Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1925, Page 6

1] THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, C. TUESDAY. X D. THEODORE W. NOYES Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: i1th St and Pennavly New York Offce: 110 Thicago OMce: Tower Building Buropean Office: 16 Regent St.. London. England The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn- {nk edition. ix delivered by carriers within fhe city at 60 cents per month: daily only. 45 cents per month: Sunday only. 20 cents per month Orders max he sent by mail or telephone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at the end of cach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. v and Sunday....1yr. $840:1 v onls inday only n. mo. mo. mo.. All Other States. Daily and Sunday 1yr..$10.00 Daily only 13r 87.00 Sanday oniy 1vr. $3.00 mo. mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press i coly entitled to the for renuhlic of all news dis natches credited to it or not otherwise cred- sted in this paper and also the local news Duhiished heremn. AN richts of pul ! 1 disn: h e also reser High School Fraternities. Fvery of the hould be interested in public schools. Certainly every father and mother is deeply concerned in the focal educational Therefore the announcement that the Board of Education is about “legally” to adopt an aenti-fraternity rule is a matter of more than passing moment. In con nection with litigation early in the Summer. it was conceded, and the District Supreme Court practically de- cided, thut the anti-frat” rule then supposed to be in force was invalid for | citizen community | he system. .September 8, 19251 THE EVENING freedom and permit them to visit friends. In cases where the parents assume responsibllity for the ‘‘eloped” they are not brought back unless dan- gerous. If they are returned and there is no one who will be responsible for them the police are notified. In this case the youth was virtually paroled in custody of his father, who was consequently held responsible for him. That responsibility, however, is no safeguard. In this instance it did not prevent a return of mania—if, in fact, this crime was committed under an in- sane impulse—and the destruction of wo lives, This is an extraordinarily loose sys. tem of treating the mentally aficted, or more plainly, the insane. These people are a menace. Whatever the form of mania, there is no assurance of placidity and harmlessness. The brain is diseased, the moral nature is changed, judgment is lacking. No parental parole is adequate to restrain such a person. With a slyness and a cunning that cannot be equaled in the sane, the person who is mentally af- fected may disarm suspicion, thwart supervision and suddenly - commit some atrocious deed for which there is no possible atonement. How many institutions in this coun- try are conducted upon the same prin- ciple of probation and permitted elope- ment? How many patients are at large who mav at any time do some awful thing? These questions should be answered regardless of what is done with this unfortunate vouth, —r——— Base Ball and Its “Ifs.” Base ball is decidedly an “if"" game. -1t tain player had hit safely at a particular moment a game would been won. “If" another had made a clean catch pick-up and throw of a batted Dall in a crisis a ¢ have or fhe reason that notice had not been foard prior to its adoption. Hence tie necessity for “lezally” adopting a new rule. Like all other questions. there two sides to the fraternity issue in the | District public schools. The members f the Board of Education themselves —-at least up to June 30 last—were in agreement as to hostility to fraternities. The vice president and | one other member were vigorously | opposed to the supposed rule and dis. tinctly in favor of the fraternities. The board holds, broadly, that fraterni- ties “in the high scheols” are harm- | ful. Members of the organizations in- | volved, and their parents, argue that the societies are beneficial: that they re high organizations,” membership is not limited to | the required members of the | | | | given are | not not in that high school, public school, | pupils, and, furthermore, that the at- tempt of the Board of Education to dictate the action and movements of pupil after school consti- | tutes invasion of the home and wsurpation of the rights of the par- ent school or even the hours The matter approached a head last Spring with the disbarment from de- sirable extracurriculum ties of ipproximately one hundred high | school pupils because of admitted | membership in forbidden fraternities | and sororities, Court action followed. The president of the graduating class 1 i | act | different result that those lof Labor day same would not have heen lost. “Ifs’ scatter through the history of the sport like mosquitoes at a seashors Summer resort. Were it not for them the zame would be dull and uninter esting. It is just the possibility of a ifs” repre- sent that makes it so fascinating as to hold the interest and command the patronage of millions of people. Just at present the “ifs” run to the calculation of prospects for certain teams in the two big leagues. If Wash- ington, which has just turned back the erstwhile league leaders in a brace games and attained a nine-game lead, takes only eleven of its remaining twenty-three games Philadelphia must win twenty-two of its remaining twenty-seven to tie and twenty-three to win the pennant. That is a formidable contract. In the other league if Pittsburgh likewise wins eleven of its remaining twenty three games New York must win eighteen of its remaining twenty games to tie, or nineteen to win Likewise a tremendous undertaking. So it looks as though championship games this vear will be played between Washington and Pittsburgh, last vear's winner fn the great classic and last year's third- place team in the National For a time it looked as though the situation might be reversed. with Philadelphia in the American League facing New York in the National, an and two other outstanding pupils of Western High School, with their par ents, filed petitions for a writ mandamus to compel the restoration | of the pupils in question to the school | activities from which they werc | barred. Unfortunately, the case was not decided on its merits. The court | ruled that “the relators did not come into court with clean hands,” holding that the signing