Evening Star Newspaper, January 14, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY January 14, 1927 * THEODORE W. NOYES. .. . Editor er_month per month_Orders may_be sent telenhone n 5000, Collection is made carrier at end of each month. ¢ 1, oy by Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. | Maryland and Virginia. and Sunday....1yr.$9.00:1mo onl 11 $6:00: 1 mo $3.00: 1 mo Dail Dai r., $12.00: 1 mo +. $8.00% 1 mo $4.00: 1 mc and Sunday..1y only ¥ Sunday’ only dgr.; Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclnsively entitled 10 ‘the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it ot ‘otherwise cred- Jied in this paper and also the local news .Dyblighed herein - All rights of pu pecial cispatches herein are also r Give the National Guard a Home!| An effort to secure from the! Public Buildings Commission a rul- ing that the National Guard armory is properly subject to inclusion in the construction program now in hand has fafled, the commission de- ciding that it does not lie within the scope of the project for the housing of the administrative branches for which appropriations have been au- thorized. It is therefore necessary to obtain specific legislation authorizing the construction of an armory, and steps to that end are to be taken at once. For many years the District Na- tional Guard has been in urgent need of a suitable headquarters. It has been shifted around from pillar to Ppost, never in an adequate home, and 1's development and proper training have been hampered seriously in con- “equence. Yet it is a recognized part of the organization of national de- fense. It has rendered valuable serv- ice in times of emergency. When- yver called upon it has responded —| played a gobd deal like the tradi- { wére available, and found that out n | tion { The specifically strongly established but was suspected. The game was tional “squeeze” in China, each sub- ordinate taking his part of the graft money and passing on the remainder | to his superfor, who in turn peeled {off part of the roll and handed the alance along the line, all according jto a established percentage ale. { The American Federation of Labor | investigating committee got at the books of the union, as far as they rigidly {of a total of over $800.000 in the strike fund it was impossible to ac- i count for nearly $650,000 because of { the lack of proper records and vouch- for the Communist-directed strike brings up the question of where it came from. New York is interested in the police graft charge. at large interested spect of the case, i dollars was raised of this promo- country is in the other vt Salacious Magazines. The campaign in Washington and New York for the elimination of the alacious magazine and pamphlet from newsstands is bearing fruit. Determined to sweep the city clean of this type of literature and pic- ture, The Star, more than a vear ago, began an intensive drive which soon showed its effect the type of magazines sold at the various stands. Almost coincident with the beginning of a similar campaign in New York recently the first conviction was had in the local courts, when a news- dealer was fined $100 for distributing lewd publications. This conviction, coupled with renewed activity on the part of The Star and the authorities, is expected to purge the city of literature which is harmful to young and old alike. In investigations which have been conducted for a period of more than fourteen months by The Star it has been shown that school children were the especial prey of this kind of newsdealer. Sex magazines, pictures masquerading under the misleading title of art, and stories of alleged “experiences,” have abounded near the school buildings and have found a ready market in the younger ele- ment of the city. In other cases, on 12lly and has served effectively. Recently an effort was made to mecure for the National Guard the Mse of the old Pension Building, on Judiclary Square, vacated by the Pension Bureau. That' failed, be- cause the space was needed for one of the other bureaus of the Govern- ment. Perhaps it was fortunate that this was the case, for had the Guard ‘Yeen housed there it would probably have continued in that location for w long time, and the structure would have been merely another make- shift, whereas the organization should have a building of its own, @esigned for its needs. Now the matter comes to a point in the decision of the Public Build- ings Commission that the immediate Program cannot include the required construction. The necessity of ob- taining a special act of Conxreag to this end involves some delay and perhaps considerable trouble. - But the outcome should not he doubtful, for the case for a properly designed and suitably located Guard armory is strong. In most of the larger cities of this vountry the National Guard armories are buildings of distinction. Great pride is taken in them by those com- munities. They are regarded as es- sehtials. ‘Washington practically alone of the large cities has never had such a structure and equipment, and it is surely time that it be so provided, in recognition of the splen- did record of the District National Guard and its imperative need of a home in which it can develop prop- erly, as befits the national defense unit of the National Capital. The| special act authorizing the construc- tion should be passed at thig session, short though the time may be. —_— Rumors of war can be manufac- tured in the Western Hemisphere. There is no need of the imported article. ; e —t—— In the present, as in the past, the total abstainer has the best of the argument concerning the effects of aloohol. e Police Graft and Communism. ‘Wholesale corruption of members of the New York police force and officials of the district attorney's office has been charged in a report presented at the meeting of the executive council of the American Federation of Labor at St. Peters- burg, Fla. A special committee had been appointed to Investigate the recent strike of the New York Fur ‘Workers' Union, and as a result: of that inquiry the committee reports to the effect that about $100,000 was paid to police and other officials for protection by the Communist