Evening Star Newspaper, March 2, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ‘WEDNESDAY. ... March 2, 1087 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editar The Evening Star Newspaper Company A Business Office: Furopean Offics: 1¢ v 8t.. Lon England. London, The Eve Sunday mu'n'.'“?s el amed " et ik at 60 cen morn- within 4 jonth: enly. 8 peromonth: Sundave only. B g Ealghcnn Seain 5008, Coltection is made O ler at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. afly and S ',_sfl"fl_lmo.‘?fi.‘ aily Snly Sunday .. 137 $8.00: 1 mo.. B unday only 17¥r.. $3.00: 1 ma All Other States and Canada. site until hearings on the bills al- ready introduced and others that may follow are held. The first direct evidence that an airport is a necessary element in the economic development of Washington was recelved with the granting by the Post Office Department of the air-mail contract between New York and At- lanta, with a stop here, to the Pitcairn Avlation Co. of Philadelphia. The com- pany’s planes are confronted with the need of a suitable landing fleld, and must take their choice between Col- lege Park, Md., or Hoover Field, near the mouth end of Highway Bridge. Facllitles of Bolling Field may be granted to the concern, but it has been the practice of the War Depart- ment not to mix military and civilian aviation for the best interests of both 0c | parties. & s — . New House Office Building. In the interest of all the people of the United States, the House took wise actlon last night in passing a bill to Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press in exclnsively entitled %o the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- d also the local ne s of publical a pebiianed b T SF apecial diepate re also reserved f special dispatches herein The Beauty of Washington. Additional Government control over the type of buildings which may be erected on land abutting on important Federal properties was recently ad- vocated by Edward H. Bennett, ad- viser to Secretary Mellon in the new Federal building program, in an ad- dress before the Washington Study group. The importance of such a step as that advocated by Mr. Bennett cannot be overemphasized. It is doubtful if the city as a whole appreciates the scope and significance of the building program which the Government is about to undertake. For more than build a new House Office Bullding so as to give each member two office rooms in which he can with greater economy and increased efficlency transact the enlarging volume of busi- ness for a rapidly growing constit- uency. Unless clogged up behind a fillbuster this measure will be promptly ap- proved by the Senate, because the members of that co-ordinate branch of the Congress know how preposterous it is for any House member to have to go out in the corridor in order to have private conference with any one who comes to his office. As a retiring member of the House, who has been honored by his eon- stituents by promotion to the Senate, emphasized, in no private business would such accommodations be tol- erated for any executive, and he laid fifty years the dream of a compre- hensive and co-ordinated program for governmental building has been held before us, yet through these years we have seen haphazard and, too oftenm, ll-advised construction undertaken as the need for this or that project be- came too pressing for further post- ponement. The threat of eventual governmental absorption lay over great tracts of the city, resulting in the death of any incentive to their proper development under private ownership. Abutting property suf- fered commensurately. From year to year matters dragged on. And then, when the dream had all but faded from the minds of those who cher- ished it, Congress leaped into aetion. The magic wand of sound economic policy had been waved at the western end of Pennsylvania avenue; the Jinn of legislation and appropriation re. sponded from Capitel Hill. The dream of the years beeame the reality of to- day. Twenty years from today Pennsyl- vania avenue from the Capito] to the ‘White House will be the most beau- tiful thoroughfare in the world. On its southern side will be the vast, monumental Government buildings, bharmonious in architecture and gt ting. It is fitting and proper and es- sential that such steps as may be necessary shall be taken to insure the extension of that harmony to the Avenue’s northern border. Econemic factors, it might be argued, weuld provide strong insurance of & dignified treatment at this peint, on the theary that with the existing unsightly con- ditions to the seyth removed, the north would autematically respond. But Mr. Bennett is right, Nothing should be left to chance. And if the existing zoning laws are inadequate for the purpose, additional clauses should be enacted, to the end that private owners may not, either at this point or elsewhere in the Na- tional Capital, thwart the whole- hearted determination of both the city and the Nation that Washington shall henceforth reign as the world's most beautiful city, —————— One reason why. American people @0 not worry a great deal s the Su- preme Court of the U. B. A., which attends to what Uncle Joe Cannon used to call the “final analysis.” —_———— An Opening Wedge. Possibility of congressional action on two proposals to establish an alp- port for the District of Columbia ap- pears too remote for thought in this dying session, but advocates of an ajr tsrmlnnl’ here are gratified that an opening ' wedge on the subject has been driven in, with results next ses- slon more likely. Interest in the proposed airport has increased since last August when The Star advocated action, and has reached the point where two factions have sprung up and are engaged in friendly rivalry. BEach slde wants the projected port in its territory, but both agree upon “an airport first and its loeation afterwards.” The two groups responsible Tor the two bills now before the House Dis- down