Evening Star Newspaper, November 4, 1926, Page 8

8 THE EVENING —_— THE EVENING STAR.' dry organizations, with blood in their | futile bullet which caromed oft the | THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY. . .November 4, 1926 With Sunday Morning Edition. , . Editor THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star Newspaper Company Pusinese Office: ' 11th St. and Peanssivania Ave | Mo York oo 110 Eagt 4ind st. { icago Office: Tower Buildin. | Buropean Office: 14 Rexent St.. London, i Fngland. Tha Evening Star, the Sunday morn- mf edition. is delivered by carriers within 0 dty at 60 gor month: dafly” onl can Sundays only. 20 cen # s may_be sent by mail or| hone Main 5000. Collection is made by carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. eyes, went out to put an end to the Wadsworth wet leadership of the party in the State. Cristman polled nearly 230,000 votes and doubtless thousards of dry Republicans failed to vote at all in the senatorial elec- tion. Wadsworth lost by 120,000 to his Democratic rival, Robert F. Wag- ner, for the wet Democrats continued to stick to Wagner, rather than go over to Wadsworth as his support- ters insisted they would do in large numbers. - It is to be expected that the dry wing of the New York Republican party will demand a reorganization. No more excursions into the realms of wetness will be countenanced if the drys have their way. Who the party leaders will be remains to be seen, but a new deal would not be surprising. The defeat of Senator Wadsworth 01is a real loss to the Senate. States- Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled 0 the use for republication of all newe di atches credited 1o it or not otherwise cred ted in this paper and also the local new: published herein. A1l rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved _— — = Traction Merger Difficulties. The subject of street railway merger, always difficult, has been rendered more so by the statements made at yesterday's hearing that the existing corporations do not contem- plate that a union of the systems under a single ownership and man- agement would result in any reduc- tion of fares. The public expecta- tion has heretofore been that the union of the lines would permit a lowering of the cost of operation by amalgamated administration and would likewise equalize the financial status of the two systems, now suf- ficently divergent to compel the adoption of a rate that is higher than the actual requirements of -one of the systems necessitate. It is proposed that in the event of a merger the cost-plus-profit basis should be established in fare fixing. This would, it is expected, lead to a fluctuating fare rate. There is no possible arrangement whereby the traction companies, or a single com- pany in the event of a merger, should be compelled to carry pas- sengers at a loss or without a rea- sonable profit. Fare fixing by the Utilities Commission must always take into account the right of the companies to make a profit. The fundamental trouble about the ©ost Lasis of fare fixing, as proposed by the companies, is that the founda- tion of the cost of furnishing trans- portation is the valuation of the properties of the corporations. Be- tween the estimates of the companies and those of the Commissioners there have always been wide differences. Tn illustration of these differences it 1s noted that the commission’s val- uation of the Capital Traction's properties is $18,000,000, whereas the District Supreme Court has approved the company's own valuation of $30,000,000, from which decision the District, has appealed. Voluntary merger is greatly to be desired, if effected upon conditions which will correct the present sit- uation of widely differing financial foundations and permit the estab- lishment of a fare schedule which will give the public a proper service and the company a proper profit. efforts to effect such a appear to have failed. The matter may eventually go to Con- zress for the enactment of a law which will bring the companies to- gother upon an equitable basis and establish the fundamental principle of fare fixing which will be just to all. for the Fas: Thé assassin must eventually realize that he is elther a pitiful rascal or a powerful publicity proposition, New York Republican Chaos. Republican organization and leader- ship in New York need not only first- ald treatment but major operations. In a State which can be considered only Republican at heart, in view ©f the enormous pluralities rolled up for Harding and Coolidge in the last 1wo presidential elections and which gave Hughes a substantial plurality over Wilson in 1916, the Democrats have played horse with the Repub- party. They rode into office Tuesday on Republican backs in every State-wide contest, except that for attorney general, from Governor and Senator down. They gained three seats in the national House of Representa- tives and cut down the Republican lead in both houses of the State Leg- islature. The Republican leaders in New York have only themselves to blame for most of their troubles. In the face| of the dry Republican strength up- state, Senator James W. Wadsworth launched an attack on the eighteenth amendment months ago, and efforts were made by himself and other lead- ers of the party to have the Repub- lican platform declare in favor of the wet referendum. At the last moment, the wet leadership capitulated so far as the referendum was concerned, and the platform failéd to urge the voters to cast wet ballots in the referendum. Upstate dry leaders and Congressmen refused utterly to follow the proposal of the wets in this regard. An open breach in the Kepublican national convention would have resuited had the Wadsworth leadership been fol- lowed in this respect. Representative Ogden Mills was chosen as the party candidate for governor. He was re- garded us less wet than Wadsworth, and the hope was expressed that the dry Republicans could rally to his support. The Republicans now face the difMculty of continuing half wet and balf dry. The Democratic party of New York is wet in leadership and 4n rank and file. It seemingly has grasped