Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1926, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. O. ‘WEDNESDAY.. December 29, 1026 'THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company 11n 8¢ AR canta Ave PN, T Qficer 410 R pfp B " Buropean Offics; 14 Rerent 8t.. Loidon, The Evenine Star. with the Sunday morn- tne sition. 18 delivered by carriers wionin the eif 60 cents per month' ily onl: 45 cenis ner month: Sundays onl 20 ceni r th, Ord be sent by mail B oty Orlers BT, 3 Ao 1o maade b7 carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dajly and Sunday Dally only ... Sunday only . All Other States and Canada. d Sundag.. 1 yr.. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 Dally aad, Sundar-- 1 T 48 00: 1 Thov 7o Sunday only ....l1yr $2.00i1mo. 35 Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Preas {a exclusively entitled o the usa for republication of all news dis- patches cradited 1o it or not otherwisa cred- JY84in fhix Daper and also the Jocal news ublishad herain. ALl richts of publication of special dispatches herein are ed Stage Housecleaning. Stirred by the announcement of 2 play more daring than any that has vet been produced on the New York stage during the late period of license and obscenity, Mayor Walker of that city yesterday called together the managers and producers and “laid down the law” to them. He warned them that though there was no “law” in particular to lay down, owing to A remarkable decision by the appel- Jate court differentiating between the so-called legitimate stage and the mo- tlon picture houses, in respect to the revocation of licenses, a way would be found to put the spoken drama under a censorship similar to that which prevails in respect to the films, unless the prdaducers clean their stages of the filth that it now bears. The conference was attended by most of the leading producers and managers of New York. Certain ab- sentees were conspicuously in the class of purveyors of the improprie- ties that have brought on the mayor’s action. Those present gave assurances that they would go to work and create an organization within the theater “for the protection of the theater and of the good name of New York.” A hint was given that absentees would find later that they must fall in line or suffer serious consequences. v All to the good, so far as it goes. But will it go far enough? Mayor Walker is an earnest young man, fired with “clvic zeal.” He has here- tofore indicated his quality in his action against the night clubs, which, as a result of his initiative, have been confined to a three o'clock closing hour. But in tackling the immorali- ties of the stage—the plays, not the players—he is gripping one of the most difficult problems of today. The attitude of the managers and pro- ducers who attended his meeting was agreeable, but they pointed out to the mayor that the real problem was the “public taste.” Instances were cited to show that the people want the morbid. the lascivious, the pro- fans and the improperly -suggestive, rather than clean drama. ‘Well, after all, which came first, the hen or the egg? Is the public taste debased through natural in- clination, or because of being stim- ulated by base matter? From time immemorial there has been a “de- ‘mand” for the prurient and the lewd in stage productions. There has always been a market for the salacious print, in plcture or in text. But it s not a dominant taste, and it is certainly not to be pandered to under legal and officlal consent on the boards of the established and licensed theater un- Jess the public morality is confessed to have broken down to the point of complete and universal debasement. Which is not the case. The fact that a certain play of decent quality fails and that another ‘taking its place, of a wholly different quality, succeeds, proves nothing. There is always a “public” for a truly zood play. The decent play may fafl because it is poor drama. The other may succeed because it is merely im- moral in its implications or its def- inite text. Back of the whole problem les the question of whether a theater, which is lieensed by the State and is therefore operated as an authorized purveyor of entertainment, shall be a means of perverting the moral sense of those who attend it. Mayor ‘Walker says “Ni and his negative 1s echoed by the majority of the peo- ple of this land. ——————— Tn Nicaragua ‘“peace on earth” means nothing in a practical way, and the passing Christmas season may be regarded there as a failure. et Memorial Bridge Approaches. A restudy of the plans for the approaches to the new Arlington Me- morial Bridge has been ordered at the suggestion of the Commission of fine Arts to insure the harmonizing of the bridge structure with changed conditions on the two sides of the river. On the Arlington side it is proposed to extend the cemetery area eastward to include the lands occu- pled by the experimental farms. On the city side a new treatment of B street has been adopted which calls for some readjustment of the bridge wpproach. This new study, it is an. nounced, will not cause any delay in the completion of the work, for the new features have been decided upon in good season. Under the plans as now adopted there will be ample epproach room for the bridge on the city side, with B street the main highway of access. It will follow its present course west- ward until the Lincoln Memorial is reached, when it will swing along to the bridge approach, then, curving in continuation southward, it will merge into the river drive. On the Arlington side the extension of the cemetery grounds to the east has long been in contemplation. When the lands flanking the river were loaned to the Department of Agricul- ture for experimental farm purposes 1§ pras definitely understood that they ‘would be subject to recall in the future. A further extension of the cemetery may become necessary in future years, but for the present this addition to the area of interment will suffice. On the Virginia shore two great thoroughfares will join at the Memo- rial Bridge, the Mount Vernon boule- vard and the Lee Highway. The for- mer will