Evening Star Newspaper, December 13, 1926, Page 8

A THE EVENING STAR/came to be elected mayor of his town With Sunday Morning Edition, | Must be left to the imagination, which has been stimulated by recent events WABHINGTON, D. C. in that part of the country. West City MONDAY....December 13, 1926 lies only a few miles from Herr! THEEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor which has claimed a large share news space in recent years. It is a “tough” section. 1t has been the scene of numerous tragedies, the most shocking of which occurred a few years ago when some striking min made a descent upon strikebreakers and mine guards at Herrin and killed many people. During recent months the faction wars or gang battles in this neighborhood have filled many ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company Businers Offce: ey York m,,,",“i%s"'{‘fm‘},{,"s‘_ wor Building. Chie Suwovean A ¢ St., London, B e . with the Sunday - " Selered e S cents month l‘ = Fopd ; e only 2 BT Ot iy e et by ‘mail of | newspaper colummns, e Main 5000. ‘ollection made by at end of each month. Mote by Payable in Advance. Maryiand and Yirginia, . $0.00: 1 mo., T8¢ $7286:00: 1 mo. B0o 137.8300; 1 mi of an open warfare in Willlamson, two definitely organized groups of rum-runners who have fought for priv ileges. broken down in that section. the municipal organizations are under the influence of the lawless elements is evidenced by the fact that the latest victim, himself a faction leader, to use Member of the Associated Press. Press is exclusively entitled | the more polite term, was mayor of | ® u Biteation. of 1 i = ) o |2 ed To it or not otherwise crea. | his town, -3 z?.’.‘" f’uir&’fl. 1 é?fn‘n‘m'.‘fi'&: Surely it is time for a clean-up in el atéhes herein bre also reservéd. | that part of Iilinois—time for the State executive to intervene and if necessary to put the area under mar- tial law. Of course, there is consola tion in the fact that in these conflict the victims are the gangsters them- selves, just as in Chicago most of the casualties occur within the ranks of the organized bands of lawbreakers. But the spectacle is none the less dis- tressing. American civilization surely at a low ebb in southern Tlinois. Not Hostile Alternative. The invitation of the House subcom- mittee to Washingtonians, organized and unorganized, to participate in a discussion of “suffrage” for the Dis- triet neither contemplates nor neces. wsarily involves a resultless free-for-all fight of hostile alternative proposals, an Ishmaelitish fracas, in which every man's fist seeks every other man's Jaw. ‘There is no natural or even arti- floial hostility between these specific proposals. They divide into two dis- tinet classes. One class seeks for the Washingto- nian larger participation in his munic- ipal government. It includes pro- posals to choose by popular election the Commissioners and the Board of Bducaticn. This kind of legislation could have been enacted by the major- fty vete of Congress at any time since 1878, provided the change in the de- talls of the local municipal govern- ment involved no delegation by Con- gress of its general powers under the exclusive legislation clause of the Con- stitution. . ‘The other class seeks by constitu- tional amendment recognition of resi- @ents of the District of Columbia as national Americans, and voting repre- sentation in the National Government, 18 Congrees and in the Electoral Col- lege. The Citizéns’ Joint Committes, ncluding most 6f the strong citizens’ ofganizations which fight for national f#épresentation, can neither favor mor oppose such munieipal proposals as the election of the Commissioners or ot the Board of Education, since both those whe favér these municipal elec- tian proposals and those who oppose theém arc substantially united in sup- Port of the movement for District rep- Tésentation in théir National Govern- ment. For éxample, the Central Labor Union fights for natlonal representa- tién and aiso favors every municipal eleétion proposal. The Board of Trade at the othér énd of the line fights for matfonal representation and favors no municipal eléction proposals. But neithef érganization is loglcally Weakened in {t# support of American- izthg the Washingtonian through grant of participation in his National Government by the fact that it dif- ters from thé other in opinion con- cerning proposed changes in the municipal government. Tre issué of national representa- tién must bé kept entirely distinct from that of thé form of local govern- ment, for otherwie success for the propomed constitutional amendment woid bé énddngered. Either those whe £.vor radteal change of the munic- 1o%1 governmént or those who oppose 44 can deféat the propotition which réquizcd fof adoption a two-thirds vote of éacn House of Congréss. ‘The proposed dmendment, without affsrti s in the slightest the form of 16041 overnment or the existing pow- €F of Congréss to declare what shape s rounicipal govérnment shall take, préfares the way for the District to #énnre by majority vote of Congress wéting représentation in Congress and +hé Electoral College. It gives a new po¥rer to Congréss and raises the pos- ity of a new power of value to be ehityéd by the District. HNattonal representation stands for & distinetive American right, honor &84 péwver to which the Washingto- Aian {4 cntitled, and which he can en- Joy #itho it Injury either to himself or e Debt Reduction Assured. It is now evident that this present session of Congress will not result in any reduction of taxes or in any re- bate to taxpayers. Unless the de- cislon reached by the House ways and means committee Saturday is over- turned the surplus estimated at $383,- 000,000 will be used for a further re- duction of the debt, thereby curtailing interest payments. This investment of the Treasury funds will lead to « furthér surplus unless the revenucs tall off during the coming fiscal year, or unless the appropriations made for the next fiscal year are greatly in- creased. The decision reached by the House committee is a middle ground between the