter,” said Uncle Eben, “shows mo’ sense dan a lot of us in al- ways knowin’ exactly what he’s fight- senting oue-Gactions 604 the Etstoig) heo-clapeed has thopubliodntereet inttoreom® | o BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. The pleasant custom of reading in the family circle still survives in the District of Columbia, those who love books will be glad to learn. Personally, I thought it had about died out, until 1 recelved a letter which read, in part: “Permit me to thank you for your timely story tonight. It was most enjoyable. I read It to our family circle and we all had a hearty laugh. We like all your stories. They are all so natural. Keep up the good work, Many years ago the custom of reading aloud in the family was well nigh universal among those persons in the community who belleved with implicit faith in the value of books. “My early and invincible love for reading I would not exchange for the treasures of Indla,” said the great Gibbon, in his memoirs. Something of the same zeal motivated scores of fathers when they took out a book after supper and proceeded-to read a chapter or two. Often it was the Bible. Many young couples have vowed that they would keep up this happy custom, begun during courtship days, but somehow it has been allowed to lapse with the coming of sthe bables and manifold household duties and problems. Truly it is not an easy Habit to keep up. The diversions of modern life are so many that books some- times are forced to take a back seat —or, rather, shelf—in the homes even of true booklovera. Then, of course, there are many cultured homes where there could be little reading in the family cfrcle by reason of the fact that the inhabi- tants thereof never do such a thing as read. There are many homes where there are fewer books than Abraham Lincoln managed to get to- gether. * % % Yet thers is no more beautiful cus tom than this of reading in the fam- ily circle. What a picture! Whether the home be humble or graud, the sight is essentlally the same, a scene hallowed with light, spiritual as well as actual. Do you not think, for instance, that I was immensely pleased to receive that letter? Even Kipling would! It brought to my mind's eye at once this vision: A warm living room, easy chairs, a lamp on the table, a man reading, his wife listening, perhaps several others. He was reading, not a book, but the editorial page of this paper. He was reading the thoughts of a man he had never scen, and probably never will; but there was an invisible tie between us, more intangible even than the impalpable ether. That tle was the love of reading. “In & polite age almost every per- son becomes a reader, and receives more instruction from the press than from the pulpit,’ said Oliver Gold- smith In one of his letters in Citizen of the World.” Whatever you may think of that statement, it brings home the simple truth—even more true today than it was then—that newspaper reading is just as much reading as the ponder- ous tomes of Historlan Gibbon him- self. Some way or other, T would rather write for a city of living people, and have my humble efforts go into their homes every night, to find a place by their hearths, than to compile a most tremendous book to lie unopened upon | a few library tables, or rest with un- cut leaves on a high shelf in a book- case. o And this, too, even If now and then 1 commit lese majesty by declaring that dear old Roxle, who puts on the best radio concerts States now as he always has done, personally talks too much to suit me! Oh, yes, T know I don’t have to listen —but I can't help it! I like Roxie. too, you know. teading In the family circle has rewards all its own, either for the one who usually reads by himself, or for him who normally prefers to share the good things of the mind with others. The universal tendency of man- “The | in the United | { | | i ‘u kind—ohe of our very best traits— is to “divvy up” with our friends. If we run onto a good book, we do not rest untll we have forced our friends to read it. If we go to a show and enjoy ft, for days we sing the praise of the offering, until we ,incuce Bill and John to go see the play, too. If we purchase a corking new radio recelving set, nothing will do us until all our radio pals are brought in _to see the new wonder perform. The man who has conceived & new theory in any line of endeavor wants to impart it to those he llkes. If he is like a man I once knew, who got the idea that lemons were good for mankind, he will make his entire family eat lemons. Pretty soon you will see his wife eating lemons, his children eating lemons, almost his dog eating lemons. So the zeal of men rums to refor- mation, and forcibly imparts virtue to others, despite the dictum that you cannot legislate men either good or bad. So it 1s with reading in the family circle. The man who starts this pleasant custom soon finds that he gets a “kick” out of it that simple reading on the lone does not afford. In the main there are two divisions of such reading: 1. Study courses. 