Evening Star Newspaper, February 13, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR! .‘_wm. Sunday Morning Edition. | WASHINGTON, D. C. } FRIDAY......February 13, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . .. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Bustaess Office, 11th 8t. and Pennsybrania Ave. A N!ahk"llrk (‘)lg 110 E‘“i :'il‘ld Ll CA| ce: Tower Buf Buropean Ofice : 10 Regent At.,London, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning #ditlon, 1s delivered by carriers within the ‘eity i 60 ‘conts per month: daily only, 45 cents per month; Bunday ollg. 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tel phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car- Tiers the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ‘Dally and Sunday..15r., $5.40:1 mo., 70c Daily only. . . $6.00; 1. mo., 60c Sunday only $2.40; 1 mo,, 20¢ All Other States. Dalily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo,, 85¢ Daily only a2 $7.005 1 mo., 60c Sunday only.. $3.00; 1 mo,, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press fs exclusively entitled to the ‘use for republication of all news dls- Patches credited to 1% or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pub- lished herein. AN rights of publication of epecial dispatches herein are aiso reserved. = Eastern National Parks. A bill has been passed by the Senate Providing for a survey of three areas in the Eastern part of the United States which have been proposed as additions to the national park tem. Under it the Secretary of the Interior is. directed and authorized to deter- mine their boundaries, to receive such donations of land and money as may be offered to the end of the creation of these parks, and, furthermore, to secure such options for purchase of igditional lands as he may consider ust and reasonable. He is then to re- port to Congress. The areas designated are those of the Blue Ridge region, already recommended by an unofficial commission; the Great Smoky Moun- tain region in Tennessee and North Carolina and the Mammoth Cave re- gion of Kentucky. All three of these tracts are worthy of preservation in their present state as national parks. They have been surveyed roughly for this purpose. Their attractions are varied. They are all in the main unoccupied and unde- veloped. Scenically they possess rare attractiveness. In pursuance of the policy of the Government to preserve such spaces from spoliation they should all be added to the national park system. The acquisition of these tracts as parks will not reduce the natural re- sources for industrial or agricultural purpeses. At present in none of them is there any such utilization or de- velopment toward use as to justify their retention in private ownership. If taken as parks they will yield a larger return to the people who seek recreation in the wilder spaces of the country than they will ever yield as farms or mineral lands. They possess considerable growths of timber, which should be preserved from private cut. ting as a measure of conservation. The combination in a single meas- ure of all three of the proposed parks permits action at this session. The urgently important thing is to get them surveyed and the processes of their acquisition started by the secur- ing of donations and options. The bill Jjust passed by the Senate is, in effect, e declaration of intent. It coincid®s with @ bill which has been already ap- proved and reported by a House com- mittee. Thus there is a prospect that before the session ends this essential measure will have been enacted, and the first step will thus be taken for the preservation of these three areas of natural beauty as national parks. ———————————— After a prolonged era of extrava- gance President Coolidge commands edmiration for causing the word “economy” to be mentioned with uni- versal respect. ——————— Pennsylvania is now in fear of floods. Philadelphia vice pursuers may welcome the dread of water as something of a relief after the pro- longed quest of illicit alcohol. [, In many cities the announcement of a “clean-up” only results in the dis- covery of more debris that no one knows what to do with, R The Unclean American Stage. Just at present a lively controversy s in progress among the dramatic critics as to the propriety of a certain group of plays that have lately been produced, and are now being given in New York. They are frankly salacious, ‘brazenly dealing with the most un- pleasant themes and all prospering. The latest of the series proved so flagrant in its presentation of the manners and language of the under- world that open protest has been made. Now its producer, confessing that his play is vulgar and degrading, declares that he is willing to withdraw it if the other managers who have heen specializing in filth will do the same with their own offerings. He in- timates that he is merely engaged in & competition for business with other purveyors of foulness in the drama, and that the way to stop the flow of offal is to make all close the gates through which it is pouring. This lan- guage is not his own, but the idea is what he secks to convey. ‘It is something for a New York manager-producer to admit that his play is degrading. Usually the dealer in such goods contends that he offers purity in the guise of offending lines end scemes, that society needs the moral lessons of salacity of plot and dialogue, that he is a benefactor rather than a mere commercial dealer in box-oftice admissions. To have a pro- ducer confess that what he offers is simply an effort to outbid those who are engaged in the prostitution of the public taste may be regarded as a turn in the tide. The pigsent tendency on the Ameri- can stage is utterly deplorable. Themes are treated that are supposed- 1y taboo in society. Language is em- ployed that if repeated in drawing rooms would cause evictions, and if used in the homes of unpretending, domestic, simple people would be cause for divorce or severe punish- ment. Deflance of all the canons of good }\ taste is.evidently the inspiration of authors and producers. There is ap- parently no limit to the extent to which dramatic salacity will go. And the evil is that if a particular play is chosen for denunciation in the name of decency and morals the advertise- { ment