Evening Star Newspaper, February 14, 1927, Page 8

g ~ *Y_FVENTNG STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1927. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ITHE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY......February 14, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Off 11¢h St and Penmsyly Nr‘g)”\'mk R::\" 'II"“ ¥ vi‘A - eago OMoc Tower Biild RBuropean Offic :l]l‘Rfl‘u'm St. 2. London, ith the Sunday morn- A artiers. within er month: The Evenine Star ne edition. is de the cits at 60 conts 48 cents ner month par month, Telephone Main carrier at ‘end of each - Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Alle and Sunday. L1 vr. $0.00 Sunday only o i All Other St alls a 1yr Aty R Sund 1 es and Cana s1000: 1 £5.00: 1 mo. S4.60: 1 mo. 1 Sunday Iy ay only Member of the Associated Press. The Assont 10 the u cation it oth Not Hinting at Himself. President Nicholas Butler of Columbia Unive his remarks uttered the other day, in e of which he expressed the idge would ignify the cou opinion that President Coo not seek another term, do not that he is himself in the field of pos- sible choice. Jie has, he says, merely followed his long-continued custom of frankly discussing political conditions, and is not to be put into the category = to draw attehtion to themselves as potential candidates. It is unfortunately the habit of some people to attribute self seeking motives to commentators on presi- dential matte: Dr. Butler would have to be classed perennial can- didate if this suggestion were in any degree justifiable. For he has never hesitated about declaring his view: Jie has been a free and frank ex- pounder of political doctrines and a willing volunteer in the field of party those seeki guidance, In his latest offering as adviser of Republican po and selection Dr. Butler has merely expressed his feel- ings on two aspects of the pres dential situation. He speaks as an individual. He holds that the “third- term” inhibition will operate to pre- vent the candidacy of the President and that prohibition will play an im- portant part in the 1928 campaign. To the former of these opinions there has already been strong demur. It has had the effect of precipitating a discussion of the so-called third-term issue in advance of the time for the serious consideration of candidates, with thus far a decided drift of senti- ment against Dr. Butler's view that a term and a third in the White House Aisqualifies an incumbent from seeking & second elective term. As for the prohibition question, it 18 assuredly a fair field of speculation. The wet-and-dry question will unques- tionably play an important part in the preliminaries. candidates for the nominations—both nominations, indeed—will be scruti- nized. Mr. McAdoo has on his side of the political boundary precipitated a lvely debate on the subject. The Re- publican party may not have to take a specific position in order to find itself | aligned in 1925. Of much more impor- tance now is the question of whether the Democratic party will be compelled by force of circumstances to take such & position in its platform. Dr. Butler's disclaimer of candidate aspirations is needless. He has not been rated as even a possible dark horse in the 1928 fleld. The suspicion that he spoke for himself when he drew attention to what he regards as Mr. Coolidge's disqualification is un- warranted. — et — Echoes from the corridors of the halls of legislation may tempt Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney to enroll themselves for political honors. Bl Geneva is an inland town, and so can be suspected of no selfish interests in naval negotiations. Nyt 07 -2 Y A Hit-and-Runner Caught. Alert police work has put another hit-and-run motorist behind the bars, where he is likely to remain for quite an extended period. A wealthy resi- dent of Hackensack, N. J., was cross- ing the street in front of his home on Saturday night. Suddenly, no warning horn, a big car swung around the corner on two wheels, struck and instantly killed the aged man, and continued on its way at an increased speed estimated tg be 0ty miles an hour. Bystanders were unable to get more than a fleeting glimpse of the death car after a belated pursuit in commandeered nutomobiles it was considered doubt ful whether the hit-and-runner would cver be caught. A clue was left be hind, however, which resulted in the criminal's undoing. At a point about half-way between the piace where the unfortunate vie tim was struck und where his bods was thrown by the impuct, a distance of seventy-five feet, police discovered & plece of a broken motormeter. Word was immediately broadeast throughont New Jerse bile with torn off. he was 1 ed man, motormete a theater in Hackensac backed into a parking Atsmounted from the fronted by a polic to the nearest patrol Half hour later the piece of the meter found at the scene of the accident was fitted to the radiator cap on the parked car and, realizing that he had caught with the goods, the man con- fessed. This motorist should be given the Imit of the law in punishment. He belongs to the most despicable frater- nity that modern civilization and part iplet of this une anding himself as the want with instrumen, o nscious that motorist, broken vesterday nan, who took him bo. The records of possible | with § to watch for an autemo. | an has created—that band of deflant, callous and cowardly drivers of death-deal- ing machines who refuss to accept responsibility for their acts. Too few :af them are caught, but when they are, no mercy should be shown. They have shown none. They do not stop to render ald to their victim, they do mot even glance back, but they do increase their speed, dodge up side streets and cut corners in a frantic effort to get away in order to achieve membership among the contemptible | humans who compose the hit-and-run | fraternity. | eve 1in should the motorist con- | victed of this y tice be allowed to ! sit behind the wheel of an automo- | hile. He should be compelled to sell I his automobile immediately on com- pletion of his jail term, or, better still there should be some means for the S can be taken by rum-runni appe: