Evening Star Newspaper, September 12, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR _ With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .S ptember 12, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Bustness Ofl - New ok Office: 110, 354 se. Chirats Offca: Tower Buildine European Office: - 14 Rezent St.. London. Encland. wigh_ the Sunday morn- I3 defivered by carriers within 160 cents per month: daily only. 45 cents per month: Sunday only, 20 cents per THonth - Orders mav be sent by mail or Telenhone Main 5000" Collection is made by carrler at the end of each month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 00 Dafly only 340 Sunday only All Other States. fhatis and Siesiay. ... 1 yv.. $10:0 iy oty nmday. Lot 81000 Sunday oniy.. .1 el 8300 Member of the Associated The Aseociated Prees is exclusively o renublication of ail news dis o this paper herein dispat hot otherwise ¢ also the local new An Epic of the Sea. Comdr. Rodgers’ pl the adventure of PN-9 No. 1 tells a stirring tale simply and without heroics. Behind the modest text, how- ever, is an epic of the sea. This sailor man, who in keeping with the chang- ing times has become an air lates how craft, buffeted by in statement of instead of favoring winds, ran out of | fuel; how he tried to reach one of the guard ships, from which he could fuel, but missed her position; how he made a safe “landing” in rough water how he rigged a sail out of the fabric of the wings and drifted 400 miles passing within sight of a steamer that gave no heed to his signals, doubtless because they were not seen; how he and his crew subsisted on their meager rations and their scanty water supply, eked out by distillation and captured rainfall; how finally they were rescued by a submarine. 3 This all sounds very simple and easy. Yet consider the circumstances. There were five men in a little flying boat, adrift in the Pacific, with short supplies of food and water, with the | possibility of a violent storm at any time destroying them. Through their radlo receiver they could hear the re- ports of those who were scouring the sea to find them. They learned that hope was growing faint for their res- cue. There is an amusing touch to the comment that these men, so help- less in midocean, at no time shared the fear of which they heard the echo. They were confident that they could make land, a confidence that was in- spired, it is plain from the statements of the men, by their faith in thelr leader, who never faltered for a mo- ment daring the nine days of trial. Supreme courage and skill brought the men of PN-9 No. 1--would that a craft with such an adventure had a more individual name-—through their peril. In the tales they tell of their experience there is not a word to show that any man faltered. Discipline pre- vajled upon the little craft. Each one took his share of the watch and duty, their commander taking more than his share of that and less than his share of sustenance. The people of this country are proud of the men who went thrpugh that experience so blithely and so capably. They failed in the effort to fly across the sea to Hawall, but through no fault of their own, or, in fact, it would seem, of their craft. They have, in- deed, won higher honor in their failure than in any successful voyage. —————————— The coalless householder is inclined to scoff at the wonders of science, in- asmuch as no way has been found to conserve some of the surplus Septem- ber heat for distribution over the fur- nace season. SRl S B The proposal to create a junior traf- fic force by recruiting schoolboys is admirable. They are the chauffeurs of tomorrow. ————. An archeological discovery fust made near Bainbridge, Ohio, promises to put King Tut's tomb in the shade. —— The Hawaiian Flight Guard Ships. With reference to the failure of con- tact between the guard ships and the Hawaiian flight planes, one of which has just been rescued after nearly reaching the goal, criticism has been directed against the Navy Department for faflure to provide a larger number of vessels. Col. Mitchell, in his stote- ment of general comment on the avia- tion policies of the Government, has urged that the surface craft should have heen under orders to keep in motion while the planes were in sight, in the same direction with them, in order to afford a maximum of protec- tion. . It is now developed that the guard ships, stationed at intervals of 200 miles across the sea, were in fact un- der orders to speed with the planes. The instructions issued the command ers of planeguard vessels specified Nhat they should for one hour prior to the expected passing of the planes and for one hour after passing emit dense smoke by day and at night point searchlights in the direction of the planes. It was furthermore re- - quired that each plane guard ship should, after the last plane had passed, follow on the base course at high speed for two hours and then continue at moderate speed until further orders. Three planes were to have constitut- ed the Pacific flight flotilla. One failed to start. Two took off at San Fran- cisco, one of them gofng down a short distance from the coast. Thus for the greater part of the flight there was a single plane, the PN-9 No. 1, tor the guard ships to mnote. They could thus start west at high speed as soon as it had passed. Col. Mitchell's suggesticn was that each guard ship should have begun to speed westward as soon as the plane was sighted ap- proaching, thus giving a longer period of contact. The only difference be- tween the ordered procedure and that suggested by Col. Mitchell was that the guard ships were to wait until the ‘plane was overhead before moving west at high speed. z It is evident from Comdr. Rodlu"l' lana (due to mental statement that he lost contact with the Arcostocky which was stationed second in line from the Hawallan coast. The adverse winds which ex- hausted his fuel had carried him off course. Aroostock there would have been no trouble. She could have gone to his rescue as soon as he descendod, and, refueling him, enabled him to proceed to Hawaii. Had his fuel not been fully exhausted he could have com- municated. "But the moment his gaso- | ceased. | Thus it would seem that save on the single point of time for the guard ships to start moving westward in succession there was no difference be- tween