Evening Star Newspaper, May 10, 1925, Page 38

THE EVENING STAR i ‘With Sunday Morning Editlon. 24X WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY... +.-.May 10, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsyivania Ave. New York Office: 110 Eaat 43nd Si. ower Building. Turopean Ofice: 18 Regent St.. London, England. The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn- Ing edition, is delive y carriers within the ity at' 60 cents per month: daily only. 45 cents per month: Sundsy only, 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Main 5000. Collection Is made by carrier at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virgini: Daily and Sunday Daily only Sunday only 0., 80¢ abe 80c 28¢ 1> onl Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclysively entitisd 1o the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise cred- jted in this paper and also the local news published herein. _All rights of publication of specizl dispatches herein are also reserved. The Government Challenged. The bootlegzers have challenged the Government. To prevent the en- forcement of the prohibition law, just undertaken by means of an extended cordon around “rum row” off the coast of New York, they have sought to cripple the enforcement navy, to weaken the effectiveness of its per- sonnel by bribery and by threats and thus to break down the bar that has been raised against the smuggling of Mauor into this country. It is incenceivable that the Govern- ment will yield to these maneuvers and desist from the enforcement of the law. If sabotage and bribery and threats of kidnaping and even murder are permitted to be of avail to allow the inflow of contraband goods, Gov- ernment ceases to be of any force and effect. That these means of checking the blockade have been resorted to is evi- Gence that the campaign against boot- legging is succeeding. The very chal- lenge is proof that the work now un-| dertaken by the enforcement adminis- | tration is well done. Heavy losses are being incurred by the companies and individuals who are operating in the handling of liquor. The goods are shipped, it is explained, at the con- signee’s risk, being paid for at- the ports of shipment. The owners of the ships have to lose only the cost of transpcrtation and crew maintenance. Thus a large fortune is tied up in the boats now lying off port awaiting a chance to deliver. Boasts have been made that the Government cannot enforce prohibi- tion because of the susceptibility of the personnel of the enforcement units j rules of that bady to expedite public talls an enormous expenditure, which WIIl have to be shared by the States and the railroads. The campaign of warning has its value. It should, however, not be seasonal, but continuous. It should comprise the placing of permanent precautionary signs and signsls at safe distances from each highway- track intersection, hours, both day and night. In short, while waiting for the eliniination of the grade crossing the publiz should be specifically informéd in unmis- takable manner of every point of danger on the road. ——r———— Senate Rules and Bloes. President pro Tempore Moses of the Senate finds himselt in absolute op- position to President Dawes of the Senate on the issue of modifying the l ! business. They are both members of the party in power, the Republican party. There is this difference, how- ever. Gen. Dawes was elected by the people of the United States to the of- fice of Vice President, which under the Constitution carries with it the presi- dency of the Senate and the duty. of presiding over that body. Senator Moses was elected President pro tempore by the Republican members of the Senate, his duty being to pre- side over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. As Vice President Dawes is carrying his fight for a change in the rules of the Senate to the people, so, it ap- pears, Senator Moses is conducting & campaign in opposition. In Syracuse Friday night the New Hampshire Sen- ator defended the present rules of the Senate, which provide practically for unlimited debate; declared that these rules serve as a curb on “blocs” and prevent much hasty legislation, and ®id finally that men who have sought effective at all} However infrequent. such a_hand, it is one of the moat satisfying com- binations of cards, something tq re- member for a. lifetime. ‘And yet as a playing proposition it is & disap- pointment. There is no chance for speculation in it. The holder of such & hand can bid the limit with perfect confidence. If the perfect hand for a -single player can occur only once in six hundred billion deals, what is the chance of four perfect hands being dealt simuitaneously? That would make a lively combination. - The ‘bid- ding, with such hands held around the board, would be something worth while. But no one has computed that possibility. The supply of ciphers does not suffice to permit such a reckoning. ——— In Berlin Tomofrow.: Arrangements that are being made for the Inauguration of Field Marshal von Hindenburg as President of Ger- many this coming week indicate very clearly the trend of things in that re- public. Monarchical influences have been chiefly effective in the framing of the program of events. Organiza- tions that are favorable to the resto- ration of the old regime have been' glven preferred places in the line of march upon the occasion of the new President’s arrival in Berlin. Repub- lican organizations have been crowded to the rear or have been omitted alto- sether from the course of the progress to the executive mansion. It has been officially announced that when Von Hindenburg passes along the- line of these assembled crowds the bands must play only “Fredericus Rex," which ‘is the march .most dearly be- loved by the royalists of Germany. The pew President of Germany may be entirely sincere in his republican- iem, which he has professed after a fashion. But the crowds in Berlin this i0 “tame" the Senate in the past have finally been “tamed” by the Senate. It is not o many years ago that'a New Englander undertook to “‘tame" the House