Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY.........April 7, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennavlvania Ave. New Y 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. European Oftice : 16 Regent St.,Lonuon, England. Sunday morning Star. with the Sundey moraing daily only, 45 The Evening dition, is delivered by carr! ity at 0 cents per month: [ents per month: Sunday only. 20 month. Orders m sen Dhone Maln 5000, - Collection s made by car- Ters at the end of each mont! Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. i .1 yr., $8.40: 1 Dally anfy Senterod 76 daeel 1 Bunday o 1 3r, $2.400 1 All Other States. Daily and Sunday. Daily onls.... Eanday only... VMember of the Associated Press. The Aswociated Press is exclusively entitled tothe e for- republication of all news dis. PAtehes Credited to It or not otherwise credit [ hs Gaper and ‘wiso e Jocal news pub; lixbed herem. Al ‘rights of publication o tpecial dispatches herein wre also reserved The Building Trades Strike. The local painters, paperhangers and decorators are on strike. The plumbers and steamfitters threaten a strike, effective next month. Strikes in the building trades—unfortunate at ail times—are particularly unfortu- nate in Washington now. The bufld- ing of new homes and apartment houses gives promise of relieving ef- fectively the housing situation which has had the Capital City by the ears ever since war descended upon the Nation, in 1917. The promise of new building is very great this Spring and Summer. A new record has been set for the first quarter of the year in the matter of building permits is- sued. & Wrapped up with the bullding prob- lem is the question of rents and of its corollary, the high cost of living. The cost of building operations has been an important factor in the increase in rents and the mounting cost of homes to the prospective home owner. During the perfod of mounting build- ing costs Jabor has demanded a share of the increase, and has obtained it. In the present situation labor is fight- ing, not a decrease in wages, but is demanding an increase. From the point of view of organized labor, the time is ripe for such demands. There is plenty of work. Leaders in the past have recommended that no strikes be | called when workmen are walking the streets looking for jobs. The time to strike, they held, is when work is plentiful and workmen scarce; which, after all, is comparable to the belief of certain employers that wages can se lowered with impunity when busi- ness is slack and workmen are numer- ous. It is the consuming publics—the pa- tient public, generally—which suffers and continues to suffer during indus- trial strife in Washington, as in other cities of the country. It is the public that pays the bill, one way or another, in discomfort and in increased prices. It is for the public that The Star ex- presses the hope that the present con. flict in the building trades may be short lived. If the people of Washing- ton are to enjoy the comforts of home in a measure comparable to conditions | which existed here in pre-war days, then there must be continued building. It is the only real remedy, beside which governmental control of rentals can only be regarded as a makeshift. A demand for the “outlawry of war” is widely current today. In thi demand many of the industrial work- ers, or their organizations, have joined. The strike and the lockout are the weapons of industrial warfare—they are, in fact, industrial warfare. With out suggesting the outlawry of either the strike or the lockout, the demand may well be made by the public that either weapon be used only as a final resort—that every effort to adjust em- ployment differences through arbitra tion shall be made prior to their use. Two facts stand out with increasing vividness in the mind of the public as its views labor disputes today. Where the strike is employed it is up to labor to show just excuse for its usage Where the lockout is employed it is up to the employer to do so. In the present instance, involving large pub- lic interests, the public will demand that the striking unions prove to its satisfaction that theirs is a just cause. If they cannot do so the strike will be properly doomed to failure. v Florida has a much-admired climate, but even Florida is not tornado proof. As the ancient philosopher said, “Na- ture abhors a sure thing.’ e The opening of the new Traffic Court was attended by a “curious,” but not necessarily delighted, throng. ————————— President Coolidge on the Tariff. President Coolidge’s address last night to the textile manufacturers ex- pressed complete adherence to that American economic policy which would conserve the home market to American producers by the protective tariff, to the resultant benefit to the American working man. The address cannot be said to have offered any en- couragement to manufacturers who may hope for an exorbitant tariff on imports. Yet it carried the guarantee, by implication, that the manufactur- ing industry need have no fear of a change from adequate to inadequate protection. The address was a plea for justice to wage earners and recognition of the responsibility of industry toward its employes. The President feels that the Government approves of and sheres in that responsibility. He de- ciared the policy of America’s un- willingness to nourish any system un- der which the rewards of human ef- forts are not equitably distributed among all those engaged in any in- dustry. President Ceolidge drove home to his hearers the realization that the American home market is “the most wonderful commercial development in all human experience.” He gave the comforting assurance of a continuing ind@iytrial advancement, the end of ) { which cannot be estimated nor fore- seen, due to the American genius for mass production, coupled with our great and varied natural resources and the unparalleled requirements of this home market. He heid the tower- ing stature of our industrial structure to be complete vincdication of the policy to conserve to the American producers the right of first oppor- tunity in the home market. The President pointed out that from our national beginnings we have sought no adventage by reason of our primacy in natural resourcel Such staples as cotton, copper