Evening Star Newspaper, February 5, 1927, Page 6

6 THE EVENING STA o} AR |real estate men belleved that the land 'fl.he motVer of one she was greatly THE EVENING ST was worth more without the house fiightened; also that the Queen, on With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. O SATURDAY .February 5, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..REditor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ‘Buatness Office: 11th St d mylvenia Ave. wowt Pork Offeer 11 4 T10 East 42nd St. icago Office: Tower ‘Butlding. Eoropean Office; t St.. London, England. The Even with the Snnday morn- g ettt I Selvaed” by carriers ithin @ s e within month: di Sk e Bl o, ST {ehone Scain 8000 Colisction 1s made by at’ th. Orders m carrier at end of ench month. and Sunday. only Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. 4 reinis. only ", Maryland and Vi 8¢ In All Other States and Canada. 1mo. §5.00: 1 mo %oc Dally and Sunday..1 yr. $12.00 Daily only . 1y y Sunday only 1 H Member of the Associated Press. 4 The 4 Press i Tusively entitl IO AT N A P ‘eredited fo 1t or not otherwise cred: i fhia paper and also the local news ks herein. s of publication ol dispatches herein are also resorved Commissionership Compensation. Although the time left for action at this sesslon of Congress is compara- tively short, the project to increase the compensation of the District Com- missioners should be pushed vigorous- 1y to its logical and just conclu- sion, with weakening of effort until success is attained. The Com- missioners, upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility for the wel- fare of a city of five hundred thdu- sand persons, are, in equity, en- titled to a substantial increase over the seventy-five hundred doflars per annum that they are now receiving, and the move to raise this salary to tén thousand dollars has met with a large measure of approval. The city heads are the direct repre- sentatives of the President of the United States. Their functions range no 3| Washington scores of howses that in than with it. The construction was|Hearing o¥ the affair, sent her a new of steel and granite and every other|gown. Juwt why she should have materfal in the house was the best|baen frighlened is hard to explain, of its kind. It yould seem that the [for to a countrywoman of her type junk valuo of the house would be[her sheep weve a most cherished pos- very great, yet a realty operator is|sesyfon and the wvuld be ready to quoted as saying he “would be wiliing | defend them aguinst a robber, a beast to give the bullding to any one who|of mrey, or a noble lord. The two would tear it down and cart it m\’:\y/"ladn il wrong and, being British, A $7,000,000 cooperative apartmentmust have known ft. It would be house is planned for the site. There |interesting to know what Edward got has been a deal of adverse remark |from his mamnm, who bad the repu- about the design of the Clark house, |‘ation of standiug no nonsense from but it has also been defanded. her children or her grandchildren. A new house may grow old rapidly. { She once ordered a bo'sun on the The growth of cities, spread of busi-|royal yacht to give young Wilhelm ness in them, the rise in the price | Hohenzollern a good whaling, which of land, the increase in the wealth |the latter richly deserved, and which, 0 peopls, the changing styles in|without doubt, the old salt greatly houstng, the imprevement and inven- |enjoyed administering. Albert Kd- tion of luxurious accessories tend to|ward, het consort, was no easy-going make a house fall out of date as it|male paremt, and it fs a safe bet that did not fn past times, One sees inlif the farmer's wife got 4 new gownm “Bertie” was not similarly rewarded. Many an event occurs behind palrce doors that would give great comfort and confldence to harassed subject parents, B Many motion pleture stars are en- titled to protest that they are not nearly so bad as their press agents have painted them. B Court procddure involuntarily re- latvs so closdly to publicity that a judge is warramted in suspecting that he is being usad to further the plans of some misguiided press agent. ——— the elghties and ninetles seemed to be the last word in dwell\ngs now being pulled apart and taken down. Natives and visitors used to Mok at these big red brick, bow-window, ga- bled and angled houses and woNder at the riches of a man who could o\wn such a place. He fs a milllonairal A million dollars was about as high as most men could think in money, but a man in the eighties and nineties might be a “millionatre” if he had a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Now we see these new-old houses com- ing down. They do not sell well as residences. People want modern The winner of a prize in a beauty dwellings, with everything in them up to date. Many of these fine houses | contest s, alas, too often found in the third row of the ebwrus! are glving place to stores, office bulld- ings, hotels and apartment houses, but here and there one is being torn down that a modern home may stand on the site. Grade-Crossing Tragedy. The shocking grade-<rossing tragedy| at Kensington, Md., in which five persons, all the occupants of one| automobile, were killed, must again a0 Revival of thd splendiors of anclent Rome brings Mussolint face to face with an effort to enable the jazz dance to rival g¢lassic demonstrations. e ———— A war fn China is locally satisfac- tory only so long as it rematns a fam- ily quarrel. oo A seat in the United States Semate is valued beyond anything that a price turn public attention to the prob- lem presented by the junction of railroads and wagom roads at the legislative field they enact police, | same level. The problem has been met buflding and other municipal regula-|ay Washington after years of discus- tions; they take the intiative 1in|sion and many fatalities by the aboli- preparing the estimates for appropri- | tion of street and rallroad grade cross- ations; local measures are submitted | ings. The problem now affects those 1o them by the congressional commit- | suburban and interurban sections tees for thelr approval or disapproval, | which we used to call the “rural