Evening Star Newspaper, October 16, 1926, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. bevin SATURDAY... WASBHINGTON, D. C. .October 18, 1926 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor - 3 'l'l_h Evening Star Newspaper Company ”r « carrier at en 3 Ave. Naw York Ofce: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Bullding. =~ Buropean Office: 14 Regent St.. London. Fngland. 0 The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn Ing adition, ia delivered by carriers within 0 city at’ 60 cents per month e Jonts per month: Sundays only. 20 centa . Orders may be sent by mail o clephone Main 5000. Collection is made by of each month. only. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. aily and s, 1y, $0.00: 1 mo., 78 aily Sny unday -1 35 88,00 1 mo- 0o Sunday only S1yr.. $3.00: 1 mo.. 25¢ All Other States and Canada. . Pany and Sunday..1 yr.. $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only .. 1 $8.00:1mo.,” T8¢ - Binday only 4.00: 1 mo.. 35¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press in exclusively entitled ted in this paper and also th published herein. Al rights of publication of special dispatéhes herein are also reserved. International Oratory. An International Oratorical Contest, in development of the American con- test which was inaugurated in 1924, with students of the secondary schools tn five countries as candidates for highest honors was held in this city last night, when representatives of Great Britain, Mexico, France, Canada and the United States delivered the oratlons which had been pronounced the best in their respective countries. A high order of merit was demon- strated by these five offerings. They displaved thoughtfulness, research, sRill of construction and unusual abil- ity in delivery. They were judged by a jury of five eminent men, a Span- fard, Belglan, a Frenchman, a Canadian and an American, who met with difficulties in determining prec- edence. By a close vote the award of first place went to the young Ameri- can representative orator, Herbert Wenig of Los Angeles, with second place given to Jose Munoz-Cota of Mexico City. This experiment in international competition in oratory may be deemed a complete success. The five young men who last night appeared as the champions of their respective coun- tries represent, it is computed, two and a half million students of the sec- ondary schools of those lands who have for months been preparing, studying and practicing for this finale. The educational value to them and their competitors is incalculable. But best of all is the association of these five natlonal groups in a contest which has Involved an understanding not merely of their own national storles and principles and ideals, but a con- cept of other nations. The oratorical contest in the United States has become an established in- stitution, the value of which is not easily estimated. It has been a tre- mendous stimulus to study. It has caused a more perfect understanding of the Constitution of the United States by the people of this country than has ever prevailed. Literally millions of people have been led to ap- preciation of the fmportance and sig- nificance and value of the fundamental law of this land. The climax of the American orator- fcal contest this year was a trip to other countries, given to the seven finalists, winners in their respective areas. These youns people have re- turned richly rewarded for their ef- forts in preparation for last June's contest, broadened In their views. Crossing the threshold from youth to manhood and womanhood, to citizen- ship, they are better Americans for that experience. It may be hoped that another year will find the field of international com- petition in this line widened by the tnclusion of other nations. The suc- cess of the national contest, with its striking climax of last night's pro- gram in this city, should cause a greater interest in other lands in this means of education and this stimulus to expression. a e Many a jury has failed to reach a verdict because of the obdurate atti- tude of one or two men. Yet the ex- pedient of reducing the number of Jurors to eleven or ten would promise no better results. A jury of nine would be entirely capable of reaching an eight-to-one deadlock iy Two motion picture stars are di- vorced. The episode is depicted as a comedy. The breaking up of an ob- scure home is unnoted. But it con: itutes one of the real tragedies of Jife r—oe—s Ultra Modern Art. What is art? The question is age- old, unanswerable. Alw: there have been ‘“schools” and always there has bLeen bitter war between them. Real- ism and symbolism have fought fierce- ly and the fight has always been a draw. From time to time the pro- tagonists of one or the other school have dominated and lorded it over their oppenents, only to fall beneath the dominion of the opposition as pub- lio taste has changed. The melee after all means progress, advancement, de- velopment, along & medial line of cul- ture. The radical stimulates the con- servative, and conversely the con- servative checks the radical. It {is the same in art as in politics, In soclal af- fairs. The balance is struck after con- fiict. An exponent of the strictly “mod- ernist” school of art, in sculpture, has just come to America. For twenty years his works have been the sub- ject of controversy abroad and now he is here to supervise an exhibition of his products that is soon to open. The exhibition is to be under the aus- plces of a French painter whose *“Nude Descending a Staircase’” caused a fu- rore in 1913. This sculptor is Con- stantin Brancusi, a Rumanian. His exhibjtions have always stirred up a storm of censure, ridicule and praise. A pupil of Rodin, rated by some as the most brilllant and distinguished artistic offspring of that great sculp- tor, he has for the critics a calm con- tempt. In an interview he has yyst sald: “We modernists, who are striv- ing toward a feeling of pure beauty, I work under tremendous difficulties.’ Pointing to a work in yellow marble which is described as a curious ovold shape with a thin protrusion as a neck and termed “Bird in Space,” he sald: “I have spent twelve Years working on that one piece; I keep it with me always as a study for future works."” These strange things produced by ultramodernists in sculpture and painting are certainly stimulating to the imagination if they do.leave the mind in doubt. They make for dis- cussion, at any rate. Their sugges- tion of juvenility of deslgn and execu- tion, their resemblance in some re- spects to the art of primitive mgn, af- ford a fascinating study of the men- tality of the producers. Maybe there is a mission in their creation. It pos- sibly is true that these eccentrics, who see nature in distortion, whose colors are ultra-spectrum, whose forms are abnormal, whose perspectives are dis- torted, whose planes are grotesque, have a message for a too conven- tional world. At any rate, they have the courage of thelr convictions and they have at least some sympathy from those who hold that “all the rest of the world are mad but us.” e “Pay Rolls” by Mail. It has been definitely estimated, ac- cording to an inspector of the Post Office Department, that the loot of the robbers who held up a mail truck in Elizabeth, N. J., Thursday morning amounted to $151,700. Had the truck been stopped by the thieves a little earller they might have obtained much more, as it had already made three deliveries of currency packages after leaving the post office. The currency that was taken consisted of bills of $20 and smaller denominations. It was a “pay roll” consigned to one of the large industrial establishments. Surprise has been felt at the fact that such large sums of money are intrusted to the mails for pay roll pur- poses. This cash is all insured, but under the law no single mail parcel can be insured for more than $100. If this money taken was'all in one pack- age, therefore, the Government stands to lose only $100, for which it recelved an insurance premium of twenty cents. The remainder of the loss, or $151,600, falls on the shipper, or the consignee, according to their arrange- ments of liability, unless they have protected the currency by further in- surance, Postmaster General New, in a letter to the president of the U'nited States Chamber of Commerce, ca!ls attentlon to the custom of certain banks, par- ticularly the Federal Reserve, of trans- mitting huge sums of currency to plants having large pay rolls, thus fur- nishing the chief incentive for armed attack. He says: “If concerns requir- ing these large sums for pay roll pur- poses would pay by check instead of in currency it would to a considerable extent at least obviate the necessity for these tempting shipments.” Hold-ups in American cities involv- ing large amounts of money have be- come so frequent that many of the largest “paymasters” in the United States have adopted the expedient of payments by check rather than by currency. By this means it becomes unnecessary to transport large amounts of money through the streets. Through dally deposits currency is shifted from business establishments to Dbanks in comparatively small amounts. A large percentage of these deposits, furthermore, are in the form of checks. By the use of checks for wage payments a very small amount of actual currency is required. Rob- bers are not interested in checks. They want the cash. Every large pay roll robbery, whether from the mails or from the messengers of the disbursing estab- lishments, increases the tendency of employers in this country to make their weekly disbursements by check, and doubtless this latest crime in New Jersey will add to the number of busi- ness corporations that utllize the safe method of payment. P Rumors that Wilhelm Hohenzollern hopes to be recalled to a throne in Germany are current. There is always an element of citizenship that is look- ing for trouble. It is seldom large enough to constitute & working majority. ] New Jersey has a mail robbery on its hands. The Atlantic shore is mot permitted to revel serenely as the scene of beauty contests. Classic en- deavors are hampered by the fact that the crooks follow the crowds. e As good a detective as Arthur Seriv- ener himself may be needed to solve the homicide mystery which now oc- cupies the attention of this city's police. 7 Discoveries in Egypt reveal the long suspected fact that the anclents were far behind the moderns in matters of practical convenience. — Cruelty to Trees. Science has for some time been tell- ing us that plants sleep and wake and have nerves—in other words, “feel.” Mankind is still & long way from that point of development whereat a charge of “cruelty to plants” could be suc- cessfully prosecuted, but it seems to have progressed far enough so that he who carelessly or willfully injures a beautiful growing thing is liable to get into trouble. The city of New York, through its corporation counsel, recently brought suit to recover damages from & com- merclal company, owner of a motor truck which severely barked and “ren- dered unfit to adorn” a handsome tree on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. This action tends to put the towering trunk and verdant branches of such a botanical specimen in the category of a public monument, defacement or mu- tilation of which renders the perpe- trator instantly llable to fine or im- prisonment or both. Such trees as adorn the parks, the boulevards and the public buildings of municipalities are chosen with great care by experts in that line of decora- tion. They take a long time to reach maturity or even an impressive vounger stage. Injuries to them are almost irreparable. Nature alone can duplicate them. Man can sometimes ald in the healing process, but the re- sult i{s always unsightly. The care- less driver who injures one of them works & wrong far greater than the overturn of an iron post or the smash- ing of a plate-glass window. Not a bad sentence to be imposed on such a one would be payment of damages— in reality impossible—payment of a fine, and the task of writing out fifty times those lines of Joyce Kilmer's which begin “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree,” and which ends with, “Poems are made by men, like me, but only God can make a tree.” The First Duty of the Citizen. President Coolidge's address last night at the International Oratorical Contest, suitable to the spirit of the occasion, dwelt significantly upon the duty of the people to exercise the franchise that was bestowed upon them by the Constitution of the United States. He has spoken heretofore on this subject, stressing the vital im- portance of a fuller response of the people to the call to express their