Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1927, Page 8

-.g THE EVENING STAR __With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY......January 11, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor Rt The Evening Star Newspaper Company | 11 o Blsiness OFce: & a Ave. Nex Fork ‘r:l';ninw ;‘5‘«'\":':;;: fanist. icago lce Tows uilding. European Officn 14 Regent St.. London. netand. The Evenine St ith the Sunday morn- e efition. 1s dsli-ered by carriers within M city ‘st G0 cants ner month: daily only. 5 cents ner monfh: Sundays only. 20 cents por month Orders may be sent by mail or felephone Main 5000. Collection is made by arrier at e of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. . Maryland and Virginia. aily and Sund <0.00: 1 mo.. 7he Dailv Gni nnday. .. 17T SA00: 1 mos A Sindas oniy 157:83.00: 1 mo.. 26c All Other States and Canada. Paile ane Qo 1 vr., §12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 [ A b v B R funday onls $4.00 ° me Pre 1e entitlad nows dis an ored. news A1 rishia_of mihlication Terein are also reserved A Rliehat of special ¢ The Nicaraguan Message. President Coolidge has laid before | in a plain’ statement the aation with regard to Nicaragua, and incidentally as to Mexico, in a manner caleulated to check the criti- ecism that Dbeen voiced recently regardinz the attitude and policy of the Unfted States toward the Central fmerican republic. He shows that nnder our treaty agreements and in conformi*s with our established pol- fey we are endeavoring to pre- serve the existing status in Nie- aragua in order to prevent encroach- ments upon American rights. He shows further that there is evidence that Mexico is engaged in an effort to disturb that status, there being grounds for believing that munitions have been sent into Nicaragua by the Mexican government, or with its knowledze and consent, for the use of the revolutionists there The situation in Nicaragua is com- plicated. A rapid succession of changes having occurred there in the organization of the government, it is not easy for those who do not closely follow the sequence of events and are not familiar with the conditions | to determine where lie the rights of the case. Whether Diaz or Sacasa i the legitimate holder of the title of president is not for this country to decide definitely, as umpire, for the question has not been referred 16 this Government in that capacity. But the administration must take the situation as it finds it and de-| termine, for its own guidance, which _government in Nicaragua is the one with the cloak of authority. We cannot recognize two governments at once. We must elect. And the State Department has decided that the Diaz rule has the authority of Nicaraguan law and at the request of that government an American qaval | force has been dispatched and marines have been landed and other measures have been adopted to pre- vent the destruction of that au- thority. It Mexico has been itself interven- ing in Nicaraguan affairs, by the sending of arms and munitions to the aid of the revolutionary party, it s doing so secretly. What the United States is doing is openly done, with no concealment. The purpose of this Government is plain—to pro- tect the rights of its nationals-and its own rights under existing treaty | respecting the possible construction of an interoceanic canal across Nie- araguan territory. The purpose of | Mexico, if it is, in fact, abetting the revolution in Nicaragua, is only to be surmised. For Mexico has mno! such ground for action in the Central American state as the United States has. Tt has no rights that are in jeopardy. It has no justification for endeavoring to supplant the estab- lished order with another that is un- friendly to the United States. The President's statement of the case precedes the appearance before the Senate foreign relations commit- tes of Secretary Kellogg, who ac- cepted an invitation to explain the situation in full for the benefit of that committee, Details of the sit- uation not included in the President’s summary will doubtless be forthcom- | ing from the head of the State De- partment. Already a change in the tone of comment upon the adminis- tration’s course is observed, in con- sequence of the message of yester- day, which so definitely stated the basis of the American policy and course in Nlcaragua. It is to be as- sumed that President Coolidge is not seeking to thrust this country into a quarrel. There is no jingoism in his course. There is no challenge to any other power. If the implied charge that Mexico is acting in an unfriend- ly manner is resented it must be spe- cifically refuted. Until disproved it will be accepted by the American people. aress has ) Mexico is often in a state of too much agitation to pause and tune in on a large amount of good advice struggling to get by the political static. ——— The Motor License Situation. Washington motorists who have bought new automobiles since Janu- ary 1, 1 face probably the most vidiculous licensing situation of any community in the country, inasmuch as they purchase 1926 tags in order to operate their cars on the streets of the ecity. The situation, however, is saved from unfairness and injustice by the fact that the licensing bureau does not require another pur- chase of tags when the 1927 plates arrive, but merely issues a duplicate set free to the motofist. This condition, unique in the annals ot American motordom, has come about through the failure of a Mid- western concern to fill its contract for the 1927 licenses. Promises of the firm have not been kept as to delivery date, and the National Capital, with 1ts past record of peculiar’ traffic prob- lems, the most recent being the spec- tacle of more than 100,000 persons opelaling CBF® wiliwut drivers’ per \ : must ledger of unusual happenings. ‘While there is no particular incon- venience to the local motorist in belng compelled to wait weeks or months for his 1927 tags if he does not wander farther afield than the good State of Maryland, there is no way of telling what might happen to him if he should start out on an extended trip, North or South or West. It is comparatively easy to imagine a Vir- ginia sheriff in some remote section esty of the