Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1925, Page 6

6 THE BV STAR, WASHINGION, D. €, WEDNESDAY, DECEBER 23. 1925 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morninz Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY . December 23, 1925 THLODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor ening Star Newspaper Company Business Ofice Pennsylvania 110 Enst 4 Fatichie St.. London, A Towei is Regen England Evening Star, with the Sunday morn- “dition. s delivered by carriera within it at 60 conts par month: cents per month: Sun, wonth - Order may be sent By mail er Hone Main 5000 Collection is made by r at the end of each mont] Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dy €1.00: 1 me. Daily mda and Sunday 730 only All Other States and Canada $12.00: 1 mo., §1 $8.00: 1 nio $400: 1 mo ¥ 1w Member of the Associated Press. Led Prece is exclusively antittad Fenunlication of all news cis- Aiiad th 1L 0 MOL otherwien coa . =1 in this paner and aln local news Slighed hncain rizhta of nublication of special dena herain ace aleo regerved Give Mr. Eldridge a Chance! Representative Thomas Blanton of Tex: on the floor of he House yesterd:y that he intended » support gorously Traffic Director and his udministration. FEx- from cul subcommittee on traffic the House District committee, Tlanton cited two unnamed {Tcial Police Department as beinz active )pposing Director Eldridge, and yunced that if matte ame to it “they would be the their and not Mr. served motice of Mr ercised by printed reports The in nn to lose Jobs, Ar. Blanton probably informed member of Congre: fiic conditions. He spent all of lust Summer in Washington studying Dis- trict problems and devoted much time comprehensive investigation of ctor Eldridge’s administration. During this period it was brought home to him that the trafiic director. ppointed to administer the truffic was nothing more than a figure He discovered that the trafii director had no real authority; that 1l of his recommendations must through the Police Department; that co-operation on the part of the Com- missioners and police was sometimes ziven and sometimes withheld; that the director was unable to carry out needed improvements because of lack of money: that in some cases the di rector knew nothing of traffic chanz made by the Police Department until they went into effect, and that, while mistakes had been made by the di- rector, his admintstration, considering the handicaps under which he labored had been an extremely creditable one Mr. Blanton found that these con- ditions existed despite the fact that the director was an admitted expert in his line and had been appointed to control Washington traffic. The Texas Representative also founds that there were cliques both in and out of the Police Department which would like to have the director dismissed ind that certain interests in Wash- ington, whose toes had been stepped on, would heartily concur in such ac- tion Convinced that the s on D code Tiead. 2 remedial measures should be taken, Mr. Blunton intro- duced a bill in the House to assizn \rathe police to the director and to zive him control of the entire bureau. Senator Capper, chairman the Senate District committee, intro- Queed a similar bill in the Senate 1 upparent to every thinking Washingtonian that nine-tenths of the difficulties in which Mr. Eldridze has found himself are due to the peculiar position he holds in the Dis- official family und the lack of funds for the operation of his office. Complaint has been made that the “Stop” signals have been al- lowed to fade out. The traflic office no money to repaint them. Pro- have been heard against inade- marking of boulevard streets. money hand to buy Many have deplored the lacl traffic semaphores. It unswer again—there to purchase and install of is trict white te There sizns is no on o electric is me no money them. 1 Cunzre he over the Blanton bill passed by ill give the traffic divec- fall on If a remedia chance to stand or hment zlone. of similar nature he will fall without being chunce, because under pres ditions there i hope for such a capable man as the traf ed ent cor e ever fc director. Nicky™ Arn 2o0d behavie stein zot time off for If he can keep up the penitentiary discipline regarded with con- ~o0d n Dbehavior be renewed . Butler and Kendrick. Sympathy in the matter of Brig. Gen. Smedley D. Butler's predicament will alternute between him and Mayvor Kendrick of Philadelphia, according to the point of view. The situation i quite without precedent. Gen. Butler vas loaned by the United States from | he Marine Corps to Philadelphia for Auty ax director of public safety. At the expiration of the stipulzted vear extension was souzht and was anted for another year Some time 20 application was made for second extension for a third vear of munici- pal service by Gen. Butler and was denicd on the zround that the Marine Corps needed his services. Thereupon the mayor made other arranzements and selected for director the first as- sistant. Gen. Butler prepared to re- furn to the Marine Corps, having been ordered to duty at San Diego. His household goods were all packed for removal and were ready for shipment when he suddenly decided to resign his commission und remain in Phila- delphia. When he told the mayo; what he had done he was informed, he says, that the mayor did not want 4 resigned officer and that he had al- ready named a successor. This left Gien. Butler without either municipal Pederal job. the sulset of Gen. Butler's ilus A 'lsex'\ ice in Philadelphia there have { been indications of lack of teamwork Dbetween him and the mayor, the lalter heing subjected to powerful political { influences and the former inspired by | a zealous desire to clean up the town. i Public sentiment in general was istrongly in Gen. Butler's favor. He !had a big task, and though he was not accomplishing the results that he {exnected in the purification of the | municipal atmosphere, he was sustain- fed by public opinion and encouraged (o believe that he was contributing greatly to the welfare of the commu- nity. Mayor Kendrick's request to the President for a continuation of “de- tail” of the Marine officer to the mu- ! nicipal duty in Philadelphia certainly indicated a wish for continuance of the arrangement. Whether the mayor was acting unwillingly in order to con- form fo public sentiment in favor of { Gen. Butler, or was entirely sincere, may be a matter of dispute. At uny riate, the record st: nds that he asked the zeneral's .urtiter detall und | was refused. It would seein the whole that Gen. Butler .cted impuisively and without fully appreciating the mayor position. he latter hud taken it for granted that the detil at an end and that Gen. Butler would veturn, as evidence indicated, to his Marine Corps post, he was justified in selecting a successor. The Marine offi- cer really took the mavor by surprise when he announced his resignation from the service. By those who believe that Kendrick is not sincere in his desire 1o clean up Philadelphia he will be scored for his refusai to accept Gen. Butler’s sacrifice. By others he will e sustained. 