2. More general reading. The first includes history, biog- raphy, the best of the old and new novels. A distinguished man and his wife in this city do all their read- ing together. - They select a certain timé each evening, he doing the reading o evening, she the next. The reading is, of course, entirely aloud. There is something about the human voice that imparts a new color to prose or poetry. There is a live- lter appreciation possible of the fine points throughout, although thers is also some loss, as any one Knows who has tried the experiment. If two minds are well mated, and in harmony, home to each many points that might be overlooked fn reading by oneself. Somehow or other the slower read- ing made necessary orally gives time for the inind to grasp the full beauty of certain passages. In reading aloud such a work as H. G. Welle’ “Outline of History,” for instance, Whe hearers are able to help each other in making their own the facts and ideas brought out. * ok ok X ading Includes this and “this and that humorous writings, short stories, reading to the children “bedtime stories,” etc. (Speaking o bedtime stories, I heard six in a row the other night from as many cities!) Especially does reading in the family circle bring home the full value of humorous and semi-humor- ous writing, such as Robert Bur- dette’s inimitable story about George Washington and the hatchet, as told to the little boy. This story has been recited by Frank Moulan several times from Roxle's concerts. Read in the family circle, it is sure fire laugh provoker and will shake a family up more than the funniest movie, if the reader can manage to keep a straight face O. Henry's “A Harlem Tragedy” is a great story to read to the home folks when the lights are bright after supper. It is the story of the lady whose husband beat her up More general r and that book and poetry, and of the lady whose husband would | not hit her at all. It ends, as all O. Henry fans recall, with the latter wife moaning to the other, “My Guwd, he's washing the clothes, he's washing the clothes.” Octavus Roy Cohen’s stories are good for family circle reading, as are those of Irvin Cobb and Ellis Parker Butler. Mark Twain is tre- mendously worth while. Oscar Wilde's prose poems are unsurpassed. Or try Daisy Ashford's “The Little Visitor.” The list is almost limit- less. The new Golden Book maga- zine s filled monthly with good reading for the family eircle. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Robert M. Washburn of Massachu- setts, ploneer biographer of Calvin Coolidge, has pitched his tent in Washington for an indefinite period. He is a lawyer by profession, but a writer by present occupation, and will essay the role of a chronicler of current events at the Capltal. Mr. Washburn was for five years a col- league of President Coolidge in the Senate and Assembly of Massachu- setts. Mr. Coolidge has described him as “a man of very marked ability, with a wit that is exceedingly enter- taining.” Among Washburn’'s other claims to fame is a distinct resem- blance to Napoleon. To an admirer who once remarked it Washburn said: “Do you mean Napoleon at the zenith of his glory, or as he looks today?’ An abridged edition of Washburn’s “Life of Coolidge” was a popular Retynhlh:ln campaign docu- ment in 19 * * #* American - religisus organizations watch national legislation with an eagle eve, wherever spiritual values are concerned. If the Lausanne treatles with Turkey were to be brought up for ratification in the Senate this week, the expulsion from Constantinople of the Greek ecumen- ical patriarch would be a certain ob- ject of attack. Greece protests the expulsion on the ground that it i & violation of the Lausanne treaties. The Turks hold that they are en- titled under the treaty to repatriate any individual Greek and that the present patriarch is a Greek natlonal. In a narrow sense, therefore, the is- sue involved s one of treaty con- struction. the Angora government's deportation of the patriarch a grim reminder of the days of Abdul-Hamid and the sul- tanate of evil repute. When the United States Senate is.asked to ap- prove of the Lausanne DActs with Turkey the expulsion episode is bound to have important effect. % k % X V. S. S. Mayflower, the presidential yacht which is affording Mr. Coolidge almost the sole form of relaxation he indulges himself, does not swing lazily and unoccupled at anchor at the navy yard from one week end to another, When not cruising through the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay with the President and his guests, it is as busy a training ship_as the American Navy possesses. Capt. An- drews, its gallant commander, puts in full time aboard the Mayflower as the skipper of a crew of 150 officers and men, who undergo Incessant prac- tice in seamanship for the naval service. The dining room staff of the President's pleasure craft consists al- most. exclusively of young Filipinos. * ok ok ok Senate and House committees on appropriations are getting earfuls about Federal niggardliness in al- most every department of the Gov- ernment. A divisional chief of a cer- tain executive branch told a charac- teristic story this week: He said that in his own particular service there had been 35 resignations since Octo- ber 1, 1924, because men could no longer afford to refuse immensely better ppy offered them in private life. Then the official turned the +ide ot the Fuderal Christian America finds | medal. He mentioned, a group of as- soclates, mainly on duty abroad, who think nothing of working Sundays, holidays and overtime without pros- Dpect or expectation of extra pay. On | the average these men are giving Uncle Sam about 13 months of work for 12 months of pay. Such eplisodes are not unusual in the Government service. In many departments they are the rule. * ok ok % There is more strategy than meests the eye in the dilly-dallying of the Senate over Muscle Shoals, the postal pay bill and other matters that have consumed the session. It has been desired, cloakroom gossip avers, to use up so much time that there should be no chance of the Barkley- Howell railroad bill coming up for discussion and possible passage. This is the measure fathered by the rail- road brotherhoods and which aima at smashing the labor sections of the Esch-Cummins transportation act. The story gaes that, with a weather eye peeled on the calling up of the bill | from the calendar, Republican sena- torial leaders maneuvered the Sen- ate’s time o that nothing but Muscle Shoals, postal pay and appropriation measures has had a chance, * ok % ok The strangest society functio staged in Washington in 1 long time was the bal masque given by the Italian Ambassador, Prince Caetani this week in the still uncompleted new. embassy bullding on upper Sixteenth street. Though the night was wet and cold, part of the structure still sur- rounded by scaffolding, and some of its doors and windows not vet finished, the A{nbaunflor ‘was determined not to quit Washington without entertaining on the premises. His anxiety to do so springs from the fact that the new embassy was largely Prince Caetant’s. idea and creation. Had his mission in the United States been prolonged he would have lived there and given up the luxurious apartment he has occupied in the same bullding in which Secretary Mellon lives. , Bets were made when Caetani was sent to Washington by Mussolini in 1922 that he would never:leave here ex- cept as the husband of an American €irl. As a bachelor, a prince, a millionaire and an ambassador, he was the catch of the season for three years, But he has not been en- trapped. Caetani’s parties have been the most lavish in recent diplomatic history at Washington. T4 s Mr. Coolidge's stern refusal to be photographed: at the White House in. front of a “booster” automobile placarded with advertisements of a Massachusetts town may stop the un- ceasing attempts to cheapen the pres- tdency. Hardly a day passes that the Chief Magistrate 1sn't asked to lend himself to some Babbitt stunt. The opportunities Mr. Coolldge has re- jected to indulge in such absurdities Wwould make a weird story in Amer- icana if they could be compiled and narrated. Some day, perhaps, the patriotic public will wean itself of the handshaking bore at the White House, but probably not as long as there are Congressmen with constit- uents who like that sort of thing and do it In droves. o ST NN reading aloud brings ! Politics at Large BY G. GOULD LINCOL! Again the Republican party axe has fallen. This time on the heads of the insurgent band in the House— 10 members from Wisconsin who fol- lowed the banner of La Kollette and Wheeler in the last campaign, Repre- sentative Keller of Minnesota and Representative Sinclair of North Da- kota. The Republicans fal'ed to send the members of this group invita- tions to attend the party caucus of the new House, which is to, meet here February 27 to nominate the next Speaker of the House and to pick the floor leader. The action of the regular House Republicans Is similar to that taken by the Senate Republican conference in regard to Mr. La Follette himself, and three of his followers in the upper house at the opening of the present session. * K K X While the great bulk of the Re- publicans in Congress approve