Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1925, Page 6

g Y- THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .March 21, 1925 ‘THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave. * New York Office: 110 Fast 42nd St. Chicazo Office: Tower Building Buropean Oftice: 16 Regent St.,Loundon, Eugland. tar. with the Sunday morning waition, i delivered by carriers within the | “ity at 00 cerss per month: daily only, 43 rents per month: Sunday only. 20 cents per | thonth. * Orders may be sent by mail or tele- | Thone ‘Main 5000. Collection is made by car- riers at the end of each month. *he Ervening Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sundi 1 yr., $8.40; 1 me Dally onls........ 0011 3r, $8400 1 unday oniy U v sme0i 1 All Other States. Daily and Sunday....1 yr., $10.00; Daily only ~seei1 yr., 100 Bonday oniy... a1 yr $300; Member of the Associated Press. The Associsted Press is exclusively entitled te the uss for republication of all news dis- tches credited to it or not otherwise credited i this paper and also the local news pub. lished hereln. All rights of publication of special es herein are also reserved. - Business as Usual. T{ there are two men in this coun- tty whose judgment as to business conditions is unquestionable, they are Secretaries Mellon and Hgover. Their capacity to form an opinion and their resources of information upon which to base it are unsurpassed. When Messrs. Mellon and Hoover tell us, therefore, that there is occasion for alarm over the stock market and the wheat market slumps, it is up to the country to put aside any fears that may have been engendered and 0 go ahead with business as usyal. s1t is conceded by these two busi- ness authorities that speculators in wheat undoubtedly have been hurt; but hurts to speculators are not mor- tal wounds to conservative business. ““The people of the country,” said Mr. Hoover, “are all working, and the gommodities which they produce are going into normal consumption.” That the in a nutshell. Neither production nor consumption is fundamentally affected by wheat pit and stock market flurries. The farmer had disposed of the bulk of his crop before the recent sensational advance in the price of wheat and benefited but little from the $2 level. There- fore, he is injured but little by the bursting of the bubble. Of course, a great many holders of railroad stocks who are not speculators are sufferers because of the difficulties of St. Paul, but that is a more or less isolated case and does not indicate unsound- ness in railroad holdings generally. ‘The transportation system of the country is in general good health be- ;ause business as a whole is in good health, and with the purchasing power of the farmer largely restored through the improved prices he has veceived for most of his products the sufferings of those who speculate in foodstuffs they do not produce need not be of too great national concern. * It is mot to be denied that recent developments in the wheat market are indicative of a condition which ought to be corrected. and Dr. Jardine, the Secretary of Agriculture, already has set machinery in motion to see if there has been punishable culpability. It ought not to be possible for gamblers to play fast and loose with the Nation's food supply, but there is 1o .prospect that any one need go without food or the opportunity of | farning it, for there is no unsound- ness at the core of American business. no is story s New Marvels of the Radio. Every day come new instances of the perfection of communication by radio and the public marvels and ap- preciates. A week ago those Wash- ingtonians and the rest of the coun- try possessing high-power receiving mstruments and who happened to be listening in" at the time were de- lighted with hearing a concert that was. being given in London. Friday night there was a repetition of this instance, when the chimes of Big Ben" were heard in New York booming out the midnight hour from the: clock tower over the British nquses of Parliament in London. This Wwas followed by an orchestral concert playing populsr dance music from the Savoy Hotel in London. sThe music and the chiming of Big Ben were carried over a land wire to Ghelmesford, about 30 miles from ®bndon, and then sent out on a 1,600- meter wave length. Tt was picked up at Belfast, Me., and again broad- ast on 12Zmeter wave length and pigked up at the Experimental Station thé Radio Corporation at Van Cort- iandt -Park, New York City, relayed £3¥4nd wire to the broadcasting sta- tion of WJZ, West Forty-second street, and broadcast again on 455- meter wave length. According to a statement issued by the” Radio Corporation at the conclu- sion of the evening's program, it was 4aid that Friday night's experiment may result in the very near future in bringing programs from Paris, Buenos Aires and stations in the Far Edst to listeners in America. The statement adds that enough progress k. been made to warrant saying that we have now definitely entered upon an era of international broadcasting which will eventually bring the en- tertainment, music and speech of other continents to every home in Arhérica. 4 on ——— «dt is rumored that W. J. Bryan de- sires to be a United States Senator. No more impressive tribute by a dis- tifiguished Floridan could be paid to Washington as a Winter resort. y 1A re Local Enforcement Needed. Information comes from the White House that President Coolidge holds to the opinion that it Is unfair to ex- et the Government of the United States ¢ bear the entire burden of en- forcement of the Federal prohibition law, and he insists that’ State and . ‘hunicipal governments must carry their share of enforcement. Wide- spread publicity of the President's knewn .KDH* should have the effect, of creating locel sentiment furthering efforts in the direction of enlisting re- cruits in the campaign for legislation to that end. As the case now stands, public senti- ment seems to be lex in the “‘wet” communities, and in several States politicians are catering to what they | think is the feeling of the voters on prokibition enforcement. The Presi- dent is a stanch upholder of enforce- ment of the law which the amended Constitution requires. The