Evening Star Newspaper, December 19, 1926, Page 62

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. O SUNDAY......December 19, 1626 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 11th St .u-d”;'u “Oflln nia Ave. wog Tork S TI0 B A s h 0 g Ruropean Ofece: 14 Regent St.. London. Englan Sunday morn- ey 'MV"H o only: "33 cente mail or by ine Star. with th ven . with jon. ivered . 18 0 be sen Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ally and Sunday Ally only z indas only All Other States and Canada. afly and Sunday..1yr £12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 by fad afle ."e8.00 1mo. 7l linday only .. 4.00: 1 mo.. a8 L Member of the Associated Press. v Ausociated Press s exclusively antitl to The See for repubiication of Al news dis- Fatehse " cradited fo it or vt ‘Guner=iee cred, tod this paper and also the local news D;lb"l'! herein. All rights of publication | Pleperial dispaiches harein are alao reserved Pass the Arboretum Bill! At the last session of Congress the Benate passed the hill, £.1640, author- izing the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an arboretum in the Dis- trict of Columbia. That measure is now before the House committee on agriculture, It should be reported out at the earllest possible moment and passed, with appropriate amendments necessitated by certain language which in consequence of a misun- derstanding of the purpose of the pro- posed establishment was added in the Senate. Speed iz essential in this matter for two reasons. In the first place, if the project is longer delayed much of the land designated by the pending bill, which is so remarkably adapted| to the purpose of an arboretum, will have been In effect destroyved through | buflding operations now In contem-| plation and aven in actual execution. | Secondly, the cost of the lands will | advance materially with the passage of time. Thiz proposition has been hefore Congrese for several vears. It is urged by the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of creating here a perma- nent living collection of trees and other outdoor plants for scientific re- search and education. The arboretum would make the work of the Depart- ment of Agriculture more valuable than ever to the country in many ways, especlally through plant breed- Ing. The development of faster grow- ing timber trees, improved fruits and diseasé-resistant plants through the facilities afforded by the arboretum would greatly increase the agricul- tural wealth and welfare of the coun- try. It would serve as a working laboratory for several hundred pro- fessional botanists, most of them en- gaged in the advancement of Ameri- can agriculture through their connec- tion with the Department. The effec- tiveness of the work of these botanists would be enormously increased through the facilities afforded by a national arboretum. About four hundred acres of the proposed site is already owned by the Government, consisting of marsh land which will be drained in execu- tion of the Anacostia park project. The Mount Hamilton and Hickey Hill area of four hundred and eight acres privately owned contains the soil chief- 1y valuable for arboretum purposes, By a remarkable coincidence this soil 1s especially adapted to the cultivation of most of the indigenous North American trees and shrubs. The cli- mate is suited to them as well. Thus an arboretum established there would be of maximum scientific value and, ‘within convenient access to the De- partment, would be easy and economi- cal of administration. The bill as originally drawn was amended in the Senate in such a man- ner that the tract is proposed for pur- chase as a “park and national arbore- tum for recreational purpose: It should, however, not be so considered. It should be established strictly *“for purpose of research and education concerning tree and plant life,” which is the object of the Department of Agriculture, The arboretum would be incidentally & park becauss of its open area and its nearness to Wash- ington. It cannot conceivably be rated ms a park and in the consideration of the bill by the House the sclentific purpose of the project should be de- fimed to the exclusion of all other ob- Jocts. The owners of the larger part of this tract of land have from public spirited motives held their acreage out of the “improvement” market. They cannot be expected to wait in- definitely for congressional action. But @ven though their patience were un- Pmited, the fact that an “improve- ment” movement Is under way in that section offers the strongest rea- @on for action at this session and s early in the session as possible. ————— Ttaly will not be regarded as un- reservedly favoring disarmament un- il Mussolini decides to doff his bullet- proof vest. | ———ore. : The most remarkable feature of the Fall-Doheny case was the revelation | of a perfectly private war scare. | ) Enforcement of prohibition would be more popular if non-enforcement could be made less profitable. Speaking of Donshey. The movement—it can scarcely yet Be called a boom—which presents the | name of Gov. Donahey of Ohio as e possible Democratic candidate for| President in 1928 is a natural out- eome of the November election, in Which the governor won a second term by & good majority. There is, strictly speaking, no campaign on at Ppresent for the nomination. It is far too early for any organized boom, es- pecially in behalf of & new candidate. The Smith and McAdoo booms are, as it were, perennial. The Donahay boom is in the making only. This Donahey movement is a bit handicapped by the governor's own Ohto, that the nomination. modified in addendum: ing, however, that many inquiries have come to me concerning him and I see more or less general interest in the possibility of his becoming & candidate.” Which is truly modest and s good strategy. It is undeniable that Democratic leaders who are not committed to the fortunes of the two principal prospective candidates for the nomi- nation are casting about for somebody to head off both of those booms be- fore the Spring of 1923. They have about fifteen months in which to find their man. The chances are that they will find several of them in that