Evening Star Newspaper, April 2, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR —YWith Sunday Morning Biitien. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY.......April 2, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Buasiness Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. X\'!L‘:“\'ork (gl«-v 1!_]!\ fil;'( fil}\:‘l‘st. Chicage Of ‘ower Bul . Buropean \)fllgv 6 Regent St.,London, England. The Evening Ster, with the Sunday morning edition, 1a cliverea by carciers within the city at 60 cents pe onth: daily . 45 cents per month; Sunday only, 20 cents per mmonth."0rGers mhay e sent be mail ot teln phone Main 5000, Collection 18 made by car tlers at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Pally and Sund 1 yr., $5.40; 1 mo., 0¢ Daily omiy... .o 1001 yr, §6.00 1 mo.. S0c Bunday only. 1 yr., $2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. Daily and 8 +e..1 yr., $10.00; 1 mo. Sy #3001 1 mo sociated Press. The Associated Press s exclusively entitled o the for_republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise credited n this paper and also the local news pub. lshed herein. ~ All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. — = Supporting the National Guard. President Coolidge's decision to per- mit the expenditure of part of the deficlency appropriation for the Na- tional Guard armory drills, which he held up temporarily last week, is a matter of congratulation. To have deprived the National Guard of this money would have been to injure the organizations in many States and the District of Columbia. It might have proved a severe blow to the morale of the Guard. Under the decision of the President funds will be available for a total of 48 armory drills—the minimum num- ber required by law. The maximum is 60, and it had been planned to have Owing to growing interest and enthusiasm, the Guard has been increased in numbers during the year, new corporation to be formed, in which the Government should have control of the board of trustees. The Dollar bid was for a payment of $5,- 625,000 for the flve ships, which cost the Government in' the neighborhood of $30,000,000. This line was being operated by the Pacific Majl at no loss to the Government; in fact, at a gain. There was no need, therefore, to sell the ships at a great sacrifice in price. But the majority of the board believed that the mandate of the Jones law—to put the Covernment ships into private hands and to get the Government out of the shipping busi- ness at the least possible loss to the Government—would be met by the ac- ceptance of the Doliar bid. Members of the Shipping Board who voted against the Dollar bid were op- posed also to the Pacific Mafl bid. They believed that the Government should not sell these ships at so great & sacrifice in price to any one, when the boats were paving. Undoubtedly the sale of the ships will lead to con- siderable controversy, and to an air- ing of the matter in Congress. The Dollar Co. has been for some time operating five other Government ships out of Puget Sound to the same Far Eastern ports which are served by the ships just purchased and which are to run from San Francisco. It proposes to continue the operation for the Government of these ships out of Puget Sound. We have the singular prospect, therefore, of the same com- pany operating its own ships with one hand end the Government's ships with the other on competing routes. For these are competing routes, the commerce and passengers carried from this country to the Orient orig- inating not alone in the San Fran- cisco and Puget Sound districts, but in all parts of the country; and the traffic on return voyages originating in the same ports. The Shipping Board had to weigh the advantage of having the Govern- ment turn over completely these ships to private ownership, thereby taking the Government out of the end the appropriations made for pay for armory drills proved insufficient. In the second deficiency appropriation bill an item of $1,332,000 was iIn- cluded at the instance of representa- tives of the National Guard Associa- tion. The President’s action in holding up the use of this money was predi- cated on the fact that the estimates of the Budget Bureau had not con- tained the item, and also on fear that the President's economy program would be attacked by such expendi- ture. Consultation with Secretary ‘Weeke and his military advisers con- vinced the President that if the en- tire amount was withheld, owing to the increase in the personnel of the Guard, many of the units would be unable to hold the minimum num- ber of armory drills prescribed by law. The President's decision is welcome. Yet in the District of Columbia, as in other places, some of the armory drills planned for the Guard will have to be eliminated before the end of the present fiscal year. Here in Wash- ington new units of the National Guard, authorized by law, and with Army facilities available for their use, will not be able to go ahead with their organization because of the armory drill pay curtailment, unless there should be still further conces- sions by the Chief Executive. ‘The strength of the National Guard of the District of Columbia is 51 officers and 707 enlisted men. This represents a net increase over last year of 17 officers and 91 men. These increases have been made by enthusi- asm and hard work. The threat to curtail armory drills by withholding the deficiency appropriation at a period of the year almost immedi- ately preceding the Summer encamp- ments was particularly serious. ———— In a few years we will all be trav- &ling by airplane. It is only reason- able to suppose that new perils will present themselves to take the place ©f those of the grade crossing, r———— Divorces are said to be too easily obtained. Possibly marriages are too thoughtlessly arranged. A relation- ship lightly assumed assumes the privilege of lightly terminating itself. —————— Rum-runners have caused the salu- tation Ship ahoy!” to supersede #Prosit!’ The Sale of Government Ships. The United States Shipping Board, in a 4to-3 decision, has agreed to sell to the Dollar Steamship Line the five big combination passenger end cargo ships of the President type now being operated out of San Francisco to ports of the Far East by the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. The latter company had elgo submitted & bid. Irrespective of the question of the wisdom of selecting the Dollar Co.as a purchaser instead of the Pacific Mal, the sale of these ships by the Govern- ment, to be operated by private Amer- ican capital, should serve a valuable purpose. It should demonstrate whether American flag vessels, with- out the backing of the Government, can compete in the Pacific success- fully with the Japanese and British and other foreign flag merchant ves- sels. It should show, too, whether the former Government vessels in private ownership and operation can be more successfully operated, and at a. greater gain than under the so-called M. O. 4 —or ménaging operators' contract— by which the Government vessels are now being operated. Under the agreement of the Dollar Co. with the Shipping Boafd, these vessels are to be operated for a period of fiye years after purchase on the present routes to the Orient. The ma- Jority of the Shipping Board has con- strued that this is a sufficient guar- antee under the Jones shipping act of American operation of vessels gold by the Government. Critics of the deci- sion to sell the ships to thé Dollar Co. declare that five years constitute but a briet’ period in ship operation, and point out that at the end of that period the Dollar Co. may do what it wants to with the ships, including their op- eration under a foreign flag. ‘The bid of the Pacific Mail Co. dif- fered from the Dollar Co. bid in that it provided for the acceptance by the Government of preferred stock in L business entirely, as against having the Government retain an interest in the vessels as proposed by the Pacific Mail. It had also to weigh the advan- tage of placing the ships in private hands or of retaining them for the Government—with the knowledge they were losing no money and would be an asset in time of emergency. The answer to the last is that in time of emergency the Government could condemn them for Government use. But it is a safe guess that the price the Government would have to pay for them under such circumstances would far exceed the sale price. Testing Automobile Brakes. Traffic Director-Eldridge has struck at the heart of the motor accident problem in his decision to put into effect a stringent automobile brake regulation in the National Capital. Faulty brakes are probably the most prolific cause of automobile wrecks. Carrying out the terms of the new traffic law, which authorizes the. di- rector to make reasonable regulations in regard to horns, mufflers, brakes, ete. Mr. Eldridge has, with charac- teristic vigor, attacked first the preva- lent evil in present-day motoring. His ahnounced plan i to school two policemen under Bureau of Stand- ard experts. These men will special- ize solely on brakes. Under this sys- tem of training they will become thoroughly familiar with all types and will be able to make suggestions to motorists for proper care of their brakes in order to keep them operat- ing at the maximum efficiency. Accidents of all kinds will be in- vestigated by these special officers, who will report on the condition of the brakes, and, in case they are found defective, & heavy penalty will be imposed. The time-worn excus “My brakes do not work properly, but I have been meaning to have them fixed,” will bring more than a lecture on carelessness in the future; it will bring a stiff penalty, and mo- torists will be only too glad to co- operate to save “their skins.” Motor car manufacturers are, with- out exception, installing good brakes on automobiles. Some of them are practically foolproof. It is a surpris- ing thing, in view of this fact, that there are so.many motorists who, either through false economy or care- lessness, run through the streets of the city with ineffective brakes. Although testing out the brakes of the more than 100,000 motorists in the District promises to be a tedious and thankless job for the policemen involved, once the plan is under way it is evident that Director Eldridge intends to carry it through. With his lifelong study of automobiles and traffic he has reached the conclusion, as have traffic experts in all parts of the country, that a brake law is essential, and it is his announced de- termination that Washington shall have the benefit of such a law. ———— ‘The Prince of Wales takes his banjo on his knee and offers a hope for American jazz such as classical music has never dreamed of fostering. Poison Trappers. Advices from Massachusetts tell us that a tract of about 75 square miles in that State has been literally sowed with poison capsules by persons de- sirous of killing fur-bearing animals. Two men caught in the act were ar- rested by a game warden. A joint committee of the Legislature has voted to report a bill making such poisoning -of animals punishable by jail sentenves, the present penalty being only a fine. = Fur' trapping at its best is" cruel enough, and, to. a cértain - extent.) wasteful. But the genuine trapper, going over his line at intervals, gets all the animals that succumb. Inno- cent and useless beasts are not aptto fall prey to carefully placed and properly baited steel jaws or :dead- falls. Many enimals’ which 'have swallowed - polson - capsules, however, are mever seen again; they' dle where no one but the buzzards and other scavengers can find them. All sorts of beasts, including domestic animais valued or loved, harmless birds and woods denizens of no value whatso- ever devour these deadly" pellets. = The presénce of poisong strychnine, in the body does not harm the pelt. But the wastefulness and i the cruelty of the action reported are alike contemptible. The deed is on & par with the action of the man who throws a couple of sticks of dynamite into a river or lake to get himseif a mess of fish. With apologies to the beasts themsclves, who know nc bet- ter, the “polson trapper” is com- parable to & combination of two well known North American animals