the procedure as ordered and as !:ul\'isc‘d after the event by the critic of the Navy's aviation policy and practice. Had mot the adverse winds arried Comdr. Rodgers off his course exhausted his fuel the flight would have been successful. | caleulation was made as to the amount of fuel necessary for the flight. Ap- parently the chance of encountering adverse winds was not adequately aken into account. Perhaps the plane was overloaded. Those aréd matters for technical consideration, It is, how- ever, only fair to the Navy Depart- { ment to note that full precaution was taken to afford protection to the planes in flight. — The Connecting Parkway. Work has finally been started on the driveway that is to cut through Rock Creek Valley and the Zoological Park |to Massachusetts avenue. This 1s a | unit in the long-contemplated and as long-delayel connecting park: unite Poto:nac and Rock Creek Par! When the Potomac Park was cre- |ated by the dredging of the river chan- Inels and Rock Creek Park was estab- | lished it was proposed to link them to- | zether. A natural course for such a connegtion lay along the Potomac shore | north of Potomac Park and through the lower Rock Creek Valley, includ- ng both banks of that stream. Some of this land was occupied by buildings, in the lower part by large business establishments. Congress adopted a project for the condemnation or direct purchase of these lands, and from time to time has appropriated funds for this purpose. The procedure, how- ever, has been slow, and being slow the cost has been increased beyond what it would have been had the en- tire area been taken at once upon the definite adoption of the plan. Enough land has been now acquired by purchase and condemnation to open up the connecting parkway as far south as Massachusetts avenue. Various tracts below that point have also been obtained. The work just to be started will carry the improvement to Massachusetts avenue, leaving for future operations the establishment of a parkway to the creek mouth and thence to Potomac Park. Completion of this link in the chain of the Capital's great park system should be one of the first items of de- velopment in the future. It is anom- alous that the remaining stretch be- tween Potomac Park and the point now reached in the development should remain in private possession and mis- cellaneous and unsightly use indefi- nitely. When this parkway is com- pleted it will be possible to pass unin- terruptedly through an attractive set- ting from Hains Point, the extreme end of Potomac Park, to the most northerly limit of Rock Creek Park, a stretch unapproached anywhere in the world in point of beauty. Had he been in sight of the | {line gave out his radio-sending power | York speaker contends, that persons of higher intelligence are less com- petent than others, no rule could pos- sibly be framed and carried into effect to exclude them from motor driving. In some States it is the practice to revoke the licenses of those who are sullty of repeated infractions of traffic rules, sometimes permanently, some times only for a period. That s a safer course than any attempt to bar the unfit before licensing. It is, of | course, somewhat like locking the door after the theft of the horse, but cer- tainly no rule could ever be sustained in law that would bar a man from the privilege of driving his own ‘car be- cause he is gifted with reasoning powers and a high grade of mental capacity. ———— The Passing of “George.” No longer will the rallroad traveler who blithely assumes personal ac- A mis- | uaintance with the dining car waiters | be able to get by with their tradi- tional “George” greeting, with which they have sought to impress more con- rvative or timid tourists. The wait- ers themselves have not struck on be- ing lumped collectively with all the Georges of America. They have con- tinued to smile and serve. But the dining car managens have come to the conclusion that as long as certain of their patrons are disposed to use first names they might as well use the right first names, and so hereafter on at least one of the large roads in this country the names of the waiters at particular tables will be printed on the menu cards. It will probably be a shock to most of the first-name callers to find out how few Georges there really are in the service. ——— A barefoot election-bet hiker, just paying off for his faith in last year's Democratic candidate, comes along just In time to hear the echoes of the Madison Square Garden party re- sounding in the New York mayoralty scrap. ———— British rum-running enterprises, it is estimated, have cost the investors about fifteen million dollars in a year. A high tribute to the effectiveness of the American blockade, after all. —— e Some people are praising Col. Mitchell's insubordination who would fire an office boy for a disrespectful remark about a boss who refuses per- mission to attend a ball game. -t If men of high intelligence make poor motor drivers, does it follow that morons make the best? There are plainly plenty of that class now at the steering wheel. ———— Computations of Washington's chances to win another American League pennant involve some severe skepticism to yleld a mathematical negative. ——————— The newly reported base hall rookie is inclined to wonder if life in the big leagues is going to be so much of a grand, sweet song, after all. e Bo keen is the rivalry for tax-cut- ting honors that some fears are now expressed lest Uncle Sam may find himself short of funds. s Prompt promotion of Comdr. John Rodgers was a well deserved recogni- tion of the superior quality of a capa- ble officer. ——— ————. Regulation of Dentistry. Operation of the new law regulating the practice of dentistry in this clty has, according to the annual report of the chairman of the board of dental examiners, worked satis- factorily to the end of eliminating mis- leading signs and deceptive profes- sional promises and the concealment of individual responsibility under the use of company and trade names. Dentistry has advanced in recent years {to a high point of proficlency. Public education in oral sanitation has been carried to the point of an almost uni- versal appreciation of the necessity of | care and attention. Much harm, how- ever, has been done in the past by in- competent practitioners. The District was for