the more popular end of the et and dry issue in the Empire State, for many Republicans as well as Democrats are wet. The bonedry Republicans, under the {leadership of State Senator Franklin W. Cristman of Herkimer County, alded by the Anti-Saloon Lesgus, the W. G T, U. and other lican manlike, thoroughly honest and courageous, the New York Senator has served twelve years with dis- tinction in the upper house. It is regrettable that he should be sacri- ficed on the altar of prohibition. The drys, however, have for years sought the political downfall of the senior Senator from New York, fearing his powerful influence against the cause which they have put practically above all other causes. The Battle of the Tombs. Three dangerous criminals, con- fined in the Tombs prison, New York, yesterday tried to break jail, rushing the guards with guns in hand, shoot- ing down the warden of the prison and then, for nearly half an hour, holding off the police in the court- yard of the jail in a battle in which, finally, two of them were slain and one was mortally wornded, some of the guards being wounded. The thwarted attempt to escape was the most desperate ever known in the history of New York. The final toll of casualties is four dead and three injured. Immediately after the fight guards made a thorough inspection of the en- tire building in a search for weapons, but found none. The plot to break jall was evidently confined to the three who died in their dash for lib- erty. At present, nobody knows how they were armed. They seemed to have several weapons and a plentiful supply of cartridges. These had doubtless been smuggled into the jail by friends. Probably now there will be a stiffening of the safeguards against the introduction of weapons into the cells. One of the men, Hyman Amberg, was held for trial for the murder of a jeweler in a hold-up. Another, Rob- ert Berg, was charged with participa- tion in a $75,000 jewelry robbery. Michael McKenna, known as a des- perate gunman, a typical gangster, was accused of engaging in a pay-roll robbery. It is related that during the past year no less than twelve attempts to break jail at the Tombs have been frustrated. A few weeks ago a large package wrapped in cloth was drop- ped over the wall. It wus picked up by one of the guards and was found to contain a pistol, a box of cartridges, a hacksaw frame and a package of hacksaws. It is further told that Berg, one of the prisoners killed in yesterday's melee, was visited by his wife a few hours before the break, but they were separated during their talk by two stout screens eighteen inches apart, through which not even the smallest object could have been passed. The Tombs prison is a famous in- stitution. During the many years of its maintenance it has held probably the largest number of criminals ever confined in a single establishment of its kind in the world. It is a verita- ble fortress, connecting directly with the Criminal Court Building by means of a bridge that has been named after the celebrated viaduct in Venice over which prisoners of the ducal state passed to their doom in anclent times. ————————— Butler of Massachusetts was not elected. Voters disregarded his val- uable services as a presidential ad- vigser, and took him just as an ordinary rough-and-ready candidate. Events may prove that they were wrong. ———ee. In several States there were can- didates who upset the betting odds as much as 'Gene Tunney did. ———————————— Italy in Turmoil. In violent reaction the Fascistl of Italy are attacking their opponents, deeply angered by the latest attempt upon the life of Mussolini. While an official investigation is in progress to uncover the plot that it is believed lay behind the act of the youth who fired a pistol at the premier and was immediately killed by the crowd, mobs have stormed the dwellings of persons known to be identified with the opposition to the Mussolini ad- ministration. Newspaper offices have been attacked. Twelve such offices have been definitely closed by the police. Despite the placing of guards around the premises of anti-Fascists throngs of zealots are clamoring for revenge. The fact that Mussolini es- caped death does not modify this in- tense feeling. For it is recognized by the Fascists that Mussolini is marked down for assassination by his foes, and that each escape is but a lessening of his chances. The ardor of the Fascists is in. spired by an implicit belief not only in Mussolini as a man and as a lead- er, but in the destructive purposes of those who oppose him. Fascism is regarded as the spirit of Italian preservation from Communism. Should Mussolini fall his death would be terribly avenged. These present demonstrations and mass reprisals would be slight in comparison with the assault upon the opposition. Details of the attack upon the premier are coming more fully to light as the censorship relaxes. It appears now that Mussolini was saved by the fact that he wore a bullet-deflecting garment, adopted as a measure of safety since the attacks upon him began. It is also related that after the assassin had fired the Duce’s chest he aimed point-blank at Mussolini’s face, but the pistol missed fire. He was then seized and beaten and stabbed to death by the crowd. ‘The bellef of the Fascists that Mus- solini bears a charmed life and is therefore safe from harm does not lessen their anxiety to protect him by adoption of methods of reprisal and punishment. The Last Buffalo Hunt. America’s last big buffalo hunt is scheduled to get under way within a few days. From Salt Lake City Tues- day four hunters started out far the northern end of Antelope Island in Great Salt Lake to exterminate a herd of wild buffalo, estimated to comprise more than two hundred and fitty of the big animals. Every ef- fort has been made to take the buf- falo alive, but due to the ruggedness of the country and the insurmount- able obstacles to transportation from the inaccessible island, this plan was abandoned. The entire herd was of- fered for sale and there were no buy- ers, 80 the present hunt has been or- ganized. Owners of the island desire to convert it into a cattle ranch and it