Evening Star Newspaper, March 8, 1927, Page 8

G_BT! 'WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1927. m:mw I NEW , THE With Sunday Morning Editior. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUBRSDAY .March 8, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ‘Business Office: 11 Ivanta Ave. nop el R el ce: Towes . Buropean Office: 1a Regent st.. London Englan with_the Sunday morn- delivered by carriers within 60 cente per month: daily only, cents per month: Sundays only. 20 cents 5 month, Orders may be tent lepbane Hain 5000, " Collection er at end of each month. Evening St: ition. is Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. and Sunday...1 yr. $8.00: 1 mo.. 75¢ F& e R 1 1 oniy. $ mo.. 50c . $3.00: 1 mo. All Other States and Canada. A 1.00 S *hee commjission cannot function without funds, and that lacking Government control radio broadcasting must again lapse into the chaos which has pre- vailed since last July. In the meantime, lacking the neces- sary funds to operate, the commission will probably avail itself of the invita- tion extended by Secretary Hoover to use office space in the Department of Commerce Building and make use of the clerical help of that department. The appropriation for the operation of the Radio Commission, with provi- sion for the $10,000 annual salary of the five members, was lost when the ” | second deficiency bl failed of passage by Congress last week. The New York member of Congress declares he has consulted with legal authorities and finds that as power over ether control, which lapsed when the Attorney General upheld the deci- sion of a Chicago judge last July, passed definitely from the Commerce 25¢ s:”xv and Sunday..1yr..$12.00: 1 mo only. 1 00: 1 mo. junday only. $1.0 Member of the Associated Press. 'l'ge Associated Press ie exclusively entitled 10 the ‘Use for republication of all news dis- Piei i hie. i v this paper and o bllehed herein . Al riehts of publication #Decial dispatches herein are also reserved. Ay 35c Stinkpot or Boulevard. Choose between a stinkpot or the most beautiful boulevard in the world that will bring hundreds of thousands of tourists annually on pilgrimages through that section of historic Vir- ginia which is richer in landmarks of the foundation days of the Republic than any similar area. This was, in effect, what Charles Moore, chairman of the Commission of: Fine Arts, told A mass meeting last night of residents of Arlington County, in discussing the proposed location of a slaughterhouse on Columbia pike. just a short dis- tance from the Highway Bridge. The people of Arlington County are now on trial before the people of the United States, said Mr. Moore. Con- gress contemplates the construction of a memorial boulevard to Mount Vernen, as an outstanding feature of the bicentennial of Washington’s birth, from the city that Washington found- ed and for which he planned so pro- phetically. This boulevard has been in mind for twoscore years and is now ‘ on the eve of materializing. But Con- gress will not build such a boulevard past slaughterhouses. This contention of Mr. Moore, than whom no man Jiving has done more altruistic work for the beautification of the anion's.(‘aplml and its en- vironment, and than whom no man lving is a better authority on the pub- lic and private life of George Wash- ington and his neighbors in that his- -toric stretch of “the Old Dominion, 1s supported by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Virginia Park and Planning Commis- sion, business and clvic organizations in the (kpll‘l and in neighboring Vir- ginia and by the chairmen of both House and Senate District committees in Congress. The utilization of a permit to operate the proposed slaughterhouse which seems to have been hastily slipped by the Board of Supervisors of Arlington County by a questionable short-cut method, without the people having had an opportunity to protect thelr abut- ting property and community rights in a public hearing, would be a seri- ous mistake. The company which se- cured the permit for the slaughter- house protests through its attorney that it does not intend to run counter to the wishes of the people in that eommunity, and says that it will pre- sent'another request for the permit on March 14, following which a public hearing will be advertised at which the people may protect their rights. ‘The legislative committee of the Ar- lington County Civic Federation is ac- tive and has the support of all the or- sanizations in the territory affected. The people want a dignified improve- ment of their close approach to the beautiful Capital City, in harmony with and co-operating with the plans for spending untold millions of dol- lJars for further embellishment of the Capital and its vicinage. In these greater plans for Wash- ington City the near neighborhood in Arliggton County will have an im- portant share. This has been indi- cated by officials who are carrying out the Capital development program, and by specific legislation. Esthetically it is for the advantage of Arlington County people to make their connect- ing highways beautifully bordered with attractive homes and parkway improvements, and as a cold business proposition it will be greatly to their advantage. The neighborhood of a slaughterhouse cannot hut be de- cadent. The value of the entire sur- rounding area decreases rapidly as 80on as the slaughter plant is opened. There is a good prospect that the Board of Supervisors of the county will rescind their action on the slaughter- house permit. Public sentiment will support them if they do; public senti ment will condemn them and hold them responsible before the courts if they fail to do so, and thus damage mbutting property. ‘The Board of Supervisors and the people of Arlington County are most assuredly on trial before the people of the country. — v Congress had its ideals. Most of them were reduced to the intensified “ohjective.” e r—e——— Radio Control. Fven though Representative Bloom has advised Sec Hoover that the new Radio Commission cannot organize and function without funds, bis stand appears to have only spur- red the on to speedy action. With three of the five men appointed by the President confirmed by the Senate and two more given yecess appointments, the four mem- bers who are