dis- and they are the legislative agents of | tricts.” Many country roads now carry the District, representing the Capital | more trafic than most city streets community before the congressional |carried when the grade-crossing dan- committees. Their many duties are |ger first came under discussion. Some from the executive to the semi- judicial. In the legislative and semi- tag can express. ———— You can’t believe half you hear, or half you read in print. The deaf and blind are enjoying a peculiar advan- tage. - “Communism” is always a threat. Its history implies no substantial promise for any class of citizenship. ——— Uncle Sam is remarkably rich. He has attained a position which renders complicated and exacting. They are | much used rail and wagon road cross- the only officials of the National Capi- | ings near Washington have been made ital (except the Public Utilities Com- | safe and it is proposed that others miseion) who must be bona fide resi- | shall be made safe. Some closely peo- dents of the city, and their knowledge | pled, rich and progressive States, no- of the community needs and com- munity conditions must be absolute. To undertake and perform satisfac- torily such a wide range of duties,a man or woman should be particularly well equipped. Such & man is able to command a comfortable living in some other line of endeavor and he should not be compelled to make a heavy financial sacrifice to serve his fellow citizens in a public and highly responsible capacity. There is even now & movement on foot to increase materfally the functions and powers of the Commissioners, but regardless of action on this score the fairness of the plan to dignify the Commission- ership with adequate compensation is ‘well established. Washington is constantly growing and expanding its activities. It needs and demands men of high ability, clear vision and progressiveness. It does mot want a twelve-hundred-dollara- vear man in a ten-thousand-dollar job, but it does want the best qualified man to look with favor upon the salary of a District Commissioner, and to realize that a heavy financial +sacrifice is not necessarily demanded of bim in case he should be appointed by the President. Excess of economy in the salary paid to the occupants of important public positions is never a wise policy, end considering the dutles and respon- sibilities of the local office, there ap- pears to be no reasonable ground for fallure to provide adequately for the Commiseioners of the National Capital. * Embenpoint? My dear, I am getting so fat it is simply terrible. Actually, I have gone from one hundred and ten to one hun- dred and fifteen. I just hate being so plump, but I must admit I feel better for it.”” Thus might speak any fash. ionable young lady of 1927, and an overhearer of her plaint, noting her as about as skinny as ever, might well give a quiet laugh. President Coolldge moved recently in & special recommendation to Con- gress, to build up the United States tably New York, have this matter of road and railroad crossings under con- sideration and it is planned to abolish grade crossings, not only in cities, but in villages and along automobile roads, where funds are avallable for the work. Probably a cautious driver can pass over railroad tracks and live, but fatal mistakes are made every day, and the auto-road and railroad grade crossing is a danger that must sooner or later be removed. Traffic on auto- moblle roads is growing and.ns doubt will grow for an indefinite time. One great peril in any community is the grade crossing and every community should exert itself to have that dan- ger removed. ‘Washington will take to itself the warning of this tragedy. —————— Representative Funk’s Valedictory. ‘The District appropriation bill passed by the House yesterday is the vdledictory of Representative Frank Funk of Illinols, chairman of the sub- committee on District appropriations. It is the largest appropriation bill ever reported to Congress, and during con- sideration of it in the House fewer changes were made than ever before in a District appropriation bill. Mr. Funk did not sing his own “swan song”—he did not need to. His colleagues on the subcommittee, Rep- resentatives Simmons, Griffin and Col- lins; Chairman Zihlman of lhaIDllA trict legislative committee-and Repre- sentative Thomas L. Blanton, acting ranking Democrat on the legislative committee, individually paid tribute to Representative Funk and emphasized the excellence of his last legislative act for the District in putting through such an excellent District budget. Mr: Funk has taken a very earnest interest in his duties as chairman on the District appropriation bill and has sought persistently to disclose the real facts regarding appropriations asked for and the need of carrying out the projects proposed. At times he has differed squarely from District officials and from civic leaders who have been interested in particular projects, but ghum. It is much safer to shake hands with & crowd than it is to make a political speech.” Army from its present “skeletonized” | he has been sincerely trying to give state. He asked for an added appro- |the Capltal City an adequate budget, vriation for the War Department, a |thoughtfully allocated, and has met part of which, Gen. Lord, director of | with a large measure of success, the budget, explained, would be used | District leaders, both those in ad- 1o pay—hold your breath—an Army of | ministrative positions and those repre- 115,000! senting local organizations and the The present strength of the stand- | citizens’ body, are regretful in seeing ing Army of the greatest and one of | Mr. Funk go. They wish him an the most unpopular nations on earth |early return to Congress and that he is 110,000. The flapper’s imaginary |may continue to hold the interests of &ain In flesh, cited above, is accurately | the National Capital close to his heart. proportionate. If 110,000 is a “skele- ton,” what can 115,000 be called? It is thought that both American flappers and the American military establishment might be the bet- ter for a slight enrichment of their sustaining diet. Could not the United States have one competent