years unprotected in this re- spect. Now a law is in operation which affords that protection, and it fis | gratifying to note from this report that it is working out to the end | sought—of eliminating quacks and re- | oressing deception. ———— Maryland women are organizing to get themselves called to jury duty, while Washington men are doing their {level best to keep out of serving. — s A Chicago police official declares that as crime increases its detection becomes easfer. This states a complex problem in cause and effect. e Brain Power and Motoring. A speaker at the National Confer- ence on the Science of Politics in New Yark has declared that persons of high intelligepce are more dangerous as automobile drivers than those of low intelligence. Absent-mindedness preoccupation with other matters is attributed as the main reason why people of higher PBrain power are involved in thelargest percentage of traffic accidents. Statis- tics, he says, show a greater propor- tion of mishaps among professional men and business men than among de- livery boys, truckmen, taxi drivers and laborers. It has been observed, on the con- trary, in this city that the reverse is itrue, that most of the accidents in ‘Washington«are caused by incom- petence rather than by absent-minded- ness or preoccupation. Truck drivers have been especially guilty of col- lisions with other vehicles and with pedestrians. The average driver, what- ever his status outside of his machine, has little chance to be wool-gathering. He must keep his eye on the road and on the traffic constantly to save him- self from disaster. The chiéf danger comes from those who regard them- selves as skilled drivers, and relying upon thelr ‘supppsed expertness of motor management take chances with speed and sharp turas and in narrow passages. Even if it were true, as the New SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Mountain Colloquy. “Did your husband get that terrible red nose working out in the sun- shine?” asked one woman. “No,” answered the other, “that ain’t sunshine; that’s moonshine.” “What's one man's get-rich-quick scheme,” sald Uncle Eben, “is often a git-poor-sudden scheme for a whole lot o' folks.” A Reversal of Custom. The man who goes on foreign trips Observes a readjustment strange. He proffers all his cash in tips. The walters let him keep the change. Disapproval. “What makes those two women turn up their noses at each other so super- ciliousty?” “Possibly,” replied Miss Cayenne, “each got a glimpse of the current novel the other was reading.” Improved. “You say the man you married seems more kind and generous since your divorce than he did before?” answered Mrs. Flimmson. ““He never says a word about econ- omizing, but sends around his alimony without a murmur.” An Unkind Wish. “I think the little one is going to bear a resemblance to his father.” “Well,” answered Mr. Rasper, “if that is the case I hope the child will learn to bear it with patience and courage.” The Returned Metropolitan. Back to de flat compartment, six by eight! Back to de oil stove an’ de foldin’ bed! Back to de nights where nine o'clock ain't late! Dat rural game's a bunco on de dead! I fell fur it jes' like de other guys. It looked to me like such an easy hunch. To roam de garden pickin’ apple ples An’ milk de cow fur cream puffs fer me lunch! Tack up dat “Home, Sweet Home” card on de wall And greet de landlord wit' a lovin' smile, ‘Where gnats don't bite ner ‘caterpil- lars crawl, An' where you needn't beat it fur a mile To git a drink o’ water at de pump, Nor stay awake until de night is o'er ‘Cause de mosquitoes crawls around to bump De bumps dey built on you de night ‘efore. WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Come again, Mr. Popcorn Man! He came along our street that hot afternoon when the crickets began to sing out of their due season, and he brought to us a touch of olden times, when we were kids with grand appetites for such buttered ware. Hot buttered popcorn! What mouth does not water, no matter its age, at the sight, and espe- clally at the smell, of this delicacy? Race and creed vanish at the odor, and we are all children again, but this time with plenty of nickels in_our pockets to trade for the buttery bags handed over by the vender. Methinks Omar must have had but- tered popcorn in mind when he wrote his immortal lines about “I wonder what it iy the vintner buys one-half so precious as the thing he sells.” This is the truth, and nothing but the truth, about hot buttered pop- corn. For the small sum of 5 cents, half a dime, we secure a bag of flavory puffed grains, warm, satiny, up the mingled odor of melted nd salt, deftly combined with thelr own infmitable smell. Surely the odor of popped corn is unique, “most unique,” as some In- sist on saying, and I am not sure but that in " relation to popcorn the statement is quite grammatical. There is nothing luxurfous about popped corn. There i3 no nourish- ment in a barrel of it, or preclous little. but, ah! That taste! That taste! It we live to be a million years old, and have partaken of all the eat- ables gathered from pole to pole, and at the end are confronted with a steaming dish of freshly popped corn we will arise in our long white whis- | kers and $ay, “Gimme!" R R . Yes, that is just how much we think of hot buttered popcorn. Notice we do mot leave out a single word. It must be hot, and it must be buttered and, of ‘course, it must be popped Popcorn, before it is popped, is the most unromantic looking thing in ex- istence. It looks utterly good for nothing in this world of .ours but to be fed to horses. But, like so many other ugly ducklings, it has possibiiities. My, what possibilities! Do you recall, as a_youth, the first time vou were invited over to grand- ma’s to_your first popcorn party, in all the dignity of your 6 years? Popcorn was one of the that small-town folk could afford somewhat freely. Popcorn did not cost very much, and it did turn into a great deal, as you shortly were to see. First it had to be shelled. Then the popper was gotten out. The popper in those days was a wire mouse cage—or 50 it seemed to you—on the end of a long stick. It had a hinged lid, that caught at the | open end with a little hook that seemed to you to be the height of in- genlousness. Grandma put a handful of the cotn into-the popper, then