Evening Star Newspaper, July 13, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. July 13, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: . Lth St. and Pennevivania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office- Tower Building. Dean Office: 18 Regent St.. London, England The Evenine Star. with the Sunday morn- ox edition, fe delivered by carrigrs within the city at 60 cents per month: Baily only. 45 cents per month: Sunday only. 20 cents per month. Orders may be sant by mail or telephone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ally and Sunday....1yr.$8.40:1 mo. 70 aily only ©.111137.$8.00: 1 mol. 80c Sunday only 157 $2:40: 1 mo.. 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday...1 sr..$10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ Daily only \ ... 13r. $7.00: 1 mo. 60c Sunday only 15¥r. $3.00:1mo., 26c Member of the Assoclated Press. "The Associated Press is exclusively entitled fo the use for republication of all news dis- Patches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ited in this paper and also the local news Dublished her. All rights of publication hes herein are also reserved No International Strike. “world strike” of labor is the raised once again, this time the coal waving the The threat, to be sure, comes from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, where the miners in Great Britain, Belgium and France are reported to be dissatisfied. It i uttered at present merely by the ex- tremists. Perhaps some ' of these gentry have been encouraged in thelr prophecies by the controve: be tween the anthracite miners and oper- ators in the United States. If so, they are basing their hopes for inter- national action on flimsy ground. American labor, organized and un organized, has never been greatly Impressed with the idea of interna- tionallsm, nor has any other class of Americans. Americans have so far managed to handle their own prob- lems, including labor. American labor has been far more successful in obtaining higher wages and better living conditions than has the labor of Burope. All of which does not encourage American labor to adopt the methods of organized labor in Europe. Again and again the proposal has been put forward in this country that a “labor party” be established, or that labor indorse and become re- sponsible for a political party. But the proposal has met with no en- couragement. The great American Federation of Labor, the railroad brotherhoods and other organizations have flatly turned their backs on it. The belief exists in this country that the problem of labor is economic rather than political and that labor an best attain its ends, higher stand- ards of living and better wages, through support of candidates who uphold those principles, no matter to which political party they may be- long. It is perhaps significant that at the same time word comes from London the miners are talking of a world strike and are looking hopefully to America, it is reported from Atlantle City, where representatives of anthra- cite miners and operators are seeking to settle their differences, that the at- mosphere is growing more hopeful. American labor is not blind to its own best interests. There is a strain of sound common sense in this coun try that has brought it successfully through many trials. Internationalism, like socialism, has attained little foothold in the United States. Individualism is still strong, where opportunity knocks at the door of the laborer as well as at the door of the professional and business man. Nor will American labor profit by any steps which lower the spirit of the indfvidual and take from him the great gamble of life. e A threat with banner of revolt. miners Potomac Park Willows. In the course of a sudden severe equall which swept over Potomac Park yesterda; afternoon several trees were broken and uprooted, and in falling did some damage, though fortunately in no serious degree, to motor cars and menaced their occu- pants with severe injuries. This hap- pening directs attention to the pos- sibility of a more grave result of sharp blasts in that region. The old willow trees which line the park bor- ders on the river edge, planted many vears ago when the park was in the first stage of creation by pouring river silt behind retaining walls, have reached a stage of development at which they are undependable. Some of these veterans have been already destroyed by high winds and some have been removed. It is evident that more of them should go before they, too, fall under wind pressures. These willow trees were planted to aid in holding firm the soll that was pumped into the park space from the riwer bottom. They grew rapidly and spread their roots far, and gave a sub- stantial foundation. They furnished early shade and added to the pleasing picturesqueness of the landscape. But they have dons their work now and should go, for the sake of public se- curity. Trees of more substantial character have in many cases replaced the original willows and in some cases have attained noble proportions. Per- haps a few of the old willows, located safely within the park arca away from the roadways, might be retained for the sake of old associations, but all those that stand near enough to the driveways to cause damage in case of ©ollapse should be removed. ——————— Col. Bryan still has ammunition in reserve. He has not yet sent for his Brother Charles to assist him in his attack on evolution. ] A Cancer Germ Report. A report comes from London that three British research workers in bac- teriology have succeeded in fsolating the germ of cancer. This announce- ment is accompanied by warning that the discovery is thus far only in the hypothetical stage, and that there is no immediate prospect of a cure for this dreadful disease. This warning is essentizl, because on many occasions in the past whenever any progress to- ward the conguest of this disease has been proclaimed it has caused an im. mediate revival of hope that a remedy is to be forthcoming. And as yet there is no remedy, and a deeper despair always succeeds the hope that is thus aroused. Cancer is the great mystery that bacteriological and medical science has failed thus far to solve, almost