equal reason for cont killing. As more To Dicks and Har are granted permits to drive simply for the payment of small fees, more deaths will inevitably occur. the time arrives that a motorist is compelled to demonstrate {qualities in excess of the po of two dolla h with which to buy a permit, had automobile driving will | immediately a decrease. That i< the remedy for a situation which is reaching the point ¢ andal in every | community in the United States. i | Public Building Soon to Start. A Dbrief announcement has been | made to the effect that Secretary Mellon and Postmaster General New have agreed upon the projects to be begun the first year under the re- | cently adopted fi vear public build- | ing program and that it will probably be made public in a few days. This refers to the post offices and other structures that are to be erected in other cities than Washington. The | local” Government construction pro- | gram is already outlined. Work will | be started this year on three build- ings—the central section of the De- partment of Agriculture, the Internal | Revenue Building and the Hall of | Archives. The first of these will be | l.“ ated in the Mall and the other two | Within the Mall-Avenue triangle, The Internal Revenue’ Building will | probably be the first of the latter to be | started, inasmuch as the Government already owns the greater part of the site chosen for it, and it can proceed | with the erection of at least half of | the projected structure. There Is a | reason for the beginning of this build- | ing as soon as possible, for upon its completion, in whole or in part, de- pends the starting of work on the new home for the Department of Com- merce on the southern half of the so- called “five square site” flanking the White Lot on the east. Within the bounds of that site lies one of thel temporary war-time structures, hous- | ing one of the income tax units of the | Internal Revenue Bureau. There is | no space for its accommodation else- | where, and until the new permanent | home of the bureau is available this | structure cannot be vacated. | Meanwhile, work 1s starting on the preparation of plans for the Com- merce Department, and the hope is | that by the time they are ready suffi- cient progress will have been made on the Internal Revenue quarters to per- mit the razing of the temporary struc- ture and the clearing of the entire site for the great departmental home. | The site for the Archives Building has been selected, but has not yet been acquired by direct purchase or condemnation. This process may re- quire several months, which time will be utilized in the drafting of plans. Thus the present prospect is that by Summer work will actually be un- der way on at least two of the three new buildings provided for in the great program of construction, tan- gible evidence that the Government is at last on its way to the accom- plishment of its long delayed end of equipping itself adequately for the | transaction of its business at the Capital. — e it. If automobiles the Government for s that there is | ating them for to confiscate it When prospective session show | | Seven elephants, three white and four pink, are listed in the belongings | of the King of Siam, who would easily become a world power were he a P. T. | Barnum. | s Funds for school teachers are not | readily obtained. Nobel prizes split up among capable instructors might have helped some. | | . i Safe Coal Mining. | From Johnstown, Pa., comes a dis- | patch to the effect that a certain cor- poration operating in that area mined | approximately 1,750,000 tons of coal lin 1926 without suffering a single | fatal accident. The fact that such a record is worthy of being made a | { news item is significant. | coul is a dangerous work. | Any penetration of the earth invol | the possibility of disaster. Tunnels | | must be driven into the rock, and this disturbance of th | structure, which involves the possi- | | bility of falling material. When coal | {is mined gases form in the chambers | jund drifts and these gases are ignited 'by accident. Despite the utmost care in the handling of safety lamps, flam exposed to gasdimpregnated air. will persist in smoking. | from electric conductors cause sometimes, indeed, the strik i ks by the hoofs of mine | mules against flinty rocks has been | known to cause an explosion. Painstaking have been by sclentists to determine the ceidents and to find, { means for their prevention. Mine man- {agement consists largely in the adop- tion safety methods of driving {shafts and drifts and in excavating | | coal and ore. Instructions and warn { ings are printed in various languages ¢l all types of operatives and conspicuously before them are drilled in the handling of e« | plost Yet the accidents continue. A soft coal mine from which a mil- lion and three-quarters tons of mate- rial have been taken during twelve months without a single fatality has been remarkably well managed. Good luck perhaps played a part In the %mkmg of this record. Iossibly the mining | process caus | Min parks | ignition. ing of spar researches made causes of these of d | neously | sound, |is operatives in that working are excep- tionally intelligent and careful. At any e, this performance proves that it is possible to dig and deliver bituminous in large quantities with- out mishap, and it should be held forth as an example to all mine own- ers and managers. Erg ey New Wonders. A device to synchronize motion pic- tures with voice and music has just demonstrated in New York after a long series of experi- ments in the perfection of a machine simulta- s. This is not successtully that records sound impuls “I am never merry when 1 hear sweet music.”