given to it crowds the theater with people eager to see how bad it is, to enjoy the forbidden fruit of filth. Clergymen preach against the tend- ency of the drama—and many of their congregations go'to see how bad the situation is. Managers point to the patronage given to these plays as justification for their prodiction. They have creat- ed that demand for slime upon the stage, and now quote their own prod- uct as warrant for going further with cach offering. A vielous circle is set up. Nobody knows whether it can be checked. There is this that must be said: Managers would' not produce filth on their boards if it did not pay. They would turn as quickly as their se- verest crities desire if they found the attendance flagging, to seek some other form of amusement. For they are salesmen primarily, and they are governed by their market. Not until the public sensibilities are revolted to the point -of refusing patronage for the vulgar composites that go by a variety of names and the dramas of sex and profanily and sacrilege will there be a definite relief from this poisonous fetidity. ————— Campaign Funds and Costs. In its report to the Senate the select committee named during the past ses- sion to investigate the question of campaign contributions and expendi- tures recommends the enactment of a new law on the subject, limiting the cxpenditures of candidates for the Senate to $10,000 and of candidates for the House to $2,500, with a sliding scale of increase based upon the num- ber of votes cast at the last preceding election. The committee at the same time calis attention to the practice of parties rafsing large sums in the more populous States for expenditure in the smaller cnes, and suggests considera- tion of this as an evil to be corrected by future legfslation. These two recommendations run along the line of proportionating the finances of campaigning to the size of the Commonwealths, The Walsh bill, indorsed by the committee, would per- mit the expenditure, in addition 4o the $2,600 and the $10,000 by candidates. Fespectively, for House and Senate, of further sums, the total not to exceed in all 3 cents for each vote cast in the district or State at the preceding elec- tion. Thus, in a district where 80,000 votes are cast each candidate may spend only the legal limit of $2,500. If 90,000 votes have been cast each may spend $2,700. To enable a senatorial candidate to spend more than $10,000 the total vote in the preceding cam- paign miust have been 335,000 or more. The other question involved is more difficult. It is evident that any at- tempt to segregate the funds raised in the different States, for use only in those States, would entail @ great book- keeping system. Would the smaller States in the final analysis of the mat- ter agree to be kept strictly bound by their own resources? It all depends upon which side or party is raising the most money. Upon just what principle Congress could act to restrict campaign ex- penditures in the States to the moneys raised within them is not indicated. It is a nice question. In a national elec- tion the Democrats of Texas are as keenly interested in the result in Penn- sylvania as {n their own State. The Republicans of Massachusetts are just as much concerned about the voting in Missouri as in the Bay State. It is the sum total of electoral votes that tells the story. 1t will be noted that the select com- mittee did not recommend the enact- ment of a Statelimit contribution and expenditure law, but merely suggested its serious consideration. It would have been interesting.to see in what form legislation would be probosed had the committee gone so far as ac- tually to draft a bill, as it did in the case of the 3-cent margin proposal, ———— ‘A public man has no means of know- ing during his lifetime just how he will rate in fame. Biographers of all shades of opinion keep on working for centuries to come. ————— Grand opera singers have their fights, but féw of them take the con- troversies as seriously as their press agents do. —_— e Apparently France has been im- pressed by the advice of old Omar to take the cash and let thg credit go. ——— A National Evil. A man has just died in New York from wounds inflicted by a taxicab driver in a dispuate over the fare to be charged for a ride. The driver is in custody and will be accused and tried for murder. A life destroyed and an- other in jeopardy because of the ease with which deadly weapons can be ob- tained! In several States agitations are in evidence for the enactment of laws de- signed to curb the practice of personal apmament. Some of the bills before Legislatures prohibit the carrying of guns, some increase the penalties for gun carrying and some, going to the root of the evil, forbid the sale of weapons save to authorized persons. That which is proposed in Maryland is of this last-named class. The District has a law against “con- cealed weapons” which is worthless as a means of preventing crime. It is operative only after the fact, because of the difficulty of detecting a violator until he has used his weapon. Repeat- edly appeal has been made for a new law which forbids the sale of guns to persons who have not been licensed to purchase and carry them. No heed has been paid to such appeals. During the 'present session of Con- gress effort was started to prohibit the transportation of deadly weapons through the mails. Thus fur nothing bas come of it. Such a law would be needed if the States undertook to check the pistol evil within their own boundaries. The District would re- quire it if Congress enacted a new law j kin remember,” T curbing the sales of pistols, which now are virtually free and unrestricted. The question arises: Are the manu- fdcturers of deadly weapons engaged in an organized endeavor to prevent any legisiation on this subject? At present there is a large and doubtless profitable trade in them. Bootleggers, hijackers and countless numbers of persons who are more or less identi- fled with the illicit liquor business, as buyers and sellers, are buying them, If not aiready armed. Persons who fancy themselves in possible danger of attack get them. Young men who are leading idle lives regard the pocket EUN as a necessary part of their equip- ment. It is a lively traffic. The coroners are kept busy