Evening Star Newspaper, December 21, 1926, Page 8

.o c8 - - THE EVENING STAR|manyasagainst for the few of varsity| With Morning Edition. caliber, and purely from the stand- — point of entertainment for Americans WASHINGTON, D. O who like to be entertained, this carl TUESDA Deos be sald: Diminution of the emphasis Eh ber 81, 1006] o and interest tn, coliego foot. bal " wHEO! YES would just about eliminate two other ¥ b ikt major and a considerable number of e Evening Star Newspaper Company | ™inor college sports: 4 Buy ,...: Office: % People will not pay $5 to see a Pork g T jeaso fidine. 11t 8t basket ball game or a track meet. New Y 3 ’ Chicake Omec. Tower e They will gladly pay that, and more, pean Office; 14 M‘l it Engl . s for a ticket to a good foot ball game. 'n:mfimn;l §tar. with the Snnday morn | popular pasteboard feels that he ls ;5 ’:tr:'y wt' 60 cents rmmth'" g ony. thereby “hlowing” himself, or some or oram R ompnth: Sundass only. 20 a1 of | Other less fortunate than he, to a base elephone Main B0 l‘ul!p;fl'n is m by ball game, a crew race, or even trapshooting contest. Foot ball scen earrier at and of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. | ¢ be the “heavy sugar papa” of all the Ilfttle, impecunious fleld, turf, Maryland and Virginia. aily s .g0.00: . E. a; ol Dumdey.... J 7 R0 S0id e g | water, court, gymnasium and rink unday only ...0. 1 1yr.$3.00: 1 mo.. e, All Other States and Canada. There are worse faults than that in- ails and Sunday..1 yr. $12.00 Yno 8300/ dicated by the tendency to utter the 1 00: 1 me et Dal AL 17 gheo 385| words “Bring me the bill.” AR o & Member of the Assoclated Press. The Need of Radio Control. ‘The Associated nY- s exclnsively entitled | The House and Senate conferees are to th g 11 news Al fi.’.dm:.“::..%fl'.r Tt o ot atherwies ered- | still deadlocked on the terms of radio P Ren e ‘o legislation. The Dill bill in the Senate ‘here: Perhaps the average purchaser of the lelivered by earri within on not 50 local news 1 Dribliahad herat ‘of publication o epecial dirpaiches berein are also reserved. | ang the White bill in the House, - which the conferees are tryving to The New Botanic Garden. reconcile, seek the same purpose Yesterday the House of Repre-|control of radio. The Dill bill provides mentatives passed a bill, already |0 an independent commission, while passed by the Senate, for the pur- |the White measure would put the con- chase of two squares south of the|trol under the Department of Com- present location of the Botanic Gar- |merce, where it was until a court deci- den, on which it is proposed to erect [#lon in Chlcago stripped the depart- conservatorles and greenhouses. A |ment of its power. slight amendment having been| In the meantime the many millions adopted, to extend the time in which | of radio fans throughout the country plans are to be prepared for this|are clamoring for relief from a cha. work, the bill must be returned to|otic condition. Various broadcasting the Senate for acceptance of that|Stations have usurped the wave change, which, being virtually per-|lengths of others, have Infringed on functory, will doubtless be adopted. |2ssigned hours for broadcasting, and i frail craft out of course and caused THE EVENING seventy-five? If defeat or sickness or infirmity should detach me from' this body and the public service, I know not where I could go, for my ambition is to serve the country which we all love 80 well. In this felicitous phrasing Mr. Bur. ton cxpredsed the philosophy that, co treliing him {n his career, has mads him, as it has so many other, Amer- feans, a factor in the wonderful de- velopment of America politically and soclally. There is no pessimism in his retrospect nor in his outlook. He looks back and sees a marvelous progre He looks forward with eager enticipa- tion to the future, and his hope that he may be spared for participation in the wonders to come Is shared by all who know him. e A Pitiful Tragedy. The pitiful spectacle of thirty men drowning in the Hudson River on their way to thelr new-found jobs after weeks of waiting for employ- ment one of the saddest this country has ever witnessed. There is lttle idleness in the United States today, hut in places there are accu- mulations of surplus workers, some of them skilled, others unskilled, who cannot piace themselves because of a surplus of labor in their localities. These men had eagerly grasped at an opportunity to work, and were crossing the river in a power barge to enroll and begin earning wages. So happy were they at the prospect of employment that they were sing- ing and their joy at their good for- tune proved a factor in thelr disaster. For when the ice floes swung the it to careen and their song turned to cries for help, those ashore who could have reached them quickly STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, DECEMBER" 21, 1926. ———————— e —— ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES F. TRACEWELL. ‘Dear Sir: I am a busy woman— not in the springtime of Hfe—and f quently at 5 a.m. I steal a little time from Morpheus to read the papers always turning to This and Your articles on flowers are all and altogether 1 gain it instruction trom your artic “Perhaps [ am taking a libertv, but you cannot leave your admirers in doubt about Templeton Jor We will not stand for it. I am a wor of strong will and dete when I make up my mix a little judgment with it—which you must confess was not the case with Templeton Jones, and 1 have known just such men. “Had he not strength sufficient—in reserve—to take the trip across the country without that terrible cup of coffee? “Now, sir, did he take the bus? “What would I have done? I would have used common sense and have taken the bus before I was all tired out. What did Templeton Jones do? You have started the story and your readers demand a finish. Very truly “Mrs. E. M. C. This seems to be “Ladies’ day” in the letter box. another: “Dear 8ir: Your articles about Jack Spratt have made him one of my friends. And when one lives alone in a house where dogs, cats, parrots, ete., are not allowed (though a Chine: nightingale enjoying himself in an enormous cage luckily has not been banned), it 18 a help to be able to know so intimately the pets of