this conviction: “The people of this country are per- fectly willing to pay their publie se; ants a decent galary, and they a not afraid, it we are, to provide a de- eent place in which to transact public business.” ‘With the rapid increase of the busi- ness of the House, working members have found a single room entirely in- sufficient, just as Senators, who ordls narily have three rooms, would be un- able to transact their business in one room. The effort which led to final action in the House last night was started by an amendment offered by Representa- tive Moore of Virginia en February 12, 1925, and attached to the legisla- tive appropriation bill, providing the sum of §$8,600 for the architect of the Capito] to make an examination and report, This was done, and at the last session, and algo at the present ses: slon, the architect's report waq con: sldered by the committee on publie buildings and grounds, which recom. mended the epactment of the bill passed yesterday. Like the present House Office Bulld. ing, the new building which is eontem- plated will be a place for work in the interest of those whom the members represent. It will be distinctly to the public advantage, All those intereated in the develop- ment and beautification of the Na- tional Cepital—not only Washingten résidents, but members of Copgress and all the people of the United States ~will applaud this new improvement, which {s & notable step in reclaiming the long-neglected area south of the Capitol, e ' “Fool’s Gold.” “Died Rich” was the line seribbled in pencil by John Somebody, an old prospector, who perished in Death Valley, Califorpia, a long time ago. John's last name eould not be made out by the moter tourists, who, trav- ersing that burning waste, recently came across his skeleton in the ahift- ing sand dunes, surrcunded by a few scattered objects which told mutely of the tragedy of long age, and which included the scrap of paper, with writ- ing nearly obliterated, that told of his final happiness. One arm was threwn about a lump of mica rich in those pyrites which sa resemble the most precious of all met- als, and which, notwithstanding the fact that they sometimes deceive even the initiated, are often called “fool's gold.” There was also a miner’s rusty pick and & watch of & pattern of long ago, Let it be remembered that John died happy, & consummation devoutly wish- ed by so many, but, so often desired in vain. Qne can picture in his mind the long and patient wanderings of this prospector always searching for and anticipating the rich strike; his blanket bed under the bright stars, his simple fare, his simple wants and his simple faith. Although he lived what to most would be a Jife of hardship, it may have been a very happy life. Na- ture, the face of God, has a way of Jooking very kindly on those who choose her for a constant companion. They possess pleasures not explainable to those who dwell constantly with smoke and hurry and noisy people. trict committee are the District of Columlia Chapter, National Aeror nautic Assoclation, and the Benning and Kenilworth Citizens' Association. The former desires the site be chosen from marshy, underwater ground on the Virginia side of the Potomac, diagonally from Hains Point, while the latter wants the old Washington Jockey Club property, now owned by & real estate firm. Acquisition of either tract and development for an airport would involve a maximum ex- penditure of about $600,000. The bill by Representative Gasgre specifying the Benning area has been referred to the Commissioners, who, in turn, have passed it on to the Budget Bureau with the inquiry as to whether it conflicts or conforms with the ex- ecutive’s financial program. The bill by Representative Stalker, who, like Mr. Gasque, is a member of the Dis- trict committee, does not specify any particular site, but specifies that the field “shall be large enough to accom- modate all types of aircraft and shall be so situated that it will be con- venient to transportation” and also shall be capable of expansion as fu- ture needs may require. In the interest of an airport first, rather than its location before au- thority to establish one is granted, the interested groups probably will re- | biles were vying with the street cars | else’s troubles is worth noticin’, com- - perve thelr cplitons e the witimais|fer the eoly avallable cbannei—ihe pared 1o his ewnt Let it also be remembered that John did, in very sooth, die rich. Where he 18 now “‘fool's gold" is exactly as good a8 any other kind, and perhaps better. Happy man to be disillusioned under circumstances whaere disillusionment caused him not the slightest pang of regret! ——— et His ranch will doubtless be a pleas- ure and a comfort. Yet there must be an impression that Albert Fall went after his farm relief too im- petuously. et Street Repairs. Although Washington can afford to lose no time in its systematic repairs of the bumps and hollows on many of its streets, it would appear that on certain main highways, where the pavement is mot badly worn and takes little time to mold into shape, a little more discretion might be used in the period of day selected for these trivial repairs, A case in point {s Pennsylvania avenue between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets, which, because of the enterprise of the highways department, at yesterday morning’s rush hour traffic resembled the scene at the services for the Un- known Soldier at Arlington. Traflic was stalled for blocks and automo- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. 0., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 32, 1927T. