Evening Star Newspaper, September 4, 1926, Page 6

NG STAR |occurred during the first eight months unda _!ng Edlflun. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .. .September 4, 1926 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Oft Chicago O, Ruropean Office England. The Evenine Star. with the Sunday morn- n. ia delivered by carriers within cents per month: daily’ onls. omonth: Sundays only. 20 cents yrders may be sent by ‘mal lephone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. aryland and Virginia. nily and Sunday....1 . 30.00; aily only 1yr $6.0 Sunday only . 157, 3. All Other States and Canada. Patly and Sunday..1sr.. $12.00: 1 mo aily only 1yr. Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis. atches credited 1o it or not otherwise o ted in this paper and also the local news published herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved No Mall Market. The suggestion that the farmers’ market he temporarily located in the Mall, between Sixth and Seventh streets, pending establishment in a permanent situation, has happily been rejected by the representatives of the District and Federal Governments who yesterday conferred on the sub- ject. Their view is that such an ex- pedient would be unwise and inade- quate. There is room on the eastern Pportion of the present open-air market site for the farmers who bring their produce to town during the Autumn and Winter months, and that space can be spared from the building opera- tions, which are soon to start, in the erection of the Internal Revenue office. This market question is best to be solved as a whole and not in piece- meal. It may be the final decision that the market system, retail, farm- ers’ and wholesale, should be consoli- dated, or that it may be divided into two centers. But that decision should be arrived at after the most careful study and with definite conclusive- ness. No makeshifts or expedients should be adopted as emergency measures, : The ultimate removal of Center Market is regarded as inevitable. That establishment occupies one of the most conspicuous sites in the city. The space is ideal for a public build- ing, or perhaps, when cleared, for an addition to the park which lies to the south of it. The march of public im- provement brings it in its course. It may be several years before the actual removal of the building is required. Meanwhile provision against that con- tingency should be made. 1t is desirable, therefore, that the market question be now considered as & whole. The imminence of the ouster of the farmers’ market from the In- ternal Revenue Building site precipi- tates the question for early settle- ment. For the farmers’ market should go to another site that is re- lated to the market center of the fu- ture, whether that center comprises only the retail market or both retail and wholesale. Keeping the farmers’ market on the eastern part of its present location, a loss of half the space, will mean that Congress must at the next session render a decision on the whole ques- tlon of market establishment. Thus, @s The Star pointed out yesterday, this expedient, rather than the trans- fer of the farmers’ market to the Mall between Sixth and Seventh streets, is calculated to bring about early action. ————— The Penalty of Delay. A Baltimore and Ohlo passenger train was standing on a siding near Foley. P'a., Friday night. Behind it a signal was set in warning to the en- gineer of a following freight train. The rear train should have been brought to a stop. The engineer dis- regarded the signal and sent his train shead. 1t entered the siding and smashed into the passenger train, causing the death of the engineer and fireman of the freight and of the flag- man of the pa: Ju other the visual signal other instance o which makes the vi: reliable. T a ic the onl; safe system of track contro! It is coming slowly, tardily but coming nevertheless, These « ional rear-end collisions, due to obscured, misunderstood or ig- mnored signals, will continue as long as the visual tem prevails. When at last the automatic device has been in- stalled on all the lines, railroad mana- will wonder at the great cost of nd rejoice at their final relief vy res bility. enger. se of the failure of stem. Just an- the human error stem 80 un- train stop is from he n: 1 azzled but have exerted little per- When American Charleston dancers decide to invade Europe. the dancing record will go along with the swimming record. £ B John D. Rockefeller distributes sil- ver dimes to smiling children: and thereby demonstrates his famous abil- ity to reap a liberal reward for « small investment. B A Citadel of Crime. A special grand jury organized to fnvestigate crime and primar tlon frauds in Chicago has just made its report. Besides indicting thirty- two judges and clerks of election, the grand jury presented statistics on crime and punishments which il Juminate the situation in Cook Coun- ty. This report shows that frem the beginning of 1922 to the first of Sep- tember, period of fifty-six months, 1476 murders were com- mitted in the county, and that in that period there were only twelve execu- tions. The murders were at the rate of more than twenty-six a month, nearly one a day. There is an indica tion of an increase in the murder rate, 1.240 of these crimes having been committed during the first four years, or forty-eight months of the peried, at the rate of slightly less than twentysix a month, while 236 manent in of the current year, or slightly more than twenty-nine a month. Yet there were only seven hangings during the first four vears of the period, and five have taken place during the first eight months of this year. Murger is on the increase, but sp is punishment, though the punishment rate remains astonishingly low. It would have been interesting had the grand jury returned its report in terms of the character of these crimes. How many of the victims of these homicides were gangsters? Of late it would appear that most of the slain were members of criminal bands preying upon one another. Cook County justice cannot be re- garded as successful in the light of this report. The percentage of homi- cides punished by death is only a lit- tle more than eight-tenths