run southward to the home of the First President, while the latter will start west from the terminus on Columbla. Island, connecting directly with the bridge approach. Thus dou- bly will the Memorial Bridge serve as a gateway to the South through Vir- ginia, ‘Work on the bridge is progressing satisfactorily. No difficultles have been encountered that were not an- ticipated. The execution of the con- B 5 | tract has been according to schedule. Soon the actual structure will show above the water and there will be tangible evidence that the dream of ‘Washington, so long postponed, is coming true at last. — e Optimism for 1927. It is natural that on the eve of the New Year there should be a taking of stock in business as well as in per- sonal matters, and it is especially ap- propriate that the President and his cabinet should review conditions at the close of the year. This, it i8 re- ported, was done at yesterday's cab- inet meeting, and the report of that survey as far as it is given to the public, is optimistic. As a result of the general consideration of the economic situation in the United States the forecast was made, not officially, but confidently, that prosperity would con- tinue in 1927. That this {s not merely “whistling to keep up the courage” is.evident from any retrospective contemplation of the closing year. Despite occa- sional and relatively unimportant dfs- asters affecting narrow areas and small groups of people, the trend has been upward in terms of material welfare. Employment has been in- creasingly high. Trade has been brisk and immense quantities of goods have been produced and absorbed by the people at good prices. Several months ago there were in- dications that depressed conditions might be felt before the close of the year, but this has not proved to be the case. Save for the setback in the cotton industry due to overproduc- tlon agriculture has thrived remark- ably. It 1s not unwholesome that there should be some question regarding the future. Unchecked optimism is apt to lead to extravagance. Overconfldence has its perils quite as definitely as lack of confidence. Expansion may be as disastrous in its results as con- traction and the curtailment of trade through conservatism. It is stated by one of the New York papers that whereas almost everybody in Wall Street who speaks for publication is a bull on 1927, about sixty-five per cent of those who express themselves privately, not to be quoted, are bears on the outlook. This is a natural dis- position and has its merits. Alcohol Taboo. New Jersey must certainly be a tough place in which to live. What with the citizens of Somerset County having to bear the expenses of the Hall-Mills trial and the slayers of the choir singer and her minister lover still free, a jolt that is a jolt has been handed garage proprietors by the prohibition administrator. No more can they advertise in large signs outside their places of business “Alcohol for Sale,” because it is not only a violation of the law but some thirsty dumbell of a motorist might think it was the drinking kind in- stead of the radiator kind. Hence- forth, according to the edict just handed down, such signs as the fol- lowing will be necessary if the ga- rage owner would sell alcohol to keep radiators and waterjackets from freezing: “Alcohol for Radia- tors,” “Completely Denatured Alco- hol,” “Alcohol for Radiator Use.” This ruling might also include some other signs like these, in case it was too bold even to mention the word “alcohol”: “We Sell Here a Liquid Substance That We Cannot Mention by Name. Take a Guess ‘What It Is,” “Buy From Us to Keep From -Freezing”, “We Have Some- thing for Your Radiator and It Is Not Carbolic Acid or Cyanide of Potassifum. Try It Once and Be Forever Converted. these, as can be easily seen, is the dread word “alcohol” used; hence there would be no possible chance of corruption and law-breaking. Taking 1t all in all, however, it is just another case of tackling the tail of & problem rather than the head or the heart. ————————— There is apparently & liberal supply of “forelgn entanglement’ material right here on the Western Hemi- sphere. Cynical suggestions are now offersd that another dlsarmament conference be held to ascertaln precisely how the previous one worked out. —————————— Permit Renewal. Acting on the theory that those who refuse to help themselves should be given help, the Commissioners yes- terday approved the traffic office plan of staggered renewal of permits and likewise the imposition of a forty- dollar fine for persons who do not re- new their permits on schedule. Real- izing that the procrastination of local motorists was getting them into deep water with the inevitable result that when the deadline was reached on the first of next July there would be many permitless drivers facing heavy fines and with no immediate prospect of procuring renewals, the traffic of- fice has been importuning the < om- missioners for action. Yest .ay's edict, therefore, will do much (u clear up the situation, For some time traffic officlals have been pointing out that teeth must be put into the permit renewal plan. They have cited the steadily decreas- ing dally applications for permits, to show that on July 1 next, when every ‘Washington @river must be possessed of & new card, there will de many h) who have put it off too long and are not only without the right to drive, but will find considerable difficulty, due to the small personnel of the traffic office, in regaining that right. Even with the imposition of the fine, as contained in the Commissioners’ mandate, there may be some who will be laggard in applying for renewals, although it would seem to be poor economy to risk a forty-dollar fine for a three-dollar permit. Those who still delay, however, are responsible only to themselves; eyerything has been done for them to make permit re- newal convenlent and cheap. At the same time, even though it may not appear so to many, the action yes- terday will save heartache and suf- fering to those who would {n no other way be persuaded to take out thelrl cards. It was a wise move and it has come at an opportune