—*“Merchant of Venice.” The test of melancholy is one which may be applied with certainty to most muste. The compositions are those which impress a certain mood of sadness upon the listener, whether he_be conscious of it or not Nor is this feeling dependent upon the whim or imagination of the one <o affected. There is something in the ver ruction of “sweet music strikes the soul. cons which » with light ra the same procecdin as whi as that which | heretofore been employed in | a voicereproducing machine | s been actuated by the mechanism | of the It is regarded dis- | tinet advance in that not only is there | a perfect synchronizing of light and | but that the reproduction of the sound is more perfect. Thus it likely that motion pictures will, a short time, be displayed with the | spoken words sounded in the hearing of the audience and with incidental | music, as in the case of an opera. Meanwhile efforts are being made to perfect a “television” device by which @ “motion picture” of any scene may be reproduced on a screen from a dis- In this the radio principle is utilized. The experimenters are not willing to forecast immediate results. Wkhat they have accomplished thus far has been only on a laboratory scale and is far from a perfect performance. If they can succeed in devising an apparatus that will transmit and re- cord light waves by radio in all condi- tions they will have produced a marvel. The transmission of photographs by telegraph, telephone and even by radio has been accomplished. The product is becoming steadily better. Whereas only a few months ago these swiftly dispatched pictures were regarded us wonders of science, they are now vir- tually commonplace. A great stride has been taken and the next step, it cannot be doubted, will be the trans- mission of the motion picture directly from the scene to distant beholders. 2 O Yy George Washington chopped the cherry tree and then owned up to his culpability. So runs the legend. It has become difficult to believe the biographers, whether what they say is good or bad. h reel, 18 ———— become extinct, say Tt will not' happen soon Horses will sclentists. | enough to be any relief to the Prince of Wales. ——— Threats of fist fights in distin- | guished legislative bodies may open new fields for the attention of Tex Rickard. D — Swimmers bring attention to Ameri- can supremacy in the ocean. But they would be no good in a naval fight. ————— e The presidency of Mexico has its distinguished rewards. It also involves threats of nervous prostration. ——————r———— The farmer will possibly be obliged to seek his own relief by putting up the prices of eggs and butter. ) World peace is still regarded as sorhething sufficiently precious to be worth responsible discussion. — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Personal Conflict. Used to stop an’ listen To the speeches fine. Rhetoric would glisten Bright in every line. Statesmen, though in quarrel, Used argument polite And tried to point a moral— Now they start a fight. Once the statesmen gave us Thoughts that were sublime As they sought to save us From the wrecks of Time. Reasons all compelling, Showing what was right, Were well worth the telling— Now they start a fight! Heroic Publicity. ‘ou have a great admiration George Washington.” “I have,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “I must bow in admiration to a man who succeeded in utilizing the two-cent stamp as a means of per- petual publicity.” for Reciprocity. It 1 forgive my neighbor In philanthropic glee, How do I know he'd labor To do the same for me? Jud Tunkins says the flivver is too often dn example of what would hap- pen if a baby carriage were equipped with gas and steered by the occu- pants. Delicatess The cook has quit. We sadly sit And chew the chilly chow. And yet the food Brings gratitude Which smooths the frowning brow. The stout tin can Brings forth a plan Which hopes will still reveal. While rather small, "Tis, after all, A calm and cookless meal. Scattered. “I don't see the old familiar faces around Crimson Gulch,” the traveling salesman. “The boys who stay at the motion picture who don't are in jail.” sober are out studio. Those “We who worship our ancestor: !sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, failing to set an example which will call on our descendants to rev- crence us.” “A cheater,” said Uncle Eben, “mj it money, but he’s liable to be too nervous to enjoy it.” i e Those Class Exemptions. From the Kalamazoo Gazette, One advantage of being a fireman s that one can park squarely in front of @ water. plug. ’ {would be | tion, in remarked | Have you not heard some simple, out. right person say “I do not like mu it makes me sad”? . This is surely one of the little-dis- cussed drawbacks of music, that it oduces into life elements of sad- ness when what the world needs is more joy. 1t will not do to say that surely march or the st “popular success is not gloomy is only « small segment of musical compe ind the fox-trot, compared with a master work, is hardly music at all; nly no more than ‘“puppet at the most. The real music of the world eon- tains a throb that is so elemental that it hurts, a vague sweetness that is akin to tear id which has nothing to do with tempo or form, being as much present in a whirling Chopin as in the lullaby which strikes recollections of sadness into listener. There secems to be something inherently mournful in most of the greatest music ever writ- ten, not only in the grander composi- tions, but in the lesser folk songs of the nations. The fact that many of these latter so often treat such themes as death and loss has not much to do with it, as the plain music, with- out the words, carrles the same mournful implications Thus, reduced to elementals, music in the form of a Stephen Foster melody, such as “Massa’s in the Cold, Cold Ground,” is recognized by every one as falling in_the category In which it was placed by Shakespeare. ok A Washingtonian recently discov- ered the innate sadness of sweet music in_an unexpected manner. He was ill, being laid up with the influenza, too sick to read, tired of just looking out the window and watching the birds and aviators all day long. It would be a good thing, he thought, if he would have the radio installed in his sick chamber. He had always read how patients in hospitals enjoved “lis- tening-in.” He had never given the matter a second’s thought. Certainly they enjoyed it! How could they help it? He had never calculated, however, on the strange quality of sweet sound combinations which “‘makes for sad- ness. He was to find that out after his radio was brought up from