Evening Star Newspaper, August 24, 1925, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.......August 24, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company th “Lm.i)d Pann York Office: L1 Eag 4 . Buroseas bemcer 10 hl\zc“’m S Yoadou, “Englan morn: } = ohin the city at 60 cents per month: on) 45 cents per month: Sunday only. cen! Ser Tomt Orders may be sent by mail or Talephonie fain 6000, Collection is made by “irfler 3t tBe +0d of each moath. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and sunday....1yr. 3840: 1 me. T aily only .........13 Sunday only 40: 1 wo. Ivanta A The Evenln Star. with the Sunday e Siition 15 elicored by carm All Other States. nday. . .1yr., $10.00: 1 mo., Daul; . boer | 7.00: 1 mo.. Sy oty e $000i 1 mol Member of the Associated Pre: The Associated Press is exclysively entitled 1o the use for republication of all news & et hae tondiied T 1t or pot otherwise cred itad in this paper and also the K ne' published herein. All nfi:\l! of publ ©f speciad dispatches herein are also reserved. A $1,500 Minimum. At the annual convention of the Nationel Federation of Federal Em- ployes to be held next month in Bos- ton a proposal will ‘be presented that Congress be urged to establish a min- imum of $1,600 a year in the Govern- ment clerical pay scale. A resolution to that effect will probably be adopted ana provision made for the collection of statistics in support of the measure. All who' are acquainted with the condition of the Government working torce, especially in Washington, real- ize the justice of this proposition. In proportion to the trend of compensa- tions in all other lines of employment the pay of the departmental worker, despite changes due to reclassification and to the commutation of the bonus paid during the war period, is low. In practically all private employments the scale of pay has during the past ten vears been materfally increased. The Government's increases to its working force, however, have been slight and inadequate. Reclassification of ihe departmental workers has not resulted in a. material increase in the average pay. In some cases, indeed, there have been actual decreases. On the whole, the situation of the classified clerical force is less tolerable than in 1815, owing to the advance in living costs, with which the increases in compensation have not kept pace. Readjustments in the Government's pay scale effected in recent years have chiefly aided those of the higher ranges rather than those of the lower, though the latter are in greater need. For the clerical workers in the classi- fied service there are slight opportuni- tles for promotion beyond the limit of that group. The Government em- ployes of the higher grades have op- portunities to go into privats employ- ment at considerably larger pay. To the others, however, few chances are offered. They remain in the Govern- ment service, despite the comparatively small pay scale, because it affords the best opening for them, and, moreover, because of the prospect of retirement. The influence of the retirement act, however, is not as powerful for keep- ing tho subordinate workers in the ranks as it was expected to be when first planned. The retirement pay is a pittance, and great hardships are endured by those who leave the serv- ice;and are forced to subsist upon the meager compensation doled out to them after many years of faithful valuablo services. At the present scale of pay in the Government departments there are few chances for saving. The standard of living must be maintained. A min- imum ‘of $1,500, as now proposed, would in many cases mean 3 margin for thrift against later days. It would ease thousands of Government work- ers from the gnawing anxiety from which a large percentage of the de- partmental force now suffers in re- spect to meeting expenses and making some provision for the future. The case of the Government work- ers for a more generous pay should not be regarded as clashing with the requirement for continued economy in the maintenance of the Federal serv- lce. Their claim is not one of extrav- but of just recognition of Daily and Motorists in this city have had to study so many instructions that some of them begin to talk as if they were tired and wanted @ Summer vacation. ————— Unscrupulous Competition. President Palmer of the Fleet Cor- poration has very properly scotched a rumor which was galning circulation «broad that the passenger vessels of the United States Lines were to be aken out of service and tied up in- definitely. The Leviathan and the other passenger ships now owned and operated by the United States Gov- ernment through the United States Lines are on the ocean to stay, Presi. dent Palmer declares. Reiteration of the fact that the American flag is on the seas to stay may eventually teach our foreign com- petitors for the overseas carrying trade, both passenger and freight, that silly rumors such as that now started will be of little avail. But more im- portant still in convincing Europe that the American overseas merchant ma- xfne is a permanent institution should be the ever-increasing business trans- ported by the American ships. In a message to Mr. Rossbottom, gen- eral manager of the United States Lines, now abroad, denying that the passenger service is to be abandoned, President Palmer called attention to the fact that the present year has been the most successful of any since the United States Lines has been in op- sration. An enormous number of let- ters indorsing the service has been re- cetved. 