and one of warmer latitudes. One is the skunk; the second is the wolverine, commonly called “glutton,” and the third is the sloth. The Night Auto Court. Judge Gus A. Schuldt, presiding judge of the Police Court, and his colleagues on the bench are to be congratulated upon their decision to open next Monday the Night Traffic Court for the prompt trial of alleged violations of the traffic law. This plan promises speedy disposition of such cases, an improvement in the lot of the traffic policemen and a saving in time of citizens who are haled before the court, At present {officers who make arrests sometimes have to spend several hours in court awaiting the calling of their cases for trial, a fact which has had a marked effect upon the number of men available for traffic duty during the day. The new plan will, it is anticipated, remedy this state of affairs. The idea is that the four judges will, in future, alternate on the three benches. Starting next Monday, Judge Isaac R. Hitt will preside over the traffic cases in the Traffic Court on the top floor. United States cases will be presided over by Judge John P. McMahon in the large courtroom on the top floor and Judge Schuldt will dispose of the District of Colum- bla cases in the large courtroom on the second floor. Judge George H. McDonald will preside over the Night Traffic Court in the large courtroom on the second floor. It is planned that he will probably open court at § p.m. and will remain on duty until 11 pm: In consequence the Police Court will be open from 9:30 in the morn- ing continuously until 11 at night for traffic cases. One of the most salutary reforms expected frorn this swift dis- position of traffic cases will be the doing eway with forfeiting of col- lateral. It will be possible to impose fines for convictions and thus perfect the record in such cases, preventing convicted persons from escaping the penalty of forfeiture of licenses for repeated offenses. The long walt for Jury trials will also be prevented, as Jjuries will be available most of the time. . The judges are reported as hoping that speedy trials will diminish traffic violations. On the whole, the new system promises material benefits, - e The fruit crop is a failure; but only in some parts of the country. Modern transportation facilities come in for a great deal of blame, but they un- questionably serve to relieve local conditions which might be serious. ———— There would be no déubt whatever about the discovery of the North Pole if the. geographical conditions were such as to invite the practical en- thusiasm of a group of realtors. —_———— The theatrical season draws to a close. There has been many a harsh word spoken, but only in a spirit of deference to popular resentment of persistent inanity. —————— Germany had many candidates for the presidency. Much fun was made of Ebert, but a successor to him is not so easily found. ———— There are still people who object to being vaccinated. The maligned microbe finds his friends among the ultraconservatives. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Foolishville. In Foolishville, ‘With impulse gay, Of fleeting skill We make display, Amid applause, Loud and direct, ‘We frame new laws— Which few respect. We're fond of jazz And of the dance. Plain merit has But little chance. But, truth to tell, Life holds a thrill For those who dwell In Foolishville. Influential Silences. *You have made many great speeches.” “I admit it,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But the only salary in- crease I secured, in common with my colleagues, was made possible by our saying little or nothing on the sub- Ject.” And Then Comes the Shucker. In peace all creatures seek to dwell And never vainly roam. The oyster gets himself a shell And calls it home, sweet home. Jud Tunkins says great men are known to a remarkable extent by the cigars that are named after them, Jest and Earnestness. Jest is to earnestness restored. Life is appointed thus. 1 ‘We used to laugh 4t Henry Ford \ And now he laughs at us, “Efficiency.” “What has become of the efficlency expert who lectured to us?” A “He’s in hard circumstances. He made himself so unpopular by butting in that nobody wants to give' him a job.” f 4 — Steady Employment. The North Pole bids explorers dare To face the Wintry pain, Though they discover it ‘with ‘care, It soon gets lost again. “De. world owes me a livin',] said “but I has 'bout decided 'WASHINGTON, BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. It such a man ad Diogenes, the cynic philosopher, existed today in Washington he ' ‘would end up at Gallinger Hospital, held for observa- tion as to his mental condition, Imagine any one walking along Pennsylvania avenue in broad day- light, swinging a lighted lantern, and Yeplying to policemen of the first precinct, “I am looking for an honest man." Well, land! “Whay are you dolng?" would snap. “I am seeking an honest man,” Diogenes would retort. “You can look for him over at the station house,” the officer would reply, getting a back-handed ham- merlock on the prisoner. “And put out that light—ya don't need it until night.” Langern and all, Diogenes would be dumped into the wagon, and un- ceremoniously hauled over to the sta- tion. The desk sergeant would look up, pen poised in hand. *“What for?" he would ask the officer. “Hold for mental observation,” that worthy would reply, tapping his forehead. ““Thinks he's some kind of an automobile, I gues: If Diogenes were true to his old welf, he would only smile, for Penn- sylvania avenue,’ hospital or prison would all be one to him. * K K K Out of all the noted figures of an- tiquity, there is none more interest- ing or instructive than Diogenes, the man who told Alexander the Great “where to get off." It was at Corinth that the hero met the philosopher. Diogenes was stretched out in the sunshine at the side of the road when Alexander came along in his regal splendor. Hverybody else was up amd dolng, with so great a personage around, but old Diogenes retained his place in the sun. The conquerer gazed at the cynie, and the cynic looked back unflinch- ingly at the hero. The situation was a trying one. Alexander's dignity was hurt It ocalled for some of the old you-don" know-who-I-am-do-you stuff. “I am Alexander the Great, sald the fighter. “And I am Diogenes the Cymlc,” easily replied Diogenes, He was not floored & bit. He was already down, in literal sense, but rising higher and higher, in a figur- atlve one. Alexander, having tried being Baughty, and having falled, attempt- ed the grand lord. “What can I do for you?' asked the king of empires. “iWhat is the bodn you crave?’ himself, Alexander probably ow watch him crawl. They we know where he would the cop testily yet. “I ask nothing but thou wouldst get out of my sunshine,” replied Diogenes. nd Alexander got. ‘Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes,” was the tribute paid by the hero to the philosopher. * X x ¥ Diogenes lived a long, long time ago. He was born, according to the best tradition, about 412 B.C., In Sinope, a city of Pontius, in Asia, and died 89 years later in Corinth. Philosophy and the temperate life worked, in his case, as It does in most, it falthtully practiced. His father, Iceslas, a banker, be- ing accused of coining false money, Defends Army Hospital. Walter Reed Patient Denies Fa- voritism Is Shown. To the Editor of The Sta Recently you published 2 news item entitled “Veterans Attack Bureau Fund Use For Walter Reed,” and I want to answer some of the com- plaints therein and beg you to pub- lish this letter. Iam a 72 per cent disabled veteran and spent most of three years as a patient at Walter Reed General Hospltal, most of that time in bed and while there had several opera- tions, so am able to speak with some knowledge. First allow me to say that at no place in the United States is there such a surgical staff so ably prepared to treat war injuries, and particularly bone conditions resulting from old wounds. No other man in the United States has had the experience with such conditions as Col. Kellar of that institution. I was first a patient there as a soldier and later I was there 10 months as a Veterans’ Bureau pa- tient -and during both periods of my stay there no patlent ever recelved more consideration or care than L I assure any one interested that the “military discipline” prevailing there is of @ mild hature, quite necessary and not nearly so stringent as the rules of private hospitals and the only men that could possibly object are malcontents and in need of very little medical attention. The statement that ‘“officers’ wives are often treated in the per- manent wards and veterans housed in temporary structures” was not made from, full knowledge of the circum- stances. The “main bufllding"” so called because it houses the execu- itve offices and operating rooms, is used'to house post-operative cases of all kinds, and at no time in my ex- perlence there were the woman pa- tlents greater in number than men. While two of the largest temporary buildings house officers’ wives. Another objection that was offered was the mixturs of ‘colored men and white men and I know that they are mixed at Mount Alto. H. B. TRAMMELL. Carman Is Praised. Capital Traction Conductor’s Courtesy Wins Tribute. To the Editor of The Star: \ I am writlng this to pay my tribute to the kindness and sympathy of Con- lar:ota- 780 of the Capital Traction e. On my way home -from office Sat- urday, 28, I noted his kindness to three different elderly persons. He ‘wag very carefyl to see that they got Off at the right place, and gave them plenty of time, particularly one man who was not as active as he might have been. It only took & minute more of time, and the persons he helped and all the rest of the passengers in the strest car reached their destinations much happier than if he had been cross and surly to them: Dr. Frank Crane wrote once that a oranky street car conductpr in his power to spoil his whole for him if he happened to ride on his car. Kindness has-a ray that plerces the darkness in three ways It warms ghe heart of the giver and the re- celver and the one Who is a witness. ‘| In the rush and grind of our present day civilization, many of us fail to take the.time to realize that the effect of kindness is felt to the o e m Whers ' th morning atars sing oy. . ABABEL MELLEN, the family conveniently moved to Athens, where the father drops out of sight, eclipsed by his son. Diogenes made such a nuisance of himself, petitioning the philosopher Antisthenes for admittance as a dis- ciple, that the latter finally gave way, after cuffs and kicks had failed to quench the ardor of the candldate. Diogenes took up the study of the cynical philosophy, and soon came out with a brand of it entirely his own. It must be remembered that the phil- osophers of Greece occupied a place in the body politic somewhat similar to the prophets of Israel. Flghting and philosophy were the two main endeavors of men. What today would be called eccentricity was regarded then, in the proper light, simply as difference. Diogenes was not like other men— that was what made him interesting and worth while to Alexander and to men of good sense ever since. If Diogenes had worn a purple toga and lived in a marble home he would be as unknown today as the thousahds of other Greeks who did wear the finest purple in their day and lorded it over many slaves. Those of us who are inclined some- times to sneer at the unusual, and make fun of the different man, should think of Diogenes, and be still. Diogenes believed in freeing himself from all the superfluities of life. He would not have heen welcomed by mod- ern commerce. Advertising would blunt itself In valn against such a mar® “How many things there are I do not want,” he exclalmed, as he looked into the shop windows of Athens. A wise man, Diogenes sald, in order fo be happy must be independent of fortune, of men and of himself. Now that is a pretty large order. Let uS see Some of the things he would have to hate, genuinely, and not merely in words. Such a man would have to have no regard for riches, power, honor and all of the enjoyments of life, He would have to do as Diogenes did— eat little food, go barefooted, wear no goat, wear a