Evening Star Newspaper, February 10, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. . WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY.....February 10, 1925 .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company . and Pennsylvania Ave. 110 East 43nd St. : Tower Buliding. London, England. THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star. with the Sunday moraing edition, is delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents month: dally only, 45 cents per month: Sunday only, 20 ceats per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car- Tiers at the end of each wonth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday..1yr., $8.40; 1 mo,, 70c Dally only.... .1yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only. ..1yr., $2.40: 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. Dally and Sunday.1yr., $10.00; 1 mo,, 85¢ Daily only. .1yr, $7.00;1mo, 80c Sunday only......1yr., $3,00;1mo, 25¢c \ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press s exclusively entitied o the use for republication of all ‘news dis- téhes credited 1o J: OF not otherwise credited n this paper and aiso the local news pub- lished herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatches Two Important Local Bills. District day in the House yesterday yielded only two measures, although several others were available for con- sideration. Those two, however, were of importance to the local community, and it is gratifying that they were passed. They were the bills to rrfllle. a public welfare commission for the | District to replace a number of exist- ing boards and supervisory bodies in charge of the social agencies of care and charity, and that which js de- signed to insure to consumers a pure supply of milk products. The former measure has been only recently framed, but the latter, already passed by the Senate during this Congress, has been awaiting action for a num- ber of years. In one important respect the House yesterday amended the public welfare commission bill from the form in which it was reported from committee. This amendment provides that while a child would otherwise be taken from the custody of its parent or parents because they are financially unable to | care for it, the mother shall be paid the same compensation for its care as would be paid an outsider under the practice heretofore prevailing. This is in accord with the principle of what is known as the “mother’s pension.” In effect, it is a change of practice from that heretofore prevailing, as stated, ‘whereby children of destitute parents are placed in custodial care at a com- pensation furnished by the District. | The public welfare commission pro- vided for by this bill, now to be con- sidered by the Senate, will co-ordinate & number of agencies which are en-| gaged in the important work of caring for the ®nfortunate, the sick, the de- pendent and those in need of construc- tive correction. The measure has been carefully considered by the Commis- sioners and @ hody of citizens as- Sembled by them to study the social agency situation in the District. It| Tepresents a research of months. It Bas won the approval of all those en- gaged in charitable endeavor in the District. It is a measure of economy @nd efficiency. It eliminates conflicts of authority. It should receive the fa- vorable attention of the Senate and be- come a law at this session. The pure-milk bill is likewise the product of a long study by officials | and citizens interested in the preserva- tion of the public health. It aims to Protect the District from impure end adulterated dairy foods pro- @uced beyond the local jurisdiction. It establishes a standard of purity @nd empowers the Commissioners to require the observance of the Dis- trict's standards of sanitation and milk purity and quality by all who handle such products, regardless of | their source. It makes for the health | of the District and, indeed, is calcu- lated to save lives. It should have been enacted long ago, and it is wel- comed now as a valuable piece of legis- lation. o H ¢ arises in Paris as to the kind of corsets women shall wear. One part of the question may be regarded @s decided in advance. Any one who buys a Paris corset need expect no Gebt cancellation. Controver: e Conan Doyle is to open a book shop in London. To insure good bustness he might write another Sherlock Holmes series and personally control the output. . A metal airship is to be designed un- @er Ford auspices. Tt sounds incredi- ble, but this time nobody will venture to laugh. e Thomas W. Lawson. The death in Boston Saturday of Thomas W. Lawson closes a career | that for meteoric variations of fortune " has had few parallels. In consequence of illness Lawson had passed from the stage of activity for several vears be- | fore his death. But for that he would probably have been still active, for it was in the man by nature to specu- late. He started in the banking busi-| mess as a boy, running away frem school at the age of 12 to get a job at 38 @ week. By the time he had at. tained his 17th year he had made @& small fortune and lost it, and started again with practically nothing. Again | end again he made big winnings, amly 6 plunge and lose. He had an in- @omitable spirit. Misfortune never @epressed him and, indeed, never taught him caution. He was an in- veterate gambler. Had Lawson been less of a specula- tor he would wndoubtedly have @massed one of the great fortunes of this country. But he did not play the financial game for wealth alone. He played it for the excitement and zest | of competition. When he wrote his series of magazine articles under the some “tales out of school” that scan- dalized financiers, some true, and some perhaps only partly true. His con- tributior to the literature of finance was probably helpful. It undoubtedly led to some reforms. But it did not help him. Though he had some suc- cesses after that, his definite decline began with the publication. Many think that he was punished by the financial “interests” that he attacked in his disclosures. At any rate, save for a few brief reappearances in the public eye, he lapsed into unimpor- tance. It was a pity that Lawson's keen financial sense was not applied to large constructive works. He could have become a great power for the de- velopment of America’'s