Evening Star Newspaper, July 4, 1925, Page 6

HE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ..July 4, 1925 SATURDAY..... THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11en st and Panssvivania Ave. Neg York' Gffice: 110 East 0 St. icako Offloe . Tower B ;i European Office: 16 Regent St.. London. Fngland. wi Sunday morn- A e Sere. within er month: daily only. 48 conte et momth: "Sinday onty; 20 centa rmonth Orders. may he s Telaphone Main 6000 Collection 18 made by earrier at the end of each month. Rate b, The Evening Star fng edition. is dell the city at 60 cents Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {Iy and Sundas vr.$8.40: 1m0 fall> ang Sunday. e .ia 00: 1 mo LA A Iy-gesiime All Other States. Paily and sunday.. .1 yr..510.00 ally only 00 Bunday only .. 1 mo 1 mo 1 mo.. Member of the Associated The Associated Press is exclusiv to the use for republication of aii news dis- ntches cradited to it or not otherwise cred ted in this paper aud also the local news published herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. The 149th Anniversary. Independence day has come again the 149th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration by which the Ameri can Colonies asserted their right of freedom from British rule. Close upon a century and a half has passed, and the Republic founded upe~ that procla- mation of liberty still lives, the *rong. est government in the world. .1t is difficult for us today to vision the situation in 1776, when the signers placed their names upon that docu- ment at Philadelphia. The present generation of Americans knows noth ing of the that attended that act. Every man who inscribed his signature upon the Declaration was signing his own death warrant in case the experiment failed. He became sub. ject to the vengeance of the govern ment at London There was small chan of the establishment of an independent government. The Col- onies were not united. They were widely divergent in interests The elements of disunion were pres- ent in the temperamental and in dustrial and social differences which prevailed. Not all of the colonists were In favor of a secession from the Brit- ish authority It required the highest courage for the signers to declare themselves, in the name of the people of the Colonies. They had no military organization and their resources were slender. They had a just cause, but justice does not always win in the affairs of nations They trusted in the spirit of independ ence which had been developed among the people who had settled and de- veloped the wild lands of America. In 1776 there were no means of rapid communication, to weld the peo- ple into unity of thought and action By courfer alone was the word of the signing of the Declaration carried forth. The few newspapers, printed infrequently, gave only the text of the proclamation some time after the fact was made known to the people. Yet the response of the colonists to the summons to sacrificial service was im- mediate and sincere. Had the success of the Declaration depended alone upon its Instant in- dorsement by the people there would have been no doubt of the triumph of the Colonies. But there remained the need of conducting a long and costly warfare that tried the spirit of the Nation. Discouragements and losses, disproportionate to the numbers and resources of the people, had to be suf- fered. The faith and the military skill of one man, the leader in the fleld, George Washington, surmounted these obstacles to success. But for his serv ice, his wisdom and his unflagging confidence in the righteousness of the cause it would heve failed, and the Declaration of Independence would have bec but a paper writing of historical The world would have suffered a loss even greater than the colonists, for the cau: of human liberty would have been set back and the inspiring example of American in- dependence would have been lacking. Properly to observe Independence day now calls for a consideration of those sacrifices and sufferings entailed in carrying out the brave pronounce- ment which 149 years ago was made by 55 Americans in the name of their fellow men. peril indeed, for the success closely ome interest. ——————— Today is a national holiday Whu'))l\ calls attention to the nobility of our American institutions, especially the fire departments. ———— Speed and Street Accidents. Two little boys have been killed by motor cars in the streets of this city within days. The director of traffic declares that if the drivers of cars ave not more careful, the speed Itmit, which permits a rate of 22 miles an hour within the city, will be reduced The death two now of these children have been avoided if the machines which hit them had been more per- fectly under control. The children themselves undoubtedly were careless Children usually are, in the streets It is the fact that little folks are con. stantly in the streets, playing there for lack of suitable safe spaces, or go ing on errands, that imposes a special e=ligation upon all drivers to be alert o avoid accidents. A motor car that is being driven at a high rate of speed through the streets cannot be diverted from its course or checked in time to prevent accident when a child the curb. Many, indeed most of the streets of the city, are choked with standing machines, which narrow the driving space and prevent clear view of conditio the curbs. A chid suddenly emerging into the driving space from behind a standing car is in instant peril. It is up to the driver of an approaching car to avoid hit- ting him. It matters not that the child is violating the rules by leaving the curb in the middle of the block. No rule can possibly prevail to pre. vent little folks from going into the street wherever and whenever they wish, however inconvenient it may be to drivers to avoid them. could runs out from { the financial direction of the Govern- | If there must come a contest between motor car shall be always in control against the possibility of a sudden emergence of a pedestrian. 