Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1925, Page 6

THE, EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY......February 20, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busizess Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. York Offce: 110 East 42nd St. Chicego Office : Tower Bui'ding Europeas Office : 16 Regent At..Londos, England. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morning edition, in deilvered by carrlers within the city at 60 cents per month: daily oul nts per month; Sunday only. 20 cenls per onth. Orders may be sent hy mail ot tele- pione Maln 5000. Collection Is made by car- e the end of each momth. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. mo., 70¢ .40; 1 mo,, 20c All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo,, 85¢ Daily only. 1yr, $7.00; 1 mo., 60c| Sunday only, 1¥r., $3.00;1mo, 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press {s exclusively entitled 0 the use for republication of all news dis- patches eredited to ot otherwise credited in this paper and also the local mews’ pub. lishad “herein. All rights of publication of ecial dispatches herein are also reserved. Understanding America. 1t more European statesmen and diplomatists would take the pains which evidently have been taken by Sir Esme Howard, the British Am- bassador, to understand the Ameri- can viewpoint, relations between this Government and the governments of Europe not only would be greatly sim- plified but the opportunity for Ameri: can helpfulness to Europe would be materially enhanced. In_an address at Nashville, Tenn., Sir Esme ex- pressed belief that the United States can do much to help settlements and peace without in any way undertaking any dangerous commitments for the future. ‘“We Europeans understand now,” he added, “that the latter is something which Americans reason- ebly refuse to do.” As America lies outside of what he termed the “hurricane belt,” the Am- ‘bassador thinks Americans can view the disturbances in other countries “more impartially and more objective- ly than those whose sentiments may be naturally warped by old rancors, prejudices and feelings of injustice.” “We, therefore,” he said, “welcome the co-operation of America in all matters in which she feels herself able to co-operate without damaging her own interests.” In the words quoted just above the Ambassador has touched the very heart of the difficulties which have “stood in the way of fuller American co-operation with Europe in post-war settlements. The American Govern- ment and people always have been ready to co-operate in all helpful ways which would not be damaging to their own interests. Europe has wanted us to co-operate in ways which would have been damaging to our interests and has professed inability to under- stand why we held aloof. Yet, if there is any country in Europe which is willing to sacrifice its own interests for the sake of the good of others that willingness has not been manifest in any of the negotiations which have followed signing of the armistice. The | misunderstandings and troubles which afict Europe today are due almost entirely to insistence upon and un- willingness to make any sacrifice of national interests. And the Eyropean countries do not seem to expect each other to make such sacrifices. It is only America they criticize for look- ing after national well-being. Sir Esme is justified in hig confi- dence that the United States will con- tinue a helpful interest in European affairs. He can be assured also that the more Furope turns from,talk and thoughts of war to constructive ways of peace the greater will be American interest and the more helpful our co- operation. A loss to the Republican party of 2,000,000 votes is predicted by Prof. - Murray Butler if a State law for prohibition enforcement is passed in New York. His position in affairs com- pels Prof. Butler to qualify as an au- thority on mathematics, soclology, po- litical economy, hygiene and a number of other more or less abstruse but highly important topics. e One conference leads to another in a way to encourage the hope that by means of friendly, even though incon- clusive, conversations any threat of hostilities may be indefinitely sus- pended. - River Front Improvement. A survey of the port and naviga- tion facllities of Washington is pro- yided for in an amendment to. the rivers and harbors appropriation bill, reported favorably to the Senate. The Secretary of War is directed to make a preliminary examination of the north side of Washington channel. The object of the survey is to pre- Pare plans and estimates for the con- mtruction of terminals for water trans- portation and the interchange of traf- fic between railroads and ships. It is gratifying to have official notice di- rected to the Washington water front with a view to making-it sightly, and aiso with a view to stimulating navi- gation. Plans have already been made which if carried out would change the appearance of the Wash- tngton water front from Washington warracks to Fourteenth street, make Water street a fine thoroughfare and Increase facilities for the dockage and loading of ships. This plan would make Water street a modern drive, which would give a short connection between South Washington and Po- tomac Park, and thence through the Rock Creek connecting parkway to the Zoo, Rock Creek Park and scores of highways leading east and west. The comstruction of modern docks and dock buildings would give the Wash- ington watpr front, seen from Po- tomac Park, a better appearance than it has now. It is believed also that under the proposal in the pending rivers and harbors bill the engineers would re- IThe tdea will mot down that there | should be a very large voluie of wa- {ter shipments between Washington fand Eastern and Southern ports. | Georgetown pnce had considerable commerce with foreign ports and a large commerce with Atlantic coast | ports. There were steamship lines be- tween Georgetown, Alexandria, Phila- | delphia and New York. The north and south bound freight carried by [the Washington-Nerfolk line rmakes | that company prosperous. ‘Whether coastwise shipping between the head of the tide on the Potomac and