and left-wing elements in control of the unfon. This charge is based upon afidavits given by those who were involved in the strike, which lasted Breventeen weeks and was marked by much violence against employers and egainst workers not in agreement with the radical leaders of the union. Jt 18 alleged that a regular weekly pay scale was established, according +a which police inspectors got $250, eaptains $50. lieutenants from $25 to $60, detectives from $10 to $25 and clerks from $10 to $15. These funds were paid for protecting strikers and Communist agitators from arrest and prosecution. The publication of this scale of payments to the police by the New York Communists brings to mind once more the revelations of an investigation into police graft in New York twenty-five or thirty years ago, when a legislative committee probed deeply Into the vice and crime con- ditions in the big city and found a horrible mess. Pay scales were then in order. Gamblers, street walkers, thugs and crooks of all classes put their money up weekly for “protec- tion,” according to a fixed valuation. where a magazine or pamphlet was too offensive for public view, an “under the counter” bootlegging transaction would take place for all the youngsters “in the know.” It can be seen that it makes small difference whether a salacious mag- azine is sold openly or under cover, except that the latter practice is the more vicious. To pollute childish minds by lewd stories and pictures is an offense for which the penalty cannot be téo great. The immature mind is particularly susceptible to suggestions of this kind, and it is not beyond the bounds of probability that the trend of many lives has been changed by easy access to this type ers. The fact that nearly a million | best perform: ] American THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, milk toast. And then again it seems impossible that a man who would risk twenty-five thousand dollars on food alone could, with his peculiar tastes, live to the age of sixty-seven, when he would begin to get a little interest on his investment, because it is certain that he would try to eat up as much as he could in the meantime. Any way you look at it this London food pur- veyor is a good business man. Two Thousand Hours in the Air. A record of two through storms won Shirley P. thousand hours and fair skies has Short, air mall pilot, the Harmon trophy which was awarded yesterday by .the Interna- tional League of Aviators for the ance in 1926 of an aviator. In taking this signal honor Short triumphed over Comdr. Richard E. Byrd and Floyd O. Bennett, who startled the world with an airplane flight over the North Pole last Summer. The com- mittee, in investigating the records of the various American aviators, decided that Short's accomplishment was a more seryiceable feat than the North Pole flight. Pelletier D'Olsy, the famous French flver, who has made many long-dis- tance trips, is now conceded to be the only rival of Short for the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial trophy which is soon to be awarded. If the peerless air mail pilot should win this trophy also, it is probable that his unique achijevement will stand for a long time. To the layman a hundred hours in the air sounds almost like a life- time, and probably more action is ob- tained in a hundred hours in the sky than in five hundred on terra firma. But to the present-day aviator, and especially the mail pilots who fly day and night in the discharge of their duties, a flight of a few hours is commonplace. Short had no serious accidents in the year's work, which attests not only his luck but his skill and close supervision of his plane. He richly deserves his reward and Americans as a unit will be pulling for him to win the Memorial trophy from D'Olsy. ———e—————— Many books are written about pol- itics. Those which specialize on idle gossip are the most striking. They are possibly less harmful in influence than those which attempt apparently profound, yet ill-considered, economic dissertations. ——rat—————— Having decided questions before him to the satisfaction of base ball fans, Judge Landis again leaves the game in a position to be more played than talked about. ———r————— Aslight decline in the price of gaso- line would be more satisfactory if the ultimate consumer could store up a quantity large enough to afford pro- tection against the next rise. ——r—e——————— If there is any little thing Nicaragua and Mexico do not know about their of literature. Warned in an effective way by the recent convictions of a dealer for distributing suggestive magazines, newsstand proprietors will be chary in continuing this vicious practice. District laws provide jail terms and heavy fines for those who persist in destroying the morals of boys and girls of high school age, and through The Star and the local authorities every effort will continue to be made to wipe out-all business of this kind. politics and finance, they should have reporters stationed in the United States Senate to keep them informed. ——a———————— Prosperity of a nation is not nor- mally measured by the lavish election expenditures it can indulge in. ————t———————— A clue in a homicide case now leads to strong suspicion of interference by a practical joker. e —e————————— SHOOTING STARS. Women in Wall Street. Steadily onward presses the cause of feminism. Women have bécome active participants in all the professions, in industry, in commerce, in politics. Now it is proposed that they be ad- mitted to the New York Stock Ex- change, that holy of holies of mascu- line activity. Upon the first hint that an applica- tion for membership might be made by a woman there was a hurried search of the rules governing that or- ganization, and it was found that the constitution of the exehange inter- poses no legal bar to the admission of the gentler sex. The qualifications for membership are merely those of re- sponsibility, character and citizenship. ‘When the general regulations relating to membership were framed there was no thought of the possibility that others than men would ever seek ac- cess to the “floor.” During recent years women have beecome active in the