Evening Star Newspaper, February 22, 1926, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR] With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.. February 22, 1826 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor TheEvening Star Newspaper Company Business Office 11th St. and Pennaylvania Ave. N';'mYevk 3&\« _1rm :'gufii?:.‘l' cago ower 3 Buropean Office: 14 I'{e:enl St.. London, Englanc The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn ing edition. in delivered hy carriers within the city at 60 cents per month: dails onlx. 45 cents per month: Sunday on sents per month. Orders may nt by mall or telephone Main 5000 carrier at the end of Rate hy Mall—Payable In Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 10.00: 1 " Bunday only 21 3r. $3.000 ) mo.. All Other SIA\TMA and Canada. Buh and Sunday.1 yr.. $12.00: 1 mo.. §1.00 ally onle L. 1% $RO00: 1 mal ibe Bundar only L. 1 yrl $4.00 Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Preas is exclusively entitled %0 the e for republication of all news dis. Patches credited 1o it or not otherwise cred- ted_in this naper and also the local news ANl rights of publication re also reserved. 1 mol hlished herein apecial dispatches herein The American Ideal. One hundred and ninety-four years axo today George Washington was born. Nearly two centuries have elapsed since that event, little marked at the time, barely noted bevond the family circle. More than one hundred and twent have passed mince that life closed. In that cen- tury and a quarter the republic which Washington aided so greatly in creating. and which he adminis- tered during vears of trial and dificulty, has hecome one of the great powers in the world. Its people have never ceased to hold the first President In the highest admiration and the most sincere affection and in the most profound respect. They oelebrate his birthday with unflag ging enthusiasm, thelr appraisal of his character and his services increas- ing rather than diminishing with the filght of time. Today there fs a particular zest to the observance of Washington's birth- day because of recent endeavors hy billous-minded iconoclasts cast aspersions upon his character, to be. little him, to destroy the ideal of the people. Their effort, the more des pleable hecause of a pretense of ad miration, has been swiftly and em phatically rebuked. The people of this country wish to retain their con cept of George Washington as a man of virtue, of uprishiness. as well as of magacitv and lofty aspiration George Washington un eonscions of the magnitude of his work. He realized its importance and its value to mankind. He approached it and he performed it in a spirit of dedication. He moved reluctantly toward the goal of independence hi cause he questioned the ability of the colonists to estahlish themselves apart from the six vears its first was not British sovereignty. FKut he realized that the great ex periment must he made, that th must essay the undertaking to justify their own principles. which cruelties and injustices had enzendered. Once set upon this course, he never falter- ed. In the depths of despair. when everything was hlack and discourag- ing. he maintained his faith. He was sustained hy unshaken helief in the righteousness of the colonial cause and he inspired all others with that faith. Tt is the spirit of George Washing- ton that rried this Nation through als and developed it into the sirong institution that It is todav: It that spirit that the | people now revere upon this day. And no one who seeks to he- smirch the character of the man. or to question the motives of the patriot. = given countenance or hearing. Whether the ideal is justified in every small particular or not, it remains the inspiration of America. - an has ¢ its t is A Member of Congress who abuses the Government clerk must be patient when his turn comes to listen to rather disparaging comment on Mem- bers of Congress. According to Lloyd Osborne, Robert L. Stevenson did not write it (although it would be worthy of his gentle genius), but the remind- er persists in wholesome influence: “It Il hecomes any of us to find fault with the rest of us.' Tn days of vore Wilhelm Hohenzol- lern rated himself as an accomplished musician. He would not stand a chance in competition with one of these old-time fiiddlers, ———— Nominations are in order for Judge Gary as President of the Don't Worry Club. —r—e—— Eastern Branch Improvement. Two phases of the Anacostia River fmprovement are now under earnest discussfon. The work of dredging and filling from the mouth of the river to Benning Bridge has been finished, but the conversion of the reclaimed area Into a park has not been begun except in a small section east of the Anacos tia-Navy Yard Bridge. The reclama- tion of the shoals of the river and the marsh hetween Renning Bridge and the District line has not been bhegun and the Army engineers have drawn for this work a plan to which excep- tlon is not likely 1o he taken. The gineers are anxious to hegin the work while the dredges and men are at hand. The dredges and personnel, having finished the work below or west of Benning Bridge, are ready to take up the work between Renning Bridge and the District line. A ‘plan has been drawn by which the dredges can pass Benning Bridge without re- modeling that bridge and fitting 1t with a draw span. With the equip- ment at hand for continuing dredging and filling and the building of stone retaining walls an important economy would result by pressing the work now. Authorization by Congress and the required appropriation are being sought. The making over of the marsh ter- ritory above Benning is needed in making Washington a better city. It would increase the park space for all the pgople of the city and give a large park with recreation fields and lakes en- natal | for the use of tens of thousands of people living in the east part of the city and In that fastimproving sec- tion beyond the Anacostia Hiver. It | would remove a condition which must ill-affect the health of a large part of the population. All the arguments favor pressing to completion the proj- ect for dredging aad Alling the river jand flats between Benning and the | District line and there are many rea- sons why the work of parking the