Evening Star Newspaper, August 29, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sundsy Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ATURDAY. . August 29, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company | Business Offic _11th St. and Pennaylv Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. Ruropean Office: 16 Regent St.. London, England. a Ave. The Evening Star, with the Sunday morn- Ing edition, is delivered by eca within tha City at 80 cents her month: 45 cents “her menth: Sundnv only per Tionth. - Orders may e tSlanhane Main 3000. Cellcction is “arrier at the end of each month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and ginia. Daily and Sunday....1vr. $8.40:1mo. Daily anly £4.00: 1 mo Sunday ouly ", 15r..52:40: 1 mo. All Other States. Daily and Sunday...] ¥r..$10.00: 1 mo.. Daily only $7.00: 1 mo. Sunday only £3.00: 1 mo.. 2 1o the uee for republication of tted in this paper and uleo the local news Allrizhts of vublication Soft-Coal Strike Menace. A walkout of the bituminous miners in sympathy with the anthracite workers, now hinted more strongly than ever, would affect the coal-burn- ing public seriously and might tie up industry in this country. The Gov- srnment is laying its plans to aid in the rapid distribution of soft coal, afier the anthracite mines shut down September 1 in accordance with the strike order already issued. sion of work by the union miners he bituminous fields might force the Government to act decisiv coal controversy to prevent great suf- fering and damage the coming Winter. The President, unfortunately, has heen given by Congress no power to t, though Congress has had repeat- ad warnings and the advice of experts and its committees and commissions urging that the Chief Executive be empowered to act in an emergency. A shutdown of both the anthracite and the bituminous mines doubtless would be a signal for a call of a special session of Congress to give the President authority to deal with the situation more effectively. And Congress, with the aroused senti- ment of the people prodding it, might, and probably would, take action at last. The effect of a simultaneous suspen- sion of work by the union miners in both the anthracite and the bitu- minous fields would be to curtail greatly the output of coal. It would not, however, halt production entirely. Indeed, the production of bituminous coal today is about two-thirds from non-union mines and one-third from unfon mines. The enthracite field, on the other hand, is completely union- ized. With the production of bitu- minous coal averaging more than 10,080,000 tons a week, if all the non- union mines continued at work and { some of the others now idle were put into operation, the country would not be entirely without coal, but a serious shortage would necessarily soon come. The union miners in the bituminous fleld have a problem entirely separate from that of the anthracite workers. Under the so-called Jacksonville agree- ment, entered into February 16, 1924, the terms of the old agreement, keep- ing in effect wages at the peak of 1920, were extended from March 31, 1924, until March 31, 19; Under the Jacksonville agreement production of the non-union mines has increased und of the union mines has decreased. The situation briefly is this: The bituminous industry, since | 1890, has been ready at all times to produce from 50 to 100 per cent more coal than the country requires. The present annial capacity of the indus- iry is estimated to be 1.000,000,000 tons, though the average annual out put for the last six years has been less than 500,000,000 tons. Clearly, there are too many mines and too many mine: It was the hope of the framers of the Jackson- ille agreement that the high-cost mines would be forced out of business, #nd that a more sound and economical Lasis for the industry would be reach- ~d. Many mines have been closed. But the union mines, where the wages have been higher, and which in many se are older and not so well equip- ped for handling coal economically, have suffered more than the non-union mines, In some cases the union miners have asked the operators to abrogate the Jacksonville agreement, so that wages might be reduced and the union miners kept at work. In some of the non-union mines soon after the Jack- onville agreement was signed wages were reduced from 30 to 50 per cent. nd the non-union field mines became low-cost mines. From producing two- thirds of the soft coal mined the union mines have dropped to one- third. Several of the operators of union mines have vielded to the petition of rhe miners to revise the wage scale downward, so s to continue in com- petition with the non-union mines. Thus the Jacksonville agreement has heen abrogated. Two such abroga- tions have recentl; taken place in Ohlo. The unfon protested vigor ously. John L. Lewis, international president, has charged a consplracy on the part of the coal-carrying roads and big consumers to put the union out of business. Demands have been made that the Government take steps to see that the Jacksonville agréement be lived up to by the operators. The extent of the Government’s responsibility in the Jacksonville agreement may become an important issue. With its membership dwindiing in the bituminous fields, the union is faced with a difficult problem indeed. Tt may be argued thut a sympathetic strike at the time of the anthracite to business union s | industries of Great drive, calculated to stop the manu- tacture and sale of intoxicating bev- | The leaders of the Liberal it is reported, will enter the campalgn with the co-operation ¢ the heads of many larze industries. For- ‘mer Premier Lloyd George, it is un- derstood, will take the active leader- ship of the campaign. The co-opera- tion of indpstrial interests has, been secured as a result of reports from this countyy that prohibition has greatly benefited conditions here. An effort is being made to enroll the Laborites, but there is some doubt whether they will stand for absolute prohibition, or merely for local option. This campaign is to be started in the Autumn. Whatever the present chances of its success, the fact that a definite movement headed by a man of such great influence as David Lloyd George and supported by the leading Britain has been inaugurated is highly significant