of one per cent. There are no @gures to show how many of the slayers were brought to trial. Probably ‘many of them escaped conviction. Doubtless a large number of those tried were acquitted, while others were convicted of less than murder and were given prison sentences. It is quite likely that some of those thus convicted and sent to the penitentiary are now out on parole, or wholly free through the lapse of their sentenced with al- lowances for good behavior. This presentment by the Cook County grand jury gives Chicago an unenviable record as a crime center. It certainly does not establish it as a stronghold of justice. ———— et The Transatlantic Flight. Plans for the non-stop New York- Paris flight are to be pushed now that the controversy between Capt. Rene Fonck, brilliant French war ace, and Capt. Homer Berry, veteran American flyer, has been ironed out by the withdrawal from the trip of Capt. Berry. Dissension which threatened for a time to halt the proposed flight, for this year at least, was ended abruptly yesterday when the Amer- jcan flyer, a stockholder in the ven- ture and scheduled to be the third pilot of the giant plane, agreed not to press his claim to be taken along, in the “interests of aviation” and in the belief that “the New York-Paris flight was bigger than any one man or group of men.” Capt. Berry’s action was particu- larly gracious in view of the fact that he was supported in his claims by the Argonauts, Inc., the organization financing the expedition. He was one of the prime movers in procuring backers for the project and his long experience in flying was considered to give the trip more than @n even chance of success. The comtroversy between Capt. Berry and Capt. Fonck was the result of what the French ace characterized as “dictation” as to who should be the other members of the crew, Fonck having been, desig- nated as the chief pilot. Now that matters appear to have been straightened out as far as the personnel is concerned, it is hoped that nothing further will mar plans for the sensational attempt to link two gredt cities, thirty-six hundred miles apart, by a non-stop flight. The three-motored Sikorsky plane has shown in its tests a capacity far greater than was anticipated. Capt. Fonck is acknowledged to be a master pilot and in Lieut. Snoddy he is pro- vided with one of the best aerial nav- igators in the United States Navy. With the plane satisfactory and the personnel harmonious no other factors should be allowed to creep in which might hamper the success of what promises to be a historic attempt to span the Atlantic in a lighter-than-air machine. ——————————— The Baconian theory might be brought forward with advantage for controversial purposes. It develaps rancor, but none comparing to that resulting from the Darwinian theory. The Baconian theory, at least, does not interfere with a man's religion or politics. o References to, Tom Taggart in a novel have aroused resentment, be. cause of unfust intimations that he was concerned with a little game like roulette instead of devoting his ex- clusive attention to the great big game of politics. ——oe— A night club is a_peculiar institu- tion which manages to get all kinds of free advertisement while a prayer meeting struggles in obscurity R Political Excursionists. Political progressivism appears in some cases to mean agility in shifting positions. Take the case of Repre- sentative La Guardia of New York, as an instance. Originally a Republican, he elected to Congress as such and was’a member of the organiza- tion. His disposition, however, was to take from time to time a rather in- dependent stand, and occasionally he ran across the lines of party policy. During the 1924 campaign he sup- ported the La Follette candidacy, though running for re-election to Con- gress In a three-cornered fight in his district. He re-elected, but was officially listed as a Socialist, against his protest, and with certain other progressives was denied a seat in the Republican party caucus. Recently party nominations were made for the primary contests tn New York. The Soclalists named another than Mr. La Guardla for the congressional nomina- tion for the twentieth district and the Republicans named still another. That left La Guardia out of the running, unless he entered the lists in Novem- ber as an independent candidate. But Mr. Cohen, whom the Republicans had named for Congress, ultimately declined to run, and the other day at a meeting of local Republican leaders the name of La Guardia was substi- tuted for that of Cohen. Bo now the erstwhile Socialist has again hecome a Republican, promising if elected to support Speaker Longworth, Senator Wadsworth and President Coolidge. He is “back in the fold.” 8o if he is elected in November in all likelihood the, Socialist party In the House will consist of Victor Berger of Wisconsin, who has borne the standard of ex- treme dissent alone for some years in body, save for the unwilling com- panionship of La Guardia for half a term. In most cases, as in that of La Guardia, progressivism consists in go- ing out and taking a walk and re- turning to the old home. All but a few of the Bull Moosers of 1912 are mow grazing on the regular forage. ———————— Keep After the Handbooks! An innovation has been adopted in the latest raids against gambling places in Washington, in the holding under bond of witnesses found in these es- tablishments. Heretofore when such joints have been raided, with plain evidence of the character of the places, the cases as a rule have come to naught in court because of the lack of testimony. Witnesses have failed to respond to summonses, some of them disappearing from the jurisdic- tion. Some have given fictitious names at the time of the raid and have been beyond reach when the cases were called to trial. Those who patronize these resorts are themselves parties to the illegal practices conducted there. They are naturally reluctant to appear in court and by their testimony to assist in king up the business. The giving of false names is therefore customary. But by bonding these witnesses the police may be able to conduct more successful prosecutions than in the past. One of the places raided yesterday has been visited in