law an unfortunate Dis- trict motorist who on January 15, 1927, is driving blithely along on 1926 tags, or one of the smart State police of Tilinois chugging up to a Washington driver and asking him if he was aware that New Year Eve had come and gone. In the State of Virginia, however, the danger of arrest for District mo- torists with 1926 tags will gradually decrease as 1927 worrles its way along the calendar. If the Washingtonian should, for instance, be driving in Vir ginia on 1926 licenses in July of 1927, he will have nothing to fear from the authorities of the neighboring State. By that time half of the police will have given up trying to read the 1927 Virginia numbers, and consequently | will ignore all tags, and the other half will be practically blind from attempt- ing to do their duty and decipher the green and scarlet numerals and would not be able to see the 1926 date on ‘Washington licenses. So all is well that ends well, and if the District motorist will stay close to home nothing very serious will hap- pen to him. e o Fire Losses. During 1926 this country suffered severely from storm disasters. Wind and water combined to wreak heavy damage upon communities and sec- tions, taking lives and destroying property The year 1927 opens with a black record of losses by fi It would seem as though another ele- ment had substituted for that which made the year just closed sadly mem- orable for its visitations of weather blows. Within the span of a few hours numerous fires have occurred, in the United States and Canada, costing in the aggregate heavily in propertylosses and in lives. The chief of these in point ~f human sacrifice was a small blaze, at Montreal, where seventy- seven persons, almost all children, were killed In a panic caused by a slight fire in a motion picture thea- ter. Soon afterward fires occurred in two educational establishments, at Front Royal, Va., and Mercersburg, Pa., in the former case virtually wip- ing out the institution with a heavy property loss and some injurles to students, and in the latter instance causing a damage of $300,000, but pants, Within a few hours a parochial school in Philadelphia was partly burned and the pupils were saved, in part through a well dis- ciplined fire drill and in part by di- rect rescues when threescore were ‘(‘aught on one of the floors by the smoke. None was injured. A small fire in a plcture theater at Niagara Falls, N. Y., started a panic, which was fortunately soon quelled and none was hurt. Nine persons were injured in a fire at Norfolk which, damaged business buildings. In a New York plcture theater a slight fire in the projection booth started a rush for the doors, which was checked in season. Such is the record of a span of less than two days. The Montreal fire alone has cost lives. That at Front Royal was mercifully destructive only of property, though severe hurts were inflicted upon many of the lads. A very narrow margin prevailéd there and at Mercersburg and also in Philadelphia to prevent a holocaust. The school buildings at Front Royal and Mercersburg were old and fur- nished really food for the flames. They were typical of a great num- ber of educational establishments in this country, which must be rated as bad fire risks. The Philadelphia structure is of a stouter,construction and this fact doubtless prevented a shocking disaster. Attention to the older school struc: tures is demanded by these warnings. The fact that these blazes at Mer- cersburg and Front Royal occurred at night indicates that the safe guards are not adequate. The preva- ing of the heating apparatus, evi- dently beyond the point of safety. Some measure of precaution must be adopted to Increase the margin of security for the children who are housed in these establishments. —ra——————— A psychologist charged with capital crime is a difficult subject for psycho- analysts. The Houck case will prob- ably have to be decided on terms of plain old-fashioned evidence. ————— Renew Your Operator’s Permit! Another warning has been issued by Trafic Director Eldridge to hold- ers of automobile operators’ permits numbered between one and fifty thousand. On February 1 the grace date for renewal of the cards expires and all persons holding these num- bers will be subject to a fine of forty dollars, with the consequent delay in being again licensed to drive. Although it is the delinquents’ own fault if they fail to renew thelr per- mits there seems to be an unaccount- able reluctance on the part of Wash- ingtoniaus to fill out the application blanks. It looks as If a large pro- portion of the motorists of the city have suddenly become philanthropic; they seem to have decided to make the District a present of forty dol- lars apiece, and although the Dis trict appreciates this spirit of gen- erosity, ‘it would much prefer that the permit issuance progress in an orderly manner. Every effort has been made to im- press upon local drivers the neces- sity of prompt renewal. The traffic office has, time and time again, stressed the fact that applications | were coming in too slowly to assure | that local motorists would be com- pletely equipped with permits by July 1 next. These pleas being unsuccess- ful, the Commissioners, therefore, ordered the impusition forty of a of the State halting with all the maj-| without harming any of the eoccu-| lence of cold weather causes the forc- | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D mits, has fllled another page of the|dollar maximum fine on dellnquenu’ in an endeavor to save Washingto- nians from the consequences of their own procrastination. It takes little imagination to vis-| { ualize the walling and gnashing of | teeth among several thousand drivers when they find that the date for re- newal, is expired; that they are the | recipients of no sympathy W from either the authorities or public, and that weeks or months will elapse before they will again be possessors of the small bit of card- board which now appears unim- portant but which is vital to the con- tinuation of the privilege of operating a motor car. It is all very well to put off every- thing until the last minute, if one cares to take the chance of being left, but this is a case in which de- lay has