Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1925, Page 6

6 d! HE _EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1925. IHE EVENING SW‘A.R absence of a strong candidacy com-|placed in the declaration of the pres- 8 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINCTON, D. C. SATURDAY. . .February 28. 1025 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Business Office New York Chicago Luropean Office ivening Star Newspaper ( 11th §t. and Pennsy Office: 110 East 4 Oftice :_Tower Building 18 Regrot Bt Londoa, Engls nday morning carriers within the onth: daily onlr, 43 cents per il or tele- tion is made by cai month ead of each Rate by Mail—Payable Maryland and Virginia. d Sunday. .1 yr., $8.40: 1 mo. Iy $6.00; 1 mo., 50¢ $2.40: 1 mo., 20¢c 1yr, 1y All Other States and Sunday.1 yr.. $10.00: 1 mo., §5¢ 1yr, $£7.00;1 mo.. 60c 1¥r. $3.00:1mo,25¢ inday ¢ Sunday only Member of the Associated Pres: ess 18 exclusively entil tlon uf all news t otherwise credited locul mews pub- £ pablication of o0 reserved er and o A ghis District Legislation. session draws to a close it is the grateful As the rder ss sughness of consideration their loc ting by Congre to measures affe nd not to action deed, it will be records e ommunity, a Capital the consideration given measures, but for the upe S to find it te of the gressional-Di so large service ponse to the requirements of the ict by the legislative bod; has been made during the past weeks, The list of the accom; s that tew iments and h it is 1 be completed the 4th of impressive. Some appropriation bill for Distriet iscal year, with the e near-accomplishments wl savel g and An provides hefore e falls on March is lon of them are: which liberally needs for the next st allotment for this purpose trict t 1pon equitable definition of the Dis- the presumably ms of Federal-dollar surplus reasury through used for appro- providing for & ilding program designed to District ap) up- the matter of public school equipment; a traffic regulation law which not cure, the ffic congestion and the of the s: g bill permitting the ntary merger of the street railway corpora- tions; a bill to correct one of the most dangerous of the few remaining grade rossings within the Diatrict; meas- ves and appropriations providing with wisest foresight for further park nt in t In the appropriation bill, which will soon i ie point of enactment, are provisions for schools and and in the de- important items for tructions along the line of five-vear lding plan: provision library development t improvements. In fact, o the municipal equipment for educational, recreational and pro- tective purposes this has seored an ptional record of accom- shments that will make for a better, r and progressiv commu- accompani cumulated in th Distriet ac- taxation not ions; a measure the ximately will alleviate, i evils of t of undue recklessness in use erous park improvements, f ¥ bil icienc are school o s also made and for n respect stre session he session’s work, wcter, ion, though not strictly of particular Memorial Bridge. tional work whict District directly and keenly inter- ested. The i ation for it came from Washingtonians many years ago. In local in cha gratifi This however, s subje in the spl: the final framing of the measure the | rict is to shar st » in the expense in & degree that remains to be determined. In addition to these matters of larger oment the ittended tc charact hope was the s reach the gavel falls, lation is long and imy r District's Legislature has others of a helpful some bills for which 1 at t of not vet and may not enactment before ter of local leg essive. It is, many Whi ex the outse in- in + model mon o Th diligent labors « respect to session of the Cay com- neil. se resuits have been due to the embers of the four ommitt have fo do with T es whick matters, nd those on ti 1€ District of Columbia of the appropriation m b 1 given a real needs of the affairs are intrust- he Constitution. ommittees have pursued poliey of co-operation nd consultation to secure a maximum An earn de: calendars as fa as measures for ming considerat has varely before to the ommunity, whose d to Gongress by The District “ constructive of results. t re to clear possible which need is been demonstrated has prevailed, and for the results achieved, and those which ar . the of meritorious still to come Mistriet is profoundly graterul ———— of publicity i of obody e the whom shown handsome collle appeared to care for when the dog catchers got him, and for whom there were a dozen claim- ants when he was mentioned in print. by carcer the to —r———— ashington is prepared to take care although nstrations concerned it becomes necessary to dgisplay the notice, “Standing room ral numbs as the ou of gues loor demc a 28 s = The Death of President Ebert. 'he death of President Ebert of iermany, which occurred this morn: after an apparent turn of the tide his illness toward recovery, causes 4 situation which may have an impor- bearing upon the political condi- in iurope. Although his term expired on the 30th of next, this sudden interruption of service will necessitate a new selection 1t will cause an alignment of parties the Tteichstag, for which provision not vet been made. Ebert might it have been chosen to succeed him- sclf, but there was a feeling that in the ve the District | legista- | e welfare | funds ever made | na- | accomplishments | se on appropriations | a the be { manding majority bloc in Reichstag the President would named for another term. Friedrich Ebert came into interna- tional view virtually ‘from obscurity in the reorganization of Germany fol- lowing the Emperor’'s abdication and the establishment of the republic. Nothing was known outside of Ger- many regarding him. He had taken no prominent part in any of the pre- revolutionary proceedings. He was harness-meker by occupation, a worthy tradesman of no particular political standing. Indeed, so little was he known that at the time of his election his real identity was for a while in «question. Totally different portraits of him appeared in print. His was a most difficult