Eastern and Southern ports can be re-established is a question to be considered, but because coastwise and viver trade has declined is not a rea- son why the water front of the Cap- ital_should remain seamy and seedy. The prospect of restoring navigation between Washington and Maryland and Virginia wharves is not bright. Where there were half a dozen or a dozen steamboats 25 years ago, now there are only one or two, and they do a slender business. Wharves have decayed or have been carried off by ice and not rebuilt.” The good road and the automobile and the auto- truck are doing most of the business 'that was profitable to the steamboats. When the people in the country below Washington have heavy treight to ship, such as brick, lumber and fer- tilizer, they lament the disappearance of steamboats. ——————— Shakespeare. An American actor of note has just made his first appearance in London in the role of Hamlet. Anneuncement of his engagement created such an in- terest that several days before the opening performance all the “stalls,” or what in this country are known as reserved seats, were sold, and at dawn on the day of the first performance a line began to form outside of the the- ater for first chances at the pit and galleries. The formation of a ‘“‘quepe” at a production of Shakespeare in London is, indeed, a gratifying sign, and it is espacially pleasing to Ameri- cans, inasmuch as the stellar attrac- tion was a citizen of this country. The performance itself proved a tremen- dous success. The audience manifested intense enthusiasm and gave the star repeated calls. 1t is good to see such a Proof of the hold that Shakespeare still has upon the public favor. In all history of the theater there is no such persistence of popularity. period, is still felt, and will continue | doubtiess to be felt indefinitely. “Hamlet” is probably the most fre- quently produced of all of Shake- speare’s plays. By many commenta- tors, indeed by most, it was rated as his greatest drama. ‘“‘Romeo and Juliet,” “Macbeth,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Julius Caesar” and “King Lear,” of the tragedies, and “Twelfth Night." “Midsummer Night's Dream,” “‘As You Like It” and “The Taming of the Shrew,” of the comedies, are the others that are most oftenefrom time to time presented. Choice of a Shake- | spearean play for “revival” depends in large measure upon the personal aualifications of the actor or actress | role. Shakespearean repertoire by a com- petent company usually succeeds, though much depends upon the cost of the setting that Is given to the plays. If not too frequently presented a reper- toire of Shakespearean productions will find a sustaining public. Now and then the less familiar of the dramas are given, rather as experi- bitions of stars who ‘‘see themselves” in particular roles. Some of the plays are never produced nowadays profes- sfonally, though given as readings and occasionally in an experimental man- ner as amateur presentations. James Lane Allen. The other day George W. Cable, veteran author, passed from Jife at an advanced age. Now comes word of the death of James Lane Allen, another of the elder writers of America, whose work was a great delight to a large circle of readers a few years ago. Though for some time his pen has been virtually idle, his earlier works remain among those that contributed to the intellectual wealth of the coun- try during the latter part of the past century. They are still esteemed by lovers of pure fiction, clothed in de- lightful style. His “Kentucky Cardi- nal” and his “Choir Invisible” were works of particular charm. They are still read by many people, not merely as souvenirs of a school of fiction that has somewhat declined, but as admi- rable examples of painstaking, schol- arly work. They and other tales from the same hand will endear the mem- ory of James Lane Allen to American readers. ————— Ever since Prof. Langley worked, unrewarded, on the flying machine, there has been difficulty in persuading responsible opinion that it is practical and efficient to a degree that entitles it to replace old devices. The inventor was ahead of his time. Authorities are not always up with theirs. e Any curtailment of funds for bath- ing beach facllities ought to lead to immediate protest from the photo- graphic industry. A Flag for the District. A bill, involving no appropriation, to create a commission to procure a de- | sign for a distinctive flag for the Dis- trict of Columbia is awalting-action in the House. An identical bill was passed by the Senate last Spring. The measure was called up on a District day in January, but, after objection, was temporarily laid aside. One of the objectors contended that the District did not need a flag; that the flag of the United States should be the flag of the District. It goes without saying that the national flag cannot thus do double duty. The right of the District to a distinctive emblem in the shape of a seal has been recog- nized, nor would the District for a moment be permitted to use the great seal of the United States. The populous, important and dis- port on the possible improvement of the Georgetown water front and the um—ur of shipping facilities there. tinctive territory which forms the seat of Government is desirous of having a flag of its own. That the right sort 1 | mated that The universal appeal of ! Shakespeare, which knows no time or | who takes the boards in the leading | v ments, or perhaps to satisfy the am- | of banner may be selected, the draft- ers of the pending bill included in the proposed commission the President of the United States, the Secretary of War and the president of the Board of District Commissioners, and provided further for the advisory services of the Commission of Fine Arts. Practically every State and Terri- tory has its distinctive flag. So have & number of municipalities. Various departments and officials of the Fed- eral Government have them, as have units of the Army and of the National Guard. The utility and dignity of such distinctive banners have been univer- sally recognized. Next Monday is District day in the House. Many District measures of importance are awalting action. Some will