Evening Star Newspaper, February 22, 1927, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR'deonfll that, converted Into pres. With Sunday Morning Edition tige, have swamped the original in- vestment. Italy now holds the honor WASHINGTON, D. C. of possessing the fastest-flying sea- TUESDAY..... February 22, 1927 plane in the world, both for the THEODORE W. NOYES. three kilometer maxtmum speed course 0 The Evening Star New;p-per Company Office speed course. When Italy came to Baltimore in 1925 she had craft that flew third place in the race at a speed of 168.44 miles per hour for the closed course. while last yi her plane went 249.49 miles for the same distance or an increase of 81 wmiles an hour. This remarkable Increase was brought about by an 850-horsepower engine, which weighed less than one pound per horsepower; by the con- struction of a sturdy monop which had whipped the “wing-flutter problem surrounding high-speed, sin- sle-winged ships; by improved wing radiators and seagoing pon- toons. The desire to capture the Schneider Cup furnished the inspiration for such technical advancement, which will be felt down through the service squadrons of Italian military avia- tion in the years to come, just as today American pursuit planes are the result of racers built three and four years ago to compete for high- speed honors. It is to be supposed that should “private interests” build a Schneider winner American military avia- tion would benefit by the improve- ments embodied ia that plane over the present racers and, therefore, the Government would be placed in the position of calling on its citizens to dig down in their pockets and pro- duce technical development which it is charged by the people to do. and the 100 and kilometer B 0 cents per mont cents per month: Sundaye on per month ’ be gent by mail or +ielephone Main 5000 Collection is made by carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 1 S| ¥ 9.00: 1 mo.. Bails and Sunaay. 1 a1 2000 1 o' Sunday oniy... )\ 1 yr.. §3.00; 1 mo. 78 sturdy 12.00: 1 mo.. §1 $8.00: 1 mo.. $4.00: 1 mo.l 00 1yr.§ 1yr The Associated Press to the use for republic Patohes credited to it o ted in this paper an published herein ~ All rights of D) of snecial dispatches herein are also —_— B = The Two Washingtons. Today all of Washington, the city, honors the memory of Washington, the man, on the anniversary of his birth, What Washington the city thinks of Washington the man i retold each year in terms of everdncreasing ad- miration and reverence. Appreciation of the true greatness of the great American grows from year to vear as steadily and as strongly as the re- public itself, What Washington the man thought Sine of Washington the city is of record. RO Ty He plotured as rising on our fleldsand| _ The Recalcitrant Witnesses. ewamps no mean Capital. In area he| Three Witnesses before the Reed reasoned that the Capital of the United | Slush fund committee have persisted States should be as much larger than|in their refusal to answer questions. Philadelphia as the United States was| Even the recent decision of the Su- larger than Pennsylvania. In popula-|Preme Court in the Mal Daugherty tion he said prophetically that a cen-|Case upholding the right of con- tury hence the Capital would be|gréssional committees to summon wit- “though not as large as London, yet | nesses has not shaken them in their of a magnitude inferior to few cities|determination. The committee and in Europe.” the Senate, it is te be presumed, face THE EVENING ST ness for good old red, while rea sons or excuses for wearing it will persist. The head of.the “drive” in Jumbering operaflons almost always wears a red shirt or a mackinaw coat containing much scarlet. The reason Is a valid one — subordinates far up and down the stream can tefl at a glance just where the boss is and what he is doing. Until the last deer shall have been shot in this country, sensible autumnal and winter gun- ners will continue to bedeck them- selves with bright red shirts and red caps, and even when that sad day has arrived those who play at hunt ing, the followers of the anise-seed trail, will still cling to the traditional red as their chosen color. e, Good Police Work. 1f the police in their city-wide search for the fiend who attacked a woman in the Capitol Grounds on Friday night have succeeded in picking up the guilty man, they are to be con- gratulated by a relieved city. A con- tession fs reported to have been ob- tained from one of the suspects, and it corroboration of the statement can be procured and the man brought to| trial and convicted, the police of Washington will have covered them- selves with glory. Close on the heels of what appears to be the end of an intensive man hunt for the attacker of a woman, another crime of similar, but less revolting, aspects has been reported to the po- lice from another section of the city. At Twenty-third and § streets last night a woman was beaten and robbed, but the vietim put up such a stiff fight that the criminal was forced | to flee. In the atrocious gssault in the shadow of the Capitol the police were handicapped by a somewhat vague description of the assailant. Concen- trating the entire force, however, in one of the greatest man hunts that the National Capital has ever experienced, they picked up many suspects. These men were taken before the stricken woman and she is sald positively to have identified the same man who later made a confession. It will now be necessary for the police to obtain We are sometimes told that the fore-| N0t 2 theory but a candition. Either fathers contemplated no great Ameri-|the Senate, through its committee, can city here, but only a National Gov-|has a right to compel the recalcitrant ernment workshop for the quiet and| Witnesses to testify, or it has not. safe performance of the executive,|The Reed committee, it is evident, in- legisiative and judicial functions, with | tends to try the matter out. & small population of transients when| When the Supreme Court ruled in Congress is in session and almost de-|the Daugherty case that a Senate serted when Congress is gone—a city | committes has the right to compel without permanent inhabitants and|Witnesses to appear before it, the cor- without the American status and|ollary was implied that it also had rights upon which national public| the right to compel witnesses to #pirit and patriotic pride are based.