and well equipped soldier for each thousand of its population and still fafl to be con- sidered a saber-rattling nation? ——reon. A live donkey is ready to kick the dead lon. So is your modern nov- elist. The Royal Razor-Strap. to & countrywoman while she gave a tongue-lashing to the late King Ed- ward VII, who, with a young com- Nicaragua has a superabundance of Cadogan, was chasing the sheep be- presidential timber and possibly not!ionging to the sharp-tongued village enough politiclans who are willing to| character. say nothing and saw wood. The Old House. cording to the Senator Willlam A. Clark built in|badly brought up boys.” New York City about years ago. of the building was $6,000,000 and|she- did not realize this. and were perhaps half what they are now. | by no means a badly brought-up boy, “This property has been bought for|but quite the contrary. ® $8,000,000, and half of that was the An old man died recently at Amble- side, England, who, as a boy, listened panion rejoicing in the title of Earl of “If I knew who your mothers were,” the woman shouted wrathfully, ac- recently deceased There is a lesson in the sale of the | anclent, “I would write and tell them very costly residence which the late|to give you the strap. You are very The curious twenty-five | thing was that both mothers were, It is sald that the cost |of course, well known to her, although that thet was when construction expenses]| Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, was It is related that when the woman Jalue 9f the dand, I3 fe said thad lamn that Quesn Vistaria wea' it necessary to beware of fortune hunters. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Radiology. My radio, they say, Is young. It warbles with a lusty tongue And sometimes utters things so rude They sound like moral turpitude. My radio! My radio! You sound the tunes of long ago! But, oh, the words are kind o’ tough, My radlo is getting rough. Safer. “How many people have you shaken hands with in the course of your political career?" “Thousands,” sald Senator Seor- “And 1 welcomed every one. Dressing for the Party. Father wears his dern suspenders. Father wears his belt. Father wears his tie and collar, Ready, 'most, to melt, Father's garters grip unduly. He is feeling queer. Mother, slipping on one garment, Says, “Please hurry, Dear!” Jud Tunkins says riches have wings; if you don’t believe it, ask the price of poultry. Imitative Flattery. “Why did you refuse to go riding with the Prince of Wales?” “J realize the deference due lofty position,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I couldn’t think of falling off a horse every time he did.” “A faithful husband,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “used to be & lotty example. Now he is a curlosity.” Hard Work for the Censor. Oh,: what shall we read that is novel or old, As various topics we handle? Since the grave Ten Commandments may hold Buggestions of possible scandal! “You can't belleve all you hear,” said Uncle Eben. “And you's liable to get fooled even if you is deaf an’ dumb.” e Tts Joyous Climax. From the Philadelphia Bulletin. “Did that new play have a happy ending?" “Sure. Everybody was glad when 1t was over.” Another Price Boost. From the Indianapolis Star. It will not be long until the pur- chaser will be told that the swim- ming craze has boosted the price of axle grease. Wary, Not Wise, From the Winston Salem Twin City Sentinel. Too many people think (hey are sophisticated when they are merely suspiclous. The Universal Performer. From the Lynchburg News. Ttaly is to have a national theater. Probably will not be long before Mus- solini will be the Impresario, prima donna, tenor, baritone, soprano and chorus. S Punctuation and Crime. From the Savannah Morning News. Maybe the news expression, “safe robber,” needs a question mark after it. That depends upon the police. ———— Ice In and Out of the Box. From the InXansnolis Star. It only the chunk In the ice box were as deliberate about melting as the layer covering the city streets. 5 - Swinging the Wrong Way. i‘rn‘:a u joe Sasizay 3 s that rcndnor”‘lncxln.:.;l‘.wu S e 2 ‘ R, WASHINGTON, D. O, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1921. = —_———— 5. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS "THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Life is largely a search toward the best. No man is satisfled with doing as el t::'{:hyur as last. }\:lo firm s con- a sales recor that of. last year. N No uthlete feels that he has done his lsest unless he betters his own recowd. I the personal affalrs of every one/s life, this has a larger applica- tlon than 1s commonly reckoned, if ome may judge from the smug satls- {:.»ttlon of many with less than the Everywhere one sees men reading cheap storles, smoking cheap tobacco, listening to cheap music. Now there s a place in fhe world for such storles, such tgbacco, such musto. The point is that there is no Progress. Tdey are perfectly satisfled w.th thes hings, and rather resent any one daring to affirm that there is_anytiing better. They quote the old saw, “What is one fnan’s meat is another man's poisén,” and firmly bellove in the old cruck about “There {s no arguing on nktters of taste.’ He who has never appreciated any music better than the popular fox- )Yrut Will not hesitate ‘to pronounce his judgment upon a symphony by one of the masters, a work which one must study to reaily appreciate. Yet this judge will, after hearing such mus.c for the first time in his life, confidently declare, “Rotten!" * * o ok K They are so sublimely ignorant of the fact that there is anything in the world but what they know. To them all else is absurdity They ‘are satisfied with their brand of sraoking tobacco, and if you dare to #moke a better in their presence their remark {s always, ““What is tha stuff you are smoking—leaves? ‘The reply that it costs $10 a pound and s, therefore, undoubtedly differ- ent from the average tobacco that fi;ttl 80 &n(}‘: makes no more impres- sion upon them than water duck's back. e You are not only a fool for daring to try the best, but the stuff really smells atrocious—why, the brand they smoke is just as good. Who