time and that there will be a ‘large field at the convention, wherever It is held—which will not be New York Gov. Donahey is in a strong posi- tion. He is well located geographi- cally. He has the prestige of two elections as governor. He is not identified with either of the contend- | ing factions. He would probably fit any platform that the party may adopt. And, perhaps, with a realiza- tion of his present advantages, he is adopting precisely the right attitude toward the nomination to win the sup- port of those who feel that neither Smith nor McAdoo can win under the two-thirds rule and against the dis- advantage of the protracted fight of 1924. It is not to be suggested seri- ously that Gov. Donahey's modesty toward the nomination was prompted by a pessimistic measurement of the chances of election. No “‘possibilit could by any chance permit the thought to prevail that he regards nomination as merely an honor with- out fruits. r—ons. The New Era'in Washington. Almost coincident with the passage by the Senate of the bill providing for the immediate purchase of all the Mall-Avenue triangle plans is the pay- ment of a large sum for lands within the zone of the enlarged Capitol plaza in settlement of a bargain made some years ago, but uncompleted in conse- quence of a dispute over compensa- tion rates and titles. This transaction does not end the matter, however, for other areas remain to ‘he secured and legislation Is necessary far the re- moval of the Government hotels and some other bulldings which still oc- cupy the land. With the Mall-Avenue land pur- chase provided for by a bill haltway through Congress and with a hill on its way to enactment for the purchase of lands for the new boulevard which will flank the extended plaza and con- nect with the mainway to the Lincoln Memorial and the Memorial Bridge, there is occasion for belief that in a few months the greatest public im- provement works ever kpown in hington at one time will be under way. There will be building construc- tions at the western end of sthe Mall- Avenue triangle, with other construc- tions immediately in hand for early execution. There will be clearances of disfigurements In providing the con- necting link between the Plaza and the Mall. There will also be a clear- ance of the Capitol-Station plaza and its improvement as a park. Washington is at the point of the fruition of plans that have been held in check for years. The Great War both delayed and precipitated the ex- ecution of these projects. It checked them because of the urgent need of concentrating all the Federal re- sources upon the one object of war- THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHIN shown no decrease in numbers. Whether they have or not remains te be seen. Time alone will tell. It was scarcely more than four decades ago when buffalo hunts on the Western plains were held from transcontinen- tal trains and even the neophyte at big:game sport might bag several fine animals without leaving his seat. It did not seem sportsmanlike even to many of the rather poer “sporta” of thoss days, especially when “experts” declared that there were just as many buffalo as thers ever had been and that nothing could make serious in- roads on their myriads. True enough, the total number of bison killed showed practically no diminution throughout the late sev. entles and the very early elghties. Then, all of a sudden, the bottom dropped out. Instead of the vari- ous vast herds of the past, it was discoverad that there was but one, an everdiminishing herd, con- stantly surrounded by hungry Indians and by ruthless whites. As long as there were any buffalo in appreciable quantities, they were comparatively eany to get. They became almost ex- tinet practically within a year. Reports frem the Kenai Peninsula indicate that the great, Alaskan monse are as thick as domestic cattle. It 1 to be hoped that the estimates of carihou and of moose and of other remaining desirable animals are accu- rate, but in view of past history it is very doubtful if this be so. Within the memory of many thousands now living, ornithelogists and biologlats declared the extermination of the pas- senger pigeon absolutely impossible. The last survivor of this interesting species died of old age in 1914. The buffalo vanished almost overnight. A Midule Western aportsman, on whose table in youth prairie chicken was as common as hominy, last vear had the single one he shot stuffed and mounted in order that his children might know its heauty. So it goes with furred, feathered and finny game. It 1= here today and gone tomorrow and all the stringent legislation possi- ble meems unable to bring it back. Amerleans always hope for the hesf, but they should have learned by now usually to fear the worst. e ra———— The American art impulse is unques- t{onably developed. We now have even musical juries. Gilbert and Sullivan anticipated the idea in the oneact operetta, “Trial by Jury.” The mod- ern court expression may develop, but it will scarcely go %o far as to call for procedure that will be made up ex- tempore with lyrics and music by the GTON D. €. DECEMBER 19 EVERYDAY RELIGION BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. Bishop of Washington. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Good Will and Peace. It is perfectly safe to say that there 18 & universal yearning for that kind of better understanding that issues in good will and guarantees to men the world over the assuragce of peace. Congresses, parliaments and chancelleries may debate as they will the methods and terms by which fta supreme consummation {8 to be ef fected, the selfishness of nationalism may be disclosed in an_effort after commérelal supremaey, but In spite of all this the will to peace grows stronger and stronger, and discloses itself in a rising tide of popular opin fon. With or without a universal lan guage this will to peace articulates itself and joins in ene the peoples of every tongus and of every race. attorneys. e —o——————— Soaring prices on the Stock Ex- change sound like news from Santa Claus to the brokers. It will, how- ever, set old Mr. Ultimate Consumer thinking about whether he can con- tinue, living