Evening Star Newspaper, February 24, 1927, Page 8

) 5 YT EVENIN® STA®, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1927. —_— THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THEODORE W. NOYES. . The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Offion: 11h st and Pennayivania Ave New k Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building European Office; 14 Regent St.. London. Englan The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn. fne edition. ia delivered by carriers within the city ‘at’ 60 cents per month: dajly only 45 cents per month: S 20 cents ber ‘month. Orders may be sent ialephone Main 5000. Collection i carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. .. aily only .. Sunday only . All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..1yr., $12.00: 1 mo. $1.00 DAy Gnie - noe 136 PgR00: 1 mos ” 7be Sunday only . 100 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. * The Associated Press fs exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news patches credited to it or not otherwise c fied i this Daper and aiso the local ne published herein. All rights of public: of special dispatches hereln are also reserved District Government Buildings. While the District of Columbia is in deplorable need of a new Police Court Building of sufficient size adequately to quarter the increasing number of judges and to give humanitarian treatment to prisoners, the House ap- propriations committee has eliminated from the second deficiency appropri- ation bill the $400,000 estimate and the additional $600,000 contract authority transmitted by the Budget Bureau for this structure which has already been authorized by substantive law. The House District committee voted unanimously yesterday to support an effort to have the item reinserted in the bill, and Mrs. Edith Nourse Rogers will offer the amendment in the House. Sentiment in the House seems to be that the building of the mew Police Court has been already too long delayed. Representative Will R. Wood of In- diana, in charge of the appropriation bill, reported to his colleagues that the Police Court items were omitted for two reasons: First, there has been a contention to have it located on Judi- ciary Square, where the appropria- tions committee decided there is not sufficient room to make proper pro- vision for very essentlal expansion, and second, because there is pending legislation which proposes to consoli- date the Police Court and the Munic- ipal Court. 80 the House committee decided that it is inadvisable at this time to commence work on the new Police Court Building on the site in Judiciary Square. It now seems likely that Congress will close without authorizing and appropriating for a new Municipal Building or buildings to care for al- ready overcrowded conditions and for the seven or eight District agencies that will be thrown out of their pres- ent homes under the Federal building program in the triangle south of Pennsylvania Avenue to the Mall. It 18 urgent, therefore, that a very care- ful study should be made of the exact building requirements of the District government, so that the authorized byildings such as the Police Court and Recorder of Deeds’ Office may be prop- erly co-ordinated with the other needs, Serious consideration should also be given to the recommendation made by District officials before the Gibson subcommittee for a model, modern group of municipal buildings. In the building program of the District gov- ernment sensible thought should be given to future as well as present needs. The new Public Welfare Board and the new Public Utilities Com- mission are timely illustrations of the growth of the city government, for which housing facilities must be pro- vided. The District building program must also consider the need for a new cen- tral fire station in the Mall triangle to care not only for the District buildings, but the new Federal build- ings in that area—and for protection of all the public buildings, including the White House and its vicinage—as Chief Watson warned the Gibson sub- committee. The proposal for a branch lbrary in the near neighborhood of the Dis- trict Building to serve the hundreds of thousands of Government workers in the new Federal buildings must also be given sympathetic consideration by those who are determining the Dis- trict building program. The District Commissioners should be ready to make a definite report and recommendations to Congress as soon as it reassembles in December, so that adequate housing for the local gov- ernment, now greatly needed, may be provided at the carliest date in & sensible, practical, businesslike way. o The ultimate consumer regards the sclection of a market site with hope that the result may provide a more economical place to park a market basket. bt e The Wonders of the Age. Since man invented wireless there have been many occasions when life {1self depended upon the proper recep- tion of the tiny impulses which are broadcast through the air. Trans- atlantic liners .have been wrecked, Great Lakes boats caught in the ice and villages in the Far North isolated by heavy storms. In each of these cases the thread which bound the un- fortunate humans to civilization was the wireless. Without it many thou- sands would perish before aid could reach them. Now comes the story of a seaman on a frelghter in midocean, who, thanks to the efficiency of the wire- less, was saved from the loss of sight of an eye, The captain of the Ameri- can Banker received a message on February 12 from the Tomalva asking advice in the treatment of one of the crew for an eye injury from a plece of a steel drill. On board the American Banker was a ship’s surgeon Who had studied at Johns Hopkins in Balti- the operation. Several hours later the Tomalva reported that instructions had been carried out and the treat- ment was a complete success. " It is hard to attain the proper de- gree of appreciation for the wonders of the age. The present generation is too close to it all. We pick up the telephone and talk to a friend across the sea; can pull out a small switch on the radio and listen com- fortably in our living room to music played in