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. treet car tracks—in an endeavor to get through. ‘While Washingtonlans are well satisfled that repairs to the streets are, in a majority of cases, being made in a systematic manner, the Pennsylvania avenue incident is not the only one which has seriously im- peded traffic movement. Thirteenth street, Seventeenth street and oth much used highways have only re- cently recovered from an epidemic of wooden horses and street-patching crews. Some of this work must necessarily be done at times that fit in with the highway department's gengral program of improvement, but the motoring fraternity is emphati- cally of the opinion that some of the obstructions te traffic could be avolded, especially the tying up of morning and evening rush-hour travel. It the problem resolves itself into a question of repairing the atreeta and blocking traffic or letting the streets disintegrate and allowing free passage, there will be universal support for the former. If, however, the “highway department, with a realization of heavy traffic in the morning and evening, can arrange its schedule of trivial repairs so that the minimum {nterference will be glven te heavy traffle, Washing- tonjans will be especlally gratified. "It is simply a question of adminis- tration In street maintenance to get the best results with the smallest amount of congestion. e A prince has a wonderful advan- tage. There are thousands of jockeys who can stay on a horse under the most trying circumstances. Only a prince can win fame and genial inter- est by falling off. - o Edison s experimenting with a vine which may preduce American rubber. The experiment involves a possibility of farm rellef, together with a lessening of tire trouble. —_————————— Complications in contracts and ac- countings cannot avert recognition of the fact that the present system of traffie signals has facllitated travel and saved many lives. —— Traffic signals are working to the satisfaction of the public, even if fears are entertained that in the course of installment the econemy “stop” slgns were sometimes passed. ——— ot The sutemoblle is, in a certain senge, & promoter of democracy. Even Henry Ford may be held up on the road by a flat tire, —r—y———— ‘Women in politics get on fameusly unti] thelr loyalty to friend hushand converts the French adage inte “Chercheg 'homme.” The Chinese may welcome Gen, Smedley Butler without reserve, They have hard problems, but none of them relate to prohibition. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Goodby, Congress! Good-by, Congress! When all is said and done, You've had a lot of trouble and a very little fun, You've done a lot o talkin' which has often raised a doubt Regardin’ what- the mischief yeu might be a-talkin’ 'beut. Good-by, Congress! You have worked the best you could, And scattered information all around the neighborhood, We're glad because you happened and we're sad when you go out, Although we often didn't know what you were talkin’ ‘bout. Good-by, Congress! You pusgle us s heap. Some things you say are shallow, or perhaps they are too deep. ‘We would be wondrous wise and all these problems flout, If we were only sure what you are talkin' bout. Establishing a Rival. “You used to quote Shakespeare in Sorghum. *Bome of my constituents made the situation embarragsing, They got together and discussed the possibility of leaving me out and nominating Mr. Shakespeare.” Setting an Example. The widest pants that he can find Dear brother wears, to ease his mind. While sister dear, who strives to please, Exposes ankles, calves and knees, No Sugh Thing. “I'd like to see & moonshine still,” said the tourist. “No guch thing around here,” an- swered Uncle Bill Bottletop. “They're all workin' night and day.” Jud Tunkins says it might be a fair understanding to let evolution teach us where we came from and let religion teach us where we are go- ing to. “Superstition is deplored,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “Yet it is better to throw paper prayer halls at a joss than cannon balls at a naeigh- bor.” Seeking Accommodations, “I understand you are going to have & fine new jall” “We're taking a chance,” answered Cactus Joe. “That jall is so much better than the hotel that & whole lot o' people are going to try to get ar- rested.” Same Old Story. Investigations still we hold Of folks in high position. The men who serve us still we scold As objects of suspicion! Real Authority, “Why did you permit your wife to have her hair bobbed?" “I can’t bother about little things like that,” answered Mr. Meekton, “Henrletta’'s worrying me nearly to death to have my hair cut.” “Everybody has his troubles, Uncle Eben. “Nobedy thinks anybody o - [ Prolegomenous writings, such as used by Henry Fielding in his “Tom Jones,” have happlly gone out of style. Yet the most modern reader would miss them from this particular ductory,” the mi “prolegomenary.” It is a good word, but scarcely in more use today than the habit of writing introductory es- says for each book of a long novel. “Prolegomenon” is the singular, “prolegomena” the plural, the former meaning a preface, the latter ‘“pro- logues,” etc. Spring this word on some friend who insists on displaying his knowledge out of season! The reason we give it here is be- cause it is used by Fielding in the introductory chapter to the eighth book of 'he History of Tom Jones.” In this particular chapter of the 18 preliminary essays which distin- gulsh this long piece of fiction from all others, our author delves at length into the subject of the “marvellous,” as he calls it. l‘]"l'he probable” might be a better title. Probability, in a story or a motion picture, is gomething upon which many a plot has been wrecked. Who is there who has not gone to a “movie," enjoyed the film almost all the way through, only to be disgusted with a most improbable ending? “Why, she ply wouldn't have acted that way!" you say: the whole picture becomes a total loss to you, despite the previous pleasure. * ¥ k X The characters in a story must act as such characte: would act, else reality is destroyed, Fielding was one of the very first men in the history of English litera- ture to see this, The setting down of his bellef in thfs chapter under con- sideration, therefore, marks