this same manner several times. It is notorious. Its character is evident to any person passing. Yet those conducting it are still unpunished. The cause of this immunity is a mystery. It should be solved. If the gambling game, which causes so much suffering in this com- munity, is to be broken up, extraordi- nary measurcs must be adopted. Per- haps repeated raiding and the bond- ing of witnesses will eventually lead to a conviction, which should itself lead to a maximum penalty in view of the flagrancy of law violation. e r—e————— In order to appreciate the sums due from other nations they should be compared with the average pay of our Government clerks, who are struggling to meet the cost of rent, fuel and provisions. That ancient adage ““Charity begins at home” may have an international significance. ————e— The ways of fame are devious. Years elapsed before the world in general knew there ever was such a persofi as Paul Smith. And yet no introduction to renown could have been made under more distinguished auspices. —— e It is often urged that extravagance is a benefit in keeping money in cir- culation. Extravagance is of no ben- efit when this circulation tends to divert it to the bank accounts of the underworld. e, A theatrieal manager can never be accurately judged by his most recent production. He often seeks the beautiful and good, but he is a terrible backslider. —— et France used to provide opera bouffe while Russia produced tragedies. Now France assumes the aspect of gloom, while Russia sends along her dancers and musiclans. — et That old song, “The Good Old Sum- mer Time,” will not be recalled as ap- plying to the drought-and-freshet.rid- den Summer of 1926. : st The Jersey coast Has not been able to supply breakers large enough to divert interest from the crime wave that swept the State. ————r—o——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Drawing the Line. Your fame admiringly I note; It's yours by wide consent. But, HENRY, I shall never vote For you, for President. Your flivvers decorate the street, Promoting discontent; I fear conditions we might meet With you as President. Your old-time fiddlers bring no glee. Your literary bent Seems queer. For you I could not see A boom for President. Your name with reverence I quote. Big things you represent. But, HENRY, I shall never vote For you, for President. Ins and Outs. “What do you understand by the phrase ‘ins and outs of politics’?"” “In my personal experience,” replied Benator Sorghum, “it would seem to dpply to my varying attitudes toward the World Court. Expansion. “Four Hundred” was the limit set For social demonstration. Four hundred thousand now are met In gilded ostentation. s D Jud Tunkins says a man who plays the stock market hasm't a ' chance against the man who works it. . Book Keeper. “What's your cousin’s occupation?” asked the census taker. “Book keeper.” . “Where does he keep books?" “At home, I guess. He has bor- rowed half my library and never re- turned it.” “When you figure on what you're worth,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “vou may get a different result from your conscience from the one your bank account gives you.” Seeing Nellie Home. “1 was seeing Nellie home.” In her bathing suit she'd roam. Although my heart the song will touch, I rather fear I saw too much. “A tombstone,” sald Uncle Eben, “is allus complimentary, but it ain't allus positively reliable except foh names and dates.” . Mediums. From the San Francisco Bulletin. A scientist announces the discovery of atoms intermediary between living and non-living forms. We all know strangely. like that. only as THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. An article in a recent number of 2 popular radio magazine carried the pertinent query, ‘“Wonder what so and so and so and so (two well known comic announcers) are going to do, now that the new style of dignified. short announcement is coming into its own?" Surely there is no one who has ever listened to radio for any length of time who has not become “fed up,” as'the saying is, with the announcer who insists on talking all the time, and trying to be ‘‘cute.” It is significant of the new day in radio broadcasting that more and more the stations are turning away from the would-be-funny-man an- nouncer to the dignified fellow who simply announces the name of the selection, the composer and the name of the station, and lets it go at that. Broadcasting was an evolution. It had to feel its way as it went along. The bright and cheery announcer made quite a “hit” in his day, but his day is over. Today he bores even the morons. ¥ In other words, the announcer is beginning to take his true place in the program. Of course, there will al- ways be some who genuinely like the Roxie-like type of happy chatter, be- fore and after each number. The vast majority of listeners, how- ever, probably prefer their evening's music straight, without being served up in sandwich form—4 minutes of! music, smothered before and after in patter. * ok kK The writer of this column, who has long held out for the very type of announcing which is now coming to the fore, is naturally happy to con- gratulate the stations upon seeing the light in this matter. All along we have felt that the an- nouncer was somewhat of an anomaly, a necessary evil who ought to be heard as little as possible. Some months ago we even went to the ex- tent of suggesting an “announcerless program,” the numbers to be played one after the other, with only & bare announcement at the beginning and end of the entire eyening. To date no station has attempted this, so far as we know, but maybe one will try it some day. The an- nouncer is the victim of circumstance. We feel sorry for the poor fellow who fondly imagines that the “invisi- ble audience” is pining to listen to his manly voice. The truth is that most listeners hate to be told, before a number, how much they are going to enjoy it, and then, after the rendition, to be informed that they actually have reveled in it! The announcer is the toastmaster of radio, and too often he partakes of that prime fault of all toastmas- ters—he loves to hear his own volce. Is there a man in the world who has not, at some stage of the