deftly lifted the invention out over the flaming logs in the fireplace. Y. fireplaces in those days (they didn’t have anything else) Back and forth jiggled the popper, held at the proper distance. Pop! Pop! Pop! The corn began to live up to its name. Pop! Pop! Pop! As if eager to burst forth from the cage, the white butterflies that previously had been little vellow things leaped against the wires. Fuller and fuller got the popper, until very soon there was no room left for movement, and the popper had taken on the appearance of a cage of &now. The catch was flipped open, the de- leclous corn tumbled forth into a great bowl on the table there beside the coal ofl lamp. We could scarcely walt, the aroma was so_enticing, by it was necessary to “hold our horses,’ as grandpa said, until the bowl was nearly full. All' this time some butter—real articles | they had real | country (there wasn't any other kind) —had been melting near the fire. Now the bowl, brimming with flufty pop- corn, was stirred up, as the salt was sprinkled in lightly, then the butter poured over all. Trickle, trickle, went the butter, down over the puffed grains, between the mountains, into the valleys of de- liciousness, “Help yourselves, children,” sald grandma. 5 oK ok ok Somehow, we regard that early initi- ation into popcorn as one of the real benefits of our lives, ‘We hope we never become so suc- cessful and dignified that we cannot get simple, genuine pleasure out of eating a bag of hot buttered popcorn now and then. It must be terrible to be President |and scarcely dare to go along the street eating out of a buttery bag. Think of the sensation it would create. “President eats popcorn out of bag, | gets butter on fingers,” all the papers | would say. | Whereas you and I, dear readers, |can eat our popcorn as we please and | nobody cares a whoop. If any one ays anything, it is probably only n't get that bag on the table,” or “You had better wash your hands now.” Of course, we cannot advocate hot | buttered popcorn for an everyday diet. | As said before, it has littie nourish- ment and would become a glut on the | market as a daily diet. Now and then, however, it has no equal in all the | lists of foodstuffs. Some there are who favored pop: corn coated with sugar, or sirup, and against them we say nothing. As for us, we want'it covered with melted butter, the more butter the better, and the better butter the better, too. Then we want corn that pops clear up, all the way through, all around, and leaves no hard kernel. What we | liked particularly about the popcorn man that came along our street was that he had good popeorn, and popped it all the way through. A slight shake of the bag, now and then, and the largest morsels kept coming to the top. The repetition of this process finally left only a dozen or so hard grains at the nethermost bottom of the bag. Ah, that bag just suited us! It was warm to our left hand, with a smear | o? butter showing through, so that we | knew we would get the buttery taste at the bottom of the bag, as weil as at the top. That is something you have to look out for. Some of the popcorn men have a trick of pouring butter on the | top of the popcorn, but getting pre- cious little at the bottom, o that you end up ng dry, unbuttered corn. |1t is like drinking a second cup of coffee after the cream pitcher is dry. The art of eating buttered popcorn, while not as exacting as the consump- tion of grapefruit, offers somewhat the same difficulties, only instead of squirting juice all over you one is very likely to drop a nice buttered grain right square on his clean shirt. Here is the way to do it: Hold the | bag firmly in the left hand and with the right open the mouth of the bag to its greatest dimension. Then make a triangle with the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand. Insert this triangle into the bag and pull up several deliclous grains. Do not be a hog. Too many grains, seized in your eagerness, will result in the very catastrophe you are trying to avold and will bring upon your innocent, greedy head dire warnings as to ruin- ing the carpet, the waxed floor and vour state of health. | Eat rapidly, though. Remember that popcorn is a great scourer of the system, as well as cleaner of the teeth, so stuff yourself. This is one of the merits of this truly great American dish. Public Tries to Friction over Shipping Board poli- cles which resulted in the recent re- quest by President Coolidge for the resignation of Bert E. Haney, who had only recently been reappointed to the board by the President, has led to a varlety of interpretations. A contrast, for instance, between the attitude of the Shipping Board and that of the Fleet Corporation is drawn by the Baltimore Evening Sun. The former is charged by the Sun with being “sectional” in that it is “composed of men who want to see the business of New England favor- ed, or the business of the West coast favored, or the business of the Gulf of Mexico favored.” The Emergency Fleet Corporation, on the other hand, according to the Sun, “is national in a more comprehensive sense,” and the Sun argues: “If this contrast is kept in mind, it is possible for the ordinary reader to understand some aspects at least of the never-ending squabble between Admiral Palmer on the one hand and the Shipping Board on the other. President Coolidge has con- sistently taken the part of Admiral Palmer.” o Another feature of the situation, as presented by the Wheeling Intelli- gencer, is that “the issue seems to be that Haney wishes to expand and maintain the Government shipping activities, while President Coolidge seeks to contract and to take the Government out of the shipping busi- ness.” The Intelligencer believes the American people, as a whole, heartily tired of the Shipping Board and its fruitless waste of money.” From the Western coast, however, comes the assertion that the issue is wider than one involving the individ. ual concerned. The Portland Jour- nal says: “The action of President Coolidge in demanding the resigna- tion of Commissioner Haney insures a titanic struggle between the Presi- dent and Congress over shipping mat- ters, the result of which will defi- nitely seal the fate of the American merchant marine.” The Journal be- lieves that “through Admiral Palmer the President has gained a firm hand in the shipping business, contrary to the intentlon of Congress and con- trary to the Jones act,” and that “Haney is fighting the battle of every independent port in America.” 