and petroleum might have been made the basis on which to build great national monopolies, but we have refrained from utllizing them as such. They have been as freely available to the industries of other countrles as to our own, although this policy is hot reciprocated by all foreign nations. He announced his desire to see the National Government assume toward all business in general, and the textile industry in particular, the attitude of sympathy and co-operation for every lawful effort to promote our commer- clal prosperity and our economical well being. All in all, the President's address, holding little of novelty, was a frank expression 8f the administration’s de- termination to adhere to a policy which, perhaps more than any other, has made for past Republican popu- larity with the people. The principles of protection are again recailed for the Nation's consideration; the weak- nesses of such attacks as have always been made against it again exposed and emphasized. And hearing what the President has had to say, the Nation will go on about its business with confidence in the man at the helm and in itself. PUS Outlook for More Music. Music lovers in Washington , will welcome the announcement made by Edouard Albion, director of the Wash- ington Opera Co., that the orchestra of that organization is preparing for a series of symphonic concerts as well as for orchestral accompaniments for operatic productions. It ls said that | the first public appearance of the or- chestra in its new role will probably be in a Spring festival, which will in- clude a brief session of opera in Eng- lish. The present orchestra of 56 pleces of the Washington Opera Co. will be | the backbone of Washington's pro- posed new symphonic organization, which it is hoped will receive sufficient community support to found a real | symphony orchestra in this city. Washington is one of the few citles of importance in the United States with- out its own symphony orchestra. { Leading musicians of the city make up the Washington orchestra. many of whom have sacrificed higher pay in its development. Washington is distinctly a music- loving community. This is evidenced by the generous patronage given the Philadelphia Symphony, the Boston Symphony and other concert organiza- | tions. There is increasing interest in chamber music here, also, and there is gratification in the passage by Con- { gress of a joint resolution authorizing {the use of a donation by Mrs. Fred- j eric S. Coolidge for an auditorium in addition to the Library of Congress Building to be devoted to that class of music. All lovers of music will look for- ward to the ultimate perfection of a { Washington symphony orchestra. The talent is existent, an enthusiastic audi- ience is assured and the initiatiye by | the Washington Opera Co. deserves {and will be accorded the enthusiastic | indorsement of the music-loving public | of the National Capital. THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. be more perfect than that which im- pelled these homeward-bound Chris- tlans of but a few years' standing to kneel down and pray in unison, and then, after their headman had smitten the flcod with an iron staff and com- manded it to roll back, to advance bravely and drmly? It was sublime. One cannot help wishing that it might have been successful. The Zulus are among the bravest most faithful and most unquestioning people in the world. Their savage vir- tues, so ably portrayed by Sir Rider Haggard, formed a magnificent founda- tion for the application of Christianity. The first missionaries who visited Natal in the days of Chaka the Great, that talented monster, suffered acute- ly, both physically and mentally, but stuck heroically to their jobs. One re- calls @ story about Dingaan, Chaka's successor, he who later treacherously massacred the Boers under Retief. ‘When warned that his sins would un- doubtedly send him and his adherents to hell, he had a vast bonfire kindled. and then, when it was burning mgst fiercely, commanded a regiment of xx younger warriors to “stamp it flat.” This it did, at @ cost of three-fourths of its strength, to fllustrate for the benefit of the missionaries just what their royal master would do to the fires of Gehenna. Stuff like this was too good to go uncultivated, and the labor continued in this difficult vineyard until today most Zulus are Christians, believing implicitly in Holy Writ and all that is promised therein. Just why tragedy had to stalk hand in hand with abso- lute faith is no question to be dis- cussed here, nor, it is thought, will divines attack it any too cheerfully.! But in honor of that party of stalwart black men, whose savage theology once included no hereafter, norewards or punishments, but who believed even then in “playing the game” to the end for the game's sake, hats may be lift- ed with propriety around the world. et $5,000,000 an Ounce. Radon, a derlvative of radium, makes all other high-priced commodi- ties seem cheap in comparison. At present the cost of production is $5,000,000 an ounce, without any prom- ise that it will be lowered. But this is a case where it will be cheaper to use a high-priced than a lower priced ar- ticle, according to Dr. Charles H. Viol of Pittsburgh, who reported on radon -at the Baltimore meeting of the Amer- ican Chemical Society. The reason for this is that radon is | 180,000 times as active as radium, and | in the treatment of cancer, therefore, is that much more effective. radon is the most expensive substance in the world,” said Dr. Viol, “it is found that $25 to $30 worth can be used to treat conditions that would re quire the application of $2,000 to 34,000 worth of radium.” The greatest disadyantage of the new substance is the shortness of its life. Whereas radium decays to the extent only of one-half its weight in 1,700 years, radon loses half its ac- tivity in about four days, a half of the remainder in the next four days and so on. Above all other things it il- lustrates what we mean when we talk | of the advantages of a short life, but an active one. N The Pennsylvania Railroad will name one of its fast freight trains “the Comet.” The astronomical figures as to the speed of a comet should not invite imitation. [ It is possible to become accustomed to almost anything. The