1Z the 22- mile rate does not permit this degree of control, it is undoubtedly too high But it is not a matter of mileage rates, after all It is a question of intelli- gent and considerate car management Car drivers may be greatly annoyed children in the streets, but they must remember chillren have been using the streets for many gogy erations, long before there were mgh| tor cars. It is idle to seek to put th responsibility upon the parents. cannot personally watch the children every minute of the They are, of course, concerned vitally in the safety of their little ones. They tell them to out of the streets play and to be careful when they cross, but they know that their admonitions are often futile. The drivers alone can the coldents, by always keeping their machines under contfpl to meet emer- gencies. Reduction of their the point of safety for everybody not @ hardship. A safely driven car gets its occupants to destination al most as quickly as a car that is driven at a pace that leaves no margin of safety against the suddenly appearing person, adult or child. There is no ad vantage in speed that compensates for the injury or @oath of anybody, d or young. No driver who has had | such an accident can ever feel justi fled for having the legal speed limit Punishments, severe enough monish all drivers, should be inflicted in all cases where severe personal in juries or death result from street collisions. The responsibility, after all, rests upon the driver of a machine that by its momentum inflicts damage, for it is assured that by driving at a lower speed through the city he is al ways in a position to avold accidents. TS e Surplus, Debt and Taxes. Secretary Mellon has cut the Gordion knot. Members of Congress who have been figuring applying the $250 000,000 Treasury surplus accrued dur- ing the last fiscal vear toward tax re- duction now learn that the Secretary of the Treasury has already used this surplus to reduce the principal of the national debt. President Coolidge, dis- patches from the Summer White House indicate, fully supports Mr. Mellon in this course. The action taken by Mr. Mellon in applying the surplus to the reduction of the national debt, however, does not mean there will not be a lessening of taxes by the next Congress. It means, however, that the expected tax reduc tion will be measured by the surplus of revenues governmental ex- penditures for the new fiscal year, a surplus which has been estimated at $290,000,000, but which may run into considerably larger figures. The President has repeatedly stated that he intends to recommend to the Congress when it meets in December the reduction of the Federal taxes. The exact size of the reduction he will propose, however, has not been an nounced. He will take counsel with bis chief financial adviser, Secretar Mellon, and with the chairmen of the Senate and House committees which | must handle tax legislation before reaching a final conclusion on this matter. The popular estimate now is that the taxes will be so revised as to lop from $250,000,000 to $300,000,000 | off the amount to be paid. Both Democratic and Republican members of the Senate and House are putting forth statements which indi- cate they are prepared to go much further than this in the matter of tax reduction at the next session of Congress. Tax reduction is a most de sirable goal. The taxes are levied however, to enable the Nation to meet its obligations, and should the taxes be reduced below the mark which will produce sufficient revenue for | that purpose, then either the country | will fail to meet those obligations, or taxes must again be increased. An in- crease in the tax burden would, in deed, be a discouraging step, should it be forced on the Nation a year or two hence because of ill-considered tax reductions next December. Secretary Mellon and the President are wedded to the safer method of financing. Whenever the national debt is reduced the interest which the country must pay on its debt also is cut down. The more rapidly the prin- cipal is reduced the less interest the country in the long run will be com- pelled to pay and the taxes eventually will be less. The national debt is the fundamental reason for high taxes. As it is wiped out the taxes grow less. The country gains little by prolonging | the payment of the debt so that pres- ent taxation may be cut to the bone. The country has fared well under by the keep at be prevent speed to is a crowded to ad over ment by Secretary Mellon. The na- tional debt has been enormously de- creased and taxes have been lowered. members of Congress, on the one hand, the Treasury Department and the ‘hite House, on the other, over the extent of tax reduction at the next session of the National Legislature the people undoubtedly will take into consideration the past performances of the administration. e e—e——— A jay-walker is a citizen who honest- 1y believes in the ancient traffic theory that a pedestrian at all times has the right of way. ———— A Short Cut Proposed. Announcement is made that the de- fense in the Scopes case in Tennessee will forestall a detailed trial of the evolution teaching issue at Dayton by an appeal directly to a Federal court to hear the constitutional question in- volving the right of a State to dictate the manner and form of religious teaching and educational procedure. If this move is made the Dayton trial, which has been so widely advertised as a sensational case, will be reduced to nothing, and the proceedings, in- stead of comprising expositions and arguments on the merits of the evolu- tion theory, will be merely a techni- cality of law. In point of fact, the proposed pro- cedure is the right one to pursue. The issue in this case is not evolution, but the right of the State to prescribe a The only rule of safety Is that every They-pe¥ntrary, it is held, to the Constitu- THE EVENING reference to a religious belief. What- ever may be done in the Dayton court, if the case is heard there, the vital auestion of the State's right to dictate the course of education must eventual- 1y be heard in the Federal courts, ulti- mately in the Supreme Court. The fortunes of the teacher, Scopes, are only involved incidentally in this matter. He is simply the lay figure of the test. The beliefs of religionists are likewise only incidentally involved. The State of Tennessee has under- acken to set up a standard of belief, tion termine local question No local jury is qualified to de- this question of fact. No court has jurisdiction over the of law involved. A Federal court must pass judgment, and it were well