Evening Star Newspaper, April 2, 1927, Page 6

| ‘{/.THE EVENING STAR |the south, Chang Tso-lin in the north, [any change in the existing bromntl With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. . THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th st vivania Ave. How Yo Jfi{;&“w’fl%'fims(. X : ui . Ruroe: n"S'm?fl‘:u;:n'E::n St.. London, The Evening Star. with the Sunday morn. e edition. is delivered by carriers within the city at 60 cents per month: v only. ::r"'mfl”m-r oath days m:lh"-"(:‘.(fi"r": month. - Orders ‘may. be sen telenhone Main 5000, Collaction is made by <carrier at end of eac 2 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Iv and . : .7 Ballz ont Sundas .. 1 v g0.00: | me- Sunday only el 1 yr. $3.00: 1 mo.. All Other States and Canada 1 .00 1 mo. 4.00: 1mo. 35¢ The New Engineer Commissioner. Announcement made that Col. William B. Ladue will be the next En- gineer Commissioner of the District, to succeed Col. J. Franklin Bell. whose tour of duty at the District Building expires on the 2ist of June. This ap- pointment com as a surpri for Col. Ladue’s name has not hereto- fore been mentioned asithat of one of those under consideration for the assignment. It is, however, gratifying that so eminent a member of the En- gineer Corps of the Army as Col. Ladue, who one of the highest ranking officers of the corps and who has a brilliant record of service and performances, has been selected for this duty. The office of Engineer Commissioner 1s exceptionally important at present. Under the new law he is the only member of the Board of Commission- ers to serve as a public utilities com- missioner. There are in progress and Inearly prospect exceptionally largé works of the greatest interest and value to the District. Numerous ques- tions affecting the physical welfare of the community, relating especially to the equipment of the District govern- ment, are pending. Washington deeply regretted that the law governing the assignment of Army officers did not permit the ex- tension of the term of Col. Bell, who has throughout his service here been in all respects and to the fullest de- gree acceptable to the District peo- ple. He has given the Capital an en- gineering administration of the high- est grade of efficiency, and in his par- ticipation in the gengral work at the District Building has shown himself: animated by the broadest sympathy with the community. Had the wishes ‘of Washington been observed, had it been possible under the law to do so, Col. Bell would have been retained as Engineer Commissioner for another “tour of duty.” It being impossible thus to continue an administration so fully satisfactory to the District, it is evident that President Coolidge has in selecting a successor to Col. Bell chosen an offi- cer of high qualifications, whose vari- * ous assignments to duty indicate not only his capacity as an engineer, but P77 abii’v to win the confidence of those with whom he serves. Col. Ladue will come here in June not as a stranger to Washington, for he has served in this city in the past, but as one who knows the Capital and to some extent its people. S e Coal miners protest that $7.50 a day is too small a wage. A compensation of $45 a week was in times gone by regarded as an enviable compensation. The purchasing power of the dollar is the real point of argument between those who work and those who hire. e is The open door in China is now marked by the red light which indi- cates an exit froin a theater of war. — o More and More Puzzling. Though lacking in official confirma- :tion, the report from China that the Hankow government, which is con- trolled by the more radical elements in the Nationalist movement, has dis- missed Chang Kai-shek from mand of the Cantonese army, may be regarded as probably true. Evidences have been coming for some time that Chang has been meeting with increas- ing opposition from the elements which are definitely under the influ- ence of Borodin, the Russian His seizure of Shanghai has given him a stronghold of great value. That he has contemplated a separation from Borodin as soon as he has consolidated his position and gained a dominating influence in the Yangtze Valley has been regarded likely. Hankow, however, has become strongly Soviet- ized, and now it would appear that the break has been forced, in advance of Chang's plans. Meanwhile, the Cantonese forces are advancing northward from Nanking and are occupying positions of strength, with only a short distance separating them from the Northern army under Chang -lin. at Hsu Chow-fu is thought to be pos. sible. But before the forces meet in conflict they be brought into some sort of harmony. It is intimated in today's dispatches that Chang Kaishek may seek (o patch up truce with Chang o-lin on the basis of a mutual demand for “China for the Chinese,” aning the abolition of the foreign concessions, and of op- position to Russian influence. Events move with strange incon sequence in China. The foreigner