Chicago: we casually get into an airplane which takes us in rec- ord time to our destination, and through the cable and radio served we | newspapers we are enabled to learn of happenings in far-off China almost as soon as they occur. Yet we regard these things as commonplace. Truly we lack appreciation for the marvels ¢| that make our lives more comfortable and that are agents for the preserva- tion of life when we are in distress. —e——s The Boulder Dam Filibuster. A “short session” without a Senate fllibuster would be “Hamlet” with Hamlet left out. Just when it ap- peared that the present session would pass into history with an unusual rec- ord of accomplishment, in comparative peace, a monkey-wrench was thrown into the smoothly running machinery. The Johnson-Swing Boulder Dam bill caused the trouble. This measure, which is designed to harness the flood waters of the great and unruly Colorado River, has vio- lent opposition in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. That it would pass if al- lowed to come to a vote in the Senate is the bellef of those supporting the bill. Certainly if the opposition felt they could defeat the bill, there would be little excuse for the obstructive tac- tics which forced the Senate to an all-night session. Arizona believes that the terms of the bill are unfair to that State. Great power interests, too, are fighting the measure, it is declared. For the Boulder Dam bill provides for the con- struction by the Government of a plant that will develop an enormous hydroelectric plant and provide for its distribution through lease. California, on the other hand, sees in the measure the flowering of desert lands and the safety of Imperial Val- ley, which is now constantly menaced by an overflow of the Colorado. Sena- tor Hiram Johnson, co-author of the bill and leader of the fight in the Sen- ate to bring about its passage, has declared that unless the bill is put through, hundreds of lives may be wiped out in California. The problem of the Colorado River has been ‘the subject of study for years. Government engineers and committees of Congress have made re- peated reports. Seven States are in- terested in the waters of the river. Finally an interstate agreement was entered into. But Arizona was not satisfled, and still another State has indicated its unwillingness to abide by the agreement. The Federal Govern- ment has been called upon to act, in the Johnson-Swing bill, in order to bring at last some action. The filibuster in the Senate empha- sizes egain the impotence of a ma- jority during a’ short session. Only by a two-thirds vote can cloture be Imposed, as it was on the banking bill recently. If Senator Johnson and his group supporting the Boulder Dam bill can keep it constantly before the Senate until its opponents, exhausted, quit the debate and permit a vote, it may pass. Only by such a show of physical force, however, can the “greatest deliberative body in the world” at this stage of its proceedings be compelled to give a majority its way. T DS RSA One of the infuences tending to indi- cate America's great future as a busi- ness Nation is the fact that the income tax compels some member of every family to qualify as an expert ac- countant. . When a man refuses to testify in order to protect his friends, he com- mands respect, even though doubt may arise as to whether he has se- lected the right kind of friends. —.— The Naval Conference. Japan's acceptance and assurance that Great Britain will send a favor- able reply to President Coolidge's naval limitation proposal should be heartening to the administragion. The wet blanket thrown on the proposal by France and Italy is naturailly a disap- pointment. If the United States, Great Britain and Japan, however, could arrive at an agreement which would eliminate the naval building race which now threatens, the Presi- dent would not have acted in vain. Furthermore, there is the chance that if these three great naval powers are found acting together at the prepara- tory arms conference in Geneva, to be resumed under the auspices of the League of Nations in March, France and Italy may vet be prevailed upon to go along. Admittedly, this i3 a hope rather than a forecast, however. The British admiralty, according to veports received here, is putting for- ward a suggestion to the British cab- inet, however, which will bear some scrutiny by the United States before it is accepted. It is that the battle- hip shall be eliminated, that cruisers shall be limifed to 10,000 tons, that there should be restriction on cruisers of 5,000 tons or less or on destroyers, and that there should be strict limitations on submarines. It is not unnatural that the British should put forward suggestions for naval limitation that fit in with their own problem of national defense. But it must appear equally reasonable that the United States, in reaching a \greement for further naval lmita- tion, should also bear in mind its own necessities. The United States and Great Britain, under the Washington treaty, are to be equal in capital ship 1gth. Now the British are sug- gesting that the capital ships be thrown into the discard. The British are ‘so far superfor to the United States in cruiser strength today that no more. Instructions for the treatment were immediately wirelessed and, realizing the seriousness of the case, the surgeon also sent minute instruc- tions through the air for the construe- p) tion of an electro-magnet to be used ir there is no comparison. It is unlikely the British will agree to scrap any of their cruisers. Indeed, they maintain that their far-lung dominions and possessions, and thelr need of com- ‘munications at all times make neces- sary a far large number of cruisers than are needed by the United States. With regard to submarines, the British at the Washington arms con- fercnce proposed that the undersea craft be done away with entirely. This was not long after Britain's ox- perience with the submarine campaizn against her commerce and her navy by the Germans. France would agree to no such proposal, nor at that time would the United Stutes or Japan. Now the British would limit the num- ber and size of submarines strictly