Evening Star Newspaper, April 9, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY.......April 9, 1925 . .Editor “THFODORE V. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 Last 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Bufldlu“' Puropean Office: 16 Regent St., London, England. The v Star, with the Sunday morning eaition e BSiSerea by carriers. within the eents per month: Sunday only, 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- phone Main 5000. Collection is made by car Ters at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Bunday....1 yr., $8.4¢ 1ly oaly. 1 yr., 86 Sunday oanly. 1 yr., $2 All Other State y and Sunda; Daily onls . e Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press fa exclusively entitled use for republication of all news dis- s credited to it or not otherwise credited aper and also the local news pub. lished hercin. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. The Pacific War Games. The importance and value of the military and naval maneuvers, cen- tering on the Hawailan Islands, with the United States fleet and the mili- v defenses of the islands participat- are admirably described in the series of articles by Maj. Gen. John L. Hines, chief of staff, of which the final article appears elsewhere in The Star toda; The Hawaiian Islands, and more particularly the Island of Oahu, under the plans of American defense, constitute the great outpost of the United States in the Pacific Ocean.. There, 2,000 miles out to sea, are concentrated to a great extent the defenses of the coast from Alaska to Panama. The value of these defensive plans s enormous, if cor- rectly made, and the failure of the plans would, on the other hand, be a serious blow. It is the part of wisdom to ascer- tain as nearly as possible how strong are the defenses of the island. Some critics prate of a threat of war in such maneuvers. But it would be as idle to expect a man to do correctly a giant swing without venturing near a gymnasium or to run a hundred yards shell-swept area in war times.. Speed regulations on some of the streets have become temporarily unnecessary, because of the rough riding and the danger of broken axles. The Court of Appeals in its de- cision declared that the District gov ernment may not avold liability ior failure to keep a street in a reason- ably safe condition ‘"by assert- ing that the unsafe condition was the result of the exercise of discre- tionary power or governmental func- tion.” Nor is there excuse for the District government because of a lack of appropriations by the Congress. The plain duty of the District gov- ernment, in the opinion of the court, is to see to it that the citizens may be free of danger from accident be- cause of the condition of the streets and sidewalks. Not many years ago the streets of Washington were at once the joy of its residents and the envy of other municipalities, because of their com- parative smoothness and cleanliness. With the tremendous increase in the number of motor vehicles, however, and the heavy traffic, the reputation of the streets here has changed for the worse. If Congress is to blame for conditions, then steps should be taken to bring the matter home forci- bly to that body. But with money at hand the District government should bend every energy to relieve what today is & real menace—the evil con- dition of many of the streets. ——— The Issue in Germany. Nomination of Field Marshal von Hindenburg as a candidate of the parties of the right in Germany draws a clear-cut issue in the campaign which will end on the 26th of April in the second and final election for the presidency That issue will be between republicanism and mon- archism, between a continuation of the democratic form of government and the restoration of Hohenzollern rule. Hindenburg is, to be sure, a candidate simply for the presidency. But that candidacy is, it is now plain, but @ first move in a campaign for the return, if not of Wilhelm II, of a member of his family to the throne. Hindenburg's candidacy, it now ap- pears, was the result of conferences between the Monarchist parties in Germany and the exile at Doorn. The aged field marshal was indisposed to enter the political erena. He was in ten seconds flat without ever mak- ing a practice dash as to expect ar- maments to operate correctly with- out the practice that simulated war gives. In the war game to be played off the Islands of Hawaii, the American milita naval commands may learn valuable lessons from several di- rections. They may learn, first, the effectiveness of the defenses of the islands. Second, they may learn the effectiveness of the American fleet in attack on the islands, should they ever fall into the hands of a foe and thelr recapture become a vital im- portance to the United States. Third, they should have a valuable demon- stration of the use of air forces, both in attack from naval air carrlers, and in the matter of defense by air forces operating from the land against a hostile fleet. The Hawaiian Islands have been described as the crossroads of the Pacific. The Island of Oahu lends itself to strong defensive operations. And as a base for naval operations on the part of the United States, it has been declared of utmost importance. Equally, it would prove of great value to an enemy nation should it fall into enemy hands, in prosecuting war against the United States. In the case of the United States, separated by thousands of miles of ocean from all the other great powers of the earth, the Navy constitutes the first line of defense. The farther from American shores the Navy can oper- ate, the more valuable from a defen- sive point of view. In view of these circumstances, the maneuvers, in which the United States fleet is to be known as the “blue” fleet, and the military defenses of the islands are to “fight” under the “blagk” flag, will be followed with the utmost interest. and ———— Hindenburg in a campaign for the presidency of Germany will at least have the advantage of a man experi- enced in displaying