in the United States are preparing to meet in Washington on ary commission Department with enactment of the act transferring control to the new commission, and as that body eannot function without funds, there is now no Federal control of the air or of broadcasting. The commission, how- ever, feels otherwise. Apparently its members are willing to proceed to their work without funds anticipating the day when a deficiency appropria- tion will bring them their salaries and pay for commission operation. Mr. Bloom holds that unless the President summons the Seventieth Congress to assemble in extra session before April 24, there will be no broadcasting control and the situation will be worse than before, since issu- ance of licenses automatically stopped on the day of the signing of the con- trol law. The case has little prece- dent, even though the members of the commission appear to feel that they must go to work, although lacking funds. Some years ago Congress vir- tually legislated the United States Commerce Court out of existence by failure to appropriate for its continu- ance, later passing a law repealing the court. But this case had neither the pressing need of action the present radio situation bears nor did the court care to function without funds. In the absence of a decision by the legal branch of the Government that the Radio Commission canhnot function without money, radio control, it ap- pears, will become a fact within a few days. The Third Reversal. For the third successive time the Court of Appeals has reversed a ruling of one of the four judges of the Traffic Court. whose decisions in severalgtraffic cases have had the effect paralyzing enforcement of various important regulations. The higher court in its latest reversal overruled a decision which dismissed charges of driving at a greater rate of speed than fifteen miles an hour over Klingle Bridge and held that the traffic director did not have authority to set any speed limit below twenty- two miles an hour. ‘The Court of Appeals has the fol- lowing to say in this connection: It cannot be maintained -that the regulation is not reasonable. Fast driving on these bridges not only would endanger human life, but tend to damage the bridges themselves. This seems so obvious as to require no further demonstration. In another paragraph of the ruling the court says: Any other conclusion would do violence to the obvious intent of the traffic act. The act should be con- sidered as a whole and if possible glven an interpretation that will har- monize and accord full force and effect to all of its provisions. These three reversals of one of the four judges in the lower court illus- trate strikingly the pecessity for a change in the working methods of the Traffic Court. In this particular case, and as a matter of fact in all of the appealed decisions of this judge, convictions were obtained reg- ularly before the other three judges on identical charges up to the time that the ohe judge arbitrarily threw them out. Thus was presented the picture of traffic justice being dealt out with uniformity by three judges of the court while the fourth, when a case of similar nature came before him, refused to entertain charges. It is obvious that it should not be possible for one judge to dictate to the entire court. If a regulation is illegal, a ruling based on the opinion of the four judges should be handed down. After three separate and dis- tinct reversals of the judge who, by his decisions, has impeded traffic en- forcement and uniform court pro- cedure, it appears that the time has been reached for co-operation be- tween the Commissioners, the traffic office and the court in order that ac- cidents may be cut down and human life protected in the traffic maelstrom of the National Capital. ———— The only person in the Senate cham- ber who appeared to be really having a good time when the proceedings closed was Vice President Dawes. D — A Bid for Harmony. The Democrats are engaged in a laudable attempt to put salt on the tail of that elusive bird, harmony. Meeting recently in conference, Sen- ators of the Democratic faith who will sit in the Seventieth Congress de- cided informally that the wet and dry issue should be tabooed as a national party issue. It is a State matter, they said. If they have their way wet and dry Democrats will Jie down together in the same fold; will cease to revile each other because of their attitude toward prohibition. It is a pleasant, a hopeful thought. Democrats are to be Democrats first, and prohibitionists and anti-prohibi- tionists second. For the sake of party unity the idea should be developed. No attempt was made to disguise the fact that there are Democrats in New York who believe prohibition is Wednesday to lay plans for early gction by the board, even though no money is available for the use of the commission. Rear Admiral W. H. G. Bullard, U. 8. N, retired, chairman of the commission, is in the Far East. The other members are either on their way to Washington or are preparing to attend the first meeting of the new Radle Control Board, even while Beo- yetary Hoover has under advisement a delusion and & snare, or that there are Democrats in Alabama who hold that the sun rises and sets with pro- hibition. But what the Democrats of the Senate are aiming at is an out. lawry of the prohibition war within the party. They fear that it will be EVENING STAR a letter written by Mr. Bloom that the'Democmtlc party as it exists today is half wet and half dry. Democrats of the North and East are wet. Demo- crats of the South and West are dry. The outstanding candidates for the Democratig nomination today are for the most part “wets"—Smith of New York, Reed of Missouri, Ritchie of Maryland. What the Democrats of the Senate fear is that the imminence of the nomination of a wet Democrat at the national convention in 1928 will cause an interparty strife as fatal as that which occurred in Madison Square Garden over the Ku Klux Klan issue. They fear, too, that the wet Democrats of the North and East will look askance at any dry candi- date that may be put forth, Donahey of Ohio or McAdoo of California, for example. The problem of the Democrats is to make the wets more kindly in their feelings toward the d and vice versa. Judging from recent