of Representatives—and did 80. The House at that time had grown out of hend. Dilatory tactics, includ- ing a practice of declining to vote and thereby breaking a quorum and pre- venting the transaction of business, were indulged in frequently. This was the condition with which “Tom" Ree®, | then Speaker of the House, was con- | of Germany. Out of the war came a fronted. Speaker Reed took the bull Ly the horne. He counted all members of the House present to constitute a quorum, whether they voted or not. He was assailed as a “czar,” a tyrant. The harshness of the criticism leveled at Mr. Reed's head was almost un- paralleled in parliamentary history. Freedom. the rights of the minority, all were declared to be jeopardized b; his drastic action. But the House found that under the Reed rules it was able to function. which it had not been able to do before. In a measure the Senate, too, has grown out of hand. Wheén it acts— and agencies to bribery and corrup- tion. It is time to find out whether this is true. If boat crews cannot be relled upon, if agents cannot be trusted, then, indeed, is government in this country in a bad way. It cannot be believed that it is im- Possible to organize and maintain an enforcement administration aegainst the temptations of fllicit profit. To be- lieve that is to indict the whole people of this country of one of the gravest of crimes. Recently it was proposed in one of the States that violators of the prohibi- tion lew should be put into stripes and made to stand in the pillory. Flouters of the law assert that public sentiment does not support the statute, and that the majority of citizens are in sympathy with those who are en- gaged in its deflance and violation. This cannot be true, if all signs of pub- lic opinion on the subject are to be trusted. Adoption of the proposal to establish the stocks and a distinctive garh of shame for those who thus dety the law would quickly effect a test of thie matter. Are an¥ of those who loudly declare thelx own disregard for and disposition to violate the statute willing to offer themselves as objects of such attention, to determine whether a majority of the people are in sympathy with them? The campaign for enforcement must continue, with increasing severity and effectiveness, or government in this country ceases to- command re- spect. ——— The Preakness handicap brought in @nother surprise, which is what horse racing is for. Grade-Crossing Publicity. Beginning the 1st of June, the railroads of this country, through the American Rallway Association, will begin a campaign intended to reducs the number of grade-crossing acci- dents. This campaign will last through September, thus covering the period of heaviest highway trafic. It will be similar to that conducted last year, when, through posters and other forms of publicity, warnings were broadcast throughout the coun- try against carelessneqs In the use of highways at rauroafimenoeuons. It s believed by the officials of the association that last year's campaign resulted in a reduction of 15 per cent of grade.crossing accidents from the previous year, despite a 17 per cent Increase in the number of motor vehicles in use. Publicity, pictorial and otherwise, undoubtedly will help to cause the motorists of this country to realize the need of greater care in thc use of the roads. But it will not elim- inate grade crossings, and as long w8 they remain, as long as it continues possible for reckless, thoughtless drivers to gain access to the tracks in the face of railroad traffic, acci- dents will continue. ‘These cempaigns of warning are only palliatives. They are not'a cure for an evil which has developed fii this country with the improvement of highways -and the great srowth of motor traffic. The only cure for " that evil lles in the eliminagion of crossings at grade by ralsing or lew- ering the highways over or beneath the rails. F 4 Railway corporations realize this fact and are looking for#ard te t e-when, at least in mors congestéd ‘areas, all crossings at grade will be ~ ‘abolished. Such a work, however, en- - if it acts—it does so by unanimous consent. A bill of major impor- tance is rarely if ever brought to a vote without unanimous con- sent. If there is no unanimous con- sent, then the bill does not come to a vote. There you are, in & body where majority rule, which is the cardinal principte of the United States Govern- ment, is supposed to obtain. Senator Moses, in defense of the present pro- cedure in the Senate, himself calls at- tention to the fact that unanimous consent is sought and obtained fre- quently to put through measures be- fore the Senate. He might also have called attention to the fact that many measures which have the support of clear majorities in the Senate never obtain unanimous consent, to which one Senator can raise an objection, and never are acted upon. Safeguards for minority parties are entirely proper in a political parlia- mentary government. But safeguards which result in preventing action by the majority can scarcely be defended as ‘‘proper” in this country. Senator Moses and others who op-! pose a change in the Senate rules-lay stress on the fact that ‘the rules pre- vent much legislation which it is in- sisted would be harmful to the coun- try. But it.a Congrees enacts legisla- tion harmful to the country it cannot remain in power. The people have the remedy in their hands every two years and can put in new legislators. The rules, on the other hand, have prevent. ed legislation which is demanded by the people, and which might well have been beneficial had it been permitted to go through at the time it was pre- sented. Senator Moses' defense, at best, is the defense of inaction as op- Pposed to action. The Senate rules, Senator Moses says, act as a curb on “blocs” in the Senate. He would have been more cor- rect had he said that the Senate “blogs,” Which are less than e ma- Jority, in recent years have invoked the Senate rules many timea to pre’ vent action by a majority. e Wall Street has been offering pecu- liar temptations to the outside specu- lators. One