Evening Star Newspaper, October 29, 1925, Page 6

"6 THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY....October 20, 1825 THEODORE W. NOYES...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: “and Pennsylvania Ave. Ticaxo Yower Bulldine. Puropean Office - 16 Rexent St.. Loudon. Encland. 11th 8t The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn- nr edition. is delivered by carriers within the city at’60 cents per month: dail 45 cents per month: Sunday only. month_ Orders sent by mall or " e e Telephons Main 5000- 'Eoumm; i made by carrier at the end of each mont] Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia.: Datly and Sun DAY only. Sunday on] All Other States. glfl\' and Sunday....1yr.. $10.0¢ Sunday oniy a3 3386 Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Prees 1s exclusively entitled the use for republication of all news dig- atehss credited 1o it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paver and also the I published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. ———— The New World’s Example. The importance of the republican system of government of the New ‘World in advancing the cause of in- ternational peace was emphasized by President Coolidge in his address yes- terday at the unvelling of the statue of Gen. Jose de San Martin, Argen- tine hero. The President praised par- ticularly the contributions of Latin America in moral and intellectual leadership. The countries of South America have looked to the substitu- tion of reason for force in their rela- tions with one another and with the world. “They have repeatedly recognized, in the most practical fashion and diffi- cult circumstances, that even lssues of vital interest to the national wel- fare may be determined to the advan- tage of all concerned without resort to hostilities,” the President sald. Problems of international bound- aries, involving great areas and popu- lations, have been settled by the South American republics through arbitra- tion or adjudication time and again, and the settlements have been followed, not by national hatreds, but by dem- onstrations of good will and mutual confidence. A far different picture from that, for example, of war-torn Europe, where international bound- aries have been shifted in the past by dint of the bayonet and heavy ar- tillery. The New World has taken the lead and set an example to the old in the substitution of the rule of reason for the rule of force in the settlement of International disputes. The govern- ments established in America have been dedicated to the cause of freedom, civil and religious. It was but natu- ral, as President Coolidge so ably pointed out, that under such condi- tions the nations of America, both South and North, should have looked to better methods of international dealing. The President’s tribute to the great nations of South America and to Latin America in general is well merited. The facts which he so eloquently called to the attention of the world yesterday may well be considered by the people of the United States, to whom they should be intimately known, and by the peoples of the rest of the world. “It would be worth the effort of men and women who seek means of preventing wars and reducing arma- ments to ghudy the experiences of the American republics,” the President de- elared. Their fair dealing with one another should be a lesson to the world. President Coolidge did not seek to paint a picture of the New World in which International wars were en- tirely eliminated. But he did seek to show that without the “will to peace” and the desire for justice which has developed in the Americas there would have been far more international con- flicts in this hemisphere. The great ‘wars of the American republics have been waged in the cause of freedom. of human liberty, not for conquest and aggression. The greatest soldfer Jeaders of the New World, Washing- ton, San Martin and others, have had 2 deep realization of the dream of lib- erty, and have been statesmen as well as men of the sword. —————————— Crime is said to be caused by pov- erty; yet this country, the most pros- perous on earth, has more crime waves than ever. And some of the criminals are rather well to do. Phi- lanthropists sometimes fail to take into account the readiness of viclous minds to take advantage of a generous and idealistic tendency in popular thought. France is regretful that Caillaux does not prove as resourceful a finan- cler as he is a politician. { Indian Population Increasing. The idea that has prevailed so long In this country that the North Amer- ican Indians are a vanishing race is definitely refuted by a bulletin just issued from the Bureau of the Census which shows that the Indian popu- lation on the 30th of June, 1925, was 349,595, or 2,693 more than the year previous, and 1976 more than 12 years ago. At the rate of increase during the past 12 years, 1,580 a year, there will in 1945 be more than 400,000 Indians in the United States. From the best sources of informa- fon available it is doubtful if the American Indians in what is now the United States ever exceeded the present number, at any time subse- quent to the advent of Columbus. Ethnologists who have carefully studied all possible data on the sub- Ject claim that in 1492 there were not as many aboriginal inhabitants as there are at present. The Indians mainly lived along the coasts and as the new settlers grew in number by migration from Europe.and by natural increase they moved back into the interior. It {e doubtless true that at one time the numbers of the Indians in the United States were much do- pleted through warfare, privati . |adequate cents and disease as a consequence of con- tact with the white race. There was a long period of not only neglect but of acute hostility on the part of the whites for the aboriginal Ameri- cans. They were shamefully treated. They were exploited in the taking of their lands and the refusal of proper and sufficient means of subsistence. But that period has passed and for many years now this Government has, with perhaps some lapses, consistently conserved the interests of the Indians and has safeguarded them against suffering. It has provided them with homes, has established schools and