Evening Star Newspaper, June 23, 1925, Page 6

Lits 6 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY. ..June 23, 1025 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennaylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 Eagt 42nd St. eago Office: Tower Building. Buropean Office: 18 Regent St.. London, England. The Evening Star. with the Sundav morn- Ing edition, Is delivered by carriers within the city at'60 cents per month: dally”only. 5 Snle Yer Imonth: Bunday only. 20 cents Per ontt. Graers may he sent telephone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Su ...1yr.$R40: 1 mo. Daily Baly nooT TR 36007 1 mo Sunday only 173240 1mo All Other States. Daily and Sunday $10.00: 1 mo. Daily onls . $7.00: 1 mo Sunday only $3.00: 1 mo 1 1yr Ty - Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusiv 1o the use for republication of all news natches credited fo it or net otherwise cred- ited in this paper and also the local news published hersin. Al rights of publication of special diapatches hereln are also reserved. Constructive Budget Economy. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Federal budget system, coupled with the economy program of President Coolidge, has resulted in # tremendous reduction of govern- mental expenditures. It has re <ulted likewise in a reduction of taxes, and now gives promise of still further lightening the tax burden im- posed on the people. President Coolidge and Gen. director’ of the Budget Bureau, Iheir addresses 1o the “business or- zanization of the Government,” last night laid bare the details of this re- markable record—made during the four years of the operation of the budget system. In those vears the annual expenditures were reduced $2,081,000,000 and the public debt was decreased $3,426,000,000. During the fiscal year 1921 the expenditures, ex- clusive of moneys applied to the re. duction of the public debt and the operations of the postal service, amounted to $5.116,000,000. The pub- lic debt then amounted to $23)977. 000,000. The expenditures for the fiscal year 1925, now drawing to a close, will amount to approximately $3,035,000,000, and the public debt will stand at $20,551,000,000. All of this has been accomplished while at the same time lowering the taxes im- posed. The President antsunced formally that “the way has bwen prepared for further tax reductiem. This I will recommend to the Congress in the next budget smessage ® This tax re- duction will be possfole because at the close of this fiscal year there will be a surplus of $200,000,000 on hand, and because the surplus for the next fiscal yvear, according to careful es- timates, will reach $290,000,000. The reductions in expenditures and in the public debt, the saving of mil- lions of dollars here and there, have not been accomplished without real iabor and devotion to the public serv- ice. The President and Gen. Lord gave full credit to the loyalty and ability of the officials of the Govern- ment, who have had to deal with the matter of saving, and tq Congress, which has acted with the Executive in support of ~the budget system which it created. The budget system has now and then been criticized and denounced. But the criticism has been leveled at it largely by those who have desired to dip their arms deep in the Federal Treasury, and not by those who have economical and efficient Government administration at heart. The atti- tude of the President has been “how much can we save? while too often the attitude of his critics and the critics of the budget system has been “how much can we spend?” There is a vast difference between the two, and that difference measures the amount of tax relief extended to the people. Saving money not generally lend itself to colorful and inspiring eulogies. But the story told by the President and Gen. Lord is not with- out its thrill to the men and women of America who have been compelled to pay heavy taxes and are still pay- ing them. Economy is not practiced by the Government, the President said, merely for economy’s sake; “the object sought is not merely a cutting down of public expenditures. This is only the means, Tax reduction is the end.” It is an end which is to be devoutly hoped for. The President and Gen. Lord declared, however, that the practice of economy is not without virtue, Without economy, efficiency goes a-glimmering. Efficient zovernment, with waste and extrava- Rance on every hand, is an imposs bility. With the introduction of the budget system, the old haghazard plan by which the individual departments and agencies of government sought to ob- tain as much money as they could, irrespective of what other depart- ments had to expend, has largely dis appeared. The coat of government is cut according to the cloth, which is the amount of money that may be available in the Federal Treasury for expenditures. But even such a sys- tem must be wisely administered i the best results are to be obtained, and the efforts of President Coolidge and his subordinates toward economy have been an important factor in the results accomplished. Lord, in does too. ————————— A certain amount of trafic regula- Hon is required to show members of the police force where they are to go next. e Hylan's Leadership. Mayor Hylan's tactics in his cam- paign for renomination ih Greater *New York are those of an aggressive defensive. He 15 tohstahtly busy but- tressing himself withini his citadel while sending forth ralders to assail the beleaguering forces. He is, his severest critics admit, managing his fight with great adroitness and cour-; 1ge. The latest move in the mayoralty zame is characteristic of Hylan's bold- ness. Assembling the municipal com- missioners, deputy commissioners and cecvetaries of departments, some 76 in all, he addressed them yesterday in 000 words of fervid demand for their loyal support In the fight. He virtual- Iy commanded them to stand by him for another term in the mayoralty, on pain of separation from the service. This address to the heads of the municipal departments of Greater New York is one of the most remarkable political documents on record. The meeting was executive, but the mayor’s speech was given out for pub- lication. Evidently the mayor had no hesitancy about making known the terms in which he demanded the sup- port