Evening Star Newspaper, December 22, 1925, Page 6

L] THE EVENING STAR __ With Sunday Morning Edition. WASBHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY....December 3%, 1925 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editer The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: . 11th St and Pernsylvanis Av. New York Office: 110 East 42nd §r. Chicago Office: Tower Building European Ollm':l‘l l:(-nl St., Lendon. ngland. Evening Star. with the Sunday mern cdition. 15 delivered by carriers within {ir city at 60 cents per month: daily oaly. &5 cents per menth: Sunday enly. 20 cents Per month. - Orders may he sent by mail or telephone Main 5000 Celisction is mads by carrier at the end of each month. Rate by Mail—Pzayable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Duly and Sunday....1sr.$0.00: 1 me Daily only . L1330l SA001 1 m Sunday only 1¥r.§3.00: 1ol All Other States and Canada. Daly and sunday..1 yr.$12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 Daily “only” . 1y 800 1mel 78 Sinday only . .. 1yr. $4.00:1me., 35 Member of the Associated Press. is exclustyely entitled tion of all news dia- redited 10 it nr not ntharwise cred. fted {n this paper and also the local news Diblished hersin. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved Americanize Washington. President Coolidge advises caution iIn naking drastic changes in the Dis- triet’s local government, and indicates onposition te any change which will take from the Nation, represented by Congress. control of the Federal Di trict. He considers vitally essentia! natienal control of the Distriet’s po- lice. He is not disposed to view as dangerous transfer of administrative econtrol of the schools 10 an elective school board, but undecided as to the wisdom of the experiment. He would. of course, be opposed to the conversion of the District into a full firdged State. since that action would iestrov the Nation's absolute control of the District The wise test suzgested by the Presi- fent for applica tion of District government change is: “Does it deprive Congress of ex- clusive legislative control of the Dis triet?” Happily. is ) cvery propos the only chanze in the po litical status of the District which the ritizens' and labor organizations of Washinzton unitedly ask fully meets the President’s test The probler is o find a the people of the District sentation to which the: national ihe elector Cengress control of re Constitution Our proposition for national repre sentation by ment, now pending this problem by Congress not to admit the District to Rtatehood (which destroy its Power of exclusive legislation), but to rant to District residents representa tion like that of citizens of a State in Congress and the electoral college {with access 10 the Federal courts). and nn other powers and attributes Statehood than those specifically enu- merated This sclution of monizes two ples: First republic, ronditions tional appor tional vay to give the e e entiil J as America and ! college without depriving of the exclusive he Distriet s in ‘Congress legislative imposed upon constitutional hend both Houses, empowerinz in solves would of the problem har American prinei that in our representative bject limitations uniformly. applied. all Americans 7t to have inity e in their Government second principle laid down by s a national necessity that the Na tion, through Congress. should h sxclusive contrel of the Nation's Capi al Repre: National Gov ernment > asked by petition by Wash- ingtonians who ure separated as wide- Iy &s the poles in their opinions con the best form of local govern Those who would wrest control riet uffairs from Congress and those who would retain the crnment precisely it is under etitioni in Con Whe s ho sreat E o and n au the Na the the fore*uthers 0 partic sentation in the al gov or substantially national control unite in 2 for voting representation ress and the electoral college. average Washinztonian electiv is her the he desive participate on caual terms with other Americans in the National Government which makes laws for him, t sends him to war. 1 school a I v and should resnond 1o this demand throuzh perition by an 2pproximately unified community of ht that and in u representative Gov- which inseparably presentation L soldier. arms-bearing the soldie il ' Congress an American i is basic distinctive nment . couples ith r +nd arm: i In stion as u Distriet sen to the World tates and a ivee other States. voluntary enlistments Dicivict surpassed every State in Union except five an W r e only vifie h eus than ntage of In national ta: inz the District 1919 me han fifteen States ( the Union znd more than five States d in “oanbined The percentage of illiteracy in the District is but six-tenths of one per cent, and in this respect the District lds & place above thirty-three States he Union. Our proposed constitutional amend ment does not reduce the power *ongress in respect 1o the Capital, but Ads a new power: it does not propose ihs admission of the District into the I nion as a sovereign State: it does not sen in the smallest degree the con irel by the Nation, through Congress, what remains of the “Ten Miles Saquare’: it does not disturb in any way the financlal relation of Nation and Capital: and it does not propose or involve or prohibit changes in the municipal form of government What the amendment proposes is aquitable in itself and compulsory in accordance with American principles and traditions It gives to residents of the District rights and privileges which under our <cheme of Government belong to all vho pay national taxes and fight as national soldiers. With national representation Wash- ington will cease 16 be the only Ameri- an community—numerous, intelli- zent, prosperous, public-spirited and putrietic—~in a1 the expanse of conti- nental and contiguous United States \v'!xn.,e,QLnee! te exercise national priv- of tavorably | Inf ileges as well a8 to bear natlonal bur- dens s denied. National representation will elothe the Washingtonian with a vital Amer- fcan privilege to which he is undenia- bly entitied; will eleanse him 9t the stigma of un-Americanism; and, euring his political impoteney, will arm him with a certain pewer. It will relieve the Nation of the shame of un-Americanism at its heart and of impotency to cure this evil. It will infifet no Injury or hardship upon either Nation or Capital te coun- teract these benefits. 