hospitals and in the main has treated them in a generous spirit of consideration. The increase in their numbers is doubtless due to this policy. The North American Indians will perhaps never increase in the same ratio as the general population of the United States, but it is a reassurance to find that they are not diminishing in numbers and that they have gained a foundation of permanence to main- tain their racial integrity. Parking Abreast. Trafic Director Eldridge will be given a difficult problem to solve if the merchants of Washington carry out their announced intention of de- manding that the parking abreast regulation be modified. The regulation to which the mer- chants are objecting requires a licensed driver to remain at all times with a vehicle parked abreast or on the outside of other parked cars. Business men of Washington claim that it this rule is enforced, which has been the case recently, the cost of deliveries of merchandise in the downtown section will be practically doubled, inasmuch as two men to each truck will be hecessary. Under the old traffic rule parking abreast was prohibited. In an effort to eliminate some of the annoyances suffered by merchants in the de- liveries of goods, the traffic office recommended an amendment which was adopted providing that vehicles were allowed to park abreast for the delivery of goods and the discharge of passengers if a licensed driver re- mained in attendance. It is evident that the traffic office cannot allow the congested streets of downtown Washington to become cluttered up with driverless vehicles of all descriptions parked in double rows or in back of a line of angle- parked cars. It this were permitted. traffic movement would be practically at a standstill; drivers parked on the inside of the two rows of cars would find it impossible to get out, no mat- ter how important their business, and altercations between citizens would become daily occurrences. It is likewise evident that some re- lef must be found for the merchants so that dellveries of goods may be facilitated. The constant increase in the use of passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles has created an acute condition even on the unusually wide streets of the National Capftal, and steps must be taken to meet it. It is doubtful, however, whether the line of action proposed at a mass meeting which was held recently is the proper way to meet the situa- tion. The traffic office should not make any further concessions in re- gard to the parking-abreast regula- tion, because in so doing it would paralyze local transportation. Some other way must be found. There are two or three possible courses which may help to remedy matters. If the merchants could have deliveries made in the early morning, the traffic office might extend the 8-t0-9:16 restricted parking limit to 10 o'clock and allow commercial ve- hicles to park and make deliveries during that period, or, if this plan was not feasible, large loading spaces {n the middle of each block might be provided. Neither of these two plans would cause the congestion that would re- sult from indiscriminate parking abreast. Of course, the last resort would be the entire elimination of downtown parking, but it is not be- lieved that the public is quite ready for that step to be taken. Whatever plan the merchants de- cide upon will be granted a sympa- thetic hearing at the traffic office. Director Eldridge and Col. Moller are anxious to co-operate with the public, and it is probable that a satisfactory solution will be worked out. ————— Table linen and bouquets of flowers have been discovered in King Tut's tomb. The manuscript of an after- dinner speech may be next in order. —————— There is proper and increasing in- dignation th Pennsylvania over the fact that while coal mines shut down high-power breweries work overtime. England is scrapping old subma- rines. Prosperity may be predicted generzally, even for the junk man. Stock Exchange Seats. In 1881 the governing committee of the New York Stock Exchange voted an increase in the membership of that organization from 1,060 to 1,100. The new memberships were all taken. For more than 44 years that limit of 1,100 members has been maintained. The only way for a stock trader to acquire a “seat” on the Exchange is to buy one. The price has steadily risen during the years until one day last week a seat was sold for $135,000, the record, $36,000 more than the price valling on the 1st of January and $50,000 over the price a year ago. The record low price for an Exchange seat was $2,750 in 1871. The present selling price of Stock Exchange seats, $135,- 000, represents about twenty-four times the “book value” of $5,770, which is the pro rata share of the members in the assets of the Exchange, mainly comprising real estate. Yesterday the governing committee voted to increase the membership of the Exchange by twenty-five seats in recognition of a demand far in excess of the supply. A seat on the Ex- change is the personal property of its holder. It can be sold, of course, sub- Ject to the approval of the govern- ing committes a8 to buyer, OF upon THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1925. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. the death of the holder it becomes part of the estate, to be disposed of by sale. What effect the addition of twenty-five seats will have upon the prevailing price is problematical. If the market continues as active as it has been for several months past the addition of twenty-five seats will not have much of an effect upon the mem- bership quotation. An exchange seat is not bought as a speculation. It is bought as an asset in business. It is never sold save in misfortune or in conse- quence of the retirement of the holder from active business or the liquida- tion of his estate. It is held jealously as a valuable item. Perhaps no sign more surely points to the probability of continued *good times” in this country than the in- crease in membership in the New York Stock Exchange. — Coal and Weather. A blast of wintry weather gave ‘Washington the shivers last night and made many wonder as to the sufficiency of the coal supply. Prob- ably as they buttoned their heavy wraps and pulled on their