task, and he has discharged his duty with ability and fidelity. Evi- dently he posscased the precise quality needed in that difficult situation. Ebert's death may be the signal for the Monarchists to renew their ma- neuvers for ascendency. The German republic, however, is substantially es- tablished. Two distinet monarchical raovements have been checked and their leaders have been punished. Re- cently the former Crown Prince visit ed the capital, where he was received with some acclamation, but protest was made by the republicans against this manifestation. His | now will doubtless be closely watched for any sign of a maneuver to take ad- vantage of the death of the President for another “putsch.” movements Voluntary Merger. Yesterday the Senate passed with- out debate the bill providing for a voluntary merger of the street railw corporations of the District. This was accomplished by the adoption of amendment, an proval of Congress will be necessary to effect consummation of any merger that may be arranged. The bill now goes to the House, where, despite the congestion, there is a chance of pas- sage. It has long been street railway corporations of the Dis. | triet s 1ould, in the interest of the pub- |lic, as well as the stockholders, be | combined into a single corporate ov | ganization. Various measures to this end have been proposed in Congress, mandatory and others permis- It has likewise been evident that | compulsory merger could not casily | be prescribed und effected, and that only through the voluntary action of ‘irhe two companies could an equitable | basis of consolidation be found. The | present bill provides for such an amal- some sive. | gamation, and the Senate amendment | jadopted yesterday should safeguard | the public interest to prevent a merger |which would vield a capitalization {inimical to the rights of the traveling public. The two street railway of the District, if united, would form a model equipment. They are at pres- ent widely different in their physical and financial conditions. The Capital Traction, with a smaller and more compact track mileage, has-an advan- tage in a more concentrated patron- age. The Washington Railway and Electric Co., with its larger mileage, covers much territory that is now un- remunerative, but has great potential, prospective value. Save at a few points there is no privilege of trans- fer, and at them transfers cost the passenger a penny apiece. Under unified ownership and the public would benefit in a greater freedom of transfer and now compara- tively unremunerative lines would be made profitable. ‘Whether, a law, @ merger can be efiected is to be determined. But it car termined through the enactment this measure. Whatever plished under it must, as the bill now reads, be returned to Congress for ap- proval. No merger injurious to the public interest through overcapitaliza- tion 1s lMkely to receive congressional approval, and it is obvious that no merger can be effected save upon the voluntary basis unless Congress takes 4 chance with @ compulsory measure that must stand the test of judicial review. Therefore, the passage of this bill |is to be regarded as in the interest of the public primarily, to forward a con- solidation which will permit a vead- syster is accom- @ reduction of rates. v 4 Russian trades unions will be ob- served with apprebension by other unions in Burope until it is understood whether the object in affiliating is to promote harmony ov create discord. o Conservative naval experts are | many cases averse to any idea of mov air. N The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Whether «he leaning tower of Pisa, rated as one of the “seven wonders of the world,” was built with the design of departure trom the perpendicular is a question which architects and stu- dents of the past have debated for | some centuries with vigor. Some aver that it was intentionally constructed out of plumb, others that after it had been started on a strictly vertical de- sign it began to settle to one side, and the architects continued the construc- tion to conform to the change. Still others are of the opinfon that the al- teration of the tower occurred after its completion. But on one point there is no question or dlssent: The tower not only leans, but it is leaning more and more as the years pass. Recently a royal commission has examined this remarkable work with a view to determine its rate of departure | from the vertical and whether there ja any danger of its collapse. Its re- port has just been filed. It indicates that there is an increase in the angle, and urges that measures be taken to check the subsidence, which if con- tinued will endanger the tower. The | inclination from the perpendicular is now stated by the commission to be 4.219 meters at the top, or 13.842 feet. This figure is in disagreement with one given in an article in the Encyelo- pedia Britannica, which places the de- parture in 1910 at 16.5 feet, as against 15.5 feet in 1829. Confidence must be evident that the | justment of values and, presumably, | in | ing warfare out of the ocean into the to meet the views of an | objector to the terms of the measure | as originally drawn, by which the ap | | | | | | management | | | s if this bill should become | i | { were ent royal commission, however. It is now stated that the cause of the continuing inelination of the tower is a trench at the base dug more than a century ago by the architect Gherar- desca to enhance the artistic effect of the construction. Water accumulated in this trench and softened the soil. The tower was built without founda- tions, resting merely upon a circular base of masonry planted only a short distnace below the surface. Tt recommended that the trench be filled. If that measure does not caus of the continued incli foundation s proposed. Should it be determined to construct a foundation under the leaning tower as it stand: the Itallan authorities may find in the records of the com: pletion of the Washington Monument in this city data of value. When the United States Government took charge of this work it was found that