1€ the Republic itself endures, the eventual cure of this cancer of un- Americanism at its heart fs as certain as that the sun shall rise. = e The Roosevelt Stadium Proposal. Representative MacGregor of New York indorses The Star's suggestion that a more appropriate form of me- morial in this eity than that which has been proposed for Theodere Roose- velt would be a great stadium, where the people of the Capital and of the Nation might participate in and wit- | ness athietic contests, which repre- {sent in the most fitting manner the character and the interests of the for- mer President. Theodore Roosevelt was not himself primarily an athlete. He was only incidentally a sportsman, But he believed in the rugsed life, in the proper training of the body for carrying on the important tasks of citizenship. He was an outdoors man, and his example of vigorous partict- pation in wholesome exercises and physical activities was an inspiration to American youth, for the upbullding of & stronger people The proposed plan of a great colon nade and fountain would add vichly to the artistic attractiveness of the Capi- tal. It would be an artistic and a de- served tribute to one of the great men of the Republic. But it would not be typical of the man. who abhorred the purely ornamental without practical usefulness. Roosevelt wanted Wash ington to be well equipped in struc tures of utility. He was interested in the project for a sreat public stadium. Had he been in office during the past tew years doubtless he would have added his energetic influence to the movement for its provision. The promoters of the memorial would do well to reconsider the pro- jected plan and decide whether a stadium, which would cost very much less than would the colonnade and fountain, would not be more fitting as an exvression of the spirit and influ- ence of the strenuous itoosevelt, and would not. in the course of time, bring to the American pecple a more dis- ! tinct impress of his character and in- jfluence. There is at present opposi | tion to the specific project which has heen offered for consideration, on the around of the occupation of too much public park space. the practical de- struction of a distinctive and delight- | ful feature of Potomac Park, the Tidal { Basin. und the overshadowing of other memorials in the near vicinity. To a zreat national stadium. certain to be used often and visited by sreat multi- Ludes in the course of each year, there will never be any objection, and such el a ! world. presumably architecturally at !(ractive and significant, would be more | iruly a memortal to Theodore Roose- than a merely esthetic creation however pleasing to the eve e —e——— _ Frank A. Munsey. A fizure notable in the field of mag and newspaper publication has in the death of Frank A. Mun- the age of T1. He was an ex- ample of ambitious youth accomplish- ccess upon the foundation ?0[ a slender pital. Indeed, his mone- tary equipment the outset of his career in the publication field was only {a very few dollars. He had a vision of [ ven ine { passed sey, at jinz great su i | | | give wholesome reading matter to the public and this he made a reality with a series of ventures which hzcame re the field of journalism, in which he achiéved somewhat less in comparison, {but in which he was nevertheless an | indetatigable work: The story of his life ts dramatic. Gifted with an in- | tense energy and an indomitable pur pose, he dared greatly and accom plished much. His was the typical life, in many respécts, of an American gaining remarkable success through | ability and tireless enterprise. o A dry agzent may achieve the repu tation of being a good entertainer even when most active as a killjoy. ———— 1t is apparently difficult to devise a system of demotion that will complete- {1y retire Bill Mitchell to private life. | —————— A Bureau Housing Survey. A meeting has been called of the Public Buildings Commission, to be held shortly, at which Secretaries Mellon, Work, Hoover and Davis will discuss the question of the proper disposition of bureaus of their respective depart- ments. which are now housed in build- ings outside of their main structures. This will be in the nature of a survey of the present decidedly uneconomic conditions, which are costly financlally and administratively., The scattering of the bureaus of the same department entails heavy rental bills—for many of the outside housings are of private ownership—but it also imposes a heavy burden upon the executive force and involves a serious waste of time both for the workers and those having busi ness with the departments. In some cases these bureaus are housed in the so-called temporar: buildings located on the Mall. Two of those buildinzs are of substantial con struction. The others are all of a fiimsy, makeshift character, already in disrepair and actually in some cases in a dangerous condition. Priceless rec- ords, irreplaceable and representing enormous values, are stored in them, subject to destruction by fire or the collapse of the buildings. This meeting soon to be held relates mainly to a reallocation of space in the buldings, public and private, now used by the Government. Pending the crection of new structures, shift must be made to make the most effective use of all available space. The Public Buildings Commission has now before it a proposal to transfer the Depart- ment of Laber te the Pension Building in Judiciary Square. This move, it Py | | | ructure, perhaps the largest in the | a popular-priced magazine which would | markably prosperous. Later he entered | THE EVENING is pointed out by the head of the de. partment, is not desirable, as the butlding in its present condition is un- suited for practical departmental service. It is in truth an obsolete architectural form, a disproportionate amount of its space being given over te an interior court, most of which is of no practical use. Surely this situation will not be tol arated further than ths time required for constructions authorize¢ at this session of Congress and pressed to completion in the shortest possible time. Bvery consideration demands