of a change of sentiment and of a trend of public mind. The difficulties of en- forcement in this country have been, of course, noted in England, and much ridicule has been expressed on the score of what hal been known as the American experiment in sumptuary legislation. Organized efforts to break down the American prohibition law have been conducted by Englishmen for profit. The latest attempt of this character falled strously, with al heavy loss of money to investors in the liquor-smugsling scheme. That enterprise caused a decided reaction in England, and since then there has been a noticeable change of public opinion. Great Britain's prosperity depends THE EVENING and the building of machines gathers specd. This is true of the family or pleasure car, and in the output of | trucks, tractors and omnibuses pro- duction goes on at a fast-increasing pace. In value of output the production of radio apparatus is not comparable with the value of automobile output becayse many sets call for the spend- ing of less money than the purchase of an auto tire, but it is interesting to watch the mighty out-turn of radio sets. It Is quite easy tc prophesy that in time every house and apartment will have its radio, and that many homes will have several sets. Already thiere are signs that the wife likes one set better than another, that the husband gets more satistaction from his particular set, and takes such pro- grams or parts of programs as he tancies and turns off or hangs up his head phones at will. Sons and daugh ters have not the same taste in pro- grame as father and mother, and each has a set. This thing may go on until nearly every member of every family has his own set. Also, as in the case of the automo- bile, a man or his family begins with the purchase of the lowest-priced ma- chine just to see how It works and to get used to it. “Getting used” to it generally results in buying a higher- priced machine, and soon the fami has the best that money will buy. Radio engineers are not so busy with working out new designs as in Im- proving transmission and reception. Their ambition is to cure defects in long-distance reception. Reception on 4 good set from one’s own or nearest broadcasting station is close to pgr- upon the efficiency of British laber. If the industrial leaders and workers believe that through prohibition may come greater efficiency and therefore greater prosperity, a great reform will probably be carried into effect. It is for England an economic and not moral {ssue. — & s Motor Killing and the Law. A decision rendered vesterday by Chief Justice McCoy in the District Supreme Court in upholding an in- dictment of second-degree murder found against two persons for the killing of a woman in this city by reckless automobile driving has evoked an opinion by an assistant district attorney that hereafter auto drivers who take life may be indicted for first-degree murder and tried on that charge, with the possibility of capital punishment in case of con- viction. This opinion is challenged on the ground that first-degree murder Is defined in the law as killing with premeditation and with “malice aforethought.” Murder has been uni- formly construed as a deliberate, in- tentional homicidal zct. It is con- tended that there can be no premedi- tation and no malice in the case of a motorist who, drunk or sober, drives recklessly and causes the death of another. Chief Justice McCoy's decis however, does not uphold a first-de- gree murder charge in such a case. The charge upon which he passed judgment was a second-degree mur- der, which lies in a zone between first-degree murder and manslaugh- ter. This indictment, thus sustained, differentiates between the deliberate and motivated killing called first- degree murder and the purely acci- dental killing which is rated as man- slaughter. The court holds that a person who drives at reckless speed, knowingly violating the law, indif- ferent to the safety of all other users of the street, cannot plead “accident” in extenuation. While having no in- dividual intention to kill and no mo- tive to slay any particular person, the maintenance of dangerous speed in 4 motor car is a deliberate menace to a1l in the path of the machine. Maintenance of this charge, with appropriate punishment, will surely be helpful in correcting the evil of reckless driving. Slaying speeders have been treated lightly in the past, | though the other day a man, who, in this city, killed another by driving | his car upon a street car load platform, was given two years in prison, upon plea of guilty. But the average of penalties for recklessness in motor driving has been so slight that there is no strong deterrent in the I There is, therefore, a reassurance to the public in the action of the court in sustaining an indictment which, it maintained on trial, will lead to u punishment that should serve to check the vecklessness of motorists. The killing driver should be rendered incapable of ever henceforth menac- ing life in the streets. 2ostoms SRl In order to make the coal more interesting, weather are predicting the longest, coldest Winter known for a great many vears. It is hoped that the climate forecasters will not prove as reliable as people who foretold the coal situa- tion. on, strike prophets Growth of Radio. The radio market seems not Lo have rcached that state which is called the turation point. A New York dis- patch to The Star says: “Manufac- turers of radio sets in America plan to produce between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 instruments in the coming Fall and Winter. That was indicated today by a canvass of the industry. Sets now in operation within the United States are variously estimated at between 3,500,000 and 5,000,000, For several years people have read a great deal about the growth of the automobile industry, and before the ‘World War there was much talk about the “saturation point.” Wise men said that it had been reached and that perhaps all, and surely nearly all, persons who could afford to own an auto had one, and that the :yitomo- suspension would do much to bolster up the organization. Certainly the threat of such a strike is likely to be nsed to force the operators to live up Lo the Jacksonville agreement. ———e————— Prohibition in Great Britain. Critics and opponents of