desirable way to economize s to keep away. from the stock ticker. ———t————— Rum smuggling now compels the Coast Guard to face deadly warfare as well as storms at sea. The Perfect Bridge Hand. Statisticlans, attention! second time within four ‘months a perfect hand in bridge has been dealt in the city of Chicago. When the first one came experts at the University of Chicago computed that such & hand—which, it should be ex. plained to non-bridge players, is & combination of ait the cards of ‘one sult in one hand——could happen only has happened ‘again within 120 days. Question: Does the ratio of 1 to 600,000,000,000 apply? P Everybody. who plays cards knows that there is nothing so decelving as. the “law of averages.” A certain combination occurs that,: according to that law, can happen only once in #0 many times, and yet it will happen aguin almost immediately. The four- ace hand in poker is rare, but it has been heid twice in one sitting. Here is the 13-trump hand held twice in the same city in. 4 ‘months. ' Does that mean that it canmot heppen again for tweive hundred billien deats? week will have something to say to- morrow, when the idol of the mili- tarists enters the capital. Goose-step- ping will be the measure of the march. To the rhythm of the royalist tune the masses densely grouped along the line of the progression from station to palace will chant their ‘‘hochs.” Echoes of the acclaim will carry far over the Dutch boundary, to Doorn. But shouting crowds and blaring bands will not determine the fortune new idea in that country, an idea of self-determination, and it was not de- stroyed by the recent election. Mon- archy cannot be restored there by a gesture, however impressive and eloquent of the past glories of the royal regime. Republican Germany may be crowded into the background for this occasion, but it is yet to be | reckoned with when the time comes to chooee between the new road of progress and the old road of militarism and imperialism. . =, | Senators still commend the Senate | rules that permit a polite and painless | method of defeating undesired legisla- | tion. They involve delay, but delay at least consumes time and may pos- sibly be mistaken at long range for deliberation. . Now and then a chivalrous speaker rises to the defense of the “fiapper.” The flapper really needs no’ defense.’ She is attractive in appearance, thor- oughly seif-approving and is having| absolutely her own wa — e Col. Bryan asserts that people have too much admiration for scientific in- tellectuality, forgetful of the time | when he was conducting a large class in the most abstruse mathematics re- lating to currency ratio. ———— ‘When Senator Magnus Johnson failed of re-election the weekly wage for his lecture services dropped from $1,500 to $500. After all the Congres- sional Record has ite merits as an ad- vertising medium. 1 P e — | Florida has under way legislation to make bétting by pari-mutuel a felony. The Legislature evidently believes that the only form of chance taking to be encouraged is speculation in beach- front property. People who cannot read and write are fiot regarded as safe motor drivers. The educational test should go further and insist on the drivers pos: sessing common sense. ——————— Public :sentiment is inclinea to be Just. Otherwise there would be a wave of resentment toward Henry Ford for crowding the streets with all these vehicles. ——— SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JORNSON. The Open Spaces. The countryside is full of charm ‘Where dogwood is in bloom And rainbows gather to disarm The threat of wintry gloom. T hie me to the spaces wide: T know from morn till dark, Out there I shall not be denied A little space to park. Time Consuming, “Your constituents say that you consumed valuable time in the Sen. ate.” “They are-right,” Sorghum. answered Senator “1 was trying to demon. still has some political influence:” Jud Tunkins says his. family feels kind o' socially depressed because his daughter feels that she is one.of the few gals the Prince of Wales hasn't danced with. d “Very much,” answered Miss Cay- enne. “I atténd them - regulariy 'fa who have figrred in the most inent divorce sensations.” The Alrpiane. The airplane is a thing of worth Save when compelled to mix, As it descends from sky to earth, In petty. politica. ‘Mosés: gave us de Ten Command- ments,” said Uncle Eben. “It was lucky for his reputation ks a law- siver dat he didn't have to be ‘sponsi- ‘ble foh no parkin’ regulations,” prom: | expression was as important as the { Police Bureau for this country. Marshall Deplores Passing Of Oratory as School Spe BY THOMAS R. MARSHALL, Former Viee Fresident of the United Staies. Wi have base hall and ténnis in Summer, foot ball in the Fall, basket ball in the Winter and golf most of the year. Shall they continue merely as healthful sports or shall they be affected * by the American tendency t0 hook up everything with a material reward? The base ball fan—among whom I count myself—gets a-world of njoyment out of the game, but the verage fan no longer is content to watch amateur players. He clamors to pay a good price for-a ticket to see professionals who ostensibly are en- gaged in w sport, but ‘who In reality are meking big money out of a com- mercialized, enterprise. Golf, with a hald upon its devotees which is as gripping as it Is universal, has. be- come such a serious business that a large gallery invariably follows the play of professionals whe are in the game for the money'they ean get out fit. The college sport of foot bait is regarded by some of our educators as a splendid advertiser of oup institu- tions of higher learsing. ¢ Whether the inspiration springs’ front pleasure or bu mieh time now'is devoted to the physical. Thirty years ago the intellectunl side -of man was in the ascendant. Oratory was.the great desideratum of the col- lege student. Debating societies were in all our institutions of education. Declamations and orations were the order of the day. The trend was not only toward knowledge, but toward the ability to stand on one's feet and