Evening Star Newspaper, February 17, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY. . .February 17, 1827 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. end fillxlrlml Ave. "’E’n%"' Oce: Ao paiiame i ;. Towe Buropean Office: 14 Kegent St.. London. The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn- Ink edition. is delivered by carriers within ihe city ‘at 60 centa per monthy dails only 45 cents per month: Sundars only. 20 cente per month. lers ‘may be sent by mail or telenhone Main 5000, - Collect.on is m carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland sad Virginia.. aily and S aily only unday on] All Other States and Canada. d 8 L7 .. $1_.00 $4.00: 1 mo.. 3bc v should lead to results. be called the metropolitan district, which share these facilities. An Important feature of this move- ment is the need to provide home {employment for Washingtonians not |{engaged in Government service, for whom the field of occupation is now limited. Tt should not be necessary for a young resident of the Capital to leave the District in order to se- cure a job outside of the depart- ments and bureaus. Here is a com- munity of ha!f a million people, the meeting of whose needs should main- tain industries sufficient to furnish occupation for thousands. It should be a supply point for a wider terri- tory. Thorough study this matter Inducements can be offered to manufacturers to locate here. Markets can be assured for any worthy product. A clean Capital and a busy Capital can de- velop harmoniously if these efforts are sustained of Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press in exclusively entitled 2o the se for republication of all news dis Jithes credited to it ar not otherwise ted in this paper and mlsn the local news Dublished herein All rights of puhlication 1 avecial dispatches herein are also reserved The Minister From Canada. With the arrival in Washington of Vincent Massey, the first Minister from the Dominion of Canada, there begins a new era in diplomatic inter- course among the English-gpeaking nations. Tt is true that a Minister from the Irish Free State preceded the coming of Minister Massey, but with Ireland there are no such momentous questions pending as lie between Can- ada and the United States. The pros- pects are that Mr. Massey will be one of the buslest diplomats in_Washing- ton. It is a reasonable expectation that in the not distant future Aus- tralia, South Africa and other self- governing dominions within the Brit. ish commonwealth of nations will ac- credit representatives at the seat of this Government. Fruits of this in the way of better understandings and closer co-operation are likely to bear vitally in the making of future his- tory. Washington extends a cordial wel- come to Minister Massey, both on ac- count of his own merits and because of historic friendship for the people whose representative he is. The 8,000 miles of boundary between Can- ada and the United States, though it bristles with no armaments, presents many intricate problems, which un- doubtedly can be handled more satis- factorily by direct negotiation than through the mediumship of the Brit- ish government. A huge task con- fronts the new Minister in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence deep waterway alone, and there are other questions of water rights and sanitation to help ——.—s The Congressional Sense of Humor. If the unhappy eplsode of last Tuesday in a committee room of the House of Representatives, when a member of the House grappled with another member and precipitated a general melee in the course of a hear- ing on a bill, is to be treated by the House with no more than the face- tious fntroduction of a measure pro- viding an arena for fisticuffs and personal encounters in the future, then there is indeed little hope for any advance toward the establigh- ment and maintenance of orderly behavior in the halls of legislation. The affray in committee Toom was a disgraceful exhibition of temper and reflected serfously upon the dignity of the House. Thus far there has been no move toward rebuke or re- striction of such conduct. It has been passed over laughingly as “just one of those things.” It has elicited no outspoken condemnation on the floor of the House. It has brought forth no apology and no assurance of protection to Witnesses appearing before committees in the future. Little faith can be felt in the adoption of a standard of seemly conduct in committee rooms hence- forth when such a shameful affair can be So triflingly treated as by the presentation in mock solemnity of a measure providing for a joint committee on ‘“challenges, bouts, fights and duels.” Far more to the 0 boring States, Iying within what mn}‘ltlcnlarly dangerou: purpose would have been a serious resolution of inquiry with a view to the summoning of all participants before the committee on rules for consideration of some measure of punishment for a breach of the peace. In earlier times, when the code duello was in vogue, members of keep him busy, with the ever-present | Congress were wont occasionally to problem of smuggling both ways across the border thrown in for good measure. Solution of these problems presents many difficulties, but they will be ap- proached by both nations in a spirit of good will and fair dealing, and di- rect contact through an envoy of Mr. Massey's caliber will be a powerful aid in arriving at scttlements satis- factory on both sides of the boundary. The Canadian government has paid @ distinct compliment to the United States in the choice of its first Min- ister to Washington. Mr. Massey, though still a young man, has attain- ed distinction in several fields. A schelar and former university pro- fessor, he also is a successful business man, is a philanthropist and a patron of the arts, and did his duty as a soldier when the world engulfed in war. Few diplomats have come to ‘Washington so well equipped with a knowledge of the problems which will arise and an understanding of the viewpoints of the American Govern- ment and people. His stay here should be as profitable to both nations as it is to be hoped it will be pleasant to him personall ———— Oil is an article of commerce: also an