re- claimed area between the mouth of the river and Benning should be begun. e The Internationalist Program. Those who have felt of late that the bolshevists, who have seized govern- ment in Russia. have abandoned their purpose to internationalize the world through the spread and establishment of thelr principles in all countries, should note the words of Zinovieff, chairman of the executive committee of the Communist Internationale. Ac cording to an authentic report of his statement to that committee at a meet- ing just held, he proclaims it to be still the purpose of his organization to continue the war against nationalism throughout the world. He sald: Our methods may undergo some changes. but not on the proletarian revolution itself. which is our basic and single objective. History makes the dictatorship of the proletariat the order of the day. In our struggle against imperialism it is necessary to create new fulcrums. not only in China. where we have succeeded, but in South America, where Imperialism oppresses a whole series of small na- tions. Here we can succeed in mobiliz- ing not only the workers, but wide stratu of the peasantry. In to d diffic virty admitting. as Zinovieff proceeded that ‘the It task in the I'nited States. he 1y serves notice that this coun- try is an objective of bolshevik inter- nationalism. Reference to South Amer- ica i= a plain indication of a purpose to flank the United States. The Soviet has already been at work in Mexico. idently it proposes to attack the whole of the Southern continent and work northward. Scouts and spies of bolshevism are already at work in this country, some of them openly. some disguised. They are busv in many quarters and in dif- ferent lines. Some of them, sad to say. are established in the educational in- stitutions, preaching and teaching in- ternationalism, and. it has recently de- veloped. “softeninz" nationalism. Per- haps of these educational in- fluences are unconscious of their asso- ciation In spirit with the malevolent force at Moscow, but their mischief is none the less & menace to our institu- tions of government. The frank admission of Zinoviefl that the organization of which he is the head will. whatever the changes of method required by changing condi- tions, continue to seek the destruction of existing governments in other lands, should occasion no surprise. China, as he acknowledges, has been definitely the of holshevist propaganda. militant and in some measure successful. In Japan, Zinovieff admits the position of the Communists “exceptionally weak.” But that does not siznify that the reds will cease their endeavors there. They will persist with probably the same methods they are adopting in the United States, that of “horing from within.” In the light of this frank avowal of government-destroying purpose on the part of the international Communists at Moscow, it would be well for the educators of this country, who are just at present in session in Washington, to consider deeply the question which has been raised recently regarding the teaching of history upon an interna- tional hasis, If they are not aware of the fact that through their “soften- ing” of nationalistic teachings are themselves carrying on the propa- ganda of destruction directed from Moscow, the educators are, indeed, themselves sadly in need of enlighten- ment. now some scene »—or—s England controls the, rubber mar- ket, but considerately hesitates about a commercial attitude that would send all America traveling on a flat tire. — Settlement of the coal strike will go into effect in time to assure a supply of fuel just about the time when everybody Is worrying about ice. SR Mussolini is not in health. The pace that kills may be led by political am- bition as well as by a group of synco- pators. e An investigation usually results in leaving the average citizen free to ga on suspecting the worst. s e German Trade. German trade is rc-iving and, ac- cording to recently puplished figures, is approaching pre-war level. Imports, however, are in excess of exports, so that the balance of trade is unfavor- able. The latest report shows that the export of manufactured articles last vear reached 70 per cent of the 1913 total. In some lines the ex- ports are only 50 per cent of the 1913 level. Silks are the only articles that show a slight Increase over the pre- war figures. But imports are now within ninetenths of those of 1913, in some cases showing an actual in- | crease over pre-war totals. The wheat imports have nearly quintupled and meat Imports are almost quadrupled. There has been a great increase in rubber and mineral ofl purchases. The fact that Germany is gaining in imports shows an increasing pur- chasing power which reflects a much sounder economic condition. But, of course, Germany will not be content with an unfavorable trade balance. Before the war the balance was in her favor. She sold more than she bought. She is going after her old markets, however, vigorously and her endeavors in that direction are giving concern to France and England. The South American markets are espe clally attractive to German trade. Before the war there was a profitable field there for German manufacturers, and there are signs that that field is agein being systematically cultivated. The eventual recovery of the trade balance by Germany is to be 'expected. Prejudice against German-made goods will not prevail indefinitely if price internationale has a | they | 1 | for their markets without reference to the war-bred feelings that at one time. it was thought, put Germany out of the commercial reckoning for many decades. B Obey the Lights! Instructions issued by Maj. Hesse to the Police Depaitment on Haturday spell complete success for Washing- ton’s automatic trafic light system, Taking cognizance of the fact that wholesale violation of the regulations was not only endangering the success of the system itself, but laying the groundwork for serious accidents, Maj. Hease hax announced that the time for warning is over and that hereafter all offending motorists will be taken immediately to court. Consclentious motorists, who have obeyed strictly the edict of the flash- ing lights, have been bewildered by the apparent ease with which other motorists, not so conscientious, have “Rotten