industrial re- sources. But he remained a specula- tor, a gambler, an adventurer in finance. Yet he fought for life against a disease that was almost surely mortal with a characteristic tenacity that was inspired by the wish to re- turn to the scene of his activities and demonstrate anew his capacity. He ‘would not surrender, displaying the same spirit in his physical misfortunes that he manifested during the long series of adversities alternating with success. A remarkable man, who wasted his talents. ————————————— Differential Passenger Rates. Decision by the Interstate Com- merce Commission sustains the sur- charges now imposed upon railroad passengers using Pullman facilities. The commission, divided in its finding, holds that the surcharge is required by the railroad companies to maintain a sufficient average of passenger reve. nue. It distinguishes between the two classes of railroad travelers, those who must “count their pennies,” and must therefore ride in ordinary coaches, and those who are financally competent to pay for more luxury in travel. There is, the majority opinion holds, less warrant for eliminating the surcharge than for reducing the basic passenger fare, which applies even to travel in mixed trains of freight and passenger cars. This is in the direction of establish- ing “classes” of railroad passenger rates. In Europe this is the prevalent practice. There are usually three classes, first, second and third, in order of luxury of accommodations. In | some countries only two classes of fare are maintained. A wide differ- ence prevails between the highest and the lowest rates. If the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion should carry out its theory of discrimination between classes of pas- sengers it- may establish lower basic rates for “accommodation” travel than those chargeable for express service, or, as intimated, even lower rates for passenger travel on mixed trains. There is a difference to the passenger's disadvantage in the last-named class of transportation. A mixed train is likely to be slower than even an “ac- commodation.” But most accommoda- tion trains are mixed in the sense that they include milk cars, and most of the time required in stops is consumed in loading and unloading of cans of milk. The commission has entered upon a new line of thought in thus maintain- ing the surcharge and hinting at a differential rate for the benefit of those who wish a cheaper form of travel. In these days of motor and bus competition the railrcads may be will- ing to bid for patronage by offering or submitting to a lower scale of charges for the less attractive travel facilities. o The Y. W. C. A. In proportion to the variety and ex- tent of their activities few organiza- tions in the District of Columbia ask less of the public in the way of finan- cial aid than does the Young Women's Christian Association. This agency, with a successful local history cover- ing just two decades, and with the vear just past the best in that history, is more than %0 per cent seif-support- ing. The little less than 19 per cent of difference between its income and its outgo, estimated for 1925 in terms of dollars, comes to $35.000. To be- come possessed of this sum the asso- ciation looks to the public which it serves, and a day or twe ago, to raise the meney, it started a campaign which will come to a close Febru- ary 17. The Y. W. C. A, by helping girls and women of the National Capital, makes that Capital @ better place not only for them to live in, but for every- body to'live in. It enables a newcomer to find comfortable quarters and to eat well cooked and reasonably priced meals. It enables her to emjoy com- panionship with her own kind and to give expression to her desire to serve others, if she have that desire, and if she have it not, is likely to Incuicate it. It serves her physical well-being with gymmasium, swimming pool and out- door camps. It enables her to bridge any existing gaps im her mental, domestic or esthetic education. And it shows her the way to develop her spiritual life and ideals. “Keep the Y. W. C. A. not only go- ing, but growing in Washington” is the appeal extended to every resident able to make a gift, ne smatter how small. In this budget campaign the Capital City has opportunity o place the tangible seal of its wpproval en an activity that deserves more whole- hearted support than it has, unfor- tunately, always received, for on sev- ‘eral ocomsions Guring recent years the budget difference has not been forth- coming. It is hoped that on this occa- eion the needed sum will be raised not only with promptness, but from a greater number of givers than cver before. ————— * There must be moments when re- cent experiences make Dr. Cook wish not only that he ha@ @iscovered the North Pole, but that he had built him- self a snow house and settled there. Mayor Hylsm's Dilemma. Mayor Hylan of New York has gone to Florida for @ vacation, and now a g00d many of the people of New York are in a=mood to extend the vacation title “Frenzied Finance” he ol his|im@efmitely. Next November ithe ity | own story in a manner to attract the [ will vdle for mmmicipul officers. The attention of a great mulitude df read-| mayer has anmounced his canfiidacy |tiens,” said Uncle Eben; “an’ we got- ers. He illuminated a subject that is{for @ third term. But since he made |ter have m heap mo’ it all de people always interesting to these umwversed|fhat statement fiings heve happenslydat thinks dey knows how to run de in the financial competition. He told |upon which he evidently did not|Government Is gineter git & chance.” THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ©. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1925. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. reckon, or if he reckoned at all he slipped in his caiculations. For a long time there has been a controversy in New York over the transportation question. More trac- tion lines. surface or subway, have been urgently needed. There is a rapid transit commission, and the mayor in his official capacity has certain powers. The commission and the mayor have Leen at loggerheads over the questidn of new subway lines, the commission proposing and the mayor opposing the plans. Finally the situa- tion became so tense that the mayor had td act, and he acted by bringing charges against the transit commis- sioners and asking the governor to re- move them from office. Instead of re- moving them the governor appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the State to investigate the question. Jus- tice McAvoy has been sitting for sev- eral weeks in this work, and now has rendered judgment. Instead of finding the rapid transit commissioners guilty of negligence and error he arraigns the mayor for vgcillation and obstruc- tion, and places upon him the chief blame for the present situation. Having invoked the governor's power in the premises, Mayor Hylan must abide by the governor's decision, and the State executive is likely to take the advice of the jurist whom he appointed to investigate the matter. The mayor would seem to be hoist by his own petard. Whether the echoes of the explosion will persist until No- vember is a question. New York is not blessed with a long memory on things political. But unless the mayor can contrive to shift the blame which now is fastened upon him by Judge McAvoy's report he will find the crowded transportation lines a most difficult obstacle to overcome in the mayoralty race. — e Call for Sidewalk Cleaning. call has been made to citizens by a District official that they turn the hose on. the sidewalk before the home and help in the big work of cleaning up the eity. The supervisor of city refuse says that his force is doing the best it can with four flushing tanks to clear the roads apd streets of dirt left by the melted snow. The flushing tanks are working day and night. Citi- zens did pretty well in cleaning snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of their homes, but along many streets are patches of sidewalk not up to the Washington standard of cleanliness. Some householders have brought out the garden home and washed the pave- ment with filtered drinking water without waiting for an official invita- tion. A ‘heavy rain would help the situation, and although light ran fell sky promises rain at this time, miles of sidewalk are dark, dirty and sticky. The weather forecast is for rain to- morrow, but the garden hose put into play today would do good work in cleaning up the town. -—aoe—. The appetite for novelty and excite- ment is so strong that a number of human beings appear actually disap- pointed because the end of the world did not arrive as predicted. e It would not be surprising to find citizens in various parts of the map concerning themselves with the fact that while debt discussion is prolonged interest accumulates. — Confidence is expressed by Secretary Hoover that co-operation in utilizing modern invention will prevent the air from becoming overcrowded as well as the earth. ————— In the future any new members of Congress who are a little obscure as to the United States Constitution will have prize winners of oratorical con- tests at hand to offer suggestions. The Unlted States Constitution is a sub- ject which most people pretend to know all about, yet there is a surpris- ing number not accurately informed. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Oaly Beginning. Some day the world will end, we know. But mow it's spinning. And buman effort seems to show It's just beginning. When that day lands, we'll all be done . With care and harry. Till then, there's time for work and fun— So, wherefore worry? A Variable Opinion. “Of course, you concede that to the wvictors belong the spoils.” “Of course,” answered Senator Sar- ghum. “I conosde that point—but only when T am oa the winning side.” Unideatified. j.u down the strest she lightly goes With manner so imperious, The latest style in hat and hose- To her dend cherm mysterious. Although her ankles show a grace Whose frankness brings anxiety, Her hat completely hides her face— And matisfies propriety. Jud Tunkins says a politician with a high silk hat is Hke a magician. The | hat doesh’t make 8o much difference 28 what he cam oonvince people he has cemcealed under it. A Journey’s Peril. “Some day you can go from Crim- son Guich to Chicago in an airship,” “Will it be safe? asked Cactus Joe. “Perfectly safe. “It may be safe in the ship, but not in Chicago.” | Averaging Up. A man’s-disposed to mercy when His own defects are clear; It's when be's judging other men That e becomes severe. ‘Non-comuiittal Mechanism. “This taximeter can't misrepresent lanything," said the driver. “What's the matter?” inquired the passenger. “Is it broke?” “We alwady has a heap of elec- last night and this morning, and the | _How many men still living in Washington remember having seen Walt Whitman, “the Bood gray poet.” walk the streets of the National Capital during the Civil War times? This thought came to me on read- ing a letter from a correspondent who asked about Whitman, who he was, what be had written, since 1 had quoted him several times re- cently. “I do not remember having studied about him when I was in school,” wrote this inquirer, ‘and my pro fessor of English literature in col- lege dismissed him with somewhat sneering references, as I remember.” It is undoubtedly true that Walt Whitman has occupled a minor place in text books on American literature. Of recent years the weight of public opinion has forced some mention of hlml'dlb“lh"w w: ers of such text books usually have shied at full eredit. e I Yet Walt Whitman was a great original fofce, recognized in Europe, along with Poe, long before his own country gave him a meed of praise. Today his chief work, “Leaves of Grass,” stands as a sort of lay bible of Americanism. Washingtonians all should read “Leaves of Grass," for it was this book that aroused the ire of & See- retaty of Treasury in 1865, who dis- missed Whitman, a clerk, on aceount of the volume. That Secretary made a very poor literary judgment when he branded the book as “obscene.” Read today, even the most timid will wonder how on esrth +he ~an ever got his view so obfuscated. “leaves o some few portions, that is all. not suggestive, it s not Vuscoene, . nobody says it is any more. But it created a terrible “‘powwow" in its day. P 5 Hows 0 It is Walt Whitman was born on Long Island in 1819, end awc . house on Mickle street. (“ama.