says so? Why, they say so. And thus once again is shown the tyranry of words. One of the saddest things in all this old world is that there is no hallmark of truth in state- ments. The man with the loudest voice wins. Perhaps some day, in the immortal whiri of the earth in the heavens, there will be promulgated a new law and a new order of things, when words of truth wili have a different tone to them, or perhaps send forth emanations of light. Then there will be common words, and glorifled ones. The true speakers will not be as other men, who are con- tent to use the ordinary language of every day. but wili speak in letters of fire, and every man will know them. There will be no blustering, then, and no resort to the “tone of author. ity,” for even though they bluster words will stand forth to all men as the fakes that they are. The truth speaker, on the other tongue, will speak, and his words will thrill forth like searchlight across the sky of darkness, and men and women everywhere will delight to listen to them, for they will know, even as they have no way of knowing today, that he speaks as one who Is authority. * % %k % The lure of the best leads men to the farthest corners of their own minds, no less than to the utmost ends of the earth. For every man who dares the North Pole, there are countless hun- dreds who sail forth every Hay in quest of the hest In literature, in music, in painting, in architecture, in service to mankind, as well as for the best in everyday life. It is not solely a question of money,] by any means. A poor man with a cheap violin may still play the best music that the mind and heart of mankind has yet produced. A boy may have but few pennies to spend on books, yet that which he has may go into a book that is really worth while. It is true, on the other hand, that money does, indeed, simplify the mat- ter. Yet the taste for the best is not confined to the rich. Their oppar- tunity simply is greater. Each one of us must have the best that we can, at the time that is called now, and be content to let the future take care of itself, belleving | that as opportunities increase, tastes will grow with them. * ok ok m “The little lambs play, they know no with the tongues of angels, if they have not the inner conviction, their California Plague of Mice Viewed as The plague of millions of mice Which has come to the. vicinity of Buena Vista, Calif., has been viewed by the public throughout the country 89 offering a scientific problem. “How far have the experts advanced in the ability to meet such visitations?” ask Observers. There is general recogni- tion of the fact that the mice would have had no such free rein it man had not engaged in the wholesale destruc- tlon of predatory birds and animals which might have checked the prog- ress of the rodents. “Don't censure the poor mice too severely,” advises the Ann Arbor Times-News. “They are not*willfully warring on mankind. They were born into this world involuntarily, as human beings are born, and they must eat to survive, as humans must eat to sur- vive. They are subject to the law of self-preservation along with all other creatures. They're hungrw and they must eat. They are blissfully uncon- scious of the fact that they are en- gaged in warfare with another species of animal who is motivated by similar impulses. And that's where man has the advantage. He knows what he is fighting and why, and he has the brains to fight intelligently.” It is agreed by the Providence Bulle- tin that “apparently this latest exploit emong the animals is prompted by no malice whatever. It is simply one of those mysterious urges to be on the move,” continues the Bulletin, *“an instinot which curses every organism possessed of a nervous system. ' But this only makes the menace the more terrible. Human beings, long schooled by each other, know how to combat shows of ill feeling, but these mightier impulses of nature are terrifying. They make pawns of the best of us. ‘What the fleas, cockroaches and ear- wigs might do for us If they suddenly were moved by a collective cosmic urge staggers the imagination. Let us be thankful that we have modern Plpers who make it their business to check sporadic uprisings. If the fauna got the notlon of one big parade, we would all right speedily ride along in it plecemeal. * % ¥ ¥ History In biblical times furnishes its parallel to the St. Paul Dispatch, ‘which remarks that “such a migration in primitive times, with its destruc- tlon of property and growing crops, wag accepted as punishment for sin. The Philistines took a visitation that way and believed they ended the plague,” continues that paper, “when they sent back the Ark of the Cove- nant adorned with five life size Ilm- ages of mice made of gold as a ‘tres- pass’ offering to the Israelites. South- ern California can be convioted of no consclousness of trespass or trans- gression to account for the plague. Did it not vote dry at the last elec- tion? Perhaps the mice, too, have caught the infection. At least they have gone dry or are searching for a drfer spot than the one they have in- habited. Martyred mice are these, who knows, dying for a great prin- ciple?" “Robert Burns is authority for the statement that the most carefully con- sidered plans of mice and men are quite frequently in the habit of going wrong,” says the Nashville Banner, “but it is something out of the ordl- nary for the plans of men to be dis- rupted on account of mice. California, however, never does anything by halves, and so it is not surprising for one of the most amazing mouse stories in history to be recelved from that direction.” The Banner adds: “A University of California zoologist de- clares that conditions are ‘unbellev- able,’ and the word seems rather aptly chosen, Referring to the complete defeat of an army of cats sent into battle, the Albany Evening News feels thet “it is a strange state of affairs when mice can drive back all the cats that can be mobiiized. One wonders it there may not vet be a purple cow, ang if, perchance, it will not be neces- sary for some States to have a. State troop of trained cats that will not re- treat before an army of mice.’ * ok k¥ ‘One of the most curious phases of open | ural better, They are only one times one.” So wrute the poet. Unconsclously she drew the picture of all those who are content with less than the best. They know no better. The trouble is that they so often don’t want to know any better, Ask the social worker. Yet everything finds its level. Thero is a place for every product, no mat. ter how exquisite. “Show the average man a 10-cent tumbler and a beauti- ful plece of rare glasswork. Un- hesitatingly he will select the former at 10 cents rather than the latter at $100, not because he hasn't the price ?ufi because he “can't see anything n it He has never given a second's thought to the history of glassware, he knows absolutely nothing about it, vet does not hesitate at all in calling any man ah ass who would pay $100 for the object of art. Then along comes a man with both the taste and the price, and he sees what the other does not see (but does not know that he does not see), and he willingly pays the price to gratify hll‘ytnsle ou and I, kind reader, may not have the price, but, at least, let us keep our minds free from the bonds of prejudice that would hold us down. Let us keep firmly in mind that life, if it is anything at all with meaning, Is a search for the best. And unless ® have open minds upon all subjects and are willing to appreciate, how can ever find the best? Spur to Science for the great feast. This suggests the query as to how the word is passed along among the wild things concern- ing such ‘an opportunity. Do they have a secret code, some wireless sys- tem. of their own? Kipling describes the imaginary relaying of messages in the jungle among wild creatures in his Mowgli stories. Judging from the showing made in Kern County, Calif., :llls“descrlptmn may be correct, after The Ohio State Journal (Columbus), seeing in the mice a forewarning of danger, declares: “Some scientists think that the human race is going to be destroyed some of these days, if not by mice, by insects, because civili- zation is rapidiy killing off the natural enemtfes of the pests. But we have a good deal of falth in man’s ingenulty in general and in rat specialists and Insecticides in particular. Necessity 13 the mother of invention, and we simply mustn’t let the mice or the in sects get us.” The Lincoln Star i convinced that “the plague will be stamped out as a result of scientific knowledge and methods representing the accumulations of centuries of painstaking study and research. The ancient Egyptians did not know how to combat their pests, and could only walt until each had run its course. Our generation is ahead of their§ only because we have plled up more prac- tical knowledge in our storage houses of wisdom during-the intervening cen- turfea.” ok K “Let it not be forgotten,” suggest: the Aberdeen World, “that, as the in- vistigation also would seem to have shown. man invited the visitation and has himself mainly to thank for it. Man has upset the balance of nature in his incessant warfare in recent times on coyotes, hawks, wildcats and predatory beasts and birds that are the natural enemies of rodents.” The. Reno Evening Gazette adds that “it may be that these little rodents, if they have been imported, will prove to be as dangerous to farmers in the United Staes as the English rabbit has been to the farmers of Australia.” “The lethal trenches dug by trac- tors in wholesale fashion and contain- ing poison bait,” according to the Los Angeles Times, “have checked the ad- vance of the host of rodents. It will not be ‘out of the trenches by Christ mas’ for these luckless mice. Long before Spring millions of them will have given up the ghost, as well as the idea of treeing frightened ladies on the chalrs and tables of Bakers- fleld.” ————————————— Grim Greetings Exchanged. From the Bt. Louls Post-Dispatch. A Detroit man who killed his brother has been fined $1,000. Grest- ings from St, Loufs, where it costs $500 to kill a bellboy. e wrae E ST Indians Sitting Bully. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sitting_Bull's grandson is In the Army, which shows whether or not reports that the Indians are becoming practicable is all Sitting Bull. Vocational Training. From the Cleveland News. Private school to teach boys and girls how to be bandits has been dis- covered in Russla. In this country we believe in public education. Senatorial Route Hard. From the Detroit News. If a rich man can't get a seat in the Senate and a poor man can't elected, perhaps the thing will be abol- 1ished. ELl e Lift It! From the Durham Sun. Movie actress says she is tired of seeing her own face. It ought to be easy enough to change it. PP S T L The Citrus Complex. From the-Los Angeles Times. An optimist thinks every lemon 'is an orange and imist thinks SVaRY. Srangs is & 4 Congressional activities, legislative and social, do not seem to Interest the American novelist, as the correspond- ing parliamentary aetivities interest the Byitish novelist. We have no such congressional novels as the parlia- mentary serfes of Anthony Trollo “Phineas Finn,” “Phineas Dedux” and “The Prime Minister.” Later than Trollope, Mrs. Humphry Ward wrote many novels in which members of Parliament are prominent characters, the best of which are “Marcella” and its equal, “Sir George Tressady.” Many of the foremost British novel- ists writing today are suffictently fa- millar with parltamentary life and sufficlentry interested in it so that they give accurate and entertaining portrayais of it in their novels. H. G. Wells, John Galsworthy, Arnold Ben- nett are examples. If we wish to see Congress in fiction, we must go to such writers as Harvey Ferguson, Countess Giszyka, or perhaps Samuel Hopkins Adams. Why does not one of our firstrate novelists, say Joseph Hergesheimer, write o cotemporary congressional novel? Hergeshetmer could do it well. One of his best novels, “Balisand,” 1s a political novel of the Jeffersonian period. L In Arnold Bennett's novel “Lord Raingo,” though one man is the center of the story, and he is but the head of one of the wartime ‘‘mushroom ministries,” there are excellent por- trayals of a war prime minister and varfous members of