speed of public buildings provision, the safety of records. the security and health of the workers. the economie transaction of the business of the Gov- ernment and economy of administra- tion. r——— Commissioner Fenning Confirmed. Confirmation of the nomination of District Commissioner Frederick A. Fenning was given yesterday by the Senate without question, after a brief examination of the appointment by the District committee. Reports of oppo- sition proved unfounded. The com mittee heard nothing to warrant any delay, and the President’s choice for the position was given prompt and unanimous approval. Commissioner Fenning held the of- fice for several months before the con- vening of Congress and has discharged his duties conscientiously and capably. In doing so he has necessarily been compelied to render decisions displeas- ing to some persons and adverse 1o some interests. That is the nature of public office. Not every question pre sented to an administrative official susceptible of answer without evoking displeasure. In thiy case those who have felt aggrieved by the Commis- sioner’s course have, despite much pre. liminary intimation of opposition. found that they have no real ground for usking the Senate to refuse to con firm the appointment. Acceptance of public office Is usually at a heavy cost to an active business or professional member of a commu nity, and is to be highly appraised as a service, 10 be rewarded with support and pralse. Contentious criticism and opposition on the zround of interfer ence with special interests is not con structive. The Senate has by its ac tion indorsed the record the Commis sioner has made during the months of his service under recess appointment. A tenor refuses to sing. Later he consents to carol. The public is deeply concerned in spite of the fact that what he has been singing and what he is likely to sing is, while melodiously agreeable, entirely without intellectual significance. P, The plans of Mr. Dawes 1o bring the United States Senate under proper discipline are as little compared to the projects of Senator Borah for bringing the World Court to terms of conserva tive restraint. — e Italy has a dictator in Mussolini Russia confers the title of “dictator {on Trotsky, much as the motion pic ture industry confers it on Will Hays There are dictators and dictutors. e Florida is enjoving & prosperity not anticipate. Instead of u “fountain | of vouth” there is apparently a well | spring of ready money. R One of the outstanding characteris. ties of the public is u tendency to nom inate anybody who gains temporary publicity for the presidency of the United States. v This country, according to financial experts, was never so Prosperous as it 13 today. This fact should make the slogan “Shop early” particularly eerful. The countries smugsling lquor absolutely decline ltion as a failure. R A jazz orchestra is sure of liberal publieity. The real leader of the band is the press agent. -—oe—e— SHOOTING STARS. which find profit in into the 1. S. A 1o regard prohibi RY PHILANDER JOHNSON A’ SeM-Satisfaction. haven't achieved great renown do not own much of the town. And ver I take pleasure In liberal measurd, While the streeis viewing up and down. The danger the highwaye reveal Requires expert caution and zeal. So, I think I am clever Because [ have never Been hit by an automobile. Cold Calculation. What do vou regard as the leading issue mow before the American peo- ple?” ““Prohibition.” Sorghum. And where do vou stand?” “I'm in favor of enforcing the law. but 1 don't feel sure that the law is |going to have the political influence T'll need for my next election.” answered Senator Desirable Substitute. This League of Nations seems intent And we'll give thanks therefor — On ways to make an argnment Take precedence of war. Jud Tunkins says a Merry Christ- mas depends on your ability to appre- ciate good intentions more than the value of gifts, Arbitrary Authority. “Crimson Gulch used to be toughest little town on the map.” “It still is,” whispered Cactus Joe. Only the toughest citizens has got theirselves elected to office, thereby makin’ evervthing they do appear per- fectly legal.” The Handsome Stranger. “Are you sure vou love him?” in- quired the confidential friend. Not yet,” answered Miss Cayenne. “He still has to show me whether he's 2 devoted admirer or just a prohibi- tion agent looking for evidence.” the “Christmas comes but once a vear.” said Uncle Eben. “If it came twice a year it would cease to be A helidmy {and become a financial problem.” which Ponce de Leon’s dreams could | STAR. WASHINGTON, The child looked with amazement at the department store Santa Claus. “And what do you want for Christ- mas, my little man?”’ asked the genial saint (whe in private life is Joseph Uffin). Johnnis hung back, divided between astonishment and fear. “Tell Santa Claus what vou want, Johnnie,” commanded the mother. beaming with pride. “I want a automoabile,” began John. Then. with a burst of speed. he enu merated several other articles. Santa Claus smiled. “T won't forget vou, Johnnle,” he said, with a truly Kriss Kringle grin, wagging his white whiskers. He turn- ed to another young hopeful. But John was not finished with him. famma,” he began, "I thought Santy Claus lives at the North Pole.” ‘Oh, he doe: ‘What's he doing here, then?" “Oh, he is just here on a little visit, that's’ all.” “Does Santa Claus huy his presents here, mamma ‘Oh, ves—oh, no, he doesn’t buy his presents at all. He just sends some of them here for you to look at. “Why, don't he write it down, mam- ma—how can he remember what I told him?" “He has a good memory. my dear.” “Has he got a automobile, mam- ma “Don’t worry, son, he won't forg vou.” mean a big automobile, mamma.” “Why, I suppose so. Whv?" *'Cause, we saw him in that other store. and he must get in a_automo- bile to come here so fast — *ox k% “Johnnie, vou talk ton much.’ smiled the mother. despite her best efforts to the contrary. Her von pald no attention to the remark. “Mamm: have 1o buy Claus? = “Oh. no, son, Santa Claus is a old soul. “who' loves little bo zirls.” Johnnie was still puzzling his small head over the strange relationship of Santa Claus to madern commerce when the pair went down in the ele- vator. 