prohibition in the United States will be perhaps astounded 1o learn from London that planspare under way in Great Britain Sor e launching of a great dry bile industry would concern itself with filling the demand for new cars to re- place those worn out and with the production of “parts” and accessories. The ‘“‘saturation point” stories of ten or eleven years ago look toolish at this time. In 1925 it is held that everybody is a possible buver of a car, and that an increasing number of families will keep two or more cars. Automebile production in 1925 ‘will no doubt éx- ceed the output in-any previous year, fect, but when a Washingtonian “gets” Havana, Montreal, etc., he may also get wheezes, jars and jangles. It is almost certain that trouble with static in long-distance radio will be overcome, but the owner of a zood set, kept in good condition, has little or no complaint to make against re- ception from his nearest station. Gen. erally the big stations send out enough excellent matter to satisfy a reasonable man. The Washington stations call to their ald many local musicians of unusual talent and put before the microphone many other in- teresting persons. The local stations broadcast the programs of Marine, Army and Navy bands and give them many times larger audiences than gather at the Capitol, Sylvan Theater, Marine Barracks or Washington Bar- racks. The local stations bring down from New York concerts by the Phil- harmonic Orchestra, the Capitol The- ater “gang” and many other notable affairs, and this season they gave Washingtonians the Goldman Band concerts on the campus of New York University. The radio field is widen- ing. ————— are apparently two ways of meeting international obligations as there are of calculating hotel bills, the American and the European plan. The American plan is usually regarded as more liveral and satisfactory. e = A proposal to put a belt line around the District of Columbia with the ac- companiment of freight terminals and factory sites is regarded by Montgom- ery County as hitting suburban devel- opment below the belt. —————. It appears to be Senator Borah's impression that foreign entangiements are liable to be particularly perplex- ing when they involve a triangular adjustment of indebtedness. ———— The old novels retain their interest long after the geographies become ob- solete. The fickleness of politics does not change the constancy of human nature. e Waldorf, Md., has become famous for its “speed trap.” This is one form of noteriety which cannot possibly be converted into profitable #.vertising. ————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Disarmament. There is a message in the air That fills the world with ch: We'll do away with present ¢ Some day we'll all disarm. We will not see a man who totes A gun come riding by To fight the pirate bold who gloats O'er gains from “corn” or “rye.” The flivvers will no longer smash Like tanks in combat dire Until we shudder at the crash Of an exploding tire, The auto trumpet will not sound A signal of alarm— So let us wait and stand our ground. Some day we'll all disarm. Masterly Inactivity. “T suppose you are going to get out and hustle for votes, remarked the cheery friend. “No, sir,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “Methods have changed. If vou don't have the votes passed on to you promptly and peaceably, you don’t get 'em. If you hustle for your- self you're suspected of being ready to take the bit in your teeth and defy the organization.” The Only Way. TU zet myself an airship neat Above all sighs and stations. 1t is the only way to beat The traffic regulations. Jud Tunkins says when he heard a hand organ he used to look for a mon- key. Evolution has enabled old Uncle Chimp to progress from music to lit- erature. Good Fortune. “You were rather lucky in that beauty contest,” remarked Miss Cayenne. : “T didn't win a prize.” “Yes. But at least you didn't catch cold.” Advantage of Size. A hundred dollar debt or so 1s one whose terms we clearly know. A million-dollar debt will balk Till partly paid, perchance, in talk. . “Tain’ no need to advise folks to economize.” said Uncle Eben. STAR, WASHINGTO. ! THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.. The proposed Spring festival of mu- sic for Washington, \\hir"h has re- ceived the approval of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Co- lumbia. arouses the interest of music lovers throughout the city Music, like literature, is supported by those who are not practitioners. Most of the people who buy the “best sellers” could not write one to save their lives, and the great majority of those who attend concerts cannot play or sing. All, however, are appreciators, with- out whom no art could or would live. To have mreat poets, there musi be great recders, tov,” said Walt Whit man. There is a great truth thers To have u Spring festival of music here, Washington must have good lis- teners. Those who have watched the musical development of the National Capital know that there are thousands of them residing within the District limite, The part that every and child who “likes music” must play in making the proposed festival a huge success is simply to be interested in it. When all of us good listeners become interested, those responsible for work- ing up programs, and the musicians, will do their best! R In the last analysis it is mot so much the Board of Commissioners, the musicians or directors who will make that festival something of which Washington will be proud, but rather the great general public. Our fine service bands, our choirs, our singers and instrumentalists, all will do_their part. We can rest as- sured of that. It remains for the gen- eral public to do their part. In this matter I am afraid we music lovers who are not musicians may as- sume an. attitude of “Let George do it “George’” will do it, all right, but > will do it much better it we help man, woman ant a Washington music festival next May we ought to talk about it this Fall and Winter, thus working ourselves into the mood of anticipation which will make us en- joy it the more when it does come! This public interest will put the keen edge upon the festival, not only for every person who hears all or part of it, but also for every musiclan who takes part in it. One of the joys of