President n do a great deal to encourage the | advocates of the carrying out of the act of Congress in this case made and provided. The attitude of the administration on enforcement of the Volstead act was reiterated as the result of a re- port of a Philadelphia grand jury, which recommended that the enforce- ment officers should be put under civil service and the prohibition units placed with the Department of Jus- tice. It s pointed out that President Coolidge several times had recom- mended to Congress that the enforce- ment officers be put in a civil service status and enforcement taken out of politics. The President was originally of the opinion that the prohibition law ought to be enforced by the Department of Justice. Now, however, after further study and conferences with Commis- sioner Haynes, President Coolidge is id to have changed his belief, and thinks that enforcement rests as much with the Treasury Department as the Department of Justice. The President is represented as thinking that the Philadelphia grand jury failed to point out some of the defects in prohibition enforcement, especially the lack of thorough co-operation by municipal police with Federal au- thority. In his mind, it is said, ade- quate enforcement is impossible un- less these authorities aid the Federal Government, or that the Federal Gov- ernment shall duplicate the State and municipal police. This the President holds to be impossible. 1t is the President’s opinion that the constituticnal amendment did not con- template that the Federal Government should do all the enforcing, but that it is as much the duty of the State au- thorities to aid in the enforcement of this law as of other laws. The chief function of the Federal Govern- ment, he holds, is the prevention of smuggling and looking after the with drawals of liquor from bonds. Preven- tion of small sales of liguor in locali- ties he contends to be the work of the local police. And in this contention, essential to the practical enforcement of prohibition, it would seem sure that he will command the support of gen- eral public opinion. The Lowly Amphioxus. Amphioxus, lowest of backboned animals, a survivor of a family esti- mated to be at least 60,000,000 years old, has been found by the scientific expedition to the Saragasso Sea housed on the steamer Arcturus and commanded by Willlam Beebe. Un- der the common name of “lancelet” this member of one of the first fam- flies has been long known in coastal waters, but never before has he been located out in the ocean. It was not thought he had that much ambition. He is the predecessor of the earliest vertebrates, fishes, and is thought to be @ survival, in a slightly changed form, from a date still earller than the inconceivable ome with which scientists have definitely linked him. Even the backbone that he has is not solidified, but is composed of limber cartilage. Amphioxus has a long, long his- tory. Compared with him a masto- don is a modern upstart, and the great vertebrate dinosaurs ere as of yes- terday. How interesting this family history has been is another matter entirely. Science knows that the simpler organisms have the longer range in time, and amphioxus, who, like the brook, seems to go on forever, has persisted because he is a simple orgamism. Simple in two senses. Amphioxus evidently had a chance to develop his rudimentary spine into something & lttle harder and a little knobbier, something worth while. He is an ex- pert swimmer when occasion requires, yet prefers to spend most of his time burrowing in the sand, resting, with mouth agape, for the food wafted his way by ocean currents or by the swirling fins of more venturesome and self-reliant fishes. Lack of backbone often means, for humans as well as for animals, peace, comfort, safety, but not much else. Presence of back. bone means toil, trouble and danger, but the owner dies a better animal for having had it, and leaves progeny with spines still a little stiffer and self-respect a little keener, There is an old saying to the effect that it is not how far along one has come, but which way one is going, that counts. Amphioxus does not seem to be going, or getting any- where. He is just sticking around, content to be here and to point with false pride to his lengthy family his- tory. The sucker of the present day is, compared to amphioxus, a compli- cated marvel of activity, brains and character. Amphioxus may with truth and propriety be called the original “‘poor fish.” ————— A tornado is most to be dreaded when it develops in an area with no previous experience with such catas. trophes. Even in the tumults of na- ture the advantage of preparedness is evident. ————— Gov. Smith and Taxes. Gov. Al Smith of New York, not- withstanding the fact he has had an antagonistic Republican majority in the Legislature on his hands, seems to have won his fight for a 25 per cent income tax reduction this year. Gov. Smith hes seized upon the popular side of another problem. The Repub- lican leaders in New York, apparently in their efforts to block the governor, have been foolishly blind. All they had to do was to cast their eyes to- ward the success which has followed their national leader, President Cool- idge, in his fight for Federal tax re- duction and for economy in govern- mental expenditures. They would then have glimpsed the real situation. Tax reduction and sconomy in THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, MARCH: 21, 1925. ’ - THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. T | ernment expendityres constituted the great issue of the Republican party in | panion piece to the issue of radicalism raised against the third ticket. Mr. Coolidge has won more plaudits be- cause of his economy and tax reduc- tion program than for any other. Gov. Smith has been more awake to the situation than the Republican leaders in his State. Thuy seem to have missed their opportunity when they did not accept his early proposal that the questions of taxation and appropriztions be dealt with in a non- partisan way—and that there should be co-operation between the Governor and the Legislature in these matters. The people of the United States have been more heavily burdened with taxation in