warm gloves—if they had heavy wraps and warm gloves—they considered the chances of an early resumption of mining and the relief of the stress upon the fuel stock now in the cel- lar or in the store yards of the merchants. But consideration of these matters does not help the consumer, whether he is already supplied or is living in hopes of securing fuel. Veritably only two men hold the decision, the chairman of the anthracite producers’ committee and the president of the United Mine Workers. Each con- tinues to say that there will be no yielding, and no further negotiations for a resumption of work on the basis of the present contentions. Yesterday Mr. Lewis, the head of the miners’ union, contributed a new thought to the question In a state- ment in which he declared that the anthracite operators do not care whether mining is resumed in the hard coal flelds or not, inasmuch as many of the largest owners of hard coal mines are likewise owners of soft coal mines and are quite willing to let the public buy bituminous in substitution for anthracite. He points to the fact that the prices of bitumi- nous have risen in the Eastern mar- kets in consequence of the demand for domestic fuel of this character. 1f it is true that the bituminous and anthracite production is controlled In some degree by the same group of operators the miners have it in their power to break the strangle hold those miners, they charge, now have on the consuming public by agreeing promptly to resume hard coal mining and thus put both commodities in the market. Of course, the charge of a veritable monopoly of the fuel supply by this joint ownership has a serious significance. It should be investigated, though it is painfully evident from past experience that an investigation does the public but little good, especially when suffering is immediate. —————— There was no hesitation about giv- ing further publicity to Col. Mitchell's objectionable remarks by reading them aloud as often as possible. A some- what deflant attitude indicates no par- ticular resentment on his part on hav- ing encores thrust upon him. ———— Having gained the title “Dictator,” it remains to be seen whether Trotsky can discharge the duties of the office. ————— The most significant remarks about the coal situation are now being made by the Weather Bureau. —— ——— If France does not know how to han- dle a cabinet crisis, it is not for lack of experience in such matters. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Thanksgiving. Cold wave comin’! Driftin’ crost the sky. The frost is growin’ bolder, an’ the snow is driftin’ nigh. I spoke my indignation when July was in his prime; I s’'pose I must be thankful for the good old’ Wintertime. Thajkful for the snowdrift an’ thank- tul for the freeze; Thankful to be livin', though we'se livin' 111 at ease. I read the Proclamation; I'll obey an’ not be vexed. I'm thankful to be lingerin’ hers to see what happens next. Adaptability. “Do you intend to use any slang in your speeches?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Slang is all right in polite soclety, but for a bunch of rough-and-ready politicians you've got to use plain, grammatical English.” Jud Tunkins says the jokes of our generation are serious matters for the next. People who used to laugh at the weather man are now hurrying to put alcohol in the radiator. Trouble Encores. “Do you approve of divorces?"” “Not in most cases,” answered Miss Cayenne. ‘“People who get divoress usually do no more than make #r- rangements to be equally unhappy with some one else.” From Solitude to Society. The aviator up on high In lonely meditation No doubt looks forward by and by To crowds and conversation. And 50 in silent study deep He rides to heights so dizzy And think up things to say which keep Stenographers quite busy. Complacency. “Nobody mentions the Einstein the- ory any more.” “That's why 1 didn’t trouble to un- derstand it,” replied Mrs. Bluffingwell. “I knew it would go out of fashion pretty soon.” “De hold-up man,” said Uncle Eben, “ijs more merciful den de bootlegger, bein’ as he takes yoh but apares yob Mite ‘Within the past few months several new collections of negro spirituals, the old slave songs, have made their ap- pearance in the book stores. I have one before me, “The Book of American Negro Spirituals,” edited with an introduction by James Weldon Johnson, and published by the Viking Press, New York. The musical ar- rangements are by J. Rosamond John- son, with several numbers arranged by ‘Lawrence Brown. It seems to me this handsome book ought to have a twofold appeal, both to those who love music and those who love America. The thought is more and more crop- pIng up everywhere that these old spirituals,” as the sacred songs com- posed by unknown colored bards of slavery days are called, are perhaps the only original contribution which the United States has yet made to the musical world. Some there are who will not agree with this statement; yet it is a fact that all our “American operas” have been but imitations of European models, and generally only second-rate imitations; that our folk songs, such as those fine ones composed by Ste- phen Foster, are exactly like the folk songs of ail nations; that our art music, such as the tremendously fine songs of MacDowell, are surpassed by the old German masters. The negro, it is becoming to be more and more realized, has contrib- uted, with his spirituals, “ragtime,” “blues” and 7" something to world musie. Let those deny it who will. Controversy has no particular place in music. Music is solacing, and much com- fort, as well as genuine enjoyment, will be found by any true music lover in this book of spirituals. One familiar” with these songs may not always agree that the arrangers have made the best use of their material, but he will respect thelr ability, never- theless. = * K % Mr. Johnson’s preface is rtie- ularly interesting, heglnnlngmwllh verses contributed by him to the Cen- tury Magazine nearly 20 years ago. and In which he says that the com- posers of the spirituals “sang a race from wood and stone to Christ.” He points out that one unfamiliar with these old songs may be iInclined at first to smile at them, as if they were “funny,” but that in reality