will at the ballot box. Only recently he made this the subject of an im- pressive utterance and it was appro- priate that last night, on the occasion of the meeting of young representa- tives of five countries prepared to de- clare their faith in the strength and the efficiency of their own govern- ments, he should urge the need of a full discharge of the duty of citizen- ship. These words of the President should be carried throughout the country and made the text of study in all the schools, where the citizens of torgor- row are now in trainin Some will be called on to hold office. But all our citizens of the requisite age and education are called on to vote. 1 wish especially to emphasize that. Whenever a choice is to be made in electing a public officer, all those who can qualify are under the most solemn and binding obligation to register thelir decision at the ballot box. To fall in that is to be disloyal to our whole system of self-govern- ment. On our theory that the people are sovereign, to neglect to vote is to abdicate. We do not pretend to rely for correct decisions on the judg- ment of the selfish and the interested few, but rather on the patriotic choice of the great body of candld and inde- pendent citizens. We rely on the ex- pression of the impartial voters. A true election represents the untram- meled expression of their will. It is their voice that speaks with divine authority. Obedience to the law is the first requisite of all government worthy of the name, said the President, but without the full participation of the people in the making of the laws by the election of lawmakers and execu- tives by a ballot truly representative of public opinion, that obedience, if it can be secured, is not sufficient for the maintenance of free government. —————— Edison’s views on immortality tend toward a more conservative opinion than that which he previously ex- pressed. Edison i{s a great inventor who deals with physical forces. Meta- physical forces are another matter. —————— A drop in the price of gasoline is promised. It will not be enough to cause general rejoicing. The cost of &as should occasionally be slightly re- duced {n order to prevent a hopeless Impression that it can vary only in an upward direction. ————— People dislike to admit that they have been fooled. Whatever Aimee McPherson’s adventures may have been, she can rely on this trait in human nature. ——aee A mild Winter is predicted. The price of fuel is not visibly influenced by any suspicion that the supply may be in excess of the demand. ——o—— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Lights Beyond. ‘When you look at the stars in distant space With their bright eternal glow, You think as you halt life’s busy pace Of the things you do not know. Some purpose they hold in our scheme of life ‘Which ages alone can show. They may lead to an end of hate and strife. But how—we cannot know. Yet we're certain that all is for the ‘best. ‘While the human mind is slow, We may find @ moment of faith and rest 2 In the things we do not know. Favorable Opinion, “What do you think of the primary system “It's all right,” answered Senator Sorghum. “It favors the possibility of inducing political backers to go broke on the preliminarfes so that they won’t have any money to use in the regular election.” Giving the Air to Airy Nothingness. My radio! My radio! You leave me many a pain. I turn you on; but soon I know T'll turn you off again. Jud Tunkins says the trouble about agriculture is that the man with the hoe gets only sympathy, while the boy with the ukulele gets the applause. Politeness. “Is it polite for men to make fun of women's clothes?"” “Unquestionably, answered Miss Cayenne. “A really polits man would pretend not to see them.” Publicity. The propagandist’s agile art Oft plays a part That has no heart. And much in print we daily see ‘Which ought to be Marked “Adv.” “We cherish strange respect for a wise man who lived thousands of years ago.” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, ‘“even though he knew nothing whatever about radio or the atrship.” “De man dat plays wif loaded dice,” said Uncle Eben, “loses de confidence ‘Women have a reputation for talk- ing about operations. Men, however, like to indulge in the same sort of monologue. The other day we met T. Henry Miffenwerther, who belongs to the Bears Club, and is a jolly good fellow. “Hello, T. Henry!” we sald, as Jjovially as our somewhat solemn dis- position permits. s “Hy!” responded Miffenwerther, as near as it can be set down in print. ““How you?” was our next interro- gation, which, swiftly uttered, doesn’t sound as bad as it looks. .Anyway, one has to say something. “Not 8o good,” said T. Henry, with a look of anguish overspreading his round face. “Why, what's the matte: we in- nocently asked, committing what we soon saw was a blunder. ‘We had not heard of the operation upon the vitals of T. Henry Miffen- werther! “‘Just got out of the hospital,” mod- estly replied he, “That’s too bad, old man,” we in- stantly responded. It was a world of solicitude we put into our voice. We do not belong to the Bears Club, and wouldn't join if they would invite us (which they never have). Our relations with Miffenwerther, however, are always pleasant, and we were glad that we could honestly act so con- cerned over something that was now all over. The note of apprehension we managed to put over was very good. A movie actor could have done no better, * ok kX “What was the matter with you?” we inquired, accusingly, in a tone of voice that should have informed the other party to the dialogue that we ‘were afraid we were going to be bored. But T. Henry Miffenwerther, like most of mankind, s, was and will be interested in himself first, last and all the time. If one of them asks you an unpleas- ant question, one which you do not desire to answer at the time and under the circumstances, there is always a sure-fire way of getting out of it. Smile pleasantly—as pleasantly as you can-—throw heartiness in your voice, and ask at once some such question as follows: “Is your new car in the repair shop?” Now you know quite well that the chap prides himself on his care of that new car, and that the vehicle under discussion is a very fine one, that ought not to be in the hands of a wrecking crew for more than 10 minutes in 10 years. The question, however, is as