alleged influence in diplomacy. In current affairs influences formerly re- garded as humble arrive at command- ing heights of significance. ——— ‘What France apparently desires is a system of mnemonics which will make it easy to remember everyvthing except debts. —————— Industrial Washington. At a meeting of the Washington Chamber of Commerce held Tuesday night addresses were made strongly urging the industrial development of the - District, Representative Rath- bone .of Illinois, himself a native of Washington and keenly interested in its advancement, stressed the fact that business is the foundation of every gity and that it cannot properly grow ‘without it. Washington can grow in this respect without lessen- ing its attractiveness and without becoming an industrial city in the sense of unsightly congestions and disfiguring features. Other speakers pointed to the need here of greater employment ‘opportunities and sug- gested the value of a bureau to carry on a systematic industrial expan- sion movement. For a good many years there has beed in progress a steady increase in the number of manufacturing es- tablishments of a suitable character at fWe Capital. This advance, how- ever, has not been wholly satisfac- tors.” \Certain restrictions have been placed by law upon the business de- velopment of Washington, but they growth. Civie from time to time promote this growth undertaken on to meet on the “field of honor,” usually at Bladensburg, there to settle their differences by the then established mode. Bad as it was, that procedure was far preferable to the present “flare-up-and-smash” practice. It was at least orderly and was gov- erned by definitely recognized forms and ceremonies. It sometimes led to results. The present mode leads nowhere, least of all to the elimina- tion of an obnoxious offender against the generally accepted rules of con- duct in public as well as private places. There is something to be said for the ancient system as against the modern free-for-all under con- gressional immunity. Streets in the Triangle. At a meeting of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission %0 be held tomorrow and Saturday consid- eration will be given to the planning of the streets in the Mall-Avenue tri- angle which is to be taken as a whole by the Government for public build- ing purposes. This is an important matter that should be decided now in advance of the actual building work soon to begin under the $50,000,000 construction program. One of the reasons strongly urged in the past for the taking of the trian- gle as an entirety for building emplace- ments was that sites could be chosen without reference to street lines, insur- ing a maximum of space for construc- tion and scope for future enlarge- ments. Certain streets are undoubted- 1y to be regarded as definitely estab- lished, such as Seventh and Four- teenth. They carry street car lines, the disturbance of which is not to be regarded as feasible or desirable. Other streets, however, need not be s0 considered. The east and west streets between the Avenue and B street may be classed as negligible, to be closed if conditions require. This is the time to discuss and de- cide upon the street layout under the new conditions of a wholesale build- ing enterprise within a definitely bounded area. Thought will doubt- less be given to the question of motor parking. Every building occupying the triangle must have means of easy ac- cess. They should be planned with reference to ample light and air. Their sites should not be restricted by needless public highways. The Public Building Commission will presumably be guided by the decisions of the Park and Planning Commission in this re- spect. ot The play producer with a question- able drama frequently succeeds in uti- lizing the censor as a press agent. ——————— Pass the Grade-Crossing Bills! THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, FEBRU It is especially recommended by the Commissioners for immediate correction. It is regard- ed as the first on the list of annual works of this character. If the bill authorizing the elimination is passed at this session, an appropriation to that effect can be carried in the final deficlency bill if the District appro- priatfon bill has meanwhile passed be- yond the point of amendment. This should surely be the program. Post- ponement of the actual work on the correction of this highly dangerous crossing may mean a serious loss of life. Nearly twenty years have elapsed since the completion of the work of grade-crossing elimination in the city in connection with the construction of the new Union Station and the re- arrangement of the railroad tracks. It was the promise then that the sub- urban grade crossings would all be cured fn a very short time. In fact, only a few of them have been abol- ished and some of the worst remain, a daily, hourly menace to life. In the case of the Michigan avenue crossing an anomalous situation pre- vails. Some years ago provision was made for carrying the street car line which crossed the tracks at that point over a viaduct on Monroe street, a few rods to the south. It was then con- templated that the street crossing ‘would be immediately corrected. Noth- ing was done, however, and with the passage of the years the traffic on Michigan avenue has grown to a point where there is, every hour of the day, the greatest danger of a shocking catastrophe. Barrier gates are not an effective safeguard. The only real safety lles in an overhead or an underground crossing, and whatever the cost or the incidental inconvenience—in this case there would be but little disturbance of traffic pending construction, in view of the nearby Monroe street via- duct—this work should be undertaken without further delay. ————a Intimations that Henry Ford is weary of wealth will evoke only envy from the filvver owner, who contem- plates Mr. Ford as the only man on earth who can secure all the “parts” he needs for his machine, free of charge. ——oe—s. Admiring crowds have greeted Aimee McPherson in this city. The sayings of Solomon are beautiful, but they failed to include the one great practical proverb, “It pays to adver- tise.” ————at Street raflway valuation puts the five-cent