Evening Star Newspaper, July 22, 1925, Page 6

HE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY July 22, 1825 THEODORE W. NOYES. . .. Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Busing Office : 11th St. and Penneyivania Ave. New York Office: 110 E: 42nd Chicaro Office: Tower Building European Office Flfi,l’leul St.. London. nglas The Evening Star. with_the Sunday morn- | Ing edition, s delivered by carmers within the city at 60 cente per month: dally only. 45 cents per month: Sunday only. 20 cent per month’ ' Orders may he sent by mail or telenhone Main 8000 Collection is made by earrier at the end of ea Rate by Mail—Payable in Advauce. Maryland and Virginia. and Sunday : ¥r. .Sfl?‘g 1mo.. 1 1mo 15l 1mo ‘month. Dails Da All Other Daily and Sundas.. 1vr aily only Lyr Sunday only 1yr tates. $10.00 £7.00 5300 1mo.. 1 mo. 1mo. Member of the Assoctated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled 1o thie Use for repubiieation of all news dis- patches credited fo It or not ntherwise cred- tted in this paper and alto the local news published herein. AIl rights of publication of special disnatches 1 ed New Coal Strike Threat. Further evidence of the unsound condition of the coal mining industry found in the latest threat of a strike in the bituminous field. An of- ficial communication has gone for- ward from headquarters of the United Mine Workers to Secretary of Com- merce Hoover and Secretary of Labor Davis asking for Government inter. ventfon in the northern West Vir nia field. where conditions are pic- tured as verging upon anarchy. According to representations to the rabinet the West Virginia mine owners are seeking to abrogate the Jacksonville agreement and force » and it is charged that miners are being evicted from company houses and intimidated hy terroristic methods. The commu- nication adds: “The miners do not propose have their wage agree- ments broken down by this method of guerrilla warfare on the part of the northern West Virginia operators, and unless something is done to pre- vent this abrogation of wage agree- ments it will be necessary for the miners of the entire State of West Virginia tov join with the United Mine Workers of America of the rest of the country in a general strike.” West Virginia has continues to be about the sorest spot in the coal mining industry. Some of the West Virginia districts are non- union and others are unionized. Ef- forts unionize the non-union dis. tricts have caused frequent turmoil and not infrequent bloodshed. It re- calls Lincoln’s dictum that the coun- try could not continue half slave and halt free. the West Virginia coal fields can continue half unionized and half non union. The reasons are obvious. The non- union miners work for lower wages and the owners of non-union mines get the business. kept in relatively steady operation and their employves, with lower unit wages, receive larger monthly pay checks. The unionized mines, because they cannot compete in price with their non-union competitors, are idle @ large part of the time and higher union wages are of little benefit when opportunity to earn the wages is lacking. Apparently it is through desire to place themselves on an equal footing in the market that the northern West mine owners are seeking to reduce wages. accept the proposed reductions it is probable they weuld have more work and at the end of the month would have larger But only for & time. Abrogation of the Jackson- ville scale in West Virginia would in evitably rozate it in Ohio and Indiana Tinois and elsewhere in the central competitive district, and if these ef- forts succeeded one would have much more than he has now, for there is a market for only a given amount of coal The whole trouble arises from over- development of the bituminous coal industry. There are too many mines and too many miners. and until some genius arises with ability to solve this apparently insoluble problem there are likely to continuing difficul- ties—with the coal-consuming public the ultimate vietim is officers, reduction in wages, o to earnings no work be The stimulation of interest in writ tr.gs on science and religion is likely to play havoc for the late Summer de- mand for “best seller The adventures of Jonah were suf ficient to prevent any contention in ris day that fishing is only a sport for emall boys. v The Coolidge Idea. President Coolidge is at Swampscott trying to get some measure of rest from the problems of government. and he thinks it would be a good plan to give the country a like opportunity to put aside politics and propaganda for a season, to rest a bit and devote itself to business and the evervday affairs of life. He cannot see that any good purpose is served by continuous agitation of problems which must of necessity await the convening of Con- gress before their solution can be at tempted. Mr. Coolidge renewed assur- ances that economy in government and further reductions in taxation are definite parts of the program of his administration, and he thinks the American people ought to go about their business confident in the belief that relief along these lines will be aforded. He is unable to discern any serious clouds on the horizon of Amer- ican business, and he cannot see why the people should be kept all het-up during dog days over issues that can be more sensibly and muore success- fully tackled when the weather is cooler. In a gentle way the President re- huked the newspaper correspondents at Swampscott because of what he re- gards as their efforts to “manufac- ture” news. He seems to hold to the old adage that no news is good news, and §f no mews is forthcoming at the Surflper capiial be thinke the corre- gives long been and | It seems impossible that | Their mines are | If the miners would | he followed by efforts to ab- | and | spondents ought to be conteni to re- cord that fact, or to let it go unre corded. Mr. Coolidge is a modest geatleman, !and during. his vacation is entitled to the fullest measure of privacy it is | possible to accord a President of the United States, but his modesty can not alter the fact that the American people are intensely interested in what he says and does, and because he hap- pens just now to be doing little and {saving less it does not follow that dis- I natches from Swampscott are not eagerly read or that the correspond ents stationed there are entitled to spend all their time at mumble-peg or | other, Summer diversions. They must write' about something, and even a mild scolding by the presidential “spokesman” makes good copy. The Scopes Verdiet. The Scopes case ought to g0 now to {a higher plane of discussion, and coun- sel may address themselves to the centrel question which has been ob- scured at Davton. The verdict of suilty disappoints no one. lated a law of Tennessee. There was no defense that he had not violated a State law. When Judge Raulston had charged the jur defense, said: “We do not ask for a verdict of not guilty. 