courage in the face of possible defeat. —————— finally persuaded by assurance that the former kaiser wished him to stand as the nominee, as virtually his rep resentative. When he was convinced that the parties of the right would unite upon him and that Wilhelm wished him to run he consented. In the preliminary election held on the 29th of March, which resulted in no choice, the Monarchist groups failed to make a sufficient showing to elect Jarres, their candidate. - The Republican votes were divided. Now there is @ union of the Republican strength upon Marx, whose election would seem to be probable, despite the concentration of Monarchist sent- ment upon Hindenburg. The circum- stances in which the fleld marshal has been nominated, the plain evi- dence that he is the candidate, not merely of the pro-monarchical parties, but of the former kaiser, should, it is felt, strengthen the Republican poll on the 26th of this month. At any rate, the issue is now clearly defined. It is in some of the dispatches from Berlin defined as that of monarchy or republic, with militariem and war as the program for Germany in the event of Hindenburg’s election, or reconciliation and peace should Marx be chosen. A fortnight from next Sunday will tell the story. Germany's decision will then be rendered. While the time is short, doubtless thé campaign will be @ thorough one and the German people will be aroused to the point of a large poll. Upon the decision may rest the peace of Europe, the peace, indeed, of the world. ————— Literary features are promised for radio, which may in time wield an influence enabling it ‘to break away from the unpardonable word “broad- casted.” ——————— As usual, most families will inter- rupt the year’s program of economy in order to provide the necessary out- fit for the Easter parade. ———— It might be excusable for Mr. La You cannot judge a man by his clothes. Many an honest heart beats beneath a high-colored and frivolous sweater, —————— ‘Wide trousers are in vogue, but & true FEaster economist will wear knickerbockers. ————————— District Streets. ‘The paramount duty of the District to maintain the streets of Washing- ton in a “reasonably safe condition’ is stressed in an opinion of the Court of Appeals in @ personal injury suit brought against the District by Cath- erine H. Bauer, who fell over a “rise” at the corner of Thirteenth and D streets northeast and. toactured her shoulder. She was awarded $1,000 in the lower court, and the District ap- pealed. The decision by the Court of Ap- peals may well direct the attention of the District government again to the deplorable condition in which many of the streets of Washington are today. In the heart of the city there are many holes several inches deep, which might cause a serious accident to either pedestrians or to vehlcular traffic. This is true in the very centers of the city's activities, for example, at New York avenue and Fifteenth street northwest. It s true that the District govern- ment IS at work mending the torn streets. But that the streets should have been allowed to get into a con- ditlon that makes travel over them @ distress rather than a pleasure is & serious matter. Tt may be that Con- gress has been to blame in part for not providing adequate funds— although it has made large provision for street Tepair this Winter and Spring. Some pian should be de- vised whereby the highways of the Capital City should not at some period | the Classification Board.. He will deal | tion each year hawe the appearance of Follette to regard the G. O. P. as try- ing to be almost as exclusive as a “frat.” ———— Reorganization and Consolidation. Secretary Jardine of the Depart- ment of Agriculture has moved swift- ly in executing his plans for reor- ganization and consolidation in the administration of the department. Announcement of his action states that it is in the interest of economy and efficiency, his proclaimed objec- tive upon taking hold of his office. In bringing ebout the consolidations, Secretary Jardine let it be known that he expects that not only will increased efficiency and economy result, but that the changes are in line with ather policies of President Coolidge. Even- tually these consolidations will result in reductions in personnel, but he gives assurance that no wholesale re- ductions are contemplated. This should be gratifying to the employes of the department who will naturally be uneasy until the re- organization is compieted end the department may go ahead under the new regime without undue apprehen- sion as to tenure.of office among the employes. The statement may also be taken as indicating that Secretary Jardine will bear in mind the economic wisdom of drawing the line at a point where wholesale reduction might work out to be uneconomical. It is explained that for the first time . the department will have in effect a personnel manager in the creation of a division of personnel and business administration under a di- rector. This is in line with the wishes expressed by many of the govern- ment workers in Washington. The new director of this bureau will be in contact with the Civil Service Com- mission, the Bureau of Efficiency and alfaits Relating THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. promotion, classification, civil service retirement and compensation under the Federal compensation act. It is explained that the plan of Secretary Jardine with the selection of the heads of the reorganized bu- reaus carries with it recognition of the services and abilities of long-time employes of the bureau. The con- solidation effected is regarded by Sec- retary Jardine es e distinct move in a direction of efficlency. When he assumed office he found a dozen or more separate offices engaged in per- sonnel and business operations affect- ing the department as & whole with the head of each office reporting di- rectly to the Secretary. The new system will be generally recognized as a vast improvement. vt Memorial Bridge Foundations. Drilling for the foundations of the new