other people. “My bird is a delightful little fel- low, very handsome, with much w dom and more than much curiosit 1 have fully decided that he * for he will stand on a perch, look about and decide just what style mistook the sound of their volces for continued rejoicings instead of plead- ings. The accident, however, oc- Thus is settle’ 1 question that vexed | in general have made listening-n over Congress for some years, and the|the radio a nightmare. Whistles and failure to answer which has retarded | jumbles of sound greet the “fan” the development of the Mall and|When he tumes in, and this has been likewlse the permanent improvement | the situation since control was taken ©of the Botanic Garden. away from Secretary Hoover and the By the enactment of this bill into |department. law Congress will provide’ a per-| Inasmuch as either of the two meas: manent home for what is one of t#e |ures under consideration will accom- most attractive features of Wash- |plish the same purpose—control of ington, & garden in which rare and | Wave lengths, stations and hour as- beautiful plants are grown, easily |sisnments—there appears to be no 2ccessible to the people. Located in |good reason for further delay in push the heart of the city for many years, | Ing through radio legislation. It 1s a the Botanic Garden has been visited | certainty that among the millions of by millions of Washingtonians and |fadio set owners there are only a few visitors. It has been one of the most | Who really care just what kind of con- enjoyable objectives of all in the|trol is put into force as long as the "Capital for tourists. The equipment |conditions in the ether are straight- has long been outgrown and it has |ened out at an early date. been forced to expand in the most| It matters Mttle to the man wishing unfavorable circumstances. For some |t0 enjoy an evening's entertainment time a controversy prevailed as to {or edueation in the quiet of his home ‘the location and there was con- |Whetherithe program comes in prop- ‘fusion of thought regarding the nature |efly Decause of Department of Com- and the future of the establishment. | merce supervision or the cantrol by an Now happily all misunderstanding independent commission. All he cares has been cleared away, the true|about is that all unnecessary noises ftunction of the Botanic Garden has |Are eliminated so that the maximum been definitely established, and it is | Tesuits can be obtained from his set. at last retognized that it should have| Radio is still in the experimental an enlarged permanent home out- |Stage. There are many imperfections side of the Mall where it can grow | to be ironed out. It follows, therefore, and develop without obstructing the | that when it is within the power of ‘park or obscuring the view of mgonu- the Government to eliminate one of mental structures. the biggest obstructions to clear re- The location proposed for the gar- | ception, it should be done with the den in its new environment is in har- | least possible loss of time. Recelving mony with the plans for the develop- |sets are becoming better each year, ment of the property. The conser- and the manufacturers are doing vatories will form an attractive |everything they can to improve,them. flanking feature to the Mall and will | But as long as the present conditions not lose in accessibility. Eventually |are-allowed to continue, even the man it may be hoped that the garden|With a fivehundred-dollar crtft will reservation will be extended south. |be able to get little more than his less ‘ward, perhaps even to the river, |fortunate neighbors. giving Washington one of the finest| Congress should waste no more of urban collections of shrubs and|its time and the people’s time with flowers and rare plants enjoyed by |this problem. If the two bills cannot any city in the world. be reconciled by a compromise, there — et should be an acceptance of one of ; been | them, so that a new and great indus- crea Judiclary |trY ¢an progress in an orderly way to mmmuufi:mwl: the trust | Provide entertainment, education and t to millions of Americans. 15 discovered, it will require more in- | Snoymen! sk isntdanininn vestigation by a vast amount to de- | , peg poines bank was forced to termine what is going to be done | \ "o oyee 1t had too much real e estate on its books. In this era of In ertain portions of Europe some | mueh speculation, it is well to bo ro one is always very courteously offer. | minded that e .nmd.d:::.&n: % ; ing to get up and give somebody else e Il-poor. * & throne. o SRR ST China is proverbially peaceable and A Big Butter-and-Egg Sport. |patient. It is constantly encounter- There seems to be no doubt that|ing some development in affairs wherg, foot ball is overemphasized in the|proverbs do not count. United States. Just who does the pos- L e s e sibly reprehensible overemphasizing Theodore E. Burton. in amateur circles, the sport-loving Yesterday the House of Representa- public or the colleges themselves, i8 8| 4yes paused In its work for a few moot question. Probably both. There| . ;.. tes to pay a tribute to one of its 1s no doubt as to the party overem-| . . nhighly esteemed members on the phasizing the professional game; it is{ ;ccagion of his seventy-fifth birthday: decidedly not the glblic. & It was an unusual incident in the con- One of the arguments, not essional routine, and it is particular- charges, brought up by those who see 1‘; worthy of note for the reason that flw:l ll'xh!he e‘;mlns mn:l'elol thlnsl- the object of this _tesllmon(;;l. ’l;hr —ant ws there certainly are—is| gore E. Burton, long a member of the that foot ball is the only college sport| pouse, for a term a member of the that pays expenses. Just how this| genate, and again a member of the argument is applied varies with the| yjouge, holds the respect and affection arguer, but it always crops up before| ¢ 411 his associates regardless of politi- the end of any discussion. And, for | ca) opinion. As Representative Tilson the sake of argument, and with no| giq in voicing the sentiment of the intention of going here into the ques-| youse, for more than a third of a cen- tion of possible improvements in the| ¢,;ry Mr. Burton has been a conspicuous situation, one must admit that paying | igyre in the life of the Republic. His the bills is something. Foot ball re-| ;ourse has been unusual in that after sembles a hard-working paterfamilias | 5 jong service in the House and six wl‘n;ns:eltlx:nvw:hho:‘:ehzd- l:: years in the Senate :xa er;l:red hum‘- mig] improve the situation, ness and upon reaching the age a then he gives comfort and pleasure to| which most pre-eminently successful a ;:;lmb?r ‘;f mrl::“:d e men think of retiring, he relinquished igures just ued at nceton, | his professional activities for a return N. J., show contlusively that Old Nas-| to the House, where he now sits, as sau is in precisely this situation, one| the spokesman of that body said yes- in which surely a majority of educa-| terday, **honored, admired, beloved by ;{on;‘l b‘:ln::.luu::‘: find lhfllll;ll\;: all, a veritable mwerko( stlr;v;;:thfl' . 