recent years than at any other period when the Nation was at peace. The Federal taxes have been heavy. But the State taxes have been enormous, too. The States seemed to have entered upon an orgy of spending. Municipalities followed suit or led the way. Federal taxes have been lightened. They will be still further lightened if the plans of President Coolidge are carrled out. Indeed, the next Congress is expected to slice the tax rates still further. But Mr. Coolidge has reiterated many times the need of stringent economy in Government expenditures if the burden is to be reduced. In view of this situation, what have the Republican leaders at Albany been dreaming aboui? Tt is true they picked a number of popular items of appropriation to swell this year's bud- 8et, believing that it would embarrass Gov. Smith to slash these items. One was an item of $9,000,000 for the rural schools. With such appropriations, they maintained, a 25 per cent reduc- tion in the income tax would not be possible. But Gov. Smith has not hesi- tated to use the pruning knife. He eliminated $15,000,000 of new items of appropriation, including the proposed appropriation for the schools, which he pointed out would not be needed until April, 1926, or later. He made still further reductions in the regular appropriations, until it is now figured that the 25 per cent income tax reduc- tion can be continued, and there will still be & surplus in the State treasury. Gov. Smith has an Intimate grasp of State affairs. He is also one of the shrewdest politicians the Empire State has produced in recent years. Unless the Republicans mind their ps and qs they will find themselves in an evil situation in the State elections next vear. - ———— King George is well beloved by the English, who insist that they are a free people and entitled to a monarch as long as they desire one. Much of the success of the British government is due to the skill displayed in not dis- turbing a tactful relationship. ———— 1t is no longer feared that the At- torney General's office will have to be furnished in such a manner as to make the “This Way Out” sign its most conspicuous feature. —————— There are so many different kinds of monopoly charged that it becomes more and more difficult to choose any one as formulating dangerous designs to control the country. Such news as is available from China indicates that the sage writings of Confucius have very little political influence at the present day. ———— As time goes on only people who keep scrap books can expect any sen- sational reading in connection with Teapot Dome. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Washington, Then and Now. In time gone by—the good cld times Of which we love to tell In pompous prose or rippling rhymes That serve their purpose well— We looked along an empty street And almost shed a tear While vowing, “Life is incomplete When Congress isn’t here!” Today we see each thoroughtare Filled up with motors wild, And as we choose our steps with care We say in accents mild, “In spite of all the eloquence That thrills the anxious ear, It seems to make small difference ‘When Congress isn't here! Too Long to Wait. “Some of your remarks will be re- membered by posterity.” 'm sure of it,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But it's regrettable that 80 far as the prospects of myself and friends are concerned posterity hasn’t any vote.” Jazzless Joy. The frogs to song again have turned, The birds sound sweet enough, Despite the fact they haven't learned To syncopate their stuff, Jud Tunkins says the art impulse is so strong that all the hired men went to be polishin’ puttin’ greens instead of plowin’ cornfields. The Hip Pocket. The old hip pocket does not shun Its lethal task. ‘Where once it used to tote a gun It wears a flask. Evil Communications. “I beard some pretty tough lan- guage on High street!” *‘Yes,” answered Cactus Joe. “They couldn’t have got by with it in the old days. Since the boys made up a theater party and went to Chicago the Gulch has been completely demoral- ized.” ; Difference of Opinion. “The play’s the thing,” said Hamlet sad; But now the crowds who rally To shows, declare in accents glad, “The real thing'sthe ballet!" “’Tain’ no use tryin' to persuade some men to economize,” said Uncle Eben, “till after dey has had deir own way an’ has got cleaned out in a crap | the last national campaign—a com- Abou Ben Sneerer—may his tribe decrease—met, a man in the hotel lobby. “Ah, how is the great writer?” in- quired Abou. Several days later the assiduous Ben met the same gentleman on a street car platform. “Ah, how is the great writer?” sneered the Sneerer. This is the sort of thing that trans forius what well might\be a heaven upon earth into a sort of petty hell, where sneering becomes the high- water mark of the fiends, with the best Sneerer holding down the king- pin Position as devil. Sneering is another of the gentle Mttle arts, a country cousin, as it were, to the exact science of “kid- ding. The family relationship between this precious palr is very well marked. The stamp of the low-brow is on both. It s a sort of invisible mark, however, only seen by the elect, who are the sensitive. Fortunately for the thick-skinned, sneering roils off their hides like water off the well known duck's back. And fortunate, indeed, is the man who is fmmune to sneering. ‘Whether he is so dull-witted that he does not understand, or whether he has arrived at thut happy philo- sophic height where he is indiffer-- ent, in any event, he is to be con- gratulated. * ok x * “There are so many topics in the world that the Sneerers could talk about! But all they do is sneer. They sneer at those who, perhaps, deserve it, and they sneer equally at those who have tried to do some good and decent thing. Yet there is so much to admire i this universe, that it Is hard to see how any one in half-way health of body and mind can find time, in the few years given him here, to spend so many minutes merely tear- ing down, or throwing a vell of words over the beauties of Which he is so jealous. The trouble with the members of the Sneer famlly is that they are not even half-way well in mind. One does not have to be either an im- becile or