refund proposal of the administra- tion and the tax reduction proposition of the Democratic minority. It is con- sistent with the fiscal policy hereto fore pursued by the administration of systematically reducing the debt. It may cause some disappointment on thé part of those who have hoped for a rebate in cash or an application upon the income tax payments in 1927, As a matter of bookkeeping by far the easfer method of turning the surplus back to the people is in the form of a debt reduction and thereby an interest reduction. Eventually there must be a further reduction in the tax rates, unless Con- gress wishes to accelerate the process of debt reduction from the current revenues. As a matter of fact, how- ever, the temptation to make a rate reduction for political effect will prob- ably be too strong n the next Con- gress, with each party striving to gain the highest credit. An adverse @ecision by the House committee against both refund and rate reduction will not, of course, stop the discussion at this session. There will be much speech-making on the subject. It will be charged by Demo- cratic spokesmen that the Republican administration gnd Congress are hold- ing back for partisan purposes. They will endeavor to assume the role of the taxpayers’ friends. But the de- cision to abstain from refund will at least estop them from making the charge that the Republican majority seeks only the benefit of the large tax- payer, who would unquestionably chiefly gain from a distribution of the surplus {n the form of a rebate. Taken altogether, the situation is gratifying to the people. In no more certain way could the prosperity and the solvency of this country be man ifested than by the spectacle of a speeding up of debt reduction. No taxpayer can complain if the taxes are used directly for the purpose for which they were levied, which is the liquidation of the indebtedness incur red during the war. Careful adminis- tration effecting economies in govern- mental mairitenance has brought about this satisfactory condition in which the Unitéd States is enabled to antict- pate its oblications in terms of hun- dreds of millions in execution of a 6 the Nalon, masterly method of financial manage- Bvery thoughtful Washingtonian, | ment. whétnér he favors or opposes the pres- O - ent form of munfcipal government,| A War cloud hovers over the Balkans. This historic and perpetual rumor suggests an area on which peace experts might advantageously. concentrate. shenid abor energetically and en- thusidstically for the adoption of this wise, wnolesome and equitable amend- ment —— o The position of Mr. Ormiston 1 prétably & painful one in certain wespecia It cannot be comfortable ¢ o *idlo announcer to find him- @elf wi' nothing to say. —r— .. Transatlantic Flying. Although the crash of thé ‘glint Sikorsky airplane a few months ago marked the first and last attempt dur- ing 1926 to span the Atlantic between New York and Paris, internatioral competition for this honor is expected to reach its height during 1927, when several nations will watch with inter est and pride the efforts of their rep- resentatives in the thirty-six-hundred mile filght, From Germany comes word of the construction of two huge transatlantic planes, One of them embodies entire- Iy new principles which, if successful, may change the trend of airpline de- sign. This machine is in effect a fly. ing wing. It will have no body, but inside the wing itself will be cabins for 130 passengers, ten motors of 1.000 horsepower aplece, space for the crew and storage room for freight and mail, The wing spread of this giant will be 308 feet, its flying speed 155 miles an hour and it Will weigh 113 tons, Pontons beneath the plane will carry more than 36 tons of fuel. The other German creation, which will be completed and ready for trial within the next few months, is more conventional in design. Its wing spread will be 265 feet and it will have two bodies, each 78 feet in length. This plane will have four motors of 1,000 horsepower each and wiill weigh, without fuel, thirty-five brings a state of t:i ease and physical comfort 12ces the slogan a ftting pre- “Merry Christmas!” o A nlack Spot on the Map. Je# 5lams of West City, Tll., was shet i death at the door of his home yestariay by two strangers who called on rret that they had a letter to deliver’to him. This tragedy woull not make a particularly Interesting news item but for the fact that Joe Adama happened to be the mayor of ‘West City, and even then the crime 18 not especially sensational but for the fact of Adams' particular line of business considered In conjunction with his official position. Ail of which s rather a paradoxical statement of a peculiar situation. This man Adams, mayor of West City, 1, was the Meeper of a roadhoyse and an assoclate with, if not & member of, a gang of Pootleggers or hijackers. His gang was u rival of the famous Birger gaug. They call these competitors “factions” out there, but if they were operating in the large cities they would be frankly known as gangs. Just how it hapmened that Adam * The latest tragedy is a consequence | Franklin and Baline counties between | State authority is apparently | That | nd one-half tons. One hundred pas- sengers can be carried and commodi- ous cabins,are provided. Two cap- tains and twelve men will comprise | the crew. | Igor Sikorsky, designer and builder | of the ill-fated-ship which crashed on the take-off last Summer, announced | at the time of the accident that an- | other machine would be built to make | the hazardous trip. Nothing more has | been heard about the new plane, how- ever, and it is uncertain whether an attempt will be made next year in a Sikorsky. At any event it behooves America to get busy on the construction of transatlantic ships. The men, the ma- | terials and the ingenuity are here in this country for long-distance flying and there appears to be no reason to | let some other nation walk away, or fly away, with aviation honors. ———— Realizing a Vision. It is difficult for Washingtonians | who have so long contemplated with | distaste the