down- stair: “Now,” he said to himself, “I will have something to cheer me up, some- thing to relieve the ennui. Hg already had taken something to relieve nausea, something to relieve a cough, something for fever, some- thing for sore throat. This was to be something to “pep up” the spirits, es- tablish the morale on a firmer basis, put smiles on the mental horizon. Radio is so helpful! ‘Well, the program time arrived. The switch was pulled and the loud speak- er began to function. “This is station XYZ," said the peppy announcer. “You are about to hear the weekly hymn singers. The first number will be announced in a moment."” Shortly our patient was listening to the beautiful old hymn: “One sweetly solemn thought Comes to me o'er and o'er, I am nearer home today Than I have ever been before; Nearer my Father’s house, ‘Where the many mansions be; Nearer the great white throne, Nearer the jasper sea.” It was Phoebe Carey’s masterplece. He had loved it for a lifetime in fits fine and appropriate setting. ‘While this was undoubtedly an un- fortunate beginning, the hymn tunes were not responsible for the undeni- ably disastrous effect the program had fox-trot on the patient. An offering following by a good orchestra was no better. Several of the famous numbers played almost moved the sick man to tears. “Turn that thing off!” he finally or dered. L He got to wondering about all these radio sets in hospitais. They are installed usually by good- hearted, healthy men, who have only the finest intentions. But s0 much of the music played is sad—not sad with the sugary quality of “The Prisoner's Song.” but the keen pathos of beautiful music he stopped to realize it, the ient recalled that he had never n able to hear on his phonograph a soprano sing Gounod's “Sing, Smile, Slumber” without a rertain feeling of sadness. It was not so much the magle quality of a great volce as the indetinite something that is somehow imposed on the creator of real music. It is as If God had placed every musl- cian under secret orders to put a strain of melancholy in every com position in order that joy might not be unconfined. There is to all great music a cer- tain air, a certain fall, that seems to find some inexplicable bond of under: standing with some similar quality the human mind. And the two meet and the blend 1s sadness. Fven such a thing as “The Spanish Fandango,” a. celebrated gultar num- ber, hag in it aspects of unutterable woe. The solemn, throbbing repeat of certain notes put in by the thumb, with the wail in the upper register, marks this as one of the really mourn- tul compositions of the world. This brings us around to the differ- ence between real sadness and in- tended sadness. Composers who start out with the intention of dolng rcmething lugubri- ous ordinarily fail in their endeavors. ““The Death of Ase” is not half as mournful as Dvorak's “Humoresque." There 1s nothing at all “humorous” about the latter composition; it is one of the saddest pieces of music in | existence. The famous portion in sixteenth notes may be played with “The Old Folks at Home,” thereby proving its innate melancholy char- acter. * ok ox % There is this quality in whole races of composers. The happy Irish peo- ple, whom one would offhand expect to produce only lilting melodies, have some of the saddest songs in the world. Some of the negro ‘spirituals,” so called (although rot very well called, in our opinion), are intensely sad in effect. - “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “‘Steal Away” and “I Want to Be Like Jesus,” when done with the proper old-time harmonic effects, are breath-taking. The music of the late Victor Her- bert—he was an Irishman—possess throughout the note of sadness. It is a remarkable thing that almost every one of his songs in 2.4 march time may be transformed into a lullaby by playing them slowly. In the same way, most of his songs in march and common time may be easily turned into .waltzes. He could not escape from the inner sorrow of sweet sounds. No amount of being a “good fellow” could make him untrue to his commission, which was to create real music. The pen- sive soul of the artist shone through. The efforts of the modern jazz ex- _ponents to make music only gay Is a futile gesture in the eternity of music. It is sound and fury, signi- fying nothing. They try to give the lie to Nature by making a great noise, They flee from reality to a land of make-belleve, just as some persons stay up all night pecause they are afraid to go to sleep. Real music recognizes that man cannot always be rejoicing. Like life itself, it knows the possibilities of Death, and of Love, which is stronger than Death. Beneath its tripping movement there is a groundwork of tears, built of the hopes and fears of humanity. This is why real music is all things to all men, but often sad- ness to the wise, although not gloomi- ness. It was this sweet sadness Shakespeare meant when he wrote, “I am never merry when I hear sweet music.” New Immigration Quota Basis Sharply Criticized by Press ‘National origins” of people already in the United States, the new immi- gration law's chief basis for immigra- tion quotas, is sharply eriticized by some sections of the press. It fs con- tended that assembling of accurate statistics on racial origins is imprac- ticable and, moreover, that the law discriminates against races considered desirable contributors to American citizenship. The hope is rather gen- erally expressed that the Senate’s vote to postpone for a year application of the new quota basis ultimately will result in changes, although some of the friends of immigration restriction see a menace to the whole structure in the opposition to provisions of the present law. : “Dissatisfaction with the calculation based upon the number of aliens in the United States from the various nations,” it is pointed out by the Philadelphia Public Ledger, “resulted in a calculation based upon national origins, But it is impossible to make this calculation accurately. The Sen- ate refused to repeal the law provid- ing the new quotas. But for several reasons there was objection to apply- ing it. Postponement for a year at least effects no