Evening Star Newspaper, September 26, 1925, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY..September 26, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11¢h St. and Pennsvivania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Buildink. Dean Office: _ 16 Rewent St.. London. Enkland. The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn- % edition. Is delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents per month: daily only. 3 cents ver month: Sunday only. 20 cents Per month, ' Orders may he rent by mall o telenhone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bally and Sunday....1yr. $840:1 me.. aily only ART 6.00: 1 mo.. Sunday only 0c 0c 0c All Other States. ily and S 10.00: 1 mo. Bailxand sond 135 %700: 1 mo Sunday onl 1 3.00: 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press ie exclusively entitlsd to the us- for republication of all news dis: Patehes credited to it or not otherwise cred ted in this paver and also the local news Dublished herein. All riehts of publication of ! dispatches herein are algo reserved Foreign Loans and Debts. Senator Borah of Idaho, chairman ©of the Senate committee on foreign re- lations, vesterday _ directed identical letters to Secretary Mellon of the Treasury Department and Secretary Hoover of the Department of Com- merce seeking information regarding private American loans during the Jast vear to foreign countries and in- dustries. Senator Borah called atten- tlon to press dispatches saying that the loans have reached huge propor- tions, a billion dollars. The Idaho Sen- ator has been led to believe that rates of interest which the foreign creditors agree to pay run from 6 to 8 per cent. In the back of Senator Borah's mind there palpably exists a query as to why France should now seek to ob- tain settlement of its war debt to the Tnited States at rates of interest even below the 3 and 3% per cent con- tained in the British settlement with the United States when the French are perhaps willing to pay, and furthermore agree to pay, 6 or 8 per cent to obtain loans from private American interests. Senator Borah also calls attention 1o the fuct that it is reported a “flood" of additional loans will be made by private American interests to Euro- pean nations—presumably France is included in the list—as soon as the wer debts have been funded. His let- ter of inquiry becomes singularly pertinent, if these reports turn out to De facts. It is for the purpose of clear- ing up these matters that Senator Borah has addressed his letter to the two Secretaries, both of whom are mei<<=s of the American Debt Fund- ing Commission now meeting with the French commission headed by M. Caillaux. If foreigners are making new loans in the United States and agreeing to pay rates of interest ranging from 6 to 8 per cent it must be with the un- derstanding that the loans will be peid, principal and interest. There is N0 reason to suppose that American bankers will later agree to terms more lenient than the original. The European debtors must give as- surance that the original terms will be carried out, and they can only give such assurance on the ground of ability to pay. If they have the ability to pay—which is declared to be the that they will carry him back to the 'mna of so much emphatic, explosive, city hall in triumph. carry between September and Novem- ber. Now comes the question of how many of the mayor’s supporters in the primary fight will throw their votes to the Republican candidate, in order to wreak vengeance upon the Tam- many leaders who turned down their idol. Probably not many. Party regu- larity counts for a great deal in the big town. The Republican candidate is pitching his campaign in a key of criticism of the municipal administra- tion. He must do so. He cannot ignore the sins of omission and com- mission of the Hylan rule if he is to gain any ground in the fight. Can the Hylanites support him? Better, as Democrats, for them to fall in line with the nominee of the party or to stay home on election day. So Hylan is ‘“considering.” There are hints that he is not only thinking of the possibility of a successtul third- party candidacy, but he is thinking also of the chance of his getting a nomination for the bench which he once adorned. He will need a job after January 1. Can he get it from the organization as his price for being good and taking his primary whip- ping? Report says that that is really what he is pondering now. But report may do him an injustice. More likely he recognizes defeat when he sees it, and knows that when the primary ver- dict was rendered against him it put him out of politics. The Public Bathing Problem. President Coolidge’s intimation that it would be cheaper to transport the people of the District to salt water for public bathing than it would to build two bathing pools here is not to be interpreted as advocacy of a plan to carry the bathers of the Capital 40 miles or so for a swim. Rather was it but a demurrer to the prospective cost of a suitable equipment in Wash- ington. It has been estimated that to keystone of the settlement arch of the war debts to the United States— high rates of interest for private loans there must also be ability to pay the comparatively low rates of interest which the United States is asking on the war loans through its debt fund. ing commission. It is well understood here in Amer- fca that Senator Borah and other members of Congress are convinced that the United States has been most lenient in the terms made with Great Britain in funding the British war debt. Efforts on the part of France, therefore, to obtain still more favor- able terms are not looked upon with favor by Mr. Borah. It is well under- stood here, and probably in France also, that Mr. Borah is a power to be reckoned with when it comes to the action by Congress on any war-debt settlement with France. Mr. Borah would not, perhaps, remain so ob- @urate as to disapprove a settlement with France that differed from that with Great Britain in minor matters. But any wide divergences would be a signal for strong opposition. ——e ‘Washington’s new chief of police seems to have a comparatively easy task before him. He is asked only to give as good an account of himself as was given by the man he follows. ——at— A coal