perform- ances this is going to be a difficult job. Not unnaturally the Democrats would be pleased to win the next na- tional election. They have been out of office since the late President Wil- son gave way to the late President Harding in 1921. Their only-hope lies in uniting the party behind an out- standing leader. Certain Democratic leaders believe they can go farther with a wet candi- | date toward victory than they can with a dry. They sense an unrest in the country over prohibition. Just how deep-seated the opposition has become they are uncertain. But they feel that it would be worth while to nominate a liberal who might attract Republican liberals. They saw the victory, for example, of Senator David I. Walsh, a, wet Democrat, in Mas chusetts, against former Senator Wil- iam M. Butler, reputed a dry and a friend of President - Coolidge. They saw Senator Robert F. Wagner, a wringing wet, triumph over Senator James W. Wadsworth of New York, also a wet. What they wish to make sure of, however, is that dry Demo- crats will forget their dryness suf- ficiently to vote for a liberal candi- date. They realize it is a lottery. But they also fear that the nomination of a dry Democrat against a dry Repub- lican will get the party nowhere. It seems assured now the Republican nominee will be dry. Only through the process of wet Democrats becom- ing dryer or dry Democrats becom- ing wetter does it seem possible to solve the party’s problem. —— st “Senatorial courtesy” is still a good old phrase. Economists hint that the world is going through a period of re- adjustment. Such expressions as “My learned colleague” and “The honored gentleman who has just spoken” may yet be restored to usage. ————— There is still discussion as to whether John D. Rockefeller or Henry Ford leads in riches. There will be little objection among people of spert- ing inclinations if they decide to call it a draw and let the golf go on. T b It is now intimated that George ‘Washington chewed tobacco. Chewing tobacco is a coarse indulgence, yet no one could imagine a forceful man like ‘Washington smoking cigarettes. ———t—— There are numerous “dark horses" in training for the next presidential race. The average so-called ‘“dark horse” merely indulges a serse of im- aginary importance. ———— Several countries are up in arms, There is a_hopeful technical distinc- tion to be Wn between a war and a mere fight. ———— The Fourth of March passed without a blizzard. It was a fine preliminary rekearsal for next inauguration day. EE ——oe SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Best of Laws. The Ten Commandments used to be Considered quite enough For simple folk, like you and me, Along life’s road so rough. Affairs seem different today, And as around he looks The traveler views a vast array Of ponderous statute books. The regulations we must heed In matters great or small Seem more than we should really need; We cannot learn them all. Those Ten Commandments, clear and brief, ‘When cares have heavy grown, Should be enough to bring relfet ‘Were statutes quite unknown. Comparison, “What do you think of the closing hours of the Senate?” ““Well,” answered Senator Sorghum, “we statesmen possibly have more physical courage than in the old days, but the repartee is not what it used to be.” Authority. A great dictator lived who found His power never at a loss” Until the doctor came around, And then he met his real boss. arly youth is fearless,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and therefore your poet wrote of ‘when ignorance is bliss.’ " Jud Tunkins says a five-day week must be figured on as adding consid- erable to gas consumption and the wear and tear on tires. Impromptu Justice. “Have you a crime wave in Crimson Gulch “Not a ripple,” answered Cactus Joe. We're all decent, self-respectin’ citizens, any one of whom wouldn't hesitate to hand quick discipline to a man who robs a widow or cheat in a card game.” Too Much Crowing. ‘We've talked about the Dove of Peace Since good old Noah loosed her; ‘We hope her coo may yet increase And hush the fighting rooster. “I thought de flivver was gineter injected into the next Democratic na- tional convention with disastrous re- sults, The truth of the matter is that the e put de mule out o' business,” said Uncle Eben. “I 'scovered it were de other way ‘'round after de mule took one kick at it." THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Clocks, like a great many other ar- ticles, have had the accent placed on the wrong point. The very name shows it. When we speak the word “clock” we are simply using the Anglicized form of the French “cloche,” mean- ing bell. The German ‘glocke” and the Dutch “klok” mean the same. The striking mechanism, the sound- ing forth of the hour, has usurped the honor which more properly belongs to the mechanism itself. Strictly speak- ing, clocks which do not strike are not really “clocks” (or bells), but simply timepieces. The old family clock holds a place of eminence on hundreds of thousands of mantels throughout America. In farm homes and in small country towns the old-fashioned black clocks, with ornamental pillars at each end, hold first place. During recent years the mahogany clock of sweeping lines, generally called tambour-shaped, after the curve of the arch, or round, like a drum, has come into popularity: The costly grandfather clock, with its chimes,” and the clever cuckoo clock, dear to children, hold their an- clent’ place in the affections of the people. Then come countless forms of smaller home clocks and the omni- present alarm clock, which so many find necessary to their prompt ar- rival at work each morning. * ok ok ¥ “Tick, tock,” is the usual method of describing in words the sound made by the clock mechanism, but psychologists tell us that the clock really says “Tick, tick.” We are so used to tock,” however, that one finds it diffi- cult to belfeve this, especially in the actual presence of a ticker, large or small. Surely it says “Tick, tock!” One could swear that there is an actual difference in the sound. Yet a little investigation will convince one that Wrong. 