1 dom't see how you (the jury) can find our client not guilty.”” The indictment charged that | Scopes taught the theory of evolution, that man descended from a lower order of animals, which denied the story of Divine creation as taught in the Bible. Counsel for defense sought to show that teaching evolution is not dental of the story of creation as writ- ten in the Bible. Defense also sought to show that evolution is not a theory that man descended from the ape fam- ily, but that apes and men descended from some remote “‘precursor.” In his charge to the jury Judge Raulston said that the denial of the Divine story of creation as contained in the Bible was not before the jury, the only question being did the accused teach that man is descemded from a lower order of animals, which teach- ing was contrary to a statute of the State. He expunged from the record the testimony of Mr. Brvan as to his religious belief, saying: “I feel that the testimony of Mr. Bryan can shed no light on any issue that will be'pending before the higher courts.” The case will pass on appeal to a higher court, and no doubt to the ighest court. the question whether science and the Bible agree or disagree. The central see within its rights under the Con- stitution when it passed the law un- =dgr which Scopes was convicted. | State has not a certain right to pre- | scribe the subjects to be taught in its public schools. It might legislate that biology, geology. arithmetic and gram- ‘}mar should not be taught. When the Legislature enacted a law that the | theory of evolution should not be | taught | it got upon debating ground. There are interpretations and inter- | pretations of the Bible, There are | Some Christians call themselves funda mentalists and others | Many Christians, perhaps a majority, | believe that the scientific theory of | evolution does not deny Genesis. {host of Americans who are nominal | Christians, but not members of a | Christian communion, accept the scien- | tific theory of evolution of man, ani- | mals, plants and the earth, whether it | does or does not confliet with the Bible. The higher courts will deal with |the question whether Tennessee or any State may make a law prohibiting ! the teaching in public schools of a theory or doctrine contrars | terpretation of the Bible held by a I majority of a Legislature or a ma | jority of the people of a State. Article I of the articles in addition to and {amendment of the Constitution savs: Congress shall make no law respec ling an establishment of religion prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It is laid down that “‘Congress” shall I not make such a Jaw. it is not laid | down that a State shall not pass such {2 law. In the enumerated | which a State may not do this matter | is not among them | Sectarian legislation is contrar: | the spirit of America. ! Tennessee law falls within the term to | sectarianism is the question that is to | be argued by able men. Col. Bryan. a man of commanding (- | personality. has so stressed evolution | ‘ama point of public policy that it may be doubted whether the Democratic | party can ever reorganize without de. ! | voting much prefiminary time to set- [tling certain points of biological, | theological, zeplogical. archeological !and philological importance. B There is no telling when a small town may hecome a center of interest and attract large crowds. Every com- munity should take the precaution of having its courthouse gone over by a butlding inspector. S Actresses and the Customs. There has been a succession of news storfes of seizure of gowns and jewels of actresses by American customs in- spectors. It is a very small percent- age of actresses returning from “‘abroad” who have trouble with the American customs and there are also offenders who are not actresses. When a woman whose name s known to a million picture-goers has an adven- ture it is fair assumption that the matter is interesting to a large num- ber of persons. A famous actress who sprains her knee by slipping on a banana peel and falling off one step on the front porch, hurts her wrist cranking her car, loses a $2.75 pearl necklace valued at $10,000 and gets into a dispute with customs inspec- tors over $17,000 worth of dresses and $170,000 worth of rubies, emeralds, i)lch\thx! and the like will have the spotlight turned on her for a few moments. It is excellent advertising. Suspicion may come that some ac- tresses and their advisers consider | that the advertising is worth the cost of the trouble with the customs and the penaity for not setting down on the declaration blagk the names and Scopes vio- | Mr. Darrow, for the | One will hear less of | question is, was the State of Tennes- ' 1t | will probably not be contended that a | because it denied the Divine | | story of creation as told by the Bible i iliteral and figurative interpretations. | modernists. | 7 to an in- | things | i Tenn., | any 1 Until Whether this ' | Sorghum. HE EVENING prices of the articles bought abroad. 