5 * K Kk Mr. Haney's denial that at the time of his reappointment by President Coolidge there was an understanding that he would support Mr. Palmer, and his statement that he,would con- tinue to work for the removal of Mr. Palmer inspire the comment by the St. Paul Dispatch: “Nothing could be more typical of the temper, the bickerings and disputes which were the badge of the board’s incompe- tence for its task than Mr. Haney's statement. It was just ithis sort of thing that finally made it necessary fornfha President to turn to Mr. Pal- mer.” Still further hope that the President will force the issué is ex- pressed by the Rock Island Argus, with the statement: “There has been enough scandal in connection with the shlpmng Board to .satisfy the public that the President is not with- out justification in his announced de- termination to clean up the whole situation as soon as possible.” From a similar standpoint the Philadelphia Bulletin sees a probability “that the President will conclude that the en- tire board could be dispensed with in the interest of efficiency, economy and harmony with administration icies." " W'En:on is no doubt,” suggests the Interpret Moves in Ship Board Fight | Newark News, “that the President considers his election a mandate to get results, and that the way to get them is to get the boards thinking along his own lines. He seems to have come to Gen. Goethals' conclu- sion that ‘boards are lons, narrow and wooden.'” The President “is the supreme authority in the executive branch of the Government,” is the way the matter is viewed by the Bridgeport Post, while the Reno Gazette upholds his power of removal and remarks: “Haney's idea Is that the board should cling to the ships that are rotting at the docks and should not sell them, even if they are costing the taxpayers over a million a month. It is an idea that is far behind the times.” “Eve one. know: according to the Hartford Times, “that the record of thé Shipping Board will be hung about the neck of the administration, either as a medal or a millstone, and the President is entitled to his oppor- tunity to make that record as com- mendable as may be.” Against this the Milwaukee Journal contends: “Most of these boards and commis- slons were set up by Congress to do their own thinking and handle public business on facts and without regard to a President’s ‘policies.’” In other circumstances apd on a greater issue “Mr. Haney might acquire heroic stature,” the Charleston Evening Post suggests. * % k¥ “The official oath is not to support presidential policles,” avers the Can- ton Daily News, “but to serve the people of the United States, and a subordinate may well consider his duty is to resist presidential de- mands when he feels they are not for the best interests of the people or the department under his control. General condemnation of the con- troversies in the Shipping Board is offered by the Bangor Commercial, “The public,” in the opinion of the Commercial, “is about ready to de- clare ‘a plague on both your Houses.' It may be that the difficult problem of the Government's ships has been bandled as well as it could be, but there i8 room for a different opinion. A main fact is that the merchant marine continues to suffer. ———— A Traffic Suggestion. To ths Editor of The Star: As to the congestion of traffic at main street intersections, I offer the following suggestion in the interest of safety, time saving and simplicity of operation: Take BSeventh street at Pennsylvania avenue. There isn't room enough at the right places. Shove back the loading platform 256 feet west, toward the Treasury. It would make no difference as to street cars or passengers. Give that 25.-foot wide path as a new crossing for 0 the left-hand-turn autos. In_the e way take 25 feet from each of the remaining three streets (stops) back of the pedestrian crossings. Ana- toists do not care just where they have to stop within a few feet, so that everything is simple at the 25-foot line/| —and street cars also. The traffic of- ficer, with his whistle and signals, still_controls. Autoists who aim left'hand turning will avoid stopp! at the furb, will know where they are| at and’ still get out of the way. a little more room out of the * nificent distances” and the rest R o g g edestrians. Give the present crossing | THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. The bona fide traveler in Scotland and Ireland takes big chances of hav- ing hie trip spoiled by rain, or at least tne famous Scofch and Irish “mists.”” The traveler by books runs no such risk. Life in the highlands of Scotland during the past century and at the present time is described by a native Highlander, who was 79 years of age at the time of writing, several years ago, in *“A Hundred Years in the Highlands,” by Osgood Hanby Mackenzie. The uncle of the author, Dr. John Mackenzie, left him 10 manuscript volumes of Highland memories, covering the perlod 1803- 1860, and the author has drawn on these and his own reminiscences of a long life to make a most interest- Ing volume on Highland history, customs, superstitions, sports and scenery. Smuggling and sheep steal- ing in the old days in the Highlands might be classed as leading sports, and the journal of old Dr. John Mackenzle was full of accounts of their practice. One story in it was of a crofter, on the poor roll of his district, whose vife and family were, nevertheless, al- ways well fed. He was suspected of being a sheep stealer, but proof was never forthcoming. Heavy rains anged the gravelly course of the river near his bothy and emptied the black pool on the bank of which it stood, and the bed of the pool was revealed as ‘“the cemetery for in- numerable bones of shee; Deer stalking both in the time of his uncle and later in his own time is described con amore. Mr. Mackenzle prefers the old method of stalking: “I must say I like the old way of going off alone with one's stalker in the morn- ing much better than the present system of being followed by a retinue of gillies and ponles, in order to get the stags home in the shortest pos- sible time, though I admit this is best for the venison. To me, however, a cavalcade of that sort