Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1925, Page 6

f THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. YUESDAY.......March 17, 1925 TRECDORE W. NOYES. ...Editor Tie Evening Star Newspaper Company Basiness Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. ow York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding. Reropean Office : 16 Regent St.,London, England. The Even Star, with the Sunday morning atition a afiivered by carciers. within the ot e her Jwonth dally ouly, 43 cents per month unday oply, 30 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phome Main 5000. Collection is made by car- rlers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sund: .1 yr., $8.40; Daily only . Suaday only All Other States. 8 AP | , $10.00; 1 mo., 83¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled lished herein. All rights of publication ot special dispatches herein are also reserved. = i The Republican Split. The expected happened in the Sen- ate yesterday—Charles B. Warren's - cmination to be Attorney General was rejected a second time. The Sen- ate stood to its guns—that is, & com- tination of Democrats and non-admin- 1s ration Senators on the Republican side of the chamber. The supporters 5f Mr, Warren contended that par- tisan politics controlled the vote. His cpponents spoke of the duty of the Senate imposed by the Constitution, to scan the nominations carefully which it must confirm. No less an authority than Daniel Webster was quoted by Senator Borah of Idaho to route the suggestion of Senator Gillett of Massa- chusetts that the Senate might be actuated by partisan motives in act- ing upon nominations transmitted to it by the President. Undoubtedly there are Senators who voted against the confirmation of Mr. Warren's nomination from the con- viction that he was unfit for the office of Attorney General. But would the Democrats have voted to a man against confirmation had there been no group of anti-administration Sena- tors on the other side of the aisle which made rejection possible? The answer lies in the frank statement of Senator Overman of North Carolina, who changed his vote on the first time the nomination was rejected because he found he alone of all his party was recorded in favor of the nomina- tion. The Democrats insist that the evi- dence presented to the Senate changed the votes from “aye” to “no” on Mr. ‘Warren's nomination, referring to his connection at one time with the sugar magnates and the trust. But who can deny that the Democrats saw the opportunity to widen the breach between the Republican progressives and the regulars of the Senate? Al though Democratic fingers were badly burned playing the game of politi with the progressives in the last Con- gress and campaign, they were will- ing again to try this course, it seems. The division among the Republic- ans of the Senate is regrettable, both from the standpoint of getting things accomplished and politically. Another demonstration has been given the country that the much-desired party solidarity has not vet Been accom- plished—certainly not in one branch of the Congress. Again the people must determine at the polls, it seems, what they wish and how they want it done and, more particularly, who shall do it. It is not sought here to maintain that the President always is right and that the Senate and House must vield their views. But if the Presi- dent and a large majority of his party in the Senate and the House are united, with the balance of power held by a small minority acting in oppo- s tion, it would seem the part of rea- son to take some steps by which a cohesive majority shall be put in office. ————— Whenever motion picture salaries are mentioned, reference is made to the fact that some eminent film star receives more pay than the President of the United States. So much hes this comparison been stressed that e time may come when the public will insist on inquiry as to whether the President’s compensation ought to be increased or that of the film star re- duced. ———— There are a few Senators who ap- pear to feel disappointed because the ‘présiding officer has not said Helen Maria earnestly and often. They have given him every pretext. Experts from West Point and An- napolis might be called in to deter- mine whether hazing is permissible in an august legislative boedy. ———— Further Tax Reduction Probable. Here is good news to greet us just a8 we heave a sigh of relief over hav- turned in our income tax report ‘cr last year. Assurance comes from authoritative and competent quarters At there is prospect of a $300,000,000 <cut in taxes of various kinds by Con- aress at its next session. Representative Green of Pennsyl- . vania, who will be chairman of the ‘ways and means committee of the aéxt House, having examined Treas- 7 receipts, present and prospective, . akes prediction of this reduction. . ‘Riepresentative Longworth, who is to be Speaker of the next House, de- clares the Government is on a sound working basis, and will surely take up 33 question of further reducing the . @x burden at the meeting in Decem- bar. Already Treasury tax experts have & hand the preparation of the basis for new revenue legislation, so as to b8 ready to submit their conclusions .3 the House ways and means com- mittee when it meets September 15 in adivance of the regular session. Not only will there probably be tax . raduction, but tax reform, which, in- e, Secretary Mellon has said is mecessary than reduction, tax smaaing more equitable and more businesslike spreading of the tax burden. There is to be evidently an- other effort to reduce surtaxes, which the Treasury sought in vain to ac- complish last year. The long recess of Congress will give time and opportunity for a scientific revision of the tax system, the smoothing out of inequalities, the allocation of rates upon a more equita- ble basls, which at the same time. promises to be a more productive one, and the final passage of a tax law based upon scientific principles and removed, as it should be, from the field of