and have the submarine’s cruising radius so curtailed as to be merely a defensive weapon. It such a program of naval limita- tion were undertaken, where would the United States find itself? The United States at the last naval con- ference abandoned a building pro- gram that would have made the American Navy the greatest the world had ever seen. It behooves this Gov- ernment to see that the naval power of the United States does not sink below that of the other great mari- time nations. ———s Restoring a Venerable Church. The recent observance of Washing- ton’s birthday calls attention to a movement now afoot which is inex- tric#bly bound up with his memory and which, although originating and progressing in another city, has tran- scended its bounds to interest many outsiders, and particularly those who reside in the Capital City which is his namesake. This is the campaign to raise $10,000 for the restoration of the historic “Old First” Presbyterian Church of Alexandria, Va., together with its burying ground, in which twenty different organizations—civic, fraternal, patriotic, Masonic, benev- olent and racial—are co-operating. A special committee of the Sons of the Revolution is working in the District of Columbia with these Alexandria bodies. What remains of the edifice, which was begun two yearsibefore the sign- ing of the Declaration of Independence and which was founded by Scottish Covenanters, stands on South Falrfax street, named in honor of that Lord Fairfax who was George Washington's friend and benefactor. Even though Alexandria strongly sympathized with and as Virginia -soll was part of the South during the troubled time of the Civil War, the church membership ad- hered to the Northern Assembly and eventually, in 1886, expired as an ac- tive church body. Today, however, members of this faith -residing there are waging a vigorous campaign both in northern and southern quarters to restore the old structure, not alone because of its historic interest, but as a symbol of renewed accord between North and South. In this building it was that the Al- exandria Lodge of Masons, over which the Father of His Country presided as worshipful master, held its first re- ligious ceremony, and there Washing- ton, in his officlal capacity, attendc! on similar occasions in the years fol- lowing. In this building was held one of the earliest, if not the earliest, cele- brations of his birthday, that of Feb- ruary 22, 1800. In the adjoining graveyard lie fellow Masons. personal friends and contem- poraries of the First President. Their last resting places are in many cases sadly neglected. Therein repose the mortal remains of that Dr. James Craik who eased the dying hero’s last moments and who later closed thé eyes of his devoted wife. There lie Col. Dennis Ramsay, his personal friend; Rev, Dr. James Muir, who of- ficiated at his funeral; Maj. John Car- lyle, Braddock’s quartermaster gen- eral, ——— e Statesmen are no longer expected to handle some delicate situation “with gloves.” They are regarded as doing well enough if they can handle it with- out boxing gloves. Boulder Dam is belng commended to public attention as one of the most important “safety-first” propositions that ever came before the country. ——————— A successful revolution commands political respect. But too many. revo- lutions linger as unfinished business. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOKNSON. Filibustering. “The clothes don’t make the man,’ we've learned; Toward simple garb we're leaning. And yet each uniform discerned Has its especlal meaning. Our Senator a toga wears, Debate grows sather flighty, And in the midst of modern cares He brings along a nightie. Local Issue. “Don’t you think the stage ought to be cleaned up?” “I do,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But my folks out home don’t see the kind of shows that would enable them to understand why I should worry about the morals of New York and Chicago.” ignals rise aloft we say, “Please note the ‘g’ in ‘gay’ is soft— So let us all be Jay!" Jud Tunkins says the lowest types of intelligence cause the most trouble. 1f you don’t believe it, study the influ- enza germ. Reticence. “Who is the leading bootlegger in Crimson Gulch?” R “I hesitate to speak,” answered Cac- tus Joe. “It is not for me to take sides in determining a preponderance of financial and political influence,” Patriotism and Popularity. G. Washington, your hatchet Brought fame that can't relax. The one man who might match it Is Dr. Billy Ax. “Everything has its price,” said Uncle Eben. “Even a fortune-teller lays down de rule dat if you wants &ood news you gotta pay fof\it Unr.ecessary vulgarity of outlook is something that every one must flee from if he would get the most out of life. Only by constantly fighting against the pressure of the vulgar, in thought, action, speech, can any one attain his full stature. Lest snobbery, that bane of men and nations, creep into our discussion, let us define “vulgar” according to the big dictionary “Vulgar—Of or pertaining to the common people, or to the common herd or crowd; consisting of, suited to or practiced by the uneducated masses; hence, now most commonly, displaying or indicating a low, coarse or common nature. * * * 3 Lack- ing in elegance or in cultivation or refinement; opposed to reputable lit- erary usage. 