- N J. in 1892 In between he edited a. paper, wrote some mediocre stories, penned his “Leaves of Grass” and a couple of other books, got a clerk- ship in the Government at about $300 a year, got “fired.” got another job, held onto to it until 1573, went to Camden. The best part of old Walt may be found in “Leaves of Grass' The edition I like best is that published by David McKay, Philadelphia, in which the famous “Song of Myself" is labeled “Walt Whitman” very characteristically. This edition contains many photo- graphs of the brusque, coarse Whit- man, which help one to understand the poetry which some critics call Just prose, and the prose which oth- ers insist is poetry Frankly, I do not know what it is, but, whatever it ie, it is very great I am convinced of that. Yet its ap- peal is and forever will be a limited one. Designed by the author to e press the great voice of American democracy, it hardly ever appeals to the so-called “man on the street,” but usually solely to the so-called in- telligentsia. I remember a sergeant at Walter Reed Hospital during the war, a timid, artistic man, who was out of his element in a soidier's uniform He had a copy of “Leaves of Grass.” You see, hé needed the rough stimu- lus of its lines to help him “carry on." The edition mentioned here con- tains what I call super-punctuation— ie, It has a comma every place pos- sible, an exclamation point after every line, etc. Later editions have deleted this excess punctuation, as more in line with the punctuation ideals of the time, and in sq doing have taken of the Vigor of the poems. at least to one reader. Walf was a roush old bird, calling his own stuff vawp,” and plenty of tion marks, lots of interro- gation points, commas sprinkled in as with @ pepper pot, hielp give his effusions a sense of reality. Press Ventures Discussion by editors of the coun- try of the fallure of the chidd labor amendment at this time involv general recognition of the value of the principle involved. although even friends of the amendment have ex- pressed opposition to the methods pursued in the present campaign and point to the rejection of the amend- ment by more than a third of the States as evidence of disapproval of the plan submitted. The age limit of 18 years is held by some to be too high, while giving of full power to Congress to enact incidental laws and the prospect of increased bureau activity in Washington is strongly opposed by others. Friends of the amendment point to the necessity of keeping up the campaign of educa- tion for the principle and express the hope that it may eventually be- come the law. The Buffalo News regards the present setback as only temporary and looks forward to Federal regu- lation under the Constitution. The News belleves the amendment “has been defeated by misrepresentation and panic propaganda’” It adds: “Those who oppose the amendment, by befogging the issue, by confusing the popular mind with other and actually umrelated issues, have dis- ®uised the fact that what they are actually fighting for is the rentention of child labor. Eventually the wrong of child labor will be righted.” 1In the opinion of the Columbus Ohio State Journal, “the charge that. the opposition was from manufacturing interests was strangely incorrect.” The Journal continues: “The Grange was against it; the large farm or- ganizations were first in the fleld in opposition. The defeat in Ohio was, @ictated very largely by the fathers and mothers on the farms of the State, the same fathers and mothers who 'have helped frame, pass and enforce as fine laws on child pro- tection as may be found in any American State.” * x % X According to the New Orleans Tribune the amendment “is the nex logical stev 4n our social progress. Those supporting the amendment should mot relax their educational and political activities.” The mem phis News-Scimitar takes this view: “Oppositien to the amendment s un- willingness to give Congress the right to pass laws controlling the employment of boys and girls. The cause of that unwillingness is not a lack of sympathy with childhood but a lack of confidence in Congress.” While in the opinion of the Fresno Bee “the States are beginning to Tealize that, no more than a cautious man signs & blank check, should a State grant blanket powers under specious pleas to cure specific ills.” The Bee adds, “the States are rapid- 1y awakening to the unweilly, in- efficient, bureaucratic machine which is being evected at Washington.” “There were two ways,” say New York Herald-Tribune, “n which the proposed amendment could have been written. One would have pre- scribed the exact law which Con- gress might pass. A method some- thing like that was tried with prohi- ‘®ition, and with the example still fresh it is not surprising that the other method was adopted. This is to grant Congress fairly broad powers within which it could use its owa judgment. it is obvious that the powers should then be at least the | Eight cardinal principl by Walt Whitman in Grass.” They ars: . Proper egotism. . Optimism. . Personality, Relation of body and soul. . The outdoora. . Huppiness. . Democracy. . The United States. el 1 sing— 1 rate person atter ine werd dembcraticr (he’ werd o masse. He wa's the “chanter of personality, outlining what is yet to be,” and pro- Jecting “the history of the future.” All t0o briefly, it is necessary to point out here that much of what we take for granted today was first brought to public notice by Whitman, who gets precious little credit for it. even tos day. The perfect relationship of mind, body and spirit, was sung by Walt Whit- man, time and time again. Was somebody asking to see the soul? See! your own shape and countenance—persons, substauces, beas the trees, the running rivers, the rocl ind sands. The “great outdoors,” of which we hear so much today, both serlously and as a joke, was first introduced to the minds of the American people by Walt Whitman. The American Na- tion was built up on the great out- doors, but America scarcely realized it until Whitman came forward with his “Song of the Open Road,” and countless lines, such as: The atmosphere is mot & perfume—it has po e e ot the dietiie o o odoriesns It is fo- mv mouth forever—I am in love with it. - And wae 10llowing: 1 am enamored of growing outdoors, Uf wen that live wnmong cattie, or taste of the ocean or oods, Of the builders and steerers of ships, and the wielders of axes and mauls, and the drivers of horees: I can eat and sleep with them, week in