long beard and sleep in a But most of us, unless we were men- tally constituted as Diogenes was, could not be happy so. Yet from it all we can take many a lesson that holds good yet. * K Kk ¥ Once when Diogenes saw a boy drink- ing out of his hands he threw away his own wooden cup, from then on regard- Ing it as superfiuous. He defled the weather and scoffing, inveighed against vice and corrup- tion, and probably made sSomething of a nuisance out of himself to all those ‘who did not agree with his views. A dramatic incident in his philo- sophic calm came on a voyage to the Island of Aegina, when he was cap- tured by pirates and sold as a slave to Xeniades, a Corinthian who lived in_Crete. Xeniades, evidently a man of per- ception, gave the -philosopher his freedom, retaining him as instructor of his children. So Diogenes won out again. Like a wealthy man, he spent hi Summers at Corinth &nd *Wintered at Athens, thus setting the precedent for men’ of today spending the Winter in Florida. In his ninetleth year he“finished his career with a typically Dioge- nesian flourish. Tradition has it that he died the same day with Alexander, his old admirer. Feeling death at hand, Diogenes seated himself on the road leading to Olympia and died there in the midst of a large crowd. Would lieduce Taxis. Writer Declares Companies Should Cut Number in Use. To the Editor of The Star: In a recent issue of your paper space is given to the effect of too many taxicabs in Washington. S Reading your article over again merely increases my first conclusion relative to that article—namely, since the several large taxi concerns have increased their fleets in such large numbers they find it extremely dif- ficult to keep men, due to the fact that there are only so many taxi Jobs in the city. Heretofore a man working for one of the larger-concerns could take his cab out, and, after a decent day, turn in around 6:30 or 7 p.m. with between $18 and $25 total take-in. Now try to find that much. Speaking of the independent owner as a nuisance, let us sum it up. First, ke must have considerable energy to save enough money o make a down payment upon a cab. Second, if he is such a thrifty person and on his own initiative has the courage or nerve to enter into a fleld already crowded, I say more power to him. Thets are too many taxigabs in Washington and at closing hour of the theaters one is almost tempted to walk to the street car to come home on account of the unnecessary lines of taxicabs cruising in front of such places seeking fares. ‘Why not bar these lines of vacant cabs and ‘give room for the private cars and those cabs holding return coupons. Sufficient vacant cabs could be parked nearby, and, when re- quested, could be called, first giving @& call for one company then follow- ing with the others, unless requested by the fare to do otherwise. If the taxi concerns want fewer cabs why not take out some cabs, thereby giving their other men that much more opportugity to Increase the number of fares they would find. Any taxi concern having 200 or more men, hauling both white and colored trade, will have some bad eggs in the basket and their influence is felt all along the line. Take off some of your cabs, you larger concerns, and notice the dif- ference in the men you keep. Watch the smiles come back to their faces as they find their average growing. Notice the different class of men who apply for those jobs, knowing they will make a better living because they do not have to resort to low means to gét a dollar or two. J. GARDINER, |in Urges Steps to Save Arlington Flagstaff To the Editor of The Star: 3 7 It made me heartsick to read.in a recent edition of The - Star that the beautiful flag is to be re- moved from its old place in the Arlington National Cemetery be- cause the tall flagstaff is not consid- ered to “harmonize with the beauti- ful surroundings.” 1 cannot undefstand Ho ny one could fail to venerate the s ‘Where this American flag has been both, a benediction and a help t0 many a ‘weary soul all these long years, and it seems to me if it has been taken | down there ought to be some au- thority to-have it replaced where ft has been so Jong and that it should always be allowed to stay = there keeping watch over the many who died fér it. - e 5 I ask that-something may be done late; I ask it as an tizern, ‘one; Who | artistic and beautiful. THE NORTH WINDOW BY LEILA MECHLIN, Washington is to have some new school bulldings (not before we need them) and a committee of the Arts Club, headed by H. K. Bush-B%wn, the sculptor, has made 2 recommen- dation to the Board of Education concirning their decoration. It is not & new idea. Years ago Ross Turner, a well known artist of Massachusetts, tnduced the school authoritles in Salem, Mass., to permit the decoration of one of their schoolhouses in an exemplary manner, and since then many in other places have followed suit. In New York City, through the {nstrumentality of the Public School Art Soclety, not only have plctures and casts been placed In the schools, but several very handsome v ural paintings by artists of high sti ng kave been secured and given perma- nent placement. In one instance @ serles was donated by Mrs. E. H. Harriman. The Public School Art Soclety of Chicago has been most ac- tive in this direction and has had splendld support. The city of Chi- cago buys several thousand dollars’ worth of pletures every year from the local artsts and distributes them among the ‘schools. Moreover, the advanced students in the School of the Chicago Art Institute have, as part of their work, produced mural paintings, under the direction of their instructors, for placement in the schools. Many things have been glven. Incldentally, it s reported that the Chicago Public School Art Soclety {s having a general house- cleaning at this time, taking out of the schools some of thoss works of art which have not upheld as high a standard as was originally supposed and substituting others. Way out in New Mexico a good deal has been done in this direction. Through the enthusiasm of the chair- man of the art committee