4. Being in ordinary or common use; hence, of little value or distinction. “Vulgarity—Low condition in life, commonness; lack of refinement in conduct or speech.” Hence it would seem that it is necessary to get back to the “natural man,” of whom one formerly heard 80 much. The crux of the question, generally speaking, lies in education: not the superficial “book learning” of the schools, but that larger “educa- tion” which comes with living. Did you ever see a picture of a Cro-Magnon or Neanderthal man, as set forth by imaginative artists, work- ing on the basis of the discovered skulls? Surely elther gentleman would have been a tough customer to have met in a dark alley, and neither, it is safe to say, would have graced a modern drawing room. They lacked “culture” in the best sense of a much-abused word. * Kk ok % It needs only au moment's thought to convince any one that the vul- garity in modern life flows from the procession of these gentlemen through- out the ages. | Their children are in the world today. The pride of these little ones is in muscle, just as was that of the father so many millions of years ago. They know nothing of “usage,” In speech or writing, so thelr words are strange in pronunciation. They dis- tort the names of sweet flowers, and give them commonplace names that strike their ‘‘funny-bones.” The trouble js that their “funny- bones’ are so easily struck! Added to the lack of knowledge comes the adherence to the mob spirit, which is notoriously ignorant, unthinking and cruel. The sum of these factors spells vul- garity, and those who rest satisfled with the product are the vulgar. This is a definition that is not in the dic- tionary. ok kK “What has this to do with me?” you ask. “My ancestors are known of old; their sentiments were of the high- est; I have, I hope, many of their good points; the commonplace cannot touch me. Ah, yes, it can—unless one flees from unnecessary vulgarity of outlook as the anclents used to flee from the devil. The thing is catching. It bolls down, in the last essence, to cheapness. And cheapness means a stultifying satisfaction with less than the best. On every hand one is assailed by the appeal for the consideration of books, music, groceries and everything else which are not as good as they might be, not as good as they ought to be, not as good as the makers might make them. A path of least resistance has been followed, based on the knowledge that large nurmbers of the populace will be perfectly satisfled, never having known anything better. Must those who do know something better be satisfied with the result? They must not! Here is where the danger of snob- bery comes in. The love for the bet ter and the best, in all walks of life, must not be combined with a contempt | for those who know no better, but simply must be taken by itself and for itself, without any reflections upon others. This is a large world, and there must be different qualitles in all things, including men and women. It 1s possible to stick strenuously to the best without in any way sneering at those who possess what one may prop- erly call lesser tastes. (Only do not let them hear you talk about “lesser tastes!") * % % X The mob spirit prevails even when cultured men get together, to the ex- tent of confining their conversation to trivialities. The pressure upon the educated to use vulgarisms of speech is tremen- dous. It is practically impossible not to “fall” for them. Yet a real re- sistance should be put up, if one wants to remain true to ideals. Ideals scem to be going out of fashion. Or is one just getting old” Every generation has to go through the same process, feel the flattening pressure of vulgarity from all sides, see the disappearance of ideals at the beckoning of expediency. Perhaps the reason so many elderly men look sad is simply because they have watched the vanishing of their own ideals and most of those of their companions. The high ideals of youth! How they have been sung in song, and told in story, with the enthusiastic response of every generation! The high-minded young man or woman, going through the American educational process, frowns upon the lack of reflnement of the ‘“‘common herd or crowd.” He actually with- stands the battering ram of vulgarity much better than he is given credit for doing. He grows up, he begins to make a living. Then he sees with sadness things he never noticed before. He sees men complaining of their unhap- piness, who have unblushingly given away their dearest ideals, those ideals which make happiness! How can one without ideals be happy? If getting power and place means giving up the best one knows, and succumbing to the pressure of the low, it is a power and place too dearly wop. Guard well your ideals, if you value a life free from vulgarity, that dead- ening influence of those who could not and cannot help themselves. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Now Senator Borah has really started something, unless parlia- mentary laws have changed since the days of , President Washington. Not a mere committee, but the whole Sen- ate or none, will go on a junket to Mexico and Nicaragua during the re- cess. The Senator, as chairman of the committee on foreign relations, esti- mates that a subcommittee might make the tour for $10,000, and in the same proportion for the whole Sen- ate. Col. Sellers of Mark Twain's “Gilded Age” would find “millions in it.” The truth must prevail, no mat~ ter what the cost. It is evident to the determined chairman of the foreign relations committee that our diplo- mats in Nicaragua are too naive to be relied on to get the Sacasa ‘‘low down,” and while the United States Constitution stipulates that treaties are to be initiated and negotiated by the President and ratified by the Sen- ate, he knows that in this modern age it is better to put the cart before the horseless buggy and let the Senate ascertain first the advisability of turning a mere President and Secre- tary of State loose in Central Amer- ica, guarded only by a minister ex- traordinary and envoy plenipotentiary and a few consuls. * ok ok ¥ So Senator Borah offers a resolution in the Senate: “That the Senate committee on for- elgn relations, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, is hereby au- thorkzed to investigate and study con- ditions and policies bearing upon the relationship between the Central American countries, Mexico and the United States. For the purposes of this resolution the committee or sub- committee is authorized to visit such countries, to sit during the recess of Congress, and at such times and places to employ such clerical, steno- graphic and other assistance, to re- quire the attendance of such Witnesses (si¢!), and the production of such documents and papers (sic!), to ad- minister oaths, to take such testimony and to make such expenditures as it deems advisable, ‘The expenses of the committee, or subcommittee, which shall not exceed $10,000, shall be paid out of the con- tingent fund of the Senate. * ok ok % “During” means