plece in a position of subor- dinate influence. The buffalo and the Indian are being rapidly forced off the map. ———————— The next war will be fought, it is predicted, in the air. The most se- rious consequences will be suffered by the innocent bystanders on earth. L e Thanks to radio, Beethoven and Chopin have attained distinction as leaders among our ad writers. —r——— ‘When in search of new pugllistic talent, Tex Rickard might find it de- sirable to look the Capitol over. ————— e Mussolini expects more work per week. A conference should be ar- ranged for him and Henry Ford. —mo——————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Pleasant Deception. Thought T heard a robin sing, Yonder in the tree. Maybe it was no such thing That awoke my glee. Maybe it wae just a squeak From a passing car. Maybe the old gate would creak As it pushed ajar. Maybe it was just the door, With a rusty hinge. Maybe it was just the floor, Where the planks impinge. Life's deceptions lightly fling Hopes for you and me— Thought T heard a robin sing Yonder in the tree! Truth-Telling. “How are you going to celebrate George Washington's birthday?” “I'm going to tell the truth,” swered Senator Sorghum. “About what?” “That's where the delicate point oo curs., If a man goes too far in trying to tell the truth the occasion is likely to cease to be a ocelebration and be come a fight."” Jud Tunkins says he has met mince ples s0 strong that they ought fo be carried in a hip pocket. Sympathetic Dentist. The dentist is a gentle elf, And also very wise, You almost can enjoy yourself To hear him sympathize! Physical Culture. & Two bills were yesterday approved are not prohibitive of a sultable|py tho House District committee organizations have | ypich, having been passed already by the Senate, should be put through to a larger | gnactment at the present session, scale, but have encountered a certain | ghort as the time limit may be. One of these authorizes an appropriation degree of skepticism on the part of industrial Interests regarding the | o¢ $255,000 for the elimination of the sultability of the Capital as a fleld | grade crossing at Michigan avenue in of operations. There is, in fact, no Brookland. The other is a general actual limitation beyond those that bl for the elimination of all remain- pertain to the physical Welfare of the | ing grade crossings in the District, with an authorized appropriation of community. ‘Washington is ideally located for industrial purposes, with ample rafl and water communication, with large commercial uses, and with an ade- $405,000. In view of the recent shocking trag- edy at Kensington, Md., where five spaces available for industrial and |persons lost their lives at a grade crossing, there should be no doubt quate population for manning such | whatever of the elimination at the enterprises as fit into the scheme of | earliest possible moment of all these modified industrial center. ‘There lape plose at hand arcas in the neigh- @eath traps in the District. The crossing at Michigan avenue.-is par- “Do you take your physical culture exerpises every morning?” “Yes,” replied Miss Cayenne. *“I have trouble with my ears and I de- rive great encouragement from listen- ing closely to the jokes and the music.” “A war,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is an interruption to busi. ness which involves no pleasure what- ever." Limitations. My Radio! My Radio! Your messages I prize. I'm sorry I can’t use, you know, All that you advertise! “Nothin’ and nobody,” sald Uncle Eben, *“is safe f'um Kkeerless re- marks. De Bible ought to be read more an’ talked about lees.” ——————— Crutches No Lift. From the Boston Herald. Genuine rellef for the American farm will not come in the form of crutches. r——— Somewhat Forewarned. From the London Passing Show. First City Man—I heard Hardupp's store was burned to the ground last night. They say you could see the fire a long way off. Second Ditto—Yes, I saw 16, six months ago. I break it. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Man’s imitation of Nature usually is not very good. Recently we saw a stalk of giadlolus, done in cloth, which was fine only if you had never seen the real thing. Contrasted with a genuine flower spike, however, the imitation was but a clumsy one, utterly lacking the tex- ture and grace of the real flower. Once we saw an imitation spider web in a jeweler's window. It was done in fine wires, on a velvet back- ground, with a jeweled spider at the center. As a piece of craftsmanship it was excellent. As a splder web it was atrocious. Late that afternoon we had an op- portunity to mentally contrast the affalr with the real thing, and as we did so there was nothing to it but to admit that the spider's real home pos- sessed a delicacy and mathematical precision which ‘made the other ap- pear but the work of a bungler. Jn other words, the spider and the gladiolus were doing what they like to do. They were living their life. When man attempts to “make a gladiolus” for interior decoration, he consummates a fraud, in the first place, and he hasn’t his heart in it, in the second. If he sets up to fake a spider web he fis committing a deception, and again his heart is not in it. His heart may be “in the Highlands,” or some- place else, but, wherever it is, it is not there in thé spider web. * ok Kk ok Mind you, the flower was a good imitation, as such things go. The spider web was nicely done. It was only when both were contrasted with the real thing that they appeared in- sufficient. There is something in lifc, in other words, which is inimitable. And is not this ‘“something” the very fact of living? The greatest thing any one can do is to live his life, to be as true to himself as the spider is to his life, or_the gladiolus flower is to its. Yet how often, among us human beings, do we allow ourselves to be warped from the true path by the thoughts of others, the strictures of persons who really mean nothing to us, the resentments, the too quick spleens of those who may mean some- thing. Thinking of the genuineness of the spider and of the gladiolus, of the rose and the horse, is it not amazing that men and women cannot live genuinely in all their thoughts and