00t re season made o ‘Mr. Burton, in acknow! ng the 718.21. Every other intercolleglate { tributes paid to him, interpreted the sport showed a deficit. The total los-| demonstration as a disproof of “a ings of base ball, track, crew, basket prevalent impression that in the hurly- ball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse and ten-| pyrly of public life appreciation is lim- nhn!um“":n:o ’:::ot;’::u l.;:t:n" ex-| jted w-,poll!lcll:’n who d“lwh k His pe! oun 1177.08, or a| words in rejoinder and thanks are grand total of $145,581.42. The grid- | worthy of perpetuation: iron pastime took care of this loss 1 have lived a long while, and yet nicely, with more than $7,000 left over.| I cannot say that I have lived long Base ball, the American national| enoush. It is my earnest desire to vet @ while to seq what shall et had the smallest deficit, only | Jarrye*l %inis wonderful age. The $3173.08. The crews had the largest, | seventy-five years which I have wit- over $22,600. Many thousands of peo- are eonlmmnwumhnrdé ealige it—wi the pol and plo g0 to Lake Carnegle to enfoy | ¥ *eae, SRl % omout equal- the boat races, to witness which costs| ing all the years that preceded them; not a nickel. What would a Prince- and w{.:tfl-n-l&‘ happen in the ntuet‘l,zerre; ton or any other commencement be| I should give thanks to bee: ed to thi for the Jolly old grads without a bl | 387 that T huve been preseryed fo e game with its traditional rival? Hockey | it seems to me that the qualities which and basket ball give thrills to many W prize in heulu; have been lrr'nl;)rove;i It e passin hy y say, during the season when snow and sleet | 12 j3 0o Vel Wit ehall 1 be ot lie outdoors. Without entering at all , shonld nature keep me alive, jnto the question of athletics fop 42 lige & so full and joyous at only N TFears that a bread trust has curred so swiftly that even with im- mediate response some would prob- ably have been drowned. As it was, thirty were surely swept to death and perhaps ten more, whife only twenty- seven of the original sixty-seven were succored. No grimmer tragedy has been enacted in American life for a long time. These men were not idlers. They wanted to work, and they went to their prospective employments in a happy mood, only to go to their death. A grim re- minder, indeed, that is the more poignant because of the nearness of the Christmas season, that even in the most prosperous country on earth there is sorrow for many. ————————— The name of “Ingersoll” is revived in attention from two angles by a New York homicide sensation. It brings forward two unrelated families, that of the prominent watch manufac- turer and that of the celebrated orator on agnosticism, Robert G. Ingersoll, whose graces of diction were admired &ven by those who hated his ideas. “Pagan Bob,” as he was facetiously called, could he have survived, would have been one of the few men able to meet the impassioned challenges of speech by the late W. J. Bryan on equal terms of eloquence and intellec- tual audacity. A mechanism designed “to diagnose thought” figures as a possible means of breaking down the mind of a man involved in a domestic tragedy. It is a strange affair, which few pretend to understand. The study of the hu- man mind is designed to assist its workings, but is too often a means of overtaxing it. —————————————— In refusing to give up a man charged in this country with forgery, Chile may eventually discover that she missed a first-rate opportunity to get rid of an undesirable citizen. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Letter to Santy. I'm writing a letter to Santy, To be left where the fire is aglow. I'm asking for gifts to be brought me From out of the long, long ago, For the smiling so honest and gentle That seems from the embers to start; It ought tc be easy to grant me The wish that lies close to my heart. Please give me a moon o'er a river ‘Where the music was happy and sweet; Give me the sunshine of June time That scattered the gold at my feet— Into the fire I am tossing These wishes that cannot come true. There are things, I am sadly admitting, That even dear Santy can't do. Great Oratory. “Who is your favorite author?” “Shakespeare,” answered Senator Sorghum. “There never was another man who could g0 on for centuries delivering long speeches and holding audiences spellbound when there isn’t a thing being said about taxation or the Volstead act.” ' Buying and Selling. Money now seems flowing free. The outcome's kind o' dim. One day my friend asks more from me; Next, I ask more from him. So what I sell and what I buy More cost goes on revealing, And prices must keep getting high Until they hit the celling. Jud Tunkins says it's shameful for a man to put bootleg liquor into his stomach. At that, we have improved a lot since cannibals were swallowing one another. Preparing for a Career. “Why don’t you get your boy Josh to help you?” “I don’t want to interrupt him,” an. swered Farmer Corntossel. “There’s good money in music these days and it 'ud be a shame to stop him while he's practicin’ o_!lt_he_ banjo.” Leisure on the Links, He who doth play At golf all day Claims general respect, Because we see, No work hath he That he cannot neglect. “Dar is allus two sides to a ques- tion,” said Uncle Eben. “A mule is terrible persistent and he thinks de same way ‘'bout de man dat's tryin® fight he will make—then