1L is Jueky for us and the children that most of the little ones have not vet acquired the analvtical mind, else some parents would be set down for olossal liars Is there a Santa Claus A newspaper editor once big hit by writing a reassuring mes <age 10 the children. Perhaps most of vou have read it he continued. “do vou evervthing from Santa | kind and with zreat approval. The world is going 1o ruin when there is no Santa Claus, we are told. As long as there are innocent children in the world to love Santa, Santa Claus will exist Certainly the position is unassaila- ble! anta Cla inz the fairies. Children love such ancies, and they do them no harm, ccause, as they “grow up,” they nat- urally “grow out” of such idea There 1s no violent wrench given to he tender imagination. tears because an older child has 1old English journalist, William T. Stead. wrote a book entitled “The Americanization of the World.” He showed how our business enterprise was dominating every country. More mous union of the ples, with the capital of the reunited nation to he the City of Washington. He quoted many statesmen of hoth England and the United States foretelling such a union. In the second Lincoln campaign for the presidency, Secretary Willlam H. Seward. speaking from the steps of the Capitol of Minnesota, predicted that_the day would come when not far from where he then stood would bhe the capital of all North America. Yet, at that time, few recognized that there was any possibility of agricul ture or manufacturing in the Cana dian North. That region was con ceived as but @ fringe of the Arctic waste. | Canada that there is an active move. ment to ask American Union. and a corollary po- litical and economic movement to sep arate western Canada from Quebec. on the basis of divergence of interes and races. i | * % % ¥ It is suggested by students of Cana | dian development "that the proposal 10 join the Pan-American Union may | have deeper significance than appea tupon its face, for no country is eligi- | ble to membership in the Pan-Amerj | ean Union unless if is a free and in- {dependent American nation. Canada 11s 2 dominion of the British Empire. |and. as such, could not become a | member of the Pan-American” Union }without declaring complete severance | of British ties. It is not believed that | those who are active in the matter ireally contemplate secession from Great Britaln, since that connection { glves Canada many advantages—with | some handicaps. ~But secession of : western Canada from eastern Canada ! may have a more substantial basis of political and economic agitation. At the last session of the Interna- tional Conference at Williamsburg, Mass., Dr. L. 8. Rowe. director of the Pan-American Union, delivered an ad- dress on “The Significance of Pan- Americanism,” in which he sald: “As regards the relation of the self- zoverning Dominion of Canada to the Pan-American system. it is well to bear in mind that Canada is justly proud of her membership in the great commonwealth of nations. known as the British Empire, and that. as far as [ am aware. there has never been any movement in Canada to become a Furthermore, it is dificuli 10 see how she could become a member as long as she ix not complete mistress of her foreign policy. These principles are. 1 believe, thoroughly understood and accepted by the people of both countries.” Nevertheless, iast Summer, Sir Rob- ert Falconer, principal of Toronto University, in addresses delivered in Scotland and England, emphasized the {interflow of commerce between Canada and the United States, quoting from the 1924 annual report of our Depart- ment of Commerce: ‘“Economically and socially, Canada may be consid- ered as a northern extension of the TUnited States, and our trade with Canada is, in many respects. more like domestic trade-than our foreign trade with other countries.” ‘At the recent Pan-American Com- mercial Congress, the Canadian trade commissioner, Mr. Frederick Hudd, stated that there is a growing com- mercial friendliness between the two countries and that speech has stirred up a vigorous discussion in Canada based upon the misinterpretation that it was an intimation that Canada wanted 1o be annexed to Uncle S8am's farm and factory—a matter on which especially the Conservatives of Can- ada are painfully sensitive. On botk sides of the international beundary. the two nations are proud of the record of more than a century admisaion into the Pan-| member of the Pan-American Union. ! | | l made a| | Our friend Roxie | ;M reads it over the radio now and then | b4k | | There is no more reason for ousting | will fall than there is for dismiss- | cradle and Precious few |hurt : children ever 3o to bed any more in|will have « pretty hard time | annexation to the United States would | much like one instead as | | Today, the word comes from | D. €, TUESDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. them “there is no Santa Clau It takes more than that to shock a modern child. * ok ok * The real question nowadays is not “Is there a Santa Claus?” but simply What are we going to do with Santa Claus? What Is going to hecome of our venerable old friend. in this day of airplanes, automobiles and radio? Let us wee. Attempts to pul Sandy Claws, as many children insist on calling him, into an airplane, are dismal failures. Santa. is a foe to progress. He will have his reindeers or noth- ing. Despite the advent of the safety razor and bobbed hair, Santa Claus re- mains hopelessly hirsute. His hair needs cutting badly and his beard a generous trimming. He stubbornly insists on coming down chimneys, even when apart- ments have no chimneys. He clings to his old red suit with white bands of fur, and continues to powder himself liberally with snow. All attempts to reform him have failed, just as futile efforts to assas- sinate the old fellow have ended in naught. The pen the sword! So the only way we can answer our self-imposed question is to say that Santa Claus is going to keep on being just what he always has been, a kindly old party going around doing good. is, indeed, mightier than * ook % Thix is the unescapable conclusion one comes to when he attempts to reason about Santa Claus. Despite | all reason, you have to reason in hix favor, famous editorial did: The fool