1t is all & matter of opinion. The fact stands that Gen. Butler suddenly changed his mind and found that the mayor had chznged his likewise. The hope is that Gen. But- ler's resignation will be rejected and that he will return to duty in a corps which he has honored by his distin- suished. valuable services, and in which, despite his laudable ambition to render a valuable service to the metropolis of his native State, he is perhaps most surely at home. s No Weakening of Enforcement. Evidence that the House of Repre- sentatives is in no manner disposed to weaken prohibition enforcement ap- pears in the vote in that body vester- day rejecting an amendment to the Treasury and Post Office departments appropriations bill to prehibit resort to “fraud, deceit or falsehood” in the use of the funds allotted for the pur- chase of evidence. The vote was 139 to in committee of the whole. where a record is not kept of those voting. It may turn out that the question may be again tested in the House it- self, with a record vote Predictions that the Volstead act will be materially amended at this se sion of Congress have been confidently made, but yesterday's action would not seem to warrant them. True, the par. ticular issue was not that of the act itself, but of the manner of its en- forcement. The House, by refusing to adopt the amendment offered, in effect approves any measure that may be resorted to for obtaining evidence of law-breaking, including the giving of “parties” with dry agents posing law-breakers in order to obtain evi- | dence of violation. It may be that I muny advocates of modification of the i Volstead act sincerely approve of such subterfuges and devices Lo insure the enforcement of the law and that the vesterday is not a sure in- dex of the strength of the modification forces in the House. Determined opponents of the: prohi- ition amendment and the enforce- ment law would in general have been delishted had the House adopted this amendment. Yet, strangely enough, it was offered by an avowed “dry.” Thus for on i | vote taken i the score of “fraud, deceit and false- hood” on the part of the prohibition enforcement agents. The net of the whole matter is that the House of Representatives, with a congressional election impendinz, is not disposed to tamper with prohibi ! tion enforcement and risk disapproval by an electorate which is strongly fa- vorable to the eighteenth amendment and the law for its enforcement. e ——r——— to leave Smedley Butler with no re- sponsibilities whatever to interfere with his Christmas holidays. Philadel {phia is the City of “Brotherly Love." but the Pennsylvania politicians were prompt in saluting Butler with the chorus, “You ain't no brother mine.” o An Archives Building. A resolution introduced in the House vesterday provides for the acquisition of a site for the erection of a building to house certain historic records and archives. The resolution prescribes a specific site in East Capitol street and | provides for a per capita tax of five icents to be levied, beginning in 1930, to defray the cost of the building, with a bond issue running ten vears at 5 per cent, meanwhile to provide the immediate funds. ‘That an archives building should be erected in Washington has long been recognized. Provision for such a structure has been made on plans. At one time a site was virtually secured within the Mall Avenue triangle front- inz on the reservation. But owing to the outbreak of the war and the neces- sary concentration of Government re. sources upon war requirements, this project was allowed to lapse. Now there is even greater need of an archives building to house the perma. nent records, not needed for current | Gepartmental work, of the war itself. It may be questioned whether the location of the archives building pro- posed in the latest resolution on the subject is particularly suitable unless this establishment should be regarded as an annex'to the Library of Congress. Heretofore the archives building plan has contemplated the placement of the structure in the central part of the city, midway between the Capitol and the White House group of buildings, 1o insure the most convenient access. Precious documents, records of the formation and development of the Gov- ernment. are now scattered through many files in the department build- inge, where they are exposed to loss and destruction. They are not readily ! | | S definitely | Mayor | as there was a complex of sentiment on | Events so arranged themselves as | ot | 1 accessible to students in research. respective custodians. They are in many cases regarded as merely “old i papers.” They are a potential histori cal library, to become such, however, when collected, arranged and ed. the rearrangement of Govern- ment bureaus pendinz the 'tlon of permanent homes for them {under the contemplated general build |1ng plan, opportunity will be afforded for & survey of all the non-current | historical files suitable for assemblage | and care in an archives building. It Is desirable that provision for such a | building be made at the same time as | provision for the departments them- I selves that are now improperly housed, s0 that by the time the lutter are com- pleted the archives bufldinz may be ready to receive its preclous contents. Whether the plan proposed in the pending resolution to finance this con- struction is the most suitable is for consideration as a detail, not reully pertinent (o the major point that this is one of the essential construction