this action, there are some who have mis- givings. The latter are from States west of the Mississippi, where the progressive sentiment is strong; where the voters are, perhaps, moreé independent when it comes to party fealty than in the East. They are not afraid, they say, of Senator La | Follette, or the other progressive In- surgents who sought to wear the Republican label, although _they abandoned the party national ticket and the party platform during thé last campaign. What they fear is that these independent voters, these progressive-minded people {in the West, may take it into their heads that the Republican organization in Congress is hitting at progressiv- ism and using La Follette and the others as & punching bag for that particular form of exercise. They shudder to think what might happen if the people of the West became convinced that the Republican party was hereafter to-be regarded as the Sjmon-pure conservative party. On the other hand, the head of the | party’s national organization, Senator William M. Butler of Massachusetts, chairman of the Republican national committee, heartily approves the ac- tion taken by the House Republicans. A professed follower of La Follette has no place in Republican party councils, in the opinion of Mr. Butler. * k X % In this connection Mr. Butler tells of a little experiment he made early {in the recent campaign. He sent in- { vitations to all of the insurgent group | in the Northwest to join with the reg- | ular Republicans to elect Coolidge | and Dawes and in support of the pary { plaform. | “1 got back a number of replies, all | declining and some of them in abusive !terms,” said Mr. Butler. Possibly | some of the insurgents thought at the time that the chairman of the Republican national committee bhad | | an overdeveloped sense of humor and | | was giving it play when he sent them {invitations last July to “come on in; | | the water’s fine.” But they know now {that the chairman is not issuing any | at this time. It is pretty generally understood { that the faflure to include the insur- | gents in the party councils of the House means they will lose thelr committee assignments which they | have held as members, hitherto, of the Republican party. Important committee asslgnments mean much to | | Representatives and Senators alike. | { It sometimes takes years of service to reach these coveted poste. Nelson of Wisconsin, for example, is chairman of elections committee No. 2; Sinclair |has = place on the committee on { agriculture, and Keller is chairman | | of the committee on raflways and | canals; Cooper of Wisconsin Is a member of the foreign affairs com- | mittee; Lampert of Wisconsin heads the committee on patents. *x KK “If a member is not a Republican for the purposes of party organiza- tion and party-council, then he can | | scarcely be called a Republican for {the purposa of filling committee as- signments,” is the way the regulars put it | And by the same token it looks as though Senator La Follette and | {Senators Brookhart, Ladd and Frazier i may have a rough time when It comes to making up the Senate committees {in the next Congress. If soms of the | Republicans have their way, these four Senators will be deposited in no man's land, and must take their chances along with the Farmer-Labor :Senator, Shipstead of Minnesota. As | = matter of fact, Senator La Follette, | | by reason of his long service and the | | seniority rule, holds lmportant com- | mittes places—as chairman of the| {committee on manufactures, ranking | | member of the important committee | on finange, and ranking member of {the interstate and foreign commerce | Progressives have looked forward to| the time when he might head either the finance committee, which handles tariff and revenue legislation, or the interstate, commerce committee, which handles railroad measures. And now he may lose his strategic position on these committees. Not that, it will matter much to the Senator from Wisconsin. His course in the Senate has been followed unswervingly, and as he himeelf says he will find plenty to keep him occupled, even if all his committee assignments are taken away. * * kX Victor Berger, Socialist member from Wisconsin, took Representative Frear, also of Wisconsin, and one of the La Follette group, severely to task because of his speech in®the House complaining because the in- surgents had been omitted from the party caucus to be held February 27. These gentlemen are no more Re- publicans than I am,” sald Mr. Ber-| ger, addressing the House, and re- ferring to his erstwhile allies in the effort to elect La Follette President. “As a matter of fact, we stood on the | same platform at the last election, | only with this difference: I still stand where I stood last Summer. I ask no