of certain pledge cards prevented relief at the hands of | the court. An appeal was noted, but, it is un-| derstood, counsel has advised against | perfecting it, not alone because of the expense to the pupils involved, but | due to the fact that the question be- came a moot one with the graduation, tew days following the court ruling, of those pupils. They could not now he restored to the activities from which they were barred. no matter what the ruling of the Court of Ap-| »eals should be. It is promised that, f need be. a new case will be insti- | ruted, designed to compel a decis of the question strictly on The should be so decided on its merits. The Board of Education fnould not act hastily, or arbitrarily. There is too much at stake. The tharg s been made that the board | xcted heretofore without granting a | hearing to the interested pupils and Iheir 1t well afford to raconsider the whole matter, calmly nd judicially. in the light of addi-! tional facts and recent developments. The new president, in open board neeting, has“stated that there is 1le which will continue effective of | question parents. can no for It not t pupils and hool oflicials should engage in court The Star has heretofore | cxpressed the view without go- into the demerits of | high school” fraternities, their abso- | lite elimination is a herculegn task. Some substitute, some method of ublimating the age-old instinct to join,” must be fc It is the prob- 1sm of the Board of Education to ad wst the bafing problem. Compro- mise may be necessary. If s, the hoard sure could compromise with- ont loss of dignity or prestige. If so, ihe fraternities certainly could do likewise. ! is scemly that tigation. that, merits or A child born at a motor race at Al- aona, Pa., is to be named for the winner. He is lucky that it was not a Horse race. e Lax Custody of the Insane. A strange system of and permitted “elopments” from the Essex County Hospital for the Mentally Af- flicted, in which the latest New Jersey murderer was at one time confined, is disclosed in statements to the police by the head of that institution. He admitted that the youth now held for killing a chauffeur and a little girl Hiad been “‘threatening and destruc- tive” while in the hospital, with a vecord of three dangerous assaults, 1wo of them prior to his incarceration. paroles ! American Leagt [.649, American newcomer against tional last vear’s pennant a winner for the line-up that A year indicated. ago Washington won the : pennant by a nar- The result was in doubt until the last few games, and the final standing gave Washington 92 games won and 62 lost, a percentage of .597, against New York's 89 games won and 63 lost, or .586. Today, after the Labor day clean-up in Philadel- | phia, the Capital's team has won $5 and lost 46, with a percentage of games better than a vear ago, or a shade less than the present margin over Philadelphia. So the “ifs” favor by the Nationals, confounding those | critics who declare that 1924's tory was a ..uke, not to he repeat ed. No wonder the home management is at present struggling against an avalanche of mail orders for world series tickets. The remote possibility of a sudden reversal of form, a cataclysmic Slump, an equaling spurt of the nearest rival, has not checked the applicants. The “ifs” are too much in favor of a world series in this town and Pittsburgh. . Nobody who is wise to base ball uncertainties will attempt to predict the result of that encounter. row margin. an encore vie- ] A big excursion modatingly sank at her pier at| Hoboken vesterday before her pas- | sengers arrived. What would other- | wise have been 2 disaster is 1o be | rated merely as a heavy financial loss, | steamer accom- | ——a— The base ball fans of the City of Brotherly Love falled to live up to | their municipal faith yesterday when | they razzed the Washington team. A dreary prospect of a murder trial with alienists on the witness stand is opened by the New Jersey crimes juvenile e A Sinister Weather Sign. A sudden and severe drop in tem. perature in Paris, which has caused, it is reported, the death of four per- sons in the streets of that city, has revived eoncern over the recently an- nounced prediction of Abbe Gabriel, the priest astronomer, who prophesies that 1926 will be a “year without a Summer,” the coldest twelve-month in seven and a half centuries. Officlal weather experts, however, have sought to reassure the public by the state- ment that this phenomenon is only a freak attributable to an unusual “iso baric” condition not likely to last many hours. But anxiety in France nevertheless keen because reports have come of unseasonably cold weather throughout England and Scot- land, with temperatures as low as 36 degrees, icy gales sweeping over the Irish Channel and high seas causing havoc at coast resorts. If Abbe Gabriel's computation of the modes of eoincidence of solar and lunar stresses is correct the year 1926 He said further that there are now fourteen ‘‘eloped” patients at large from the hospital. Furthermore, two hundred of the patients have passes which#égive thegs a certain degree of is likely to be a season of extreme cold similar to others that are record- {from | of the adiacen: communities this work the world | League. | But it is evidently not to be. The “ifs” | | that now affect the situation all make | | score if there is anything substantial iin the estimat:. The margin between “growing weather” and crop fallures due to frosts and sleet storms is really narrow. A lowering of the average Summer temperature in this country by ten degrees would mean a tremen- dous loss in crops, especially in wheat. Abbe Gabriel's forecast has not been derided by advanced meteorologists, who, on the contrary, are inclined to concur in his conclusion that the time for a “cold Summer” is approaching. Conservation of the food supplies might well be considered in advance as a safeguard against a crop failure in this country which would grievou! Iy affect not only the people of the United States but others dependent in large measure upon American re- sources for sustenance —rao— " The Firemen's Parade. Yesterday's parade of the fire de- partments of Washington and the nearby suburban towns of Maryland and Virginia was an impressive spec- tacle of preparedness against loss and disaster. It is the first time that the nearby sections which comprise the outlying portions of