fail, but the passage of this simple measure, which has the whole-hearted support of Our Flag Chapter of the District D. A. R., which enjoys the favor of a great majority of the District committee, which would please every man, woman and child in Washington, and to which no seri- ous objection is conceivable, wguld prove a consolation. More Speed Now. Charles W. Bryan, brother of Wil- liam, who ran for Vice President last year and failed to Show any par- ticular speed in the political race, proves to be not such a slow poke after all. Having relinquished the of- fice of Governor of Nebraska, he is now recuperating from his political and administrative strain by a visit to his distinguished relative in Florida. On his way he stopped at Pensacola for a visit, and during his stay there he took a motor ride. Somewhat ex- hilarated, perhaps, by the air of the Floral State, the ex-governor step- ped on the gas. A motorcycle traffic officer started in pursuit. and, accord- ing to his report. had to travel at the rate of 72 miles an hour to overtake him. It does not appear that the emi- nent Nebraskan was arrested. Proba- bly he told the traffic officer who he was and was let off with a warning. The name of Bryan is doubtless po- tential in Florida, and presumably the traffic officer had still & memory of the campaign of 1924. The episode had its value in demonstrating that Brother Charles is no snail. el The Vice President-elect has inti- inaugural address will be brief. The occaslon is too formal to permit the hope that it will be as direct and emphatic as some of Mr. Dawes’ previous remarks. — ———— 2 Official salary increases may be ham- pered by a popular fmpression that it is impossible to think of compensating | purely patriotic services on a merely pecuniary bast ———— It overpark should be “impounded.” The complexities of modern civilization call for no greater respect for a siray motor than for a stray dog. e Steady increase in price may vet simplify traffic problems by placing sas beyond ordinary reach. ———————— Dinners are still affairs of prom- inence, but at the White House break- fast is becoming the important meal. — e No amount of “‘unfinished business™ ever serves to avert threats of a fill- buster. ———— sfiboimu STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON ‘Words. We had to learn our a b c's With patient, childish care; We %t'(en struggled, ill at ease Our grammar to. prepare, That we might give expressjon plain To thought, as it expands. And yet we find, now and again, Nohody understands. As human language undertakes To set our_quarrels right, Some blunder here or there it makes ‘Which prompts a mocd for fight. As we endeavor to explain Petitions or demands, The words we can employ seem vain. Nobody understands. Whene'er a project seems to! balk And make good people fret The more somebody tries to talk, The worse things seem to get. The Tow'r of Babel's with us still. In these, or other lands. In spite of philologic skill, Nobody understands. Quandary. “You ought to get out and make some speeches?” “What for?” inquired Senator Sor- ghum. “You can't tell these days whether a speech is going to promote your prospects or enhance your un- populari Florida. When Ponce de Leon drew near The fountains and the flow'rs, He never got a bill to queer The joy of balmy hours. He looked the sunny landscape o'er And said, “I'm feeling well. I'm glad T hit this place before They started a hotel.” Jud Tunkins says George Washing- ton mebbe got the reputation of being incapable of falsehood by not contra- dicting those whose admiration led them to fib a little. The Post Card. The post card is a missive bland Which comes, the day to spoil, From them as has vacations grand To them as has to toil. Critical. Have you never been in love?” “Never,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I havelyet to meet the man who wouldn’t spoil the illusion of romance by looking foolish when he proposed. Spotlight. The spotlight brings a strangs alarm. Sometimes it will enhance your charm. Sometimes, embittering life's cup, Tt simply serves to show you up. “I wish,” said. Uncle Xben, ‘dey could bring dis proposition foh debt cancellation down to a five or ten dol- dar limit” r y proposed that automobiles that | i Faces, faces, faces—I wonder what they mean. Everywhere one goes he sees faces. Washington is filled with them. They range from the bobbed-haired, youth- ful face of the girl to the dry, white- haired face of the old man. These faces are the people. ‘Washington faces run the gamut from babyhood to very old age, from solemnity to gavety, from innocence to crime, from good will to Mmeanness, as all faces everywhere do. Commonly we never stop to think how much In thrall our lives are to fuces. Perhaps the earliest subcon- sclous memory of all is of the moth- ers’ face, bending down over us when we were too little to know or under- stand. There was the father's face, then the face of the big man who always stopped to pat us on the head. Then the faces of comrades, playmates, teachers, little friends and foes of childhood days. It was at faces we looked, as we grew up, faces composed of eyes. ears, noses, mouths—as all faces are, of course—but because they were the faces that were connected with vur particular being, they became the old familiar faces. Then, as we grew older, we extend- ed our horizon of faces, until at last faces of all kinds became so familiar that we forgot to look upon them in_the old childhood way of wonder. We lapsed, so that a face of a grave, bombastic man did not much differ from the face of a sweet, fresh child, unsullied and unspoiled as the first violet of Spring that peeps up to_greet the hardened sinner. Now the time has come again to look at faces as faces, and to rejoice in the wondrous study of them. * ok ok ok Here is @ street car scene, of the dumpty one-man “box cars” with the seats running along the side, one long row of faces staring at an- othe: long row of fac There is not much else to do but| stare, that is why every one does it. | The young man stares at the young girl, and the girl stares bac until | she is forced to look down at her| oes Getting an inspiration, she