slovenly conditions in the heart of the city due to the de- lay of the Government in executing its general plans for public building em- placements along Pennsylvania ave- nue to realize that the time of change is at hand. It seems almost too good | /0 be true. It is something like the Memorial Bridge project, that was ad vanced thirty years or more ago and seemed to be an idle dream, o often was it pigeonholed and defeated through lack of agreement between House and Senate. But at last the | bridge came, or rather it is now in process of construction, and in a very few years it will be in service. Per- haps when it is formally opened to traffic the great driveway of approach to it will have been laid out in part through the lands of the Mall-Avenue triangle. Depressing as have been the condi- tions for the many years of waiting, it is perhaps as well that the great project has been postponed until the present, for a higher ideal of architec- tural construction prevails now than at the time the plan to take all the land was first advanced. During that long period there has been a decided development. The whole question of Capital improvement has been studied thoroughly and to good effect. As the legislation looking to the purchase of the Mall-Avenue lands is shaped and pressed for action the pub- lic conception of the eventual aspect of the Capital's main highway be- comes more distinct. An architect's drawing of the proposed grouping, published in yesterday's Star, gave a broad view of the appearance of the triangle itself when all the contem- plated structures are finished. It did not, however, include the northern side of the Avenue in any detail, so that there is left to the imagination the result of the Government's enter: prise in the occupation of these long pre-empted and consequently blighted lands. But it is not difficult to foresee a marked change, décidedly for the better, in that direction. —————.—— Bootleggers demand more enforce- ment of prohibition law, in order to protect the established traffic from outside competition. Old John Bar- leycorn was ever a politician. ———— “Shop early!” is the slogan of the hour. It clears away the perfunc- tory program and leaves time for the important and often more ex- pensive afterthought. i New York is apparently growing tired and slow. Nobody has started a “night club” by the name of “De Russey Lane.” e Loans made by Uncle Sam have inspired frank suggestions that he change his name to “Uncle Santa Claus.” e e Reports that gasoline will be cheaper renew the hope that there is really a Santa Claus. —— b, SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Imitation. Old Santa Claus has whiskers white; His clothes are very queer. ‘We all agree that he's “all right” And bid him persevere. Yet we are free from all desire To share his style ornate. The people whom we most admire We seldom imitate. Dilemma. “Who is the_ greatest Amerfcan statesman?" “That's an embarrassing question,” | rejoined Senator Sorghum. “If I say |1 am, I'll be accused of egotism. It | I say I'm not, my constituents will be disappointed.” " Holiday Adjustment Due. Al merry s the Christmas life, Permitting no distress. He buys his wife a nice new pipe ' 'And she buys him a dress. Lively Times Ahead. “Is Crimson Gulch going to have a [morry Christmas | “It looks that way,” answered Cac- |tus Joe. “The sheriff has provided fHis men with new artillery and the | bootleggers in .Crimson Gulch have |ordered the latest models in smoke | screens.” Jud Tunkins says the mince ple tastes so good that he's terrible afraid his wife is a lawbreaker. Comfortably Apart. “Do you enjoy grand opera?”’ “Very much,” answered Mr. Meek- |ton. “It affords an evening of vocif- |erous argument over affairs which | concern neithef my business nor my tamily.” Carbon. Diamonds are carbon, So are lumps of coal. Bach of them commands a price That goes beyond control. | “An archeologist deciphers ancient | inscriptions,” said Hi Ho, the sage of | Chinatown. “But of what avail are | 0ld words, with no new thoughts?” “A razor,” sald Uncle Eben, “is like human talk. It can be either an iraplement to promote pelite/impre: slons or else a mighty mean wyapon.” [after an evening spent in the silent BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Templeton Jones is a man of char- acter. When he makes up his mind to a thing he is very apt to carry it out. Once he made an all-night trip dcross country in o small open car rather than wait until next morning, simply because he had told himself reviously at he wi ' previously ‘that, ould get there He did get there. He had got the last cup of coffee in a hotel pot, in which all the caffeine loose in the world at that time had settled. His host had assured him, when the question of a cup of coffee was first broached, that it was much too late at night to get coffee. All the guests had drunk it all up, he said In so many words, just so. He would, however, look into the pot. . Yes, he said shortly, there was probably enough left at the bottom of the big pot for one cup—would Jones care to try {t? Jones, being tired and sorely in need of some simple stimulation, said that he would attempt it. “I hope it is good and strong,” he plcaded to mine host. Surely his hope was unnecessary. What he got was as thick as the oid Washington water used to be before the filtering svstem was put in. Away back there in 1898—how many re- member the water like coffee, In which a bar of soap was lost to sight if it s!ipped out of the hand? Attempts to lighten the cofiee with cream proved very futile. Yes, there really is such a thing as very futile. All the cream in all the worid could not have made a dent in the murky content of that thick china cup, it was that black, and that thick, and that heavy, and that It was just a “good cup of coffe as some call it when it is strong enough to keep an army awake. And Jones drank it all, and smacked his 1ips over 1t, too, for he was tired, and needed a stimulant, But _some hours later, when he wanted to sleep, he found that sleep was far away, indeed. He was as