|testify or to hold them in contempt The great man who founded it and|and to punish them if recalcitrant. gave it his name saw in prophetic | The power to summon would be an vision no such Capital. He contem-|idle thing if it went no further. plated, as we have seen, a city as| The right of the Senate committee much larger than Philadelphia in area | to inquire into a primary election in a8 the United States was then larger | a State, even for a senatorial nomina- titan Pennsylvania, & city to be ex-|tion, is challenged by the recalcitrant oeeded in population & century thence | witnesses. Samuel Insull, public util- pirhaps only by London. ity magnate of Chicago, and his at- ‘We sometimes hear patronizing or|torney, Daniel J. Schuyler, two of the slurring comment concerning the nar-| witnesses, go farther and insist that Towness of the forefathers and the|a contribution of $40,000 by Mr. In- broadmindedness and farsightedness | sull in the Illinois primary campaign of us moderns. Try as we may we |last year was not used to influence oannot in respect to the Capital rise|the senatorfal nomination at all, tut to the height of George Washington’s | for local contests. The Reed commit- .hopes, prophecies and anticipations. '|tee, however, insists that it must have ————————— all the facts regarding this contribu- Disarmament 18 one of those sub- | tion. Jects that have to be approached with So much for the controversy be- disoretion In order to avold precipitat- | tWeen Senate and State rights. Under- ing & belligerent attitude in some |lving the whole question are matters quarter. that go deep into public morals. On the one hand are two witnesses from Chicago, Insull and Schuyler, both The Navy Withdraws. connected with huge contributions of Abandoned by the Government, the | money by Mr. Insull to political cam- task of bringing to this country the |paigns. Mr. Insull controls mors pub- most coveted aeronautical honor in|lic utilities in Illinois than any other the world—the Schnelder Interna-|man. On the other hand is the wit- tional Seaplane Trophy, awarded to|ness Thomas W. Cunningham of the nation producing and flying the Philadelphia, clerk of the quarter ses- fastest seaplanes—has fallen on the |sions of Philadelphia, who has testi- shoulders of “private interests” to|fled that he contributed $50,000 to' which it was referred by Secretary |the primary campaign in which Wil- ‘Wilbur after the Navy decided to|liam S. Vare was a aandidate for the withdraw from . the contest this | Republican senatorial nomination. Mr. year, even though America needed | Cunningham, insisting that the money but one more victory to retain the|he contributed was his own, has de- awerd permanently. By Secretary Wilbur's action, a new “sport of kings” has been clined to tell the committee where he got it or how long he had ft. The country, not'the Senate alone, corroboration of the confession in order to assure justice when he is brought to trial. Crimes of this character are a com- parative rarity in Washington, al- though the District has its share of robberies, murders and hold-ups. The local police department, in this par- ticular case, has no jurisdiction over the locality in which the attack was made, but as soon as word was flashed to heafilqu!flfrfl it turned out with a united force to apprehend the guilty man. In the identification and confession it appears to have been successful in solving a case that might have been, save for the vig- ilance of the police and fortunate cir- cumstances, written in the ledger of unraveled crimes. Washington con- gratulates its alert department and gives it full credit for a striking illus- tration of good police work, —_————— Boulder Dam now asserts itself as the prominent consideration in public attention. In the meantime, the waters of Muscle Shoals continue to babble on. 4 —————— The gentleman who leaped from the Eiffel Tower to spite his wife because she would not allow him to play bil- liards may have been a good billiard player, but he was a poor sport. e — The coal situation is under discus sion in Florida, where rigors of cli- mate do not assert themselves as in- fluential oconsiderations as much as might be desired. ———— The Chinese method of using the headsman’s ax to quell strike activi- ties is a sad reminder that the work of many missionaries has been in vain. SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Interpretation. Just look what you did, O ainger! That onoe was a beautiful lay. WASHIN 0., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1927 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Cultivation of the gladiolus s the {nont important factor in its grow- ng. Stirring the ground after the first leat appears means more to the health of the flower than watering or plant food. M Those who take up gladioll for the first time this coming season by all means ought to get into their head the necessity for constant mulching of the gladiolus beds and borders. Without this beneficent actlon, of course, one will have good flow: for the gladlolus is as near ‘“su fire” as almost any plant under heaven; but with it the results are to be better, in every way. The conservation of molsture se- proper cultivation of the ground goes a long way toward pull- ing gladioli through the hot spells of Midsummer. In addition, mulching by stirring thé earth loosens up the soil and sets free certain food elements which the plant needs, especially such a flower as the gladiolus, with its surpassing tints. Much of the beauty of this flower depends upon getting into your blooms the true colors which the grower secured. If vour deep pink varlety turns out to be very pale, or your pure lavender comes muddy, do mnot im- mediately blame the grower. He sells you the bulb, but he cannot make you give it proper cultiva- tion, or enough water. These are some of the things every “‘glad’ fan” must do for himself. ¥ ok ok X Certain of the highly bred varfe- ties will need constant care, in_the matter of watertng during late July and early August, when the sun is likely to he the hottest. 