en- terprises which lie ahead of the Gov- ernment construe- Fill the Opportnnitieis Chest! While the lists closed at any time for the Fourteen Opportunities, Christmas eve is re- garded as the end of the period for giving to this most worthy charity fund if the spirit of the occasion is i truly observed. The purpose of these annual offerings is to insure a truly jmerry Christmas. to the families who ure chosen as beneficiaries of this community giving. Tt is always hoped that Christmas will dawn with the welfare of the family for the follow iz vear assured About ay and a half remain for completing the subscription. Of the nearly $13.000 needed. $8.253 had been subscribed up to the of today’s reckoning. leaving « littie less than $4.750 yet to be subscribed in this remaining time. It always been the case that the rate of giving has increased as Christn: ap- proached. The coming of cold weather should stimulate generosity. Let there be no ftailure this {0 complete the opportunities list fore Christmas morning S are not formally close has has vear be Having amassed a sufficient fortune, Mr. Rosenwasser, shoe manufacturer of New York. has turned his busine over to his employves. It remains to be seen whether the employes can dis- pense with the brains and ability that constructed the orguniza originally jtion. Congress is confronted with a two- fold responsibility—that of regulating international relationships, and that of regulating motor traftic in the Di trict of Columbia. One is much greater in 2 historical sense than the other. Both are difficult.” ———— 1t asserted that veached # point where will not be needed for the present. The proposition is one to which Florida is inot expected to agree. it il is building more homes Ponzi has gone into the real estate mame. but has been unable intro- duce any tricks which the soned experts would not classify old jstuft.” to se R— Santa Clays is only a myth, and in a certain degree so is the benevolent head of the household who is supposed to be absolutely cheerful as he pavs the bills. e Having enjoyed so much publicity, “ Nicky” Arnstein may be tempted to g0 into the show business and submit himself to the press-agent process of being “'glorified.” R s It is against the law to bet on horse As a rule the gamblers lose, it its iraces. and the offense carries with own penalt; SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Wanted: A Saint. Flivver busted So we think. Carburetor On the blink. Flattened tire Compels a panse. There ain't any Santa Claus! Street is skiddy. Brakes won't hold. ©On the highway Tn the cold There we stand Tn grief. because There ain't any Santa Clal Desirable Restraint. “Do vou think debate in Congress ought to be limited?” ““Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I'd have been spared many an anx- ious moment if I had been prevented from making some of my earlier speeches.” Big Job. A Vice President once could be calm and sedate. He now has a duty most grave. He's facing the problem, uncommonly great, Of making the Senate behave! Jud Tunkins savs the recognition of the fact that there is no Santa Claus compels us human beings to work overtime. X Ancient Transportation. Cld Santa has a reindeer team Which leaves him rather slow. A fivver would more proper seem To keep him on the go. And while we find this Christmas elf A trifie staid and shy, We love him 'cause he links himself With thoughts of days gone by. Assumptions of Wealth. “Have you z2ny bootleggers in Crim- son Gulch?” “Not to ‘speak of.” answered Cactus Joe. ““There’s one feller that pretends he's a bootlegger, but he's only makin’ Lelieve he’s got money. in order to get credit from the bank. “So far as'1 kin see” said Uncle Eiben, “de most good King .Tut ever done was to make work at liberal wages foh husky diggers, right now.” [ | They are kept rather casualiy by their | \Foreign and Domestic Line-Ups Complicate German Situation | i | Thie is the time of year to read Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Now is the time for all who love the ancient institution of this week to im. bue themselves with the true spirit of real Christmas. “or this sterling purpose there is no itory i the world to equal “A Christ | mas’ Carol. I defy any one to read the “Carol” and not feel the better for the read ing. ‘This is one of the ‘sure fire" results, of which there are none too many in the world “Read —— —— " they advise. “A wonderful book, a great story, a liter- v feat!” We read—and perhaps find a dull book, « rotten story and u frost as a piece of literature. Oh, you simply must read -—— " 4 lady s enthusiastically. nake you feel more in tune {1 Wil n with life. Now, we have never fell verv much out of resonance: but perhaps we might be more in tune, at that. Duti fully, therefore, we purchase a copy of the book, firmly resolving to acquire new depthé of optimism, if the thing be at all possible. Rising from our perusal of the pages, we wonder what it is all about. We are left absolutely cold. Another kind friend tells us of the moving power of a late novel. We vead if. “The saddest story in the world,” we were told. Utterly we fail to he moved. Rather, we want to laugh. =% s With Christmas different Here is one story that does what it sets out 1o do. Dickens wanted to tell a Christmas story that would be, ai one and the same time, a whale of a story and a fine plece of writing and would do somethinz 1o preserve the ancient spirit of Yuletide. Even early in the last century the true Christmas spirit. of which we read o much nowadays and which is ppinz up right here before vour ). was more to be found in than in the then present ¢ English customs were on Y Ca | a decline. ‘The smack. the flavor of the real old-time Christmas was departing. People didn’t enter into the week. the day, with the vigor that Charles Dick- ens liked to see. He was a biz. hearty man himself. who thought nothins of a 15-mile walk in an afternoon. He had a habit, al most to his last days. of going off for long walks by himself. Then he would plunge through the countryside at tremendous pace te belonged to thit rank of zreat jwriters who declare that nothing sets them up quite so well as being in the open air. Under the pressure of a ple of hours of walking the brain cleurs up. hard situations in plots ure solved and images thronz. This 18 not always true of writers areat otherwise. Some find that the peace and seclusion of the study is their best inspiration. Dickens, belonging to the former =zroup. liked his long. lonesome walks. | You will find it all in Carol.” The scenes he depicts in that story no doubi were seen by him in his vari- ous rambles in and near London. The teller of tales may “make up” his plots, but his characters, his scenes his incidents often are based on real life, but changed and shaded to suit himself. the | “A Christmas | . THIS AND THAT i | BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. 