has =aid in his heart “There is no God,” but no one can stand up, at Christmas time, and say there is no Santa Claus, Yei there are certain serious souis who insist on regarding this as a real problem. Shall they tell a lie to th> child? They emble those other ca people who worry over Mother ( rhvmes. The plastic mind of the little child they say, Is hurt by such errible images as Jack and Jill falling down. and Tom. Tom. the piper's son, who Zot a beating, and little Miss Muffett who got scared by a spider. Personally, T believe that sonfethinz in what they sav. but nat any way near as much as they sav' In other words. the mind of 4 child indeed, plastic. Quite. Most of the had side of such stevies 2 those of old wit-hes, etc volls off & child's mind lke water oif a duck’s back. Perhaps a supersensitive child and then. is harmed by snuch i but the very vast number 44-100 per cent—forget. “Rock-a-bye-baby on the tree top. when the bough bends the cradle wiil rock: when the wind blows ihe cradl- and down will come bab i All the child zets ont of that is the rocking! It concentrates on the rack ing. not on the falling, if it realizes anvthing except the tune. So with Santa Claus. 14e has never child vet. and imagine vou onvine Just as that there is now zes 9 and inz Johnnie to the contrary BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. A quarter of a century ago the fa- | of unbroken and frank friendshin. em | phasized by 3.000 miles of < “imaginary line” wholly unfortified and undefend. ed. Secession from Great Britain and be an impossibility without war. andg than that, Mr. Stead argued for a re- | neither party has the slightest desire English-speaking peo- | for such a catastrophe, however c wen- tical max he the economics of nature north and south of the houndary *oxow % There appears a sentiment growing up which may trend toward separa- tion of agricultural Western Canada from industrial Eastern Canada. leav- ing both parts as independent domin fons within the Bri mpire. The diverzence of interests was demoustrated in the 1811 fight of the Taft administration for Canadian rec- | iprocity. The grain raisers of Mani toba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were uffering from the long haul to mar. ket. and they saw the farmers of Minnesota and the Dakotas receiving an average of 11 cenis a_bushel more for their wheat than the Canadian farmer. They asked for reciprocity. which wonld enahle them to ship their wheat into the Minneapolis market. free of duty. , This was bitterly fought by the grain raisers of the United States. but_supported by our manu. facturers. To the greai surprise of Americans, it was Canada—Eastern Canada—which defeated the pact and saved our Northwest from the loss of its home market superiority over the prices ruling the export market at that time. Farmers of Western Can ada have never forgiven the commer- cial interests of Ontarioc and Quebec for refysing to stand with them in that ‘attempt te wipe out the United States tariff protection of American agriculture. * % ok ox Another grievance ienate the west from the east is the treatment of the western grain raisers in the matter of freight rates. The Canadian Parliament is easily dominated by the French of the east, who supply one-third of its members. 1t is necessary to secure only one- fifth more members to control a ma- jority, hence no reforms are possible without the consent of the French Canadians of Quebec. In 1897, the Canadian Pacific Rail- road received a federal subsidy in consideration of a pledge to retain the existing freight rates permanently. Owing to the exigencies of the World War the Dominion Raflway Commis- sion agreed to suspend that stipula- tion and permit the C. P. R. to ad- just its rates to meet higher costs of operation. This suspension lapsed after the War. but last vear the rail- roads—now the combined C. P. R. and the National Railway—were author- ized to continue war rates on freight from the grain region. The argument was nsed that as the Dominion Railway Commission had come into existence since the 1897 agreement fixing permanent rates with the subsidy. the commission, having full discretion in fixing rates, was empowered to ignore that pledge. ‘That alleged betrayal of the farmers has aroused much talk of seceding from the east, and it argued that it is economical to ship the grain to Varn- couver and by ocean through the Panama Canal, in place of the long haul eastward. Also there is talk of completing the half-finished railroad to Hudson Bay, where, prior to Winter freezing, ships can meet the grain. The Hudson Bay port is as near to Liverpool as is Buffalo. So long as the east dominates Parliament, the farmers declare they cannot get equitable legislation, and they claim that an independent domin- fon whose leading interests are agri- cultural will be to their advantage. Parliament possesses a ‘‘progressive party” similar to Dakota's Non-Parti- san League, which holds a balance of power, but it is not functioning smoothly because of personal dissatis- faction with some of the leaders of both the ol parties. (Copyright, 1928, by Paul ¥. Collins.) tending 1o al DECEMBER 22, 1925. NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. ON THE TRAIL OF THE BAD MEN. Arthur Train. New York: Charles | Scribner's Sons. Washington: Brentano' It appeared, a day or sc ago. in The Evening Star—the picture of a “lifer” Sroadcasting his word to the world from within the prison walls. At each side of the chair upon which he sits a uniformed guard stands, fore. stalling any rash hope of escape, any sudden turn of attack. The aspect of the prisoner is gloom, indeseribable. The brows are deeply drawn in upon eyes that are but two points of puzzled query. The face is plowed in deep furrows, the jaws are sagged. the hody drooped. Not a wicked face. Rather, one that Is greatly discour- aged over the mystery that is himself in an even more mysterious world. 