away’ with deliberate viola- tions of the regulations. Turns have been made against the red signal and, worst of all, green light trafic has heen crossed by impatlent drivers, sometimes In full view of policemen. Of course a period must be allowed, with every new regulation, for the motorist to become familiar with ft. This period, unfortunately, is used by a certain class of driver as a means of deliberately breaking the law, because he realizes that he will receive only a warning If accosted. Saturday marked the end of this experimental period and the Police Department now helieves that the time has arrived when even the moxt stupid Washington motorist knows “what it is all about” and. more im- portant, the time for applving vigor ous corrective measures to the aleck”™ brand of driver, who veen deliberately defying all efforts promote a smooth running system. With the “pulsating” timing now in operation and working satisfactorily there s no excuse for violation of any of the rules laid down for the au tomatically controlled streets. The cross-street walts are of short dura- tion. while trafic on elther Sixteenth reet or Massachusetts avenue can move the entire length of the system without a stop. The Police Department is to be com- mended on its campaign. The sooner it is impressed on motorists that the lights must be obeyed the sooner will frictionless iraffic be an actuality in Washington. smart has to —oatmms- Interest in music manifested by Henry Ford should lead to a system of standardized production enabling Detroit to turn out in large quantities 4 brand of fiddle every bit as good for all practical purposes as the Cremona. ———e— In order to evade the immigration authorities it may be necessary here- after for people involved in turpitudes to conduct thelf affairs with less than the usual publicit It is asserted by Judge Gary that the Congress now officiating is the best ever. At any rate, it is the best we are going to get for the present. After getting past some very emi. nent scientific Lodies, Darwin found his hardest hurdle in a small-town board of education. e Russia has been patiently doing her best to serve the world as an experi- mental station in one kind of govern- ment after another. SRR, SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. 0ld-Time Fiddlers. Feller was playin' a far-off tune— Sounded to me like “Old Zip Coon!" It was mighty sweet as It floated by On the evening breeze 'neath the starlit sky. It sang of the old-time dancin’ days When folks was respectful to formal wa; When, leadin’ would come, They thought quite some. the step, Zip Coon they was cuttin' up A touch of the Meant much gayly by. Bits of romance, fading all too soon Revive as we listen to “Old Zip A Wish to Be Helpful. “Don’t you think something ought to be done for the farmer?” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “If I could persuade them to listen hand or a flashing eye as the throng 'sped respectfully, I think mebbe I could convince 'em that foolin’ with politics is mighty risky business for farmers, same as for anybody else.” Ladies of the Snows. Weary of stockings! Weary of shoes! Weary of ankles and knees! An Arctic existence is what I would choose, ‘Where gals have to kivver or freeze. Jud Tunkins says a jazz band for dances is a concession to the human instinct that makes a man willing te do 'most anything, rather than remain absolutely idle. The New Code. T can remember when you used to hang hoss thieves in Crimson Guich.” “Yep,” answered Cactus Joe. “But nobody steals hosses any more. And purloinin’ a flivver don't seem to arouse much Indignation; the original possesser in many cases bein' posi- tively glad to get rid of it.” Statesmanlike Silence. i While tellin’ us this an’ that an’ thus, They say George Washin't'n used to cuss, If' he lived 'mongst problems now turned loose, He'd just keep still, sayin' “What's the use!” “You got to be good on week days as well as Sundays,” sald Uncle Eben. “Otherwise, yoh hopes of heaven ain't nothin’ but a six-to-one shot.” B e — Foolproof. From the Toledo Blade. and qunmmva It be-| wre like “Dinah” because it be hooves all anmwumw.fi%n 4 tranced. i l.owden, Capper or McNary. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Mary Roque realized she was in for an exciting day of It. This, of course, in the atrictl” modern civiiized sense. “An exciting da no longer means intrigue, plot. counterplot, assassina- tlon, flashing poniards and glittering swords, Adventures today are mental rather than physical. The play of mind agalnst mind has taken the place of the clash of rapler on rapler. We no longer sally forth in top boots, our faces hidden in our cloaks, to gallantly withstand half a dozen villains at a time. Yet most of us manage to have our little adventures every day, which we relate with infinlte gusto to the family In the evening. Now and then we have an experience which we do not relate, Mary of the r: liant eves was sure she was going have an adventure. Had she not participated in one al- v that morning, and do they not 8 run in pairs, if not in trios? Generally they do. Mary had discovered this in the course of her work ax Washington's little Miss IPixit. Let one interesting event take place, another was almost sure to happen. Other people had noticed this, too. Some bright person, long ago, had written. It never rains but it pours.” The thing was no secret, then. P Mary had been slightly jarred when she got on the bus, in the first place. This, however, was but preliminary. Tripping daintily, in order to prevent the snow from spotting her light stockings. she swung into the bhus. “Ten-cent fare.” sald the driver. “Ten cents?” asked Mary, with an expression of scorn, or at least as near as she could manage such an expression. Her lovely features most Iy remained lovely Yes. smiled the hus driver, Ten cents straight, or paper tickets for 50 cents “You are 5 minutes late, where gen- erally you are only 3 minutes late, and you want 2 more cents for it7" All the passengers. who that morn ing had surrendered 2 more cents trih ute for the first time, grinned in sympathy with the valiant girl. “Yes, ma'am,” said the pleased driver. “All right, then,” sald Mary, drop ping in a thin dime, and finding her self a reat. This