change. But no con- celvable undiseriminatory basis i8 ever likely to be generally satisfactor: Taking a similar position, * the Springficld Republican maintains that “it has been pretty well established that any official classification that might be made of our national origins o open to challenge as to leave jnustification for resentment on the part of the groups to which the new deal would give lessened con sideration. The new basis of restric- ©t, could not be what it pur- The striking unanimity of the Senate in favor of postponing for one year—until July 1, 1928—the going into effect of the natlonal orl- gins quota plan suggests the lively possibility that before the vear is up the whole national origins busine will go into the discard. It won work, and it would do no good if it would.” ported to be. ok kK The New Orleans Tribune finds that a compromise “ended the hard fight for new quotas under the ‘national origing' provision of the law. This would greatly reduce the number of immigrants from Germany, Ireland and Scandinavian countries,” contin- ues the Tribune, “and practically doubled those from lingland. The fight was so hard and the opposing forces so equally matched that a com- promise wis the only way the Senate could get the matter out of the way. We favor the existing quota The Lincoln State Journal g causes which lead to the desir postpone the new law, stating, melting pot has been in operation for so many generations that the average American finds it no easy matter to define his predominant rucial strains.” That paper also mentions the objec- tion that there is a “decrease made by the law in the quotas from Ger- ves the to many, southern Ireland and the Scan- dinavian countries.” “The proposal,” says the Brooklyn Dally Eagle, “has created much feel- ing among Germans, Irish and Scan- dinavians, and various protest meet- The | ings have been held. Immigrants from these countries are counted among those who assimilate most readily. They have been welcomed by our most rabid anti-immigrationists. There seems no good reason why we should give offense to an important section of our citizenship by purposeless re- strictions.” The Morgantown New Dominion, however, belleves that “the ‘national origins’ scheme, temporarily defeated, would not have made much difference in the relative proportions of Nordics, Alpines and ° Mediterra- neans admitted, though it would make considerable difference to certain na- tionalitfes." “From the beginning system,” declares the Evening Bulletin, “the ideal was to keep the racial make-up of the future population of the Ccntinental United States proportionately the same as it exists at this time. The theory is ex- cellent, but the data seem lacking to work it out in practice. The formula has not yet been found.” The Worces- ter Telegram finds “some point to the argument that 1if the plan Is bad enough to suspend, 1t is bad enough to discard once and for all.” * ok ok “It must not be overlooked,” ad- vices the Christfan Sclence Monitor, however, “that back of the insistence upon the postponament of the literal cement of the quota law were ar- o all those ngencles which are striving incessantly to break down the general immigration law of the United his campaign against the riction of fmmigration is persistent and menac It 15 0 menacing that many who otherwlse would have seen the reasonable need for the action of the Senate have opposed it through the belief that It mlght prove the en- tering wedge by which the law as a whole might be split asunder.” The Monitor asserts that “there Is every |reason to apprehend that at the ex- piration of the perfod of grace pro- vided by the Senate resolution a de- termined effort will ba made to break down the fmmigration law in toto.” The Manufacturers’ Record states, in diseussing this possibility: “Vigor ous efforts were made at the last ses- ston of Congress (o break down our immigration®barciers, and during the present sesslon, in’ ull probability, more strenuous efforts will be made. We shall therefore do well to keep in mind the evils of unvestricted immi- gration and the benefits that have al- ready flowed, and in the future will flow more freely, from restriction.” The Atlanta Journal draws the con- clusion from this utterance that “not all leaders of industrial thought deem {a large inflow of cheap labor either | necessary or desirable.” That paper |argues further, “The interesting thing |now is that an observer and inter- preter like the Manufacturers’ Record is seeing and stressing the economic danger of what was once argued to be an economic necessity.” A solution of the problem, as sug- of the quota Philadelphia is that “when the revision of the im- migration law comes to be made, it be made on the basis of selected de- sirlbfll%.‘at point of origin rather than on the basis of racial oulgin.” with | gested by the Lansing State Journal, | | | {it over to the KFine Arts Commission. | Fine Arts Plan Hit. Proposal to Limit Buildings Near Lafayette Square Scored. To the Editor of The Star At the meeting of the Senate Dis- trict committee of February 10 the! statement was made that the Fine Arts | Commission was attempting to cheapen property on Lafayette Square in order that the Government might at some future time acquire it at a low price. I do not share this. opinion. The bill ftself is damaging enough without having recourse to any such theory, proposing, as it does, to subject own ers of all land within 200 feet of public park or building to the ¢ lute rulings of the commission. This bill might well be entitled bill to take 50 per cent of value off the property of thousands of real | estate owners in this District and hand Thirty-three per cent of Washington is | open squares and parks. The prop- erty within 200 feet of them would | amount to a great many miilion dol lars, held by many thousands of citi- zens One might also question the quall- fications of commissions from the point of view of art, when one looks at some of the modern unsightly bufldings already permitted on La fayette Square nd monuments el where about the city. It is the ver: fact that such bullding as the Veterans' Bureau has heen