the capital-metro- politan district have assembled their { fire-fighting apparatus here to show the people of Washington what they are doing in organization for the pro- tection of property and life. The Dis- { trict, naturally, made the miost bril- liant dispiay of appavatus, bul its showing was not more significant than that of the adjacent communities which, with small means, have pre- pared themselves most commendably for fire-fiz | 1t is well to bring thus vividly be | fore the people the organization for { protection from the most destructive {of elements which takes so heavy a toll modern civiliza: In the case ting on. is practically all undertaken by volun- teers. In these towns and villages the firefighters themselves are all “clvil- ians” wio hold themseives in readi- ness for service at any time. They have taxed themselves for apparatus. They take pride in their equipment and their eMciency. They are always ready for duty, and. learning from larger organizations the best methods of fire-fighting, they maintain a high standard of efficiency. The District’s fire department is pro- fessional. Its personnel is enlisted to the exclusion of all other work. The local firemen picked men, splen didly trained, faithful (o duty, zealous 7 the upkeep of their stations and apparatus and proud of their perform- ances. They face the gravest risks without hesitation. They have held the District’s fire losses to a low point | and deserve the warmest support and encouragement from the community and a most generous provision for themselves and- their families in case of their disablement or death in line of duty e A base ball umpire the other day “gave the gate” to a plaver who thumbed his nose at the grandstand. It is terrifying to think of what he, {if in a position of similar authority {in the Government, would do if he were to observe the present {of Col. Mitchell. . Labor day would be a much more satisfactory occasion if so many of its celebrants did not contribute to’ the traffic casualty record. Bl SR - T New Jersey’'s boy murderer ap- parently had-no trouble in gettng a gun. even though he had a record for mental incompetence. e When a local husband hit his wife | on the head with a flatiron a venerable tradition of domestic warfare was violated. ————— Babe Ruth passed out of the pic- ture as a recalcitrant just in time to make room for Col. Mitchell SH BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. e O00TING STARS. Trepidation Justified. “What do you think gave that actor stage fright when he made his first ap- pearance?’ asked the manager. “Premonition,” replied the press agent. “He knew what his acting was going to be like.” A Tourist's Confession. I've traveled many a distant land, And to gather, it appears, ome wobbly foreign accents and Great stacks of picture souvenirs. An Alphabetical Shift. ““There is a strong egoistic tendency in modern literature.” “Yes. Formerly, wheh a man want- ed 1o be startlingly emphatic. he used a big ‘D.’ Now he uses a large ‘1" " The Get-Away Fellows. “What is this ‘wanderlust’ you read of so0 often as compelling people to leave home?" “I don’t know,” replied Mr. Cum- rox, “but, judging from ‘my observa- tion of people who have it. ‘wander- {lust’ is Gersan for “creditors. Jumping at a Conclusion. “Bliggins has hay fever.” “Gracious!” said the absent-minded person. “With hay at its present price T don't see how he can afford it.” 5 Dreams of Opulence. “They are talking a great deal about the prosperity of the farmer.” ““Yep,” replied Mr. Corntossel. “But life seems about the same. Supposin’ I did have a gold hoe or an ax with a diamond-studded handle; it 'ud be just as hard as ever to dig an’ chop wood.” The Test of Type. His love in letters burning He wrote her without stint. His folly he's discerning Since they appeared in nrln'.. He made some campaign speeches New coined from wisdom's mint, ‘With rage he almost screeches’ Since they appeared in print. His words 'mid relaxation In perfumed bowers of mint ‘Brought angry refutation ‘When they appeared in print. So. when to talk inclining ed in history at corresponding periods of such comblnnl;:r There is, in- deed, grave cause anxiety on this In hours of rosy glint, Think, and avoid repining. How it would look In print, STAR., WASHINGTON, gestures Now that we have had our annual pry into other people’s income tax returns, we want more! Why doesn’t Uncle Sam do this thing right and open up all the other private matters a trusting and con fiding citizenry have confided to him? What julcy reading those old draft questionnaires would make, to be sure! As “snappy reading” they would have the income tax returns backed clear off the map two wavs to Sunday, as the peppy expression has it. ‘The income tax returns, we all are ready to admit now, were a trifle con- fusing. So many names, and so many figures, that we often failed to find the very neighbor we were looking for. We particularly wanted to know what old John Smith pald, but, after looking in 'the lists for three days and never finding him, we gave him up. Anvway, it would have been im- possible to discover just what he sarned, and that, of course, was what we were after. We always did won- der how John got that big new car Getting right down to {t. Uncle Sam | ought to give more detalls. if he wants us to get our money's worth out of the tax returns. If he fis going to give the tax, why not the sums on which the tax is pald? Then, if the earnings, why not the name of the firm which pald the money, what it was for, and whether old John Smith really earned it, in the private opinion of his boss? A few little detalls such as that would make those tax returns a great deal more spicy than they are at present. ok o*ow J. Manningham Travers. | learned paid an income tax of $95,134.26. How interesting! 