banquet, longed to murder the toastmaster who insists on telling the company what a fine man the next speaker was, is and no doubt will be? Our wordy announcers remind us of the old horn-type loud speakers. The radio industry got off on the wrong foot (to use a good idiorhatic expres- sion) when it adopted something that the phonograph had discarded years ago. Now see the trend toward cone speakers and inclosed chamberlike affairs in the cases where the horn is still used. The announcer always struck us as the modern equivalent of the unknown gentleman who used to “announce” at the beginning of the “Ed-i-son rec-ord” of wax memory. Later the phonograph companies universally cut out the ‘announcer’ and printed the title and composer on the label. The pen is mightier than the sword—or the loud speaker, in any form. * ok k x Since we first wrote on radio, three years ago—a long time in radio broad- casting—we have had the pleasure of seeing several of our ideas met, not because we voiced them, but simply because they were what any one would think who 'lmly considered the mat- ter. First. Today there is a nation-wide search for ‘“‘tone.” Once listeners were satisfled with anything and talked only of ‘“distance,” but today they want “tone,” and plenty of it, in the quality sense. Second. It has been generally real- ized that musical numbers, not talks, form the basis of broadcasting enter- tainment. ird. We have this short an- nouncement business, previously men- tioned, and gaining in popularity every lay. Fourth.. There is a general tendency toward dignified, not capering, an- nouncing. Fifth. The price of tubes reached a more sensible low level. Here are some of the things we still hold out for: 1. Earlier programs, say from 5 to 10 p.m. has bands. . No speeches or “talks.” 4. No repetitions, either of base ball scores or choruses. * kK It is pretty genegally agreed throughout the radio "broadcasting and listening world that the paid “good will” advertising constitutes the backbone of the programs. ‘What would broadcasting amount %0, from the entertainment stand- point, were it not for the A & P Gyp- sies, the Ipana Troubadours, the Whittall Anglo-Persians, the Penn- sylvania Radio Hour, the Shinola Merrymakers, the Vikings, the At- water Kent Radio Hour, the Royal Salon Orchestra and others? Those who in the past have sneered at the crassness of commerce today have to take a reef in their opinions, with such good music being furnished by business concerns. Big business and art are walking hand in hand through the air. It will no longer do to say corporations have no souls, when the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. is cheering us up every morning with ‘health exer- cises.” ‘We get arias off rugs, lullabies out of tooth paste tubes and dance music from typewriter keys. We are never exactly sure, when we turn on the radio, whether we will be indebted to a pickle manufacturer or feel grat- itude toward makers of toothpicks for the program which we are about to receive. i Personally we feel that all this adds savor to our home entertain- ment diet. There has been enough snobbery in music. The old music masters, such as Mozart and Papa Haydn, were glad enough to get their meals any way they could. A great piece of music will be no less great, in our appreciative ears, urnished to us “through (we love that) of some manufacturer of hot air furnaces! 'BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. An American novelist has been threatened with a damage suit for libel because she included as one of the characters of her last novel the real name of a living man of con- siderable political prominence. In England, the famous writer of history and fiction, H. G. Wells, has done the same thing, in a three- volume novel he is now perpetrating. Such men as Lloyd George, George Bernard Shaw and Dean Inge, sides several lesser stars of the living generation, are made to appear in dialogue, discussing controversial topies and live issues of the day, in words they had never uttered, and perhaps, as_claimed, avowing senti- ments they had never felt. B The part which factual realism legitimately plays in fine art will al- ways be a mooted question, and modern inventions, like *‘slow movies’ and color photography, can only com- plicate the matter. What is the prac- tice of real persons as characters in fiction nut the introduction of real- ism in place of invention and sym- bolism? Is art chemistry or me- chanics? Remarks a literary critic of experi- ence: “To insert real persons amidst fic- tional characters is as unwarranted as for an artist to attach real jewelry or dry goods to his canvas, as part of the picture. A historical novel is not a factual account of events; that would be history but not a novel. A historical novel seeks to depict the atmosphere and tone of the age, and uses real characters only so far as they contribute to that picture as a whole. Shakespeare gave Antony his speech over Caesar’'s dead body, but he gave it the. character of eloquence which forwarded the plot of the play, not because Antony ever made such a speech. “Modern fiction could safely do the like with living characters, provided it only flattered them, but the writer rigsks libel or the victim's gun, and the only justification would be that they were essential to the spirit of the story. Their being real persons does not add nor detract from that one test. “It certainly cannot be argued,” continued the critic, “that modern ‘realism’ in using real persons has ever surpassed the literary merit of the story of ‘The Prodigal Son,’ nor of ‘Esther.’ The former is pure flc- tion—a parable of universal truth— the latter is a historical short stol beautiful, not because Esther was a real person, but because she was a symbol or type of a universal ideal of human struggle, loyalty and self-de- votion to a great cause.” In the line of another art—sculp- ture—the press is regaled this week by a story of a famous university president, who, writing from Paris of his visit to the Louvre in company with a still more famous sculptor, quotes the sculptor as stating that in his study of the Greek classic, “The Fighting Gladiator,” he expects mod- ern sculptors to surpass it. The sculptor said: “I shall never forget the thrill I felt as an artist when I saw the first ‘slow movie." I saw a new era of art fnit. * * * As I sat in the moving picture theater that night I realized that a slow movie of that gladiator model could give me a thousand ‘Fighting Gladiators,” where the Greek sculptor could give me but one.” “But that is not sculpture; it is mic dancing.’ and that is not is the comment of an artist. * k% ‘The writers who substitute living men for fiction characters, and the sculptor who desires to analyze the poses of an actual fighter by means of a “slow movie,” are seeking real- ism. Certain Washington artists, who { refrain from being quoted. take issue with both the writers and the sculptor on the ground that slavishly factual reproduction is as far from fine art as is anatomical dissection. Such study of a slow movie, they declare, is valuable to the art student research, Just as 1s a study of anatomy, which engaged Michael Angelo many years in sclen- tific dissection of muscles and bones. Angelo did not excel a modern surgeon in his knowledge of the human ma- chine, but no surgeon disputes the rank of the great master of the Re- nafssance in expressing the strength and beauty of the emotions correctly and with power beyond that of any other. “There can be no excuse for a writer who is ignorant of grammar, nor for an artist who would undertake to paint the human figure without knowl- edge of its skeleton and muscular out- fit, but such knowledge is only the means to the end—the end which is beauty of form and of light, and su- premely of human emotions. Tech- nique, whether studied in anatomy or in the ‘slow movie,’ is indispensable, but so is facility in playing scales in- dispensable to a musician, though an artist who would give a ‘recital’ con- sisting in his agility in scales would not be a Paderewski,” declares the head of one of our art galleries. The discussion in Paris, as reported by the university president, was in- spired by previous arguments with Europeans as to the machine tenden- cy in America, which (so claimed the European critics) was killing our art conceptions and making all production mechanical. Our Washington artists expressed fear that the professor, in seeking to prove the contrary, by means of slow-movie study, gave away his case. e s “It will be recalled how artists were on tiptoe to study motion when pho- tography was first perfected so that it could record the speedy action of a man running or of a race horse on the home stretch. At last they would be able to see the true action! But it was immediately discovered that the actual positions of the legs of either man or horse, when ‘petrified’ by the instantaneous camera, were 5o grotesque that the result bore no re- semblance to the ‘impression’ as seen by naked eyes. The artist, therefore, while making studies of the instan- taneous camera’s products, for his own guidance and check, was obliged to revert to impressions rather than frozen ‘facts’ A canvas or marble or plece of literature which records only scientific ‘facts’ may be very correct science, but never is art. “Motion has been made vivid and throbbing—even thrilling—when ex- pressed in paint or marble. The es- sence of motion lies in the effect when the eye blends one instantaneous pie- ture into the many preceding and fol- lowing it—10 or 50 per second—just as a musical tone is created, not by one vibration but by the requisite ed down, nor realism _petrified. 1™ (Coprrisnt, 1036, Ly Ve number per second,” declares an im- pressionist artist. “True,” answers the scientific realist, who is a Preraphaelite, “but when we paint all details we get the reproduction of nature, and when the ‘slow movie' gives us the full succes- sion of poses, why is not that the real thing?" “‘Because it has no blend,” answers the other artist, “which is itself the very soul of the real effect. Impres- sion of the naked eye alone gives that blend, and to substitute the one in- stantaneous picture aloof from other instantaneous pictures by the ‘slow movie' the eye gets no blended opti- cal effect and the result is simply fantastic.” “That is certainly frue of music,” broke in a pianist. “A certain tone is made up of a certain number of vi- brations per second. Fewer vibra- tions per second give a different tone. How much could a musician learn of tone if he took, say. 200 vibrations per second and by a slowing process re- tarded them to 5 per second? He would get no sound whatever. If he speeded up 1o 20 per second he would get a low growl, but the tone nat- urally requires 100 or 500 vibrations per second, blending the vibrations to- gether is absolutely the only way one can hear that tone. Is not the eye like the ear? Art is not science slow- hngm) THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. . The Rev. Patrick Bronte, given a rather unpleasant character by Mrs. Gaskell in her “Life of Charlotte Bronte,” is somewhat rehabilitated by May Sinclair in her book, “The Three Brontes.” She calls him a “poor and unhappy and innocent old man” and finds that he was better than most Victorian fathers. The stories of his savage temper, egotism, selfishness and moroseness have all been exag- gerated, she thinks. The story of his cutting up his wife's silk gown in & fit of passion resolves itself into his cut- ting out merely the sleeves of a cotton gown (why, is not explained), after which he walked into Keighley and bought her a new silk gown. The story of his firing pistols to relieve other fits of fury is a slander based on his habit of practicing pistol firing as a sport. That he often went off on long, solitary walks May Sinclair finds no sign of moroseness. 