lively as a cricket, only he didn't chirp. * K %k % This episode from the private life of Templeton Jones, Esq., is simply by way of showing that Jones gener- ally does what he sets out to do. We have explained how Jones re- cently determined to do Some real walking, for the good of his immortal soul and the reduction of an overfat tummy, which latter he was mentally getting around to place in the position of the child In the old ballad, “Always in_the Way.” His determination to walk home from the office—a 6-mile “hike,” if one may dignifly it by such a word—was carrled out to the letter. He walked the distance in an hour, 12 minufes to the mile, which is not bad walking, if you ask us. He found his legs pretty stiff, that evening, and encountered som diffi- culty in rising from his easy chalr contemplation of radio worship. His tendon of Achilles in each heel also registered displeasure with his self-imposed pedestrianism. If the mighty hero, Achilles, could be pained in his heel, as he no dotibt was, if one can believe his Homer, surely the heels of M. Templeton Jones might be permitted to express indignation? Whether permit was given or ‘not, they did, as Jones discovered the next morning. “Maybe you had hetter not try to wal home today,” sald Mrs. Jones. “This is the very day I must walk replied Jones, as he donned hl!; home, topcoat. “If I stop now, my legs v be sore for a week, but if T walk a today, the walking will cure the stiff- ness.” With this bit of sound physiological wisdom Jones left the house, and boarded the bus for downtown. Now let us <kip over the words and acts of Jones, as manifest throughout the business day, and take him up again as he leaves the office. £ ¥ EE This time the first mile was the hardest. Jones creaked in every joint. His muscles, too long disused, as is the habit of modern business men, moaned and groaned heneath him. “This will wear off,” Jones assured himself, as he sped up the avenue. There was no slacking in his pace. He wnlked fast, and his breathing came deep. Jones knew that this was the only way to make his walking amount to anything. An es stroll s just so much time and effort wasted. The slow Sunday afternoon prome- nade 's reduction’s labor lost Jones discovered that he was not the only Washingtonian walking home. He met scores, even hundreds, of fellow pedestriar He realized, more than ever, fust how much the Na | Capital has grown. when he attempted to cros the street at the circle. Car after car passed him. as he stood on the cu waiting for h Everywhe going up. Old do and business taking their places over there a wea had his home, chapel, and ever ago he had e buildings were ces had come eflifices waore On t man his hy with thing. the stona private A few years decorations taken off and shipped to his Summer home, and the old dmark had gone the way of so many others. Washington was suffering from growing pains, just the same as Templeton Jones! "This thought sooth- ed him immensely. He felt in line with progress afoot and awheel. But would this sense of elation be sufficient to keep him walking all the way? Jones did not know. He was now about two-thirds of the way home, and had caught himself won- dering for the past two blocks if he had not better take the bus, after all. “No, by George, I won't do it!” he sald roundly. And Jones is a_de- termined man, do not forget. What he sets out to do he most always does, in the long run It would be easy to resist the bus, he told Rimself, because he would he unusually lucky to be at a corner Just when it came along. In all his experience he had never had the folicity to be at a corner just as the hus was heaving into sight. General- ly it was just leaving as he rounded into vlew, and he had to walt 15 or 20 minutes for the next one. So Jones thought himself positiv ly safe from temptation as he crossed tha street and stepped onto the curb, A line of parked cars hid the street below him. Out of sheer curfosity he peered down, as he stepped off the curh, The easy-riding, luxurious bus just then shot out from hehind the park- ed cars and stopped directly in front of Jones. The driver opened the door- Kind reader, we leave it to vou whether Templeton Jonos did or did not take the bus. \What would you have done, under similar circum- stances? WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. On Friday, December 10, one of the tongest cabinet meetings In the annals | of the Coolidge sdministration took place. It lasted two hours. The aver age time is under an hour and a half. Many times, in fitting accord with the taciturnity of the President, the pow- wows of his officlal household are very brief. Occasions are on record when they occupied no more than 15 min- utes. There are some well founded suggestions that it was Mexico which mainly concerned the cabinet at the end of last week, with Secretary Kel- logg in the role of principal spokes- man. As January 1 approaches, that being the date when a ‘“show down” on foreign land and oil concessions is required by the Calles government, the administration at Washington evinces growing concérn as to what the immediate future may hold in store for Amerlcan-Mexlcan relations. * k% % Not everybody in Washington's smart set travels exclusively awheel. Two of its younger and most charm- ing members, the Misses Smiddy, daughters of the Minister of the Irish Free State, are accomplished walkers. Several times a week they hike from their home, a distance of 26 miles, to and from the Congressional Couhtry Club. Before they start back they usually play a couple of games of tennis—just to warm up. One Sunday not, long ago the blueeyed colleens from the Emerald Isle walked from Washington to Baltimore, & constitu- tional of more than 40 miles. Their ruddy cheeks and bubbling spirits in- dicate to any one that looks upon the vivacious Misses Smiddy, who can’t be very much beyond the debutante dage, that walking must be an aid to heaith par excellence. * ¥ k X Senatorelect “Bill” Vare of Penn- ania demonstrated at the White use reception on December § that s much at home in tha ballroom as