incldent made the girl with the star eyes angry from the heginning. A glint of ice came fnto those in tensely blue ever, making them all| the more beautiful. A fat gentleman attempted to open a conversation. on the strength of Mary's remarks anent the increased fare. His strictures on the Public Utilities Commission. however, got him nowhere. Mary refused to listen. Her bright hair. fluffed out heneath her small hrown felt hat. made her look like an angel in dis xuise. One had no doubt in the world about the sex of angels when one looked at A Roque. - o | en- & from When the bus got to her corner, | t out. 1d blind beggar was standing Paor man!” said Mary Roque. i e slipped him a quarter. Itz | she told hersell, “and 1| shouldn't eat so much for lunch. I will only spend 30 cents tods The fat man got out of the bus. ““Brother, I can't see you,” quavered the blind man. “Brother, I can't see vou, elther,” | | bin | of | torted. | low, he vanished. replied the large party, 11l concealing a chuckle at his own wit. “You ought to be ashamed of your- self.” flamed Mary Roque, speaking to the fat man after all. The fellow had the grace to look half ashamed as he slunk away. “Poor man!" said Mary, meaning the blind man. She turned back to him and dropped another quarter into his tin cup. “Now I will go hungry,” she sald. Mary was a healthy young woman, and had a good appetite all the time. “Who would imagine any one would say A mean thing Iike that to u poor old blind man,” she mused, ax xhe went up to her office on the fifth floor of the Essary Bullding. Taking off her hat, M gave her bright head n toss, whereat the well traingd water waves rippled Into thelr accustomed contours, Mary had no need to put her cheeks or lips. Nature did it for her. Thank you. Natur approvingly. into the miri She plunged into her work, which today demanded much letter writing, so that it wus lunch time before she knew it. First.” she sald, “I must go 10 the telephone office and pay that bill she sauntered up Thirteenth street, ad- miring WCAP's big antenna ax she went. lor” on smiled Mary, ook % Inside the office she stopped to get out her bill. She noticed, In the subconscious way one does notice much that goes on. an old colored man coming away from the counter with his hands full of greenbacks. He stopped near the door, counting his change, and, as he did o, dropped a bill, which fluttered to the floor un seen of the owner. Mary. however, kept her eve on the intending to tap the loser on the shoulder and call hix attention 1o his loss. Refore she could do s apper-dressed young white man stooped down with a careless move- ment and swept the bill into his right hand. where ft was lost in a number bills which he held. Mary watched to see what the fel low would do By this time the old colored man was mumbling to him- self as he counted and recounted his bills. He had discovered his loss. The voung chap. with an assured air. faced the old fellow. What's the matter, uncle ed, with a sneer. “Did that girl at the counter short-change you? You got to watch vour step these days.” And he sauntered to the door. You can't get away with it.” snap ped Mary. stepping square in front o him. “I saw you pick up that bil The voung man sneered “Whadva talking about?” growled. ‘Give that man back his money and stop trying to place the blame on that Innocent girl at the counter, you —you cad.” | The however, a he ask- he fellow turned red, then re “You couldn't even say what the bill was, even if 1 did take it which 1 didn't. ’ Mary flashed a police emblem from her pocketbook. “Buddy.” she said, calmly. “Fork over here. or vou will do so down at No. 1.” She examined the billg in his hand—a ten, a five and everal ane dollar bills. ‘We will call it this one,” she said, gnificantly, selecting the ten-spot, and handing it to the old cologed man. | who was too amazed to do anything hut accept it. As for the voung fel- believing ‘discretion the better part of trickery. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE Calvin Coolidge is in war paint. Anv doubts on that score vanished last week when he rose from his sickbed, in the midst of a Washington blizzard, to throw down the gauntlet to the Senate opposition on the Italian debt deal. The administration had three major objectives in the Sixty-ninth Congress. Tt wanted approval of American adherence to the World| Court. It desired tax reduction on Mellon lines. It sought ratification of the various Kuropean debt settle- ments—in particular, the most im- portant one of them. that made with Ital) The President has hrought home the bacon on the World Court and the tax bill. But his bag of hooty will not be full till the Italian fund- Ing scheme has senatorial sanction. Hence, his almost unprecedented vigorous demand that the settlement be accepted by the one branch of Congress which has not yet given its 0. K. * x x % Not for a long time has Mr. Cool- idge so directly hearded the Demo- cratic party as he has now done in connection with the Italian affair. The White House spokesman put on the presidential mitts with unaccus- tomed belligerency when he tackled Democratic opposition to debt sef tlementy The President unmistakabl meant to land an upper cut by com- paring the Democrats’ antagonism to plans for stabiliaing world_economics with their taunt that the Rebublicans are the party of isolation. That blow sank home in responsible Democratic quarters, but did not leave them speechless. On the contra pro- voked the counter thrust that Presl dent Coolldge ought to remember Jan- uary 27—the day the World Court resolution was passed in the Senate— and, so remembering, say the Dem crats, soliloquize where that major ad- ministration project would have land- ed except for virtually solid Demo- it cratic support. All of which back talk seems to make certain that the polit- ical fur Is about to fly on Capitol Hill * % k¥ Dr. Willlam M. Jardine, broncho- buster, cowboy, agronomist and Sec- retary of Agriculture, is beginning to figure in the grand and glorious le- glon of presidential possibilities. He says he might have been,inclined to take himself seriously in that con- nection hadn’t a recent poll in a farm Jjournal been brought to his attention. There it was set forth that the farm- ers’ candidate