to carry the case by the shortest route to the point of final determina- tion Removal of the trial from Dayton would be @ sore disappointment to that small community, which has preened itself over its notoriety and has pre- pared for a gala time when the legal and religlous leaders gather there for the great battle and the crowds of curious people assemble to watch the proceedings. Naturally a short-cut move to secure decision on the funda- mental question by the Federal courts would deprive it of a profitable at- traction. But the country would be better off in the avoidance of a futile debate upon what is actually, in this situation, a moot question. o o California is atraid earthquakes will intimidate people who might be con- templating enjoyment of the charms of the Pacific slope. The fear is groundless. People never avold a beauty spot because it is from time to time visited by convulsions of na ture. Vesuvius herself has never been able permanently to terrorize Naples. r———e English capital is serlously consider ing the possibility of excluding Ameri can films from the British motion pic- ture market. The idea comes too late. Instead of developing a Chaplin or a Pickord. England has been concentrat- ing on James Barrie and Bernard Shaw ol It is fortunate for the political des tinies of this country that before pro- <eeding to frame the Declaration of Independence the responsible states- men of the Nation did not feel it in- cumbent on them to force a decision on the theory of evolution. v —o— There are times when a politician finding circumstances adverse to his public projects has to kill time. Col. Bryan is, first of all, a politician. His anti-evolution activity looks a little as if he were killing tim Smedley Butler says he will be through with his job of Philadelphia reform on the 1st of next January. And he cheerfully implies that he is wishing himself a happy New Year. SRR UL So far the discreet Japanese have avoided demonstrations which might encourage Mr. Doheny’s evident idea of leading them into the oil con- troversy. any e When Col. Bryan gets through with evolution he may consent to take up the question of the “fourth dimension™ where Master Sidis, the mathematical prodigy, left off. —————— Explosives are still respected as rain promoters. In addition to its patriotic prestige the Fourth of July claims in- creasing consideration as a protection against drought. ———— The “Klan” apparently is just now striving not for secrecy, but for pub- licity. bt SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Yawn. So this is the Fourth of July! High Ho! The rockets will course through the sky And merrily dazzle the eye As they go. High Ho! Please pardon this bit of a yawn. High Ho! We tell of the days that are gone When men gave their brains and their brawn Faith to show. High Ho! Their words and their deeds we re- call— High Ho!— To avert what might sadly befall. This tribute’s amazingly small, Dull and slow. High Ho! No Difference. “What's vour idea of the difference between a statesman and a politician?" “There isn't any,” answered Senator Sorghum. “A politician is a states. man who is trying to conduct himself in a way to prevent him from losing his job. The Ultimate Topic. Though many an argument profound The human mind pursues, i "Most everybody gets around To talking IOU's. Jud Tunkins says @ jazz band makes him want to dance in the hope of using his feet 80 as to save him from getting a headache. The Subordinate Male. “I used to object to the kind of neckties my wife bought me at Christ- mas,” said the sad-eved man. “Yes?" “Now I'd wear 'em gladly if she wouldn’t insist on huying all the queer clothes I have to wear the year round.” Proof. 1 haven't anything to wear Friend Wife, of yore, would oft de- clare. And, as she dons her modern dress, Her argument is proved, I guess. “It's mighty hard to stop war,” sald Uncle Eben. “Dar is jes' as many fights in our settlement now as dar was before de safety razor was in- mode and school of education, with vented. STAR. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES L. TRACEWELL. Is is always Christmas eve on up- per Fourteenth street. The . spirit of a perpetual Yuletide ripples and rolls there all day long, assuming largest proportions at night, when the thoroughfare is converted into a “white way." This is the impression one is likely to bring away with him, no matter what time of the day or year he visits it. I know of few streets any- where, and certainly not in Wash- ington, where this atmosphere of gay- ety so largely prevalils. ven ¥ street, famous for prome- nades, #oes not so surely convey this spirit as does Fougeenth street from the “top of the hill” northward. And this comes about because the latter street is situated in the midst of a great home community. Fourteenth street is the Main street of Columbia Heights. There, in the evening, gather the beaux and belles, either to attend the “movies,” or just to walk up and down. " street {s tame at night compared with upper Fourteenth street. There is light, motion, joy, of course, on F, but not so much of it. People come downtown for a purpose, and after they get there walk as if the; knew exactly where they were going. On Fourteenth street, on the other hand, they just amble along. The pedestrians have exactly the same look on their faces as the inhabitants of a small town on Main street on Saturday night. No one who ever has joined in the happy, aimless meanderings on any of the countless Main streets of this broad land can ever get over the feel- ing that he is back home again when he walks along Fourteenth street. * ok oxox The ceaseless flow of automobiles and street cars sets the pace for the river of pedestrians that goes both ways on the west side of the street. As on all ways, Fourteenth street has its favorite side. They walk north. they walk south. They come in bright dresses, now leaning toward the cretonne frocks that remind one of window curtains; they amble by in short, very short, skirts; they come and go in costumes bevond the power of any man to de- scribe. Each fair creature is attended by one of these aforementioned persons. And the two of them just walk. “The Same Old Two,” went the song from the late Victor Herbert's beautiful musical play, “Algeria " Yes, it is the same old two, the same when Noah was a lad, the same today, and the same tomorrow. The story of the Ark, and how all created things went into it two by two, strikes a sympathetic chord in the heart of man Although, in the final analysis, each one of us must depend upon himselt, must face the crises of our lives alone, vet for the most part we are happier it we can take life “two by two. Thus comes about father and mother, husband and wife, brother and brother, sister and sister, buddy and buddy, pal and pal, Damon and Pythias, David and Jonathan, friend and friend. You find them all here on Four- teenth street every evening in the week. Many of them you will see in the afternoon, too. Children, bright- haired and bright-eved, proceed on their happy way. No child wears a hat on this street This is a sure sign of the “home town" main thoroughfare. In Podunk the kids never wear hats when they “go down town.’ Here is a fat woman with a fat Japanese parasol. I am sure the Nipponese worker who frame that gay thing of bamboo and paG®® @uld not have had the lady in mind, vet, if he had, he could not have better harmonized it with her frame. Rotund to a degree, ample of girth, face of moon proportions, the lady exactly fits her round, ample parasol, under which she walks like one of those “contented cows' we read about. There is an old balloon man, given an onward urge, it seems, by the lift- ing power of his wares, which struggle in a gay array aboye him. But now the balloon man s anchored. He stands by a letter box, talking to two old cronies. All are in shirt sleev Animated conversation pre- vails, accompanied by jerks and sal- lies of the vellow and red balloon: No, not only children love bal- loons! Many men and women harbor secret longings to buy them and some there are who give away to the urge and Invest in the gay wares, which they take home and tie to the chandelier in their room. Lucky is the man who has a child to buy his balloon for! It is like “taking the children to the circus.” The old man has a longing to see the three great rings. himself, but he is ashamed to admit it. So he “just takes the Blessings upon thee, What would the ‘“grown without you? \We pass the towering antenna sys- tem of a great broadcasting station. How goes the radio game now? It does not seem that as many people are talking radio as formerly. What do vou think? We pass store after store—candy, restaurants, pastry, cooking utensils, music, dry goods, drug stores, station ery stores and countless others. Al- most anything that man requires can be purchased along Fourteenth stréet. The accent seems to be upon the shops devoted to things to eat. After all, what a perpetual interest we have in grub! Show me the man with stomach so dead who never to himself hath said, “Let’s go in there and get a soda water,” and I will show you the gentleman who ought to seek a doctor. Everything here. There is life, motion, noise, music, hustle, bustle, laughter, talk groups, knots, parked automobiles al- most hiding the street car lines from sight, bells, horns, dignified old gen. tlemen, jolly young fellows, animated girls, children eating lollypops, dogs running in and out, matrons carrying home baskets of provisions, dark faces. working men, night, electric lights If you grow tired of life come to upper Fourteenth street and lose vourself in the flowing crowds. There you will find a sort of noisy oblivion, an animated Nirvana, a peaceful hurlyburly, in which you may rest. boys children! ups” do and every one “goes’ It reminds you of the Atlantic City | Boardwalk. No one pays any particu- lar attention to you, vet vou feel at home. Immensely so. On upper Four teenth street the pedestrian, whether chronic or occasional, shares this feel ing. Go to Fourteenth street, then, if you are sad, but go especially if you are glad, for this is the street that Santa Claus visits every night in the year! WHAT IS EVOLUTION? By Lemuel F. Parton . The foregoing chapters of this series have outlined the basis of the theory of evolution and the “proofs’ of its validity offered by its sponsors. These considerations have been con- fined to their accounts of what hap- pened, rather than why it happened. It is the efforts to answer the ques- tion of why and how which have given the theory wider and wider implications and have enmeshed it in social and ethical considerations of a widely popular range. Charles Darwin wrote “The Origin of Species” In 1859. While in this book he expounded fully his revolu- tionary theory, it was not until he published ““The Descent of Man,” in 1871, that the full significance of his doctrine was realized and the great controversy which rocked England was precipitated. Cotemporary with Darwin were Huxley, Spencer, Wal- ace, Tyndall and other great sclen- tists, and their names, in the battle which ensued, became almost as familiar in England as that of Babe Ruth in America today. The evolu- tionists were formidably assailed by all the conservative intellectual forces of England. The church marshaled its battalions, under the leadership of its great dignitaries, and the tradi- tional academic forces of the univer- sities were arrayed against the new doctrine. Darwin Becomes Popular. The stately old Contemporary Re- view became the Madison Square Gar- den of the encounter. The debate car- ried on in this journal between Huxley and Gladstone is perhaps the greatest record of controversial literature in the English language. Huxley was not only a great scientist, but a great stylist, and presented his case with a degree of lucidity and power which no doubt largely accounts for the wide range of popular interest in evo- lution during the eighties and nirfeties of the last century. While Darwin had done a thorough piece of work, it is doubtful whether the main essentials -of his teaching would have gotten into the popular vernacular—as they did—had it not been for this resounding controversy. Among these essentlals there are two of primary importance. They are the theory of natural selection, and the survival of the fittest. The theory of natural selection is the nearest approach to an answer which the evolutionists can give to the demand of the fundamentalists for a “theory of causation.” Natural selection proceeds from the evolutionists’ definition