good as any. Your unpleasant interrogator in- stantly forgets what he was asking you about, and springs with large mental jumps to the defense of the Oozen-Six. “In the repair shop my eye,” is his sneering rejoiner, which would surely puzzle Shakespeare. The latter master of English would wonder just what relation the eye had to the re- pair shop. He might have some diffi- culty in understanding the gram- matical construction of that sentence. ’ll)‘]hese idiomatic expressions are terri- e. “In the repair shop my eye,” how- ever, is exactly what the gentleman says, and you would have no trouble at all—unlike Shakespeare's ghost— in understanding him. Was A Dbitter controversy has been aroused on the Pacific Coast by the removal of Dr. Henry Su: lo as president of the University of Wash- ington. The action was taken by a majority of the board of regents, ap- pointed by Gov. R. H. Hartley, who is freely accused by friends of the de- posed educator of playing rersonal politics and “packing” the board. The case s attracting widespread atten- tion and some observers regard it as significant of troubles to come in the of State educational institu- In support of the governor, the Spokane Spokesman-Review says: “It is best that the break has come; that the antagonism between Gov. Hartley andl President Suzzallo should be ended, and that the institution should be put under a head who can work harmoniously with the governor and the majority of the board. This action, as many who may not see it now will later come to understand, is best for the public, best for the uni- versity and best for the host of young men and young women who are there receiving an education. It may well turn out that it will be best for Dr. Suzzallo, for it cannot be satisfactory for an educator of his eminence to carry on indefinitely in the unsettled atmosphere into which a combination of circumstances has brought him. It will hardly be denied by Dr. Suz- zallo’s admirers that he has long been a conspicuous participant in the poli- tics of the State. Many believe that under his adroit leadership the uni- versity has become the keystone in a combination that had grown up through the years at Olympia, com- prising the ambitious and rapidly growing city of Seattle, the big timber interests, the big canneries, the profit- able handling of State funds by private interests, the cement trust, highway contractors, Olympla capital boosters and other minor players in the big game. It followed of neces- sity, when Gov. Hartley crossed that combination and later defied it, that President Suzzallo was drawn into the vortex.” An earnest supporter of President Suzzallo is the Seattle Daily Times, which declares that: Newspapers of Washington generally have condemned the unwarranted action of the Hart- leyized board of regents in dismissing Dr. Henry Suzzallo. The insinuation that Dr. Suzzallo has maneuvered the university into some unholy combina- tion of self-seeking business interests which profit at the expense of the pub- lic treasury is altogether contempt- ible.” EE Dr. Suzzallo is ranked by the Port- land Oregon Journal as “one of the ablest college executives in America, recognized in that fleld as a national figure. His removal,” continues the Journal, “is a great loss to the North- west, to the State of Washington, to the university and to educational work in general. It is politics laying its blighting hand on education. It is camouflaged under the guise of ’econo- my,’ that blatant cry of political dema- gogues. The destructive effects of what a governor may do are fully ex- emplified in the turmoil and turbulence sure to follow the dismissal of Dr. Suzzallo.” “The unfriendly relations between Hartley and Suzzallo,” according to the Bellingham Herald, “date back be- vond the time when Hartley was elect- ed governor, and it has been evident from the time the former entered the State Capitol that he intended to ‘get’ the university president. Dr. Suzzallo is recognized as one of the greatest educators in the United States. He has done much to ralse the standards of the University of Washington, and has placed that institution in thé front rank of State universities throughout the country—and at the same time, despite insinuations of the governor to the contrary, its per capita cost is the lowest in the ed States. Of of so many people dat wh: oney he kin win don’t amount to nfuch.” - BY CHARLES E. course, Suzzallo is t, and he will stay out—at least nder the presentturies., TRACEWELL. “That car will never be in the repair shop 10 minutes in 10 years,” he con- tinues, indignantly. You know ft, but— ERE Here is old Henry Miffenwerther, standing on the corner, so earnestly telling about his appendicitis opera- tion ‘that one might be legitimately excused if he got the idea that the world held its breath when the sur- geon made that neat little cut. It was a tremendous thing in the life of Mr. T. Henry Miffenwerther, of course. None can gainsay that. No one would. But it does get sort of tiresome to listen to that tale. The joke of it lies in the fact that T. Henry has heroically resolved, at least a dozen times, to stop talking about it. He is a Bear, as we told you, and a jolly good fellow, and all that sort of thing. He knows just the way we feel about it, and the way he feels about it, and the way Irvin Cobb feels about it, and the way the world in_general feels about it. He has read Cobb's immortal book. He read it while convalescing, and it made him laugh so that the nurse took the small volume away from him. Perhaps Cobb has caused more stitches to be loosened than any other man in the world. No sooner does a surgeon neatly sew up the wound than some kind friend sends the victim a copy of “Speaking of Operations,” and then they all come undone agal * ok ok ok After all, one is forced to the un- escapable conclusion that speaking of operations {s one thing we must all put up with—we may .want to speak of one ourself, some day. Life is a seesaw of ups and downs, & merry-go- round that does, after all, get some place, but no man can say today ‘whether he will be on the top tomor- row or at the bottom of the dip, or whether next year he will be still going around in a circle or no. Thus one is forced, in more or less polite society, to put up with much that does mot interest him, for the sake of being able to indulge