Arlington Memorial Bridge has resulted in the striking of bedrock at 48 feet below the surface. Other bor- ings will be made to effect a complete survey of the character of the bottom on the line of the new structure. This work, it is stated, will take about four months. TUpon its completion bids will be invited for the construction, thus actually starting the work. One of the objections to the Me- morial Bridge, raised long ago, was that it would be impossible to obtain 2 suitable foundation. This was never serfously considered, in view of the fact that bridges have been built across the river, both above and below the proposed line, without any par- ticular difficulty. Foundation work in the entire river basin around Wash- ington requires penetration to bedrock or else the use of piles. Numerous large structures are now standing in the area of the old river basin without any risk of subsidence. In fact, prac- tically all large structures along Penn- sylvania a- and south of it are bullt on piluigs, which in some cases reach bedrock and in others reach hardpan. Potomac Park is a “reclaimed area,” formed by the dredging of the river channels and the deposit of the dredged alluvial material behind re- taining walls. It is now thoroughly “settled,” or solidified. Foundations, however, must within its area be ob- tained by going to the firm strata of the basic rock. At 48 feet this is not difficult, and it is thus assured that Memorial Bridge will stand upon firm footing. It is gratifying to find the work proceeding 8o promptly and vigor- ously. Construction of the bridge will be a matter of several years, and this present pace of the preliminary work is an assurance that no time will be lost and that the period of construc- tion will be reduced to the lowest terms compatible with substantial, en- during construction. o The Prince of Wales should by this time be equipped to vary any state an- nouncements he may have to make in the future with an occasional charm- ing travelogue. —_———— As an official Gen. Mitchell has been reduced to low visibility. Whether he will be reduced to low audibility may. depend on popular interest. ——— A long time has elapsed since Mr. Dawes said “Helen Marla.” A true artist is prudent about the manner in which he takes encores. —_———.—— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOENSON. A Traffic Plea. “‘Oh, listen, Your Honor!” a motorist said ‘To the Court, with a proper civility: “The best of intentions may some- times be led Into ways that suggest incivility. “Remember that it is but human to err. Offenses must vary in gravity. From the fact that one motors you £hould not infer That he represents total depravity? Sage Advice. “I'll do my best to get you an ap- pointment worthy of your talents, said Senator Sorghum. “Thank you, Senator!” . “Something brilllant and conspicu- ous.” “Thank you, Senator!” “But if you take my advice you'll look out for something less prom- inent—something without a resigna- tion rumor attached to it—before you start work.” Tree Cutting, A pioneer cut down the trees, And cleared a space for sun. His children dwelt in greater ease. They vowed his work well done. Their progeny kept cutting, too, Because each sire so did; Until, in. Summer, from our view The sky was never hid. Men clear away ideas. old To level out life's field, And learn to scoff at what is old, While seeking swifter yield. The sky is hot. The drouth is long. The torrent rages free. Think twice, oh, ruthless one, and strong, Ere you cut down a tree! Playlhg Safe. “I am going to speak over the radio tomorrow night.” 2 “I shall listen in with great inter- est,” said Miss Cayenng. “T shall talk about the ideals of our modern culture.” “Simply ‘wonderful?” . “Would you like to hear it before. hand?” 3 " Ve “No. Save it, so that it I don’t hap- pen to like it I can tune out for my favorite hotel orchéstra.” ». Improvements. The city gardener doth drop His rake in discontent. 3 One year he raised a little crop— The landlord raised the rent. “Long words an’ high‘soandin’ titles don’t mean nuffin’ to me,” said Uncle Eben, “since I_got fooled into t ‘synthetic gin’ > THURSDAY. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Along any street, 1f you look In the windows, you will see the cur- tains sag in the middle. No matter how trim and straight they were when the good housewife put them up, in & few weeks or months they begin to sag apart. Even panel curtains sag Inward from the sides, and overdrapes sag outward. These are but types of a universal sagging, for this is a sagging world. a world in which man has te exer- clge every ability he has to keep him- self from sagging worse than hls window curtains. No sooner is a child born than it begins to sag. The pull of gravity is 80 strong that by the time the child is 6 years old his head droops for- ward, his shoulders are rounded, his spine, too, bent. Unless stiffening is applied in the form of corrective exercises, such a child, as all educators know, is like- 1y to grow into a man with protrud- ing stomach, head stuck far forward, and shoulders even further rounded. In emall towns and country dis- tricts, years ago, the favorite correc- tive of this early physical sagging was shoulder braces. Probably those hideous inventions did some good, but it s entirely problematical. Proper muscular development gave the only correct *shoulder bLrace.” There was another form of ‘“bracer,” too, that more often failed to achieve results than not. This was nagging, a persistent carping at the child to “throw your shoulders bac No child so pes- tered ever got any good out of it. Usually he so resented the persist- ence of the attacks that he allowed gravity to pull him down faster than ever. Nagging never corrects sag- ging. Life is a fight to stand upright. Our tendency is to sag. As St Paul sald, God made man upright, but he has sought out many inven- tions. The saint never studied physiology, or biology, so he did not take into ac- count the quite evident fact that men originally went on