strike requires the miner to lay off and serves notice on the ulti- mate consumer to dig. Mayor Hylan Considers. Mayor Hylan of New York, recent- ly defeated for nomination for a third term In the primarfes, is besought by an unofficial organization of citizens to head a third ticket in an independ- ent movement. He takes the matter under consideration. Evidently his mood has changed since the early days in the contest, when he was all for fight, whatever the resyit of the primary vote. Somehow or other he falters in the face of the fact that a majority of nearly 100,000 Demo- cratic voters expressed their prefer- ence for the selection of Tammany Hall, his own borough turning against him. A third-party candidate bhas but poor show in a fight for votes. He lacks organization and he lacks the enthuslasm of a confident following. Unless he stands for a vital issue, as egainst an unpopular mandate of a political party, he is apt to run a poor third in any contest. In this case especially is there but small chance of a success. In New York municipal politics there is much at stake for the “faithful.” There are jobs and there are contracts. If the “organization’ wins thoge who supported it are in the line of preferment. It usually wins, especially in New York. Hence the hesitation of the mayor about go- ing it alone, even though assured by @ group of ardmmt peracnal aupporiers build two pools of proper size with provision for water purification would entail an expenditure of about $350, 000. A thousand bathers a day—which is & small number in view of the rec- ords of the public bathing beaches in the past—for 90 days would mean 90,000 bathers in the course of a sea- son. Put the figure at 100,000, which would be a small minimum, and at $350,000 the cost per season would be $3.50 aplece. Transportation 40 miles and return would, of course, not cost as much for the 100,000 bathers of this computation. It is, of course, idle to consider a salt-water substitute for local public bathing. The President’s suggestion was merely an expression of the cost of the plan 'to establish pure water pools. The question is whether the public need is so great as to justify the expenditure. It is a question of economy. Congress has declared that bathing beaches may not be main- tained in the Tidal Basin of Potomac Park. Asa result of the closing of the facilities there this Summer many drownings occurred in Washington as bathers sought other places in obe- dience to a natural inclination to swim in the heated weather. Other facilities must be provided if this loss of life is to be checked and prevented. The question is whether the bathing is to be done in the river waters as they are or in pools where the waters may be purified. A recent survey has shown that the waters of the Potomac and Anacostia are contaminated to the point at which it is dangerous to bathe In them. Cure of the conditions that make these waters foul would cost enormously, many times more than the estimated cost of pools. Even with an increased water supply it is out of the question to use filtered water for this purpose. The most favored project is to construct pools on the river shores in such a manner that the ‘waters in them can be kept pure by chemical means. It is that project that is to cost, according to present estimates, $350,000. Thus it is simply now a question of whether this sum can be spared from the public funds. Eventually, no matter what the cost, public bathing facllities must be pro- vided for Washington within the Dis- trict. —————— ‘The effort of a European visitor to establish sympathetic understanding at this particular time becomes diffi- cult when he discloses the fact that he knows nothing whatever about base ball. —————————— Uncle S8am has worked hard and economized. He is now in the position of the straightforward citizen who has to beware the gold brick. It is audaciously contended that air service is in danger of proving to be more air than service. -— A Phone Strike in Paris. At eleven o'clock yesterday morning every telephone operator in Paris took off her head set and folded her hands. The calls kept coming, but no re- sponse was given. All over the French capital people were saying, '“Allo, Allo,” into the transmitters and get- ting no answers. But it is not un- usual in Paris to have to say “Allo” frequently before eliciting rejoinders from “central,” which is chronically leisurely. So not until some minutes had passed did it dawn upon the in- creasingly impatient patrons of the telephone system, which is a state or- ganization, that there was something wrong. Just what it was nobody could tell. There had been no an- nouncement of any untoward happen- ing. True, the public knew that there was trouble between the operators and the bureau in charge over pay questions, but that is not uncommon. The impatient people at the mouth- pleces of the telephones all over Paris could not visualize the girls sitting back with folded hands at the cen- trals. For two hours they sat at rest. Then negotiations for the readjust- ment of the wage scale having been resumed at one o'clock promptly, the two-hour strike having been effective, the girls put back their head sets and began answering calls. Nobody knows Just how many expletives were voiced into unheeding - transmitters during those two hours, but it is reported that never before in the history of r It 1s a long |varied and dramatic language as dur- ing those 120 minutes of telephonic silence. The girls at central heard not one word of all this choice language, jand went serenely on with their tasks in their usual leisurely manner. Suppose Washington were sudden- ly, without warning, in the middle of the day, cut off for two hours from telephonic communication? Would it rival Paris in its vehemencs of pro- test? It would surely realize the im- portance of the telephone as a daily, hourly aid to business and personal convenience. ——rete—————— The House of Detention. Four boys escaped Friday from the House of Detention, where they were held as muspects in connection with the robbery of a grocery store. They made their escape by tearing apart the bars of their dormitory, which were loosely fitted. Owing to the lack of sufficlent guards their flight was not impeded. R ‘This elopement from