quickly dart over one swing. Then' he will decide possibly to go over two swings at once, a distance of 2 feet. Again he may decide to start from the same point -and go in the opposite direc- tion. When he wishes to fly straight up he has to take special alm and then dashes directly up—over 2 feet —and has never yet hit a wing tip against the cage, though he doesn't waste a half-inch of space in his effort to stretch his wings as far as possible, and his movements are quick as flashes. ““The reason for this letter, how- ever, is to express appreciation of the fact that you also have the power to amuse, I read your column to- night (telling how one kills time when he wakes up too early), and actually laughed aloud. To me it is the fun- niest thing since Will Rogers’ letter from Russia, and to have made even one T. B. W. relax to the extent of laughipg aloud is an achievement. Do it again. Sincerely voul:-s. o . A Maryland lady who works in Washington reproaches us for slap- ping a stray cat that bit us: “Dear Sir: As one cat friend to another, 1 wish to say that it is not #0 much Jack Spratt in whom I am interested as the ‘alley cat.’ After all, what else was Jack himself be- fore he acquired a home? I've always felt sorry for the poor cat that slapped. After waiting outside in rain and sleet and snow, a delightful warm room had come to him—and he appreciated it as only cats can. “He only had a cat’s brain and he could not speak as humans do. All he knew how to do when he thought he was about to be deprived of his home was to bite. He had no time to reason about it as cats sometimes do, and he knew no other means of protecting his rights in his newly ac- quired and much prized domicile—so he bit—and then, the slap. L. J” > and | ‘Cats are such sensitive things. According to such brains as cats have, he reasoned that what he thought a friend was just something that dis- liked him; that, whereas he had ad- mired and regarded this particular object with affection, the object in question regarded him with ave “Cats, especially i they are of the Persign_a try on_one very affectionate and sen: once had a large cat of this species and if, in the morning, I reproached him for any behavior which I con- sidered improper, he would immedi- ately start off, turning to look back over his shoulder, after going a few steps, with a glance which sdld as plainly as words, ‘How could you be ‘—and he would never be seen again until nightfall. “This same cat always wanted us to see any game he caught—and if we were out at the time, he would hide it until we returned—sometimes even burying it. “One evening he fetched out an immense rat which he had caught at a neighbor's. Another time it was a squirrel, and sometimes it would be a rabbit—and he would never eat his game until he was patted and stroked and told that he was # fine cat. “And what did become of Mary? You know, characters cannot be cre- ated and then just disappear. Very truly yours, & BLTY * ok K K These letters are interesting, not because printed letters are al- interesting, but also because give an excellent cross-section ind of the modern woman, arning woman,” as the rts it. Flowers, birds and cats——these are avorites of the working woman, as they are of all women since time be- “frcumstances alter cases, but they do not change the womanly heart of kindliness, the quick love for the little, helpless things of this harsh world. We intend to preach no sermon, however. We find ourself in the position of the old Roman author who wrote: “Thou art the cause, O reader, of my dwelling on lighter topics, when I would rather handle serious ones.” Here we have one reader ‘wanting to know if Templeton Jones did or did not take the bus (when he was on the second day of his self-im- posed 5-mile walk home); another, who puts us in a class with Will Rogers, and a third who inquires after Mary Roque, star-eyed Mary. Frank Stockton once wrote a story, “The Lady or the Tiger,” clagsic of its kind, in which he left the reader “up in the air”” as to the outcome, the" tale stopping just as the hero was about to open & door in the arena out of which might step either his lady-love, to kiss him, or a ferocious tiger, to eat him up. Stockton never revealed the secret of this tale, although a lady once thought to get around him by serving him ice cream in the shape of ladies and tigers, which the author solved by taking both, thank you. We propose to keep Templeton Jones’ secret in the same way, if possible. Did he, or did he not, take the bus? Kind reader, what would vou have ‘done, under the circum- stances? As to the comparison with Will Rogers, we are sure that it will not harm that inimitable humorist, and it pleases our fancy very much. It is, indeed, an achievement to get a laugh out of a Tired Business Woman. As for Mary, we have been making inquiries about her recently, and have discovered that!she has had more ad- ventures, of a rather startling nature. “'Seria cum possim, quod delectantia malim scribere, tu causa es lector.” Blow at Dry Law in Ontario Rouses Keen Interest in U. S. ‘“Wets will regard the result as a triumph, drys will say that Ontario is still thoroughly opposed to the old traffic in liquor, and others will de- scribe it in the hopeful phrase, ‘a step toward true temperance.’” Thus the Detroit News summarizes American views of the recent vote by which the Canadian province upset its prohibi- tion of hard liquor and turned to Pre- mier Ferguson's government dispen- sary program. “The motive for most liquor law in our time has been an effort to evolve a scheme which will insure real and universal temperance,” continues the Detroit paper. “This ideal has never been achieved, and where public senti- ent may be translated readily into aw, the law has never been static. It changes as the abuses and weal nesses_of current systems are re: vealed.” The News adds that “our na- tional prohibition law is the least flex- ible ever enacted by a popularly gov- “The result in Ontario is of interest * says the Albany Eve- ning News, ‘“as showing at least the sentiment of voters in a province that has had prohibition and has not found it satisfactory.” Asserting that Onta- s essentially dry, that it believes in real temperance,” the Roanoke World-News suggests that “it may be Ontario is leading the way to real temperance,” while the Baltimore Sun holds that “this election should give grave pause to fair and reasonable men among the dry forces every- where. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch remarks that “today thoughtful citl- zens everywhere, in the quiet little towns as well as in the tumultuous cities, are wondering what we are go- ing to do about it.” The enforcément of the Ontario law, according to the Birmingham News, “has followed fairly closely along the lines of the Volstead law in this coun- try,” and the News continues, “Pre- mier Ferguson has a plan for govern- ment dispensaries, limiting amount any person may buy, sales only at cer- tain hours of the day, and a record of sales.” That paper finds “‘a slight and limited move in the same direction in the United States in the proposition to allow & certain amount of medicinal liquor to be distilled, the distillation and distribution to be under the super- vision of the United States Treasury Department.” The Canton Dally News also declares that ‘“with the liquor question still paramount on this side of ihe border, advocates of modi- fication‘and regulation are certain to find in the resuits in Canada much to support thelr argument.” * ok ok ok Referring to the constitutional pro- visions in the United States, the Havt- ford Times suggests that ‘“here even a majority sentiment may beat its head against the wall in vain, while a minority which may not represent one- quarter of the population is able to maintain a situation that breeds dis- satisfaction, unrest, corruption and lawbreaking and leadg to murder and all the other crimes on the calendar.” It is pointed out, on the other hand, by the Spokane Spokesman-Review that “Ontarfo in law and fact now legalizes the traffic in ‘wines and beer’ and finds itself In the very plight that the Volstead law modificationists in the United States are urging. They want Congress, in violation of the Con- stitution,” adds the Fpokesman-Re- view, “to legalize the tiaffic in ‘wines and beer.’ They are proposing that we adopt a system that has been' tried out in Ontarlo and is satisfactory neither to prohibitionists nor anti-pro- hibitionists there. And they would nullify the Constitution to do it. The clear and emphatic lesson that we are to draw from Canada is that there must be no compromising with the liquor traffic. ‘The law now repudiated,” in the judgment of the Asheville Times, ‘“‘was undeserving of the support it had from the drys, and it is difficult to see why they should mourn its pass- ing. Its provisions for liquor on pre- scription, under which any one who feigned illness could buy for beverage use, was an annoyance to physicians and a reproach to temperance. The sale of native wines was permitted, but even wine and 4.4 per cent beer did not interfere with a flourishing bootleg industry.” * Kk ok ok “It is for Premler Ferguson to show that his method is the right one,” says the Vancouver Star, which declares: “He is confronted with the task of proving in a practical way that the Ontario temperance act was the wrong method of fighting the drink evil and government sale the right one. He must therefore provide for the sale of liquor and at the same time frame and enforce regulations which will reduce its abuse to a minimum. The Toronto Star adds its comment, 'We have but one suggestion that we would offer the prime minister—Ilet him not forget that he had a great body of support that accepted his as- surance that he would gtve the prov- ince a better law than the O. T. A., a law that would be observed, and that would do away with evils that exist under the present law “There will be regret, of course, among American drys,” according to the Lansing State Journal, “but, after all, the legal control of alcoholic bev- erages is an experiment on a tremen- dous scale, involving many considera- tions, and the final result is not to be attained without much variableness of the popular mind. Issues of a simi- lar nature have been worked through to some kind of a definite and widely accepted conclusion in the past, and it is likely that the liquor issue will also be _worked through in time to a gen- erally acceptable position.” The Jour- nal concludes that ‘“what the new stage of the great human experiment with Intoxicants means is that govern- ment control of liquor without the re- turn of the saloons Is to be tried on a wider scale than ever before. Less Speedy Next Time. From the Pathfinder Magazine. “It's very improper, my dear, to get| married again’only 10 months after the death of your first husband.’ “Well, the next time I'll wait longer.” Talent Overlooked. From the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Several of the big league base ball elub managers have been fired, but 80 far the directors have not selected a single successor from among the wise guys on the bleachers. Attack on Intelligénce. From the New York Hckbald Tribune. There are a lot of bachelors in the world who feel that Mussolint’ NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. JOHN WANAMAKER. Herbert Adams Gibbons. Harper & Bros. The current vogue of biography rests upon two substantial causes. One of these is sourced In the author, the other in the subject itself. Within the past few vears the biographer has learned vital sons from the novelist. And within recent times also the field of blography has ex panded to include many beside the | generals and statesmen who used to provide material for the bulk of this form of writing. It is upon these two lines of departure from old way and conditions that modern biography may safely rest a claim for permanent interest- and usefulness and popular- ity. * k x *x Nowadays the best biographer is like the best of the novelists in two respects. He appreciates the nature and effectiveness of drama in his own work. Besides, he values the power of imagination as the ehief of his instruments of construction. The old time-sequence of events making up a man's external life will no longer do, even when such record is accom- panied with gestures of interpreta- tion. And, again, the former familiar framing of some character to suit the purposes of lesson and precept