American public has learned to accept any kind of a resignation rumor with imper- turbable calm. . P | James Alexander Henshall. All fishermen worthy of the name— and all fish, too, were they able to | realize it—lost a good friend when Dr. | James Alexander Henshall died in Cin- {cinnati a day or two ago. Of his 89 | years the good doctor spent as much as he could out of doors, learning the | secrets of nature, the vagaries of | fishes and the cleanest and most sportsmaniike ways of their capture, land, later, giving the world in nu- merous volumes and articles the bene- | fit of his profound experience. If the mantle of Izaak Walton can be said to have descended on any one, Henshall is eligible to that honor. Cer- tainly as far as the New World is con- cerned he fuily shares the fame of the old Englishman who, like him, lived to a great age. He wrote largely of mat- ters distinctively American. His “Book of the Black Bass” has become a classic, and, dealing as it does with the most popular and most widely dis- tributed of American game fishes, for whose capture more different articles are manufactured than for the taking of all other species together, shares to a great extent in American minds the {fame of “The Compleat Angler.” | Dr. Henshall was the first man suc- | cessfully to propagate the American | grayling, and thereby fend from that | beautiful and rare fish its rapidly ap- proaching fate. He was the founder and always the leader of the school of angling which prefers light-weight tackle for large game fish. He preached the creed of conservation in the days when, to most Americans, it was just a long word in the dictionary. Fishermen everywhere stand indebted to him not only for a mass of practical information, but for an inspiring out- look on recreation and on life {tself which is of far greater value than all the technical knowledge and skill in the world. ———or—s. Reports that Hindenberg contem- plates retirement from public life are easily started, but invariably contra- dicted. i H ———— “Bayete.” Those who read of the recent at- tempt of a party of Christian Zulus to repeat the miracle of the Red Sea, as a result of which the children of Israel passed dryshod, may have smiled at first, but their smile could not have been of derision, for 50 of these simple people were drowned. Christian mankind is told authorita- tively that with perfect faith moun- tains can be moved, ills remedied and life itself preserved. What faith could ———s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Garden Time. A garden is a charming spot Which nature loves to nourish. Imagination paints a lot Of flowers that will flourish. While frost still lingers in the air And bright the fire is gleaming, ‘What joyous landscapes you prepare With fond expectant dreaming! I,only read about the flow'r. The canny advertiser Said nothing of the drought or shower Nor of the fertilizer; Nor of the weeds which rise again To make toil necessary—, A garden’s most alluring when You dream in February. Oratory and Stratagem. “Are you in favor of keeping poli- tics out of business.” “Of course,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “But how can you do so when some sort of politics becomes the natu- ral relaxation for the tired business man.” Getting to Work. To business I swiftly roam; Then, at the curbstone mark Turn, and go back 2 miles home To find a place to park. toward Jud Tunkins says a woman appre- clates a beautiful bouquet because it shows some man was willing to spend 8 or 10 dollars. ‘Weird Versatility. Assassins study various terms And with ill-favored glee Use anything, from tiniest germs To tons of TNT. Saurian Gayety. “What extraordinary colors that young man wear: “I shouldn't accuse him of being a lounge lizard,” said Miss Cayenne, “but T will say he apparently desires to be a chameleon. Trout Streams. Books on the running brooks—to quote the poet— In hours of passing leisure may be sought., There's many such anglers know it— That tell of fish nobody caught. a book—and really “De man dat talks to hisself,” said Uncle Eben, “is de onliest one dat positively believes all he hears." “While | Hidden away in musty old books and records are some very interest- ing things, but needing some one to bring them forth to the light of this age. It is with the idea of extending this helping hand that I undertake here today to retell the story of Yar- row, as related by the late Hugh T. Taggart in his article, “Old George- town,” read before the Columbla His- torical Society in 1807. The story of the old negro Yarrow occuples but three pages at the end of the rambling dissertation, which may be found in volume II of the records of the society. Perhaps in an ordinary lifetime the average reader of this paper never would find the book. That is the trouble with old records. They usually are so voluminous, so inaccessible that the gems in them commonly pass awuy unseen amid the dross. It shall be the pleasant duty of the writer of this column, then, to rescue the diamonds, from time to time, and do his best to set them forth fo the gaze of admirers of today. The story of Yarrow, for an ex- ample of sheer perserverance, can hardly be excelled, touching as it does on the heartstrings of old age. the desire for independence, repeated losses and great determination, with an early banking institution play- ing the role of good Samaritan. * ok ok ¥ Old Yarrow lived -near and in Georgetown from the days prior to the war of '76 to the early part of the last century. He was Mohammedan from Guinea, having been brought to the colonies before the Révolutionary War. He was sold as a slave to a family who lived near Georgetown on the banks of the Potomac. Scharf, the Maryland historian, thought it prob- able that the first settlements in Frederick County were made in the vicinity of Georgetown. Washington had just been estab- |lished. 