and week out. | ‘Whitman distilled—not for the men who live among cattle, or the wield- |ers of mauls—they never read him— but for those of us who need more roughness and coarseness in our ely- ilized lives—something of the- spirit of the great outdoors, which reaches a climax in that passage beginning: 1 am he that walks with the teder and grow- ing night; I call (. G carth and sea, half-held by the night He brings to us the need for a certuin and proper egotism, a true pride in ourselves, which will not al- low us to be sneered down by those who would profit by so sneering us down. He recalls to us the prime need for optimizm, 50 that we may feel we are doing something in the world very much worth while, and, though the sneerers sneer and the admirers re- frain from praising us, still we feel that we are doing good and are ad- mired He brings bome to every man and woman the divine necessity for hap- Dpiness— Happiness—which, whoever hears me, let him or her set vut in search of this day. And again: Do you see, O my brothers and sisters? 1t is not ‘chuos or death. It is form, uni v 1t is eternal life. It is happin: Truly. his words “itch at our ears’ until we understand them. You will hardly know who I am or what 1 mewn, Bat I siall be good health to you, theless, And filter and fiber your blood. Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged; Missing me one place, search another; 1 stop somewhere, walting for you. Every Washingtoniar can take an especial pride in Walt Whitman and his work, because much of it had its genesis here. It was here he visited the wounded soldlers in hospitals, “pending his meager salary upon truits and tobaceo for them. 1 find the wealth of his themes— his “hints,” as he called them—too much for the corfines of one short article. Perhaps we shall have more about Walt Whitman and his “Leaves of Grass™ if there Is any more de- mand were sung ‘Leaves of Yet never- Explanation Of Child Labor Law’s Defeat broad enough to enable Congress to pass legislation as effective as ‘that already in force and found valuable in several States.” Friends of the reform, says the San Antcnio News, have refused to give up hope.” The News adds that gross misconceptions or distortions of the amendment's purpose and effect have been broad- cast, “and much has been made of the popular distrust of Congress which that body’s recent record has engendered. However, the educa- tional campaign can go on.” “Many conscientious people,” says the Wichita Beacon, “who have only abhorrence of the exploitation of childhood labor as seen in a few of the States dislike very much to be aligned with them, but feel forced to oppose the amendment becaust they believe it goes entirely too far. The amendment places the age limit at 18. It, also, seems to ride rough shod over State preroghtives. Rightly or wrongly, this appearance has dam- aged the cause. The next thing for the friends of the amendment to do is to write an amendment with a lower age limit.” * * x ¥ One’ point of view held by several editorial writers is that the measure has accomplished much® through its effect on State action in child labor cases. Following this line, the Spring- fleld Republican says: “It is a peculiar distinction that the child labor amend- ment has already achieved, in hav- ing accomplished 80 much good in spite of its apparent faflure. It stands vindicated In its defeat if in- dividual States have been made con- | sclous of their failing’s and also their obligations_in soclal legislation An unusual discussion of' the sub- ject is presented by the Chicago Tribune, once a supporter of the amendmerit, which announces a chan of opinion as to its worth. This news- paper says: “The Tribune was for this amend- ment when it was proposed in Con- gress. There has been vacillation and uncertainty in this office. A mis- take in principle was obvious from the start. Sympathy for the thing sought prevailed over principle, in the first decision, and although the sym- pathy remains as active as ever, fur- ther comsideration has gone.to the side of principle. We beliéve the amendment is another of the Ameri- can short cuts through essential doc- ‘trines to achieve something which right minded people support. It would be the easiest way, but it is a wrong way, and we recommend that the amendment be rejected. Its Steady Toll Continues. From the Birmingham Age-Herald. One of the probable increases in production in 1925 which will not be enumerated in the list of prosperity |indications, is the grade-crossing har- vest, which already promises to hang up a new high record. Silence: That Ts Golden. - From the Birmingham Age-Herald. ‘Through his dopartment of silence, President Coolidge also finds that he can economise in his bureau of ex- planation, 3 NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG. M. STICKS AND STONES. Lewls Mum- ford. Bon! & Liveright. By way of “Sticks and Stones” Léwlis Mumford presents a mgrkedly lntelligent and a deeply satisfying Interpretation .of American architec- tu: It is the special standpoint from which the interpretation is projected that gives to the study its fine sum of plain logic, natural de- velopment and practical appeal to the man of common understanding. Read- ing here, one says to himself over end over again, “If all art—not architecture alone, but letters and music, painting and sculpture as well -—were interpreted in the broad out- look and in the general sound sense 80 mani{est here, then art would not be the high-walled demesne of many exclusions that it now is, but rather the open road free to every man's understanding and appreciation and enjoyment.” But it almost never is 80 projected. Instead, the arts one and ull are offered piece by piece, fragment by fragment. As if a little twig from some mighty tree had been broken off and set before us for con- sideration. The twig itself bears bright leaves, maybe, and shows the green tinge of a coursing life. But it is only a twig, nevertheless. Of its common life in the great tree it tells nothing. Nothing of the united Instinct of the whole, nor of the combined outreaching impulse to- ward sunlight and growth and ful- fillment. It tells nothing of the soil that nourished-it, of the roots that held it, of the great stem that up- lifted it, of the countless other branches that companioned