the foundation as originally planned and executed was not adequate the strycture at the full he feet, and that, moreover a weakening due to the infiltration of water from neighboring ponds from the river, which then at high tide to the neighborhiood of the mound on which the shaft stood. It was decided to remove the old founda- tion and replace it with new one. Col. Thomas Lincoln of the Engineer Corps of the Army was given charge of this work, which he a plished with such skill that the shaft, then nearl) one-third of the total lielght proposed. did not settle in the slightest. It was a stupendous work. The Pisan tower is 179 feet in height, about one-third of the Washington Monument, It higher time the foundation was replaced e a cure ation a proper [ ght of 555 there was carry and rose a sey om is, in fact, only a little - 01d Vehicles. Accounts come into prin now and then of Henry Ford's museum, which includes specimens of old vehicles Relic vehicles seem to dominate muscum, and there are reports of one- horse shays, prairie schooners, stage aches, runabouts and jaunting cars A band wagon and hose cart b mentioned. collection ve been There must also be in this one of the carts which in America a century ago, nume in the Washington region a quarter of a century ago and a few of which still ponderous wheels in ox common srind slowly on remote parts of | southern Maryland and tidewater Vir ginia. There must also be in this e tion a high-wheeled sulky. It is like. that the curator of the Ford mu seum has on hand a buggy. few years ago the buggy w the furnishing of every tense, prominence or substance in the and families in the suburbs were as attached to the buggy as famn attached to motor The buggy not extine in this neighborhood, but it has had a mighty fall in popularity and number, and at its present rate of decrease we shall soon look at a passing buggy as we might at one of the bic 808 with a tall wheel in front and a little wheel behind, or little wheel in front and a tall wheel behind. There are persons today, perhaps, who have not heard the words surrey, landau victoria, brougham, drag, teacart and 1y Uptoa part of family of pre country. many lies are now the is ycles of the the types. Even the hack has almost passed from the land. The mo has been a conquering chariot. ——— In accordance with thé policy of present administration, Mr. Kellogg will enter upon his duties with as few words and as little ostentation as pos. ble. As a naval man, Admiral Sims is an only be de-| old-timer who holds out for the most of | modern ideas. ——— It is at least admitted that a coust bombardment by airplanes would prove no idle sea-serpent scare. ——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON lence Impossible. The motor gong will loudly sound Electric cars will buzz around; The ambulance a din will raise When traffic cops avert delays With whistle loud or lusty vojce, While on the sidewalk we rejoice With trumpets and a lot of toys pressly built for making noise And nights with music shall be filled Where all the world is gayly thrilled— Authority may lift a voice To bid men tranquilly rejoice But who shall find a quiet way | To greet Inauguration day. Wisdom Unattained. “Human knowledge is a strange af- fair;" remarked the ready-made philos- opher. “The more we learn, the more we are impressed with the immensity of our ignorance. “That's perfectly Senator Sorghum; ‘“‘especially when vou take it in connection with sume of these investigation true,” answered sense. A little nonsense now and then Brings sorrow into many a land, When folks discuss with volce or pen ‘What they but slightly understand. Jud Tunkins says while yvou're put- ting one bootlegger out of business he is doing the same for dozens of better men. Talken Literally. “I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on earth!” said the girl. “How could you?" inquired Mr. Sil- yoss very seriously. “If 1 were the last man on earth there wouldn't be any minister, or justice of the peace, or anybody. Fortunate. King Tut was very fortunate we say! | Long centuries he spent Content, All safely pay A single cent Of rent. housed, and never had to “Economize,” said Uncle Eben, “but do it discriminaciously. Dar ain' no sense in begrudgin’ oats to a winnin’ race hoss.” than the latter shaft was at the | the | Last Saturday T promised to tell the readers of this column how went the week of walking a mile a day, upon which ambitious program the writer em- burked. The second week is to see 2 miles a day, the third 3 miles and the fourth 4 miles walked. “I'd walk a mile for a " eays the cigarette ad, but the writer wouldn't walk a step for that bit of rolled tobacco or any other. He would, however, walk several miles for health. This he has been doing religiously, having heroically stuck to his eelf-im- posed program of walking for a full week. It is with the hope that he may induce others who need this constitu- tional exercise to undertake the task that he writes of it her For walking, real walking, to one who is not by nature an enthusiastic hiker, is something that does not bring the light of happy adventure to the eyes. It is undertaken after the manner of & penance, in the full belief that it is a good thing, if not a particularly attrac- ive o 1 know automobile addicts who think it is a terrible hardship to be forced to walk as much as 4 blocks. A mile, to such an one, would be something beyond imagination Vet a mile, after you get swing of it, is no di hard thing is to hold yourself down to the allotted distance. You want to “step out” and roll the miles behind you. But that would never do, In beginuing a program of walking the teur cannot do better than to take it gradually. This is necessary, if he wishes to continue in it, and at the same time build up a natural enthu- siusm. something without which neither walking nor any other endeavor can be carricd out happily or really successfully. into the ance at all. The The first two days of the first week went rather hard. The weather was beginning to get pretty warm, for February, and a big overcoat did not 4dd