1t is because they do write of real life that their novels and short stories are real to us. Many other factors enter, of course, into that wonderful quality known as “reality.” But there is no doubt at all that whea any uvne reasonably gifted writes Jf scenvs und incidents that really have hanpened, whether he saw them himseil or was told of them, the sense of realisin makes its way off the printed page into the mind of the sensitive reader. A “A Christmas Ci rol,” then, must be regarded not only as a wonderful story, but also as a great piece of realism, despite the fact that it is more often held up as a feat of the imagination. Underlying all the romanc spirit of Christmas—the true sp our Anglo-Saxon Christmas —is basic zroundwork of the real. 0ld Scrooge was and is a real man There isn't a village in Americ | that does not possess its Scrooge. There s no town or city, however wide flung, that has not its scores of Tiny Tims. Every community has Fessiwigs and the rest of mortal company. The scenes and happenings of this great story (which must not be called a short story, as that modern desig- nation does not fit) are counter parted in every country in the world. Whence comes the universal ap- | peal of “A Christmas Carol.” |~ The sentimental nature of Dickens | accomplished that almost impossible feat—gilding the lily. Real people, real events, were trans muted with genuine sentimentalism | into something glorified. Much is | sald against the sentimental in writ |ing, and certainly its overuse ix per I nicious. Properly handled. however the wav Dickens handled it—sen timentalism hecomes but o presenta- tion in type of the humanity of man Kind. the it of the Mrs. im- its that * ok ok It is for these the writer of this column takes pleasure in call- ing attention each year at this time to A~ Christmas Carol Each one of us ought to be # regular | Pollyanna when it comes to Christn 11 time, which changes all thing: | changed our attitude to Christmas we should make valiant attempts to get back into the spirit of the thin For that was the real spirit Little Billie, with his expensive elec- tric train (which he will grow tired of in a day), may not have the spirit of Christmas in his heart, despite all your valiant efforts. As for you, mature reader. You may sick of Christmas.” as the saying opening all your zifts the day be- fore, Lored with the necesity for send ing presents to those who do not want them from you. but who, in their turn, send vou presents hecause they know you are going to send them some! | 1f vou find yourself in this state, it is high time to zet down “A Christmas Carol” :wd read it sternly for the sake of your sonl. One wonderful thing about hooks is that many of them help the soul of man. The Psalms are not the only sonl-savers 2 “A Christmas Carol wity, has saved many a soul to the true spirit of Christmas and stands | ready 10 do so on demand Try it tonight be in it humble i a BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. The failure of Dr. Koch, leader of a grand coalition cabinet in Germany is one more example of the compara- tive incoherence of pureiv parlia- mentary government. The German teichstag adopted the Locarno pacts, because on them it was possible to unite big business and organized la- bor—that is, the Peoples’ and the So- cialist parties. In such a coalition the Democratic and the Catholic parties could and did join. The opposition munists and the Fascisti. But with the Locarno pacts out of the way how is it conceivable that one can bring about a combination of labor and industry when the problems are domestic und economic? Germany is going through a very dif- ficult crisis. There i nothing novel or | sensational about it. The crisis is one {of the inevitable consequences of stabilization following inflation. There is mounting unemplovment, there is 3 scarcity of capitul. there are hard times and all that hard times involve. Capital-Labor Crisis. In such a crisis the instinct of busi- ness is to restrict wages and to in- crease hours of labor. In such a time he battle between capital and labor becomes intense because it Is a ques- ;llon of how the burdens incident to |the situation shall be distributed. { Thus the normal alignment is between the parties which on the whole may be | described as conservative and those i which in a limited sense may be de- scribed as radical. i The combination which until receni- ‘klv ruled Germany through the Luther- i Stresemann cabinet represented the {union_ of all the conservative and | bourgeois groups, the Nationalists, who were agrarians mainly, favoring | high tariffs: the industrial groups, who | were representatives of finance as | well, and the more purely Bourgeois Democratic party. with assistance from the Catholic party, which is nat- umally more divided between labor and capital, but tends to the conserva side. Pacts Broke Union. Locarno broke that union because all business and all capital recognized the necessity of making political adjust- ments with the outside world to ob- tain capital and markets for the future. The agrarians, on the con- trary, depending on domestic markets, were ‘unwilling to make any foreign concessions. So a purely limited bar- gain was made between business and labor, to put through the Locarno pacts, and after that the attempt has been made to continue this combina: tion at least until Germany is in the league and the German acceptance of Locarno fixed in the foreign mind. But at this point Labor, the Socialist party, has demanded relatively far- reaching concessions in domestic flelds, it has offered to give the in- dustrial-financial combination its 130 votes in the Reichstag, without which | & cabinet cannot be formed, in return | for concessions in the industrial field which, at least, seem impossible to the groups which Stresemann and Koch lead. Thus it is clear that while capi- tal and labor in Germany can agree upon forelgn policy, it is practically impossible for them to agree on any important’ domestic program. Period of Incoherence. What seems Indicated is a period of incoherence followed by a reunion of the Natlonalists and the Peoples’ party—that is, the party of big busi- ness—the support of the Catholics and the Democrats. A majority of Ger- mans are unmistakably conservative in domestic politics and on economic issues, but just as clearly a majority are for adjustment with the outside world. Locarno or the Dawes plan can command a majority, hut that ‘majority cannot function otherwise. In France the situation fis less simple, because big business and high the Democratic party, to bring about | was left to the Monarchists, the Com- | immediate | ! finance are not ax united as many. There is no one the Peoples’ in Germany. wi sents them: there ix » one leade | like Stresemann. who can speak for {them. On the contrary, rival groups of financiers are quarreling. Yer it |is true that the Socialists in France | hold a similarly decisive position, and n Ger- party. like ich repre- ogous to those demanded by the Ge: man Soclalists which explains the present uproar in the French Chamber. Problem of Briand. Briand will succeea or fail precisely as he is able in the end to unite the more conservative members of the radical parties with the less extreme members of the conservatice parties. to find their way out of their present difficulties by concentrations of grouy and the co-operation of men and lead- ers who hold very different and even conflicting views ‘upon foreign policy And the great incoherence lies pre- cisely in the domestic differences which divide those who hold together in ad- vocacy of conciliatory foreizn policies. The British situation ix far different, because both the Conservatives, who {are in power, and the Laborites, who are out, agree well nigh absolutely upon policies of conciliation abroad. Austen Chamberlain paid tribute to the serv: tamsay MacDonald in_making Locarno pos- sible, and the Labor members of the House of Commons pretty nearly as a unit supported the Locarno treaties, Desire Peace Abroad. A majority of the people of Britain, France snd Germany desire peace and readjustment abroad, but in France and Germany there are strong political groups which oppose all proposed foreign azreements. In much the same fashion a majority of the people of France and Germany fear and oppose radical and socialist domestic policies, but the trouble fs that it is impossible to obtain in these countries what exists in Great Britain, namely, a dominating majority which satisfies the national will on hoth foreign and domestic issues. Beyond much doubt there will pres- ently be, both In Paris and Berlin, cabinets ‘which express the conserv. ative will of the majorities as far as domestic and economic policies are concerned. But the German is much more likely to come first, largely Dbecause, as T have said, business and finance in Germany are united and are working together, through a strongly organized political party. Even in Great Britain, however, there is an unmistakable division be- iween Tories on domestic economic questions. The coal subsidy. which was granted by Baldwin to avold a coal strike, was and remains a subject of great dispute within the Tory party. The advantage on the British side lies rather in the agreement of all hands upon foreign policies than mupon do- mestic. Italy hascut through all her similar problems by sesorting toa dictatorship which is thoroughly dominated by big business and high finance. The gain for coherence and unity of action is patent, but the latent and eventual perils are so considerable that it is almost utterly out of the question that France or Germany will resort to any Fascisti method. The experience of | France with two Napoleons is a com- paratively safe insurance against the experiment with a French Mussolint. It is fair to say that of the four creat European powers. Britain, France, Germany and Italy, which nominally employ the parliamentary system—nominally, of course, only in the case of Ttalv—relatively satisfac- tory results are only being obtained in RBritain, while Italy. in despair, has discarded the system and relapsed to dictatorship. And it is equally fair to say that, while similar relapse is un- likely in either Kranee or Germany, the parliamentary svstem has so far lost rn(!‘er than gained in popularity or stige. B (Copyright. 1928.) Both Germany and France will have | | | i i | has | try | | | {ed to the support of prohibition. | i | i | the World Court debate is well under | jway. | marketing | Shippin: | poration, {up the Lehlbach bill | Senate | | supported it Is their insistence upon terms anal- | stead act. o Politics at Large By G. Gould Lincoln Quiet reigns on Capitol Hill. Mem- | bers of Congress have gone home to| hanz up their political stockings, hoping that renominations and re- elections will be their share nexi yeai The new Congress has been in se: sion for two weeks. The progress made so far with the admjnistration’s I hus given added hope that the be ‘“out of the| trenches” by June. Working accord- ing to schedule, the House has passed the tax-reduction bill, which is the keystone of the entire structure rep- resenting the administration's pro- gram, and has sent it to the Senate. | ‘The House also has practically dis-| posed of one of the annual supnly | Dills. Al of which means remarka- | blv quick work. -In the Nenate the Bingham civil aviation bill, providing for a new Assistant Secretary of Commerce, to have charge of aviation under that departmenti, has been » «ed and sent to the House. And Many of the propos: the President in hiz annual messaze have been put into legislative form and introduced as bills in the Senate and House. The farm relief bill, which is veally designed to aid co-operative hax heen offered in the House. The bill carrying out the Pres ident’s proposal with regard to the operation of the Government-awned merchant fleet—the separation of the Board and the Fleet Cor- ind the transfer to the lat- ter of the ships and their operation law- houses. ton will call the commerce committee has been introduced in both | Senator Jones of Washing-jany other gas Q. Why is kersey so named?