1t is regrettable that the new report of the abandonment of the seas by the Leviathan and other American ships may have been given impetus by Chairman O’Connor of the United States Shipping Board. He was repre- sented as favoring the withdrawal of these ships from service if Congress tailed to make appropriations as large 2s recommended by the Shipping Board. The failure, however, of the Shipping Board to co-operate with the Fleet Corporation at all times is an- |other story It is no news, however, that for- | etgn competitors of the United States Lines have sought constantly to under- mine and detract from our business by spreading false reports. Always they have sought to make Europeans believe that the entrance of the United States into the overseas carry- ing trade was only temporary. They have used to some advantage the un- fortunate name applied by Congress to the agency provided to operate the Government-owned ships, “Emergency Fleet Corporation.” By all means the “emergency” part of the name should be dropped by law. While it is the hope: of Americans generally that eventually the merchant fleet will be privately owned and operated, it is their determination that the Govern- ment shall continue to operate them until they go into private operation, and this has been declared again and again by the President of the United States. The report that the vessels of the United States were soon to go out of business is not the only fiction with which foreign competitors have sought to injure the business of the American ships in Europe generally. They have not hesitated to declare that the American ships were mnot safe; that the service is poor, etc. Running down a competitor is poor tactics in the long run in business. Europeans cannot be fooled all the time. Further- more, an American traveler to whom the “lack of safety” on American ships were broached. pointedly asked if his tnformant had ever heard of the Titanic. e Hindenburg’s Message. President von Hindenburg of Ger- many places stability,of economic con- ditions and peace first, which has not endeared him to the German militar- ists who still fondly hope for & return of the monarchy. Such is ‘the mes- sage transmitted to the Nation’s Busi- ness, official organ of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, by its editor, Merle Thorpe. The German President’s assurance is in effect a message to the business men of America, a bid. if you please, for their confidence. His declaration that stable conditions in Germany are again becoming a reality can only bring satisfaction to those who hope for peace throughout the world and for a rehabllitation of Europe. The German people are desirous of stable conditions in their country, and the German President is intent upon bringing about those conditions. “I am firmly convinced,” President von Hindenburg said, “that stabiliza- tion of economic and social conditions will continue to improve in Germany as peaceful conditions are restored among the peoples of Europe. I, for my part, am determined to do my ut- most toward such restoration and preservation of peace.” A more unequivocal statement could scarcely be made, As time progresses it becomes more end more apparent that the former German fleld marshal intends to abide steadfastly by the oath of office which he took as Presi- dent of the German Republic to up- hold the German constitution, which provides for freedom of speech, of re ligion and of press and emphasizes the Iiberty of the individual under the law. Before the World War the German people, through their industry, had made great strides in the world of commerce. With the same industry they are today again seeking to butld up their commerce. It is vital to Europe, and particularly to the Brit- ish, that stable conditions again pre- vail in Central Burope, so that mar- ket there for the British mills may again be provided. Under the constitution adopted by the German people in their republican form of government, and under a Pres- {dent whose aim is to uphold that con- stitution, Germany should be able to g0 far toward establishing & feeling of greater confidence and better rela- tions. The bitterness of war still in- gers. But if there is to be a prolonged era of peace the greater emphasis laid upon such statements as that made by President von Hindenburg the bet- ter for Europe. Armed camps are productive of war. The more Europe as a whole can advance toward cordial relations and international confidence the better for the entire world. —_—————— There should be much admiration on the part of Thomas Edison for Sen- ator Borah. No citizen in the country shows @ greater ability to remain wide awake than the chairman of the foreign relations committee. ——————————— The Belgien debt arrangement is evidently due to arouse some discus- sion as to whether it is possible to start something officially without cre- ating a precedent. e Blaming the-Prince of Wales for the kind of clothes that came into style long after his departure is worse than talking about & man behind his back. o An Effective Pistol Iaw. Judge Schuldt of the Police Court, from his experience in that tribunal, declares that there is need of a more rigid regulation of pistol vending in the District of Columbia. He sees con- stantly in the procession of cases through his icourt evidence of the fa- cility with which the criminglly minded can arm themselves with dead- 1y weapons. There is, indeed, virtual- ly no restriction upon them. The District law regulating pistol sales is practically worthless. It requires merely the recording of a neme and address and the subsequent flling of that record with the police. The record is of no value whatever. Consequent- ly Judge Schuldt proposes legislation to correct this condition and outlines a plan similar to that which has been for many years advocated by The Star as a means of curing this evil of the easily obtained deadly weapon. In brief his proposition is that the pur- chaser of a pistol must present to the vender a certificate from the chief of police, based upon character ref- erences and a showing of need for per- sonal armament. Several days must elapse between the application for a permit and fts issuance. ' Several measures have been intro- duced recently in Congress to curs THE EVENING this condition in the District, but none has passed. Just why there has been delay in this matter is not understand- ante. There is no need to fear a court ruling of unconstitutionality. A law such as is projected would not deprive the people of the right to bear arms. It would merely regulate