Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY . . .January 24, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES . Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Ollice 11th St. and Pennsylyania Ave, New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. pean Office: 13 Regent St.. London, Englan The Evening Star, with the Sunday morn- Ing adition. is delivered by carriers within v at 60 cents per month: daily only. s per month: Sundays only. 20 cents per month. Orders may be sent by telephone Main 5000. Collection i% varrier at end of each month. ail or | ade by | Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dafly and Sunday....1yr. $0.00:1mo. 780} Datly only vr. $0.00: 1 m Sunday only . All Other States and Canada. PDally and Sunday..1yr. $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 Dally_only 1y ®.00: 1 mo’, 76¢ Sunday only 4.00: 1 mo., 35c| i 1yrl Member of the Associated Pres blg companies, however, that nowa- days this is a rare occurrence. The New York campaign will pro- tect the public from unscrupulous drivers, and in any city where there is suspicion that crookedness is being practiced the police should take simi- lar steps to check it. The commercial transportation of millions is too big an industry to be tainted with dis- honesty. ] A Lively “Stove League” Season. Though ball m- weather game, some of the most in- teresting developments in the sport occur in Winter, The “stove league” season, which begins shortly the ending of the foot ball matches and lasts until the training camps are opened, Is usually marked by many incidents of interest to the followers of the sport, trades of play ers, deals and political happenings This season has been exceptionally base is a w The Associated Press i6 exclusively entitled 10 the uee for republication of all news dis-| Datches credited 10 11 or not otherwise cred. 1ind Y ihis paper and also the local news publiched he All rights_of publication X disnatches herein are also reserved Fourteen Dead at Crossings. Ten dead in Texas and four dead | in Iinois in two grade crossing ac replete with important developments, and the patrons of the game, who number millions, have had more than the usual array of sensations to hold their attention. First came the scandal about the alleged “throwing” of a game be- tween the Detroit and Cleveland teams to permit one of them to gain an advantage in the race and to | enable certain players to bet success- Texas accident, it is stated, occurred | in a rain and there is a suggestion that the driver of the bus, carrying twenty-one athletes, did not | see the train until just before he veached the track, then tried to swerve the big vehicle to the side and | was hit a slanting blow. 1In the Tl nofs case a man was taking his fam- out for the first ride in a newly quired machine. Four of the seven | upants were killed and others may Tn this latter case inexperience | would appear to have heen the cause of the collision. An official of one of the largest rail- | way systems In this country recently stated that these “high ccidents” are increasing in the territory of that system because of the apparent in- difference of the road users to the rules of caution. Drivers plunge their cars through the gates and even run down the watchmen who are try- ing to signal them to stop for their own safety. ears ago the feeling gen- erally prevailed that the railroad corporations were culpable in not | making more rapid advance in the elimination of grade crossings. Now | the general belief is that the rail roads are doing as much as they can be expected to do toward this end, and that the burden of blame for the | appalling loss of life at the crossings | rests upon the road users themselves. Every person who drives a motor car outside of city limits knows that at certain points there places of danger, where the highways inter- sect the railways at grade. They know that the trains do not stop be- fore crossing, and that to be safe they themselves must stop and as- sure themselves of security before proceeding. The crossings are, with | few exceptions, plainly marked by day and night. In a small number of cases, which are heing corrected rapldly, the crossings are not ade- quately protected, by gates in the| reglons of frequent travel and by watchmen in other places. Some o them have no bells or lights. For | the lack of such safeguards the rail- roads are blameworthy. In the main, however, the grade crossings are suf- | fictently marked and guarded to pre- vent any careful driver from getting | into danger. For the Inexperienced driver there | can be no other excuse than his fail- | ure to acquaint himself with the con- | ditions on the roads he uses. For| the experlenced driver, who knows | the road and who ventures upon a raflroad track without first assuring himself that the way is clear, there 45 no possible excuse. ST SR O college v 'S | Although regarded as an austere | 1nan, Mussolini is perhaps more gen- | crous than any other great leader in | meeting . photographers and 1m»r~i viewers, H B | Crooked Taximeters. New York City has inaugurated ;“' campaign which can be copied with | benefit by every other large com- munity. The opening gun was fired | yecently, when detectives swooped down upon a taxi stand on Seventh | enue and ordered the seven taxis ! und the drivers to the police station. | Measuring off a space in front of the siation the drivers were ordered to cover the distance with thelr meters registering. After a check-up it was | found that all of the devices gave | totals averaging forty-five per cent in «xcess of the legal rate, and the of- fending drivers were held in $500 bail :plece. This quick and unexpected ac- tion of the police not only bagged dis- lionest operators, but the surprise of the coup resulted in a confession by those accused, who admitted that they had paid a mechanic $10 to “fix” their meters. Detectives assigned to the campaign of elimination of “crooked” taximeters 1.ave discovered that the inspection is chiefly done between seven o'clock in the morning and six