been penalized and mo leni ency need be expected. It would cer- tainly seem the better course, under circumstances, to get on the “band W * pay three dollars for ! a three-year permit, and order a couple of tons of coal with the thir seven dollars saved in the operation. e —— Responsibility vs. Immunity. A refreshing example of courtesy and responsibility to the United States and the District of Columbia by a sub- Jject of a foreign country occurred yes- terday before a coroner’s jury when the driver of an automobile involved in a fatal accident waived diplomatic immunity and stood trial on the mer- its of the case. Considering what Washington has had to put up with in the way of diplomatic immunity in the past—collisions, trafic violations and the maiming and death of its citizens by those who refused to accept re- sponsibility for their deeds—the gentle- manly action that featured sterday’s proceedings won sympathy for the de- fendant, which, with his stralghtfor- ward story of the unfortunate i- dent, resulted in a speedy exoneration. And there is probably not a resident of Washington today who does not re- joice that one who could have wrapped the cloak of immunity around him took, instead, the other way and was absolved of blame. This case might well serve as a les- son to diplomats driving automobiles in this city, as it demonstrates beyond question that justice will be given to all who request it. Every man should | accept responsibility for his deeds and diplomatic immunity should not be used as a screen to cover offenses against a municipality. Tt is hoped that the pleasing feature of this latest case of a forelgn subject will serve as an inspiring example to those who are inclined to be indlfferent to their re- sponsibilities to the Nation of which they are guests. e these ac New York manager arrested in con- nection with a champagne bath inci- dent has lost his appeal. Showman- ship needs. publicity, and he will remain comforted so long as the show does not lose its appeal. —————. It has become almost impossible for a liquor purchaser to belleve anything he sees on a label unless it shows a skull and crossbones and is frankly lettered “‘Poison.” —— According to some of the courts, this country can produce enough moral turpitude of its own without importing any. —————— The Monroe Doctrine has had fre- quent occasion to offer reminders that though temporarily forgotten it is not gone. e Like many another reformer, Gen. Smedley Butler finds that laws would be easier to enforce if there were not $0 many wicked people in the world. e China has grown so ambitious as to refuse to limit her lengthy war to the proportions of a family quarrel. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Jiggs.” They tell us any place is filled Quite soon and with great ease; That others wait with effort skilled To labor or to please. The brave Marines their tears have shed, A grave the sexton digs. None of them really hope: To find another “Jiggs.” He did not boast his pedigree, ‘Which backward far extends; A faithful, loving dog was he, ‘Who journeyed with his friends. Great men who run fame’s rapid race Pasgs on; new ones appear. No other mascot can replace The dog we held so dear. A Political Prospect. | “How did you come to embark on a political career- “I won my opportunity,” sald Sena- tor Sorghum, “by my lovely disposi- tion. 1 was always anxlous to oblige friends and to avold making enemies.” Farm Rellef. The farmer to a night club sped In merriest endeavor, And now that farmer, it is said, Wants more relief than ever. 'tis said, Jud Tunkins says a five-day week means more rest or more trouble, ac- cording to the way & man happens to enjoy himself. Ho, unaw: the v h ge of “A fool,” sald Hi Chinatown, “and a ike self-confide: Discrimination. “Would you marry a man because No,” answered Miss Cayenne, “I'd at least take the trouble to find out whether he made his money boot legging.” Stillness. Bad licker will Create a riot; The moonshine still ‘Will not keep quiet! “De latest dance,” said Uncle Eben, “allus has a name dat sounds so unre- spectable dat de dance sesms fnnocent i spoiling sightly lawns, but it {into a drug store and buys | forming the same operation. | zens { as its explanation of the situation: (., TUESDAY THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Wiadom is ofttimes nearer when we 8too; Than when we soar,—Wordswofth 2 The rapacious male shows his atti- | tude toward life in his very bearing. The calm strut which such a man gets into his walk is an interesting land instructive phenomenon in itself. ng this sort of a chap as a pivot, le persons may be divided into two his class and the others. a grasper. men have to do some ing for a living, but they do it ith a difference. The element of rapacity, if in their nature, is we concealed by the conventions o society The rapacious feliow, on the other hand, is so indifferent to convention that he is utterly unable to conceal his determination to knock the world into a_cocked hat Perhaps the finest example of this type of man we ever knew is now in the penitent and we fondly be lieve that it served him right. vom childhood up he strutter. He talked louder than mates, professed to knos was his . T more than all the remainder of them | put together, and was intensely pr | cocious in all wa | Intelligent observers older than he saw that the chief stumbling block in his character—as, indeed, it s in the character of all such mem—was his utter indifference to others. Cruelty is another word for it. Is it not cruel in this world, where death waits for each one of us, to| never have a thought for the other fellow except how to get something out of him? %k kK Lest there be misunderstanding to what we mean by we go more into detail. simply masculine. ge Washington was a true “he but he was not rapacious. fmpossible to study his life, or look at his face in portraiture, and hold the idea that here was a man who was always looking out for No. 1 He craved the esteem of his fellow men, and worked hard to secure it, in the face of misunderstanding, treach- ery and ill will of every kind. His peculiar combination of ph ical and mental energy, nerve g good fortune made him “first in