with in- quests, and the courts with trials, in consequence of this widespread trade in plstols. Many hundreds of lives are sacrificed annually. Familles are desolated. The pistol has become a na- tional’ menace. Yet the law works slowly, in the making and in applica- tion. Cut off the supply of guns and the work of police and courts will dimin- ish. Why i5, this not done without further parley? —————— More and More Cross-Wording. Chicago's public library has just bought a large new supply of dic- tionaries for the use of cross-word puzzle solvers and has reserved a spe- cial room for them. The puzzle fad, says the librarian, seems to be gaining steadily, and thege new facilities are necessary to meet the demands of the searchers for unusual words. Populer fads are hard to guess. Tt | took a little time for the cross-word puzzle to appeal to public interest, but when it began to spread it was like a prairie fire. Nothing seems to stop it, not even the devising of the most in- tricate designs and the employment of the most technical and ‘obsolete words. Puzzle fans are learning much in their daily bouts with the black-and- white squares and lists of definition They are acquiring many new word: though it does not follow that they are using them in their conversation. They are getting acquainted with their subconscious minde, which work at the blank spaces from puzzle to puzzle, and find solutions. They are galning a knowledge of etymology. They are acquiring posaibly useful in- formation about strange animals and unfamiliar metals. They are gleaning something of information about chemi. cal symbols and mythology. They are accumulating quite a store of Scotch dialect and Biblical nomenclature. Some may that those who devote themselves to cross-word puzzles might be better employed. On the other hand, it is urged that they might be much less profitably engaged. If Satan finds some mischief still for idie hands to do surely the cross-word puzzle is not one of his resources. ————— England is described as demanding a goid standard. W. J. Bryan has in- terested himse!f in many other mat- ters and cannot be expected to allow himself to be drawn into the argu- ment. ———e— Threats of probing the gasoline in- dustry appear to have had the effect of stimulating the gentlemen who chalk up the increase of price to re- newed endeavors. ————— There is little use at this time of trying to insure respect for old King Tut. The furnishings stored in his tomb prove conclusively that he was no economist. ———— The fact that America is reluctant about getting into European affairs does not prevent European affairs from trying to get into America. ———— The discovery is being made by Mus- solini that even a dictator sometimes has to use tact. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. “Temperament.” When ordinary man gets riled And seeks rough disquisition, His state of mind at once is styled “A nasty disposition.” But when artistic moods give way To impulse all ungentle, The common crowd is moved to say “Ain’t them folks temp'ramental!” Asking. ‘What would you do if any of your home folks were to inquire when you intend to retire to private life?"” “‘Nothing much,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I'd tell ’em not to ask foolish questions. At the Filling Station. The price of gas is not the same. \The numbers that they choose Appear to be some sort of game That always says, ‘‘You lose.” Jud Tunkins says when he was a boy he wanted to be a circus clown and a cut-up, and still feels that way about it, but da’sn’t own up.” Musical Selection. They say a passing planct may give out A note of music wondrous sweet and low. But most of us prefer, doubt, Alittle ragtime on the radio. Unutilized Values. “Do you value the vote now that you have it?" ““Certainly,”:answered Miss Cayenne. “But you don't useé it.” ' “I keep it for special occasions, like my pearls and diamonds.” beyond a Insist on Going. The span of human life extends, ‘We may go living on, Instead of grieving Kindly friends Who find that we are gone. {But men still shorten up their terms Of .mortal bliss or sin. Though they contrive to dodge the germs, They drink synthetic gin. “‘Speakin’ of investigations,” said Uncle Eben, ‘“‘de discovery of de North Pole has been goin' on ever since I HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Careful Washingtonians wore rub- bers for considerably more than a month, as snow succeeded snow and slush gave way to more slush, Ever since the first of the year rubber overshoes have adorned manly feet. There are many sections of the National Capital where stretches of unbullt ground have made it neces- sar$ to wear rubbers just for those spaces. We are terribly tired of rubbers and long to‘be red-blooded he-men of the great outdoors, who scorn coverings for shoes, who sneer pal- pably at the idea of catching cold, who rather enjoy wet feet. But the thing is impossible! We would stampede F street with our lumberman’s boots and bring down upon us the wrath of all the folks at home when we came tracking in the mud and slush on our 3-inch soles. No, when in Washington we must do as the Washingtonlans do. Where- fore, we wear rubbers. What a sav- Ing of expensive shoe leather they account for, to give the devil his due! Rubbers worn in time save many trips to the shoe repair man, to say nothing of the wet feet they prevent, thus staving off at least one of the five or six colds of assorted sizes which the average city person seems to find necessary during a yea Mavbe the rubbers are responsible for the colds? Not on your life! City Ehoes were never made for wading through water. The idea of water. proofing them, of course,” has ap- pealed to countless men, but if you ever have tried the experiment you know that rubbers are the leeser evil, o oE As for me, T loathe the sight of my rubbers, yet T put them on reli- glously every morning. It {s a sort of rite. I have forgotten how it feels to g0 without them. My shoes are a dull cofpr;, 211 the shine having been worn off them days ago . The outside of a horse may be good for the inside of a man, but the in- side of rubbers is not good for the outside of shoes. No matter how often you shine your brogans, if you don rubbers every morning these articles take the bloom