o'clock at night. “'hus the night drivers are relieved of wupervision. This condition is due for immediate correction, so that in the future day and night inspection will e & matter of routine Five or ten vears ago, when there |woods, especially if they are not|understand that when you are witha were few large companies, “galloping ineters” were more common than they are at present. The companics which | in town. Give them a verbal direction | comfortable falling off a horse.” now largely dominate the field of pub- lie transportation are unlikely to stoop | tain fully. That involved the ouster of two of the most famous players who ever participated in the sport. Then followed another scandal, relating to a somewhat similar transaction long ago. Investigations disclosed that there were slight it any grounds for the charges, but in the course of the { developments the reputations of emi- | nent performers on the diamond fleld | were smirched. Meanwhile, managers were being dropped and thelr suc- cessors chosen In exceptional num- | vers. The latest sensation has come as a direct consequence of these in- quiries, in the ouster from his posi- | tion of the president of the Ameri- can League, who has for a long time been hostile to Judge lLandis, the high commissioner of base ball, whom he charged with bad faith in giving out certain information. The Ameri- can League club owners yesterday | assembled and came to the éonclu- sion ‘that Ban Johnson is too fll to continue to discharge his duties, re- tiring him on full salary and replac- ing him with one of their own num- ber, at the same time repudiating his utterances regarding the “big chief” of the game. Thus passes a conspicuous figure in the country’s leading sport. Ban Johnson did much for the good of base ball in the United States. Charles Comiskey, friend, but for several years past his bitter opponent, organized the so- called junior circuit at a time when the old National League, after vicissi- tudes, seemed to be in absolute con- trol of the game. This opposition has proved to be decidedly helpful to the sport, as a business and as a means of public entertainment. It afforded a wholesome competition and eventually it became actually the stronger organization. For its forma- tion and maintenance and especlally for his insistence upon the highest standard of honesty in the conduct of he game, Ban Johnson has- earned e warmest praise and the sincerest admiration. But in later years he has been afflicted with temperamental | manifestations that have caused seri- ous trouble and dangerous friction, and now the end has come, fortunate- ly without causing a breach in the national agreement that keeps the game on a high plane and prevents wasteful conflict. It is a sad spectacle that this ca- | pable man has not been able to ‘main- himself with even halance throughout his career, but even so he should have in this hour of his dis- comfiture and defeat the good wishes of those who follow the game and ad- mire the sport and who realize the benefits that have resulted from his courageous enterprise and his sturdy maintenance of high principles in the administration of a great public amusement institution. Now that the “stove league” sea- son has had its sensations, the actual preliminaries to the playing season will follow and soon the game itself will be on, with eight of the sixteen major league teams under new lead- ership. e ¥Film comedian says his heart Is broken. He should take cheer. Noth- ing is funnler on the screen than a | man pursued for alimony. His ex- | periences may afford him new in-‘ spirations. rase—s Lost in the Urban Wilds. A woodsman tried to blaze a trail through the maze of the streets of Lit- | ttle Rock, Ark., by scoring the tele- | graph poles, and on being admonished by the guardians of the law that such | a procedure was illegal, decided to quit and go back home, where he knew his way about. It left alone this man would probably have been able | to trace a perfectly sure route pro- | vided he found enough poles. He on streets without poles. He would have been decidedly out of luck in a | city like Washington, where there are { no poles that can be chipped for trail | marking. | People can get lost in a big town | quite as easily as they can in the | street-wise. Some folks are just natu- rally self-losers either in the woods or | about so many blocks straight ahead | and then a turn to right or left for 10 such practices, but the independent | so many more blocks, and they will get | driver, who faces the competition of thess organizations, ylelds to the temptation to boost his meager earn- ings by dishonest methods. He then dectdes to have his meter “fixed,” and the unfortunate patron pays the bill. | their informants, most of whom have |\ e will make hair grow on | Another practice sometimes in- dulged in by both classes of taxi drivers is to give the customer a “ride around. Iruge bill for a short trip by the simple means of taking & circuitous route to 1he Aestination. This method is gen- 2 | hopelessly confused and go off in quite | the wrong direction. Names and num. | | bers on the street lamps only add to | their obfuscation. When they ask | questions they are at the mercy of | singularly obscure methods of guid- | ance. | Recently In this city a long-time This {nvolves running up a | resident was completely lost one eve- | | ning in trying to find his way to a welling on a street named out of ac- “‘rd with the alphabetic and numeri- Lo Syale differe: ceiving four stranger from the raflroad station of a | wrong directions from persons whom large city. So well organized are the [he met. To the stranger without a after | He, with | once his devoted would have been out of luck, however, | THE EVENING | sense of locality and no acquaintance | | whatever with the local geography |and a tendency toward confusion, even Washington, with its system of | regularly denominated thoroughtfares, | presents a serious problem. The four- | quartering plan with its quadrupling | of street names causes most of the trouble. The “star points” caused