he is at the polls. Shepherding the feminine branch of the Vare tribe, his wife and two pretty daugh- ters, the uncrowned king of Philadel- phia. entered into the terpsichorean guyeties of the evening with the verve of a college sheik. If the Vare smile at the White House was any cri- terion, impending events on Capitol Hill are depressing the Senator-elect about as much as water agitates a duck’s baek. he * ok kK David S. Barry, debonair !er‘K«lnt- aturms of the United States Senate, calls this observaer’s attention to a quaint fact brought to light by the recent sing of “Uncle Joe" Can- non. He was the last survivor of | the brilliant galaxy of men ‘and women portrayed in the painting of | “The Elcctoral Commission,” which | sat in judgment on the Fior'dl case on February 5, 1877. The pleture is | one of the real art treasures that adorn the Capitol and hangs just out- side the Senators' gallery. The artist, Cordelia Adele Fassatt, sold the mas- terplece to the Government ' for $7.500, although a price of §25,000 was once placed upon it. All the political giants of 49 years ago and many of the soclally elite of Washington are | reproduced with the artistic fidelity of individual miniatures. ‘“Joe" Can- non, then a sandy-haired and sandy- | bearded young congressman, l recognizable. So are scores of ¥ tional dignitaries of the day, like| James G. Biaine, George I, Edmunds, | Allen G. Thurman, Oliver P. Morton, | Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Roscoe Conkling, Thomas 1%, Bayard, Matt W. Ransom, Abram 8. Hewitt, George F. Hoar, Eppa Hunton, Willlam Evarts, Fernando Wood, Gen. A. Burnside, Henry Watterson (then a member of the House), Gen. John B. Gordon and William B. Allison. LR Every once in a while the two Davises in the cabinet get thelr wires crossed—Dwight of War and of Lahor. The Secretary of W and then finds an undeserved reputa- tion thrust upon him when people mistake him for the hero of “Jim the Puddler,” the thrilling autobiog which ‘tells of the Sec Labor's rise from the blast furnace to political affluence. Not lonz ago the chief of the War Department was speaking in Boston. When the meet- ing was over. a dear old lndy waltzed up to him and said how much, on the whole, she'd enjoved reading the story of the Secretar “But T don’t agree with all your views ahout labor conditlons,” she supplemented It was some time bofore the Missouri cabinet officer could straighten things out and establish a convincing alibi, * ok ok F Washington'’s a_town of many hob- bies, but Fverett Sanders, assisfant fo the President of the United States, cultivates one of the queerest of all, He's a hunter of arrowheads, Iiver other Sunday Mr. Coolidge’s right- hand-man wamders across the Po- ton into Virginia and roams the regions whieh the redskins of another era once trod, in search of the bus ness-ends of Indian missiles. Snnders’ companion on these expeditions is usually Jhdge Oscar . Bland, follow Hoosler, now of the United States Court of Customs Appeals at Wash- ington. Bland is the possBssor of considerable collection of arrowheads now Sanders' Tndian trophies include a tomahawk picked up not far from the presidential secretary’s home haunts in Indiana, * ok % Let lame ducks with which the na- tional pond will shortly swarm, tak heart of arace from what Williae Allen White, sage of the sunflower country, says about the futilit fleeting fame, “Bill" was recently asked If he's ¥ that he n't elected Governor of Kansas a couple of 2o. “Not a Dit,” he replied. he glory of walking under the subernatorial pluz hat is bought at too dear a prica for this affiant. He would prefer to be one little small con. sequence during the remuining time of his threescore and tep than to swell up with the poison of officia: pride for two vears and live on as a fragrant memory of departed grandeur, * better to be a little permanent in American politics 4 s been.’” * ok ok _Senator Borah, chairman of the for- eign relations committee of the Sen- ate, may have something to say, when | the 0 se Proper time of an intern = s a defense ir trial. Whit he has in dragging of Japan into the Doheny- Fall: proceedings at Washirigton, Dispatches from Tokio report' that s more upset these allegations of Jap- nese “war plans” azainst the United States than by anything that's. hap- vened in this ¢ since the Jap- mese exclus ation. At one time there wns a _suggestion that Charles . Hughes, Secretary of State when the island empire is said to have een “mobilizing” in 1921, would be called by the Government to disprove the “war scare” story. Japan's ahlest naval brains, headed by Admiral Raron Kato, were in Washington at the armament conference at the very hour In question, (Copyright. 1926.) B ) Borne on the Waves. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The French physiclst who is getling power out of sea water doesn't surs prise us a bit. We have been getting quite a kick out of the Atlantic our- selves. o comes, about al great cr mind_is {he the v Nipponese public opinion w b, | from militar ACIFISM ASSAILED. Conditions in America Today Compared to Ancient Rome. To the Editor of The Star: It is passing strange how the les- sons of history are lost upon succeed- ing generations. The history of the Roman Empire, which is the perennial source of mate- rial for pointing a moral or adorning a tale, affords startling examples of conduct and policles that lead to decay and ruin. Prof. Nilsson of Sweden in re- cent work, “Imperial Rome,” at- tributes the development of pacifism among the Roman people as & tremen- dous contributing cause to the retro- gression of Roman character and the ultimate dissolution of the civiliza- tion of imperal Rome and her final fall. In a chapter on the army, in which he tells of its deterioration in organization, discipline and the type of men that composed it, he sa “The solution is to be found, not in the decline of the population in the civilized areas, though that had some effect, but in the spirit of pacifism which spread through the Roman world. Men shrank from military service and its hardships