it. Noth- ing of the grand total—the tree it- self, no part of which is negligible. Every part of which depends ypon the whole for its character and ac- counting. We, without question, come upon art chlefly in its plecemeal aspect— like the twig raped from the tree. This approach gives no chance to lay the foundations of genuine apprecia- tlon and love. It does provide a cer- tain means of -sensuous surface pleasure, and it does open the way for endless hypocrisies, for innumer- able insincere posturings before art as the emblem of culture. * ¥ * % Architecture is to many the loveli- est of the arts. And certainly there is in all art no other object that set- tles more satisfyingly into one's deep instinctiVe sense of pure beauty than does some structure of harmonious design, one that is at home in its setting, one that is adequate to its own purpose and fulfillment. Worked out in “sticks and stones,” it stands @ thing of benignity and blessing. Certainly a basic art, this, from which both painting and sculpture derive much of their own prime pur- pose. A democratic art, as well, opening out under the eyes of all men inviting their interest and con- sideratign. * % ¥ % In his study of American architec- ture Lewis Mumford takes up the whole tree, paying particular atten- tion to its roots and to the soil that holds and feeds them. That is to sav, history and architecture are, to hi the root and the branch. The quality and character of the common life of the colonists set the pattern of their architecture. As the character of the common life changes, go does the architecture change, along with many other of the outer signs of this com- mon life. This is an attitude so sim- ple, so logical, 8o convincing as to do away with any impulse toward contention in the matter and to do away as well with the many futile gestures toward “revivals” of archi- tectural periods. A fascinating story this one of those early settlers who by their mode of life along the New England etoast preserved the medie- val tradition of the community for a hundred years after its practical dis- appearance in Europe. There is no such thing as an intelligent seizure of colonial architecture, according to Mr. Mumford, apart from an under- standing of the New England village in its origin and growth. , “In the villages of the New World there fiickered up the last dying embers of the medieval order.” “Whereas in England the common lands were be- ing confiscated for the benefit of the aristocracy * * * in New Eng- land the common lands were re-es- tablished with the founding of a new settlement.” “In the organization of our New Engiand villages one sees a ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Please give some information concerning the public gardens on the Anacostia Flats?—F. 0. C. A. The garden plots on the Ana- costia Flats are 50 feet by 150 feet. One plot is given to the head of one family, unless there is & surplus gar- den space later in the season. Then if there are extra lots a second can be obtained. Their use is granted to the public on condition that a fee of $5 be paid to the Potomac Garden Club. This fee is to cover the cost of plowing and preparing land, and for what police service is necessary. Q. Please state when and where Brooke Johns was born—V. H. A. Brooke Johns, who was recently seen here in Ziegfeld's “Comic Sup- plement,” was born in Georgetown, D. C, on December 24, 1894. Q. At what hours sprinkled?—J. J. C. A. The District Water Department s that there is a regulation in the District which states that a hose can only be used for flowers and lawn purposes hetween the hours 5 and 8 am. and 5 and 8 p.m. can lawns be Q. How should the president of a class be addressed when the person is a young lady?—B. H. A. The president of a young ladies’ class should be addressed, “‘Mme. Presiden®” Q. Who made the casts of Presi- dent Lincoln’s hands in the National Museum? Are these casts given away? —J. W. D. A. The casts of President Lincoln’s | hands in the museum were made by Leonold Volk. The National Museum has not given any of these casts away. The molds are in the custody of the preparator in the division of anthropolpgy, who is authorized to make copies for sale to applicants at the nominal cost of his services and materials, tirely personal with him. — Q. What is the fee for operating a broadcasting station?—S. H. A. The Department of Commerce say® that no fee is charged for a ra- | dio_station for sending or transmit- ting. However, a license must be ob- tained. Q. What chemical has the greatest | heat resistance?—W. H. D. A. The Bureau of Chemistry says that probably the chemical that has the greatest heat resistance is Ful- ler's earth or magnesia. Q. What is the mythology of a group of seven stars, of which on is known as “The Lost R W. B A. The Pleiades is a group of small stars in the constellation Taurus, very conspicuous on Winter evenings about 24 degrees north of the Equator. For some unknown reason there were guclently said to be seven Plelads, although only six were conspicous then as now; hence the suggestion of a lost Plelad. In mytholosy the Plelads were said to be the daughters of Atlas and Pleione, and were named Aleyone, Merope, Celaeno, Electra, Sterope or Asterdpe, Taygeta and Maia. . Q. Where did tomatoes come from? —W. P. A. Tomatoes were probably first grown in the sixteenth century in Peru. They were grown in an an- cient time in Mexico, but they did not become an economic fruit until abou 100 yvears ago. Up until that time (1830) they were grown for ovnament and were called the love apj Such transactions are en- | was not untdl about 1870 that de- cided steps were taken to improve the tomato commerclally. A. W. Living- ston, seédsman in Columbus, Ohlo, bought out the old variety known as Trophy. The toriato was grown as early as 1586 in England, mostly in hothouses, and as early as 1812 in Italy. Q. WHo was the general who held & powwaw with Sitting Bull in the 70s7—H. G. W A. The War Department finds a record of a “powwow" between Gen. Miles of the 6th United States Infantry and Chief Sitting Bull October, *1876. Sitting Bull wanted an ‘“old-fashioned peace.” Nothing ever came of it, as he would not con- form to ceftain decisions. Q. How many insured parcels and €. 0. D. parcels were handled by the Post Office Department last year?