any to the pleasure of the pr ceeding At the end of the first walk the sub- ject was in what can be called noth- more polite than & good sweat o ov t, being nothing more nor than a big blanket, acted in that capacity Perhaps this was the very best thing that could have happenad. But it was decidedly uncomfortable, What need a Turkish bath, when one can get l the benefit of one out in the exh air? his result of course, arose from fast walking. The program called for walking, it will be remembered, not strolling. This was no old ladies down the street, no ‘'see i business This was' real er and faster ered runner W walking, getting fast- as the distance was cov- All the strategy of a good mile was called into use. The start s taken =0 t the walker would not get out of breath, but would be able to comfortably swing | through the distance, and have enough reserve left to finlsh the dis- tance at full speed It need hard be said that a ol shower was n essary at the conclu- sion of the walk. When one is warm, it possible to take a shower with pleasure and benefit hop out of bed, however. into a b of i 1a form of poten done it better it they would make {® plunge. Br-r-r-r! Now, to many of you a mile a day may seem child's play, as indeed it is, but wait until get to the week demanding 4 miles per 24 hours! How do I know? Because I tried out the 4-mile walk Sunday What a Spring © is co T plunge is just a suicide. Many have but they would do mselves and the world it @ shower, not and Water al by th day last Sunday BY PAUL ¥V peace’ scribing and | ae peace, there Thus exclaimed Jeremiah de- the Near East, would fit today's when 15 no conditions in the words same cription s the center of new wars will the hostilities spread? t nations will be involved? Turkey engaged in battle with 1d is threatened by Russia, Union of Soviet Republics, ieorgin, Armenia and Azer Turkey on the verge h Greece concerning her Constantinople of the triarch of the Orthodox Church. Germany found herself beset in enemies on every side, so Tur- key today—sovereign over less than one- {fifth the territory she claimed prior to | the World War—is surrounded by foes, | backed perhaps by the great powers— | England, 1t nd France. Germany | would be an ally of the Turk, but what can Germany do | sia Minor H Wh w widely through the including baijan jof war | eviction Greek D Just as 3914 by | is also ng for inde- | pendence which had been promised by the treaty sevres, signed by the | Turkish representative, but not ratified by the government at Angora. It in- | cludes all that part of Turkey east of Euphrates River and south of Ar- Its zigzag boundary on its cparating it from Mezopotamia, lled the Kingdom of Irag, is dispute, and that dispute lies between Turkey and Great Britain, for the British hold a mandate over Iraq. Great Britain is a member of the League of | Nations, that organization guarantee- ing world peace At the request of League of Nations commission of three—a Swede, a Bel- gian and a Hungarian—to define the legal boundary between Kurdistan Jraq. The commission is on the ground meandering the line, and the Kurds are becoming excited and defiant. The Turks say the Kurds' revolt is insti- gated by the British to weaken Turkish hold on the disputed territory and that it is the British seekers after oil and manganese ore who are stirring up all the trouble But the Kurds care little about oil |or ore: they want independence from |the hated Turks. Though they, too. |are Moslems, they have no sympathy ! with the people of Turkey, and only | hatred for the Young Turk who now rules and denies that Allah is su- preme. “Great is Allah, and Ma- | homet is his prophet!” There can be no more holy wars, since the Caliph as been driven from Constantinople and the rulers are despisers of the faith. So what if the Kurds do lis- ten to the English and revolt against the tyrannous Turks? * * % * Kurdistan_is now figh! | menia. south, s now ¢ eat Britain, the has appointed a Now comes France, which captured the Russian men-of-war by which Gen. Wrangel made his escape from the Crimea. France has made peace with Soviet Russia, by the terms of which she returns those dismantled men-of-war. The Soviets propose to sail the ships through the Bosporus into the Black Sea, and probably there recommission the vessels, with which to harass every Turkish port on the sea, including Constantinople and the Straits. | " Turkey declares that such a pas- sage cannot be permitted, in spite of that unratified Sevres treaty which would have established a neutral zone |all around the Sea of Marmora and | made the Straits international. The | Straits are claimed by the powers to {be international, so that neither Tur- |key nor any other nation dare say that any vessel shall be prohibited entrance into the Black Sea. But Turkey does say just that. What will the League of Nations in the interest of universal peace do under such cir-| mild | | BACKGROUND OF EVENTS {'the like and surely could not identify | and | THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. was! were around The ajr was balmy, the robins singing, bluebirds hovered the green-and-white bird- house in the backyard. It was a May day plumped right down in February. Three bluebirds flew to the bird- house. One took up a position at the north door, looking out, the other took his stand at the south door, looking south. Then the other bird cautiously peer- ed in the north door, flew around to the south door, looked in there for a while, as if suspicious of all birdhouse Some way or other the domicile did not satisfy. Probably there were not enough closets for Mrs. Bluebird, or the janitor service did not seem adequate, Anyway, after a fow more cautious peeks, the three bluebirds flew away over the fence, and that was the last our alley saw them. Jack Spratt, the cat, gnashed his teeth impotently at them. This was the day selected for & good walk. The mile-a-day for six days had done their work. Already the old legs were loosening up. The urge for distance had come, it a to all walkers. Walking a mile calls for 2 miles, and 2 