of his “officlal family,” the like of which has never before been openly avowed. Here are a few of the gems: But this city administration and this official’ family is golng to remain in- tact despite such efforts. However, it there any member of our officlal family who feels embarrassed by this possibility he is a weak link in the officlal chain. He will see the neces. sity for the removal of such weak- ness, which can most speedily be ac- complished by his voluntary separa- tion from the ofMclal family. As I have insisted that departments shall be run without dictation from outside interests, I shall now insist that every department head stand loyally by his department and be pre- pared to defend his official acts from any and all attacks which may be made. No department head, sincerely devoted to his duty and the people, will try to evade this responsibility. Any timid- ity, any reluctance, any indifference to stand up mantfully and to vigorous- ly defend a department which may be attacked by anti-public bands of politi- cal warrfors and profiteers will be con- strued as indicating a lack of sym- pathy with the aims and purposes of the administration, a lack of loyalty to the public cause, or a lack of in- dividual capacity, furnishing sufficient warrant for the change o obviously demanded. Any sitting astride a fence of con- venience, with one leg in the public service and the other in a bailiwick of known or suspected enemies of the public, is inconsistent with that loyal. ty, absolute and unqualified, to the people of this city, which is of para- mount importance to a_continuance on the public pay roll. No man can serve two masters—a truism which needs no elaboration. Naturally, the meeting adopted unanimously resolutions to the effect that the mayor has served the public ““faithtully, consclentiously, intelligent- 1y and successfully,” and that “an- other four years shall be given to him in order to complete the work.” Also a resolution that those present and voting pledge themselves loyally to uphold the mavor “in the people’s fight.” The mayor thanked his loyal supporters and the meeting was ad- Jjourned. Mayor Hylan undoubtedly has the gift of leadership. ———— Edwin F. Ladd. The death of Senator Edwin Fremont Ladd of North Dakota removes a val- ued and valuable member of that body. Senator Ladd was well fitted by edu- cation, ability and attainment to rep- resent his State in the Senate. His worth as a man and a legislator was recognized by his colleagues, although many of them differed from him in politics. They recognized, too, his in- dependence and his integrity of pur- pose. With the passing of Senator Ladd the little radical group on the Re- publican side of the chamber has been reduced still further. He followed the late Senator La Follette of Wisconsin in the presidentfal campaign last vear. And with Senators La Follette, Frazier of North Dakota and Brook- hart of Iowa, Senator Ladd was ex- cluded from party councils of the Senate Republicans and later from assignment to Senate committees as a Republican. This action on the part of the so-called regular Republicans was denounced on the floor of the Senate by Senator Ladd, who pro- claimed his Republicanism to be of a better type than that of some of his critics. It was as a chemist and an advo- cate particularly of pure .food laws and their proper administration that Senator Ladd first won prominence. He was a “Down East Yankee” who went early in life to the great North- west, where he became a proféssor of chemistry at the North Dakota State Agricultural College and head of the agricultural experiment station there. The problems of this Northwest coun- try, agricultural almost entirely, be- came his problems. His purposg was to help the producers of foodstuffs and to see that the consumers received the food produced in pure and proper form. He fathered laws in his State to protect the farmer and laws to pro- tect the consumer. He was unpopu- lar with those manufacturers and dis- tributors who believed that his efforts interfered with their profits. It w: largely his untiring efforts on behalf of producer and consumer in that country that led finally to the establishment of the Non-Partisan League by the farmers. The farmers demanded that something be done for their relief, and turned to State so- cialism in @ measure, as put forward by the league. State socialism is con- trary to the American idea of indl- vidual effort and responsibility and opportunity. Senator Ladd undoubt- edly in supporting the league was ac- tuated by the distress which he saw arising from the inequalities under which the farmers labored, and their exploitation by interests which pon- trolled the market in which they were compelled to sell their produce. —————o——— By way of showing thelr independ- ence women have continued to bob not only their hair, but their skirts and stockings. - ——— and Pitchers. Batters Complaint has been made that there is too much hitting in the base ball games of today. The scores are too large. Pitching is not as effective as it was formerly. This is a strange situation. Not many years ago com- plaint was made that the scores were too small, that itchers’ battles™ were too common; that games were too close and monotonous. Now it would seem that the other extreme has been reached. Double-figure scor- ing is ordinary. Recently two teams each made 12 runs in one inning. Six and seven run rallies are common. Yesterday a major league game resulted in the score of 24 to 6. Rarely do the two starting pitchers in a game finish the nine innings, one or the other being relieved in most cases. Sometimes both are driven out of the box. Often three and four pitchers are used on one side. Home-run hitting increasing. - THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY, JUNE 23 1925. Last year In the two major leagues 328 home runs were scored up to and including June 22, 158 by American League batters and 170 by National League swatsmen. This year the home runs driven out to date num- ber 551, of which 293 have been hit by National League batsmen and 258 by American Leaguers. In the 24:to-6 game yesterday nine homers were hit. The question arises, are the pitchers less effective, or batters more skill- ful? Some say that neither is the