of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, Mrs. Osburn, original etchings, wood- block prints and the like have been purchased by the schools for perma- nent display. Surprising as it may seem, it Is & fact that the State of Maine and the State of New York both will pay 50 per cent of the cost of works of art purchased for the schools, provided they have the approval of the com- missioner of education. In neither State s a limit set to the amount, * ¥ K % At its fifteenth annual conventlon, held in this city last May, the Amer- fcan Federation of Arts inauguratéd a movement which had as its objec- tive the placement of a work of art in every classroom in the land. In the late Autumn, announcement was made that the Board of Education of Chicago had ruled that hereafter, in every new school building erected in space should be provided in each classroom for the proper ais- play of a work of art, and that in addition, some place in the building should be provided for exhibition pur- poses. This action was so commenda- ble that the board of directors of the American Federation of Arts voted to send notification concerning it to all boards of education in the United States, and, securing the co-operation of the Bureau of Education, sent a circular letter to the secretaries of 2,000 school boards, urging similar action. In-many instances this action has been taken and a great wave of Interest {n this matter seems to have passed over the entire country. * * x % At the suggestion of Randall Con- don the whole last day of & conven- tion of American public school superintendents, held recently in Cincinnati, was devoted to the edu- cational mission of beauty, and at that time 12,000 reprints of an edi- torial on relation of art to the public schools, by Willlam McAndrew, were distributed. Not only was that a notable meeting, with such inspira- tional speakers as Lorado Taft, the distinguished sculptor, a real apostle of art and now a member of our National Art Commission, and others, but evidently the result was to send the superintendents to their several homes with—as the old saying goes— “a bee in their bonnets.” Mr. McAndrew in his notable edi- torial makes plain the fact that art in the schools is not merely the hang- ing of & picture on the wall, or the placement of a plece of sculpture on @ pedestal, or even teaching the chil- dren to draw or to paint; that it is much more than this, that it Is, as Barrie once said, “the open ng of the eyes” of the children to the beauty which ‘is around them, and that it includes not merely the decoration of the walls, but the design and the character of the school bullding it- self. “It seems logical” he says, “to argue that a nation founded to secure to man life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, a nation proposing to secure this, as the founders proposed, through public education, must make much of art in its schools.” The theory that government, and—by an American consequence—schools, are instituted to give all men under it a right to life, was never stressed in any educational literature or conven- tion, he says, until recent years, bug now, he says, he hears it even at the crossroads. “Every child has a right to a full life, Inciuding the expanse secured from health, beauty, music, literature, nature, art. This is the declared mission of the public school. Theré are others, evidently, who think the same way, for, according to Mr. McAndrew, in Cincinnati, in Winchester, in Evansville (Ohiok and, let us hope, .in many « other places, . “there are some public temples of teaching that preach beauty to every passerby and promise happiness to every child who comes in” Edward McClain of Greenfleld, Ohlo, has given his town an art center in the form of a public school, in which are paintings, plictures, statuary, tiles and vases. Asked what his idea is, he said: “I under- stand the makers of America re- peatedly,_ asserted that the object of the concern they organized, entitled the United States, was a happler community than hitherto known. I consider it the civic duty of every American to add to the happiness of that parf of the community nearest to him the most that he is able. As the purpose of works of art is the joy and refreshment of man, it seems to me that I should make use of this means in our town in connection with its schools.” * X k% It is a good thing, undoubtedly, to put pictures and other works of art schoolrooms and schoolhouses, but it is a much more important thing ™® make our schoolhouses in themselves works of art in order that they may provide an environment for the children which will be in itself ‘This does not necessarily mean extravagance; in- deed it would be {ll advised if It did. Beauty is not dependent upon elabo- ration or extravagant cost; it is found er in fine design, sultabl use of material, proportionidg of spaces. ‘What is finer than the old, so-called colonial design in archi- tecture; ‘what more satistying in the ‘way of beauty than the simplicity of the old buildings, for-example; on the quadrangle at' the University of Virgin{a?- . America has made great progress in this particular. Not only have we the instancé of the school- house “or- houses already mentioned, but others. For instance, ons lately bullt in Michigan on a country es- tate not far from the city of Detroit —=a beautiful: building designed In the style-of 'the E h half-tim-. bered. Tadon, eminen m to its setting' and to its use, yet a buflding which cafinot fail to have its influence on 'thuo ‘Wwho are for- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. How soon wiil fishing be good in the river?—E. W. S. A. The Bureau of Fisherles says that tke best fishing along the Po- tomac River will start in about three weeks, Shad is usually the most plentitul, while some yellow perch, catfish and sunfish are found. Q. Who planned the Chesapeake and 'Ohjo Canal?