in the same blandishment to others upon occasion. Also there is no real reason in Nature why a man should not talk of what interests him. The duty is incumbent upon all who would live decently in the world to work up an interest where they feel it not. Yet how many daily violate this plain principle of conduct! Daily otherwise gentlemanly gentlemen re- fuse to get a bit interested in the tales of others. The observant will see it everywhere, on the street, in business, at the theater, in homes, at places of outdoor amusement. “Be interested in what I am inter- ested in, or I will hardly regard you as a good fellow,” is the unspoken yet none the less real rule used by many men, and perhaps by women, too, although the latter generally manage to put up an attentive ear or two to the most horesome boasts of the brave young men. Men with single-track minds, who actually cannot get interested if the lives of others, lose something out of life, as Darwin did music, only the scientist was wise enough to recog- nize his loss, while the average selfish individual is a positive blockhead in this respect. Yes, he is in the Bible, too. He was mentioned as qne who has eyes but will not see, and ears but will not hear. hington State’s Papers Hint at Governor’s Recall regime—but it is doubtful that the in- cident has been closed.” Regent Johns of the university is quoted by the Aberdeen Daily World as saying that Dr. Suzzallo “did not ‘get along’ with some members of the faculty ‘occupying the high positions as deans and professors,’ and that was one of the reasons for his dismissal. Who are the deans and professors,” asks the World, “‘with whom there has been discord? Mr. Johns should say. He cannot expect his broad, general, vague statement to stand without question. The fact is that Dr. Suz- zallo has attracted and has been able to keep at the university, despite small salaries, some of the most brilliant men in the educational profession. That does not look like discord. Mr. Johns says it will be easy to get a new president and infers that he can get a better one than Suzzallo. He will find that no first-class man will take the presidency of the university under present conditions, or will con- sider a school plunged into politics as the university has been by Hartley and his minions.” L “'Of all the countless blunders, of all the spiteful acts of the warped politi- cal minds which have functioned'since the beginning of the Hartley regime,” declares the Tacoma Ledger, “none is more outstanding than the removal of the noted educator as the head of the great University of Washington. That the governor had sought from the be- ginning of his term to remove Dr. Suz- zallo from his post because of per- sonal jealousy and animosity toward higher education was well known, but that he could find five men of stand- ing in this State to strike the blow at the university was hardly to be ex- pected.” The Yakima Herald asserts that “his own unreasonable dislike has been fed by the jealousies nurtured by some of the Hartley satellites, who have not the intelligence to recognize ability and loyalty when they come in contact with them.” The Herald adds the prediction: ‘When the public vents its wrath on whimsical officlals, it usually does a complete job. Signs are not wanting that the State is be- ing aroused against Hartley and his dictatorial mentality to a fever pitch which probably will lead to a recall movement.” This paper points out that “eighteen out of twenty-one dally newspapers in the State have voiced disapproval of the governor’s dismis- sal ’}1{1 Dr. Suzzallo,” “The question of recalling Roland H. Hartley as governor of thfs State,” in the judgment of the Yakima Dally Republic, “is one which should be submitted to the people as 800N as pos- sible. An organization for the pur- pose of putting this question in issue should be made without delay.” The Vancouver Morning Star, pro- fessing inadequate knowledge of the facts, nevertheless advises its readers: “For this province the warning is plain. The University of British Co- lumbia must in the future, as hither- to, Pfi kept out of politics at all costs.” Eastern papers are just beginning to take the case up. ‘“‘Under existing circumstances,” the Baltimore Eve- ning Sun believes, “it is highly im- probable that the University of Wash- ington can obtain a president who commands the respect of the educa- tional world,” but suggests that “the University of Washington is a State institution and almost inevitably such institutions become the foot ball of politics.” The Indianapolis Star ad- vises that “if the people of Washing- ton are concerned for the future of their State university, they will rem- edy a situation which permits politics to dominate its board of regents.” The Milwaukee Journal recalls a similar recent case in Kansas and declares that “so long as political appointment DNZ:H:, universities will be endan- gered.” ———— The average length of life has in- creased 40 ycars u!the past 4 cen- THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. The changing dress, food, house furnishing, occupations, cénversation and domestic life in general of the period from just before the Civil War until the present time are described in Anne Parrish’s novel, “The Perennial Bachelor,” almost as fully and accu- rately as if the book were a history of manners and customs. In this re- spect this novel is (:ol‘nplil"lbl‘ev to “Certaln People of Importance,” by Kathleen Norris. When “Mamma’ Camplon, who lives in Delaware on the Delaware River, gives a dinner party about 1850, the menu includes mock turtle soup, bolled turkey with oyster sauce, roasted ham, chicken ple, roast goose with apple sauce, smoked tongue, beets, coleslaw, squash, salsify, fried celery, almond pudding, mince ple, calf’s-foot Jelly and blanc mange molded in blown egg shells. In her wardrobe are crin- olines and enormously full gowns of apple-green glace, black velvet, mauve and primrose silk; a black lace shawl with a swirling fern pattern and a vhite lace shawl ‘“delicate as frost work,” besides bonnets of silk and flowers to match all her costumes. Her three little girls wear “light blue chambray dresses, low-necked, with scalloped ruffles, white muslin aprons and their best long lace-edged draw- ers.” Mamma's parlor is a room of marvels. The carpet is a garden of crimson