is for this purpose that the buffalo must be removed. It will probably be a stirring hunt, reminiscent of the early days when the hardy ploneers pushed out through the West. The island is nineteen miles long and six miles across at its widest point. It is of volcanic formation and some of fits peaks rise to more than fifteen hundred feet. The difficulties of the task can best be appreclated, when the experiences of a hunter who killed the first buffalo are recounted. It took him four days to “get his meat® and he succeeded only after he had ridden ninety miles on horse- back and crawled a mile on his hands and knees. Already more hunters have volun- teered than can possibly be used, de- spite these difficulties. Applications have been received by the wholesale and the owners of the island are about to close the lists. In any event the big hunt is now on and America’s biggest remaining herd of buffalo will soon be wiped out. —_————— David Walsh of Massachusetts is in evidence as a fine, rising young man. Erratic events of politics re- veal remarkable opportunities. It remains to be seen whether David can benefit to the utmost by this break in his favor. —e—————— The United States Senate gains a number of inexperienced members who may be hard to rehearse, and yet who may eventually prove able to give fair performances. ———————— Gov. Smith gave President Cool- idge a fish. It was only a small fish. It was big enough to suggest the question of who is going to be the next political Jonah. ——r————————— The man who starts the trouble is usually clever enough to remain immune. No one ever hears of Henry Ford being arrested for speed- ing or obstructing traffic. —————t——————— Itallan singers speak sneeringly of American culture. Never mind! We may yet have a music as noisy as ‘Wagner and as dancible as that of Irv. Berlin. ———————— The referendum vote shows that however unpdpular John Barleycorn may be, people still like to talk about him. —————————————— The Ku Klux Klan is referred to from time to time as being more pic- turesque in parades than potential in politics. s A radio band sandwiched in be- tween political speakers has all the best of the argument. oo “The office should seek the man.” So say the friends of Gov. Al Smith. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Watch Dog. He was a good dog, kind an’ true. ‘He barked at the wandering tramps. He was so sensible that he knew The good men from the scamps. 1 don’t care nothin’ "bout ‘lection fame As voters come pilin’ up. All T want, just now, is to know the name Of the feller that pizened my pup! I loved him well an’ the pup loved me, An’' we told each other so. i Though he couldn’t talk, I could al- ways see My thought he would clearly know. So I don’t care at all for the record fine That is winning some loving cup; All I want today is to get a line On the feller that pizened my pup! Lucky Again. “Are you satisfled with the election return: “Sure, Sorghum. Brown October Ale. Of “brown October ale” we hear ‘Where concerts gayly ring. The laws declare, in tones severe, “They are not no sich thing!” A five-day working week is liable to compel movie actors to work ten hours a day to keep the idle populace amused. I am,” answered Senator 'm one of ’em.” Jud Tunkins says when a man gives advice he is now suspected of speak- ing less in friendship than in sales- manship. Deposits. Oh, money's a ponderous mallet That hits a poor man in the neck! A voter deposits a ballot— And, later, deposits a check. “It is & mistake to fear envy,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “Though some may hate you for your successes, no one will love you for your failures.” “Many shows,” sald Uncle Eben, “is disappointin’. A bill poster is. & fine decorator, but a poor - STAR, WASHI 01 The smell of Autumn is unlike that of any other season. The fresh earth smell, combined with burning leaves, spiced with the tang of crisp air, lends the Fall dis- :hficuan to all those of sensitive nos- rils, Each season has its distinctive odors. The large perfume of Nature 1s not necessarily secured by distilla- tion in alcohol, although it sometimes is, but is rather the work of teeming organisms and natural forces, The sweet smell of Spring is not to be mistaken for any other, while ‘Winter brings ozone to give unmis- takable evidence of the season. Sum- mer, too, has a smell all its own. Autumn, however, ‘“when the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock,” as Riley sald, delights the sensitive nasal apparatus that has not been stultified by too much to- bacco or other aromatics. The animals enjoy life, in this re- spect, more than we do. They have keen, unperverted senses, of which they are in no whit ashamed, the Creator who made them never having given them any intimation that nat- ural Instincts are shameful. Your dog, on a run through the woods or flelds in November, draws the cold clarified air into his lungs with every evidence of satisfaction. The house cat, out for a night of it, sniffs the wind. * ok ok k And man, too, if he admits it, gets much pleasure out of the wholesome odors of Nature, It would be too much to expect that he enjoy tne rank smells which please the animals, but certainly he appreciates the odors more suitable to his civilized nostrils. Artists and epicures—perhaps the terms are interchangeable—unite in praising the odors of food. The late Henry T. Finck went so far as to say that the pleasures of eating de- pend largely upon odor. In this he was supported by the prior work of Brillat-Savarin, the French cplcure. The cookery of that land seems argely devoted to enhancing the appearance and odor of food: The clean smells of outdoors, how- ever, are mora acceptable to most of us. The stuffiness of interfors cannot be wholly swept away by opened win- dows. In the “great outdoors” alone one finds the true odors of Autumn, the delectable earth smells, caught from wind and rain, held in the embrace of earth, showered on all sides with prodigal Tove. Even the city streets share them. The action of frost is felt keenly in leaves and shrubbery. Who knows but that certain obscure chemical ac- tions