the sole disease that has not been identi- fied as to cause and rendered subject to some degree of cure. All over the world men and women are devoting themselves to its study with a view to isolating its causative principle, which, it has always been believed, will lead to the discovery of a cure or means of immunization. So-called cancer cures have been proclaimed in numbers from time to time, and much harm has undoubtedly been done by their adoption, leaving patients exposed to the advance of the disefise while trusting to the ef- ficacy of plasters, systemic treat- ments and inoculations. Surgery and radium have been the final resort of practitioners, with only a small per. centage of success. If, as is now reported from London, the active principle or germ of cancer has been discovered a cure may result. Heretbfore the identification of the germ itself has been followed by the development of a remedy, either direct- ly corrective or preventive. It may be a long time before this occurs in the present case, if, indeed, the causative element of the disease has been ac- tually isolated. These men, who have, it would seem, gone so far toward the solution of the most obstinate of the mysteries of human disease, have rendered a great service to humanity. But let ope be deferred until their researches are carried to the conclusive point. - Caillaux Triumphs. Caillaux, once under the ban of the law as guilty of treasonable relations with the enemy in time of war, is now ascendant in France. Restored to full citizenship, elected to Parllament, summoned to the ministry at the head of the department of finance, he has undertaken the dificult task of stabil- izing the currency, balancing the bud- get and adjusting the foreign debts. He has just gained a substantial vote in both houses of the Legislaturs in support of his budget and tax pro- gram, against the opposition of the Socialists, and simultaneously with this success he has been elected to the Senate by an overwhelming vote. In a remarkably short time he has been not only completely rehabilitated in public favor, but has become actually the dominating figure in France. Caillaux’s task in the adjustment of the finances of France has been one of great difficulty. The people of that country, impoverished by the war, had come to the point of expecting repara- tions payments from the former enemy to sustain them in their governmental needs. They have resisted all pro- posals of high taxation. Their indus- trial recovery has been rapid, however, and they have with thrift regained much of the ground lost during the four years of devastating conflict, waged chiefly on their own soil. Cail- laux has treated the case with the courage of a master of finance, swept aside the public expectation that repa- rations can be reliéd upon for income to meet current needs and applied taxation as a remedy for the ills of the body politic. Stabilization of the currency will probably follow shortly after the final adoption of the budget and taxation measure. Settlement of the foreign debts, upon some equitable and prac- ticable basis, is already undertaken. If no political reaction takes place, through the partisan obstructiveness of the Soclalist party, France will in a few months be in a position of bet- ter financial health and security than at any time since 1914. And the credit for this development will be- long to Joseph Caillaux, shortly ago the object of popular execration and distrust. ——o—s The monkey, hand-organ star and pet of the menageries, is in no danger of capital punishment. Mr. Darrow will suffer no serious regrets even should he fail to establish the simian’s right to a respected position in the soctal scale. ———— The wimmer of an automobile race s to be comgratulated not omly on his courage and skill, but on the fact that his machine held together ana did not skid. —————— A California judge has decided that film funmakers cannot be prevented from copying onec another’'s trousers. ‘The clothes do not make the comedian. ————. The Parking Problem. The city attorney of Chicago has just ruled in favor of the legality of the erection of a 40-story structure that is planned as a combination of office building and parking garage for automobiles. Twenty-three of the forty floors are to be devoted to motor car space. Tt is estimated that it will afford accommodations for 572 ma- chines. This building, if erected, will not in itself solve Chicago's vexing parking problem, for there are thousands of motor cars now in the streets of that city requiring some space while not in use. To meet the needs of the situa- tion at least fifty such structures are essential. Every large city has the same prob- lem of what to do with the motor cars that are used for morning and after- noon transportation. Not one in this country has fully solved it. Some cities prohibit street parking save for very brief periods to permit short visits to stores and office buildings. Some forbid any parking of machines whatsoever, save when they are in the custody of chauffeurs. Others allow rarking within certain prescribed spaces and for limited periods. Some rmake no restrictions whatever, leaving the streets to be packed with cars, with greatly reduced traffic spaces. ‘Washington, with very slight pri- vate accommodations for parked cars, is trying to solve the problem by re- strictions as to space and time. It is not getting very far toward solution, because of the fact that the congestion is the result of long-continued prac- tice. Motor car owners have come to regard the use of!the street for park- 'In: purposes s more or less of a right. Difficult as the question is today, it will be much more difficult ten years hence, at the present rate of increase in motor car use. Even now there are more cars than accommodations for their storage at night. Recently a po- lice enumeration was made of the vehicles parked at night, awaiting day- time use. Their reports showed 17,461 pleasure cars, 997 commercial motor vehicles and 85 horse-drawn vehicles, or 18,543 in all. These figures vividly illustrate the fact that Washington's motor equipment is greater than its storage facilities. ———— Public Health and Gas Engines. Every dog has his