stock-broking business. They are efficient ‘sales- men,” handling all sorts of securities capably. They aré partners in nu- merous financial firms. But until very lately none has ventured to approach the threshold of the sanctuary of the great financial game, and Wall Street has rested content with the apparent recognition of an unwritten law that the actual dealings on ‘change” should be conducted by men only. Now comes the test. Will the women gain admittance if they have the cash to pay the high price of seats? ———— Communists never bring about con- ditions so satisfactory as to prevent a nation from being tempted to get into a war. R Good Business. A noted London caterer is extending his lines of business. Recently he was asked if it was possible for him to fur- nish a “best man” along with the food at a wedding. He decided that that was easily possible, and after look!ng over his staff he picked out the hand- somest man, dressed him up “fit to kill,” sent him along to act at the wedding and added three guineas to the bill for “catering.” And now the same caterer has en- tered into the insurance business. For $25,000 he has greed to furnish two meals a day for the rest of his life to one of his best customers. The patron is forty years old and, if he lives for twenty-seven years, will be paying approximately one dollar and fifteen cents per, meal. On the latter transaction it would seem as if the caterer was getting the best of it, win, lose or draw. In the first place if a man of forty eats ex- cessively rich food—and it is conceded that the food will be luxurious—for a That money went up from the pa- trolmen to the precinct officials, to headquarters and thence to “the man higher wp," Whose identity was never BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Rude Awakening. December was a time of cheer And generous applause. But January ie severs, There is no Santa Claus. Instead of gifts we get the bills, ‘Which make us grimly pause. Gone are the light and festive thrills. There is no Santa Chus. The reindeer hasten from the way ‘Where bandits break the laws. ‘We miss our myth and sadly say, “There is no Santa Claus!" Publicity and Privacy. “You have been in public life a good while.” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Yet you have not sald a great deal.” “In order to stay in public life a man must learn to keep his private opinions to himself.” Disputation. In argument men walk about, Each claiming he is right; ‘With something great to talk about, ‘Why spoll it with a fight? Jud Tunkins says a man who tells all he knows is seldom put in a posi- tion to know much. Harmonies. “Did you dance with the Prince of Wales?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I could follow his style of dancing per- fectly. But I positively refused to go horseback riding with him.” New Faces. New faces smiling, Ever gay, Still lead the sinner- On his way. The old bartender ‘Was tough, But now the bellhop Treats men rough. “Most of de argument between re- ligion an’ sclence,” said Uncle Eben, “’pears to be carried on by folks dat don't know a heap 'bout either.” -t District Representation. From the Cleveland News. That Idaho congressman not in favor of building new cruisers prob- ably figures that the folks back home don’t need naval defense. — e O Tempora, O Mores! From the Baltimore Sun. ‘Women who used to aim to be good wives and mothers are devoting a lot of time these days to being good sports and bridge players. o Seein’ Things at Boston. From the Boston Herald. few years he is likely to have stomach trouble and be forbidden by his physi- clan to’ attempt anythjng more than ‘What natural touch of color have our suburbs prettier than a golden pheasant flying across a slope of pure snow wine-red in the sunset? ! “Dear Sir: Why don’t you write some more about scrapbooks?—I re- member once quite a long #ime ago you did. You see old Santa brousht me & nice big scrapbook and ene part of ir will be for your articles. You might have some "good suggestions about making one, so will hold off starting mine till I see if you will write some. thing on them. Most respectfully, ROHD. In order that our correspondent may be no longer delayed in the pleasant occupation of keeping a scrapbook, we shall endeavor to jot down here some personal ideas on the subject. Modesty keeps us from saying that the young lady has the right idea when she determines to include us in her new book. It may interest her to know, however, that in doing so she will find two important factors in her tavor: 1. That other persons are doing it 2. That the size of “This and That," in double column arrangement, is ideal for scrapbooks. It is with a sense of pride that the writer of this column realizes that many of his articles, now this one, now that, are cut out and pasted away, If we write about dogs, the friends of these animals cut out the article If some phase of human nature is discussed, those who find something in common with the ideas hasten to seize their shears. Those particularly interested in literary subjects put such articles away for future reference To he read is the greatest apprecia- tion any writer can have. When there is added to this the treasuring of what he has writter. his cup of joy 18 overflowing. and he would not trade places even with H. Gi. Wells. * ok ok K The keeping of scrapbooks is older than the hills, as the saying is. No. body knows who first began them. Probably Moses did when he came down off the mountain bearing his im- mortal tablets of stone. Perhaps the Egyptians antedated him, as they did so many others, and kept scrapbooks of a certain kind on the faces of stone walls, in pyramid and temple. Lest an’y one get an idea that the word “scrap” has any derogatory sense, we quote from the Standard Dictionary “SCRAP: A small plece cut or broken from something; detached por- tion; * * * a fragment of anything written, printed or drawn, especially one cut out for preservation.” The scrapbook, then, not only has a long and honorable history, but fs, in itself, a book of treasures, since each collector makes it so. One may differ with his idea of what is a treasure, but to him what he has