looks | steadfastly at the shoes of the young | man. The latter grows nervous. What is the matter with his shoes? Did he forget to lace them hen he x'nl out? Maybe he absent-mindedly put on one black shoe and one brown ene. There must be something terrible the matter with them. judging from the way that damsel is giving them the old “once over." | With fear and trembling he shifts his gaze from the girl's face to his own shoes, to discover that his boots are in perfectle proper condition, as far as he can see. Two high school girls are discuss- ing the terrible tragedy of the poor |girl who tried to kill her baby. They could see the headlines of the paper | held by a man across the aisle. One of the girls had a small face, surrounded by a mass of red bobbed hair. She could not see why the girl { wanted to commit suicide, too. “I wouldn't want to kill would you? she piped up, | whole car could hear. “I want to die! 00-0-0-00'" Her companion, a fat face, in a brown bob, sald she thought tie girl was entirely in the right, so there! * % %k The car was filled with faces There was a tall girl, with lean, somewhat sallow face, surrounded by long wisps of her bobbed black hair. on one myself, S0 the wouldn't | his muMer was not clean, his face wa: | The two grinned | might have been. | thing funny Her face divided attention with her These are the days when the Presi- dent gets as many suggestions how to run the country as the average editor gets from his readers as to how to conduct his newspaper. Un- cle Sam's family are great letter writers. One of the things they're fondest of is writing to the Presi- dent. Every communication that reaches the White House is read. though not all communications reach the presidential eye or desk. The chief listener-in on the voice of the ! people s Judson C. Welliver, former Washington newspaper man and sole survivor of the Harding regime at the executive offices. The pre: dential mailbag bulges these das with counsel, advice and admonitions from the plain people on the state of the Union. They are pouring them into Mr. Coolidge’s ear—or think they are—with a view to having him men- tion them in his inaugural address. Welliver has a good deal of discre- tionary authority In _sifting the wheat from the chaff. Otherwise the President would be inundated. * % % Chief Justice Taft and Secretary Mellon are the most consistent anti- banqueters in Washington. It is rare to discover either of them at any of the countless dinner functions which rage in Washington and else- where at this season, Mr. Taft ab- stains principaily for reasons of health and strength conservation. Mr. Mellon stays away because: of an innate dislike of crowds and speeches. The Chief Justice is-a nat- ural-born after-dinner speaker, who exudes good humor even before he ays anything. The Secretary of the Treasury is a total loss as a post- prandial or any other kind of arator. He would almost rather have Con- gress wreck a tax plan than have to make a speech. * ok ko In voting $5,000,000 for the District of Columbia public schools, and af- fording them long-needed extra fa- cilities, Congress aids the only truly national public schools in America. That is & description the Washington schools deserve, for their pupils are to a very large extent the children of members of Congress, Government officials and others temporarily park- ed on the Potomac in the Federal service. Many Congressmen, for ex- ple, are remaining in Washington after the adjournment and until June to enable their oftspring to finish school terms. * % ¥ ¥ Mrs. Robert Whitney Imbrie, widow of the American consul murdered in Persia last.summer, is in Washing- ton. She had turned over to her the $60,000 indemnity the Persian govern- ment was required to pay for Maj. Tmbrie’s death, but her friends feel that the peculiarly foul circumstances under which he was dispatched en- title ‘his dependents to even more generous retribution. At one time the United States thought of demanding at Teheran the $110,000 which it cost to send U. 8. 'S. Trenton to Persian water to bring home the body of Maj. Imbrie, but this claim has not been enforced. The major's admirers think the money ought to be collected and handed over to Mrs. Imbrie. The lat- ter is now engaged in completing her late husband's biography. x k¥ % Dr. Marion Le Roy Burton, the pres- ident of the University of Michigan, who has. just passed away, introduced a new note into nominating speeches at Cleveland last June. He eschewed the hackneyed, “the-man-who" style of convention fireworks, and adapted instead the Chautaugua manner of talking to the delegates like @ crowd of home folks. The Burton speech will be remembered for at-least one pungent phrase. He sald he was ing to discuss Calvin Coolidge the brutal frankness of a blood WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE | March 5, he will probably be the first THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. legs, which were very long and 80 ex- posed, below her blue kerge skirt, which struck her squarely eross the knees. Two men just across the aisle found themselves compelled to laok at the brown stockin It was amusing to watch their faces, First they would look around, as If to ‘see if others were watching them, then they would look. One of the men had & typical “sport's” face, the kind you see out at the race track. He wore a dapper light brown overcoat, and a just-so, teit hat, and & muffier, and all that. A big diamond shone on his left hand, a tremendous stone, probably a carat or two. What on earth any man would want to wear & ring such as that |s hard to fathom, but some of them undoubtedly do. It was his face that interested most. It was of a bulldog cast, .sort of pull- ed down at the mouth, which was set squarely across 4 tanned countenance, and seemed (o be determined to hide secrets. Some folks have that experience— wise, wise, wise, as If they knew a great deal, and were not going to tell you a thing. It is interesting to wonder just how much they do know. Probably it is very little, and that 1it- tle not worth knowing. His eyes were of the so-called pig variety, little and vlack, darting here and there—mostly there—as if