time. Dog Heroism. Herolc feats by intelligent dogs are legend, but a story now comes out of the frozen North that eclipses in thrills many of those that have been told before. Oscar Ottersoniz, a miner living at Little Squaw, Alaska, was awakened the other morning at two- thirty o'clock by the sound of a scratching on the door. Knowing that it could be none other than his faith- ful malamute dog which he had loaned to two friends for a mining trip into the snowy fastness, Oscar jumped out of bed and unlatched the portal. In came the husky with & wagging tail and a note pinned to his collar. The note read: “Come. Both seriously injured. Explosion.” Immediately or- ganizing a rescue party and led by the still willing dog, who had already traveled over a mountain peak alone with ths mercury at forty degrees be- low zero, they found the crippled miners and carried them back on sleds to Little Squaw. A radio to Fairbanks was then dispatched and the men are by this time safely in a hospital, hav- ing been transported the remaining distance by airplane. To the intelligence, endurance and speed of this Alaskan dog these min- ers owe their lives. If help had not come quickly they both would have perished, as one of them was blinded by the explosion and ‘the other was 80 injured that it would have been impossible for him to go for aid. It was a splendid feat and it can now be inscribed near the head of the list of dumb animal heroism. ——————— Americans have not been spending money in Paris as lavishly as usual. All the arts of entertainment of good- natured spenders are in evidence, but, apparently, “Jay Paree” is not what it used to be. ————— Very few books announcing disclos- ures i political life succeed in being convincingly asensational beyond the title on the cover, and the table of contents. —————— John D. Rockefeller continues to play golf and make philanthropic plans. His words are always cheery, as becomes a man who has learned the secret of a happy old age. “ SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Winter Base Ball, Base ball's never over, though Sum- mer fades away; It keeps us fascinated as we listen day by day. Instead of on a dlamond, where heroes hit and sprint, They play it in the columns, where the news is fit to print. One man hits a paragraph; another knocks a page. It's worse than evolution, where de- bate was all the rage. Some say the game is noble, & salva- tion of the race, And others bawl, “Who would believe base ball could be so base!" Some sad suspicion may attack a play- or we admire— ‘We must have things to talk about beside the Winter fire. And while we face the outcomes with & faith all undismayed— This Winter's games have been about the flercest ever played! Questions and Answers. “You have some serious questions before you.” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “With some, I suppose we can pro- ceed as we have done before—ask the questions and leave it to the courts to find out the answers.” Size and Pugnacity. The scrappy man is seldom tall. A glant’s anger soon will cease. ‘The countries seeking war are small; ‘The big ones look to ways for peace. Jud Tunkins says Happy New Year might be happler if New Year eve wasn't such a rough old party. The Careless Horse. “Englishmen are great lovers of horses.” “The horse should show caution, however,” remarked the friend from London, “about playing tricks on dis- tinguished people. As between a jovial horse and a Prince, public sympathy 1 sure to be entirely with the Prince.” “Qur ancestors look down on us,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “but we too ‘frequently fall to look up to them.” ‘Wasted Tree. ‘Why out the trees that bravely grow? With imitation stars and snow And ornaments with cunning wrought ‘Which can so easlly be bought, Our good Inventor, Santa Claus, Might help the forest service cause, With artifice applied so free, ‘Why not an artificial tree? The Passing Jest. “What has become of the mother inlaw joke?" “The son-in-law joke long since put it out of business.” “A bootlegger,” sald Uncle Eben, “gits & handshake and & smile, while & man lookin' foh & reg’lar jeb waits out fn de hall an’ Jooks wistful™ : THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1926. - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Our oldest reader, 94 years young, heaps coals of fire upon our head by sending the following letter, in reply to the recent article in which we begged her not to be alarmed be- cause we had taken up the habit of smoking. “Welll Well, My Dear Sir: You have effectually pilloried me on a flowered-wreathed column, but don’t think that at least I shall not try to defend myself. “Correct your view, if vou think me a cantankerous old Puritan who cannot endure to see a gentleman sit in his own home or his office and enjoy his pipe, without being nagged continually. My late husband was a smoker of as good tobacco as could be procured and my favorite brother followed suit. Both eminently intel- lectual men, with whom it was a treat to converse on any subject from ‘cabbages and kings’ up. Never once was either asked by me to lay aside his pipe, even though my eyes and my throat smarted and stung. “I had neither the right nor the desire to limit a habit that gave them 80 much enjoyment. My husband gave up smoking before he passed away, by his own strength of char- acter, bless him. ‘“Engaged in a large and important business, he found that his mind was clearer, that he had quicker per- ception, if he eliminated the weed, and 80 he set an excellent example to men who were injuring themselves by ex- cessive smoking as they grew older. “‘And here is a noteworthy example of the same self-control. Chauncey Depew, a fine instance of that ad- mirable quality, gave up tobacco first, then brandy, and even champagne, and is a living {llustration of the beneficial result. “With the privilege of age and its garrulity, let me continue. That fine, high-minded young gentleman, whose delightful essays add luster to our Star, 1s contracting a habit which such men as Herbert Hoover, Secretary Mellon and others equally eminent have been able