—M. E. C. A. Historic Highways says: “In April, 1824, an appropriation of $30,000 was made to procure surveys and estimates to prove the feasibil- ity of the plan. In May the President appointed Brig. Gen. Simon Bernard and Lieut. Col. Totten and Civil En- gineer John L. Sullivan of Massa- chusetts as a board te outline the most_suitable route for a canal from the Potomac tidewater to the Ohlo River. Thelr report was made Octo- ber 23, 1826."" Q. Has a monument ever been erected to both the victorious and the defeated in a military engagement?— T. G. N. A. In the governor's garden at Que- bec 15 a granite column bearing the name of Wolfe on one side and that of Montcalm on the other. It is sald to be the only instance on this con- tinent of a common monument to the victor and the vanquished. Q. Is a tailor shop a factory?— C.B. 8. A. In taking the census of manu- factures the Bureau of the Census does not Include as factorfes those establishments doing work only to the order of the indlvidual consumer, such as custom tailoring, dressmak- ing, millinery and shoemaking. Q. How long have finger rings been worn?—K. C. A. The finger ring Is believed to have originated with the early Egvp- tians and was evolved from the seal or signet about 16 centuries B.C. Q. Who owns the ice that forms on a river’—G. T. K. A. Jce formed on private waters, and that includes rivers owned by individuals, 1s real estate and is the property of the owner of the soil over which it is formed. Ice formed upon navigable streams in States where those streams ars held to be public property belongs to the first person who appropriates it, but gen- erally ice forming upon private fresh water streams belongs to the riparian proprietors, who may prevent others from removing it Q. Which organized first, the rail- road conductors or engineers’—F. M. A. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was organized in 1863 and the Order of Railway Conductors in 1868. Q. How long ago did “its" into common use?—P. T. D. come A. The possessive form “its” did not come into common use until after the seventeenth century. Q. A list of Mexican exports item- izes “files.” What are they used for? —A. 3. A. The Mexican embassy says the flies referred to in your letter are used for bird food. These flles 68 & rule are dried. WQ.“How long is & lunar year?— A. The lunar year is a period of 12 lunar months. The lunar astronomical year of 12 lunar synodical months hag a length of 354 days, 8 hours, 48 min- utes and 34 seconds. The common lunar year consists of 12 lunar civil months, or about 354% days. Q. What physician first used ether an@esthesia in the United States?— A F.A. A. The fact that sulphurio ether could produce insensibility was known to Faraday in 1818 and was shown by the American physician Godwin = (1822), Mitchell ~ (1832), Jackson (1833), Wood and Bache (1834); but it was first used to pre- vent the pain of an operation by Dr. Crawford W. Long of Georgie, who removed a tumor from a patient under ether in 18 Unfortunately Long did not publish his discovery to the medical world and failed to utflize his opportunity. Upon the suggestion of Dr. Jackson, Dr. W. T. G. Morton, a dentlst of Boston, after perimenting privately, introduced ether anaesthesia into general use in 1846. At the request of Dr. John C. Warren, Morton administered ether in an operation at the Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, In December, 1846, Robinson and Liston, in England, operated on pa- tients rendered insensible by the in- halation of ether vap Q. Has a census ever been taken in Mor A. Tt has been an first census and statisticil surve the sheep rearing and cattle industr will be taken next year. Q. How long did it take Edward Everett to deliver his Gettysburg speech?—R. N. A. The speech of Edward Everett, upon ths occasion of the dedication of the National Cemetery at Getty burg, occupied a period of two hours. Q. How do women in numbers _with men farms?—E. B. A. The occupational report of the Bureau of Census for 1920 shows that there wi 69,030 men and 1,084, 128 wor in agric This report is shown for p years of age and over. compars on (If you have a question you want swered send it to The Star Information Bureau, Frederio J. Haskin, Director, Twenty-first and C sirects northwest. The only charge for this service is 2 cents in stamps for return postage.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Yesterday marked the end of the longest span between chapters of the greatest melodrama of the human race—the chapter which closed in 70 AD, with Titus sacking, Jerusalem and ‘scattering the “choseh people”— and the new chapter which opens with the dedication of the Unlversity of Jerusalem, celebrated on Mount Scopus and in all the capitals and great citles of the world. Many of the faithful Zionists be- lleve that that event marks the ful- fillment of the hopes of nearly 19 centuries, that the Jews will now be restored to their Promised Land and may there set up a kingdom which will be theirs indeed and grow to domination of the world. How liter- ally must prophecy be taken? Was the greatness of the Holy Land ever based upon armies, fleets and predatory intrigues? Yet from that tiny reglon—40 by 150 miles— has come greater influence upon civ- \lization than from all the mighty emplres of Xerxes, Cyrus, Darius, Alexander or the Caesars. How can we compare the power of the Pha- rachs with that of the descendants of Abraham; or the Invading million soldlers of Darius, fleeing from his Grecian defeat, with the hosts of Moses at the base of Sinai? From which leader has come the world- influence? How compare the wisdom and eloquence of the prophets, which today guide civilization, with the classics of Greece and Rome, known but vaguely by cloistered scholars? What is the power of Palestine? What constitutes State? Not highraised battlements or labored mound, Thick wall or moated gate; Not citles proud, with spires und turrets crowned. * % No—men, high-minded men, With powers as far above dull brufes endued In forest, brake or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude— Men who their duties know, But know their rights, and, knowing, dare ‘maintain, Prevent the long-almed blow, the tyrant, while they rend fn chain: These constitute a State. * k x % When the Zionist movement was first broached, world conditions made it appear fantastic