the House of Detention directs attention to the fact that that institution is inadequately equipped and manned. The building in which it is housed is an old struc- ture adapted from other use, chosen, indeed, simply because, standing on Government ground pre-empted for eventual public bullding construction, it could be had inexpensively. There are far too many such make- shifts in the public service equipment of the District, and, indeed, of the Government itself. The House of De- tention is an important factor in the police and judicial process of the Capi- tal municipality. In it are kept wom- en and children awaiting trial or ex- amination. They are prisoners in one sense, wards in another. They must be decently housed and yet securely detained. They must have liberty of exercise, and yet not license to roam at large. The present building is abso- lutely unfit for this purpose. A suit- able establishment should be newly built, with ample grounds, designed to assure security and to permit com- fort and reasonable freedom of ac- tion. It need not be downtown, where land is valuable. Simply because this building was available and could be fitted up to suit the immediate needs it was chosen to replace an earlier and much inferior house, and has been kept be- cause of lack of appropriation for a new structure. This latest escape is but an additional argument for the early provision of funds for a suitable structure sufficiently equipped and manned to insure proper administra- tion. ————— European diplomacy now favors meeting debts by the old-fashioned method of direct payment. It is not desirable to discard the precedents of business and introduce new methods which minimize the responsibilities of formal obligation. Uncle Sam is not g hard creditor, but he may help to stabilize the world by an insistence on conservative principles. ———————— Europe is amazed at the wealth of the U. 8. A. A few years hence the amazement will be still greater as the prospects of Florida real estate values are realized. ———————— Congress is fortunate in the fact that it is enabled to postpone its dem- onstration until after the base ball heroes get through with the spotlight. —_———— ‘Washington's grip on the base ball pennant is a renewed assurance that the good loser may come into his own at last. ————e—————— All kinds of debt payments would be easy if Germany could only have kept her paper marks circulating at face value. . It seems possible to “‘demote” a man Into increased prominence. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Melancholis. There was a man who sadly said, “I sometimes wish that I were dead!” Indeed, it filled my heart with woe To hear a person talking so. But when, one day, he caught a cold His manner was not near so bold. He ran for pills and oily rags And hollered for hot-water bags. He had the fam’ly all upset For fear we'd lose our precious pet. ‘With flivvers rushing here and there And bullets flying through the air It is a very easy thing To quit this earth. And yet we cling. All we would have to do is wait Upon some crossing for our fate; Which, ‘spite of melancholy buzz 1s what nobody ever does. And all our “let me perish” stuff Proves only a ne=ntic bluff! Rew.uons. “What is your idea of the relations of nations?” “They're a good deal like family re- lations,” answered Senator Sorghum. “They don’t think a lot of you un- less you're in a position to lend 'em money.’ Jud Tunkins says golf would be a pleasanter game if the locker room could be made as picturesque and comfortable as the links. Power of Politemess. The diplomat Wil smile and say, “What is it that We have to pay?” Hiniself he'll set - ‘With winsome style To pay & debt ‘With just a smile. Sun and Moon. “Sunshine helps to raise the corn,” remarked the nature lover. “Yes,” answered Farmer Corntossel, “but it’s moonshine that helps to raise the price.” Analysis and Synthesis. How often we will sadly find This spectacle pathetic; A man of analytic mind ‘Whose gin was too synthetic! “De ‘wise man,” said 'Uncle Eben, “4s de one dat depends on the day’s 'work stia o€ dp evenin's crap game.” In sclence. read ference the newest worke?. 18 Hisratare, tho oldest. The clasete literatire fs always modern —Bulwer Lytion. A friend telling me recently that he had read every word of Darwin’s “‘Origin of Species” and “Descent of Man"” while away on his vacation, I could not but express my opinion that it had been a waste of time. The futility of reading every word could nowhere be better demonstrated than in those two books, parts of them superseded, as they have been, by later findings of sclentists. Science is a flux—it knows no standing still, but ever goes onward, let the cost be what it may. ‘To minutely read Charles Darwin's great books today Is something of a waste of time. In reviewing them re- cently for this column, the writer thereof did go to that trouble, but then only out of a sense of duty to his readers. It was a particular case. I can think of no greater foolish- ness in general than idling away the time of one’s precious vacation with x word-by-word serutiny of “The Origin of Species” and “The Descent of Man." There is a better and more effective way of reading them—one which, it is true, requires some practice, but which can be learned easily enough by any one who is enough interested in books to read them consistently. The lack of books in many modern American homes will be considered at some other time. Today we proceed on the assumption that those who rcad books at all are interested in knowing the best way to go at a scientific book written in the past. This past may have been but recent, 80 swift is the advance of sclence. Unless one is an adept, then, in the very subject on which he is reading, he is very likely to find himself sol- emnly cramming facts into his head which are no facts at all. * K ok % The best way to read such books is page by page, rather than word by word. ‘This was the method adopted by that omniverous reader the late Col. Roosevelt. He managed to go through a tremendous number of books in his lifetime, an astounding total, for which no other method will account. He had the habit of taking in the contents of whole paragraphs, and even pages, at a glance. To be able to do this in its perfection, of