of life as “a continuous adjustment of internal to external relations.” ‘“Internal rela- tions” means the organism and ‘ex- ternal relations” its environment. In this continuous adjustment is found the immediate, but not the final, cause of charge. e Reason for Changes. Nature spawns numberless crea- tures. She is not interested in indi- viduals, but in type. Among many millions of such creatures, through periods of time, there are organisms which show some variations in phys- ical structure. These are called “sports.” Some great change of en- vironment, such as the drying up of a lake, or a glacial movement, may com- pel new adaptations—that is, some adjustment or change of structure of function which will enable the organ- ism to live under the new conditions. In this upheaval a few of the adapt- able “sports” survive, and their su- perior equipment is transmitted to their descendants—a new species ap- pears. But great changes of environ- ment are not the only drive toward such adaptation and survival. Small land animals may be attacked by enemies. Many will perish, but some few who have long fingers or toes will take refuge in trees. Immediately— this is an important detail—their sur- vival attributes are accentuated by use. They become tree-dwelling crea- ture, the ancestors of the little lemur and possibly of man. Thus; there is a continuous winnowing out of those who cannot conform to changes of environment, failure of food suppl attacks by enemies. Elimination Continual. The theory of the survival of the fittest limits considerations of fitnes: not to any ultimate worth or efficacy in the scheme of things, but to the superior fitness to survive in any par- ticular environment. It is, of course, obvious, that in a competition for food, or mates, the stronger or more resourceful individuals will survive and propagate their kind. It thus be- comes plausible that with life con- stantly outrunning food supply there is a continual ruthless elimination of the unfit and an increasing dominance of the fit to the point of their emer- gence in a new species, Nature creates countless billions of lower organisms, indifferent to the fact that many, or even most of them, will die without reproducing. As her creatures become better equipped for their struggle in a sav- age world and the individual chances of survival become greater, the rate of reproduction becomes less. The evolutionists use the word “individ- uation” as indicating the individual's degree of adaptability and assurance of survival. Herbert Spencer then states the foregoing as follows: “Re- production Is in inverse ratio to in- dividuation.” Many Ramifications. Here we have one of those mean- derings from a laboratory into the walks of everyday life which have made evolution a provocative and stimulating theory and which have kept it constantly in the public mind. Spencer’s reseaches helped to stim- ulate investigations of the laws of heredity, which have an increasing importance in their bearing on press- ing problems of modern life. There are innumerable by-products and de- rivatives of the evolutionary theory which had their origins in the prob- ing into the stuff of life which fol- lowed Darwin's books. Possibly the argument at Dayton Will be confined to purely legal prob- lems. If not, it will range far afield. (Continued Tomorrow.) & Spunky, Peacemaker. To the Editor of The Star: Mr. Londun tells a thrilling cat story in Monday’s Star and then calls for “next.” T think I can match his story. Spunky, a handsome Maltese, lived in the house next door. One day the two dogs were fighting over a bone on the walk between the two houses. They were making so much noise, snapping and snarling so fiercely that they attracted both familles to the windows, so there were several wit- nesses to the affair. When the fight was at its noisiest, Spunky made his appearance in another part of the vard. With back arched and tail in the air, he pranced across the yard until he was at the proper distance, then he made one leap and landed on the snapping, snarling bunch. Never did an uproar subside so suddenly. Two crestfallen dogs slunk off in opposite directions and Spunky fol- lowed the one that lived in his own house and administered several cuffs. Spunky didn't believe in fighting and he proved himself a very effective pacifist. MRS. E. E. CHURCH. Our Bignes From the Detroit Free Press. Another sign of our national bigness is that we have more laws than any other nation on.earth. And pay less attention to them. f L) WASHINGTON, D. 0., SATURDAY, JULY %4, 1925 THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. The American Library Association has recently begun the publication of a series of booklets entitled “Reading With a Purpose.” The first number is devoted to u: tzaety @mbjcct of biol- ogy, which, e dourse, includes evolu- tion. Dr. Vernon Kellogg, secretary of the National Research Council and a writer with a rare gift for making science human, has written the book- let on “Blology.” It is a brief intro- duction to the subject written for the purpose of enlisting the interest of the reader and inducing him to read the half dozen or so books which the au- thor commends as meeting “the Te- quirements both of authenticity and readability and which have both in- formational and spiritual value.” The books which Dr. Kellogg lists and de- scribes are: “Everyday Biology,” by Prof. J. Arthur Thomson; “The En- gines of the Human Body,” by Prof. Arthur Keith; “Our Forerunners,” by Miles C. Burkitt; “Men of the Old Stone Age,” by Prof. Henry F. Os- born; *“Human Origins,” by Prof. George G. MacCurdy; “Social Life Among the Insects,’ by Dr. W. M. Wheeler, and “Evolution,” by Dr. Kel- logg himself. It is announced that in this series, *'Reading With a Purpose,” the American Library Association will soon publish other booklets on litera- ture, history, economics, music, the physical sciences, psychology, philos- ophy and many other subjects. * % * % Tnasmuch as the theory of organic evolution is fully accepted as the most sonable explanation of life by Dr. Kellogg in his booklet and book and by the authors whom he commends, in tairness it is appropriate to call atten- tion to a recent book, “The Dogma of Evolution,” whose author, Prof. Louis T. More, makes reservations