at the rate to which he has been accustomed. e No one will perhaps ever know ex- actly when the great mysterious ruler of Japan passed away. The general public has been taught to regard the death of the Mikado reverentially as strictly his private business. ——r———————— It has been former Commissioner Rudolph's unusual experience to re- main in office a long time and still find himself universally popular. ——— e The bathtub champagne episode still lingers in the courts; which en- ables the promoter to go on enjoyin, first page publicity. e making. It complicated the situation by bringing into existence numerous temporary constructions in the parks. And yet it hastened the solution of the problem by causing such a growth in the departmental business, much of which became permanent, that more space for administrative work became imperatively necessary. There remains the matter of the disposition of the two bulldings on the northern edge ot Potomac Park, which are officially rated as tempo- rary, but are built of obdurate ma- terials and are in active use. Thome two structures must eventually be removed. It is inconceivable that they should be permitted to remain in the park, where they are a disfigurement and an intrusion. They are not con- veniently located for public purposes. Though made of concrete, they are distinctly of a “temporary” character, planned and buiit in a hurry and not well adapted to eficient administra- tive work. The immediate construction pro- gram comprises buildings for the De- partments of Commerce, Justice and Labor, for the Internal Revenue Bu. reau, the Hall of Archives and the general supply establishment. These will not afford any material rellef from the congestion in the War and Navy Departments, with their an- nexes In the concrete structures in the park. The hope is that the pub- lic bulldings commission will at once proceed the planning of a new struo- ture in the great triangle that will house all of the offices and bureaus now accommodated in the mo-called Munitions Buildings and permit their early razing. ¢ . European financiers are inclined to hold Uncle Sam responsible for the fact that there is no Santa o Caribou Cutlets. Sportsmen and pot-hunters up in Alaska now have to wait until the train on the Alaska Rallroad stops before taking a shot at a caribou. | This new rule apparently has been promulgated in the interests of con- servation, although to the mind of the average man a shot from a mov- ing train 4s a bit more difficult than from a standatill. Anyhow, the cus. tom used to be for the trainmen and ;nny passengers so inclined to plug a fat animal from the rolling stock on the uptrip and pick up the carcass on the return journey. Now advan. tage must be taken of a wait at a siding for a chance at a fat yearling wherewith to augment the Winter's meat supply. Perhaps wolves and other vermin were getting too many free feeds. Despite this annual easy Autumn A number of men prominent in politics have demonstrated that their greatest talents lay in the direction of syndicate writing. ————o——————— Litigation over oil is obviously ex- pensive. The ultimate consumer doubtless bears the incidental cost, as usual. PEET D Many who admire Henry Ford as a financier are not at all inclined to foly low his opinions on sociology. - ——or—s- SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JORNSON. The Hurdle. We're hurrying on to the flowers And the skies that so genially shine Whers the rainbows weave into the showers A beauty surpassingly fine. Around the great circle we're chasing On earth’s orbit through space far away— And Winter's a hurdle we're facing As we race for the blossoms of Ma: Surfeit. “What are you going to investigate next?” “Nothing, if I can help myself,” an- swered Senator Sorghum. “I know enough.” Haughty Stubbornness. In poverty musicians died, Historians relate. Their lot was due unte their pride— They wouldn't syncopate. Jud Tunkins says there are two classes of people who refuse to eat pork—those who have moral scruples and those who can't afford it. Meeting Trouble. “A bunch of men are coming over trom Snake Ridge to shoot up the town.” “Let 'em come,” answered Cactus Joe. “If them coyotes are willing to come over here, it'll save us the trou- ble of goin’ after them.' “Flattery,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is the counterfeit money of-social intercourse.” Nothing Without Labor. ‘Most everything that helps to serve The comfort of the passing hour Will need some labor and some nerve To hold it in efficient power. . The fireside has & tranquil glow; And while it seems so bright and good ['m discontented, for T know I'll have to carry in more wood. “Back in Egypt,” said Uncle Eben, “der was ten plagu ‘Which appears slaughter of caribou, the large herds to be goin' kind o' strong considerin’ statement, through his present pro-|which gather along the right of way |dat dere wasn't any trafie regula- poser, Demoeratic State chairman of in central Alaska are sald to have tlons.” L ‘ ” Onca each year with the Winter solstice and the raturn of Christmas, we find our natures softened and our minds mora receptive to the high claims of Him whose Wdvent was ushered in with a message of peace and good will. Under the strange spell of this season we find our selves forgetting old scores, old hatreds and antipathies, and for the while, at least, we are mellow ed and enrichad by freshened im pulses that lead us to deeds of gen- erosity. It is a curlous thing to note the change that comes over natures hardened by atern experiences when once this Christmas season rollx round again. Perhaps no one has xpressed this more atrikingly than Charles Dickens in his “Christmas Carol.”" That ‘“old Marley is dead” and that his hardened partner Scrooge Is experlencing the stirrings of old and finer impulses Is more than a bit of fiction; it is the recital of a universal experience, and it reaches its supreme climax in the words of Tiny Tim, wherein he says, “God bless us, avery one!” It is this kind of recognition of world-inclusive- neas, this desire for the greater fel- lowship of all men, that is the.inspira- tion and hope of the Christmas sea- son. The