1t is the general heyday of Christ mas good will that, to this criminal— condemned to prison for life—Is grant- ed the gift of saving his word to the tree people outside. To those listening in on that day the voice coming through the air held certainly no note of complaint, car- ried no minor thread of whimpering. Instead, its straight content was, “What is it all about, and why?”" The words, to be sure, were broken—quite unintelligible to many—spaced with long silences—then bursting into a rounded challenge of sturdv protest. Just, maybe, at the last, there was mention of the amnesty which at thix season so frequently lies in the ex- tended hand of authority. 1f such were the final note of this “lifer’s” message 10 his invisible audience, that note must have heen addressed direct Iy 1o the Governor of the Kevstone State, For this criminal is none other than Pep. the governol own dog. serving a life term in prison for the unepeakahle crime of killing a cal “Cats” ix the exact term of the in dictment * %ok ox My hand fell away from this piciure 10 a book lving hexide me -a wide open. face-up volume. And—believe it or not—Arthur Train's “On the Trail of the Bad Men' had opened it=elf ai | the chapter, “Animals in Court o k¥ The main track of this hook is set according to title, by the had men not by the other bad animals. And this broad path would, in ordinary circumstances, absorb the reader in Arthur Train's thoroughly Tralnesque frankness of statement concerning courts and lawyers and judges and trials. The law is his own craft. So. talking from the inside, he tells of the { confusing mandarinic bombast of legal procedure. He exposes the futility of many lzws. He derides the sacrosanct inviolability of mere statutes. He warns against the labyrinthine maze of lezal technic. This plain treatment of his own professional household- et out concretely in cases and inci idents innumerable. projected in keen but smillng satire—provides zood readinz und valuable informa fon. It deserves the best of atten-| { tion from the critic and the reviewer on the one hand. from the student | ind everyday man on the other. ok ok ox | But vou see. in this particular case that dog of v. Pinchot’s has the chair. And he, quite by chance, bui | none the less effectually. draws to himself. and to us, others of his erring {kind that have come up squarely | «zainst the majesty of the law. In the main. the criminal animals cited here take us back to the middle | azes and thereabout. Though. in ex-| [ception to this. there is the chim | panzee. who only a vear or so ago was arrested out in the West for violating one of the blue laws by | smoking a cigarette in a forbidden iplace. Or. was that only 2 newspaper story? Or wasn't it a chimpanzee. | | after all-but something that looked i And is this| the hound “liter” of | hut a press effect?| It is essentfally true. | {picture of Pep. Pennsylvania. Never mind So it serves ‘And here in the good company of | Arthur Train we go back to times when it was a commonplace to hale animals, other than man, into court, | as men themselves were. and are, so trequently cited to appear there. * % ¥ ¥ This chapter sounds like a dream— a mad dream. 1t is authentic history instead Listen. In 1386 at Falaise a sow running loose through the streets bit a child in the face and arms. The child died. Thereupon the church authorities caused the sow to be caught and impounded. They then turned her over to the lay author ities of the town. A solemn trial was held and the sow was pronounced guilty of murder. The Lex Talionis was invoked—“an aye for an eve, a tooth for & tooth.” Judgment was given that the sow should be mangled and maimed in head and leg and then | hanged. They sent to Paris for an executioner. The sow was then dressed in a man's clothes, led out and killed in the public square. Now the dressing of the animal in the habiliments of the human was to in- dicate its equal respensibility with man. In 1499 the tercian Ahbey i { i i judiciary of the Cis of Beaupre sent a bull to the zallows for having “killed with terocity” a boy of 15. In 1559 Augustus, Duke of Saxony, commend- ed the Christian zeal of the good par- son Daniel Greysser for having “put under the ban the sparrows on ac- count of thelr unceasing. vexatious and great clamor and scandalous un- chastity during the sermon, to the hindrance of God's word and of Chris- tian devotion.” Similarly did Egbert, Bishop Trier, anathemize the swal- lows which ‘disturbed the devotions of the faithful and defilled his vest- ments while officlating at the altar. He forbade them to enter the cathe- dral, and it is still believed that if a swallow flies into the great door it instantly falls to the ground dead—a victim of the bishop's curse.” So the gruesome records run in dozens of examples gathered here. An interesting feature of this strange docket is that “no bug, bird or beast was too small to be accused of crime and placed on trial for its of- fense, and the defendants Include caterpillars, flies, locusts, leeches. snails, slugs. worms, weevils, rats and mice’—the whole whatnot of ani- mal life. Did not God curse the ser- pent in Eden?—so this ancient rea- soning runs. Did not David curse the mountain of Gilboa? Did. not Christ himself pronounce against the barren fig tree? These animal prosecutions not only hecame more and more tech Inical, but were gradually attended with more and more cruelty. In the seventeenth century they were par- ticularly frequent, so that they were finally made the subject of caricature on the stage. Racine's “'Les Plaidenrs” presents a dog on trial for eating a capon. This trial is marked by all the solemn formalities of the time. It is argued with learning and eloquence. In the play the dog is convicted and sentenced to the gallows. Then her pups are brought into court and an appeal for mercy is made on their be- half. Ridicule is a mighty reformer. So, from the stage and the sharp writ- ings of the more enlightened, the less superstitious, chanses began to creep into this attitude of the law toward animals. Only tenacious fragments of those old unreasoning days appear here and there in the present by way of some curious practice, some v: grant custom, remote from the gen- eral intelligence and care exercised to- day in behalf of the animals below us. ‘This chapter of history. only touched here, is a mine of amazing informa- tion. & waymark to point the advance we have made In a few plain and sim- BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. What is a blue fox?