war, first in peace of his countrymen.” The rapacious man of whom we speak alw but often turns his mental abilities toward mulcting his fellow men. And fortune alway him in the end. The average ordinary male being in the United States is & peculiar blend of rankly masculine virtues with fem- inine traits which make him an alto- gether understandable creatur We do mnot When he throws a poker party for | the boys, he wants them to have a good time, but he is glad that they can see his house, into the bargain, and admire his radio, and all that sort of thing. The purely rapacious male, on the other hand, is planning all the time how to take their money away from them. ‘The tough part of it is, he nearly always succeeds In doing it! s K ok ok TFempleton Jones, a keen student of human nature, recently told us of an al rapaclous male, | and first in the hearts | has the physical energy, | s seems to desert | | interesting case. It seems that a cer- aln young man was taken into the | ow it would seem,” began Ji | with his usual pleasant smil a young man might find it to his | benefit, on entering upon his dutie to be pleasant to every one. | “All of us old-timers, at rate ny | when we were young men, ambitious | | to succeed, thought it incumbent upon us to greet every one, simply as a matter of common sense courtesy | “A young man, on entering a firm, . 1 never be sure just who will be | able to assist him. "It fs impossibl | even for the most astute youngster | that ever lived, to look around him, | make a 1i | the men T will | and the rest 1 | speak to only when they force me to.’ | 7 “Yet this seems to be the plan of | young Smith. THe is intelligent and a { hard worker. He knows his stuff, s the college boys s “Yet ho deliber s aside one | of the fundamental rules of commor | sense conduct in business life, that of | being normally polite to every one, not. only because it is politeness, but he reason mentioned. ourtesy. costs nothing, seems to cost too much effort for oung Smith. “I have seen him deliberately walk | pas o employ if they did not | exist, | them, begrudgingly bestow hearted greeting upon them. “He is so sure of himself, and has so little o good opinion of others, that he honestly does not hother about any | one other than his precious self. | Do I think he will succeed? Cer- tainly—up to a certain point. A man | who is indifferent to normal rules of human conduct generally finds him- self, sooner or later, in the position of the calf in the song,” and Jones broke off to sing * “Oh, didn't he ramble, he rambied He rambled all around. Up and down the town, @idn't he' rambie. he rambled | He nbled "tiil the butcher cut him down ™" | Perhaps Temp Jones was too harsh upon the young man, but cer- tainly there is a great deal to what he said. It is a sreat strain upon some young men to suddenly awaken, say at the age of 19 or 20 years, and to find themselves good-looking, ener- getie, capable of “Jumping into the business world and making good. Just as they feel, in the depths of their he that they can never die, so they are contemptuous of others, { proud in their own strength. Not for ‘them is to be the plodding work of the loyal dnd the efficient. Tt takes too much time! They will storm the heights unaided, and, once there, | thumb their nose at humanity, | Men who believe in Nature’s way pwih watch them come |and go, sceing some few of them succeed, many of them faillng, some {of them going to the penitentlary, even, because of their inability to overcome a lack of proper early train- ing, combined with a curious con- tempt_ for others. If we were to give any advice to a young man just entering business, it “would be something along this | order: Be a normally courteous human being to every one. Don't let the janitor show you a lesson in polite- | ness. ak pleasantly to, will either ignore or | « | { of normal g 'Press Raps Pois Authorized ‘“‘Poisoned” alcohol is in the lime- light again, following discussion of fatalities among hollday drinkers and an announcement from the Treasury Department that a new method of denaturing industrial spirits is being sought with the intention of eliminat- ing poisonous ingredients. The pre: lent policy of the Government is vigo ously assailed and as vigorously de fended in the press. “The horticulturist who doctored hi apples with arsenic or strychnine s that persons who poached upon hi orchard should pay with their lives for trespassing,” declares the Baltimore Sun, “would find a mob of indignant neighbors on his premises, but I would be doing precisely the Government of the United States is doing.” “We do not countenance the setting of a shotgun so rigged that it will be discharged point blank at the breast of the marauding chicken thief as he opens the hencoop door,” says the Lansing State Journal. “Here in Lan- sing it is permissible to put up rods and other guards to keep grown people and children from cutting corners and s not permissible to wind the preventive bars with murderous barbwire.” * %k Quoting Wayne B. Wheeler's ment that “if the citizen goes ah: and drinks bootleg alcohol he is in the ame position as the man who wall bottle of carbolic acid, carrying a poi: and drinks it,” the Louisville Courie Journal repli “He does not into consideration that the commits sufcide by drinking carbolic acid has no help from the Government in his self-murder. is poi- “When the polsoning of alcohol | amounts to the poisoning in greater lor less degree of Hartford Times contends, “it is diffi individuals.” the cult to see wherein the Government is in & sounder moral position than are the gentlemen who are now serving prison sentences in this State for per- “In law, when the holder of a_note ! cannot collect from the signer, he can | proceed against the indorser. In liquor poisonings the Government has heen indorser for the bootlegger,” in the opinion of the Kansas City Times. “Polisoning industrial alcohol seems to be the Government's confession that it isn’t trying its best to keep the boot- leggers from getting it. It is merely trying to keep them from using it after they get it, when it ought to know they would just as soon use polsoned liquor as any other kind. It would be just as reasonable to