will no longer serve. The one lacks focus, lacks drama. The other sacrifices the man to the lesson, thereby turning out to be a lifeless wooden contrap- tion, untrue, unappealing, futile. Any man worth writing ahout at all is In himself a theme of human endeavor, a theme “of human influ- ence in one direction or another. Somewhat by blood and its inheri- tancies, somewhat by external sur- roundings and their call, the indi- vidual moves foriard through the vears along a clearly defined course. And it s this course that the new blographer follows, discarding along the way a thousand trivial happen- ings and inconsequences, as he stead- fastly pursues the impulses, the char- acter, the activities, that constitute the essentfal man of hig quest. In such a consideration, just as in the drama, points of focus appear. Each of these, as In the play, provides occasfon, or cause, for the next ad- vance. And So, act by act or period by period, the man moves forward to his ov 1 fulfillment, whatever that may be. And into this dramatic con- ception of an individual life the new biographer pours himself by the gift of his own constructive imagination, himself thereby actually sharing the impulses and desires and native blood drift of the one whom he is seeking to re-embody and project. In such circumstances and under such treatment biography becomes tre- mendously vital and influential, its subject more real than hero of ro- mance, . much more immediate, much more potent in direct effect. * ok kX Herbert Adams Gibbons — biog- rapher, historian, travel writer, story teller, publicist and poet—who is everywhere welcomed in a blend of respect for hig learning and enjoy- ment of his writing manner, here projects the life wf John Wanamaker in a drama of personal achlevement and public service that is vital throughout, with the living person- ality of this famous American. The keynote of the great merchant’s life was that of radiant joy In the mere adventure of being alive. And to such keynote Mr. Gibbons pitches this story of a long and eminently useful career. Just to be alive, just to be at work in a world of marvelous op- portunity and resource—this was the spirit of John Wanamaker. Trade and religion were the outlet of this buoyant spirit. Threugh the one Mr. ‘Wanamaker provided buge philan- thropies of specially sane and expan- sive nature. Through the other he inaugurated a mew system of mer- chandising that is today in working operation in every corner of the world. He devised thoroughgoing re- forms whose object was improvement In the workingman's way of life. An ardent Christian, he taught and sang and preached and organized Sunday schools that were certainly a departure from the rather sad Sab- bath schools roundabout before this new adventure in everyday religion. Opportunity and John Wanamaker stepped off together like twin brothers throughout this man’s career, achiev- in many flelds marvels of useful ness and influence. It is this that marks the story for benefit to read- ers, they, too, may come upon speaking terms with achievement through alllance with various points of advantage in the astounding world of present opportunity. Here is the story of an incorrigible optimist to whom life was a great adventure in which he passed from a childhood of poverty amd privation to a maturity of wealth and fame and influence. It takes two volumes to tell this story, to unfold, act by act, this drama of achlevement in a land where oppor- tunity stands ready for those whose souls are keyed to adventure. * ok ok ok EXPLORING LIFE. Thomas A. ‘Watson. D. Appleton & Co. America specializes in self-made men. Here is one of them who tells us his own story. Just another record of trying life out at various points for the sake of finding true and productive contacts between the individual and the world. We've all read that classic, “Come here, Mr. ‘Watson, I want you,” uttered by Alex- ander Graham Bell, and the first words ever heard over a telephone. That's about all we know of “Mr. Watson.” And here he is telling about himself in a manner that immediately seizes upon the interest of the reader. Here is the famillar American story— that of gradually moving out of poverty and obscurity into competence and recognition by way of using to advantage the various offerings that life makes to zeal and courage. And it takes courage to give up any cer- tainty, no matter how poor a one, for uncertainty. And this was what Thomas Watson did, repeatedly, be- cause he was hunting for his real place in the scheme of things. By and by he found it in mechanical work that fitted the sort of mind he had. It was at this point that the boy commenced to grow, and he is still growing—which 1s, really, the fine sub- stance that one draws from this de- lightful self-revelation. ‘“‘Exploring Life” names the book admirably, for this is what the author has done. He explored it first through work, through making a living, and then, safe along this road, Mr. Watson let his tastes have their way a bit. So, he traveled and read and saw pictures and met people and did a bit of stage work and enjoyed the sights of sea and land and grew beautifully rich in possessions of intangtble character. And this wealth of heart and mind he gives out here, little by little, quite unconscious, ap- parently, that he has anything' un- usual to give. A beautiful story, of such unassum- ing aspect as to conceal to a degree the actual achlevement that bulks here in many directions. One has the feeling that there is much more than bare accomplishment in appreciahle ways at the heart of this man’s inter-| est. That is why he is so winning and delighttul, talking easily about a whole world of imponderable things that, after all, make up the truest joy of existence. A companionable writer to whom one will return many times for another savoring of the pleasures and pursm! the world has BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How many men in the United States are playing professional base ball>—F. 8. R. A. There are 10,000 players in or- ganized base ball. Q. What person holds the record for the English Channel swim?