an idiot to have a sick mind. The brain is like a nut in a shell. Before we crack the covering we do not know whether the kernel is sound or not. Ordinarily we do not crack the skull of man, as if it were some sort of gigantic nut which needed the application of a gross nuteracker. Perhaps, it might be a good thing, in some cases, but it is not generally done. The brain of man reposes se- curely in the hardy cradle made for it by Mother Nature, and normally is never cracked from the outside It often is “cracked” from the side, however. Of all the true cracked brains, the man who sneers gives the best demonstration. He not only displays to the world his own inability to do what others do, but at one and the same time he hurts himself be- yond repair. No one can sneer at others and not sneer at himself. This is one of God's boomerangs that never fails. £k of in- Sneering is one habits of the mind. Jealousy is the root cause. When one envies another and cannot, either through inability or circumstances, himself duplicate the other's work, he is very apt to sneer at the other man. His mind being as it is, It pleases him to sneer. The cuss enjoys it! the nastiest it is a sad fact. * As the damsel eats whipped cream soda with infinite rel- ish, so the natural-born Sneerer sneers. His eves gleam. His very counte- nance glves him away. up easily, under the pleasing jaflu- nce. When the victim goes away the Sneerer pats himself on the back at having done a very good thing. Yet it is a very sad thing he has done. With the world full of so many things, life so pleasing, despite its sad aspects, the Sneerer has found nothing better to do than take a mean “dig” at a friend or supposedly g0od acquaintance. That is the worst feature of sneer- ing. It is foisted by friend upon friend, acquaintance upon acquain- tance, schoolboy upon schoolboy, girl upon girl. The husband may sneer at his wife and the housewife in turn may sneer back at him or take it out on the children. This is another of the vicious circles, among which we have num- bered “kidding, or the universal practice of joking. Where there is smoke there is some fire. Any one who draws sneering from one he knows may rest assured that he has done something worthy, else the other would not sneer. Our modern civilization has result- ed in these two strange actions: That casual meetings faust never be se- rious, but must almost invariably be- gin and end with sllly “kidding,” or some brand of sneering. As for the latter, most men are civ- ilized enough not to sneer at some real fault in others; but reserve their flings of outrageous fortune for some worth-while feat of a friend A It would seem that the dullest per- son coud find many pleasant matters to talk about when he meets any one he knows. A person has to be pretty ignorant, indeed, not to know something to talk about ‘worth while. Think of all the wonders of modern sclence. There is the radio and the telephone, the telegraph and the x-ray, the mechanical muslo makers, the player-plano and the phonograph, the countless machines of factories and printing establishments, the Hoe press, the linotype and monotype ma- chines, the six-wheeled bus, the auto- mobile in its thousands of variations, the submarine, the ocean liner, the battleship, the turrats with their guns, the fighting mast, the type- writer, the pneumatic tubes, tractors and farm impements, the skyscraper steel building, electric lights, ela- vators, 5 and 10 cent stores, pins, needles, broadcasting stations, the microphone, cakes of soap, cement, stadiums, If these are not enough, think upon some of the age-old beauties, con- trived by nature and man: women, children, dogs, cats, books, poems, songs, music, architecture, painting, sculpture, philosophy, librares, moun- tains, rolling plains, violets, roses, grains of wheat, ensemble dresses, sopranos, birds, feathers, flakes of snow, gleams of light, breakfast foods, bobbed hair, diamonds, rubles, bright eyes, gentle smiles. If these are still not enough we may talk about honor and justice, decency and uprighteousness, peace and plenty, good will among men, in- tegrity of purpose and resoluteness in doing good, the bravery of heroes and of silent women, the love of par- ents for children and of children for parents, the love of boy for dog and dog for boy, the pathetic, but sweet tale of the dog Nero that died upon his master's grave, the grave, but gay determination of Vice President Dawes to bait the Senate, ancient pomp and ceremony, glories that have passed away from the earth, beauties This may seem passing strange, but that are ours today Editors See Great Benefits In Guggenheim Fellowships Benefits for American scholarship, new opportunities for students, great- er tolerance among the people and improvement in good will among the nations are results foreseen by the newspapers of the country in their attitude toward the gift of $3,000,- 000 by former Senator and Mrs. Gug- genheim as a preliminary endowment for 50 fellowships for international study. “There can be no nobler use of wealth than in the creation of op- portunity for others along life's pathway,” says the Scranton Repub- lican editorially. “Mr. Guggenheim has earned the right to proclaim him- selt ‘as one who loves his fellow men.'” The St. Paul Dispatch ob- serves that the scholar is still per- petually searching for means to car- ry -on his work without sacrificing his freedom and believes that Mr. Guggenhelm, “as many have done before him, makes an outright gift to an impersonal foundation, which dis- penses this patronage on as strict a basis of deserts as any corporation can. It is a very great improve- ment.”” The Oakland Tribune, in recognizing the great value of the contribution, comments on the fact that this rich man proposes to endow scholars with opportunity,” in the knowledge that some of the finest minds, some of the most constructive thinkers in the world, have been se- riously hampered in turning their natural gifts to the best advantage by the lack of adequate financial backing.” General effect is _dis- cussed by the Cleveland Plain Deal- er: “The fellowships contemplate the education of the educated. effect upon the Scholarly contribu- tions