give a known bandit a gun after warning him that it was loaded,” is the juds- ment of the Kansas City Times. * * K X Quoting an opinion which points out “that civilized natlons are now divided on the question whether a country fighting for its existence is justified in using poison gas against an enemy,” the Rochester Democrat-Chronicle re- | v b Jonsive to a the - poisoning cit " marks: “However that i tary Mellon's action is 1 growing sentiment that ment is not justified in if they violate ¢ laws.” The Asbury Park the suggestion: ‘ommit murder, highway robbery or violate a traffic Jaw and you are given your day in court before sentence is passed upon vou.. Our Constitution guar: that. Take a drink of liquor and all constitutional guarantees are off. Charging misrepresentation of what the Government s doing, however, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin offers “A teaspoonful of wood alcohol in a pint of bootleg is brimming measure of all that can be charged to the Govern- ment's denaturing, and while that may not be healthful, it is not deadly poi- sonous. What Is actually ‘poison’ whisky 1s more likely to be amateur concoction with wood alcohol furnish- Pres: by comparison.” A ing all the kick, which Is regular knock-out stuff, or the product of am- e | fact, ad | on label, | take n who | But the poisoned | ! alcohol which kills the drink | soned by the Government.” ees us | on Alecohol by Government ateur stills, which In its raw state is poisonous and which the kitchen op- erators have nelther the time nor the knowledge to purify. There is not and has not been any justification for the charge that the Federal Govern- ment is poisoning the American peo- ple to enforce the Volstead law.” P “The uproar over polsoned liquor now comes every year during the holi ays,” observes the Springfield Repub- “If the wets would stage it be- fore Instead of after Christmas, they would save lives.” The Altoona Mir- |ror adds its condemnation of the | charges, declaring: “As a matter of most_of wretched beings | whose ecarthly me to an end | just before or - Christmas were v acute alcoholism,” while the Akron Beacon-Journal sees “a vers imple rule by which the potentia vietims of such a system of wholesale killing m pe the grave or hos- pital—they need only cease belng con- sumers of the lethal potions which criminal bootleggers market for their owh profit.” “Of course, if the Government can denature aleohol with some compound that is excessively nauseous and can- not be eliminated by redistillation, yet will never cause death,” concedes the Richmond NewsLeader, “the Treas- ury should do so. But if this is chem- ically not feasible, those who insist on drinking liquor of unknown origin must assume theiv own lability. In- | dustry requires aleohol for a thousand ommercial uses fety and prohibi- require that it be denatured.” Hiven Register also belleves “if men will drink concoctions against which there are warnings as loud as there ave, and have been, against denatured alcohol, they are mainly, to blame for the results. “There is little sympathy deserved by the fellow who goes out deliber- ately and purchases whisky or other lquor that he has every reason to he- lieve is more or less poisonous,” de- clares the Nashville Banner, to which the Chattanooga Times replies: *If the Banner and other drys want all | the wets killed, let them resort to some other method than poisoning. Make the taking of a drink, for instance, a ital offense outright and quit the s of indirect ass: The San Francisco Bulletin also as- serts that “the Government withdraws from a position not extravagantly de- seribed as that of indireétly imposing capital punishment on a class of liquor law offenders, and in some cases on i t victims of unlawful hospi- | The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel in- sists that “prohibition must be predi- cated upon the theory that the weak stand in need of greater protection, not greater peril in life through the official administration of poisons in aleohol. | ) Raps Arlington County Smoke, Dumps and Fumes To the Editor of The St The Star has always been kind and helpful toward our ncighbor, Arling- ton County. We all hoped that the cat Meniorial Bridge would awaken our sl s neighbor™to a small part of the realization of what was more or less incumbent upon it in a co-opera- tive w at least, however small. Arington County is filled with won- derful home sites, and opportunities in real estate advancement equal to those in Florida last year. It is on top of Washington, has freedom from heavy traffic, and a park drive right into governmental Washington. And now we see notices in the press that Arlington County has just granted a permit for an abattoir less than a mile from Highway Bridge and less than a mile from the new Memorial Bridge. ‘Washington has helped Arlington County and boosted it, and {s this their return to us to belch smoke and fumes back at us from dumps, brick plants, aitolrs and the like? It is pathet! WM, McGOWAN. hat | and say, ‘Well, these are | 11; 192%. NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM 1.G. M. | | AMERICAN | by William J. Brimmer OF Edited B. NTHOLOGY VERSE: 1926. tanley Rralthwalte. Co. There is no such thing as art for| art’s sake, work for work's sake, rell- gion for its own sake—nor anything else under the sun for its sake alone. The expectation of reward is an in- herency of all human effort. Extract this essential element and activity of every sort would cease. The entire sum of that which we call progress would not yet have set foet upon any considerable highway of achievement if, at the outset, it had been deprived of the hope of personal returns for labor expended. Therefore, these word groupings are mere shibboleths the instrument of the phrase maker, or the milky way of the nebulous dreamer, or the decent garbings of failure otherwise thrust into the open naked and ashamed. Failure of every sort is quickest of all to take shelter within this austere and unworldly sanctuary. Failure +in the arts is speclally keen toward such refuge and among these the seeming general in- solvency of poetry makes this art ready to find comfort in the pleasant ade of “art for art's