1f he had insist- ed-ed on accompanying Charlotte and Emily and Anne on their walks over the moors, she says, his conduct ‘would have been censured just the same. It is to his lasting credit that in an age when genius in a woman was con- sidered unwomanly, if not altogether reprehensible, he ‘‘was profoundly proud of his daughter's genius; there 18 no record and no rumor of any critl- cism on his part, of any remonstrance or amazement. That in his last years, when overcome by blindness and grief because of his son Bram- well's evil life and early death, he sometimes drank more than he should, seems to Miss Sinclair easy to excuse. * Kk kK Charlotte Bronte herself is also de- fended by Miss Sinclair against the statements and implications of some of her critics in the matter of her sup- posed passionate attachment to her Brussels teacher, M. Constantin He- ger. Miss Sinclair admits that Mme. Heger was probzbly jealous, foolishly o, of Charlotte Bronte, a plain littie ‘pupil-teacher in the Pensionnat de Demoiselles in the Rue d'Isabelle. She also thinks it probable that M. Heger did not regard Charlotte with entire indifference. “‘He was a French- man, and he had his vanity, and no doubt the frank admiration of his bril- liant pupil appealed to it vividly in moments of conjugal depression.” But that Charlotte was ever “in any degree, latently or increasingly or vio- lently, in love with M. Heger,” she considers without any proof, a story resting on gossip and conjecture. That M. .Heger is generally acknowl- edged to be the original of M. Paul Emanuel in “Villette” proves nothing. Lucy Snowe, the heroine of that novel, is not necessarily Charlotte Bronte herself. Like all artists, Charlotte Bronte used the real in characters and places only as suggestions. Her completed work was almost entirely imaginative and from it no deductions as to fact may be drawn. * ¥ k ok The Chinese Minister, Dr. Sao-Ke Alfred Sze, is an excellent speech- maker, as Washingtonians who have heard him know. Five of his ad- dresses, delivered last Winter at vari- ous places, have been published in a volume with the simple title “Ad- dresses,” Naturally, the addresses are all upon the subject of China. ‘Their titles are “The Problem of China,” “The Causes of China's Discontent and How They May Be Removed,” “International Aspects of the Chinese Situation,” “Extraterritoriality in Chi- na” and “China’s Unequal Treaties.” In all the addresses Dr. Sze tactfully explains why the Chinese feel that they have been unfairly treated by other nations and how such treatment may be improved. The book will cer- tainly be widely read by all interested in international affairs. * ok kK That drastic measures are needed to save England from loss of both her industrial supremacy and her world empire seems to be the belief of John Galsworthy, in his recent novel, “The Silver Spoon.”” England, .privileged among nations, had her silver spoon and sucked it continuously for many generatfons, but has ‘“no longer thc teeth to hold it there, or the will to part with it.” Michael Mont, a young, newly returned member of Parlia- ment, may perhaps be considered the mouthplece for Galsworthy’'s own {deas. Bewildered, and skeptical of all economic remedies, as any thoughtful person may be in these post-war days, Michael turns to Foggartism as offer- ing the most probable aid to an Eng- land desperately in need. Sir James Foggart, “a primeval old man in a migh state of-cultivation,” who lives in retirement in the country, reads everything, thinks and writes, has written a book called “The Parlous State of England.” Froggartism teaches endurance of “‘a worse present for the sake of a better future.” Its platform includes co-operation with in- ternational limitation of armaments i possible; if not, then complete air defense for England; government aid to farming to the end that England may produce her own food supply: and the controlled emigration of Brit- ish town children over 14 to the col- onies where they will build up a pop- ulation whose demand for British goods will equal the supply. Michael is rather skeptical abput his own pro- gram, especially after he has tried a little practical Foggartism for himself. He moves four “down and outs” from a London slum to a piece of unused land on his father's estate at Lipping- hall and starts them‘at chicken rais- ing, and thereby has brought home to him ‘“that great obstacle to all sal- vation—the human element.” One of the four commits suicide, two leave and the fourth sticks and may achieve moderate success by 1930. But, as Michael, or Mr. Galsworthy. says: “You might be plowing crooked, and by twilight; but better plow by dim light than no light; a crooked furrow than none at all.” * ok ok K “What's Wrong With China?" by Rodney Gilbert, asks a question which every one is asking. Mr. Gilbert at- tempts to answer it, and, as he has spent a large part of his life in China, studying its affairs, he is perhaps as likely as another to know what the trouble is. He is not one of those who consider China a much abused nation, the victim of European aggressions. His experience has made him belleve that the Chinese are incapable of ap- preciating generosity from any for- elgn nation, and that such generosity is usually Interpreted as a sign of weakness or a bribe. To understand China at all, he says, we must realize that China does not believe that there is anything wrong with her. The uni- versally recognized impassable gap between Orfental and Occidental is probably the root of the trouble. * oK ok K Tibet, the Forbidden, has a never- ending fascination for travelers and fiction makers. Achmed Abdullah, master of mystery and thrill stories, has a new romance, “The Year of the ‘Wood Dragon,” whose background Is Lhassa, the home of the Dalai Lama. Jimmie Weatherby, spending his boyhood in a hill town of North India, is left an orphan at the age of 10. A plece of luck, the first in his life, comes to him when Munro Rankin, a chief inspector of the Central Asia Chartered Company, consents to fake him on a visit to Tibet. Jimmy speaks Tibetan and is prepared for all the adventures that come. He js enter- tained in the palace of the Dalai Lama, discovers a plot of the priests and upsets it, and almost meets death by torture. However, he escapes safely because of his cleverness and his knowledge of the Tibetana Q. Does the location of a motion plcture theater increase the value of land around it>—J. H. ‘A. Generally speaking, it does. Ac- cording to estimates of realtors, the land adjoining 27 theaters in Chicago has increased $75,000,000 in value. Q. Where was the original Mohawk Trail?