to resist! “This young gentleman, who has been so useful, entertaining and ad- mirable in all ways, who has shown that he could live without yielding to the seductions of Lady Nicotine, vol- untarily now pays court to the hussy! “Well, that is his own business, and one friend at least hopes he will live long enough to renounce his al- leglance to the Lady Nicotine, she who s a true siren, now enticing even women to worship at her shrine. “As a liberal in all matters I do believe that a certain amount of ex- perience is needful to be judicial and well balanced. And that this virgin planet, the earth, was conquered and developed by primitive men who needed stimulants like tobacco and lquor to reduce it to subjection, to cultivate and refine it. They have not yet attained that end. Witness the wars, the ignorance (the only Satan), the coarseness, the immaturity that covers the major portion of hu- manity. None of us has attained real maturity. “‘Therefore, there is no use In re- viling and complaining. The pipe has ameliorated many sad conditlons. The trouble {s in the excessive use of any- thing for which one hungers, pro- vided it does not injure or debase or ‘wrong others and ourselves. “Pardon my length. On Christmas morning please give Jack Spratt an extra pat, and imagine your friend of the armchair and footstool is giving you the most suave and kindly ges- ture of approval in recognition of your pflluring,‘ Y:urs, Mrs. H. M. P.” * % Our correspondent has covered the ground so well that we will not at- tempt to add anything to her letter, but will devote the remainder of this space today to a preliminary survey of the place tobacco holds in litera- ture. “The Elizabethan age might be bet- ter named the beginning of the smok- ing era,” says Sir James Barrle, in that classic, “My Lady Nicotine.” (As a bit of secret history, It was the re- reading of this great collection of story-essays that started us off on pipe smoking. It is a pretty hard thing to read “My Lady Nicotine” and not want to smoke a pipe). Tobacco was one of the great novel- tles resulting from the discovery of America. Next to the specimen In- dians brought back, nothing created more of a stir than the sight of a 1| gentleman smoking a pipe. “Drinking smoke,” it was popularly called, and some of the oldest tobacco ballads are based upon this curious phrasing. One of the oldest of these is called “The Indian Weed,” and proved so popular that throughout the ages poets added stanzas. The original ran something along this order: The Indian weed, withered quite, Green at noon, cut at night, Shows thy decay, All flesh is hay. Thus think, then drink tobacco. And when the smoke ascends on high, Then thou behold'st vanity, Of worldly stuff, Gone at a puff. Thus think, then drink tobacco. It will be noticed, that the poet called upon the reader to think upon these things—then to smoke up! Later ages turned this just around. Sir Walter Scott in his “Rob Roy” quotes the poem as follows, with a difference: Tobacco’s but an Indian weed, Grows green at noon, cut down at eve; It shows our decay, ‘We are but clay; Think on this when you smoak tobacco. The poet George Withers got ahold of it, with this resuit: Lastly, the ashes left behind May daily show to move the mind, That to ashes and dust return we must, Then think, and drink tobacco! * kK K Burton, in his “Anatomy of Melan- choly,” spoke of ‘‘Tobacco, divine, rare, super-excellent tobacco * ¢ a_sovereign remedy to all diseases.” (For about 75 or 100 years after its introduction into FEurope tobacco was heralded as of medicinal value). Spenser, he of “The Faerie Queene,” called the weed ‘divine.” Charles Lamb used the term “plant divine.” The poet Cowper had the following pleasant raillery: Pernicious weed! fair annoys, Unfriendly to society’s chief joys, Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours. Ben Johnson took a crack at it, too: “It is good for nothing but to choke a man and fill him full of smoke and cinders.” Every one is famillar with Kipling's Ine, “And a woman is only a woman, but a good ‘cigar is a smoke,” the creed of the crassly masculine. The following is typical of Oscar Wilde: “A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is ex- quisite, and it leaves one unsatisfled. What more can you want?” . Whose scent the WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. To show that a senatorial prophet- elect is not without honor in his own land, the Illinois delegation in Con- gress plans a feast of welcome to Col. Frank L. Smith when he reaches ‘Washington on January 3. The pur- pose of the dinner is to demonstrate both to the Senate and to Smith that his own people’s faith in him endures. Illinoisans on Capitol Hill declare that the delegation’s confidence In the Sen- ator-elect is a reliable reflection of public sentiment in Smith’'s home State. The prediction is freely hazard- ed that if the Senate either slams the door in the colonel’'s face or admits and then unseats him, Iliinois at the earliest possible opportunity will send him back to Washington laurel-crown- ed and with colors flying, as the re- sult of another election. Hardly any Illinois congressman expects that Gov. Len Small will reappoint Smith, it the Senate rejects or expels him. Illinois is just across the Mississippl from Towa, which ‘“vindicated” Brookhart under circumstances which may pres- ently repeat themselves. * k¥ X% Senator Willlam J. Harris, Demo- crat of Georgia, considers “Ty” Cobb his most distinguished constituent. The dethroned Tiger commander, now battling for rehabilitation in public favor, was once so described by Har- ris at the Capitol. Cobb always pays his respects to Harris—son-in-law of “Fighting Joe” Wheeler of Confeder- ate Army and Spanish-American War fame—when in Washington, and on a certailn occasion was taken by the Georgla Senator to meet the late Sen- ator Fernald of Maine. Fernald, be- fore his political days, was a semi- rofessional base ball player in the aine State League. He grseted Cobb with the exclamation that “I consider you the greatest player in the history of the game!"” There is still a possibil- ity