favors from the Republican party. Mr. Frear posed as a great La Follette man last Summer. And, lo, a few days ago Mr. Frear humbly kissed the flag—no, kissed the ele- phant's tail.” All of which is scarcely inclined to makeé for smooth safling when the Socialists and insurgents and other progressives meet in Chicago to evolve a new liberal party—if possi- ble. * ¥ * % And now comes a new suggestion— though its sponsors are not yet bragging about it. Reduce the rep- resentation of some of the Northern and Western States In the Democratic national convention, since they never —well, scarcely ever—go Democratic. It is hinted that William Gibbs Mc- Adoo and his friends are back of such a move—~though it has not yet beem confirmed. One reason advanced is that it would be well to cut down the strength in convention of the Northern element which caused Mr. McAdoo a great deal of trouble. The pame of Bryan is mentioned also in connection with the suggestion. It is serlfously doubted here—in fact, denjed—that this move, if it may be dignified as such—will get anywhere. Senator Pat Harrison takes a healthy swat at the idea, de- claring that he would be strongly opposed to it, and other Southerners in Congress take -the same position. There is one reform, however, which may well be adopted by the Democrats in the nattonal conven- tlon rules; Senator Harrison says.| He is conducting a crusade to bring it about. Abolish the two-thirds rule and permit a majority of the delegates in convention to nominate the party candidates. Senator Har- rison Is advising that when the Dem- ocratic natlonal committee shall |of the coming inaugural parade, the meet agaln it adopt a resolution in ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. When were birth records first taken in Washington?—J. . [ 1ohi They were first recorded in | Q. Was there a moon the night Lincoln was shot?—W. K. | | ) 5 % A 'he moon rose that night at 10 | o'ciock. Lincoln was shot at 10:05, : i | | | | | Q. How long is the new Delawar: River Bridge’—G, G. T A. This bridge, between Philadel- phia and Camden, is 1.81 miles in length. It is the larget guspension bridge n the world and will be open to trafic July 4, 1926, Q. What are the sources of Gov- ernment income? Do the States con- tribute to it?—A. K. W, | A. The principal sources of reve- nue of the United States ara from ex- clse dutles on fmports and exports, tax upon liquors, tobacco, certain luxuries, such as theater admissons, and income tax, which s at present | by far the greatest source of rey enue, No part of the taxes raised by the ates is turned over to the Federal Government. Q. What s the plaid of the Clan of | Macklyn?—S. M. MecC. A. The name Macklyn is a corrup- tion of MacLean. The dress plaid of the MacLean Clan has a red ground with green, blue, yellow and white stripes, The hunting plaid has a green background with black and white stripes. Q. Please publish a sketch of the life of Ralph Connor.—V. N. A. Ralph Connor is the nom de plume of the Rev. Charles W. Gordon, the Canadian writer, who was born | |in the County of Glengarry, Ontario. | | He graduated from Toronto Univer- sity and studled theology at Knox | College. He was ordained to the ! Presbyterian ministry in 1860, and worked as a misslonary among the | miners and lumbermen fn the Cana- | dian Northwest territories. v 3 Q. Was a gold mine in Ontario| given to Ann Arbor Collego which | has since proved very valuable?— T. B. P. A. The assistant secretary of the University of Michigan says: “I pre- sume the person making the inquiry of your office means the University of | Michigan, so far as we know. Some time ago the newspapers referred to some lands in the Garden River In dian Reserve in Ontario, which is near the Canadian Soo, as ‘valuable copper lands.’ This land was given to the university about 15 years ago. The deed especlally reserves gold and silyer to the Province of Ontario. It undoubtedly contains copper ore, but this ore is, as far as we know, low grade and not suitable for mining un- der the present processes in commer- | cial use.” Q‘;:Wha! nationality s Tom Mix?— A. He is an American, in Texas. S, He was born Q. How many horsepower has the Shenandoah?—E. A. L. A. The Shenandoah has five 300- horsepower engines, making a total of 1,500 horsepower. The Shenandoah used to have six 300-horsepower engines, but | the engine which was in the observa- tion car was taken out. Q. If an order should be issued for- bidding the use of regenerative set could such sets be rewired so they could bs used?