in spite of the advantages it offered. Men cut off their thumbs to avoid military service. Pacifism is one of those deep revul- sions of sentiment which, when it at- tacks a people, overrides every ob- stacle, defies all reason and require century or more to lose Pacitism permeated all clas; od ion and exemption service became a privi- civ pop » of culture At this time the Romans left their defense to the uncultivated provincials or barbarians that principally com posed the armies of imperial Rome, and in this connection he says: “It is a dangerous priv able to lay aside your we let yvour comfort and culture be de- fended by others—by uncultivated pro- vincials of different blood and race. It did not take long for the barbarous or semi-barbarous soldiers to realize the position and to set thelr feet upon the necks of the peaceful and pacifist population. ¢ ¢ * As a conse- quence of its ingrained pacifism, the civilized population of the Roman Em- pire handed over its defense and the custody of its culture to the uncivi- lized. By so doing, it placed on its ba a master who ruled it with a rod of iron.' Tn another place he says the later Romans were perfectly willing to kill and be killed in stréet riots in the name of Christ. What they objected to was “the discipline and privations of military service.” Breaking a club over the head of an adherent of a rival bishop might be dangerous, but it could be done in front of the house be- tween meals, whereas marching in the vain and sleeping In the mud was beneath the dignity of a civilized Christian. And so Rome fell. Are we mnever to learn anything? The United States now has the wealth of the world and is the object of the world's most bitter and relentless hatred. It is not at all improbable that a combination of nations may at no distant time make war upon us to despoll us of our wealth and to destroy our predominant economic and politi- cal position in the world. We have many economic and political contacts that are creating more and more fric- tion every day and that may precipi- tate an armed conflict at any time. And in face of this situation what do we find? eat religious and po- litical organizations of our people teaching, preaching and advocating { pacifism and the doctrine of non-re- sistance; in fact, opposing the most reasonable and rational measures for national defense, to say nothing of the means to assert our authority in world affairs for the promotion of peace and the proitection of our international rights. Our Army s reduced to a skeleton; the efficiency of the Navy, our first line of defense, is seriously impaired, and we ars behind all the leading nations in the vital arm of aerial_defense. But’ worse than all this is the fact that the propaganda of the pacifists is permeating s0 large a body of our people and undermining their patriot- ism and destroying their willingness to sacrifice and fight for their country. Unless it s counteracted, history will again repeat itself with us, and there will ensue the {nevitable consequences —national decay, subjugation and ul- timate ruin. ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER. Task of Prosecutor In Hall Case Upheld To the Editor ot The Star: Your recent editorial entitled “Pil loried by the Law' presents the view that the acquittal of the defendants in the Hall-Mills trial is "a severe in. dictment against those who brought the accusation of murder against the defendants.” 1s it a fair test of whether a prosecution should have been instituted to look mierely at the outcome of the trial and, if the de- fendants are acquitted, say that the prosecution should never have been undertaken? 1f your view is correct, we would necessarily reach the anomalous con- clusion that a trial must always pre- cede an indietnfent. And it must in- evitably follow that criminals would never bhe brought into court for trial. For if we can only tell retrospectively after trial whether a progecution wa properly Instituted, how will a crimi- nal case ever get before a court of Justice? Surely, your position is not a fair one. When the public prosecutor, in good faith and with probable cause, has, -to the best of his ability, prose- cuted an actlon {0 judgment, he has fuifilled his duty to the State; and the 't that the “action terminated in favor of the defehdant does not change the character of the service rendered by the prosecutor or hold him up to public condemnation. ARTHUR RITTENBERG. Aldebaran, Now Seen, Is Really Two Stars Fo the Editor of The Star: THe red “eye” of Alderbaran, in the constellation of also known as the “Bull,” ng tonight, Just below the Pl . Like a small, shining cloud sparkle these Pleiades and, southeastwardly, we behold red- dish Aldebaran. This brilliant sun of night receives its name from Al Da- baran—that 1s, the follower of the Pleiades. When we are looking at Aldebaran with unassisted eyesight, we cannot see that it is a double sun. If we use a telescope, we find that it is really two stars. the brighter being of first and the dimmer, of tenth mag: nitude. The brighter possesses a red- dish and the dimmer a bluish color. Addebaran is distant trillions and tril- ions of miles. In fact, this red sun so far away that rays of light from its surface will not reach us for about half a century. CHARLES NEVERS HOLMES. e Authority on World Fairs. From the St. Louls Post-Disatch. The Siamese are rejoicing in the birth of a new white elephant. What a pity Philadelphia did not know they wanted one! She could have sent them the Sesquicentennial. End of the Sawdust Trail. From the Boston Herald. Billy y says that if nobody else willirun for President as a dry he will. ‘And thus would the sawdust trail end §n the sands of-the Volstead desert. . Q. What letter is most frequently d for the initial letter of a word? . E. B. A. Among printers experience has shown that 8 is used most often. C P, A, T, D, B, M, follow in order. E, T, A. L. 8. O, N, H, head the list of let- ters most frequently in general use Q. Why is stale air harder to heat than fresh air?