deeds? The answer to that s, of cour: that if we had no more complex liv- ing to do than do these natural things we, too, might spin our webs without paying any attention to the spinning of other webs, or might nod in the breeze without regard to others. As long as we are human beings, however, we must necessarily p attention to the difficult art of g ting along with others of our kind. * ok ok K Even then there is no necessity for glving up our own likes and dis- likes merely because others do not share them. Before bowing to the will of others, it might not be a bad plan to look up different “others!" In a world so large as ours there are certainly various groups of per- sons containing enough different types to allow every one to select his own companfons. The mistake fis made by the average person in too readily falling in with those with whom' chance throws him. When one takes In mind all the sensitive, timid souls who allow others to direct their very thinking 9217. ARY 17, 1 Shipstead Bill Topic. Erroneous Impression of Me ure Alleged by H. W. Peaslee. To the Editor of The Star A recent letter published in vour columns tends to create an erroneous Impression regarding the Shipstead bill, and I ask your permission to make answer through your columns. 1. Tt is made to appear that this bill is aimed specifically at Lafayette Park. This is not correct. The bill for them, he is compelled to belleve |originated with Senator Shipstead, as that nothing less than a general shaking loose from old assoclates will do them any good. ‘They prefer “rip-roaring” stories, but are prevailed upon by acquaint ances to read “high-brow"” literature. Or, conversely, they most admire and enjoy impeccable specimens of learned literature, but are shamed out of it the “low brows" they run with. ither way, there is the loss of a genuine life. Why should one not do what he , 80 long as he does not run law and order, and please counter to decenc: that sort of thing The dog does it, ‘and the cat, and the stars in heaven, and the fish beneath the se: everything except man lives in accord with his place and destiny in_the universe. Men slowly grow into the “yes, yes, stages, are afraid to call thems their own, or even voice thelr hones opinion. The ramifications of society make us less than fishes, stars and flowers. ‘\F'P_nccd somebody to “shake us out of i * ok % K That was what the Great War did for many a man. Hence today everywhere you will find grave-faced fellows who are not exactly the same. They look older because they went through much. Yet any one may work a similar revolution in his own life if he makes up his mind to it. It is not exactly necessary that one must have passed through the jaws of death to be mas- ter of his fate, captain of his soul, as the poem put it. A less spectacular and difficult way, although hard enough, Heaven knows, is to make up one's mind as to just what one really does care for in the world and just what he intends to do and just what he stands for. If he doesn’t know what he cares for or have any idea what he intends to do, and doesn't feel that he stands for anything in particular, he will be saved the bother of all these search- ing questions. There are many such persons, of course. The world is so full of them that they get in your way when you walk down the street. ‘‘age of discretion” is simply When you get out of the way of the fools. Before, you spend your time stubbing your toe on them. When the age of discretion comes, you pass around them if possible. There is a_certain age, varying with the man, when the realization comes that real living is living one's own life—living it according to one's own best convictions, not according to the convictions, good or otherwise, of others. Lives built on this pattern finally assume the proportions of perfect structures, pleasing alike to the one in the web and to those outside. Such a life is not an imitation, but the real thing. Enthusiasm Fails to Trail Butler Third-Term Attack Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, head of Columbia. University and conspicuous New York member of the Republican party, has been unable to arouse much enthusiasm by his attack on the idea of a “third term” for President Cool- idge and his expression of belief that only a “wet” can successfully compete in the next presidential election. Sen- ator Borah's reply to the New York educator, assafling the wets, also is received with detached interest. A suggestion which comes from the Rochester Times-Union (independent) is that “in asking that the major parties take definite stands on what he views as the leading {ssues of the day—prohibition, farm rellef and for- eign policy—Dr. Butler is ruthlessly tearing away the screen which hides the shattered fabrics of party pro- grams. Party names remain,” con- tinues that paper, “because they still command wide allegiance, but on such issues as these the split is across party lines, rather than a clear divi- sion between them. ‘The Asheville Times (independent Democratic) holds that “if Dr. Butler wants a decision in the Republican party on prohibi- tion, Senator Borah has offered him the means of getting it. It would be an interesting campaign and would replace a vast amount of debate over prohibition with actual facts as to what the people think about it.” Recognition of the fact that Dr. Butler and Senator Borah “agree that the prohibition issue must be met frankly and courageously by the Re- publican party, and that the platforms adopted by Republican State and na- tional conventions in 1928 must con- tain explicit declarations on the sub- ject, is given by the Chicago Daily News (Independent), ‘which also be- lleves that “sincere and intelligent persons are not likely to dissent from the positions taken by these two emi- nent Republicans, one of whom is in principle a dry and the other a wet.” * ok ok K “Our guess is that Dr. Butler and Senator Borah will not have their way,” says the Charleston Evening Post (independent Democratic), “and that the Republican party will adopt a platform which will leave the pro- hibition issue in the air,” while the Decatur Herald (independent) remarks: “If Butler and Borah could have kept quiet, there