'In comparison with George- town, the latter having been founded in 1751 by act of the General As- sembly of Maryland, the National Capital was somewhat of an upstart, as it were. George Washington had only a few vears ago passed to his eternal re- ward. The old streets of old George- town, old even then, had seen the majestic roll of his great carriage many times. | It was to {Patowmack,” that Yarrow came, about 1800, when his master gave him his freedom after many years of hard labor. “Old Massa been tink he got {de work out of a Yarrow bone,” de- clared the ex-slave as he strode up | High street that bright Spring morn- ing. The perfume of lilacs was in {the air. The cool breeze blew In fresh from | the river. Yarrow was free! White lcitizens. of the new republic were {busy about their daily tas old Yarrow was free to have tasks of his own, tod “Old Massa tell a Yarrow, go free Yarrow, you been work nuff for me, g0 work for you now,” declared the | man from Guinea, to a group of loafers at the High Street Tavern. “S0 you ure free?’ asked one. “Old Yarrow he say, ‘tankee, Mas-| sa. Yarrow say, sure nuff, Yarrow | g0 to work for he now. Yarrow get dolla.” It did not take the citizens of the town long to find out that the white- wooled man was terribly in earnest when he said he was after the dol- 1a worked at all sorts of odd this town, “on the all Balloting in Germany's presidentiai| clection, which fafled to result in a| choice, is viewed by some American | newspapers as pointing the way to triumph of republican principles in the coming second election. Others find In the returns indications that the Conservatives have a prospect of winning through coalitions. Even if the Extremists, { munists and Monarchists were to fuse at the second election, “such a fan- tastic alliance would fall short of vic- tory,” says the New York Herald- Tribune, which continues: “It is plain that the republic must live and carry out its program of treaty fulfillment or Germany will fall back into civil war and financial ruin. Yet such are the obstinacy of junkerism and the driving power of rancor and preju- dice that more than 10,000,000 voters were willing to back a party whose only rational policy is one of mon- archical restoration and either partial or total annulment of the peace treatles.” More strongly phrased is the laration by the Baltimore Sun “the outstanding lesson of the pre- liminery vote is to confirm the pre- vious evidence that the extremists of both camps—Hohenzollern monarch- ists and bolshevists altke—are for all practical purposes finished In Ger- many. The real fight now is between the forces of conservatism and lib- eralism.” The lead of the Liberal Republican parties over the Conservative and Monarchist forces, however, is only a little more than 1,500,000 votes, ‘“en- tirely too few for safety,” according to the Richmond News-Leader, which believes that even if the Conservattve Nationalists were able in the second election to altenate the right wing of the Centrists and Democrats It would not necessarily mean an early return to the monarchy. * ok ok % “What indications there are point to a better chance for the security agreement than there would be were Jarres, choice of the combined royal- ists and industrialists, elected,” ob- serves the Boston Transcript. “The sentiment of the majority of the German people seems to be liberal,” is the comment of the Columbus Ohio State Journal, which finds that if that is established by the result of the second balloting, “it will mean that another step has been taken toward the solution of the post-war problems of Europe” The conclu- sion that Germany “has been ‘sold the democratic form of government for the next six years'” is drawn by the Reading Tribune from the ' re- turns. “The inconclusive ballot must be construed to mean that Germany is recovering her political and indus- trial heaith,” declares the Detroit News. “It should be particularly re- assuring to France” The country is returning to normalcy, says the Rochester Times-Unfon, which be- lieves that there can be no doubt “that the extreme parties in _that country are waning.” The Grand Rapids Herald sees no menace, so far as fundamental stabilities go, in the prospect. This paper adds: “We should say that those economists and statesmen who feel that German stabilities are essential to world re- jcovery must be entirely heartened by Sunday's performance beyond the Rhine.” A suggestion that the Conservatives polled their highest number of votes in the first election and that the Lib- erals will make & better showing in the next contest is-made by the Schenectady Gazette, which predicts that Marx will lead the latter to an i i the Com- dec- that BY CHARLES E. easy victory, A different view is held by the Grand Rapids Press, which believes that “the Natlonalists, who were ahead in Sunday's election, l C., TUESDAY APRIL 7, 1925, = 1 THIS AND THAT TRACEWELL. jobs, living frugally, penny he could. * k ¥ % Yarrow's goal was $100. ‘When he earned it, after several years of effort, he feit safe at last. now he had enough to keep him in his old age. Bit by bit he placed the money with a merchant of the town, who ved it all for Yarrow. But one day the merchant died, and was found {insolvent. Yarrow has lost his all. “Old Yarrow go to work again said the colored man, as he stretched his still powerful limbs, the arms and legs of one of the best swim- mers in town, despite his age. He told of his loss to sympathetic “Old Yarrow work a-soon, a- a-hot, a-cold,” he told them. “Sometime he sweat, sometime he blow a finger. He get fipenny bit, 18 pennee, gib him to Massa to put by. Put by a dolla, till comes a heap. Oh! poor Massa take sick—die—Yar- row money gone. Oh, Yarrow go to work again.” And he did. He worked at wages in the day, and at night mgde baskets, nets and other articles, which found a ready -sale. In a few years Yarrow was rich again® He had another $100 to his credit. This time he selected a young merchant, in the prime of health. Yarrow was taking no chances this time. Erect and active, despite his years, the former slave enjoyed that Christ- mas as he had none in years. He had the satisfaction of the independent man. He had enough stowed away to live on comfortably for the remainder of his life. He got out his gun and went to the homes of his white friends. Standing beneath the windows, he fired off a salute as a signal for his dram Merry Christmas, “Mehy Chris'mas, tankee kindly, Massa." L Shortly after New Year the young merchant went into bankruptcy, and ieft town. With him went independence. “Oh, oh, oh,” moaned old Yarrow. “Oh, oh, oh! Yarrow old for true now. Old Yarrow work hard, get more dolia, more dolla, gib to young Massa, he young, he no dle.” “Den young Massa den broke—den g0 away. Yarrow old for true now. Must work again—worky, worky, get more dolla. Get more dolla.” 