politics and especially of dema- goguery. Every business man knows that the subject of taxation has too long been the foot ball of political manipulation. Fortunately, at this time there is the happy prospect of more businesslike consideration by Congress of this great subject, as the politiclans become more cognizant of the intimate bear- ing of tax legislation upon the pros- perity of the Nation. ‘Phe taxpayers who have just com- pleted their returns for last year are gratefully appreciative of the savings made under the last tax reduction of Congress. Their appetite for more has been whetted, and they can take satis- faction in the prospect of further re- ductions. They can hardly wait to see them accomplished and the adminis- tration's promises fulfilled by those who will be in position to make them good by legislative action. Arms Conference Talk. Since the day it became apparent that the Geneva. protocol for security, arbitration and disarmament was destined for the scrap heap, the world has been busy speculating upon the chance that President Coolidge might seize the opportunity to call in Wash- ington another conference on the limitation of armaments. ‘Though the President is pursuing his usudl unex- cited and unexciting course in the matter, it is known that he has the subject under advisement, with the prospect that he will call such a con- ference I he sees a likelihood of its being a success, but that he will not be rushed into any hasty and il advised action. Only a few months ago some of the chief European powers were inclined to be cool toward the idea of another American-called arms conference. They were basing large hopes and ex- pectations on the Geneva protocol, but these hopes began to fade when it be- came apparent that the British gov- ernment, acting under compulsion of opposition from the British dominions, would not accept the protocol. The Geneva agreement was conceived un- der the premiership of MacDonald, and MacDonald subscribed to the Her- riot view that Europe could manage the matter of armaments without American assistance. The succeeding Baldwin ministry, while apparently making every effort to maintain sym- pathetic relations with France, is con- siderably more “hard boiled” in look- ing afters British interests, and it seemingly is not the view in London that British interests would be served by an arms conference at which the United States was not represented. Austen Chamberlain, the British foreign secretary, without any com- mitment as to details, declares his government's readiness to participate in any conference President Coolidge may call. The Japanese goverament discloses thdt it, too, is ready to ac- cept “in priuciple” an invitation to another conference at Washington. That most of the other powers would come goes without saying, but there is no intimation whether France would welcome such a call. The French government is busy just now trying to find a substitute for the Geneva protocol to afford her a sense of security, and until this is found it may be that France would not eare to consider any further limitation of her armaments. And, as a matter of course, the President will send out no conference invitations until assured that France would come freely and gladly. el Many citizens delayed filing income tax returns. The reduction should have been regarded as sufficient to call for at least the appreciation im- plied by promptness. At last something lower in the scale of animal existence than the typhoid germ has been discovered, and that is the man who uses it for homicidal purposes. e A Tragedy of Youth. Heartaches and heartbreaks of youth, far too often ignored or re- garded lightly by those of mature vears, sometimes result in tragedies that shock the sensibilities and arouse the sympathies of the entire nation. A case now in point is reported from a small community near Cincinnati, Ohio, where a boy of 14 years, mother- less, has fought nobly but in the end a losing battle with the responsibility of keeping together a home for his father and his young brothers, mar- keting, cooking, doing the family wash and the numberless other chores which combine to make the business of housekeeping an endless chain of drudgery. The sunshine and play of the great outdoors called. and called again, but there was no time to be spared from the household duties. The joyousness of freedom and fun and good fellow- ship, which is the righttul heritage of every child, beckoned to this bit of a lad, but devotion to the welfare of his bereaved family dominated him. The father 'was necessarily away all day earning the wage wherewith to care for his three small boys, leaving upon the older son the burden which proved too heavy. For a year the little fellow shoulder- ed his responsibilities, bravely tuck- ing away the anguish in his own soul of an education denied, a boyhood robbed of its heritage, and thie awful loneliness of a motherless home. Bit by bit the agonies and aches were stowed away, but the load became too heavy and the lad's heart broke. Col- lecting his few cherished books, toys and the trinkets which are an inti- | mate part of the life of every boy, he watched them burn, then shot himself. The pity of it Is that there was apparently no help for the situation and nobody can be blamed for the stark realities which ended in tragedy. Truly the hand of fate strikes mys- teriously. A multitude of pitying humans ponder and wonder why the life of a youth so faithful to his trust should be crushed by overwhelming grief. S L Rabies and Pasteur. A newspaper man this morning was watching a fellow citizen undergo an injection for the prevention of rabies. It was the eighteenth of a tedious series of 25. The amount of serum was considerable. When it gets to working in his system it is more than likely to cause him some pain, glandu- lar swelling, headache and other in- conveniences. Yet the patient was grinning broadly, for he knows dogs and knows what he Is escaping. His hand had been scratched by the teeth of a puppy which was sick and which later