off quicker than the first frost destroys the roses. Soon putting on rubbers becomes a sort of instinct. You feel around for them just before leaving for the office. You would feel lost without them. Imagine 8 man who has carelessly gone out without his overshoes sud- denly becoming aware, right in the middle of the street, that he has for- gotten something. The sense of loss sometimes plays tricks on one, of course. Sometimes, after you have been carrying a number of articles, walk- Ing without them at first makes you feel as if you had forgotten some- thing, until you remember it was those packages you had been carry- ing. It is an indisputable sense of loss, however, which assalls a man who has forgotten, in an unguarded mo- ment, to put on his rubbers, after having worn them for 37 days and more. “Now, let me see,” he muses to him- self, stopping right in the middle of the street, at Imminent hasard to his lige. People look at him suspiciously. It you are in any doubt as to your kin- ship to animals, try a little experi- ment of some sort on a busy street. An animal, it will be remembered, is all eyes and ears. The slightest un- usual movement on your part at- tracts his attention. So it Is with 'men—exactly. Walk along Pennsylvania avenue, ~sud- denly do just one movement of a dance step, watch the staid citizens turn around and look at you, as if then and there branding you s crazy as a June bug. “Now, let me see—what have I forgotten now?' asks the man who has omitted the protective coverings for his shoes and feet therein. “It wasn't the grocery list, because I have that right here in my pocket, and it can't be the book I meant to take down to the office, because I took that yesterday, and it can’t be that bank book, because I decided not to go the bank today, after all.” He looks down at his feet, mutters ing to himself, when the light dawns. A half-witted man, with a big nose, who hasn't sense enough to come in out of ‘the rain, looks at him in & pitying manner. A girl, who is a moron, and never will be able to earn one-hundredth as much money in her whole life as the rubberless man can earn in a year, says to her- self, “Nut!” So he has forgotten his rubbers! Well, nothing to do now but go on, whatever fate may befall him, Wear- ing rubbers steadily brings a man to just that pretty pass where the omission of the gums unsettles him terribly. y He may have been in France, where water and mud were part and parcel of his dayx and nights. He thought then, as many a man did, that hence- forth nothing could upset him. But he reckoned without the effects of civilization. Now he is worrying over forgetting his overshoe: * % x Wearing rubbers with fervor soon puts & “white-collar man" into a po- ition where he feels absolutely un- dressed without them. He dreams about them. It used to be the old stock dream about being out In a public street in his nightgown. Now he dreams of being caught at a banquet without his rubbers on. He feels terribly ashamed as the well bred hostess calls the attention of the equally well bred guests to the fact that he is utterly nude of overshoes. “Ha, ha!" ehriek the guests, While the charming hostess. in the best etiquette book advertisements style, gracefully grins at her guest's em- barrassment. I know a man, & rubber wearer, who had a bad five minutes on a street car the other morning. It was bad, sloppy morning, when slush and water stood three inches deep in the street and half a foot or more in the sutters. No normal man would have ventured out on such a morning without his overshoes. Even the cats would have worn them that morning, if forced to, gladly submitting to the indignity of becoming real Puss-in-Boots, Yet this soft-treadle expert, sitting peacefully on his street car, suddenly felt a sinkening senxation, as he vatched the people slop along outside. lamed if T didn't forget to put my rubbers on this morning!" he com- miserated with himself. “Now how on earth could I hdve been such a fool as that, after wearing the darn things for a month! “Here I wore them last week, when the only need I had for them was in that stretch of four blocks in my neighborhood, which {s not as built up as it is going to be. And*now to- day, when a man needs rubbers if ever he did, here I have gone off without mine!” The man cussed himself for three blocks, called himself various kinds of meteorological fool, pictured him- self with wet feet and a severe cold. Then he looked down at his feet, and discovered he had hla rubbers on, after all. Without any stretch of the English language, this was what you might call a rubber nightmare. Overshoes, despite the fact that they are considerable of a nuisance, cer- tainly are shoe savers. The person who consistently wears them will double the life of his shoes, and keep them more comfortabl I the time than the hardy gentleman who re- fases to Euffef them, going around with wet, stiff shoes. There is a man In this town who has had only four pairs of shoes In 12 years, and he attributes it all to weering rubbers. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Is Charles Evans Hughes to be permitted to leave Washington and public office on March 4 unheralded, unsung and unhonored? In Europe or Asla a statesman with his record of accomplishment would be the recipi- ent of the richest distinctions within the gift of the state. Great Britain would ennoble such a man—perhaps make him an earl. France would thrust upon him the highest rank of the Legion of Honor or membership in the Academy of Immortals. Mr. Hughes' calendar of open dates is probably verygmall at this hour. His inclinations are almost sure to be against anything savoring of a for- mal or effusive farewell at the hands of his admirers. But this observer ventures to suggest that, time and the Secretary of State's predilections to the contrary notwithstanding, Charles Evans Hughes should not be allowed to slink back into private life unnoticed. It will be a blot on the escutcheon of American national gratitude if such a fate overtakes him, * k k¥ Secretary Hughes bade informal good-bye to the personnel of the State Department one night this week at joyous party of the Departmental Club. It was an eve- ning of high jinks Into which Mr. Hughes entered with unfeigned zest. The fun was