course, requires both a fine mentality and assiduous practice. Yet almost any one of ordinary in- telligence can achieve it, in some measure at least, with the result that he will save himself much labor and be able to double or triple the number of worth-while books he has read. “I read every word of it,” is the proud boast of many. This sentence probably had its origin in school day when the pride of studlous pupils uttered it as a rebuke to those dumb ones that “skipped” whole pages, or even chapters. Unfortunately, many of our school- day habits follow us through life— some that should be as dutifully laid aside as were the very histories and geographies we used. Do we want to read history today, we get for our- selves volumes written for adults, not children. The plain truth is that in certain sorts of books it is not only not neces- sary but undesirable to “read every word.” What one wants to find out, for instance, in such a book as “The Descent of Man” is simply what Dar- win had to say upon that mooted question. To do this, the better plan is to read by paragrapbs, taking in whole thoughts at a time. It is not so hard as it may sound to those who may never have attempted it. Every newspaper man, for instance, by the very necessities of his work, | reading of good books. SATURDAY, SEPTEMB THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. H | familiar to us from our childgood that does it as a matter of course. Shortly before his ppess time he will come into the possession of a lengthy legal decision. The topic is abstruse and the handling even more so. Reading word by word, he scarce could run the whole over in the time he has avail- able. Yet when the paper comes out there is a long article with the “high spots’ of the decision “played up” in the opening paragraphs, the whole as- sembling the essential portiogs of that very learned, very lengthy, décision. How did he do it? The newspaper man, of course, em- ployed a few of the tricks of his trade, but in the main he relied on his ability to read paragraphs instead of words, pages instead of paragraphs. Experience had taught him that the “guts” of the decision, as it is com- monly called, would be found in the very last paragraph of the entire tract. This is one of the “tricks.” But experience also had taught him a great deal more, and that is the priceless ability to scan over printed words, to pull out the essential thoughts, to make himself master of what the writer has to impart and let the rest go. This ability is particularly desirable in the reading of scientific and legal works wherein there is scarcely ever an attempt made to write for any other purpose than to impart informa- tion. 3 This, perhaps, is the fundamental distinction between ‘“sctence” and “literature,” as Bulwer-Lytton distin- guished them. The scentific works that have any particular literary valuc are few and far between. The vast number of them are works of erudi- tion, laying no claim to any charm of style. Learn to read slow—all other g1 Will follow in their proper places. So, William Walker. But in the light of our foregoing remarks we cannot agree with him, especialiy in reference_to such works as those of Charles Darwin. Nor, if one is a rapid reader by nature, can his words be held truth for any kind of reading. To read slow is but to make a task of what hould be a delight. One is all but lost in a welter of words. The delectable art of skipping is rome- thing that has to be learned as well as any other. It comes with much reading, and only the book-lover knows it in its perfection. To all those who hold reverence for the printed page this necessarily is one of the crowning rewards of books. Truly, of the making of them there is no end, and no man, however great a bookman he may be, can hope 1o read the hundredth part of them. The art of reading by paragraphs, then, and pages, comes to his assist. ance, enabling him to call his own far more books than otherwise he would be able to claim. Thus in reading “The Descent of Man” he will read only for those por- tions which set forth what the great scientist actually said upon the ques-| tion. The great mass of experimental data which Darwin gives makes but wasted labor for any but the man who is studying the subject for his life- work. _1 would caution readers against the supposition that anything is here said in favor of careless reading. If this method of surveying a book, as it were, does not come more or le: nat- ural to him, he had better laboriously spell out each word, rather than run the chance of missing half of what his author desires to tell him. If natural inclination, however, or study makes this system easy to him, he will find that he has added one more delightful feature to that most charming of all entertainments—the Saklatvala Ban East Indian millionaires who wave the red flag and preach revolution should be barred from the United States along with ordinary bomb throwers and other undesirable aliens, in the opinion of a large section of the American public. This is made quite clear in the discussion which has fol- lowed the State Department’s refusal to permit Shapurji Saklatvala, Brit- ish member of Parliament, to visit Washington as a delegate to the Inter- parliamentary Union. Nevertheless, a number of impor- tant newspapers hold that the Gov- ernment’s action was short-sighted, as expressed by the Canton Dally News, “becausae it lends dignity to a worth- less cause,” and it was unwise, as the Chicago Daily News puts it, “to create the impression that the United States is afraid of free speech.” In the same vein the Hartford Times declares “the matter of free speech and common sense cannot be decided on a basis of hide and seek among musty legalisms, nor can American traditions be safely intrusted to a State Department which is chronically afflicted with shaking palsy.” “Oh, let him in,” exclaims the Chi- cago Tribune, while the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat denounces the de- partment’s action as “little more than a reflection upon the intelligence and patriotism of the American people.” “While admitting that the action taken by our Government is legally correct,” says the New York Times, “most Americans will feel that it leaves us in a somewhat mortifying