died of the dreaded rabies. Before the successful researches of Pasteur, chosen by popular vote of the French as the greatest Frenchman who ever lived, this man would in all probability, nay, certainty, have died a miserable death. As it is, he is safe, for whereas the death rate, both for human beings and for animals, was practically 100 per cent before Pas- teur's great discovery, the latter is classed in medicine simply and with- out qualification as a “preventive.” The benefits conferred by Pasteur on the human race were varied and important, nor were they confined to the realms of medicine alone. At one time this scientist, by means of his biological and botanical knowledge, actually saved the silk industry of his native country. The pasteuriza- tion process for milk, which bears his name, has saved the lives of hun- dreds of thousands of bables. Washington just now has special reason to be profoundly grateful to his memory, for there is a good deal of rabies prevalent in and around the clty. The presence of a muzzle on a dog often fails to prevent the tooth scratch, which may be as deadly as the deep bite. The unmuzzled, un- leashed dog is a menace. All persons, particularly children, cannot be too solemnly warned to leave the stray or the strange dog alone, and if bitten, no matter how slightly, and however unsuspected the animal, to submit themselves at once to the life-saving treatment. ———— Those who seek to absolve the Ger- man Kaiser for responsibility for the war explain the apathy with which the demand for his execution was re- garded. It would have amounted merely to hanging the Prussian au- tocracy in efigy. — e The average citizen who has been having trouble with his income tax must admit that his troubles might be worse when he considers the com- plex computations demanded of Sena- tor Couzens. ——————————— The Chinese war is still on. The time is not far distant when the strife in China will Be better understood in this country instead of being regarded as a kind of tragical version of mah- jong. ———— Attention is now divided between the pleasures of Spring poetry and the apprehension that any day may bring information that the peach crop is a failure. o In punishing YMr. La Follette the G. O. P. might be persuaded to re- member that while he ran without a permit he did not exceed the speed limit. ——— There is no analyzing the processes of political fame. Mr. Warren achieved the cabinet spotlight even before being installed in office. - i ‘Washington has given Gen. Persh- ing every assurance that in addition to being held in international esteem he is still & strong local favorite. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Sayings and Doings. We often hear from day to day Some one remark, “I'll have my say’ And we stand by in solemn dread Until at last the say is said. And when at last the air is still In spite of oratoric thrill ‘We find events most deeply stirred By some one who said scarce & word. Variability. “What do you understand by sena- torial courtesy?” “The significance of the term seems to vary,” answered Senator Sorghum. “When I hear it mentioned now I take it as e signal that there is some kind of disturbance in the air.” Confession of an Audience. The morals of the stage are bad. And Yet in candor we must say The actors aren’t near as bad As we who want that sort of play. Jud Tunkins says a man is generally satisfied with having his own opinion, but wants to provide waste basket ac- commodations for the opinions eof others. Insidious Justice. “How did you come to appoint Mesa Bill a crossing policeman?” “The Gulch is a law-ablding com- munity, and we don’t want to do any- thing violent. We figured that a man couldn’t stand in the midst of all them flivvers without somethin’ happenin’ that 'ud be jes’ about what was comin’ to Bill.” Wild Imagination. No tax reduction we perceive Will make us wholly cease to grieve Till Uncle Sam evolves some day A plan that works the other ‘way, And mails a schedule every year ‘Wherein we find in language clear The statement that he thinks it due To send around his' I. 0. U. “Dar is two sides to every ques- tion,” said Uncle Eben, “but de lawyer gemmen kin pervide 'bout a thg nd questions to each sidey THIS AND THAT « BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Speaking behind one's back Is trowned upon, as a general thing, yet there is much to commend the practice. Dispassionately considered, pane ning the other fellow when he is not around has the decided merit of be- ing kind. After all, kindness is a great vir- tue, and any varietion of kindness has something heaven-like about it. When you “speak behind a man's back,” at least you do not hurt his feelings. You save him the mental harm of worrylng over what you called him, because the chances are 10 to 1:that he never will hear. A tattle-tale, of ‘course, may carry him your mean words, but men are more and more learning the boomerang contained in this sort of business. It is simple truth that if you tell some one that so-and-so sald some- thing evil about him, he will not hold it against that man—but against you! That was what Tsaiah meant when he sald, “Blessed upon the movntains are the feet of those who bring glad tidings."” The reverse also is true. Cursed anywhere are the feet of those who tell us what some one else has said againet us Unhappy bearer, thus think to curry favor with me, but through some strange kink in human nature, I hold a grudge against thee! Perhiaps this comes about through the inner recognition of every one that the man who talks about you behind your back has acted not so ill, after all At least he has not hurt your feel- ings. it Suppcse, instead of talking about people behind their backs, we went to them face to face and gave them exactly the same sort of talk we would have used in the knocking process. What a world this would be! Some have commended such a course. Yet they have done s0, I feel sure, without calmly considering just the pretty state of things which would arise. If we took out our spleen