miles calls for 3, and 3 leads on to 4, and 4 but demands 5. This is one of the beauties of walking, and one of the merits of taking it by easy stages Instead of getting one's-self all wore the walker arrives at the point where the inner urge calls for longer dis- tances. The spirit grows by what it feeds on. If one had plunged into ¢ miles the first day he probably would not be walking at all on the seventh But, having held bimself Sunday he was ‘“rearing He feit capable of walking at least 10 miles. In fact, once he did walk | 10 miles, through the sifting sands of the seashore, where every step sunk in, and where ziz-zag walking. in an effort to find hard sand, probably added another 5 miles. At the end of | that hike, it is recalled, the hard planks of the boardwalk seemed softer than a feather bed, * * ok & Tt was a gorgeous day. as the girls say. We struck out Wisconsin ave- nue, out along by the Naval Obger tory grounds, past the Industrial Home School, on to the National Ca- thedral. From the starting point to the Cathedral was just one mile. This entire section—all of it decid- edly uphill, T may add—has seen a tremendous growth In the last 10 years. Everywhere are new homes The people were out Sunday, stroiling ong. We did not stroll. We walked. We hit it up past the Cathedral, on and out to Friendship, just another mile, making two m We roamed around on 35th street and several other streets of the vicinity, looking at the houses with the eyes of ex- perts, We can spot a crack least a mile off and raofs, whether tile. shingle or tin. W ostentatious houses and have no use for that gaudy thing there in green, red, yellow and a few other colors. | "After rambling around for a while, we turn southward, being determined not to overdo the thing. Anyw legs are growing a bit tired time we get back, having co actly 415 miles—about 18 holes on a golf course—we admit our legs ache a bit. A good shower, however, takes out the ache, and leaves us in good trim | for supper. That night we sleep un- usually well. Guess there must be something to this walking bunk, after lan, in check on to & in stucco at are authorities on slate, composition prefer simple, un- . COLLIL cumstances? flaunted the refusing to her disput Patriarchate | Already Turkey had League of Nations by | submit to its arbitration with Greece over the Constantinople. Some dispatches do say that Turi will the next dis enter the league, but 1 denies that. What is the truth? * k¥ % is witho! or with ( is Turkey's sympathy with eat Britain: yet most formidable | menace, for the Soviets are ambitious {They are imperialistic expansionist determined to conquer the world, and beginning with their next door neigh- hors. While the West has been mo) aftentive to the approach of soviet- ism upon the nations of Central Eu- rope, the West has scarcely heeded the steady advance of sovietism east jand south through the Caucasus. Soviet Russia already encompasses the Caspian Sea and it is marching steadily toward that traditional goal of all Russian governments for many centuries—Constantinople. Hence is not without signific that she pushes her recovered of war into the Black Sea, which 1 | that great capital. * Jast of the Biack and Azerbaijan. Georgia republic as a result of the World | War, but she did not long retain her| independence. The bolshevik bored from within until they demoralized the Georgian patriots. An inter- village warfare persisted in disturb- ing the peace, and in 1920 a Red army from Russia marched in and executed the leaders. thus establishing peace {and making Georgia a Soviet nation Tt did similarly with Christian Ar- menia and Azerbaijan. These peoples escaped the Turks only to fall befo | the Red Russians, and now the three republics and con- stitute the Transcaucasign Federa- tion, which, with Great Russia and White Russia, constitute the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics, whose capital is far-off Moscow. Only yesterday news came that the U. S.'S. R, as above described, had | also organized part of Bokhara and part of Turkestan into a new “Soviet republic,” allied with the others of the Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics, whose political control lies in Moscow. Thus Soviets already control more territory and more population in Asia than does Turkey, aside from the vast power of the Red army of a million in Russia proper. And these Soviet powers are threat- | ening to overrun Asia Minor and con- quer Turkey. ssia Greece, | Russia ships upon | nations are Soviet * % k% If it be true that the animus of British action in Asia Minor is to get control of the vast oil and manganese | fields situated in the Caucusus, where | will the opposing interests clash, | while Great Britain is coming north- ward through its mandate over Iraq and Russlan Soviets are intrenching their power and pushing southward | and eastward through the Trans- i caucasian Federation? The mensheviki of Georgia, oppo- nents of socialistic bolsheviki, put their trust in British and French aid two vears ago in resisting the fn- vading Red army. They will do so again if there should appear a chance of throwing off the Russian dominance, and the bait of oll and manganese lands may vet involve {France and England in liberating Georgia, even though that means a | fight with Russia. The treaty be. tween Russia and Japan has been ratified by both parties, but perhaps that would not involve Japan in the Caucasian conflict. The plight of Hletters {is made up of articles lis | materially | haps wanting its own soul, Turkey is as far-reaching in its pos- sibilities as was the predicament of Serbla in 1914. (Copyright, 1925, by Paul V. Collins,) THE LIBRARY TABLE BY THE BOOKLOVER. The long announced biography of Keats by Amy Lowell has at last ap- peared. It is in two volumes, illus- trated, and bears the simple title, “John Keats.” In addition to old sources, Miss Lowell has used her own valuable Keats collection and the Morgan collection, so that many new facts are presented in the bi- ograph Critics are saying that it is likely to replace the hitherto stand- ard