'ty to place the “tock” on the 'k,” and you will see that the ick™” can begin as readily on what was before the “tock.” Is it not strange, in this regard, that, no matter when one suddenly begins to listen to the clock tick, he always begins with a “tick” and never with a “tock™ To convince yourself that clocks only say “tick,” and not “tock,” it is only necessary to transpose suddenly the words one uses, and put the “tick” on the “tock,” after which the :“:;)c't('v: will be what was before the ck. This may sound rather silly. but, nevertheless, it is accurate, and fur- nishes a most interesting lesson im how easily one may be influenced by tradition and how easy it is to be wrong, especially in small things. Begin to count, mentally, with the clock. Then, after a suitable number of “tick, tocks,” say, “Tick, tick, tock.” This will automatically place the “tick” on what was before a ‘‘tock,” or, at least, so you thought it sounded. You will be astonished to find that the clock now continues to say “Tick, tock,” just the same as ever. In other words, the, “tock” is merely a sound of one’s own creation. Mankind hates Fr;onztony, 80 he varies ‘tick” to ‘tock.” using “Tick, * * % % Despite the advent of most mar- velous mechanisms, such as the lino- type machine and scores of others which might be named, the clock still stands as one of the most interesting. It is so famillar in the modern home that its marvel is little re- garded, but any one who will take the trouble to open the back door of his mantel clock, and “watch the wheels go round,” will be amply re- warded. If the faculty of appreciation is still his, the householder can get a real “kick” out of what before was only something to be taken as a matter of course. Mystery is not dead—it is we who are apathetic. We are “fed up” on wonders, so that the marvels which we have are no longer intriguing. The “works” of a clock constitute one of the prettiest pleces of mech- anism _in the world, despite their sential life since the thirteenth cen tury. Galileo, that great man, had A finger—and a very large one, too— in their construction. It was he who figured out the facts of the pendulum. ‘A Dutchman by the namé of Huyghens, an astronomer, is by some given the credit for the modern clock. Perhaps it was more a growth than an invention. The oldest form of modern clock, In which weights are used to give the motive power to the hands and strike, is still used. notably in the “grandfather” clocl Spring power, however, is ge erally used today for most of the clocks in our homes. It {s interest- ing to recall that the Egyptians first divided the day into 24 hours of equal length. The ~Greeks used a “day’ and a “night” of 12 hours each. Our mode of computing time, with its 24 hours, each of 60 minutes, and each minute divided into 60 sec- onds, is, with one exception, the only we make today of the ancient gesimal notation. Remember this when next you look at your clock. * ok %k movement of the in a clock is found nervous persons. se: “escapement’ most confusing hy The swing of the pendulum, too, “drives them craz) Tt is well, therefore, that all this is hid from view. The striking mechanism is replete with interest. The various clicks be- fore it strikes, and the final raising of the small hammer, and its descent upon the chime bar, are fascinating. Perhaps the clock comes as near to perpetual motion as man shall ever get. This dream of the centuries seems even possible, after watching the works in a clock perform for some time. If only some way might be devised for winding it up by itself! Aside from this one—and most necessary —operation, the thing seems almost to run of its own free will. The imaginative spectator of this ceaseless “Tick, tock, hickory, dock,” comes almost to swear that the clock has a life of its own, and could very well go ahead ticking forever, if it pleased. Perhaps he is too imaginative. Yet it needs no_particular stretch of this faculty to derive much honest enjoy- ment from an ordinary clock. Even a kitchen clock will do. The ability for getting pleasure out of the homely things of eyeryday life is one which ought to be‘cultivated. Like the ability to sing, or play the piano, it is susceptible of growth. The' old home clock is just as good an article to begin practice on as any other. There is romance in clocks, and the wise will find it, and add an- other source of enjoyment to life. — . ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. BOUNTY OF EARTH. Donald Cul- ross Peattle and Louise Redfield Peattie. D. Appleton & . Books, standing about or sitting around waiting to be ‘“‘done,” look as uninterestingly alike as people, taken by and large, appear to be the living spit and image of one another. A crowd on the Avenue or an F street parade offers no livening points of dis- tinction, giveseno hint of separate per- sonality in the drab monotone of the ‘whol And that's just the way with a crowd of books. All alike to the eye —a pair of covers for each of them, pages of black print on white pape dabs of picture dubjously decorative illustrative in effect. ; Yet, once in a‘dog's age, don’'t yvou recall some bright spot in the throng of people where a human being stood clear—separate, personal, charming?” So, too, once in a blue moon. : does exactly the same thing, declaring itself beautifully different from the common run of its kind. Here is a case in point—“Bounty of Earth.” It sounds a bit alatitudinous —don’t you think?. a pious or plainly practical slant. Both of these implications are general- ly uninviting. The table of contents, too, is free from call of any sort. Its chapters are names of the months of the round year. And nobody rushes to read any calendar save, of course, the famous Hagerstown Almanac. ‘There is here, however, a single point of possible promise. The record begins with March instead of at the regular New Year run, and since we, too, are beginning that very month, the book may project the element of timeliness, news, the latest thing in happenings, that constitute life itself to the daily press. On this slim supposition, off we go with “Bounty of i Two short chapters. no more, serve in this case to shift the reader's men tal gear from lassitude to a quick and expectant interest. For here is true poised and keyed to ng flight, with herc its content and beauty as its promise. Everybody is familiar ,with the usual brand of adventure. variably, from across £ epic moment comes with the