all fours. In that primitive attitude the great vital organs of the digestive tract hung in the proper position, and there probably was no such thing as indigestion. When man reared himself on his hind legs, and began to use his fore- paws—hands—the universal prolapsus of the stomach began. Today every man you ses With a paunch where a more or less straight line ought to be is a sufferer from the pull of gravity. He is sagging at the middle, just ke his window curtains. ‘When he sits on “the small of his back” with his feet cocked in the air, as you see the drummers in the chairs propped against the front of hotels in small towns, he 1is col- lapsing to just that extent. The only time he Is upright, In a physical sense, is when he is on his back in bed. Then the pull of gravity is suspended in the vertical plane, and the spine is more or less normal, the organs of the digestive tract in thelr proper positions and the head back where it belongs. Starch in the widow ourtains will keep them from sagging for a cer- tain length of time, but after that the only thing to do is to pin them together—a poor substitute—or take them down and starch them all over again. Men need plenty of “starch” to keep them upright, physically, mentally and morally. This is ons of the hard- est tasks we face here. It calls for the best there {s in one, With the final result very much in doubt. But it Is this uncertainty, perhaps, which adds zest to the game. 1f we were quite positive we would never fall down, life would become boresome. If we knew beyond per- adventure we should never sag In the middle, not even a little bit, perhaps we would become unbearably stiff. ® ok % K Mentally we sag fearfully. There is & saylng current among the psychologists that a man never loarns anything after he is 30 years old, unless he is forced to Before you controvert that, stop and consider. Honest, now, what have you really studied recently? What do you know now you did not know & year ago, b years ago, 10 years ago. Let us quit for very shame. We go along in the same old way, as com- fortably as we may, falling even to read any longer the great bool of the world, bocause they lack “pep. As it “pep” holds a candle to worth, or cleverness welghs in the scale against honesty and earnestnes, Laugh all you please &t the cor- respondence schools. Nevertheless, they represent some real mental “starch,” self-applled by _earnest young men and women who have been jogged into seeing that they are sagging in the middle of the mind. If you will stretch vour brain out like a curtain, the sight may please vou for a time, but after a while you will be painfully aware that the mental curtains are parting in the middle. While these curtains are concealing your inmost thoughts from the pry- ing world, do not allow them to hide yourself from yourself. If we sag in the skull, we ought to know about it, certainly. Morally, perhaps, we sag Wworst of all. The whole Christian Church ap- plies itself principally to prevent this sagging, with what success will be judged hereafter. Sincere, decent men of all days and ages, Christian, pagan, Mohammedan or what-not, have worked in the same good fleld. Read your Marcus Aurelius, whom Dean Farrar called a “seeker after God.” Read Lucretius, who said, “True religion is not to bow down be- fore a stone, but to have a heart at peace with God.” These men, and countless others, knew that despite the fact we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we are inclined to sag in the middle in uprightness, honor, truth, decency, love, faith, charity and the other moral attributes. When we are mean, we sag fear- fully. When we are flippant, apart. If discourteous to the poor, very kind to the rich, we sag wide The organizations to which we be- long sag, t0o, when we do, or those under us do, When a street car con- ductor {s discourteous, the whole traction company Sags. When the clerks in a store continue their private conversation, although they see the customer patiently walt. Ing to ket waited on, then the whole establishment is listing to starboard. Any organization that breaks faith with those who support it is sagging in_the middle. sven civilization sagged during the World War. And every now and then some one pops up to tell us that the very universe is sagging in the mid- dle. we yawn but Fortunes of Ford and Dodge Are Products of Golden Age “Romance of business” and “golden age of the automobile” are phrases uged in newspapers which comment upon the announcement of Kord profits for a year, and the sale of the Dodge holdings for $175,000,000. “Henry Ford can well be rated as a Dbillionaire,” in the opinion of the Wall Street Jourdal. “His wealth is growing more rapidly than that of any other multi-mtliionaire. What Mr. Ford will be worth 10 years hence, based on earnings of more than $100,000,000 annually, is left to the imagination.” Viewing the same figures as indica- tion of “stupendous going under one- man power,” the Los Angeles Times notes that the Ford Company sur- plus now stands at “something less than $550,000,000, of which $300,000,- 000 1s virtually cash.” The Times adds: “Twenty-five years ago Henry couldn’t break & ten-spot, and now he has the wholo world broke buy- ing Fords at 10 bucks a week. He cen look Wall Street in the eye and tell it where to go.” An uppraisal of Mr. Ford as a “national asset” is made by the Dayton News, which de- clares that “In the annals of Amer- fean industrial history there is no case which approaches the Ford climb te wealth and power, with the ex- ception of the Rockefellers and Standard Oil. Ford tops the Rocke- fellers in personal fortun: “You'll have to admit, Rock Island Argus, “that he is a success, both as a manufacturer and financier, and that you willingly helped him to reach the distinction. He has been the worker's best friend in guaganteeing him a living wage and model - working conditions, setting for employment over the Na- tion.” Still another basis for braise is found by the Wilker-Barre Times Leader, which