an im- portant point in the history of the English novel, Fielding himself wrote a great bur- lesque on a prior novel, by Richard- son, in which he made the heroine pursue the virtuous hero, the latter a “take-off"” on his brother novelist's much-too-good-to-be-true lady. Ancient writers violated common sense, Fielding belleved, when they made the gods and goddesses engage in the most trivial pursuits on In other words, given the chara of a god, he would not act as he is made to act. He simply couldn't. Homer's handling of the dlvine characters, according to Fielding, could only have been prompted by an idea to burlesque *“the superstitl faith of his own age and countr A rather startling idea, that, and one which probably Fielding did not really believe himself, but the thought came to him, it sounded well and he put it down. “But I have rested too long on a doctrine which can be of no use to a Christlan writer,” he continues, sens. ing all this. ents, they introduced into novels, he continues, with the excep- tion of ’hfll‘-fl. which may be used moderately, Elves and fairles “and other such mummery'" are to be dispensed with completely, It i§ interesting to note that even today Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who says he believes in fairles, and has produced photo- graphs of them, does not introduce them In any of his fine detective stories, Ghosts, on the other hand, he has used sparingly. Man, then, is the chief subject which presents itself to the pen of the historian, as Flelding Insists on calling himi all others who ry to human nature In relating man's actions, he says, great care is to be taken that we do not exceed the capacity of the agent we describe. “Nor is possibility alone sufficient to justify us; we must keep lixewise within the rules of probability." It must not be forgotten that writers for the past 150 years have been act- ing on this advice, so that it may have no appearance of newness to the modern reade: It waa some- thing of a new doctrine, however, when Fielding enuncilated it. The general historian, who deals with well known characters, such as kings, has common knowledge to sup- port him. “Those historlans who re- late public transactions have the ad- vantage of us who confine ourselves to scenes of private life. The credit of the former ia by common notoriety supported for a long time; and public records, with the concurrent, testi- mony of many authors, hear evidence to their truth in future ages. Thus a Trajan and an Antonnius, a Nero and a Caligula, have all met with the be- llef of posterity; and no one doubts but that men so very good, and so very bad, were once the masters of man- kind.’ * Kk k¥ ‘Those who paint private character, he says, must stick closer to probabil- ity, on account of the tendency of hu- man nature, which makes 'readers more likely to belleve in a picture of an evil man than in that of a perfeet one. Fielding says that he might relate the history of a widely known mur derer without creating any doubt in his readers, but let him, on the other hand, tell his readers of a perfect man, much doubt would arise. No one would believe him, he con- tinues, should he tell them of a man of his acquaintance who was self-made in every respect, who got together a huge fortune with preservation of self- respect, who injured no one, who bettered publie revenues at the same time he helped his own, who was sim- le, vet astute who sought occasions 'or benevolence and,equally to con- ceal his good deeds, who had a won- derful home and home life, who filled every office with distinction, who was a most tender husband, a kind rela- tion, a munificent patren, a warm and firm friend, indulgent to hig servants, hespitable to his neighbors, charitable to the poor, and benevolent to all man- kind. “Who would believe? No one!” And yet, continues Fielding, he actually knows euch a man. “But a single Instance is not sufi- clent to justify us, while we are writ- ing to thousan whe have never heard of the person, nor of anything like him.” He affirma that “actions should be such as may not only be within the compass of human ageney, and which human agents may probably be uur posed to do; but they should be likely and characters .+ ane deplct I will venture to say,” he adds, hat for a man to act in direet con- tradiction to the dictates of his nature, ‘8, if not impossible, as improbable and as miraculous as anything which ean well be conceived Yet he warns us as follows: “Though every good author will con- fine himself within the bounds of probability, it is by no means neces- sary that his characters, or his incl- dents, should be trite, common or WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE, Measured by the yardstick of its popular appeal, radlo regulation stands out as the premler achieve- ment of the Sixty-ninth Congress. Two names shine forth in connec- tion with the new law of the land— Senator Clarence C. Dill, Democrat, of Washington, and Representative Wallace H. White, jr, Republican, of Maine. It's the ambitlon of every member of Congress to immortalize himself by figuring in the title of some enacted legislation, especially of censtructive eharacter, Many a Representative and Senator serve successive terma before acquiring sueh distinction, and seme never attain it at all, Dill and White both are among the youpger mem- bers of Congress, and, if they never again give their names to laws, radio is likely to be glory enpugh. The l;l\l-whlte bill did not arouse the spectagular interest gemerated by more econtreversial measures like farm relief. But it’s dollars to dough- nuts that there were millions inter- ested in the fate of the radio legis- tion, where there were thousands sitting up nights to see what would happen to the McNary-Haugen proposition. * kK X Ave Maria, a magazine published at the University of Notre Dame, is authority for a new Lincoln story. Because Lincoln went to Ford’s Thegter, Washington, on