and utterly un- thinkable. The unspeakable Turk ruled Palestine. The Czar of all the Russias sat upon his mighty throne, And and yet was unable ‘o prevent po- groms and deadly persecutions of the Jews within his empire, and even suffered the severance of diplomatic relations with the United States through that impotence to maintain justice toward the Jews, American citizens within his territory. There was not a country in Europe where the Jew could get justice. Nor for the Jew was that national motto: “Liberte, Fraternite, galita” else how cotld it be that the monstrous outrage upon Capt. Dreyfus could have shamed France? In 1882 the dream was first ex- pressed by a scholar that Jews might re-establish themselves in Palestine, but that dream was too vagus for se- rlous consideration. In 1897, at an international congress at Basle, Swit- zerland, the assembled Jews called upon the world for a “publicly se- cured and legally assured homeland in Palestine"—the territory of Mos- lem Turkey. What an impossible dream! Twenty years later Great Britain was driving out the Turk from Pal- estine. As Jerusalem, for whose cap- ture all the Crusades had been fought in the Middle Ages, fell before the British knights of the World War, Hon. Arthur Balfour, secretary of state for foreign affairs, made his memorable pronouncement which electrified the world of Jews: “His majesty's” government view with favor the establishment in Pal- estine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achieve- ment of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done that may prejudice the civil and re- liglous rights of non-Jewish commu- e e ] tunate enough to pursue their studies therein. It is a public 1 The Architect, a British archi- tectural magasine, issues regularly pictorial supplements of mnotable, buildings. The issue of March 13 carried by way of pictorial supple- ment two pictures of the Alhambra, Granada, and. one of the .State Nor- ‘mal School, ?‘lflbflm, N..J. What Wwould the ‘“little red schoolhouse’ have thought had it known that some day one of its lordly descendants ‘would find itself. in such-companyl nities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” This declaration was promptly in- dorsed by F and Italy, and re- ceived the approval of President Wil- son and a vast majority of the ind vidual members of our Congress, al- though not brought up for officiz action. nce that declaration taken 2 mandate over I that behind that pledge entire British power and that leaders in of Nations. Since then bas fallen the power of Turkey and Russia, chief persecutors of the Jews. The wandering, exiled Jew, scat- tered zmong the nations, was unor- ganized for self-defense, undisci plined, friendless everywhere, hated for his thrift and acquisitiveness, de- spised because the abuse of the cen- turies had naturally reacted in de- veloping a cunning, a self-dependence, at times a cringing, a secretiveness from all except his own. He W hunted, murdered, robbed, browbeaten and ostracized. In all countries, yet everywhere and alwa “man with- out a country If he was in France, he could not be a Frenchman—he was a Jew. Every nationality coming to America could truly sing: “My coun- try, ‘tls of thee"—but let a Jew sing it, and how long before some immi- grant would taunt him? For the prejudices of Europa were not washed out by the Atlantic. Today the great powers unite to champion his cause. * ¥ X X In our Revolutionary War and im- medlately following the adoption of our Constitution certain correspond- ence between George Washington and Hebrew congregations testifies to the cordial appreciation of the Father of Our Country of the patriotism of the Jews, In spite of restrictions against them. In the Civil War and later wars Jews fought loyally. In our small army to fight Spain there were 4,000 Jews; in the A. E. F. there were hundreds of thousands of Jews; yet all these remained Jews, however firmly they tried to throw off the hy phen and prove their loval Ameri- canism. And they will remain Ameri- cans—with few exceptions—even while giving their fullest support to Zionism, for support to the New Zion does not necessarily involve abandon- ment of America. The fact that the ideal of one of its earliest promoters—that there in Jerusalem should be founded a great Jewish university—an ideal which all other promoters scoffed at in the early years—is the first to materialize gives proof that Zionism, like other human endeavors, Is “shaped” by a Higher Force than that of human hands, “rough-hewing,” in ignorance of Di- vine design. stands, * % % % ‘The University of Mount Scopus will centralize Jewry; it will be the focus of Jewish influence and progress, which will permeate all the kingdoms of the earth. Of comparatively little consequence will be the question of how many Jews will live in Palestine ——50 years ago, 20,000; today, 100,000, of whom 18,000 are tillers of the soll, where 2,000 years ago there were 6,000,000. But it may be of yast consequence that when a Jew progresses in scien- tific research in the Univcrsity of Mount Scopus he will speak as a Jew and not as a German, nor an English- man, nor an American. It will be of importance to know that Einstein, the Jew, will work out his revolu- tionary theory of relativity as a pro- fessor of mathematics of the Univer- sity of Mount Scopus, and that other Jews pre-eminent in many sclences and arts will' there find congenfal sur- roundings and be supported, not by hyphenated natlonalities whose own leaders are jealous, but by their own race. It will be of importance that all the teaching of that unlversity will be in Hebrew, and that that language of old will continue to be a living tongue, in which the literature of prophets and ancient scribes will be preserved. It will be of importance to all the world—not Jewry alone— that persecuted young Jewish stu- dents, driven from seats of learning elsewhere, may gather at Mount Scopus, at the feet of some of the greatest scholars In all sclence and art. The dedication of Mount Scopus Uni- versity, therefore, marks yesterday as the dawn of a new day for civillza- tion.