—A. B. A. This material is named after the town of Kersey, England, once a seat of the woolen trad Q. Is there a_wild dog that doesn't bark?—P. ¥ A. The dingo. the wild dog of Aus- tralia, never be but howls in the Lush at night. Q. What became of Napoleon's son” —W. A. M. A Napoleon's son. Reichstadt, died from overindulgence in violent exercises. He was buried in the Imperial Tomb at Vienna. the Duke of Q. Should the engagement ring or the wedding ring go on the fAnzer first?—C. . A. The enzagement over the wedding ring ring is worn Kindly settle an arsument. Can foreign flags fly from embassies with out the Stars and Stripes? A. A foreign embassy may fly a for cign flag without having it _accom panied by the American flaz. The for eign emhassy i= under the jurisdic tion of the country which it repre- sents: therefore, the lay of that coun try applies. Q. inch of steam ?—A. A. The Bur andards say that one volume of water measured at ordinary temperatures will produce about 1,670 volumes of steam at the boiling point of water and atmos- pheric pressure. Steam behaves as the volume which it upon the pres- Q How much space does one cubic er occupy when made into oceuples depending together xoon after the holidays to|sure and temperature. consider merchant marine committee will take * ¥ * ¥ there have been several in- that all will not be plain the administration’s pro- prospects are that the President is going 1o have hix way to a very considerable extent vegard to legislation put throush by the new Congress. As the says, “Divil thank him for it, why wouldn't he?’—with a really remark- able popularity throughout the coun and prosperity everywhere ex \cept amonz some of the farmers in Towa. The war debt settlement with Italy negotlated by the American Debt Commission with the sanction of the administration, raised a roar in the when Senator Smoot, chair- man of the finance committee and a member of the debt commission sought to have it taken up for con sideration. It has been understood right along, however. that opposition to any settlement which departed from the terms of the settlement with Great Britain would be attacked from some quarters when approval of Conzress was sought. But there is a strong feeling that the settlement will be ratified eventually. This settlement has been negotiated with regard to the capacity of Italy pav, and Senator Smoot and others who support it feel that it represents all that_Italy can pay, and perhaps mora They are banking on the com- mon sense of the Amercan people to take what they can get rather than to demand all and fail to wet any- thing. The deht settlements will be ratified. it is confidently predicted. in the end. and the fundinz of these While dieations ling for zram. the this measure, and the House | with | Irishman | to | Q. Why is lobster meat price?— A. M. A The rise in the price of lobster j« due to the increasing scarcity this shell fish and the difficnity with which it is propagated. An expert at the lobster hatchery « Woods Hole | stated that if only two onut of 10,000 leggs hatched survived the fourth the present condition might bhe ined. but that undoubtedly | main E percentage than this perishes greater | Q. Who wrote under the name Peter | Pindar?—s. R A. That was the pen name of John Walcott. 4 Q. Of what thickness conning tower made A. It Is usually about one-half | three-fourths of an inch. Its protec tive power does not depend upon its thickness, but upow fts strength Q. Who huilt Mount servatory’—S. B. A. Mount Wilson Solar Observatory | was founded in 1504 by Dr. George | Hale. Tt was built and is maintained lby the Carnegie Institution of W h ingt of which it is the astrophysical jdepartment. of steel L. R is a | i Wilson O | Q. How is the wealth of the United ‘.\ ates distributed among its people?— i States Commission R ions reported wealth in the United States as follows: Rich, or 2 per cent | of the people, own 60 per cent of the wealth; middle class, 33 per cent of the | people, own 35 per cent of the weahh: l]mulfi 65 per cent of the people, own & per cent of the wealth | Where does Moira O'Neill live?- D. D, The Unit jon Industrial distribution of debts will be held a big feather in the administration’s cap. The Italian settlement and the Belgian settlement 10 a less d a little criticism from the Democrats, who will try to make the American people understand that the adminis. tration has weakly permitted the American_taxpavers to be mulcted out of hillions of dollars in interest on the war debts. PR opening of Congress. New Jersey started the ball rolling with the introduction of his bill per- mitting 2.75 per cent beer. which he in a long speech in the Senate. Representative v Gal- livan of Massachusetts, on the House side. has ably seconded his attacks on prohibition enforcement, and others have followed suit. The talking has not all been on one side, however, for enators Willis of Ohio and Morris Sheppard of Texas. Representative Blanton of Texas and others have rush The plain truth of the matter is that not- withstanding the arguments of the wets” und the hopes of thousands of their supporters throughout the coun- the great majority of the votes in ngress are still with the “drys.” The hope of the “wets.” however, is that by constant agitation and repeatedly “showinz np” the lack of enforcement they will bring about the election of more and more “liberals” in succes- sive Congresses. uhtil they have a majority and can overturn the Vol- The dry leaders, however. are insisting that the present effort of the “wets” is a final “flash” and that the enforcement of prohibition is be- coming more and more effectiv The debate on the liquor question of the last week has recalled the pre- prohibition days with its intensity and bitterness of feeling. The “‘wets” are getting plenty of publicity, and they plan to force the fighting during the rest of the present sessfon of Con- gress. * ook ok The Republicans. apparently well satisfied with the way in which a_busi- ness man. Senator William M. Butler of Massachusetts, conducted their na- tional campaign last vear. have picked another successful business