his cabinet. There are breakfasts and conferences at number 10 Downing street; there is a great speech on a man-power bill in the House of Commons. Andrew Clyth, prime minister, is “the off- spring of the Scotch father and the Irish mother,” and has a_ ‘lanky, scraggy, slim figure,” with big ears, ““cruel teeth that displayed themselves formidably when he laughed or smiled,” and “darting yellowish eyes,” 8o he 1s not Lloyd George, but some of his policles suggest that real war statesman. We also meet in this novel Tom Hogarth, minister of muni- tions; Hasper Clews, chancellor of the exchequer; 1 Jenkin, Lahor M. P. and minister without portfolio; and Lord Ockleford, lord president of the council. Lord Raingo is a little out- side - the inner circle. He i3 made minister of records and eleyated to the peerage, to avold the necessity of lils contesting an electlon, merely because Andrew Clyth wants some one he can depend upon in his coalition ministry, and Sam Raingo and Andy Clyth have been boys together, in Eccles, Manchester. RS Belonging to the history of the past rather than that of the present, “My Early Life,” by Willlam II, ex-Em- peror of Germany, recalls the days when Germany was still a great world power. In his retreat at Doorn the former Kaiser seems to have accepted his fate of exlle more calmly and philosophically than did that other Jeader of a lost cause, Napoleon, at St. Helena. Physical exercise, read- ing and writing make up his dally life —really a very pleasant sort of life, given luxury and attractive surround- ings. In this memoir William II writes affectionately of his parents, the Emperor Frederick I1I and Em- press Victoria, who ruled for only a brief three months, and his grand- parents, old Emperor Willilam I and l:"ma'-r Do we It toad Empress Augusta, all of whom seem to have exercised considerable in- fluence over his youth. e was also very fond of his maternal grand- mother, Queen Victoria, whom he often visited at Windsor and Balmoral. He expresses admiration and gratitude for Dr. Hinzpeter, the pedagogue who had charge of his instruction from childhood days to the university. The supposed enemies of the former Kai- ser, Bismarck and his son Herbert, are nqt denounced as perhaps might have been expected, but the difference in policy between Bismarck and Wil lam IT which led to “dropping the pilot” are explained. * ok ok % Anticipation, realization and recol- lection of the visit of Queen Marie of Rumania to the United States have all contribtited to the numerousness of the books recently published on Rumania and _Its Queen. ‘‘Marie of Rumania: the Intimate Story of the Radiant Queen,” by Mabel Potter Daggett, is an admiring, effusive story by one whe spent some days as the guest of Queen Marie in Rumania, motored with her, walked in her gar- dens with her, visited with her alone, was admitted to the pages of the secret dlary. Mrs. Daggett tells of a girlhood love affair of Queen Marie With her ¢ousin, now George V of England, which was broken off by Marie’s mother because King George was then only a second son and Ma- rie was destined for queenship. The story of Marie's courtship mar- riage to Ferdinand, then:Crown Prince of ‘Rumania, {8 also told” with some detail. “My - Wanderings in the Balkans,”- by’ Dudley Heathcote, de- votes considerable attention to Ru- mania, - its' capital, Bucharest, often called “Petit Faris,” and its popular Queen. The author was received by Queen Marie in the tastle of Bran and talked with her regarding Rumanian internal policles. The social life and customs of Bucharest interest Mr. Heathcote and he thinks that many of the vices of Paris have been adopted and exaggerated while Parlsian vir- tues have been left “by the wayside.” * ok ok K A valuable reference book on negro history, sociology and economics is “The Negro in American Life,” by Jerome Dowd. Mr. Dowd Is profes- sor of soclology in the University of Oklahoma, has worked with the inter- racfal commission of Oklahoma, and has spent many years in studying the negro, both personally and as & prob lem. His book is full of data and ex- pert testimony on the anthropology, biology, psychology and sociology of the negro. Where there are disputed questions—and this is usually the case—he gives evidence and testimony on both sides. For example, he quotes eminent authorities to support the view that the black race is inferior to the white, and others equally emi- nent who hold that, with equal op- portunities, the black race can rise as high as the white. He s similarly two-sided in his discussion of the questions of amalgamation, coloniza- tion, segregation and civil equality, though he does not hesitate to give his own conclusions. * ok ok k The best 100 books, the best 10 novels, the best 10 poems and the best any number of any form of literature are always fruitful subjects for dis- cussion, because there will never be agreement about the lists. Orlo Wil- liams in his book, “Some, Great En, lish Novel names eight as, in his estimation, the greatest. They are Fielding’s “Tom Jones, Dickens’ ‘Martin Chuzzlewit,” Thackeray’s “Pendennis,” Meredith’s “Egoist,” De- foe’s “Roxana,” Jane Austen's “Em- ma,” George Eliot’s “Adam Bede, and Butler's “Way of All Flesh.” Of course, it is easy to find fault with the list, as with all lists. The Booklover for example, thinks that “David Cop- perfield,” “Nicholas Nickleby” and & pe all better than that “Vanity Fair” and “The Newcomes” are bet- ter than ‘“Pendennis” is not great at all. i would place in a “best list” himselfy § Hay! Hay! y h Fliat Journal. b say we should have to eat ft e BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. I Q. In playing cards should one say “Hearts is trump" or “Hearts are trumps”?—K. G. A. In playing cards it is ocorrect to say either “Hearts are trumps” or “The heart is trump.” Q. To what depth can a submarine be submerged?—O. L. T. . The maljority of submarines are designed to safely withstand 200 feet operating depth. The collapsing strength is 60 per cent greater. Q. What is the nickname given to natives of the State of Nebraska?