caused by frost promote changes sensible to human nostrils? The aromatic decay of the season reaches a height in bonfires, banned by city ordinances, but kindled now and then despite them. The acrid odor from burning leaves, if diffused enough by wind, causes only pleasant sensatfons in olfactory organs. Perhaps no Autumn smell can so bring back memories as that of burn- ing leaves. One of the first memories of children generally has to do with this feature of the Autumn wherein a soaring fire burned unquenchable pic- tures into small, impressionable minds. L. 0. TIIURSDAY. The “waxlike” mind of the child, of which one hears so much nowadays, retains such pictures alway: It needs but the smell of burning Autumn leaves, years later, to revive, out of nothing and dreams, pictures of bonfires at night. How the flames of youthful days leaped into the air! How the smoke curled, now white, now black, now gray, blowing this way and that, as the wind pleased! And perhaps there are pleasant mem- ories of college days, when a great celebrate a gridiron victory. It is all hazy now, but it was very real then. Today that victory is seen to have been something of no consequence whatever, but then, consequences were otherwise! Then brightly glared the great fire, threatening the stately trees, beneath which burned the ac- cumulated boxes and barrels of the entire village. There were loud cries, and many caperinus, and the entire town stood on the outskirts and watched, as the brave young men darted in to replenish the roaring in- ferno. There were streaks of light between the trees, and light from bright eyes, and they were all hopeless- 1y mixed up in a time that will never come again. * ¥ k x Many an adult today will catch him- self shuffling his feet through the leaves on the sidewalk, as he once did as a child, and as all children do. The city is cleaner when swept by the crisp Fall winds than at any other time of the year. This is a mechanical scouring, effected by Nature's great vacuum cleaner. She dusts the city with a right good will, leaving it fresher and more wholesome. Visitors from the Middle West often notice the freshness of alr in the Na- tional Capital the moment they emerge from Union Station. Standing on a street car platform, they will sniff the air eagerly, and say, “Your alr here is better than back home.” Proximity to the sea, of course, is what does it. One living here is not sensi- ble of it, but the clarified air from the ocean travels a good way. Keen- scented persons from farther inland invariably notice the freshness of ‘Washington’s air supply. This is one of the reasons for the health standing of the National Cap- ital in the roll of the larger cities. The alr 18 good, hence the appetite keen, and, with excellent food avallable, these factors take care of themselves in a very interesting manner. Visitors especlally from soft-coal- burning areas speak of the cleanliness of Washington, at no time more noticeable than in Autumn. In many of the cities and small towns of the Midwest careful housewives must be content with gray curtains, as it is simply impossible to wash the grime out. Wall paper must be cleansed several times a year. A walk in the open usually spots the face with large flecks of soot. The smell of Autumn in Washing- ton, then, is unlike that of many other cities, being the original essence of Nature, put up in gray, breezy days, decorated with yellows, reds and browns—tones as impossible of dupli- cation at any other season of the year as are the odors. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. ‘Wanted: A strong man to take—and maintain—rulership over a quarter of the human race, inhabiting a territory a million square miles greater than all the United States—as great as the United States, Alaska, Mexico and Central America. The vacancy to be filled has existed since last April 10, and the 400,000,000 people without a government are running to and fro like sheep without a shepherd, while wolverine bandits are slaughtering, robbing and starving them, and two or more boss bandits, with great but unpaid armies, are creating wholesale havoc and destruction. Candidates for this vacancy must be warned that the slightest mistake in subduing and ruling the filliterate, uncivilized aggregation of humanity has but one end—execution by the stronger force which asks no ques- tlons not answered immediately by the he'zul,mnn;‘ ax. o This vacancy has existed within the knowledge of the Geneva society which arrogates to itself the right to end wars; it is known by the civilized nations holding, by treaty, extrater- ritorial rights by which their own re- spective citizens residing in the “Country of Demoralization" are sub- ject only to the laws of their own countries, and not to any so-calied laws of the “Country of Demoraliza~ tion. Neither the League nor the individ- ual nations have stopped, can stop or attempt to stop the “Country of De- moralization” from its hell-bent chaos. On the contrary, the Civilized na- tions—spelled with a capital C—per- sist in choking the 400,000,000 govern- less people by limiting their power to adjust and maintain their “tariffs for revenue only” until they achleve a strong central government, while they recognize that the strength of life in government or in individuals depends upon sustenance—income, either in money or food. g EE Silas H. Strawn, delegate of the United States to the conference on Chinese customs tariff and chair- man of the International Commission on Chinese customs tariff and Ir- China, says: “He who could prescribe a panacea for the cure of the ills of China would be the greatest pathologist the world has seen. One-of the great world questions today is, What can the other nations do to stop the contin- uous civil war in China, so that the frugal, industrious and patient Chl- nese people may enjoy the fruits of their labor, meager though they be, in peace, rather than be continuously impoverished and enslaved by bandits o SO‘ld 1er157 trade, as well as “Obviously our trade, that of the other nations, with China cannot be increased, or even mal tained, on its present basis unless there is peas