would have been in the platform a fine, sonorous and harm- less paragraph about ‘law and order, offset by a splendid tribute as to the bill of rights which wouldn't have meant anything and that everybody could have accepted, interpreting as he saw fit. That's the way platforms ought to be written."” On the subject of another term for President Coolidge the Philadelphia Public Ledger (independent) offers the comment: “Every White House as- pirant will hope that Mr. Coolidge in due time will announce that he re. spects the ‘third-term’ tradition. If the White House silence remains un. broken, other means will be found to Just now the political wise men feel that Mr. Coolidge will not be a candidate. Dr. Butlet's words are a balm of Gilead for all those W}‘m hope as well as belleve that Calvin Coolidge will not run. But they do not know, and it is this uncertainty which tears their souls.” As the Jersey City Journal (independ- ent Republican) sees the Butler pro- gram for the presidential election next vear, “a wet will be elected Presi- dent. Therefore, the Republican party must nominate a wet. Dr. Butler {s a wet.,” The Flint Daily Journal (in- dependent) and the Hartford Times (in- dependent Democratic) accept the con- clusion as phrased by the Flint paper: “The pleasing thing for Dr. Butler is that Dr. Butler himself answers the description of the ideal Re- publican candidate better ~than any other man likely to run.” The Newark Evening News (independent) says: *“He was not speaking for Mr. Coolidg e denies that he was speak- ing for any presidential ambitions of his own, but only as a private citizen may express his views. Is he to be imagined as a voice crying in the with no following what- wish that Mr. Coolidge shall not run again is father to the thought.” * ok kK The Cleveland Plain Dealer (inde- pendent Democratic) remarks: “As to Mr. Coolidge's intention touching 1928, we would prefer the testimony of an- other Butler to that of the prophetic doctor. What does William M. Butler of Massachusetts say”? At the risk of being accused of setting up a rival oracle, we suggest here and now, with- out qualification, that the Republican party in 1928 will not embrace the wet cause d that if Mr. Coolidge is re- nominated the election will not turn on the third-term issue. West of the Alleghenies is a_considerable voting area which Dr. Nicholas Murray But- ler overlooks. ‘The Harrisburg Tele- graph (Republican) adds its testimony that “if Mr. Borah and Dr. Butle think to bowl Mr. Coolidge out of the race in a wetand-dry knock-down and-drag-out political ruction, they will have to go looking for thelr can- didates for delegates outside of this Stats “Without further evidenc accord- ing to the Dayton Dally News (inde- pendent Democratic), ‘it cannot be as- sumed that Dr. Butler is inspired by the White House. It seems more likely that he is inspired by his own ambition, that instead of playing the President’'s hand he is forcing the President’'s hand.” The New York Sun (independent), Columbus Ohio State Journal (Republican) and Pitts- burgh Sun (independent Democratic) uphold the position which, as ex- pressed by the New York Sun, is that “the third-term issue cannot be in- jected far if the public mind refuses to regard a third term suspiciously.” The Oklahoma City Oklahoman (Demo- cratic) declares “it will take more than opposition to a third presidential term to defeat Mr. Coolidge in 1928, not- withstanding its own warning: “Give Mr. Coolidge his third term in the ‘White House and we will have made it possible to keep popular Presi- dent in office for life. The Hartford Courant (Republican) asserts that “many men jn high posi- tions of responsibility feel exactly as the president of Columbia feels regard- ing the issues of the day, yet have not his dauntless resolution to speak their minds. They could be heard from to advantage.” The Lynchburg Advance (Democratic) states that “it is common talk that what Dr. Butler said openly is the private view of a considerable number of Republican leaders.” The Minneapolis Tribune (Republican) believes that Dr. Butler “has some substantial reason for thinking that sentiment in New York has its like in fact, if not in degree, in such States as New Jersey, Massachu- setts, Missouri, Illinols, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and possibly several other States. One Run He will Never Make. From the New York Sun. Washington observe Coolidge faces a “declsive test.” doesn’t run away from ’‘em. record that He Bootleg Wave Lengths. Fron the Cleveland News. Unlicensed radio stations are to be forbidden, which means there will be a lot of bootleg wave lengths floating through the air. ———— _Knows His Place. From the New York Herald Tribune. We'll say one thing for the Itallan king. He never tries to drive from the back seat. —e— Comfortably Scared. From the Ohio State Journal. We suppose Secretary _Kellogg doesn’t care very much what he's scared about—Mexico, Nicaragua, Guam or China—so long : he' fortably scared all the specifically and repeatedly stated by him in committee, without any corre- lation to or regard for the effort to| avert the commercial development of Lafayette Park. The only reason the architects’ committee appeared at the hearing was because it was announced in the press that questions concerning Lafayette Square would be considered in_connection with the bill. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. Must the postage always be pre- paid on ail mail>—A. T. G. A. The prepayment of postage in order to handle mail economically and expeditiously is a fundamental principle. However, to meet a demand for some arrangement so that room keys carried away from hotels or steamships might be returned, Con-| gress passed an act July 8, 1926, cover- ing this. Under this act such keys may be accepted for mailing without prepayment of postage and dispatched to the hotel or ship of origin, the postage to be collected from the ad- dressee upon delivery at the rate of § | cents for each 2 ounces or fraction of 2 ounces. The regular rate, if prepaid, is 115 cents for each 2 ounces or frac- tion thereof. Q. Is the world's supply of tin in- creasing or decreasing?