of American authors will be watched with much interest both in this country and in the foreign coun- tries where the researches are to be Cecil Rhodes scholarships,” in_the view of the New York Evening Post, ‘the new foundation will avoid some of the mistakes which have limited the benefits of that benevolence and will widen the fleld of those who will be eligible to participation in its ad- vantages. The fellowships will not be confined to the younger graduates of the .colleges, nor necessarily to graduates at all, but will be given ‘wherever the results are most prom- ising for the encouragement of re- search {n ‘music, art or science, and for studles in political or business progress. The possibilities for use- fulness are illimitable.” It promises to do more for American scholarship than the Rhodes bequest, says the Lincoln State Journal, which adds: “Its benefits will be shared by stu- Thelr | ®o are predicted by the New York Times. “Peace comes through under- standing and understanding through intellectual relationships,” is the con- clusion of the Colorado Springs Ga- zetts and Telegraph. “The world reeds to batter down the evil walls of provincialism,” adds the Wichita Beacon. “An enduring structure of understanding may be built up,” says the Rochester Herald. “Wealth de- voted to such arrangements {s wealth devoted to the service of humanity,” Is argued by the Chicago Dally News, “It is not for the discovery of genius,” according to the interpreta- tion of the Los Angeles Express, “but to encourage the development of a talent. Money was never put to bet- ter use.” The Little Rock Arkansas Democrat states that the gift is sure to bring cultural profit to the people of today and to be of great benefit to the scholars of the future. “Its benefits will accrue almost altogether to the United States,” in the opinion of the New London Day. “An addi- tional symbol of the true American spirit” is seen by the Minneapolis Tribuné. “A foundation of this char- acter shall last through ages and shed a never-ending stream of light upon the earth,” says the Springfield (I1li- nois) State Journal. “America lives too much for the purpose of making money, and measures education too much by its financial return. This project may do a great deal to cor- rect the condition,” believes the Kansas City Post. The endowment is called a broad- minded, public-spirited undertaking by the Terre Haute Star, which em- phasizes that “the fellowships will be open to men and women, married or unmarried, of every race, color and creed.” The Ohlo State Journal hails the enterprise as making for national and individual tolerance. Growth Being Shown In Public Ownership be}’ubllaoow'nerimlp of industries is ng enormously developed, so Prof. T. N. Carver of Harvard University told a New York audience. What he referred to was the present tendency for wide distribution of the owner. ship of corporations rather than for Government ownership, The evidence is impressive. United States Steel Corporation, instance, has 160,000 owners, whom 50,000 are employes. Nearly 11,000,000 persons own the railroads, More than 2,000,000 persons own the electric light and power companies, The for of dent and faculty bodies to a large de- gree, if the wishes of the founders are fully realized. The New Haven Register suggests that “what the Rhodes scholarships have dons to- ward implanting love for English In- stitutions in the hearts of many Americans who have been their re- ciplents, an American foundation could do to stimulate love for Amer- fca in worthy foreign scholars Forecasting results, the New York Herald-Tribune believes that research is crowding education and that the sclentific method is reviving the old popular attitude toward knowledge as a thing of value in itself. * * ® ok Broad henefits are sean by the Miami Daily News, which states: “In the thres lines—edncation, research and better international understand- ing—there is an apparent need for better training of men and women in this country. The need now can be more nearly filled.” Closer Intellec- tual relations between the people of the United States and those of the to which these scholars will the street rallways and gas com- panies. Twenty-five thousand em. ployes are among the owners of two of_the Standard Ofl companies, Not long ago the president of a rallroad brotherhood met the presi- dent of a big railroad system with which the brotherhood had been on strained relations. “Did your broth- erhood bank have a chance to get in on the handling of our latest bond issue? the railroad president {in- quired. ‘I intended to see that it did” “Thank you,” replied the labor leader. “Our Eastern correspondents looked out for us, 0 we handled a block of vour bonds.” It is an important thing for the country that the diffusion of owner- ship and the merging of interests and of classes should go on. Tt makes for a better understanding all around. It is a real democratization of industry.—Kansas City Star. Doesan't it sound ominous when Austria Is reported as still trying to stablilze crowns?—New Orleans Pleayune. i Smiles crop | THE LIBRARY TABLE BY THE BOOKLOVER., “Confessions of a Booklover’ is the autobiography of the lterary side of the delightful, many-sided personality of Maurice Francls Egan. “Recollec- tions of a Happy Life” is a more ex- | tended, but equally personal and in- formai, autobiography of the com- plete man. The social and Intellectual life of Philadelphia in the 50s and and 60s and of New York in the 70s and 80s, the small town college life South Bend, Ind, whero Mr. Egan Wwas a professor in the University of Notre Dame, educational and political life In Washington during the Mec- Kinley and Roosevelt administrations nd 10 years of diplomatic United Statcs Minister to fill the pages of this most interesting record of a rich and varied career. Mr. Egan's boyhood was passed In old Philadelphia, where the life was “comfortable, settled and extremely [ Wmited.” His parents were almost direct opposites in temperament. His father was gay and adventurous, and boasted that he “had done everything that any honest Irishman could do.” His mother was aristocratic, culti- vated and very devolt, and enforced many rigld