in his ac- ceptance of the theory. The author is a professor of physics in the Univer- sity of Cincinnati, and not a biologist. His book is composed of lectures given at Princeton University. The author seems to be actuated by his fear that modern evolutionary science is incom- patible with ancient morality.and dog- matic or institutional religion. His position and purpose in writing the book he states as follows: “I accept the general doctrine of the evolution of organisms as a de- ductive theory * * ¢ It {s the most satisfactory rational theory to ac- count for those relations between existing flora and fauna, which un- doubtedly exist. But this is not equivalent to accepting the metaphy- sical hypotheses which attempt to give the cause and methods of evolu- tion, nor does it mean that the bio- logical theory of evolution can be applied with success to the problems of man's mental and spiritual nature ® ¢ e It is the purpose of the present work to trace these applica- tions * * * Can we use the conclu- sions of biological evolution as a guide to conduct?” Prof. More's book is an elaboration of his reasons for answering his question in the negative. As The Booklover is not qualified to speak on this subject he has turned to signed reviews of this book, some of which are favorable and some unfavorable. One of the latter charges Prof. More with ignorance of the developments in biology during the last 20 years. *ox % aradoxical character evidently intended by the author to represent the typical Russian is that of Golovan in the novel “The Enchanted Wan- derer.” by Nicolai Lyeskov, recently translated. Golovan is originally a serf, but becomes a freedman. He lives among the Tartars, and his life Is full of vicissitude, but he endures all with smiling stoicism, if only he Is not bored. In his introduction to the book Maxim Gorkl says: “Russian history has produced numerous men of the sort and goes on producing them even at the present. The traits of the wanderer are to be discerned quite clearly in the nature and life of the founder of Russian anarchism, Michael Bakunin."” % e Doctors may differ about the value of alcoholic liquor in medicine, but there was little difference of opinion among the Scotch farmers' wives of Thomas Carlyle's time. David Alec Wilson in his volume, “Carlyle Till Marriage,” tells a story of the serious ill health of Carlyle’s mother in 1817 and how she was cured. Mrs. Carlyle's reason was menaced because of her prolonged inabiligy 70 sleep. She was finally sent for a complete change to the farm of her brother-in-law, Mr. Grierson, near\Dumfries. The first Mrs. Grierson, Mrs. Carlyle’'s sister, was dead, but the second Mrs. Grier- son “was a kind and clever woman, ready to nurse her husband's sister. in-law.” Sleep still did not come to the patient and she continued to spend her nights in agonies of insomnia in spite of various drugs. “The doctor prohibited whisky, which Mrs. Grier- son suggested, as almost any farmer's wife would have done. Finally Mrs. Grierson took “a bold resolution, as something must be done. She gave her whisky in spite of the doctor's ‘No. no, no!" Mrs. Carlyle slept a long time Hke a baby, and wakened well—herself again, returning home in a week or so apparently in perfect health.” The surprising thing about the story is that a Scotch doctor of that period should have prohibited the whisky. * ox % ok The announcement that Herbert Quick had completed his autobio- graphy before his recent death will be welcome news to a wide circle of de- voted friends and admirers. Those wno knew him from his novels, his writings on economics and his contri- butions to magazines and newspapers will be glad to have more from his pen. And still more those who knew him versonally and heard his stories, reminiscences, banter and his good talk on farming, single tax and many another subject drawn from his rich experience are pleased to have his de- lightful personality perpetuated in print. Before publication in book form the autobiography will appear in the Saturday Evening Post under the title “One Man's Life.” The first installment, printed in the issue of June 20, reads exactly as Herbert Quick talked—leisurely, ~whimsical, sage, meaty. i The rapid ana sound development of the new nation of Czechoslovakia 18 described in “Czechoslovakia: A of Economic and Social Condi- edited by Dr. Joseph Gruber. The volume contains 19 articles by different authors, giving the facts and figures about what has been done in the past six years by this enterpris- ing nation in the way of social re- form and the utilization of its eco- nomic resources. The writers are university professors, business men and government officials, Their fig- ures show that in 1923 there were only 57,000 unemployed from a popu- lation of 13,000,000, and that this small country 'contains over 500 schools and colleges for agriculture and forestry. * ¥ % ok The Booklover has found ‘“The Last of the Heretics,” by Dr. Algernon Sidney Crapsey, an exceedingly im- pressive book. The author, after 27 years as the greatly beloved minister of St. Andrew’s Protestant Episcopal Church of Rochester, where he was esteemed almost as a saint, was con- demned in 1906 by an ecclesiastical court of his diocese for the expression of heterodox views. He then re- nounced the ministry for the plat- form. The book holds the reader's attention by the varied experiences recounted and the adventurous thoughts expressed. The austerity of his devoted life and the sweetness of his spirlt make a lasting impression on the reader. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How much should a girl who ex- pects to go to college four years al- low for clothes?—S. R. T. A. A girl can dress attractively and appropriately on $250 a year if she has most of her dresses made at home, if she shops carefully, buying coats, etc., out of season, and if she plans deliberately. A fair allowance for the girl who must buy most of her clothes ready made is $450. Q. How many telephones are there in the United States”—M. T. A. The latest compilation gives 14,- 347,395 telephones for the entire coun- try, Nevada has the fewest, having 10,313, and New York the most, hav- ing 1,780,663. Q. Is there likely to be any change in the present immigration la: —D. A. A law providing for the admis- sion of immigrants to the United States on a selective rather than the quota basis is to be urged upon Con- gress at the next session by the N: tional Assoclation of Manufacturers. They maintain that any plan of selec tive immigration has the advantage over the present plan; that the ques- tion of who is to be admitted would be answered at the home of the person seeking to come to the United States and not at Ellis Island and other im- migrant stations. Q. Has the Dominican Republic a good system of roads?