—E. S. L. A. Stale air may feel colder than fresh because of the lessened vitality | it occasions. There is no appreciable difference in the amount of heat ab- sorbed. Q. Who was the first Christian mar- tyr?—E. N. A. Stephen is considered the first The account of his martyrdom is in| Acts, vil. His execution does not seem | to have had the sanction of the Ih; as i . What big-game animals are tak- en by still hunting?—N. G. = A. The smaller deer, moose, caribou | elk and bears are often hunted in this | fashion. Q. Please give the recipe for mar- malade which calls for one grapefruit one orange and one lemon.—E. J. C. A. Wipe fruit and slice very thin rejecting only seeds and core of grape fruit. Mensure, and add three times the quantity of water. Let stand in an earthen dish overnight, and next morning let boil 10 minutes. Leave until next day, then boil two Measure, add an equal amount of gar, and boil, stirring occasional about one hour. Pour glasses; let stand covered with cheese cloth until firm, then cover with melted parafiin. Q. What pension do the retired rail- way mail clerks receive? Has the amount been raised lately ?>—G. H. P. A. The Post Office Department says that there is no special pension for railway mall clerks that is different from other Federal workers. Last July, 1926, all Federal employes were granted an increase in pension. Of course, this included railway mail clerks. Q. Ts baisa wood durable’—E. B. B A. Tts life is sald to be short under ordinary conditions unless treated with @ preservativ Q. What is the highest elevation in the Pyrenees?—N. A. N. A. The highest point in this moun tain range which lles between France and Spain is Pic de Nethou, with an altitude of 11,168 feet. Q. What is meant by a “Derbyshire neck”?—L. C. A. This expression refers to goiter. Q. Has a fivecylinder engine been used in a passenger car’>—G. B. §. A. The Soclety of Automotive En- gineers says that a five-cylinder’ en- gine was used in a passenger car some years ago. It was located over the rear axle and had an almost ver- tlcal driveshaft instead of horizontal. Q. Where is the Holy Land?— C. E. S. A. This is the hame given by Chris- tians to Palestine. Mohammedans, however, consider Arabia, the birth- piace of Mohammed, the Holy Land, while Buddhists call India, the coun- try of Sakya Muni, the Holy Land. Q. What is the origin of the term “meander”?—C. M. A. In ancient geography, it the name of a river in Asia Minor, hich was famous for its many windings. Q From what prehistoric animal is the elephant déscended?—C. L. T. A. The ancestor of the modern elephant was an animal ealled “moeri- therium.” He w only 3 or 4 feet high, had a flexible upper lip and long forecisors which, respectively, foreshadowed the trunk and the tusks. Q. How much was spent last Sum- {‘neg in repairing the White House?— C. L. C. A. For the remodeling and general painting of the White House last Summer there was an appropriation made of $50,000. Roughly speakin: only three-fourths of this was used. Q. Where is the oldest pipe organ in America?—G. N. A. Frederick r, an expert on organ history, says that the olde pipe organ in America is in an Epi ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. into sterile | | The built for Queen Anne of England and presented by her to Trinity Church in New York, which eventually passed it along to the congregation in Clyde. It is a genuine antique, with only 110 pipes and no pedals. Q. When and where was the first Colonial mint established’—H. K. A. The first Colonial mint was tablished in Massachusetts in 1651. The Mint of the United States was estahlished in Philadelphia by Act of Conxress dated April 6, 1792, and the first coins were struck at the new mint in March of the following year. Q. Is the title of the play “The Shanghai Gesture” based upon any gesture used in the play F. he playwright says: “The ges- ture Implied is not a simple physical movement, but the word is used in its broader, more abstract sense. The dinner party which Mother God Damn gives, with all its attendant circum- stances, is her gesture of defiance for Europeans whom In general she de- spises and of revenge upon Charteris, ;vhvnu in particular she has reason to hate.” Q. Please explain how it is possible for the sun (o set and then come into view n for a half minute or more. —M. P. W, A. 'This well known phenomenon is called “looming”—the comi sight of ohjects normally hor and 1s owing t ¢s of light from v shallow sur- dense, air. ward bending of the distant object b ace layer of cold, Q. How many post offices are there in Nebraska?—S. B. A. The Postal Guide lists 1,019, Q. What is the symbol of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?—sS. C. R. A. The Four Horsemen of the Apoc- alypse are Famine, War, Pestilence and Death. Q. Just where was located the Ethi- opia of the Bible.—C. M. R. A. The ancients vaguely called everything south of Egypt “Ethiopia” (the land of the dark races, or swarthy faced). It probably extended from about the twenty-fourth to the tenth degree of north latitude, while its limits to the east and west were doubtful. Q. Has the Bureau of Standards ever been awarded money by any for- eign organization?—E. V. L. A. A sum of 000 francs was awarded to the Bureau of Standards by the Institut International du Froid in recognition of the work of the lab- oratory in the determination of the thermal properties of ammonia. This sum is being administered by the Na- tional Research Council and is being utilized for the preparation of tables of the thermal properties of methane, based on experimental results which were obtained by the Bureau of Stand- ards in 1917 and 1918, Q. How much currency enters into commercial transactions and what xm.;t is settled by checks, drafts, etc. -1 Q. R. It has been estimated that about 95 per cent of the business of the United States {s done through checks and credit instruments and 5 per cent is done on a cash basis, Q. What s ongest non-navi- gable river in the world—G. Z. A. The Platte River and its north- ern fork, which is about 1,250 miles in lensth, is the longest mon-naviga- ble river in the