says that “scarcely a field exists that does not know of Ford competition. The best part of it is that the Fords do compete. Ford tendencies are not monopolistic. There 18 no evidence that Ford has ever at- tempted to_control the automobile industry.” The Detroit manufacturer is also_credited by the Tampa Times as to Knowing what the American peo- ple wanted, although “when he began to manufacture a low-priced car pre- dictions were freely made by other manufacturers that he wouldn't last long:. * % ok % Ford's independence impresszes the Topeka Capital. “He has no faith in advisers, bankers or partners and goes it alone,” says the Capital. “If he ever had to choose between re- ducing wages and wiping out divi- dends, Henry Ford says he would not hesitate a moment. ‘There is something sacred about wages. They represent homes and families, bread boxes, coal bins, baby carriages, chil- dren’s education, family comfort and contentment.’ Yet the worker must earn his wag Another phase of independence is noted by the Elmira Star Gazette, which declares that “whatever the Fords undertake .Is a success, ‘One of the reasons is that they do not have to borrow, and hampered for the Prediction that Mr. Ford, having launched his first airplane, will have an important. part in supplying the demand for planes is made by the Binghamton Press. VYBefore he gets through,” asserts the Press, “the cities of the country may be facing the problem of finding parking fields for: planes.” The association of Ford with the Dodge brothers is commented upon by the Cincinnat! Times Star, which refers to the sale of the Dodge Co: pany as the end of a great busin omance, the brothers having died in 920.. The. brothers, says. - Times, others in the Ford Company, they disagreed with Henry Ford. Thelr lives were short and merry, in an industrial sense. They were also characteristically American. They worked hard, the lived hard, they served their country well, and their organism was such that thelr souls went marching‘on. And let it be sald that if they had lived they probably would be buying in the concerns to which, in effect, their succcessors are selling out.” Describing the accumulation of the Dodge fortunes as among the To- mances of American industry and commerce, the Pittsburgh Gazette- Times remarks that ownership and control may be expected to pass b fore long to the investing public, to be diffused. The Gazette-Times sees in several such transactions a form of public ownership through wide dis- tribution of shares of common stock. Referring to “the golden age of the automobile,” the Lansing State Journal says the Dodges “were abu: dantly able to keep on the flood tide. Their career is held up to others by the Manchester Union as “another ex- ample of the possibilities America of- fers, and rewards to be obtained for acumen, thrift and industry.” Twilight Beautiful In Hall of Library To the Editor of The Star: Just before closing hour in the Congressional Library the great hall of the stairway is a place of marvel- ous beauty and light. A gleaming palace of snowy Italian marble, with spaclous balconies and stately colon- nades, wonderfully carved Statuary and beautiful balustrades, it presents & picture of never-to-be-forgotten brilliancy. Then, away up in the dome, an imperceptible change begins to take place. One feels rather than sees the less- ening of the light, as, point by point, it twinkles out far above. The upper balconies are In darkness, the gleam- ing colonnades disappear in the gath- ering gloom, the exquisite tracery of the sculpturing fades from view and the rare beauty of this most magnifl. cent of halls is lost in the shadows that come creeping down the marble stairs, BEDITH HARRIS, War on Disease Brings Comfort to Humanity Twenty-five years hence tubercu- losis will be exterminated in the British dominfons or be as uncom. mon as leprosy is today, says Dr. C. ‘W. Saleeby, spokesman for the Lo: don Medical Institute. He predicts that the greatest advance in medical sclence will be the successful com- bating of tuberculosis and cancer and the reduction of infant mortality to_next to nothing. Let us hope that the dootor is cor- rect. Certainly any progress in the direction he indicates will be welcome to sufferers the world over. Every year thousands succumb to the dis- eases mentioned after lingering ill- nesses. { ‘The human race as & whole does not wish for a longer life. It would be monotonous to live two or three hundred yea: There would be no novelty in it at all. But to have the few years of our lives made brighter by the absence of disease—that would Indeed be a great blessing, and th . world will be in &2‘: who can m;k-fl APRIL 9, 1925. THE NORTH WINDOW BY LEILA MECHLIN. Bryn Mawr is endeavoring to ® cure an endowment for Its music department and it should be success- ful. Not only is this music depart- ment invaluable as an asset to Bryn Mawr, but a shining examplé to other colleges. At a musical given in the interest of this enterprise at a pri- vate home in this city & fortnight ago to an invited audlence, the story of the founding of this famous woman's college was interestingly told by an alumna. Bryn Mawr was originally a Quaker college; the money for its founding was glven by & young man of that sect who lost his swestheart by acquiring a col- lego education elsewhers, she being left behind in the woods of ignorance. A great deal of water has run under the bridge since then or there would be no music department for which to seek an endowment. Music, lke painting, sculpture and the other beautiful arts, was in those now dls- tant days, strangely enough, regarded as an instrument of the cvil one If the Creator Himself had not made the world beautiful and seen it good, had not given song to the birds and rejoiced in harmony. When the time came that Bryn Mawr determined to establish a de- partment of musio it turned to Har- vard for advice, because of what had been accomplished musically at Har- vard among the students in recent years. This was