construct ed with the permission of the Fine Arts Commission, and the Brooking Building with the approval of the Zoning Commission, w has made the square a business zone accom- panied by business taxes and living discomforts, that has finally driven some of those who own residences there to seek homes elsewhere. They have made their dispositions on the basis of values as heretofore deter- mined by the law of supply and de mand. But they find overnight thelr values cut in two, a cloud on their titles because of the proposal that the Fine Arts Commission be given the power to control their properties, al- though it and the other commission have brought about conditions on tte Square making continued nce there impossible. lven if the commission were ap- pointed by Pericles himself in the brightest d of Athenfan art. it would nevertheless be a very dan- gerous aggression upon the principle of private property to give them the power they so biandly ask—so far do fundamental political rights tran- scend in importance any theories of art that a small body of men may at the moment have. 1 know that in certain districts of some foreign cities conformance to skyline is ob- ligatory, but I doubt if any sov ereign in Europe would risk invest- ing a body of men with any such absolute control of the private prop- erty of other citizens. It would be equivalent to taking the crown from the sovereign's head and placing it on the head of Mr. Moore. But this] is not the whole danger. 3 Grants of power of this kind, like the cells of a disease, are apt to spead and grow. If Senator King is correct in his contention that the Con stitution has given Congress rights over property here that are safe- guarded in other communities in the United States from legislative control, there is hardly any limit to the ag- gression upon private rights which might ensue in the District of Colum bia. The next demand would be for the regulatfons of houses on boule- vards, and then again for the houses on ‘elevations overlooking the city, until the rights of all private citizens owning land here would be entirely overlaid by schemes for the be - tion of the city. Therefore the ne- cessity of vigilance and resistance to measures of this character is of such vital importance. Where pri- vate property is concerned the func- tlon of the Fine Arts Commission should only be advisory; where a pub- lic building is not concerned its de cision should not be co lsory. Even as this goes forward to you the architects are already asking in their brief issued February 12 for more power. They have discovered that the bill put forward last week at the Senate District committee meeting is subject to the safeguard of the Con- stitution, as it would not be retroac- tive. This curtails their power, and they are now asking for more author- ity to circumvent this timehonored guarantee of popular rights. Constitu- tional safeguards appear to be mere cobwebs to them. The proposal now is, although only a week has elapsed since their first sweeping demand— “rezoning of the areas to head off building development pending action by Congress"—"'giving the proper Fed- eral authorities the right to_consider the use of these sites and forcing them to decide whether or not they wanted the property.” - It.1s a gloomy prospect for the vic- tims who own property. After being taxed for years as a business zone, when they are at last at the point of selling, they are to be rezoned and forced to await the inevitable delays of a struggle by the commission “to force” the Federal authorities to work the commission’s will. Does education in art at the Beaux Arts and the Sorbonne in Paris, which most of these young gentlemen have had the benefit of, absolutely exclude from their consciousness all idea of human rights and their legal and con- stitutional guarantees? Fine arts has been called the ef- florescence of civillzation, but we must not lose sight of its foundation, the | rights of propert: BEALE Texas Pardon Board Urged on Legislature From the Fort Worth Record-Telegram. A bill has been introduced into the Texas Legislature that sounds as though it might be tical solution of the er,” that gubernatorial function that has been the subject of discussion for many years. This proposed legisla- tion has the intent of creating a doning board that will remove the personal equation from the gove: nor’s privilege and make the appli tion for pardon almost a rehearing of the original case. The relation of fustice and mercy is not clearly defined in the minds of | many people. There ave jurors in- numerable who have been known to stand out in jury rooms for the death penalty, only to attach their signa- tures to an application for a pardon before two vears of a long-term sen- tence (which they opposed as insuffi- clent punishment until the last ballot) had been served. Executive clemency has been separated entively from the wmatter of justice as seen by the facts and records of the trigl. Then the bur- dens of mercy without any sense of justification is saddled upon the exee- utive. Whatever the attitude of the incumbent, the situation is an impos- sible one. The courts are courts of justice. If they are not, they should bs made so. We should he so constituted as o have the utmost sympathy for fellow befngs in trouble, but we should have a corresponding urge to give abstract justice and take it entirely on merit. Tempering justice with mercy was a beautiful thought of Milton's, but he never intended it to go to the extent of placing an obligation, either actual or implied, on an individual above and apart from the original justice | machinery. ‘The proposed legislation seems to be needed. When it passes, if it should, it should serve two purposes. 1t should remove the strain from the executive, and it should serve to give prospective jurors an unbiased vision utific Q. 1Is there a law against bringing a hallbut into port with its head on, if %0, Why?—T. M. M. A. It is a universal custom to be. head the halibut at point of landing, and ship fish dressed and beheaded. The heads are sometimes used for th manufacture of fertilizer, fish meal or ;:lhm. There is no law concerning this, son of a treaty or agree- any kind with Japan and gland or other pow did the nited States ever destroy any in- complete battleships?