man. Sen- ator Phipps of Colorado. to head the senatorial campalgn committee for the struggle next vear to retain Repub- Mcan control of the upper house. With 26 Senators to elect. if the Republican majority is not to be eaten into by the Democrats, the Republican organiza- tion has a man-sized job on its hands. Senator Phipps, it is expected, will get his committee together and outline plans for the campaign soon after the Senate meets again in January. Al ready he has had several conferences. Close co-operation between the na- tional committee and the senatorial committee and the congressional com- mittee, headed by Representative Will Wood ‘of Indiana, is the order. al- though the national committee prob- ably will not take part in any of the primary fights. After the nominations have been made, however, the organi- zation of the national committee, which has been kept in skeleton form, will be ready to do its part, it is said. * ok ok x The latest charge emanating from Democratic sourcés against President Coolidze is that. he is too kind to some of the Democrats, particularly in the matter of making appointments. If he rede roughshod over the Democrats and paid not the slightest attention to them he would be denounced as a rartisan politician. The Chief Execu- tive has a difficult path, any way you look at it. The minority party feels it must attack him, no matter whether he be a Democrat or_a Republican. This latest attack on President Cool- idge has to do with the appointment of Richard V. Taylor of Mobile, Ala., to the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion. * x ok Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin startled the Senate yes: terday with tactics that were decided- Iy reminiscent of his father, the late Senator La Follette. He introduced a resolutfo calling on the Treasury De- partment for information regarding the profits made by the coal operators during the last year. Furthermore. he asked immediate consideration of the resolution. But Senator Reed of Penn. aylvania thought the resolution had ee will come in for not | eill (Mrs Wexrord, the Giens inner) Ireland of An lives i Her Moira O, in County Songs From | i BY FREDERIC i X President Coolidze couldn’t have de- vised a more appropriate Christmas present for the whole world than his announcement that the United States is formulating its acceptance to the ileague disarmament ¢ nference. 1t is not going too far to say that our par ticipation assures the conference’s eventual success beyond all reasona- ble doubt. That is because of Ame fca’s predominant position in interna |.ional affairs. A universe burdened by the cost of excessive armaments will chant a fervent hallelujah this Yule tide in response 1o the news from Washington. The President will maxe our adherence 1o the conference con- ditional upon some Fuarantee of “uf- | firmative and construetive” action. In {plain English, that means we shall not =0 to any conference without ad {vance assurance that it will do husi ness. The United States will not in st that this or that shall be accom- plished. But it will demand that something—somethinz real. tangible {and effective—shall be accomplished. It Europe and Asia are not able to hold out such a prospect, the Amer- ican Government’s interest in a dis- armament conference will wither and fade away. Diplomatic negotiations henceforward between Washington, Geneva and world capitals will be em. phatically couched in those term ok o % Tentative discussion of the confer ence has proceeded in Washington to the point of considering the sort of representatives the - United _States would send to the conclave. There i a strong incliration not to appoint special commissioners, but rather to send an American delegation composed of some of our diplomatic. milit and naval officials now on duty in Europe. It is easy to foreshadow the likely make-up of the delegation if it is to consist of such men. Iis chief would almost certainly be Alanson B Houghton, ambassador to Great Britain. Many authorities call Hough- ton the original patentee of the Lo carno agreements, and the liasion officer who hrought about the advance meeting of German and British minds in connection with them. The League disarmament conference. being the offspring of Locarno, would naturally find Ambassador ioughton in the American group. Hugh Gibson, Amer- ican Minister to Switzerland, would automatically become one of our dip- lomatic representatives, if the con- ference is held at Geneva. All the preliminary communications with the League will be handled through Gib. son at Berne. ek In Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, high commissioner and special am- bassador at Constantinople, and Rear Admiral lLuke McNamee. nav tache at London, the United Navy has in Europe two officrs h lv qualified to sit as naval experts a disarmament conference. Me- Namee was chief of naval intelligence at the time of the Washinston arma- ment conference. Our ranking Army officers in Europe are Col. T. Bentley Mott, military attache at Paris. and Col. Kenyon A. Jones, military at tache at London. American naval and military attaches in both Great Britain and France include Air Serv- ice officers, who would be capable of serving as aviation experts. President Coolidge and Secretary Kellogg will choose our naval representatives with the greatest care of all. Reduction of sea armaments is the thing the United States will be chiefly interested in. We haven't much of an Army left ‘disarm,” Economy long since cut it to the bome. Authorities like Sern ater Hale of Maine, chairman of the better “go over under the rule,” and over it_went, since the objection of a single Senator was sufficient to block its consideration - at that time. It seems the youthful Senator from Wis. consin is & “chip of the old block. +The ¢ <o high in | of ! the | trim™ were first published on the othes' side of the Atlantic in 1900 &nd ‘re~ vised with “More Songs‘of the Glep. of Antrim” ‘in the United States s« 1922, The poems are simple, spontane ous and exquisitely musical. § Q. Are the pictures of Cdlumbi:< we see genuine?