slaying of the dragon in one or another of its modern counterparts. Its hero is a signal figure, quite beyond emulation, whose enchantment rises from the long perspective of time or space through which-it is seen. Here everything is different. This adventure stands close to hand—no farther away, indeed, than out of the city into the country across the Poto- mac where, have you the temerity or the bad manners, you may check up the essential truth of this matter like a careful bank clerk. Here, clearly, is adventure of homespun weavi of garden variety, of any other off-shad- ing designation. Still, it opens as seri- ous emprise must with renunciation— nothing less in this case than that of abandoning an office desk in the gov- ernment firm for the delectable fields and hills of Virginia. The_exchange between certainty and a sheer dubiet Here is the secure discomfort of a city flat whose outlook and breathing space are a narrow court, set off against a vague dream of sail and grass and-trees and sunlight with— God willing'—some abiding place for Narcissa _and the baby. Folly? The worst. Yet, heroism? Without a doubt. Here, however, as in every other instance of man's individual culpability, the woman did tempt him to his errancy. For Narcissa was as eager for trying out such a fool's par- m Editors Fear for Chicago as Result of Primary Row Chicago's primary, in which “Big Bill” Thompson won the Republican nomination for mayor after a contest featured by murder, rioting and ballot- box stealing, has set. the country to speculating on what may be expected of the city's forces for good govern- ment. “What is happening? The air is filled with smoke and shouts of rioters. The ballot is in conflict with the bullet,” exclaims the Los Angeles Times (independent Republican). “Two hundred gun-toters keep the police busy around the polling places to test whether the law can shoot as quickly and as accurately as the lawless. Vote repeaters and stringers are arrested, rescued, rearrested, and scuffles and scrimmages end in bloodshed. Rowdies steal two boxes of ballots. A can- vasser is shot and killed by the agent of a' rival candidate in front of a poll- ing place. In another candidate’s headquarters the police seize 26 armed men and rifles and revolvers and ma- chine guns. * * * In other pre- cincts a large automobile filled with armed gangsters eucceeds in carrying off many ballot boxes after six ruffians had held up at the gun’ s muzzle police, election officers and a crowd of intimi- dated bystanders. Two election judges are kidnaped, and rioting and shoot- ing scare timid citizens from exercis- ing their rights as citizens. * * ¢ All these manifestations of uncivilized savagery occurred in the second larg- est city of the most law/respecting and God-fearing Nation of the, twentieth century."” “The Republicans of Chicago,” ac- cording to the Worcester Telegram (Republican), “managed to nominate a' mayor with only a little more of blood- shed and disorder than would have been the case in the election of a Sioux war chief had the Sioux pos- sessed the modern advantages of boot- leggers, machine guns and graft.” The Loulsville Courier-Journal re- marks that “it was regarded as a tame exhibition for Chicago,” but wonders “what class of citizenship is chiefly represented in the 40 per cent of the voters who abstained from expressing thelr prererene: 1:\ t:e‘prlmnry." “The latest Chicago question, which will be settled at the polls on April . In the opinion of the Syracuse Herald (independent), “is whether the voters are capable of restoring that city to the tender mercies of as dis- reputable a municipal gang as Ameri- can politics ever -spawned. * * ¢ For the sake of the Nation, of which Chicago is the second city in point cf population, we may all hope for the best. But hopes and predictions are different things in a city where Thompsonism has been reincarnated by 170,000 primary majority.” - The Rockford Morning Star (ind pendent) suggests that *“Chicago's pri- mary. campaign did not help its de- mand for redistricting the State. Donwstate ' citizens will hardly be blamed,” continues that paper, “‘fur not turning over control to men who call each other ‘rats' and ‘crooks.” It is not conceivable that such men rep- resent the citizenship of Chicago or anything like a mafority of it,, but they are powerful, blatant and'dis- graceful enough to arouse justifiable fear among the downstaters.”. “We believe that Chicago as a whole,” states the Champaign News- Gazette (independent Republican). “de- sires clean municipal government. But unless Chicago as a whole finds a. method of curtailing the power of the gang leaders, the future looks dark for the better element.” Decent Re- publidans, declares the Topeka Daily Capital (Republican), “will vote for Dever, the unopposed nominee of ihe Democrats, for a second four-year term, but they will be offset by inde- cent Democrats who will flock to Thompson. It {s a line-up, not of Re- publicans and Democrats, but of the better elements of citizenship against the worst, with a good chance that the worst will be the majority.” * % ¥ % “The whole country will hope thak there is civic conscience and civic pride enough in Chicago to repel an assault which is a menace to good government,” affirms the Baltimore Sun (independent), while the Cleve- land Plain Dealer (independent Demo- cratic) remarks: “This much even an outlander may say: Some of Thomp- son’s friends in painful evidence at the primary are no credit to him.” The San Antonio Evening News (independ- ent) presents the theory: “Recalling their experiences, the citizens may have stayed at home because they feared for their lives. Or, realizing that their ballots probably would not be counted unless they voted ‘right’— according to the bokses’ viewpoint— they may have dismissed the matter with a ‘What's the use'?” The Chicago Daily News (independ- ent) points out that Edward R. Lit- singer’s campaign against Thompson, though unsuccessful, “achieved the important result of uniting good gov- ernment forces within the party and so preparing for its later rehabilita- tion.” The Fort Wayne News-Senti- nel (Republican) advises: *For the present good Republicans—Republi- cans with the best interests of their city at. heart—have but ‘one sane