by | the intersection of avenues and streets bother even residents. A city without wooden blaze would be a terrible place for a | backwoodsman. But happily there are few of the latter, while many of the | former. If the dwellers in the remote regions come to town their best | course is to put themselves directly in poles to | the hands of the police and let the law | take its course, - | The Unconfirmed Commissioners. The President’s nominations for Dis- | trict Commissioners, to fill vacancies | occurring during recess of Congress, | have been before the Senate for about six weeks, having been submitted tm- | mediately upon the convening of the present session. For the greater part |of that period the community has been | |free, by specific invitation, to make | representations regarding the fitness of the nominees. This opportunity | has heen ample. Whether advantage | has been taken of it for the presenta- |tion of adverse opinions upon the | qualifications of the two appointees is Inot definitely known, but so far as | the public {s aware no indictment has | taking thought | kind he | tells us STAR, WASHINGTON When the average pe a blank sheet of paper himself, “Well, now 1 write something funny,” the resultant product is too often only absurd. Humor is not atfained so much by by the application heart to the son looks at and says to am going to a kind of life. Where most would-be ‘“humorous’ writers fall down is in the lack of the rt, to begin with, and certain twist, to end with. In between comes the fundamental fault of not distinguishing between “wit” and “humor.” Commonly the two are lumped together, as in collec- tions so labeled, familiar to eve one The Standard Dictionary, however, “Humor is a facetious turn of thought: the rtive exercise of the imagination * * * that delights in the incongruous, the ludicrous and the droll; distinguished from wit b er sympathy, geniality and pleas and less of ‘intellectual subtlety and keen, cold analysis. Wit, E. P. erature ical, negative, ana- destructive; humor is 3 He holds up the biting casm of Pope's couplets as wples ncho ’anza as a humorous Here once again we are- informed that pure intellect, after all, while es- that it is so offen used by so many persons merely to wound. claws among physical animals is re- placed, in the mental life of hum beings, by mental weapons, which may rend quite as much, and leave even been brought against either of the | nominees. Now it fs announced that the nominations will very shortly be | | reported to the full committee for | |action. | Both of these men are now serving | as District Commissioners, having | taken office during the recess of Con- gress. One of them, indeed, has been thus acting for nearly six months. It !is due to them that their titles to the offices they are filling to the entire | satisfaction of the community should |be perfected by confirmation, or that | they should, if deemed to be un- worthy of appointment, be set aside | by the rejection of their nominations. The prospect of early action is grati- tying. B T IS Rallways are preparing to fight ticket scalpers. Perhaps the railways are hig enough to have a better chance in this kind of enterprise than the | | New York theaters have enjoyed. ————— | | “Communism” is a word difficult to | define. It usually implles a desire for | do sharp knives In physical tissue. * k X % If the mind i and kindness it may become, as too often does, a most despicable thing. Witness the examples of well ducated young men turning without provocation to deeds ordinarily associ- ated only with perverted instincts and diseased brains. A great source of mental nastiness is the deslre to secure an approving laugh from a group at the expense of an individual. This is what leads to the “witty” rejoinder, which invariably bases its anpeal upon some ‘crack” taken at another. It is curlous to watch this mani- festation of human ill-nature in men of low and high degree, and see how vulgar wit, in the former, is replaced by more refined, but none the less harmful, wit, in the latter. There can’ be no questioning the aproposness, if one may be forgiven such The point is that so much of it is utterly uncalled for, and would never be used by the man or woman who values the amenities of life, and who, therefore, 18 more truly civilized And right here let us speak a word for civilization. Clvilization needs every voice, There are those decry | wealth and leisure on the part of Ling civilization, who would plunge the | people who hitherto have had only the | leisure. | - - Great wealth calls for tax payments |80 large and calculations so involved | that the moderate wage earner is en- | titled to feel that he enjoys certain advantages. ———— | Garza, revolutionary leader, is only | | twenty-seven years old: His oonduct | must be regarded by many conserva- |tive Mexicans as unbecoming a Boy | scout. oo Radio control by legislation can ap- ply limitations to the desirable ma- terfal, but cannot be expected to exer- | cise any authority over the static. | o | The tdea of war is so repugnant that when one starts it is almost in- ‘vlmbl_v referred to as an insurrec- | tion. ! r—on—s Some of the divorce actions suggest the possibility that a millionaire has | employed a press agent to tell his ! troubles. | R el | So far as forelgners are at present | concerned, the open door of China is | valued chiefly as an exit. ———————— | 4lthough unable to love one another | battling Chinese can at least combine | on bating foreigners. | R SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Champlon Pessimist. | Mussolini, mighty man, Faithfully men heed your plan, Truly hoping that it may Lead to & resplendent day— Yet, men ask you “What's it for, | 1¢ there has to be more war"? | Where's the dream of glorious state | Ana of industry so great If a dream of wrath and pow’r Occuples each workless hour” As new heart and strength men lend, | Must “more war” still be the end? Capitalization. “Did you say that money controls politics?” asked Mr. Dustin Stax. “No, #r,” answered Senator Sor- ghum, “all T sald was that politiclans control a lot of money.” i { | Agricultural Note. 1 village blacksmith now flight ! From spreading chestnut trees. | Because of the persistent blight ! There are no chestnut trees. The takes Jud Tunkins says learning the| | Charleston may be good physical ex- |ercise, but it's no way to grow old gracefully. Safety. “DIid you go riding with the Prince of Wales?” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. I | prince you are supposed to imitate all his mannerisms, and I shouldn't he , Genius and the Plodder. John in study lingered late. James drew pictures o his slate. John toils on each weary day. James draws comics for large pay. Under the Sod. “Ha!" exclalmed Cactus Joe, “this | your chest.” ou'll be lucky,” rejoined Uncle Bill Bottletop, “if it doesn't make grass grow on your chest.” | are scattered all over the place. | argument, land Vare of | er-Labor sentinel, should | the Republ 1 world back into the slaughterhouse stages, who speak against humanity | making so much as a single effort to | hold fast to ideals. They even apologize for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and attempt to paint Him anew for this generation as a “man of war.” BY FREDERIC The United States Senate—there she stands, a house magnificently dl- vided against itself on what 1s consti- tutional law! The Senate’s decision on the Smith case will echo down the political ages, rifting opinion as widely as it was rent while the Illi- nofsan’s fate hung in the balance. What the common man is to think about the rights or the wrongs of the issue, with the senatorial doctors diagnosing it in 96 different ways, is a puzzle. The upper house of Con- gress is overwhelmingly legal in its make-up. _“Constitutional lawyers'" o there was a yawning breach in viewpoint among even the soundest of them. Tt was once observed that you can prove anything with statls- tics. Current events in the Senate show that you can prove almost any- thing with precedents. ok Barring bombast from its profes- sional spellbinders, the Smith debate | showed the Senate at its forensic best. January 19 and 20 were dates in the Congressional Record that future his- torians will consult, and they will find the corresponding proceedings in ac- | cordance with the finest traditions of the body that Webster, Clay, Calhoun and Douglas adorned. We moierns habitually fail to assess political co- temporaries at their full worth. Pos- terity is likely to do them Justice. When men like Borah, Reed (Mis- souri), Walsh (Montana), Reed (Penn- sylvania), Robinson (Arkansas), John- son, Lenroot, Norris, Ashurst, Bruce and Dill are handling vital questions !like the Smith case, their speeches, as to grace of expression and power of frequently sca)le grxen‘t eights. It was a vast disappoint- ::lefil to all concerned that Borah did not wade into the Smith debate, as he intended. _The nstitution is the Idahoan’s Bible, When he discusses it, Borah ceases to be a politician and becomes an evangelist * % y s-elect Smith of 1llinois I ¢ Pennsylvania should both amission to the seventleth ) hext December—or sooner, in el e " “special session—Democrats are licking their chops in anticipation of organizing that hody. The count Wwould then stand 47 Democrats, 4 Republicans and 1 Farmer-Laborite. This tally would permit the Demo- crats, as the majority party, to move up into the chairmanships of Senate committees. But it would not enable them universally to control legislation. ‘Minnesota, lone Farm- 1f Shipstead of et jcans on close occasions, the Senate would be deadlocked, 47 to 47, as long as the 1llinois and Penn- sylvania seats remained unfilled by Republicans, With the situation thus described, Vice President Dawes would deal in his party’s favor by casting the vote that would break the tie. Never for years, if ever, has Senate control hung by so slender a thread. Republican leaders want the Smith and Vare cases out of the way before the 1928 presidential campaign, in which they might prove to be polit- ical TNT. be denied a o * No one who knows “Jack” MacMur- ray doubts that he welcomed Secre- | tary Kellogg’s sudden orders to re- | main at the post ‘of danger in Peking instead of coming home. Our brilliant ‘oung Minister to China knows the Far East as no other man in the American foreign service. Nineteen of his 45 years have been spent in the Orient or in official association with that mystic realm. In 1907, five | years after taking his B. A. at Prince- |fon under Prof. Woodrow Wilson's aegls, MacMurray became States consul general in Siam. After | that he served successively in Russia, China and Japan. In 1819 MacMur- | ray was appointed chief of the Far Eastern division at the State Depart- ! ment. At the Washington conference “Envy,” said Uncle Eben, auses mental suffering in o cowardly to be a b what man glar. his volumes on ‘‘Treaties and Agree- ments With and Concerning China’ were the officlal text books on every- THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. incongruities | that | sentially human, is also inhuman, in | The biting and rending of teethand | n | deever wounds in mental fibers than | not tempered by love | it | term, of much that passes 2s | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS United | MONDAY, it be anything, | If civilization It this | means a proper | “pacificism,” Christ and the Christ re wrong in he beginning and have been getting | worse for 2,000 years | * x o That was a witty remark attributed to the judge who apped up the thoughtless boast of the young coun tryman whom he had fined $100, | I got that right here in my | means ns, And five years in prison,” replied his honor. “Have you got that in | ans? it was wit | | 1 but it was cruel, eartless and unjust. Had the judge been possessed of greater sympathy he would have held back the remark even at his own expense. | however, was it has been for at another's expense, o much for him, as a million more. s is flung at indi viduals, humor deals raore often with general human nature The of humor is spread ov | that no one need