biography of Kcats by Sir Sidney Colvin In addition to introducing new material, Miss Lowell has cor- rected much of the old. She has shown an almost legal mind in her sifting of evidence and offering of proof for statements different from thy in former biographie: The general reader may sometimes not be greatly interested in a discussion concerning the exact time of some occurrence, whether it happened on a Friday or a Saturday, for example, but the serlous and ardent Keats stu- dent will be grateful for all these fine points. * Miss Lowell’s point of view toward her subject is as sympathetic as that »f a good biographer should be; it is even more than sympathetie, for it is one of defense. She defends Keats against the charges often made of irunkenness and disease caused by als own conduct. She excuses him for his unbounded and almost unbe- lievable egotism toward Fanny Brawn on the ground that the tu- berculosis, from which he had suffer- ed for years, had produced psychoses, which made him emotionally irre spo Lle. She excuses him for much, also, on the old and simple ground o the poetic temperament. Poets, in- leed gentuses of all types, may not be Judked by the rules appited to ordi- | nary human beings. It 1s a common- place that they are often also difficult live with, Miss Lowell is liberal with her sympathy for Fanny Brawne, as well as with her excuses for Keats. She realizes, as all read- ers of Keats' letters must, that the voung girl made famous by the love of the poet was subjected to a tyr- anny which would be endured by few } women, The fact that Keats was probably not responsible for all that he said and did may arouse pity for him, but did not make Fann clation with him any easier. P Miss Lowell says in commenting on some of Keats' letters to Fanny | Brawne: “What she bore in these | cannot be overstated. Her pity must have been extreme to tol- erate such selfishness and cruel 1 But Fanny Brawne realized, as have too few of Keats' critics, that this was {llness, illness so fevered and transforming that the man who suf- fered it was not responsible for what | he said.” The following brief ex- tracts from one or two of the letters illustrate Miss Lowell's comment: “You must be mine to die upon the rack if 1 want you “For God's sake save me—or tell me my passion is of too awful a nature for you;” “I ap- peal to you by the blood of that Christ you believe in, do not write to me if you have done anything this month it would have pained me to have seen.” * ok k% In Somerset Maugham's autobiogra- phical novel “Of Human Bondage,” he writes of the reading habit: “He could think of nothing else. He forgot the life about him. He had to be called two or three times before he would come to his dinner. Insensibly he formed the most delightful habit in the world, the habit or reading:; he did not know that thus he was pro- viding himself with a refuge from all the distress of life; he did not know elther that he was creating for him- self an unreal world which would make the real world of everyday life a source of bitter disappointment.” * ok x % A second series of “These United States: a Symposium,” edited by “rnest Gruening, has recently been published. This volume, like the first, for the most living in the States various part by writers treated, on the wealths of the Union. Most of the chapters originally appeared in the Nation during the last two or three vears. The second series covers, be- sides 21 States, Alaska, Porto Rico, Hawail and the District of Columbia, the latter by John W. Owens of the Washington staff of the Baltimore Sun. This chapter on the District is not a very flattering one. He says that the District “has neither pride of ancestry mor hope of posterity. E he man of the District is a farer and sojourner in a tavern. He lives in social and economic Suspension.” The author explains this unnatural state of being as resulting from the creation by the Federal Gov- ernment of “a community wholly de- pendent upon it and wholly subservi- ent to it . a Capital City and nothing else, at once the tool and the jewel of the ambitious new Nation U, . The normal life of an aspiring, variegated American community wa taboo.” The author says that the en- tire population, Wwhether Congressmen, Government officials and employes or the “pald courtiers of myriad indus- tries, interests, groups and classe re all “Washington hired men” and that the prevailing philosophy here is “get next.” He says that Washington elusive, unreal and barren, both and culturally, though un- traveled, sophist Common- denlably educated, cated and cultured. Having properl lambasted us, Mr. Owens confesses that he would rather live in Wash- ington than in any other place in this country, and then proceeds to give many excellent reasons for this pref- erence—its beauty, its many-sided in- terests, its agreeableness. He con- cludes: “So Washington, lacking its own epic, without its own vision, per- becom- ing a concrete expression of the soul of America.” Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson, so John t tells us in his new biography Stevenson, antagonized many of Stevenson's old friends by her man- agerial ways and her scant patience with their Jong and sometimes hilarious visits to her invalid husband. She established the rule that no one who had the slight- est suspicion of a cold should be ad- mitted to his presence—a very sensible rule and one in force today in many sanitariums where perhaps the lives of tubercular patients depend on their being kept free from further infection. To be treated as if they were poisonous aid not, however, please Stevenson's friends, 'who perhaps remembered that they themselves always ran serlous risks of infection by association with Steven- son. Mrs. Stevenson is held largely re- sponsible by the biographer for the break in the friendship between Steven- son and W. E. Henley FEE R A list of the hundred best sellers in fiction during the first quarter of the twentieth century has been compiled from popularity scores reported by book- sellers during the last 25 years, and is published in a