—J, . H. A. The following is a list of those battieships and battle cruisers which were under construction and were serapped under the provisions of the Limitation of Armaments Conference sattleships Washington, Massa- chusetts, Indiana, South Dakota, lowa, North Carolina and Montana; battle cruisers—Constitution, United tates, Constellation and Ranger. Q. By r ment of Which races have contributed test number M. F. Q. the immigrant aliens during October, 1926. were the German (6,452), Irish 5.440), Mexican (4,750), English ( cotch (3.548), French (2,052), Scandi (1,837), Italian (1,609) and ( What s the heaviest metal?— A. The Bureau of Standards says the heaviest metal known is osmium with a density of 22.479. Q. Does the . P. O. E. teeth as charms?—G. L. A. A Governmepnt authority in charge of elk investigation says that the fraternal organization referred to has discontinued the practice of using genuine elks’ teeth ast charms. This 18 because so many elks were being killed for the purpose of obtaining their teeth. use elks’ Q. Which is more sensitive—the telephone or radio?—J. O. A. The radio is more sensitive than the telephone receiver. The telephone receiver is 80 ohms, the radlo headset 2,000 ohms or more. Q. What does tha expression, “He can't stand.the gaff,"” mean?—M. J A. To express it colloquially, the sentence, “He can't stand the gaff.” means that the person referred to can not endure the wear and tear of con ditions under which he is living. Q. destroy La M. A. In Africa the ants destroy the railroad ties. Africa uses steel ties. Q. How much money has the United States Government paid in Civil War pensions?—T. W. A. The amount pald to Civil War pensieners to the end of the fiscal vear ending June 30, 1926, W $6,784,920,604.1 Civil War pension- ers are drawing from $65 to $125 a month, depending on their condition. Civil War pensioners who are drawing $125 a month are totally disabled and blind. Q. How long has the word “rodeo’ been in use?—C. E. G. A. The earliest use of the word “rodeo” in the English language of which we have record was by Darwin in his Journal of the 16th of August, 1834. Q. Will the same watt frosted electric light bulb give as much light as a clear one’—R. L. W. A. The new line of inside-frosted lamps gives very nearly the same light output as do clear lamps of the same size and efficiency rating. Thlre is a loss of light only a little less than 2 per cent. In what countries do the ants the railroad ties?—T. De Fistiouffs beneath the Capitol dome on February 12 were valuable and important in at least one respect— they demonstrated that political dif- ferences are not so much between the two great parties as among members of the same parties. The natural thing would have been for a Repub- lican and a Democrat to square off in the Senate over farm relief and the banking bill, instead of a couple of Jeffersonians like Glass of Virginia and Wheeler of Montana having each other. So would it also have been the logical thing for lHouse mem- bers on opposite sides of the aisle to scrap over McNary-Haugenism, rath- er than for two Republican brother- Kansans like “Tiny” Tincher and “Jim” Strong to mix things up. Former Senator Charles S. Thomas, Democrat, of Colorado, who is in Washington for the wind-up of the session, avers, “The only difference between the Republican and Demo- cratic partles today is their names.” * K XX TRepresentative Percy Edwards Quin Democrat, of Mississippi is the author of the merriest quip of the blithe farm rellef season. ‘There comes a time,” says Quin, “in the life of every statesman when he must rise above principle. Quin rejoices in his 100 per cent Mississipplanism. He was born In the Magnolia State, as were his father and mother before him and Itkewise the charming lady who is his wife. Quin has represented his native district in Congress continu ously stnce 1914, * ok X X Although Abraham Lincoln is mortalized at Washington by the American soil, the Great pator’s birthday anniversary passes at the National Capital with conspic- uously few signs of public recogni tion. Apart from the Stars and Stripes that adorn Government build- ings every week day, one could easily count the flags that were displayed on February Lincoln's birthday is not a legal holiday in the District of Columbia, although more than half the States have so decreed ft. That may be one reason why the na. tlonal banner is not more freely flung to the breeze along the Potomac in Lincoln’s memory. Another explana- tion, which one occasionally hears, is that Washington, after all, is very much of a Southern community. * Kk K Postmaster General, te anniversary cele- own on recurring bruary. On that date, vears ago, New got his first job as newspaper reporter, and he com- memorates the event as the one which rted him upon a distinguished pub- r. 1t was on the old Indianap- olis Journal that the Postmaster Gen- eral served as a cub chaser of the nimble item. He ended up by becom- ing its editor and publisher, leaving the paper in 1903 after 25 vears of active journalism. New interrupted his newspaper career during the Spanish-American war to serve as as- sistant adjutant general of the 3d Rrigade, 2d Division, 7th Army Corps in Cuba. Soldiering has always been the Postmaster General's hobby. In his salad days he was an officer of the Indianapolis Light Infantry, the crack drill team of (;Ae‘MI‘ddk? ‘West. Harry S. New always has a pri bration of hi elevenths of I of the se: of duty that will steer them betwesn the simple justice in- volved anda sense of mercy gener- ated, aftel 3 Not for a long time has the Capital listened in at such a feast of genulne oratory as. wag vouchsafed participants of immigrants | incipal races contributing | The Uganda Railroad in | i- | ter ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. out the Jim Flynn figh H. D. A. The explanation of the sporting phra Throw out the Jim Flynn fight,” in connection with the record of Jack Dempsey is the fact that Flynn knocked out Dempsey in one round which indicated that Dempsey did not have sufficient time to train and that there was an immense difference in the weight of the two men. Henca this fight is not considered as a fair basis on which to judge the fighting ability of Dempse: Q. Who was Poppaea Sabina? P A | 'A. She was an beauty who becama the and was killed by Q. Where was the first orphan asylum established?