3 Lack of water at this time means a withered bud spike, which presents an appearance of having had boil- ing water poured on it. This is the critical stage, just before the bulb opens its first flower, and at this time especlally care should be taken to give it plenty of water. A thorough soaking of the ground in the evening after the sun goes wn will be in order. This must not be a mers surface wetting, but enough water should be put on to the roots, which will be 5 to 6 inches below the surface. Now it takes a great deal of water to reach that deep. One can water and water, to discover that he has not placed a bit of moisture below 2 inches from the surface. To really reach down 5 or 6 inches will take a powitive soaking, nothing less, so do not be afraid to use the hose, preferably with a big spray head, commonly known as a Boston or rose spray. This is not neces- sary, however, the point simply be- ing that the harsh force of the water must not be used. Gladiolus stalks arefgbrittle, despite their water content, and every ef- fort should be made to prevent them from being broken. If one should be bent, however, often it will come out all right if put back 4in the straight line, and firmly held there with stake and soft string. * ok ok K A method of watering which might be worth trying is one we saw advo- cated for small pine trees in a cata- logue just received. It says to punch a series of holes in a line on either side of the plant Latest Uprising Brings Talk News that Portugal's latest revolt has been crushed by President-Dictator Carmona is regarded by American ob- servers as marking just another fihm of the persistent unrest which is likely to continue in the little country until outside force puts an end to the chaos. “Revolutions are the rule in Portu- gal. The latest revolt is the fourth in the last 12 months,” says the Louis- ville Courier-Journal, which explains: “The clamor for a return to the con- stitution is apparently little different from that in Spain last Summer. The people, or those opposed to the dicta- torship, wanted their congress to elect the president and premier, however shiftless the political situation might be. They are restive under the re- straint of the military autocracy, or at least other militarists believe they can play at the same game as Carmona.” “These uprisings,” according to the Philadelphia Public Ledger, “are cus- tomarily bloodless. The country is so inured to them that they often pass almost unnoticed. Causes as well as results are obscure. Portugal has not balanced a budget in years, always expending more than its income. It is just possible that an extra bit of change in the treasury lent a touch of color to the occasion.” * ¥ %% “It is dificult to ascertain the imme- Its graces were hid by the things that | diate causes of the disorder,” states created in America—a “sport of |is confronted In these cases with a kings” because it involves the ex- |condition, not a thepry. When public penditure of from $50,000 to $75,000 | utility magnates, who are not very for the design and construction of |far removed from public utilities-and one engine and plane which may be | city officials, contribute large sums destroyed through accident as | of money, calculated to influence clec- quickly as a prized race horse’s lifs | tions to public office, it is time the oould be ended. public took note of the matter. That Flying has not yet been “taken up” | the matter has been brought to light for purely sport purposes as expen- |bY a4 Senate committee rather than a sive speedboat and motor racing |State investigating body s not ma- have, and therefore the man who | terial. If the States do not act to before the first day of March, or |°ompel purity in elections, the Senate within the next few days, steps|Can scarcely be blamed for taking up to the National Aeronautic Asso- | these matters into its hands. clation and enters a plane or planes ETVOTR to defend the Schneider Cup stands| Nicaragua has developed a situation pre-eminent in the new field of avi- | Which demands friendly advice backed manship and loyalty to |bY definite authority. v's aeronautical honors, TRk which suffered such a severe blow Good Old Red! at the hands of Premier Mussolini's| Employes of the Southwestern and crack airplane and pilot at Norfolk, | London Railway, compelled by order last November. for many years past to wear red On the first of March the entries | scarves, are now allowed a range of close for the international contest |choice in their neckwear. There was Which will be held at Venice, Italy, | sense in the old rule, for it was pro- this yens, by reason of the fact that | mulgated with the ldea that, in an Italy captured the prize in 1926. The | emergency, a man could flag a train Navy in 1923 went abroad and brought | without a hurried hunt for something the trophy here for the first time, and | crimson. The necessity for it, how- the Army successfully defended it |ever, seems now to have passed with against the planes of Britain and |the perfection and elaboration of vari- Italy in 1925. But the Navy's three |ous safety devices. racers at Norfolk last year Doubtless these hundreds of men beaten by superior equipment. aro relieved at the remission of the were Bearetary VIilbur's refusal to at. |Fule. Nevertheless there is something # tempt one more victory which woulq |4¢eply appealing, and often signifi- Savages and primitive people and their recent ins in five contests, has been | d¢Scendants dote on it. At the other end of the scale, such a man as the not only from the |late Eugene Field said, “Give me any ‘Whether from the fact that this country loses | It the tropics or in the arctic wastes, a step in the technical development |bright red leads all the other lh-&e: give permanent cant, in the use of this color. trophy, as the three eriticized by airmen, and military, standpoint of posses: regul on ion of_ the specify both eivilian