position. In London Mr. Saklatvala i{s regarded as much less of a portent than a joke.” The Rochester Times- Union thinks the department merely was ‘“playing safe,” and remarks that “deliberations of the Interparliamen- tary Union afford little scope for radi- cal utterances.” * kK K “Anyway,” suggests the Trenton Times, “‘to travel around this country a bit and see how well off the average American workingman is might con- vince the London ‘red’ of the error of his theories.” ‘The San Francisco Bul- letin also paints a pictuke of Saklat- vala going back from America “a hopelessly discouraged comrade,” be- cause “to a real aglitator the whole blame country is hopelessly sodden in prosperit; To the Des Moines Tribune-News “the amusing thing about the State Department's decision to exclude the Pritish communist is the broadcast- ing of his views in the very denuncia- tion Secretary Kellogg gave to the press.” Now, continues the Des Moines paper, “that everybody knows what the man is, what he will say, there is no need for him to come to the United States.” No subject for joking is found, how- ever, by the many papers which give unqualified approval to the American Government's action. “It was not nly the right, but the duty of the tate Department,” the Portland Ex- press declares, “to guard against dis- order by excluding from entrance here this man who proclaimed that his ob- ject in coming here was to provoke disorder.” The Lynchburg Advance says ‘‘America already has enough of these dangerous radicals” and “the Government should not permit this country to be made the stamping ground for any more of them.” Free- Is Approved; Some Think Action Needless tention of breaking one of our laws that it was decided to keep him out.” S “Since this is the country of this people,” the Albany Knickerbocker Press argues, “and since this people does mot care to hear such things, there is rightfully exercised the sov- T to firmly close the doo; is born, according to lle Bee, “of the well con- ceived notion that America should not be the stamping ground for the evangels of alien minorities, and the realization that the United States has sufficient troubles of its own with- out tolerating dangerous firebrands.” American sentiment appears to the Charlotte Observer, also, “to be in full accord with the action of the State Department,” and the Observer sug- gests that “perhaps the Government has become awake to the plans of the Reds boldly proclaimed.” “In denying Saklatvala admission,” explains the Cincinnati Times-Star, ‘we are not offending a sister gov: ernment. Saklatvala would not ap- proach our shores bearing an English flag. His flag is red, dyed with the potential blood of revolutionary vic- tims.” Picturing the communist delegate as “a mild and pleasant gentleman,” the Fayetteville Observer remarks, however, that “there is a sinister pur- pose behind his mild and pleasant countenance; indeed his prepossessing appearance tends to make his revolu. tionary propaganda more dangerous. The Boston Traveler concludes: “There is no possible excuse for revolutionists in a nation like ours, whose Government can be changed at any time by vote of the citizens.” The Murderous Driver. Newspapers and individuals in a number of communities are turning the guns of criticism on the reckless automobile driver. In a few of the larger cities the police have deemed it necessary in the interests of public safety to adopt stern methods in treat- ing the reckless driver. It is not a quarrel between pedestrian and motor- ist, but a movement on the part of careful drivers, pedestrians and au- thoritites to make the streets and high- ways as safe as possible under exist- ing traffic conditions. Reckless driving does not consist of exceeding a statutory speed limit. In fact, those charged with the enforce- ment of traffic rules separate speeders into two classes and concern them- selves with only the one. Acts of reckless driving considered especially objectionable are driving on the wrong side of the road at curves and hills, fast driving at street and road intersections, crowding other cars on any thoroughtare, passing standing street cars where there is no safety zone, excessive speed in heavy traffic, and passing the car ahead at points where the road is concealed from the driver’s view and where such passing is made hazardous by traffic conges- tion. Traffic accidents are increasing at an alarming rate, although less rapidly than the increase in automobiles, but to compare the number of accidents with the number of licensed automo- biles and motor trucks is sufficient to convince one that the great bulk of motorists and pedestrians is careful. The reckless driver is as great a dom from prejudice in the matter is pointed out by the Pittsburgh Chron- icle-Telegraph, citing the passport visa in the first place and stating: “It was only agter he bad declared his to- menace to the careful motorist as to the careful pedestrian, and both are equally anxious to make the m&.‘m sale 105 themselves—Rutland b THE EIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. Some famous hymns have been sp we think of them ae a spéces of folk lore, springing,.without pergonal ‘au- thorship from Humanity as a-whole to meet & huméin need. Yet sometimes knowledge of the authors of the hymns and the circumstances under which they were written adds greatly to thelr "interest’ and helpfulnessh Hymn writers have frequently made use of military symbolism, comparing the Christian life to a struggle of the forces of good against those of ‘evil Martin Luther’s’ hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” was to the Ger- man Reformation what thé “Marseil- laise” was to the French Revoution. He based it on the forty-sixth Psalm, but it does not entirely follow the course of the Psalm. Another hymn of a stirring military character is “‘On- ward, Christian Soldiers,” by Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, a Yorkshire cu- rate at the time when the hymn was written. He was training the_chil- dren of his village for a Whitmonday march and could find for them no g00d marching song, so he wrote this hymn. “Am Ia Soldier of the Cross? was written by Isaac Watts, who has been called the father of English hymri writing, to follow a sermon on the text