all the true epirituals possess dignity. It is, of course, pardonable to smile at the naivete often exhibited in the words,” he declares, “but it shonld be remembered that in scarcely an in- stance was anything humorous in- tended.” All those who ,have heard “Steal Away to Jesus,” sung in the proper manner, will know that there is rich depth of adoration and sincere dignity in most of the spiritua There is . “I Want to Be Like Jesus” (un: fortunately not included In this col- lection), that expresses the whole Christian religion better than any orthodox hymn I ever heard. Mr. Johnson gives Interesting rem!niscences of the way these songs were composed. “In the old davs there was a definitely recognized order of bards, and to some degree it still persiste,” he mays. “These bards gained their recognition by achfevement. “They were makers of songs and leaders of singing. They had to pos- sess certain qualifications—a gift of melody, a talent for poetry, a_strong voice and & good memory. Here we have a demand for a great many gifts in one individual; yet they were all necessary. ““The recognized bard required the ability to make up the appealing tune, to fashion the, graphic phrase, to pitch the tune true and lead it clear- 1y and to remember all the lines. ‘There was at least one leader of singing in every congregation, but makers of songs were less common. My memory of childhood goes back to a great leader of singing, ‘Ma’' White, and a maker of songs, ‘Singing’ John" S The former, he says, was an excel- lent laundress and a busy woman, but each service found her in her place, ready to lead the singing. “One of her duties was to ‘sing down’ a long- winded or uninteresting speaker at love feasts or experience meetings, and even to cut short a prayer of un- due length by raising a song. (And what a gentle method of gaining relief from a tiresome speaker! Why shouldn't it be generally addpted to- day?) ‘Ma’ White had a great reputa- tion as a leader of singing,'a reputa- tion of which she was proud and jeal- ous. She knew scores of spirituals, but I do not think she ever ‘composed” any songs. “On the other hand, singing was ‘Singing’ Johnson's only business, He was not a fixture in any congre- gation or community, but went from one church to another, singing his way. * * * A maker of songs and a wonderful leader of singing. A man who could improvise lines on the mo- ment. A great judge of the appropri- ate song to sing, and with a delicate sense of when to come to the preach- er's support after a climax in the ser- mon had been reached by breaking in with a line or two of a song that ex- pressed a certain sentiment, often just a single line. ‘Singing’ Johnson al- ways sang with his eyes, or eve, closed, and Indicated the tempo by swinging his head and body. When he warmed to his work it was easy to see he was transported and utterly oblivious to his surroundings. “‘Singing’ Johnson was of the line of the mightier bards of an earlier day, and he exemplified how they worked and how the spirituals wer ‘composed.” These bards, I belie: made the original inventions of story and song, which in turn were In- fluenced or modified by the group in action.” * % % % Those whose only acquaintance with the spirituals is in hearing “Deep River” sung over the radio ought to hear more of them, for “Deep River” is popular with singers because it is more nearly like an “art song” than any of the others, and so less like a spiritual. These songs are only at their best when sung by a quartet, double quar- tet or chorus, so that the deep har- monfes and unusual “slides” may be heard. The arrangers in the volume under consideration, while giving the songs for solo voice, have endeavored to take care of the preclous har- mony in the plano accompaniment. I wonder if they have done it—in fact. do not exactly feel that any plano arrangement can really give these songs at their best. The writ- ers' first acquaintance with the spir- ftuals was made by r ~ans of some wopderful phonograph records by singers from the Tuskegee Institute These are, to me, the standards for these songs. I may say that they are perhaps the only phonograph record of which I made never tired. Their appeal is always the same. ‘There is a thrill In “Steal Away to Jesus” that never Is lacking, and a pathos to “Swing Low. Sweet Chariot,” that is always present. In the present volume a version” is given of “Nobody Knows de Trouble I See,” which is disap- pointing after having heard the ver- sfon sung in the records. It seems to me that the arranger would have done better if he had stuck to the other version, with Its “Nobody Knows de Trouble I See, Nobody Knows But Jesus,” instead of “No- body Knows de Trouble I See. Lord, Nobody Knows de Trouble I See.” Two that I particularly like in this volume are “Calvary” and “Done Foun’ My Los’ Sheep.” The former ‘s a solemn, chorus-like thing that simply would sweep you off your feet if properly sung by a male chorus. “Done Foun' My Los' Sheep” is as sweet a lullaby as mother ever crooned over her little one. Over and over agaln, softly, tenderly: ¥ los’ sheep. heep. eheep, Sheep. Done foun' my los' sheep. Court Appeal Held Wrong In Brown ‘While public opinion as reflected in the press, originally, considered the heresy trial of Bishop William Mont- gomery Brown as a question which concerned chiefly the Episcopal Church, the defendant’s appeal to the civil courts after he had been un- frocked has been a subject of much comment, overwhelmingly unfavor- able. The objection is that govern- ment, as represented by the courts, should have no part in the settlement of religious disciplinary matters. “The ruling of Federal Judge Burns that heresy is not a matter for courts to consider, but strictly a problem in church discipline, will be generally approved,” says the Peoria Transcript, “by legalists and churchmen alike. ‘Whatever the contention, it appears the court believed it contrary to pub- lic policy to permit the case to con- tinue. The bishop offended against a law of semi-public institution—the Episcopal Church. The law was not a moral law, or a law relating to prop- erty rights or personal conduct. It was merely a policy law.” * ok Kk ‘The bishop’s appeal to the courts, in