well. As Miss Parks, the president of Bryn Mawr ex- plained at the musical to which ref- erence has aiready been made, Bryn Mawr does not attempt to train the virtuoso. It does sttempt, and measurably succeeds, in making music a part of the life of its students. Jt provides recreation of the best sort: broadens vision; it enriches those who come within its influence; it is & real beneficence which should be per- petuated. But why stop .there? Having done so much, why should not Bryn Mawr establish and main- tain a department of art which woul be equally exemplary and 1o valuable? Harvard has already “set the pace” by not only establishing, but endowing its department of art and securing for it ample equipment, under the conviction, as President Lowell said recently, that art is more and more at the present time becom- ing an integral part of life, an es- sential. When asked why Bryn Mawr aid not have a department of art similar to its department of music Miss Parks said: “We have, we think an excellent history of art course But would Bryn Mawr be willing now to substitute for its department of music an excellent course in the h tory of music? And yet music is far less related to life than It is not dead art that our ¢ e stu- dents should learn to know, but art which is alive—art taught in the game manner, not with the purpose of producing great artists, but &n appreciative public, as the music at Bryn Mawr is taught by Mr. Alwyne. * ok X ¥ Curiously enough, almost all of our colleges lag behind in this respect. Many have history of art courses— good courses; some give technical instruction, which is less significant except inasmuch as it introduces the student to the artist's way of | working; a few, but a very few, are instructing In the appreciation of art, yet even they, save In one or two in- stances, do not regard the subject seriously or recognize its possibili- es. e object of education 18 avowedly equipment for life, which does not mean earning capacity, money-mak- ing pow but something finer and better—the power to give abundantly in service and to secure the maxi- mum _contentment and delight. A knowledge and appreciation of art opens new avenues of untold pleas- ure. The student who takes advantage of the opportunities which the music department at Bryn Mawr offers learns not only what is good music, but how to recognize it, and experi- ences a little thrill of delight when a composition “ends precisely as it should to acoord with its beginning.” As the ear {s trained and the mind opens, thess little thrills of delight come more frequently, occasioned, mayhap, by recognizing the repetition of a theme or its reintroduction, the underlying purpose of the composer, and being able to appreciate the ex- quisitely artistic way in which he accompiishes his task. This is quite the same in painting or sculpture or any of the fine arts. It is understanding which opens the door to appreciation, and appreciation to pleasure. Furthermore, art opens the eyes to beauty in nature, to a fuller enjoyment of much that one sees. And how large a part art has in the common things of life—the design of the home, the dress, the ohina on the table, the decoration of the table, to say nothing of the pic- ture on the wall. Almost every one knows when a thing is well done and when it {s not, but only a few have trained perception and knowledge of principles, without which creative work is impossible, creative work of the simplest sort. Bryn Mawrs founder gave up his sweetheart be- cause she had not been able to keep step with him intellectually; if Har- vard is going to train its young men to an appréciation of beauty in art, perhaps it may behoove Bryn Mawr and the other women's colleges to do llkewlse in order that their graduates may not again be left behind on the highway of life for lack of com- panionable qualifications. * ok ok % Strangely enough, our Western col- leges seem more enterprising and awake in this matter than those in the East. A littlé college in Kansas that has had the good fortune of hav- ing not only an art department, but at its head an artist with inspira- tional power, has done much not only to create & love of art among its graduates, but through them to leaven the educational system in that part of our country around which still clings the romance of ploneer days. What Birger Sandzen has done in Kansas, at Bethany College, Oscar Jacobson is doing in Oklahoma, at the State University, and Prof. Chris. tensen is doing in North Dakota and Prof. Grummann In Nebraska— spreading the knowledge of the value of*art and communicating through personal contact its appreciation. Some of the very best work in the development of the native drama that has been done was instituted in a college in North Dakota by Prof. Koch, who is duplicating his success at present in a college in North Car- olina, in both using native talent for the interpretation of natiye themes. The soil is fertils for the production of art in this country as well as the appreciation. A Mttle wise sowing and there will be a large harvest. And what will it not mean to future generations! g ¥ 1 * k ¥ % An interesting -experiment in art appreciation has been tried in recent years at Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y, by Edward Root, the son_of Elihu Root, our great statesman. Mr. Root has not been content to merely teath the history of art, but he has brought before hl tudents examples of filne art—original prints of real excellence and other works, and he has talked with them about them; he has shared his enthusiasm. It {s his bellef that one must see to know, and that reproductions, no matter how good, do not serve'the full purpose. This s very much in accordance with the Harvard theory which is leading to the development—thanks to :iu nnnml% two flor;:u—otl,’ the Fogg M al Museum there, w! according to "the diréutor, is being regarded and used as laboratory for the students of its art depart- ment, lul i-'.uu!