takes a Iot away from the romance of stalking.” One’ chapter gives a thrilling story of the uncle's experiences in a whale hunt on the island of Lewis in the Hebrides. The whole town of Storno- way turned out in boats, with all avail- able missiles from guns and broad- swords to kitchen spits and pebbles, to hunt the whales sighted at the mouth of the harbor. The result of the hunt was, at least so the uncle’s diary stated, that 96 whales were driven ashore and killed. “In due time slices of whale were being boiled for ofl in every hole and corner of the town. For mapy a day everything smelt, if it did not taste, of whale ofl. It was a wild mess, ending most childishly in each whale being towed out to sea, after its blubber was pared off, and cast adrift, whereas if made into manure it would have made a great plece of land grateful for years.” Stories of deep sea and trout fishing, hunting otters, foxes and wildcats, trapping badgers and weasels, shoot- ing quatl, partridge, grouse, snipe, woodcock, ptarmigan, wild ducks, geese, swans and hares, and fighting the predatory eagles which destroyed the herons in the heronry—all give atmosphere to this book, the atmos- phere of Highland Scotland itself. i The 75 colored illustrations, painted by Sutton Palmer, in_“Bonnie Scot- land,” by A. R. Hope Moncrieff, are of themselves sufficient to make one wish to start fmmediately for Scotland. The borders of Scotland are thus described: “The dawn broadens, the mists roll away to show a northward-bound traveler how his train, is speeding be- tween slopes of moorland, green and gray, here patched by bracken or bog, there dotted by wind-blown trees, everyWhere cut by water courses gathering into gentle rivers that can be turious enough in spite, when they hurl a drowned sheep or a broken hurdle through those valleys opening a glimpse of mansions and villages among sheltered woods.” Close to the border, in the lowlands, we reach Dumfries and Ayr, the Burns country, with the poet's birthplace and Tam O'Shanter’s Brig o'Doon and Kirk Al- loway. The Waverley route takes us into the Scott country, to Abbotsford, Melrose and Dryburgh Abbeys and Liddesdale, where Scott spent seven holiday seasons collecting the border minstrelsy. Then come Glasgow and Edinburgh, busy clty of shipping and elegant city of hills, castles and pal, aces. By tourists both are remem bered for their drunkenness and their Sabbatarianism. Between Edinburgh and Glasgow lie the Trossachs, with Loch Katrine and Loch Lomand, called by the author “the most per. functory minimum” of a Highland tour. This Trossachs country is also the country of the Stuarts’ refuge, of Wallace and Bruce and of the exploits of the clever outlaw, Rob Roy Mac- gregor. On, up into the Highlands, we %0 by the Highland Rallway, through the heart of the Grampians, or to Oban, and from there to Inverness by the Caledonian Canal. This Caledonian Canal, running through what is called the Great Glen. is a chain of lochs and streams linked togther, with their varying levels made navigable by locks. Some of the finest Highland acenery lies along its course, including views of Ben Nevis, the “proclaimed monarch of British mountains, his gloomy brow often crowned with mist and his precipitous shoulders ermined with snow at any season.” * % ok ok Treland has never been one of the most popular Summer haunts of the tourist, vet it is a country of great picturesqueness and varfety of scen- ery. With its central moors and peat bogs and hundreds of lakes, its coast ranges, bold headlands and deeply in- dented loughs and its castles and round towers everywhere, it is fully the equal of the Highlands of Scot- land. For the tourist who must have pure recreation as well as travel there are fine golf courses and good angling at most places. A delightful book on the north of Ireland, where the sce ery is probably wildest, is “Highway and Byways in Donegal and Antrim, by Stephen Gwynn, himself a Donegal man. The book is illustrated by Hugh Thomson. The author explored these two northern counties on a bicycle, but train, motor and boat will be easler for the average person. He started from Enniskilleh, near the west coast, the Interlaken of Ireland, and followed the irregular coast line all around the north of Ireland to Belfast, which is only a short dls. tance across the Irish Sea ffom Liver- pool. His account of his travéls shows interest in everything—not merely the brown and purple mountains, the continual sight and sound of the the swift, peaty trout streams an salmon rivers, but also Celtic history, present-day customs and dialect of the Irish peasantry and Irish humor, illustrated by many episodes of his trip. For example, a Donegal daugh- ter, begging for ald for her father, said: “He's just needin' whativer your honor's plased to give him, back or belly.” A grumbling old woman, asked whether her daughter was at. tentive to her, replied: “Ay, she’s kind eneuch by lumps; she's lumpy, Sally is.” Altogether, this is & book to make you long to visit north Ireland, where “you will be in the ideal coun- try for a holiday, always somewhere between the heather and the sea. * * k% The Park Street Library of Travel in half a dozen volumes, some new and some written a number of years ago, is an interesting collection to take along on a European trip, for steamer reading and _consultation after' the tour Three of the volumes are by Henry James and Willlam Dean Howells. Routes, fares, hotels—all the practical things~—have changed much in Euro since the writing of these book: t the build- ings, piétures, historic places are very the better because of the tion of B ’ THE EVENING STAR, : , SEPTEMBER 12, 1925. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. What happens it two teams are tied for the pennant at the close of the season?—G. M. A.If two teams of an organized base ball league are tied for first place at the end of the playing season, the two teams must have a play-off of three games and the winner of two games out of the three receives the pennant, Q. What was the first movie in which Ronald Coleman appeared?— W. W, T. A. It was “The White Siste which Lilllan Gish starred. Q. Do naturalists give any explana- tion for the brilllant colors of butter- flies?