sake.” Speaking of poetry—its generally as- sumed bankruptcy is, after all, an appearance rather than a fact. Look- ing into the matter with interest and industry and unbias, it is clear that current poetry has roots that run deep enough and spread wide enough to sustaln a sturdy growth above ground. Plain, too, that this growth has a ready power of adaptation to urrounding circumstances of general outlook and alm. Above dispute, also, that modern poetry is lusty with health and keen to adventure far be- yond the limits of pattern and tradi- tion and equally true that it springs from every layer of life and from every corner of the land. Any one in fair mind would contend |that there is definite and abundant promise in the quality and scope of current poetry. Nevertheless, it is certainly not a popular form of liter- ary output. Just why? To be sure, it is an elusive and fleeting thing. It is essentially the voice of the emo- the record of hopes and aspira- of memories and dreams, a fragile impersonal spirit, not made for the rushing impact of the present, not made for the moise and turmoil that everywhere prevail. It is the times that are out of joint for any general acceptance and appteciation of poetry, even were this of true celestial beauty and power. No one, or hardly any one, can stop nowadays for the leisurely movement of a poet’s singing. Nor can any one hear his song in the din of every street’s daylong hubbub. So, natu- rally, with conditions working strongly against this form of writing, there 1is no call to make provisigns for its entertainment. It proves finally to be a matter of merchandise and shop keeping, as everything else is. Now and then the book windows display, so very modestly, “‘a handful of songs,” “a_sheaf of verse,” but as a rule they are dedicated to ready sell- ers—a natural and proper course, PR Yet, right here in America, there is a fine harvest of poetry every year, surprising as this may seem to you. If you want to know something of the extent of this and of its quality as well, here is a volume that will meet your desire in a most able com- petency. Nothing new, this Brai- i for here In a Sesquicentennial publi- cation appears the fourteenth annual issue df collected magazine poetry. American verse, all of it. A big book, comprehensive in scope, admirable in selection, able in arrangement, organ- zed to present an illuminating sum- mary of American poets and the an- nual product of their combined ef- forts. A big, hospitable book that welcomes the rebel as well as the poet of tradition, that projects a thousand poetical moods and motives, that spreads the panorama of Ameri- can verse in high tribute to the in- ventive genius of 1926. One feels like saying, “This is, after all, art for art’s e, ce it did not bring ma- terial profit nor public homage. Still, it did bring rewards, those of a mem- captured in words, of a dream eweled in cadence and rhythm, of ove embodied in song, ef a thousand | emotions set out in the best of re- | turns that a poet could receive. | And beside the abundant and beau- ! tiful poetry gathered in this Sesqui- centennial issue of American Maga- ine Verse there is a body of relevant and usefdl information. For instance, Part I, covering nearly 200 pages, is ziven over to a discussion of the va- rious aspects of modern American poetry. Each section of the country is surveyed and studied in respect to its poetry by some one chosen for special fitness to carry through such task. The poetry of New England, of the West, of the South, and so on throughout the United States, each steps out here under fit guidance in its own special characteristic of local racial stock is seen to enter into the poetic stream of locality and section. This, under the competent study ap- plied to the theme, is found to emerge from its particular conditionings of race and an alien heritage, and to hecome a part of the great common flow of American poetry, and a part also of the universal tide of world ong. These studles back the poems themselves with the history produc- ing them and give to the volume as a whole a true historical value in re- spect to our literary development. A growing content of history, this may be called, since each succeeding vol- ume will contribute further to this story of the growth of poetry, just as the "volume preceding this one will help to complete the real perspective of the whole theme. Following the Anthology iteelf is the Yearbook of American Poetry. This part of the publication is invaluable for reference. Here Is a complete in- dex of poets and poems published in American magazines for the year ending July 31, 1926, Here are re- views of poets and of poetry published within the same period. Here is a selected list of books on the subject of poetry. Here, also, are various “best” lists—the best books of poems between 1912 and 1926, the best books of criticilsm and theory, the best biog- raphies of an American poet. Here is a notation of poetry prizes for a period of vears, and a list of maga- zines, with addresses, publishing po- etry. There is also an index of first lines. The work closes with a bio- graphical dictionary of poets in the United States. A complete body of in- formation, you see, concerning the poets and poetry of 1926. Not only a complete body of information, but one that projected in authority, and with a keen discernment as to the al nature of the subject as a part of the development of a poetry that is essentially American, rooted in soil of this country and its conditions, enriched by the racial contribution of innumerable iramigrants and of other aliens come t¢ this country to make permanent use of its privileges and benefits. The Braithwaite Anthology of Mag- azine Verse is undeniably an institu- tion whose purpose is to report faith- fully the growth in America of the poetic purpose and its achievement. The Only Exception. From the Dayton Daily News. It is ngt @ difficult thing to sympa- thize a fellow man who has falled, kind W wife. [ blames his fallure on his thwaite Anthology of Magazine Verse, | color and immediate inspiration. Here | Q. Why do hot-water pipes burst from freezing so much oftener than cold-water pipes?’