—J. §. A. George Michel, a Paris baker, 36 vears of age, holds the record for swimming the Fnglish Channel in 11 5 mi on September 10, Q. Who wrote the poem that be- gins: “At the cleventh hour he came; But his wages were the same As ours who all day had trod The wine-press of the wrath of God." —N. L. T. A. This Vineyard, Q. What is the average ity of oil refineries?—D. D. The average capacity of refin- eries in this country is 4,500 barrels a day. Q. What is the meaning of “Philo- melad” as a name for a society of ‘women?- C. McK. A. The word is Greek and, accord- ing to classic legend, meant the night- ingale. Probably the organization is one of singers or musicians. Q. What Is Colleen Moore’s real name?—A. W. L. A. Her real name is Kathleen Mor- rison. is the first verse of “The by Rudyard Kipling. daily ca- D. Q. How many races are there in India?—M. H. A. The whole population of India may be divided into at least seven di tinct racial types. The following is a list of the types and the districts in which those types most frequengly prevail: The Turko-Iranian, Baluchis- tan and northwest frontier; the Indo- Aryan, Punjab, Rajputana and Kash- mir; the Scytho-Drandian, western India; the Aryo-Dravidian, United Provinces and Behar; the Mongolo- Dravidian, Bengal and Orissa; the Mongoloid of the Himalayas, Assam and Burma, the Dravidian type, which extends practically throughout the whole of the peninsula proper. Q. Who was the first to discover gold?—J. K. A. The supply of gold in ancient times was derived mostly from sur- face sands and gravels which yielded their values by simple processes of shing. Gold was thus mined at a very early period in India, Central Asia, the southern Urals and in the region bordering the eastern Mediter- ranean. Apparently the discovery of gold is not attributed to any one per- son. The anclent workings for locat- ing gold have been ascribed to the Egyptians and have been found in the mountains of Nubla, and Dr. Karl Peters has described extensive mines in the interfor of South Africa, not far from the goldfields of Rhodesia— a locality belleved by Dr. Peters to be the Ophir of the Israelites. The Ro- mans operated mines in Hungary, Spain and Great Britain at various perfods. During the Middle Ages the mining industry seems to have made little progress. Q. What is the highest ralflroad grade, excluding incline or cog roads? —A. K. L. A. Any grade of 2 per cent or over 1s very uncconomical. Grade revision has progressed In_this cot until there are few grades of 2 per cent or over. The Denver & Rio Grand 12 miles of 2.4 per cent gra bound from Helper, Utah, to Kyune, Utah, and a 2, per cent grade from Soldiers Summit, Utah, t Utah, a distance of about The ' Pilatus Raflway, (Rack_Raflway), call that Stands on End,” has a 19 per cent to 48 per cent grade. Q. It the mail which is sent frea by departments and establishments of the Government had to have postage paid, to what would it amount?—R. I.. A. During the past fiscal year, it amounted to $14,021,932. It welghed 109,993,986 pounds and there were 57,155,212 piect Q. How high above the earth’s sur- face can people liv . W. T. A. Recent altitude that human_beings beyond an altitude of 2 tests indicated cannot function 000 feet. Q. When were first published at se A. Marcont dally newspaper, Bulletin, in 1904, Campania. newspapers the first Daily M inaugurated the Cunard on the R Q. What is the best material for stringing ris?—A. B. G. A. A well known authority or pearls belleves that silk of pure qual- ity is perhaps the best material for this purpose, owing to its strength, flexibility and smoothn: Q. Has the saxophone ever been used in grand opera’—L. D. A. The saxophone made its first ap- pearance in a grand:opera orchestra when Harling’s “A Light from St. Agnes” had its premiere at the Chicago Auditorium on December 17, Q. How much does a full-grown deer weigh?—H. B. M. A. The Blological Survey says that the weight of a fullgrown deer ranges from 175 to 225 pounds. Our Washington Information Bu- reau does not take a vacation. It is on the job every day during the ycar, answering questions for our readers. Its special service is to answer any question of fact on any subject for any reader at any time. It is impos- sible to make a complete enumeration of subjects giving an adequate idea of the scope and range in which the bureau can serve you. Its activitics can only be summed up in the phrase, ‘achatever you want to know.” Send in your question. Address The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Fred- eric J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D.cC. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Wil Soviet Russia “come to the rescue of Lithuania”? A revolution overthrew the Lithuanian govern- ment last Friday morning, and yes- terday the coup d’etat was ratified and confirmed by the Assembly’s elec- tion of its leader, Antona Smetona, President. Six years ago the late Senator Hen- ry Cabot Lodge, in a report on the un- rest in the Baltic provinces, on behalf of the committee on foreign relations, summed up the situation with this: “The two great problems of the pro- visional government of Lithuania are: “1. The defense against bolshevism. “2. Settlement of the agrarian ques- tion.” Senator Lodge commented: “Bolshe- vism is an infection which menaces the world. Prussian militarism is an infection which has menaced the world and may menace it again if we permit it to grow strong on the ruins of Russia. For the world’s sake and our own selfish sake, we cannot af- ford to have bolshevism coming through to the West; we cannot afford to have an unscrupulous Prussia pierc- ing through to the East. Bolshevism is to achieve its results by world rev- olution, by the corruption of the French, English and American work- ingman, if it can get at him. * * * The allies have never committed them- selves to extermination of bolshevism, but they are committed to mainte- nance of a sanitary cordon and the prevention of bolshevism being re- leased into Europe and the, Western World. For the maintenance of this sanitary cordon we have consented to the presence in Latvia and Lithuania of some 60,000 German troops. The tDl’;{l)ibleln of the Baltic states is two- old: “1. The maintenance in these ter- ritories of this sanitary cordon against bolshevism. “2. To prevent Germany from ruth- lessly