continuously throughout the period designated. So the committee or subcommittee will spend a happy season from March 4 to the first Monday in December, in- vestigating the scenery and people of Mexico and Central America. Sum- mer in the tropics is delightful, ac- cording to altitude. The mountains are cool and invigorating. The jun- keters may ‘keep cool with"—the President. The committee or subcommittee will be empowered to subpoena the “In- juns” of Central America and Mexico, and explain how they learned the art by summoning the politiclans of Chicago and Pennsylvania. Our ministers there hgve no such plenary power, although they bear the high-sounding titles of “‘ministers extraordinary and envoys plenipoten- tiary.” The committee or subcom- mittee—even If the subcommittee con- sist of only the chairman—will per- haps carry the senatorial mace and take along the whole force of the sergeant-at-arms, experienced in ar- resting United States Senators fast asleep. So they will hail into the august—also July and October— presence the recalcitrant armies of Calles and Sacasa, and give them drumhead court-martial justice. * ok ok K But, shades of George Washington! The Senate tried something like that, on him, once—just once! It was in Washington's first term, when he still loved the Senate and thought it interesting to visit the Senators and talk things over soclally concerning certain clauses in the pend- Ing treaty with Southern Indian tribes, Senator Maclay, in his “Sketches of Debate in the First Senate of the tells about it. President Washington had favored oral conferences on treaties while they were in the process of negotia- tion By the Chief Executive. He sought the Senate’s “advice and con- sent,”” even as Senator Borah sug- gests other Presidents should do. So the Senate adopted a procedure for such oral conferences, and scarcely was that adopted when notification came from President Washington that he. would arrive next morning. He was a do-it-now President, without any “watchful waiting,” even as to Mexico. In accordance with the notifica- tion the President arrived on time, accompanied by Gen. Knox, an ex- pert in Indian aftairs—even as the subcommittee will be, next Decem- ber—accompanied by Maj. Knocks. Now read on: Senator Maclay says, “The Presi- dent was introduced and took our President’s chair. He rose and told us bluntly that he had called on us for our advice and consent to some propositions respecting the treaty to be held with the Southern Indians. A short paper containing a few ex- planations was read, after which the Senate was called upon to give its advice and consent by voting by an effirmative or negative vote on seven specific questions as to the proposed negotiations. The Senate seemed unwilling to do this with- out having first fully considered the articles. Robert Morris moved to refer the matter to a speclal com- mittee. To this it was objected that a council never referred anything to a committee.” (Sie!) Never referred a treaty matter even to a_subcommittee In the delectable Nicaraguan mountains! (Sic! Sic em!) O Orizaba! O Popocatepet! O Iztaccihuatll O Borah!! The President stated that while he had no objections to a postpone- ment the reference to a committee would defeat the very purpose of his meeting the Senate. The President withdrew discontented air.” Senator Maclay continues: “Had it been any other than the man I wish to regard as the first character in the world, I would have said ‘with sullen dignity.'"” President Washington never again tried that. “with a xR The unforgettable point in incldent is the acceptance by parties of the rule that a “council —a Senate committee of the whole Senate—cannot refer its “advice and consent” to any committee or sub- committee; hence, when Senator Borah with his staff of sergeant-at- arms-assistants starts to summon Mexicans and Nicaraguans before the bar, that bar will be the whole United States Senate, else all pro- ceedings will be null and void and of none effect. A mere committee with a Reed shaken by a Borean wind may summon Americans, but it takes the whole Senate to give “squads right” to Sacasa and Calles. Washington proved it. * ok ok . that Here is another interesting prece- dent applicable to Nicaragua. In 1867, when it was proposed to annex the Hawalian Islands to the United States, objections to that course were made by the Japanese Minister, under instructions by Count Okuma. In the opening of the note on the sufbject, the statement was made: “It is under- stood that only a small fraction of their number favor annexation. Mr. John Sherman, Secretary of State, said that he could not allow ion to pass in silence, and It cannot be that one so well informed in the history of inter- national relations as Count Okuma could have wished to suggest thereby the propriety of appealing from the action of government to the ‘popula- tlon.” In international comity and practice, the will of a nation is ascer- tained through the established and recognized government, and it is onl; through it that a nation can speak.’ LR Since Sherman had not the benefit of the 14 points, he declared that a government which officially _repre- sented the people be respected by forelgn negotiatori” Perhaps more { button hole in place. Abattoir Site Opposed. Location Along Entrance to Capital Declared Objectionable. To the Editor of The Star: In relation to the location of an abattoir near the Highway Bridge, and the claim that it will not be the source of offensive odors, the experience de- scribed below may be of some interest: The undersigned, when recently on duty at headquarters of the 1st Corps Area, served as a member of a board appointed to select the site for a pro- Jected Corps Area hospital. Among other sites investigated was one in the vicinity of the Watertown Arsenal, which is located about a half mile from a slaughterhouse. In answer to the query whether odors from that plant could be detected at the arsenal, its commanding officer stated that sometimes when the wind was right they were almost insupportable, and that on occasfons they could be de- tected a distance of at least 3 miles. This last observation agrees with