roses. Between heavy crim- son curtains, looped back from the windows, hang cages of canaries and love birds, and below the cages are greep iron plant stands full of gera- niums growing in pots covered with putty into which mamma has pressed acorns and small pine cones. Wax pond lilles float on a mirror under a glass dome on the table. Each chair has its tidy. There is a wonderful picture on one wall, partly painted, partly filled in_with birch bark and sand on glue. Negro servants live in quarters across the road from the big Campion house, the Maples. * ok k% After the war, when Maggie Cam- plon is a grown-up young lady, she wears tight basques, three-ruffled skirts, a train, a chignon and bangs, a bustle, an hour-glass corset and steps from ‘“‘circle after circle of petti- coat” when she undresses. Mamma makes all her daughters practice the Grecian bend when they go out in society. The agitation for women's rights has begun, but mamma thinks that it is dreadful. She considers George Ellot very fast to call herself by a man's name. May Campion sometimes dips a red ribbon in cologne and rubs it on her cheeks, but Maggie says ‘“only bad women paint their faces.” This is the period also when “the very word spoon, the sight of a spoon, was enough to send the young men off into fits of laughter.” Then follows the age of pompadours, shirt waists, straight fronts, bead chains, fudge made in chafing dishes, pyrog- raphy, Gibson men and girls. The War with Spain brings back memo- ries of the Civil War. The years slip by and the Campions are growing old. Almost every house but theirs has long had a telephone and electric lights. The World War comes and makes all change more rapid. The twentleth century rushes along, with its automobiles, phonographs, movies, bridge, knee-length skirts and smok- ing women—and the Campions who are now left are very old. * % The Russian peasant is Russia. What he thinks, after his slow mental processes have worked out conclu- sions, that will prevail in the end. 8o the success of communism depends on the peasant. Economists have as- serted this over and over since the Russian revolution. Maurice Hindus, a Russian by birth and an American by present choice, has revisited his native land, and especially his native village, in order to see for himself and to learn by talking with the people ‘what are the real results of the revo- lution. He has given his findings in “Broken Earth.” One of his conclu- sions is that communism has not cap- tured the peasant. Some of the younger generation of peasants are enthusiastic Communists, but more are violently opposed or stolidly un- favorable. Mr. Hindus also found the peasants ready to express their dislike of the Soviet government and not at all intimidated. The average peasant thinks the Soviet government more oppressive than the autocracy of the Czar, especlally in the matter of taxes and fines. One of the very disastrous effects of the revolution was brought about by the peasants themselves, namely, the cutting down of vast forests of trees. The peas- ants, fearing that they would not get their share in the universal plunder following the confiscation of the great estates, hastened to cut the trees for themselves. The result has been the drying up of streams and the conse- quent lessening of productiveness of the soil. * ok ok * One of the greatest of Renaissance painters, Leonardo da Vinei, had other professions to which he some- Q.PDoes all honey crystallize?—E. E. P. A. Nearly all varieties of honey will crystallize, but the extent to which this takes place varies, due to the varfation in the relative amounts of dextrose and levulose in them. Some honeys, such as alfalfa and white clover, crystallize nearly com- pletely, while others, such as sage and tupelo, remain liquid under prac- tically all conditions of temperature, etc. Q. When was the first concentrated embalming fluld made?—A. F. A. This form of embalming fluld was first made about 43 years ago in Boston, Mass. Q. Where was Ranelagh®—R. E. A. This was a fashionable London pleasure resort of the eighteenth cen- tury. The rotunda was built on the model of the Parthenon. It stood in a beautiful garden and accommodated 6,000 persons. The grounds are now occupied by the Chelsea Hospital. Q. Have many new crops been added to our list since colonial days?—D. B. A. The Department of Agriculture has sent plant explorers to the ends of the earth, and many new species are being adapted to this country. Until it became active in the matter only two plants, sorghum and alfalfa, had been added to the list since co- lonial days. Q. How many big African rivers flow into the Mediterranean?—V. C. A. The Nile is the only great Arican river that flows into this sea. It drains an area of more than 1,600,000 square miles. Q. In referring to literature what expresses the opposite of realism?— A. It depends upon the meaning to be expressed. Some terms ex- pressing opposite ideas are idealism, romanticism, conventionalism; senti- mentalism and imaginative treat- ment. Q. How great was the damage done by the Charleston earth- quake?—H. A. D. A. Seven-eighths of the houses were rendered unfit for habitation, many persons were killed, and prop- erty valued at over $8,000,000 was destroyed. The damage, however, was quickly repaired. Q. How long has Alaska had rep- resentation in Congress?—B. D. A. In 1906 Alaska was granted the right of representation in Con- gress through a delegate. Q. M. R. A. The pecan crop stood at the relatively high condition of 65.4 per Is this a good pecan year?