de- termined to see a lot for his money His companion-in-gazing was an al- most opposite type. Where the other was slick, this younger man war sloppy. That was about the only word to fit him. His overcoat was much too large, his hat was too small, not clear. His skin was puffy, his eyes were timped and brown. He seemed ter- ribly ashamed of himself, as if afraid the cheup sport would catch him at it. Finally, the sport did catch him at it, but nothing very terrible happened. then passed a few remarks, interlarded with grins. The innocent cause of all this, in the meanwhile, sat across the aisle looking as if she wished her skirt were about & yard longer, as well it A large lady with a face like & frog sat working cross-word puzzles. Two more high school girls were reading a smail magazine between them. now and then breaking into loud giggles. Across from them sat another high school child, with light hair and blue eyes. Issential decency went out from her like benediction.- She would not have been able to see a in that magazine. Any harm that there was in it would have rolled off her like water off a duck's back. Some children are lucky. PR The =cene changes swiftly to a room hung with family photographs. Here an old man, here an old woman, here a child. They are old photo- graphs, but still hold their’ color of yesteryear, and gleam with life still It is not until the beholder begins to think that he realizes that these are all the faces of the dead, these pictures hung here in memory. one, gone, those old familiar faces.” The sound of the voices are still, and the touch of those vanished hands will come no more. But the faces— ah, the faces—they gleam in mem- ory's light, ealled up by the sight of those photographs. Faces are not so easily forgot. No, Charles Lamb, you were wrong, for once. The old familiar faces are not gone entirely. For the magic of a face we have once loved never dies. relation.” Dr. Burton's nomination for the vice presidency would have been entirely agreeable to Mr. Cool- idge, with whom there was a friend- ship dating from Northampton days. Two redheads would have comprised the G. O. P. ticket if the Coolidge Burton combination had 8one through. * %k * ¥ When Frank Billings Kellogg as- sumes the Secretaryship of State, on premier of an American cabinet who never had a college education. Kel- logg, tdo, is undoubtedly the only American lawyer to achieve eminence in his profession who had no law- school training. His schooling, as he himself proudly attests in biograph- ical notes, was obtained entirely in the common schools. The law he learned he studied in a country law- yer's office at Rochester, Minn, now the renowned seat of the Mayo brothers’ hospitals. Kellogg holds only one honorary university degree, the LL. D., of McGill, at Montreal, bestowed in 1913. LT If President Coolidge doesn’t do any swinging around the cirgle this Spring, in response to shoals of in- vitations, it will be because he is being pestered to visit so many dif- ferent localities on his way to or from any given point. For example, the Twin Cities want Mr. Coclidge to Collins Case Shows - Humanity of America Like the expediti'n.to relieve the diphthera victims at Nome, the sym- pathetic national interest manifested in the plight of ¥loyd Collins, Ken- tucky cave victim, reminds editors threughout the country that “money- Amerfca still has a heart. “Nothing in the world's news ever appealed more widely, more polgnant- ly to the human heart than this terrible, unprecedented tragedy of Sand Cave,” says the Louisville Courier-Journal. “The impress of its agony, of the heroism of Its victim and of those who sought to save him will 1ast as long as the lives of those who follow the news reports of the horror day after day.” Nothing more truly awful, thinks the Baltimore Sun, “has been chronicled in the book of fact In the course of journalistic history.” . “For an unemotional, money-crazed, materialistic Nation, we are a peculiar people,” observes the Lincoln Star One of the great stories, declares the Omaha World-Herald, “connected with the drama being enacted in Sand Cave, Ky., can scarcely be told. Frag- ments of It can be collected and pieced together, but the whole thing is too big for one man to handle. That fs the storw of tha concern of millions of people who never before heard of Floyd Colins in his pitiful predicament.” “The story has been broadcast all over the countr, says the Memphis News-Scimitar. ~ “It is the question uppermost In the minds of thousands of newspaper readers. It is not & question with them as to what be- :ame of the oplum conference in Geneva, why the World Court pro- posal was shelved, why Stone was onfirmed as justice of the Supreme “ourt or why Wheeler was indicted in the District of Columbia. These ire things of importance in their place, but their place is not along- side the story of the young man with his life at stake. There is no differ- :nce [n humanity since the days when David sat in the gates awaiting word from the front to tell the fate of his kingdom or the fate of Absalom.” 4 * ¥ kR & Be.llh.'l resulting from the World Wa reflects the Davenport (lowa) Democrat, “are believed from a com- pilation of official reports, to have numbered 9.358,279. During the strug- gle the public apprectation of its hor- rors became so0 numbed that losses of thousands in battle were passed over with little comment, bringing polgnant sorrow only to personal friends and kindred. When millions were dying it was, of course, beyond the capacity of the tenderest heart to sorrow for each individually How different in times of peace. when 2 single person is fn imminent Ganger of death under circumstances that grip the imagination and eljcit the sympathies of every one.” He is just one man, adds the Boise (Idaho) Statesman, “there is nothing famous about him. There is nothing in his career which would give him a greater claim for mention in the news than have the thousands of people who die dally in falls from ledges, automobile accidents, fires, collapses and poison- ings. They get only a paragraph of mention. He gets columns.” Sinister rumors that the story and the incident were fakes attracted widespread