sportsmanship, but | €0loF, 80 long as it is red.” of speed in aircraft. of the spectrum in popularity. The Navy's explanation for de-|though _what science states may be red be generally an irritat- ing color, the wearer thereof is usual- The scarlet coats cost about |of British soldiers are said to tend to clining to enter this vear is based |true, a on lack of funds, it having been said that to send a team to Italy with |1y a contented man. new equipment would $500,000. The money spent high morale. No matter how civilized, last year by MacchlFiat- planes_aince bas pald, - Silk-sUEAIA- be-thal " how Premier Mussolini on the three |esthetic grows the human race, there you did In a nolsy and personal way. Just look what you qid, O artist® For that was a wonderful scens. Your colors have slid, as your brush seemed to skid, And we cannot quite tell what you mean. Money in Politics. ““Are political bosses absolutely nec- essary?” “I don’t know,” answered Senator Sorghum. “They are embarrassing. If one has much money he is a hin- drance. If he hasn’t he can’t funo- tion.” Futuristic Music. Though syncopation now we scorn, A future fine it has. Let's all tune up the auto horn For tuturistic jazz. Jud Tunkins says a great man's birthday is made the excuse for a great many speeches which don’t com- pare with the things he said for him- self. “Proximity,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “tempts to imitation, which often proves as absurd as it weuld be for a flea to bark llke a dog."” Concealment of Identity. ’ Women use a great deal of make- You can't blame 'em. THhe tumes at present make it perfectly excusable to employ some kind of dis- Fuse.” In Hiding. The blossoms walt beneath the snow. Somewhere the -Springtime’s lying low. Somewhere the circus, light and gay, In Winter quarters hides away. Tho clown, in secret, has his fling, And Columbine rides 'round the ring. The big tent is the sky aglow— And blossoms wait beneath the snow. “It's a purty powerful New Year resolution,” said Uncle Eben, “dat kin last all de way acrost to George Wash- " ogions blthdays” '] the Indianapolis Star, “although they were probably due to the unrest occa- sioned by a de currency, as well as to the efforts of disgruntled poli- ticians to oust the faction in power. No Eurd; country. has equaled the deplorable rd which Portugal has. made in the last 20 years. Eighteen revolta since 1910 preceded the out- burst at Lisbon and Oporto, and 40 cabinets have had their brief existence since the republic was established in that year. * * * If the republic is to be rescued from chaos, it may be necessary for the League of Nluons to busy itself with Portuguese affairs. “Portugal's principal assets,” it is pointed out by the San Antonio Ex- press, “are in colonies, which include lands in Asia and Africa and part of Timor, an island north of Australia. Should the home land remain at peace for a few years—under constitutional government—foreign capital could be obtained to develop at least Angola and Mozambique. Angola (southwest Africa) produces coffee, rubber, ivory, copper, gold, diamonds and other com- modities. * * ¢ The ‘trouble at home affects the colonies only by re- tarding their development i “Dispatches coming from Europe, says the Saginaw News-Courier, “are to the effect that the latest Portuguese revolt is suppressed, and they tell the truth so far as they know it. But Lisbon, the capital, where the greatest volume of disturbance took place, under martial law, and the military censorship established prevents any- thing like accurate details reaching the outside world. It is certain, how- ever, that in this latest outbreak many lives were lost, and that the casualty list is large. Meanwhile, it can b‘e be- lieved -that if this trwo"m!:y l:‘:xpr; ressed,’ it is only a tempo: gf suppression. For revolt in Portugal is apparently continuing and continu- ous. AL “The stabllity of the government is always in quudm_,r according to the Pittsburgh Sun. ‘here is no telling when it will be upset by a cou) d'etat. But that paper states that, “to the credit of the Portuguese, it may be said that those actively par- ticipating in the revolution constitute 2 minority of the population. The shopkeepers and have slight relish for the fighting not a great eal of interest in the government, except as it t:;ru-.'.ly and forcibly af- r affairs.” 'ec':;ot r#m* Gazedte, recognizing the end of the revolt, which “brought on six-days of fighting,” yet asks if Europe has “no nation to police revo- lutionists,’ and then suggests that “the troubls is that if one -nation Work, all the others with a broom handle, about 18 inches to 3 feet deep. Such depths, of cours would not be necessary for gladioll, whose roots do not lle so deep. A foot deep would be suficlent. Water poured down these holes would certainly strike in the nelghborhood of the roots. Many amateur flower growers never seem to “get the idea” that “sprink- Uing,” as they call it, if meant: for anything but the follage of the plant. Watering the leaves is a negligible factor in the growth of plants-—where the water is needed, and where it must be, If it 18 to do any good, s at the roots. EEEE The application of good bone meal at the time of planting, and its use at intervals, in moderate quantities dur- ing the growing season, Is all the fertilization gladioll need. It need hardly be added that the application of well rotted manure, if it can be done in the Fall previous to Spring plant- ing, & good. It should not be used at any other time. Cultivation in the average home garden may best be done with some sort of fork affair, of which several types are on the market. This should not be attempted, of course, until all the shoots ure above ground. The gladiolus has a surprising way of sending forth two or three bud spikes, and it does not do to break them off as they are coming up. Like most plants, the gladiolus has a delicate tip when it first appears, which must be handled gently. Cultivation should not be deep, not more than 2 inches or so. This is best done after a rain or hand watering, at the time when the,ground is mealy and crumbles