that the base ball bloc will go to bat for Cobb and Speaker. The bloc 1s headed in the Senate by Pat Harri- son and in the House by Nick Long- worth. If the Cobb-Speaker imbroglio assumes the dimensions of a crisis, it is well within the range of possi- bilitles that cruisers, farm relief, alien property and investigations will have to make way for a subject notoriously far nearer to the heart of the average Congressman. LI Representative Fred A. Britten, Republican of Illinols, has sent out one of the season's most attractive New Year cards in the shape of a sepla-tinted photograph of the giant stadium at Soldier Field, Chicago, with the 110,000 people who saw the Army-Navy foot ball game on No- vember 27. Britten, ranking member of the House naval affairs committee, is given chief credit for taking the service gridiron classic to Chicago. Accompanying the pictures sent to his friends Is a letter from Repre- sentative Britten, saying: “When the authorities agreed to play the Army- Navy game away from the Atlantic coast for the first time, Chicago was actually put on trial. I am glad to tell you that Chicago acquitted her- self wondrously, and that offcers, cadets, midshipmen and civillans alike are loud in their praises of the entire venture, which has been voted a complete success from every view- point.” | Britten proclaims his inten- tion to request the game for Chicago ‘“‘at some appropriate future date,” be- cause he thinks the recent tie-score match ought to be “played off” in the same arena. . L Officlal 'Washington is taken com- rise by Furopean re- ltr.mg-uwtwn- the British ambassador- fi ship at Washington. Sir Esme is completing only his third year in the United States, having been accredited on March 5, 1924. No one can imag- ine, either, why he should care to leave a post in which he has scored signal success, or why Downing Street should want to remove one of the most accomplished diplomats in his Britannic majesty's service. It is con- sidered barely possible that grief over the recent loss of their eldest =on may have impelled the Ambassa- dor and Lady Isabella Howard to de- cide upon relinquishing their offi- clal career. Sir Esme has been in the foreign service of Great Britain continuously for 41 years. It is ac- knowledged on all hands that he has contrived, since his arrival in Wash- ington, to restore the British Em- bassy to its traditional premier rank at the American capital. B In the North China Star, daily Eng- lish-language newspaper published at Tientsin, there are some diverting references to the chairman of the Senate committee on foreign rela- tlons. The Star says: “Borah is prob- ably better known Iin Europe than any other American except the Presi- dent. Borah is better known in China than any other American, not even excepting the President. Ask almost any educated Chinese, young or old, to name some one in American his- tory and his answer is almost invari- ably ‘Lin-Kun,’ which is his pronun- clation of Lincoln. Ask the same man to mention a great living Ameri- can and nine times out of ten his re- ply is ‘Bor-Ah.’ Stories of the life of Lincoln are to be found in all parts of China, and every Chinese who has been lucky enough to go to school has read them in his youth. Any- thing about Borah has news value in ina.” * ok kK . James J. Davls, Secretary of Labor, told a Christmas party of Philadelphia work people how, now and then, heart throbs triumph over red tape in im- migration matters. “There was a lady who lived here for 13 years,” said Davis, “but didn’t take out her papers. She went back to her native land and after she’d been there three months she had a baby. Now, of course, the new quota act went into effect, which limits the number that can come in, but anybody who had been here and went over there could stay six months and then come back again. Here was a new baby, and the quota was exhausted for that par- ticular country. The mother had a right to come in, but the baby techni- cally was barred. ‘What are you go- ing to do about this, Mr. Secretary?’ the immigration people asked me. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I don’t think it need cause much trouble. I understand the mother lived here 12 years, went to the other side and brought back her 8-month-old baby. The mother is here now and has a right to come in, and you say the baby is barred; is that correct?” They sald it was. ‘All right’ I replied. ‘Let's decide that the baby was on this side before it got to the other sidel’” LI Apropos the bill for increase of Fed- eral judges’ salaries, Representative Meyer Jacobstein, Democrat, of New York, has dug up a timely yarn about Chief Justice Taney. It is told in Theron G. Strong’s “Landmarks of a Lawyer's Lifetime,” in which the au- thor relates a conversation he once had with Willlam M. Evarts. Evarts narrates that when Taney’s daughters ‘were informed that their father was Politics at Large By G. Gould Lincoln. The Vare and Smith senatorial cases give promise of rivaling the riddle of the Sphinx. In addition to the many other conundrums con- nected with the seating or unseat- ing of the Senators-elect from Penn- sylvania and Illinois, members of the Senate are now puzzling their brains over what will happen it Vare, for example, s unseated at the opening of the new Congress a year from now. While the Governor of Penn- sylvania is authorized by law to fill temporarily vacancies which “hap- pen” in the Senate until an election can be had, there are those who will contend he has no right to ap- point to fill the seat for which Vare has been elected, because it is the beginning of a new term. An op- posite view s taken by other Sen- ators. If the Senate should determine that the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Governor of Illinois have no right to appoint to flll a va- cancy after the Senate has ruled that the seats have not been prop- erly filled by election and at the beginning of a term, the Republican control! of the upper house would be seriously jeopardized. It hangs by a thread in any event, with 48 Re- publicans In the next Senate, 47 Democraty and 1 Farmer-Labor