1t is not easy to “get a customs inspector on & New York pler with two dozen trunks holding several scores of dresses not listed on the declaration blank. It is difficult to buy $10,000 worth of jewelry in Europe and bring it to New York, or any other American port, without the customs people knowing it. Profes- sional smugglers may have ways to do it, but the garden variety of pas- senger lacks the skill and resources of the professional smuggler. The bringing in of sundry small articles bought abroad and aggregating more than a hundred dollars is, perhape, done, but it is small-scale smuggling. Nearly all passengers fill out a blank with a list of their foreign purchases and their chief trouble is to remember the articles and the price paid for: Only a person with very tall adven- them. nerve or a strong desire for ture and advertising tries to pass the customs inspectors with large amounts of clothing and jewelry not entered on the declaration = B Progress of Radio. Radio is extending its range, and in- dications are that reception at Wash- ington from stations on the other side of the world will become as usual and as effective as reception from stations at New York, Schenectady, Pittsburgh and Boston. Few days pass that news does not come of radio messages trans- mitted from and clearly received at places a great distance from each other. One item is that two-way radio communication was made between ‘Washington and the warship Seattle far in the Pacific between Hawaii and Australia. San Francisco sings and talks to Balboa. When our sets are working well we listen to the band on the Prado or Malecon et Havana Johannesburg, South’ Afr has re- celved radio signals put on the air by the American fleet at Honolulu. Ad- venturers in the North Pole region talk with friends at home. The Radio Corporation of America has said that Furopean programs will be broadcast this Fall by its stations in the United States, and American programs will be “aired” to England and broadcast by stations there. A night or so ago the vice president of the Radio Corpora- tion told listeners that an English broadcasting station is being equipped with power to send music and speeches | to this side of the Atlantic, where sta- tions of the system will relay to homes throughout the land. Set owners in Washington are making ready, and they have no doubt that songs and speeches will come to them this Fall from many parts of Europe. S Cancellation of the balance due the U. 8. A. as indemnity for {he “Boxer" aggressions stipulates a use of funds for educational purposes. of a very ancient civilization should enable friend John Chinaman to see promptly the desirability of forgetting arsenals and taking an interest in schoolhouses. ———— It cannot be disguised that some of the scientists are much more respect- | ful toward religion than some of the religionists are toward sclence. Both must have recognition in human con- sciousness, and a spirit of mutual con- sideration is essential 1o the world's progress. ———— in which Mr Bryan has kept out of this Dayton controversy has added con siderably to his prestige as a political strategist. The manner e Being a benevolent and fraternal order, the Maccabees refrained from expression which might complicate present controversies. Anti-evolutionists agree that Noah made his great mistake was in | taking monkeys into the ark, along | { with the rest of the animals e In lowa it develops that the real race may not begin until the recount of the ballots is taken in hand e rmee— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON A Desperation. Oh. listen to the birdies sing! I've exercised my brain a serious thought A passing sense of pain. will bring *'ve heard the psychopathic chat, T've heard the Darwin talk, | Until T wonder where I'm at Asx 1 begin to balk. I've lost my intellectual zest. T simply long to be In Summer time at mentai rest In a moronic glee. And so, T gently murmur, “Blah!" Which doesn’t mean a thing. At human speech T say. “Ha! Let’s hear the birdies sing! Ha!" A Statesman Aloof. “Do you believe in the Darwinian theory of evolution?"’ “I decline to answer,” said Senator T don’t propose to discuss either the Darwinian theory of science nor the Darrowinian theory of re- ligion.” Looking to the Future. The traffic cops paint up the street With lines so helpful and so neat. T hope when Winter breezes blow That they will clear away the snow So that these decorations new Will not be hid from human view. Jud Tunkins says he likes to try for distance on a radio set. It's a satisfac- tion to know that the jazz orchestra is as far off as possible. Wholly Undesirable. “Do you think we are descended from monkeys?” “Certainly not,” answered Miss Cay- enne. “Monkeys have had neither the wealth nor the distinction to encour- age us to claim them as ancestor: Hopeless Crudity. We turn to vitamens so strong As a nutritious means, Yet in our secret hearts we long For plain old pork and beans. A friend in need,” said Uncle Eben, “is @ man who likes you so much dat he's willing to take a chance gn hu- man ingratitude,” g The wisdom | Charles | where | STAR, WASHINGTON, Said the discontented-looking wom- an to the discontented man, trailed by a discontented-looking child: “Every one has a car but us!” This all happened in an “ad.” of course, but no doubt it has its dupli- cate in life many times a day. The Street whereupon the three Discon- tents looked was filled with a stream of glistening “small cars of a well known make,” as f that phrase fooled anybody! As I looked at that most human advertisement, I thought of the words of Marcus Aurelius, who wrote, 2,000 years ago, in the twelfth (and last) book of his ““Meditations”: “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of him- self than on the opinion of others. “So much more respect have we to what our neighbors shall think of us than to what we shall think of our- selves.” { The world has been wondering ever since why it is thal, although we think more of ourselves than all the rest of the world put together, we do set less value on our own opinions than on the opinions of others, and just exactly why it is that most of us do put more store in what our neigh- bors shall think of us than what we shall think about ourselves! It is an old question, ves, but per- ennially new, for of a truth human nature has not changed so very much. No doubt many Roman families who watched the Emperor drive past in his snappy new chariot, streamline model, sighed to themselves: “Every one hax & chariot but u: * % k% To have respect for what our neigh- bors will think, of course, ix a good thing in a greai many ways, looked at_from one standpoint. It is a reasonably sure guess that unless the average person did respect, to some degree at least, what his neighbors ‘might think of him there would be much less civic pride than now exists. Neat lawns, well kept grounds back vards free from litier, clean children, these and many other happy results would perhaps be lacking to a much greater extent than at pres. ent if no one regarded his neighbors’ thoughts about him. Up to a certain extent such regard is necessary, but beyond that it be- comes a let and a_ hindrance, an in- cumbrance upon the soul, a stifing something that will go a long way to take the “pep” out of life if one is so foolish as to allow ft. Surely this is wh: meant, not that we were not to have a decent regard for what our neigh- bors might think of us. In other words, among the best and near-best | people there are certain things that ! simply are not done. If one does them, automatically he brands himself as not “belonginz.” To have this good regard for the opin ions of the neighbors is necessary in a clvilized community. When one permits this regard, how- lever, to creep into many of the small- er and more intimate affairs of life, |aroused the wonder of Aurelius. Most of us, be it known, are in danger of allowing what others think {to usurp what we think. Are not my ;thoughts upon®a subject just about |as good as the next fellow’s? Is not | his thought as good as mine? Why need I worry about what he jthinks about me, and why should {he care much about what I think {about him. just so long as each one lof us tries serfously to think the best {he can? ! + ! Marcus Aurelius gives the following general advice to seekers of his day and today: |~ “All ghose things at which you wish {to arrive by a circuitous road, vou {can have mow. if you do not refuse | them to vourseif.” Certainly no advertisement | promised more. * * % ever Marcus Aurelius | {he puts himself in the position which | D. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. “This means,” continued Aurelivs, “if you will take no notice of all the past, and trust the future providence, and direct the present only comforma- bly to piety and justice. “Conformably to piety, that you may be content with the lot which is assigned to you, for nature designed it for you and you for it. “Canformably to justice, that you may always speak the truth freely and without disguise and do the things which are le to law and according to the worth of each. “Let neither another man's wicked- ness hinder you, nor opinion nor voice, nor yet the sensations of the poor flesh which has grown about you. “If you will respect only your rul- ing faculty and the divinity within you, then you will be a man worthy of the universe which has produced you, and you will cease to be a stranger in your native land.” How maay people there are who, in truth, are strangers in this, their own native land! You see them everywhere on the streets, men, women and children who seem to hardly know “what it is all about,” driven here and there by the opinions of others whom they have never seen before and will never see again; eagerly proclaiming “truths” which they have accepted from others, who, in turn, got them from still others; unhappy, angry, querulous, strangers in their own home town, strangers in their own country, strangers in the universe. They do not even begin to know how to live to get the most out of life. What can be done for them? 1 do not know—do you? * % we have finished the “Medita- tions™ of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, one of the great books of the worid. I hope no reader of this column has felt that there has been too much C. E in these 12 papers. The project of treating of the dozen books in detail in & daily news- paper was a somewhat novel one, but | 1 did not shrink from it, bec: this way about this matier That one does not have to “write down,” as the saying Is, to readers of newspapers, but that such readers are, in fact, the same people who read the best books and the best magazines. This column i based upon the be lief that there is a place in a good newspaper for a consideration of the higher ideais of life, including the best books. The interest in ethical and philosophical ideas, the present writer | teels, is not confined to the pulnit, but | prevails in every household where sin- cerity and a desire for the better things of life prevail. | Tolook back over the vast expanses of time, to open the old, old books and take out of them passages that can be related to our own day and age, is an | undertaking that heips draw the whole | world close | Those who. in a materialistic age, fear for their own thoughts, cannot help but be enforced in their opinfons by the words of Marcus Aurelius, who taught himself, and so us, to think sub- limely. He taught So us to take life as it is, a decent faith, and hope the best from | it. I think of the story of the late Simon Wolf, of whom a Catholic priest said: The best Christian in Washington is Simon Wolf, the Jew.™ tations,” withheld for | for it is one of the greatest passages in all literature. Aurelius savs: “Everything harmonizes with me | which is harmonious to thee, O uni- verse. “Nothing for me is too early nor 100 | late which Is in due time for thee. “Everything is fruit to me which thy seasons bring, O Nature: from | thee are all things, in thee are all { things. to thee all things return. “The poet savs, Dear City “ecrops; and wilt thou not sav. v of God”" of | Dear C iPost War Progress of Poland . One of the Marvels of Europe/ tend to ! { BY FRANK H. MONDS. | The arrival in this country of Count Alexander Skrzynski, foreign | minister of Poland, who will be one of the principal speakers at the Wil- | Hamstown conference, serves as an | excellent opportunity for an Ameri- can estimate of what has been accom- | plished in Poland in recent vears. On | the whole, one can say quite accurate. |1y that, given its almost insuperable | obstacles, no country has made great- {er progress toward normal national [life since the war than the country | which was recalled to_independence after more than a century of servi- | tude to three foreign countries. | Less than five years ago the bol- ! shevist masses were almost at the | sates of Warsaw and the sound of their cannon could be plainly heard in the palaces of the prime minister. When by a supreme effort, reminis- cent of that of France at the Marne, the Poles defeated the Soviet army, | there was at last the first opportunity {10 begin the creation of a country | which had been the battleground of | the World War in the east, the scene lof devastating bolshevist invasion, and now to construct a national ma- chine out of nothing. What Poland Has Done. Today Poland has done these | things:" It has balanced its budget, | atabilized its exchange, funded fts { American debt and begun payment. | Tt has reconstructed Its raflways