PN It no wisdom can “prescribe a pan- acea” for the devastating woes of one- quarter of the human race, what of vaunted civilization? The oldest or- ganized society in all history has be- come hopelessly disorganized. The people who submitted for centuries to the domination of the Manchus—for- conquerors—suddenly found eans to throw off that enslavement d to form that most difficult of all organizations,a republic,and it fails. The people cannot talk to one an- other, for tribes have varying dia- lects, only three out of each hundred can read or write their own dialects, and practically none can read or write the dialects of the scores of other tribes, yet they imagined themselves capable of developing statesmanship broad enough and wise enough, with- out training, to solve the intricate problems of governing a quarter of the world. They learned nothing from the Tower of Babel, and so their broad land is punctuated with uncounted ‘Towers of Babel. * % %% In their unsophistication of the shrewdness of *civilization,” they have been encraiched upon by the ve seized territory apgh treaties, domin- of “extraterritori- 2lity,” and nave dictated that China should not charge any higher duty on imports than 5 per cent. When it was demonstrated that that rate would never balance the budget, a confer- ence of 13 powers was held in Wash- ington, four years ago, to consider how much of self-determination civ- ilization would hand back to China, the largest country in the world, and it was agreed that she should be per- mitted to charge an additional 215 per cent on all imports of necessities and an extra 6 per cent on “luxuries.” This concession was condition upon China’s abolition of the “liki! tax—a tax imposed by the provincial governors upon all traffic across their state lines. Many of the governors had even run numerous “lkin” bar- riers within their own jurisdictions, so, the traffic toll would be repeated as the transportation advanced upon its journey. It was required that all this “likin” must be stopped by the central government {if the higher rate -—~T7% or 1215 per cent—was to be per- mitted by the powers. But before the international con- ference to make this adjustment with the central governmentofChiha could meet in Peking, two things happened: First, China decided to demand the right to fix her own tariffs, and would put 20 per cent on necessities and 30 per cent on such “luxuries” as to- bacco and wines; second, the cen- tral government ceased to function, and so there was nothing left for the powers to negotiate with. Whatever tax were fixed, the rev- enue would all be seized now by the war lords, who have already seized all income from the railroads—to their net profit of $1,000,000 a month—and that would be equivalent to the powers supplying additional means for increasing Chinese chaos in place of peace. The Tariff Commission, therefore, has suspended meetings and returned to the respective countries to make report. The report will be published in the United States probably within a month, but not before all the countries will have received their coples. * kK X The United States is not seriously concerned with the rates proposed by China on necessities, for we do not export much, except what hardware and tools the Chinese must buy, what- ever the tariff. The only ‘“luxury” among our exports is tobacco—to be taxed 30 per cent, in place of the present 5 per cent, and there is con- siderable protesting by our tobacco interests. This is based not only upon the certain reduction of consumption when the Chinese find their cost of tobacco so increased, but it may pos- sibly result in encouraging ‘“infant industry” in producing home-grown tobacco. There is little of the prin- ciple of a “protective tariff” involved in the discussion, for China is mainly agricultural, and what China econ- omists want is immediate revenue and not tariff “protection.” * x * & So the question of stability goes back to the original “Wanted: A Strong Man” to govern China, disband her armies of bandits and maintain a central government. In the 14 years since the Manchus were driven out, there have been 8 presidents, 42 cabinets, each with constantly changing personnels, and 26 ministers of justice. Now there is none—not a vestige of a functioning central gov- ernment. (Copyright. 1926. by Baul V. Collins.) ——————— Limit on Time. From the New York Herald-Tribune. One good thing about these con- gressional investigations is that they will necessarily cut down the num- ber of laws passed at a session. The Season at Hand. From the Louisville Times. The model husband and father is one who looks forward with pleasure to the season at which he will stok the furnace and then be told by each member of the family. whether it is t00 cold or too hot. & bonfire was kindled on the campus to | NOVEMBER 4, 1926. l THE NORTH WINDOW By Leila Mechlin. Joseph Hergeshelmer says, in a much-discussed article in a current magazine (the American Mercury), that he is “getting sick of art.” Why? Because he has apparently lost the il- lusion of his youth and is confusing talk about art wgth art itself. He ¢ | started out as a young man to be a painter, and recalls somewhat scorn- fully the days when he was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, when art did mean some- thing to him, and when he complain- ed bitterly because it did not mean as much to every one else. Then, he confesses, it was a great hardship and a serious calamity to live in & country and a society without art. Now he considers it “an obscure nul- sance.” This change of attitude, he seems to think, took place with the publication of his first book, since which time the fllusion has vanished and the struggle has been toward ac- tuality. Notwithstanding Mr. Hergeshelm- er's great success as a writer of fic- tion, no one could read the pages of his most recent essay on art without feeling that the man is really impov- erished—that he has lost something which once gave flavor to life. * ok ok ¥ Despite the wrongness of Mr. Her- gesheimer's conclusions, some of his complaints are well founded, such, for instance, as that with regard to the