case, but that the ball is livelier ow- ing to a tighter winding of the yarn and to a more resilient quality of the yarn itself. Club managers complain that more players are injured now by hard-hit balls than ever before. The strategy of the defensive game is be- ing changed in consequence. The assertion that a livelier ball was belng used was made several years ago, but manufacturers denied that any change in the process of ball making had occurred. It is note- worthy, however, that there was a falling off in the number of home- run hits for the season of 1923, and belief was expressed that the ball makers had quietly eased up on the | winding process and that the ball was actually less resilient. It may be that pitching has reached a limit of development and that batters are actually growing bet- ter than the pitchers. Certainly bat- ting records would seem to be higher than formerly. Few shut-out games are pitched, and, as stated, many large-score games are played. A few years ago the leagyes partially barred freak deliveries in an effort to check the pitchers. At the present rate they may have to restore these priv- fleges to the boxmen or perhaps in- crease the number of “balls” from four to five to check the bats. men. For unquestionably the games are developing into slugging battles rather than pitching duels. Perhaps the public likes free hitting. If so, it is surely getting plenty of it. —_——————— The privilege of impersonating Nep- tune in an Atlantic City beauty parade was promptly rejected by Chauncey M. Depew. A sense of humor, such as Depew so brilliantly possesses, enables a man to avoid dangers of becoming personally ridiculous. P With W. J. Bryan on one side of the evolution controversy and Bainbridge Colby on the other, the Democratic party may point to its Secretaries of State with pride as representing dif- ferent phases of unprejudiced opinion. ————t——— Perhaps the old times were best. The facetious chroniclers used to de- pict a wife as hitting her husband with a rolling pin. Now the news writers describe her as drawing a gun. P How much a franc is worth must depend on the confidence of the peo- ple in the determination of the govern. ment to meet its obligations at home and abroad. Arctic explorers seem inclined to hasten their efforts in order to make their reports before Dr. Cook is re- stored to liberty with a possible op- portunity to introduce complications. . -o-——— Before the trial relating to evolution is over some friend of the chimpanzee is likely to call in the psycho-analyst to conduct a series brain tests. ———— There would be no doubt about the need for immediately harnessing the resources of Muscle Shoals if they could be looked to for rain as well as fertilizer. - SRS Russian Communists are ardently hopetul that in some part of the earth communism can be made to operate more reliably than it did in Russie. e The farmer claims sympathy. The people who have to pay the prices re- sulting from drought will also be en- titled to their share of solicitude. e The monkey never claimed relation- ship, and is, after.all, only an innocent bystandér. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PIMLANDER JOHNSON. Sad Words. As merrily you jog along With nothing to disturb Your pace—you hear the strong Say, “Pull Up to the Curb!" copper “Pull” you have none. There is for you No comfort in the verb. You tremble, as you hear anew That “Pull Up to the Carb!” Of all sad words of tongue or pen That mortals print or blurb The saddest are that copper's when You Pull Up to the Curb! Cheap Eggs and Apples. “Columbus stood an egg on end.” “Yep,” answered Senator Sorghum. “William Tell shot an apple off his son’'s head.” “Yep. What are you getting at; an insight into history, or an argument about the modern high cost of living?” Service. A tub, Diogenes of yore Esteemed a refuge wise. laundry would have been a more Effectual enterprise. A Jud Tunkins says there are heaps of problems to be solved, but most everybody is pickin' somethin’ com- paratively easy like a cross-word puz- zle. Fleeting Distinetions. *“Do you know that I danced with the Prince of Wales?” ‘Oh, yes,” replied Miss Cayenne. “I know it as well as you do. But do you think the prince still remembers the incident?” Silence and Speech. The monkey and the parrot Tought Each other boldly flouting. The monkey has the serfous thought, But the parrot still is shouting. “De North Pole,” sald Uncle Eben, is mighty intefestin’, but de old ice wagon is whut I watches an’ waits foh at present.” ® of comparative Now that the Hollyhocks are in bloom, we know that Grandmother was right. She always had them in her old- fashloned garden. (We call it old- fashioned because we are so new- tashione To Grandmaw it was simply a garden.) In those old gardens the mothers of yesteryear had space for the Holly- hock—stately, sturdy plant with cup- shaped, bright blossoms, about which the bumblebees delighted to hum. Many a person today has vague memories of it, carried adown the years by means of some elusive cells in the brain that half recall, half for- get, the appearance of the old favor- e. When such a man (or woman) de- cides to plant Hollyhocks in his own garden he is not prepared for the stately plants which greet him in June. He had planted them to cover the side of a garage, with much more thought put upon that utility than upon the possible beauty of the flowers. ‘The appearance of the automobile barn, rather than of the flowers them- selves, was the foremost thought. So naturally the flower grower is some- what surprised to find his judgment reversed in the first month of Sum- mer. When the satin petals unfold, over- night, with their mealy interiors, he forgets entirely his primary purpose and regards them no longer as simply cover plants, but as beautles in their own right. “Beauty is its own excuse for belng,” some one has said. This never applied better to anything than to our old friend, the Hollyhock, about which we might also quote the line “A thing of beauty is a joy forever. The Hollyhock belongs to the inte esting family that includes the so- called Rose of Sharon, or Althea, and the Hibiscus, so familiar in the South. These Marsh Mallows, as they are sometimes called, are hardy and vigor- ous. The Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus Syriacus, in some sections called Shrubby Althea, makes a splendid hedge, flowering attractively in late Summer or early Autumn. What is generally known as Hibiscus is Hibjscus Moscheutos, native in the swamps of the Eastern United States, which bears tremendous flowers some. times half a foot across It is easy for the amateur gardener to see the family resemblance between these plants and the Hollyhock, par- ticularly in the flowers, which are of the same general type, being more or less cup-shaped, i much the same range of colors. Prof. L. H. Bailey says of the Holly hock: “Stately, hardy plants. 