—S. W. A. The colors of a great many liv- ing things, including a considerable percentage of American butterfijes, have been commonly explained by theory of warning colors. According to this theory animals which were for any reason not edible by birds and mammals have developed striking combinations of color such as black and yellow, red and black, and black and white. in Q. How many units are thére in a great gross?—H. M. U. A. There are 12 gross or 1,728 units in a great gross. Q. Was the “Duke of Wellington" created a duke or was he born to the title?—D. M. A. The title “Duke of Wellington" was one granted by the British gov- ernment to Arthur Wellesley, who was born in Ireland, 1788. The duke was one of the greatest of British soldlers, first becoming noted in In. | dian service, later in the Peninsular | ‘War. He achleved his greatest fame in the campalgns against Napoleon. He was created Duke of Wellington after the victory of Vittorfa and re- ceived then a grant of 400,000 pounds. After the Battle of Waterloo, he re- celved another grant of 200,000 pounds and the title Prince of Waterloo. He also recelved large estates in Holland, and an order of decoration from Louls XVIII of France. The title did not carry a landed estate. Q. When were fountain pens first used?—S. H. N. A. A fountain pen was manufac- tured in England as early as 1835, but it did not attain any great degree of success, as it did not prove practicable in the way it was constructed. In 1884 a patent was granted for the au- tomatic underfed pen. It is stated that fountain pens are based on the principle of this modeL Q. How old was George Matheson when he lost his sight?—D. E. R. A. The blindness of this Scotch clergyman and author became almost complete in his eighteenth or nine- teenth year. Q. Which of the German cities Is richest today?—J. W. McC. A. The German embassy says that it is difficult to say which is the wealthiest and most prosperous municipality in Germany at present, since no statistics are avaflable con- cerning property and activities of the different German cities. Most of the municipalities in Germany lost their monéy, as, for Instance, endowments for certain purposes as far as they consisted of cash, or of state bonds, Jjust as German individuals therefore; the wealth of German municipalities now conelsts mostly of landed prop erty or productive nstitutions such as electric railways or gas factorfes etc. These institutions do not yield much profit at the present time Landed property s not productive at all in many cases, and on the con trary requires money to keep it in order, 8o the only property which is really of financial advantage for munictpality 15 agricultural land, such as forests or farms. Certain munici palities hold rather large forest erty. Sometimes they are having only a few hundred in habitants, therefore it would probably be one of these illages In which the highest value of municipal property would fall to each citizen if one were to divide the value of its wealth by the number of its citizens. Q. Ts it possible to decide just who are the richest men in the country? —R. R. A. There is no official information which can be obtained regarding in dividual wealth. The aifficulty .of estimating one’s wealth by incom 1918 141 persons reported an f of $1,000,000 or more, n the number was reduced to This great change was probably caused by investments in non-taxab securities. Q. When were high schools first known?—H. L. P. A. In connection w the earl uses of the word “high” was in 1373. Perhaps the first high school was in Winchester, England, in The first high school in the United States was es tablished in Boston in X the Boy ssical S mentary to the Boy Q. Where is the Villa Madama in Rome?—A. M. M A. The Villa Madama is on the Via Triumphalis under Monte Maric It was bullt by Guilio Romano and the frescoes are famous. th school one Q. Which fruits contain a great deal of acid?—H. N. A. Fruits which contaln a large amount of acid are oranges, lemons | grapefruit, peaches, plums and grapes. Q. Were the ruling class of Egyp tians in Moses’ day white or colored —E. G. B. A. They now, they Aryans, wers white. Then, as were dark-complexioned (George Washington said “Enow! edge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” It is truc that any people who are informed are | superior-to those who remain in igno- | rance. This is why we are placing at the disposal of our readers the great- | est free information bureau in ez- | istence. This paper is supporting in | Washington a highly trained organ- iizflhon of experts in the gathering and compiling of educational data. Ry | keeping in constant touch with Fed- | eral bureaus and educational enter- | prises it is able to pass on to you au- | thoritative information of the highest |order. If you have a question you | want answered submit it to our bu- | reaw. There is mo charge except 2 cents in stamps to cover the return postage. * Address The Star Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, d rector, Twenty-first and O streets morthwest, Washington, D. C.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. “All good Americans hope to go to Paris when they die.” Whether mod- ernists or fundamentalists, they agree on that, but even more emphatic is the agreement that “all good Ameri- cans wish they might come to Wash- ington and lve.” Expert engineers who have been studying the city announce that within a few years there will be not less than a million “good Americans’ who will fulfill their hopes by living in the Capital of the Nation, not counting the especially favored who will live in the delightful suburbs, and drive or fly to the busy me tropolis. * X % % Thomas E. Jarrell, president of the Real Estate Board, was asked: “What are the ‘mitigating circum- stances’ which justify anybody's living in Washington?" "His retort “This is the city of the most cul- tured people in the world," inclusive of the officlals and the diplomatic corps, the many distingulshed scholars and sclentists; the city of the finest library, museums, colleges and other educational advantages; the city sure to become the art and music center of the Nation; the city where there 1s always something going on of the highest cultural interest; the city where every day is a college extension course, because of its scientific atmos- phere; the city where national politics originate movements and where polit- ical