Impart with clarity and impresstve. ness such thoughts and beliefs as he passessed.. Oratorical contests were in high favor. Impressed that words Were the only things that lived for- ever, students as Well as instructors felt that the acquisition of a style of accumulation of knowledge. It was accepted as an axiom that it was not worth while for a man to possess knowledge unless he could transmit 1L to others. One of the real objects of education was to train a person to assisl by pen and volce in the erys- tallization of truth. x4 ox There was, of course, in those days the training of men for business, for sclentific research, for the pursuit of most of the so-called professions. Yet the urge of those years was for that tralning of men which would enable them easily, clearly and impressively to impart their knowledge. But as the years went by it was disclosed that facility of speech in the @ulpit, at the bar and on the rostrum did not bring returns in material rewards as large as those which were obtained by men who did little talking, who could not engage in public discussion, or at least did not. Perhaps the quiet men had more time to scheme In business. The moving impulse in those far-off days was a desire to represent one's college in the State oratorical contest. ‘The students came with banners and bands to uphold, support and defend the champion orator of their institu- tion. It was one of the big days of A NATIONAL P the State. The winner was a_ hero, glorified by his fellows and envied by all -others. ; * ok ok The old-feshioned debating soclety seems to have gone by the board, It was a very remarkable Institution, one which should have been preserved. A member_entered the hall with no intimation ‘whatever as to the ques- tion which would be proposed for de- bate. He would not know whether he was to be called upon to take part in the discussion and, if so, which side of the question he would be ex- pected to uphold. Not until the res sfon began would the subjet of dis. | cugsion be announced. The presiding officer would then pick the speakers and designate sides. ISach member was Bound by honor to particjpate when selected,: The first experiences were awful,- but as the weeks and months went by one detected a hardening of his intelléctual muscles, and soon was le to hit the ball of discussion for a base or perhaps to make & bogle with it. It was & great game—the great scholastic sport of the time True, it might lead subsequently tc a financial return. but as ullfiyed |ih(_ game- was free from every financia consideration, Recently I observed a startling con- trast. The State oratorical contest anpd the State finals in basket ball fell on the same night. Some 400 persons assembled to hear the ora- tors. ‘Around the corner 7,000 clam ored for seats within the coliseurn. It 80 happened that a student of my college won the oratorical contest and that my college’s basket ball team won the State champlonship. The students went wild over the team When later I reminded them that wi also had won the State oratorical con test they said thev “had heard so.” But they could not remember the name of the fellow student who had won. *x o x I am glad much attention is being paid to the physical welfare of our young men and young women, but I doubt whether 500 students profit physically from the success of five basket ball players or 11 foot ball play- ers. Perhaps fewer champions and more average players would be better. 1 am not against athletics in any par- ticular, but I believe that capacity for expression is as valuable as abil- ity to knock some one down. The age of the orator is not passed. Never was he as important as he is now: never was his influence greater. In this day, when many persons do not believe that which they read and many more have no time to read any- thing but headlines, public opinion, or public prejudice. or public whatever- you-choose-to-call-it is being moved more by the public utterances and private expressions of men who have the ability to make themselves under- stood than by anything else. I have no desire to restrict the physical ac- tivities of the young. In fact, it could not now be done. But 1 would urge upon the young the recrudes- cence of the ancient sports of oratory and debate. (Copyright. 1925, 218t Century Press.) OLICE BUREAU BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN .at the International Police Confer- ence to be held in New York City May 12 to 16 steps will be taken torl‘ A new and ‘more forceful appeal to| Congress to establish a National This is a measure which is advocated by 700 municipal police departments and 'the need for it is so widely recagnized that the leaders in the movement be- lieve that Congress will take the necessary action at the approaching session. Most conspicuous among the advo- cates of a National Police Bureau is Police Commissioner Richard E. En- right of New York City, who says that there is no country in the world of the magnitude of the United States in which there is less co-operation between the police forces or where the exercise of police power is more localized. - As Commissioner Enright points out, there are some 355 separate national, State. territorial and colonial governments in this country and its colonies, each one having a different penal code and code of eriminal pro- cedure. * There is no establithed place through which important police in- formation is or could be cleared. There is no central bureau available to municlpal police forces where records of eriminal identifieation can be obtained without cost. No Statistical Center. There is no place where the criminal statistics of the several States, Terri- torfes and colonies are officially col- lected. There is no national criminal laboratory available to assist State or municipal police forces in the appre- hension of criminals or the suppres- sion or prevention of crime. Nothing has been accomplished to standardize the nal laws of codes of criminal P ure of the several States, Terri- tories and colonies. “It" i ‘my earnest belief that a National Police Bureau, to be located preferably ‘Washington, should be established at once,” says Mr. Enright. “It 18 my belief that through general co-ordination under such a central organization the crime rate of America could be reduced during the next five years by not less than 50 per cent and that its elimination to the point of the irreducible mintmum weuld fol: low soon thereafter.” 