music, “the uni- versal language,” is that of sharing it with others. Fritz Kreisler, prac- ticing, inspires the very few who hear him, but Kreisler, plaving before a large audience, inspires his thousands, and undoubtedly gets more inspiration himself than when practicing alone. Human beings are made so, and it is to our credit, too. One of the great benefits of the festival will be this sharing of the “universal language’ by so many thousands. Good music inspires a community of feeling that perhaps can be attained in no other way so well. Charles Darwin, hard-headed scien d_this in his old age. when £ 1 had my life to live over again, T would devote half an hour to music a day."” x ok % % Every community may well devote one week a vear to an organized music festival. In this work Washington is far behind other cities. There is no lack of music here, ner is there any lack of mus’c lovers, music appreciators, but there has been a lack of organized community effort, Portland, Cincinnati and other cities of the country in recent years have established great symphony orches- tras: others have singing festivals; New York and Chicago long have had extended opera seasons. Have we in Washington been too content to “listen In" over our radios to the Philharmonic. broudeast from New York, and attend the many fine concerts given here by singers and in- umentalists? These are all fine, hut there is some thing lacking—the individual. active interest of the citizens. It is one thing to buy yourself a ticket 1o a concert. and decidedly another to individually “boost” such a civic art erverprise as the proposed Washington Spring mu- sical festival. Only recently T received a letter from a man In one of the Government departments who I believe is typical of men and women throughout the clty. He sald that as far as he knew the greal new organ in the Washing- ton Auditorium had been played upon Jpublicly but once since its" installa- on. He declared that he would be will- ing to make a donation toward secur- ing the services of a certain great or- ganist to give a recital upon that or- gan, or a series of recitals, and ex- pressed the opinion that hundreds of ;il:r lovers of organ music would join Undoubtedly he was right. To have such a fine instrument unused week after week is wrong, bpth from a mu- sical and civie standpoint. I instance this Government employe as typical of Washingtonians. With out question there are thousands just like him. v v o To appeal to the particular faney of each music lover, then, is one of the duties of the committee h is 1o be appointed by the Commissioners. Music is no narrow thing, but is as broad as humanity, and as charitable as the sun. One man prefers organ music, just as one flower lover likes the rose best of all. Another secretly confesses a han- kering for high-class dance music. "The joy of working with music is that from the latter taste one may be led, by easy, happy stages, to a genuine liking for the world’s best organ mu- sic, and the grandest symphony num- bers. The man who feels a sudden clutch at his throat when he hears some sweel soprano voice sing Green's sim- ple “Sing Me to Sleep” is ripe for the true musical experience of Schubert's “Unfinished Symphony” plaved by the Philadelphia Orchestra. To my mind one of the greatest goods that can be accomplished by the Spring festival will be to give a death blow to musical snobbishness. I want to see the tickets so reasonable that every one can come, and the programs so diversified that every one will come. Under the electric influence of great audiences, every band, every chorus. every individual singer or instrument alist will be inspired. This is the thing that the general public. and it alone, c&n do for our Spring festival. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL The die is cast! We have crossed the Rubicon! 1f the coal bin is not already filled. it will perhaps remah empty until the drawbridge is low- V. COLLINS. greatest industry in the United States, employing the he: of a population exceeding 3,000,000 s While there have been inventions éred and we can get back on the| which greatly increase the output of other side. 3 This is the dilemma in which Pres dent John L. Lewis leaves the Ameri- can householder in calling a strike of 148,000 anthracite coal miners, to begin next Tuesday. In addition to the 118,000 who quit work there are 10,000 who remain on duty to keep the pumps and fans going, so as to protect the mines from deterloration. All of this concerns only the anthra- cite field. but it is said to be part of the agenda to follow with a general strike of the bituminous coal miners also. While it is true that the miners in the bituminous field are not so well organized as in the anthracite mines, experience in previous strikes gives warning that the non-members of unions probably will show sympathy with the union walkout and follow. In the strike of 1897 the membership comprised only 10,000, but 150,000 miners struck. * x % % In the light of income tax reports it is seen that the bituminous oper- ators appear 10 be doing fairly well for themselves. even in the face of paying the miners by the hour three and a half times the wages paid 20 years ago, and more than double the tonnage rate. One-third of the oper* ators earned 100 per cent net profit or more: out of the fotal of 3,541 operators. half veported profit ceeding 50 per cent. The Coal mission finds that the bane of the industry lies in the fewness of davs in which the men are employed, ow- ing to the overdevelopment of bitu- minous mining. The total capacity of bituminous mines of the country is a billion tons a year, but the actual output, for the last six vears, has averaged only 486,692,000 tons—less than half efficiency. The result is that the miners are working less than half their time. Jinion Fields. Non-un. Fields worke'd earn'gs work'd earn s Tomnage men.. 138" S1.084 “181 Qutaide dav men 207 1448 218 ok ok ok Inside day men.. 176 The condition of overdevelopment, which reduces the number of days em- ployed in the year, has not improved in the last 20 years. In the decade from 1900 to 1910 the average num- ber of days of employment was 218; in the decade to 1920 it averaged 220 days. In the five vears following 1920 the average has been only 169 days out of the