—T. W. A. A fairly adequate highway - tem supplies land communications there are about a thousand kilometers of roads, some macadamized and others paved with asphalt. Neverthe- less, for commercial purposes pref erence is usually given to water com- munication, carried on small national coasting vessels, which render efficient and inexpensive service. Q. How much dressed meat did the average American consume last year? —T. G. A. The Bureau of Animal Iudustry says that the average American con- sumed 164.9 pounds of dressed meat for the year 1924; of the per capita consumption pork accounted for 83.8 pounds. Beef ranked next in favor with 62.6 pounds. Veal stood third with 8.3 pounds and mutton and lamb, combined, were fourth with 5.2 pounds. Q. What is meant by the term “SS" as used on affidavits and similar docu- ments?—W. M. B. A: “Scilicet.” It has the significance of “that is to say; to wit; namely.” It is employed in the jurat of an affidavit, for example, to particularize the place of execution. Q. When and where did “The Little Minister” open?—G. R. 8. A. Maude Adams opened in this play “on an intolerably hot night,” September 13, 1897, in the Lafayetie Square Theater, Washington. ceipts for the first week were only $3,500, but the play was a spectacular success from the time it opened in New York. Q. Will bamboo grow in the United States?—C. O. A. The Department of Agriculture says that bamboo trees will thrive in the South Atlantic, Gulf Coast and Pacific Coast States, and in some of the States of the lower Mississippi valley. The giant timber bamboo and one or two of the smalier grow- ing kinds, such as the stake bamboo, would be most valuable for these farm-home groves. These groves, if properly handled, in the course of 8 to 10 years would prove not only a .source of profit, but would be the means of providing many conven- iences for the farm and home, such as light fences, trellises, bean poles, pea stakes and stak+s for flowers and young trees, fish poles and fruit poles, hay-curing racks and water- carrying pipes. Q. What purposes does the flat wide tail of the beaver serve’—G. H A. In the water it serves as a rud der, propeller and signal gun by giv ing loud slaps on the surface of the water as a warning of the approach of enemies. Q. Ts it true that we have to go abroad for most of our sclentific in struments? A. At the present time, according to the director of the Bureau of Stand ards, more than $5 per cent of the sclentific instruments used in the United States are manufactured ir this country. Q. Did Martha Washington's son serve in the Revolutionary War?— S.A. A. He was a captain on Gen Washington's staff and died of a fever contracted at the sfege of Yorktown Q. If a healthy fish is frozen into the ice will it come to life when the ice thaws in the Spring?—B. P. L A. Ichthyologists say that this de pends upon the species of fish. In frigid waters many fish freeze in the | Winter and become active in t Spring. Tropical fish, however, would die if frozen in ice Q. How many town States are named Lebanon?—E. Y. A A. The name Lebanon is of fre quent occurrence. The States of Iil nois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee all have towns of that name. . Q. Is the Philadelphia-Camden Bridge to be a toll bridge or a free one? A. It is the contention of the legai advisers of New Jersey that tolls must be charged in New Jersey for the re tirement of bonds sold to defray th. expenses of building the bridge. It is said that the citizens of New Jersev were led to believe in voting for the bond issue that tolls would be charged The State of Pennsylvania wishes 1o have the bridge made free. At the present moment the situation is that New Jersey insists that tolls must be charged and Pennsylvania insists that the bridge must be free. It is, of course, impossible to predict the out- ceme. in the United | What would you do it you wanted to get a passport or stop your shoes from squeaking or build a chicken- coop or found a hospital or preserva The re- | persimmons or become a diplomat-— and you didn't know how? Suppose | you wanted to kmow why the sun |looks large at sunset or the cost of |living in” South Africc or the total czports of the United States last year |or the income of the Rockefeller Foundation or who wrote “Silver | Threads Among the Gold#” oOur Washington information bureau has | answered every one of these questions |and many other and more dificult | ones. It maintains a big staff of ex- | perts and correspondents whose busi- | mess it is merely to answer ques- | tions—your questions. This service is | free. Send ih your question together | with a 2-cent stamp to cover the re- | turn postage. * Adaress The star In- | formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, ! director, Washington, D. C. BACKGROUND OF EVENT BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The House of Goverhors in con- ference has been heard from. The first conference was due to an inspira- tion which came to President Roose- velt while he was making a trip down the Mississippi River in 1907, as chief guest of the Inland Waterways Com- mission. to invite all the State governors to the White House for the purpose of considering ways and means of de- veloping the natural resources of the country. He inyited also the presi- dents of various important national socleties concerned in natural re- sources to meet with the governors. That first meeting occurred in the east room of the White House May 13 to 15, 1908 * “It is doubtful.” wrote President Roosevelt in his autoblography, “whether, except in time of war, any new idea of like importance has ever been presented to a nation and ac- cepted by it with such eflectiveness and rapidity as was the case with this conservation