for President in 1923, in the order of preference. is either Then, 8 a postscript afterthought, it was added that “Secretary dardine is also mentioned.” * K ok ¥ Benito Mussolini, among his vari- ous other dictatorial activities at Rome, is Italian minister of air. He has just sent to Washington as air attache of the Italian embassy that country's “ace of aces,” Comdr. Sil- vio Scaromi, who holds the proud record of having brought down sin- gle-handed 30 Austrian combat planes during the sanguinary battles on the Alpine front, After the war Scaroni's impressions of air fighting were brought out in book form. They consist exclusively of letters written to his mother after each contact with an enemy plane. * kKX Recent disclosures that the Presi- dent hands around “stogies” at cabi- net meetings have led to a semi-of- ficial inquiry as to the smoking habits of individual members of the executive household. At least three of them say “No, thank you,” when tobacco in any form is offered them. They are Curtis D. Wilbur, Secretary of the Navy; James J. Davis, Secre- tary of Labor, and Harry S. Ne Postmaster General. Secretary Mel Jon smokes nothing but all-tobacco - cigarettes Three cabineteers— Hoover, Sargent and Dwight F. Da- vis—divide their smoking-time be- tween pipes and cigars. Kellogg and Jardine gre partial to cigars. Among cabinet smokers, Dr. Work is the most abstemious, * o ox o* Maj Gen. David . Shanks, U S. A.. retired, who commanded the great Army hase at Hoboken during the World War, told. at the recent anni- versary dinner of the War Society of the Cruiser and Transport Force, how books and magazines rained in on him on a certain occasion. The story was widely circulated that what our men overseas craved was reading matter. Benevolent souls were asked to send contributions to Hoboken. Within a week the Jersey port was choked to the point of block- ade with the most prodigious collec- tion of literary junk ever piled up. othing to compare with it was ever scen at Hoboken except a consign- ment of canned heat. One dayv there rolled Into Shanks' headquarters a man who wanted to send some canned heat to his brother-in-law, the colonel of a Western National Guard regi- mant in France. “Bring it around,” sald Shanks. “Can’t carry it," plead- d the caller. Shanks asked . Because.” the man explained, “it's stacked on a lighter in the East River.” He had assembled enough canned heat to supply his relative’s entire regiment. It was wanted for shaving purposes. * * x % The first German sent to restore diplomatic relations with the United States after the World War, Baron Leopold Plessen, is about to be trans- ferred from Washington, after nearl five years' continuous service here. Plessen came to pave the way for a new German Ambassador. A highly cultured young Prussian nobleman, Oxford m: bachelor and profession- al diplomat, he enjoys wide popularity in Washington. When war broke out in 1914 Baron Plessen was crossing North America. Taking the first Steamer home for the purpose of join- ing his regiment in Germany, he was nabbed by the British authorities and spent the entire period of the war in an internmert camp. Baron Plessen expects to be assigned to duty in the Berlin foreign office. (Copyright. 1926.) o Congress Furnishes Cord That Binds Departments To the Editor of The Star I thank you on behalf of all Govern- ment clerks for your cartoon and edi- torial on Congressman Davey's speech. It is a comfort to know that Con- Eressman Davey is just one of the in- significant minority who are not in- telligent enough to really inform themselves on a subject before trying to handle it in public, thus merely ad- vertising what poor material some congressional districts have to repre- sent them. TPerhaps Congress could Successfully handle more than three bills out of more than seventeen hun- dred, if the material were better and if what it does have were to stay on the job, at least during sessions. As for Government clerks, the facts are open to all who really wish to know them, so I shall not try to enumerate- them here. Anyhow, it was good of Congressman Davey to except.the postal workers, whose labors are clearly visible to the public. Or perhaps the Post Office Depart- ment has been handling Con; man Davey's enormous franked mail'in an especially efficlent manner, earning praises, if not raises. The service is “all bound round with & woolen string,” as nobody knows better than we who are of it, but Con- gress furnishes the string, miles and miles and miles of L. AMMON. | That | have been fomented and encouraged Eight “Facts” Presented for “Wet” Consideration To the Editor of The Star The “Amsoclation for the Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment’ proposes to have a ‘‘face-the-facts conference’ to further its propagunda, and since the rald assoclation has the affrontery and had taste to choose Washington's birthday for thelr campaign fleld day for the liberty to make wine-bibbers and heer-bloats of our citizens I beg to submit the following facts for the consideration of the mald assoclation, in the full assurance that they will face none of them or any others that do not lead to & brewery or wine cas| Fact No. 1. The first insurrection against the execution of laws under the Constitution of the United States was the whisky rebellion of Wash- Ington's second administration. Re- fusing to pay tax on whisky, and bills of fndictment having been {ssued against riotous insurrectionists, the United States marshal, on the way to serve court processes, was fired on and narrowly escaped with his life. After further outrages Washington wrote: “If the laws are to be trampled upon with impunity and a minority, a small one. too, I8 to dictate to the majority, there Is an end put, at ona stroke, to republican government.” In connection with the raising of volunteers fo put down the whisky rehellion Washington again wrote: “No citizen of the United States can ever he engaged in a more important service to their country. It is nothing less than to consolidate and to pre- serve the blessings of that Revolution which, at much expense of blood and treasure, constituted us a free and in- dependent nation.” Fact No. 2. That Washington ex- pressed his opinfon of those who op- posed the duly