my own experlence, for on numerous occasions the odors from this plant had been very offensive in my quar- ters, which were some 3 miles distant. Though the site in the vicinity of the arsenal could be purchased at a much lower figure than any of those located clsewhere, needless to say the board did not recommend it. Not only would the odors prove offensive at Fort Myer, but when the wind is right they will cross the river and be distinguishable as far as the Capitol. They would prove even more annoying in Potomac Park, the Muni tions” Building, the White House, the business section and the buildings which are to be erected in the triangle south of Pennsylvania avenue. They would be very offensive to persons using the Mount Vernon Boulevard whether that road followed the ridge or the river route, and the stench from such a plant would detract very seriously from the pleasure of thurists using the highway. Not only will the establishment of this plant lower property values in its vicinity, but it will cause a corre- sponding increase of taxes in other sections of Arlington County to com- pensate for this loss. It will be a death blow to the movement of desir- able population into the county. In- stead of being a residential community its chief interests will be industrial. There will be established in it the manufacturing plants which other suburbs do not want. Why should the interests of those residing in a suburb of the National Capital—and of a part of the Capital itself—be sub- ordinated? Since the introduction of the auto there is no excuse whatever for the establishment of offensive trades in the vicinity of large cities. Particularly is this the case with Washington, for Americans look to this city for leader- ship in urban beauty, civic govern- ment, etc. This leadership can seri- ously be impaired by the establish- ment of this proposed abattoir. At the very time that the Federal Govern- ment is undertaking to spend millions of dollars for buildings in the City of Washington and for parks and boule- vards in its vicinity the Board of Supervisors of Arlington County sees fit to grant a permit for the establish- ment of a slaughterhouse near one of the bridges by which the county has access to the Capital. This proxim- ity to Washington is the chief asset of Arlington County. The permit granted should be revoked. JOSEPH H. FORD, Colonel, Medical Corps, U. 8. A. Condemns Traffic Plan. Two-Way Passing Cited as Offer- ing Many Dangers. - To the Editor of The Star: I wish to protest against the pro- posed two-way passing of autos as likely to result in a multiplication of alccldentx«) and source of great confu- sion. The established custom in all parts of the country is to pull to the right on meeting a car or giving room to an overtaking car. When a horn sounds, the first instinctive action of a driver is to veer to the right. If changed, when a horn sounds be- hind there is no way to determine if the driver means to pass to right or to left. Lack of room to pass and re- sulting confusion would lead to an in- creased number of accidents. Cases might occur of cars trying to pass on both sides at the same time. At pres- ent most streets contain many parked cars. The next line of traffic to them is the slow-moving line—busses stop- ping for passengers, loaded trucks, autos seeking parking places, autos double-parking to allow passengers to alight, etc. The fast line of traffic at present is toward the center of the street, which seems normal and cor- rect. To shift this and throw a stream of fast traffic next to the parked cars and the slow traffic to the middle of the street would cause endless confu- sion and danger. Many aceidents now occur from oars trying to pass on the left as the driver ahead starts to make a left turn. There is no arm signal in the District at present to distinguish a left turn from a right turn. To allow cars to overtake and pass on either side would increase the accidents due to collision after a turn to right or left is under way. Opinion seems to be that most acel- denta result from violations of the traffic regulations. To give the speed- ster more liberty by two-way passing would create an appalling and chaotic situation. s ‘W. H. CRISWELL. . King George Tells Secret of Bouquet King George, who is not usually as- sociated with sartorial innovation, has revealed how he keeps his inevitable ‘When he ar- rived in town from his country palace at Sandringham, in order to say fare- well to the Duke and Duchessof York before their world cruise, he wore a bunch of violets—most difficult of all flowers to wear neatly. It was the Prince of Wales who asked his father how he managed it —at a public banquet the Prince had explained that he was never able to wear a buttonhole, because it ruined the lapels of his tail coats. This was the advice his father gave him: Never use a pin;: it disfigures the cloth. Have a small strip of elastic sewn under- neath the lapel just below the hole. The stem of the flower is pushed be- tween the cloth and the elastic, and is gripped there. Now the young men of London wonder which particular flower the Prince will adopt. King George favors carnatloi denias and a rare flower called pearl.” ———— Court of Last Resort. From the New York Herald-Tribgne. Farmers must be as much in need of help as the Macedonians were, or they never would go to Congress for it. modern attempts to override organized governments and vote the popular will by Soviets may now prevail in Central America. At least Subcom- mittee Borah may so advise the com- mittee of the whole Senate and so de- clare to the constitutional authority for negotiating treaties. An extra election or referendum, now and then, in Cen erica, is always interest- ing ne but the committee must be sure tojget above the range. As soon as Grea$ Britain learned of the resolu- d«l to send & warship t ht. 1037 by Paul V. Collins.) l ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How many people play golf in the United States?