—F. A. B. A. The Department of Commerce says that no law or order has been passed discontinuing the use of r generative sets; however,\if such an order were passed regencrative sets could be rewired so that they could be used. Q. Is a bonus received from the | Inaugural As An Outlet For Patriotic Emotions | To the Editor of The Star: In discussing the size and character true significance of the occasion seems to be ignored. It is the gather- | ing, of our people from all over the country, people of every political party, of all religious denominations and creeds, to jointly. express their loyalty to the President of a united country. | The inaugural parade was the f -t factor to enable the soldiers of tne Civil War, North and South, to fra- ternize and march side by side to th music of “Yankee Doodle” and “Dixie.” The most attractive feature of former inaugural parades was the spectacu- lar effect of military organizations from every State, wearing distinctive uniforms, with their own bands, marching in brilliant array. In cor trast to the kaleidoscopic change of the marching colimns of independent State troops, came long columns of Regulars In seemingly endless monoto- nous color of uniform. Another elq- ment, which appears to have been! eliminated from consideration, is the veterans of our wars, without whose services,we would have had no coun- try. The inaugural ball and its inci- dental social functions have been mediums for ladies from all the State to become acquainted. It has been stated that the curtailment of the scope of the ceremonies incident to Inducting the President into office is | in the interest of economy. When the practice of economy limits the mani- festation of patriotism it becomes parsimony. ¥. 8. HODGSON. —_— the old two-thirds rule; that it calll upon State conventions to take the matter up and approve the majority | rule and instruct delegates to vote | for it at the next national convention. * * X % o succeed’ savs Sen- ator Harrison, “in bringing about the adoption of majority rule, then we should strike now, when candidates for the presidential nomination have not entered the fleld. If we wait un- til after candidates are under way, it will be too late, just as it was too | late to do anything about this re-| form when we reached New York.” The Democrats in the Housg caught the Republicans napping the | other day, and during consideration | of the independent offices appropria- | tions bill in the committee of the | whole abolished the United States Tariff Commission. This slap at the | Republicans was engineered by the| Democratic floor leader, Finis J.,| Garrett, and his able lleutenant, Wil- | liam A. Oldfield of Arkansas, the| Democratic whip and new chairmen | of the Democratic congressional cam- | paign committee. Mr. Oldfield, by | the way, Is laying his lines now to| cut into the Republican majority in the House in the ecloctions of 1926. | He is a hard worker and will bear | watching by his Republican oppo- | nents. For _once, “If we are at least, the Senators; trom Massachusetts, Mr. Butler and | David 1. Walsh, Democrat, were found voting shoulder to shoulder on | an important measure. The vote! came on an amendment to the postal | pay and rate bill, offered by Senator | Walsh, which provided a new cor- rupt practices act designed to limit expenditures in campaigns for the Senate and House. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 71 to 3, | and provides the only chance for| such legislation during the present Congress, provided the postal bill &eta out of the smark it-is aow in, b4 State of Illinols far war service sub- ject to Federal income tax?—E. E. H. ° A. All maney received from a State is exempt. . Q. How much does a divers suit weigh?—M., S, A. The type most generally uged in Great Britain and the United States {8 made of waterproof ocloth, with a helmet of tinned copper, hav ing clrcular glasses in front, and valves to admit and discharge air. Its welght is about 7§ neunds. —— Q. What are the ineredlents off chewing tobacco?—d. L. D, A. The ingredients of chewing to- bacco vary with ‘he manufacturers. Generally speaking chiewing tobaceo contains licorice, sweetening material (sugar or glucose), »r special flavor- ing substance, usual¥y natural or ar- tificial frult, Q. Please give an account of the | mutiny in which Admiral Bligh fig- ured’—W. G. 8. ® A. Admiral William Blich was ap- pointed commandler the Bounty, with orders to sail to ( tahsite or Tq hiti, collect breadfruit tree plants and transport them for Introduction to the West India colonies. On the way from Tahiti to Jamalca a part of the crew mutinied and forced the captain and 18 men into the ship's launch, which they cast adrift, tu ing their own course back to Tahiti. The captain and his companions, who had very few provisions and no sex- tant or map, arrived, after three months of severe hardship, at the Island of Timor, a distance of 3,600 nautical miles the point where they were abandoned. Owing Bligh's skill and courage not a single life w ost Bli arrival i1 Eng a man-of-w sent to capture the mutineers, Somo of them were se had es- aped to Pitc They wera not discovered ur and by thet time only one the mutineers, John Adam, remained Q. How man Panagma Canal?