nicel. Those who, may never have pald much attention to this primary task in gardening will be surprised at the rapidity gvith which tough clay soils may be made friable, as the gardeners say. After several weeks of consistent stirring, the soil becomes easily work- able, and of the consistency ‘‘you love to touch.” This applies to all properly worked ‘ground, not just to gladiolus beds, of course. * ¥ ¥ % The gladiolus, from the standpoint of the amateur gardener, may be said to have no diseases at all. Out of every batch of bulbs a few will be diseased, perhaps, but this will have happened before the gardener gets them, and he will not recognize any signs of disease. The bulb simply will not grow. Later in the season, it he digs it up, he will discover it to be blackened. Give every bulb at least 20 days to come up, although most of them will be up in 6 to 10 days, and then if it does not appear, dig it up and put another In 1ts place, after dosing the hole with bone meal. Our theory is that bone meal is a soil antiseptic, as well as a fertilizer. Browning of the swordlike leaves at the tips und along the edges is often the result of lack of water, al- though not always. After blooming, neither cultivation nor watering is important. It is well to leave the bulbs in as long as pos- sible to ripen. Let them stay until late October or Thanksgiving, if pos- sible, but get them out surely before it-freezes. in Portugal of Intervention ‘would probably jdiscover simultane- ously that the job was also their busi- ness.” The Oakland Tribune remarks that the ‘“‘present government was es- tablished last May and on a structure which had been rebuilt many times"; that “in 1925 there were three revolu- tionary movements and 1926 saw as many. S “The people are inclined to look upon the revolts,” says the New York Sun, “as struggles between the ins and outs. The industrialists, who have come to the front since the war, com- plain that the country’s resources are undeveloped because of lack of a na- tional policy. The farmers, represent- ing the largest interests, declare that they are neglected. The country has been looking for a ‘strong man. Diplomatic Language Would Get Results From the San Bernardino Sun. Those whom we elect to represent us In the halls of Congress as well as in executive offices seem to have lost the fine art of diplomatic face- slapping with polite language. Per- haps when we send more women to ‘Washington we shall do better in that respect. The women have always been able to mean more when they speak than a casual hearing of their words. would indicate. Through long centuries of overdomination by men they have learned the value of speech both to conceal and to reveal without giving bald offense. Perhaps we have become somewhat careless in the mat- ter of choosing our representatives, selecting those of inferfor skill in the use of language and deficient in the graces of social intercourse. At least that much is indicated by the assertion on the floor of the House by one member that what another member had said was “a deliberate lle.” Time was when such a remark would have called a rap from the presiding officer’s gavel and a demand that the speaker retract his remark and apologize for making it. But not now. We are now in an age in which we “call a spade a spade,” according to those of*our public men who are more or less uncouth and lacking in culture. They are fitting successors in type of that governor who wired to a President—both nameless—"You at- tend to your business and I'll attend to mine.” There was no mistaking his megning and likewise there was ino question about his lack of culture and fundamental respect for-the presi- degfihg.! office. e n speaking has its advantages. Good, homely,” short, old-fashioned English words may be woven into the best. of literary expression, but they are only tools at the best. It is not the tool, but the hand and the spirit of the one who uses: it, which de- termines whether the result shall ba a work of art or an abomination. One cannot but wish that the tool of lan- guage wielded in our legislative halls, executive offices, political controversies and even in our newspapers be more often held in the hand of an artist. ——.— Bouncing Pedestrians. From the Detroit Fres Press. London, England, is now using its first pavement constructed of rub- ber. Announcement is expected soon of how far a careless driver can make a pedestrian bounce, Fifty-Fifty With Courts. From the Arkansas Gazette. A noted jurist recently declared NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. ISLANDS OF THE MEDITER- RANEAN. Paul Wilstach. The Bobbs-Merrill Company. Where shall we go? Why g0 anywhere? put? Was it our tribal ancestors, forever on the move after food and forage, who set our feet upon these restless ways? 1s it, instead, the spirit of man, forever under the urge of wing: that drives us hither and yon in pur- sult of fresh desires and dreams? ‘Wherever the answer lfes, the fact it- self stands clear that man is the in- corrigibly uneasy center of all crea- tlon, dependent for health and happi- ness aliko upon recurrent changes of place and sltuation. Therefore, where to go is not an idle question of the moment. Rather is it an absolute im- perative bf human existence. Now choosing, choosing anything is a pesky business. The thing rejec ed holds so much of fair promise, the thing accepted so much of plain du- blety, that looking back, ruefully, over lost chances of happiness is a common preoccupation of all, And nowhere are our inaptitud of choice more manifest than in d l‘mlnlng where to go, which hand to take when the. urge to move on pos- sesses us. The rich man sails away— or, nowadays, he is as likely to fly away—across the world on the trail of his questing soul. The poor man boards his Ford and rattles off over hill and plain on an errand that s no different. The one of blessed vagrant strain takes to the road on his own two feet, the whole world a glamour and a seduction before him. And all n!' them, all of these sailing, fi ing, Fording, hoofing humans, by virtue of Individuality and goal, gather loosely into two great