Senator. Take away Smith and Vare and the Democrats would have 47 seats to 46 for the Republicans, and Senator Shipstead of Minneso- ta, the sole representative of the Farmer-Labor party, would hold the balance of power. By voting with the Republicans he could tle the Democrats and give Vice President Dawes the opportunity to cast the deciding ballot on”any question over which the parties divided. * oK K K The Senate has many times in the past declined to seat a Senator ap- pointed by a governor to fill a vacan- cy caused by the expiration of a regu- lar term of a Senator, when the Leg- islature—in the old days before the direct election of Senators—falled to elect Senators to fill such vacancles. The language of the seventeenth amendment to the Constitution pro- viding for the direct election of Sena- tors is: “When vacancies happen fn the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of elec- tlon to fill such vacancies; provided, that the Legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointment until the people fill the vacancies by ele.g tion as the Legislature may direct. Senator Ashurst of Arizona, Dem- ocrat, an opponent of the seating of Vare and Smith, holds that a vacancy in the Senate cannot be considered as “happening,” in the meaning of the seventeenth amendment, if there shall have been no election—due to fraud or corruption—for the beginning of a new term. If he is ¢orrect, then Mr. Vare and Col. Smith, if not seated, would have to seek re-election at special elections whenever they might be called by the governors of their respective States. * Kk K % Y The case of the late Willlam Clark of Montans end its handling by the Senate may throw some light on this matter of the right of a governor to appoint to fill a vacancy where an election has been, or would have been, declared void because of fraud. Clark, a Democrat, was elected to the Senats by the State Legislature in 1899. Charges were made that he had cor- rupted the Legislature to win the elec- tion, bribing eight members of the Legislature or more. He was seated when he came to Washington, but after the privileges and elections com- | mittee had reported that his election | was_fraudulent, Clark resigned and went back to Montana. His next move was to get an appointment to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by his own resignation. The lleu- tenant governor, acting governor, gave Clark this appointment. —Whereupon the governor declared that appoint- ment void and appointed Martin Maginnis. The Senate had the cre- dentials of both Clark and Maginnis before it. They were referred to the committee on privileges and election: but no decision whether either of tl appointees was entitled to a seat was made. Clark in the meantime had been elected again by the State Legls- lature. He came to Washington and served out his_term following his second election. No effort, apparently, was made to declare him disqualified because of having bribed legislators to win his first election. * kK K 1t the Governor of Pennsylvania is held by the Senate to have the right to appoint to fill the Vare vacancy —if it happens—then it is expected here that Mr. Vare will be a candi- date for re-election in the Senate in the Fall of 1928. If the Senate holds otherwise, Vare probably would be a candidate at & special election earler, if one were called by the governor. Senator David A. Reed of Pennsyl- vania comes up for re-election in 1928. It is reported here that Reed and Vare will be the candidates, on a “harmony” ticket, for the two sena- torial nominations in the 1928 pri- maries. Such a combination, it is believed, would result in the nomina- tion of both Reed and Vare and their election in November, 1928. Vare would have to win the Re- publican nomination first. He might be .challenged by Gov. Pinchot or another Republican. It now appears he would have the support of Reed and the Mellons. Senator Reed needs the support of Mr. Vare in his own race. But when it is recalled that Willlam B. Wilson, a Democrat, came to the boundaries of Philadel- phia with a lead over Vare in the gen- eral election, it appears that & Re- publican might, in the primary race, give Mr. Vare all the trouble he was looking for and then some. * o x Mention has been made of the im- portant part Senator Shipstead of Minnesota, Farmer-Labor, may play in the next Senate, practically holding the balance of power. Senator Ship- stead himself is up for renomination and re-election in 1928. He is greatly interested in ol adequate farm rellef legislation. He is also intent upon an amendment of the laws so that the jurisdiction of equity courts may be limited In the matter of is- suing injunctions in labor strikes. In recent years the practice of enjoining strikers has been on the increase. He has no objection to the protection of property by the injunction route, but Senator Shipstead does object to the use of the injunction to prevent men from speaking to other men or from publishing their views. * ok kK As a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, Senator Ship- stead has !lv-n study to questions af- fecting thé relations of this country with the outside world. At present he is looking into the Nicaraguan situa- tion, where United States naval forces have been landed to protect American lives and property. Generally speak- ing, Senator Shipstead does not take much stock in the theory that the Government of the United States is called upon to back up or collect by if necessary any debts or other obligations which an American citizen assumes in a foreign country. likely to bé nominated and confirmed | seemed as Chief Justice of the u:m.: l:ntol. replied, “Then we shall be obliged (Conyrishs. 10983 3 BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN. Q. What proportion of the people in the world eat rice as a substantial part of thelr diet’—R. L. A. Rice is a genus of grasses of which the only important specles is the common rice, one of the most use- ful and extensively cultivated grains, supplying the principal food of one- half of the human race. -It seems to have been originally a native of the East Indles, but has spread to all quarters of the globe, wherever the conditions of warmth and moisture are suitable, Q. When did the first steam ferry boat run from New York City Staten Island?