from first Corinthians, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” Rev. John:Samuel Bewley Monsell of Guildford, England, wrote over 300 hymns, among which none has been more used than “Fight the Good Fight.” * x ok ok ‘The protecting, strengthening power of God is appealed to and proclaimed In many hymns. Five of the best known are “All Hail the Power 'of How Firm a Founda- “Rock of Ages,” “Jésus, Lover of My Soul” and “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” The first of these is the one £reat hymn written by Edward Per- ronet, an English clergyman of French descent who worked with John and Charles Wesley in the Methodist movement. “How Firm a Founda- tion” was written by Robert Keene, precentor in the church of Dr. John Rippon, a_Baptist minister of Lon- don, who first published the hymn in his collection “A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors.” ‘“Rock of Ages” was written by Augustus Top- lady, a young Englishman, while he was fighting tuberculosis which ulti- mately caused his death. This hymn’ was the dying prayer of Prince Al- bert, the consort of Queen’ Victoria, and was also an especial favorite with Gladstone, who often hummed it in the House of ‘Commons and translated it into Greek, Latin and Italian. ‘“Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” is considered the best of Charles Wesley's hymns, and he wrote about 6,000. It is said that this hymn was ‘written just after Charles Wesley and his brother John had been driven by a mob from the place where they had been preaching. Another story is that it was written after a frightened bird, putsued by a hawk, had flown into the. folds of Charles Wesley's coat for protection. “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” by Sarah Flower Adams, has been called the greatest hymn efer written by a woman. As President McKinley was dying he murmured the first,line of this hymn. . * kX X *x Two hymns are famous because they are a cry for help in the midst of doubts and difficulties; ““Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me,” and “Lead, Kindly Light. The first, by Rev. Edward Hopper of New York, was published in the Sail- ors’ Magazine when the author was pastor of the Church of Sea and Land, a sailors church in New York Harbor. “Lead, Kindly Light,” one of the greatest of all iymns, was written by. Cardinal Newman before he left the Church of England, while on a voyage from Sicily to. Marseille. It was dur- ing the period when he was beginning to be drawn toward the Church of Rome and is a prayer for guldance in his perplexity. 3 * K X % From Greenland's Icy Mountains,” by Bishop Reginald Heber of the Church of England, is a missionary hymn. “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” by Rev. Rankin of Washington, D. C., is called the-benediction hymn. “Blest Be the " ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How many copfes of “Suwanee Rier wergleold?—£ DG ¢+ - © B ‘fi& Fourfundred rlla'ulzni gzpiefio of & olks atsHoma,” by Stephen Fos: Q. Which mistress of the White House was it who first decided not to return calls?—M. S. A. Mrs. James Monroe introduced this custom. As one of the newspi- pers of the day put it: “Owing to the increase in the population of the Dis- trict, the task of the President’s wife returnjng all calls was such an pner- s to make it practically im- Q. Were any of Brigham Young's children deformed?—V. . A. The author of the new biography of Brigham Young says: ‘‘There were no lame, deformed or blind children among Brigham Young's §6.” Q. Does the salamander have scales? | —F. W. A. It does not. Q. What fs a ransom bill?—FH. ( A. A ship captured by privateers may be redeemed by her owners at an agreed price. The captors then exe- cute a ransom bill, which is supposed her native port, provided she follow & prescribed course. Q. What is the lepgth of the Ama- zon River, including®its tributaries? R. L. A. Including its main branches within Brazil, it covers a length of 19,000 miles, of which 13,000 miles are navigable. Q. Who started the first school for deaf mutes in Great Britain?—W. D. A. Thomas Braidwood, who lived from 1715 to 1806, started the first school of this kind, in Edinburgh. In 1783 the school was given a royal grant of £100 a year and was moved to Hackney, near London. Q. It s important that T find the ad- dress of Asbury College. Can you fur- nish {t?—N. P. G. A. Indiana Asbury University was founded by. the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Chufch in 1837, and was known by that name until 1584, In recognition of large gifts by Washington C. De Pauw during his life and the bequest of a share in his estate, ment of the university since his death, the name of the _institution was changed to De Pauw University. Q. How is falsetto produced? A. In “Your Voice and You statement is made that falsetto is product of the ventricles and false cords use! in the same way as the mouth and lips are used in whistling, mouth cavity and the opening between the false cords to that of the approxi- mated lips.” Q. How much meat eaten daily in the United States?—S. C. A. Between 50,000,000 and 60,000,000 pounds of meat and meat products are consumed daily by Americans. Q. How many people are employed in the Indian Service’—J. R. A. This work requires about 5,600 employes. Q. Is there a word for the fear of tuberculosis or tuberculosis persons? —F. T. A. The term is phthisiophobia. Q. Is cypress wood taking the place of cedar in the making of shingles? —AT. D. A. Between 70 and $0 per cent of the shingles used are made from Western red cedar. Shingles ate also made from Northern white cedar and Under instructions from Congress, the United States Forestry Service is about to increase the cost of living Jeremiah ] f0T 2l sheep and beef animals graz- ing on public forest lands. The in- crease will be graded according to lo- 'l:le that Binds,” by John Fawcett, a Yorkshireman, is the hymn of union, used constantly by Christian Endeave Socleties. “'Calm on the Listening Ear of Night,” by Rev. Edmund H. Sears of Massachusetts, “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by.Night," by Nahum Tate, and “O_Little Town of Bethlehem,” by Bishop ~ Phillips cal conditions. In Arizona, the pas- turage being poor, the price of board will be actually lowered. In other States the rate will average a cent.