recent number of the Pub- lishers’ Weekly. The first 10 are: Lewis, “Main Street’; Hutchinson, “If' Winter Comes”: Barclay, “The Rosary”; Hull, “The Sheik”: Churchill, “Inside of the Cup”; Wells, “Mr. Britling Sees It Through”: Rice, “Mrs. Wiggs of Cabbage Patch”; Ferber, “So Big" Porter, “Pollyanna,” and Blasco-Ibanez, “Four Horsemen of the Apocalpyse.” It is curious to see & book of unrclieved realism leading, but followed closely by a book of credulity straining idealism. This shows the catholicity of American taste in fiction. * % * ] A collection of sermonettes entitled ‘Six Days of the Week” has recently been written by Henry Van Dyke There age more than 300 in all. Each Is about a page long and ecach is headed by p-text from the Bible. All show the Kindly wisdom, philosopical spirit and appreciation of the practi- cal characteristic of Dr. Van Dyke. Q. What is done with money found in letters that find their way to the dead letter office?—P. H. R. A. The Post Office Department says that money found in letters sent to the dead letter office is turned over to the Treasury Department as mis- cellaneous receipts. Q. Did the Communists have a can- didate for -President of the United States in the last election?—D. W, F. A, William Z. Foster, American member of the Third Internationale of Moscow, Russia, was a candidate in the last election, his name appearing on the ballot in several States. Q. In the last decade, how great an addition has been made to the pro- ducing area of the great plains farm- ing area?—E, C. R A, W. E. Grimes of the Kansas State Agricultural College, says that the addition is from 10,000,000 to 15,- 000,000 acres of prairle sod Q. How many people could be ac- comimidated in the Coliseum at Rome? —A. A, A. It seated 87,000 people. The stadium at Wembley, seating between $0,000and 90,000, is the largest in the world today. Q. Why do shipowners send cals to sea on thelr vessels?-—L. A. A ship found under certain cir- cumstances without a lving creature on board is considered a derelict, and property rights in her are forfeited. It has happened, after a ship has been abando d, that a live cat dis- covered on board has saved the vessel from being condemned. How did Aeschy death?—H. D. M. A An oracle had foretold that Greek dramatist would die by a blow from heav The prophcey * true” almost literally. An eagle mis- took Aeschylus’ bald head for a stone and dropped a tortolse upon it from a great height in order to break the shell Q 5 “came Q. What is the population of South America?—L. S. A. The population of South Amer- ica is estimated at 64,000,000, Q. 1Isthe carp a vegetarian? Government trylng to destroy species?—G. S A. The Bureau of Fisheries says that the carp is considered a veg tarian, although it will eat small fisk There is no movement on the part of the Government to destroy carp, as it is very valuable fish; however, there is on the part of some fie where game fish are found Q. What will be the seating cap ity of the Cathedral of St. John Diviene?—J. H. M A. The prevailing style of the C thedral of St. John the Divine French-Gothic. One of the chara Is the the the is teristic features is that there will be | no pews, but movable benches will be used instead, as in the old cathe- drals. There will be a seating ca- pacity of 7,000, with standing accom- modations for several thousand more. Q. What is meant by saying that ‘all watches are compasses?'—C. 0. N A. The statement is probably made because it is quite an easy matter to use a watch as a compass. Let your watch lie flat in your hand with the hour hand pointing toward the sun, and the point on the circle half way between the hour hand and XII will be directly south in the North- ern Hemisphere and directly north in the Southern Hemisphere. Q. How does the fmmigrants today compare number 25 years ago?— A. In 1900 there were admitted to the United States. In 1924 Great Britain’s quota of 77,34 was filled, 17,111 of the number com ing from Ireland. The low point immigration was reached in 181§, when only 331 Irishmen were ad- mitted. number of Irish with the P, 30 Irish Q. Editors Does the height Debate of aer| Of Beard on Americar have been stirred recent!; defense of the together with en of whiskers in an by Arthur Ponsonby, British Parliament. Among other things said “The whiskerless young day are dominated by the willingly submit. It is most in cafes and restaurants. Tod will see the girl stride in with an of mastery and assurance, less hat crushed over her eves, a long cigarette holder suspended from her lips, and behind her trots the little itors hirsute styl of vies those prevailing comparisons Snglish magazine member of the Mr. Ponsonby men of to- girls and ticeable ¢ you man. She orders the meal, and if there | the | be at of the sehool that— done None old like is any swearing to waiter, she will do it bewhiskered men of the would permit anything would th “Now that's deep stuff,” remarks the Lincoln Star, “for a member of Par- liament to be pondering over. After reading it over, most of us Ameri- cans will be forced to conclude that the most charitable thing to be said is that at least one Englishman lacks « sense of humor.” However, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram believe: I Arthur Ponsonby, distinguished Brit- isher, who has pondered the past through diaries and is @cquainted with the present through Its politics, to be heard with attention on so- clal changes. And when he chooses to write, with true humor. on the signif- jcance of the modern young women 1 subject which usually attracts tri il jests and still less helpful de- nunciation—there should be few who are not ready to cock an attentive ea with the “attentive ear” to Mr I’afizonhy, the Philadelphia Inquirer goes in reminiscence to the epoch of “Quida’ and the author of “Guy Living- stone” and reflects: “In those days wom- ©en admired whiskers ; at least they never Drotested against them. How is it now? The question is important, because, dis- guise it as they may, men want their faces to please women. Even if they are to resume the role of conquering