adopted Constitution and executed laws in the strongest terms. of which the following are ex- amples nd when in the calm mo- ment# of reflection thev (the citizens) <hall have traced the origin and prog- ress of the insurrection, let them de termine whether it _has not been fo mented by combinations of men who careless of consequences and disre garding the unerring truth, have dis- seminated, from ignorance or perver- sion of facts. suspiclons. jealousies and jaccusations of the whole Government. Fact No. 3. That the pleas for “pe sonal liherty™ by above described asso clations under present-day names have only one definition of liberty, which is to make of one’s self a walking winery or an animated beer keg; that the liberty,of the wives, mothers and chil- dren of America to have sober fathers, hushands, decent homes and the op. portunity to grow up without the squalor and disgrace of a liquor-guz zling parent has no part in their thoughts and no place in their defini tion of “liberty." Fact No. That about four-fifths of the lique at least, formerly eon sumed In the United States was heer: further. the vast of saloons were owned by That the talk and propaganda claiming to have 1% 118 object the sale of beer and wine without the saloon Is hypocrisy and fraud, as a saloon is nothing more nor less than a place to sell liquor, and without a place to sell it beer cannot be sold. That the real object of the Assoclation Against the Eighteenth Amendment is 1o restore the hyphen- ated beer haron to his erstwhile power and turn every American home into a beer garden Fact No. 5. That the Supreme Court of the United Stat>s has thrown every contention of the “wets” out of court. That_ in spite of the forever reiterated falsehood that the “‘people” do not want prohibition. avery election since the passage of the amendment has shown a stronger sentiment for it. lawbreaking and bootlegging by all such associations who have lent their mioral support to the proposition that the Government of the United States cannot enforce its own laws, and that these laws. regardless of the vast majority of clitzens behind them. should be defied and disregarded. Fact No. 6. That the talk about “modifying”’ the Volstead law. in or- der to decrease lawlessness, is an utter sham. Knowing they cannot re- peal the amendment, they wish to nullify it by making its execution im- possible. That they are willing for us prohibitioniats to have our laws provided we will let them have their liquor. which is just what we will never do. Fact No. 7. That the United States, under prohibition. has become and continues to be the wealthiest, healthi- est and_happiest large nation in the world. That poverty has almost dis- appeared: that savings accounts have increased beyond all calculation; that institutions for treating alcoholism have closed their doors: that alcoholic wards in hospitals have been closed: that in sections where the Associa- tion Against the Eighteenth Amend- ment has no adherents jails have been closed and the blessings of a dealco- holized community become apparent on every hand. Fact No. 8. That every year the serried ranks of the wets are being decimated by the Grim Reaper, while every vear also there come to a noble and liquorless majority hundreds of thousands of clean young voters who are brought up to hate. and despise King Booze and all his works. That. therefore, In the course of nature the Assoclation Against the Eighteenth Amendment will go where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. ROSSEL EDW. MITCHELL. A Plea for Plumbers Who Are Now Taxed To the Editor of The St; Dear Sir: As The Star shines for all, T am going to ask you to publish this letter in the interest of the public, in reference to the bill to be presented to Congress requesting an annual license fee for master plumbers of from $25 to $50 per annum. Every dollar of this would come out of the pockets of the public, and the writer wants to put himself on the side of the public and help them. Every kind of work costs more money than it ever did, and steps should be taken to lower, instead of increasing, the cost of living. Why pick on the plumber? He is already hampered enough. ' After passing a very strict examination, if he does this success- fully, he must file a bond for $2,000 and put up a cash deposit of $50 to remain there indefinitely. He is then granted a license. Engineers are ex- amined and licensed, but there it ends. Steamfitters, electriclans, carpenters and other mechanics require neither examinations nor licenses to work at their trades. It is a well known fact that over 80 per cent of the repair work -is done by apartment house janitors or other mechanics, while hardware and other stores carry plumbing supplies to be put in by the general public. While there is a law governing plumbing it only bears hard on the registered plumbers. Surely the Commissioners can find some better way to raise money. Again I say why pick on the plumber? ‘WILLIAM KOCH. The Perennial Vietim. From the Dayton Daily News. . 1t is wrong to give a man a bad name, but the baby is as helpiess as a Pullman car. The Great Hold-Up. From the Okmulgee Democrat. 1t she mo a party line three TRl TR a frock, that's & G. How many calls does a fire ae partment get in a day?—0. T. P A. The Fire Department of tha Dix trict of Columbla says that last month there were 420 calls. This includen the total number for 29 engine com panies and 13 trucks. Q. Are the small air buhbles that form in drinking water, giving it a cloudy appearance. injurlous to health? What causes them?—A. B, A. These are air or carhon dloxide, which dissolves more readily at high pressure and comes undissolved when the preasure i3 released. The huhbles are quite harmiess. Q. What were the total forelgn ahli- gations recelved from the Secretary of War on account of mle of surpius war suppliea?—B. L. A. The total was $515066.317.02, This figure does not include interest accrued and unpald. Q. Who wrote under the preudonym, Walter B. Dunloj B. J. A. Rylvanus Cobh used name. this pen Q. Please give the names of several of the finest rubies.