collected is such, and there is no final judge in such matters. To one man, one other, another. The world is a big place. Each one of its millions and millions of inhabit- ants is somewhat different from every other person. There can be no quarrel, therefore, as one man is especially | terested in one subject, another in an- other. This {s what makes the world go round. The scrapbook, with its intimate appeal, shows forth the mind and heart of the collector more than any other sort of book in the world can interest—to an- D. C, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. do. This is its charm, this its reason for being. One may be fascinated by bears, and buy the finest bear book on the market, but it will be another's work. The scrapbook kept on bears, with bits of information on bruin col- lected from every part of the world, soon assumes an importance to the bear fancier far greater than that of the expensive “work.” PR Every one of us thinks better than he acts. The scrapbook is the place where we are at our best. We speak, of course, only of the proper sort of scrapbook. The other sort is so rare that it deserves no con- sideration. g In the true scrapbook the collector shows forth the best that is in him, for in it he pastes what has struck him as true, good and beautiful, Trueness is the first test for what goes into your scrapbook. “That's good, I must cut that out!" is the exclamation of the keeper of a scrapbook upon reading something in the paper. He used the word “good” in the sense of true, almost invariably. This is the big_test—Does it strike him as the truth? It may be a small truth about a small thing but so long as it is true he desires to cherish it, there is so much bunk in the world, so much blah-blah going the rounds. The second test is whether the thing strikes him as being good, in the proper sense of that much abused word. Scrapbooks the world over contain articles that have impressed their readers as setting forth the highest ideals of the human mind. E We are all creatures of convention, too often ashamed of our best senti- ments, afraid to own them in public, but only too glad to treasure them in our scrapbooks. ‘Therefore it comes about that one’s life and one’s scrapbook are often at varianoce, and this usually strikes superficial observers as strange, but there is no queerness in it, after all, but only a great deal of human nature. So one finds that a person with a wrecked life often will have collected, in a serapbook, choice sentiments of all ages and climes, dwelling on virtue and that sort of thing, simply because these were his ideals, his dreams of personal perfection which human frailty made impossible of realization. ‘There is, in the third place, the mat- ter of the beautiful, too often held up to scorn and ridicule in this day and age, a§ no doubt it was in every other age and day, else Longinus would not have found it necessary to write a treatise upon it. The expression of any quality of the human mind in printed words calls for a certain quality in the writer; and if he possesses some technical skill in his craft, he will often be able to realize in his work something of the quality known as “beauty of expres- sion.” Often enough this comes to him not as the result of hard endeavor, but as a sort of extra quality, which he regards with no less wonder than do his readers. This is what some call “inspiration.” These are some of the qualities which every keeper of a scrapbook should look for, even in keeping scien. tific “scraps,” in which good writing ought to be no les§ a desideratum than in purely literary work. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Mexico is full of what the State De- partment would call unofficial observ- ers from this country, most of whom seem to be out of tune with the Cool- idge-Kellogg policy toward President Plutarco Calles. One of these diplo- mats without portfolio is Paul Hutch- inson, managing editor of the Chris- tian Century, who has just reported that Mexico is free from bolshevist rule. Information to that effect was telegraphed from Mexico City by Mr. Hutchinson almost at the hour Secre- tary Kellogg was telling Senator Borah's committee all about the red designs that Moscow is promoting on the other side of the Rio Grande. The religious editor quotes President Calles as scouting the American theory that bolshevistic principles permeate the government of Mexico. Mr. Hutchinson finds, on the con- trary, he says, evidence that relations between Mexico and Russia are today not nearly so strong as they were sev- eral years ago. He asserts that the Mexican Federation of Labor, which put the present Calles government in power, is “totally opposed” to the Third Internationale and the existing regime at Moscow. o w* William W. Russell, who has been American Minister to Siam since 1925, is about to become the fifst diplo- matic chief of mission to be retired on a pension under the new foreign service act. Mr. Russell, native of the District of Columbia, was 67 years old in December, thus becoming eligible for “the lean and slippered years” on a permanent allowance of ‘three-fifths of his ministerial salary, which will give him $6,000 a_ year for the rest of his life. He entered the foreign service in 1895 and has been on duty since then in Venezuela, Pan- ama, Colombia, the Dominican Re- public, Equador and Siam. Russell was a high school bpy at Rockville, Md., on the outskirts of Washington, and later attended the Naval Acad- emy at Annapolis. * ¥ Xk k One of the diverting political mor- sels being served at Capital dinner tables during these hectic mid-session days concerns the future of Albert B. Fall. Vindication in_the recent Doheny trial has filled Fall's old-time New Mexican constituents, 'tis said, with a desire to send him back to the United States Senate, where he sat from 1912 until 1925. It is to. the seat mow occupied by Andrieus A. Jones, Democrat, who will come up for re-election in 1928, that Fall in that event would aspire. Those who are telling the story say it all depends on whether Fall emerges victorious from the forthcoming Teapot Dome criminal trial, in_which he is a co- defendant