Good Fri- day and was there and then assassi- nated, it has sometimes been con- tended that he could not have been inspired by any genuine Christian sentiment. The editor of Ave Maria has come into possession of a letter written by one who was with the martyred President when Lincoln was shat. The letter states that the Great Emancipator was not unmind- ful of t‘l;a m:cn:gneus of Lhevc:g n;:d t his attendance was - munt. Lincoln, probably in forgetfulness, had arranged for a theater party that evening and in- sisted that he should be a member of it. “For peace sake, I suppose Il have to go,” Lincoln said. L No more popular former member of the Senate cflr exerciges the priy- fleges of the floor than Thomas Gore, who represented Oklahoma in the up) house from 1907 until 1921. Thou blind_since childhood, his interest in public affairs blooms eter- nal. During recent hectic times on Capitol Hill, Gore has been a fre- quent visitor to his old haunts on the Democratic side of the Senate. For years his hair has been snow white, but the other day Gore turned up with hig wavy locks an unmistak- able corn color. The transformation is so complete that some of his old- est friends at first falled to recognize him. Gore lost his left eye at the age of 8 by being accidentally struck with a stick by a playmate, and at 11 lost his rightseye by being hit with an arrow from a cross bow. The one-time Oklahoman, who is silver- is_now in successful law at Washington. * ok ok ok President Coolidge hasn’t any hard feelings toward the chief sponsor of the lately GM‘M !nbrmmbfll. :o;e he a brother of Sen- ey McNary—John H. McNary- ed States judge for the district of Oregon. The last Ore- gonian named to the Federal bench ~—~Wallace McCamant of Portland— fafled of confirmation in the Senate, but he wasn't lucky enough to have a popular brother sitting in that very discriminating body. The MeNary wel swim- ator CI Salem. The new ju of the two and when he was d attorney of the third judicial distriet of Oregon, the “kid brother,” who 18 now the senior Senator from the ‘Webfoot Btate, was his assistant. * k¥ ¥ To this observer comes a McNary- Haugen story that didn't get into the Congressional Record. Ome of the spearheads of the corn-belt drive for farm legislation was Chester C. Davis of Chicago, who was on the firing line at Washington until the biwter end. During the period of sus- pense between the passage of the bill and the veto by the President, young Norman Davis, aged 7, was saying his prayers one night at his home in Hyanston, whence Vice Presi- dent Dawes originates. “God bleass mamma, God bless paj God bless brother and sister and God, please don’t let the President veto daddy's bt * ok ok K Moy Brr"m. have forgotten that Great tain 82 years ago this Spring sent a warship to Corinto, Nicaragua —in whose waters a British cruiser is now anchored—landed troops there, and actually hoisted the Union Jack over Ni an soll for a period of nine days. A British vice consyl and several British m:imn had been ar: rested and expelled from Nicaragua. The London government demanded £16,000 in damages, which Nicaragua refused to pay. John Bull then fol- lowed up an ultimatum by nndluf [ cruiser to Corinto. On April 27, 1895, the cruiser landed marines and ran up the British flag aghere. On May 5, ’t’r:;:u h the good :l%g-s.o!mflu o ng government lvador, whfnh had a joint interest in the ““Mosquito Coast” of N h rangements for payment of the Brit- ish claim were made and the war- ship and its men withdrew. L In supporting the profect to erect a memorial in honor of Henry Cabot Lodge, his successor In the Senate, Dayid I. Walsh of Massachusetts, re- cently named Henry Wilson as among the distinguished sons of the Bay State who had served the Nation. How many living Americans could identify Wilson? Just who he was is told in a plece of particularly terse P.| Bnglish .on a bronee_tablet bensath ‘Wilson’s bust in the Vies President's room at the Capitol. The words were | written by Senator George Hoar of Massachusetts: In this room Henry Wilson, Vice President of the United States and a Senator for 18 years, died No- vember 22, 1875, The son of a farm laborer, never at school more than 12 months, in youth a jour- neyman shoemaker, who raised himself to a high place of fame, honor and power, and by unwearied study made himself an authority in the history of his country and of liberty, and an eloquent public eaker to whom Senate and peo- ple eagerly listened, he dealt with and controlled vast publie nd- iture during the great Civil War, yet lived and died poor, and left to his grateful countrymen the mem- ory of an honorable public service and a good name far better than riches. Troops of schoolboys are often led to the Wilson bust, to read the above {nscription and imbibe the lesson of opportunity which it breathes, (Copyrisht, 1027.) —————— Her Choice, From the Harrisburg Telegraph. ‘The modern girl when called upon to choose between an average man = an u:l_ln&h-“mu .* : ar- | final word goiny Politics at Large By G. Gould Lincoln. The Senate promises to end the pres- ent session of Congress in a fine po- litical row. The proposed continued activities of the Reed slush fund com- mittee are at the bottom of the trou- ble. Republicans have become restive over the actlvities of this committee and Ita energetic chairman, Senator “Jim" Reed of Missouri. Furthermore, Senator Reed of Pennsylvania, a cou- sin of the Missourl Senator, has the definite job ahead of him of having Senator-elect William S. Vare of Penn- sylvania seated in the Senate when he appears with his credentials next ses- sfon. To the Reed slush fund com- mittee has been handed the task of considering the contest filed against Mr. Vare by Willlam B, Wilson, Demo- cratle candidate for the Senate, who has charged corruption in the general election, This does not please Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Mr. Reed of Missouri has