on man- kind to its face, brother would be arrayed against brother and husbands and wives would squabble more con- tinuously than they do in the “funny pictures.” Know ye that every person in the world has a certain amount of rancor in his soul. This is not to be held against him. Rather, it is in his favor. It bespeaks h humanity, Every one of us, as the result of our complex living, has certain ideas about men and things, ideas which it is not always wise—or kind—to speak out too freely ¥ This is one of the very hardest of life's lessons. It is so tempting to “say our say” on everything the minute the ideas pop into the mjnd. The tongue is the original self- starter. Z The slightest sort of an fdea re- leases the spring that keeps the tongue from wagging. Unless we control the unruly member with the trusty old brain, our tongue is apt to_oscillate worse than Fido's tail Most of us, luckily enough, have learned in some measure to control our oral thoughts. Our mind is more or less secret. Even those closest to us cannot read it. It is when we talk that we need to be guarded. There are so many ideas we all have that ars not worth a whoop that it is the rashest sort of business to cast them upon the general waters of discourse. Wherefore it comes about that generally the next best thing to “saying our say” in public is to say it in private. Every successful man knows what a wonderful safety valve his wife has BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. At the Unlon Station last evening patriots assembled to welcome home Gen. John J. Pershing from his exten- sive journey through South America. Thers was much military music and eloquence exalting the outstanding American military leader of the World War—the unconquered commander of the unconquered American expedition- ary forces. 4 This demonstration of alleged “mili- tarism” came fin the midst of the dis- cussions throughout Europe of the latest effort of the League of Nations to “out- law war” through a protocol to be ad- hered to by not less than 4 of the § great powers and 10 of the lesser powers. If such an international agreement ever be achieved, making war illegal, what shall become of the Pershings and Sergt. Yorks and Nathan Hales of the future? If war become a “crime” shall our future histories classify our Wash- ingtons and Grants and Deweys and Pershings as “criminals”? The proposed protocol declares that all “aggressive war” shall be a crime. Perhaps, then, we shall accept Dr. Johnson’s character- ization of patriotism—'the last refuge of a scoundre * % ¥ % Gen. Pershing said last evening that his visit to the various South American countries had given him a broader and better understanding of their peoples, and that by closer acquaintance between the nations of this hemisphere wars would be avoided and peace amongst all nations would be at least begun. Dr. Rowe, director of the Pan-American Union, told the general how the diplo- matic representatives of the countries the general was visiting had watched with interest the success and cordiality of his visits and- receptions, reminding one of the earlier tours of Secretary of State Root and of former President Roosevelt, through which the old jeal- ousies and misunderstandings of = our Monroe doctrine and our imagined de- sire toward becoming a supergovern- ment for the smaller nations of the hemisphere had been corrected. * ok ok ok But it 18 not along such lines of cordial and friendly acquaintance be- tween nations that the League of Nations, by Its protocol, would cause wars to cease. It is through an In- ternational agreement of all the na- tions affiliated with the league that it would “outlaw war,” and when any “outlaw” nation defled the decree of the council and its world court, pres- sure would be threatened, first in economio boycott and finally in mili- tary and naval compulsion. The protocol is a plan Introduced in the assembly of the League of Na- tions by Dr. Eduard Benes, foreign minister of Czechoslovakla, and in- dorsed by Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Esthonfa, France, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and the Serb-Croat-Slovene state. There was hope that 44 other nations would sign it until Great Britain announced that she would oppose it. The oppo- sition says that that ends the protocol such, but In an interview Dr. Benes declares that in printiple it is still alive and would be embodied In some form in the league covenant itself. France and Belgium welcomed a plan which would obligate the whole world to fight with them against the revenge of a future Germany, for they feel that the menace of a re- newed war is ever confronting their eastern frontier, and the small na- tions welcomed a unfon which would insure their safety, so long as no great power outside the pact should acquire strength enough to defy not merely one or two Detty states but the combined Euro But when England was asked to enter a pact with continental Europe and Asla been to him. When affairs go wrong at the office he saves his words for his wife, to whom he may safely spil} them. If some one plays him a mean trick, instead of futilely beating the air in the presence of that man he takes his woes home to his. wife, and soon be- gins to feel better. * K kK The man who talks about others behind their back is not such a villain, then, as he has been painted. “Knock- ing"” others may be carried to excess, of course, but as a general thing it relieves the feelings and allows one to come to a truer estimation of the one criticized. 