wonder of it all is that we restrict it to but one limited period in the year. If we can so broaden our horizons and deepen our sympathies and express our generosity on one day in 365, why ean we not carry it into the thought and action of a whole year? To extend it, to amplify it, until all the world is permeated with it fs the great deslderatum Why not begin to set in motion those beneficent forces that will forever free the world from strife and bitter hatred? It is the only sane and rea sonable hope of ultimate world-order It is the only guarantes of security and permanent prosperity and happi ness. We of America have earned | tha unenviable dlstinction, whether | justified or not, of being_an Insular and purse-proud Natfon. We are not willing to admit that this judgment is wholly justified. On the other hand, we do know that our extraordinary growth and unparalleled prosperity makg us the envy of the world w atill *helleve that in apite of these things we hold to high and helpful ideals. America's opportunity is a supreme one; nothing comparable to it has come to any Nation in the course of human history. It may ha that under God this Nation is to the mighty leader in the promotion of good wiil and peace throughout the world. Tn splendid verse James Rus rell Lowall thus interprets “'Freedom in terms of universal application “Is true freedom but to break Fetters for our own dear make, And, with leathern hearts, forget That wa owe mankind a deht? No! true freedém is to share All the chains our brothers wear, ‘And, with heart and hand, to be Earnest to make others free!" To broaden our Christmas spirit and to make it inclusive of all man- kind is the finest Christmas wish we could express today. As we gather about our homes and firesides whera- In understanding dlscloses itself in loving generosity, shall we not highly resolve =0 to broaden this spirit that ultimately the peoples of all races and climes shall become as one fam- ily? Shall we not seek to promote among all, peoples that good will that <hall fssue in security, permanence and pea Merry Christmas it is, to one and all, with happy reunions, hlessed memories and generous im pulses! A merry Christmas to all nations, peoples and kindreds; yves, a merry Christmas that shall mean a better understanding, a finer fellow- #hip, a tranquil world and the tri- reign of the ‘“Prince of | EUROPEAN MAP CHAN verybody knows that the World War changed the map of Europe in many vital ways, but the latest prod- vets of mapmakers, coupled with the efforts of the International Postal Union, telegraph and cable and ex- press companies and tourlst agencies, have outdone the war 2 to 1 in up- setting geography as the present gen- eration learned it in school. New maps of FEurope are about to come off the press, arid the student of even post-war vears will find himself quite lost in a new maze of spellings which will make him wonder how he secured passing grades in geography. ¢ Names of cities have been. so thoroughly remodeled to meet with the European spellings that a map of the 1920 era Is almost as antique as the charts which in- spired Columbus to suspect that the world was round. Not. only are there scnres of simple changes, which make Rome into Roma, Lishon into Lishoa, Genoa into Genova and Moscow into Moskva, but there are d ® of more radical departures. Laghorn is now Livorno, The Hague has become Gravenhage,.Vienna ls Wien, Revel is Tallinn, Monastir is Bitolj, Gallipoli is Galiboll and the Russian changes are even more com- plicated. Ekaterinburg, where the late Czar was killed, is now Sverdlovsk, and Tsaritsin has been named Stalingrad. Jassy is and Ekaterinodar is Krasnodar. In-fact, Russia, or the Union of Socialistic Soviet Republics, has been quite thoroughly mapped for the first time, and the results of this enterprise alone may well change geography from a nice, pleas- ant, easy study into a perfect horror, for our youth. Boundary Changes. The changes in boundaries of na- tions and the creation of new nations by the war have hecome somewhat famil Latvia, Lithuania, Fatonia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Albania all have existed long anough to seem l”i; real even to casual Americans whose study of maps ended with the eighth grade. But we did not realize that these changes also were going to promote changes in spelling. Here we have had a queen with us for months and ave spellad her native land Rumania and Roumania, cnly to have the ex- perts burst upon us this year with Romania as the one, pole and only correct spelling. People who traveled in Furope have known that American spellings of Furopean citles were not always of much help in trying to find those laces on a map made in Europe. Jow travel and business correspond- ence have becorne so universal be- tween this Nation and the old coun- tries that the American mapmakers have decided to go along with the eommercial, tourist and postal au- for the person W or writing to Europe. During the war the American ex- peditionaries found out that Co blence was really Coblenz, and that Treves was Trier, and that Cologne was Coln. Th facts now appear on the map. Little by little we in America agreed to let St. Petersbu be Petrograd, only to find it chang: to Leningrad. ~Then Christiania ceased to be the capital of Norway, because the name became Oslo, and Conatantinople disappeared under the name of Istambul. This process has been going steadily forward and get- ting steadily worse, from the view- point of one who talks nothing but English and not all of that. Warsaw 18 now the capital of Po- 1and and not a Russian city, #o it is Warszawa. Salonika is Thessalonike, Belgrade is Beograd, Bucharest is Bucuresti and Venice is Venezia. During the war we welcomed Lem- berg as & relief from trying to pr nounce the other towns on the Aus- trian-Russian frontfer. Now it is in Poland, and, after being Lvov for a while, we are told it is really Livow. German and Itallan Changes. To the American tongus thers may be some sense to letting the Germans say Munchen for Munich, but now ‘we must say it if we are more than nce was nice and easy, but they have made that Itall beauty spot into I"rensi, while