— G. W. A A. By aot of its ure April 4, 1895, the State of Nebraska was styled “Tree Planters’ State.” How- ever, references we have consulted also include the following nicknames: ‘“‘Antelope,” “Black Water" and “Corn Husker.” It would seem that the only two names that would be le to designate a resident = of Nebraska would be either “Tree Planter” or “Corn Husker.” Q. What are the balls meade of which are used as Christmas tree ornaments?—G. B. A. The decorations used on Christ- mas trees are made from various ma- terials. The colored balls are gener- ally made from very thin glass. Q. How does it happen that the eldest son of the King of England is always known as ‘‘the Prince of Wales"?—W, E. C. A. When Edward I, King of Eng- land, annexed Wales in 1282, he con- ferved the title of “Prince of Wales" upon his son Edward, who happened to be born at Carnarvon in Wales during the parfod of occupation. It has since been customary to uss this title for the King’s eldest son and heir to the throne. Q. What office or position was Bmmit Scott appointed to by Secretary of War Baker during the World War and for how long?—R. C. N. A. Emmit Scott was a ppeinted by | the Secretary of War to occupy the positfon of spectal assistant to the Secretary of War. It was Mr. Scott's duty to advise in matters pertaining to negro soldiers. tion as assistant to Secretary of War Baker from 1917 to 1919. Q. In the fight in which Joe Gans won on a foul from Battling Nelson, could you inform me in what round the foul occurred’—C. W. C. R. C. A.In the 18th, 24th and 32nd Ho held this posi- | ¥ rounds of the bout between Jos Gan and_Battling Nelson, which occurr on September 8, 1906, Nelson dellveix ed blows palpably below the belt, but, &8 no damage resulted, Siler, the referse, ignored them. In the 42nd round Nelson struck Gans a viclous uppercut that sent the negro reeling to the floor and Siler disqualified Nel. son and declared Gans winner. Q. What is the “Nocturne tn Black and Gold"?—T. D. A. The ploture by Whistler called “Oid Battersea Bri " 1s alluded to a¢ the. “Nocturne in Blue and Gold.” It was the source of one of the artist'y most famous wittlelsms. The oppos- ing counsel in the suit for libel which Whistler brought against Ruskin in 1878 elicited the fact that the picture had been painted in two days, and then asked: “The labor of two daye: then is that for which you ask 200 guineas?’ To which Whistier re- torted with dignity: “No: I ask it for the knowledge of a lifetime.” ' This piature sold two years later for £,000 guineas. Q. Can you tell me which Is the largest zoological garden in the world, as to area and also as to number of inhabitants?—F. L. A. The London Zoological Park which comprises 34 acres of Regent's Park, 18 known to be the largest zoological garden in the world. It exhibits over 4,000 animals, Q. What is the smallest gold coig ever made by the United 8tates Govi ernment?—8. E. T. 4 A. The gold dollar is the denomination ‘which the Uhited States Government has ever Coined in gold, tmhz;omw:-. but -thase -:5 not redegmed by the Government, mrudf of its facilities for your self im . dnclose a 2-cent stamp for return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Prederic J. Haskin, director, Wash-~ ington, D. 0. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Senator Walsh of Massachusetts says that all the corset factories of New England and also the gingham factories are losing money or else have shut down. The women have ceased to wear gingham and have substituted starvation reducing diets, in place of corsets and lacing. They demand silken hose! So what are the factories which make those and many other mysterious underthings of cotton go- ing to do about 1t? He has received a telegram from the Flour Association of Massachusetts stating that if the Capper-faugen bill should pass, it will add $2 a barrel to the cost of flour. Inquiry at the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor dis- closed that that body of organized wage earners and “ultimate consum- ers” of farmr products is willing to stand that much increase in living ex- penses, if it will enable the farmers to make a living, for in this case the wage earners are standing squarely back of the farmers. Furthermore, the - Amel Federation of Labor has received the identical telegram from the Texas Bakers' Assoclation— propaganda protesting that the Mc- Nary-Haugen bill will add $2 a bar- rel to all flour. The spokesman for the federation comments: “In the first place, that is not accurate, and, in the second place, what if it should add $2 a barrel to what bakers pay, the price of bread does not come down with the price of wheat, so why should it rise when the bakers’ trust pays more? Poor rule that does not work both ways.” The estimated rise is equivalent to about $3 a year per family. A bar- rel of flour makes 300 pound loaves of bread. * %k k ok Next Monday the Senate will con- sider the McNary-Haugen bill “To establish & Federal Farm Board to ald in the orderly marketing and In the control and disposition of the surplus of agricultural commodities. By an adroit move there is a truce between the lion and the lamb, and the great banking interests of hated ‘Wall Street and “Main Street"” are combining with the horny-fisted farm- ers, so that this McNary-Haugen bill becomes ‘“‘unfinished - business™ -on next Monday upon the Senate calen- dar, while the bankers’ measure to regulate the establishment of branch national banks and the remewal of the charter of the Federal Reserve banks will be considered next. ‘There {s no cloture fixed upon the farm bill, so the cry that there is not sufficlent time permitted for legiti- mate debate cannot be sustained, but there is a call for cloture, already algned by more than 30 BSenators, which will enable the supporters of the measure to head off ‘any fillbuster and establish cloture at any time. The gun is loaded, but the trigger is “on safe.” And Gen. Dawes has a ‘plan” for Senaie regulation. If, as threatened by Senator Walsh, an effort be made to include corsets and other cotton underthings in the scope of the grain handling by the Government—if gingham be waved at the farmers, like a striped red flag by a Spanish banderilla or picador