observances in the up- bringing of her son. In those days the family Sunday roasts were sent to the baker's shops “so that at about noon the streets were fllled with the aroma of roast beef and roast mutton, and the bakers' boys. the maids or the children of the various familles were seen proudly bearing home large tin pans in which reposed savory joints.” Few of even the well-to-do families owned much luggage, and when a journey was to bo taken borrowing was resorted to. “The neighborhood seemed to me to be constantly borrowing a portman- teau and a detestable halr-coversd trunk ornamented with brass nails which we had Inherited. In return, these articles being considered too splendid for ordinary use, my father sometimes borrowed an ornate car- petbag from one of his neighbors Mr. Egan's father and mother disa- greed about the Civil War. His father was an advocate of the Northern cause and an ardent admirer of Lin- coln; his mother was entirely South- ern in her sympathles; so, finally, “they agreed not to mention the sub- Ject of politics to each other, but my mother made up for this by address- ing her opinion to me, and thelr vio- lence turned me toward the other side.” When Lincolp was assassi- nated Mr. Egan says his mother “re- luctantly, from a sense of duty, ac- cepted the general opinion that a great man had gone. She was averse to any ceremonial display outside the chu; and I recall that the fact that she draped her flag with black fringe rather than with crepe gave some offense to the neighbors.” * * ok % In his later life Mr. Egan seems to have had a taste for the ceremonial observances which his mother dis- liked. He says of his first reception by the Danish King after his arrival in Copenhagen: “The rules of the court were precise; nothing was left to ac- cident. The prospect of a ceremonial pleased me very much. When 1 was young, the ceremonies of all kinds at St. Philip’s Church were carefully ar- ranged, after the Itallan manner; and one was taught to take his place with the procession, moving or standing still, as part of a show. At Notre Dame, at the Catholic University, though the life of every day was rather offhand, the rules of the cere- monles were carefully epplied. So I had an acquired taste! Arthur opened the carriage door with great dignity. The portals of the palace, wide open, revealed a glowing expanse of crim- son carpet, laid between white balu- strades of the staircase. The guards saluted, with an appearance of tre- mendous respect. The grand marshal of the court and a chamberlain led me to an anteroom; and then I was ushered into the presence of His Majesty.” Mr. Egan also shows some perfectly natural satisfaction in the fact that he was the welcome guest and valued friend of many persons of fmportance in both the literary and the political world. Especially did he prize the friendship of President Roosevelt, who often consulted him on matters of national and international moment. One such affair was the question whether or not it would be advisable for the President to request from the Pope a Cardinal's hat for Archbishop Ireland. Though & great friend and admirer of Archbishop Ire- land, Mr. Egan advised the President against such a request. Weird capitalization, misspelled words and bad graramar were ele- ments in the supposed humor of Ar- temas’ Ward, Josh Billings and other similar writers of an earller day. Some of these features are to be found in “Will Rogers' Illiterate Di- gest.” Others besides The Booklover may find that the reading of a few pages of these drolleries the last thing before switching off the bed- side lamp will help to better sleep. Will Rogers, the vaudeville artist and screen star, “broke into the writ- ing game” by way of reporting his “reactions” to the Democratic na- tlonal convention and has since been writing weekly newspaper articles. He has lassoed a bunch of these with his lariat and made them up into this ook. It is good to find preserved ‘Will Rogers, Jr.' Reports the Con- vention for His Father, Worn Out by Long Service” Among the especially humorous pieces in the book as “Set- tling the Corset Questicn of This Country,” two chapters on manners, How to Tell a Butler, and Other | Etiquette” and “Defending My Soup Plate Position,” and “Helping the Girls with Their Income Taxes.” In the last Will Rogers tells of one girl who had been in the Follies for 10 years and wanted to know how much she should charge off for deprecla- tion. He thought her claim justified, since in that time she hadn’t married even one millionaire. Another was reminded to include alimony allow- ances and demurred, saying: ‘“Well, how dld the Government keep track of them? I couldn’t” Another girl charged off & non-providing husband under the heading of “Bad debts.” * kX % The days of the olipper trade in New England are revived in J. P. Marquand’s novel, “The Black Cargo, a mystery story. The time of the story is about 1812—1832, and the atmosphere of that period is well re- produced, with jts adventurous sea- rovers and its bustling coast towns, where the wharves were piled high with bales of exotic goods from the West Indies and lands of the East. Eliphalet Greer, pirate and trader, is the center of the story, s evil a char- acter as often exists in fiction or out of it. Greed for wealth is his domi- nating ' motive. To accomplish his purpose he is bold and unscrupulous; to ocover it is a suoccessful hypo- orite, a pillér of the church and of soclety. The secret of his wealth lles in unlawful cargoes of negro slaves for South America. The details of his thrilling, furtive and wicked ca- reer and the retribution which over- takes him are worked out-with great skill'and dramatioc effect by Mr. Mar- quand. of life as P Sir Sidney Lee, the author of the official life of Queen Victoria, has been engaged for the last four years {on a life of King Edward VII, which he undertook at the request of King George. It is announced that the first volume will be published in March and the second before the end of July, 1925, and that the first vol- ume will give many Interesting side- lights - of the late King’s relations with Mr. one, Lord Beacons- field and Lord Salisbury. Denmark | Q. streot cleaning E. R. A. For 1925 the appropriation $410,000. Q. How many upplications have jbeen recelved for adjusted compen- sation?