—L. M. A. This old Indian trail, extending from the Conmnecticut River in Mas- sachusetts to the Hudson River in New York, was one of the ancient footpaths of the Six Nations. Q. What is used to measure the small- est known measurement’—C. E. K. A. The Bureau of Standards says that the smallest known measure- ment, one billionth of an inch, is at the National Bureau of Standards, measured by a newly developed ultra- micrometer. Q. Is there an Army post at Platts- burg?—G. P. A. There is a Regular Army post there. This Summer two citizens military training camps were held there, and one for Reserve officers. Q. What liquid is used in the center of golf balls?—H. C. A. A. G. Spalding & Bros. say that various soft-cored golf balls use different materials, but their own are compounded from glue, water and a white pigment. Q. What is a cachou?’—C. R. S. A. Tt is an aromatic sweetmeat in the form of a silvered pill, used for giving an agreeable odor to the breath. Q. Do the Big Trees die?—N. A. A, Muir says that he never saw a Big Tree that had died a natural death. BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. that there shall he a. mayonnalse or hollandaise whenever the bidding of a deal fails to reach a game-going eom- tract, which means when less than five clubs or diamonds, four hearts or spades, or three no t bid. When playing g tomary to offer a bonus of a thousand points or more for bidding and making a slam. Milton . Work, the auction expert, says these variations will nevep become a part of bridge, be cause veal bridge would cease to exist if their use became prevalent. Q. What was the most expensive program broadcast, and the probable A. The serles of world-famous artists broadcasting.over'a chain of 15 stations is generally considered the most expensive. The cost is said to have been about $500,000 for the series, including fees to artists and stations. Q. How many e there in the United States?—D. A. M A. It is estimated t there are about 20,000. Q. What cities of the United States are what is known as independent-— not belonging in counties?—L. T. K. A. There are 22 Independent citfes. They are: Baltimore, M¢ St. 1 Mo, and Alexandria, Vista, Charlottes Danville, Frederic burg, Lynchbur Norfol Radfor ton, § well, V the Q. What is mode of capital punishment in Germany?—. A. G A. At the present time beheading rdressers Louls, stol, Buena . Clifton Forge, Harrison - olk, Winchester and Hope- Q. When were Julla Marlowe and E. H. Sothern married?—E. H. ‘A. They were married in 1915. Q. When should valances be used in draping windows?—A. N. A. The use of valances is govern- ed in part by architectural limitatlons. 1f the room has a low ceiling, valances will make it appear still lower by opposing a strong horizontal line to the vertical lines of the room. Again, if the windows are too small, valances mounted .in the usual manner will ex- aggerate their faulty proportlons, be- sides cutting off a portion of the light. When properly employed, however, they give a sense of finish and com- pleteness which is lacking where draperies alone are used. Plain gathered valances, being easily laun- dered, are best adapted to bathrooms and kitchens, and to bedrooms unless furnished in a formal manner. Fit- ted or shaped valances, on the other hand, suggest permanence and dignity, and hence are better suited to the more formal rooms of the house. Q. How did “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” happen to be written?—T. O. A. Wesley was one day standing at a window where a hawk began to chase a small bird. Suddenly the bird saw the figure at the window, flew in and nestled in Wesley's coat. This experience gave him the inspiration for the hymn. Q. How many people live at the base of Etna?>—T. H. E. is the official German punishment An effort is being made to substitute electrocution. Q. Will ofl freeze if kept In a tank outdoors, for use as fuel?—J. M. A. The Bureau of Standards says that all oils will solidify, or become so viscous that sufficient flow cannot be maintained, if exposed to low- enough temperatures. All oils sold as furnace oils would probably be satisfactory as low as zero Fahren- heit, and oil may be obtained for this purpose which Is satisfactory to 40 below zero, provided the pipes lead ing from the stor: tank to the burner are not too small. Q. What were the winnlngs of Isinglass, the famous English horse. and Ksar, the famous Irench hors —R. O. A. The winnings of Isinglass were $291,275; Ksaf, $320.000. Q»“}\'h<) are the Osmanli Turks R. W. A. They are the ruling race in Turkey, but constitute a minority of the population. They were the con querors of Constantinople. Their name is derived from that of their leader, Othman. Please explain the use of “L’Envoi” in a poem. . G. N, A. The phrase “L’Envoi” is ap- plied to a separate stanza which con- cludes a poem. The lines contain a moral or an address to some individu al. In the days when the troubadours A. At the base of Mount Etna 300,- 000 people live in a section about 1 mile in width. Q. How are Panama Canal tolls de- termined?—A. F. C. A. They are determined by a special set of rules of measurement for the canal, in which the net tonnage of the vessel is the units of interior space of 100 cubic feet, or 2.83 cubic meters, which may be devoted to carrying cargo or passengers, with an additional charge for open space on deck occupied by cargo or deck load. Q. What is meant by or what is “goulash” and ‘“‘mayonnaise” at auc- tion bridge?—F. F. A. “Mayonnaise,” also known as “hollandaise,” is the name for a varia- tion of the standard game of auction. ‘When players agree to play it, if a deal is passed out (four passes and no bid) the four hands, sorted but un- shuffled, are stacked together and re- dealt five, five, and three at a time, and the deal is then bid and played. To play goulash the players agree sang in France, they were apt to con- clude their song lyrics with a direct address to the person to whom they were singing; hence, it grew to be a custom to begin the envoi with the phrase, “OwPrince.” Q. Did Tweed, the famous New York political boss, die In prison? N. D. E. A. Tweed died Jail, April 12, 1878. in Ludlow Street (Any reader can get the answer 1o any question by 1riting The Wash- ington Star Information Bureau. Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Wash- ington, D. C. This offer applies strictly to information. The bureau cannot give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not af- tempt to settle domestic troubles mor undertake ezhaustive research on an subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and ad- dress and inclose 2 cents in stamps for return postage. The reply is sent direct to the inquirer.) Chief Justice Taft’s Views Revive Discussion of Crime Chief Justice Taft's recent com- ments on the prevalent crime wave and its causes were received with sat- isfaction by the press, and furnished the text for renewed discussion of the problem throughout the country. Spe- cific causes pointed to by the Chief Justice are summed up as “the weak- ening of judges’ powers by restrictive State statutes; lack of sufficlent ex- penditures properly to detect and prosecute criminals; and lack of or- ganization of the judicial force so as to mass an adequate number of judges where business or prosecution is con- gested.” One sallent point was overlooked in the opinion of the Champaign News- Gazette. ‘‘He has failed to comment on the failure of the people to demand speedy action,” says this Illinois paper. “He discusses English law and its enforcement. He has cited the difference between America and England, the one a meilting pot and the other a homogeneous nation. It may be that a difference in tempera- ment makes administration of the law different in the two countries. But it must be gonceded that swift and sure punishment is a greater de- terrent to crime than a feeling of security built up through the years by the failure of the public to de- mand ¥nmediate action. An innocent man does not require much time for defense. Tt is only the guilty who requires time for softening of society’s anger—an anger usually aroused be- cause of the knowledge that in previ- ous cases delays have defeated jus- tice.” * ok k¥ Quoting the Chief Justice's state- ment that “in the delay of legal pro- ceedings the rights of litigants are lost, and an undue advantage is added to the already great advantages of the rich man in court.” The Santa Barbara Daily News recalls that Pres- ident Coolidge has remarked that “justice delayed is justice denied,” and adds: “No juggling of figures can serve to alter the fact that justice is delayed and therefore denfed” in some courts. The Jackson Citizen-Patriot insist® that “if we are to get away from our inefficient system, the re- form must begin with the reform of court procedure, by giving judges some such authority as that enjoyed by English judges, and by curbing the activities of parole boards which are now permitted to veto much of the decisions of the courts.” Of the assertion by Mr. Taft that “reformers forget that the chief end of punishment is to protect society by deterring others from committing crimes,” the New York Herald- Tribune says: “The law is made for the protection of the citizen. Every man may abide by it if he chooses. The bandits who have been preyving on the public for the last se or eight years are not starving men who were obliged to rob for their bread. They are all sufficiently intelligent to earn their own living. They debar themselves from sympathy when they deliberately elect to go out with deadly weapons and rob innocent people of their money; Thera is noth- ing pleturesque or gallant ahout them. The only protection for the honest man s the rigid enforcement of the law and a measure of punishment against predatory crime which will finally_put an end to it.” The ville Times thinks that the tal the Chief Justice “should bring cour age to many who have heen dis couraged over the spread of crime. The situation is bad,” say the Times, “but every public evil has passed its worst when the mass of the people begin to look for remedies." EEEE “Reading the sound views of the head of the Supreme Court,’ the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, many persons, seem regrettable that custom So hedges our leading justices about that their influence in initiating and pressing reforms is limited. Of all the voices raised in behalf of changes in our legal system, none carries more weight than that of Chiet Justice Taft. In spite of his optimism it is certain that it will take a long time to bring about the improvements needed.” The Manchester Union feels that the Chief Justice, and “only liv ing ex-President.” speaks “in a con soling way regarding the present crime wave, largely due, as most of us believe, to the partial or total im munity of most eriminals at present, which, in turn, is due to a preverted sentiment, not of the whole public, but of a part of the public which is making itself heard.” “Judge Taft makes the point,” it is emphasized by the Youngstown Vin dicator, “that there is not enough money spent in law enforcement, in that there is not sufficient organiza- tion of the detecting and prosecuting machinery. The two ought to work together instead of each going its own ‘way, or working to cross pu ), as 850 often happens.” The Vindieator holds that “citizens should not have to organize to see that the laws are enforced,” but it recognized that “when the bad are always alert to break the laws, the good must com- bine to deferul them.” Remarking that “many lawyers make a business of criminal law. and it is significant that the only kind of a criminal law- ver is a defender of criminals,” the ‘Wichita. Beacon maintains that “the prosecution of criminals is a_bundred times more Important than defending them.” * ¥ ko ‘The Newark Evening News lays em. phasis on Mr. Taft's observation that “the trial judge in many States has been restricted in his power so that he doesn’t amount to more than a mod- erator of a religlous conference,” and directs attention to the fact that “other jurists have fram time to time severely arraigned this hampering of the trial judge.” The Columbus Ohio State Journal suggests that the re- | strictive laws “have been enacted with { the idea of restraining the judge from the possibic abuse of power, but, as Chief Justice Taft says, some one has to be trusted, and probably the judge is the fittest man.” And the Detroit News adds the query: the Judge, who shall it be"