movement when it was introduced by the conference of governors. The first result was the unanimous_declaration of the gov- ernors of all the States and Territories upon the subject of conservation, a document which ought to be hung in every schoolhouse throughout the land. A further result was the ap- pointment of 36 State Conservation Commissions and, on June 8, 1908, of the National Conservation Commis- sion.” This National Commission was in- structed to make an inventory of all the natural resources of the Nation— * o x the first inventory of the kind ever made by any nation. It was com- pleted in six months, and, when Presi- dent Roosevelt transmitted it to Con- gress, he described it as “one of the most fundamentally important docu- ments ever laid before the American people.” Out of the first conservation con- ference, growing from the confer- ence of goverrors, developed a North American Conference on Conservation, for which invitations were sent to President Diaz of Mexico and to the governments of Newfoundland and Canada; for, said the President, “It is evident that natural resources are not limited by the boundary lines which separate nations, and the need for conserving them upon this con- tinent is as wide as the area upon which they exist. * ok ¥ % That International North American Conference, in February, 1909, request- ed Robert Bacon, Secretary of State, to invite 45 nations to unite in send- ing delegates to a conference to be held at The Hague, “with the view to considering plans for an inventory of the natural resources of the world, and to devising a uniform scheme for the expression of the results of such inventory, to the end that there may be a general understanding and ap- preciation of the world’s supply of the material elements which underlie the development of civilization and welfare of the peoples of the earth.” Then without comment, President Roosevelt record: “After I left the White House the project lapsed.” T While the immensity of the eco- nomics in a plan to inventory the whole world is indisputable and in- spiring, international commercial ri- valries were all arrayed against in- voicing to their competitors the re- spective resources of each other. For business is war and competition is the life of trade. ‘What has been the history of the original idea back of the outgrowth of the conservation of resources? The House of Governors—has it become a third estate in the councils of the Nation, functioning in guiding the in- terstaie co-operation In dealing with subjects which, while being_distinctly State malte‘w under the limitations He announced his Intention | of our Constitution, yet need to be uniformly dealt with by State Legis- latures and executives? Among the topics discussed, con sideration has bezn given to the ques tion of uniform laws on marriage and divorce, and on child labor. It is related that in the ecarlier con ferences of governors Southern 8ov- ernors became nationalists in regard to the need of improvement of water- ways, and Easterners urged a bill then pending in Congress for the crea tion of Appalachian and White Moun- tain forest reserves In the first conference President Roosevelt pointed out the far-reaching interstate effect of a decision just then given by the Maine Supreme Court, upholding the right of a Legislature to restrict the cutting of trees upor private property without compenwm tion to the owner, if the motive for the restriction was to preserve rivers and maintain general climatic condi tions. An analagous decision was also given by the United States Supreme Court, under which the right of a State was upheld to prevent oil or gax being piped out of the State at the loss by the original State *x ¥ At the Srst conferences, out of 48 States, there came not less th 46 governors, and the absentees apol ogized for being prevented by sickness or urgent State obligations. No par tisan politics was intruded into the discussions, until Gov. Blease of South Carolina made a speech upholding lynching of negroes, “provided the right man was lynched.” By a resolu tion adopted by 14 to 4 the Blease speech was rebuked. By 1913 attendance had dropped so that out of 48 governors only 25 were present, and freak projects were in troduced. The ‘debates aimed to force the Federal Government to take ac tion, rather than assume responsi- bility in the States, even in such as were most jealous of State rights. Sov. Hunt of Arizona proposed an imendment to the constitutions of the States abolishing all State Legisla- tures and conducting State administra tion through the governor and his “cabinet,” “after the manner of a limited monarchy without a Parlia- ment. The House of Governors became a_debating club interested in theories of government, rather than in actual living problems of interstate operation, and the press, generally, sneered at “a tottering House of Gov- ernors.” The action of the governors was never received with enthusiasm by the Senators and Representatives who were jealous of their own status as spokesmen of their States in gen- eral or Federal interests. In 1911 the House of Governors met in New Jersey instead of Washing- ton, and Goy. Woedrow Wilson wel- comed the fellow governors with, “The vitality of this conference lies in the fact that it has released itself from Federal guidance.” When President Woodrow Wilson refrained from call ing the conference to the White House, after he became head of the Federal Government, he saw that the “vitality” was still “freed from Fed eral guidance.” * ¥ % ¥ Not since 1911 has the House of Governors taken its responsibilities se- riously. This vear a score of State executives gathered in Maine, where some took trips in airplanes, and all, with the ladies of their familles, were taken around the State to view the great.potato fields and other Maine re- sources. The sessions were marked only by a debate between United States Budget Director Lord and Gov. Al Smith of New York as to whether the Republican President has saved as much needless expense as has the able Governor of New York, for, like the pyramids of Egypt, looking down through centurles upon Napoleon's forces, so the governors realized that the eyves of all the Maline potatoes were upon them in their solemn con. clave. Copyright, 1935, by Paul ¥, Colltaay