hero they will expect their self-esteem to be fed by the captives of their bow and spear. This ie assuming, to be sure, that whiskers do make a difference, as Mr. Ponsonby insists, and perhaps it is beg- ging the question.” Even in jest, the Leuisville Courier-Journal believes, “Mr. Ponsonby would not have made his ter- rifying suggestion if he could have glanced over the pages of a pictorial history of the war between the States, or if he had ever looked over an American family album dating as far back as the middle of the Gen. Grant period.” * x * * “Samson, after he had deceived Delilah three times as to the source of his strength,” observes the Buffalo Courier, “repliecd to her continued entreaties: There hath not come a razor upon my head if 1 be shaven, then my strength’ will go from me, and I shail become weak and be like other men.' What happened. is, a8 ono eays, history, and also grand opera. - So far as we know, interpreters of the past have not ghated it as the beginning of wom- emancipation. Magbe they will rmen | in to deep retrospection and some | rlier days through the discussion | her brim- | make a ifference in receiving musi A. ‘The height of the acrial affect the wave length and the distan from which the receiver can pick t signals. Al of the antennas are very high P muslc from a rearby broadcastir statlon, the height no: so | portant, but it does count if you wi to bring in distance. Get. it u as you can Q. Was Brigham Young ever vorced by any of his wives?” A. The nineteenth wife of Brig ham Young, whose nams was Eliza, sued him for divorse, but was not granted, the court holdir that her marriage was not a leg one. —G. W was the obelis) Park York United States? The obelis the ocean in the Dessoul to through Q Q in Centra City, brougnt to th M acros the stear hold of which 1§ g mora Presid Did Guiteau make attempt to assassinat Garfield?—. S. I A. The statement issued trict Attorney Corkhill ~gay Guiteau came to Washington, Mar 6, 1851, determined to assasinate tl President on May 18, secured ! weapon on June %, and followed th President on several occasions, o1 to church, before he found t tunity he sought on by Di th, on July much of tl in th itry i L B. R . e in Q. How produced by water A. In 19 output of electricity States was pro water produ Uni Q. Where sionary A Q. How in schools for A. In minded of 6 Q. Do the England > A. The crown ¢ many 214 reported nded 7— hools for total enre belong ds onst Bri olony of Prestde Q. Can the appoint any one he or of Hawali, »r must the governor be an Hawas appolntment Hawailan | fonght on original order Hill, which is derived from owned « Charle 1 Breeds Hill, but was to fortify B nearby. The name was the family Bun hict siderable property in uring the carly period | was formerly a pasture | this family I | ier | town Hin the Ages coronati special P Sunday was the n for this ceremon there wild District?>—A. C. H A. The Biological Survey say there are no wild pigeons in the teict of Columbia, and the only one of this family ppearing in this v { cinity is the morning d which | builds its nest on the ground awd | breeds in the early Spring and during the early Summer. T g birds are protected by law. Are pigeons in th Dis (If yowu ha swered send it | Bureau, Frederic | Twenty-first and | The only cha this ents in stamns for return - Effect Man’s e a question The s « for vou want a Star Informatic Haskin, Directo streets northwes: service ostage.) Rule effect o sts the Sar me men de have concealed the al foliage, but their woman folk There were her sbands long before safety nd. fact, the term orig- inated in an age of widespread whis- kers. If anything, the habit of clean shaving is conducive of the elimina on of the chinless and spineless, It gives a woman a fair look at her rospective matrimonial bargain, and thoug - may waste her afternoo with lounge lizards when real mer are earning money, it is the real ma he chooses for a husband. The cake eaters may buy her cake, but she doe not rely upon them meal tickets and home makers.' “The British have a King, and tha £ has a beard,” declares the Bing mton “But we have vet meet any subject or ex-subject of tha monarch who believes for a mome that Queen Mary stands fn awe « her bearded lord and master. W guess she see through his whis Kers." “Since women have resorted to bot bed hair. knickers and the major por tion of the masculine wardrobe,” tI Akron Times observes, “distinguisl ing marks between the sexes have a but disappeared. A waving chinpiece or & spre pair of handlebars would save m confusion and fr quent embarrassment for both womer and men. That whiskers can effect nce without desperate effort , is quite doubtful. A tra ing arbutus that gets tangled up | typewriter keys, winds\{tselt around a Ford crank, interferes with the view of the golf ball, muffles one's voice in a telephone transmitter an: increases the fire hazard from cigar ettes will have to fight hard for fa vor.” Makes Alfonso Hero. anc S void of fact by sooner | founa pecked razors, or ther h later out Press. %c 1 can Ibanez Assault on Spanish King Gets Thanks of Dictator. It is difficult to write a good kit down, or, for that matter. even a ordinary one. Blasco Ibanez tried it on Alfonso XIII of Spain, and has now received what amounts to the thanks of the nation from Gen. Primo de Rivera, head of the military direc torate. Ibanez, he avers, has made the King a hero. If there had mot been an Ibanez, he further deposes, it would have been necessary to invent one. The mistake the novelist and pamphleteer made, it seems, was sending four horsemen out to do job unworthy even of a single foot man. He called the King a monster of tyranny, Everybody knows tha Alfonso Is not a monster of any Kind for monstrosity implies bigness some sort, and bigness has never bec associated with the Spanish King Besides. strange as it may seem i this Alfonso has a strong holc Jupon the affection of the Spanish peo ple. The charge of the “Four Horse | men of the Apocalypse” simply serv to strengthen it—PFhiladelpifa Public “The subjection of women was not Ledger. 2 £