total of 306 work days in a year. Yet the wages are required to be sufficiently high to support the miner and family in idleness during ihe rest of the year, and the consumer must pay enough for his coal to cover that waste of time. This is an understatement of the economic facts, for there is a range of cost of mining, in different mines, from $1.50 to $4.50 a ton, and the public must pay on the basis of the average cost, instead of shutting down the high-cost mines and using only the product of mines which can be eco- nomically operated. It was proposed in the case of the last strike that Con- gress pass a law prohibiting inter- state commerce in the product of any mine which was not kept in operation a certain number of days each year. The argument was that the provision would tend to close down the less profitable mines and encourage the stabilization of the business, so that there would be fewer miners em- ployed, but they would have full em- ployment. Economists state that the bitumi- nous industry employs now 700,000 miners to do what could be easily done by 500,000 or even 400,000. Wages could be increased for those needed, as well as more days of emplayment given, while the cost of coal to the public would be radically reduced. There is no other industry, unless it be srain farming, wherein the workers are idle five months each year and the public is expected to make up in prices for the prolonged waste of time. With the exception of farming and ‘transportation, coal mining* ‘is- the | mining. it is estimated that with the application of advanced modern meth- ods in one-fourth of the mines the output would increase to 1,125,000,000 tons. or 625,000,000 tons in exc of our annual consumption. This ‘would make superfluous two-thirds of the present miners and turn their labor into channels of greater value. In the last 30 years cutting machines have increased from .500 to 20.000, and the machine-cut tonnage from 6,000,000 to 300,000,000, vet labor op. poses further introduction of labor- saving machines while the men stand idle half the yvear under present con- dition: %% % There is mo substitute for nous coal in the industries. used for producing electricity for power and lighting. Last vear the output of electricity was much larger than the vear before. but such were the improvements in Its produc- tion that electric utilities consumed 6,000,000 tons less of coal than in 1923. Six years ago it required pounds of coal to produce one kilo: watt hour of electricity; now it takes only 2.2 pounds The lat Charles Steinmetz, wizard of electricity, ated that waterpower, even if fully developed, will never be capable of keeping even the present volume of industries going. and that means the ultimate use of every waterfall practicable in America, with no pessibility of going bevond that Hmit. Yet, with indus- tries expanding, more power must he made avallable, and that increase depends entirely on bituminous coal. Eventually anthracite will be ex- hausted, for its supply is limited, but there is enough bituminous to last 2,000 years. In the meanwhile Inventors hope that means will have been invented for using the heat of the sun, the ultimate source of all heat. bitumi Coal is P. LI BN ] The United Mine Workers are de- manding an increase of 10 per cent in wages and a recognition and enforce- ment of the “‘check-off,” which means that employers would be required to collect the union dues and fines, and turn over the proceeds to the union treasury. ‘The trend of trade during the last five vears has somewhat weakened the union mines, and increased pa- tronage of non-union mines. The total consumption of coal in 1924 was 85 per cent of what it was in 1920. but the patronage of union mines fell to 6.5 per cent in Illinois and Indiana, 62.9 per cent in Ohio, Iowa and Okla. homa and 55 per cent in Michigan. At the same time (1924) in mnon-union ficlds, Kentucky increased to 125 per cent, West Virginia to 122.3 per cent, Alabama to 101.6 per cent and Virginia to 95.8 per cent. Yet the strikers will pay $1.000,000 a day in loss of earn- ings whife demanding 10 per cent fur- ther increase of wages. (Copyrizht. 1025, by Paul V. Collins.) i siSisdin, Dad and the Kids. From the Baltimore Sun. It takes a lot of vanity to fear the youngsters will not turn out as well as you did. Some Domestic Training. ¥From the Topeka Capital. A trained husband is one who, when company is being entertained, will eat anything and pratend to like it e How About the Hyena? From the Columbia (S. €.) Record. Man is the only animal that can laugh. And that's about all he has to laugh about. e————— Safety First. From the Davton News. ‘When & man is sure he has right of way, thi to stop,- look and the atnis a good um:jlhrk THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. Travel in Germany, not popular with the average traveier directly fol- lowing the war, is being resumed. Austria, with liftle industry left, is trying to emulate Switzerland in be- coming a European playground. Then there is the new republic of Czecho- slovakia, old territory under a new name, which offers much historical and scenic interest. The travel poss bilities of these three countries are described In a number of books. Harry Franek, literary vagabond and mem ber of the army of occupation, has a post-war book, *“Vagabonding Through Changing Germany,” which gives an excellent idea of German life in eity and country under the occupation Conditions along the Rhine are the fvst subject of discussion, and Mr. Franck is impressed by the docility of the Germans of all classes toward their conquerors. The chapter m- ily Life in Mechlenburg,” describes the personal visit of the author in a Ger man family. In the chapters “On the Road in Bavarla” and “Inns and By ways" are given some of Mr. Franck's most interesting vagabonding experi- ences. Two of the most popular sec- tions of Germany have always been the Rhine and Bavaria. Frank Roy Fraprie has described both in his two books, “The Spell of the Rhine” and “Amon varian Inns.” In both he dwells chiefly on “the charm of olden days” and the “beauties of unchanging nature.” The Rhine may be followed up from its various mouths in Hol- land to its source in the Alps or the reverse route may be taken. The au- thor prefers the former becauseit leads