3 Of course, T do not know .J. Man ningham. and he does not know me. I imagine if T called at his front door his butler weuld frown mightily at my tie. That is one of the tricks of hutlers. If vou ever aspire 10 be a butler. re. member this tip. Whenever any one calls at vour big front door, frown deeply at his tie. Then he will feel uncomfortable and wonder if he put on that flaming red scarf by mistake. Of course, the color or design makes no difference to a doorman. His big aim is to frown at it, and thereby make the caller ill at ease. Just what good it does me to know jthat J. Manningham Travers, who sells more bars of soap than any man- ufacturer in six States. paid exactly 1$95,134 26 income tax last vear I do | not know. Do vou? There is some benefit. of course. in knowing that Henry Ford paid a per- sonal tax of more than $2.000,000. Just think. he pald more tax than most of us will ever earn in eral assorted lives. It would take most of us a million vears to earn twgumillion dollars—and Henry just haWis out that sum as easy as vou please every year. Then think A fortuitou nomic factors, rather! what he had lefi’ combination of vou say. Well ves— * & A Pitiless publicity, say we Take those draft questionnaires. Tire last we heard of them they were stored in a biz warehouse just out side the District of Columbiz. Every single one of them. packed D. |to curb, $1 UESDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. of the United States and sent to that big warehouse, where they repose o this day, as far as any one knows to the contrary. What a big bet Uncle Sam is miss- ing in not delving into those records of bare humanity. Having started with the income tax returns (which are nobody's business except that of the person who pald and his Uncle Sam, who has the money and ought to be able to catch evildoers without the help of the entire population), he ould now glve us the draf: records. “Real Stories From Real Life" might be the name. of a magazine which Uncle Sam could get out, based upon the draft questionnaires, for it ever raen pat their whole souls on paper, it was in those formal, busi- nesslike-looking documents. How ‘Interesting it would be, to be sure, to have Uncle Sam inform us that a certain well known figure. known to us all. claimed exemption and got it. too, Lecause he only had one eve! 1t was true. too: He did only haye one eye. Uncle Sam could ive you the very last detail. proved by com petent physiclans and witnesses, Hey, hey, hey! Old Sam Jones only has one eyve! Well, now, who would ever suspect {t? But we alwavs thought there was something funny about that left eye, now that we come to think of it. What? It was the right eve? Shucks! ° * x Municipal records, too us some more racy reading. Around the table lamp in the evening. what quaint entertainment the family could derive from a perusal of street taxes paid by the citizens under the law which calls for half of the paving and curbing to be paid by property owners J. Bellington Spoofer, to strest, $40; deferred payments, pavs 8 per cent interest on what he has not paid.” the familv could read “I wondered if Mr. Spoofer was go- ing to pay all his tax at once,” pipes up the good housewife “Why? He seems to have plenty of money.”" ¢himes in the so-called head of the family “Well. Mrs. Spoofer $95 worth of silk underwear | She told me =0 herself. And I don't see where they would gei the money to pay for the street, too, and espe- cially for the curb.” ““Yes, that is a funny thing. sending along the stre:t-paving bill one day, nd then when vou think it is all over, along comes the bill for the curbing on a separate form “I wonder why they don’t send them both at once.” “I don't know." Since Uncle Sam also has something 1o say about the natfonal banks, addf tional amusement might be afforded the pleasure-loving public §f he would make public the monthly bank state- ments sent to patrons of various banks. Then we might have pholographs of autographed checks, for instance, the one made out by old J. Bellington Spoofer himself in pavment for—that bill for $95 th of silk ‘‘under- things Yes. the more hought ) we think of it, the more we feel that dear old (Incle Sam Is “holding out” on us. In the past all these matters have been sacred. something between ourselves and our Government Now, however, that the “jazz age” has come, let jazz evervihing, in. cluding private docnments, until we in great boves, done up neatly in| parcels by draft boards in all parts | BY PAUL ) he National Education Associa tion has been working many vears to | obtain recognition in the councils of | the Nation, through the establishment | of a secretary of education with & seat in the President’s cabinet. Presi- dent Harding gave, and President Coolidge has given, encouragement to the hope of such recognition, although differing in detail as to whal the pro- posed new department should include. In 2 pronouncement at Swampscott asi week. “the official spokesman’ of President Coolidge reiterated what | had been said before by the President in public speeches, pledging his sup- port to an act toestablish a “depart- ment of education and relief.” It it could be interpreted that educa tion itself is relief from ignorance and iis handicaps. the educators would zladly join with the President in sup- i port of the measure proposed. The late Secretary of the Interior, Frank- lin K. Lane, made a careful and | sclentific survey of the cost of Hlliter- |acy and found that it amounted to $846.000,000 a vear. There is that dif- ference between the earning or pro- ductive power of the 5,000,000 con- fessed {lliterates and the earnings of an equal number of persons who have had average schooling. g The census definition of illiteracy limits llliterates to those adults who confess that they have had no school- ing at all; the Army draft showed that 74.9 per cent of men of draft age could not read a paragraph in an American paper or write a simpl 3 ter to their home folk. Are 28,000,000 Americans in that state of illiteracy? Mr. Lane's estimate of the cost of i illiteracy did not cover, as it might have done, a quarter of the population of the United States, and educators assert that the query, ‘‘What price ignorance?’ would bring an answer that would be appalling. * ok ox The President’s commitment is not o support a bill to establish a De partment of Education alone. but he would support a measure that would make a secretary of education the head of not only school matters but also head of the Pension Bureau, the Veterans' Bureau and several other “gide lines,” as recommended by the Commission on Reorganization of the Government. This is opposed by the educational interests on the ground thai it would load the department and hamper its |efforts in svstematic research of school problems. It has been un- authoritatively declared that while the President would support the education and relief bill he would not oppose the other measure for a department devoted exclusively to educational matters. Hopes are cherished by the school interests for a compromise. The school bill provides for co- ordination of all existing educational work of the Federal Government, the United States Bureau of Education, the Federal Board for Vocational Education, vocational training of veterans of the World War—although all such training has now ceased, under limitation of the law. In ad- dition there would be co-operation of the Federal Government in certain new educational activities of national importance, Americanization and il- Iiteracy and equalization of educa- tional opportunity. In 8 States $100 is spent vearly per pupil for school facilities, in 7 States less than $24 is thus spent, 24 States have schools in session less than 80 days a vear, 1,438,000 children between 7 and 14 vears of age attend no school a single day. ‘The measure would also cover physical education and hygiene. One out of six men is physically unfit, as shown by the draft. Secretary Hoover has found that that physical inefficiency is annually costing the in- dustries of the country a billion dol- lars. The measure would provide for teacher training to elevate the stand- ards of teaching. also for research in school - amh{m:ur‘, .accofinting _and ! authorities will be glad to go back 1o sanity at last. “The whole hog or none,” is our motto. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS . COLLINS budgeting study and 4dvice on conrses IEEE There is no inient to put the Federal Department of Educatfon in comtrol of the school systems -of the country; thai control would remain independ- ently in State hands. center would be advisory and devoted to research, for suggesting improve- ments. At first it was proposed that the Federal department would annually handle $50.000,000, used in co-opera- tion with the States. which would de- vote a sum equal to the apportion ment from the Federal Treasury, but this idea has been abandoned. The original plan was similar to Federal co-operation with Stiate activities in road development and in agricultural schools and colleges. Oppesition arose lest it place in the hands of central real control over . what States should teach -or how they should conduct their schools. 1t was opposed on the ground of State rights. Senator Bruce of Maryland spoke in the Senate, in opposition, predicting mixed schools, with white and colored pupils in the same classes. although Senator Sterling, the introducer of the Sterling-Towner educational bill, ex plained that there was no such inter- ference with State control contem- plated in the bill * koo The cause of education is net the only one thal is calling for a seat in the Eresident’s cabinet. The Associa- tion of Rallroad Officials, representing some 95 per cent of the mileage of the country, has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a secretary of transportation. which would include railroads, waterways and motor roads, all of which is now under the Depart ments of Commerce, Agriculture and Interior There has been more or less demand for a secretary of fine arts, but it is | understood that that would be covered by the proposed secretary of educa- tion, art being an essential part of culture. No other first-class nation has neither general education nor art rep- resented in government. * % ok x The absence of danger of Federal dictation to States fs demonstrated by the very nature of the President's cabinet. 1t has no such status as the cabineis of England, France and Italy, which initiate measures for tha indorsement of the parliamentary bodies. Our cabigiet, subordinate to the President, is advisory and executi not_initiative. In the founding of our constitutional Government there was great discus- sion as to the need of a council to advise the President. Plans were pro- posed in 1787 looking to such a body of advisers of the President—by Ran- dolph, 2 plan including some members of the judiciary; by Mason, a council to be appointed by the President; by Pinckney, authorizing the President to advise with the heads- of depart- ments, modified by Madison so that the advice left the President full au- thority and liberty to accept or re- ject it. Washington used to counsel with the Chief Justice and with' the Vice Presi- dent. but when. in 1793, he presented a list of questions to the Supreme Court asking advice the justices re- fused to counsel. Not until 1829, when | President Jacksonm, in an official mes- sage to Congress. referred to the cabi- net, was . the cabinet recognized, ex- cept in an irregular reference. The first use of the term by Congress was a resolution of the House, in 1867, and the first recognition in the statutes was in 1907, when a bill was passed increasing the salaries of cabinet offi- clals. It is not necessary that a constitu- tional amendment be submitted for the establishment of a new depart. ment; Congress already has such power and exercised it in creating the positions of etaries of Ag- ‘of Commercs, would give | week. { The Federal | SEPTEMBER 8. 1925. EW BOOKS AT RANDOM 1. G. M, OUR FELLOW SHAKESPEARE. Horace J. Bridges. Pascal Covici. Shakespeare is every man's man, not the exclusive possession of the mandarins of criticlsm and interpre- tation. Such. in part, is the conten- tion of Mr. Horace Bridges in “Our Fellow Shakespeare.” Shakespeare stands today within the deep ob- scurity that, layer by layer, 300 vears of learned controversy have set about | him. Stripped of these scholastic | subleties and econfusions, the man— so Mr. Bridges says—promptly be- comes human, understandable, com- panionable, a source of delight to the commonalty, no Tonger a mere field of battle whereupon pundits wage their unceasing - intellectual warfare. One of the prime purposes of this study is, in effect, to get back to normalcy in the consideration of Shakespeare and his work. g * % K £ t 3 | | One goes back into the past under standingly only by way of the pres- ent. The sure road, then, to the London theater of 300 years ago is by way of the theater of our time. And| in "essentials they prove 1o be no| {different. In both there is nothing | more than the play, the actors, the manager, the audfence. Nor has the prime motive of the theater changed in these intervening years. Enter- tainment measured by the returns of the box office, then as now, decided the fate of both play and players. And William Shakespeare, manager, was in those days, as it turns out, one of the go-getters of the craft, much in that respect like our own Belasco, and the earlier Frohmans, and a dozen others, who, with eyes on the audience and hands on the | stage. fit_the latter to the former in a wizardry of ready insight and swift readjustments. The meaking of the plays for that London audience of men and boys was often a makeshift process, as it frequentiv is now. Old | stories " were seized wherever they {might be found and revamped to play |able uses. . Two or more separaie I plots were welded into one—all as.