the sale of |arms to prevent their use by crim- Inals. It would not keep any person from securing a weapon for defense. It would, on the contrary, lessen the need for defensive armament. The possible futility of a local statute in view of the readiness with which ‘Wweapons can be obtained by mail or express does not warrant any hesita- tion about closing up at least the local mources of supply to the crim- inal. Evidence accumulates from year to year of the urgent need of such a pro- tective measure. Constantly deaths are eccurring in the District of Co- Jumbia in consequence of the ease with which deadly weapons can be ob- tained. In a large percentage of homicide cases as well as suicides the weapons are bought here in the Dis- trict without the least difficulty or de- lay. Even though it might be pos- sible to get guns from outside of the District, the necessity of waiting for their delivery would in many cases cause the passing of the,criminal im- pulse. Let the District at least be protected in the hope that there will be mdvance In other jurisdictions along the same line and possibly a strength- ening of the Federal laws to curb in- terstate commerce in the tools of crime. o If the motor situation continues to develop complexities it will be difficult for statesmen during the coming ses. sion of Congress to take their minds off traffic regulations long enough to give due attention to the customary legislative problems. ——— e Evolutionists are handicapped in their appeal to certain phases of pop- ular impression owing to the fact that most of them are studious and re- tiring eclentists who would never think of hiring a band and holding a parade. —— In a few more weeks Washington, D. C., will be beyond the need of bath- ing beaches. Congress should not be permitted, however, to forget the ex. periences of the Summer of 1925, ‘There is a bathing beach problem as well as a housing problem. ———te—. ‘The Riffs lost no time in obtaining airplanes when they found themselves attacked from the sky. Experience is a wonderful and famous old teacher, but it needs quick study and fast work to profit from her instructions. ——— Belgium secured favorable terms, and the American public is gratified. Belgium is a country not regarded as likely to seek pecuniary advantage with a view to utllizing it for aggres: sive military enterprse. ————e— It is reported that President Cool- idge is eleeping long and soundly, which information may be construed as implying that Thos. Edison is not attempting to dictate the policics of the administration. e The effort to swim the channel was not a success, but Miss Ederle is still to be congratulated on a remarkable achievement in getting us far as she did after eating 80 heavy a breakfast. —_——— Communication with the North Pole is not @ matter of great practical importance. When the Arctic regions are depended on for a Summer ice supply the situation will be different. —_————— ! regulated homes are blamed for juvenile delinquency. It is impossible to turn over to a child the responsibil- ity of setting & good example to his parenta. ———————— Russia might be justified in wonder- ing whether Trotsky is a great politi- cal leader or only & chronic office- holder. Florida has demonstrated that a sand bar may be as effectual in start- ing a gold stampede as a mining claim. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Mirth As a Duty. We've got to go on laughing; it’s & duty of the day To seek for some suggestion that will drive our cares away. So we gayly grin at people who are bitten, struck or stung And at the lady who's no longer beau- tiful or young. We laugh at any plcture which dis- plays the human face In a terrified expression, with its fea- tures out of place. Let us laugh at all misfortune as we make another start, To show the world is ready to go for- ward and take heart. Abated Enthusiasm. “You seem entirely unfavorable to the League of Nations.” “I'm not unfavorabl answered Senator Sorghum, “but I've attended 80 many meetings and seen so0 many parades that I've gotten to be indif- ferent to the Idea of being any kind of a joiner.” 3 The Persistent Propagandist, The propagandist makes us sob ‘With encient argument long drawn, Because he has no better job, He must go propaganding on. Jud Tunkins says the most laugha- ble thing he has seen is a girl in a bathin® suit, carrying an umbrella be- cause it looks lika rain, Exclusions. “Never allow e bootlegger to come into your house!” “I don't know how to stop him,” said Uncle Bill. Bottletop. “I'm a renter and a bootlegger saved up his money and bought the place.” “Money is like a saxophone,” said Uncle Eben. “Whether it makes folks happy or mis'able depends on de amount of expertness wif which it is handled.” STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLE Americans ought to be particularly interested in Seneca, Roman philoso- pher, if for no other reason than that his name has been carried in our his- tory since the beginning. The Seneca Indians of New York State played a prominent part in the history of the early colonizations. Just how the Roman word “‘Seneca’ was derived from Tsonondowaka, meaning “People of the Great Moun- tains,” as these Indians called them- nllvun, I leave for others to figure out. The interesting thing to me is that this good American name—for so it seems, after all these years of use— is the co-called “last name” of the great Roman tutor of Nero; that im- peral profligate who fiddled while his capital burned. Lucius Annaeus Seneca has more points of interest for us of today than either of the other two Stoic philoso- phers, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Epictetus, previously considered at length in this column. Seneca was a lawyer as well as a philosopher, a rich man as well as a student, an esthete who “went with the best people” of his day and age, a writer who thousands of years ago ‘wrote with the brevity of a modern of the moderns. His ‘“Morals” contain more aphor- isms to the square inch than Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, great