from less to more beautiful scenery. After the Rhine enters Germany, it reaches the City of Dusseldorf, and then Cologne, where every one stops to see the finest Gothic cathedral in Germany, and perhaps also the bones of St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins | here, slaughtered by the Huns. It is at Bonn, above Cologne, seat of a uni versity and home of Heethoven, that the Rhine gorge begins. Irom here 1o Coblenz lie the Se Mountains, their spurs castle-crowned and their |lower slopes covered with vineyards. At Coblenz the Moselle joins the Rhine at a point known as the Deutsche Zcke, where stands a colossal statue of Emperor Willlam I. The trav- eler may sit on the terrace of his hotel and drink either Rhine or Mo- selle wine, or both, with his dinner, while he looks across the river ut the towering fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. The stretch of the Rhine from Co. | blenz to Bingen is generally esteemed | the finest for scenery. Here are the Lorelei Rock and the Mouse Tower. Castles and vine-covered hilis continue till the episcopal and garrison town of Mainz is reached, where the Main joins the Rhine. Here Gutenberg in- vented printing. The Rhine Valley from Mainz to Switzerland goes through the Odenwald, the Black For- est and the Vosges, past the cathedral city of Worms, made famous by Lu- ther: past Strassburg in Alsace, and on into Switzerland. The course of the Rhine in Switzerland is _through Basel, to the falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, in and out of Lake Con- stance, the great reservoir of the Rhine, and on to the Alps, where at Lake Toma in the Oberalp Pass is the “cradle of the mighty Rhine, a little blue eve of water.” B e “Austria-Hungary,” by G. E. Mit- ton, and “Austria of the Austrians and Hungary of the Hungarians by | Kellner, Arnold and Delisle, both hap- pen to have been published in 1914 Though describinz the pre-war coun- tries, they are chiefly about the un- changed scenery and associations of the past. The first book is beautifully fllustrated in color. Both make Aus tria and Hungary seem attractive places to visit. Hungary is two-thirds surrounded by the Carpathians, whose heights rise from evergreen forests and are above the perpetual snow line at their highest peaks. ““The chief features of the health resorts in the Carpathians are the wonderful min- eral waters which gush out abun- dantly almost everywhere, and the glorious air and grand scenery.” Good steamships make possible a trip on the Danube, the second largest river in Europe, which runs through Aus- tria and Hungary for about half its course of 1,750 miles. Along a par: of this distance it passes through fine scenery of mountains, forests and cliffs, often topped by ruined castles. Vienna before the war was one of the most brilliant capitals of Europe and even today in its eclipse is a beautiful city, with its celebrated Ringstrasse encircling_the heart of the city, the park of the Prater extending to ths: Danube and the palace of Schonbrunn. ‘Budapest is finely situated on heights above the Danube, which is crossed here by a number of handsome bridges. On the Buda side are the royal palace and the oldest and quaint- est houses and streets. The Pest side is a splendid modern town, with wide streets, beautiful trees, fountains and statues. The Austrian Tyrol has long been a rival of the Swiss Alps and is probably the best known part of Austria to other nations. Its capital is Innsbruck, “a fascinating town with picturesque streets ending in mountain heights crowned with glit- tering snow and appearing near enough to be reached with a well directed stone.” The Tyrol, not much over half as large as Switzerlanc, is a paradise for mountain climbers and is divided by one or two deeply marked valleys.' In the southeastern corner of the Tyrol, partly in Italy, are the Dolomites, serrated peaks whose rocks are composed of carbon- ate of lime and magnesia. At sun- rise and sunset they often have a curious red coloring and look like glowing masses of hot iron. Hers and there are isolated pinnacles or needles of rock which “have tempted climbers to vain feats.” With their varied attractions of fine cities and beautitul river and mountain scenery, Austria and Hungary have much to offer the tourist. * x ok x In 1922 a descriptive and analytical book on_Czechoslovakia, “The Czecho- slovak Republic,” was published by Jaroslav Cisar and F. Pokorny. In it the excellent chapter on the history of Czechoslovakia is taken from an article by Dr. Masaryk, first Presi- dent of the republic. Other chapters cover the geography and population, political organization, education, science and philosophy, _literature, music and the fine arts, natural re- sources, agriculture and forestry, in- dustries, trade and transportation. Prague, the capital, is an interesting medieval town lIving on both sides of the River Vitava (Moldau), and, like Budapest, has many fine bridges. It is also noteworthy for its cathedral of St. Vitus, its university, the Hrad- cany Palace of the ancient kings and the Wallenstein Palace. Czechoslo- vakia is rich in curative and thermal springs of which it has over 170. In Bohemia there are 37 health resorts having these springs and in Moravia 11. The most famous are Carlsbad, Marienbad and Franzensbad. Several spurs of the Carpathians run down into Moravia, where, as the High Tatras, they reach an altitude of about 9,000 feet above the valleys and, with the rivers, make the coun- try very beautiful. F o Russian stories by an American writer which present something of the atmosphere and simplicity of style of Tolstoi and Turgenieff are “The Little Dark Man and Othet Russian Sketches,” by Ernest Poale Mr. Poole has not attempted any- thing on as large a scale as Hi Walpole's two' Russian novels, Dark ‘Forest” and “‘The Secret City.” There are four rather long short stories in ':' volume. “The Little Man* tale of psychic heal- recalling. somewhat Ernest | | i G ing, Coogan’s baby brother? by the American Motorlst as having a l(oods from thfs area. Q. What is the name of Jackie P. A. His name Is Robert Anthony. Q. How many States have a gamo- line tax and where is the highest tax levied?