moving caravans. One of them is headed upon the solitude of the natural world, the other upon remote nests of civilization, old and new. ‘Why not stay * x ok % Paul Wilstach belongs to the second band. Let's go along with him. Last vear, by way of the book route, I went with him “Along the Pyrenees, an adventure that spread a wondrous Panorama to the eye—one, too, that lifted the spirit into the tonic zone of hardy enterprise. And it was, no doubt, from some snowy Pyrenean height that this traveler conceived the bold and bril- llant notion of taking over the Medi- terranean fitself. On some potently sponsored day he must have caught in the slant rays of the westering sun a glitter of silver, topping a far bulk of stability seated in the swinging cerulean ebb and flow of the great sea. Instantly, upon a celestial ar- gosy of sound there must have sailed into his mind “Islands of the Medi- terranean.” And for a little space he chants this phrase, since it was S0 clearly made for chanting. And for another brief snatch of time he goes off into something much like poetry itself, singing the surpassing charm of islands over the clumsier masses of continental exploration. But, at the bottom, a practical man lnd‘l devoted student, this one spends his “holiday” in delivering over to us these islands of the Mediterranean. Not all of them, certainly not, for they count by hundreds. So, he picks out the biggest, the most momentous of these. Ten of them—Spanish Majorca, French Corsica, Italian Sicily, Sardinia, Elba and Rhodes, British Malta and Cyprus, Greek Corfu and Crete. A big handful of shining jewels lifted from the bosom of the great historic sea. Admirable choice! For these particular islands prove to have been the chief ports of call for a tide of civilization flowing from the Orient out into the Occident, and for a return tide as well bearing Western traders, crusaders, - fighters and adventurers away into the East. And these countercurrents left upon the islands from age to age a miot- ley of inhabitants—settlers, loiterers, stranded folks of every sort, a usual feature of all great migrations. Here the people lived ,and built and died, and upon the ruins that they left others built and lived and died—as civilizations, so far, have had a way of doing. Moving from one to another of these islands, Mr. Wilstach hands them over to us in pictures that are immediate and vivid. There is likely to come first among these pictures the look. of the land itself, the face of the particular island under con- sideration. Then there are the peo- ple, so plainly diverse in origin, so exotic in appearance, going about their daily business, or loitering over nothing to do at all. We are shown the houses they build, the shops they set up, the wares they offer, the food they eat. The many rites of vary- ing religious beliefs come to the sur- face and the ritual of ineradicable ancient customs. A brilliant picture to whose general effect Europe, Asia and Africa contribute impartially in Saracen and Tartar, in Christian and Jew and Mussulman, in Greek and Roman. Over yonder is a .curious relic—maybe a "Gothic ruin in the midst of Moorish surroundings. Any such outcropping sends this traveler underground, so to speak, like some ferreting wild thing in pursuit of its legitimate prey. And in no very long time out he comes with strange tales of another day, and still another one, when life upon this island was of different purpose and fiber and qual- ity from that flourishing under the eye at presént. If you want history, here it is. Not, either, in tiresome and labored .offerings, but in suc- cessively vital eras of civilization— growing, culminating, falling away. ‘Wonderfully condensed history, these places project. Each island is a tablold of widely separated eras, of unrelated races, of fierce counter- religions, of deadly warfare, of slow- growing peace and its products in civilization, of overthrow and burial, then of rebuilding, over and over again, upon the ruins of the old. In a sense each island presents itself as an epitome of all history—rise, climax and fall—here seized upon and sensed by the reader through its clearly concentrate character, and through Mr. Wilstach's objective and highly dramatic projection. A traveler, even the reading trav- eler, loves the feel of freedom. He wants to move about a bit on his own, instead of being led too care- fully along the path of events. The very subject of this book, to be sure, favors such liberty of choice. But its treatment, also, helps distinctly in the direction of personal latitudes. A general unity of plan and method holds this “holiday” securely togeth- er, while the various special studies, each complete in its own nature, pe; Mits one to roam about much as he pleases, to set out with Mr. Wilstach or to run on ahead. A great gain, this, and a novelty. Now, out of some whim I commenced with the Island of Rhodes—almost at the Journey’s end. 1 think I was led away by the fact that to reach Rhodes I would skirt the islands of Lesbos and Patmos—the one where Sappho sang, the other where St. John the Divine had that amazing apocalyptie vision. Or, it might have been, the old geography lesson that led me off, with its story of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world. that innocent men are seldom im-|°f prisoned. They share about the same immunity as the guilty. ——————— Steps in Statesmanship. From the New York Herald Tribune. Nowadays ;the course of a new Senator may be summed up in the ‘vimrdl Election — Inspection—Rejec- on. of the Medi Of here is a clearly in- ce of theme that is project- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. Q. WII you please tell me what the carrier of the incense in a church pracession is called?—J. B. 8. A. The person who carries the thurible or censer {s known as a “thurife, Formerly he was always an acolyte, but now he s often a layman, Q. How was the distance around the world determined? At what time and by whom?