with Harry F. Sinclair. Much hangs, of course, too, on the state of Fali's health. New Mexico has signally honored him in the past. He was a member of its Legislature, a justice of its Supreme Court, twice its attorney general, and a member of its constitutional convention before golng to the United States Senate and later into the Harding cabinet. * ok k *x Over in one of the big executive de- partments they're laughing merrily at the expense of a popular junjor. of- ficial who was recently caught in a terrible jam at Washington, and in his own home, at that. His wife, a well known Washington hestess, had invited a prima donna, who appeared in opera here the other night, to be the house guest of herself and hus- band. The songstress duly arrived, bag and baggage, on the day of the performance. But that very noon her hostess was called to the South to attend a parent taken suddenly ill. That left friend husband in a fix. Belng a young man of resourceful- ness, he lost no time in meeting the situation. He decided to have himself chaperoned and beguiled a fellow of- ficlal of his department into lodging with him as long as the soprano her- self was on the scene.. Chief Justice Taft long has been an anostle of the theory that judges of the Federal courts, especially of th United States Supreme. Court, ought to avail themselves of all suitable op- portunities for “mixing” with their fellow citizens. There appears to be one member of the Federal bench who believes, that there's little virtue in wandering from his own judicial fire- side. He is Judge Andrew M. J. Coch- ran of the eastern district of Ken. tucky. Judge Cochran appeared be- fore the judiclary committee of the Senate not long ago, to give testimony on the bill increasing judges’ pay. In the course of cross-examination the Blue Grass jurist startled Senator Norris and the ‘latter's colleagues by saying that his visit to Washington was the first time he'd been out of his own jurisdiction in 25 years. Tk ok ok % Reports persist on Capitol Hill that if the Lausanne treaty with Turkey— endless theme of discussion in execu- tive session of the Senate for the past fortnight—is ratified there’ll be a concerted effort to make it a prece. dent for recognition of Soviet Russia. That may explain why Senator Borah, ‘chairman of the foreign relationg com- mittee, is enacting the wholly unusual role of favoring something the State Department wants. Borah is a con- sistent and persistent advocate of es- tablishing diplomatic contact with Mosco Other Republican pro- gressives;' as well as some Democrats, are of the same mind. If these ele. ments join with the bipartisan Coalition that may put over the Turk treaty by a slender margin, it is re- garded more than likely that a sim- flar combination may soon be out in front prodding the administration not to be partial in keeping company with autocrats. In other words, it will be argued that what is sauce for the Ottoman goose should be sauce for the Russian gander. * K ok ok “Vincent Massey, who is to be Can- ada’s first Minister to the United States, is “half American,” like that other distinguished British statesman, Winston Churchill, and on the same account. That is to say, Mr. Mas. sey's mother was.a native of the United St ates—Erie, Pa. She was a Miss Vincent and the Dominion dip- lomat got his Christian name from hers. Mr. Massey's American rela- tions include the late Bishop John H. Vincent, the famed founder of Chau- tauqua, and the latter's son, George E. Vincent, president of the Rocke- feller Foundation. So his excellency from Ottawa will not come to Wash- ington quite a stranger in a strange and. * ok kA Padrick Colum, Irish poet, who has been lecturing in Washington, paid us Americans an unusual tribute. “The trouble with most of the Irish,” he said, “is a conviction that we know all about everything. I have found the distinguishing trait of the Ameri- cans I've met to be thelr intellectual humility.” Colum’s view doesn’t dovetail with the observation of a cel- ebrated European who opined that “you can tell an American any- where, but you can’t tell him much.” (Copyright. 1927.) ) Straining at Gnats. From the Boston Transcript. The Staunton, Va., chief of police, who orders a Santa Claus into court for violation of the anti-masking law, matches up very well with the prohi- bition enforcement officer who threat- ens to prosecute garage men for dis- playing alcohol signs which do not also include the words ‘“completely denatured.” In the Same Class. F@m the Portland Express. A pedestrian who disputes right of way with, an automobile is taking about the same chances as a driver ims precedence, over & train at a le crossing. FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, | 1927. Wants Phone Data. Correspondent Asks About Link With Handbook Making. To the Editor of The In most accounts published in the press in connection with police raids on places where handbooks are made and bets placed on horse racing, the statement is made that among other equipment found is a number of pub. lic telephones. Sometimes the number is given as 10 and more. The places raided are often small storerooms or buildings and the tele phones are found in the back portion of such places where only the owners ar: of the place or the regular patrons | have access to them. Here, then, is a public utility, the telephone company. placing as many telephones in a place as a patron will sign for or agree to pay for. Does not the telephone company have knowledge that these phones are to be used in connection with an unlaw ful enterprise? Surely when a con tract is requested for a large number of individual telephones, each con- nected with a separate wire and not operated by a private branch ex- change, and to be put in a back room of a questionable-looking place, there is ground enough for suspicion as to what these phones are to do? Or is the telephone company a pub. lic utility that must provide a patron with a Series of telephones, without limit and without question as to what purpose they are to be used? When an individual patron goes to the telephone company and makes re- quest for telephone installation, the nature