— . A. H. A. The finest ruby mines are thosa of Mogok in Upper Burma. It is from these mines that the pigeon-hlood rubles come. These are considered very valuable. There are also mines in the neighboring country of Sfam. These Slamese rubles are of a brown- ish red. The Burmese rubles bring from 2 to 10 times as much as the Siamese rubles. The Burma mines are now controlled by the Ruby Mines, Ltd., of London. Among the largest rubles may be mentioned two belong ing to the King of Hishenpur, in India which weighed 50% and 1715 ca respectively. The largest ruby known is one from Tibet, weighing 2.000 carats, but it §s not of first quality. Q. What Is the difference between a doughnut and a cruller’—G. R. D. A. The difference wax marked years ago. A doughnut was made of raised bread dough. to which sugar. spice and eggs were added, while the cruller was made of a mixture containing baking powder or cream of tartar and soda. Nowadays the term doughnut i= made to include both kinds of fried cakes. Q. When ware college degress first awarded” . A A. The degree, an academic rank or title, originated In the medieval nniversities. Scholastic distinctions of an analogous nature seem to have existed in anclent times. In the lat- ter part of the classical Greek period education was well organized into in- ferior and superior cournes and thers |evidently existed wome recognized Proof that smich conrsex had been completed. The degree as a univer- sity distinction originated at Bologna and Paris during the twelfth century and the titles “master” and “doctor” signified at first nothing more than & licensa to teach. Q. When was silk culture first troduced Into this country?—M. K, A. About 1737, in Connecticit, the | fAirst coat and stockings made from New England silk heinz worn by Gov. Law in 1747, and the first silk dress by his daughter in 1750, in- Q. Why ix it that chopped apples covered with mayonnalse dressinz will not turn black?—W. T. - A. The oil fn the mayonnaise forms a coating on the pieces of apple that excludes the air. Oxvgen in contaet with apples prodices a chemical ef- :’?c:kman turns the apples brown or ack. ; Q Why are soap bubbles round?— ""A Because the air inside the bibbles |exerts an equal pressure in all direr- FIND OI'T WHATEVER YOU WANT 70 KNOW. There ia no room for igmorance in this husy world. The | person who losex out is the one who | yuesses. The person who gets an iy always the one who acts upon reliahle formation. This paper employa Frederic J. Haskin to conduct an in- formation hureau in Washinaton for the free use of the public. There s no charge cxcept 2 cents in stamps | for return postaoe” Write to him to- day for any facts you desire. Addresa The Evening Star Information Ru- reau. Frederie J. Haskin, dircetor, Washington, D). ¢ What Washington Lacks to Become Great Capital City A Truly To the KEditor of The Star Within a short thorizing the 000,000 for public buildings in the National Capital will be a law. A reappropriation hill of $1.500.000 for the completion of the Plaza between the Union Station and the Capitol has just passed the Senate. Con- sress has alfeady authorized the ex. tenglon and improvement of B street between the Capitol and the Mall and it is proposed io acquire 1hat triangular stretch from Sixth stree to Fifteenth street and from Penr vlvania avenue to B sireet and de velop it in a scheme. of public huild. ings. introduced a bill 1o acquire what mildiv calls the “evesc the Capitol and Third street. This is certainly good news for one to whom, it must be confessed, Wash ington architecturally has been a pro- found disappointment. The critieal thing seems to me now to have this vast scheme of reconstruction placed in the hands of thoroughly compe- tent. experienced and far-seeing” men Washington has many heautiful residential districts hoth close in to the rity and in the suburbs, but it should be kept in mind that residen- tial districts do not a city beautiful. The pulsating heart of the city. the business section must be in harmony. otherwise there is a jarring and unreal effect. an uneasy feeling of ill-digested, culture, and the beauty of one section throws the ugliness of the other into stronger contrast. ‘This is largely the trouble with Washington. of a residential city has become exaggerated that it seems to have overtopped other considerations. the result that the downtown tions of ‘the city are positively mean. 1 use the word “mean’ advisedly. he- cause the impression one. espec a stranger, recelves is that of dispro. portion and pettiness, * k x x time the expenditure hill $ he es” hetween In the National Capital of the great est Nation in the world. the Nation that is going to lead the world of to- morrow in knowledge. culture and spirituality, there is complete ahsence of that breadth, grandeur and dig- nity which characterize the capitals of the Old World. Two thoughts are here.- One is that having amassed most of the riches of the world. having performed gigantic architectonic and engineering feats at which the world stands in awe, having brought to our shores highly pald musiclans and s ers and having accumulated. mo in private hands, many of the world’s treasures in art, our education in these things Is ocomplete and the rest of the world is to learn from us rather than we from them. The result is apparent. This rich pabulum lies heavy upon us in an undigested mass. At least one outlet for this pent-up source of energy and expression lies in the enriching architecturally of our Natlonal Capital. is that it may be deemed unfair 1o compare Washington. a city of com paratively recent - institution and growth, with the age-old capitals of continental Europe. But a little thought will indicate that ton has had advantages in this re- spect which no European capital possessed. The latter was a city first and a capital afterward, and, in the evolution of the capital city. disad vantages and incrustations, man them commercial in character, were not easily overcome. But Washing- ton started free and unhampered. It was conceived, planned and erected as the seat of Government. to be the pearl of the Nation. Its layout. its zoning, and, above all, the grouping of those buildings which it came into existence to accommodate, have been ill conceived and ill developed. The most wonderful architectural oppor- tunity in the world, Athens and Rome notwithstanding, was thrown to the winds, with the result that