‘lm:xhhlb;hkub{d‘;:‘ opportunity for first-hand knowledge museums are laboratories, and we ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. What theaters in the District seat the most people?—J. W. B. A. The Auditorium {s first, with seating capacity of 6,552; Earle Thea- ter, second, with 2,250; then Tivoli, 2,200; Poli's, 1,951; Kelth's, 1,938; Na- tional, 1,747; Belasco, 1,472. Q. Why has work on the big build- ing on B street between Sixth end Seventh been stopped? A A. The office of public buildings and grounds says that the work on the Memorfal Building on B street between Sixth and Seventh streets is & private undertaking of the George Washington Memorial Association. It is stated that work has been discon- tinued on account of lack of funds Q. Is there a dam named for Presi- dent Coolidge?—D. O. T. A. The Coolidge Dam is to be con- structed across the canyon of the Gila River near San Carlos, Ariz. Q. Can the operator of an airplane tell whether the machine is right side up, if he cannot see the earth?— R.P A. Through the force of gravity an aviator can tell when he is at an al- titude too great to ses his surround- ings. If he is fiying upside down, he hangs in his belt, and if he is fiying on the side, he will be pulled by this force to the side. Q. Are coples of “The American Government,” by Frederic J. Haskin, in Braille, lent free to the blind? M. M A. The Library of Congress s it has but one copy, which is In New York point. It was made by hand by blind man and is loaned free, even of postal charges, to blind readers anywhere in the United States. At the present time, the book is sched- uled & year in advance, Q. 1f trees do not freeze during the Winter, why is there frost in the tree £ it is cut down?—C. H. A. The Forest Service says trees do freeze. that give some information about the New Orleans Inner Harbor Canal>—E. K. A. The Inner Harbor Navigation and Industrial Canal of New Orleans, extends for over 5 miles from the Mississipp! Valley to Lake Pontchar- train. A concrete ship lock permit- ting the passage of 20,000-ton vessels will admit them to the gulf level of the inner harbor, from which there is a 8 by 14-foot channel through Lake Pontchartrain to the gulf, which it 18 expected will ultimately be substi- tuted by a 30-foot channel. The canal adds about 11 miles to the water- front. It was completed in 1923, It changes 96,000 acres of waste, low value lands within the city limits to potential harbor frontage of high value. Q. a barrel, each end and the middle, height?—R. N A. The following is the formula for Q. Please How can one find the capacity of knowing the diameter of and the finding the volume of a cask or bar- rel of any form: Add together times the square of the bung diame- ter, 25 times the square of the head diameter, and 28 times the product of the dlameters. Multiply the sum by the length, and divide by 31 2 for content in imperial gallons, or by ,470 for United States gallons. This rule was framed by Dr. Hutton, on the supposition that the middle third of the length of tho cask was a frue- tum of a parabolle spindle, and each outer third was a frustum of & cou Q. Why are Americans gringos by the Mexicans?—D. A The story runs that in 1846, 2 United States ers_were marching in Mexico, t ng “Green Grow the Rushes, Oh.” “Gringo” was all that the Mexican ear and speech retained, and the term was soon ap- called H. sol Q. How was the Eiffel Tower used in studying iiquefaction of gases —W. W. A. During the period of experimen- tation with the liquefaction of g Cailletet, the noted Fr scientist, experimented with a manometer in the Eiftel Tower. tower was used on account of its great height. A soft steel tube rected w ran up the framewor Every 3 maeter: a projecting E placed, and to each c tube, in I 3 meters, ings coul the tube. W 400 atmosph. reached > taken th this s of pri Q. How military dist War?’—R. C. A. The act provide for th ment the 10 se districts territor: Carolina; Georgia, Mississippi Arkansas and Texas. harvest begin?—J. A. The Arg « Harbor Steamboat Inspection Department of Comme a question you wont answered send it to The Star Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, direc- ar you have tor, Twenty-first and C streets nor? The only charge for this ser is 2 cents in stamps for return postage.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Tpon the heels of last week's a nouncement of the work of the Pan- American Union, through the co-op- eration of the American Institute of International Law, in formulating certain’ projects to be considered by an international conference of Amer- ican jurists looking to the codifica- tion of international law for Ameri- can republics, there comes from Ge- neva an announcement that the League of Natlons' commission of jurists has taken definite steps to study projects for the codification of international law for the world. It is recognized that to agree upon laws governing the sovereign na- tions of the Old World, with all the international feuds and hatreds &nd historic crimes between nations, is a far moro difficult problem than that of formulating, in times of peace and cordial relations, rules of action for the 21 republics of the Western Hem- isphere. The commission appointed by the League of Nations is headed by George W. Wickersham, former At- torney General of the United States. The idea of codifying international laws was first adopted during the Civil War, when President Lincoln emploved Dr. Francis Lieber, a pr fessor at Columbia College, to codify the laws and customs for the govern- ment of armics. The Lieber codifi- cation was used by the Federal Army, and by the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War. Their success inspired Bluntschli, professor of in- ternational law in the University of Heldelberg, to undertake, in 1868, the broader enterprise of codifying all international laws—the first in his- tory. * % % % The Bluntschli codification is still recognized &s of monumental impor- tance. Codification does not create law; it simply collates it and restates it in crystallized