in their way, do in whole volumes. Seneca's thought processes moved by brief Iitches that are perhaps more accept- able to quick moving modern Amer- icans than either those of Aurelius, the Emperor, or Epictetus, the slave. % % % : In other words, the essays of Seneca, as given us in English trans- lations, are very similar to those of Robert Louis Stevenson. Who that has read the immortal R. L. S. does not love his witty, bright essays? To name none other, “Eldorado” sparkles with quotable sentences on every one of its pages, in fact in every paragraph the appreciative reader finds something which he would like to underline, if he is given to that habit. It is so ‘with the “Morals” of| Seneca. His writings are so filled with the highest thought, vet so tem- pered with the ways of this world and knowledge of human nature, both in its good and its bad side, that the modern reader is constantly pausing to re-read some felicious sentence, or even phrase. For Lucjus Annaeus Seneca was a born bookman. “I am a bookman,” said Lowell, thousands of years later. Seneca never, gald It, but’ he was a true Bookman. He wrote for a fash- fonable court, and the readers of his day read what he wrote. His works were among the “best sellers” in the royal days of Rome. His enunciation of the strictly ethic: principles of Stoicism were tinged with so much common sense that his own age recognized this high quality a well as all the ages of men that have come after. I realize that there are some who maintain that such topics as he con- sidered are commonplace today. These say that moral considerations are well left to the church. But I have always been convinced, in my own mind, that each person in every age must work out his own salvation by himself, and the number of letters received com- mending the recent series, in this col- umn, dealing with the writings of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, con- vinces me that I am right. ‘Because men do not commonly dis- cuss morals any more in smoking cars and similar places in no reason to suppose that they are not inter- ested in them. The most sacred things of Jife are mot discussed in such' places. TRACEWELL. Every human being is at heart something of a philosopher, or likes to think that he is, anyway. * %k %k % To all such the life and death of Seneca will be interesting. Seneca tried to straddle the Roman fence—and got gored by the bull— Nero. I he had been either a whole- souled philosopher or a_out-and-out eroite, he would have fared better, in at least as far s his mortal life was concerned. As it was, he tried to .save Nero from Nero, and thus parted Seneca from Seneca. The royal bum, grow- ing tired of the good man, finally id: “Seneca, go kill thyself. o Seneca, like the good Roman he was, went and committed suicide. It was the way things were done in . Let no one toddy think it strange. The old Romans would look with equal wonder on some of our doings. Seneca was horn at Cordova, Spain, about 4 B. G. and died, at the request of Nero, in 65 B.C. Of the equestrian order, he immediately was “In the swim"” when he went to Rome. Seneca was educated at the Roman bar. ~ Ancient Rome had almost as much ‘a penchant for laws as the United States has today. Roman law was the pride of the empire, and only a lawyer could solve its riddles. And, of course, the more laws, the more riddles—and, - naturally enough, more demand for lawyers. Seneca became such a good lawyer that he got into the Senate—how like Americal-—and became in course of time a very wealthy man. All this time, however. he sat at the feet of the Pythagorean, Stoic and Cynic philosophers until he be came as famous as a philosopher as he was rich. Slander got in its evil work, and he was banished to Corsica in 41 A.D., but was recalled in the vear '49 to become the tutor of the young Nero, then 11 years old. Upon Nero's accession, in 54 A.D., Seneca, his teacher, and Burrus, pre fect of the Praetorian Guard, had their hands full in manhandling the royal simp, which feat, however, they man aged to do for a time. When the faithful Burrus died, in 62 A.D., Seneca's years were num. bered. Nero got mixed up with Pop paea Sabina, notorious Roman lady who induced Nero to assas: e his mother. Then Nero prevailed upon his tr to write a letter to the Senate that his mother had conspired s him (Nero) and., upon being ered, had committed suicide. Seneca tried to straddle the fence nd made a bad job of it. He had so much money that Nero, feel ing his oats, began to cast envious glances at it, his own resources be- ing depleted by reason of his riotous living. Seneca, crafty in the ways of the world, offered to give Nero ail his money, but Nero, with some spark of gratitude still left, refused. Se neca, however, saw the handwriting on the wall, and retired to a coun try place. In 65 A.D. he was implicated in the conspiracy of Piso to seize the throne, and was ordered by Nero to commit suicide. Seneca no more thought of refus- ing than—well, he simply did not think of refusing at all. He' cut the veins in his arms, but, being a sturdy man, did not bleed to death, and had to bave himself smothered in a vapor bath. So ended the life of Lucius An- naens Seneca, whose essays were by far the better part of him. In them the real man stood forth, the real man that Nero never knew. ing inst discov- BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. “The cause of the present crime wave sweeping over America is psy- chological,” not the weakness of po- lice or courts. A Chicago psycholo- gist has made this discovery. In the psychopathic laboratory of the Chicago Municipal Court is a new dispensation which proposes to displace the ‘“out-of-date method of treating crime” as if it were repre- henstble and with malice aforethought agalnst soclety. Instead, crime is to be recognized as something like brain fever; it, therefore, needs to be treated as a disease. The criminal, being afilicted with a crime complex, no matter how punished, goes right out and does some other