it does indeed “iit hin t, on the other hand, Some pecullarity of ap- ar: action or word is made the { butt of ridicule. The effect is secured ny one of a thousand wa 1t be a play upon words personally oplied, or it may pe merely an un- couth reference to 2 squint eye. Invariably, however, the laugh is caused by singling out some one per- son and creating u mental sally in his direction, with the remainder of the audience glad that the attack has gone in his direction. the point in ¢ thousands, so r the shoe™ un- always * * E So the “witty” person is unive feared and privately hated, The humorous individu: by every ome. He cau because he has none in h and it is true that we we give out. Some peculiarities at first cause the unthinking to_ fail to respond to his geniality, but in the long run the| kindly person, the only truly humor- | ous one, will be appreciated. | The Government service is full of | such men. Their dry humor, as it is called, 18 invariably gentle, even when it deals out censure. Such real humorists never deal in innuendo, which stabs at the heart, and which would never be permitted if it were “out in the open.” The spasms of some persons at- tempting to be “funny” only result in the effect of anonymous letters, universally frowned upon by human since such “wit” is invariably ed upon the lowest sort of “poking fun” at others, with the real blow concealed. The following may be taken as an axiom: That there Is not more than one really vitty person in existence at any given time or place. The rest of them are at the best. But because humor is based upon the best in us, there is always a wel- come for it. The best part of it is that there i more of it than of wit in everyday life among “men of good will.” This is a hopeful sign. 1y is loved no il will, own heart, attract what | | | | | “half-wi WILLIAM WILE. completing his second year at Peking. President Coolidge thinks highly of his envoy to China. Not long ago an “unofficial observer,” who conceded that he knew all about the Far East, delivered ' himself coplously at the ‘White House. Mr. Coolidge listened passively, as is his wont, and then ended proceedings by saying: “Do you know MacMurray? He's a very ex- cellent man.” 3 * ok k¥ William G. McAdoo's string of 1928 second-choice presidential candidates has just been trotted out. George Fort. Milton, Chattanooga editor and chief scout of the McAdoo forces, confides to interested listeners in Washington the names of the men who would be “‘acceptable” to the Californian if the next Democratic national convention prefers somebody else. Walsh of Mon- tana, Meredith of Towa, Gov. Donahey of Ohfo, Gov. Peay of Tennessee, Gov. Byrd of Virginia, Homer S. Cummings of Connecticut and Huston Thompson of Colorado are anointed as eligibles JANUARY The temptation to create a laugh | from the McAdoo-Milton standpoint. They are all drys. Milton disavows anti-Smithism, but says he's certain “Al's” nomination would split the solid South in almost as many direc- tions as it has States, and sink the Governor of New York without trace. * ok ok ok Final enactment of the rivers and harbors bill by signature of the Presi- dent, carrying $12,000,000 for improve- ment of the Missouri River, recalls an old-time quip by a senatorial critic of pork-barrel appropriations. “The Missouri River,” he adumbrated, *will never be navigable till they pave it!" One of the reasons Mr. Coolidge poised his pen a while before signing the $71,000,000 rivers and harbors bill was that Congress voted exactly twice as much money for the Missouri River as the Army engineers recommended. The general public isn't aware that interests in quest of river and harbor Improvements have long maintained a ‘congress” of their own in Washing- {ton, with offices and an enterprising taff. In the past unkind members of the House and Senate have referred to the “National Rivers and Harbors Congress” as an organized lobb; slogan 1 ‘Advocates a policy a project.” i * %k k ok Indiana claims front rank as the and to which eminent Americans eem naturally to turn tor secretarial |talent. Washington swarms with | Hoosier secretaries in high places, Of course, there's “Jim” Davis, Sec- retary of Labor, who pretends he's from Pennsylvania, but who grew up, politically, in Indiana. Everett San- ders, who secretaries President Cool- idge, is from Indiana. So is E. Ross Bartley, who functions in the same capacity for Vice President Dawes. Even the secretary of the Senate is | a Hoosier—Edwin P. Thayer. Senator | George H. Moses’ accomplished secre- tary,’ Mrs. Martha Gold, hails from the James Whitcomb Riley country. The secretary of the Democratic na- tional committee is Charles A. Great- house of Indianapolis. (Copyright. 1927.) R i ek Inelegant Slam, at That. From the New York Herald Tribune. Gen. Dawes ought not to criticize the Senators for using up so much time. Most of them haven't anything else. % | Right on the Job. From the -Boston Herald. Vesuvius is active just in attract early Winter tourists. et One of the Problems. From the New York Sun: In 200 telephone girls why should one misfit make the public forget the courtesy and patience of 1997 = Preferred Englich. From the New York Sun. One of the few cases{y prefer the longer word i i sin an adventure. time to which we en we call 19217. School Rated High. Emmett J. Scott Says Howard University Is Class A. To the Editor of The Star In his interview published in The Evening Star, Thursday, January 20, 1927, Dr. George B. Woods, dean of the American University, referring to educational conditions in the District of Columbia, pointed out that at pres- ent only one institution in theé Dis trict actually is rated as a class A un versit according to the listing o the University of Illinois,” He state: that Howard University is listed by the University of Illinois as a class B institution. Permit me to say. that Bulletin No. 10 of the United States Bureau of Edu cation, Department of the Interior, page 13, publishes the list of colleges of arts and sciences accredited by the tion of Colleges and Secondary