attention while the at- tempt to rescue Collins was in prog- ress and a military court of inquiry investigated Intimations that the whole “affair was “a press ;,lunt.” This moves 0St to obwerve, “Should it deve that the whole incident is a frame-l:g for publicity purposes, the master hoax of the century will have been bared and P. T. Barnum. should turn over in his grave, ashamed of such puny frauds as wild men of Borneo and white elephants, hand frescoed.” In the jealousies and bickerings Wwhich have accompanied the relief ex- pedition, the San Francisco Bulletin Sees the lack of proper authority. nd when authority is gone from among men,” it adds, “their efforts at dealing with the work of the world will result about as successtully as in the tragedy at Sand Cave." Why did Floyd Collins risk and lose Lis life crawling around in the slimy and treacherous holes near his home? That question has puzzled many who read of his plight. “There is nothing strange about it," explains the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “Collins felt the urge of exploration, just as men of distinction and high education have felt the urge of exploration to go to the North Pole and the South Pole, to the top of Mount Everest, to the center of Africa, to unknown regions in the interior of South America, to the Sargasso Sea, or to the arid plains of Australia. What new wonder might not be discoversd? He might come upon vast stores of gems, or rich lodes of @ marvelous mine. At least he would go where no other human foot had ever trod and would behold scenes never before beheld by man ® * ¢ That he ventured Is not un. usual. _Others are venturing in ore hazardous trails every day. avigation of the air is far more dangerous than crawling through fis- sures far underground. The accident that befell Collins was incidental. He was ome out of thousands to gec caught. Deportment at Opera Is Found Objectionable To the Editor of ‘The Star: talk at their Scandinavian celebration in June, and he would like to do so. But since the Middle ,West and Northwest heard there wasa glimmer of a prospect that the President might B0 to Minnesota, about every city be- tween Washington and the Miss sippl has put in a bid for his presence. The entourage Mr. Coolidge would have to taKe with him on & speech- making tour distresses him, tco. He dislikes the expense it would entail for all concerned, including the Fed- eral Treasury, and he doesn’t like having his footsteps dogged by a mass meetdng. (Copyright, 1925.) Retirement Bill Urged. To the Editor of The Star; The members of Congress have found time to consider raising thelr own pay from $7,500 to $10,000 a year, but they have not yet passed the Government clerks’ retirement bill, increasing the small annuities of re. tired employes who are more than 30 years of age. Take my own case. After more than 24 years of faithful service, I was, under a recent increase, getting 3200 a month for doing some of the important work in the General Land Office—preparing for departmental approval, with a view to patent, lists of public lands selected under some State and rallroad grants, making reports on bills introduced in Con- gress involving public lands for the signature of the First Assistant Sec- retary of the Interior, etc. After the office had certified that 1 was efficient and that my services were still desired, my time of em- ployment was extended for two years, up to December b mext. Notwithe standing that certificate of efclency and notwithstanding thdt extension, in the midst of Winter, on three weeks' notice, on February 15, T was thrown out of the Government serv- ice, on the charity of my fellow clerks. They are to give me $48 2 month in annuity. This sum is to support me and my wife, pay rent, buy food and clothes, etc. I am better off in various ways than others who have been retired, some of whom are reported to be in pitiful distress. Secretary Hubert Work, who was tralned to de a fln?fir. would have' As a muslic lover, I feel it my duty to write this letter. It seems to me that Washington will never be able to have really good opera,.in spite of the gellant efforts of Mr. Albjon, un- il the audlences are taught how to behave at an opera. Until they are taught it is discourteous to the art- ists, to the conductor and to the evidently few music lovers among them to talk out loud, to move about, to rustle programs .and to leave while the opera ig in progress. At the performances of the Chi- cago Opera, at which I was present. I was forced to notice these things. I was forced, because my enjoyment of the operas was nearly entirely spoil- ed by the exceeding rudeness of the audience. There was not the slightest pretense of silence when the conduc- tor entered his box to begin the over- ture, whereas in New York, and all the other places where opera is given, there is immediate silence the minute his baton is lifted. ‘The ushers went on seating people, and talked out loud as they did it, and 211 through the first act people talked and moved about and seemed perfectly oblivious to the fact that the opera was going on. I sat inedif- ferent parts of the house at each opera and it was the same every- where. I do not believe that in Eu- rope such a thing could possibly have happened, or even in New York. It seems too bad that people here go to he opera only because it is the mart” thing to do, and not because they really want to hear the music, and that {n so deing they prevent the people, the evidently few, wha go because they love the music, from even hearing it. I can imagine no other reason for it, except that they do it out of sheer ignorance of how one behaves under -such circum- stances, L. T. HOWARD, acted ‘more ' gercifully to some of those he retired, if he had called them and “thelr dependants to his office and had chleroformed them, instead of turning them adrift in their old age to hunt for new-employment or to starve on an inadequate annuity. As.the increase in the retirement »x;valu not cost the Government a ollar, since the employes themselves pay it, Congress ought to have a heart and pass_the bill v\—m ‘W. RETLLY. agent | d the Kansas City | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Q. Is Thomas Edison working on any phase of radlo at present?’