| |sembled in a hurry and projected tn| caich the applause and patronage of the common London crowds of maen whose sense of propriety was not oo fine; whose sense of good drama was just about nothing at ali. And here one comes upon William Shakespeare, playmaker as well as manager, reach- ing out in- all directions for stories and themes to catch the crowd and bulld up the receipts. Often he worked alone. Sometimes Marlowe heiped him. In every case he worked in 2 hurry. Then, as actor, he brought another art to bear on the drama which he was destined to | glorify. |~ The picture drawn by Mr. Bridges is a very satisfying one. First, in all #ave the most superficial and incon siderable features, it so accords with what may be seen going on today in respect to the drama and its produc- tion that one accepts it as a true pic- ture. An important acceptance, this, since it adds to the reality of the man {who is at present too generally sub {merged in unreality. By these famillar activities so plainly set out bere, Shakespeare moves many steps nearer to a living man's actual estate. This picture, besides, stands in effect {an open door through which one | moves into Shakespeare’s work in a | singular simplicity of outlook—the | mind going along with that work. not lookimg at it through ‘well-nigh im penetrable barricades o oxow | | i | | 1 { H | The sonnets and five of the playa | provide material here for this author’s sane and simple outlook upon Shakes- veare and his work. There is besides a discussion of the Bacon myth and A running sketch of Shakespeare's ap- pranticeship to poetry and the drama. Paying deep homage throughout to the transcendent genius of Shakes- peare. Mr. Bridges elects to study him as a man also, one who, like genius everywhere, is keenly sensitive {10 his surroundings, to the medium from which he draws the body of his inspiration. A man too. whose genius is not supporied by great {learning nor uplifted 1o imposasible heights of spirituality. This point of departure is refreshing, since love— and Mr. Bridges is a lover—is an ob- scuring passion. No obscurantist, this writer, either on the side of true love or from a willingness to show how much of deep research may be set up around the geniux of the greatest of poets. | * % % ox Everybody, more or less. knows Hamlet. Everybody. more or less, is in possession of the stock phrases of judgment that pass as currency in respect to this character. A melan- choly man. a diffident and withdraw- | ing man, unstable in purpose, shrink- | ing in actian, a temporizing, shifting’ vouth who kmew his own mind so little that finally he lost it entirelv through such habitual unrecognition. From high school days on through all one’s reading vears this is. in sub- stance, the picture of Hamiet as he | has grown out of the multitudinous literature that has grown around this Shakespearean character alone. Fa- miliar with the most that has been written on this theme, if not with all of it, the writer chooses to set this bulk of literature aside for the words of the play itsell. And out of this as the source of his conclusions die draws certain theories. Hamlet was not insane. He, instead, feignod mad- | ness, In order to secure a greater free- dom in the pursuit of his father's murderer and incidentally to spare his Lown life. He was not a vacillating man, save as such moves advanced i ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Q. Who is at the head of the Amer- ican Automobile Association?—M. C. A. Thomas P. Henry of Detroit. Q. What is a medal given for by the Carnegie hero fund?—N. S. 8. A. The Carnegie hero fund was created by Andrew Carnegie in April, 1904. It provides rewards which con sist of medals and money grants to persons injuring themselves or to rela tives of those losing their lives in an effort 1o save their fellow men. Q. What will take the skunk odor out of a fur neckpiece?—P. D. G A. The odor can be removed from skunk skins by the use of Labar- raque’s solution( which has for Its active principal chlorinated soda. This can be obtained at anv drug store. The proportions are 1 part fluid to 3 parts water. Sprinkie over the skins. This will remove ihe un- ‘pleasant odor almost immediately. from the ith Q. Does a man retire fr Navy after 16 years' service wi three-quarters pay?—J. P. A. An officer in the Navy may retire after 30 years' service on three- quarters pay. ~An enlisted man may | retire on onequarter pay after years' service. Q. Th raise roses from seed when should -the seed be planted? - 1. J A. The seed should be gathered be- fore ~extremely cold weather and should be planted either in a green- house or covered with glass very early in the Spring Q. What is the historicab. signifi cance of the painting “The Vestal ruccia”?—B. C. D. A. The Vestal Virgins were a group of well born Roman maidens ap- pointed to watch the sacred flame of the Goddess Vesta and see that never went out. One of them, Tucci® was falsely accused of a want of chastity, but the Goddess Vesta per. mitted her 1o carry water in a sieve as a sign of her innocence. Lerous picture depicts that episode. Q. Why is G ‘Genoa the Superb’?— B. N 1t is said that the title has been given Genoa because il has an imposing aspect from the sea. In reality it s bullt awkwardly on ir regular, rising ground and consists of a Jlabyrinth of narrow, ecrooked streets, 0a. Italy, called Q. Does an elephant drink through its trunk or its mouth?—E. k. A. The elephant drinks by means of its trunk by sucking up 2 guantity of water sufficlent to fill it and then discharging the contents into the mouth. Q. Is the recenr Amundsen expedi tion to the Pole 1o be cofumemorated in any way?’