chools of the Middle States and Mary- nd, which is the regional association cerediting colleges and universities in this section, just as the North Central f Colleges and Secondary edits the University of and other colleges in the North Central region. The Howard University rating is on a par in this particular section of the country with such institutions University of Maryland, Princeton University, Colgate University, the College of the City of New York, Co- lumbia University, Cornell Universit Hamilton College, Syracuse Univ sity, Pennsylvania _State College, Swarthmore College, Washington and Jefferson College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pitts- burgh, etc., ete There are regional associations for other sections of the country, includ- ing the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States, the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the North Central Association of Col- leges and Secondary Schools, to which I have already referred. I call attention to this fact so that the listing of Howard University as an accredited {nstitution by the Associa- tion of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland may not be subordinated to the rating of an institution far removed from the regional section which has accred- ited Howard along with the important institutions above referred to. EMMETT J. SCOTT, Secretary-Treasurer. Howard Univer: PR ey Osteopathic Official Defends Association To the Editor of The Star: Your attention is called to & news item appearing in the January 19 issue of your paper under the head- ing, “Osteopath and Chiropractor In- dicfed on Manslaughter Charge.” This association, composed of osteo- pathic physicians from recognized col leges, with scholastic requirements practically equal to class A medical colleges, feels that an injustice is be- ing done our profession if the name of osteopathy is assoclated or connected with the above case in any way. It 18 high time that the public be warned of the conditions here, and this asso- ciation can furnish definite informa- tion to substantiate our claim that there are at least 40 so-called osteo- paths here who have never seen the inside of an osteopathic college. This almost unbelievable situation is inter- esting, particularly as it relates to the treatment of the sick by persons who are absolutely ignorant of the funda- mentals of anatomy, physiology, pa- thology, bacteriology or chemistry. This association will be glad to co- operate in bringing this matter to the attention of Congress and the people of Washington. ALBERT H. PARHAM, D. O., Secretary, Osteopathic Assoclation of the District of Columbia. 24, ty. Pleads for “Stop” Sign At Foot of Steep Hill To the Editor of The Star: You will recall that the Trafic Bu- reau erected a stop sign at the foot of Thirteenth street hill after one or two citizens had been killed in collisions at that spot. My route to and from office takes me north and south on Fif- teenth street. The Fifteenth street hill (between Chapin street and Flor- ida avenue) is even steeper, 1 belleve, than the Thirteenth street hill. An apartment house on the corner obstructs the view of the driver com- ing down Fifteenth street hill, and until he is at the crossing he does not know if any traffic is or is not coming east or west. The best brakes will not hold on this hill of a slippery morning, and even when the street is dry it is a strain on your brakes to apply them on such a grade. In the past month I have witnessed four collisions at the foot of Fifteenth greet hill and uncountable narrow escapes. Is Mr. Eldridge waliting for a fatal accident before he orders a stop sign at Fifteenth street for Florida avenue traffic? F. M. STRIEBY. 1601 Argonne place northwest. Would Have Parents Represented on Board To the Editor of The Star: I note in Monday’s paper that the justices of the District Suprems Court are about to appoint a successor to Mr. E. C. Graham, president of the Board of Education, resigned. Please publish a suggestion regard- ing board members from a reader who has three children and who is very much interested in the District schools. 1 have wished for some time that we had on the Board of Education a mem- ber with children of his own in the primary or grammar schools. While we have had on the Board of Educa- tion men and women of outstanding character and qualifications, they, so far as known have been members whose children are grown up and through school, or members who have no children. It seems to me that members with growing children of their own in the public schoold could better understand the needs of our schools at the present time. All the parents with whom I have talked agree that we need to be represented on the Board of Education by mém- bers who have young children in their families other than grandchildren. E. GREENWALD. —————————— Year 1926 Fruitful In Chemistry Work From the Atlanta Journal. Rich in almost every field of sci- entific research and discovery, the cear 1926 has been notably fruitful ih chemistry. To liquefy coal so that wotor fuel and other useful products may be derived from it without the waste involved in the common meth- ods of its consumption is an achieve- ment of far-ranging practical value, and this is but one among hundreds | which chemistry has scored. It has devised a new process of welding together pieces of metal. Tt has shown how sugar can be procured from wood, and also in large quanti- ties from dahlia roots. It has im proved and carried forward the manu. facture of rayon and other like fab. rics from wood, It has made com merclal application of carbon dioxide fce. I a8 made a synthetic drug “more powerful than quinine,” named plasmochin. It has found certain compoufids which are said to be ef- fectivel as a germiclde against lep- rosy. has prepared grom animals an extraet of parathyroid gland ‘which tent of Q. Compare the annual fire loss of 1915 and 1925.—A. F. M. A. The loss in 1915 w $172,033,200, while in 1 creased to §570 21 Q. s placed at it had in Can platinum be magnetized or oxidized?