the opinion of the Baltimore Sun, “is not merely a blow aimed at his own church and every other, but a blow aimed at a fundamental principle of American government.” The Sun holds that “to allow Federal or any other courts to become Interpreters of re- liglous creeds would be obviously pre- posterous, and would, moreover, be an assumption of a relation between church and state which is expressly forbidden by the first amendment to the Constitution.” “He denied the right of the church which had honored him,” adds the Omaha World-Herald, “‘to buckle a halter upon his opinions. And yet he would have the State, with its century and a half of aloofness from inter- fering with religion, compel a great church body indirectly to recognize as ecclesiastically proper opinions wholly at variance with Its established tradi- tion.” In similar vein the Bay City Times-Tribune comments that *“the courts take the position that the body governning a church is the court of last resort for the accused.” ‘While the court, “very properly,” according to the Great Falls Tribune, “refused to Issue an injunction on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, Bishop Brown put himself on record in his plea as favoring an interference in church affairs by the state, a thing repugnant to our ideals. He is to be censured for trying to take his case into the civil courts after exhausting his remedies in the ecclesiastical courts” The opinion that it is “clearly a matter the civil authorities ought to let severely alone” is ex-|gard pressed also by the San Bernardino Sun, which suggests that ‘‘ecclesiasti- cal bodies ought to have the exclusive right to determine on what corditions membership in them might be ac- quired and how such membership should be terminated.” * ok ok X “His brother ministers of the Episcopal Church,” says the Belling- ham Reveille, “held him to be the teacher of heresy and unfrocked him. The public is not particularly inter- ested in this manner of dealing with & man who wanders from the mflb teachings of his chureh, but t Heresy Verdict lic is Interested in the attempt to involve the Government, through the courts, in a religious controversy.” In view of the result, the Akron Beacon Journal finds that “in these times a heretic has an uphill task making a martyr of himself.” “When Bishop Brown,” it is sug- gested by the Chattanooga News, “first discovered the wide gulf sepa- rating him from the great body of his people, his proper course appar- en(lx was to resign from the minis- try.” From the same standpoint, the Waterloo Tribune offers the queries: “Why should he want to remain in the church while disagreeing with it? Why should he wish to be a bishop in the church—with all the power of a bishop?” Furthermore, as the mat- ter appeals to the Reno Gazette, “a clergyman who has lost his bellef in the doctrine of the Christian sect that employs him is unjust to his employ- ers if he does not resign.” * ok ok ok “How comes it,” asks the Butte Daily Post, “that in several denomi- nations &0 many clergymen are willing, or even determined, to pose as rank hypocrites by Insisting on official status and relation with those ‘whose creed and practices, as they pub- licly assert, they hold in contempt?” Yet the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels that “from a practical standpoint, the church would have been wiser to ignore Bishop Brown's heresies and permit him to battle with his own conscience.” On the other hand, the Lansing State Journal asserts (hat “a church is supposed to teacd ver- tain ideas, and, while there m#y he wide latitude of interpretatio! vel nobody can wholly abandon the pr! ciples for which it proposes to stand.’ No hint of persecution is recos nized by the Lynchburg News, for “he is free to hold any views he wishes,” but it i{s “denied him only that he shall hold and preach those views while garbed In the livery of those who regard those views as de- structive of their order.” This situa- tion insnires the advice from the Ann Arbor Times-News that he should “affiliate with some other organiza- tion.” But as to the course he has taken, his spirit impresses the Knox- ville Sentinel as “a thing to marvel at and admire, whatever the merits of the ecclesiastical controversy.” To Deny Home Rule. Time was when every Italian city was, in effect, a nation in itself. Each jealously guarded its powers and lib- erties. Venice, Genoa, Florence, Pisa, Naples—all ruled themselves. Due re- ‘was had for the ancient preroga- tives of the cities when in the last cen- tury a united Italy was created. Now come Premier Mussolinl and his Fascisti support in the Italian Par- liament to threaten the traditional right of the cities. First of all, they plan to deprive the smaller com- munities of home rule. In due time and in regular order all other munici- palities, according to Secretary Fari- naccl of the Fascist party, will be de prived of their pecullar rights and privileges. ‘With a heritage of centuries of home rule behind the Itallan cities are not lkely to yleld, except on compul- sion—Buftalo ews, THE NORTH WINDOW By Leila Mechlin. Artists may be born, not made, as tradition has it, but if any one doubts that a lot of hard work goes into the making let him read Janet Scudder's delightful autoblography, “Modeling My Life,” which has lately come from the press of one of our leading pub- lishers. It is the story, very simply told, of the struggles of a young girl born and brought up in one of our Midwestern cities, to find adequate artistic expression—struggles which eventually were crowned with suc- cess; the story of a courageous, de- termined woman, who loved life with the Intensity of the born artist, and found joy all along the hard, rough way. Better than anything else, this story sets forth the life and aspira- tions of an artlst, and it is of peculiar interest to us today because it is the life of one still living, with whose | work the majority are familiar. * ¥ X ¥ Apparently in Janet Scudder the love of beauty and the urge to artis- tic expression were inborn. At the age of 6 she tells of having rushed to her grandmother with her hands full of flowers to ask, “How did they ever get these beautiful colors?"” Being told that colors