of his business is questioned, its location, the number of calls to be used, the rate and many other de- tails, before the contract will be made. Besides, if several telephones are re. quested in one establishment, the question is taken up of placing a private branch exchange, it being pointed out that the installation of such service is more easily made and that service is therefore to be given over one or two listed numbers in the telephone book, whereas, if a large number of individual telephones, each with a separate wire from the place of business to the telephone ex- change, were installed, it would re- quire a listing of each individual phone number in the book, if the patron were to secure results from the individual phones placed in his business house or office. But even suppose that the tele- phone company was unaware as to the purposes of telephones used in handbook-making places at the time of their installation, would not, sooner or later, calls be made for repairs and adjustments of many of such phones, when they got out of order, and thus would not the repair man have his suspicions aroused as to the purpose for which such phones were being used? Or if there was a doubt in the mind of telephone officials, would not the “Mstening in” of the operator on such phones, as is bound to happen when making connections at times, bring to the attention of the tele- phone company the fact that bets were being placed? One thing is sure, the handbook makers cannot successfully operate on a very large scale without the services of many telephones. What I want to know is, “Where does the telephone company, ublic utility, deriving its franchise from the local government, figure ip the operation of places where the handbooks are operated?” H. C. DIRK. — Tells Uses of Poison Gas During Last War To the Editor of The Star: ‘“To be or not to be, that is the ques: tion!” or rather these are the ques- tions—Why poison gas? and Why next war? Few people realize the poison-gas facts of our last war. Listen to a few taken from United States Government publications. In 1918 our Congress appropriated $100,000,000 for the expenses of our Chemical Warfare (gas) Service, and allotted 48,000 men thereto. Sixty-three poison gases were used in the war, of which 26 were classed as lethal (deadly). Our Edgewood Arsenal was turning out weekly 815 tons of gas-producing compounds, against 410 tons made in Britain, 385 tons in France and only 210 tons in Germany. Edgewood and auxiliaries were almost ready to produce 13,000 tons monthly. One of the Edgewood staff told me the stuff was so hurtful that for only six actual workers in the “mustard” gas section there were 90 in the hospital, gas disabled. At the time of the armijstice the C. W. Serv- ice was engaged in 65 '‘major research problems,” including eight gases more deadly than any already in use. For some reason, unknown to e, Gen. Fries, who, as Col. Fries, as head of the C. W. 8. in war time, has published a statement that there was no gas discovered more deadly than those already used. Prof. Lewis informs me differently, and claims that the gas he discovered, ‘“‘Lewisite,” is nearly three times (2.9) more deadly than any previously known to the service. One airplane can carry enough ma- terial to destroy all life in a strip of territory 100 feet wide and seven miles long. A few dozen such could wipe out any metropolis regardless of entrenchments, fortresses, or a mil- lion armed men. No wonder alarmed politicians - would " prohibit its use. But small effect prohibition would have; for when in war a nation is crowded to the wall all such agree- ments become mere ‘“‘scraps of paper.” Moreover a far simpler method is to outlaw all war, in any shape. If one form of warfare can be effectually outlawed all warfare can be outlawed. EDWARD BERWICK. Says Wage Earners Buy On Installment Plan To the Editor of The Star: I cannot agree with Senator Couz- ens in his article regarding buying on the installment plan. Mr. Couzens lays the blame on the buyer, and that buyer is the wage earner. The wage earners support this plan because it is the only way in which we can have things. Otherwise we would have to do_without. We know we have to pay a “han- dling charge,” or, if we buy a home, 6 per cent interest, yet how many wage earners could pay cash for a home, or even a radio or a piano or a washing machine to help the house- wife, or anything amounting to a few hundred dollars that would help him to enjoy the fruits of his labor? How many wage earners make enough to live on decently and save enough to sign checks amounting to $500 or less? When we get an increase in wages, which is not very often, bread will Jjump a cent a loaf, or coffee or some other necessity which we cannot live without. If Senator Couzens would introduce bills to see that these prices ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKI: Q. When was the Jim Crow law passed in the District of Columbia?— M A. The District never had such a law. Following the emancipation of the slaves, colored people began to ride on the street cars in the Fall of 1862. Signs were placed in the cars directing them where to sit. , Any ac- tion taken by Congress was in indi- vidual cases, and was agalnst dis- crimination instead of in faver of it, until, shortly before the close of the Civil War, Congress by special act for- bade exclusion from the cars on ac- count of color. Q. How many different auction bridge hands can be dealt?—('. P. A. E. V. Shepard says that the 653, 013,559,600 different hands that may be dealt may be distributed among four players in 53,644,787,7 839,237,440,000 different ways. Q. What is the disease that can be contracted from wild rabbits?—T. B. A. Tularaemia is the disease that is contracted through handling or dress- ing wild rabbits which have the dis- ease. Q. Why is it so hot in Death Val- ley?