— F. 1. A. The number of domestic in- surance parcels handled during the fiscal year of 1924 was 148,251,039, and the number of C. O. D. parcels handled 46,900,37 Q. What was the first States coin struck?—J. H. S. A. The first coins struck were a few half dimes in October, 1792. Q. How are lished?—W. R. T. A. Rural routes are established upon application made by citizens of a community, one of the requirements. being that the community have good roads znd the proper number of people on the route to justify the department to institute the service. Q. How long do bees live?—L C A. Bees known as workers are supposed to live from one to nine foonths, while the duration of the life of the quecn bee is rarely more than three ye! United rural routes estab- Q. To settle a uvet, who the larger popular vote Coolidge this year, or Warren G Harding four years ago?—G. W. D. A. The popular vote for the late President Harding in 1920 was 16,152,200. The vote cast for Presi- | dent Coolidge in 1924 election was 15,718,789, Q Were flintlock guns used in the days when Indians were in Penn- M. flintlock gun was | made about 1550. Perhaps the first fintlock gun made in the United States was made at Lancaster, Pa. and they were used quite extensively in the days when the Indians were n Pennsy Q. received President | sylvania?—E. E i A Th firs Are there any new cures for tubegeulosis?—N. N A. The Public Health Service says that there is an average of one new cure per week proposed for tubercu- losis, practically all of which are failures. Authorities are investigat- |ing the new Moligaard cure for tuberculos and when they deter- mine its value the results will be an- nounced. Q. How does the amount of water stored in lakes compare with that held in the ocean?—J. L. A Sir John Murray estimates the volume- of the lakes in the world at 2.000 cubic miles, and the water of the ocean at 324.000,000 cubic miles (Readers of The Evening Star should send their questions to The Star In- formation Burean. Frederic J. Haskin Director, Twenty-fi'st ond C streets rworthwest. The only charge for this service is 2 ceats in stamps for return postage.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. her Kerensky, Hungary 3 Both revolutionaries ushered in conditions of terror under their bolshevik successors. Hungary has made efforts to regain orderly wovernment, but the poison remains in her veins, with socialism in com- trol. should be abbreviated to Hunger. for famine is her daily condition. Dis- tress and riotous extravagance stalk side by side. Her rebellion against Austria, her rebellion against the King a week prior to the World War irmistice, led to a series of revolu- resemblance to the medieval Utopia pf Sir Thomas More.” The settlers laid out the village “in the best or- der to attain two objects; first, the tillage axd culture of the soil: sec- ond, the maintenance of a civil and religious society. Around the meet- ing house the rest of the community crystallized in a definite pattern, tight and homogeneous.” At first each village was laid out completely, in order to surround it with a stock- ade against danger from the Indians. When the Indian figured less in the affairs of colonial life the village be- came a long “strip upon a high road, and the arable land stretched in nar- row plots from the house to the wa- ter, so that the farmer might better protect his crops and his live stock from the fox and the wolf, the wood- chuek, the hawk, the skunk and the deer.” “These seventeenth century houses, built at first with ome or two rooms * ¢ ¢ seem crude and mean to the modern. As a matter of fact, they were well up to the standards for a similar homestead in England. * * * By the time America was settled the division irto rooms had just com- menced among the better sort of farmers: the barn had split off from the rest of the house and the bed- shamber was becoming a separate apartment.” Here Mr. Mumford gives us a brief view of one of these venteenth Tentury buildings, the John Ward house in Salem, which itill survives as a relic.” Not a relic of architecture, separate and apart, but relic of the whole life of the w England village in which archi- egture was rooted and from which it took its character and its appearance. * %k ok ok And Mr. Mumford passes on out of the medieval tradition operating in the colonial days and on into the ef- fects of the Renaissance upon the architecture of America, into the re- sult of the impingement of the “classical myth” upon it. into ro- manticism as it affeoted architecture’ +nd into the defeat of this inftaence. He discusses at length the coming of the ' “age of the machine” with its :remendous influence wpon building and gpon buildings. And at every reint it is this indissoluble unien be- tween architecture and the eciviliza- tion of which It is a product that :omtrols and directs this ecompetent and illuminating study. . Always it is the fact that architecture is not an accidental and extraneous appear- ance, but that it is a part of the life itnelf, taking on its shape and bear- ing and intent from the spirit and genius of the surrounding life. * k¥ k “If we are to have a fine archi- tecture we must begin * * * not witk the building. itself, but with the ‘whole complex out of which archi- tect, builder and patron spring, and nto which the finished building, whether it be a cottage or a sky- seraper, is set, Once the conditions are ripe for a good architecture, the slant wi'l flower by itself.” This is ;he keynote of Mr. Mumford's study. iy controls his. appreach to the subject in a fine and sueccessful “at- tempt to evaluate architecture’ in America in terms of our olvilization.” A superb methed, the only means of approach, In fact, by which the arts. any of them, cas umm epprostoted, Fe tions and counter revolutions, each Adelivering her more fully into the influence of bolshevism and prepar- ing the masses for political murder of officials, including Premier Tisza. With such lawlessness came attacks by the proletariat upon all property holders and managers of business. Hungary today is pictured as a center of danger to the peace of civilization and a hotbed of class hatred and so- sialism. * % ok ok Austria, too, is said to be reeking with injustice and class exploitation Vienna, once the est city of tiurope, is today a nightmare