0 he worked awa: getting more <, wilh such persistence that in a few more years he had more money than he ever had before. This time $200 was his. White friends, who admired his dogged perseverence did not want to see the old man lose again, so this time advised him to invest his money in shares of the Bank of Columbla. The nature of a banking institution was not clear to Yarrow, but he had trusted to one man, and lost twice, 0 finally he decided to trust to sev- eral men. He bought shares in his own name. His dividends gave the now old man a comfortable support, his neces- sities being few, his diet extremely abstemious, his life, in short, being reduced to philosophical simplicity. In his old age he loved to tell, in his broken way, the history of his financlal reverses and final Success, recounting in detail his adventures with the old Massa and the young Massa, and the final chapter: Yarrow worky, worky, make dolla, gib him dis time to all de Massa— all the Massa can't die—can't go awa: saving every German Election Results Rated | Mainly Hopeful for Republic may win a tremendous majority if they unite with some of their op- ponents. Parties mean nothing, coalitions of parties everything, in the picking of a German President.” ‘The Charleston Daily Mail also e: presses the opinion that “in the sec- ond election, where a majority over all is not required, the Nationalists have great prospects of winning, un- less their forces become dissipated by divisions and factions.” Apathy is held to be the outstanding feature of the election in the discussion of the result by the Buffalo Evening News, which states that “this public indifference offers indication that bloc government will continue in Berlin.” The Salt Lake City Deseret News regrets that “the constitution makes no provision for the elimination of candidates after a first balloting, and it would, therefore, seem that under this procedure Germany will alway bhave a minority president.” The S attle Times emphasizes the fact that it is the first time in a thousand years Germany has had a ropular election, and that “it is doubtful if the several parties have attained the same degree of perfection in organ- ization that is shown by political parties in America. A presidential election js still an experiment there.” Question as to the effectivemess of a coaliiton government is raised by he Springfield Union, which says: Such a government by coalition is always a precarious operation, result- ing, as it does, in parliamentary trx ing without much relation to public sentiment and with too little regard for public welfare. It is, however, the situation that exists and causes constant trouble in most of the new democracies of the continent.” Virginia Sandstone Was Used in Capitol To the Editor of The Star: 2 An article in The Star of recent date about stone in the central part of the United States Capitol Building is misleading, being far from correct. The original part of the Capltol Bullding Is built of Virginia sand- stone, as is also the White House. The P#tent Office is constructed of what is known as “alum” limestone, as is also the old part of the Wash- ington Monument. They resemble €ach other about as much as chalk resembles cheese, neither in looks, composition, or any other way is there any similarity, other than they are both stone. The outer wall of the new part of the Monument is of beaver dam limestone from quarries that former- ly were operated in the vicinity of Baltimore, Md., and is a first-class stone, far superior to either of the others mentioned. B. E. McCANN. Changes Suggested For Traffic Signals To the Editor of The Star: b Would it not be well to have the semaphores equipped with lenses of about six or eight inches in diameter, and have placed between the red and green lights a shield so that only one light is visible to the motorist? Would it not be wise to have the arms of the day semapores lengthen- ed several inches and increased in width several inches? Both the lenses and semaphores should be kept clean, especially in rainy weather. ‘Would it not be well to substitute for the permanent concrete car stop platforms aitractive wooden plat- forms which could be moved easily in case of an emergency? LAURENCE M. HYNSON. Yarrow's| NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. MRS. MAGON'S DAUGHTERS. Ma- thilde Eiker. The Macmillan Com- pany. A dozen novels—more often 15 or 20—each week march, demanding upon the hosts of those to whom the business of reading fiction. is the day's work—much as bricklaying is the day's work, or window washing. Fifty-two such weeks round up ‘the year. And these years, end upom end, stretch interminably to the rear and to the fore of the reviewer. Clearly, this of all times is the one When, in the field of romantic liter- ature, genlus and near-genfus and no-genius have come into full flower. So, novels swarm in multitudes. The shops are glutted. The ‘competition of trade has descended fipon the do- main of creative work. The arts of advertisement are at the helght of pressure upon this point. These con- ditions have produced this endless book procession, this dazzling spec- tacle of flambuoyant front out from which looks strange titles bent sed- ulously to the designs of sheer se- duection. Smiling, ogling, leering, Yyearning, mooning—all in open solic- itation, or covert challenge, or ex- traordinary and bizarre implication. Just about everybody, it appears, has nowadays gone into the business of novel writing. And much of the tre- mendous stress and strain of the en- terprise rises, obviously, out of the fact that, for the use of this army of desperate romancers there are ex- actly two themes—no more. No won- der, then, that the far corners of the earth are being raked in search of fresh line and setting for this scant sum of fundamental human impulse and concern * 0k kK Yet, facing directly upon this un- diminished urge for the fresh sub- ject, upon these far-farings for the new outlook, upon these prodigious ardors of invention for the unusual approach and the compelling