—E. P. A. The climate of Death Valley, Calif., is due in a measure to its con- figuration. It consists of a long, nar- row parallel valley, considerably below sea level. The Panamint Mountains shut_out from it the moist winds of the Pacific, so that in August there is less than one-half of 1 per cent of molsture ih the atmosphere. Q. Why is Justice plctured as a woman with bandaged eyes’—T. B. A. The portrayal of Justice as a fig- ure which is blindfolded can be traced to the conception of the Egyptian goddess Maat, the personification of physical and moral law and order and truth. Maat became the personifica- tion of Justice, who awarded to every man his due. Maat was the “lady of the judgment hall.” Dr. Alfred Wiede- mann, professor in the University of Bonn, writing in “Religion of the An cient Egyptians,” says of Maat that this goddess of truth and justice, who is mentioned in some of the oldest texts, was occasionally represented with bandaged eyes, since Justice Judges without respect of persons. Q. Is Michael Arlen an unmarried woman?—L. E. A.Michael Arlen is a man, and he is unmarried. Q. Which cities have the largest and finest markets>—M. N. A. There are two types of city mar- kets which must be considered in list- ing the largest. There are markets which are made up of farmers who bring their product to a central loca- tion and sell it to the public. Detroit, Cleveland and Denver have exception- ally large markets of this kind. The following cities have markets of com- paratively recent construction and are probably the largest and best equipped city markets: Cleveland, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Newark, N. J., and Norfolk, Va. Q. Is the city population larger than the country population?—H. W. 0. A. According to the 1920 census the per cent of urban population is 51.4, rural population 48.6. The Census Bureau classes all incorporated places with 2,500 or more inhabRants as urban. Q. Did Swedes ever establish a col- ony in America?—P. H. Swedes established a colony in Delaware as early ae 1638. They erected a fort on Christian Creek and named the country New Sweden. They subsequently established a mili- tary post on the Island of Tinnicum, below Philadelphia. Q. Where and how did the mas tree idea originate?’—H. C. A. In regard to why Christmas trees came into use we find the fol- lowing explanation: It was the desire of the church to combat the heathen customs which prevalled at this sea- son. Christmas carols and Christmas plays were introduced and later “Christ trees,” or Christmas trees, Christ- B. adorned with lights and gifts, the la ter in commemoration of the gifi brought to the Christ Child by wise men. There is a diversity of opinion as to where the Christmas tree custom originaced, it being cred ited to both Italy and Germany. Q. What is balsa wood used for?- M. J. G. A. Balsa is employed as a substi tute for cork, hoth for stopping bot tles and for floats of fishing nets. It has served only to a very limited extent for such purposes, however since the high elasticity, impermeabil ity and resistance to decay, so char acteristic of true cork, are not pos essed by this wood. The very buoy nt rafts or balsas of the troplcs are made of this wood. It wi time considered very @es making pontoons for dry dock wood has been experimented with for life préservers and lifeboats, but was found of little value In its natural state, because it absorbed molsture to a high degree and soon rotted: it also warped and checked in working. These disadvantages have been largely overcome, however, by treating the wood with a paraffin bath. The treat ed balsa wood s used extensively by some firms in the manufacture of life preservers, fenders and lifeboats, and for structures requiring insulation from heat, as in the refrigerating com partments of vessels and in fce boxes. for which it is d to be well adapted Q. Please explain the colored moon which we were supposed to see on December 18. louds prevented our | seelng 1t.—M. M. F. A. The Naval Observatory says that the phenomenon on the night of December 18-19 was a lunar appulse— that is to say, the sun, earth and moon being nearly in a straight line. the light of the sun was partly cut off from the moon by the earth, but not entirely cut off from any part of the moon. If it had been entirely cut oft from any part, the phenomenon would have been called an eclipse This particular appulse was remark able in that it came very near to being an eclipse. Otherwise it would have attracted little notice. Q. What was the occupation of Charles Carroll, signer of the Declara tion of Independence? N. A. He was a lawyer, as were 25 of the other signers. Do we import much candy?’- A. R. B. A. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1926, imports of candy and confectionery were valued at $13, 982,315. This dces not include $704. 743 of maple sugar and sirup. Q. Is it safer to stand up or to lie down in a thunderstorm?—R. J. G. A. F. W. Peek, jr., consulting engi neer of the General Electric Co., states that a person directly under a thun- dercloud during an electrical storm is in 15 times as much danger of being struck if he is standing as he is if lying flat on the ground. Q. Is there any place in the North- ern Hemisphere colder than the North Pole?—J. F. D. A. Theoretically it can never get much colder than 60 degrees below zero at the North Pole, which lies in deep ocean. The cold “pole of the Northern Hemisphere, far from coin- clding with the North Pole, is be- Ueved to be on the continent of Asia north of Irkutsk, where the tempera- ture s said occasionally to fall to 90 degrees below zero F. Government statistics bring out the fact that the uneducated man has only 1 chance in 300 to attain distinc- tion. There is mo reasom why any one should live under such a handi- cap in these days of free schools and free information. This paper sup- ports in Washington, D. .. the largest free information bureau in ez- istence. It will procure for you the answer to_any question you may ask Avail yourself of its facilities for your self-improvement. Inclose a 2-cent stamp for return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bu- reau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. “Pussyfooting” with crime is poor policy, in the opinion of most Ameri- can editors, hence general satistaction has been expressed in discussing the t!eclsl?n by the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upholding provisions