—L. B. | A" The blue fox is a color phase of | the Arctic, or white, fox, which is cir- cumpolar in range, being found par ticularly along the seacoasts of Arctic and subaretic regions. Its normal Winter coat i3 white. while the mer pelage is brown and tawny. The blue fox is dark bluish in Winter and | tends toward brownish in Summer There are intermediates in which the coat may be spotted blue and white, | or the biue and white may be blended producing a dingv or smoky-white ap- | pearance. Q. What H. Kind of coal is lignit . Lignite is a brownish hlack coal | in which the alteration of vegetahle material is produced further than in peat, but not so far as subbituminous coal. It is found principally in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, | Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missisippl, Montana North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Lignite may be used for fuel in the lunfp form as mined, pro vided it is consumed near the point of production. 1t this is not done, it Is desirable, it not important, to use it in briquettes or In a gas producer Q. What is meant abroad by the | term peasant?—L. C. M. A. Tt is applied to a small landed proprietor who tills the soil himself It is used improperly in the sense of an uncouth or uneducated lahorer Q. What is the difference heiween tuberculosis and consumpiion?—X. W A. Tuberculosis may attack any part of the body, while consumption is an advanced form of tuberculosis of the lungs. Q. What ordinary metal conducts heat moat rapidly? -R. F. G. A, Aluminum heats quickest holds heat longest Q. Has there heen a reduction in the civillan emploves of the Army Air Service —C. M. A. According 1o an extract from (he annual report of the Chief of the Air Service for the fiscal vear ending Tune 30. 1925, the roll for Alr Service civillan emploves has heen reduced 5.6 per cent during the last vear, a saving of $138.340 heing ex pected. Maj. Gen. Patrick pointed ont that any further reduction must seri ously affect the volume and character of the work which the Air can perform Q. What people discovered the lation between the tides nf and the motions of the MC. D A. The Phoenicians with this discovery Q. 1Is pain dry A and moon” are credited there any wa: of quickly?—&. W. ¢ Ozonized turpentine makes Yhe paint with which it ix mixed dry quickly. It js turpentine that hax been exposed to the air and sunlight. Q prize last A. The making vear'—s. G obel physics prize for 1924 was awarded to Karl Manne George Sieghahn. profess physics at Lund University. Q. ber increased this year” A. The price of rubber during 19 has advanced from 36.7 cents in Janu ary to 1095 cents in November. Tow much has the price of rub M. B. B. Q. Did Oliver Cromwell ever visit America?—A. T. € A. It is said that Cromwell at time planned 1o come 1o Americ was forbidden to do so hy the one but King. Q. Were the Army and Navy com bined in the first few years of the republic D. M A. Until the Navy Department was created by Congress in 1789 the Navy s under the \War Department Q@ When w farmers’ fairs first held?—A. R. § A. The first agricultural fair in this country was held in Washington D. .. in 1804. Tt was established and managed by the city authorities. Q. What was the origin of the name “Old Nick" applied to the Prinee of Darkness?—W. T. N. A. The use of the name applied to Satan originated in the comparison drawn between the machinations of | Arexander ervice | the ses | Who received the Nobel physics | his satanic majesty and those Nieeolo Machiavelli, one of the grea! est Flofentine statesmen, born 1469 He was crafty and dissembling, firm believer in “the end justifies the means.” Samuel Bntler in his “Hudi bras™ in writing of Maehiavelli, sav« ““Nick Michiaveili had ne'er a trici " he gave his name to our complate Pope, A 1= a dangerous thing. A. g Q. Please the sianza little knowledge o e Thix mueh quated sianza reads little knowledge is thing. Drink deep or taste not of the Pierian spring. There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain And drinking largely sobers us again a dangerous Q. What is the first case of a man living after his heart had been stitched up?=C. B. B. A. The first surzeon who closed with stitches 4 wound in a man's heart, with recovery of the patient was a German surgeon by the name lof Rehn. The operation was performe in 1896. and was reported to the G man Surgical Congigss in 1897, Q. Why doesn’t it kill birds to ronst jon an electric wire?—F. . A. The fact that birds can sit on an electric wire is because there is not a_complete circuit. If a bird were 10 alight on a wire and one of its wings touch another wire it would be apt 1o |cavse death. Q. What for helium? A. Heliom dirigible in sori’ of container N TR is nsvally placed inner gas cells of | beaters’ skin. This is practically out pores and contains mus |than any other material. The I of the gas from this material <lizht that it would not he noticed perfod of six months, Q try very long?-—O. P | A. Gypsies were brought 10 Ame: lica at an early period, as is shown | 2 document dated February 11. 1581 | They were brought over and coloniz by the French in Louisia: Q. What music is used as an accom paniment to the “Passion Plav” at Oberammergau?—H. K. & A. No music i« played as an arcom | Paniment Q. Is the m. Christian’—M. H. A. Musa Pasha | mayor of Jerusalem Q. What is the diameter of the earth’s shadow where the moan passes through it’—A. L. D. A. In making a calculation the mean distances of the sun and moon have been used. The earth’s shadow At such a distance is 5.724.54 miles The moon’s diameter is 2,160 miles. Q. What Louls of France was i who visited Bardstown; Ky.”—JI. L. ¢ It was' Louiz Philippe. whe vhile in exile before he became Kins visited the United States. and because of having made the acquaintance o Rishop Flaget durinz the latter's res dence in the West Indies he sto «t Bardstown. where the bishop w }in charge of the Catholic Church. sne Imade a visit. A number of very hean tiful paintings. which may still seen in the lttle church. were the zift of the King of Franc Q. What sort of w ceive in early color country?