—W. H. K. A. Golf clubs in the United States have more than 1,750,000 members and there are, of course, thousands of people who play on the public courses. Q. Will you kindly tell me how long Jane Cowl has been playing? —A. T. O. A. Jane Cowl was born in Boston, Mass., 1890. She made her debut in 1909 in “Is Matrimony a Failure?” Q. Are vacations of industrial workers in Bruzil regulated by the government >—A\. D. L. A. On December 24, 1925, a law was passed in Brazil under the pro- visions of which workers are grant- ed 15 days' annual vacation with pay. In October, 19 the Presi- dent of the republic signed the regu- lations fhterpreting this law. Some of the outstanding points in the regulations are “The right to : vaca- tion of 15 working days vill be granted after 11 months’ con.inuous service in the same establishment to employes and operatives throughout Brazil in commercial, industrial and banking enterprises, transportation and communication services, public private charitable institutions and in journalistic enterprises. A vacation of 15 working days will be granted to employes without sub- traction of days away from employ- ment for sickness or other unavoid- able causes. Pay for the vacation time will be at the rate of 15 working days to those receiving day wages or doing piecework, while salaried employes will receive half a month's pay. Employes must be informed in writing a week in advance of the time allotted to them for this vaca- tion, which may be granted in part or whole. The National Council of Labor is charged with the supervi- sion of the execution of the present regulations. A fine of 50 to 2,000 milreis is the penal for the in- fringement of this law.” Q. Wil you give me some informa- tion regarding the polar bear? A. The polar bear is a large bear (Ursus or Thalarctos mhartimus) in- habiting the Arctic regions of both the Old and the New World. It at- tains a. length of about 9 feet and often weighs more than 1,000 pounds. It frequents the shores and ice floes and swims well, living largely on seals. It differs from other bears in its creamy white color, long neck, nar- row skull and small molar teeth. Q. After a German has been natu- ralized in this country is it correct to say that his nationality is German?— A. After an alien has been natu- ralized in the United States he is an American and should be referred to as such. Q. Has the use of the telephone in- creased much in the last 25 years?— N. W A. Yes. In 1900 there was one Bell telephone to 90 persons in the United States. In 1925 there was one to every 7 persons. Q. W. D. A. The full moon, astronomically defined, occurs when the longtitude of the moon differs by exactly 180 de- grees from that of the sun. As this condition is momentary, the moon is full for an {nstant only. Q. How many negroes fought in the Union Army during the Civil War?— L S A. There were 99,337 colored men in the gervice during the Civil War. Q." What is the significance of the term “original package”?—A. D. T. A. In American constitutional law this means the package in which goods are shipped from one State to another. The United States courts held that where an article is imported into one State from another it does not lose the protection of the inter- state commerce clause while the orig- inal package remains unbroken and is the property of the importer. In- How long is the moon full?— of cigarettes and other commodities about which State laws differ. Q. In the corner of Northern Pa- cific Rallroad stock in 1801, how high did the stock go?—E. F. A. At that time the price of the stock rose abruptly to 1,000 bid. Q. Will you please state what Miss Eva Le Galllenne ts dolng at pres- ent.—L. L. E. A. Miss.Le Galilenne has established a repertory theater in New York City. She has a triple role in this project. as she is the leading woman, director and producer. Q. When did the Chinese and Jap anese Immigrants first come to the United States?—T. J. A. The Chinese first came in large numbers In 1849 and the Japanese in 1 . Q. What 1s the oldest and most popular of French forms of poetry - E. C. A. Louls Untermeyer savs that it is the ballade (not to be confused with the ballad). Q. What do the letters “F" : stand for on the banners used by Co lumbus when he landed at San Sal- vador?—T. H. R. A. The letters ahout which you in- quire evidently stand for the names of Ferdinand and Isabella. The latter name is not infrequently spelled with Q. Ts it true that locust trees at- tract lightning?—A. E. M A. There is no foundation in fact for the statement that the locust tree or any other tree will attract lightning. The attraction of trees for lightning depends on the lightning zone that the tree may be In and the elevation. Q. Are the blood corpuscles the same sizo in adults as in children?-- A. ‘Blood corpuscles in children and in adults are the same size. Q. What is the insignia of the Quartermaster Corps of the Army and what does it mean?—R. R. A. The insignia is a sword and key crossed on a wheel surmounted by a spread eagle. The signification of the insignia 1s as follows: The wheel rep. resents transportation; the key, store and supply keeper: the sword, military supplies, the eagle, the national em- blem, Q. Which is the largest island in the Philippines, Luzon or Mindanao? “R.W.S8 . A. Although figures differ some- what concerning the area of the va- rious islands of the Philippines, it is an accepted fact that Luzon is the largest island. Mindanao ranks sec- ond. The area of Luzon is approx!- mately 40,969 square miles, and that of Mindanao 36,292 square miles. Q. What breed of cattle In the United States has the largest number of pure-breds”—F. D. P. A. According to the number of pure-breds, Holsteln breed ranks first, Jersey, second: Guernsey, third, and Ayrshire, fourth. . When does Easter come this year?—A. G. L. A. It falls on April 17. Q. Is it correct to say ma’am,” or “Yes, sir"?