were given flowers by God, she gasped, “He painted them—how?" nd when her grandmother said, “Why do you ask, child?” her reply was, “Because I want to paint some just like them—TI've got to; I must.” The creative instinct was born at that moment. “I knew,” she gays, “that I had to make something beautiful, and 1 realize now that from that day have been working steadily and stically, never admitting dis nent and never acknowledg- ing that it was a struggle, to give back in some form the joy the color of those flowers gave me.” Referring to the habit of the poets and writers 1 this desire to create something utiful “the divine fire,” she con- tinues: “Divine fire—perhaps it is that. Surely it is divine in the joy it glves.” * * * X Janet Scudder’s first adventure in art was in partnership with a girl friend, Caroline Peddls, who, if we are not mistaken, later also became a sculptor. A county fair was to be held and certain cash prizes were offered for art work—$15 for the best crayon portrait of a mother and chiid, $10 for a water color of flowers, £5 for a landscape, $2.50 for a hammered brass tray, etc. These young adven- turers determined to win all of these prizes, and set to work diligently to master the several arts, all in al month. They told no_one, but they achieved their aim. When the fair opened they not only found their modest efforts on view, surrounded by an extensive collection of glass jars, homemade preserves and fellies, but that each one had won a blue A never experienced hrill like that,” she says, “I never Shall—1 couldn‘t—thines like that only come once in a lifetime. Even when I saw my “Frog Fountain placed In the Metropolitan Museum in New York and my “Boy With Fi n the Luxembourg Museum in Paris, T did not have nearly the same sensation of achievement.” A Because of her evident talent, Janet Scudder was sent by her father at the age of 18 to the Cincinnati Art Academy to study. It was a great ad- venture. It meant, she knew, priva- tion and sacrifice at home: it spelled opportunity to her, and when the principal asked her ‘what she wanted to study—which of all the branches of art that were taught in the acad- emy she intended to master—she said she would like to study them all. For- tunately for her, the principal was wise enough to advise that she should begin by entering the drawing class. “I have always been very thankful that 1 did,” she says. “A sculptor| must know how to draw, even if mod ern painters think it unnecessary Several years later, when she went to work in MacMonnies' studio in Paris, the first thing that he said to her was, “You must draw, draw, draw, draw, all the time—all day, all night, until you know you can draw to the very best of your ability.” * X * x From Cincinnati, after her father's death, she went to Chicago, where she lived with a brother, helped with the housework and earned her living as a woodcarver until the Woodcarvers Union obliged her to stop. Then. when things were darkest, she found her way to Lorado Taft's studlo, was admitted as a helper, and came Into the genlal, inspiring atmosphere which has cheered many another young, as- piring sculptor on his or her way. This was just before the days of the World Fair, when that great White City rose up on the shores of Lake Michigan, destined to exert 5o power- ful an influence on the development of art in the United States. Lorado Taft was put in charge of a large amount of the sculptural work being produced. Janet Scudder was then one of his so-called “white rabbits,” a group of young woman assistants, many of whom have since won laurels for themselves. * % % Here destiny again stepped forward. One day, passing before what was later to be the court of honor, Janet Scudder saw a number of men placing a plaster boat in the center of a large basin. The lines of the boat caught her attention. “It had the grace and sweep of a gesture,” she says, “the gesture of a master of line.” This was MacMonnies’ _great fountain {tors Caraway and Borah. group, which, alas, has not_vet been put in permanent form! That day Janet Scudder determined that she would study with MacMonnies; that he was to be her master. Going to Paris, she finally succeeded in getting Mr. MacMonnies to take her into his studio. When she did she could hard- 1y believe her good fortune. ‘““You can imagine,” she says, “that I went away with a whole cageful of birds singing in my heart that day, and they kept on singing all through the night and into the next morning.” This was only tlia beginning, not the end, how- over, of hard work. A 8InVlar thrill came when Stanford White, then at the zenith of his suc- cens, hought her “Frog Fountain,” that morry Work in sculpture which was done ehrly in her career, when she “found herself” and determined that henceforth this was her mission—the creating of lovely little figures in bronze, spiritually akin to those pro- duced by the great sculptors of the Itallan Renafssance. But even then difficulties were not at an end—diffi- culties never are at an end for the artist, but that is half the game. Am- bition, according to Janet Scudder, is born of difficulties, and the greater the difficulties, proportionately the greater the reward. * %k Concluding her autoblography, she declares a satisfaction with the path she, herself, has chosen. ““While I am writing these last words,” she says, “I look up ‘now and then and catch the peculiarly mocking smile of my little faun.” “Why is it,” he says, “that you create only happy, cheerful things like me?"” Here is her reply: “You, my little faun child, and all your brothers and sisters and cous- ins created before you, may not ai- ways be important; in your turn you may be cast into the scrap heap; but at least you have helped to open up a vast field in American sculpture. You really don’t believe—you can’t— that I should have been more useful to the world at large if I had done portraits of. dead heroes in bronze Prince Alberts or in military uni- form! You, like every one else, would have turned away from them with a shudder. Instead, in creating you, I have blazed a trail along which many American sculptors are now happily traveling. Garden sculpture in America has become an art in itself ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How many stalks of corn can be produced from one kernel of corn? A. The Bureau of Plant Industry says that one single kernel of corn produces as many as four or five stalks. Each stalk is attached to a separate root stem. . How many planets smaller than the eight major planets are there in the solar system?