—yJ. R. B. 4 . | A. To Paulus Jovius we owe the | earliest presentation of the likeness of Columbus. So far as We know, no ex- |isting portrait of the navigator was | painted from life Q. What American river carries the most sediment to the sea”—H. T. N. A. It is generally believed that the | amount of sediment carried down by | the Mississippi Itiver is greater than that of any other river in the United States, A vast amount of this sedi- ment 1= brought into the Mississippi | by the wuri. It is estimated that a flood of 300,000 cubic feet per second carries into the Mississippi abont 120 | cubie yards of sedignent per second, or | more than 10,000,000 cubic yards per | day. estimated that 400,200 000 cubic vards per annum are carried mto tne AMiss ippi from tne Missour: and that approximately the sams Tamount passes ouc into the Gulf. Q. Were anesthetics known to the ancients?’—S. E. L. A. No perfect anesthetic such as known in modern times was know eeks and Romans, however used mandragora to annual the pain and the Chinesc d hashigh for the same purpose Q. Was the lion rampant originally the Enzlish emblem?—R. L. D. A. Previous to the union of land and Scotland the shield of land was upheld by two lions shield of Scotland was upheld by unicorns. After the union the lion appeared on one side and the unicorn the other. Before the union the English shield contained three i passant (walkinz) on a field of The Scotch shield contained the rampant (standinz on its hind on 2 field of zold a lear g C. A. French is possibly the simplest. The German grammar is extremels complicated and English pronunci- ation is difficult for certain foreizns The English language also contains great number of colloguialisms evervday speech, which take some time t, scquire. All languages do not contain the same aumber of words The knglish langzuage con proximately 700,000 words | dictionaries contain about words: French, 210,000 words Which lang rench, German or (The great information plant tained by Frederic J. Haskin in Wasi- ington, D. C.. has been described as an wunofricial branch of the Govern- ment. It carrics the results of mil- lions of dollars’ worth of Federal in- restigations to the people the moment they are ready. and without erpense cither the people or the Govern- {ment. Newspapers maintain this or- | gamization and give its scrvices free \to their readers. Only a few of the | questions and ansiers are published | The great volume of information is | sent direct to inquirers. The bureau's research is not confined to the Federal departments. Its field is the aworld | and its experts can answer any ques- tion of fact that you ask. You are entitled to the service. ['se if. Ad- dress pour inguiry to The Star In- | formation Bureaw. Frederic . Haski | director, Washington, D. ¢ | | | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. Senate clares naval affairs committee. de- he American fleet, too. ix al ready “disarmed” to the limit of sufety. But, of course, if other great sea sowers agree to slash their fleet U'ncle Sam might be able to do so, 100 . * % ok * Miss Paulina Longworth (aceeni in na on the “i"" as in “eve” of the »ple) has just received her politicsl baptism. although she has not vet celebrated her second birthdav. The chubby daughter of the Speaker and “Princess Alice” was taken to the Capito] this week for the first time, while her mother attended the World Court debate in the Senate. Panlina did not sit in the gallery. In fact, she did not leave her parents’ limousine, wherein she drove in state to the Senate wing of the Capitol. and then held impromptu levees as her proud ! mother brought admiring friends 1n [the car for an introduction 1o th | first baby of the land. Paulina is not | terrified by strangers. In fact. if | they are male strangers, she flirts with them outrageously with smiles | thit extend all the way across her { milk-and-peach complexion to her pink <. If there's anvthing in early en vironment, Paulina’s going o he politician. * ok ox % In Court the midst of one of the World peeches there was a_hubbub in the Senate that impelled Vice Presi | dent Dawes to rap for erder. The | cause of the big noise was/soon dis covered. “Jim" Watson ahd Frank Willis were whispering. tor, Wil lis unquestionably is the Magnus Vox of Congress. He neither denies nor apologizes for it. 1n faet. he explains it. He was raised on gn Ohio farm 1t was a long, narrow strip of land and the cattle were pastured on the back field. 1t was Frank's job to bring in the cows at milking time He wasn't any fonder of wvalking than most boys are, so. instead of tramping a long piece to herd the cows into the milking vard. he learned to round ‘em up by calling them. The. practice de. veloped Willis' voice to its present cyclonie volume. Sehator Fess of Ohio once heard Willis at a political meeting half a mile away. * ok K * Representative Otis Wingo. Demo- crat, of Arkansas is beginhing to think that the American people want ja not seriousness, from their statesmen. At the opening of the session it fell 1o Wingo’s lot to address a few jocular. though_pointed, remarks to a brash voung Representative from Florida on the subject of the modesty becominz in a fledgling member of ‘the House. “I was only joshing,” =aid Wingo to this observer, “but I mever said any thing during all of my six previons terms in Congress that ‘went over’ so biz. People all over the country seem 10 have heard about it. 1've delivered what 1 thought were some snure- enough speeches in my day. but ne- hody took much notice of them. Guess the country prefers to laugh. Per haps if Congress madel it laugh mo and think less, we'd be in better odor. * *x % % Butler Wright, Assistant Secre tary of State, has just returned from a transcontinental tour in the infer. est of the American Foreign Service. He spoke at Salt Lake City, Cheyenne ithe capital of Wright's home State). Omaha, Kansas City, Kans.; Kansas City, Mo.. and St. Louis. Sec tary KeHogg™ coadjutor found the Middle . West and West with interest in Uncle Sam’s foreign affairs. They are hot nearly so remote from concern in international activi- ties as their distance from salt water might suggest. At the end of his talk which was' frankly designed to “sell” the foreign service to the West, Wright was bombarded with questions that revealed a genuine anxiety to know what the State Department and the diplomatic service are. and just what they do to keep Columbia the gem of the ocean. Wright told ‘am. (Copyright, 1973