to | create a national network and unite | the three distinct systems of the | Russians, Austrians and Germans, systems which were naturally con- structed without regard to any Polish unity. It has managed to arrive at an appeasement of its domestic polit- ical strife, which has enabled it to enjoy a single ministry for more than two years under the skillful direction of M. Grabski, who must take rank as one of the great post-war premiers of Europe. Having defeated the bolshevists, it has consolidated its eastern boun- darfes by the treaty of Riga, which, while resigning vast areas which were anciently Polish, has insured the new republic an area only a little in- ferior to Germany. With Rumania it has made an alliance to meet the ever-present menace of a Russian attack. With Czechoslovakia it has settled the thorny dispute over Teschen and the recent visit of M. Benes, the Czech foreign minister, fo Warsaw was marked by the signing of im- portant commercial treaty and by the final proof of the necessary reconcilia- tion between two Slav nations with many common dangers and every rea- son for friendly co-operation. Test of Polish Courage. A bad crop last vear at the moment on stabilization, the universal depres- sion in the coal trade, various other abnormal causes of unemployment and high cost of living have combined to make the past months a severe test of Polish courage and endurance, but Now there is every prospect of a bumper crop and of returning pros- perity. Poland, too, has every es- sentfal for prosperity, great agricul- tural resources, rich ofl flelds, large coal deposits and a highly industrial- ized area both in Upper Silesia and in the Lodz district, which has been correctly described as the Manchester of Eastern Europe. [both from Germany and from Rus- | sia. Poland has created. with French assistance. a strong armv, which now | numbers just short of 300,000 men on a peace standing., which would be doubled at mobilization. The present minister of war, Gen. Sikorskl, is, moreover, by common agreement. one of the able soldiers of Europe whose achievements in the Battle of War- saw were very considerable. Not only has Poland disclosed cour- | age and skill in dealing with economic and financial problems and, by its treaties with friendly powers, notably France, Czechoslovakia and Rumania, as well as certain Baltic states, con. solidated its position, but in its do- mestic affairs it has shown an appre- clation of the need of consideration and tact in dealing with minorities, and recent legislation affecting the Jewish population has solved one of ne greatest causes of both domestic and foreign friction. Population Is Increasing. Today Poland is a country of 30.000.- 000 of people living on a territory nearly three.quarters s large as France. The population is, moreover, increasing at a rate which insures a total of 50,000,000 within a half cen- tury. Suffering inevitably from lack of capital due to foreign occupation and to war, it has still fundamental re- sources which have made it an at- tractive field for foreign investment, the United States bankers having re- cently lent upward of $35,000,000 and the British are taking an increasingly significant interest in Polish economic affairs. No country in Europe is, moreover, more completely and necessarily com- mitted to peaceful policies than Po- land. Peace for the next few years, for 10 years, was the common com- ment in Warsaw when I was there last Winter, will insure the safety and permanence of present-day Poland. And Poland is what Bismarck once described as a satiated nation, with no greater ambition than to retain that which she has, all of which was hers before she was despoiled, together with much which she has definitely re- nounced. Faces German Hostility, Yel. despite her progress, Peland has always to face the undying hos- tility of the Germans, who are re- solved to regain the Polish corridor, suppress the Danzig Free State and re- take Upper Silesia. And she has also to consider the enduring hatred of the Soviets, whose most dangerous attack upon Western KEurope she broke on the field before Warsaw. In the his tory of Europe, too, this victory may easily prove as important as that of Sobleski before Vienna, when Polish arms broke the Turklsh thrust and saved Central and Western KEurope from a Moslem invasion. Count Skrzynski comes here unof- fictally to state the Polish case to an American audience and to express the gratitude of Poland for American aid in the recent past, a gratitude which must be felt effectively by every Amer- ican who chances to visit Poland, as I can testify from my own experience. ‘With the Polish foreign minister comes M. Michel Kwapiszewski, at present charge d'affaires ot Poland at Oslo, but for several years counselor of the Polish legation in Washington and one of the best informed of Euro- peans on American affairs, as well as one of the most sympathetic friends of our eountry B b WEDNESDAY, e 1 teel! and (o make the best of it. and 1o have | When 1 think of Marcus Aurelius | i T will close this series with x quota tion from the fifth book of the *“Medi- | this purpose, | JULY 1925. 22, Politics at Large By G-.__Gouu Lincoln Fitting the farmer into the eco: nomic scheme of today fs the task which politicians and statesmen alike | have undertaken in this country— though for rather different reasons. Secretary Jardine of the Department of Agriculture, & practical farmer as well as a theorist, has just completed a swing through the great agricul- tural States of the Middle West and the West and is in a good position to advise President Coolidge on the ad- ministration’s program with regard to the farmer. In many of the States the farmer is in far better position today than he Was two years ago, or & year ago. In some there is still much distress, ac- cording to the reports brought back to ‘Washington by observers. There is still a disparity between the farmer’s dollar, o called, and that of the in- dustrial worker and the city man. * X % % The hub of the farm problem ix the export surplus—the production of the farms over and above the domestic Deeds and home consumption. The farmer must have markets for this surplus in foreign countries, and it | seems to be some one'’s job to see that he has those markets, or to see that the surplus is taken care of and not dumped on the domestic market, with