— This week has marked an epidemic of Science—spelled with a capital S —for one eminent scientist, Dr. Milli- kin, lecturing at New Haven, tells the students of Yale that more progress has been made in science since the beginning of the twentieth century than in all previous centuries com- bined; another, Prof. Irving Fisher, points to the progress made in human longevity and offers to bet $10 to §1 that by the end of this century the average length of human life will be 80 years instead of 55, as it is now, or 40, as it was in the middle of the nineteenth century, and another sclentist, Mr. Edison, who used to scoft at college education until his son showed him a thing or two, now concedes that death may not end all and that whatever conclusions may be arrived at from his former proposed experiments in weighing a body alive and weighing it again immediately after death, to see if any soul had left it lighter or heavier than before death, he decides that there probably is a soul and a here- after of life. Theologians have given little heed to Mr. Edison's untheological effort to demonstrate what is ‘un- demonstrable, but what, to the be- liever, is its own proof—that life is eternal—but they readily accept his concession that he fails to disprove their faith. In the November number of the Forum, in an article by Edward Mar- shall, Mr. Edison is quoted as stating: “If there is any evidence bearing one way or another on the question, that evidence is in favor of life after death.” Hé urges religious teachers to seek “genuine” evidence and “en- deavor to build up proof which the skeptical cannot laugh at.” To that challenge, the theologians reply that since the scientist demands times turned when his fortunes were in need of betterment. In Rafael Sa- batinl’s “Life of Cesare Borgia”” men- tion is made of the fact that in 1500 he entered the service of Cesare, Duke of Valentinols, as engineer and archl- tect. In this service he may have su- perintended the repairs of the Castle of Forll, captured by Cesare, and cer- tainly bullt the canal from Cesena to the Porto Cesenatico. Later he also probably supervised the erection of two fortresses at Elba in the vietori- ous duke's conquered territory. * ok ok ok ' Comments on men and affairs are made discursively by Lord Riddell in his recent book, “More Things That Matte: We learn that Gen. Botha's favorite amusement was bridge, that Jan Smuts loved walking, that Win- ston Churchill is an omnivorous read- er and many other interesting facts about ‘““certain people of importance.” Lord Riddell's ideas on prohibition should be added to the data collected by both sides of the question. A life- long teetotaler, he yet views alcohol most impartially. He says that he can with equal complacence attend a temperance breakfast or a banquet given by lcensed victualers. On the whole, however, he does not believe in prohibition, because he is “opposed to slavery.” He says: “Efficiency is precious, but it is not the sole object of existence. Happiness counts for something, and happiness depends on reasonable freedom.” Golf he consid- ers a great debt which American busi- ness men owe to the British, and suggests that as a token of their ap- preciation they raise a fund to dis- charge the British debt to America. ‘Without golf “half of America’s busi- ness men would long ago have died of dyspepsia, and the other half would either be in lunatic asylums or di- vorced for irritability.” * ok k% ‘The military life of Andrew Jackson s stirringly described in the “Cor- respondence of Andrew Jackson,” edited by John Spencer Bassett, of which Volume I has recently been published. The march toward New Orleans in 1813, in an attempt to take Florida, receives full treatment in the papers. The war against the Creeks is the subject of some of the most Interesting papers. The closing pages describe the victory eof Jackson at Topoheka on the Tallapoosa, in which 800 Indians were killed. * ok ok % An interesting but little read novel has just been republished—"Philip Dru: Administrator,” which was writ- ten some years ago by Col. House and published anonymously. It is said to be the best interpretation of Col. House, so long considered a sphinx in politics. The novel gives his ideas on Government and his political ethics and ideals. “scientific” methods of proof, it is up to those trained in scientific research to demonstrate the non-existence of what faith declares from the begin- ning of life does exist—eternal life after death. As a coincidence not without im- pressiveness, comes Sir Oliver Lodge, England’s leader in science, with a lec- ture delivered in London fast Thurs- day, in which he declared: “I think it reasonable to infer the existence in the universe of innumer- able habitations on which life in its various grades may have developed as it has on this earth. It seems ab- surd to suppose this earth is the only habitable world, merely because it is the only one of which we are certain. * * * The universe is a sort of law- abiding organism or organization. It affords evidence of design and plan- ning. There is great variety, but nothing haphazard. It is like looking at a workshop full of running ma- chines. The machines appear self- working and complete, but they are full of evidence of design to accom- plish a certain object. “From what we know of details here, it is legitimate to surmise that the object of all worlds in space is to provide opportunity for life and mind to develop, and that the arrangement of matter in the universe is subsidiary to that great end.” “Nothing haphazard!” A universe with uncounted billlons of worlds, not only all running smoothly in thelr orbits, but moving forward from infinity behind to infinity before and beyond.* And, furthermore, these new recognitions of science now find that the universe of universes does not consist of merely finished worlds, but there is constant progressive de struction of matter and rebuilding of new worlds. Creation is not finished. But “nothing haphazard!” Only as- tronomers who are looking Into the depths of the intricate machinery of ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. cent of normal on September 1. com- pared with 41.3 per cent and 47.2 per cent on the same date in 1928 and 1926. While the crop suffered injury in Louisiana and Texas from the tropical storm at the close of August and from insects, favorable conditions led %o improvement in the Southeastern States, where the bulk of the improved varieties of nuts are produced. Q. How tall is “Freedom” by Crawford?—A. K. A. The figure on the Capitol dome is 1914 feet high. Q. What are the metric units of length and welght?—T. E. A. The unit of length is the meter, equal to 39.37 inches. The unit of weight is the gram, equal to 15.432 grains. Q. What is the largest weapon for seacoast defense in this country?— C. B. H. A. The 16-inch gun is the largest weapon constructed for seacoast de- fense. The maximum range with a charge of 860 pounds of powder is over 30 miles. A rate of fire of about one round per minute can be main- tained with this equipment. Q. Where can I borrow money to aid me in financing a college course? A. Practically every large college or university provides funds through which students may obtain money to further their college edueation. Such funds are obtainable only through the college. or university direct. Q. Are there several kinds of poison ivy?