5 Inefiicient and Impractical. ‘While Americans boast of their com- mercial efficiency they should realize, it is pointed out, that the total ab- sence and lack of articulation and co- ordination in the transactions of their police forces make them the most in. efficient and impractical knowh in the Hzed" world, and the result bears eavily Ui the national economy and the public generally. » There has never baen any attempt, either by the national, State, county or municipal governments or police organizations to prepare and adopt a plan for efficient police co-operation. Indeed,; it is asserted that while every community, town, village or city, re of population, has an effective For the |Strate that the ultimate consumer police organization of some sort, each local police organization is.a law unto iteelf, and the relations it may have with any similar organization are of uncertain, cadual and per- fuactory character. ‘Loocal Organizations Handicapped. It it 18 necessary for one of these local tior ambassadors of different nations. In- stead of frequent confidential exchange of experiencés and police information thers seems to be an atmosphere of | foh, 8y or actual on’ one side or the other, and what. evér benefit might be accomplished in: an attempt at co-operation is nullified | betore nm ~preliminary gestures are ‘commenced. « “It is_ obvious,” declares. Commis: ration of police forces in the exer- :lpl‘lo‘llppolleewmrm Jocalities of th pointed out that there s a large num- ber of separaté collections of finger- prints in this country, and that by far the most of these are in the h: police departments. However, serted that these collections can never be really effective, nor cea any or- ganization now collecting finger-prints be effective until some well desighed agency is created, financed and operated by the Federal Government, to collect, file and make avaflable to all proper authorities all records of criminal identification throughout the country. Fine for the Crimin: Under this vicious lack of police system, continues the commissioner, a professional criminal may operate in many States and cities. with the same freedom enjoyed by the amateur in crime. A professional criminal may become 0 notorious and so well known to the police of New York. for example, that he does not dare set a foot in that eity, but he may go to Chicago, or any other city, large or small, and operate with a great degree of impunity. He changes his name and, even should he be arrested for the commission of a crime of the sort for which he has a record in another city, the chances are that he will not be recognized as a professional, and may either escape punishment entire- Iy, or, in any event, he may not be punished in a manner warranted hy his criminal record and true char acter. This applies to all criminals—equal- Iy to the burglar, the incendiary who starts fires for the purpose of redlis. ing insurance, the mercantile swindler who stocks a store with goods on credit and then convenlently fails, the pickpocket, ‘the bank sneak-thief and the rogues ‘of high and low degree. Functions of the Bureau. ‘The functions of the proposed Na- S:mnl Police B:.l:lu‘ as set forth in i@ measure urged upon Congress, in. clude the following: To gather, receive, compile, collrte. study, investigate and file for wvef- erénce, and properly distribute and make available to interested or ap- propriate police authorities, police in- rmation and criminal intelligence throughout the country; to act as a natfonal clearing house of crime rec- ords, criminal identifications, &trima tatistics and information respeeting [crimes of interstate, national or inter. national concern; to investigate, con- duct studies of and make recommenda- tions as to the standardization of po-. lice methods and procedure through- out the country: to maintain contact between the police authorities of ‘this country and the police departments of foreign countries, and to conduet a criminal laboratory In the g:d‘mel\t of the police pro. fession a National Police Bureau must not be an agency. through which. ar- rests are made, nor must its func. tions be merged with thoss o an organisation engaged in making ar. rests and criminal investigations of | dem divers character. It must not exer- cise control over, nor interfere in, the autonomous administration and con- trol of police departments or other nei ‘wheéther municipal, One of the striking comments of gh, r Th st, a8 “enterprising as the fl!r Weather Virtue. From the Birminghath News. ' "Ethics are things a man uses 8 until he gets into a tight place. E Fa ‘ THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON. D. C, MAY .10, 1925 Capital Sidelights Establishment of.a Civil War mu- seum in the Pension Office Building, the largest brick buflding in the world, and in the court of which several in- augural balls have been held. will probably be authorized by Congress soon after it meets in December. It has previously considered this pro- posal aympathetically, indicating that favorable action will be taken. The last survivor of the Revolution- ary War was Danfel F. Bakeman, who died at Freedom, N. Y., April 5, 1869, aged 109 years and 6 months. The last widow pensioner of the war was Ks. ther S. Damon of Plymouth Union, Vt.. who died November 11, 1906, aged ears. The last survivor of the War of 1812 was Hiram Cronk of Ava, . Y., who died May 13, 1905, aged 105 ears. If history repeats itself at least a ter of a century will elapse before shronicler of events will note the death of the last survivor of the Civil War and the twentieth century will he drawing to a close before the last widow pensioner will have passed away. In the last fiscal year 21,854 veterans of the Civil War and 21.296 widows of veterans were claimed by death. These figures give rise to many serlous thoughts, the commissioner of pen- slons points out. What shall be done ‘0 preserve to future generations the history, traditions, lessons and inspira- tion of the wars, the intimate personal history of which is found in the 4,000.