—P. T. D. A. The rate for skilled lahor Plymouth colony in 1630 was 15 pene per day. In 1633 master carpentors sawyers, joiners, etc.. were forbidde {a wage in excess of 2 shillings pr Aay. if they boarded themselves. or 1 pence, if boarded hy their emplo: is used in zold with betiar akage [ Have gypsies been in this conn or of Jernsalom al Husseini. the i a Moslem be ges did lahor re al days in th (Letters are gomg every minuic from. owr free information hurcan Washington telling readers wiaters they want to knowr. They arc in an swer to all kinds of queries a Jinds of subjects. from all people. Make use of this [rec servic: which The Star is maintaining fo | you. Its only purpose is to help uou and 1we want you to denefit from it Get the hadit of writing to The Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has kin, director. Twenty-sirst and ¢ | streets northwest. Washington. . © Kinds o Pat Harrison, Humorist, Versus Dawes, “Good Sport” Senator Pat Harrison's satirical peech in which he compared Vice President Dawes to Don Quixote fighting the windmills gave country a laugh without diverting itics of Senate rules from the is- sues “After a few more little pleasan- tries like that of Senator Pat rison.” savs the Waterbury Republi- can (independent). “Vice President Dawes may be expected to know his Senate better. And it may be hoped ihe Senate will know and like presiding officer betier. Gen. Dawes is no fool. If he looks like one 1o Senator Harrison. it is because he has not vet wholly adpated himself to his nes environment.” “It is the prerogative and almost the duty of Senator Pat Harrison. remarks the Baltimore Sun (inde- pendent). “to let the lightning of his humor play upen those with whom he disagrees, and one can well understand that Vice President Dawes had no objections to make to the Senator's speech. But since Senator Harrison's purpose was (o prove that the Senate needs no new rules to make it businesslike. one must sadly admit that he failed. The best_reply to Dawes' charges that the Senate spends too much time in unnecessary talk is to cut down the amount of unnecessary talk.” But the Palm Beach Times (Democratic) suggests that “brilliant sarcasm is the hardest thing in the world 1o fight and the Vice President has foeman who compounds it with inimitable smile. * k% % “If Senalor Harrison and his fellow Senators.” warns the Lynchburg News (Democratic), “wish to see Mr. Dawes enthroned in the affections of his fel- low countrymen, all they have to do is to continue fo jump on him when he is down. Good sport that he is. laughing like an outsider at the Mis- sissippian’s keen thrusts and’ sar- castic humor, he will soon reappear in_heroic role on the stage of national affairs if the Senators are not sati fled with his overwhelming lack of success and continue to rub it in. They may do for him what he could not do for himself.” ‘The Vice President also appears as a *“‘good sport” to the Allentown Call (independent), which refers to him as “laughing with the Senators and the galleries as he has heard himself com- pared with the Spanish madman, Don Quixote, who battled valiantly but in- effectively against windmills.” * ok ok “Fire-eater and word-jazzer” are the terms applied to Senator Harrison b —_— its ple directions. The whole book is cal- culated to open the eves in many di- rections and to stir the mind into per- sonal activity toward many things nearer by than those that here picture those medieval days of darkness. A word in leaving: What about that Christmas amnesty for Pep, the “lifer, up: in’ Rennephvania? i . the | Har- | the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (Repuh | lican), which savs: It is easy 10 un derstand why unlimited talk appea’- to a man like the Senator from Mi- sissippl.” The Fort Wayne Journ:i Gazette (Democratic). however. aquot ing the Vice President to tha effes that he “greativ enjoved ator Hao rison’s oratory,”’ remarks that “when picking on him becomes the fashion | as it is likely to, Mr. Dawes wil! ready to gue: gain That such @ development is likely is affirmed hy the Philadelphia Public Ledzer (inds pendent). which quotes Senator Moses as having hinted that “one of the Senate's tasks would he the ‘taminz "nf Charles G. Dawes.” and declares | “The ‘taming’ has begun. Pat Har rison, one of the gav guerrillas of the | South, has taken an hour or sn the Senate time to liken the Vice | President to another Don Quixole | 1t was balm of Gilead and sweet oint {ment for the Senate's wounded self | esteem.” * ok ok “Off and on during the session.” Anaconda Standard (Democratic) lieves, “doubtless many other S the e will take a crack at the doughty Viee President. It's going to be a merry war. and the Senators have the ad vantage in this, that they may. if they choose. falk their heads off. wheress the Vice President iz denied all ora | tovical privileze.” The New York Evening Post_(independent) also savs that “there will be other Senators who {must have their little fing at a Vies | President who had the effrontery to ! recommend taking away the immemo rial privilege of a Senator 10 ftalk { about what he pleases and as long as | he pleases.” If."* observes the Indianapolis dependent). “Senator Harrison thinks the people cannot understand {1hat the & hound down hy | et of antiquated customs and is con ducted entirelv unlike any other husi | ness body in the world, he is mistaken.” Supporting this view. the Ann Arboi Times-News (independent) foresees the doom of the filibuster with the com ment “It may strugsle alonz for a time. but it will expire naturally when the Nation as a whole awakes to the necessity of reform.” * % % The Chicago Daily News (independ ent) agrees that “eventually the Sen ate rules will be revised. and the joke will be on the traculent if good-na tured Pat, rather than on the consti tutionally muzzled Vice President.” while the Sacramento Union (inde- pendent) thinks that even if Dawes is “fighting a windmill” he will in tim~ win his fight. “It is perhaps just to Senator Har- rison,” suggests the Chattanooga Times (independent Democratic). “to say that he would not have done it except thal he was simply takinz up tima that might have heen lost. ar. at least, foresomely spent in listeninz some dry speech.” The San Francis Rulletin’ (independent) finds in the in- cident an “indication that the sense of humar has net entirely Aesarted our jawmakers.” Nows