—B. M. A. All but four States are reported gasoline tax. South Carolina heads the list with a 5-cent tax. Q. How far north do thunderstorms M. B. . The Weather Bureau savs that in general, thunderstorms are less and less frequent with Increase of latitude. Beyond the polar circles they are very rare, most places in polar regions averaging only one such storm in, say, 510 10 vears. However, to the best of iheir knowledge, no place. whatever its latitude, is wholly free from thunderstorms. Q. How is scrapple made A. Scrapple is a Pennsylv: which originated among the Germans. The genuine old-fashioned formula calls for a young pig's head, boiled until the meat is readily separated from the bones. The meat is then minced very fine and put back into the soup, which is afterward thick- ened with buckwheat or cornmeal and seasoned with spices and herbs. When of the consistency of mush, it should be run into pans to cool to be later sliced and fried for the table. The scrapple of general consumption is made from all scraps of fresh pork, in- cluding liver and kidneys. ~L. J. 8. Q. What are for’—E. E. P. A. The pignuts are hickories and are used for hand spokes, dowels, implements and vehi- cles and for ether purposes for which the commercial hickories are used Where ave the pignut trees good handon Bells?-- A. According 1o legend thev are submerged in the water surrounding the Island of Inishmore, one of the Aran lslands. Q. How do ‘“realschulen” differ from the “gymnas of Germany?— M. E. A. A. The realschulen constitute a class of institutions in the German system of secondarv education in which emphasis is placed upon the study of sciences, whereas in gymnasia the classics constitute principal feature of the curriculum. There is a combination of the two types in the ‘‘real-gymnasium.” Q. How many kinds of fish are caught off the coast of New Eng land?—W. C. D. A. The Bureau of Fisheries savs that the fish fauna off the New Eng- land coast is one of the richest and nia dish | tery operate? commercial | the | the | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. each other. Then the freezing point rises and the hard ball is held together Q. Do both maile and female reln deer have antlers’—A. L. i A. This genus of Cervidae is unique in the possession of antlers by boih sexes, those of the female being smal! er. The antlers are not alike on both sides, the great palmated brow tine being, a: a rule, developed on one side only Q. What were the mounds in the Mississippi Valley used for—p. C. W A. The Bureau of American Eti nology says that they were generall foundations of superstructures, house or temples, but may in some instances have been burfal tumuli. In rare in stances they are made in forms of ani mals and may have been used worship. There is a law forbidding any digging on Indian mounds located on the public domain o sserl the Louisiana Lot W. M. W. A. The Louisiana te Lottery re ceived a charter for 25 years in 186% In 1890 the renewal of the charte was sought, but was vetoed by the Government. How long Q. Why do the marines sing of the “Halls of Montezuma?"—G. W. I A. The reference to the “Halls o Montezuma” made by the marines is significant of the battle-in which the marines were victorious in that an cient fortress about 1835. The song goes on to say “To the shores of Tripoli,” which refers to another victorious battle of the marines it Tripoli. Q. What doe —G. R A. It was the tribe, and means, tion.” Pascogoula” mean” an Ind bread name of literally Q At military funeral which should come first, taps or the of the firing squad?—J. M. H A ps should he sounded, the =a {lute of the firing squad closing the ceremony Q. I am an American-horn and wish to g to Italy to mar Ttalian girl. What arrangements m T make {0 bring her to this country J | A. Before you should petition the commissioner of immigration, Washington, D. C.. for a non-quota permit for your prosper tive wife. The Bureau of Immigra tion will approve this petition uni send it to the State Department which department will forward it the American consul. You should then g0 abroad and marry while in Italy | then consult the American consui there, producing evidence of vour citizenship and of the marriage Q. What g0 to Ttaly vou | is the term applied most varied in American waters. About 180 species have been recorded from this area and the host of com mercial species includes representa. tives of the most important world fishes, such as the cod, haddock, hake, pollock and related species; the sea herring, mackerel, swordfish, halibut, flounders, salmon, etc. The outlying bank fisheries extending to the north- east represent the most important fishing area in the Americas. Ameri- can fishing vessels alone annually catch about 200,000,000 pounds of se: Q. What makes the snow stick to. words which suggest the actual soune | described, such as buzz, roar and pop —F. D. A. This sound value lled onomatopoeia | of words is {e | (No man can take knowledge [rom you. It is the pass key to the door of success. It is life’s greatest treasurr Knowledoe may be acquircd by the simple effort of using the free infor mation service that The Star wmain tains for the pleasure and profit o’ ts readers. The scope of this bureau lis national and international. and no subject is too elementary or too broad to enlist the personal attention o gether in a snowball’F. O A. A snowball is formed by the regelation of the particles forming it. Pressure lowers the freezing point and melts the particles which bear upon specialist. Send your query with | cents in stamps for return postage 1o “rederic J. Haskin. director. The Star | Information Bureai. Twenty-Arst and C streets northwest.) Sardonic thought for the philose- pher is found by the Newark Evening News in the slaving of informers against Gerald Chapman, murderer, at a time when there is organized ef. fort 1o abolish the legal penalty of death. The Newark paper believes— and much the same view is expressed dn other comment on the case—that this example of the underworld’s ruth lessness 10 offenders against its un written law furnishes a constructive contrast “in a day of rampant crime and maudlin regard for the criminal.” “Chapman, tried by law. has an- other chance—that of appeal.” the Evening News continues. “Hance, found guilty without trial, had none. What does it boil down to? That the criminal not only believes in capital punishment