flea, and doubt- less the flea has his troubles, too. Just when it has become possible for near- ly every one in the United States to own and operate an automobile, the scientists come to the fore with the suggestion that the public health is being menaced by fumes from the gas engines, particularly carbon monoxide, deadllest industrial poison in existence today. In New York City tests of the air have been undertaken at points where automobile traffic is especially heavy to determine whether this deadly gas 1s released In quantities which make it dangerous to persons who have to breathe the air in those neighborhoods constantly. The traffic cop may be the greatest sufferer. Yale physiologlsts, who have experimented to determine the ventilation necessary in vehicular tunnels, it is reported, declare that there is enough carbon monoxide in the air in various parts of New York City to impair the health of those who must breathe it. A new apparatus, a combination of the device employed by the Bureau of Mines and that used by the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, is be ing adapted to measure the amount of carbon monoxide in the air on the busiest corners of Fifth avenue. The results of the test will be watched with interest, but they will have to be very convincing to cause traffic on Fifth avenue to lessen. The fumes from gas engines are not pleasant. If they prove to be dan- gerous to health in quantities now released in American cities, then the sclentists must devise some means of preventing these fumes or so min- imizing them as to make the alr safe for the people who must breathe it. 5o far we have not been able to do with- out alr. And no one wishes to give up his automobile. — et One of the penalties every city has to face when it grows rapidly in popu- lation is an increased difficulty in meeting the requirements of traffic regulation. The situation becomes tm personal. The old-time jay walker and the old-time self-important policeman become equally obsolete. A courteous co-operation between citizen and officer is the surest hope of public safety. —————— Among the new ideas the Senate will have to consider is the assumption by Mr. Dawes that election to the vice presidency represents an official responsibility and not a retirement from public activity. ——— Swampscott becomes the scene of a number of conferences. Even a man on a vacation may be compelled to hang up the sign, “This is my busy ey ——— Publicity is recognized an art: even as a science. Much of the stuff coming in from Dayton, Tenn., should be marked, “Adv.” ——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILA DER JOHNSON. Silly Season. 1t is now the silly season When we wander from the ways That pertained to rhyme or reason In the cool, contented days. Soon my ticket I'll be showing With & sense of harmless glee. On my way I shall be going Down to Dayton, Tenn. To the organ I shall listen ‘With its old familiar grind And perhaps a tear will glisten As it brings the past to mind; But the sadness soon will vanish From the silly Summer scheme. Serious business we will banish. Monkey business reigns supreme. Deferences. “What is your idea of senatorial courtesy? “It's the willingness to let a col- league go on talking,” said Senator Sorghum, “and a corresponding wil- lingness on his part to let you go home and avoid being bored.” A Diffidence. “Why do you sit around here all night instead of going home?” asked the fellow clubmember. “I feel kind of embarrassed.,” an- swered Mr. Meekton. “My wife has bobbed her hair, got herself some sport clothes and made up her face. When I go home I feel like a total stranger.” Jud Tunkins says the Einstein theory is all right as far as it goes, but he can't see a chance of its ex- plaining the motions of swift-moving bodies in a way that'll help the trafic regulations. Ceramics. Cosmetics now her features make Uncertain as a lottery; For, if the sun her face should bake, She’'d be a bit of pottery! Her New Coat. “They aren’t wearing much at the seashore.” “That fact represents no economy,” said the man who was examining his bills. “My wife’s coat of sunburn for last week cost me over $300.” Down by the River, He wandered by the river there And murmured, in his sultry plight, “Water, water, everywhere— And not a bathing beach in sight! “De excitement some o' des here politicians is gittin’ up,” said Uncle Eben, “would almost make you think dat Adam and Eve was still alive an’ gittin® ready to run foh office,” LS NING STAR, WASHINGTO D. C BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Most people hate to get out of bed in the morning. In Winter the warmth of the bed- clothes appeal mightily; in Summer the general slothfulness of the atmos- phere lures one to renewed slumber. Many find it almost impossible to open their e; after a night of sound sleeping; others simply refuse to get up until dragged out by their heels. Marcus Aurelius lived 2,000 years ago, but he knew all about this feel- ing. Listen to Marcu fifth book of his ‘“Meditation: “In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be pres- ent—I am rising to the work of & hu- man being. “Why, then, am I dissatisfled if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into this world? “Have 1 been made for this, to le in- the bedclothes and keep myself ‘warm? “But this is more pleasant! “Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, not at all for action and ex- ertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the uni- verse? “And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature? “But it is necessary to take rest also! ‘It is necessary: however, nature has fixed bounds to this, too; she has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking. and yet thou goest beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficlent; yet in thy acts it is not so, but thou stoppest short of what thou canst do. “So thou lovest not thyself, for if thou didst, thou wouldst love thy na- ture and her will. Those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working at them unwashed and without food: but thou valuest thy OWNn nature less than the turner val- ues the turning art, or the dancer the dancing art, or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little glory. “‘Such men, when they have a vio- lent affection to a thing, choose nei- ther to eat nor to sleep rather than :o perfect the things which they care or. ‘“‘Are the acts which concern society more vile in thy eyes and less worthy of thy labor?” * ok % % Imagine a modern mother getting little Wilile out of bed at 7 a.m. with the Aurelian exhortation: “Willie, for heaven's sake, get up! You will be late for school. Why, ‘William, you ought to think that you are rising to the work of a human be- ing, that's what you ought to think.” T ain’t rising a-tall.” 