— WO COF, 5 A. Mr. Edison says that he did| some work on radio during the war, but he has not done much in that line recently, except In regard to = storage battery which the idison laboratery is furnishing tor radio outfits. Q. What is the name sian New Year feast da A. It is called “Now phrase means “new day. Q. In what countries spoken?—C. H. T. A. French oken in France, parts of Belgium, Switzerland, ada and the French colonies include Algeria, Tunis, Fren; Africa, French Kongo, Somaliland, Madagascar, French India and Indo China, Martinique, St. Pierre, Miqu lon and French Guiana the —S. It 00z." Per- | The is French Q. During Washington's lifetime was he called “the Father of His Country"?—V, G. N, A. The Masons of Prince Georges Lodge, No. 16 (Modern), Georgetown, S. C., addressed Washington thus: “At'w time when all men are emu- lous to approach you to express the lively sensations vou fnsoire as the Father of Our Country * © *." Q. When does the Portland, Oreg.. fair open?—C. M A. This fair was to have been held this vear, but the plans have been abandoned. Q. How much is the average vield of potatoes per acre increasing?— e A { A. During the last vears the [average 1d of potatoes in the| CUnited States had increased at an average rate of neariy a bushel per acre each year. If 1925 weather conditions are favorable, the average yvield per acre may reach 108 or 110 bushels. Q. How many wave lengths « used in the United State A. The_Department of Commerce says that“there are 86 different wave lengths available if the stations are kept 10 kilocycles apart and the as- signment of wave lengths staggered geographically so as to prevent over- lap in the area of effective reception. Q.. What do the Three Graces rep- resent?—M. C. O. A. The Three Graces have been various! represented by ancient writers. In Hesoid they are Aglia, | brightness; Euphrosyne, joy, and Thalia, bloom Q G. C. A. He was a famous Italian work- er in gold and silver and a sculptor iof note. He was born at Florence, {1taly, November 10, 1500, | February 13, 1571." His autoblos- |raphy is one of the most famous | Italtun classics. It was circulated in { manuscript until printed In 1730. Q. Is a man entitled to a bgnus who holds an undesirable discharge from the Navy?—S. H. G. A. An undesirable discharge from the Navy is a discharge without honor. However, if your discharge s an undesirable under-age dis- charge it is considered an honorable discharge and you would be entitled to malke application for the bonus. Who was Benvenuto Cellini?— Q. Who started irrigation in the United States?—T. C. A. The Mormons have the distinc tion of being the first people to use the present system of irrigation. Q. Can deaf people hear over the radio?—F. C. A. Many can. but not all deaf people have found this possible. Q. What are the French spoliation claims>—S. W.' F. A. The French spoliation are claims for damages incurred by American citizens through the depre- {dations by French privateers in the éighteenth” century. After the treaty between France and the United | States was signed, the United States |assumed the obligations of the | French government to citizens. Up to 1905, $4,000,000 had been appropriated by Congress and many hundred claims settled, but na and dled! claims | réimburse | BY FREDERIC ]J. HASKIN There are now 1,500 claims without adjustment Q. In Hadrian's -eign, how many aqueducts carried water to Rome? M. S, A. At that dete there w. such aqueducts. Two constructied Inter, Q remove B. J. R. A. The Buresu of Mines' exper: ments have failed to remove soot by use of zinc or other chemical prepa- ations. Soot formation can be pre vented by manipulating dvafts and Aring properly. Q. How can one tell deer?—C. J. S A. The Department of Agriculture says the most reliable way to de termine the age of dcer is by th teeth. They get their permanent teeth around the age of three and these gradually wear off with age Some have been known to w : to the gums. Another way i horns, but this Is not always curate, as they often grow more thar one antler a year. Q. Dpid ce nine more were Will burning zinc in a furnace soot from the chimney?— the age Magellan the globe?. T A. Magellan was Philippine Islands around the world. The trip started in 1519 and was completed in 1522 but without its leader. However, on this voyage he had sailed westwar! to longitude 124 degrees east of Greenwich, while on an earlier trip he had sailed eastward to 130 degrees east of Greenwich, so it can truth fully be said that Magellan circum navigated the globe. circumnavigate killed in the on his vovage Q. What use is gelatin as a food —A. H. S. A. The potential energy of gela- tin is calculated to be even more thar that of some fats and aluminate, and yet in the body it is very inferior in the production of energy. It canr therefore, take the place of proteins for growth and repair and must Le regarded solely as an albumin sparer Neither can it replace albumin, the loss of which still goes on to some extent even when gelatin is eaten in lerge quantities. It is used in the body very much like the carbohy drates and fats, ie. not as a tissue buflder, but as a fuel food. Q. Are there many automobiles ir Queensland’—T. G. A. In 1924 new ed 8,964 motor cars, and 1.330 motor cyel Q. How many workers are repre- sented by the demands recently made { by the Nationnal Union of Railway men and the Railway Clerks’ Asso ciation of England?—M. D. A. There are 650,000 workers rep- resented. These are in turn divided into 150 gradee. registrations list- motor trucks Q. Is there a chemical liquid th will give additional heat to a ray light after entering the fluid ?—W. A. There is no such liquid chem'- cal. Q. Who are the “Four Horsemen of Notre Dame?"