measured by conception and purpose Washing ton today Is not a capital city but a mediocre town. Spaciousness is the only Key to architectural and civic dignity and grandeur, but it must be well conceived. * ok ok K The forum. the public square, the plaza, has been lost to America, and where it has been given it has been given grudgingly, as in the case of Madison and Union Squares and Fifth Avenue Plaza in New York. To have seen the Place de la Concorde and the Place Vendome in Paris. or the vast intersection of Parllament Square or the Mall and St. James and Green Parks in front of Buckingham Palace in London, and then come to the City of Washington in hope and expectancy is to suffer violent shock and revul- sion. Stand at the corner of Four- teenth street and New York avenue, or at Fifteenth stfeet and Pennayl- vania avenue, close one's eyes on haunting European memories, open them on the realities of Washington and the moral is complete. ‘The main streets of this city are characteristic of an America that has been, rather than of an America that is to be. Two and three story struc- tures devoid.nf all architectural merit line the thoroughfares, and Representative Bovian has just | alone constitute | The idea | The other thought | Washing- | |myriads of small stores customary embellishments, | the provineial idea. ings. some with hideous brick g exposed and of no particular archi- | tectural form. throw the smaller strue |tures into sickening relief. And then {there are a number of business streets |(ix it necessary to name them?”) that | frankly one would never expect to find {in this Capital City. On the other {hand. there is one thoroughfave. or rather one side of it. which misht in some measure and with judicious {m- Drovement serve model for the jrest. 1 mean Vermont avenue and | Fifteenth sireet from Thomas Circle 1o New York avenue. This thornugh- re is Jargely occupied by office hufld. inzs. but the elements of dignity and i grandenr are there. The effect is lost however. behind icade of trees {the avenue being altuzether nar- | row for such exuberant foliage. In the Summertime. looking up from the | sidewalk, one sees nothing but a dense mass of leaves. These criticisms lead | naturally to a survey of Pennsyivania avenue. a cancer in the heart of the Nation's Capital. on the complet transformation of which every effort and influence shauld be hent hy every ‘,\mnriv-an as well as every Washing- tonian. Pennsylvania avenue is a na- tional disgrace for which there is no | defense. If 1 eriticize the trees on | Fifteenth street T bless them on the Avenue. What a pity pedestrians may not walk along the center of the car tracks rather than on the sidewalks— {and only in the nmertime, when |the foliage isx thick' Representative | Boylan goes from Peace Monument to | Third streer, but why stop at Third? ook x with thalr enhance | Let ns deeply hape that the $50, [ 000,000 scheme will give nsa Pennsy vania avenue which will be the pride | of the Nation and staction to the {most historic and esthetic taste. Lat | us net rorge outside of Wash- ington Pen a avenue is virtu- ally svno with the National Capital. Certainly to the European ear no names conjure up the Ameri- can scene more vividly than Fifth avenue and Broadway, New York, and Pennsylvania avenue, Washington. In the first two imagination and actu- ality harmonize, but in the last h wilderment and shock are the r actions to the interested heholder of the main street of the Nation 1 will here make a practical sugges- tion in the reconstruction of Pennsyl- vania avenue. Keeping in mind the Place de la Concorde or the Place Vendome, 1 would suggest a vast open plaza of at least twice the dimensions of any of the existing park squares and extending from Pennsylvania ave- nue to B street. Round this should be grouped the Government buildings, the plaza being quite unobstructed by trees, so that the architectural effects may not be lost. This plaza should he midway between the Treasury and the Capitol. This, and only this. will give that air of grandeur and majesty characteristic of the European capi- tal. America is worthy of it and, furthermore, she is ripe for it. And. most_important of all, this scheme should be supervised and carried out under 4 committee of the bhest archi- tects of the Nation, of which a man like Ralph Adams Cram should he one. * ok ¥ * The first impressions of a clty on emergence from the railway station are indelible, and for that reason the proposal to develop the Union Plaza is mo less important. Here lies an opportunity seldom met with at a clty’s gateway. What a pity to spoil the grand effect by turning acci- dentally, as did the present writer, into Massachusetts avenue or North Capitol street! The entrant should he drawn by the very prospect, unerring- 1y to the city’s heart. And here lies the opportunity at hand. Let us hope men of large vision may take it. This Tnion Plaza should be kept wide npen and not choked up indiscriminately with trees. The grounds should be purely formal, a vast green and rest- ful sward closed to games of any sort. Speaking of games calls forth an- other thought relative to the all too few park .areas. Too much space In { our public parks is devoted to wh Kipling graphically calls “the muddied oaf and flanneled fool.” All that beau- tiful expanse contiguous to the EXx- ecutive Mansion js sacrificed to the base baller and foot baller. The idea of recreation Is expressed solely in terms of violent exercise and howling mobs. Its interpretation in restful- ness and peace, in relaxation, in in- ward reflection and musing nder the cedars and the stars” never seems to be associated with our city park To get this we are supposed to go, sa) to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. These activities in Potomac Park could very. well. without hurt to any one and with mercy toward all, be confined to one section and not oc- cupy the more beautiful and more convenient areas as at present. Thix should be seriously taken into account now in the schemes for extending and co-ordinating our park system. It also is in keeping with the spirit of grandeur, dignity and peace which every one of us from our hearts wishes to be the characteristic of the Wash- lngton of tomorrow. PATRICK J. WARD.