'Well, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, then, Willle. Why should you be dissatisfled at the idea of get- ting up, when you know that you have to go to school, and that going to school Is what you were made to do. ““You certainly were not created just to lle there in the bedclothes and keep yourself warm.” 4 uh. This is mighty pleasant, maw." “Do you exist, Willle, just to take your own pleasure, and not to be up and doing, a regular go.getter? Shame on you, Willlam! Look at the little plants doing their stuff, and here you are, a great bie boy, lying in bed like ‘an old slow poke! Ain't you ashamed of yourself? Look at the ants, and the spiders, and the bees all t work. Why don't you kick off those blankets, Willie, and get up and go to school? Hump yourself, Willlam “But it is necessary, maw, to take rest, too.” “Yes, it is necessary, Willlam, but not all day! You have been gleeping all night. I notice that you e\t more than nature demands; why dok't you work a bit more, too? “Walter Johnson is up and work- ing, I'll bet you. I'll bet he isn't loll- ing in bed. He is out working on the ball field because he loves his art of pitching. Why, base ball players even go without eating or washing their faces, I have no doubt, they so love their art. “And is school less worthy in your eyes than base ball? Willle, you either get up or I will call your tather!"” * % % % Marcus Aurelius says: “Judge every word and deed which are according to nature to be fit for thee; and be not diverted by the blame which follows from any people, nor by their words, but if a thing is good to be done or said, do not con- sider it unworthy of thee. “'For those persons have their pecu- lar leading principles and follow their peculiar movement; which things do not thou regard, but go straight on, following thy own nature and the common nature; and the way of both is _on In the above paragraphs the Ro- man sets forth the very principle which is being followed more and more in modern education, the principle of allowing the child to work out its own destiny in its own way, under intel- ligent leadership, guidance which helps rather than hinders. Marcus had ideas about prayer which will strike a happy note with those who have “listened in” om in- terminable beseechings, during which the minister painfully works his way through the known and unknown worlds, at last coming to “and the President of the United States and the members of his cabinet.”” Aurelius says: “A prayer of the Athenlans: Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, down on the plowed fields of the Athenians, and on the plains. “In truth we ought not to pray at all or we ought to pray in this simple and noble fashion.” PR “About what am T now employing my soul?” he asks himself—and us. “On every occasion I must ask my self this question and inquire, whose soul have I now? that of a child, or of a young man, or of a feeble woman, or of a tryant, or a domestic animal, or of a wild beast?"” He continues with memorable words: “Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.” He tells us to reverence that which is best in the universe, “and in like manner also reverence that which is best in thyself.” He speaks, therefore, for discrimi- nating selection, and equally for a de- cent self-respect on the part of the individual. “Live with the gods,” Aurejius says. One of the curious passages in this book follows: “Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul? What good will this anger do thee? He has such & mouth, he has such armpits; it is necessary that such an emana: tion must come from such things. “But the man has reason, it will be said, and he is able, if he takes pains, to discover wherein he offends— I wish thee well of thy discovery!” Of a truth, the modern advertising writer did not discover ‘“halitosis™! BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Time was when one could get rich through contracts for carrying the mails. The pony express came when greater speed across the continent was demanded, and relays of galloping ponfes brought romance and fame to intrepid riders. The railroads super- seded the pony express, but star routes multiplied with the coming of rural mail delivery. Not all these developments werae im- mediately profitable to the Post Office Department. But when has immediate profit been the major consideration in the handling of the mail of this coun- try? Take the rural mail delivery, for instance; has it pa!d? No; it costs $600,000,000 & year more than its gross revenue, yet let any economical Con- gressman suggest that it should be dis- continued and he would be listed for retirement ‘before he had taken his seat in the smoking room of the ‘Hous: Does the second-class mail pay a profit? According to post office audi- tors it does not begin to pay expenses, vet what a protest has always risen when it has been proposed to raise the postage rate on long-distance news. papers sufficiently to cover expenses. All of this leads up to the starting point, which is at present the policy of expanding the air mail service, which costs the Government several times the increased revenue upon the trans. continental line from New York to San Francisco, in operation now about one year. Fiats The post office officials have pro- jected routes as feeders of the main New York-San Francisco route, but the Government does not intend to operate these feeders directly, as it is operating the one across the continent. It will ask for bids from contractors who will use their own airplanes, take their own risk of income, contracting to carry all the air