developments focus. ‘““Thig is a city primarily of homes, without daily congestion of crowds of more or less alien factory hands, with- out smokey, industries—the city of re- finement and rest. Contrast life hers, amidst our broad boulevards, so shaded with foliage that the city is famous for its trees—contrast living here amidst all this peaceful beauty with the Jjostling and crowding struggle in a New York subway! “It was because of the natural beauty of the topography that I'En- fant and President Washington were able to plan such a city, even when all was wilderness. What wonderful, prophetic vision is behind the de- velopment of this Capital! Never in the history of civilization has an un- bullt city been so perfectly visualized and planned, with such boulevards and avenues radiating from hubs or statue-adorned ‘circles; and such charming and extensive parks. Con- sider Rock Creek Park and the dozens of smaller parks. Look at the natural readymade streams, cliffs and forests of the miles of park! “Business? Here is a city where the Government alone disburses $75,000, 000 annually in wages to its employes. Here is a wonder city to which tour- ists by the thousand come becausé of its interest and their sense of proprie- torship. It is well said that ‘Every American is a Washingtonian.”"” o Atk A California boasts of its climate; let Californians come to Washington either in Midsummer or Midwinter and enjoy a climate unsurpassed. Real es: tate dealers have classified the city ac- cording to thermal lines. They locate residents in whatever climate they prefer. Naturally, the high parts are cool and breezy—especially the nights are always cool. Note the variety in the topography. The Natiopal Cathe- stands upon a plateau higher than the summit of Washington Monument; all of Mount Pleasant is aimost upon a level with the top of that 550-foot shaft. Yet President Coolidge, who lives at the base of the Monument, testified to the salubriousness of the ‘White House in Summer. He had to vacate during the alterations and renovation this year, but he is re- joiced to return now, for the White House is so comfortable. i * * * X ‘The Weather Bureau has a scientific éxplanation of the astonishing coolness Rock Creek and Klingle Valleys. "e the cool air is trapped as if in a bowl, surrounded by the wooded hills Rock: Creek Park. £ temperature of Wash: the same as that ska, as may be observed |by & glance at the thermal lines upon |a thermal map of North America. We {have no glaciers behind us, but within |the city there is a greater variety in |altitudes than there is within the cor porate limits of Sitka. Dr. Day, th |climatologiSt of the United States { Weather Bureau, reports that the av | erage temperature of Washington last imonth was 73.2—just the same as that |of Paradise Isles, in Midpacific Ocean |That was only one degree warmer thi the average recorded by the Weather Bureau for the last 52 years. Strang how some people who know not Wash |ington have the idea that this is a pe culiarly hot city, when the very re verse is officlally proven. July has been known to average 80 degrees, but |all “0ld residents™ agree then that “the | weather is most unusual .and .is sure to cool off tomorrow."” * %k % % Chicago during the first week of | September had an average of 79 de grees, with: no such shade trees as adorn WasHipgton's boulevards and streets. Washington during the same week, even in the ordinary condftions of official registration, averaged only 77 degrees. St. Louls had an average for the week of 88, Ommha 53, Kansas City 87 and San' Antonio 82—all from 5 to 11 degrees hotter than Washing ton. While “unusual weather" in J has sometimes run the thermometer up to 80 average, the official average July for the past 49 years has been re corded at the United States Weather Bureau as only degrees. >y Lieut. Col. Sherrill, director of pub. lic bufldings and parks, recently re. buked the American snobs, who, trav eling abroad, speak disparagingly of their own country and its Capital: “How often are we outraged,” said Col. Sherrill, in a recent speech, “at the sight of certain types of Ameri cans, revelling in Europe, ashamed to admit that they are citizens of t country. It would be difficult to in still patriotic pride in persons of this type, but nothing could be more ef fective in reaching even this class than in having a National Capital of outstanding beauty among all the cap- itals of the world. X ok % x ‘Washington itself does not invite in dustries, smoky factories employing thousands of alien laborers. But there is a strong sentiment toward encour. aging industrial development across the Potomac, in Alexandria. There lie more than two miles of excellent sites along the bank of the tidal river, to which ocean vessels may come, on 'the one side, and many railroads are al ready on the other. This is the gate way between the entire South and the North—the strategical point for as sembling plants for automobiles and other machinery, and for other manu factures and industries. The emploves can live in Alexandria or comm into Washington, just across the river. The Potomac has a minimum chan- nel of 21 feet to the sea and, by an expenditure of only $300,000, which is provided for In this year's budget, the channel will be deepened to 24 feet That will admit, at low tide, 75 per cent of ocean-going commerce and, as industries grow, the channel will be deepened to 80 feet or more. The de. velopment of Great Falls will give us surplus electric power. Now that we have an auditorfun: with a seating capacity of 6,000 and u convention bureau, and its director, Mr. Le Vigne, with a hustling capac- ity of many million horse-power, theres is expectation that out of the 13,006 conventions held annually in ‘the United States, the National Capital will welcome several hundred each year. Every conventlon adds to the enthusiasm of future Washingtonians and arouses a consciousness of the im- portance for all large enterprises to . establish hepe their executive offices or other headquarters. President Coolidge is on record as determined to urge upon Congress this year the importance of erecting ade- quate public buildings, in place of the temporary war buildings and the rent- ed quarters now housing a third of the Government’s departments. (Copyright. 1825. by Paul V. Collins.)