Napl s Napoll and Milan {s Milano. Shakespeare’'s gay adventurers are not from Padua at all, but from Padova, and Hamlet did not receive ambassadors from Helsingfors, but from Helsinkl. The classic grandeur that was Greece is mot what it was for Athens is Athenal and Piraeus Peiralevs. Hardly a land on the grand old continent of war and culture has been spared. Saragossa, Spain, is Zara- oza, and Duraggo, Albania, is Durres. neva is Gengwe, Copenhagen is Ko BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. benhavn and Sofia is Sofija. Students of a generation ago ma silently stand in awe before the new map of Europe, and give thanks that ITreland will be Ireland and England will be England. And yet the Irish Free State may put the original Gaelic spellings on the map almost any time now, if it fallows the example of the other newly established nations. The mapmakers have not been wholly brutal in their revisions, for they leave the old names for us in ‘entheses underneath the new ones. can figure it all out as hest we mi Here i{s mental exercise for all the schoolrooms in the Nation, and many a fortnightly study club_will go’stuttering its way through a Win- ter afternoon if it members want to keep up to date, know what -is going on in .the world, keep abreast of the times and lead the way in modern culture. Certain old-fashioned persons will no doubt scoff at thess changes. What was good emeugh for the old red schoolhouse geography may bhe good enough for us. But the biggest map- making firms of the land have adopt- ed the modern European spellings, and tha kids will be coming home from school ere long asking us where Poznan is, and maybe we shall feel better to know that it is in Poland and used to be calied Posen. : YOUR CHILD IN SCHOOL By Dr. Frank W. Bellou, Superintendent of Schools. Washington. Civie Responsibilities. Municipalities in this country are spending annually from one-fourth to one-half of their revenues on educa- tion. The sum appropriated for that purposs has hecoms the largest single item in city budgets. This means that individual parents, as well as commu- nities as a whole, recognize the tre- mendous importance of training the children of the Nation. According to the information pub- lished by the United States Bureau of FEducation, Kansas City, Kans.; Des Moines, lowa; Oakland, Callf.; Grand Raplds, Mich., among the larger cities; Berkeley, Calif.; Lincoln, Nebr.; Sfoux City, Towa; Springfleld, Tll., among the cities next in size; Oak- Park, Tll.; Pon- tiac, Mich.; Hazelton, Pa.; Portsmouth, Ohio, and Charleston, W. Va., were among the cities spending more than 50 per cent of their total revenues for education. The educational problems of the town or the large oity are much the s#me, varying in degree in the propor- tion.to the number of children who are to be educated. Some of our larg- est expenditures per pupil for educa- tion are found in our small towns and also in our large cities. Detroit, Mich.; Boston, Mass.; Yon- kers, N. Y., for example, are expending more than $100 per pupil for current expenses. While among the smaller cities, Bloomfield, N. Missoula, Mont.; FEureka, Cali Pendleton, Oreg.; Globe, Ariz.; Marshfield, Wis., are spending more than $100 per pupil. When the number of pupils runs into the thousands the cost of super- vision and maintenance of an educa- tional staff for supervisory and admin- istrative work I8 increased. Likewise, when the number of pupils reaches hundreds of thousands, as it does in some of our largest cities, both the re- sulting complexities and the .demand for greater effciency are increased ac- cordingly. M The statement of the total sums ex- pended by large cities indicates the magnitude of the financial problem faced by municipalities in providing n efficient educational program. This imeans in round numbers ranging downward from more than $100,000,- 000 spent annually in New York City to Chicago, $40,000,000; Philadelphia, $20,000,000, with somewhat under $20,- 000,009 appropriated in such cities as Boaton, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Washington, D. C., has an appro- priation of $5.608,371 for operating expenses and $2,450,000 for buildings and grounds for the school year be- ginning July 1, 1926. It is important to point out that, since the population in cities during the last few decades has been increas- ing and the population in the smaller towns and rural communities has been gradually decreasing, there has been an increase of taxable wealth in the citles and a decrease of Wealth in the rural communities. In many of the P! W 1926—PART 2 Capital Sidelights Gen. John H. Bartlett's littls book, “Spice In Speeches,” to which refer- ence has already been made in The Btar, is not only enlivening the Post Office Department, over which he helps the Postmaster General to pre- side, but i= arousing much interest At the Capitol, where his anecdotes of the great and near-great are highly relished. - ® x " that is amusing the north especially is credited to Sena- tor Richard P. FErnst concerning a fallow who came down to the county courthouse at Danville from the Knobs of Kentucky. It seems that he jour. neyed onamule’s back, in accordance with the custom, and when he arrived thera he hitched the mule to the }imb of a trae by the bridis and threw the saddle over the top rail of a fance for the day. During his leisure time round town he hit up considerable “eorn,” o that when he prepared to &0 home he was able to go, but had some notlons of his own. In getting his mula in shape to start, he put the saddle on hind end foremost, and as he did &0 one of the boys guved him by saying, "Say, Cage, you have got vour saddle on wrong end to.’ T this Cage, In his indignant but happy frame of mind, replied, “How do you know which way I'm going?” P One Representative Charles L. Underhill of Massachusetts, who i fathering the bill_authorizing an appropriation of $25,000,000 to acquire all privately owned land in the triangle south of Pennsylvania avenus, is quoted as authority for another true story on Preaident Coolidge: In an attempt to heckls “Cal” a bit, an a member of the Massachusetts Legislature once sald to him, then a new member, “Say, Cal, is it gram. matical to say ‘a hen sits’ or ‘a hen nets’ “Well,” nasaled out the fu ture President, “it's a good deal more important question, back in the coun try whera I came from, to know when a hen cackles whether she's ‘lald’ or ‘Hed." " * ok ox ¥ Former Senator Willlam M. Butler of Massachusetts likes to tell this one: gentleman from the country was be ing kept on his nerves when visiting in Roston for tha firat time by the reckless way his taxd driver was shoot ing through the trafic. The day was cloudy and threatening. He noticed the driver kept letting g0 of his steer {ng wheel and sticking his hand out through the window into the air. This made the old man stlll more nervous. He just couldn’t stand it, and he finally shouted: “Say, there, driver, don't get keer- less. You keep hoth hands on that wheel. 'l tell you when it rains.” * k% ¥ A bright young Indian on a fur lough from the World War at his tribal home in Oklahoma was asked by Senator Harreld how he liked the war. To this rather odd question he made reply: % “Too much salute; too little shoot. * Kk % % Dr. Hubert Work, former Postmas- ter General and now Secretary of the Interior, {8 also quoted by Gen. Bart- lett for the inimitable way in which he relates how two Scotchmen were smoking together when one of them remarked: “There’s nae pleasure In smoking the pipe.” . “What makes ye say it, Sandle? “Well, when ye be smoking ye'r own tobaccy ve are all the time a-thinking about the awful cost, and when vye be smoking another's tobaccy ye hae ter ram yer pipe sae tight it'll nae Araw.” o * ok %k Postmaster General New is author ity for this, The fraud order power of the Postmaster General brings to record strange money-making schemes, One of these developed the following A concern in another country ar- vertised in the United States newspa- pers to send to any address “12 quarts of rye for $18.” When the price was received there was sent to the thirsty purchaser 12 quarts of rye, just As advertised, but it was the dry grain lteelf and not the drink, “rye whis- key.” This scheme brought in a large sum of money before even the prompt- est action could stop it. * % ¥ ¥ Attorney General Sargent also has a ‘little story about his experience With @ contrary jurorfincluded in the spice box. A contrary man on a jury {s the most exasperating thing imag-: inable to lawyers. He delights to disagree. While United States At- torney General Sargent was counsel in a certain case in Vermont courts he was afficted with such a juror. when after 24 hours of disagreement the court satd: “Mr. Sheriff, v may order 12 dinners for the ju ‘Jere," as Sargent was famillarly called, re. marked to his honor, “Can't ‘you Tnake it 11 dinners and a bale of hay?" * &k ¥ 1t {s also recalled that Senator Reed of Missour}, in a Senate investigation, asked a hostile witness, ‘Are you ad- Alcted to Arink?” The indignant tes: tifler replied, “That's my business.” The sarcastic Senator replied, “Yes, I know that, but is it your only busi- ness?"’ * x k¥ Judge Wales of the United States Cvil Service Commission is put on record for this one: A Vermonter was visiting an old friend in Washington. His friend, of course, was inquiring about old Acquaintances back on the hillsides of that charming State. “How about ‘S| Cummings, is he prosperous?” The visitor perked up quickly at that and tarted out, “'Pros- perous? I'll say he's prosperous. He keeps two fast horses and, eats butter on his doughnuts.” * ok Kk ok Senator Moses of New Hampshire has come to dread the telling of this story by Gen. Bartlett: A colored bootblack came into a small New Hampshire town, the first of his occu- pation and color to invade its rustic simplicity. He was a strange char- acter and was not always called by the same name. Gen. Bartlett asked, “Bill, what is your real name?" The darky replied: “Well, some folks call me Rastus, some Lincoln, and some folks call me Rill, but my maiden name was Moses." and the distribution of State funds to communities with comparatively small amounts of taxable wealth are some of the results of these efforts Public education in this country has heen developed hy the people regard- less of the parents’ ability to pay. The man of limited means 'S the same rate of taxation for public edu- cation as the millionaire. Public edu- cation {s available for the children of the citizen who pays no taxes on the same terms and conditions that it is avallable for the man who pays large taxes. The wealth of the State supports publi¢ education. The man of large business intesrests as well as the parents who pay no taxes receive benefits from the outlay of money for the maintenance of the city school sy Increased intelligent participa- jon in popular government, which Should be one of the primary results tion, is important cities this has limited the financial re- sources available for rural education. As a result, educators and statesmen interested in'the improvement of edu- cation have considered ways and means of equalizing educational op- ortunities throughout the several cit- g wise throughout the Nation. dated schools in rural communities et Prosperity, happiness and health, and other simiiir blessings which h manity may enjoy, all are promot through the improvement, extension and development of the opportunity for Jmnu education open to all the children of all the ¥ (Cobyright, 1028.) A very Intelligent and positive old| MEN AND AFFAIRS BY ROBERT T. SMALL. Telephone officials throughout the entirs country are watching with keen interest the practice which has been adopted in tha South of ‘restricted repetition,” which means that the éx- change operator instead of repeating the numbers of a call merely signifies she understands by replying “Thank you.' The firat time you have this experi- ence over the telephone it is almost un- canny. You feel something ia lacking, that your call has vanished phantom like into space. Mayhe you weren't #ure of the number yourself and want- ed to hear how it would sound when repeated by the operator. however, in the swestest merely burbles ““Than as if u should say “Don't mention it" YOU." In the territory of tha Southern