devilment, seven times as bad as that for which he was penalized. So they argue, what is the use of penalties for the “disease”? Are these psychologists generalizing from two few particulars? There is a murder in Chicago daily. There are 20 burglaries every night and 10 highway robberies, with more or less violence, not to count the frauds and other crimy But all that is manifes- tation of ‘“disease”—the mastery of a diseased subconsciousness—accord- ing to the new psychologists. These sclentists last year saw in their own courts, where 37 justices are sitting, not less than 94,000 civil cases and 225,000 criminal cases. That was the raw material for the psychopathic laboratory. * % ¥ % Dr. Hickson, the chief expert in the clinic, concludes that ‘mental de- bility is the primary factor in crime, and the elimination of the criminal is & problem more of psychology than in the efficient administration of thou- sands of police with quick trigger fingers. Dr. Hickson formerly lived in Bal- timore, and a Baltimore authority on the subject points out that he should have considered the famous Loeb and Leopold murder in connection with mental training, when he observed that “90 per cent of the crime of Chicago is attributable to some form of ‘mental debility,’ usually not ap- parent to a layman.” ‘The Baltimore critic adds that Dr. ‘Hickson also overlooks the same young criminals when saying: ‘The large majority of persons convicted of maj- or crimes, such as murder, robbery and assault, have been in court pre- viously—some many times—for minor offenses.’ Loeb and Leopold had never before been accused. Are they exceptions, then, to the rule? Or had their moral characters degenerated, regardless of court or immunity? It is asked, What course of psychological treatment is recommended in such cases as a_sub- stitute for present legal restraint? Dr. Hickson states emphatically: “Punishment is not a deterrent of crime, in the eyes of most criminals. The degree of viciousness and brutal- ity in revolting crimes is in a fixed relation to the degree ai nature of the mental derangement According to the evidence of the trial, it would be hard to find & more heartless, cruel murder than that by Loeb and Leopold of the unoffending child of a neighbor, although the mur- derers were niuses in science and bird lore, brilliant scholars in the Chi- cago University, where psychology is specialized. “Would a post-graduate course in psychology make Society safer from Loeb and Leopold than do’the prison bars?” asks a critic. That there is a vast realm of re- search in psychology is recognized in every college. Every character, say the teachers, is composed of complexes of all its ancestors, and subcongcious- ness is a factor in character, though a strong will may overrule its control. St. Paul testified that he was a dual personality when he confessed: or that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, #hat T do not, but what I hate, that do L Psychology had not been invented when that confesslon was made. St. Paul had never studied complexes nor recognized that it was his subcon- scious mind which dominated his acts more than did his conscious mind. The science known as “behavior psychology” is only fifteen vears old, yet the laboratory enthusiasts in Chi- cago are ready to abolish the entire system of criminology, with its prisons, police, courts and all methods of restraint and reform, and substi- tute the novelty of the ciinic in treat- ing the criminal as more or less men- tally diseased, differing only in de- gree from the insane who is shut up behind bars. * ¥ % X Tn the Medico-Legal Journal of New York not long ago appeared this para- graph: “In a strictly legal sense there is no insane criminal. The act of the insane, which in the sane-would be criminal, lacks every element of crime. ¢ * * A man who has committed a crime may become insane, either be- fore or after conviction of crime. He may (then) rightly be called an ‘insane criminal’ 1f the insanity developed before the trial the law would suspend his trial while the insanity continued. If the insanity came after conviction he should be treated as an insane man, not as a criminal.” The Chicago psychological defini- tion assumes not merely that criminals may become insame after the crime, but that the fact that they have com- mitted a crime shows that they were insane; hence, being insane, they were incapable of committing crime—their criminal deed “lacks every element of crime.” So the treatment must be that of an insane man—therapy, not punitive. A man insane today may prove per- fectly sane tomorrow. Since, in the new psychology, all crime is evidence of diseased mind, a murderer, not be- ing capable of crime when he com- mitted the murder, as his act proves, by its horror, can defend his act by proving that the act itself was evi- dence that he was incapable of crime. Hence by the atrocity of his act he can regain his liberty by confession or by proving his deed, which demon- strates his innocence under the law of “behavior psychology.” The more horrible the deed, the greater his in- capacity to commit crime. Psychologists are not content with merely ascribing two personalities— Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—but believe that we are each composed of many personalities, the composites of all our ancestors, plus the influences.of our environment and subconscious reser- voirs of thoughts and impressions. The tendencies of civilization in the last century have been invariably to- ward modifying the punishment of criminals. Has crime decreased? The modern theory is not punishment—not vengeance—but restraint of other crimes and reform of the criminal through example and training. But not until the advent of ‘‘behavior psychology” in 1910 was there any teaching that police should not be quick to apprehend the enemies prey- ing upon soclety, and that courts should close prisons and abdicate in favor of psychological clinics. In the meanwhile crime increases in America. It is more rampant here than in any other civilized country. Not the majority, but less than 1 in 10 murders is ferrcted out and their perpetrators convicted, and 1 in 10 convicted is punished in any way. Is there not room then, suggests by the ogists out suspend- ing action of police or courts upon the 1 per cent? There are the 90 and 9., the| AUGUST 24, 1925. Faulty Mf;_mory By David Belasco, “.