—G. C. A. A memorfal has already been erected at Kings Bav, Spitsbergen It consists of a limestone pillar in- | scribed with the names of the mem bers of the party Q. Where is Roshmore Mountain and whai memorial is (o be inscribed | there B A. Rushmore Mountain Black Hills near Rapid City, S. Dak., Gutzon Borglum, the noted sculptor, is to carve gigantic images of Wash- ington, Jefferson. Lincoln and Roose velt on the side of the mountain. The in_the s Harney Memorial Association. author- ized by the South Dakota.State Leg islature Q. Name some of the great . bells of the world —R. H. §. A. The earliest great bell recorded was the Jacqueline of Paris. cast in 1400 and welghing 6% tons. From | this time the weight of bells rapidly increased: Cologne. Germany, 11 tons, 1445; Rouen. France, 1501, 10| tons: Vienpa, 1711, 171-3 tons. In 1736 the Great Bell of Moscow «larg- | est bell was cast eighing 1931 tons, and in 1519 a second bell ‘w cast at Moscow weighing 80 tons. Q. many of the signers of ion of Independence were physicians ?—B. §. R A. Four were physicians, lawyers, 14 were agriculturists & minister of the gospel: 3. had pre- pared to be clergymen, but had chosen other vocations; 1 was a manufacturer, and 9 were merchantsf How 24 were Q. What kind of clothes weére men wearing when George Washington was President?—J. H. H. A. During the eighteenth century the old-fashioned doublet had devel- oped into & coat and close-fitting breeches tied below the knee, worn with light silk stockings and buckled shoes: hats were broad-brimmed, turned up on three sides and edged with feathers or ribbons. The coats were of velvet, silk or broadcloth and undertaking is sponsored by the Mount | i | L was | BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. brightly colored, according to indi vidual taste. After 1790 a change began, and round hats, short coats, light waistcoats and pantaloons which - reached the ankles and fasx tened with buttons superseded the old finery. Shoe strings replaced buttons and hair powder went out of fashion Q. Who i the author of the fam | ous poem “The Night Before. Christ mas”?—6 A. The correct “A Visit name of this posm ie from St. Nicholas.” It { was written by Ciement C. Moere. an American poet and educator, at New York City in 1822. He wrote it origi- nally for his children but later it appeared in » New York paper and was Included in & book of his lected poems. Where was coal fuel?-—F. A. AL A. It s not knawn exactly. Some {say that ft was used by the ancient | Britons. At all events i was an article of household consumption 1o some extent during the Anglo-Saxon | period as early as $25 A.D. Thers | seems to be reason for thinking that Ingland was the first European coun try in which coal was used in any considerable gquantities. Q. Where | games begin?—D. M. C A. In the world series, played for the world base ball ehampionship | the champions are the team that wins ‘mux‘ games out of seven. Only four games may be played, but it is also | possible that five, six and seven may | be played. The first two of the world ’serie: zames this year will be plaved on the home ground of the National |League winper, probably Pittsburgh {and the next two games in the city of |the American League winner, prob |ably Washington, after which they | will aiternate from one city to another | until one team has won four game= Q. What is a balalaika?—-K. A A. This is a Russian musical strument. It originated with peasantry When Peter th Greal heard it. he had it introduced into the court. From his day until the fall »f the empire. a balalaika orchestra vas maintained at court. The instrn ment. which is becoming popular in the United States. has a triangle-faced box, the back being mandolin-shaped The long mneck is fitted with three strings. There are about a dozen dif, ferent sizes, producing various tones Q. What was the first 10-cent-maga zine’—N. 8. |, A. Munsey’s Magazine | from Munsey's Weekly in |'the pioneer in thiz field. Q. What is myrrh?—B. A A. Tt i= the gum resin of the myvirh tree. which .grows in Arabia and Fast |ern Africa. It has a balsamic odor |and an aromatie, bitter taste. Myrri and frankincense were commonty nsec by the ancients for fumigation - LE first used as will the world series in tha changed 1893 Please describe the new Sennar Dam. How does it rank in size with existing dams?—C. K. E. A. The Sennar Dom is 179 | south of Khartoum, Exypt, where the | Blue Nile joins the White Nile. The {dam will contain 525 5,000 cubie vards of masonry. and will be 128 feet high 2t the deepest portion and 2 mile {long. It will be the world’s larges dam | Q. Do countries {tive stones; if so | the principal ones”—R. O. C. A. According to old philosophy particular. talismanic gem is allotted to each country in the world. Thus England has .the diamond, France the ruby: Germany, the hematite; Tre land, the emerald; Italy. the sar donyx; Japan, the jade: China. the pearl; Spain. the turquoise, and Amer ica, the tourmaline Q. What king had a visiting fires’—W. K. H A. The late King Edward VI1 of England, when Prince of Wales. The London Brigade had instructions to inform him whenever there was a | great outbreak (Our Washington information reau deals in facts—gathering the: from every possible source—com piling | them—assorting them. and filing them | When there is some question of fact you want answered in @ hurry the in- | formation is at once availadle. If it happens thats the data rieeded arc not on file in the office, an experienced re- searcher is put on the work with ir structions to find the information de sired. Such is the frec educatior sérvice which this paper is supply’v to ils readers without cost. Take o vantage of it. Send in your questios to. The RSter Information Bureau Frederic J. Haskin. director. Wash |ington, D¢ Inclose 2 cents i stamps | for return postage.) have 2 what represent: are some o ! Emphatic condemnation has been showered by the press upon those re sponsible for the effort to free Warren T. McCray. former Governor of In- diana, who has served something more than a year of a 10-year prison sen- tence for using the mails to defraud “Consider MeCray,” the New Lon- don Day suggests io its readers in a typical editorial comment. “Then con- sider that 14 other governors have asked the President to pardon him. Then consider the statements of some him in the single pursuit of his life. A persistent man and a most shrewd and artful one as well. As a whole, “Hamlet” turns out to be a prime de- tective storv—a rather disconcerting