6 to 9 teet tall, well known evervwhere. na- tive in China, Summer-blooming, bear- ing large wide-open flowers along the main axis in white, rose, red, vellow- ish, single and double. The culture is very simple. The seqd is usually sown in July, and the plants set where wanted the following Spring. They will bloom the same year in which they are transplanted— the year following the seed sowing. New plants should be set every two years, as the plant is essentially bien- nial. “For the rust of Hollyhocks, spray several times with bordeaux mixture; remove affected leaves promptly; do not allow diseased leaves to remain over Winter. The rust also attacks the common weedy mallow of gar- dens.” {""The seea catalogues usually list the Hollvhock as both hardy and an- nual, the latter flowering from seed the first season—or so they say. Sometimes they do. and sometimes Chicago's brief war of secession, during which the Western metropolis threatened refusal to pay its millions of taxes into the Iilinols State Treas- ury, is responsible for a general dis- cussion of the tendency of States to limit legislative representation of the large centers of population because of the danger that the big cities will con- trol law-making bodies. ‘The sympathy of a sister metrop. olis is extended by the Daily Eagle of Brooklyn to the Lake City. “If taxa- tion without adequate proportionate representation is tyranny,” says the Eagle, “Chicago has much the same moral basis for a revolt against Illi- nofs that our colonial forefathers had for rebellion against George I1I. Even stronger is the case of New York City against New York State. The spirit of revolt is wholesome. Whatever is wrong should be made right. Non- proportional representation s sc wrong that it cannot possibly be de- fended academically. It persists be- cause the sections that profit by it, b; having other sections pay their taxes, resent any change. Something close to civil war was produced in Rhode Island by this reluctance to let justice prevail. And without agitation in- justice can never be banished from government.” * * x x History is recalled by the Norfolk News while declaring that similar con- ditions are found in most States con- taining large and rapidly growing ecities. ‘“‘Chicago contains about half the population of Iilinois,” the News states, “but the Legislature, being dominated by the rural districts, will not reapportion on a basis satisfactory to the city. In the days of the Fed- eral constitutional convention of 1787 much the same situation existed. The small States refused to join the Union if they were put on a purely repre- sentative basis. They forced the in- corporation of a provision giving all States equal representation in the Senate.” Out of the controversy there arises a situation which, according to the Milwaukee Journal, reflects ‘“‘a growing feeling that State Legislatures are impressed with the idea that the cities may contribute the taxes, but the rest of the State will make the laws.” “However much one may sympa- thize with the slighted cities,” the Louisville Post protests, ‘prudence and expediency suggest a cure less violent than revolution.” The Post also finds a parallel in the discrimi- nation against Louisville. * k% % Possibilities of oppression by Legis- latures furnish the basis of comment by the St. Paul Dispatch. It notes that the Illinois constitution requires reapportionment, but “there is no power to make the Legislature act. Until it acts voluntarily the existing apportionment stands.” “‘As the embattled farmers of Lexing- ton fired the shot heard round the world, so the embattled politicians of Cook County emit a whoop that echoes down the State clear to Cairo,” says the Adrian Telegram. ‘“‘There has been similar talk among some of the more fire-eating patriots of Detroit. 1t's a t game, this nullifyin The only trouble js that it won work.” The Rockford, Ill., Star adds: “Considering the source of this big exploit, it is easy to note the gran standing back of it. Chicago hai some wonderful people within its con- fines. It also has some two-by-four politiclane who are attempting to fill a twelve-by-twelve opening.” - “There was a plan to make a pew State out of Cook and such other northern Illinois counties as might be necessary to give geographical re- spectability,” the Jollet Herald-News *states, “but it is doubtful if even the BY CHARLES L. TRACEWELL. they do not. depending upon soil and general weather conditions. One catalogue describes the bi- ennial kind as follows: “Grand Sumg mer and Autumn flowering plants; bearing long spikes of double flowers, 3 to 4 inches across. They are old in- habitants of our gardens, but are now so improved in doubleness and en- larged in size as to be revelations of gorgeous beauty to those who have not seen these improved sorts. Hardy biennials—or short-lived perennials— 6 to 8 feet high.” This catalogue speaks as follows of the annual sort: “The old favorite Hollyhock can seldom be flowered from seed before the second year, and as the voung plants frequently Winter-kill, it has limited the culti- vation of Hollyhocks to those will- ing to give the voung plants special| Winter care. “The plants from early-sown seed set-out in May commence blooming in July, the May-sown in August, and in either event they flower profusely until frost. “The diversity of forms and colors among the flowers affords many de- lightful surprise Some plants pro- duce densely double flowers without guards, others with guard petals; there are semi-doubles with Anem- one-flowered centers, some with smooth-edged petals, others flounced, fringed, etc., and all flowers arc usually