—M. M. F. A. Stocks of tin have decreased 2. It was made to appear in com mittee that if enacted the building heights would be limited to 40 feet. The absurdity of this is pointed out. The text of the bill is that no bufld- ing below 40 feet would be involved, and the height of the Chamber of Commerce was cited as a type already approved by the Commission of Fine Arts. Furthermore, a height of 85 feet was definitely agreed to in the hearing and certainly accepted by the group, which included the writer of the published letter. 3. The statement is made that “it is the very fact that such & bullding as the Veterans' Bureau has been con- structed with the permission of the Fine Arts Commission.” This betrays a remarkable ignorance of the facts, for the building was erected only over the repeated protests of the commis- sion. It has been repeatedly cited as an example of what should not be done, and the possibilities of its eventual remodeling have been con- sidered. Ever since its establishment the Fine Arts Commission has con- sistently stood for the enframement of Lafayette Square with public build- ings, as outlined in the plan of 1901, which is conceded by planners throughout the world as the logical development of the great L'Enfant plan, and for this support the Fine Arts Commission has borne the brunt of abuse from various personally in- terested groups for the same period. 4. It is made to appear that the Architects’ Natfonal Committee s king retroactive legislation. This is absolutely erroneous. In the archi- tects' eircular to which reference Is made it is definitely stated: ‘Retro- active legislation is confiscation. The only equitable solution apparent is ac- quisition of the properties.” Further- more, the chairman of the architects’ committee definitely opposed at the Senate hearing any form of retroac- tive legislation. 5. The gist of the question con- cerns not the Fine Arts Commission but the Planning Commission. All national planning groups—architects, engineers, landscape architects, city planners, men qualified to pass judg- ment in such matters—have contrib- uted to the accomplishment of legisia- tion for a planning commission to do the planning for the National Capital. The ablest men in the country have been drafted by the President from different professions. At the very out- set of the planning these eminent planners find their hands tied as the result of a filbuster which held up the public bufldings bill in the Senate un- til all buildings were forced south of Pennsylvania avenue and into the tri- gle. The pretext was that here was where L'Enfant wanted them; that the plan of 1901 for a Lafayette Square grouping was the work of an upstart commission opposed to L'Enfant. Parenthetically, it should be under- stood that the commission heartily ap- proved the projected “triangle” devel- opment, feeling only that the Lafa- vette Park project should not be aban- doned. The facts can easily be verified. The original L’Enfant plans of 1790 and 1791 never even suggested the use of the triangle for public buildings, and as setting for the “President’s House™ restricted the area from Fifteenth to Seventeenth street for a “Pfesident’s park.” It w the much-maligned plan of 1901 which, taking cognizance of both the encroachment on the ‘White House and the future building needs of the Government, proposed the use of both areas for public struc- tures. Already practically the whole triangle is scheduled for needed struc- tures, with still no sites provided for the permanent buildings of State, War, Navy, the Budget and other agencies of the Government. All that the architects’ committee asks is 1. That Congress lift the ban against Lafayette Square, imposed by one man, against even consideration by the Planning and Public Buildings Commissions. 2. That property eventually to be taken over by the Government be pur- chased before millions of dollars in improvements are piled upon it. ‘These are both reasonable require- ments, both in the interests of the Natlon as a whole and in the interests of the taxpayers as individuals, who cannot fail to take notice of repeated efforts to inculcate in the public mind the absurd figure of $50,000,000 as the value of property which the Govern- ment will need. As a matter of fact, the assessed valuation of the entire block in contention—the west side of the square—is $2,961,221, of which $649,625 is already Government prop- erty, leaving $2,311,696 in private own- ership. Furthermore, the total as- sessed valuation of all other privately owned properties fronting on the square, including the northwest and northeast corners, possession of which would secure for the Nation the digni- fled setting desired, amounts to but $2,594,370. The total of these figures is $4,905,966. There is some explain- ing to be done by real estate operators who complain of excess taxation while trying to create a selling price 10 times greater than the assessed valua- tion of their holdings. Nothing that has been proposed will do_injury to the individual property holders, except to deprive them of potential speculative values by ex- ploiting the Government’s needs. The injury is being done to the mass of the taxpayers by withbolding property from even consideration for purchase until its price can be boosted by im- provements which will have to be torn down and discarded. ‘This is no effort of a few “voung gentlémen educated in art_at the Beaux Arts and the Sorbonne in Paris,” but a nation-wide movement to check the obstructionist methods of a few individuals willing to sacri- fice even the chief national monu- ‘ments for commercial advantage. In contrast, the architects’ commit- tee again takes occasion to comment upon the public-spirited attitude of Mr. Wardman, who from the very be- ginning of his hotel project at Si teenth and H streets has shown every indication of a desire to co-operate with the Government or to transfer his rights if the Government wanted to take over the property. HORACE W. PEASLEE, Chairman Committee on Plan of ‘Washington, American Institute of Architects. ———— Elimination of 74 Teachers Regretted To the Editor of The Star: As secretary of the Wallach-Towers Parent-Teacher Association, I should like to inform you that we wish to go on record as regretting the action of the Houise of Representatives in elintinating from the appropriation act of 1928 the article providing 74 l-mmmunnl hers for the D. C. pub- C. CARTER. from 50,000 tons in 1922 to 16,000 tons in 1926. Production has remained practically stationary at 125,000 tons per annum, while the consumption is steadily mounting. In 1926 the United States alone used 75,000 tons. Q. What wages were paid to print- ers at the time of the Civil War? —M. E. C A. The erage wage for Govern- ment printers in 1861 was $14 a week ‘These employes today earn about four times that amount. The pay roll of the Government Printing Office in that year amounted to approximately $170.