—A. T. G. A. This is not because of a dif ference of freezing point of water, but is probably because the water in cold-water pipes contains dis- solved air which separates on freezing and forms slushy while when water in a hot-water pipe freezes, it is more apt to become undercooled and then freeze rather suddenly, forming compact fce free from bub- bles, which iz more apt to break a pipe. Q" What is the meaning of the name, “Zonta,” which is used in con nection with 2 woman's club?— M. E. J. - A. The Bureau of American Eth- nology says that “Zonta is a Dakota (Sioux) word meaning “trustworthy.” Q. What does the abbreviation M. F. H. stand for?—M. B. A, It stands for ‘“Master Hounds Q. Where was the first library in the United States”—H. G. A. The earliest library in Amer! was that presented to the Henric College established by the of Virginia in 1621. It was destroyed at the time of the massacre the next year. Q. Can a man pick 500 pounds of cotton in one day?—E. H. W. A. The Bureau of Plant Industry says that 500 pounds of seed cotton have been picked in one day by one man, but the average amount is a great deal less than this figure. Q. When were the Filipinos given religlous freedom? What religion do most of them follow?—E. B. M. A. Religlous freedom was granted the inhabitants of the Philippines un- der the treaty of December 10, 1898, The majority of the civilized in- habitants are Roman Catholics Q. Why {s it that the United States is generally the country that has the smallest yleld per acre of the world?— L. D. A. The Bureau of Agricultural Eco- nomics says that the reason the United States does not have as large a yleld per acre as some other coun tries is because more acres are farmed in the United States with less man powe N of Fox | What is on trial in the Mexican and Nicaraguan crisis? President Coolidge, ¥ [ onstrated that the strongest militar strategy is sometimes which itakes the offensive, when the “enemy"” was counting only upon the defensive. In the face of the Senate proposed quiz today of the Secreta of State, President Coolldge prised the Senate with an 8,000- special message outlining the e history of our relations with | Mexico was supplying arms to Sacasa, the unrecognized claimant to the Nicaraguan presidency, although no country except Mexico and San Sal- vador has recognized Sacasa. All other countries, as well as the United States, recognize the constitutionality of the election of Adolfo Diaz, Presi- dent. P 1s the United States “in- according to Senator Diaz is lawfully elected brother's But wh; tervening, Borah, even If President? “Are we our keeper? Stich a question, although not cate- gorically put in these words, Is the key to the would-be senatorial ob- struction to the administration policy in sending vessels of war and armed troops to maintain the administration of President Diaz. President _Coolidge in _substance. answers: “Yes, under our Monroe Doctrine and Polk doctrine, and Roosevelt and Taft and Lodge doc- trines, we are responsible for main- taining peace and order in N ragua, not only because we hold by purchase the right to build the Nicaragua interoceanic canal, but be- cause we warn off all other nations | from meddling with American inde- pendence and peace. We stand upon the Monroe Doctrine modernized. It is therefore the modern Monroe Doc- trine that s on trial before the ad- ministration, ‘by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.’ " * ok kK Yesterday, at the conclusion of ! speech by Senator Bingham of Con- necticut, upholding the enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine, Senator Borah slyly cited a book bearing the titie { “The Monroe Doctrine, an Obsolete Shibboleth,” which he said was writ- ten by Prof. Hiram Bingham, and he asked the Senator if that were not good authority. Senator Hiram Bing- ham responded immediately with a frank avowal of authorship of the book, but he added that the Senator from Idaho should in all frankn and fairness include another | Which he had written after_ periences in the Wo taught him that his first analys the Monroe Doctrine had been based fals Hence when he had seen the incorrectness of his first conclusions, owing to the incorrect premises, he had revised his argu- ments. The “Shibboleth” book was written tn 1913 the revised argument in 1919. Even the doughty Senator from the mountains was not quick in proof that a professor of Latin Ameri- can history of Yale University zhould not add to his knowledge in six years, when he was getting broader data through the actualities of a European war. In his later analysis, Senator Bing- ham explains that his previous argu- ment had been based upon the original Monroe Doctrine in relation to the imperialistic European aggressions of 1823, which he supposed had become “obsolete” in our generation, until the World War had demorfstrated that imperfalistic ambitfon still ex- isted—dormant but not dead—which might yet threaten the peace of Ameri- can republics. As lieutenant colonel of aviation, Mr. Bingham had come into close contact with European con- ditions, so that he now conceived the great importance of defending this hemisphere from the Eastern Hemi- sphere with its imperialistic propen- sities. It takes a progressive mind to re- verse itself with new knowledge, and this instance is So rare an example of openmindedness upon the Monroe Doctrine that it stands in contras with the average. Doubtless ths Monroe Doctrine, 1823 view of the ill bears the forgetting that while it original name, therefore, continues to Erow. In the language of Senator Bing- ham, in his 1919 analysis: “When the American people say they believe in the Monroe Doctrine and that it has a future, they do not mean to subscribe to the balanced policy laid down by President Monroe, but rather to the spirit which prompt- ed John Quincy Adams to reject the proposals of Canning and to enunciate the doctrine that the United States Hemisphere, and does not need or care ‘lflr European interference in so do- ng.” Canning’s proposal was that the United States and Great Britain should unite in declaring a joint pol- ference in American development. Great Britaln claimed preponderance the | colonists | ragua, and he directly charged that | are many