por- trayal—facing upon this, there is at |every novelist's door a curiously over- looked and untilled fleld. It is as if some invisible *“No Thoroughtare” agalnst the story teller were posted upon its borders. Or as if, maybe, some secret instinct of the writer whispered to him of soil not of a kind to nurture the seeds of romance, to give beauty to its flower or succu- lence to its fruit. Whatever the cause may be, the fact itself stands out free from any shadow of dublety —the faet that the monk, the nun, the preacher and the teacher offer to the novelist no points of contact with life by way of which he might otherwise re-create it in some of its important aspects, in some of its vital engagements. Save for less than half a dozen historic exceptions, none of these has contributed to the human drama by way of the novel. Leav- ing the other three orders as aside from the interest of the moment here, why is it that in this field of romance, so intensively cultivated, the school teacher remains completely negligible? She is a human being, and the novelist is avid for humanity, €0 he says. Is it her vicarious ex- istence that has faded her out be- yond the reach of art? The mother lof other people’s children The cus- todian of other people’s morals. The sampler of other people’s behaviors. Strict censor of her own natural im- pulses. Stern conformist to the rigid pattern set for her by an austerely virtuous public or, on the other hand, artful by necessity in the ways of concealment. Is It all of this, or & part of this, that makes this highly intelligent class unavailable for the uses of an art that is warmly hos- pitable to every sort of really human attribute? The school teacher is neg- {ligible in this respect. That he negligible, but not quite For here is a writer—too young for a piloneer, but a pioneer neverthe- less—who offers a highly original jnovel in which a school teacher has the leading role to play, though not the only vital role. 1is almost * % % % “Mrs. Mason's Daughters” is plain realism. It is a realism that now and then becomes painstakingly literal in a patient dotting of all the i's and a crossing of all the t's. More often, however, it wings up bevond this basic realism to points of outlook and intake that verify and justify the truth of the whole—as occasional and fleeting moments serve to illuminate life itself, and, in part at least, to Justify it. Within this real and sus- taining atmosphere a city is set— easily recognizable as any city— Chicago, Washington, or another. And here lives Mrs. Mason with her daughters. There are millions of Mrs. Mason—the average woman. Fernan- da, the teacher; Pauline the clerk: Bette the beauty, with marriage and babies as her part—that's all. A city, a family, its occupations, a fringe of friends. Nothing more. These are this workman's materials. One pic- tures her, the author, just sitting in the midst and looking on. She picks up this and rejects that. She puts to- gether here actions and incidents out of these lives, thoughts and attitudes and speech, secret feelings and open denials, furtive behaviors on the one hand with frank admissions on the other. And out of this singleness of intent, coupled with a curiously clear sense of perception and divination, there emerge human beings and a co- herent plan, and a philosophy of life, just the give and take, just the com- promise and the acceptance of which life is made. * k¥ X This is a first novel. This is a young author. This is a finished and sophis- ticated work. A novel that is goihg to command attention, going to excite comment—favorable and otherwise, Those who recognize good workman- ship—the theme selected for its sub- stance and reach, for its immediate appeal and its potencies of perspec- tive; the weighing of material for the amplification of this theme, for the ilimination of it as well; the rig- 1d hewing to the substance of the thing, no matter where the chips strike or fall; the final emergence of the whole into some considerable ad- vance of outlook and program—for all of these things the book will get high praisé, as it deserves to get. Such readers as look out from this view- point will listen for another book from Mathilde Eiker. Maybe they are already wondering if she can do it again, or if this may not be a very exceptional example of that one book which everybody is said to have tuck- ed away inside himself. She'll do it again. You watch. Others who, though uncritical, still recognize superior work and the competent movement of the good story—these two wiil be the most numerous and the most ardent supporters of this novel. They'll tell vou that, in its undeviating course, it is as relentless, and sometimes as grim, as Hardy himself. You'll laugh at these as belonging to the great class of over enthusiasts. As for the others, any number of people are go- Ing to condemn the book outright— mot for its handling. That will pass anywhere. For its subject instead. These others will deny its truth, stoutly. And, if just possibly it were true, then that's the worst kind of & truth to be at large in the pages of a wide-open novel. There'll be such words as “unfortunate,” “dangerous,” “asbad influence,” fiying around about “Mrs, Mason's Daughters.” But, after all, one reads into any book that which he himself is, potentially. And out of it all, In this case, must come the conclusion that a very gifted young woman has written a thor- oughly wellh::volodenOVeI u"m, 1 theme that no o un or] than humas astuse MJ" | Q. How many miles of street ane there in the District?—J. R. W. A. The division of ttreets of the District Building says-there were 544 miles of traveled streets in the Dis. trict of Columbia in 1924. Q. Who was the pastor of the Washington church which President Lincoln attended?—B. E. G. A. The Rev. Dr. Curley was the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which Presi- dent Lincoln attended in Washing- ton. “In the course of a sermon ‘Dreached by Dr. Curley's successor, Dr. Wallace Radcliffe, the latter stated that Lincoln shortly before his death told Dr. Curley that as soon as he (Lincoln) could do so without creating an awkward situation he would join the Presbyterian Church. Q. What percentage of the people in leading clties transact their own buying and selling of Thel. axtate without the ald of a reals estate office?’