- 00 pension claims in the files of the Pensfon Bureau? I vears to come this bureau will be the mecca for formation concerning the bfave men who fought that this Nation ‘“con- ceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created qual” might live. By act of August 7. 1882, the Con- iress made provision for the Pension Bullding as a memorial to the men who bore the brunt of battle in our wars and, especially, the great Civil War. The corner stone was laid on March 19, 1883, and in May, 1885, the operations of our pension system were transferred to the new building. The exterior frieze of the building, showing a. proceerion of soldiers and saflors of all branches of the service, vas designed by the great artist Cas. ver Buberl, and Is indestruetible evi- lence for all ages of the purposes for which the structure was authorized, designed, bullded and dedicated. In = Washington and elsewhere throughout the country there is a wealth of material that can be hrought together for display within he Pension Building showing the dis- inctive accouterments and imple- ments of each of our wars: also mod- ¢ls. paintings, heirlooms and relics. The Pension Bureau would thus be- come one of e attractions of the Natfonal Capitd] of inestimable value 1S A source of inspiration through the mute evidences of the struggles hrough which our country has passed. Now that the ranks of our Civil War veterans are fast thinning, it is ‘*hought fitting that steps be taken to make the Pension Office Building a a lasting museum, Nation's wars, from whose honored dead, as the martyred Lin- ‘MEN AND The hammer and clamor of destruc- tion at last have wiped out the echoes of *‘Alabama—Twenty-four votes for Oscar W. Underwood.” from | Madison Square Garden. The old Gar- den survived many shocks, many knockouts—it even survived year after year of the six-day bicycle races—but the memorable Democratic national convention of 1924 evidently was too much, The Garden after that gave up the ghost. And now Diana, who foy, .0 long stood tiptoe on the dizzy tower top, has been lowered to the mere earth, there to remain until the tower can.be erected angw on a New York college campus. In Europe the destruction of a land- mark like that of Madison Square Garden would have been Jooked upon as a sacrilege. But in a new country Iike the United States the people are restless and there must be constant destruction and huilding anew. Every now and then . 7alt is called when some particularl. sacred bit of archi- tecture is aftacked, but taken by and large, this is the age of destruction and reconstruction in America. The ground where the Garden stood in New York was far too valuabe for mere amusement purposes. * Like the departed hansom cab, New York will not seem the same without the Garden. Every one knew the Gar- den; even the taxi drivers in New York knew where it was—and that is Zoing a long way for New York taxi thousands upon thousands seeking in- | drivers. The Garden. it has well been sald, meant _something in the life of every New Yorker. Wild West shows, the circus. the horse show, fistic championships. opera, evangelistic re- vivals. dog shows, chicken shows, flower shows, masked balls, swimming tanks, bolshevist debates, Roosevelt denunciations of the predatory inter- ests, Woodrow Wilson appeals for a league of nations, William Jennings Bryan declarations for owneship of railways, Al Smith 9nd red fire, the last appeals of political campaigns—all these and more have been to the Garden and made it fa- mous. It has been a place of thrills and laughter and romance. The Gar- den tried to keep pace with modern developments and modern ideas, but perhaps, after all, it was an anachro- nism, belonging to another age and time. * ¥ X % The Garden also was the scene of one of the great tragedies of New York—the slaying of Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw. The Garden was regarded by many as Stanford White's masterpiece of architecture, and it was an fronical turn of fate which made it the scene of his death. It was in the gala days of the old-time roof gardens in New York, with their Summer musical shows. White was seated with several friends. Thaw approached him unseen and. mutter- ing something incoherent to those about him, drew a pistol and fired. The famed architect crumpled to the floor a dead and pitiable thing. This and That “0ln voiced the thought in his Gettys. hurg address, “we take increased de- votion to that cause for which they zave the last full measure of devo jon: that we here highly resolve that ‘hese dead shall not have died in vain: hat this Nation, under God. shall have a new hirth of freedom. and that government of the people. by the seople and for the people shall not verish from the earth.” o Due to the big Lexington. Concord ind Bunker Hill celebration this Sum- mer, in observance of the 150th an- niversary of the Revolution, the in- quiries of individuals and patriotic ind. _historical socleties concerning tenéalogical and ‘Kistorical matters of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 are constantly Increasing. In he archives of the Pension Bureau here are about 80,000 manuscript documents, consisting of claims on ac- -ount of Revolutionary War services, ind abopt 74,000 cases relating to the War of 1812. Many of these papers are of the greatest value from an his. torical and patriotic standpoint. Dur- ing the last year more than 1,000 persons called at the Pension Bureau to examine these records, 7.357 cases were drawn for consideration, and more than 8,000 communications were prepared in response to requests for information concerning persons who erved in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. * % x % On the last lap of his third trip