already given Mr. Vare an overdose of distasteful publicity through the investigation of the Penn- sylvania primary. Mr. Reed of Penn- sylvania {s insisting that the consider- ing of the Wilson contest go to the privileges and elections committee. * % % ¥ ‘When the conference report on the last of the annual supply bills, the District of Columbia bill, was agreed to in the Senate and it be- came apparent that no threat of foreing a special session of Congress could be held over the heads of Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania and others who are opposed to such & session, there ~as ¢ group which sald, “To hell with v’ ¢ Reed and his resolution!” It ww7'd not have fallen in with the §8as of Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania -3 have a special session of the next Congress, forcing the immediate con- sideration of the Vare case. The lapse of another eight months might be helpful to Mr. Vare's case. Further- more, it would force the consideration of the case of Col. Frank L. Smith, denator-elect from Illinois, who already has had an unfortunate experience with the Senate. Senator “Jim"” Reed's presidential boom has expanded considerably in recent weeks. What, his opponents in both parties say, could be more help- ful to this boom than to give him a roving commission as head of the slush fund committee for another year? There have been intimations that the senatorifal elections in Maine and Colorado might come under the eye of the committee during the re- cess of Congress in a way which would not be agreeable. * Ok ok k Republican Senators, among them Moses of New Hampshire and Reed of Pennsylvania, say that what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. If the Reed committee is to look into more Republican cam- palgns, then it also should be called upon to inquire into some of the Democratic campaigns. An amend- ment propesed to the Reed resolu- tion continuing the slush fund com- mittee by Reed of Pennsylvania di- rects the committee to inquire whether in any primary or general election the right to vote has been ridged because of race.or color—a clear dig at the Democrats in some of the Southern States. Another amend- ment directs the committee to i vestigate any primary or general elec: tion when tioned to do so by five Senators. If these amendments come to a vote in the Senate, there will be some scratching of heads before the roll call s completed. * ¥ ¥ ¥ How has President Coolidge fared with the Sixty-ninth Congress, now closing? There is a disposition In :gme :Junmr- mdwtt:t g‘ul cloun of o PO s made e Congress by BIQ President which have not been ed out, and the insistence of Congress on some proposals which the President antagonized. But President Coolidge’s success or non- suecess with Congress 1a not a very good political yardstick by which to meagure the pepularity of Mr. Cool- idge. Ever since Mr. Coolidge be- came the party's candidate for the presidency in 1924, whiech happened unoffielally not long after he entered the White House in August, 1923, he has been stronger politically than the Congress or the party. L The opposition of the Congress to the President has strengthened him, rather than weakened him in the past. The President vetoed the sol- diers' bonus bill in 1924 and dire glndlotlom were made of what would jppen to him. But the predictions did not come true, He vetoed the MeNary-Haugen farm bill the oth day and dire predictions of his political fate have been made in many quarters. It is true that the Con- gress passed the bonus bill over his veta and thereby took some of the sting of his action away. The Mc- Nary bill cannot pass over his veto and it begins to look as though the session would end without any vote in the Senate to pass it over his veto, There are reasons why both the proponents aand the supporters of the President in this matter might be glad to allow it to slide along without action at the present ses- sion. If the veto message is brought before the Senate for action, it doubtless would lead to many bit- ter speeches on the part of some Republicans who supported the mea ure and some Democrats, attacking not only the President, but also the Republican party. On the other hand, if the Senate votes on the vetoed bill the action of the Senate :mt sustain the stand of the Presi- ent. There is no possibility of a two- thirds vote to override the veto. The out to the country, therefore, would be that the Presi- dent's oppesition to the farm bill has been sustained by the Senate. That would not sound so well to those who wish to carry the MeNary-Haugen bill into the 1928 campaign as an issue. * ok ok ¥ Rumors of the coming retirement of Becretary Kellogg as head of the State Department continue, tho without any confirmation. One of the latest is that Mr. Kellogg, whose health has not recently been good, will nf out of the cabinet, alleging a desire to rest and recuperate, and that Dwight Morrow of New York, a close friend and adviser of the President, would be appointed to fill Mr. Kel- logg’s place. But so far there has been no confirmation of this latest rumor, either. Mr. Morrow is a mem- ber of, the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co. and an alumnus of Amherst, like President Coolidge, It must be said that President Cooli has given no whatever of seeking to divest Mr, Kell of his present office, handling affairs of the country, Furthermore, the President has given every Indication of going ahead with the policy which this Gov- ernment has outlined in connection with Mexico, NI and China, which are the three trouble day so far as America cerned. The President's determina. tion to protect American lives and American rights and to use, if neces- sary, the armed forces of the Nation to see they are protected is not likely to be abandoned. L ] Senator Hiram Johnson of California D et s fham 28 o a greater ex an o ntial ne L ‘:r naught. He delivered a speech in the Senate demanding a strong Navy Imli)l fl"h: bufldlnxuo! nm: sary cruisers which apparently struc! 