who seeks: to understand the of happenings there and to forecast the tuture is baffed by the secret intrigue which is constantly proceeding. A tew weeks ago such a thing as a con- solidation of interests by the North- ern and the Southern war lords would bhave seemed inconceivable. Now it is being indicated as a possible out com- ms a m course :| by formal resolution of the State Sen- A battle | the commission tending to show that leven in the infant days of this now and Borodin, through a figurehead Chinese radical, in the middle prov- inces. But such a condition would be would certainly occur. The point of greatest interest to Westerners now is how far the radical influence of the Russians has spread in southern China, possibly in other parts. Hankow is evidently in the 8rip of the Soviet. Chang Kai-shek faces some difficulties at Shanghai and at Canton, where the radical ele- ments are strong. Borodin, it is stated, is expected soon to go to Canton to stir up the laborers of the Southern capital. If he should succeed in arous- ing them to the point of insurgency against Chang Kai-shek the young war lord of the Cantonese government would be in a difficult position, from which he might be able to extricate himself only through such a coalition as that which has just been suggested, with Chang Tso-lin and possibly with other factors in the much-confused Chinese puzzle. 2 S s Ut Ritchie Indorsed by Maryland. Gov. Albert C. Ritchie of, Maryland, ate, is asked to declare his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President next year. Tite action of the State Senate smacks of earlier days, when nominations for the office of Chief Executive were made by State legislatures and our present party national conventions were un- Known. With the growth of the party ystem in this country, the national convention was a natural develop- ment. State legislatures today are divided along strict party lines. The Republicans in the legislative body of a State, meeting separately, might voice their choice for the presidential nomination, and the Democrats do the same. But the selection by an entire State legislative body necessarily, under present conditions, must be of the political faith held by a majority of the legislature. Gov. Ritchie has the “jump,” when it comes to indorsement by the State Senate or the House of Represent- atives, over some of his prospective Democratic opponents for the 1928 nomination for President, Gov. Al fred E. Smith of New York, for ex- ample, who has a Republican Legis- lature on his hands. The call to Gov. Ritchie by the Maryland Senate is not likely to be heeded by him, for the present. Po- tential candidates for the presidential nomination are a bit slow in announc- ing their intentions, with more than a year before the national convention. Perhaps some of them fear that if a head is raised now it will become the target of all the rest of the candi- dates. Gov. Ritchie was the choice of the Maryland Democrats for the Demo- cratic nomination for. President in 1924. Since then he has been trium- phantly re-elected governor, breaking all records for continuous service. He will go to the national convention next year with the State delegation in his pocket, unless he should for- mally announce that he had no in- tention of being a candidate or ac- cepting the nomination if it came to him. Such a contingency, however, is not expected. What the State Sen- ate wishes the governor to do is to rustie up other State delegations to the next Democratic national conven- tion. That is rather a delicate opera- tion, particularly in view of the num- ber of “favorite sons.” Today Gov. Ritchie stands among the four or five Democrats most prominently men- tioned for the Presidency. From now until next June his “avaflability” will be carefully scanned by party leaders. He is in the limelight, and the resolu- tion of the State Senate will do him no harm. A study of the general weather re- ports justifies the high esteem in | which the climate of Washington, D. C., is held. It extends no promise of immunity from weather variations such as serVe to make life interesting, but it never threatens intolerable ex- tremes. The intention of Senator Borah to brush up on his Spanish is laudable. It may be more important for some | of the Nicaraguan politicians to learn “t0 talk United States," e The Broadcasting Wave Problem. A suggestion thrown out by the Fed eral Radio Commission that the broad- casting wave band be widened down- ward to take in fifty meters of the stablished amateur channel of from 150 to 200 meters has apparently met its answer from all phases of the radio industry, technicians, listeners and manufacturers, and the proposal has apparently seen its defeat. Expecting controversial differences as to the widening of the broadcasting band, and assured of Vigorous opposi- tion from the amateurs who might find their field of activity hampered by re- striction, the Federal Radio Commis- sion has found broadcasters, radio cn- gineers und even the critical listening public In unanimity that the present broadeasting field, from 200 to 550 meters, is eminently satisfactory. In fact, evidence has been placed before great industry, had the engineers de- liberately chosen a wave area in which broudcasting was to be placed, they would probably have selected the very ether channels on which programs are being broadcast today. Even though the possibilities of short waves have been exploited and as encompassing the greatest possi- bilittes in future radio broadcasting, certain technical difficulties have not been overcome and there has been no demonstration that they can be over come. Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, one of radio’s ploneer engineers, holds that short wave broadcasting is unstable and cannot ‘have the fidelity of broad casting in the air channels now in use between 200 and 550 meters. The upshot of the matter is that with the virtualy unanimous agree- come of the schism within the Nation- alist ranks, due to the development of radicalism under Russian influence. Another triple partition of China is suggested ATl L BETERCS EPYEnig ment demonstrated in all branches of the industry that nothing will be . THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO s ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ing limits is made. Much is to be said on the side of the radio amateur, from whose patient and painstaking experi- April 2, 1927 |°1I¥ & passing phase. Further shifts [ments have come many of the ad- vances in the art of radio transmission and reception. On the other side of the picture, the manufacturing branch of the industry would be hard hit were present receiving sets to be rendered virtually obsolete by extension of the broadcasting limits. For few commer- cial sets are built today to go down to 200 meters and practically none goes beyond the upper limit of the broad- casting range. e O Motor Tag Deadline. A special extension of time has been gtanted District motorists who have failed to procure 1927 tags for their cars. Although April 1 was the dead. line for every Washington automobile owner to have affixed the tardy 1927 licenses on the front and back of his Lizzie or limousine, Maj. Hesse has extended the time until midnight Mon- day. And if the fifteen hundred car owners still using 1926 tags are wise they will hasten fo get on the band wagon before the last extension ex- pires. Motorists of the District are no dif- ferent from those in any other place. They all procrastinate until they find themselves in hot water. Buying tags, changing the oil in the old bus, or getting those two new tires—it is always the same. The creed seems to be “Never do today the things that can be done temorrow,” even if tomor- row is inconvenient. In the matter of the purchasing of these new licenses, however, there is a good deal of excuse for procrastina- tion. The original firm possessing the contract defaulted after months of de- lay, and it required speedy action on the part of local authorities to relet the contracts so that Washington mo- torists would be enabled to have 1927 tags before the year was out. Small shipments have been kling into Washington since about the first of the year, but it has been only re- cently that the full order has been received. C., SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1927 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. If you do not like the ways of the dog, you do not like dogs. 2 If you do not care for the habits of the cat, you do not care for cats. If you do not like the ways and habits of mankind, you do not like mankind. Many persdns instinctively do not care for their fellow men. vet they are not to be called misanthropes in any sense of that word. There is no morbid hatred of man- kind in their characters, no aversion or distrust of one’s fellow men, but. rather, the feeling so well expre by the unknown poet in the lines: 1 do not like thee, Dr. Fell, The reason why I cannot \el}. But 1 do not like thee, Dr. Fell. There is no man alive who has not held this thought at some time or other in his life, or, more particu- larly, at all times in rellation to cer- tain types of individuals. even the cheertul, so-called opti mists lose a bit of their sunshine in the presence of those who “rub them the wrong way.” % T call’ such bright souls “misan- thropes” would be a* gross injustice as well as a rank misuse of the term. They simply represent, for a moment in their expansive lives, the eve day attitude of us who face the facts of life with more common sense. * %k k¥ After all, is there anything particu- larly astonishing about not liking nkind? M Man s such u diffusive creature and has taken unto himself o man ises, and engaged in so mar - $eavors, with s 5 Tesulting different habits of mind, that it is no wonder every one cannot love every one else. The aggregate bad habits, viclou tendencies, inimical deeds, of man- kind, as a whole, demand of every sensible, thoughtful person a sense of aversion. 