present-day wordiness of art. Un- doubtedly much that is written about art is confusing, and leads the reader away from, rather than toward, un- derstanding. Mr. Hergesheimer, fur- thermore, in his attitude toward art sides with the artists, those who pro- duce the very thing of which he com- plains. He objects to laymen’s criti- cisms. So do the painters themselves, arguing that one who has never paint- ed a plcture cannot realize the full significance of achievement or failure. And how can one? * K K x Mr. Hergesheimer also complaine that the amat‘eur has been suppress- ed, and he would have us believe trat no great art has been produced since art became a profession. Here he ut- ters half-truths. Granville Barker, in a lecture en- titled “Why Worry About Art?” once sald that a people were not truly musical or artistic until the masses became producers; that those coun- tries in which almost every one play- ed some instrument or sang or whis- tled as they worked were the ones in which music was really appreciated. The same with painting and drawing, sculpture and architecture. It is true also that art suffers through the self-consciousness of the artist. When an artist becomes self- conscious he loses his spontaneity. ‘When he lays special emphasis on pleasing the public the quality of his art promptly deteriorates. This is a peculiarly individualistic and self- consclous age, in spite of which, how- ever, some very fine art is being pro- duced. Mr. Hergesheimer is not peculiar in disliking much of the twaddle about art which may be heard today di gulsed under the title of appreciation courses, but this is not art, and 10 chances to 1 it has been going on for sevefal centuries. After all, what does it matter? Art abides and is as sig- nificant, as soul-stirring, as everlast- ing as it was in the days before print- ing. the locomotive and the radio were ever invented. * ok k% Another distinguished novelist, in this case an Englishman, Willlam J. Locke, began his professional caree as an artist, an architect, but happily he has been able to retain the illusion of beauty and the enthusiasm toward art enkindled by his youthful studies (givery now and then Mr. Locke writes an essay on art, and when he does it is enlightening and thought-provok- ing. Mr. Hergesheimer claims that the illusion of beauty is chiefly a feminist movement, but certainly no one could call the author of “The Be- loved Vagabond,” “The Red Planet” and other well known works, a weak sister. ‘When Mr. Locke writes of art, fur- thermore, it is with the understanding of the artist. This is particularly ex- emplified in his most recent novel, “Perella,” just from the press. The heroine is a young girl, the daughter of a journalist, who turns to copying as a means of livelihood. She was not a creative artist, but she was keenly sensitive to beauty, and when she cop- led the works of the great masters did 80 in a spirit of reverence and joy One of those with whom she came in contact in Florence, Silvester Gayton, ‘was supposedly a great connoisseur of art, and in drawing his character Mr. Locke has set a standard for art critics, and in his talk has manifested the real spirit of art, that spirit which has, like a torch, enlightened the ages. There is no effusiveness, no froth in this talk; the language is simple; the thought expressed rings true; it is thoroughly understandable and it makes us forget the foolish twaddle of which Mr. Hergesheimer complains. * k% Says Christopher Morley, in his lit- tle book entitled “Where the Blue Be- gins,” “Having fun is not quite the same as being happy.” This very ex- cellent saying may well be applied to art. The collector may have lots of fun acquiring masterpieces, but un- less he has a genuine love of art he will not find real happiness in his pos- sessions. There are a good many peo- ple that have fun talking about art; it is only those who love art, however, who find happiness in it. Even knowl- edge, great knowledge, will not serve the same end. ERE But to return again to “Perella.” It is interesting to have a copyist, a mere copyist, upheld today as one worthy of admiration in the art world, for it is rather the present fashion to look down on such. Yet the foremost painters of our time have not dis- dained to copy the works of the great masters for their own instruction. A few years ago’'the American Federa- tion of Art assembled an extremely interesting collection of copies of paintings by the old masters made by American artists, among whom were Chase and Beckwith and Whittemore. It will be recalled also that a copy by Sargent of a work by Velasquez brought an extremely large price last year in London when this great paint- er’s effects were so'd. The Corcoran: School of Art in this city is the cutgrowth of the privilege extended by the Corcoran Art Gallery in its earlier days to copyists—young men and women, chiefly the ilatter, who wished to become professional painters and had no other way of learning how. Mr. Andrews, who was at that time a most successful painter of portraits, took upon himself to criticize the copyists’ ‘work, and al- ways urged upon them the importance of endeavoring to enter into the spirit of the painter of the original. There are those abroad who make a profes- sion of copying, and sometimes they succeed too well, imitating even those softening touches which time has put on rather than seeking the message which the master strove to give to the world. No, whatever Mr. Hergesheimer or any one else may say, art is everlast- ing, and those who approach it in the right spirit, with open mind and with simple heart, will find it a perennial vefreshment, not a nuisance or a bore. Holding On to Greenness. From the Boston Herald. Notice how our Lombardy poplars and English elms are maintaining European standards in keeping the leaves later and greener than their American cousins? ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How much does the Govérnment Dfl_{; lvxx‘: rentals in Washington, D. C.? A, The amount/is slightly in excess of $900,000. Q. How many motor traffic laws were passed last year?