who sincerely take the same | it is a live thing which, , proposes to look out for the Western | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKI. | Q. What is put on the hydra | plant to make the blossoms A shiny seems to or alkalinity dance of lim flowers, whi The color of the flowers -leaf hydrangeas is varial dependent on the of the soil. An ab produces pink in blue is produced yactd conditions, which way be ! mented by the use of alum, rus | iron or iron filings. Too much lime { will check the growth of the plant |and cause a yellowing. ‘Treatmen |for any effect needs to be begun year before the result is desired. I g | | | Q. How many horse: chased for the Army in | B. M. A. During the fiscal year 192 3,092 animals were purchased by the Remount Service for use inthe Arm: While the majority of these wer: horses, the number also include: some mules and native Chinese an mals. Q lin a W. C A. The Pullman Cc sometimes been termed greatest hofisekeeper, from August 1, 192 1926, 875,248 sheets, slips, 1,876.681 towel blankets. Q. Do chipmunks ¢ of trees?—C. S. A. The Blologlcal Survey says th. chipmunks do not climb to the te of trees as do squirrels, but they d climb up 10 or 15 feet. When in doubt—ask IHaskin. I offers himself as a_target for ti questions of our readers. He agree to furnish facts for all who as This is a large contract—one that ha never been filled before. It would ! poasible only in Washington. and o to one who has spent a lifetime in cating sources of information. Has} does not know all the things that pe ple ask him. but he knows peop who do know. Try him. Stat question briefly, iwrite plainly inclose cents stamps for | turn postage. ~ Address Frederic | Haskin, Director, The Evening St | Information Burean, ~Washingt: D. . are pu n year?—A linen is purchase: Pullman Co.?—W How much year by the purchased o July 31 834 pillo: and 10,82 mb to the t a B BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. of interest because of Canada and he holdings in British Guiana. Out of that attitude me, in 1850, the Clay | ton-Bulwer of partnership in the future Canal—an en barrassing entanglement. John Quin ey Adams and President Monroe had had the temerity, in 1823, to cut loos: ¢ | from the Canning proposal and an nounce another declaration of inde pendence. f. Bingham in 1919 added: , which was becomi 1913, is now no longer more firmly held tha ever before, d has a very definit future sphere of usefulness. * * It is obvious that we must maintair a most active form of the Monroe Doc trine so far as the Caribbean republics are concerned. In this regard I have come to agres entirely with Presiden: Roosevelt’s ideas on the Monroe Doc trine: ‘Our attitude in Cuba Is suf | ficient guaranty of our own good faith We have not the slightest desire to secure any territory at the expense of any of our neighbors. All that this country deslres is to see the nelghbor ing countries stable, orderly and pros perous. If every country washed br the Caribbean Sea would follow the program in stable and just civilization which Cuba has shown * * * all questions of Interference by this tion with their affairs would end.’ . There are two very distinct schools of thought as to the limitations on our Government in safeguarding liberty and peace outside of the Federal Capi tal. One extreme is that the Federa Government should not have any au thority to interfere with license or misrule in the several States, on the ground that that is interference with State's rights. A most distinguished constitutional lawyer is now issuing a brief to that effect, in contending that i t to permit unlimited an election to the e, that s the any meddling by s of the quallfica would be curtail obsolete in obsolete, but * % and with Federal such doctrine o encroachmen the attitude of the slave in terests in the Polk administration when they demanded that w the Monroe Doctrino so dr to take over the Yucatan FPent; s we had taken Texas, in order t extend slave territory. Whitelaw Reid, lecturing to the lav students of Yale University in 1903 ed to the e st here disputes & erritory and slave power f i nexation of Yucatan, collaborated b | Mr. James Buchanan and his chief. nd adopted by Mr., Polk ir to Congress of Dec id April 29, 1548, Polk doctrine says ‘it should be dis tinctly announced to the world as ou settled policy that no European cu ony or dominion shall, without our be planted or established o) of the North Ame an con tinent.’ * ¢ * Under that many cbuld not buy off the coast of Chile. In our concerr ragua is involved our of the right to huild and an interoceanic canil a base on is a Polk doctrine star ut our Northwe in an intrigue v the seiz over the defend gua wi Il always protect that right for \ ¥s protect that righ which we have paid millions o but an unfriendly government controlled by an unfriendly and bolshevistically inspired faction ir X‘I\'x!cu, might support the claims of Costa Rica, San Salvador and Hon ;duras that they, too, held rights on [Fonseca Bay which were interfered with by our proposed naval base fantastic claim according to our ate Department, yet one which W jcould never refer’ to a Juropes international court for _The possibilities of such tion were forestalled in 191 Lodge resolution warning of its proposed naval bas lena B: Resolved, That when any harbo or other place in the American cor tnents is so situated that the occup ftion thereof, for naval or military put { poses, might threaten the communic: tions or the safety of ‘the U nite States, the Government of the United States could not see, without grav: concern, the possession of harbor or other place by any corpor: tion or association which hus such : relation to another government, not American, as to give that government practical power of control for nationa! purposes.” _This is certainly an extension of the original Monroe Doctrine, but, at cording to supporters of the present administration, it is the modern American doctrine, to which we are irrevocably committed; it announces they aver, our preponderating interes! N st mless he happens to be the|icy against further European inter-|in all that concerns th> safety of this own ‘hemisphe: national s: . for therein lies onr