1 have often seen a man start out on a campaign of villification of an absent comrade, and before he had ended he had come around to'a much better understanding and appreela- tion of the man under the hammer. Misunderstanding of others is one of the great troubles of the world If only we could know all about another, get into his mind and look out from his eyes, we might hope to have universal peace, not among na- tions alone, but among familles and acquaintances. How can we have universal peace iIf scarcely three men can get to- gether without recrimination? Misunderstanding carries so many faces that it is hard, at times, to find the man’s real face. Discussion—be- hind his back, if you please—helps clarify the vision, so that the next time you meet him you may be able to see him in a better light. Talking behind a man's back {8 so much better than telling him the same thing to his face! 1 realize that some wary one may say at this point: “Ah, that is where your program falls down! Few would dare to go to a man and tell him to his face what they would say behind his back. What you should do is ad- vocate cutting out all talking behind the back.” My answer to that s: I never advo- cate anything which I believe impos- sible of carrying out. A man has got to talk. It is just a question of where he does it. And I submit that it is better for him to get his mean cracks out of his sys- tem behind the victim's back, as the phrase has it, than to his face. In other words, man is a talking animal. Talk he must. If he has a grudge against some one, he is going to talk about him, whether it is right or wrong. I do not imagine there will ever be a national prohibition of “knocking,” either. S e Imagine going to Timothy Brown, your old side-kick, and saying: “Tim- othy, old chap, you ought to get rid of that ¢ld cap you are wearing. Honest, you make me ashamed to walk down the street with you How on earth you can keep on wearing it, I do not know. All your friends are talking about it. Loosen up and buy a new one, for heaven's sake and mine.” Good 0ld Timothy, who regards that cap as part of him, would only be hurt at such strictures and cling to his old cap all the tighter. No, the proper way, if you feel bad about Tim's .cap, i8 to go home and take it out on your patient wife. Tell her: “Say, have You ever seen Timoth Brown's old cap? Haw! Haw! It's a disgrace. That bird ought to loosen up and get himself another one.” After all, much of what we say about others behind their backs is not worthy of being repeated to their faces. It is entirely negligible, in the vast scheme of things. By talking behind one’s back we save ourself from hurting others and, what s more important, save the feelings of othegs. Women, being more practfeal ti men. and kinder, have always prim | r common sense practice. by following this which might some day obli; to declare war upon Cmndn';:sA:;:‘: tralla (since her separate dominions are independent units fn the 1 she refused such imperial sqiciae So ends the protocol—until amend. ments are offered to the covenant of the league itself, according to the father of the plan, Dr. Benes, * x % % Imagine a case: Canada might se up a claim to a portion Of‘Manfl': and war between her and the United States threaten. Though the United States is not a member of the league, we would receive an invitation to submit the dispute to the Permanent Court of International Justice, set up and controlled by the league. if we declined that invitation to lst Eu. ropean nations declde our boundary of Maine, through the Court of In- ternational Justice, then, according to the protocol, the leagus would de: clare the United States the “aggres- sor” and all nations of the league, by the protocol covenant would be re- auired to boycott our commerce, The mere fact of our refusal to submit the case to the court of the league would be automatically construed fnto making us “aggressors,” which under that protocol would authorize Canada to make war upon us. s Canada would be no match f the United States in war, the league would then levy upon Great Britain's navy and in due proportion upon all other navies of the world to add their battleships to the Canadian attack- Ing forces. “The signatory states undertake to recognize as compul- sory, ipse facto and without special agreement, the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice.” (Article 3.) The plan which makes whatever nation the “aggressor” which declines to submit its cause to the Interna. tional Court established by the League of Natlons, is known as ‘the American plan,” because it was de- vised by an_American pro-leaguer Prof. James T. Shotwell of Columbla University. * ok ok Great Britain in refusing to in- dorse the protocol offers as a sub- stitute the old time-honored plan of a “balance of powers” to preserve peace. That idea is not new, even in connection with the protocol it is provided: (Article 13) “Furthermore, as soon as the council has called upon the signatory states to apply sanc- tions (i. e., bring pressure) as pro- vided in the last paragraph of Article 10 above, the said state may, in ace cordance With any agreements they may previously have concluded, bring to the assistance of a particular state, which is & victim of aggression, their military, naval and air forces.” In & pamphlet published by the ue of Nations Non-Partisan As- sociation, entitled “Synopsis of the Geneva Protocol,” the explanation of the above quoted Article 13 is: “Thig is & recognition that states may enter into special treaties to Drotect one another.” * k % X Again quoting the Bible, we hear the cry: “Peace Peace! When there is no peace!” If secret Or open cove- nants, secretly or openly arrived at, may bind nations in mutual treaties to war for mutual self-interest, what becomes of the league to end wars? No provision appears to have been considered in the protocol which would have prevented a civil war, such as that betweenyour States, In the 60s, or such as South Ameri- can “revolution.” {(Copyright, 1025, by ¥, OColtina) NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M ARROWSMITH. Sinclair Lewls. Har- court, Brace & Co. A plan good enough to sweep “Babbitt” and “Main Street” in upon a tidal wave of popularity is, ac- cording to this properly reasonable author, good enough also to serve for the launching of “Arrowsmith.” So, once more, we have from Sinclair Lewis a literal transcription of every- day American life as it centers upon the affairs of a company of everyday people. All three novels are of a literalism that