very large, measuring 5 inches across. _ “In colors there is also great varie- ty, some richly brilliant, others dainty and exquisite, then there are colors and tints in charming combinations. There are maroon, black, pink, chamois-rose, apricot with garnet throat, crimson. canary-yellow, pink with claret throat an . blush with carmine lacing rise, white, scarlet, blush with white throat, ma- genta, apricot with buff margin, etc., ete.” * % % % Most of us will be willing 10 forego such wonders as the word-artist of the catalog paints for our delectation —Just the ordlnary, common garden variety will suit us as veell. Perhaps of all the colors in Holly- hocks, pink is the most satisfactory, in its various shades, especially when red {8 found in the throat. This was the most generally found color in Grandmother's old-fashioned garden, along with various red shades. The latter range to practically black, in which color most of the ef- fectiveness of the Hollyhock bloom is lost. The lighter colo against the big leaves, present the most beautiful picture to the average beholder, al though it must be admitted that there are red shades just as pretty. The question of color in the garden is a question of personal taste, upon which no two persons are likely to agree, whence comes the old injunc- tion never to argue about such mat- ters. There are no standards to go by. “I like it." says one. “I don't,” says the other. And both are right! It is not the merit of the flower that is being argued, really, but the per sonal liking of the disputants. No one should be scared away from the cultivation of a few Hollyhocks in the front or back yard by the specter of rust. Yes, they will discolor, some- times, but if sprayed and the leaves taken off, many fine flowers will usually reward you. While appearing at their best along a back fence or garage, I have seen Hollyhocks planted in the front yard very effectively. The darker red shades go well with a brick house, while perhaps the pink ones would look best against a frame house paint- ed white. They must be used spar- ingly, however, in the front vard. Chicago’s Secession War Revives Big City Problem legislator who Introduced this measure took it serfously. A lot of sweat is be- ing shed for the Chicago citizen, who is puzzled far more about where to spend his vacation, how to get down to work safely, which is the best show in town and where to park his car than he is about redistricting the State.” ook ow A reply to the complaint made in behalf of Chicago by the Tribune of that city is given by the Peoria Tran- seript. ““The complaint that central and southern counties are benefiting from the present discrimination is sound in theory, but not important in practice,” asserts the Transcript. “The Tribune itself is one of the most in- consolable critics of conditions in Chi- cago, which it advertises as one of the greatest crime centers in the world. Chicago’s vendetta are nationalistic, racial, economic and diabolical. For many vears downstate has feared the political Huns and Vandals of Chi- cago. There have been times when Shlmo members of the Legislature rivately urged ‘downstaters’ to hold Cook County in check. A condition and not a theory confront Illinois. If Cook County is wise, it will meet the condition and make all counties of the State its allies.” Lack of harmony in Chicago itself is charged by the Tilinois State-Journal, with the assertion: “The conspiracy by which it had been hoped to throw the burden of responsibility for faflure of reapportionment upon downstate members ended in a riot among the conspirators. An effort in good faith th remap Cook County would encoun- ter enough obstacles to require months to harmonize. v Speed Limit on Bridge Should Be Observed To the Editor of The Stai Compliance with automobile laws is an insurance on safety. Failure to en- force a law is an invitation to break it. For years a notice has been posted at Klingle Ford Bridge notifying the pub- lic that the speed limit across the bridge was eight miles an hour. That the bridge being narrower than the road is no reason for an accident. If the two lanes of travel across the bridge were only wide enough to per- mit cars to cross in single lines, at eight miles per hour, there would be no excuse for an accident. F. 8. HODGSON. Barber Bloc in Passaic Draws Rebuke by Press A great deal has been heard within the past few years of bloc legislation, especially ip Congress, where small but active minorities have been able to impose their will upon the ma- Jority. Bloc legislation Congress. Special privilege is sought and ob- tained in the State Legislature and in councils and commissions. We have an Instance of that now, in Passaic. The organized master barbers are attempting to tell the public what hours it may be shaved and their competitors on what hours they may keep open their shops—all this by ordinance, ynder penalty of fine in the Police Court. ‘The principle is bad. ‘The tail is wagging the dog. ‘The business man who can't close his shop at a reasonable hour without calling on the policeman to close his competitor’s shop ought to be out of business.—Passalc Daily Herald. isn’t confined to NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM I G. M. ALASKA: An Empire in the Making. John J. Underweod.- Dodd, Mead & Co. Give me a good book route to fol- low in the Summer time and the rest of the world is welcome to the heat and the hurry and the scant returns of Summer travel itself. This way shuts off the lingering passport mal- ady of the seasonal rush abroad. It avolds the arithmetical anguish of money equiyalents and the handicaps of successive frontiers, each under the stern surveillance of the keeper of the customs. It shuts off, too, the army of wild-eyed tourtsts Baedeker-ng the world in an unquenchable lust of learning. On the other hand, this way invites to the shade of trees beside the brook, cool vistas opening out on every hand. Or, as an indoor alterna- [tive, it suggests the breezy fan and the frequent tub and the Western translation of the easy Asiatic sarong for rainment. With the body so at ease and the mind fresh and un- fettered by the myrad of minor ills that bulk so tremendously against both pleasure and profit, I, gladly, put myself under the good