exploiting these countries, and from making of them and of Russia in the future a vast territory servile to her (Germany's) scheme of expan- sion and aggrandizement. * * * We must attempt to secure justice for all the indigenous races in these prov- inces. * * * The problem is as mon- umental as it is urgent.” ERC I In the late Fall of 1918, just before the armistice, a copy of an offictal order from the commanding officer of the German Army in Lithuania be- trayed the confldence of the Germans that they were on the eve of an al- liance with Russia, giving them full control of Russian raw material and military reinforcements. Germany had professed to befriend Lithuania against the Russians, but had stoutly refused to recognize that country as an independent nation, following its revolt from Russia as a province of that tyranny. The whole Baltic re- gion is a hotbed of jealousy and fight- ing, and has ever been such, from the dawn of its history under civiliza- tion. The fight is what is known in the lowest form of alleged “sport’” as a “battle royal” in which every man’s hand Jds raised against every other man's head—every nation is against all other nations. The Lithuanians are descended from Indo-Europeans, and their -language is the oldest living language in the world, quite similar to anclent dead Sanskrit—a language which Lithua- nian peasants today are ablesto under- stand. Yet there is no authentic trace as to their origin. In the tenth century the Lithua- nians branched into three lines: 1. Borrissians, who under the dom- ination of the Gerfans became “Prus- slans.” 2. Letts or Latvis. 3. Lithuanians, which branch sep- arated into Lithuanians proper and Zmudz, or lowlanders. The Letts were driven northward, and with the Livonian tribe of the north later frequently raided the Lithuanians of the sputh. In 1325 King Gedymin made a treaty with Poland against the Livo- nian order, and that became the en- tering wedge by which Poland grad- ually attained supremacy over Lith- uania. Gedymin left seven sons, all supposed to have equal inheritance, but two—Olgierd and Keistal—be- came dominant in power. Olglerd was an opportunist, ready to (‘,hrll!ll.l!;y to gain support of the church, d‘o was baptized in the 5 Greek Church. Keistal revived the old Lithuanian nationality and reli- glon—tree worship—and he became the national hero. In 1345 these two brothers agreed to unite in re-estab- lishing the great principality, and, from Poland, they took Vilna, the old capital and sanctuary of the country. All seven prothers then united and chose Olgierd King, overlooking the “nation’s hero,” Keistal. Olglerd’s son and successor mar- ried Queen Yadviga of Poland and was baptized into the Roman Church and crowned King of Poland in 1386, as well as being King of Lithuania. This union of Lithuania and Poland under one King was nominal until 1569, when, under King Sigismund Augustus, it was made actual by the two governments, arid remained such until the great partitions of Poland by Russia, Prussia ang Austria-Hun- gary in 1792 and 1793. While the original plan of 1569 provided that each country should retain its own legislature and laws, Poland finally succeeded in introducing a single leg- islative body, and in that Poland held the controiling majority, developing the jealousy and hatred of the Lith- uanians. * Kk ok The peace of Paris, following the ‘World War, brought intense friction in the Baltics, for it gave Vilna to Poland, because Vilna population then included more Poles than Lithu- anians. Before we entered the World ‘War a delegation of Lithuanians vis- ited President Wilson, in 1916, and asked for recognition of Lithuaniaas an independent nation, although at that time the country was in actual possession of the German army. In Muc}. 1918, the Lithuanians issued a [eclaration of independence through a convention of Lithuanians in New York. There were more Lith- uanians in the United States—700,000 —than in any other region outside of the control of their conquerors. In May, 1918, President Wilson officially received a visit from a delegation of Lithuanians. * ok %k % In November, 1918, just before the armistice, ‘the Council of State of Lithuania adopted a constitution, with supreme power vested in a tri- umvirate composed of Smetona (the same who has just been elected President), Stangaitis and St. Sil- ingas, and the triumvirate invited Voldemaras to form the first cabinet, which was to be non-partisan and glve large recognition to the minorl- tles. This government was greatly dissatisfled with the act of the Su- preme Council of the Allies, in De- cember, 1919, which fixed the bound- ary between Poland and Lithuania, so that Vilna, the capital. of Lith- uania, was given to Poland. The triumvirate and cabinet resigned, leaving all power in the Assembly. Soon after, Poland proposed to Lithuania that they join in attack- ing the Soviet Russians, but Lith- uania refused, unless Poland would first recognize her independence. Po- land then attacked Russia alone, and while she was retreating from the Red army Lithuania seized Vilna, but was driven out of it by the ap- proach of the Russians. ‘War with the Russlans resulted in a peace which gave Lithuania full recognition, with 3,000,000 gold ru- bles and 100,000 hectares of forest. But then came a coup by Poland in gelzing Vilna from Lfthuania. Now there is the greatest fear that if Lithuania should fail to maintain her composure and strength Pilsudski, the Polish dictator, will invade that country under pretense of preserving peace, and he may assume dictator- ship under the plea of Poland’s an- clent dominion over Lithuania. The disturbed country holds a population of about 3,000,000. Lithuanians are distinctively agricultural. Business in the cities is carried on by other races—Germans, Jews and Russlans— rather than Lithuanians. The reason assigned for the Sme- tona coup d'etat was that the pre- vious administration was subservient to bolshevism, and Smetona must rescue the country, as he had been the leader against the influences of bolshevistic corruption, just as Pil- sudski is in Poland. But the present query is whether Smetona or Pil- sudski will be the final “rescuer.’ (Copyright. 1926, by Paul Collins.) v.