so fast and furious that nobody had time to be saddened by thoughts of parting from one of the most beloved chiefs who have ever presided over our minfstry of Joreign affairs. Entertainment was provided exclusively by State Department men and women and as the frolic pro- ceeded unsuspected talent galore was revealed. The Undersecretary of State, Joseph C. Grew, blossomed out as an accomplished pianist. He reeled off Chopin and‘ Rachmaninoft as gracefully as If he were dealing with: diplomatic, instead of musical, notes. Leland Harrison, First As- sistant Secretary of State, sang as acceptably as John McCormack could have done. J. Butler Wright, Second Assistant Secretary of State, proved himself a comedian whom Al Jolson might envy. His skit of a typical day In the State Department made Mr. Hughes shriek with glee. Allen W. Dulles, chief-of the Near Eastern division of the State Department, glittered as an Arabian shick and played the violin entrancingly. Evan E. Young, who heads Eastern Euro- pean affairs, officiated capably as a plano accompanist. * k% ¥ The Rev. Edmund A. Walsh, S. J., Ph. D., regent of the School of For- eign Service at Georgetown Univer- sity, has inaugurated a spacious course in - modern International politics called “Russia th Revolu- tion.” The course begins with the Crimean War and will wind up with 2 discussion of the question of recog- nition of Soviet Russia by the United States. Twelve lectures In .all, to finish May 15, are on Dr. Walsh's program. He recently Teturned to Georgetown University after an ab- sence of nearly three years in Europe. Twenty-one months of the time were spent ih Sovlet territory. That period was passed, not in Moscow and Petro- grad alone, but far off the beaten track—in the Crimea, in the Don Cossack country, in the Kuban and Black Sea distritts, along. the Volga, and in-the Ukral For part of his sojourn’in Russia Dr. Walsh was in Jthe service of the American Rellef Administration. His lectures are be- ing glven in the National Museum at ‘Washington. ¥ X ok % Night sessions ef their Congress— the House of Commons and the House of Lords—are the rule, not the ex- ception, with our British.cousins. The Lords take things easier, but the Commons, since time Iimmemorial, have been accustomed to convene about 2 p.m. and sit, uninterruptedly, until midnight and after. Dining at “the House" is one of London's most venerated and most coveted. social pastimes. .Scores of members leave the session in time to go home and don dinner clothes, entertain their friends in the House restaurant, and then spend the rest of the evening in their seats in the chamber. NG one likes to suggest excessive zeal to our industrious legislators, but the Brit- ish practice of regular night sessions may contain the germ of an idea for those who think Congre might ad- vantageously extend its normal five- hour working day. * x ok % The cabinet is filling up with learn- ed and honorary doctors of laws. Hubert Work on February 23 will be given an LL. D. by his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated as an M. D. 40 vears ago. The Secretary of the Interior is a Pennsylvanian by birth. Penn desires to honor him for dis- tinguished service in the Medical Corps during the World War, as Post- master General and as Secretary of the Interior. Herbert Hoover Iy our most doctored executive officer. Mr. Hughes comes next. President Cool- idge holds six Liz D. diplomas, in- cluding one from his own college, Amherst. Attorney General -Stone became an Ll D. of Amherst in 1913. Sccretaries Mellon, Weeks, Davl Gore and Wilbur and Postmaster Gen- eral New have thus far escaped honorary. doctorates, though not In every case from lack of opportunity to be inoculated. * % E ok Senator Reed Smoot of Utah, who has just turned 63, M stolen a march on Father Time, as far as looks are concerned, by having his iron-gray mustache cut off. The boss of the Senate finance commit- tee, with smooth-shaven upper lip for the first time in his public ca- reer, cuts the dashing figure of a youth of 45, thanks to the ministra. tions of a Salt Lake City barbei Smoot says the operation was per- formed more or less against his will, and certainly against any premedi. tated intention. He was belng shaved one day when the operator casually suggested removing the shrubbery. Smoot assented and, to his astonish- ment, found himself a middle-aged man agatn. LR The newest addition to Washing- ton’s reconstructed diplomatic ecorps is shortly due on the Potomac—Senor Don Manuel C. Tellez, the Ambassa- dor of Mexico. - Senor Téllez has just crossed the Rio Grande and is headed this way. He Is, of course, no stranger to 'Washington, having been Mexican charge d'affaires throughout the long period of our severed am- bassadorfal relations. The American Ambassador to Mexico, Jamés Rock- well Shefield, has just resumed his duties at Mexico City after a pro- tracted illness. “A month's recupera- tion in Florida restored him, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1925. Should Aid Home Buyers. Writer Commends The Sur'_s: Example to Uncle Sam. To the Editor'st Thé'Sta I quote, in pamt, an editorial of The Star of February 7, 1925 “Why should not Uncle Sam follow the exampie of other employers, in- cluding The Star, in helping his em- ployes to obtan homes of their own by financing them In the purchase of @ house, =o that“they may get a long- term, low-interest first trust. and a socond. trust, if needed, at reasonable interest and without commission? “Is Uncle 8am's only eolution of our housing and high rentals problem to refrain from constructive legislation and beneficlal action as employer which will give Washington the greatly enlarged supply of compara- tively cheap housing which the city meeds o o = “Can nothing wiser by devised than & renewal of the bitter struggle for Ppossession and control ‘of rental prop- erty between owners and tenants, the latter backed by a powerful, punitive Rent Commission and the former re- Iying upon the American's constitu- tional bill of rights and the Supreme Court of the United States? “This warfare follows a vicious cir- cle of retaliatory reprisals and threats of reprisals. It is hurtful in the last degree to the welfare of the Capital community as a whole. The legislative