of dis- tress amd sorrow. Danger lurks where class greed and hatred incite tyranny. The ignorant and inex- perienced suddenly in power are drunk with their opportunity for ex- ploitation of their former rulers and >mployers. The City of Vienna is one of the seven provinces of Austria, much as the City of Washington is coterminous with the District of Co- lumbia. The Province of Vienna, wholly under socialistic eentrol, ex- 2rcises greater power over the na- “ion’s affairs than does all the rest of the population. Vienna has a pop- ulation of 1,800,000 amd outside are 4,000,000, but more than half the wealth is located in the city. Vienma not only assesses her own province the usual municipal and provincial taxes, but she collects and retains ‘or her own budget more of the na- tional taxes than does all the rest of the country. The national budget is $110,000,000, of which Vienna gets $60,000,000. Yet this sum is imsuffi- clent to meet the needs of the so- cialistic program of buflding homes ‘or the working people of the cap- ital, although since the city has lost 200,000 population in the decade cov- sring the World War, thousands of ‘lomes are vacant. After taxing everything possessed »y bourgeoisie the government has used its credit to borrow a large sum through the League of Natioms, for the sole benefit of Vienna, pledging the national tobacco tax as security of the loan. The league officials col- lect the tax and after deducting the league share turn the balance into the Austrian treasury. Corporations pay one-third of their profits as tax; also 2 to 10 per cent on the volume of their Lusimess, aside from profits. The income tax is 45 per cent, luxury tax, 30 per cent; spe- cial municipal tax, such_as that on automobiles and hotels, 50 per cent. The =tate is thus an uninvesting part- ner in all private enterprise. A house owner is permitted only 10 per cent of the pre-war rental of his properts, but the tenant must pay the state, in addition, a tax of from 300 to 6,000 per cent of pre-war rent. It is inexplicable why the owmer is permitted to collect 10 per cent of his former income. yet even a bolshevik seeks to “save his face” though in absolute power. Private enterprise—what is left of it—is endeayoring' to borrow money abroad, offering to pay 20 per cent ‘nterest. It Is reported that busimess men have adopted the practfce of staving off the payment of debts, even when acceunts are indisputable, by permitting eredttors to sue, knowing that any lawdait will tle up the ac- count for @ year or longer. The a titude of the .proletariat masses ar- It is said that her very name| s them always on the side of the debtor, and a ju fendant every advantage over a prop erty owner. * o ok A significant indication of condi | tions comes with the arrival in V enna of M. Joffe of Russia, as Soviet envoy, since M. Joffe is recognized a too important a Russtan to accept the office of envoy to so unimportan a country as Austria in her reduced state. The explanation is that he in charge of propazanda of Sovietism covering all of Central Burope, and that his ministerial status is but a blind. He has a staff of 100 active agents covering the Balkans and Southern Europe. In the Austrian Parliament there is a strong sentiment for union with Germany, but this is opposed by the Socialists, who find thetr power less hampered while their helpless coun- try stands alone. Even if there were no internal oppesition to pan-Ger- manism it would meet opposition of the allles, headed by France. It said that an actual majority of Par- liament favors the German union, but is prevented from a vote by parlia- EnenSLy, tactios Another danger point lies in the erisis between Turkey and Greece over the ex- pulsion of the patriarch from Constanti- nople by Turker. War may be precipi- tated at any moment. and if it comes it will involve the sympathies of 140,000, 000 Russians, already in unrest against their own government. The Russian members of the Orthodox Church may easily be aroused even against the cal- culating control of their rulers, the boisheviki. Socialistic Russia sees con- flict just ahead, and, according to yes- terday's cables, is preparing to meet it Ostensibily the first point of attack by Russia will be Poland—which country counts upom French support. Ukrania has appropriated $50,000.000 #old to purchase military supplies. The Russian commissar, Loganowski, in Vienna, is said to have purchased 200 airplanesand 500 fleld guns from Scandi- navia. Additional airplanes to the num- ber of 330 have been obtained eise- where. The Ambassador of Russia to Germany, Krestinsky, is reported as buying 2,000,000 kilograms of chioride of potasslum—ostensibly to use in “making dves”—which chemical is use- ful in making gas and bombs for air- planes. * kX X A reasonable question is as to what indication exists that these war prepa- rations can be pointing to an early and reliable “outlawing of war." Last week hundreds of thousands of Americans were surprised to receiva from a prom- inent publishing house a check for $14.50, good as the first installment upon the purchase of a history of the World War, nominally priced at $30. The accompanying circular explained that it was important to possess this history to show to one's childven amd grandehtldren who had been too young at the time of the World War to realize its horrors. This history so depicts the “herrors of war” that the coming gen- eration would mever consent to another war—even a defensive war against en- eroachments of tyranny. Possibly such an anti-war history wouid neutralize the patriotism of every Natham Hale and eause all veterans of Old Glory to apologize for thelr uniforms. On the day that that pacifist gesture was made, a meeting wae addressed in New York by O. L. Smith, assistant attorney gemeral of Michigan, who had prosecuted and caused to be deported scores of alien bolsheviki and commu- nistss holding treasonaable meetings in Michigan. Mr. Smith gave proof that mes€: of the soctalistie aetivity in this country ‘is guided fromr Moscow—the Beadquarters of the World. movement to underming . all organized governments and to substitute sociallsm. From that standpoint how- far removed from: Amer- iea. ave the developments i g Austria, Poland, Hungary, Greece and Turkeg? % (Copyright, 1935, by Paul V. Collins} _