—C. A. 8. A. The first steam ferry boat be. tween Staten Island and the mainland ‘was the Nautilus, which made its first trip on November 29, 1817, Q. What is the Mangus theory?— F. L. D. A. The Mangus principle denotes the action observed when a wind cur. rent is directed against a rotating body and is familiar in such phe- nomena as the pitching of a curved ball. By rotating a surface on which the wind is incident, the air currents on one side are deflected 8o that a suc- tion is produced which serves to in- crease the force acting. In other words, by varying the speeds of ro- tation to the direction of rotation of the surface, the magnitude of the force is altered. Q. What {s the longest telephone lianln the Southern Hemisphere?— M. 'A. Tt fs the line connecting Johan- nesburg and Cape Town, South Af. rica. The line is 908 miles long. Q. How much blood is there in a chicken? A horse?—A. T. B. A. A G-pound hen contains from 6 to 8 ounces of blood. This es- timate was computed from the fact that, in general, the blood content of a bird is from 1-10 to 1-13 of its total body welght. The amount of blood in a horse 18 1-13 of its live weight. Q. Why is “Lalique glass” so call- ed?—A. L. C. A. It is named for its maker, Rene Lalique, a French jeweler. Q. What was the size of the ban- quet hall on the wall of which Daniel saw the handwriting?—H. H. A. The actual dimensions are not known. It was sufficlently large to accommodate a thousand lords. Q. Who established a navy yard at Norfolk?—M. P. L. A. The Norfolk Navy Yard was founded under the name Gossport in 1682 by the British. The name of Gossport was taken from the Gossport Navy Yard, Portsmouth, England, which was one of the most omportant shipyards of the time. Q. Where is the sea in which ships get lost in the weeds?—J. E. L. A. The Sargasso Sea has for its general boundaries the 25th and 30th parallels north latitude and the 38th and 60th meridians west longitude. The position of the seaweed varies as it 1s moved by winds and currents. The sea covers an area in the North Atlantic Ocean larger than that of France. Although weeds are thickly matted In some sectfons, a vessel to! could not become hopelessly nvolved in the tract because the patches ar: not continuous. ). What per cent of fat must cream b\ in order to whip?—T. MFD. A. For cream to whip satigfetortly it should have 30 per cent of fat. A | separating machine may be resulated to produce such cream, but If the mill is skimmed by hand it is {robossible to get more than 18 or 20 per cen of fat. Q. Are Dean Inge and Bishep In gram the game?—H. B. K, == A. Dean Inge and Bishop Tngram are two distinct persons. Willlam Ralph Inge s Dean of St. Paul's, Lon don; the Hon. A. F. Winnington In gram, Bishop of London. Q. How many people are employed by Henry Ford?—J. L. A. The latest published number of employes of Henry Ford is 162,792, Of these, 11,022 are employed in for elgn countries and 68,285 of this num ber are employed at Highland Park, {n the General Motors Works. The total number {s exclusive of those employed in the Ford Trade Schools as instruc- tors or otherwise, In the hospital endowed by Mr. Ford, and in the D.R.&IL R R. Is there in existence an eccles!: nsl"k:flll court of the Episcopal Chureh? —S. B. A. The Eplscopal Church in Eng- land and In the United States has al- ways maintained ecclesiastical courts However, these courts are not In session except when specially called. There is one that is ready to function in each dlocese In England and In the United States. Q. Pleass nams some of the rarest postage stamps—A. L. M. A. Among the rarest stamps are: the Alexandria stamp of 1848, 10 cents; Baltimore-Buchanan stamp of 1845, Boscawen stamp of 1846 and the Millbury stamp of 1847. The Z4-cent Alr Mail inverted stamp is also in demand. Q. What forelgn woods will sink In water when thoroughly dry?—J. E. C. A. The common ones are: Green- heart, mora, West Indian stalnwood, cocos wood, Pernambuco wood, vari- ous eucalyptus, African blackwood, black ebony, African oak, cocobola, rosewood, snakewood, partridge wood, black fronwood and ebony. Q. What s the most expensive apagmgnt houss in New York City?— A. The only one having the highest assessed valuation 1s on Madison ave nue, Eightyfifth to Eighth-sixth It is assessed at $5,400,000. Frederic J. Haskin {s employed by this paper to handle inquiries of our readers, and you are invited to call upon him as freely and as often as you please. Ask anything that is o matter of fact and the authority will be quoted you. There is no charge for this service. Ask what you want, sign your name and address and in- close 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Address The Evening Btar Information Bureau, Frederio J. Has- kin, Director, Washington, D. C. Columbia Economists Start Frank Talk About War Debts Frank talk on both sides of the question has followed the plea by 42 members of the Columbia University faculty, professors of economics or allled subjects, for a conference to consider a revision of America's war debt settlements with forelgn nations. Those who regard the matter of debt policy as closed can see no possibility of good resulting from the action; others believe the Columbia professors have given emphasis to a sentiment which will grow as the public gains H fuller understanding of the situa- on. “Europe’'s debts to America have had the careful consideration of a commission, which includes the Sec- retaries of the Treasury, State and Commerce, Senator Smoot, pre- sentatives Burton and Crisp, Richard Olney and Edward N. Hurley,” says the New York Sun (independent). “They have sat with the representa- tives of England, France, Italy and other debtor nations and their scru- tiny of the debts has been minute and their conclusions jus ‘Why, then, should an American demand another conference?” The Grand Rapids Herald (Independent Republican) holds that “when the American Government speaks with