—P. C. A. There are over 800 small plan- ets or planetolds circulating about the sun. Q. How many statues of South Americans are there {n Washington?— M. C. C. A. The statue of Gen. Jose de San Martin, unvelled in Judiciary Park to- day, 1s the first statue of a South American to be erected in Washing- ton. It is a replica of one in Buenos Alres and was thought a fitting gift | to this country, since San Martin was a patriot to whom many South Amer- icans accord the reverence that peo- ple In this country pay to the memory of George Washington. Q. How many teachers in Virginia attended school during the Summer vacation?—B, E. 8. A. Nearly two-thirds of the entire teaching force in the public schools of Virginia devoted from 6 to 12 weeks during the recent Summer vacation to professional study. Q. What countries furnish the oyster supply of the world?—S. T. A. While Canada, Holland, Ttaly and, Belgium, Japan, German pain, Portugal, Denmark, Norwa. and Russia have all at one time coun ed oyster fishing among their indus- tries, France and the United States are the only countries where it has reached large proportions. Q. Should a club sandwich be eaten with the fingers after it is cut in pleces that can be handled?—M. B. A. A fork should be used. Q. What are moonlight schools whlch'm‘e established in Tennessee?— F. S. H. A. The moonlight schools in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee refer to the schools which have re- cently been opened for the purpose of teaching the illiterate adults of those States to read and write. These schools are conducted in the evening— hence called moonlight schools. Q. How is an imitation of parchment made?’—W. R. C. A. It {s made by treating paper with sulphuric acid and water. Dip ordi- nary paper for a few seconds in a solution containing one part water to six parts sulphuric acid, then wash carefully to remove every trace of the acid. Q. Where does the fur called susilk come from?—B. F. A. The suslik is an animal of the | feebler | tion of a specialis squirre] family found in Russia, Si- beria and the Southwestern Uni‘ed States. It is yellowish brown, having short, harsh hair. The smaller specic are of a deeper brown. Q. What can that become musty and mildewed? C. M. 8. A. Books that have lain long in a damp place and acquired & musty smell should be thoroughly aired and posed to the sunlight for several This should arrest the odor. Mildew may be checked by brushing over the books with spirits of wine or a few drops of essential ofl, such as ofl of cloves, applied with a soft cloth The hooks should be dusted fre- quently. Q. Who are the two small figures in the painting, “The Transflgura * to the left of the three dis ciples.—L. A. J. A. Raphael was commissioned o execute this painting by Giullano de Medicl. These figures are the patron saints of the cardinal's father and uncle—Julian and Lawrence. . Which was the first of Mark Twain's writings to attract wide at tention?—T. C. A. “The Celebrated Jumping Fr of Calaveras,” a sketch written in 18 was the first of Mark Twalin's w to att; tion. Q. Is protest” ACR A.” Both forms are correct, but have aifferent 1 form. : means “I can only prot all I am able to do). “I can: st means “I cannot help pre * (I must enter my protest). it correct to say “I can b cannot but protest’” Q. Why does corn always have un even number of rows?—F. H. A. This peculiarity is due to a bo tanical characteristic; that s, t splitting of the ceils, which form do ble rows. Q. large number of A. D. A. The Vatican recently estimated that about 3,000,000 people will have visited the Pope during holy yer more than half of which came from foreign lar Has the hol: sitors to Rome?—C. year attracted a (No man can take knowledge from you. It is the pas of swccess. _ It is life’s treasure. Enowledpe may quired by the simple effort of using the frec information service that the Star maintains for the pleasure and profit of its readers. The scope of this bureaw is mational and international, and no subject is too elementary or too broad to enlist the personal atten- Send your query with 2 cents in stamps for return postage to Frederic J. Haskin, dire tor, The Star Information Bureau, Twenty-first and C streets northwest.) BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLI} At least two Senators are determined to abolish the crop reports issued by the Department of Agriculture—Sena- Senator Caraway points at the last report on the cotton crop, issued last week. It states that “the estimated yield of Southern cotton is placed at | 15,226,000 bales, or an increase of | 467,000 bales over the estimate of Oc- tober 1.” The report.is denounced by Senator Caraway as an ‘“inaccurate forecast,” which has cost the planters of the South millions of dollars. As a result of the October 1 report, the Ar- kansas Senator says, the farmers of the South lost $250,000,000; as a result of the October 15 report they lost an- other $100,000.000. As the cotton report comes every two weeks, it appears to Senator Cara- way too great an expense under the policy of curtailment of expenses in- augurated by President Coolidge. “If the Government were in actual alllance with the speculators,” re- marked the Senator, “it could not co- operate more effectively with the ‘bear’ element in the cotton exchanges. As soon as Congress meets I will in- troduce a bill to put an end to gam- bling in cotton and grain, and, if necessary, 1 will even go so far as to abolish the Department of Agricul- ture.” * kX % Charles Lamb reported that the early Chinese, having once gotten a taste of roasted pig through the accidental burning of a_house, liked it so well that they made a practice of burning down a house or two whenever they felt the craving for more roast pork To abolish the whole Department of Agriculturs might be a means of roasting some of the congressional or speculative “pork.” but the officials