“T forgot!” No two words in the English language are more closely associated with failure than these, unless “I cannot” may be given consideration. For the great human failing of the modern day is lack of memory train- ing. College men after four or five years lose their grasp of all but the most important elements of their studfes. Men 10 vears in business cannot recall the simplest Latin phrases nor are they especially up in mathematics unless their work is of a technical nature. Why is this? Because the majority of us neglect that greatest of all attributes—memory. We content our- selves with the thought that stored away in the subconscious mind are all of the things we should know— but when it comes to finding the key to unlock those concealed storehouses of wisdom, it is missing. Greater Intellectualism. It is this modern neglect of mem- ory training which makes the stage a ‘difficult profession for our youns of today. There are too many dis- tractions, too many other interests— and there always Is the excuse that there are librarles and reference works available to cover any slight deficiency. s Yet, if memory training became a greater habit with us all there soon would be apparent a greater intellec- tualism. The great war disclosed that few of us knew the national anthem thoroughly. Quotations from the classics . usually are garbled, and ef- forts on the part of the majority to repeat a conversation verbatim gen- erally disclose a lamentable weakness of memory. Today, after more than a half cen- tury of other actlvities, I can repeat verbatim the most intricate speeches from roles I played lohg ago in San Francisco, Virginia City, Nev., and in addition, I can recall with but slight effort, practically complete the many plays I have written in my younger years. I claim no unusual merit for this, for it results merely from long habit of memory cultivation. E. H. Sothern today is “up” in nearly all of the great Shakespearean roles, as well as his parts in some of the great roman- tic dramas of two decades ago. When will the time come that we all will realize the blessing of a good memory? One wonders, particularly in view of the fact that human effi- ciency depends so much on the abil- ity to compare any given set of cir- cumstances with others of a similar nature. How else can an efficient decision be arrived at? ‘Writers” Memories. The great Writers of today invari- ably are men whose memories have been developed past those of their associates. Their minds are veritable storehouses of fact, of emotional re- action and of human habits—else they couldn’t write understandingly of their characters. Our great inventors, in addition to imagination, must ve supermem- ories, else their experiments would be repeated endlessly without ad- vancement. One worth-while fact or thought should be stored away each day if we are to be efficient men- tally—one important factor having to do ‘with our activities or with the progress of humanity. The Supreme Intelligence gave us a brain to aid us in our progress to- ward perfection. Let us, therefore, utilize it to its utmost for our own benefit and for the benefit of human- ity in general. (Copyright. 1925.) e Director Rowe Answers Critic of His Address To the Editor of The Star: 1 am certain that if Mr. Iglesias had been aware of my views relative to the status of Great Britain and Can- ada in relation to American affairs, he would not have made the attack print- ed in your editior of August 1 I quote from my address on Pan- Americanism at the Institute of Poli- ties at Williamstown, which sets forth clearly my views on this subjeet: “The territorial area of the system which I shall designate as Pan Ameri- can embraces the 21 republics of the American_continent. The fact that Great Britain possesses colonies in the Caribbean does not make her a part of the system of which I shall speak. This question was thrashed out and fully disposed of in the con- troversy that arose between Great Britain and the United States relative to the boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana. Her possessions in the West Indies and even on the mainland are important, and no one, so far as I am aware, has questioned any of the rights invoived therein. ““As regards the relation of the self- governing Dominion of Canada to the pan-American system, it is well to bear in mind that Canada is justly proud of her membership in that great commonwealth of nations known as the British Empire and that, as far as I am aware, there has never been any movement in Canada to become a member of the Pan-American Union. Furthermore, it is difficult to see how she could become a member as long as she is not complete mistress of her foreigp policy. These principles are, 1 believe, thoroughly understood and accepted by the people of both coun- tries.” L. S. ROW] ——— Who Will Put the Brakes on D. C. Extravagance? To the Editor of The Star: The people of the District understand that they are facing a large increase in taxes in the next year or two. Conkress has adopted the plan of making a flat contribution to District expenses, probably $9,000,- 000,000 a year, or perhaps less. The remainder must be paid by the inhabi- tants of the District. If any one be- lieves that Congress will resume the 50-50 plan he possesses a degree of financial optimism which in his pri- vate affairs would justify the appoint- ment of a guardian. During the past generation or two, under the 50-50 plan, the District has become accustomed to the habit of coaxing everything possible out of Congress, on the theory that we could at least afford to pay half of what was granted. - Congress restrained the extravagance of- the demands, since the country