—T. C. A. A. It cannot be magnetized. It will oxidize only under unusual con- ditions, not In ordinary weather or exposure. ry \ Q. What _are the Louis”—A. R. E. A. The extraordinary artificial habi- tat constructed for the bears in the Louis Zoo is given this name. These “pits,” erected at a cost of $235,000, have attracted experts from Europe to study them for imitation abroad. pits” Q. Are there more men or women in India?—W. F. A. The late ures, 1921, give the males to females as 945 females. proportion of 1,000 Q. Does the moon the heavens some y in others?—D. A. L. A. The Naval Obser the moon reaches a m: north of the Equator at intervals about twenty-seven and one-thi da For about 9.3 years nearly every maximum distance mnorth is creater than the preceding maximum distance north, 9.3 years nearly every one is less than the preceding, the greatest maximum, s0 to speak, being about 28° 35, and the least maximum 18° 20°. Ahout thirteen and . two-thirds da each maximum distance north the moon reaches a maximum distance south. of about the same amount. The next greatest maximum will be in the Winter of 19311932, Maximum north or south may be at any phase of the moon. { | ride higher in than it does atory says that | i lant Q. Ts Venus' fiytrap the only pla that catches and kills insects?—S A. The teasel, that grows in tangled corners of the field and other waste places, has its leaves joined to- gether at the base, forming a cup that jcollects the rainwater and drowns the insects. The sarracenia’s leaves ar like pitchers. They collect the rain- | water and feed upon the insects that get drowned. nepenthes hang on long stalks, and in- sects are attracted by their honey glands and bright colors. Once in- side they slip down and are drowned. The English plant, the sundew, feeds upon insects. When a fly settles it is held by a sticky juice that the plant produces, and the hairs, or tentacles, close round the insect and digest it. Q. Do most of the people in the United States have access to a public library?—S. T. N. A. The American Library Assocla- tions say that more than four-fifths of the rural population of the Nation are without library service and 1,160, or 37 per cent, of all counties in the United States have no public librarles within their boundaries. There are over seven and ome-half million negroes in the Southern States with- out library factlities and seven State: without organized State library exten sion work. Q. What became of the proposed child labor amendment to the Federal Constitution?—H. C. A. Under a joint resolution of the House of Representatives and the Sen- ate it was submitted to the States for theéir approval. Only four States ap- i | available official fig- | males to and then for the next | The pitchers of the | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. proved it. It was rejected by Others took no action amendment had to W three-fourths of the 4 regarded, howeve and is capable of beir any time. 0 be still_pen ified at Q. Does the Army precedence when in the N. D. he Army should pi t i ceremontes, parades, etc.. on shore without re to the military rank of the commanding officers of the d« tachments parad bei ede the senior ser Q. Does cut wood « former Kais v day as punishment or does he do it for exercise?—J. O. T A. No punishment has been mete out to the former Kaiser of Germany by the allied powers, e report the Kaiser's wood-chopping ind! hat he indulges in this as | exercise. Q. How has Mussolini been | cope so successfully with the | problem in Italy>—C. A. P. A. Tt is said that every beggar found by the police is taken to given a pint of and missed. This method to most efficacious. Q. What | have upon | A. A recent tence says that emotion, orange spirits, yellow stimulates | green 'is normal or neut s you physically, d, and purple subdy ate m of effect people | fous colo B. W. in Popula excites yon vou higt our body e d make after | . Jacttation | which may injure | tion of marriage is a f: by a person that he or she is married another, whereby a common repu | tation of their matrimony may be established. A jacitation suit 1s | legal action to enjoin a person fron | siving out such a statement. Q. Does the hump on a camel have {any relation to its ity to go a long time without food and water?—W. « A. The humps on the back of camel are stores of flesh and fat, r | absorbed in support of the anima when overtaken by a famine | Q When was pai | to n Congress? M. T | A, The first known instance of pair | Ing in the Cong of the Unte £ /s in 1840, John Quinc | Adams prepared a resolution declar | ing that it violated the Constitution an express rule of the Hou d the duties of both parties. The resolutior was never voted upon and the practic became very common Q. What per cent committed by women? A. Of the total number | present January 1, 1923, 583, 2 per cent, were males, and onl ,192 or 4.8 per cent, were females. false another boasting Jacita & first resorted crimes ar K prisoner 8 1 The answers to questions printe: here each day are specimens picke: from the mass of inquiries handled by the great information bureau maintained by The Evening Star in Washington, D. €. This valuable sert ice is for the frec use of the publi sk any question of fact you man want to know and you will get an in mediate reply. Write plainly, inclos: 2 cents in stamps for return postage and address The Evening Star In formation Bureau, Frederic J. Has kin, Director, Washington, D. ©. | | | For Getting “Ma" Ferguson's zeal in pardoning convicts during her closing days a: governor gave added warmth to the fellcitations of the press to Texas upon getting rid of the Ferguson re- gime. Even the general assumption that the husband, “Jim,” was the real governor does not prevent a feeling that Mrs. Ferguson's performance in- evitably hurt the cause of women in public life. “‘Ma' Ferguson goes out of office a fizzle in so many ways,” in the opin- ion of the Cleveland News, “that the effect of her term will be to make it very hard for any other woman to win the governorship in Texas or in any nearby State. It