Bell Co. the experimentation has heen go. ing on for some time and it is belleved it generally will be adopted. The new system has been figured by the e clency experts as saving much valu- able time. Furthermors, it has elimi nated much of the babel in the big operating room. They have become .noticeably quieter, becauses the low “Thank you,” murmured sibilantly into the subscribing ear, cannot be heard by the adfacent operator and thera js no loud clash of mixed num. bers. The old system in the Bouth, and the one which stfll prevails through most of the country, calls for double confirmation of a befors it Is put through. Under ‘“restricted repeti- tion” it is claimed the operator has the call completed almost as soon as the number is spoken. The ordinary telephone goes something like this: “Number, please?" “Gimme Main six-two-seven.eight.” “Main six-two-seven-sight?” or even dialogue This part always obligatory, given, [0 the South the new eystem works the fcular “Thank you" is not but generally in imber, please? “Main six-two-seven-eight.” “Thank you Buzz, buzz, buza! Occasionally, of course, the operator does not catch the number and asks for a repetition, but nine times out of ten, or oftener than that, the firat time and away goe: Some of tha experts figure a 30 to 40 per cent saving of time. And the cus- tomers, once familiar with the abbre- viated conversation, like it. A certaln young Washingtonian, who for the purposes of this narra- tive shall be nameless, recently thought it wise and proper to lay in a stock of | Christmas “‘cheer” for tha gladsome { holidays. Reing a prudent young Washingtonian, he thought it might not he a bad idea to have the “wet goods" thoroughly analyzed. The report of the chemist, largely in the formulae of the profession, ap- of damage to life, limb or optic, but there was one somewhat cryptic allu- sion which worried the owner of the ¢ acquired booze. It recorded a of “Isopropyl alcohol.”” The peared to clear the goods of any threat | Ko‘m ‘Washingtonian thought he had of every kind of alcohol In these gay days of beating the devil about the bush, but Isopropyl was a stranger to him. To get clear on this one ques tionable point he consulted the un abridged and unadulterated dictionary. There he discovered Isopropyl as big as life and he read the definition with unalloyed amazement. Here it was “Isopropyl—A univalent radical, iso meric with normal propyl.” This surely waa {lluminating. Rut the research was carried further—to propyl. There it was, too, and thus the definition ran. “Propyl—The univalent radical which propane is the hydride.” The young \Washingtonian admitted he had drunk a number of quesr mix tures in his life, but nothing like pro pane had ever passed his pallid lips. But, undaunted, he searched out “Pro pane” and again he found his quarry | Here 1t was: “Propane—A heavy gaseous hydre- carbon of the paraffin series, occurring naturally diseolved in crude petro- leum.” Convinced by this time his “licke: contained nothing worse than perha some new.fangled motor fuel, or its ‘univglent,” the voung man dispatch- o4 the invitation te the first of his contemplated part! “Daddy" Browning, “Prince Charming,” “Peaches.” his girlish hride, for sepa- ration and heavy alimony, and also sued by Mary Spas, his one-time “Cin- | derella” ward, for a mers $500,000 damages, must feel with the pseudo- Emir of Kurdestan, Prince Zurde. cheno, who loudly exclaimed after sev- eral ladles had put him in jail: “Thera's nothing meaner than wom en when they hate a guy.” of An “Almanac,” issued by the British government in 1917 for the benefit of her troops in the fleld, contained some interesting statistics as to the popu- lations of the nations actually en- gaged in the war at that time. The | table included Russia on the side of the allles, for the break-up of the czar's domain had not coms, but it did | not include Japan, which was not asked to gend any troops to the west. ern front. Thus, at the beginning of 1917 the populations of the nations engaged reached the amazing total of 885,000, 000 souls. The division was as fol- lows: Allfes, 740,000,000, Central powers, 155,000,000, The disparity, however, was not so great as these figures would indicate, for tha allied figures included colored races, which were not called upen or which could not enhance the fighting forces. For instance, of the 433,000.- 000 persons attributed to the British Empire the fighting forces of the King were drawn from only 75,000,000, Russia’s ostensible strength of 184,- 000,000 was reduced to nothing by the end of 1917, so when the United States went into the war the population re- sources of the warring nations was as follows: Allies, 214,000,000, Central powers, 155,000,000. When America thrust her 110,000;- 000 into the fray the doom of the cen- tral powers was sealed. (Coprrieht. 1026.) .. In The Star Visitors to the National Museum in this city, with its wealth of exhibits, will ba interested National Museum (o note from the following para- Is Proposed. 0,0k "Srinted in The Star of December 11, 1876, that 50 vears ago there was a proposal for the establishment of such an institu- tion here: “The centennial commissioners will recommend to Congress the removal of the Government building from Phil- adelphia to Washington, in order that jthe exhibits of the different depart- ments may be preserved. We hope Congress will heed the recommenda- tions of the commissioners and take the preliminary steps toward estab- lishing what we need at the Capital— a great national museum. The Gov- ernment exhibit would make a very respectable beginning, and in a single decade we would doubtless be in pos- session of a collection which would do credit to the country.” P * As the time for counting the elec- toral vote approached 50 years ago s numerous Seeking to Solve the proposals for meeting the Electoral Problem. TVRNE JT° caused by the closeness of the contest were advanced. In The Star of Sep- tembey 14, 1876, is the following: “Senglor Edmunds' amendment to the Constitution vesting the power of counting the electoral vote in the United States Supreme Court was put upon its passage yesterday and re- cefved