—W. H. M. A. The distance around the world was a subject of study by the ancient Greek mathematicians. Aristotle says that mathematicians of, his time found that the circumference of the earth was the equivalent of 46,000 miles. It was Eratosthenes (C'. B.C) who first had an accurate idea of the principles of determining this figure His results were inaccurate, but his ubstantially that which ed at the present time. ms of the earth which have been very generally adopted are those of Gen. A. R. Clarke published in 1866. Q. Is there any negro college in the State of Virginia?—W. M. C. A. The Virginia Union University at Richmond is the only colored col- lege in the State. While the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute at Hampton, Va., is one of the best known negro schools in the country, it is not, strictly. speaking, a college. It offers 23 college courses and 878 other courses. Q. What is the oldest national bank in the United States?—H. C. A. The national bank which re- cefved the first national bank charter is the First National Bank of Phila- delphia. A charter was granted this bank in 1863. Q. How much money does the United = States expend annually in sports?—W. W, A, A. According to the unofficial estl mate of 0. McGeehan, sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, the United States is spending several bil- lions of dollars a_year on sports. On these tentative figures, he says, the sports bill of the United States for 10 years would clear all the war debts of all the nations. Q. How many times does the minute hand of a watch pass the hour hand in a period of 12 hours, placing and starting both hands on 127—A. 0. S. A. The minute hand of a watch passes the hour hand 11 times in a period of 12 hours. Q. What city park?—F. O. A. A. Fairmount Park in Philadelphia is the largest city park in the world. has the largest HASKIN. Q. What is mean by “skazki"?— 0. P. G 7 A. “Skazki" isa Russion word whioh may be translated best perhaps by ‘“‘wonder tales.” They are a combina- tion of fairy tales and mythology with an intermingling of Christian doc- trine. “Skazki" is the plural form, “skazka" being the singular. Q. Which is the more economical, to turn out a 50 or 75 watt electric light it it is not needed and lighting it again in five minutes or allowing it to continue burning during the unused period?>—W. C. Mecl. A. The Blireau of Standards says that by turning off the electric light several times during the evening vou are using less electricity. The act of switching the light on and off does not increase the current used. Q. What Poland?—G A. A national census recently com- pleted shows there are nearly 3,000,000 Jews there. With only a few excep- tions, these are avowedly adherents of Judaism. ,lsTthe Jewish population of Q. How may ordinarp tered walls be cleaned?- . A. Ordinary plastered and papered walls and ceilings should be cleaned with a wall brush or a broom covered with soft cloth, such as cotton flan- nel. Light overlapping strokes should be used. Heavy strokes rub the dirt in. Cotton batting is good for clean. ing places that soil more Quickly than the rest—for example, the wall over radiators, registers and stoves. The w.tlzl ahuu:l l})‘« rrlllhhefl lightly with the cotton, which should be t e becomes soiled. ot white plas- B. 8. Q. What does the bolize?2.C. M. A. The Phoenix bird symbolizes ris. ing above disaster. Phoenix bird sym Q. What is the quickest thing in the world, and what is th ?— byl e lightest? A. Th® quickest known thin, in th world is the electron. The ‘llghlu: kfiown substance is hydrogen. Take advantage of this free service. If you are not one of the thousands who have patronized the bureau since its establishment, we want you to start now. This is a service main- tained for the bemefit of the readers of The Evening Star, and we tant vou to get your share of benefit from it. Bend your questions to us. In- close 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- kin, director, Washington, D. C. BACKGROUND OF EVENT: BY PAUL V. COLLINS. If, as history records, George Wash ington could not tell a lie, that does not prove that his enemies could not issue propaganda. Modernists have assumed that propaganda originated in the late World War, but “history repeats itself.” A Kansan has just announced that he has found a George Washington letter to Mrs. Washington, and that it discloses, among other things, that the man “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his country- women” was very careless in leaving his family correspondence lying around loose, where the enemy could peruse all the secrets confided to his wife, including his defense against her 'jealous reproaches at his sus- pected flirtations, also his loyalty to his “beloved” King George III, even after he had been fighting the British troops for'months. The letter is dated June 24—a fortnight prior to our Declaration of Independence. The story which the Kansan at- taches to the letter is that when Gen. ‘Washington rather precipitately aban- doned Fort Lee, he left behind him a negro slave, who was “indisposed,” and with that slave was left a small portfolio containing this letter. The British, according to Kansas authori- ty, captured the slave and the letter, although the latter was supposed to have been mailed months before to its address; sent the letter to Eng- land, where it was published, and whence its contents eventually reached New York, where it was republished. * K k% It "is not explained why a letter written by Gen. Washington to his wife should have been found in camp;, 8o long after it had been written, in- stead of being mailed. Modern hus- bands sometimes are charged with carrying letters given them to mail, but who could imagine such a nefari- ous practice was pre-Revolutionary? Gen. Washington never thought the propaganda letters worthy of answer until near the end of his presidency- years after the close of the Revolu- tion—when a new edition of the slander was published, with the ap- parent malicious attempt to detract from his reputation so exalted above that of his political opponents. It is well known that there was a very bitter and merciless partisan conspiracy against Washington. It was called “Conway’s Cabal,” from the fact that its most outspoken leader was