—J. T, E. A The National Association of Real Estate Boards says that the percentage probably varies greatly. | One of its boards found last year by investigation that more than 90 per cent of all transactions recorded were handled by members of the board. Real estate offices, however, are not all represented by member- ship in its boards. Q. Our woman's organization has some trees which were planted soon after the war as memorials to our soldier dead. They are now large enough to be marked. Where can the markers be obtained?—M. P. A. The American Forestry Asso- clation at 1523 L street northwest, Washington, D. sells at a cost of $1 a shield-shaped copper bronzed marker. The dimensions are 3 inches y 3 inches. On this marker Is femorial Trees of the World War— 1917-1918." (Space is left for the name, rank and date.) At the base of the marker is written, “Registered with the American Forestry Assocla- tion.” They also have a more ex- pensive marker which can be used, dedicating the marker to more than one person. This is sometimes im- bedded In concrete posts. These vary in size. They are made of cast { bronze. Q. How many Americans Rio de Janeiro?—F. C. A. In September, 1920, in the fed- eral district of Rio de Janeiro there were 1,066 Americans. live in Q. How much does the silver | coined in this country total>—M. P. | A From 1793 to 1924, inclusive, silver dollars have been coined to the amount of $750,365,321; half dol- lars, $224,573,848; quarters, $137,949,- 585.25; dimes, $110,613,879.70; half- dimes, $4,880,219.40. This brings the total 8p to $1,228,382,853.3: Q. Are members of the white race las blond as they used to be’— W T A Dr. Hrdlicka of the Anthropo- logical Laboratory of the United States National Museum at Washing- ton recently made a study of “old Americans”—that is, of those white persons whose families have had no | mixture with more_recent elements, {due to immigratiof, on either the father's or the mother’s side, for at least three generations. He con- ciuded that these Americans, as well as the people in Great Britain, are slowly growing darker as to hair and eyes. Only 1 among 16 males and The sixteenth anniversary of the dis- covery of the North Pole by Admiral Robert E. Peary was observed yesterday morning with commemorative exercises at the discoverer's grave in Arlington | Cemete: | “The news comes, at the same time, | that Capt. Donald B. MacMilian has completed arrangements for another ex- pedition into the Arctic region, not to visit the North Pole, but to seek a con- tinent which science indicates may be there beyond the itinerary of any pre- | vious explorer. Incidentally, the same papers also tell the sequel of the tragedy of the downfall of Dr. Frederick A. Cook.®who claimed to have beaten Peary in the quest of the centurles in reaching the Pole. While Peary’s sepulcher was being honored by the Government and the Navy, his erstwhile rival was on his way to the penitentiary, there to serve 14 years' penalty for alleged frauds in oil stocks. Capt. MacMillan has published evi- dence to the effect that Cook's al- leged photographs of the North Pole had been made at a point only 15 miles north of Etah, West Greenland —the'port from which MacMillan will embark upon his voyage next month to cross ‘the unknown sea between the Pole—550 miles farther north— and Alaska, in search for the conti- nent, or to demonstrate that no such continent exists. The MacMillan ‘expedition has re- ceived official sanction of the Gov- ernment, which will supply him with two airplanes and Navy personnel to fly them, but the ship and thy. cost of the expedition will be supplied by the National Geographic Society. * ¥ ¥ X It has been said that Capt. Mac- Millan will seek out evidences of the lost settlers who are alleged to have been left in Greenland or Win land by the Norse expedition und. Eric the Red or Lief the Fortunate in the year 1000. He will also seek evidence of the voyage and discovery of Wineland (Vinland) by Lief the Fortunate, in 1003 to 1006. However romantic and interesting are the speculations regarding the supposed discoveries by the Norse, so many centuries before Columbus, they are today of no practical value. It Is not for such considerations of aca- demic interest that Capt. MacMillan and his financial backerd are plan- ning so great an enterprise and ad- venture. If the Norse did make the accidental discovery of Wineland 500 years before Columbus, no memory of it remained to inspire Columbus, and nothing at all had come of the Norse accident. It was a modern Norseman, F Nansen, himself a noted Arctic e plorer, who first threw doubt upon the legend of the discoveries of 1000 and 1008 A.D., declaring them un- proved and filled with Trish medieval folklore. Even if true, it wis nut 80 important as the invasion of America by Chinese via Alaska many centuries before, from whom, it 15 oclaimed. earlier races in this hemi- spheres descended. Nor so interesting as the tracing, a short time ago, of the origin of the name “America,” showing that what we had aM been taught—that the con- tinental name had been stolen from Columbus by Amerigo Vespuclus— was not true, but that the name “America” was what natives had call- ed the country for ages before the hen laid Columbus' egg, with which he proved how easy it was to fol- low, but how puzsling it was to lead into unknown paths. The Indian name Cuba and Haitl and Porto Rico was ‘Camaracan,” easily misunderstood as “American.” and for Colombia and Peru they dcsignated the land as f“cax Amaraca’—"“Amaracan Land." Truth crushed to earth will rise in Iater editions of school histories. It i8 not necessary to equip polar expi ditions to revive the everlasting Pho nix, historic truth. < It is a trite query to demand why there should be any more expeditions to the polar resiemy mow that Peary 4 t ridtjof ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN 1 among 145 femules has real blond hair. One-half of the males end over four-tenths of the females show medium brown hair. One- fourth of the males and three-tenths of the females have dark brown hair. Approximately 1 per cent of the males #pd a very little more in the females have fully black hair. The females show a slight