—B. (* A. The first orphan asylum which history records was established dur ing the middles ages in the city re public of Ragusa, situated on the Dalmation coast. infamous Roman fe of Nero 65 A.D. Q. Will vou please tell ma some. | thing of the meaning of ihe expres | sion “true blue"?—G. L. C. | "A. This term is defined in the fol {lowing manner: True blue (that is, genuine, lasting biue; blue heing taken las a tyvpe of constancy, and used in this and other phrases often with an |added allusion to some other sense of | blue), constant: unwavering; stanch sterling; unflinching; upright and | downright: specifically applled to_the Scotch Preshyterian or Whig part) in the seventeenth century, from the color (blue) adopted by the Covenant ers in contradistinction to the royal red. Q. Who holds the titla to the land where the White House stands? Was this land leased to the Government for ninety-nine vears’—W. W. C. A. The grounds where the White House and Washington Monument stand were originally a farm owned by Davy Burns, a Scotchman. George Washington had considerable difficulty in persuading Burns to sell. Ha in sisted upon the proviso that the site of his own cottage should not be taken and that no lot should he sold for private buildings in its vicinity. The land was sold outright. Q. Will you please give me th names of five noted naturalized ci zens?—M. B. A. The following are noted natura! |1zed American citizens: James I Davis, Secretary of Labor: Mary den, opera star; Otto H. Kahn, banker | Nathan Straus, merchant and philan thropist; Irving Berlin, song writer. Q. Did Jack Mulhall play fn the | moving picture “The Cohens and the Kelleys"?—W. N. | A, Jack Mulhall did not play in the motion plcture “The Cohens and the | Kelleys.” ‘The part of Tim Kelly was taken by Jason Robards. | Q. What the derivation of the | word “salary”?—T. L. F. A. It is from the Latin “salarius,’ belonging to salt. Originally “salt money"” was part of the pay of a Ro- man soldier. Any reader can get the answer to any question by twriting The Evening | Star " Information Bureau, Frederic | /. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. | This offer applies strictly to infor- | mation. The bureau cannot gire advice on fegal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt 1o settle domestic troubles, nor undertake ex- haustive research on any subject. Write your question plainly and brief- ly. Give full mame and address and inclose 2 cents in_stamps for return postage. The reply is sent direct to the inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. (. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. in the recent dinner of the Washing: ton-Wakefleld Memorial Association. The stars of the evening were those Demosthenian _twins—Senator James A. Reed of Missouri, and James M ! Beck, former Solicitor General of the | United States. Their speaking styles are entirely different. Reed is flery |and dramatic. Beck is partial to | beautifully phrased imagery. Quota- tions from the classics roll off his silver tongue with musical fluency Beck scored neatly on Reed, who had just been glorifying the sanctity of the Constitution, about which Uncle Sam'’s former attorney knows a thing or two himself. “I have listened with absorbing appreciation.” said Back, “to the panegyric just uttered by my gifted friend from Missourl. But I wish he might have remembered to |reassure us that the soverign States of the Union are empowered under [_hn Constitution to select their own United States Senators without the advice and consent of the Senats." * Ok ok % ‘There were many allusions at the Wakefleld dinner to the literary out- {givings of the day which specialtze lin traducing the memory of George Washington. Mr. Beck set tha ban quet company to handclapping an cheering with his reference to * bage historians.” He expressed ths view that “in the field of biography there ought to be a law forblddins | dogs to enter cemeteries.” B Every day since the McNary-Hauge: | bill has been stirring up the animals on Capitol Hill, the mailbags of Sena | tors and Representatives have con | tained fascimile letters signed by Svd | ney Anderson. president of the Mtllers National Federation, with lLeadquar at Washington. Anderson was himself a member of the House for seven or eight terms from the first district of his native and ranked throughout hi an_authority tions, especially in the w In 192 he was chairman of the Joint congressional commission of agr cultural inquiry. and later becam: president of the Wheat Council of t United States. Anderson is an uncon promising foe of McN; -Haugenism His daily letters to members of Con gress have narrated the arguments against surplus legislation from every conceivable point of view. Many peo ple think that if President Coolldge vetoes the McNary-Haugen bill it will be on the ground that his appointive power, with respect to the supervisor: board, will be unconstitutionally ecur Anderson’s charge is that “the the farmer, by the farmer and for the farmer,” irrespec- tive of the interests of the grain trade, millers, consumers or the gen eral public. e Nicholas Longworth may | a leaf out of the copious poli book of his famous and strenuous father-in-law, the late Theodore Roose velt, in nalling preparcdness Longworthian mast. Some of friends regard it just within the range of possibilitles that “Nick” may pian to elevate national defense to the dig nity of his paramount issue anent 1923 and the ambitions the ruler of our lower house of pugilism is saiFio cherish. The Speaker is not luckin in political nerve and independence He smote the Coolidge naval economy program hip and thigh one night, eve though he knew that he and ‘Prince: Alice” were invited to dine at the White House the evening after. (Copyright. 1927.)