—J. W. A. Last year more than 2,500 bills ‘were introduced in State Legislatures and an average of about a dozen to each State were made into laws. Q. Should weeds be cut in the Fall? . W, A. All weeds in the garden or any- where in the yard should be cut. Q. How long would it take to go from Peking to London by train?— H. C. A. One of the most complete sched- uled trips over the Trans-Siberian Railway was reported from Peking to London. It was made in 19 days; however, it was not a through trip, as it was necessary to make overnight stops for train connections. Q. Which country was the first to have opera’—E. A. A. Opera is dated from the produc- tlon of “Euridic” in Florence, Italy, in 1600. Q. What meridlan is Meridlan in Washington, D. C., on?—M. A. In early days Washington estab- lished a zero meridian. This s mark- ed by the Jefferson Stone at the center of the Ellipse back of the White Honse. The white line in the center of Sixteenth street just west of Me- ridian Park is this same meridian. Calculated from Greenwich it is longi- tude 77 degrees 2 minutes 12.48 sec- onds west. Park B. Q. Where are the greatest number of goiter cases in the United States? —A. 8. M. A. There are more goiter cases In the region about the Great Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest. The South- ern and Southwestern States are com- paratively free from this malady Q. Who said “Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest”?—E. H. A. Homer uses the expression in “The Odyssey.” Q. Is the mullet a fish or a fowl?— M. C. A. The Bureau of Fisherles says that it is a fish. The question arose many years ago, when an attempt was made to restrict the catching of certain kinds of fish in North Caro- lina, the mullet among them. A fisherman was apprehended who had caught a mullet. His defense was that the mullet had a gizzard instead of a stomach—therefore, it was a fowl. The judge agreed with him. Q. Is stamp collecting as popular as it used to be?—M. E. G. A. At the stamp exhibition held lately the United States Philatelio Stamp’ Agency sold more than at any time since its ~ ment. Q. Please give the names of some notable living negroes—F. B. secretary of Howard Univer- sity and during the World War ap- pointed by President Wilson as assist ant to the Secretary of War; R. R. Moton, noted educator and president of Tuskegee Institute; Willlam BStanley Braithwaite, poet; Meta Vaux War rick, sculptor; Henry O. Tanner, ar- tist; Joseph Henry Douglass, grand son of Frederick Douglass, violinist: Eugene Gordon, short story writer: Charles Gilpin, actor; Edward O. Gourdint, athlete, Harvard University Q. Has the League of Natfons « fla N. B. 8. A. Several designs have been sub- mitted and are under consideration. but as yet none has been selected, and the League has no flag. Q. Do goats eat tin cans?—M. C. A. While it is not true that goats eat tin cans, they do eat paper. It is probably the paper labels on the cans that attract them. Q. Should a person actually weigh the amount given on scales as the average welght for given heights and ages?—M. D. H. 'A. Many authorities agree that after a person passes the age of 80 he should weigh from 10 to 20 per cent less than the weight given on les as average. They explain after that age a person has ed to grow and does not need ex tra weight for building. It is, there fore, deemed unnecessary to tax the heart with pumping blood through tis sues which are not actually needed. Q. According to our chronology. when did the crucifixion of Christ take place?—N. E . A. It is belleved to Friday, April 7, 30 A.D. Q. _How _many miles of water front has New York City?—H. B. A. This port has the finest harbor on the Atlantic coast and has 780 miles of er front. The keynote of the times is efficient service. In supplying its readers with a free Information Bureau in Wash- ington The Evening Star is living up to this principle in deed and fact. We are paying for this service in order that it may be free to the public. Sud- mit your queries to the staff of ez- perts whose services are put at your disposal. Inclose 2 cents in stamps to cover the return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bu- reau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. have been on Press Differs on Court View Of the President’s Powers “The Senate long has been striving to make the President a rubber stamp, and the Constitution never in- tended any such deal.”—Columbia Record. “Another advance in the march to- ward Federal empire.”—St. Louls Post-Dispatch. Thus are presented typical opposing views of the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the President of the United States to remove a Fed- eral officer whose appointment has been confirmed by the Senate. The Cincinnati Times-Star points out that, “except in the tehure-of- office act, passed when Congress at war with President John: gress has never questioned by statute the President’s right to remove a major official of the Government. Usage has conferred on the President the right of removal,” continues that paper, “but in several decisions of the Supreme Court there have been impli- cations that the court might declare constitutional a law that expressly re- on presidential removals.” Times-Star explains that the present decision *“‘does not affect civil service regulations, where the purpose is not to prevent removal of major officials, but to secure efficiency by protecting minor officials from partisan politics.” * ok K K “Under a democratic form of gov- ernment.” »pears to the Fort Worth Record-Telegram, “the Execu- tive should have certain regulatory powers, together with discretionary and_this decree of the highest in the land appears to have de- scribed them with complete detail. That such a description should have been delayed for 135 vears is the only real news In the episode.” delphia Public Ledger adds its opin- fon that “this decision will not widen ‘the executive power’,” but ‘“merely restores and reaflirms what has al- ways existed. The balance between the executive and legislative bran will be maintained.” in the opinion of the Ledger, nd Congress, after 135 years, has lost its battle.” The T80 Forum also