name to give. to literature become in a measure sacrasanct. Yet, reading it clean, apart from the interference of carefully nurtured theories of the scholars, a detective story is exactly what it is,- By - such discovery, or agreement. one feels Shakespeare step- ping forward -in seven-league boots. An immense gain to.readers, this. to those who desire ardentlv to feel actually the immeasurable gift of this man. 4 It is with a distinct shock that one hears “Hamlet” called a pure melo. drama. Yet we knew it all the time. Ghosts, murder, incest, madness. sui- cide, pirates, imprisonment=all these and more range themselves here in a rush of melodramatic fervor. Man- ager Shgkespeare knew his audience, s0, from this old, old saga of the North he fitted a play to their taste. But, melodrama. though it be, it has periods of passion and superlative genius. These are the times, so Mr. Bridges reasonably concludes, when the greatest of poets came into mo- ments irresistibly his own, moments when the stage and the rude London audience and the passing success of the enterprise were forgotten, mo- ments when some clear vision lured the playwright away and set in his stead the immortal bard singing to the ages. The study is bound to fas- cinate and refresh ome because of its seeming originality, an originality that. 15 rooted in a straight-dealing mind operating under the inspiration of the most uncommon of common sensé. ¢ ok kW No, not an. iconoclast, not in any sense a destroyer. Rather one who, with learning at his command, and the theories of others upon the sub. ject in hand, has chosen to present the plays of Shakespeare, and Shake- speare himself, in the light of all the related facts, rather than in the ligh of piled-up theories and supposition: that a most lahorious and depressing scholarship of those governors. who today are howling about the crime wave and de- nouncing the ‘maudlih sympathy’ which is being showered on gunmen and,burglars. At least, the average gunman makes a haul of considerably less than $8,000,000." E The Nashville Banner asks: “What would be the public effect of the par- don of so conspicuous an offender at a time like this, when criminality is running riot in thelamd? Why, it has been asked, should public-spirited citi- zens of this country o¥ganize a crime commission for a campaign of public education as to the dangers of the sit- uation, if prisoners like McCray are to escape serving time. in large part because of. their pull” 5 To-the Lincoln Star it seems that the Inek no further than the McCray ‘case to discover one-of the principal rea- sons why law- does not command the respect in this country which it should.” In'the same vein the Topeka Capital declares: EEE “The country will be in a bad way it persons who have been highly hon- ored and who are in a position to set} an_example of good citizenship betra public confidence and become exam- ples, on the contrary, of the worst citizenship: When men with such re- sponsibility upon them, and such ad- vantages, are .quickly pardoned out after being convicted of wrongdoing. enforcement of criminal laws is in a} fair way tb become a byword.” Denying that there is any doubt of McCray's guilt, the Oklahoma - City Times also condemns the activities of “powerful friends” and continues: “No man 8 so crooked or contemptible that he cannot arouse the sympathy of the sob squad in America, and his chances for clemency u ly are large and promising, Yet there are those who ‘wonder at the prevals of crime in America,” This effort McCray is condemned as “an old story” by the New Orleans Item, which adds: “It is a familiar practice and viclous, for it simulating study, “so simple “pnd Efforts to Free McCray Arouse Sharp Criticism friendless _pay heavier penalty than the ric fluential. Our pardon rate for type of criminal is even more scan dalous than that of the more violen | tvpes, including murder and robbe | The Grand Rapids Herald urges the | necessity for “extra scruples” in deal ing with cases like this, while the Kalamazoo Gazette emphasizes The fact that wayward youths “cannoi help being impressed by exhibitions of leniendy toward ‘distinguished’ law breakers.” Referring to the formation of a na tional vigilance committee, the Knox ville Sentinel remarks: ‘The time seems scarcely oppertune for the dis- tinguished criminal's move for lib- erty.” The best: way in which this unhappy man can serve the people now s to serve out his term.” in the judgment of the ‘Colunibia Ohio State Journal. “He should be made an ex ample for the transgressars of less high standing,” suggests the Memphis New Sciritar. or in this | results in the ¥ Fie 1n explanation of why such eminent and representative citizens as those signing the petition for pardon should interest themselves in this particular case, the Des Moines Tribune News ational Crime Commission neet| save it is not because they feel an: Fspecial clemency is due to a former governor, but because McCray s known to them. They know McCra: s one of the great middle group of humanity capable of going right or going wrong. The unknown convict. whether of that same gfoup or not, re mains to each a sinister and wholly evil being.’ g One of the few sympathetic com ments comes from the Muncie Star published in the governor's own State “The imposing variety and character of the appeals for executive clemency are such as to command respect.” the Munice paper declares. “There i merit in the contention that all of the punitive and exemplary value of im prisonment has been obtained in his case apd that further detention would not be of advantage to society.” On the other hand, the Fort Wayvne Journal-Gazette of "the same charges that “Gov. McCray commitied a mass of crimes perhaps without precedent, and he forced public opin ion to look upon him as a criminal. o expect that he be dealt with as a criminal. He could have sacrificed all his once great fortune. His choice was him own.” So, also, the Elkhart Truth of Indiana says: “One who is elevated to a position of confidence such as the governorship of a great common wealth like Indiana and then proves unfaithful to that trust really is en friendly and wise, comes to one as-a rescue—the rescne of greatness frol has tmposed upon Shake- Yspeare, the man and the poet. This'the overzeal oljis triend titled to less sympathy than the ardi- individual eonvictad of an of- against society.”