of the department claim there is a bejter way. They point to the prac- ticpbility of penalizing _speculation, without preventing the producers from | learning the truths affecting the mar- ket's supply and demand of what they have produced. After all, they de- clare, it is not the facts which hurt— it is the ill use of them in gambling. Senator Borah does not go so far as does his Democratic colleague in demanding that the reports be sup- pressed, but he is with him In wanting to scotch the speculation, which, he says, “has grown up around the Federal crop reporting system.” He will_support a bill to be introduced by Senator Caraway to penalize all speculation in farm products. It is understood that farmers - generally will welcome such a bill, freeing their products from artificial influences in the markets. exs The Federal crop reports were in- troduced in the direct interests of farmers in order to give them the only reliable information possible as to their crop yields and the supply of their staples in the markets. Farmers are not so organized that they can possibly get the information them- selves, and they were absolutely de- pendent upon the speculators for in- formation. The dealers and gamblers in farm products were already gather- ing their own reports, and many of them continue to do so, even at a cost in some cases as high as $40,000 a year; many firms spend from $15,000 to $20,000 a year for reports from observations made by their own agents. No farm organization, says Chairman Callendar of the Crop Re- port Board, is strong enough to com- pete in such an enterprise, hence the speculators_had the farmers at their ————— —and you are still leading others merrily along their way.” * kK X Among Janet Scudder’s best known ‘works are the “Frog Fountain,” origi- nally purchased by Stanford White for Mrs. Breese, now owned also by Mrs. ‘Anne Archbold of this city, and in the permanent collection of the Metro- politan Museum, New York; “Boy with Fish,” in the Luxembourg Museum; “Wall Fountain,” Jennings estate, Long Island; “Fighting Bo: Art Institute of Chicago; ‘“Young Diana,” estate of Harold Pratt, Long Island; “Shell Fountain,” estate of Mrs. Harold McCormick, Lake Forest, I1L.; “Seated Pan,” estate of John D. Rockefeller, Pocantico Hills, N. Y. | satisf: mercy, and could spread any propa- ganda ‘that suited their interests. %% * From 1839 to 1862 crop statistics were gathered in the Patent Office, but they ary and un- ctory. ¢he Department of Agriculture was organized and took over the work of gathering crop information. This change had been s before, by Presi- and State circular to developed upon the co- tion of over 300,000 agents in the who_send re- tive localjties. These volunteer agents include 80,000 cotton reporters, of whom 50.- 000 are cotton planters, 15,000 are ginners, 4,000 are rural mail car- rlers and 5,000 are country bankers and merchants, who are in close con- tact with the local cotton situation. From 20,000 to 25000 of these re- porters actually send thelr reports on time every two weeks, and it is mainly upon the facts contained In these reports that the semi-monthly bulletin is issued. The 25,000 re- ports are checked, however, with the judgment of the official Federal statistician of each State. Wwho travels throughout the State and observes general conditions. The re- ports are further checked with the judgment of the “key reporter” of every county—a man especlally se- lected for his intelligence and ex- perience in the particular crops of his_locality. This vast volume of facts and Jjudgments is there laid before the crop reporting board. The board con- sists of two permanent members, besides the non-voting chairman three cotton planters, m different States and ch: for each report. That board experts, besides the chairman, then locked in the office with the data. Each member takes the data received from the 25,000 or more local reporters and comes to his own decision from the tabulated data, after which the whole board reviews and averages the decisions separately arrived at. - Under no circumstances is any one permitted to leave the room or communicate with any outsider until the report is published. For any member, or other person, to com= municate the slightest hint of the unpublished report makes him liable to $10,000 fine and a term in the penitentiary. The last revort, against which Senator Caraway is so denunclatory, was made by a board including a* farmer from Texas, a farmer from Mississippi and a farmer from Ala- bama—none of whom had ever served on the board before. In addl- tion to those three, there were the two permanent members and ths permanent chairman. B Sometimes the estimates made ia ' the early months of a season are nét . supported by later reports, and the public, misunderstanding what the reports really tell, assume that the early report was a “bad guess” which had to be corrected. Such is not the case at all. The report i{s never a guess—good or bad. No guess can be made as to what the weather or the weevil is going to do in succeed ing months. The reports simply recard facts to that date. Succeeding repos may show that favorable weather has improved crop conditions. All practical farmers recognize similar changes of their own crops. According to Chairman Callendar of tha Crop Reporting Board, the price of cotton has declined, probably be- cause of the good crop now being ginned. If the Government failed to report the facts, the deprivation of the truth would fall upon the farmerd alone; it would not deprive dealers er speculators from knowing the conri- ti through their own fact-finding tems explained above. If the farmers were left completely uninformed, as they would be without Government reports, says Mr. Callen- dar, nothing would prevent unscrupu- lous cotton gamblers from exaggerat- ing_ the abundance of supplies, and “robbing” the farmers, not merely the depreciation which a just estimate ot “Young Pan,” done for Robert Bacon when imbassador to France, and for the crop would cause, but many times as much. Prices in speculative mar- kets are based, not on facts, but on “scares,” and it is easler to scare & man in the dark than in open daylight, - (Copyright. 1935. by Paul V. Colllnad