- 000, The pay roll for 1926 was about $7.660,000. The number of employes has increased since 1861 from 350 to 4,100, Q. What s the Mohammedan belief or beliefs centered around Salomon which occasioned the genii and other similar images?—J. H. W, A. The counselor of the Persian le. gation says, “The Mohammedans be lieve that Salomon was prophet and at the same time king and had power over men, genii and animal Q. Who was the Governor of Vir- ginia Iln 1811 who lost his life in a fire? . D. A. George Willlam Smith was one of four men who served as Governor of Virginia in the year 1811. Gov. Smith lost his life in the Richmond fire. Q. What is the vegetable called a “dasheen”?—B. W. W, —M. ‘botanical family Araceae. It is a tu- berous rooted aroid. It should mever be tasted raw. If dasheens are han- died In water In scraping or paring them for cooking, a level teaspoonful of sal soda should be added to each quart of water. The outer part of the tubera contalns an irritant that causes to eting in somewhat the vay as the mouth and throat from the eating of raw acrid leaves or tubers. Tubers are excellent when baked. Q. What is 8t. John's bread and where is it grown?—F. R. B. A. “St. John's bread” is another name for the locust or carch, a tree which grows in the Mediterranean countries and also in California. Where did the present system of punctuation originate?—C. §. A. The system of punctuation as we now use it was Introduced by a Venetian printer, Aldus Manutius, in the latter part of the fifteenth cen- tur: Little change has been found requisite. The modern points came into use gradually after the Invention of printing, the comma, parenthesis, note of interrogation and period belng the earliest introduced, and the note of exclamation last. Q. How is “Geste” pronounced, from the novel “Beau Geste,” by FP. ( Wren?—A. M. B A. The word about which you in- quira is pronounced as follows: Bo Zhest, Q. What are the seven follles of {science?—M. A. B A. The so-called “seven follies of | science, are the guadrature of the | cirele, the duplication the cube | trisection of the perpetual motion, transmu als, fixa- tion of mercury and the elixir of life. Q. Will you ple average lifc of a cat of e tire 1 me | . tel M tween 10 and 15 ve The resources of our free informa- tion bureau are at your servi You are invited to call upon it as often as you please. It is being maintained by The Evening Star solely to serve you. What question can _we answer for you? There is no charge at all, ex- cept 2 cents in stamps for return post- Address your letter to The Star Information Burcau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Wash- A. The dasheen is a member of the ington, D. C. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL ¥ This is a kind world, aftar all. It is not exclusively self-centered, as has sometimes been charged. The “intel- ligents is interested in the “prole- tariat,” and Big Business has proved its “heart.” Uncle Shylock has made good-will gifts to John Bull, with no expectation of returns. And cold science devotes its richest prizes to humanity without reward. News comes from the University of . onsin that Prof. Harry Steenbock, chemist, has refused $2,000,000 for a patent on his discovery of Vitamin X (alias “D”), and gives it freely to the public. According to the Patent Office, the discoverer has not even ap- plied for a patent, yet Vitamin X—or D—has a value which only a Henry Ford fortune might measure. Scientists are even worse than in- ventors in ignoring mere money prof- its. Agassiz once refused a rich lec- ture tour proffered to him, saying that he “had no time to make money. Prof. Steenbock says he “does not in- his life's greatest work ‘What is Vitamin X? What is any vitamin? What will it do? How is it obtained? A vitamin is a mysterious factor or element in food. It can be best de- fined in the language of the boy who explained that “salt is what makes potatoes taste bad when you don’t put it o Generally speaking, no one knew that vitamins existed until some 15 or 20 years ago:; they had mno name un 1912. Then Dr. Casimir Funk jsolated three and he called them: Fat-soluble A, which is essential for growth, and the absence of which brings blindness. “"‘flervwluhle B, a shortage of which brings the disease called beriberi. ‘Water-soluble C, whose shortage in foods leads to scurvy. g Absence of the “unknown” Vitamin X (or D) causes sterility and deficien in bone formation. For years, 4 tists have been searching for that eie- ment in foods. Prof. Steenbock found it in 1923. In an article by Dr. Slos- son, editor of Science, February, 192: it is stated: “Rats reared on purified laboratory diet—casein, cornstarch, lard, butterfat and salt, even with ample quantities of growth-producing Vitamins A and B—are sterile, without exception.” But add the unknown Vitamin X and they become prolific. September 12, 1924, Dr. Slosson re- ported from a scientific conference in Ithaca, N. Y., that Dr. Harry Steen- bock, professor of agricultural chem- istry, had made the sensational an- nouncement to the American Chemical Society, that sunlight gives vitalit to an unknown vitamin, and showed that the ultra-violet rays (invisible) create the unknown vitamin, which “is involved in the assimilation of lime in the body, and is therefore es. sential in the growth of bones, preven- tion of rickets and bowlegs and defec- tive teeth.” He showed that when cod- liver oil is deprived of that mysterious element it