excess of true blonds ovex the males. Q. Of what is chewing gum made? —M. E. A It is a preparation of some form of gum resin to which flavor- ing matgter is sometimes added. Probably’, black spruce furnished the first gum' resin used for chewing gum. Chicle, an elastic gum of the raseberry tree, furnishes the base for most of the chewing gum of today. The naseberry is somewhat similar to the Indla rubber tree and grows in Central and tropical South America. Q. How manty pyramids were built in Egypt>—J. W. R. A. The pyramids of Egypt, some 75 in number, date from the period be- tween the fourth and twelfth dy- nasties and were built as tombs for the kings. The great pyramid at Gizeh is the largest and is the tomb of Cheops. Q. Just what Is a minimum wage? —R. A. G. A. This is a tefm employed to in- dicate the lowest level of earnings for a given class of laborers, which will afford them and their natural dependents a means of existence ade- Quate to maintain them in full phy- sleal efficiency and soclal dacency Q. How long ago were Greek ships in existence?’—K. R. A. The records of the Greeks reveal that their ships were in existence about 1200 B. C. Q. What is the meaning of “Vailima the name of Stevenson’s home?—A. R A. The word means “Five Waters. Q. What is laughing gas and when was It first used when extracting teeth —W. H. A. A Laughing gas nitrous oxide. Dr. Horace Wells, an American dentist first demonstrated that it could be used for the painless extraction of teeth. Q. What painter has executed the most mural decorations in America? —A. L. B. A. It is said of Edwin Blashfleld that, as a mural painter, he is repre- sented on more walls than any other artist in this country. Two beauti- ful examples of his work are in the Library of Congress, Washington. His painting in the lantern fs called “Intelligence Unveiled.” The collar decoration has for its theme the twelve great periods in the develop- ment of clvilization. Q. Did Charles Dickens invent 2 stenographic system?—A. E. H. A. The novelist altered the system invented by Gurney to suit his own needs. (The Star Information Burcau will answer your question. This offer applies strictly ta information. The bureau can- not give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles, nor undertake exhaustive research on amy subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and address and inciose 2 cents in stamps for return postage Al replies are sent direct’to the in- quirer. Address Frederic J. Haskin, di- rector, The Star Information Burea j \ Twenty-first and C streets northwest.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. has Aboyt manned discovered Ma; 1 another n by Norse— nanded b Capt. Amundsen—will travel by air- planes, from Spitzbergen, the islur northeast “of Greenland, and under- take to My over the pole, a voyage of 600 miles, in 8 hours. They will take provisions for 30 days, but they really hope to make a round trip in one day. aside from 24 hours’ stop at_the pole. But such the North Pole expedition an adventure be compared in scientific with the exploration of unknown by Capt. MacMi. together with two mnaval which will put off from after reaching terra incognita and travel farther in onme hour than pedestrian explorers could in a weck That region between the pole and Alaska, 1,000 miles in diameter, has never been penetrated. Science, the measurement of waves rolling from the unexplored region, the tempera- tures of currents of water and air and other phenomena tend to indi- cate the presence of a vast body of land. ‘What is in that land? Are there minerals, coal, oil? Possibly forests? It is supposed to be of twice the area of Texas—the greatest unknown body in the world Admiral Peary crossed Greenland upon his first exploration, and after traveling hundreds of miles upon & plateau of ice descended into a val- ley filled with an amazing sbundance of flowers and other vegetation. At Fort Yukon, Alasfla, the thermometer sometimes reached 100 degrees Fah- renheit. Temperature is governed more by altitude than by latitude— we find eternal gnow in the tropics and the coldest seas under the Equator. Furthermore, our meteorologists are just beginning to realize how in- adequate “is their knowledge of weather conditions so long as their daily observations are taken over an area omitting those vast regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. In a sea of air probably reaching many hundreds of miles overhead they are getting actual conditions extenging up only six or eight miles. How little is known of the great rivers of air, pouring like cerulean “Gulf Streams” through the atmospheres! From the cyclones and anti-cyclones of the Arctic there flows a stream west of the Rockies, and another across the plains of midcontinent. There is where our weather originates, and when we receive radio reports from stations in the undiscovered MacMil- lan Land and from Spitzbergen, Greenland, Siberia and Alaska, our weather will be foretold days before it reaches us. Scigntists tell us that if during the northern Winter the Euraseun anti-cyclone is less intense than nor- mal, it means that in India there will be a breakdown of northeast mon- soons. Or if in India the monsoons are less severe, there will be less ice pack in the Arctic. Also, if the Winter rains of Chile fail south of latitude 33 degrees S. that means that Weddell Sea (in the Arctic) is comparatively clear of ice. * % ¥ ¥ When We reflect upon the small- ness of the earth in the great uni- verse it ceases to be strange that the entire globe is affected by the same conditions of the atmosphere, and that studfes of a restricted area for meteorological conditions are al- most futile. How little do sclentists know af.lhe nature of the aurora borealis! 1§ it magnetism? - Is it electricity? Is it refraction of sunlight? If eitner, why is not t importanc: great <hip, planes, the ship the an's | does it exist in the Arctic region and is never seen in the Antarctic? When air traffic establishes routes along the creat circles from America to Eurone, passing over the North Pole. .wheré ' will there be.way stations and supply stations en route? 1Is it not a wonder chamber of ‘mystery which Capt. MagMillan is going to explore? (Copyright, 1925, by Paul V. Collins.