disastrous effects on prices of food stufts. The surplus, in a measure, is the-mafety valve of the American con- sumer as well as of the other coun- tries of the world which depend in part on imports of their foodstuffs. To seek to produce, therefore, only just enough food for the people of the United States might result some times in a serious shortage. Some of the members of Congress have felt that the government should take steps to handle this export sur- plus through an export corporation The McNary-Haugen bill, put forward during the last Congress, sought to care for the export surplus. But it was frowned upon as entirely too pater- | nalistic and as an_effort to put the Government into business. But {1 seems certain that unless some other plan can be devised this measure, in ! a modified form perhaps, will be re. vived during the next session of Con gress. i R | The farmer is politically powerful in & great number of of the States. Next year an entire new House of Representatives is 1o be elected and | one-third of the Senate. The admin- | istration so far has given its attention | principally to a campaign of educa- tion, seeking to persuade the farmers | to diversify their crops and not to I plant too great an acreage. The co- | operative marketing of farm produce | also is being urged as a remedy, and | threats have heen made to deal dras- tically with the grain exchanges un- {less they mind their Ps and Qs and | prevent gamblers from manipulating the prices of the food staples. There are Senators to be elected in many of the agricultural States: for | example, in Wisconsin, Washington. | Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana. Okla. | homa, California, North Dakota. It | happens that in practically every such { case the incumbent is a Republican. It behooves the administration, there. | | fore, to stir its stumps in regard to | the farmer and his problem. It is! | expected that the President in his an- | | nual message to Congress will have | { not a little to say with regard to the | farmer. | ! The industrial producer and worker are protected today by the tariff and | The farmer is geiting some benefit from the tariff, | | though not sufficient to make it pos. | ible for him to sell his produce on a parity with the clothing and tools | | which he must purchase, and which | |are protected by the tariff. The | Demacrats are seeking to make the {farmer believe that the way to benefit | himselt is to kick the whole pro- [tective tariff overboard and zet on the tariff for revenue only wagon of the Democratic party. But the farmer is not inclined to this vnursefi_vet.i He might come to it as a last resort. but it is not likely he will reach that ypass by the time of the campaign | next year. But some plan must be devised to care for his “export sur | plus.” in the opinion of many, if there |18 to be real stabflity in agriculture. * ko ox The count of the ballots in the election of a Senator in lowa last | Fall is at last under wav, with the | Democratic candidate, Steck, contest- |ing the election of Senator Brookhart. the Republican insurgent, who, with | the late Senators La Follette of Wis. consin, Ladd of North Dakota and Frazier of North Dakota, was read out of party councils hy the regulars at the last session of Congress. The regular Republicans on the committee which is investigating the election naturally do mot feel particularly kindly to the man who denounced the Republican national ticket during the | campaign while running himself as a Republican. But if they fail to lean backward to give Mr. Brogkhart a square deal in this contest, there will be an outcry that the conservatives are using strong arm methods to rid themselves of insurgents, and Brook- hart will become a martyr. In addi- tion to this, it would be of little rea' help to the conservative wing of the Republican party to dump Mr. Brook- hart out of the Senate merely to sub- stitue a Democrat, who would vote alwayvs with the opposition. As a matter of fact, it is likely that the recount in the end will show Senator Brookhart with a larger majority than the seven or eight hundred votes now accorded him, if the reports from Towa are to be credited. He had the advantage of running as a Republican and thou sands of voters voted the ticket “straight” who might have been opposed to Brookhart himself. * ok ok % 1t will be interesting to observe at the coming session of Congress just to what_extent the so-called insurgents will buck the administration in the Senate and House. It is possible that, in view of the overwhelming vote of the people for President Coolidge, the insurgents will not care to be quite so obstreperous as they were in the last Congress. The so-called regulars, also, will watch their steps more carefull The President had many of the regu. lars lined up against him on a number of important matters a vear or two ago, including the soldiers’ bonus and the postal pay bill. * %k % ¥ 1f Gov. Ritchie of Maryland jumps into the senatorial race against Sena- tor Weller, or whoever the Republi- cans may nominate, he is very likely to win the prize. The governor is strong in Maryland, and the Republic ans are today not a little divided Gov.-Ritchie, in" his address to the governors' conference in Maine re- cently, attacking further centraliza- tion of the Government in Washing- ton, struck a popular note. If Rep- resentative John Philip Hill should win the Republican nomination he could make comparatively little of his stand against prohibition, since it is known that Gov. Ritchie, although for law enforcement, does not sympathize with the prohibition law. ‘While Gov. Ritchie is making a plea for greater responsibility of the States, Gov. Pinchot, who is believed to be a | by the immigration laws {and poisoning have been known {the Secretary NSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Q. What is the greatest number of | times used for all the ancieni sem double plays made in one base, ball same?—L. M. C. A. On October 7, 1916, American League team double plays in one game. the Boston made four Q. Why are long-termed leases ex- ecuted for periods of 99 and 999 vears instead of, say, 100 or 1,000 years re. spectively?’