United States and perhaps the longest in the world. The Orange River in South Africa, which is 1,100 miles long, is perhaps the next longest non-navigable river, There is mo other asency in the world (hat can answer as many legiti- mate questions as our free Informa- tion Bureau in Washington, D. C. This highly organized institution has been built up and is under the per- sonal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By keeping in constant touch 1with Federal bureans and other education- al enterprises it is in a position to pass on to yow anthoritative informa- tion of the highest order. Submit your queries to the staff of experts whose services are put ab your free disposal. There is no charge ercept 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Address Evening Star Information Bu- reaw, copal church at Clyde, Y. It was Frederic J. Haskin, director, We aton, D. C. Many Alibis Are Developed By Sesqui’s Finan Amerlcans are asking if the world has ceased to have much interest in great exnositions, in view of the Ses. quicentennial failure at Philadelphia. | “Premature opening" is writien dow ny as one of “Sesqui's” first false &teps and too much emphasis upon the ap- peal to_patriotism as another eriti- clsm. Many seem to feel that the greatly Increased number of modern | attractions and travel opportunities tend to make any exposion little more than commonplace. “What _ would Jefferson have thought of the failure of the Sesqui centennial Exposition?” asks The | Portland Oregon Journal. “He saw men catry to the supreme sacrifice the spirit of Patrick Henry—'Give me liberty or give me death! He saw| the Nation forged out of the intense heat of conflict, saw its structire bdiit out of all the tears and the| blood of centurles of vearning for | human liberty. Would he have| shaken his head sadly when 4,500.-| 000 persons instead of the expected | 45,000,000 passed through the gates of the Sesquicentennial? Would he say today, ‘Americans forget Amer- fcal’? Or would he say philosophically with some of the exposition people, | that thelr mistake was in trying to! confine the hirthday of American in- dependence to a group of buildings and a single city? Would he admit that the whole of America is an exposition of liberty, so great, so iri- tense, 80 absorbing that people hadn't time to think of a local show? Perhaps, in any case, “the day of the great exposition is over,” accord- ing to the New York Sun. The fact “the exposition has come to an end with $20,000,000 spent and $5,000,- 000 owed,” is, in the Sun's opinion, “a heavy blow to Philadelphia and her people, yet nohody expected thi show to be a financial success. is the rule in e cago's World's Fair and later expo- sitions have proved. And small won- der since, as the Sun asks, “What ex position building of today can offer as | many wonderful things as are to be ! seen in a single department store of | New York, Chicago or Philadelphia? Great expositions were magrnets in | the days when wonders were few and | people were eager to see them con- centrated. Now the continent Is spread over with wonders.” Tha Nach ville Banner, which advises “a long rest from expositions of any kind,” | suggests that “maybe a half century | hence there will come a reaction to | them.” | * % k¥ | As to the speeific reasgre 7ir the | nresent flasco, the New York World | feels that “the outstanding error waf | emphasizing too much the Sesqui-| centennial and too little the exposi- | The officers seem to have be- " eontinues the World, ‘“that patrotic Americans would flock to | patronage. cial Failure Philadelphia simply becansa this is ”"f‘ 150th year since 1 They failed to provide exhibits, foreign and domestie, which would attract Americans as did the exhibits at St. Louis and San Francisco. There can be little question that the public in- terest in-such fairs is cooling. Ame cans have traveled more, through the movies. the radio and the automobile they have seen and heard far more; they have much less of the provincial curiosity which was once satisfied by international exhibitions.” These sentiments are echoed by the Ok homa City Daily Oklahoman, which believes the American people are proud of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, but “want’ the commemora- tive affair to be worth the admission charge.” On the other hand, the Hartford Times feels that “the patriotie urge was not sufficient to cause untold millions to make a pilgrimage to Philadelphia. Responsibilities of citi- zenship rest lightl, in the opinion of that paper, which continues: “The vote in elections is dwindling. Peaple not only do not vote with perspicacitw, but, in a sense, they do not even take the trouble to vote. It is pe- haps not strange that they dida't think it worth the trouble to celelste the independence the fathers de- clared.” L 2 The Bangor Commercial advises that “cities that are intending to- hold world expositions in the future may profit from the .example, not only of the Sesqui, but of many other similar affairs, and make their preparatory start at a sufficlently ecarly date to assure completion at the specified date.” The Charleston Evening Post holds that “not only was the exposition a financial faflure, but it was a ghastly disappointment in ite artistic phases, “The whole effort was based on a ‘fres publicity’ basis” observes the Passaic Dally Herald; “it was ex- pected that the press would repeat every day the Sesqui's appeal for The newspapers gave of but the pub- their space generousi {lic that buys the newspapers expects to find news in the news columns, not ‘repeat propaganda.' Expert exposition advice also was discarded and amateur enthusiasm was fol- lowed Out of the chorus of criticlsm one voice is heard which finds no fault with the event. The Indianapol News asserts that “Philadelphia co trived to present an iuier g9 valuable exhibit in celebration of the anniversary. Those who saw the ex- position in its completed form,” adds that paper, “were well repaid for thelr visit. The city gained a new grip on its traditions as the birthplace of the republie.”