but 14 votes out of 45 cast. But one Democratic Senator, Mr. Key of Tennessee, voted for it, while 15 Republicdn Senators voted against it. It is a notable fact that among the supporters of Mr. Edmunds’ amend- ment were Senators of conceded abil- ity like Anthony, Blaine, Conkling, Frelinghuysen, Hamlin, Morrill and Wright, who probably voted for it be- cause they belleved it the best plan or any t presented for settling the presidential question. “The Democratic Senators seem to be shy of referring the question to a tribunal the members of which, with one exception, Justice Clifford, had been appointed by Republican admin- istrations. Some of these have, how- aver, been considered to be decidedly conservative, if not democratic, and one of them, Justice Davis, sufficiently 80 to be talked of a good deal as a Democratic candidate for the pres dency. But whether the court was distrusted as a_whole politically, or whether it was held to be bad public policy to make the great legal tribunal of the country an arbitrator in politi- cal matters, it was evident that the Democratic leaders had agreed to give no countenance to the project to refer the matter to that court. It i& under stood, too, that while the justices of the Supreme Court did not make any formal protest against the passage of Mr. Edmunds' measure, several of them made representations to individ- ual Senators why in thelr opinion it should not he adopted. ‘Now, while the particular measure proposed by Senator Edmunds may have been impracticable, through the impossibility of getting it through both houses of Congress by a two- thirds vote and getting the ratifica- tion of three-fourths of the State leg- islatures befora the sacond Wednesday of February, yvet it by no means fol- lows that the question will not in some shape have to go to the Supreme Court as the only tribunal that can adjudicate upon the legal controver- sles in which the disputed electoral votes are involved. Every other de vice vet mentioned would inevitably decide the controversy beforehand and is therefore out of the question as a teasibility. As suggested by the Phil- adelphia” Public Ledger, it does not require an amendment to bring the Supreme Court to the aid of the Sen- ate and House of Representatives for the determination of legal doubts about electoral votes. An act of Con- gress would be quite sufficient. for such law would be for the execution of the Constitution and for providing regulation by Jaw for the performance of dutles by the two houses in a case where the Constitution imposes the duty but is entirely silent as to the mode of procq;eun‘. =y Fifty Years Ago 3 i This and That By Charles E. Tracewell, Perhaps no articles appearing iIn magazines rile your average man so much as the “What Men Will Wear This Winter” stuff, To be informed that one must never, positively never, wear a bhow tie with a stiff collar {s insufferable. ‘The momentous question® of two or three buttons on the coat seems ab- surdly trivial in cold print. As for the matter. of the “drape about the arms,” who cares a whoop? After all, however, thers may be something to it. Let us try our hand, and produce the following: What the Well Dressed Cat Will Wear. The well dressed cat this Winter will wear a close-fitting suit of fur, in black, white, gray or a combination of these, Tiger stripes will add considerable chie, following closely the lines dic- tated by the better London felines. There will be an entire absence of folds at the shoulders, this being some- thing at which the fashionable cat will turn up its very snub nose. Folds are decidedly out this season, although a slight bagginess at the throat will ba tolerated. The ensemble, however, must be in keeping with the general style of the cat, and by no means must the tail be permitted to form a too-contrasting note. The cat with white body and tiger- striped tail will continue to excite the ridicule of well bred cats everywhere who by no means would appear in public in such agway. *ox ok ok The modes of the Creator, although fashionable for many centuries, con- tinue to hold their own. These include the Persian, Angora, Manx, tabby and 80 on, each having its devotees. ‘Whiskers will continue to be worn, the fashionable up-turning ones hav- ing the preference, although there are some very stylish cats that insist on’ allowing their whiskers to droop. ‘The proper number is 12 whiskers to a side, with four to six auxiliary whiskers above each eye. Since the human art of “radio” made the term ‘“‘cat's whiskers’' popular, it behooves the well dressed cat to pay particular attention to this feature of his ward- robe, The contrasting white jacket across the chest remains de rigeur. The cat fortunate enough to possess this charming note may pat itself on the back, a feat which no cat should have any dificulty whatever in doing. Fars remain upstanding and widely placed upon the head. There is in- creasing emphasis upon this feature, ears too-forward turned being frowned upon. To be correct the ears must he pointed, with the little pocket half- way down. A fringe of fine fur along the edges is cascading into importance. Smart American cats are wearing It evary- where. It is of vast importance that the blend of patterns on the head com- bine subtly with the blend of the back pattern. ‘This is seen at its height in the tiger coat, in which four or five black tripes on the back of the neck deftly sink ipto the general striped pattern of the shoulders, and from thence de- cline into the more contrasting stripes of the sides. The silhouette of the well dressed cat will remain essentially the same this Winter, especially when seen upon the back fence at ‘3 a.m. with the moon behind him or her. Eyes continue to be green, yellow and various shades ranging from ame- thyst to tints of gold. The correct shape is almond or round. The fat tail is preferred to the rat-tail, al- though in this matter the Persians are generously helped by Nature. Paws should be broad, the claws be- ing kept retracted except when catch- ing a mouse or giving littla Johnny what {s coming to him when he pulls one’d tail. by Eloquent paws-—that {s the ideal of e well dressed cat. w