before an obstreperous bull—the farmers will meet the onrush with that cloture, and the ed bulls of Wall Street will intercept the attacking cotton- talls, in a great tackle. * ok Furthermore, why should Amer- icans protect farmers? demands Sen- ator Walsh. In Paris, he says, he found last Summer that there is absolutely no system of refrigera- tion so that food cannot be stored and kept. Hence, the citizens and the farmers have learned to estimate exactly how much food is required in a day and only one day’s supply is brought in daily, as it were manna in‘a desert. If our Government would take hold of the dally regulation of supplies according to demand, the problem would be simpler. Anyhow, farming is like any other business —it must take its normal hazards and those farmers who do not suc- ceed will be eliminated and get into other lines of work, o the whole matter will adjust ftself. Besides, there is going to be a congressional Investigation into this entire question of prosperity of cab- bages and kings, corsets and corn, ginghams and grain, hose and ha and whatever we eat, wear and sell. The Department of Agriculture in- vestigates only farming, but Con- gress will go farther, for can- not live on flour alone without cot- ton things made in New England. Shiver our timbers if he can! this country needs is more congres slonal. investigations and we must discover who changed the fashions and what becomes of all the pins corsets. It is up to the Department of Commence, but Secretary Hoover is filled with ether in trying to pre- vent vested srights in permanent ‘wove lsogth, Vested? Corsets? diew coincidental they appear when take: that way—in Congress! No wonder some statesmen view them with alarm! P And there is Senator King—who, 1 spite of his royal cognomen, is the noblest Democrat of them all—utterly and eternally opposed to the “social ism" of the McNary-Haugen pian to have the Government undertake to dispose of surplus farm products—not, to mention cotton unmentionables—at, the expense of the taxpayers and conv, sumers. True, the farmers propose to asses themselves per bushel to reimburse the Government for its def-, icit in selling their surpluses abroad at the world market rates, but that| is in consideration of their gainin monopoly of the home market. ket 10 times as great as our average export market—a monopoly which will enable them to raise their prices to Americans. - The point is that we do not necd so many farmers nor so much acreage, now that we have fm- proved machinery We ~can raise enough upon what acres are stiil cultivated without any Government price fixing. Support measures to in- crease farm acreage like the Colorado River dam plan to Urigate? No— nhevaer! We don't want more farm n So it appears that the McNary- Haugen bill will be opposed by some manufacturers, but supported by wage earners? Why? *® ¥ k X The wage earners want wages, rath- er than more competitors for indu trial employment. When, about 184 England adopted free trade on fo products imported, she destroyed he agriculture in order to drive farmerg into the factories, so wages would be- come so low that manufacturers could compete against foreign producers. That built up England's factories, crushed wages and crushed agri- culture. When the submarines cut off her food supplies in 1918, so that England was living literally upon the plan of dally “manna,™ as Senator Walsh finds in Paris, even today, there was fear and trem- bling at the prospect of famine and surrender and the catastrophiq end of the World War. For without England the allies were heipless. Tha American Federation of Labor is con in protecting high wage against the influx of farmers seeking Jjobs in competition with the unions, hence Iits willingness to stand the threatened increase in cost of foods, if that will maintain our agricuiture, * Kk ok The supporters of the MeNary- Haugen bill expect it to pass in both House and Senate next week, but ‘whether it will receive the approval, of President Coolidge or not is not assured. The President opposed it a. year ago, and the Secretary of Agri. culture, Mr. Jardine, is outspoken in his opposition. They have found no other form of legislation to offer for farm aid, and Senator Capper, chair man of the agricultural bloc, points to statistics showing ‘that “the prices of farm products are falling and reduc- ing the purchasing power of the people In agricultural districts, while taxes on farm wealth, as shown by the Natfonal Industrial Conference Board, averaged per year, 1909 to 1914, $265,000,000, while in 1924 and 1925 they were $891,000,000. Land values are decreasing, so that while formerly a farmer who took cheap land could raise enough from year to ( year to support his family, and de. pend upon the ultimate increase in the yalue of the land to give him a profif on his life labor, it is not so now. Falling land values only add to the farmer's “overhead.” The prob lem Is not to “help a farmer”; it i4 how to save agriculture In America— our basic industry, greater than rail- roads, banking, manufacturing and mining—all combined. 2 The new blll under consideration differs in details from the one defeat ed in the last Congress, but the es gential principles are the same. It would establish a Federal board of 1 men in addition to the Secretary of Agriculture, The board is given pow- ers to assist all producers of agri- cultural commodities. The board can . neither buy nor sell. It will help other agencies, set up by farmers, ta do the trading, storing and selling what amounts of surplus are necessary to stabilize home markets. A ‘“revolving fund” of $250,000,000 is to be loaned the Farm Board, from the United States Treasury, as working ocapital. This unified control of all supplies, it is assumed, will enable the farmers to feed the supplies into the world market, according to market condi- , tions, and have just enough left for home consumption. The exports will have to sell at world prices, but the nd | home market then will be. protected {rom the influence of world condi- tions, and better prices will be main- ih':l:efl in the “protected” United es. Deprrisht, 1937, by Fauwb Vo Coliingd.