of the Baumes law making life sentence mandatory on a fourth conviction for felony. A warning is sounded, however, by the Hartford Times, which belleves that, “barring a certain number of organized professional thieves, every criminal presents a different case. Every criminal who commits four crimes,” continues that paper, “is a different person. The person who took four drunken rides in other people’s motors is not the same sort of fourth offender as the burglar whose career is interrupted after his fourth ‘Job.” Yet under the Baumes law both of them must go to prison for life, and no judge who sees the essential dif- ference in their cases has any discre- tion in applying the law.” The Times is convinced that “the result of for- bidding discretion to judges will be an increase in the use of discretion by prosecutors, with the obvious outcome that many offenders who ought to re- ceive some punishment will escape are not raised without just cause, in- stead of writing articles condemning us for something we cannot help, we might be able in time to pay as we go. I am a skilled worker and the average wage is around $40 per week Now figure it out, on a budget or any other plan, and see how much a man can save. For instance, take a man buying a home, feeding and clothing a, rily of four, trying to give the children an education, pay- ing taxeés, and electricity bills, in- then squeezing out o to a movie. How much -v,n and how many get COEO0. W R Lll}'G. altogether.” The New York Evening Post holds that “the decision is sound sense and sound law. It will meet with the ap- proval of all law-abiding citizens,” de- clares the Evening Post. “In unmis- takable language it sets down the con- stitutional right of the law-making body to limit the discretionary powers of trial judges. And this is as it should be. If the administration of the criminal law depended solely upon the temperaments of hundreds judges, it could only result i hope- less confusion.” * ok X ok The existence of ‘‘crime as a busi- ness” {8 recognized by the New York Herald-Tribune, which argu ‘The administration of criminal law has come‘near breaking down. The appel- late division justices share the public’'s belief that inert enforcement and ex- cessive indulgence of criminals are largely - responsible for the present crime wave. Crime has been organ- ized and commercialized to a startling degree. But justice continued to function on the old assumption of casual individual misdoing and the old oversanguine belief in the possi- bilities of individual reformation. The Baumes laws have put a new vigor into the criminal code and a new fear into the hearts of our professional evildoers.” The Nashville Banner, ac- cepting this view, feels that “it is worth while to watch carefully such experiments as are being made, with the theory that swift and severe pen- alties will do more than any one thing else to reduce lawlessness and protect soclety. “This decision seems fully war- ranted by the-attitude of the general public,” in the opinion of the Utica Observer-Dispatch. The Lexington Daily Leader holds that he most severe penalties and the swiftest pun- ishment alone can control the modern criminal fraternity.” The Asbury Park Press finds “a manifest indispo- sitlon u(.o“ inflict the death penalty, but an equally manifest disposition to get after the criminal quickly, try him quickly, and keep him where he can- not do more h ." ~Tae Pascal Press Finds “Pussyfoot' With Crime” Is Poor Policy Herald recognizes that “the law serves to keep criminals behind the bars, de- spite the best efforts of criminal law vers to get them out.” “In getting control of its crime sit- uation New York will be envied by other cities, even if its example fs not followed,” asserts the Philadelphia Public Ledger, while the Youngstown Vindicator states that “the law thus upheld will have terrors for the gang sters, who realize that there is no wav of escape.” The Sandusky Register argues: “Executive clemency and the prerogatives of the jury should be sufficlent to prevent injustices from the enforcement of the law. But what extenuating circumstances could de- mand clemency for a criminal who has been convicted four times for felonjes?”" * ok ok X “It is to be hoped that the days of pussyfooting with crime are over.” exclaims the Watertown Daily Tim Witg‘ (l;;"c(;ncluslnn that “when the courts lown and when prosecut ing officials fail to do their fll)xll duty then they fall to give society the pr telctlon which they are sworn to glv The Newark Evening News finds that, in the appellate coust’s opinion, “permanent isolation of confirmed criminals” is “no more arbitrary than execution for murder,” and it suggests that “New Jersey's Legislature, fac- ing this year a similar need, can well afford to give careful study to this dectsion. “The report of the first six months of operation of the Baumes laws,"” says the Worcester Evening Gazette, of “Indicates that they have been highly efficient on the whole. With the whole- hearted co-operation of the police, they have reduced the crime total tremen- dously. The impression grows that Massachusetts, as well as other States, do well to consider their adop- Shipping Entrance View Of Judge Is Indorsed To the Editor of The Star: I have valnly looked about for the increasing tide of public indignatio: b * sweeping the city,” as you editorfal has it tonight, anent Judg McMahon's recent decision on the 'No parking, shipping entrance.” It seems to me that there is no justice in the fact that a business man can appropriate to his own use a portion of the streets for parking his delivery trucks, most of the time at an angle to the.curh,.thus further delaying and endangering traffic, while a property owner, and there- fore a taxpayer, cannot usually find parking space for his own private car in front of his own house. ‘Why should not these business houses provide their own private parking spaces? I have noticed that both stores, Woodward & Lothrop and s Royal, have loading plat- forms on their own ground. Why should the city of Washington supply Washington business houses 1 ur‘k!lf grounds at the expense of the general public? ANDREW T. DUPONT.