—W. P. A. The Adjutant that on February 25 How much money s spent on in the District?—I. is General stated 1925, 2,400,000 veterans throughout the United States and those now residing in for- elgn countries. Of the total number recelved only 27,000 had been dis- allowed by the department, but it had been necessary to return 500.000 to the senders for correction and necessary information. Why should plants be removed a sick room or bedroom at night?—V. A. G. A. The only reason that house plants should not be kept in a sleep- ing rcom s that the temperature of a well ventilated room fs lower than the temperature necessary for plants. The average plant should have a night temperature of around 50 de- grees and a day temperature of around 70 degrees Q. from How do sugar beets look?— . Sugar beets are white as tur- nips, but are shaped like parsnips or garden bects. The Ideal factory beet welghs about two pounds. Q. How long ago w used on July 47—C. W. re fireworks K A. Fireworks have been associated with the Fourth of July from the be- gInning. At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence John Adams, in a letter to his wife, says the following: “It (Independ- ence day) ought to be solemnized with pomp and parades, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and {lluminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore. Q. How can a violin string coated with too much resin be cleaned?—F. F. A. A clean cloth moistened with alcohol can be carefully rubbed over the string. Q. What does “The Wept of Wish- ton-Wish” mean?—W. D. T. A. W. J. Long explains the title of the Cooper novel, as follows: “The Wept” means “the one mourned for, or the bewept.” An Indian term for the whippoorwill {s “Wish-ton-Wish.” Q. When was Braille invented?— T K A. Braille is a system of dots em- bossed on paper, which the blind read with their finger tips. The Brallle alphabet was devised by Louls Erallle, a blind Frenchman, about 1834, and has been adapted to the language of every civilized nation. Q. In what part of Canada are the most horses raised?—R. S. A. The Province of Saskatchewan maintains the lead as the greatest horse-breeding province in the Do- n;lnxon. with a total of 1,170,745 in 1924, Q. How many cities have city man- ager government?—F, P, A._The total number of cities in the United States having city man- ager government {s 347. This form of government was put into effect in 31 cities in 1924, Q. What make of violin did the celebrated Joachim use’—S. T. A. Joachim used a Stradivarius. Q. Can a citizen of the Unfted Thers are two “events” this week concerning girls. How to put girls into the “background” is a problem Girls gravitate toward the fore- ground most naturally. Avaunt, the “female of the species'” The first “event” is the effort of the Girl Scouts to raise $5,000, which is the quota assigned to the Wash- ington troops. Tha second “event is to see how the Camp Fire Girls cele- brated the birthday of their organi- zation on St. Patrick’s day without fear of snakes. Last week the Bac ground of Events discussed Boy Scouts. Under the rule, “Safety first,” it {s absolutely required that the girls be taken with equal serious- ness, now that it is their turn. It actually transpires that there are be- nighted men who do_ not know the difference between a Girl Scout and a Camp Fire Girl. All girls look alike to them—Ilittle girls. There are old fogles who have been saying mean things about the oncom- ing generation of girls—they bob their hair, they powder their noses, they chew gum. But they—the fogles —do not know the high ideals of both the Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls. They are “different,” but mot “queer.” They are brave and self- reliant, wholesome and good to look at while at play or work. * x * Last week the Girl Scout headquar- ters received an emergency call from one of the churches of Washington for a squad of S tableaux with Boy Scouts. When the boys saw the irts” coming, and learned that they were to pose in the tableaux in the various acts of Red Cross first aid—tying up broken noses or splinting fractured arms- one of the heroes is reported to have run behind the scenes and declared that no girl was going to bandage him. He was dragged out by the scruff of the neck and held while the Girl Scout, with sober face but danc- ing_eyes, did him up like a trussed bird ready for the oven. All through the tableaux the heroines were “more deadly than the heroes,” according to the official records kept in the “home, sweet home headquarters.” * K kK Thers is one Girl Scout who lives not very far from the headquarters, in an old but spacious house painted white. Her name {s Mrs. Calvin Cool- idge, and her grade is that of hon- orary commissioner. The two vice presidents are Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and Mrs. W. IL Taft. These three scouts do not take their offices as sinecures, but work. There are sev- eral scouts whose husbands are offi- cers in the Army or have Government “jobs"—such as Mrs. Herbert Hoover, whose official grade in the scout par- lance is “president.”” It must be that she belongs to the transportation branch of the quartermaster corps, for last year when the National Fed- eration of Women's Clubs had a per- fectly good house—modeled after that one where John Howard Payne wrote poetry—the ladies wanted to give the house te the Girl Scouts. if they would take it away from the park, near Sherman's statue. As soon as Quar- termaster Mrs. Hoover learned that the house had to be moved, she moved it. She had heard that the Navy had a motto, “It can’t be done, but here it i That house now belongs to the national Girl Scouts’ organization, but one room is rented by the local Girl Scouts, and as have no immediate use for the rest of the nicely furnished rooms. they are occupied and used also, without rent, by the local scouts with their stunts in caring for the baby—a doll manikin—and in sewing and all sorts of scout activities. * k¥ % applications had been received from | the nationals | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN States get a position with the Cana dian Mounted Police?