form, after which it must be confirmed by legislative or treaty-making authority. New laws passed subsequent to a codification soon modify or possibly nullify the force of the codifying until the work is brought up to date, and it is that which now necessitates a new codi- fication. New conditions not only bring new duties, but new laws or the need thereof. Indeed, there are few flags which floated in 1868 which one can still ses without radical changes in thelr pattern. The United States flag is the oldest unchanged banner in the world. International relatfons have been revolutionized since 1868. Transpor- tation, the channels and practices of commerce, the ideals of freedom, the upsetting of the balance of power, the interrelation of finance and the shifting of both political and eco- nomic influences, make this a new world, vet international law has not been clearly interpreted to fit the changes. Pan-America is leading in initiative to modernize the interrela- tions of this great family of 21 re- publics. Can Europe follow such an example in devising laws to maintain peace? : One of the most significant inci- dents following the World War was that of the visit of Marshal Foch to the Pan-American Unfon headquar- ters, when, after gazing in silence upon the council table of the unio the great victor of the great war sadly remarked: “If Europe had had such a council table there would have been no World War.” * ok kX The radical difference between the effort now of Pan-America through the American International Insti- tute's projects and that of the pro- posed protocol submitted by the League of Nations and refused by Great Britain is that the former plan depends upon the force of law to bring all needed coercion, while the league's protocol frankly depended upon arms against any recalcitrant or “aggressor” natlon. The query to- day is as to how the proposed codi- fying commission of jurists will so change the spirit which inspired the rejected protocol as to meet with favor in the council of the league and also in the councils of the mili- taristic nations of Europe. Our distinguished jurist-and states- man, Elihu Root, said In his speech cess to such collections as the Metro- politan in New York, and In this city the Freer and the Corcoran, the Na- tional Gallery and the Phillips Me- ‘movrial ‘Ga¥ewy, Have extraordinary opportunitieg which perhaps we @o at the laying of the corner stone c the Pan-. rican Union Palac “There are no international con versies o serious that they c be settled peacefully, if both p: really desire peaceable settlem whila there are few causes of dispute so trifling that they cann: the occasion of war, if either p: desires war. The matters in dispu therefore, are nothing; the which deals with is thing.” ‘The qu judgment of an interr is met by the Lea a proposal to armed force nation.’ That que the greatest diffict the framers of th stitution. The C terly failed bec to coerce the 13 Some of the fa proposed to give eral Government to send armed force again: used to pa. its or undertook to nullify a law of Congress. In argu- ment against such effort, Alex- ander Hamilton protested “To coerce the States would be one of the maddest projects ever devi: No State would ever suffer itself be used as an instrument of coercing another, * * * There could be no cure for this great evil b national laws to opers uals, like the laws of th This view prevail been wupheld by the cases. For exa C Egress near the close of the eighteenth century decreed that ships be ng cargoes from France were subject to seigure, in retaliatio of acts of French aggres st our com- merce. The Se y of the Navy in transmitting orders to our naval officers expanded that law by order- ing seizure of ships bearing cargoes to France, as well as those coming from France. Such a cargo was seized. Damages were awarded against the captain because he vio- lated the law while obeying the or- ders of his superiors. It is not the State wt law, it is the individual passed by the Conf cou during the Civil War wero su by our Supreme Court, there had been no rebellio was not the State, but the individuals within the State which were held to be in rebellion. (Kieth vs. Clark, 87 U. S, 454; Little vs. Barreme, 2 Cranch, 170.) R WTATE It is that principle upon which the International Institute of Law de- pends for enforcing the codified pan- American international la pro- cedure will be against individuals violating any of the agreed laws, and the agreement will have the force of international treaties between all of the American republic: obligating them not to pass any laws in confiict with such a treaty. If such law be passed, it will be internationally “‘unconstitutional,” and therefore void, without even the necessity of its repeal. So radically different is the posi- tion of the League of Nations on this point that Dr. Charles H. Levermors, the winner of the Bok $50,000 peace prize, after spending months in Ge- neva studying tho league's policles, comes back and reverses his ‘support in an article published in the Balti- more Sun: The protocol is “the latest phase of a series of futile attempts by the League of Nations to make disarma- ment possible and peace permanent. Coercion or resort to war as a means of punishment of & so-called ‘aggres- sor nation’ is now the avowed policy of the League of Nations. * * ® The league has thus abandoned the prin- ciple of preventing wars by the force of public opinion, and now proposes, through the protocol, to empower the council of the league to call upon nations' to wage immediate war against the aggressor.” In the light of Mr. Root's dictum that the only important influence in preventing war is the spirit of the belligerents, the task of Mr. Wicker- sham and his co-workers in formu- lating international law that will satisfy the authors of that war pro- tocol ‘and the advocates of peace {8 complicated. The problem 1s now ai- vided into its elements and certain experts are assigned to study each section. (Comriaat, 3920 2o Y. Gollsed |