choice: They should not hesitate to join forces with the Democrats in re- electing Dever in order that Chicago may move forward.” The Helena Montana Record-Herald (independent), discussing the hopes of the founders of the Nation, says: “Doubtless at a Chicage election the Democratic or Republican form of government func- tions at its lowe:‘degree of efficiency, a fact due entirély to the politically incompetent people who operate it.” Speaking for the candidacy of Mayor Dever, the Chicago Tribune (Republican) says: “The issue is be- tween common sense and plain bunk. It is between ‘decency and disreputa- bility, between sensible people and political defectives, between honesty in administration and the percentage system.” The Bloomington Panta- graph (independent) concludes: “Taken all in all, political nethods in Chicago are beyond the understanding of all of us poor simps outside of that city. Lipton’s Newest Plan May Win Yachting Cup From the Dallas Journal. The old and outgrown suggestion that “if smoking interferes with busi- ness, quit business,” 1is somehow called to mind by the report from London that Sir Thomas Lipton is planning to retire from business for the purpose of devoting himself seri ously to a fifth attempt to win the America’s cup. During the last quarter of a cen- tury, with pesky business affairs al- ways in his way, Sir Thomas has staged his several gallant but futile efforts to win the coveted yachting trophy. It is now made evident that he won't be happy till he gets it. ‘When he kicks the clogs of commer- cial affairs off his feet, his erican rivals will need to look to tl pen- nants. It may be true that the increasing popularity of Sir Thomas has been matched by the increasing popularity of tea. But the great merchant didn’t go yachting for any such sordid pur- pose. Even while business held him he proved himself to be a real sports- man when the opportunity offered. And now that he is to make sport his more exclusive and particular busi- ness the boyas over here may prepare 10 get a real run for thelr money. adise as was—let us say-$this partic- ular Adam himself. And so, packing up their pooled courage with the household stuff, over the river they went like gypsie§ or any other of the beloved vagabond breed. And certainly God does take cafe of his own, for, believe it or not, right up against the side of a hill along their way stood an empty house, cabin, hut—what you will—looking for all the world like an overgrown acorn dropped by the huge oak nearby. So the house became the ““Acorn.” And for the substance of this adventure vou have set down for your taking the life of this little family escaped into freedom. The book itself is a month-by- month _account of the changing face \throughout the year of the hand. breadth of free domain chosen by this fomily. Here is, besides, a day-by- day story of intimate friendships be- tween these three and the green world around them. Its overtones are those of gladness in all out of doors— the sun, the rain, the sociable tree- tops—the flying, singing, nesting rower and cave-dweller as well. Here are romance and poetry of a beautiful sort—the romance of com- radeship where misgivings give place to hardier effort on the part of this Adam man, to catch the whole mean- ing of the enterprise in hand and to project this in its truth and its beauty for the rest of us. A quite heroic spirit acting through the medium of hard everyday things possesses this pair. It is worth reading about. It is worth while also, richly worth while, for the gift of this adventurer in put- ting words together so that they do recreate this outfaring into freedom. The man is not only the possessor of scholarship and acquaintance with. a long line of poets and their kind, but he is, indubitably, a poet himself. Bet- ter than most novels is this record of a unique experience. Infinitely better than a mere scientist’s orderly and dry statement of the truths of na- ture. In effect this would be a glori- fled text book on the theme of na- ture in its simple behaviors round- about—a beguiling book in the hands of young folks keen to the welcome of growing things arbund them. All in all, an enviable pair these two, who have given freely and beautifully of their experience to the less daring rest of us. * K ok K DREAMS AND OTHER REALITIES. Lysle Tomerlin. The Stratford Co. A little book of poems the title of which indicates the poetic . insight of the writer and poet. The most of these verses are drawn, and drawn knowingly, out of the human heart. Under an endless variety of appear. ances we are all, essentially, one in a common preoccupation of loving, hating, living and dying. So, partak. ingly, do we read here these common songs of the human. Songs whose themes are dreams and desires and memories and forgettings. Songs of loneliness and courage, of meetings and partings, of comrades and friends, Just the common run of life, you see, projected here in the picturesque imagination of the poet and in the cadence that turns them from prose into poet It is this sense of in- timacy with theme and poet on the reader's part, just this effect of pe sonal partaking. that gives charm to this book. In the mind and effort of the poet, the reader himself becomes, invariably, the party of the second part, and it makes for pleasures to have the sentiments and feelings posited as one’s own, the questions of life and love addressed straight to one’s self, the incidents opened to one's personal sharing and judgin; A very pleasing book of verse emerges here from a competent and adroit handling of ordinary human feelings and ettitudes. e And the Crowd Pays. From the Portland Oregon Dally Journal. Babe Ruth, for playing base ball, re- fuses a contract in which the com- pensation s about 1,000 times the sum Milton got for writing ‘Paradise Lost.” Bt ‘with the crowd what's b'l:l:‘;;w " Lost” to a game bof base | cause or another. neighbors, and many a thrifty bur- | m BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. Where is the widest street in the world>—A. R. P. A. Champs_Elysees, .in Paris, is the widest. It is 2507 feet across. Canal street, New Orleans, is prob- ably the widest in the United States. It has a width of 200 Peet. Q. What is the largest amount of money made into one paper bill>— S. G - A. The largest denomination of United States paper money is the $10,000 bill. Q. Could you tell me what light i87—0. L. W. A. Light is physically defined as radiant energy, which is capable of producing the effect of vision. Light waves consisting of vibrations in the ether sent out by the sun and other luminous bodies strike the retina of the eve, cause the optic nerve to vi- brate” and' produce the sensation of light. Q. How is the sugar glaze made ‘coating doughnuts R. M. A. The Bakers' Weekly says to mix 1 ounce of gelatin with 10 pounds of XXXX sugar. Add enough boiling hot water to make of proper con- sistency; whip the Icing until it be- comes Wwhite. for Q. What does “Ukraine” mean?