—L. L. B. A. Whether or not one says “Y ma'am,” or “Yes, sir,” depends to large degree upon the section of the country in which one lives. For ex- ample, many cultured Southern fam- ilies ude this form of reply. In some sections of the United States it is used only by domestics, or those of an in- ferfor social grade. Some parents teach their ohildren to say ‘“‘Yes, mother,” or “Yes, father,” “No, Mrs. Smith,” etc. ““Yes, B. The resources of our free informa- tion dureau are at your service. ¥You are invited to call ugon it as often as you please. It is being maintained by The Evening Star solely to serve you What question can we answer for terpretation of these decisions made it possible to evade State laws by selling direct to the customers in original packages. The importance of this is in its bearing on the sale you? There is no charge at all except 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. €. Experimental College Project In Wisconsin Stirs Interest Announcement by the University of Wisconsin that Dr. Alexander Meikle- john, former president of Amherst, will establish at Wisconsin an experi mental college which will abolish for: mal lectures and establish a closer contact between students and instruc- tors is received by the public with approval and cyriosity. Dr. Meikle-| john is quoted as saying: *“The most striking feature of the plan is that we | are given complete freedom to take 250 freshmen and sophomores and to try with,them any method of teaching and any contents of study which ma seem to be promising. The opportu- nity thus presented is quite un- paralleled, so far as I know, in the field of American education. “Many college presidents and other educators, according to the Chicago Daily News, “have deplored present trends in the higher institutions of learning, and have complained of rigid curricula, student indifference to sclence and culture and routine and dry teaching methods. Consequently, the remarkable experiment to be un- dertaken by the University of Wiscon- sin, known for many years as a pro- gressive institution or sociological laboratory” not afraid of innovations, I be watched with interest the coun. over. * * ¢ President Glenn nk regards Dr. Meiklejohn as an original, inspiring and philosophical educator. His moral support of the Meiklejohn experiment is hearty. The laboratory practice thus to be under- taken can scarcely fail to be unique. “Mark Hopkins at one end of a log and a boy at the other end—this has long been the definition of an ideal university,” remarks the Youngstown Vindicator. “Now Dr. Meiklejohn is to establish just such a college on the Lake shore at Madison, Wis. * ¢ ¢ There will be no prescribed class hours, but students and professors will | study together, the professors employ- ing the Socratic method in order to develop the pupils’ intellect for indi- vidual study. The freshman year will be devoted to a study of the civiliza- tion of the Greeks. In the second ear these same students will study the civilization of the English-speak- ing peoples. At the end of the second year they will be admitted to the Jjunior class at Wisconsin University. It is an attractive plan, but it all de- pends upon Dr. Meiklejohn's getting | the right kind of professors. There will never be a better university than one in which an eager boy studies with a good and learned man who has fired his imagination.” * ok ok X “Such educational experimentation,” in the opinion of the Providence Jour- nal, “is at once a constructive adven- ture and a safety valve of criticlsm. If it succeeds beyond question, then an educational revolution has been launched for all American colleges. If it fails, a useful negative has.been ished and will involve no dis- credit either to Wisconsin or to Dr. thai fortunate if one out of s many—experiments succeed: I_{flco!{nlzlm: that Dr Meiklejohn “will bring to his task vast knowl edge, a sincere interest in young col- lege students, a profound faith in them,” the Arkansas Democrat offers the comment: 'hat the freshman and the sophomore, and especially the former, furnish the big problem in our ingtitutions of higher learning been proclaimed for many vear: Those students enter our colleges and universities as young people well ad vanced in life, in so far as heredity and environment are concerned. They are past the age of childhood, vet thev have hardly reached the threshold of manhood and womanhood. AWhat is the P?a!!t method of training them. granting there is something wrong with our present system? Prof. Melklejohn has the best wishes of those who know the man and his work: veral—or * ok w o “The enthusiasm of a good leadar for a new idea,” agrees the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “is in itself a powerful stimulus. The Wisconsin idea is weil vorth an experimental effort. Like tAe new things that are being tried in schools and colleges all over the land, this attempt to break away from tra- dition will have served its purpose even if it does nothing more than prove the importance of keeping cer- taln traditions intact.” The Spring- fleld Union remarks that “as college and university custom has traditlo ally prevailed, when the faculty comes into contact with the students the knowledge of the former is assumed to flow rather steadily toward the lat- ter. In Dr. Melklejohn's college it might flow the other way, and, of course, Dr. Meiklejohn could practi- cally insure it by seleoting a faculty that could profitably sit at the feet of his sophomores and freshmen. In any |case it might be an alternating cur- rent, and that, we take it, is the T of “the story about the doctor who sald that the operation was a beauti- ful one and an entire* success, but added as an afterthought that the patient died. Dr. Mefklejohn,” con- tinues that paper, “is apparently going to ‘try it on the dog,’ a process that has usuaily proved agreeable and illu- minating enough for overybody but the dog, whose role in this case will be played by 250 freshmen and sopho- mores.” The Banner, however, adds, that in American colleges “there is a good deal of dust that might be swept out and a good deal of dullness that might be eliminated”; that “probably that is what Dr. Metklejohn proposes to do, and he would be doing college education a good turn if he could.” The Detroit News points out that “the theory. not new"”; that “one Bocrates tried it a long time ago and contributed a good deal to that Greek elvilization the Wisconsin boys and irls are to study. If Dr. Melklejohn ’mumwuh his group on the banks of Lake Mendota,” concludes start something in ‘right the News, “he may American’