—A. B A’ The defenses consist of large forts at each end of the canal, with field works for some 6,000 mof troops. Three regiments of infantry, one squadrs of cavalry, one bat- talion of artillery and 12 com- panies of coast defense troops form the permanent force on the isthmus. on d 11 180X soldiers guard the feld Q. ber United cultivation A. Accord tural Y What ¥ g to the ar Book, the land harvested In 1919 amounted to 365,- 000,000 acres, or only a little over one-fifth of the total area availabl However, there is always a consider- able area of land planted to crops not harvested, mainly on account of crop failure Thi estimated roughly at 15,000,000 acres for 1 There was also an area of crop L £ dle or fallow estimated at 23 000 acres. Some of this probably consists of old ficlds recently aba: doned. to crop! Q. Is allowance made for and platinum in scrap gold w coining same?—DM. J. McA. A. Allowance made for the ver content in gold submitted for colnage to United States mint, but there 11 3 lowance . for platinu returned. is serap th Th (Inform and entertain_yourself by making constant use of The Star In- formation Burcau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Twenty-first and C streots northwest. There is a wealth of informa- tion at the command of The Star read- ers. There is no charge for service ez- cept @ 2-cent stamp which showld be in closed for direct reply.) GHOST STORIES ABOUT SPAIN By RICHARD W ASHRURN CHILD Former Ambassador to Italy. he nove lasco Thanez, has by airplane, on th and almost withix of Paris a camp Alfonso and for of republican pr editorial Mr. Ch returned from Sp. the situation that under the modified of Primo de Rivera. and playwright, been waging printed pa the law col gn against King establishmer Those who have been in cently understand the absurdity the misrepresentations broadcast con- cerning political conditions in that country. These clamors have arisen from Paris as a center and have ha dtheir origin partly in the desire for revenge of a certain diplo- mat who found himself persona non grata to the Ki pain and partly in the desiro of other individ adveriising for books and photc In every country whera there is a monarch there is a republican groun, no matter how small, just as in many other demdcracles there are mona chist groups, no matter how small. It is as sensible to represent Alfonso, who is a graceful, likable and rather able young man, as unpopular among the Spanish masses as it Is to assun that the Republic of France is al to be pulled by popular will The fact is that neither of these cor cepts comes near the truth. On Jan uary 23, the King of n's name day, a nation-wide demonstration of his popularity took place. The Span- ish people understand that in fa mud-slinging from foreign lands, the King has acted with tolerance, b tience and the forbearance of a ju man who has a sense of humor mix gled with am appreciation of good manners, The interruption of active parlia mentary government in Spain and the appearance of Gen. Primo de Rivera as the head of a “military directorship” more than a Year ako cannot be laid at tho doors of the King, of Primo de Rivera or ‘of the dfrectorship fitself. The directorship came into being when parliamentary government, through corruption, in- efficiency and utter flabbiness, failed to govern the country. The question presenting itself to the King, to Gen. Primo de Rivera, to the stronger characters in Spain and, indeéd, to the people of Spain, was not which form of government is preferable— parliamentary monarchy or director- ship—but what form could be de- vised temporarily while Spain was preparing to build a better demo- cratic political system. Those who know the King and Primo de Rivera regard as ridiculous the idea that they are presenting u challenge to the people of Spain. The people of Spain, broadly speaking, do not believe anything of the kind. Spain re- down | Those who go to Spain today looking for revolution can see little but caln: and some measure of satlsfaction. Those Who look outside of Spain for sensational attacks on Spain, her pag- ple and her King, will find plenty +t wmaterial to feed their test for romum- tic clap-trap. Kings are unpopular, especially in a nation like our own which was once thrilled by a revolu- tion of a king, but press agents who cash.in on that prejudice feed our passions more than our judgment and cause sensible men and women to ponder up on the modern power af ‘*he publicity huckster. Copyrighty 19788