at large paid the other half. Under the present plan Comngress has no incentive to put on the brakes, and we may expect will grant what- ever sum the people of the District appear to want. Our estimates have already jumped to nearly 39 millions, of which at least 30 millions would have to be paid by the District, at least $60 per capita. . Tt does not appear that our repre- wntatives, if we have any, have fuced the new situation. Those who speak for us seem to be under the de- lusion that the only problem is to get Congress to appropriate the money. On the contrary, there is now no rea- son why they should refuse anythin which we seem to want. The re: problem is to keep our estimates within a.sum which the people of the District will be willing to pay, after deducting the flat contribution which Congress will make. ‘We are headed for an orgy of ex- travagance unless somebody puts on the bi . & M. ALDRICH. should ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. What varlations are there in the number of horns possessed by sheep? —C. E. M. A. Some sheep have mo horns at all. As is well known, the usual num. ber of horns possessed by o sheep is two. In the case of many kinds of breeds, only the males horns, The unicorn sheep of Nepal and Tibet has both horns completely welded together Into one. Four-horned sheep are common in Iceland and the Hebrides, and are found also in Africa Eight-horned sheep are known. Q. When was the custom of ringing a bell and calling the hour abandone: in Philadelphia?—M. F. K A. The librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania says: No mention of the discontin: £ the custom of having a ni hmar in Philadelphia is given in any of t standard histories of the city, b was about the close of the Rev tion. In the earller days this cu was performed by the citizens in as a civic dut om turn . May raspberry bushes be out in the Fall’—H. I A. It well mulched, planted in the Fall Q. Did ancient earthquake?—T. D. A. There never was any outstand. ing destruction in Rome as a result of earthquakes, but the city did have its quakes, and some historians contena that many Roman palaces and tem ples sald to have been destroved by the barbarians between th h and ninth centuries were realiy shaken down by earth tremors Q D. A." A monsoon is a wind that blows along the Asiatic coast of the Pacific over the extent of about 40 degrees latitude, in Winter from the north east (dry monsoon) and in Summer more violently from (wet monsoon). The wind is due to the differences of pressure between areas of land and sea which are pri- marily caused by seasonal difference of temperature. Q. What is the value of American farms?—D. A. A. There are about 500,000,000, valued at $78,000,000,000. Agricultur: products amount to almost $15,000,- 000,000 a year. they may be Rome have any What ! causes monsoons?’- L Q. Why do books have, copyr notices which provide for translation | into all languages, “including Scandinavian”?—M. H. A. The copyright office say: the phrase, “including the navian,” sometimes seen in connection with the copyright, does not involve any additional protection, since the United States law gives the copyright holder the exclusive right to trans late the work into any language. Such restriction, therefore, is entirely unnecessary. the Q. Is there anything that will whiten teeth that have been stained from smoking?—E. E. H. A. Place a small amount of fluoride of ummonia on a piece of absorbent cotton and allow to remain on the teeth for about a minute. Care should be taken not to let this touch the gums or get into the throat. After the cotton is taken off the mouth should be rinsed with cold water. Q. How much iron was mined last year in the United States’—R. E A. Considerably less iron ore, pig iron and ferroalloys were produced and shipped in the United States in 1924 than in 1923. The fron ore mined in 1924 amounted to 54,267.419 gross tons, a decrease of 22 per cent : compared with 1923. Of the 20 States producing iron ore in 1924, only five— Alabama, Missouri, Ohio, Utah and Washington — contributed more ore than in 1923. Q. What food should be put in bottom of a refrigerator?—C. M. A. An ice company advocates following arrangement: Milk in the bottom: just above, butter, eggs and meat; salad next; vegetables and fruit at top. Nothing buc ice in the ice chamber. Q. Does the the the railroad north from Williams, Ariz.. run to the part of the Colorado River known as the Grand Canyon?—E. N. G. A. It runs to the hotel on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Q. Do butterflies Winter?—C. M. S. A. In cold countries, few adults sur- vive the Winter. Eggs which have been laid in warm weather hatch in the Spring. Some species are mi- survive the lot air curren the mouthwest | gratory, fly tumn. Q. Does C: winds?—A. C. Rt A. Hurricanes a known. About and brisk wind Golden ( v £ outherr fornia there ebb a a breeze from the in the morning and from the tains in the eveni Q. there?—R. A. There iles of subr lald at a cost 000 es wi than $2 irine of moxe Q. What is a LA FrE a the new ve . occurs in April, is celebrated wit water feast,” which consists of men nen throwing wate |each o d on the passers ater feas | @ 1s calais directl channel from Dover lais, month?- A. ides in occurred on the October | rred on the 13t} Q gress 0. L A. John C. as a memb foreign relations Secretary of W acity for seve Q. Why was a I land supplying with the unclaix —L. H. A. In 1832 such following the discovery t creants, Burke and Hare, were poor waifs into ¥ focating them in order bodies. Hare escaped ¢ idence, but Who pres { de Q. Is there more t! the member Shakers?