guidance of some wayside traveler who, with a deal of pains, has, out of his broad experience, provided a delectable bock journey for the Summer time. * ok ok % Not a slave to the slogan ‘“See Amerfca First,” 1 am, nevertheless, certain that clear profit, intellectual and patriotic profit, lies in a more in- timate acquaintance between the American and the great domain to which he has fallen heir through the passion for freedom that possessed the fathers. So, for my part, I am seiz- ing upon opportunity for furthering this acquaintance. I am off for Alaska with John Underwood—sportsman, Journalist, miner, business man, ad- | venturer—who, having lived in’ this | auarter of the United States for more than 4 dozen vears, looks like the very one to provide the general many- sided view that constitutes the goal ¢ the passing traveler. * Alaska, the name, evokes no more than a general and discon- certing ignorance, expressed in a melange of ill-assorted terms. ‘“‘Sew- ard’s Folly" early Russian own- ership . . . its purchase by the United States breaking the last tie of Asia occupation in the New World grave of many lost explore, and adventurer an Arctic rigor of climate . the midnight sun, with its weird light and brooding gloom . . . native In- dians land of the totem . . . Juneau, the present capital, and our own Scott Bone, the recent gov- ernor . airplanes lost imminent- ly menaced by ice mountains and SNow curtains . the fatal journey of President Harding—that 15 about all. A melange indeed and much less than a 50-per-cent examination on the mere surface of Alaskan fact. * ok K Into Alaska, with John Underwood. and all along the way thereto, I, in no time at all, realize that this book Journey duplicates the actual journey of the actual traveler passing that way. For it is, first, a record of the senses —scenery, spectacular scenery, greeting the eve; sounds fall- ing upon the ear, those of waterfall and grinding glacler, animal noises, the notes of birds; the scent of strange seashores coming out to meet one, of brilllant flower fields, of unfamillar plants. In this appeal to the senses Mr. Underwood gathers up that special combination of natural features that spell Alaska and no other one of the {nnumerable regions of the earth. Upon this, as a ground- | work, he weaves a sketch of history. Just enough of history to meet one of the prime purposes of this out. { faring and in lines so simple as to { bar possible confusion and an abated interest. The natural setting and the native people, these provide the warp and woof of this weaving. And in it, soon, new and strange threads appear, beginning a pattern whose end lies far bevond the limits of this | book, beyond the influence of” the present. " These outline the economic future of Alaska. so rich in mines, in fertile fields, in forests, in water power. In these particular moments of the journey Mr. Underwood. chiefly by implication, urges the Govern- ment at Washington not to forget this land of resource, this great wealth reserve, not to give it “penny- wise” consideration, not to entertain longer even a figment of that old fable of “Seward’s Folly.” But this part of the book, I taks it, is not for me, vicarious Summer traveler into Alaska. Or, is it not for me, and for you, and for all of us, since we, the Dpeople. constitute the boasted Govern- ment of this free country? A great trip, in any event, this trip to Alaska—taken at home in the com- fort of the shade and the ease of the sarong. a * ok ok ok THE LOST OASES. A. M. Hassanein Bey. The Century Co. One can imagine no more calami- tous loss, to a desert, than an oasls. Therefore, the climax of this adven- ture, the high point of this desert ex- perience, stands as the rediscovery of a couple of oases that, long for- gotten and “lost,” come again into usefulness through the good offices of this explorer. A story of the desert caravan which, under the di. rection of M. A. Hassanein, native Egyptian, traversed the Libyan Desert from mnorth to south, with half a year of dally experiences, novel to the most of us, filling out this period of exploration. Two out- standing facts make this storv one of unusual quality. The traveler is himself an Egyptian of Bedouin an- cestry. He 1s, moreover, schooled in European modes of thought and ex- pression. To the former fact one | traces the understanding sympathy of this story. To the latter, its com- municability to Western readers, its clear perception of the best points of approach, the suitable modes of ex position. To catch the substance and flavor of this unique quality one has only to place this story beside that of any one of the European or American travelers who, adventur- ing into these waste regions, has immediately set out his exploits in the famillar “travel book.” Excel- lent of their kind, these books, but lacking in the essénce of the mat- ter, as only a brief contrast with the book in hand immediately reveals. * ok ok x Unmistakably, here is a man who loves the dese: That which to the alien is a menace, splendid no doubt, but a sinister power nevertheless, is to this native-born a thing to love and understand and get along with, The caravan—curious, exotic mode of transportation to us—is to him the familiar friend, the useful servant. And yet, one does get here the sense of impending doom — water famine, fatality to the camels, the changeless sands, e sand storms, the sun of awful neficence—these are terrifying, even in the story of this adventure. ?ut there is a sense of poetry in this man of Bedouin strain who, under the men- ace, feels the sheer beauty of sky and stars and coming day and fall- ing night. To many the sense of poetic fullness will prove the charm of the tale. To many the toll of a scientist’s half year of exploration in a far and unfrequented place will stand as its great achievement. But both will undoubtedly agree that the book, for both useful information and lure of appeal, holds a place of its own among !‘9 many accounts of desert travel. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. Why are some hydrangeas blue and some pink7—W. H. C. | A. The color”of the flowers of the | shinyleat hydrangeas 18 variable and | seems to be dependent on the acidity or alkalinity of the sofl. An abund-| ance of lime produces pink in lhei flowers while blue is produced by acid conditions which may be aug-| mented by the use of alum, rusty fron or iron filings. Too much lime | will check the growth of the plants | and cause a yellowing. Treatment | for any effect needs to be begun a | year before the result is desired. | Q. Who first pitched a curved ball | in base ball’—W. G. | A. “Candy Cummings" of the Stars | of Brooklyn was the first pitcher to | curve a ball. Q. How many dining cars are there on the raflroads”—. N. B A. The latest report gave a total of 1,431, Q. What are the two large stars| close together in the Western =k A. The Naval Observatory savs the righthAnd star s Castor, the left- hand, Pollux. | Q. How many ships were there in | the Spanish Armada’—M. J. { A. There are no exact records. The nominal strength was 131 or 132 ves. | sels. | Q. What does the name “Theresa” | mean?—M. C. A. The name “Theresa” is Greek It is a harvest name, meaning ‘“‘carry- ing ears of corn | Q. Why was the colonial charter hidden in tie Charter O: J. J. C. A. The tradition relating to it is | as follows: When Sir Edmund Andros s appointed Governor General of | ew England he came to Hurtford | in 1687 to receive the colonial char ter. This the colonists we i to surrender, but appearing t¢ it, | carried it to the coumcil chamber. where during the debate the lights| were extinguished and in the ensuing | confusion the document was carried | from the room to its subsequent hiding place in the hollow of the tree. Here it remained until 1689, when the deposition of Andros made fur-| ther concealment unnecessary Q. What is the fastest thing in the world?—R. H. H. A. The Bureau of Standards savs that the electron is the fastest thing known to date. Q. What is the story of the picture “The Blue Boy'’— w A. This picture, by Gainsborough, is a portrait_of a son of a London iron | monger. The painting was executed | by Galnsborough in Grosvenor House, | London, in 1770. The artist defied | popular belief that this shade of | blue cannot effectively be used in executing # portrait. The painting | is now owned by an American col | lector named Huntington Q. How old is Baby Pegg?—J. F.C A. We are informed that she is about 6 years old and has been in the movies about four vears. Q. Describe the canal connecting —R. H A. The Chicago Drainage Canal goes along the line of the old Illinois Michigan Canal as far as Joliet. Be- low Joliet the old Illinois-Michigan BY PAUL } Europe still owes the United States some $12,000,000,000 of World War To be exact, the total last No- ! vember 15, including interest up to! that date, was $12,041,440,921.99. The accruing interest amounts to about $50,000,000 a month, o that up to the present date there must be added some $350,000,000, less what payments have been made by Great Britain, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania and Po- land. Those are the only nations which have ‘“funded” their debts and begun making instaliment payments of interest and principal thereon. It is now six years and seven months since the end of hostilitles. In the meanwhile, the United States Government is paving interest to the holders of Liberty bonds, by which the Government obtained the money to lend to the allies. the bond interest being 4% to 4% per cent. Theoret- Lake Michigan with the Mississippi. | ! which the | credit of each nation rests absolutel | upon how that nation now takes ca of its ture funded obligations. nations—particular] Canal comes in and affords a na ble connection between the Drain age or Sanitary Canal ard the Il- inois River at La Salle. It is a dix tance of 32.35 miles along the canal from Robey street to Joliet: from Joliet to La Salle, 64.02 miles along the Illinois and Michigan Canal From La Salle to the Mississippi River there is a distance of 223 miles. The total distance from Like ichizan to the Mississippi is 3 9 miles. Q. What was plaving at the Ce tral Theater, Philadelphia, 1" when it was burned some years iz What was the exact date?—F". | A. The Central Theater at Phil delphfa was burned on Apr “The Devil's Auctlon” was there at the time. Q. When did the chewing zu dustry begin?—A. ¢ A. This by dates hack 1860, when the original industry begun on an outlay of $55. It ha since progressed until now the Ame ican public spends more than 000,000 & week on chewing gum ress was Q. What is the longest aqueduct i the world?—W. L. W. A. The longest aqueduct ever is the 235-mile Los Angeles Aquec from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California to the City of I Angeles. The aqueduct was cc pleted in 1Y14, and the cost $23,000,000. Q. Where did the name the “Divind Sarah” for Sarah Bernhar nate?—A. L. O. A. Oscar Wilde called her the vine Sarah” long before he ever her. It clung to her all her life Q. What was the first steamship cross the Atlantic?—F. 8. (" It was the Savannah ilt at New York City avannah. Ga.. on Ma 1819, and reached Liverpool in 26 davs. durir 18 of which she used her side paddles 350 1on which left Q. What was the boot?—W. H. T A. The boot was an instrument of torture formerly in use to extort con fessions from suspected persons or ob tain evidence from unwilling wit nesses. It originated in Scotland, bej ing known to have been employed there before 1600. The boot was made of iron, wood and iron, and was fas tened on the leg, wedges being driven between the lez and the leot by blows from a mall After each blow question was put to th~ wictim. and the ordeal was continued until he gave the information or fainted There were also iron boots which were heat ed on the victim's foot. A less crued form was boot made wet and drawn upon the leg and then dried with fire torture of the | (Let us help you. There is some thing The Star's Washington burean can do for you—some question it can answer, some fact. some piece of ex- | act and authoritative information that | awill be of use to you—that you ca have for the asking. Our Washino- | ton bureau knows just where to iind | the facts for which you are searching | It maintains an organization of neariy {100 people who are trained in the are of procuring information. Submit vou* query. The far-reaching machinery of | this bureau will find your answer. Ai- | dress The Star Information Burcan, | Frederic