| and a half a month for every sheep and 11 cents a month for ail cattle. And all sheep are bleating and cat- tle bawling at this outrageous in- crease of living expenses—nearly dou- which has added -more than | ‘half -a million dollars to the endow- | the ventricles corresponding to the | Brooks, are three of the most beauti-|ble what it has been costing up to ful of Christmas hymns. In addition |date, even since the war. to purely religious hymps, there are,| In the good old times of the sheep’s of course, many patriotic songs which | forefathers any ram or lamb could are of the nature of hymns, as Julia | live quite comfortably in Uncle Sam'’s Ward Howe's “Battle Hymn of the |boarding house for about three-quar- Republic,” Samuel Smith's “My Coun. | ters of a cent a month for his raw try. 'tis of Thee,” Joseph Hopkihgon's | material—the succulent grass, includ- +Hail! Columbia” and Francis Scott|ing & fine flavoring of forest tree Key's “Star Spangled Banner.” * kK x4 Stories of the sea, with storms, ship- wrecks, mutinies, pirates and burfed treasure, are always popular, probably because they give the settled business man or the tired housekeeper an il- lusion for the time of being an ad. venturous, devil-may-care sort of per. son. Two anthologies of such gea and pirate-stories have recently been pub- lished—“Great Sea Stories: Second Serles” and “Great . Pirate Stories: Second Series,” both edited by Joseph Lewis French, who has established a reputation as a persistent antholo- gist. Some of these stories are true, or at least were told as true; s Sir Walter Raleigh’s narrative of Sir Richard Greenville'’s ship Revenge and_its remarkable defense against 53 Spanish vessels at Flores, in the Azores, and a burial at sea fram R: H. Dana’s “Two Years Before the Mast. Most of the stories are, however, from inasterpieces of fiction, as an account of the fishermen from Pierre Loti’s “An Iceland Fisherman,”*the fight with the octopus from Victor Hugo's “Toilers of the Sea,” the pursuit of the whale from J. Fenimore Cooper's “The Pilot™ and the rounding of Cape Horn from Herman Melville’s “White Jacket.” i Poetry divorced from ‘personality 1§ “pure poetry” according to George Moore, who has edited “An Anthology of Pure Poetry.”. He has included-in the collection 75 poems, many of them, familiar to readers of poetry. Niné- teen aré songs fronr Srakespeare’s plays, nine are -poems of William sprouts and seeds. Flocks of 1,000 sheep could graze under the protect- ing care .of shepherds, at an expense of only $10 a month for the grass, while embryo forests were ‘‘thrown in"” free. A herd of 200 cattle could do the same. LE Rk X The stock feeders are now setting up a plea that the Federal Govern- ment . should withdraw its control over public land and turn it over to State control. It is alleged that the feeders belfeve that they would exer- cise more influence over iocal powers than they do over the United States Forestry Service, and could get better rates for pasturage. A more specific demand has been -formulated by stockmen at a confer- ence held in Salt Lake City, pursuant to a call by the Wool Growers' As- sociation and the American, National Live Stdek ~Association. In that demand they ask that the basis of charge for pasturage shall be changed -from per capita of stock to per acre of land, with no restrictions a8 to the number of sheep or cattle that may be put upon the pasturage. Furthermore, they want vested rights in the land, with the privilege of selling and transferring the rights, just as land titles are sold; also that Buch rights shall be based on estab- lished priority—“squatter rights"— barring .out the newcomer upon land urudx.txken by the stockman who | was e at the time of the enact- ment.-of the law. Also, “any law enacted coyering this matter should ‘be based upon the principle of loc: option fu States or grazing districts. Blake, eight, of Shelley, three of | Federal control would thus be sup- Caleridge, six of Poe, and but one of | crséded by the local option of the in- Keats. Browning and Wordsworth | terests desiring to acquire by squat- are not admitted at all. The last se- | ter sovereignty the absolute right over lection in the volumé is the chorus | the public land, including the power from Swinburne's “Atalanta in Caly-|to sell, and the exemption of ‘taxes, don.” In his introduction. Mr. Moore | since the title, nominally, tould re- explains that the anthology origiiidted | main in the Government, . wHich would during a dinner to which he had in. | permanently rent the land, “‘upon.a vited his twe_friends, -John- Freemax | charge basis; which does not dépreciate and Waltér de Ja Mare. The three jinvestment values in privately owned discussed the meéaning of pure poetry [ proj les” ndent upon‘the duse of and agreed that it must be pobtry de-|Such ra For example, the void of personal feeling or moral pur- | rents per acre for grazing must be so pose, hence almost exclusively de-|low thit' the earning value of the scriptive or narrative. Mare aasisted ewflll~ad§otha-r private property in the selection of titles. shall not lepreciated. o ClErEr Incident to these demands of the stock interests is one mére stipula- J. C. Snaith’s limitations of subject|tion, namely, that the Government in novel writing seem to be' 0 NAITOW | myst make no further national parks.