for those who offend against him. but ruthlessly inflicts it by the merciless process of his own code. Why, then, should not social order be as severe, though more just, against its own enemy, the criminal According to the Chattanooga News, “outlawry not only seeks to maintain and propagate itself, but threatens dire consequences to those who cha lenge its sway. And one of its favor ite methods is the terrorization of witnesses and informers. Unless re- duced to subjection by society, it is likely to become even more threaten- ing.” ‘‘One of the reasons for the in- crease in crime in this country,” the Bristol Herald-Courier declares, “is that punishment of crimg is too un- certain. Gerald Chapman still lives months after he was sentenced to die, and his pal murders in cold blood the two people who made his arrest pos- sible.” TEE The Roanoke World-News points out that the death that befell these people “only serves to emphasize the desper- ate character of such criminals and the lengths to which they will go to revenge themselves on those who espouse the side of the law as against them.” The World-News insists that so long as “‘such evil doers as Gerald Chapman and ‘Dutch’ Anderson make war on society, there will be a legiti- mate place and a legitimate function for the gallows and the electric chair, and society will do away with them at its peril.’t One fact which stands out very clearly in the case, savs the Ports- mouth Star, is tha “The criminal seems to regard anything done to him Underworld’s Ruthlessness Furnishes Food for Thought as calling for revenge. leaving out » account his own responsibility f crimes against others involving lo and grief to their families. It is tha attitude which makes the criminal what he is. 1t is the exaggerated ego that makes whatever he does all right and whatever is done against him = crime,” and that is the “type that must be wiped out with reasonabie expedition if there is to be any rea safety for anyvbody.” * ¥ o x “For upholding the law and aidi justice, Mr. and Mrs. Hance are down in cold blood on the public hi way,” the Bay City Times-Tribune points out. ““They paid the penalty of honesty and of good citizenship,” but “‘what about the man who slew them” ‘Will their moron sympathizers shows them with bouquets?” The Allentown Call adds that “if there was any tin: bit of favorable sentiment remaining for Gerald Chapman, ft js pretty w dispelled,” and “the fact that in thi last crime the pals of Chapman dis posed of members of society who {r thelr harboring of crooks were noi among the most desirable persons does not mitigate the heinousness of | their crime one bit.” The Kansas City Post questions that the killlng was revenge for exposing Chapman. “A better guess,” says the Post, “might be that the killer and hi= companions attempted to extort money from Hance and his wife, and. angercd at their failure, shot them 1o death. 1n that case revenge ma have played a part of thelr mental operations, but it was a secondary part.” The Durham Sun also suggests that it was another case of thieves falling out. “Ben Hance ‘turned up’ Gerald Chapman,” this paper concludes. ‘He probably didn't talk until subjected 1o a third degree,” but *“he convicted Chapman. And the friends of Chap man revenged him. Now ‘Dutch’ An derson is ‘wanted.’ His trail is cold but sooner or later he will be caught Friends of Ben Hance and his wife will see to that if the police don't Anderson is a marked man not oniy to authorities and the other half of the world but to his own world In which he must hide. More than one menace to security will be removed befors the Chapman-Hance feud has run its course.” An Unfortunate Fortune. Advices from Germany are io the general effect that the Stinnes fortune, supposed to be of almost incalculable magnitude, has disappeared in the _— Poole's last novel “The Avalanche.” “The Dormeuse” is a story of a won- derful sledge, equipped lke a de luxe private car, used by a Russian grande dame of the last’ century in travel- Ing about to her various estates. All the stories contain manv interesting Russian fables, anecdotes and char- acter sketches. * x % % Another aspirant for the mantle of Toseph Conrad is Francis Brett Young in his novel “Sea Horses.” On the book jacket Hugh Walope tells us that Mr. Young “writes better prose than any living English novel- ist.” That is very generous of Mr. Walpole, who writes rather good prose himself. However. most read- ers will consider that in prose, as well as in plot, characters and atmos- phere, Mr. Young is a follower of Conrad only at a distance. The novel is, neverthéless, very readable and full of the dramatic. A tramp steamer is chartered for a trip to a Portugue: West African settlement. Dangers, treachery, villainy, chivalry, heroism all come into action in the se of the fe fi-l‘%&fl settlement sur- rounded by a ‘tropical jungle. liquidation of his estate. and that his heirs will be “virtually penniless.” Tt would be interesting to know exactly what_“virtually" means. When the late Willlam K. Vanderbilt was toid that a deceased friend had left $500. 000 he said: “‘Dear me, dear me! thought he was in easy circum stances.” But there is a clear reason why the circumstances of the Stinnes heirs are unea: From a long time before the war the elder Stinnes was a coal owner on a fairly large scale with some minor collateral interests. Not only after the armistice but during the course of the ‘war he was the one man in Germany to see clearly that the paper mark would become valueless and that he must profit every time he exchanged it for something tangible. The more heavily a property was mortgaged the better he liked it because the mort- gages were payable in paper marks. On paper Stinnes had established before his death an unparalleled in- dustrial empire. But to make it tangi- ble and operative ‘he required two things—liquid capital and unlimited credit. With the depreciation of 11:' mark and the virtual repudiation of all bonds and mortgages, public and private, credit had disappeared. That is the inevitable price of unsecured currency. With the credit liquil cap tal disappeared also. Stinnes’ industrial structure, there fore, became like a stationary engina without fuel. The moment it stood still it began to disintegrate.—Y=all Street Journal. T