would have been much better for women's opportuni- tles in public affairs if ‘Ma’ had never been elected. Her husband had dis- graced the family during his term as governor, and she has added to the Fergusons’ discreditsble record.” “‘Her severest critlcs,” declares the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, “have been women or men interested in wid- ening woman’s place in public life, who fear the fiasco of her administra- tion has hampered attainment by {other women of high executive posi- tion. They point to the action of the Oklahoma Legislature in refusing to let down the bars keeping women from the governorship or other high administrative office in that common- wealth, as indicating a natural reac- tion to ‘Ma’s’ mistakes." The Albany Evening News is im- pressed by the fact that “she had a rare opportunity to distinguish her- self and to demonstrate the capability of her sex for high political office. However, that she failed to do so does not indicate that women are unfitsfor the office of State executive.” PR “The lesson that will remain a Mrs. Ferguson steps out of office, suggests the Flint Jourmal, “is not that States should draw the line at woman governors. Rather, it is that women who can rule thelr own households as well as the State should be chosen if more experiments of this nature are to be tried. Texas wanted the feminine viewpoint on matters of Clovernment w] it elected ‘Ma’ Fer- guson. It didn’t get it.” The Prov dence Journal points to one phase of her pardoning policy with the state- men t does seem strange that of the large number of women in the penitentiary only one recelved the favor of a pardon at her hands.” The object lesson Texas has afford- ed the country is that as much care is necessary in selecting women for office as in picking men,” advises the Pittsburgh Gazette-Time: The Tulsa Tribune is convinced that “right or wrong, unfortunately so, the record of ‘Ma’ Ferguson will reflect on all woman candidates for office every. where; but, fortunately, up in Wyom- —————————— larged its dally services to the manu- facturer, the merchant, the farmer, the surgeon and physician. It has contributed, one way or another, to the prosperity of every business and to the happiness of every home. These facts are now especially sig- nificant to the people of Georgia be- cause the industrial and agricultural progress of this and neighboring States depends in large measure on chemical knowledge and discovery. Milllons already have been added to 'Texas Is Pfaised “by Press Rid of Ferguson | ing_there ts an offset T. Ross, the fi governor of any Gov. Nellic woman to be elected State, has a_record | to be pointed to with pride.” Th Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette avers that “there was never any good re: son to suppose that Mrs. Ferguson had the natural parts or the trained faculties of which a capable and sound executive is made. Referring to the thovsands of par | dons issued by the retiring governor the Raleigh News and Observer states that “so scandadlous did the perform | ance become that solicitors and judges were co-operating (o delay sentence until after the Ferguson regime came to an end. South Carolina unde Blease,” continues the News and Ob server, the only State that h: been so wanton in issuing pardon as Texas, but the Palmetto State could not exceed the speed limit, as Texas has done. They had cniy one perso: working at the job. In Texas. ‘M did the signing “Jim® fed th hopper.” 1 son,’ Times, of the pardoning powe Mrs. Ferguson, outgoi ‘conditional’ pardon 1o a sentenced to life imprisonmer ‘condition’ being that this murc a_negro, will sell his labor 3. Ferguson for six years month.” The Reno Gazetie tion that ‘“‘wholesal: contrary to the r credit upon it”"; that “it i that the juries in the 1,015 men to whom she | pardon were all wrong, or t prosecuting officers, men whose stand ing as American d resi dents of Texas is their election to the distric: eyship would delfberately pros: innocent persons.” The Provi e Journa! thinks it strange that “only one wor an recelved the favor of a pardon “A policy like Mrs. Ferguson's il effect all over the country,” in the opinion of the Yak Dafly Repu! lic, “would result in the greatest boo in crime that we ever have known The FElmira Star-Gazette, however points out that “the practice is beins carried to such extreme that legisla tures are debating the question o proposing constitucional laws to abate the pardoning power so far as th executive is concerned. But th Asheville Times remarks that “as {people of Texas cieerfully say good i by to ‘Ma’ Ferguson they will hardly fail to remember that it i n’ whon they ghould hold respensible for th abuse of the executive authority Texas in the past two years." “Texas should breathe a sigh of re lief that there is a cha ors,” says the Lynchburg 1 The Fergusons, both ‘Jim' and ‘Ma have been a thorn in the side of the State for year: Now the State | expected to return to sanity in the management of governmental af fairs, for it is believed the new ex ecutive will bring political conditions back to decency.” The Roanoke Time declares Texas is “a great State, peo pled by a wonderful citizenship, and with the ‘leadership that Dan Moody is expected to provide, prospects for the future may fairly be said to bright indeed,” while the New York Evening World concludes, “The sun | takes rdor nd casts dis the value of our cotton crops alone in consequence of work done and ideas evolved in quiet laboratories, but in the years ahead thousands of millions should be put into the purse of the Southern people as a result of the chemist’s quest. We shall do well to bear this in mind when endow- ‘ments and appropriations are being sked for utions of learning in which sclen are trained and where R - rigses in Texas with the inauguration of the brilliant and militant vounsz Dan Moody. et Age and Judgment. From the Topeka Daily Capital. Henry Ford's remark that “it is un usual for a man to have much juds- ment until he is around 50" is a re- minder that a good many people never