mail on the route, in consideration of 80 per cent of the total postage on the mail they carry. They will have the right to add ex- press business and passenger traffic at their own rates, but the contractor will carry all risk of profit or loss, and must expect a loss of from a few hundred thousand dollars to a million or more @ year for the first two or three years, while doing the ploneer work of familiarzing the public with the advantages of speed in mail and travel. * K ok x A few days ago a Chicago bank had occasion to send to New York City a package of a million and a half dol- lars of securities. It is impossible for a Chicago bank to ship by train money or securities in time to reach New York by the opening of the Clearing House, at 10 o'clock the following morning. It was thought possible, however, to do so by air mail, and the trial was made. Head winds were unfaverable during that night, and the airplane transmission was de- layed four minutes. The four minutes cost one day's interest on $1,500,000, which at even 4 per cent amounted to more than $1,600. But the closeness to success—four minutes—demonstrated that the ave- rage result, after the machine has found itself, will be reliable. That four minutes will be eliminated and with it not only will the day’s interest on such a sum be saved, but on all the vast interchange of bank securities which pass in both directions daily between those two greatest cities in America, and in the same proportion the vast flow of business all over the country. “Time is money!” Since four minutes’ delay on one shipment cost more than $400 a minute, how! much is wasted by the laggard pace of the “fast malil trains"? * X The proposed new feeder air lines will run from New York to Boston; from Chicago to Minneapolis and S Paul; from Chicago to Springfield, TIl., and St. Louis; Chicago to Louisville, Nashville and Birmingham; Chicago to Wichita and Fort Worth. There will be feeders from San Francisco, through Fresno and Bakersfield to Los Angeles. As fast as the lines established be- 3in to show justification, in the volume of business produced, more lines will b3 projected, provided contractors can be persuaded to undertake the enter- prise. The lines are not to be sub- sidized; the contractor is limited by law to the 80 per cent of the postage on the mail carried. He must give a bond to assure faithful performance of his obligations. On a route of 1,000 miles, as, for example, from Chicago to Birmingham, the contractor will have to provide not less than 10 air- planes, half of which must be parked at points along the route for emer- gency use when the four or five in active service are out of order. He may relihquish his contract on 45 days’ notice; and the Government may cancel it upon 45 days' notice, but only “for cause’ e., if the service is not satisfactory, through failure to get through upon schedule time. * ok % Postmaster General New believes that the experiment of the Govern- ment air mail service in the first year has been of great profit in demonstrat- ing the practical possibilities and in training night flyers. The United States has been accused of lagging be- hind Europe in aviation, he said, but no country now possesses such ef- ficlent and experienced night flyers as we do. As for the risk of loss in the pioneering of the contract or commer- cial service, Mr. New declares that it it like the experience of the pioneers in early railroad building. As =oon as the first railroads’ had demonstrated their success, competing lines par- alleled them, but the older lines would have the advantage of experience, familiarity with the resources of the territory and usually could meet com- petition and drive it out of the field. For a new company to equip ma: chines and terminals and light a route for night flying will require a great capital, not lightly risked in a divided fleld of competition so long as other routes are yet unoccupied. There is no extraordinary hazard in pioneering routes. The National Transport Co., with & capital of $10,000,000, recently organ- ized, with Howard E. Coffin, president; ‘Will Hays, former Postmaster Gen- eral, in charge of public relations and publicity, and Col. Henderson of the United States Air Mail Service, gen- eral manager, will soon begin commer- cial operations between New York and Chicago, carrying passengers and ex- press. The Government service does not carry express packages, beyond parcel post up to & limit of 10 pounds PO xwie While aviation has made strides in Europe apparently not equaled in the United States, the European activity is largely due to its anxiety for mili- tary defense. The United States has surpassed Europe in training night fiyers, and is equal to the best in the world in point of speed. At the close of the war the speed record was 166 miles an hour; it is now 278 miles. Then the endurance record was held by the Handley-Page bombers, and was about four hours in the air; now it is nine hours for bomb- ers and about the same for observa. tion planes. In advertising for com. mercial tygs. Col. Henderson stipu- lated that they must ‘e a speed not less than 100 miles, a g capac- MONDAY, JULY 13 1925 I Farm Taxation Agriculture Held to Bear Un- Just Burden. BY ARTHUR CAPPER, Senator From Kansas. I have been much interested re- cently in a study of a taxation sur- vey made by the United States De- partment of Agriculture in Tipton, Miami and Monroe Countles of Indi- ana. The researchers found that the average annual return on rented farms was 3.8 per cent. The Investi- gation showed that the average re- turn on rental property in the town was 4.6 per cent and on bank stocks 8 per cent. Assuming the average tax rate was per cent, it is evident that taxes take 25 per cent of the income from bank stock, 42.5 per cent of the city rent and 62.6 per cent of the farm rents. Yes, I know that in some places clty taxes are higher than those in the country. 