0] ehord, N California, e g ek i e con- | g ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Q. What part of the land area of the world flye! the British Empire | h cover?—B, C. A, According to the most recent estimates, the Britlsh Empire covers approximately one-quarter of the world's habitable land area. This ex- cludes the Arctic region. The Brit- ish Empire comprises 13,406,103 square miles. Q. In playing five hundred, if a player gets the bid at no trump, and his partner has the joker, must he ]‘;IA}Altnwhsn he cannot follow sult?— To may discard if he chooses. Q. Are all insects killed with the same expedition by the use of carbon disulphide?—D. M. P. A. A great variation has been found in the resistance of diffarent specles of insects to carbon disulphide fumigation. In a saturated atmos- phere of disulphtde at about 90° F. a bumblebee will dle in a few sec onds, while the saw-toothed grain beetle will live two hours. Q. Please state where the smithy was that is mentioned In Longfel- low’s poem.—C. D. N. A. Ernest Longfellow in his book “Random Memories" says: “A #hort time ago I saw in an English rews- paper that the village smithy was in a certain English village that was named; as a matter of fact, as every- body knows, it was on Brattle street, Cambridge, Mass.” Q. Who said must hang to- gether or assuredly we shall all hang separately”?—G. J. R. A, Benjamin Franklin thus ex- pressed himself to John Hanocock at the signing of the Declaration of In- dependence, July 4, 1776. Q. What is the best kind of candy thermometer to use?—O. P. A. A thermometer protected with a metal case is to be preferred for making candy. Such thermometers usually come in copper cases and are of varying lengths. For home cahdy- making a small thermometer about 9 inches long, costing about $1.50, will be found very efficient. Q. What is the meaning of the fa mous painting “The Huguenot"?— 0. W, 8. A. Briefly, the explanation of the painting called “The Huguenot” is as follows: By order of the Duc de Guise, issued before St. Bartholo- mew’'s day, “all good Catholics’ were enjoined to wear a white scaef as a distinguishing badge. The yeung woman pleads with her lover as she strives to fasten the symbolio white scarf. The lover will dle in the morn- ing. As one writer suggests, the plec- ture is reminiscent of the famous line, could not love thee, dear, so much, loved I not honour more.” Q. Have all crystals, when unmo- {?n&d. a definte number of faces?— A. Every crystal has a definite molecular structure and its outward form is bounded by a number of faces resulting from the regular arrange- ment of the particles of the substance which is undergoing solidification. Al- though the faces often develop un- equally, the angles between them re- main constant. Q. Did Phi Beta Kappa always admit women?—L. M. A. This was obviously not intended by the founders, but fidélity to the test of scholarship required it. Women were first admitted by the Alpha of Vermont in 1875, Q. Is it true that New York is to| ave a new Metropolitan Opera House?—B. C. T. A. A new opera house will be Bullt in New York on West Fif street. It will be opened to t! during the 1928-20 season. Q. What are “salukis"?—C. B. B. A. Salukis are dogs. hunting dogs of th 13 are unique in the canine world in that they hunt by sight and never bark. Q. Of whom was it sald, “He rese like a star in the heavens; worsh| ht women''?—H. E. A. K. Nebel, the German (-;m hlms of Johann Woltgang oethe. publia Q. Where i3 Cortes burfed?— W. J. B. A. His remains have been definitely located in the Temple of Jesus, Mexico City, contained in a marble vault, with the funeral garments. piaiend [ Q. Please describe the “tub” of Diogene: . 8. A, A. This tub, or “pithos,” was & huge carthen jar that had been used for holding wine or ofl for sacrifices in the Temple of Cybele and had been discarded. It was large enough for Diogenes to lie in at full length. Q. How many acres are there in Pershing. Fleld?—M. F. » A. Pershing Fleld is 350 meters long, 260 meters broad. Its area is approximately 21 acres. Q. Who organized the first General Presbytery in America?—W. H. P\ A. The first General Pres| of America was organized in 1706 at Philadelphia by Francis Makemle, an Irish minister. He was chosen the first moderator. Q. How long has the dodo been ex- tinot?>—J. W. V. A. The dodo was seen on the Island of Mauritius two or three centuries ago, There 18 no probablility that any are alive In the world today. Please give some information o “the floating university."—R. A. The floating university called the ship Ryndam left Hoboken, September 18, 1926, with 500 students, 120 women and 380 men for an eight- month cruise around the world, during which the vessel will call at 47 ports and will traverse 50,000 miles. There are 60 facuity members and 46 other staff members aboard, including hospital “"m‘t wel- fare workers and printers, who will ublish a daily paper, edited b enry J. Allen, former Governor Kansas, who is in charge of t%. course In journalism. The ship return to New York May 4, 1927, The cruise is under the management of the University Travel Association, Q. What city in China is somes times called “the Pittsburgh of China"?--F. C. A. Hanyang, because of its large steel mills. What do you need to knowf Is there some point ahout your Muh.’ or personal life that puzales you? Is there something you want ta know without delay? BSubmit your gquestion to Frederic J. Haskin, director of Washington Information Bureaw, % is employed to help you. Addresd your inquiry to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederie J. He s director, Washington, D. 0., - close 2 cents in stamps for rveturn postage. 