around the world. “Mr..Hobo Hat." ac- companied by “Uncle Joe" Fordney. former chairman of the House w: and means committee, has landed in this country and is en route to the Capital to pay his respects at the White House to the President. This hobo hat is a battered straw “lid” that started on its wanderings from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on September 12, 1922, It went first to New York, thence across the continent to the Pa- cific coast, next to the Orient. It trav- eled on the steamers President Adams and President Hayes, and its last voy- age was on the President Garfleld, traveling ‘de luxe’ with a special ticket personally indorsed by Capt. Robert Dollar, president of the Dollar Steamship Co. Mr. Hobo Hat wears many tags in globe voyaging, which now aggregate more than 100,000 miles. In each coun- try and in many important cities, Mr. Hobo Hat has called upon the most prominent persons in_political and so- cial life. ERE Y “It's’an ill:wind that blows nobedy’ any good” is being proved true again in the welcomed recovery of Repre. sentative William A. Oldfield of Ar- kansas. He is chairman of the Demo- cratic congressional committee in ad- dition to being Democratic “whip” of the House. So during the few days that Representative Oldfield wavered between life - and death following a critical “operation, there was consid- erable trepidation lest the party in- téreats might suffe £ Now Representative Oldfield, * than whom there is no more popular mem- ber of Congress, is on the high road to recovery and with a more intefise party zeal than ever beforé. He had Just ‘told his friends that his faith in has been strengthened by reading the life of Andrew Jackson While confined to his bed. : L3R Vaulting over America is the mod- érn outdoor sport of some foréign business houses in their mad race for world frade. This has just been brought to the attention of the Cham- ber of Commerce of the United.States. It appears that these world-trade g“dmr- have discovered that the 'ew York to San Francisco air mail nables them to leap over a By Charles E. Tracewsell. Jack Spratt, famous cat of Estey alley, did not have his ‘“‘compam manners” with him when strangers called upon him last Sunday. It was late in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. A lady satood at the door. She was utterly unknown to us, but she had a business-like air about her. “‘Is this the residence of Mr. Trace- jwell?" she asked. ‘When she was assured it was, she continued: “I have come to see Jack Spratt.”” As this was Jack's first caller, and his first “at home.” it can be imagined that the household was flabbergasted. “Why, come in” T managed igasp, finally. Now Jack has been put |down in the basement to get him out of the way, there being other com- pany in the house. ¢ Escorting the lady to the kitchen, I opened the door leading into the cel- lar. Up sprang Jack, waiting for no second invitation. If there is any place Spratt hates in the world, it is that basement. He has seen too much of it already, he declares, with sundry meows. Where- fore he is always eager to escape from it. Diving under the kitchen cabinet, Jack refused to come out. He sniffed suspiciously in the general direction of his guest. Now, come out. Jack,” I reminded him. “‘Here i a kind lady who has |come clear "across town to see you." “So there is a Jack Spratt.” said |the woman, a T lifted Spratt up. *He i= a nice cat,” him upon his striped coat. * %% x ! “May T take him out to show to some other folks?" continued the lady, as she fifmly grasped Spratt in her arms. “They say there isn't any such cat” “Why, certainly,” I said. show them.” = Jack firmly caught in her arms, the woman walked out the front door. “My party is down there,” she said. pointing to' an automobile parked by the cur! ““Here he is*" she cried, victoriously “we'nl token and testimony of his around the |25, We came to the car. “So there really is a Jack Spratt,” said a man in the front seat, eveing our trio with a smile. Jack and I could only conjecture what argument had preceded this visit. Perhaps the others had branded Jack as a myth. If 8o, he showed them he was very much alive. Not being familiar with the lady who held hlm..filrmewhal resented the embrace, began to kick and struggle. _ “He is afraid of you,” I .said, at- tempting. to quiet him. The man in the front seat began takking to another gentleman there about cats in general, while a quiet, sweet lady in the back seat gave Spratt a most triendly smile. Jaek refused to be quiet. He began to plunge, curving up-his back, lift- ing his neck in a Vflfvul attempt to get loose, A bucking tomcat is as slippery as an eel. Jack -wiggled free, and sprang across: the lawns. Halfway to the house he paused, back to us, switch- ing his tail indignantly. “No, he hasn’t got a scratch on him from fighting,” said his new triend, eveing his striped body. “Now. our cats are all covered with cuts and scratches. “‘Our cats eat a case of salmon a week,” sald the min at the wheel. % . e . Jack was# back in my arms by this time, but he refused to look at his guests, which was very rude of him, to be sure. Words of praise of his coat, his white shirt front, or of his splendid whiskers, falled to win him. He was still attempting to get loose when , the party left, with many waves at the pride of Estey alley. After they h:: lo::l. lecture. me about it. - look here, Mister,” he seem- /“The next time I have for heaven's. .sake, wear Mister, they are all ght for gardening, but.their color in trifie strange for company.. Be- |you think? The mail order house said bet: the air they were kahki, but they .turned out (to be a brown never seen on land or the public | she continued, patting | Jack seemed. to, AFFAIRS BY ROBERT T. SMALL. If ever a shot was heard around the world this one was. That was nearly 20 vears ago, and only recently havs the echoes died out with the final free. ing of Thaw from an asylum in Phiia; delphia. The succeeding and successive trials of Thaw brought out seme of the most amazing testimony evér heard In a