Gen. CoffWay, although other leaders were Gen. Gates—Washing- ton's rival for chief command of the Revolutionary troops—and Gen. Mif- flin. Conway by birth was an Irishman. He had had years of military ex- perience in France fighting against England, and on that fact he based his claim to a generalship, accorded him by Congress. He is described as a braggart, presumptuous and in- triguing. ‘When it was rumored that Conway was to be promoted by Congress with- out approval by the commander-in- party fevee runs high, and especially Wwhen international or interracial in- trigue grows desperate, forgery is an easy weapon of offense. There is the case of Capt. Dreytus, the victim of terrible race prejudice in the French army. He was ‘“proved” guilty of -having betrayed national secrets to Germany, and the docu- ments were brought into court and “identified as in his handwriting." He was disgraced, his sword broken in front of the armg, his uniform stripped of military Mettons, and he was drummed out of the army and exiled. # It chanced that, prior to that tragedy, Dreyfus had written a letter to Col. Buneau Varilla, applying for a certain assignment in military en- gineering. Col. Varilla, now owner, with his brother, of the Paris news- paper, Matin, remembered that Dreyfus letter in his files, and care- fully studied it, proving eventually that the evidence on which Dreyfus was convicted was an absolute forgery. Varilla later told Dr. Charles Moore, chief of the manuscript di- Vvision of the Library of Congress, how he had proved the differences in the handwriting in the genuine Drey- fus letter and in the “evidemas’t * K x % That description set Dr. Moore thinking of a famous letter in Amey$ ca. It was President Lincoln’s to Mrs Bixby, the mother of five sons whe had all perished in battle, expressing the gratitude of the Nation to the hes roic mother. , Alleged reproductions of that Lin- coln letter have been published, but although they purport to be photo- graphic facsimiles of the original, Dr. Moore proves that all are for- geries—not in Lincoln’s handwriting. The wos is undisputed, but the facsimile of handwriting is false. The actual original is lost. In the campaign for the presidency by Gen. James A. Garfield, a letter ‘was circulated, twa weeks before elec- tlon, purporting to be a facsimile of a letter written by Garfield to M. L. Morey. of the Employers’ Union. Gar. field was a member of Congress when the letter was dated—January 23, 1880. It defends the employment of Chinese cheap labor. This would have ruined his political future, but the forgery of handwriting was too clum- 8y to gain any credence, after Gar- field had written "a vigorous denial, October 23, 1386, saying, “Its stupid and brual sentiments & never ex. pressed nor entertained.” In view of the written program of the Soviet Communists to attack the personal _reputations of all o&hll of high office, it is expected that some clever forgeries will yet indicate that Presidents and Secretaries of State in modern times, are quite as bad as were George Washington and John Adams. * ok ok % In President Coolidge's address to- day, in honor of Washington, he out chief, Washington wrote a letter of!lines a plan for international celebra- protest to a Congressman, in which, in | very plain language, he set forth his reasons for objecting. The promotion was dropped. Later Gen. Conway was wounded in a duel with an American officer and, believing he was about to die, he wrote a letter to Gen. Washington, expressing sorrow for his misconduct toward him and adding: “My career will soon be over, there- fore justice and truth prompt me to declare my last sentiments. You are in my eyes the great and good man. May you long enjoy the love, venera- tion and esteem of those whose lib- erties you have asserted by your virtues!” . * ok ok ok This propaganda anti-Washington letter is pronounced a clear forger: according to the authority of Mr. W C. Ford, former chief of the man script room of the Library of Con- gress. He cites Washington's dental of it in a letter to Richard Henry Lee. in which he says, “Not one word of it did I ever write. Mrc. Ford suggests that the forgery might bave been committed by an cl ington’s family affairs. An amination of the handwri that it is not Washington's 3 raphy. The Kansan finder of the letter declares. that'if it be proved a forgery it will be even more valuable than a genuine ‘Washington letter, for such letters abound, while early prop- aganda. is rarer. 8o it is in search of a salable.. manuscript, rather than historic truth, which is “what is the matter with K:.n;ui" s tion in 1932 birthe Join. In an article published in the Lon- ac;n Exgm-, c‘.’:- 1904, v;;mun by the e Andrew ‘negie, the dist! ish- ed Scotchman l.hi:‘ - “When we come to the population of the United Kingdom, we find al- ready in d and Wales 558 per Square mile. What thoughtful man could wish much further increase? * * * Mark the contrast! America has only 21 people per square milg. ® * % It is evident that Green was right when he wrote, years ago, that e home of the English-speaking race was not on the Clyde and the Thames, but upon the Hudson, the Delaware, the Mississippi and the St. Lawren: There is not room for it in the dear ¢ home, but there is, fortunately, in tk nds of her children in Canada and the United States.” The famous English journalist, Wil- liam Stead, in 1900 published a book, Americanization of the World,” in which he, too, predicted a reuniting of Great Britain and Canada with the H;fled States, the capital to be in ' erica. In the first Lincoln campaign, Sec- retary Seward made a speech upon the steps of the capitol of Minnesota, e Vol o Oratars: be Sredicied that o of oratory, the rv'.g..umu ca all North from to Algska, ‘would be ‘mot far from"” whers he “}" “An buying Alaska. olly” 3 1932 may start toward the fulfillment of prophecies, and descendants of Gen. Washington may find the sequel to the rgery of his alleged love of the king i'. was But as all prophets ‘.x;. n:th he.#‘{u will b; in America, (Copyrieht. 1087. by Paul V. Colitne.) of Washington's 300th day, in which Great Britain will