| ones. In “Araminta,” he wrote a gay | nor game preserves in any of the Far and fantastic comedy;: in “Broke of! Western States. All land Gfned by Covenden,” a_realistic novel .of Eng, lish country-iife, with a typical tyran-| for nical country squire -and father of &/ or a family; in “The Undefeated,” -an| .Phese:{lemands, formulated at Salt Idealistic war novel. Now he has|Lake City,” wfll be urged updn the written, in “Thus Far,”-a sthriller ;of | congrébsianaltommittee now investi- mystery and horror "sufficlent to | gating the situation, and preparing to satisfy the most exacting. The theme | take up the matter at the coming ses- um“xmmmtdmifiom. turage, regardless of T mfi “else. ae the-. Foderal. Government ds’ wanted| uthern white cedar. . Next to cedar, oy'prea; is' the leading shingle wood, followed by yellow .pine, redwood, spruce’and chestnut. -~ A few shingles are made from hemlock, Western yellow pine, white pine and some others. Q Wil _static fir M. D. | A The American Chemical Soclets ¥< that static sparks can ignite ex plosive dust. Static electricity . i+ ven as a possible cause of an ir | creasing number of explosions. Q. .When will the next natlonal art exhibition be held und what qualifica- tions of an artist constitute eligibflity to enter,u picture’—H. W. J. A. The American Federation of Art gays that there are several natlonal art exhibitions held_annually—for stance, those of the National Academ of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Chicago Art Institute, the St. Louls Citv Art Museum, etc. An international art | exhibition is held annually at the | Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh. Every |artist is eligible to enter in any of | these exhibitions. The acceptance of | thé ‘picture rests entirely upon ite | merit. electricity start to assure tie ship's safe conduct 1o | | Q. Where were dlamonds first used |as jewels>—B. B. | ~A. India was the original home of |the diamond as a jewel. It is not known when the first diamond was | discoverad. | Q. When was | evolution first published?— | 'A. Darwin's famous work {lished on November 24, 1559, the title, “On the Orlgin Species by Means of Natura! tion, or the Preservation of Fa Races in the Struggle of Life.” | Q. Is there such a thing s a foo intc ation?—C. C. A. Botlism such a condition. s described as being Q. Under whose jurisdiction is the Dead Letter Office? M. M. A. It comes under the jurisdiction of the First Assistant Postmaster General of the Post Office Department the the Q. Should grass that fs cut in Fall be left on the lawn during Winter?—J. S. R. | A. The mown grass should be on the lawn. | Q. How many pupils in the United | States are studying Latin?—M. F. W A. In the latest survey there were 688,547 studying the language. ‘What is the difference betwes violet light and uitra . L. B. | A. There is no difference. Q. Is cinder building material?—s. B. B. A. Engineering experts say that the so-ealled cinder block has excel- lent fireresisting properties. It is strong enough to be used for a two- story building, not higher. It has proved'a good insulator for heat and cold and is light to handle. It must be stuccoed on the outside, as it should not be exposed. Cinder block is now permitted under specifications in most of the large cities, and is practical. block a practical (The resources of our free informa- tion bureau are at your service. You are invited to call upon it as often as you please. It is being maintained by The Star solely to serve you. What question can we answer for you? There is no charge at all ezcept 2-cents in stamps for return postage. Address_your letter to The Star In- formation Bureau. Frederick J. Has- kin, director, Twenty-rirst and C streets northwest.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Forestry is preparing to put into ef- fect its new rates for pasturage, as directed by Congress at its last ses- sion, practieally doubling the rates. £ % x % The cry arises that what Congress adds to the cost of pasturage must be passed on to the “ultimate consumer” of meat. A steer 3 years old when butchered has had its lifetime grazing at a cost of 6 cents a month—now to cost 1} cents. For 36 months the pasturage:has been costing $2.16, and it is going to cost $3.96—an increase of $1380. If the steer weighs 1,000 pounds on the hoof it will dress out about 600 pounds of meat. The In. creased cost of pasture would amount to three-tenths of a cent a pound on a steak. Why is Congress interested in rais: ing the' cost of living even three- tenths of a cent a pound, when, per: haps, a man is eating three pounds a week, and the actual increase will be a’cent a week? The answer is that much of the grazing is upon cut-over land, whera forest restoration might be possible even through the sprouting of seed scattered by the old-time forests pre- ceding the advent of the lumberman and the farmer. The United States is facing a crisis ¥n forest production] B e ‘The above is the answer of stock interests to the announced -raise in rentals by the Forest Sefvice. Quot- ing, i substance, from the summary of the situation made by the Amer- ican Forestry Association: “Incensed over the propofal of the Forest Service to place a fair market price on the forage of 90,000,000 acres, the stockmen are organizing a great offensive to carry through Congress an act which would reduce grazing fees to merely the Government's cost of administration—about $3,000,000 an- nual revenue from a total area equivalent to all New England and New York. Give legal status to graz- ing on national forests and create a commission with powers superior to that of the Secretary of Agriculture. Turn the unreserved public lands over to the States—158,000.000 acres—prob- ably equivalent to Washington, Ore- gon and California combined.” * kxx ‘The stackmen argue that sheep and cattle do not injure young pine trees —2 or 3 yedrs old, or younger. This is emphatically contradicted by the Forestry Service, basing its judgment upon scientific observation. ‘The Forestry Service declares that such pasturing as the stockmen want would completely destroy hopes of ever establishing forests in the land so uséd: it would be equivalent to. donating the vast domain to private Interests. - -An edjtorial appearing in the Sep- tember number of American Forests and’ Ferest Life says: “For every stockman now fighting to graze his stock on the public range there are several thousand American citizéns directly concerned in the way in which those ranges are used. Their lives, their property and their grosperlly are gt stake. This {s par- cularly -‘true of the lands within the national forests, which were created I+for. the:primary purpose of conserving forests. and waters, - that the West might” grow and ‘prosper and con- tribute its wonderful resources to the upbuiling. of the Nation. *. * = The live-stock industry is but one of many great Western industries de- pendent upon the 'proper use df our public lands. Farming, fruit grow< ing, lumberthe; Water*power and city bullding, each have an Interest no less vital to themselves, to_the West as a whole and to the Nation.”