believes “it disposes of an sue that has needlessly and foolishly agitated varfous sesslons of Con- gress. “The Senate may exert a check in its right to veto appointments,” the Providence Bulletin sugges “public opinion, always a factor in American Government, is even a more powerful restraint. It is safe to assume that judicial settlement of this long argu- ment will not only make the presi dency more effective, but will relieve it of countless unrecorded embarrass. ment: Approval is given by the Lin- coln State Journal with the statement that “the final judgment of the coun- try has been that Congress was wrong in the contention of 1867.” Finding a parallel in the State gov- ernment of Alabama, where the gov- ernor demanded certain resignation: the Birmingham News says the dec! sion discloses “‘recognition of the fact that there must be loyalty and ‘ha mony in support of the administ tion which gave the office.”” The Al- toona Mirror suggests that “most of us will agree that there are times when conditions demand instantane ous action by the appointing power,” and the Asheville Times holds that the American people “wish to see the Chief Executive supreme in his own realm.” * kKK The Detroit News is convinced that if extension of the civil service “comes out of the Supreme Court's decision, the country will have been well served.” In this connection the Chi- cago Daily News observes: ‘“‘Author- ities on civil service matters are agreed that the place to guard against abuse is the entrance to, not the exit from, positions of public employment. Further, there is such a thing as the moral force of public sentiment, and frequent unjust and arbitrary dis- missals would mobilize that sentiment in defense of the right standards of public_servic The Pittsburgh Ga- zette-Times belleves that “if a check upon the exercise of the President’s power of removal be deemed neces- sary, it might better take the form of a hearing on formal charges against the official than a requirement that the Senate approve the dismissal. From the city in which the case originated when Frank S. Myers was removed from the Portland postmas- tership, the Oregon Journal offers the conclusion that “it may be law, but it is scarcely sound policy for the con- sent of the Senate to be®required in an appointment but not in aremoval. That paper also agrees with those who would check the “great power placed in the hands of the President by the decision. “The view of the liberals,” in the judgment of the Columbus Ohio State Journal, “probably is that the decision places a dangerous power in the President’s nds, capable of being abused greatly. The danger exists but is almost negligible A President. sobered by ve, is not likely to be a mere political self-seeker. If he were. he would have public sentiment to reckon with. Besides, the Senate would still have the power to veto his appointment The Richmond News Leader adds that “for better or for worse, America is committed to ex- ecutive, not congressional administra- tion, and America must make real the power of the man to whom she in- trusts her aff: Adverse criticism of the decision from various sources. The e Courier-Journal asserts that ifies to a large extent the check ecutive that it was believed was vested in Congres: nd the Mil- waukee Journal emphatically declares that “if the Supreme ‘ourt is right about the Constitution, a new au tocracy has been set up in the United Si The Knoxville Sentinel, re- marking that “already it has been sug- gested that an amendment be made to the Constitution, taking from the President this unlimited power,” ad- s that “it should be speedily pro- posed and adopted.” The New York World states that “the gravity of the decision is evi- dent,” referring to power over quasi- judicial, quasi-executive boards. The Springfield Union says of these boards “If it is thought that their usefulnes: is irreparably impaired by the dect- sfon, the question may arise whether it is better to reconsider the whole problem of establishing such commis- sions or to rob the President of his constitutional responsibility for the execution of the laws. That, however, can only be done by a constitutional amendment, and so is little likely to be done."” “In _theo concludes the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat, the decision “will warn appointed officers that they must enforce the laws, but at the same time will it not give the Chief Executive the right to remove them unless they walk the political plank?" THINK IT OVER History A La Mode. By William Mather Lewis, President Georze Washington University. Some authorities on hist recently complained that I this today. During a recent motor trip T visited three homes—one on the Maine coast, one near an Adirondack lake, and a third by the shores of Lake Ontario. And on the living room table of each of these Summer residences I noticed a copy of a recently published volume of American blography. It is a book which ranks as a “best seller,” and it is the simple story of two men who wrought mightily in the early days of the Republic. hat book Is but one of a dozen relating to the men of the same period, published during the past year and attracting wide public at- tention. Judged by the popularity of these works, we seem to be anything but uninterested in history. We wish our history delivered in a different sort of package from that which was formerly demanded. We wish to follow the footsteps of some leader as he moved through the stir- ring events of the time. Perhaps formal histories are today resting unopened upon dusty shelves, but that does not mean that there is a lack of interest In the history of mankind. It merely means that the “human interest” element ls predom- inant today. There are fashions In reading just as truly as there are fashions in clothes. The story of the period, the connected narrative of all time, the historical novel, the blog- raphy—each has its day. And on that particular day people are no less y. have erest in ubject is at low ebb In America interested in the march of civiliza- tion than on any other. They merely wish to turn over a new leaf. (Covyright. 1026.)