—D. Ji. IL A. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Forcaisa Canadian organizatic and is accepting none but Canad citizens at the present time. Q. Has Finland a national epic? WAL A. The “Kalevala” is the nationa eple of Finland. The name means “The abode of heroes”” The epic ranks among the five six grea ones of the world or six Q. Was the money loaned by the United States during the war to bear | Interest and was the money in gold? TR A A. The loans States made her in gold. The 1 {credits ag; natic might ¢ the loans stated th were repaid in gold rate of interes | paid on forcign loans is 5 per cent | | which the Allies were ited States cstak which Tnited nst the terr to be Q. What was S meter?—W. A. T His favorite eter. kespeare's favorit meter was famb pent. Q. What kind of & lens throws the I]i'gln toward the center of the lens” A convex lens throws the lizhts rays toward the center of the le while a concave lans throws the r away from the center Q. When ered?— W A. They were discovered in 1 Q. Who is Frede A. He is a i y scientist, who has just returned fro; 4 study of non-Chinese t Keveichow, Chi Here he fair-haired, blue-eyed natives Q. Where was the Southern Pres- byterlan Church organized?—M. A. Hi A. Dr. Alderman, in his oration or the life of Woodrow Wilson, sald that in the home of the President's father (Rev. Joseph Wilson) the church was organized during the Civil War. vitam ick Wulsin distinguished Dbes fo a is “blood-pressure?’—Pp. A. The maintenance of the circula tion of the blood requires a certain amount of pressure in the circulatory ¢ system. This pressure varles from 125 to 150 millimeters of mercury Q. Has the river bed of Grande changed?—E. L. A. In Colorado and New the Rio Grande oc: ies varjous v leys, some of which old anc some new. The greater part of its present chamnel, however, especiall below El Paso and across the coastal in of Texas id geologically rece Higher terraces bordering he val- ley in most places in Texas indicate the existence of a large stream in the earlier part of Pleistocene and’ even late Tertiary time that may be regarded as a predecessor of the Rio Grande, but probably not having the present watershed of that river R Mexico Q. Did Booth make an attempt on the life of Lincoln at his inaugura- tion?—L. C. D. A. Booth was at the Capitol on March 4, and tried to force his way through a line of police. His pur- pose is not known. He later sald however, that he lost an excellent chance of killlng the President that day. (Let The Stor Information Burea: Frederic J. Haskin, Director. Tweniy first and C streets northwest, answer your question. The only charge for this service is 2 cents in stamps for return postage.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. leaders would qualify. A lea m be sedate—over 18 years of age— young enough not to let tk “run away with the spoo: would make the to =ee such scout cr: The Girl Scouts of Baltimors jointl July and Augus local girls have quota which is purchase of a $500,000 nationa quarters in New York Wil raise it before camping time? The 8re running two tea houses for their OwWn support—one in old Plerce Mill, Rock Creek Park, and the other or. Hains Point, on the Spee that $5,000 can’t be foretold in grounds. The council has gone in. trade—selling silk hosiery for men and women, and cotton hose for ch 1 dren. True, they “‘have bette days,” but that $5,000 must be ra sed! They get an extra bonus if they mak 1,000 sales before camp time, this is a bonus administrat © Girl Scouts. There are in the United States 20 762 Girl Scouts; the movement be in 1917, so it Is young vet. There : Girl Scouts also in most of the cou tries of Europe, and the internationa conference binds all together, so that if two Scouts should meet on the steppes of Siberfa they could recog nize each other as w as if upon the steps of the Washington Capitol. Yet they are not so internationalized as to forget their pledge to the United States flag. They can become “Brownies” whe only 7 years old, but they have to be 13 vears old, or older, to be real Girl Scouts. Then they go on from glor: to glory, winning honors as scribe, citizen, craftsman, musician and in terpreter; studying homemaking, woodcraft, swimming, first aid and zoology. They never tell fibs nor fall to do a kind act dally. Not a vamp among them. They can ((al- most) beat the Boy Scouts in woed- craft and marching, signaling and caring for baby. * %ok % The Camp Fire Girls might be’ jealous if more space is taken be fore describing them. Once there were two merchants advertising fr the same paper. One took nearly a whole column to describe his bar- gains. There was just half an inch at the bottom for the other adver tiser, so he looked over the bargains of his rival-and in his half-inch, he sald, ‘“Me, too!” That is how it is with the two kinds of fine girls. There are 160,000 Camp Fire Girls but not all in Washipgton—only 300 here. The laws of Camp Fire Girls are “Seek beauty (of character, rather than of rouge), give service, pursue knowledge, be trustworthy, hold onto health, glorify work, be happy.” They emphasize home wor! To win one honor, however, they must walk 40 miles in 10 days. Another honor comes from refraining from gum, candy and ice cream sodas for one month and to attend some r+ liglous service 10 times in three months. They can gain three ranks Wood gatherer, firemaker and torch bearer. One of the important stunts they: must do occasionally is to cool Sungay dinner while their mothers rest. The basis of the Camp Fire is the home. During this week of the thirteenth anniversary of the birth of the organization the girls are giv {ing group parties, at which the | parents are guests of honor. PR There are many | grown-ups who slander the ri generation as frivolous and wild Such pessimists are invited to study the Boy and Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls and try to match them little dog , but to face t their share the tea an f th | | S { pessimists amon - - There are.800.Girl Scouts in Wash-_with the Youth of past generations. ington. Thegg might be thousands if (Gopysight, 1925, by Faul V, Colline t