courtroom. There was un- folded, for instance, the story of ‘the room of the rhirrors in Madison Square tower, the retreat of Stanford White and a small, & verv small coterie &f' his brother bon vivants. There were the stories of the esthetic and exotic parties in the tower suites. The news. papers of Paris, of Madrid, of Peking and Tokio cried for more and more of the salacious detalls of this amazing episode. It was all a part of the,life of Madison Square Garden, soon to be but a tangled pile of dust and debris, like.some of the mortals who strutted their brief hour In its calcium glare. * X % % . If one doubts that romance and si- plicity have fled before the onward march of utlitarianism, let him ‘bit gaze upon the photographs of the ground-breaking ceremonies the past week at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in New York City, where the work on the western part of the great ecclesiastical pile has just been | started. | agone the grotind In the years breaking would have been done wih a silver spade. A gold one was nded at San Francisco when even such an ephemeral thing as the Panama-Ps: cific exposition was started. And th | was only 14 vears ago. P But today there crowds into the phe- | ture of the ground breaking at the | cathedral the great blunt nose and | bucket of a giant steam shovel. After | suitable ceremony and invocation the word was given, and, with a rattle anc |a roar, a snorting and a puffing, the big teeth of the shovel bit into the | #acred ground. The rush of the con struction work was on. No useless | moments were wasted. ! xx 4 n The “gloomy dean” of St. Paul's, London, the Very Rev. W. R. Imge. didn't let the newspaper men say. it | for him. He said it himself. He sair that_if Englishmen were treated by the English customs officiais as Amer- icans are treated by the American customs officials. the Englishmen would “raise Acheron.” . As a polite way (o express “cuss- ing” the dean’s method is quite prioe. - less, as they would say on the Strang. For the benefit of the benighted who. do not know what it means to “raise | Acheron,” it may be stated that in | Greek mythology Acheron is the name of a river in Hades, bu: it has come |to mean just simple Hades in these modern times. Therefors, when the dean said “raise Acheron” the man in the street can easily guess what- he meant. (Coprright 1925.) Fifty Years Ago In The Star . . Only thé older Washingtonians re member the “Belt Line” of street cars that once operated Short Name for around -town and connected with' Ana- & Long Route. 00octeq Rt Ax. name long ago passed with the merger of that line with the Washington Railway and Electric system, the sols remnants being the branch that ope- rates on Fourth street northwest, and that which crosses the Eastern Branch. In The Star of May 5, 1875, is an editoril reference to the original corporation, suggesting the very name by which the route was populary known for many years. “Now that the Capitol, North:0D | Street and South Washington Railread Co. has been regularly organized, | with a prospect that its road will he bulit and put in operation at an early date, we suggest that a shorter and more convenient name be adopted for the line. ‘Central route’ would be £00d; 0 would ‘Belt road,’ or ‘cross town line.' A shorter name may ot |increase the receipte of the company any, but it will certainly accommo- date the car-riding public.” * * % A strike of laborers on the strest | worke in progress in Washington bé- | ured 50 veare gn | Strike of Street S soms Am Laborers. ances. which wers auickly suppreased. In The Star of May 5, 1875, is the | following news item: “Last night quite a number’ of laborers, from one to two hundred, gathered about John Pope Hodnett's office, near police headquarters, and talked over the question of pay and listened to an address by Hodiert. It was understood when they -dis persed last night that they WouM meet this morning near the cirtla, and precautionary measures “weré | taken by the police authorities, *in- structions being issued to the liéut- enants to keep the reserves in readi: ness to check any riotbus demonstra- tion. Lieut. Hurley's men this morn- ing dispersed & number of parties gathered about in knots in George: town and Lieut. Greer's men disperfed |also a number at the circle. a0 “About 1140 o'clock this morning |a mob of about 300 of the strikers appeared on Boundary street, néar Ninth, some of them carrying shoit clubs. They were marching towartl Seventh street, where Mr. Sylvanus Gleason had a force at work. Lmln Nooan and mounted men, as well As those on foot, were ready for them, and charged upon them, scatterinf them in every direction and capturing some of their number, who wers locked up. & “The strike among the laborers' is confined mainly to those whose has _heretofore been $1 a day. men are generally at work.1o- day x * ¥ 4 While Washington is undergoing a revision of traffic rules, it may:bse . well to look back The Rights of nait a century anq observe the point'af - Pedestrians. J/570r ‘the 708 tn respect to reladive rights on the streets of the Capital. The Star of May 7, 1875, says: “A_ Philadelphia judge took ocea- sion the other day to recall the kz:l fact that the street crossings be. long, primarily, to the pedestrians; and only secondarily to the drivers of vehicles; tl;a( hthe tero':alnt‘ :e: tinuation of the pavement, 'l::nlhe use of both classes, and"in the use of which due diligence and tarefulness is to bé exacted from the equestrian or the driver of .a vehicle. While this is undoubted law,: and sustained by many concurrent opinions, the practice in "this and other of our large cities is exaatiy contrary. Drivers of vehicles gen- erally appear to regard pedestrians. on_the crossings as interlopers, -and, availing themselves of the superiocily" which their position gives them, drive: over the crossings With a recklees ness that is often dangerous and: if annoying.” o fur trimmed. And there you were; is those funny looking pqnu: e “The next time I havé comipany, Mister, it that yaur trouse keeping with Soid sk, with