wisdom of Congress should contrive to avoid It.” On January 16, 1922, the writer sub- mitted to the President of the United States, the Commissioners of the Dis- trict of Columbia and the Rent Com- mission a plan for the purchase of land and the building of homes for home buvers and home builders in Washington, D. C. The part of the editorial I have quoted prompts me to send you the communication above referred to: “Plan for Home Ruilding and Home Buying in Washington, D. . Preamble. “If the Farmers' Loan Banks have loaned to the farmers of the United States $500.000.000 * ($1,500.000,000 now), more or less; if the Kederal Trade Commission has loaned mil- lions upon milllons of dollars to man- ufacturers, if the dlrector of railroads has loaned to the railroads several hundred milllons of dollars, if the War Finance Corporation continues n miilions of dollars, there is no on why loans cannot be made through the Federal Reserve Bank system, direct or through a newl created corporation under its super- vision, or bonds could be underwrit- ten. principal and interest guaranteed by the United States Government, and the bonds offered for sale in the open market and the money loancd to home builders, home buyers of Wash- Ington, D. C., and the citizens of the cities of the States, if needod. It is seriously suggested by inter- national bankers that a billion dollars or more of the reserve banks' billlons in gold be now sent to Europe to in- vest In European bonds so as to re- lieve European governments that now owe the United States 12 billions of doliars, principal and interest. These things being true, why cannot the United States Government, direct or through the Federal Reserve Banks, come to the assistance of American would-be home builders, and prospec- tive home owners. Plan for Purel “The lot for the home to be selected by the home-bullder. That the as- sessor of the District of Columbia de- termine a fair price for the ground to be bought. That plans for build- Ing. cost, etc, be submitted by the builder and approved of by the archi- tect of the District of Columbia, or the architect’s office of the United States Treasury. That no land syn- dicates of the District of Columbla or e¢lsewhere, syndicated buliders, do- mestic or otherwise, be permitted to farm out their lands or row-bullt héuses to prospective home builders or home buyers. That no part of the money to be loaned to be used to buy houses, in Washington or elsewhere, that had been held out for sale and not for rent during the World War and are still held for sale and not for rent. That the home builder give a serles of notes or obligations, with- out indorsers, payable monthly at a local bank or elsewhere. That these notes or obligations shall be partial payments of principal and interest and be of such amounts as can be easily and readily met by the home builder. That In the event the home builder cannot, owing to death or otherwise, after one year, meet his payments, he shall be returned the full amount of said payments, with Interest thereon, the home then offered for sale to some other home buyer only. That $20.- 000,000, more or less, be furnished the home builders of Washington, D. C., and of the States upon request, either directly through the banks of the Federal Reserve Bank system or by sale of bonds through a corporate body, payment of principal of said bonds and interest, if bonds be issued, be guaranteed by the United States Government or such other financial, fiscal agent as the Government or the Federal Roserve Banks may desig- nate.” W. E. RYAN. .. Disputes Reports. Writer Gives Data on Women as Doctors and Editors. To the Editor of The Star: Two errors in history have crept into The Star recently, which I believe it will be glad to correct. One mentioned a lady phssiclan as “the first woman to practice medicine here,” forgetting Dr. Susan Edson, Dr. Caroline Winslow, Dr. Alice Burritt and Mr. Mary Walker, who were practicing here before the date given as the “first” physician’s birthday. Dr. Edson was my physician from 1872 until her death, and after that Dr. Alice Burritt until her death. Another item mentioned a young wom- an as the “first on the editorial staff of a daily paper.” 1 went to Charleston in 1869 to fill a position on_ the editorial staff of the South Carolina Republican, owned and edited by the Rev. John M. Morris, to whose paper in Connecticut T had been a contributor. After Mr, Morris, who was also execu- tive clerk of the United States Senate, bought the Washington Daily Chronicle he sent,for my husband and myself to come to' the editorial staff of this paper, giving me the choice between this and the position of editor-in-chief of his paper in Beaufort. But having been suf- ficlently “fed up” on South Carolina we came here, on the Chronicle staff, and here remained untfl the paper had been bought by Senator Harlan, after which 1 edited & campaign sheet for the na- tional congressional committee through the presidential campaign, and then re- turned to Connecticut as managing edi- tor of an evening daily, to which I had been a contributor-as a girl, which posi- tion I held until 1 -accepted a clerkship in the Treasury Department, which I ocgupied for 47 years. 1 could wish that I need not use my personal hi: in refutation. But I must state the facts T know best. 1 hope others will do the e. RUTH G. D. HAVENS. Deplores Opera Crowd. ‘To the Editor of The Star: _For a long time we in Washington have walted to hear grand opera, and Monday night the writer went to hear “Tannhauser.” ~The performance of the singers of the Chicago.Civic Opera Compsny 16ft little to be desired, but the Behavior of the audience, to put 1t mildly, was very thoughtless. All during the Orst act people were be- Q. How much does it cost a boy living in Maryland to attend Central High School?—L. 0." L. A. The taltion in these circum- stances is $100.55 per year. Q. When were the coldest days in 1922 and 19237—-W. F. D. A. The lowest temperature experi- enced at Washington, D. C.. In 1922, was 9 degrees above zero, on February 17; the lowest témperature during 1923 was 11 degrees above zero, on February 18. Q. Are there any colleges in the United States that hold sessions throughout theé year?