1 also know that other peculiar things occur, such as tax- exempt bank stock, at least so far as the owner is concerned, and that there is a variation in rents, taking the country over, and a varlation in farm values. But virtually every sur- vey made anywhere shows that an unjust share of the country's burden of taxes is being carried by agricul- ture and that this has been increas- ing. It is one of the glaring faults of our administration of government, especlally in such States as Kansas, where the general property tax is the main or only source of revenue. Farm Tax Increase High. Taxes per acre on farm real estate increased 159 per cent in Kansas from 1910 to 1923, while selling value ad- vanced only 35 per cent. And taxes on farm lands and farm property are I40 per cent higher throughout the United States than in 1914, two Government departments report, which also report that the selling value of farm products has in- creased less than 60 per cent. What makes these shocking dis- parities serious, as well as unjust, i that the farmer cannot * his taxes as the merchant does by adding them with his overhead to the price of goods, but must take them out of his already too scanty return. May Force Farmer Out. If this process should continue in definitely farm owners might event ually be forced to move from the land and the state be compelled to take over the farms. Several investiga- tors, taking a long look into the future, already have mentioned this gloomy possibility. In his last annual report, the late Henry Wallace, former Secretary of Agriculture, who was a keen student of farm taxation problems, said “farmers find their taxes heavy be- cause of the way they are raised. They are levied on the selling value of the property, but are normally paid out of the income. Too often the amount of the tax has little or no relation to the amount of the farm- er's income.” Exactly, that's the whole point. In this highly complex industrial age we have allowed an inefficient and de- structive system of taxation to be- come firmly rooted in American life. So far as State and local systems g0, it completely violates the axiom that taxes should be levied accord- ing to ability to pay, the basis on which any equitable taxation system must rest. States Making Progress. But we are making progress in most Sfates; in Kansas, for example, with a gasoline tax and a better method of taxing personal property 2 which should tap a new source of revenue. And probably we shall go further. It seems to me due consid- eration should also be given to a gross production ‘tax, on oils and minerals; to & tax on non-essentials, such as tobacco and commercialized entertain- ments; and to a State income tax. . We might as well face the question squarely, for taxation is one of the great economic problems of the United States, and will continue to be. De- spite all that can be done—and much should and can be done in certain directions—the amounts of tax money collected for our several systems of government will continue to be large. Within the next generation vast sums ‘will be expended on roads, waterways and education. Our rapidly growing country will demand these expansions. As a matter of wisdom and of simple justice the tax burden should be placed fairly, according to ability to pay. That is all farmers have ever asked. There is no objection on the part of the producers to contributing the share of taxes which their business earns. And certainly that is a sound position. Let us hold down government ex- penses in this country to as low a point as consistent with public policy, and then distribute the taxation bur- den according to ability to pay. That is the basis on which we can make the greatest progress in the happier years we are entering. (Copyright. 1925.) ——— Witnesses to Births Reaping Harvests In Rome, as possibly in other cities, exists the rare but lucrative profe: sion of being witness to birth. The gentlemen who hang around the en- trance to the municipal registry of births and offer, for a few nickels, to attest the genuineness of any report- ed birth, have given legal existence to thousands whom the stork brought to the eternal city. The success of this profession is based upon the well known economic principle, expounded by Adam Smith, Riccardo, Mill and Karl Marx, that the proud new father does not care how much money he throws about. As he enters the courtyard of the registry office he is approached by an aged and usually unshaved party who holds out a grimy paw and offers congratulations. The father is deeply touched at this thoughtfulness and his hand instinctively reaches in his pocket for a cigar. Before he knows it he has agreed to a contract. The aged party beck- ons to a more aged and more un- shaved party in a dark corner and the three march up to the majesty of the law. There, the two aged in- dividuals solemnly testify that they witness the birth of “the most beau- tiful child in the world.” Presently the law is satisfied, the witnesses are content with an exorbitant tip and the father is happy to have found some more people to whom he could tell all about “her.” = o ity of 1,000 pounds and be capable of landing at a speed of 50 miles per hour. “Already assembled at Mon- mouth, IlL, in answer to these require- ments, are four machines with a speed of 110 miles, a capacity for more than 1,000 pourids of freight and a landing speed of only 40 miles. Two others are expected in the competition this month. Tt is the ultimate aim of the Post Office Department to contract ‘with commercial companies for the en- tire carrying of the air mail, instead of a continued Government service, even on the transcontinental line. The. Government cannot undertake com- petition with the express companies in carrying express traffic, hence it is interested in encouraging development of air express, not through subsidizing air companies, as is done in Europe, but in encouraging such development by giving them the mail carriage, un- der the limitations of the law to 80 per cent of accruing postage. (Copyright, 1926, by Paul V., Coftiss.) D ——— R T T R R OB i e R s B e e et S, Bt e e e e et THIS AND THAT Q. “‘What country has the most vol- noes?—C. A. The Central American Republic of Salvador possesses more volcanoes that have been active within historic times than any other country. No- where is one out of sight of at least one volcano, and usually several are within range of vision. Q. How many cubic feet of hellum does it take to support a man?