exceeds mere realism as definitely as the latter rejects romanticism itself. This method, laid out with so great care by Lewis and | followed in %o Infinite a patlence, turns these average men and women into written words—their own out- stretched arms neatly crossing all the their own opties tidily dotting all the 's. Or so one easily imagines it to be. And with the advent of “Ar- rowsmith” the old quarrel becomes brand-new again. An unequal quar- ref, to be sure—a scant handful of skeptics on the one side, a howling mob of enthusiasts on the other. On top, the wrangling sums, on the one hand, to: “‘Main Street’ is plain punk’ on the other, to: *“‘Main Street’ is the greatest novel of the day.” Just under this turbulent sur- face the fight shifts to the purpose and mission of the novel. Is it to mirror life, thereby setting out the oertain sequences of character and behavior, to act as guides to conduct? Or is it to give life an inspiring lift out of Its stupefying dreariness? Substitute this new title for the older one and the conflict may &0 merrily on with no other change of feature. However, If sales and roy- nities may be counted as evidence, the case of Sinclalr Lewis points to the transcriptive novel as the choice in American fiction. Some, whose job it is to read novels, had a hard time getting through “Main Street.” Wasn't it Heywood Broun who said he aidn’t believe anybody ever read it through? But—there is that amaz- ing majority in its favor. * kX % The new movel is, in its mode of growth, like “Babbitt” and “Main Stree: Tt is the blography of Mar- tin Arrowsmith tbrough that long perfod of fooling around with life that commonly passes under the name of youth. It is only at the very end of the long story, and it is a long one, that Arrowsmith is saying, “T feel as if I were just be- ginning to work.” Yet there is al- ready quite a stock of doings behind him.” Minor things, to be sure—fall- ing in love and out again; getting married, twice; making friends and losing them: seeing visions and let- ting them slip away into the horizon; the money troubles of schooling and a living: indeed, all of the wearing things that beset youth with vigor, even with venom it seems, as If to try the stuff of him. One i3 likely to give any novelist credit for delib- erately trying to produce the effect that his novel does have upon the reader. Bo, here, ons gets out of “Arrowsmith” the fact that work is the supreme function of life. That all other thines—friendship, love, marriage, the family even—are, by comparison, mere divertisement. Not definitely so stated, not directly so treated. But, tactlly, just this. Ar- rowsmith, when he strikes his own galt, i3 a worker. His field, that of science in its power to prevent the physical ills of mankind. An ab- sorbed and enthusiastic bacteriolo- gist, bent upon the nature and effect of these organisms in relation to man. It is his fight in this fleld that makes the substanoe of the story. That which he has to gvercoms is, in part, the eecrets of this subject. In other part, it is to resist the pre- tenses of nature fakers, their pom- pous self-seeking, their zest of pub- Toity and promotion, their generally vainglorious attitude before the mat- ter. In still other part, Arrowsmith has some fighting to do against him- self, against the easing claims of his human nature whimpering for amuse- ment and soft places to sit down in. He is, on the whole, an unsophis- ticated and straightforward feller. For instance, when two girls at the same time engage themselves to him, he knows no way of getting out of the mess except to invite them both fo luncheon, where he simply lays the case down on the table before them, putting it up to them to settle it. Not a bad way, after all. This, no more than an Index of his general sim- plicity toward all the common affairs of his lite. If you are proper minded you will not altogether approve of Arrowsmith. He gets drunk too easily when things go wrong. He fails to shine in his college work. So much of it is to him futile and wide of the mark. And it s characteristic of the fellow to slip out from under a load that gets overheavy, with, per- haps, too little regard for the load itself. This applies to everything ex- cept in relation to his pursuit of bac- teria. There he stands four-square and stable. You will be surprised, and pleased, with the tremendous amount of work that Lewis has done to make this young sclentist authentic and believable as a sclentist. No more than he should have done—but al most mobody else has studled so deeply for a similar purpose. It is, indeed, - quite concelvable that a Simon-pure investigator will read this part of the novel with respect and roval. Htowded with characters and not always snugly organized, the novel will now and then irritate the reader who 1llkes his stories to keep a straight and clean stride. There is confusion here at times, one that ob- scures the course of Arrowsmith in his quest of himself. Still, that is a way that life has, too—crowding space with all sorts of nondescripts, permitting conspicuous characters to dim themselves into obscurity over and over again along the way of a career. And since Sinclair Lewis takes his pattern straight from life itself, we cannot grumble when he does the thing exactly as he has planned to do it. You will have a fine fight over this novel—but vou'll not ignore it. That is a main point. * X X X “Arrowsmith” is a lineal descendant of “Main Street” Not only In its method of development, but in general setting and theme as well, it has come down in a straight line. Both have their roots in Sauk Center, Minn., where Bewls as a lad lived and rode the* country over and over with his father, the doctor who, without ques- tion, helped in the making of the Doc Kennicott of “Main Street.” An uncle and a brother, both doctors, serve to account further for the leaning of Sinclair Lewis toward th® profession as a theme for the novellst's consid- eration. Where “Main Street” pre- Jected the useful and beloved general practitioner, “Arrowstreet” portrays the modern specialist of high training and expert equipment. The one to cure disease, the other to prevent it. The places that glve backsround to the action, save for one tropical out- faring in “Arrowsmith,” are all of Midwest substance and color. The people are Main streeters, every one. Now when it Somes to the mere writ- ing of the two novels, Sauk Center has to give way. For “Main Street” was written right here in V§ hing- totn, and “Arrowsmith” across the water at Fontainebleau. e The Senate, as Shakespeare might have remarked, has become a some- thing “for Dawes. to peck at’—Wi- nona ‘Republican-Herald. —————————— Any town 1s a good town to the map who has the respect of the pay- ing tell fllo Tennesseean. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. How long has there been a tele- phone in the White House?—-W. O. H. A. The first telephone was instajled in the White House 44 years go—that is, In’ 1881—when Grant was Presi- dent. Q. What paper published Fredericksburg, Va.?—L, V. S. A. The Star is published daily and Sunday, and the Free Lance on Tues- days, Thursdays and Saturdays. is at Q. What is the name of the river at Occoquan?—L. V. S. A.%0ccoquan is on Occoquan Creek? Q. Does a President pro tempore of the Senate receive a Vice Presi- dent’s salary?—G. R. A. In case of a v presidential office the President pro tempore of the Senate does draw the salary of a Vice President as presid- ing officer in the Senate. When a Vice President is President of the Senate the Senator who is appointed to fill his place during absences has only a Senator's salary. Q. What glands control the height of a person?—M. E. H. A. The ductless glands which con- | trol the height of man are the thy- roid and parathyroids. As far back as 1856 the medical profession recog- nized the relation of these to the growth and development of the hu- man body. Q. Please give the meaning of dia- lectic, obsolete and foreign words? F A dialetical word rived from a dialect, Scotch word “fey,” 'which means prescient. An obsolete word is one no longer in use, such as the term “yclept,” meaning ‘“called.” elgn word is one which has not yet been incorporated into another lan- guage. An example would be “heim- weh,” meaning “homesickness.” Q. What novels won the Pulitzer prize in 1922 and 1923”—E. V. R. A. The Pulitzer prize for 1922 was awarded to Willa Cather for her novel, “One of Ours.” The 1923 award was given to Margaret Wilson, author of “The Able McLaughlins.” Q. What makes the funnel cyclone?—N. P. H. A. The funnel of a cyclone is due to the whirling motion of the winds. The cloud that accompanies the tor- | nado is formed of dust, water and debris. A partial vacuum is pro- duced in the center of the whirl and the low temperature which results generates a huge trunk of loud which makes the tube visible; thus, the air from the surface of the ea as it rises, instead of rising vert ally, is whirled around and brought in contact with the low temperature in the center. The moisture {s con- densed and the cloud thus formed Q. Was Henry Wadsworth Long- fellow related to Miles Standish?— F. 8. A. Through his mother's family Longfellow was descended, not from | Miles Standish, but from John Alden and Priscilla Mullens. These, Miles Standish, are the principal characters in “The Courtship of Miles Standish Q. Why are oysters out of season during the months that have no “r’ in their names?—L. C A. Oysters should not be eaten during their spawning months. It is merely a coincidence that these months in the year do mot contain the letter “r. Q. How far is it from Bombay to Calcutta by rail and how long does it take?—N. S. A. There.is a fast mail train over the East Indian Railway which cancy in the vice | | entered one or : | The A for- | to a| with | makes the trip, of about 1,400 mtles in 36 hours. Over the Bengal- tur Rallway the journeys Iz hours. Q. When and where was the slege ) tower first used?—W A. The tower w cation at a very e nectlon with earliest instances of this type of for tification was at Ninevah, built mor than 2000 B. nore Houso is students who nother of the versities, colleges schools of New sents a given by idea w Mrs. Harry F is the headq politan Club and countries. for 600 foreign Q. What is the n was formerly Kaiserb! We do not find 2 effect that the changed since the Q. How can 1 istered? I know greed—W. C. H. A. According to the American Kennel Club bred dog is eligible to virtue of hampion American K three generat furnished. dogs are res ped es of the ericar istration by toward unde Q. Was it ever possible for a Ter ritory to become before it was admitted into the by C ress —T. B. 8 A. In the case of Michigan, the people there adopted a State consti tution and elected a complete set o State officials and later that constitu- tlon was accepted by Congress with out readoption, original delegate was seated in Congress without re election, and the criginal State ofé ficlals continued to serve without re- election af the fo admission ngress on January 1835, higan was gh not tech e Union. e date of admi de facto a State nically a State do the a q” “fair, averags quality.” Q. What are A. When other reflections from snow %0 as to double or ness or spots in t these spots are sun dogs. reflection of the band of white ligh zon at the apparent of the sun and usually it. Q. Are there rests in poetry A. There are rests in verse, there are in music. (Reéaders of The Evening Star should send their questions to The Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haski Director, Twenty-first and C streets northwest. The only charge for this service is ® cents in stamps for retw postage.) Illness of England’s Monarch Brings Editorial Specu]atlon‘ The recent iliness of King Ggorge V of Great Britain and his physicians’ decision that a sea voyage is essen- tial to his complete recovery bring forth expressions.of sympathy from the press. Some editors think that his absence Will in no way affect the British Empire. Others, though con- sidering him merely a ‘‘figurehead” regard