— ¥ 8. A. It means “borderland.” Q. When was a seal first used for impressing documents?—R. L. L. A. The custom of using seals on documents has prevailed for centuries in the East. The earliest examples of seals are found among the antiquities of Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria. The use of the signet was required by Roman law for legal purposes. The custom died out by the seventh cen- tury. AL but was revived in the Middle Age: Q. How was the 5—3--3 ratio of battleships decided upon and when was it_adopted?—B. M. A. The 5 3 ratio between the United States, England and Japan was adopted at the Limitation of Armaments Conference, called No- vember 12, 1921, and remaining in session until February 6, 1922. This ratio is provided for In the naval treaty signed at Washington on the latter date. The conference was called at the suggestion of the Amer- ican Government. Q. How did Port Tobacco River get its name?—F. U. A. It is sometimes thought that this river took its name from tobacco, in which a thriving business was done on this river. It is said, however, that such is not the case—that the name came from a tribe of Indians who once lived in that vicinity, the Portobacks. Q. What is the iceberg season’— W. E. D. A. It may be said to cover a period of four months—from. March 15 to July 15. The bergs decrease in num bers noticeably after the middle of June, and from the middle of%July on until the following Spring the area south of the Grand Banks is practi- cally free from them. An . isolated berg or two may drift down to the Tall, but not often south of it, as late as October. At what temperature should bandages be kept in a gas oven in order to sterilize them?—S. W. M A. The Public Health Service say: when sterilizing cotton material for bandages the temperature should be 230 degrees Fahrenhelt for an hour If the bandage is rolled, it would never hecome sterilized: therefore, it would be better to buy bandages that have already heen prepared. Q: Does the incres fees have an effect tendance?” . M. ¥ A The reduction ( the number of students has not resulted. Michi- gan increased the fees in its med!- cal courses, but this had little effect upon the number applying for ad- mission. No one has yet determined a fee charge which will actually hold applications for admission to any fllr\r('ifl(' number for a given institu- tion. ng of college upon the at- Q. Is the new immigrant on par with the old?—A. H. A. Immigration officials say that the new immigrants are twice as good. It is due in part to the fact that consul examination is required on the other side. Many of the un- desirables, who had to be stopped at our coast, now are halted hefore they leave their native boiindaries. If the immigrant lives in a country where universal military service prevails, he must present his dossier: he must have a certificate of character; must | satisty the consul as to his abflity to pass a literacy test; must have a birth certificate and a certificate of health. Q. Why do so many peple ridi- cule the use of prunes’-—L J. A. The persistence of the ridieule that pursues the prune is In part a relic of the time when the common prune was a cheap, poor fruit, im- ported in barrels from central Eu- rope and the Balkans, and in part due to ignorance concerning its proper preparation. The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the mass of inquiries handled by the great information bureau main- tained by The Evening Star in Wash- ington, D. C. This valuable service is for the free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know and you will get an immedi- ate reply. Write plainly, inclose tiro cents in stamps for return postage. and address The Evening Star Infor- mation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D.C. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The press tells of an “epidemic of suicides,” and preachers discourse upon the many suicides of youths. They ascribe the tragedies to one They blame the parents for failure to instill religion into the impressionable minds of youths—and surely none can gainsay such preachment—and they criticize colleges for teaching psychology with morbid suggestions, leading boys in high school and college to assume that they have already sapped life of all its juices. Some : philosophers have even attributed the increase of suicide to the World War, to which almost any evil may be so unrellably traced, although, in fact, the statis- tics prove that suicides decreased both during and following the war. Lok ok ok There is no dispute as to the gen- eral tendency of the present genera- tion of youth—but it is not the func- tion of this column to join the “ham- mer brigade,” which points the finger of scorn at jazz, at rouge and lipstick, at cigarettes and at sport and “neck- ing” and promiscuous kissing and everything else that is supposed to demoralize the immature. Granting, for the sake of brevity and harmony, that the air is filled with evil in- | fluences beguiling the weaklings, how any boys and girls today are really making weaklings of themselves? Of some 120,000,000 population there may be 20,000,000 vouths of jazz age, and of that 20,000,000 there have been 20 youths who have committed suicide in the last year. That many tragedies! That many weaklings who failed to keep their tryst with Life! He that kills himself to avoid misery, feafs it, And, at the best, shows but a bastard valor. This life's a fort, committed to my trust. Which I must not vield up till it be forced: Nor will I. He's not valiant that dares die. But he that