—G. P. 8. A. It is uncertain how the custom of making leases for odd years, such | as 99 years, originated. Matthew Ba- con in his “Treatise on Leases and Terms for Years,” published in Lon don in 1798, explains that the 95-Jear. lease period represents three lives, hut does not state why this particular period was selected. There was pos sibly an English common law pre- venting a lessor from granting a lease for 100 years, and it was there fore made for a slightly briefer period Q. When and how should an en gagement ring be presented 1o a woman? Should the man ask the woman before offering the ring?- E. G. A. The gift of an engagement ring is largely controlled by the conven fence of the prospective bridegroom. | There is no arbitrary rule concern- ing the method by which he gives the ring to his fiancee. A man should pro- pose marriage before offering & ring. In fact, many authorities regard it in bad taste to propose and offer the ring at the same time, since this sug gests to the woman that the man was too confident. Q. What _is the origin of pression., “We who are about salute thee?’—J. B. G. A. Gladiators who entered the ring as participants in gladfatorial con tx saluted the Emperor Claudius with this phrase. = Q. Is tatiooing poisonous skin?—F. R A. Tattooing consists of pricking the skin with a sharp instrument and the ex to die inserting a pigment. such as charcoal, | Cases of infection but they in the punctures. resnlt from are not Q. Is thers a premium on lumbfan half dollar?—J. W. H A. These colns are worth no more than their face value. Q. this procedure usual a Co if a person plaved a certain | note on the violin for a certain length of time would the vibration knock a brick buflding down?—F. S A. Theoretically it might be pos sible to play a violin until a certain note would make a vibration that would cause a structure to collapse Actually, such an _experiment never been made. however, are of the opinion that the walls of Jericho collapsed as a result of vibration caused by the constant blowing of the horns. Q. When was The first €. D, A. Postage stamps ware created under the act of March 3. 1847. and were placed on sale July 1. 1847, at New York. posiage stamp used in the United States?—W. Q. To whom may tecs” be properly applied” A. The name “Aztecs the term -B. J Az some- has | Some authorities. | civilized tribes of Nahuatlan sto Central and Southern Mexico erly speaking, the Aztecs are « of seven tribes occupying the Va of Mexico and its immediate viciniiy These peoples were possessed high degree of culture, but guished for their cruelty In connection with rel Some of their descendants in the outlving villages in borhood of the City of Mexice Q. w When did Joseph Conrad die D. J. A. This distingaished writer real nama was Theodor Josef Konrad | Korzemowski, di=d near Cant ir England, on August 1 Q. What is the value o |and vegetables canned by commer companies vearly?—C. A. M | "A. The last biennial census of n | factures shows that in 1923 the | of the output of United S | lishments making such product primary or___ second: amounted 1o §5 | tomatoes and baked beans are |in about equal proportien, be | 14,000,000 and 15,000,000 cases of eac | Peaches head the canned fruits wit | 7,039,334 cases and raisins, the dried | fruits, with 380,068,441 pounds | at is mean —A A by “frost level”? penetrates to different | depths below grade, dependin the climate of a place. The | point reached in a severe W | considered the ‘“frost level Q. What Monaco Princ revenue does receive from the the - of H A. Until 1927 the annual gran ! the concession ix $400,00 Wik for 10 vears it will be $450.000 Q. What was the number of ican naval vessels actually European waters upon the cessa of hostilities K A. The grand total which 59 were at Queens Berehaven, %5 at Brest, 57 {45 at Gibraltar. 2 ai Genoa Azores, 1 at Nurmansk, 4 at ampton. 39 at Plymouth, 37 at Corfu, 1 at Liverpool. The grand fleei (§ battleships) and the mine force (1 tender, 10 mine lavers. 2 mine sweepers) are also included in | grand total Q. In what language write part of the Bible” . H A. Historians who believe th Moses wrote the first five books of the Rihie |claim that the writing was he | ancient Aramic Amer 18 at , yuth did Moses (In its efforts to be as ax poasible to itz 113.600.000 proplr the | Government of the United States iz | continually carrying om practical in- | vestigations in ‘many fields. Thesr | investigations produce results of great | value. " Our Washington burean | in @ position to pass on 1o Star readers the valuable knowledge collected hy Government agencies. It is 1o | mutual benefit of both the people and | the Govermment to have this great tagency ichich brings them together. | This service is free to all. Make use | of it. Inclose 2 cents in stamps for | return postage. Address The siar | Information Bureau. Tiwenty-first and L C streets northwest.) WESTERN OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WIL Westerners many are gratified that members of the cabinet have followed Horace Greelev's advice and come to their part of the country this Summer. Secretaries Kellogg. Hoover, Work and Jardine have all {taken occasion to see and hear things for themselves in a variety of direc- tions. There is general expectation that concrete good will result from the investigations they have made. That is particularly so in the case of of Agriculture. Dr. Jardine has concluded the most ex- tensive swing around the rural circle that any occupant of his office has at- tempted in a long time. If agricul- tural policy at forward is not modeled on what the Western farmer needs and wants, it | will not be because Secretary Jardine | didn't hear about it. Evervwhere he’s been selling the Coolidge program of seif-help as the farmer’s surest road to economic salvation. This observer ran across the Jardine trail in Mon- tana, Minnesota and North Dakota and found that on all hands he cre ated the impression of being ihe right man in the right place. * ok ok % Although Porter J. McCumber now floats serenely in the lame duck pond. there is still a so-called McCumber 1action in North Dakota Republican politics. It is represented by an or- ganization popularly known as the V. A..” which means Independent Voters' Association. Some North Dakotans think the former Senator cherishes an ambition to re-establish himself and might, under conceivable circumstances, attempt to secure the Republican nomination for the United States senatorship in 1926. As it was the Non-Partisan League which rele- gated