—L. C. A. Grantland Rice gave the ba | fielders of the Notre Dame team the ! name “Four Horsemen.” This in- cluded Stuhleeher, Den Miller, Crow- ley and Leyden. This name was given | them after they defeated Princ this year. | Q. 1Is “dollar bird” a slang name for the Americdn eagle’—H. C. L. A. While the term may be used in this sense in America, the dollar bird is an Australian roller. prevailing blue and black in plumage. It is so- called from the large roundish &pot of white on its wings, shown in | wisht. (Are you ever hampered for of information? Do you wonder and blunder through misinformation? This column ‘was instituted to serve a very apparent meed of our readers and i's popularity is cttested by the thousands who seck information daily. Use this | service and learn its possibilitics. Ad- dress inquiries to The Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Twenty-first and C streets northwest Inclose a 2-cent stamp for a direct wait appropriations have been made since. By WILLIAM ARTICLE 1L French promises to pay. delivered to our Government in 1919, as shown in previous articles, ran to the grand total of $1,201,050,000 for the year. But her borrowing did not end with 1918, Again, in 1920, the ‘record shows, France was the most frequent | caller of all the allies at the cashler’s counter of our Federal Treasury. She began her 1920 horrowings as soon as the Treasury opened. New Year day, of course, was a holiday and no business was transacted. On the day following, however, or Jan- |uary %, France obtained a cash ad- vance of $10,000,000. The armistice had been signed nearly 16 months be- fore, yet there still appeared need of our financial assistance. 'The record of French borrrowings trom our treasury in 1920 reads as follows: January February Fevruars March I1 A rfl‘f a ]u‘; 8. August 5.v. August 31 e September 28. Total . Once a month, on the average, be- tween New Year day and late Sep- tember of 1920 Frange traveled the well worn route to the Treasury. Each ime she made the same request, lease lend me $10,000,000." Each time she got what she asked for. Manifestly, no part of these 1920 borrowings Went to fight the allies battles. They did help, as our gov- ernmental authorities knew, ~ of course, in the reconstruction work which France had begun within her own boundaries. That, for one thing; for another, the funds were applied to other purposes. pecullarly French— purposes in which the United States had a friendly and sympathetic, but not an allied interest. * On September 28, 1820, the record shows, our loans to France definitely ceased. Bear in mind the date, for it has a two-fold relevancy. In the first place, the Harding-Cox presiden- tial campaign was in full swing and members of a hostile and inquisitive Congress were inquiring into the sub- ject with increasing irsistence. Per- haps those inquiries had something to do with ending our relations as banker to Franc And in the second place, the armistice had been signed two years, lacking six weeks, when the last cash advance was made. These advances ran the total lent France up to approximately $2,983,- 000,000. 1In return, our Treasury held her promises to pay. In addition, it held her 10-year notes for surplus war materials which she had pur- chased when our troops were with- drawn. The largest of these notes, as mentioned in a previous. install- ment, was $400,000,000. Subsequent adjustment had resulted in her giv- ing us two more l0-year notes, due in 1980, ‘whose total ran to somewhat more than $7,000,000. The $407,000,000 10 notes represented her full obliga- tion for our I'Dhll supplies. reply.) HE STORY OF THE FRENCH DEBT) P. HELM, Jr. Thus, all told, France owed us | when our loans ended in 1920, a total of approximately $3,540.000,000 in principal. The unpaid interest on this sum ran to more than $211,000,000, making the total French indebtedness, on the termination of our loans, ap- proximately $3,651,000,000. But Fran had paid the interest on her obliga- tion to us up to May 15, 1919. True, she had paid it by borrowing from our Treasury a sum sufficient to pay it, but, nevertheless, it had been paid. The ' interest charge contained in the present French debt, therefore, does not go back of the armistice, but begins more than seven months after the armistice had been signed. The entire amount of the interest due today is the accumulation of post- war interest. At the present time it runs to more than $800,000,000, rep- resenting the accumulations of nearls six vears, or from May 15, 1919. The total of the ¥rench debt November 15 last, as set forth by the Secretary of the Treasury, was $3,340,512,817.43 principal and $796,711,573.08 interest, an aggregate of $4,137,224.364.57. Of that sum $2,000,000,000 was d on Armistics Day. The remaini $2,137,224,36457 has accumulated since the war,ended. Other Government Borrowings. The record of France's borrowi since the wsr would hardly be com plete without refernce to the sums borrowed by other governments with which the United States was asso ciated in the war. Looking into the detail of the entira pleture, ¥France stands prominently in the fore- ground as our most frequent banking customer in the two years following the war. During that period she ob tained 71 separate cash advances from the American Treasury, as com pared with 41 advances to Belgium 32 to Great Britain and 46 to Italv. 1t might be noted at this point that Italy, whose present debt runs (o about $2,100,000,000, and is, as yet, un- funded, was our next best customer in post-war borrowing. Her emis- saties obtained $600,000,000 in ca from the American Treasury & the armistice was signed. But France stands out, par excel lence, as the greatest of all borrowers after the armistice. In cash ad- vances and by the purchase of sur- plus materials she ran a bill with us-totaling, in principal only, $1,340.- 000,000 between November 11, 191 and September 2§, 1920. Cash ad- vances to all the other allies com- bined, including Italy and her 3600.- 000,000, ran to a grand total of $1,649,- 000,000 during the same period. Thuys France obtained from the United States after the armistice the equivalent, In_cash and goods, of al- most as much as all the cash ad- vanced the other allies put together. 1t Italy is left out of the reckoning, the record shows that France alone received more than half as much again as the cash advanced to Great Britain, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Serbla, Rumania and Liberia —the only other borrowing nations— put together in one lump sum. €Sz61 ‘MBpakdon)