—H. R. A. Polson ivy plants are most read- ly recognized by their leaves, which are always divided into three leafle and by the whitish, waxy berries which resemble mistletoe Botanists now classify the poison fvy into three species—first, a special typ- ical of the East; second, a species typ- fcal of the Middle Northern States, and, third, a species typical of the Far West. Find out whatever you want to know. There is no room for ignorance in this busy world. The person who loses ot is the one who guesses. Tha person who gets on is always the one who acts upon reliable information. This paper employs Frederic J. Haskin to conduct an information bureau in Washington for the free use of the public. There is mo charge, except 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Write to him today for any facts you desire. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic_J. Haskin, Director, Wash- ington, D, C. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. learned the wave theory of light— resembling the waves of sound, ex- cept that sound was waves in alr, while light was short waves in ether, and ether filled all the universe. Very complicated apparatus was con- structed to detect the light waves, but today waves in ether are so nu- merous that they become a nuisance, as every radio fan knows, for our instruments in connection with radio experiment are so sensitive. Today they have instruments to measure a newly discovered ray from invisible stars, which ray is so pow- erful that it will penetrate steel 3 feet thick or water 20 feet deep. And they will find the companion star of Sirfus—almost invisible—so dense that if a teaspoonful of its interior sub- stance could be lifted it would weigh a ton. Oh yes, “Horatio, there are more things in Heaven and earth’—— but ‘“nothing haphazard™! Sclence, which formerly disputed all that contradictéd its findings, now finds that its cocksureness of 30 or 50 years ago, as Dr. Milliken declares, was not based upon the finality of discovery that was then believed. The atom—is it the infinitely small, ut- terly indestructible speck of matter that we were taught? Today it is known to be a miniature universe in itself, with an fon center, around which swing electrons relatively as to size as far from its center as the earth is from the sun, and the electrons are not all alike, nor does each atom hold the same number and arrangement of electrons. That was demonstrated by Dr. J. J. Thomson, who found even in the last decade of the nineteenth cen- tury that an electron could be knocked out of its orbit. He thought, however, that it would always return to that same orbit. Later ft was shown that an atom could lose one or more of its electrons, which might Join other atoms; or the electron could be forced into another orbit—all of which actually changed the character of the atom and changed the metal from one metal to another—from mer- cury, perchance, into gold. The alche- mist's dream is on the way to reality, in modern sclence. EEE All this—crudely set forth—is what modern scientists agree on today, but a leading scientist of Washington disputes the assertion of Dr. Milliken to the recentness and revolutionary nature of the discoveries. He points to the discoveries of Maxwell in 1879, when he brought out the theory of electro-magnetic waves of light which exercised pressure on the body it falls upon. Pressure means energy— ponderosity—and involves action and reaction, for it not only means pres- sure upon the body which light strikes, but also pressure in reaction on the emitting body. Light there- fore acts like a cannon ball, which not only strikes with force its target, but also “kicks” the cannon back- ard. Light is not merely waves—it is corpuscles in action, traveling 186,- 000 miles a second. All this newer knowledge seems to upset Newton's laws of physics, but, according to the scientist of Wash- ington (who forbids disclosure of his identity, lest controversy ensue), de- nies that the new sclence contradicts the old, but contends that it supple- ments and enlarges what our fore- fathers recognized. It was Nichols who demonstrated the pressure of light in 1901, but it was Max Planck who, about 1900, in- troduced. the ‘‘quantum theory' which was! “the most disturbing el ment in physics of this generation. That is the discovery that the energy of an atom is given out only in defl- nite “chunks” or multiples.” Energy coming from an atom “jumps” defi- nitely from one orbit to a certain other orbit having a definite multiple of the area of the first, and never in stars and universes can comprehend Sir Oliver's meaning in that “noth- ing haphazard.” For “the firmament showeth His handiwork.” - * X% In the latter quarter of the nine- teenth century, sclence was given to “gtrutting its stuff” with an air of utter finality of knowledge, as if it had already discovered the funda- mentals of all that was needful to know of creation. Schools taught that “action and reaction wese equak and always In opposite directions,” and “the indestructibility of mat- ter and energy.” The professors of physics told about molecules made up of atoms, and that atoms were the smallest units of matter, indivis- ible and indestructible, and that alchemy's dream of converting baser me! fulfillmenty s into gold was impossible of students Advanced fractional orbits. It cannot wander “haphazard.” And that discovery of Planck’s quantum theory opecame the foundation of Einstein’'s relativity. No layman should be foolhardy enough to discuss that, but our scientific backer In all this is very decidedly of the opinion that thers is little in the new discoveries of sclence which overthrows the fundamentals of the nineteenth century knowledge, but that the new enlarges and broad- ens the field of the old. With all the declarations of Einstein and the new knowledge of electrons and other things, he leaves this consolation for the laymen: “T wish that my room had a floor. 1 don’t #0 much care for a door, But this walking around ‘Without touching the ground 1Is getting to be quite a bore.” (Copyright. 1920, by Paul V Collins.)