him to private life, McCumber would no doubt look upon it as poetie justice if he could capture the seat vacated by the passing of Senator Ladd. * ok ¥ x It is within the range of possibili-| ties that Senator Lwynn J. Frazier's next colleague may be one of the Non- Partisan officials whom North Dakota disciplined when it recalled Frazier from the governorship two or three vears ago. Two active candidates for the Ladd seat are William Lemke, who was attorney general, and John M. Hagen, who was Insurance com- missioner ander the Frazier adminis- tration. All three were removed under the recall law at the same time. A rough-and-tumble fighting lawyer, with only one eve, Lemke is one of Senator Frazier's principal political lieutenants. _His Non-Partisan League stalwartism is not tempered with any heretical conservatism. If he should be appointec to fill Ladd's unexpired term, or elected to the Senate in 1926, North Dakota will once again be rep- resented by a brace of radical regu lars. * x ok ¥ Nellie Ross of Wyoming has succeding conferences of If Go her wa governors will take place out the West begins. She has the cordial upport of her male colleagues on both sides of the Continental Divide in urging their region as a suitable conference locale. Hitherto Western attendance at the gubernatorial con- claves, especially from the mountain and coast country, has not been par- ticularly large. Western _interests have had correspondingly inadequate attention. If the rulers of the States, or a considerable number of them, could be brought to some point bevond the Mississippi for their anual pow- wow, the shrinking violets called Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas, candidate for the Senate against Sena- tor Pepper, is demanding that the Federal Government reach out further in the matter of law enforcement and take much of it out of the hands of the States—with regard to prohibition. He never fails to attack the Federal Government because, he says, it does not make greater efforts to “dry up” the States. If the prohibition enforce- ment is to be centralized entirely in ‘Washington, another great step will have been taken te paralyze the oo 4 e Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and California’ think they would flourish to better advantage in the national flower garden. * % X k One of the most picturesque new figures in Western politics is Gov. John E. Erickson ot Montana. Like Christianson of Minnesota, and Sorlie of North Dakota, Erickson is a Norse- man, though a native-born American of all-Western breeding, having been born in Wi sin, reared in Kansas Washington hence- | where | AM F11. rangy., and of patriarchal aspec |there’s a bit flis Tincotn Fbuch {about Gov. Erickson. He was taker | from the county bench by the Demo crats in 1924, to run against Jose M. Dixon, famed leader of the Roose | velt Bull Moose campaign. Dison |gerved a term in the United States Sgnale before defeating Burton h | Wheeler for governor in 1920, and | Bow and then has had honorable men {tion as a Republican Progressive white hope in a presidential or vice presidential connection. But he ran | Montana into financial hot water whila governor and failed of re-election against Judge Erickson on that issue | The Democrats' alliterative campaig cry was, “Dixon_and Debt—F and Economy.” #When Gov was returning to Helena | Norse Centennial in Minnesota | struck up a smoking-compartment ac quaintance with an Eastern strar The stranger, having learned hi | panion was a Montana man | “What beat Dixon last year” | son tapped his chest. and repliec | “Thie." "Then he identified himse | The stranger was O. K. Davis, weli known political writer «f the Roose 1\’0|( era. . com % * . | 10king Prohibited” | now up in the Coeur d'alene 1 forest in Idaho. by order of the U1 States Forest Service, which hoy will be an effective means of gom- bating forest fires. A number of more or less serious fires have re cently been started through the neg ligence of motor tourists and o campers, who threw away Hghtel matches or left other inflammable e\ dence that tobacco had just been ir use. Other forest areas in Montana and Wyoming have also barred smok ing during the period of hot weather and low humidity, when the dan of forest fires is the worst. The thorities warn the touring public not 1o imagine that the abundance of rain has removed the peril of fires ‘. * o ox % Word comes to the Northwest that President Coolidge has given his ap proval to a project for an expositior 10f the products and resources of Mon {tana, Wyoming, Idaho and contizu ous States, to be held in New York some time during the next year. will be the first effort of the kind educate the unenlightened ocular demonstration, as to what tie West has and is. The promoters promise faithfully that the exhibition Will be as far removed as possible from a Wild West show. It is to con- sist exclusively of a display of the economic treasures of the region. The Northwest wants settlers and one of the objectives of the exposition is to induce residents ekeing out existence in congested Eastern cities to come / out here ¥ ok x One of the of the West typical self-made men is Cornelius F. Kelley president of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., whose headquarters fx New York, but who looks upen his native Montana as his home. Kelley began life as a water carrier at the mines in Butte, where his father wa= once a shift boss. The young Irish 1ad attracted the attention of the late Marcus Daly, who recognized his talents and superintended his educa- tion. After graduation at the Law School of the University of Michigan Kelley practiced law at Butte and later entered the legal department of the Anaconda company. Now he is its chief executive. Immensely tall an# eloquent, Kelley is an impressive pub- lic speaker. He is in Montana this Summer, looking over the “A. C. M. He told the State Bar Association the other day that the present bage of American national existence is a deluge of laws. There was a dra- matic encounter between Kelley and Senator Wheeler at the Montana Bankers’ Association convention in Glacier National Park, just after the former had made a rinzing speech as-+ salling radicalism. Once the Ana conda and Wheeler were sworn foes But there was no evidence of hostility in the hearty handshake the twain; exchanged. (Copyrighs, 1928.) )