boldly bears calamity —Massinger. * ok K K Some years ago, the present writer received a commission from a maga- zine editor requiring him to write a character sketch of Dr. Hubert A Work, former president of the Ame can Medical Assoclation, then recent- ly appointed Postmaster General, now Secretary of the Interior. An ‘!nclden( grew out of that which may “point a moral” to this discussion of the vouth who in his egotistic pride thinks he has exhausted life at “sweet sixteen —or twenty. It chanced that another writer was waiting in Dr. Work's outer office, upon a similar errand, and in due time the new Postmaster General in- vited both callers to enter his D'l:lvnle office together. It was a case of ‘after you, Alphonse,” and the other ap- proached his subject first, introducing himself as a writer of a magazine de- voted to physical development. He d‘o- sired to learn what was the doctor’s system of daily exercise. "Oh, I just work!” was the answer. but what about your ath- I work. That's how 1 exer- cise The question was put from every angle, and received as many reitera- tions, “I just keep on working.” “Well, what about your system of eat anything I like. Years ago, when 1 was practicing medicine in Colorado, T would sometimes have long drives in that mountain country and maybe 1'd reach home at mi night, or later, and T would feel pretty hung! so 1'd go out to the refrigera tor and eat whatever T found there— cheese or pickles or anything.” The representative of physical de- velopment was too flabbergasted to ask further questions, but the inci- dent had already inspired the other interviewer. Dr. Work then suddenly turned upon the physical culture man with this: “The trouble with you physical cul- ture people is that you are thinking too much inwardly. So you get into trouble. What vou should do is to stop so much thinking inwardly, and think outwardly. Then you will cease requiring useless gymnastics—if you go_on working—and you will forget indigestion. Think outwardly!"” but of how they could help a buddy who has not had the plenty that has filled their lives? Thinking outwardly makes a man of a boy, and gives him a world of billions of opportunities, instead of an ego of one little shriveled, blase, spoiled “kid,” who nly imagines that his tragic but nificant passing on will make him a hero and a_wonder to the rest of this world. Why doesn't some elo- quent preacher drive that home with a text mnlng in plain English, al;dl);" ! [T Think ? * % Suicides are increasing all over the world, yet not to any alarming ex- tent. In the American Journal of Hygiene, July, 1922, appeared an e haustive study of suicide, by John Rice Miner, Ph. D., of Baltimore. Dr. Miner explodes several ergors regard- ing the causes and tendenbies of syl- cide. In his summary, he cites his conclusions: “A_factor in the upward trend is found in the decay of the group spirit. The European war has produced & sharp decline.” The discipline of the army “group” corrected the inward egotism of smart individualism. For example, the number of suicides per 100,000 population in the United States per year, for the five years, 1906-1910, was 16; in 1914 it was 16.6 and 1915 it was 16.7. Then we en- tered the war, and the suicides per 100,000 population in 1917 were 13.4, in_1918 were 12.2, and 1919, 11.4. Dr. Miner does not theorize as to the cause of the decline, but did Amer- ice not have to “think outwardly” dur- :’;ggal“ those fearful days of 1917 to Dr. Miner says Germany, France, Denmark and °Sweden show high rates; the British Isles, Norway, Netherlands and the south and east of Europe show low rates. Japan and China have high rates; India, low. It is not poverty, it is not “life’s end- less endeavor.” that causes suicides. Certainly it is not courage. In the United States rates are lowest in the South, highest in the West. The lowest suicide rates are shown by the Greek Church, followed by the Roman Catholic and the Protestant. Jewish rates have increased rapidly Urban rates are higher than rural. This ‘explodes the tale that farm Wwives are driven crazy by the “monotonous drudgery” of their work. There are twice as many male suicides as fermale. The married show lower suicide rates than the single or widowed. They “think outwardly” of their mates. The divorced have a high rate—ingrown ego in many cases. Parents show lower rates than the childless. They have other interests than selfish ego. It seems possible to trace all through the above summarized state- ment of statistics, the thread of Dr. Work's philosophy, that the best cure for trouble, mental or physical, is to “look outwardly” where one will dis- cover millions of reasons for loving life with all its opportunities for the Jjoy of service. How egotistic, selfish and cowardly is a suicide! * ok X K Child suicides have increased in Europe during the last century and a half. In Prussia, from 1788 to 1798, there were only three child suicides; from 1900 to 1903, in Prussia, there were 1,700 such tragedies. In a state- ment issued by Arthur MacDonald of this eity. honorary president of the Third International Congress on Crfl;nlnal Anthropology of, Europe, he said: “The general increase of all suleides does not correspond to that of child suicide in the same period. There seems to he no parallel. This fact suggests that in the suicide of chil- dren the causes are not the same as In the case of adults. General con- ditions do not seem to influence the child, but his immediate surround ings have much effect upon his thought and feeling. If the family and school life go on without refer- ence to the child’s individuality and capability, or in direct opposition to them, they may awaken in him a disposition to suicide..* ‘¢ & = tween the years of 11 and 15 most of the suicldes of children take place. Before 11 years, suicide is exceptional. Here the chil plays murder or suicide, just as it plays ‘Indian.’” One may pity the childish igno- rance of the youth in his rashness, but Montaigne puts it as to the adult: “It is the role of cowardice, not of * k% k How many youths will find life ex- ted at 20 years, who are think- of their own ‘“complexes,’ courage, to'go and crouch down in a hole under a massive tomb, to avoid the blows of fortune." (Copyright. 1937, by Paul V. Colttas.).,