—J. M. C A. The following schools have the four-quarter system: Alabama Col- lege (for women): University of Colorado, Unlversity of Montana, Montana State College, College of In- dustrial Arts (Denton, Texas); Uni- versity of Utah, Agricultural College of Utah, University of Washington Leland Stanford Junfor University, Valparaiso University, University of Chicago: Ohio State University. Q. How much should a jockey weigh? Must he get a license?—J. F. M. A. A jocker usually weighs be- tween 95 and 120 pounds. All jockeys are licensed by the Jockey Club, New York City. Q. How many people in the world have never heard of-Jesus Christ?— E. B. A. An_ estimate given in the Foreign Missions Conference was that not half the world has yet had the gospel of Jesus Christ preached to it. Q. Has Ignacio Zuloaga ever been in this country before?—S. D. A. This ix the first trip of the cele- brated Spanish portrait painter to the United States. Q. Is apple butter which was made | in a galvanized iron tub fit to eat?— E. R. ' A. Do not allow food or drink to stand for even a short time in a gal- vanized iron vessel and do not use such a utensil in making preserves or jellles or as a container for cider or other fruit juices, is a warning fs- sued by officials of the Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture. Some of the zinc with which the bucket or utensil is gal vanized probably will be dissolved and will not only give the food an un- pleasant taste. but is very apt to cause sudd®n and intense illness. Q. If a sailor gives up the sea how much merchandise can he bring into this country?—W. R. L. A. Upon bringing foreign goods into the country as a member of a crew who Intends forsaking the sea and who makes aflidavits to that ef- tect the individual is aliowed to bring merchandise into the country up to $100 free of duty. However, he has given his oath that he will not re- |turn to sea as a member of any crew. In case that he changes his mind, he should communicate direct with the collector of the port in which his affidavits were made. Q. Is there any way by which time could be reckoned at the poles?—M. M. A. The Naval Observatory says the phrase “local mean time” has no meaning at the poles; but the com- mon practice all over the earth is not to keep local mean time, but that of some meridian passing near the place. In the United States the time is that of the seventy-fifth, ninetieth, one hundred and fifth, or one hundred and twentieth meridian. At the poles, as elsewhere, some meridian would have to be agreed upon. From a purely theoretical standpoint, one meridian would be as good as an- other. Q. When was the Chinese-Japanese War ended?>—W. O. H. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Chinese-Japanese War was concluded April 17, 1895, Q. What is ths value of fisheries in British Columbia. 2 <C. A. The value of British Columbia’'s fisheries in 1923 was $20,795,914. Sal- mon came first in value. with halibut second and herring third. The value of whales caught that vear was $332,- 781. Q. What is the test time made on the track at Daytona Beach?—C J. B. A. The world record for a racing car was made by Tommy Milton at Daytona Beach. Fla., April 27, 1920— 1 mile in 23.07 seconds, or 156 miles per hour. * Q. When did Hampton Roads be- come a training station?—H. S, A. A company of 100 men properly armed marched from the Naval Train- ing Station, St. Helena, to Hampton Roads on October 12, 1917, and placed that station in commission. Q. By whom was the first book of instruction for girls written?—M. D. A. A cotemporary of Saint Paui— the Lady Tsao of China—wrote the first one. Q. I left a hand mirror in a drawer in a cold room all Winter. When I went to get it there was a crack straight across It. What caused this? —B. F A. The breaking of the mirror was probably due to the final relieving of @ strain or stress present in the glass since its manufacture. It is also quite probable that this was facili- tated by the low temperatures men- tioned. Q. How many people visit the Tel- lowstone each year-— A. The National Park Service says that in 1024, 144.158 persons visited the Yellowstone National Park Q. Where are the most pins and needles made in this country?—H. R.S. A. Waterbury, Conn.. is the center of this industry. Needles, pins and hooks and eves to the value of about $7.000,000 are manufactured there yearly. Q. How are some riffe barrels made suitable for black powder, others for emokeless powder—J. R. B. A. All rifie barrels, except .22-cal bers, are made for smokeless powder. Black powder barrels are mada of soft steel; smokeless are made of harder steel, such as nickel steel. Q. Ts it true that if a diver ascends to the surface of the water too rapidly he will die?—W. H. K A. Sudden ascent or decompression causes the formation of nitrogen bub- bles, which press on the nerve centers or grow In volume enough to cho the heart, thus blocking the normsl life stream. When a diver breathes air under preesure the blood cells of the lungs absorb both oxvgen and nitrogen. Much of the oxygen under- goes chemical change, but the nitro- gen is retained, and all of it must pass out by circulation or it forms bubble Q. Is denatured alcohol in any way harmful to the scalp if used in hair- dressing?—A A. It is claimed that denatured alcohol was never intended for medicinal purposes, and in all prob- ability would be harmful to scalp and hair. (Take advantage of the free informa- tion bureau which this newspaper main- tains. If there {s a question yow wan! answered don't Mhesitate to wuse this seivice. Al replies are sent direct to the inquirer. Addrefs The Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin Director, Twomty-first and C streets northwest. Inolose 2 cents in stamps A. The treaty of peace of the Editors of the country see in the heroic race of men and dogs to carry antitoxin to Nome, up on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a thrill in real life with all the romance of the frontier days, and bearing once more stanch proof of the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction. The editorial writers vie with each other in praise of the men, the malamutes and to modern science, in this grim novel of pioneer days brought down to date. “Those who think that this is a prosaic age in which we live,” says the