J. Haskin. director. Tiwcent sirst and C streets northicest BACKGROUND OF EVENTS . COLLINS. nation the on: loan, was made, had b considered. There is ever in no qualifying clause wha any loan. and the fut “demand note” and of fts Al France—are 1 | derstood to be looking to early crease of private loans in the U States, which are today barred by postponement of settlement of 1he ar loans. The French government. at times has undertaken to set up certain off sets against France's debt. Pric our entry into the war France ha | been borrowing here from | financial institutions, but our Goverr ment’s undertaking to act privare raised by Liberty bonds must bear the same rate of interest that our Govern- ment obligates itself to pay on the Liberty bonds. The Government simply undertook the part of a loan azent or banker. without profit or commission for its services. The proposal, which is often urged, that the Government should cancel the loans to Europe could not relieve the Government's obligation to pay the holders of Liberty bonds, and therefore would shift the source of funds for that purpose from Euro- peans to American taxpavers in gen- eral, for the Government has no re- sources except what it receives from taxation. At last there appears some move- ment of our European debtors toward “funding”—not vet paying—the debts, and the talk of cancellation or even of repudiation has subsided or taken a new phase. * ok ok * WWithin a few days “conversation: will open between our World War Foreign Debt Commission. headéed by Mr. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, together with the Secretaries of State nd Commerce. certain members of Congress and other experts, represent- ing the United States, and representa- tives of Belgium, Italy, Czechoslovakin and the greatest of our debtors— France. Our Debt Commission is forbidden by law to cancel any part of the obligations, and President Coolidge has declared that he would not sanc- tion such cancellation even if it had not been parred by Congress. Never- theless, the funding on the same basis as the settlement with Great Britain offers substantlal advantages to the debtors, for whereas the debt at present is in the form of demand notes, bearing 5 to 5% per cent in- terest, the funded debt will bear only 3 per cent and will be adjusted‘in regular installments covering a period of 62 years. The Liberty bonds run not longer than 25 years and bear in terest about 50 per cent higher rate than that to be exacted from the Eu- ropean debtors when they fund their obligations and begin installment pay- ments. * % % ¥ The Debt Commission has secured funded adjustments, up to date, with Great Britain. ....$4,577,000,000.00 Finland ........ §,955,000.00 HUNEAEY: &..5. 05 1,953,000.00 Lithuania 6,030,000.00 Poland 178,560,000.00 That amounts to about 42 per cent of the total European debt to America. The countries now proposing nego- tiations toward funding are as follows: Italy . :$2,097,000,000.00 France e . 4,137,000,000.00 Belgium ..... 471,823,713.00 Czechoslovakia ... 115,528,439.96 Each country stands upon its own credit. The claim that the loans were made to any country upon the in- dorsement of Great Britain is em- phatically contradicted by ‘the Secre- tary. of the Treasury, who cites memoranda glyen at the time of the loans, officially making it clear that no indorsergent of Great Britaln or ically, all loans to Europe of funds | miediary banker for all war loans nee led saved France in interest sor |$30.000,000 a year—up to date approx | mately $240,000.000. Nevertheless, former French M ister of Finance Clementel divided t {debt to America into two classit | tions—"financial” d politic and, while recognizing the obligati to pay interest on the “‘financial de! due private lenders and due the ( ernment for war supplies sold France after the armistice, he that all the Government loans of a $4,000,000,000 are “pol which no interest was to be paid. re gardless of the signature on the dotted line of the demand note of France Since every French soldier killed i the war was worth to France $10.000, that amount, he claimed, should credited on the “political debt.” was to be adjusted intepnati all the allies” pooling their debts a credits, and the final settlement made in proportion to the wealtd sacrifice of the re volved in the war. This proposition ha by both the United States and land, but its pevchology in Fra may’ still have influence in the i efforts toward settlement Last January Deputy Marin, ir French Chamber, set up the cl that all dead soldiers should be cred ed on the interallies’ debts at the ra of 50,000 francs each, and that Fra was entitled to such credit for 2,000,000 soldiers killed in battle and dead from wounds after battle. Also that France had made concessions in the treaty of Versailles based upon President. Wilson’s promises, subject to the Senate's approval, but that when the Senate refused to so ap prove France became entitled 1o greater compensation. This speech was answered by Sena tor Borah the following day, when in a Senate speech he declared: “If France asks for better terms than the British terms, she is finessing for « cellation: her’ logic, if such it can he called, is the logic of repudiation * k%o been repudia While France suffered greater -devastation than did any other cour try, except Belgium, France received in the Versailles settlement with enemy _Alsace-Lorraine, with an a of 5,605 square miles and a populatic of 1,709.749, mostly French. She also received added area—good agricultural land—in Apica, Africa, 107,270 miles and 1,000,000 population, and man- dates over Togoland and Cameroon and over Syria—a total area of about 355,000 square miles with a population of '6,000,000. She thus gained terri tory one and a half times that of France, besides 15 years’' control of the iron and coal of the Saar Valley, 410,000 tons of German shipping and a quarter interest in the ofl of Mosul and Bagdad. The United States re- ceived one dirigible gasbag—the Los Angeles. “La Fayette, we are here!” During \ the American Revolution France loaned to the colonies a total of $6. 500—not billions, but millions debt_was all funded at 4 cent interest, and paid in full—h 180% and the rest in 1815. (Fopyrizht, 1925, by Paul Y. Collinad war This per in