—1I. A. There groups in in Christ’s Sec: Coming. ond group is mac up of the native Indians living in region of Puget Sound, who mad up or invented wh: known as t Shake religion in is 1881. Q. I have been told that at 2 sa of cattle in New York more than ears ago one cow was sold f $40,000. Can you find an such a . M. T A. At a sale of certain breeds short-horn held in_ One County, . Y. September 1873, 109 cattle brought a total £382,000. One cow was sold another for $20.000, as paid for a fivem oldcalf. Q. What is t looks as if butter in her mouth” quotation i not meit A. The however, proverbs of Heywood. Q. Are the sig bedded in the floc Congress in gold A. In the great hall of that building s a decoration of this kind, but done in hammered and incised brass. Q. What train kes run without a stop?—S. S. A. The longest non-stop train ru at the present time is made by 10:30 limited, London to Plymout England. The train travels miles in 247 minutes the long: (Frederic J. Haskin is employed this paper to handle the inquiries our readers, and you are invited 1 call upon him freely and as often you please. Ask anything that is matter of fact and the authority wil be quoted you. There is no charg Jor this service. Ask what you wa sign your mame and address and i close £ cents in stamps for return postage. Address The Star Inforn tion Burcau, Frederic J. Haskin rector, Twenty-first and C strects northicest, Washington, D. C.) Fascist Demand for Of Excess Populat What should a nation do with its excess population? This question has been the theme of a lively controversy since Count Cippico, Senator and Fascist, declared before the Institute of Politics that Italy must be permit- ted to plant foreign colonies, with allegiance to Italy, by force if neces- sary. American opinion, which ex- press little sympathy for the Fascist_view, is inclined to_ support Prof. Edward M. East of Harvard, who answers the Itallan by showing that emigration would not solve in- ternal problems. In Italy’s troubles the Detroit News sees “only one phase of a larger per- plexity involving a great, part of the Old_World: the problem of finding work and food and other essentials of life for increasing millions of surplus and dispensable people.” To Senator Cippico’s avowal “that if war is neces: sary to acquire new colonies, then war must come,” the News replies that “the idea of wars for new colo- nies in this age is unthinkable,” for “the colon.. ' faea 1s rapidly becoming outworn,” and “the whole political trend of our time is toward new na- tions, not annexes of the old.” ““The declaration of Count Cipplco,” according to the Springfield Repub- lican, “might be taken from speeches delivered in Germany 25 years ago. He describes the ‘iron necessity’ of Italy’s present situation. He voices her demand for colonies in which her excess population may still retain Italian allegiance instead of gradu- ally becoming merged in a mixed population under other flags. One has only to change a word here and there. The result is a faithful repro- duction of the speeches delivered in Germany in the fateful year of 1800. : * Kk ¥ “The moral right to other people’s territory,” declares the Chicago Tribune, “is good only with the better army and navy. It has been good against primitive people. The Riffs are proving that it is not so good now. It would be common sense for Italy to pick out a soft spot if there are any left. Count Cippico per- suades us that Fascism is touching some high spots of madness.” Com- mendation, however, for the count’s “refreshing honesty” is given by the Baltimore Sun, which says that it “may indeed have a salutary effect on some of the other members who are overpartial to millenniums a imminent eras of brotherly love. The Sun continues: “As the count, metaphorically, clanks his sword and rattles his spurs down the Institute corridors, they cannot fail to realize the magnitude of the problem of world peace.” “Here again is the formula of the old dead thrones and of the Caesars and the other men on horseback,” says the Portland Oregon Journal. “‘Count co rose out of the dead ashes of the rotten past to utter his philippic against peace. His hard- § RS Dumping Ground ion Unpopular Here boiled doctrine of force cost the w i too much in lives and treasure in tho last war to receive a sympathe hearing.” The reply made to the Ital: Se ator by Prof. East of Harvard is scribed by the Charlotte Observer as “a statement that for peppery advice is about the warmest deliverance ¥ have read this hot Summer Harvard professor's reference Malthusian law is repeate Observer, together with his that “Iuly’s terrible infant is directly traceable to families” "and “emigration is to a people oppr tion.” The Observe: East demons “that Ttaly would injure other * ¥ part of Prof. E aga immigration” whic! opinion of the Worcester Telei “will probably make the gre: s is the statemer ed countries by populations to this The Telegram that ‘“‘there is at 1 bility in the argument that the cc try which sends out great number of emigrants cannot get permanent relief from congestion.” On the other hand, the Brooklyn Eagle criticizes the position taken Cast with the argument: 1 examine the family records Plymouth County and neighboring counties in Massachusetts, he w note that his rule of ‘families accordance with _opportunity’ v disregarded by th Fathers and the Pilgrim Mothers. least, when the average family is set against the average inheritance lef to provide for them, the showing i= about what might be expected in Italy today.” Against this the Quincy Whig Journal argues: “Count Cippico completely dodged the issue raised b Prof. East. Italy has absolutely done nothing to meet her own problem. She is merely insisting that othe: countries shall take her excess, and that these “Little Italles,’ scattered throughout the world, shall own alle- glance to the Italy on the Mediter- ranean. Dr. East well says that this suggests the Chinese method wheret the doctor swallows the pills to curc the ills of the patient. “Having made our decision in fa vor of a rigid restriction on immigr tion,” the Kalamazoo Gazette d clares, “we would not be, as a n tion, greatly concerned with Italy necessity for additional room foi racial expansion but for the fact that such a governmental dilemma. is on of the principal sources from whicli flow the wars that devastate man kind.” - The Gazette finds the same problem before Japan, Germany and France. { i