Providence Journal, “are con- stantly confuted by testimony to the contrary.” Here is a situation, adds the St. Joseph Press, “that has broyght humanity together in common Kinship —the call of the blood. Yet it was ever thus. The same willingness to make any sacrifice would have been shown a hundied years ago.” The Chicago Daily News observes: “Carrying that message to Garcia was remarkable largely for the volume and the qual- ity of the praise it received. Carry- ing antitoxin to Nome was far more difficult, more spectacular and alto- gether a larger performance.” “The race to carry the life-saving serum to the diphtheria-stricken peo- vle is sheer melodrama of the film kind,” says the Philadelphia Bulletin, “In imagination the dog teams carry- ing the antitoxin can be seen as they strain and struggle through the snow and ice, urged on by their determined drivers, a race with death against time and the rigors of the season In the Northland. The picture of rescue is completed by the introduction of an airplane, manned by two volun- teers, which will pit its wings and engine against the flesh and blood of dogs and drivers The whole scene would be the theater if it were not 0 terribly real.” While the Columbia Record believes “the story will live as long as the world stands or human hearts exult over merciful and heroic deeds.. It will live because the dog has never been found a slacker in all history. Indeed, we may truth- fully say, Thermopylae had its mes- senger of defeat; the dog has none!" * % ok X “What a glow of pride and satisfac- tion,” says the Anaconda Standard, “comes to the heart of every warm- blooded man and woman who reade of the exploits of those intrepid dog — e e ing seated. We had to get up sev- eral times to allow late comers to be seated. The opera is a long one, and it is a Pity that people who cannot stay for the last act do not leave at the end of the second act. Monday night after the third act started people be- gan to go home. I never saw any- thing like the contagion that seemed to sweep over the audience, and some one who had charge of one of the doors leading out of the auditorium seemed to take delight in waiting for a particularly beautiful passage to occur, when he would slam the door to add to the general confusion. 1 thinK the large majority of the people who went to hear “Tanhauser” did so becauge they love good music, for the hall was atill quite full when the performance was oyer, and it seems a shame that we who do enjoy good music must have olir pleasure marred by a few thoughtless persons who ought to have better manners. 1t is to be hoped that the manage- ment can do something to overcome the confusion of Monday night. so that future performances may be more truly enjoyed. ARTHUR C. GORBACH. ‘land long since discarded by h Jor return postage.) Race to Aid Nome Sufferers Hailed as Epic of Northland drivers of Alaska who have finished their battle across the frozen Arctic region to bring medical supplies to the stricken people of Nome! Their feat is one that will live forever in the stirring annals of the North.” And the Seattle Times adds, “Bliz- zards and eubzero temperatures did not daunt the gallant drivers or the stout dog teams. The call of a neigh- bor in distress was answered in the whole-hearted way characteristic of the North.” “Much the same story,” observes the Columbus Ohlo State Journal, “was told five vears ago when Dr. J. B. Beeson traveled 500 miles to reach a Settlement when there was an epi- demic and no physician there. He wrote a story in Alaskan history that will live. The trip to Nome with the medical supplies was a magnificent second chapter for that story—a chap- ter the world read day by day with grateful appreciation and approval’ There is something particularly fine, observes the Houston Chronicle, “in the wild drive to the rescue of the diphtheria victims in Nome. But why be surprised, or even think it strange, that the call of humanMy in distress should be answered? It is done every day, on land and sea, in the congested city and wide open places. One is far, far from his fellow man when his call for succor remains unanswered.” “We are not as far from Golgotha @8 we sometimes fear,” reflects the To- ledo Blade. “The spirit of sacrifice is yet alive in the souls of men. Surely it was aflame in the hearts of the ‘mushers’ when they faced the fangs of an Arctic Midwinter and raced their huskies against the Pale Horse and his rider.” Humanity still lives, de- clares the San Francisco Bulletin, “un- der compulsion of the physical and within the limitations of time ard space. Antitoxin cannot be transmitted by radio, and fn Nome's extremity, not even the afrplane could be relied upon But the dogs of Alaska can be trusted to make the effort. They go through drifts and blizzards to carry life-saving serum to choking diphtheria victims Where horses would die of pneumonia, the huskies and the malamutes puli through, doing thte work of their friend man, who, sad to say, does not alw: appreciate their affection and fidelity * X ok % “Back here in civilizatlon we take toxins and antitoxins as a matter of course,” observes the Milwaukee Jour- nal. “We know there is a means to tell whether our children are suscepti- ble, a meana of immunization for those | who would take the disease and a means of relief for those who fall vic- tims. Perhaps it will be of some worth to us to reflect that we have at.hand the things that are more valuable than the golden hills of Alaska.” “Gunnar Hasson, hardy Alaskan musher who covered the last lap of the relay race with death, writes the name of a new hero into the wnnalt of the frozen Northland,” says the Kala- mazoo Gazette. “That hero is Balto, sinewy, long-hgired malamute dog, son of a wolf and/ pride of Alaska.” The New York Herald-Tribune adds: “The dry, sharp-cornered individual, wha likes a machine-run world and thinks that man can live by bathhouses and telephones and such, naturally has no interest in a dog. For a dog 1s largely emotions and instincts and loyalty— all old stuff for the smart rationalist busy, competent bralm. For the other type of berson that is far from cocksure of anything and has a friendly sense of communion with all the rest of the world, a dog is particularly close and understanding.