—C. P. A. It takes approximately 3,200 cu- bic feet of helium, 95 per cent to 98 per cent pure, to support 200 pounds. Q. Do blacksnakes have the con- strictive power?—M. G. H. A. The Biological Survey says that blacksnakes have a constriction; they sometimes kil rattlesnakes. King. snakes hold on with their jaws and squeeze the rattler to death with their colls. Q. Are uniforms issued to veterans of the World War?—T. W. T. A. Uniforms are not being lssued at the present time to veterans of the World War. This issue was discon- tinued about three years ago. If you belong to the National Guard you can obtain the uniform from that source. Q. Why are the tombs of the Egyp tlans on the west bank of the Nile?— OO WA A. The Egyptians believed that the entrance into the hidden land lay to the west, where the sun disap- peared. Q. What was the average price of a slave about Civil War times?—S. A€ A. In a letter to Senator McDou- gall Lincoln wrote that less than one halt day’s cost of the war would pay for the slaves in Delaware at $400 a head—the estimated average value of salves. Q. How large is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?—I. T. G. A. The cefling fis square feet in area. Q. How much did Ella Wheeler Wilcox receive for the poem which includes the lines “Laugh and the world laughs with you”?—A. T. L. A. Tt is said that the New York Sun paid the poet $5. The poem was printed February 25, 1883. Q. What is the smallest interval recognized in music?—B. K. A. As music is taught in most civilized countries, the half-step is the smallest interval. some 10,000 Q. What were the articles placed in the corner stone of the Washing- ton Monument?—J. M. T. A. There were included in the articles a copy of the grant of the site, a copy of the design, a copy of the constitutfon of the Washington Monument Soclety, & portrait of George Washington from Stuart's painting, copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, coples of the Presidents’ messages up to that time, a_silver medal repre- senting George Washington, and the national monument, designed by Jacob Seeger; the Holy Bible, copy of census statistics of the United States, an American flag, the coat-of-arms of the Washington family, copies of newspapers containing accounts of ‘Washington's death and funeral. Q. What is a spinning mule?— 8. M. C. A. A eplnning mule is a machine of exceedingly complicated organiza- tion by means of which cotton or wool or other fibrous materfal is spun into yarns for use in the manu- facture of cloth. It spins a great many yarns simultaneously, winding them into “cops” as fast as they are spun and its various operations are its action it approximates with inter- esting closeness the procedure by which formerly a yarn or thread was Oscar W. Underwood’s announce- ment that he will not seek re-election to the Senate has drawn countrywide appreciations of the Alabama leader, who, for a generation, has been an outstanding figure in public life. His ability as legislator and statesman, his courage and patriotism are ac- claimed, even by most of his critics who belleve, as the Roanoke World- News expresses it, that “he fell out of step” with the Democratic party. The Birmingham News, in the Sen- ator’s home State, laments the pass- ing of the day when the South sent to Washington “the real brains and courage and intellectual honesty” of its manhood. “The spirits of those giants of old still stalk about the Capitol,” says The News, “and their ghostly voices can almost be heard at times in protest against the lesser ones who sit in the chairs they once occupled and sound feeble messages to a new generation. Alabama fur- nished more than its quota to that coterie of brilliant statesmen. Ala- bama sent its greatest sons to the Senate, there to dignify and honor the name of tbe State. The voice of Alabama was heard in the land, and men gave ear to that voice. With the passing of Underwood, that day also passes.” Loss to the country is em- phasized by the Utica Observer-Dis- patch. “No member of Congress has ever been more faithful or more de- voted to the interest of the country as a whole than Oscar W. Under- wood,” ‘the Utica paper declares. “For_20 years he was a member of the House, and he was never con- nected with any legislation that was not reasonable and honorable. Ten years ago Mr. Underwood was ele. vated to the Senate, and in that branch he has pursued the same even, temperate, wise and far-reaching course.” * X Xk ok The Montgomery Advertiser pays this tribute: “He has won distinction over continued opposition. He has proved that opposition brings out the best that is in a man. He never flickered in the face of demands by various blocs and he has never bent before the winds of changing political sentiment.” The Springfield Republican thinks, “It has in reality been largely be- cause of the prestige that he had al- ready gained before he entered the Senate,”” that he has “probably come to be the leading figure on the Dem cratic _side, in public estimation. The Republican ~adds: ‘“Conditions which, for the most part, have been beyond his control, have made it im- possible for him to duplicate in the Senate the success of his leadership in the House.” “It is safe to assume,” according to the Dayton News, “that Mr. Under- wood left the lower branch of Con- gress with regret, and that he was never quite 8o happy in his new field of endeavor. He is a conservative, but nevertheless he served a useful purpose in the counsels of his party and of the country. Too many con- servatives would spoil the voyage, but a sensible conservative of the type of Underwood helps to keep the ship of state on an even keel.” The New York Evening World's estimate is that “he has won a place in his- tory as the author of one of the precious few tariff acts of more than half a century that represent an hqn- est effart at a fair measure into which privilege, bartering and corruption did not enter.” “Now it is S‘Xpl;lngwq.l' 'h=l the title of an torfal in the ichita Beacon, mheflmflh that “Senator Under- A ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. performed entirely automatically. In | spun by hand with the ald of the old-fashloned domestic spinning whee! Q. What is the thickness of the bark used in making birch bark ca noes?