finality, in a matter of forelgn policy, it inevitably commits the American people, and any back- fire at home—suggesting greater rather than less foreign favor-—con- tributes a futile and perhaps danger- ous embarrassment to the United States.” * ok ok X “The statement of the Columbia professors is likely to make Europe think that sentiment in this country is against debt payments; that is a wrong impression,” asserts the Albany Evening News (Independent Republic- an), while the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph (Republican) quotes Presi- dent Coolldge’s statement on the “sanctity with which civilized nations undertake to discharge their obliga- tions,” and states that “our debtors should realize the importance of doing nothing to weaken that sanctity.” The Detroit Free Press (Independ- ent) suggests that “it {s hard enough for Uncle Sam to be pilloried as a Shylock’; that “perhaps it would be just as hard, or harder, for the genial odd fellow to be ridiculed as a bun- gling ‘easy guy ,’ who lacks the grit to stand up for his legitimate in- terests.” The Free Press argues that “the professors fail to satisfy think- ing Americans that by merely remov- ing the financial leverage, which this country now holds over Europe, we would surely win Europe’s love and admiration.” The Springfleld Union (Republican), acknowledging the tariff phase of the question, as “Might it not happen that we would have to go further might, for instance, have to let down all the customs ta iff restrictions on European goods, close our own factories, throw our own people out of employment or else com- pel them to drop down far below the he had been betting that the Czar's government would continue, and sug- gested he might have done better to bet on a horse race or play Wker.l if he had to bet. It is a case in point of the mental attitude of those who belleve that the United States Gov- ernment should back up all the in- vestments made in foreign countries by American citizens.” * k* N Senator Robert M. La Follette, ir., of Wisconsin has returned to Wash- ington and expects to resume his duties at the Capitol when the holi- days are over. He has been re- cuperating from an illness since last Fall, and is now much improved in condition. As a member of the Reed slush fund committee and of the Robinson Tarlff Commission investi- ting committee, Senator La Follette plenty of work ahead of him. His resolution American standard of wages and lv- ing; in short, put ourselves out of commission economicglly in order to get the friendship ich thus far we have been unable to buy with the sav- ing spirit and spiit blood of American soldiers, and with billlons of money loaned or freely given in rellef and charitable work?" * x *x “While it specifically disavows any thought of interfering with the cur- rent operations of the Dawes plan or with present npegotiations,” observes the New York Evening World (Inde- pendent Democratic), “its effect will probably be to increase the difficulties of Premier Poincare in securing a ratification of the Mellon-Berenger agreement. It will be used by the foes of ratification in France as evi- dence of the possibility of getting something better. It may be criticized as untimely on that account. The memorandum does, however, deal frankly with facts. It attacks the ‘ca- pacity to pay’ basis of settlement— which must necessarily call for revi- slons as this ‘capacity’ changes in the varjous debtor nations in the course of years. It finds in this unhappy term one of the principal reasons for the ever Increasing disapproval of the United States in Europe. Thus we have a dispassionate statement of cer tain unescapable facts tending to jus tify the call for a reconsideration.” “In the last analysis this matter comes down to a question of policy,” declares the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (in- dependent Democratic), which believes it cannot be denied “that an increas- ing body of opinion in America feels that justice has not been done; that ‘we have not pursued the course best calculated to advance our own inter- ests or to promote peace and better international relations. For this bodv of opinion,” continues the Eagle, “the Columbia professors make out a strong case. In the long run such a recon- sideration of war debts as they pro- posed must come about.” * k% The Roanoke World News (Independ- tent Democratic) also holds that “the time will come when the country will see that the Columbla economists are right in their views, and that for this country’s own safety and prosperity, it would be wise to reconsider the debt question in the light of all the facts, and from a larger viewpoint than has as yet been brought to bear. ““The consensus of 42 members of the faculty of poll sclence of Colum- bia University,” in the opinion of thi ‘Worcester Gazette (independent), “em: phasizes the present unsettled and un- satisfactory state of the several debt negotiations. And it adds very con- siderable academic prestige to the aide of those who feel that the problem has not yet been solved satisfactorily. There are many angles from which even those most nearly satisfled by the attempted solutions can see points of legitimate attack. For example, why should we compel Great Britain to pay more proportionately than France? Perhaps we should, but per- haps we shouldn’t. The Columbla fac- ulty members want to see the whole question reopened at & new interna- tional conference. That is, at least. worth thinking over.” * K k& ““The Columbia professors have com- mitted the unforgivable sin of dis- cussing the debt situation frankly,” remarks the Baltimore Evening. Sun (independent), while the Milwaukee Journal (independent), declaring that trade barriers are placed against Eu- ropean products, asks: “What is the good of revising a settlement from 49 per cent to 35 per cent, or even 9 per cent, while the fundamental cond!- tion remains that mekes it hard for ¢ one nation to live at all, while another rolls in luxury?” The Utica Observer- Dispatch (independent) concludes that “it is extremely unlikely that the manifesto will have any te | effect it