could be enriched by ex- posure to direct sunlight, not filtered through glass. Rickets are rare in the tropics be- cause babies are exposed to sunlight, but in the North direct sunlight, with- out glass, is almost impossible. Die- tetic treatment therefore is necessary as a daily ration. Activated olls con- taining Vitamin X may be given ba- bles as medicine in modified co milk and to adults in salad dressings They carry “Vitamin X,” put there by proper exposure to sunlight without glass filtering of the rays. Other chemists claim to have been working along the same lines as Steen- bock, but that is usually the case in important scientific discoveries. ‘When it is recognized that Vitamin X is the great regulator against race suicide, its importance cannot be meas- ured. Italy eats too much and France too little of it. See population statis- ties. * ok kK ‘Whether the story of Steenbock's public gift is accurate or not, simi- lar instances of devotion to the ideal of the public's sharing of great scientific discoveries are not rare. Yet each one causes the commercial instincts of the ordinary layman to gasp with amazement. g There was the discovery of serum for the treatment of hog cholera, made by Drs. Marion Dorset and Robert R. Henley of the United States Department of _Agriculture, and patented in 1906. The patent was as- signed to the Department of Agri- culture, without any special com- pensation to the discoverers. Were they not receiving their munificent salaries as sclentists in Government ’. COLLINS. other Dorset-Henley again saved the manuf: serum an ave larger laboratories $50 a da the salary of the discoverers con- tinued “as was.” The farmers and ultimate consumers got the benefit, with not a cent of royalty to the scientists. improvement urers of the e 2 Sk For years Government inspectors of meats affixed their certificates of inspection with a paper stamp, glued onto each piece of meat. To print those stamps cost $175,000 a year. Dr. Dorset, chemist, discovered an indelible purple ink which is harm- less when eaten. Now the certificate is imprinted directly on the meat and the annual cost for the ink is - 000—: ing of $150,000 a year. Salar s was.” It is reported that the government of Great Britain of- fered $50,000 for the secret of that ink, but _that was in the midst of the World War and so Uncle Shylock Just gave it to Johnny Bull, with his compliments. What is $50,000 be- tween allies? * ok ok Before the war, organized labor complained that the manufacture of poison phosporus matches caused serious disease among the workers. Legislation was demanded to prohibit such matches, but it was pointed out that only one company, the Diamond Match Co., held the secret of non- poisonous matches. Should Cong legislate to create a match monopoly? President Taft put the suggestion up directly to President Suetenius of the Diamond Match Co., with the result that the great match company do- nated its most vital secret to the public, so all matches thereafter be- came non-poisonous. In the midst of the w Gen George Owen Squier, U. 8. A, in vented what he called “wired radio, by which five messages at once could be sent over an ordinary telephone wire. He an- nounced that the public of the United States might use his discovery. Canada alone paid him_$100.000 for the right. It was worth millions in the United States and Europe. Dr. Howard S. Payne of the Bureau of Chemistry; Department of Agri- culture, obtained a patent in 1922 on the secret of making “fondant,” the soft cream filling of chocolate-covered confections. He dedicated it to the public, for he draws a salary from the Government. His fondant never hardens. One manufacturer concedes that that fact saves him $100,000 a year by eliminating losses on “gtale” chocolates. vne neglected even foreign patents, so his secret now cheers the candy-loving world. o o ‘When in 1914 the World War brok all the world was dependent on Ge many for its dyes. There was a German submarine which dared to cross the Atlantic, laden with phthalic anhydride, which is the base of all dy Our manufacturers of textiles were desperately in need of dyes, and they bid against one another for that German cargo—up to $10 a pound. By 1916 Harry D. Gibbs and_Court- ney Conover, ment of Ag to make phthalic anhydride. Today we make all colors and our base is clearer and purer than any made in Germany. In the midst of the war American _manufacturers went to Switzerland and competed against German dye makers and drove them out of the market. ) Before the war the average market price of phthalic anhydride was $1.30 a pound, today it is made at a profit for 20 cents a pound. The discoverers? They dedicated their invention to the public. Lates Conover got a job in a private fac. tory using his invention, and Gibbs made a three-year contract with the du Ponts at § 00 a year. The three years passing, he accepted a position with the Public Health Service. And Americans coyld “add another tint unto the rainbow. In the Bureau of Soils they knew that fertilizer was essential to crops and potash was essential to fertilizers. Potash came from Germany, but some day Muscle Shoals might start to ex- tracting it out of the fathomless air. Americans are optimists. William H. Ross and Arnon L. Mehring, chemists, got a patent last October 26 on a process by whiclt they make simultaneously a potash fertilizer and hydrochloric acld by product. Their process is so simple that every farmer can make the fertilizer and acid without any spec! equipment and the officials of the Department of Agriculture pronounce the achievement “the greatest serv- . Maj. S, A employ ? ‘What was the value of the hog- raising industry saved from destruc- tion? The serum secret was licensed by the Government to private manu- facturers and when, in 1918, the original discoverers found an im- proved method .of manufacturing it, that saved the manufacturers each from $16 to $28"& day. In 1920, an- Agriculture for the last 50 Potash may now be made on every farm so cheaply that it might even be exported to Germany. The patent’ That is dedicated to the public, and now the Government has given “re. lief to the farmers.” ¢ (Copyright, 1027, by Paul-V. Colltas.)