4 Divergent Views Expressed on Cause of Student Suicides Several suicides by college students, coming within a brief recent peried, offer a subject for speculation on which the public finds no ‘general points of agreement. Some deny that the cases of self-destruction were asso- clated with college life, except by acci- dent. Others blame materialism in the modern schools for destroying the imaginative or spiritual side of life. “Among those who have killed themselves,” it is noted by the Albany BEvening News, “were several students of philosophy. Evidently, they did not know the real philosophy of life. Life, even when one s depressed, ought to be considered a splendid adventure— something to pursue. Suicide is cow- ardly. It is weakness. It is confes- glon of cowardice. Look upon life for what it is—an adventure that depends upon yourself. Look upon sulcide as the method of a ‘quittes . “Why in this ‘happy land’ which does literally flow with milk and honey should any young person destroy him- self?” asks the Dayton Daily News. “If buoyant youth cannot endure the world their elders have made for them, the job the elders have done falls under suspiclon. Have we bullt a clvilization and surrounded it with a philosophy which offers to oncoming youth no reward for facing the whips and scorna of time?” “As the callow youth i3 tempted to a morbid mental state which in the extreme may lead him to shuffie off his mortal coll to see tke wheels of the other world go around,” advises the Bellingham Herald, “he should sprint for the nearest chophouse and t on the outside of a square meal. g 18 likely to discover that the world is so full of a number of things he can afford to be at least as happy as a crown prin¢e.” * K K K The Syracuse Herald believes that ‘youth of today takes itself too seri- ously; that is all,” and adds: ‘“‘Some- where our civilization is fearfully at fault when young men who have not yet learned what life is like, what its P bilities_are, how much fun there is in just living, can decide without knowing that time {s wasted in going farther, We can but stand aghast at a colossal egotism that calmly divests itself of this finite mortal .xlmal;oo to face the unknow- ble and infinite.” 4 "Pfl;‘hlpl. suggests the Birming- ham News, “many a man and woman and perhaps many a youth whose de- feats and disillusionments are the more polgnant because of the fresh- ness of thelr souls on this earth have been saved from the darkness through remembering the old, sweet phrase, ‘Always it 1a darkest just before the dawn.'” And turning to those who have failed, the News continues: ‘“As to those who break through the dark- ness because of some despair, some broken dream or some wonder if the other side of the curtain holds more and love and comfort them If we had but known their despalr. “One theory,” according to the In- dianapolls News, that the sulcides are an extreme manifestation of the trend of the age toward ma / It is well known that the imaginaf of a child is active and omnisclent. A child can explain everything as magio Moo 'oe rences 1n the-slemsroncns by ure reams in the e reducing all life to formula is, of course, extremely dangerous.” Blame from another angle i3 placed on mate- rialism by the Oklahoma City Oklar homan, whieh recalls: long a# the sacredness of human life was taught and learned, the American it clung to life as long as he could. Duty to self and and humanity inspired him to continued effort. The horror of self-murder helped him along the straight and narrow way. Then came the lnll‘t call of the utilitarian. Education eame partly intellectual, partly 'vm tional. Character building wes mized."” * ok k& But the Nashville Banner declares that “it 19 more than absurd to ine dulge in morbid speculation about American studenta of the day because a few of them have proved pitiful unable to meet the conditions wi which they lemselves con- fronted. It is exceedingly deplorgbl but it does not indicate any g and unhealthy trend in the sti it life of the present.” The Winston- Salem Journal also insists that “out of the hundreds of thousands of stu- dents in American colleges the gelf- destruction of less than a scory can- not be called a characteristic tom,” and the Columbus Evening patch states that “when the cases, as reported, are examined finds, as might be expected, just about the same range of apparent motives as are found in suicides in general, regardless of the class or occupation of the persons concerned.” “They are too cowardly to lve or too lazy and indeterminate of soul look life in the eye and go om,"” serves the Worcester Gazette, the Houston Chronicle remarks “perhaps these sulcides are an indica- tion of a decline in social bility and of a lower regard for life in general.” The Omaha h 'um Herald finds as “the most striking !hlnw! each case a great ticat] and an immense thea ism, * ¢ All seem to have been more intent on making good for the newspapers than in trying intelll- gently to square the smattering of nonsense which they had aoguired with the hard realities of practical life.” The Wheeling Intelligencer in- terprets the sulcides as “merely an- other back-wash of the World War morality, when wholesale kil was condoned under press of spiritual values were forgotten.' o New London Day concludes that “it is iikely that moral and emotional in- stability, the result of surface light than this, how can we measure tlfe ‘weakness or the strensth of their souls? What wa who do not shoot the gulf kgpw—we who pity those 0 leap ahead—is that we would have done so much to console them e o otm. tl:l‘llowgmwolmlng fina) , W] Sfarnian ..'ill not lessen mex; fo! Johnson so muc] H w!rll rouse - their resentment against ts of the measure, 8enator Jo election mmvn‘?unwwuvmw formal n ‘of his candidacy gm&&m . He has made no a rface recognition of n- ;:m .n!.;“ll of life, is responaible, — e A Fair Tost. Another very good intelligence test s a twenty-doilar bill in your pocket. The Vernal Equinox. From the Altoona Mirror. It won't be long now until we get out the garden tools and startyrals. ing blisters. 8 —— Rah! Rah! Yesnivah!