his absence from active par- | ticipation in affairs with” apprehen- sion. “It is not easy to be a King. nor is it always pleasant,” observes the San Francisco Bulletin, ~which adds, “Grippe has not respected the person of King George of England.”” The Springfield News believes “the mon- arch is as apt to get the common ail- ments of the race as 15 the peasant and he needs to be ordered around by his personal attendants much like the clerk and the laborer, Kings in these days do not quibble when the doctor takes the scepter and in an advisory capacity virtually commands. For, after everything is said and done, a King is no better than his humblest subject when it comes to feeling badl The Boston Traveler thinks there was a hesp of philosophy in King George's remark that “even kings must obey,” when told by his physi- clans that he must give up smoking. The Traveler says: “Not because the British King 'is a constitutional and not absolute monarch did he respond thus meekly to the mandate of his physiclans, but because, as regards personal health, no King enjovs any more exemptions than the humblest of his subjects.” . * kX K “We're sorry King George had the flu. We're sorry for anybody who gets that pesky bug,” says the Bing- hamton Press. ‘Yet thers seems to be a silver lining in the clouded royal outlook. The King’'s physicians have ordered him off to the sunny south- land for his health.” The Press con- tinues: “His royal sons appear to go and come as they please, but father has to stay on the job, a martyr to duty. He has a tougher time than an American President. Because a President can go up in Vermont and pitch hay, and that's pleasant work if you don’t have to do it and there's an’ election coming on.” The King's illness brings to the at- tention of the American public a pe- culiar quirk In English thought that it is hard to understand, declares the Nashville Tennessean, which adds: “So far as the government is con- cerned George might disappear off the face of the globe and his absence would never have been noted, and his duties and privileges are so circum- scribed that he has little or no possi- bility of doing anything for the peo- ple or against them. And yet they stand ‘In_reverent silence’ before his palace when he is sick; they permit themselves to be taxed to keep up the royal family in splendor, and they never see the humor of it. It looks silly to us over here, but the British- ers seem to like it, and they have to pay for it, and.if they want to go in for that pecullar variety of amuse- t it is no concern of ours. ‘When King George sets sail on' & cruise to regain his-health, England will be without a member of the royal family to assume the perfunctory du- ties of the regency,” says the Louis- e Courler-Journal. “The Prince of Wales is shortly to leave for Africa and South America. The Duke of York is already away on a hunting trip. Tho “Prince Henry will re- main, it is hardly likely that he ‘will be given an bpportunity to exercise the functiogd.” The Philadelphia Public Ledger remarks, “Even though . technically a ‘figurehead’ in the ernment of the United Kingdom, temporary withdrawal from participation in the machinery ernment creates apprehension £ ik “England may be kingless for time, but she will have a substit which will do all tha do,” thinks the Cleve Dealer. “A privy coun will probably be estab! will act as a kind of reg the King’s vovage. In fact, cannot get along just at without_either a King or just as.good” In time the k may be discarded, but if this comes the unwritten British stitution will either have to be re duced to writing or u commission shed which ney duri present cratic a kingdom may be, it is a republic.”” - Concluding, the Plain Dealer says King George should ba gratified “to know that his gover ment considers it necessary to es- tablish a commission of the foremost statesmen of the realm to do for a few weeks what the King does all the time.” The Roanoke Times observes: “It is too bad, from the standpoint of tho enterprising real estate agents of Palm Beach, Miami and nearby places that London is too far removed from Florida to make it at all feasible for the King to spend his period of re- cuperation in the sunny clime of the land inseparably associated with the memory of Ponce de Leon. 'Florida's, healthful sunshine would do wonders for the King, and the royal celeb- rity's fame would do wonders for Florida. But perhaps the King would find the life too gay for an invalid.” ot Brings Real Greeting New German Diplomat’s Message to America Is Welcome. When Wilhelmstrasse gazetted t Baron Ago von Maltzan last Decem- ber to succeed Dr. Wiedfeldt as Ger man Ambassador to the United States the baron announced that he pro- posed to bring to Washington a mes sage of recognition of the Dawe plan and American co-operation as chief aids in economic recovery of his country. In his statement, on landing from Hamburg, the new diplomat carried out his promise in letter and in spirit 0Oddly, in coincidence with his ar- rival is the news that the German government s buying $50,000,000 of our gold, over and above the loan credit recently ablished In Amer- fca by the flotation of $110,600,000 in German reparation bonds. And still more remarkable is the informa- tion that this transaction has been financed by shipping to America good American money in the shape of one, two and five dollar bills. 1 ‘When the Dawes plan was accepted it was predicted that German stock- ings and chimney corners would yield up their hoards. The United States paper money. that has been coming over at the rate of $5,000,000-& month was treasured in German hothes dur- ing the vears when no other paper money of any country was worth its face value in gold. And, just as wits predicted, under the feeling of fe- stored stability which the Dawes plan has brought about, theso -hoarded American . bills" are’ coming. out of hiding. \ "X Germafly of good faith and good ‘works can work out its own salvation and resume its plice among the we- tions.—Pbiladeiphia Bulletin, v