—F. H. H. A. The Bureau of American Eth- nology says that the bark used iIn making birch bark canoes 1s abou: one-eighth of an inch thick. Q. Why do so many of the Greek statues lack a hand or an arm, or one or both feet?—C. M. W. A. These statues being too heavy to remove the despoilers of Grectan cities contented themselves pulling them to the ground, letting the fall do the damage. The lime burners were also responsible for a lot of the damage done to these. By burning marble lime may be obtained Therefore, these lime burners took the pieces which were broken off by the fall and knocked off with a sledge those parts which would yield readily. Q. How old was Joset Hofmann en he made his first success in ew York City?—A. B. M. A. He created a sensation in New York in the Winter of 1887, when he was but 10 years of age. That year he gave 52 concerts in America. His health failed and he returned to Eu- rope and retired for six vears. Q. Who was the first misslonary to sail from America to a foreign field, and where did he go?—N. A. M. A. The first regularly appointed m: sionary from a United States official board was Adoneram Judson, wt with Missionaries Hall, Newell and Rice, sailed in February, 1 Burma, India. Nott Q. What Presidents of the United f_m;:s were born British subjects?— A. The following Presidents were born British subjects, although they were born on American soi George Washington, John Adams Thomas Jefferson, James Madisor James Monroe, John Quincy Adams Willam H. Harrison and Andrew Jackson. Q. Please tell me the names of ths men who drove dog teams during the diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska —O. F. A. The names of the men in charge of dog teams that attempted to carrs serum to Alaska in Februa 5 were W. Shannon, E. Kalland, D. Green, J. olas and L. Seppalla. The final dash was made by Gunnar Kasson. Q. Can u give me the value of the paper in a $10 bill A. G. C. A. The Treasury Department says the Government pays 51% cents per pound for 100 per cent linen paper on which currency is engraved. There are 12% pounds to a thousand sheets which are 8% by 13% inches. Four bills are made from one sheet. Q. What is the projected height of the central tower of the new Union Depot in Cleveland?—W. I. H. |, A. The height of this tower will | be over 700 feet, and it will be the sec ond highest building in the country, exceeded only by the Woolworth Building tower in New York. (What's on your mind? TYou want to know something. You wish to be positive before you go ahead. Well The Star will tell you what you want to know and give you assurance be- |fore you proceed. ~ Our Washington | bureau can answer any question of | ract propounded to it. Here is the | university of information—a great free educational institution estadlished | solely to serve you. Semd in your | question and get the right answer. return postage. Address The Star In- formation Bureau, Twenty-first and € streets northwest.) Underwood Retirement Big Loss to the Conservatives wood recently came out boldly in favor of slashing tax reduction on big incomes. ““And now.” the Beacon adds, “it is plain why he decided to come out and give his views boldly He has decided not to run for office again.” Frank, honest conviction however, {s credited to the Senator con by the Lincoln Star, with the clusion: ~ “The truth is that Underwood is out of sympathy the disgusting political conditions of the day.” On the other hand, Charleston Post makes the sugges tion: “Perhaps Jeffersonian Democ racy 18 no longer feasible. However, the point is that Senator Underwood's political holdings are not those of his constituency and his retirement is logical—and regrettable.” ¥ % ox % Calling attention to the fact that Senator Underwood is one of the ex tremely few Democrats quoted port of the Dawes plan for revi Senate rules, the Butte Post suggests “It may be that last year's experience in connection with presidential poli tics prompted the Alabama Senator to consider plans for return to private life.” “He disappointed progressive Democrats, but he has always been open and aboveboard, honest and direct,” according to the Raleigh News and Observer. *'His coming re tirement probably will not be greatiy regretted by the ore progressive element of the party,” states the Bris Herald-Courier. Nothing more discouraging to the future of the Democratic party in the South has occurred in recent vears than Senator Underwood's retire ment,” in the judgment of the Balti more Sun. “‘He will retire with the best wishes of all Democrats who set any store by faithful and valuable service to the party and to t Nation,” is the estimate of the Ashe ville Times. “The Nation needs the service of Oscar Underwood; never has it been in sorer need of men of his type,” adds the Oklahoma City Daily Oklamohan. “He will retire, we im agine, much for the same reasons that influenced John Sharp Williams, whose career has paralleled his in many respects,” the Boston Transcript states. Tributes to thé Senator as a states man are paid by many papers, includ ing the Albany News, Springficld Mass.. Union: Cincinnati Times.Star, Syracuse Herald, Rockford Star. Pa erson Call and Waterbury Republican. Make Motorists Respect White Halting Marks To the Editor of The Star: T observed the other afternoon that the traffic officer at Pennsylvania ave- nue and Fourteenth street was penaliz ing drivers of automobiles who over ran the white line for the protection of pedestrans by requiring them to make a right turn, though they de- sired to go straight ahead. Would it not be well for all crossing officers to do that? It appears to be a just punishment and a sharp reminder Impatience is responsible for many of the accidents, perhaps for most of them. Drivers of cars just cannot wait. They must run over the white line at crossings; they must race to pass street cars; they must dart in ahead of approaching street cars, etc. evils. The officer to have found & remedy for on them. J. P. HORNADAY, ’ There is a cure for every one of these at Pennsylvania ® avenue and Fourteenth street appeara of with » | Inclose 2 cents in stamps to cover the , the + ’ i "