3 This shrinking from the bad in our common human nature is not only what makes the world what it is today, but also what keeps the individ- ual decent. i Not eve one in the world is so constituted as to be ahlo_to f_n('e evil every day and still retain his belief in the essential good of human nature. Fleeing from irksome things, whether physical or of the spirit, is the best course for many men and Many of the fifteen hundred delin- quent motorists have probably ap- plied at the District Building only to find that the small supply had been exhausted. Under these circumstances it is difficult to blame even the habitual procrastinators. The Dis- trict apparently realizes its responsi- bility in respect to the new tags and the extension of time has been given for this reason. All the tags are now here, however, and it behooves every one of the nfteen hundred to co- operate in clearing up an unusual and unfortunate condition —oea Demands for limitation of transmission appear reasonable, view of the apparent desire to pro- vide a special broadcasting station for every jazz band. o Paris used to set the fashions. It has become evident, however, that a mere matter of anatomical display implies no great artistic originality. o - Horsemanship is expected of a prince. The Prince of Wales appears inclined to set a pace so athletic as to defy competition. o i Chinese music is peculiar. The theory may be advanced that the Chi- nese were the inventors not only of gunpowder, but of jazz. Fashions change slowly. Mussolini may find it a long journey from the black shirt to the purple-bordered toga. radio in A farmer who seeks velief is fre- quently tempted to let the farm run down while he engages in politics. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Egois I stand at night And look into the distant marvelous skies, The stars in flight Shine in their beauty on my wonder- ing eyes. And here below, As through the night the travelers 1 see, . Lights come and go In the pursuit of sorrow or of glee. So, each man views The luminous expanses, near or far, And waits the news star. Each man makes bold, Peasant or poet, rich or poor I am the center of the unive: Political Authorships. “Who wrote the Declaration of dependence?” “What is the use of going so back?” asked Senator Sorghum. “The burning question now is, ‘Who is go- ing to rewrite the Senate rules? e Frogs. The frogs will soon be &inging strong; Yet, as has oft been advertised, The dance is greater than the song. Their hind legs are most truly prized. The early bird got the worm and then remarked; “What's the good of & worm if you get pneumonia?” Jud Tunkins says a man as he looks into a mirror and shaves is al- ways hoping he'll get better looking next day, but he never does. Regrettable Resear “The Chinese invented gunpowder.” “Yes,” rejoined Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “Was it not foolish?” Spectacular Swimming. “Mother, may I go out to swim?” “Yes, my charming daughter; But don’t hang ‘round the camera man, Go on into the water.” Sarcasm. “You indulge in sarcasm,” said the candid friend. enne, “‘represents an effort to put a truth into a pill and give it a sugar coating.” gained by increasing the broadcasting limits in either direction, upward or st b diidd Gad besbay Likfui G From a near neighbor or a distant | YA sarcasm,” unswered Miss Cay-{confirms this view: women. This is the common sense salvation open to every one. Not for some souls is the heroic work of saving 'others from them- selves. This great and necessary task must be left to those whom Nature— “and some call it God"—has consti- tuted for it. ; The rest of us perhaps will be wise to shrink from the evils we know of, as well as to flee from those we know not of, despite Hamlet's plea. * kK N The most common ever stance of this good running away i€ to be seen in the exodus of city dwellers to the suburbs and nearby country 1f one is 8o constructed that the day and night noises of the city. con- stantly growing, beat upon the ears as tympani, he will do well to move to a place where the loudest noise is the chirp of busy birds. ‘Wise men of today who have the means live in impenetrable fortresses, no less than the barons of old. The re is an organization in New Yo with 4 most formidable name, which has undertaken to solve a most formidable problem. It is the New York State Crime Commission's Sub- commission on Causes. This organiza- lion has just filed a report showing that it is the press which is the cause of much that is wrong in the world. It undertakes to censor the press for its policy in publishing the details of the news of crim@ and scandal, and it seems to sweep within the scope of its condemnation all the newspapers, rather than to differentiate between such as delve in gutters and others which but publish “all the news that's fit to print.” 1 The accusation lies chiefly against the publicity given to divorce and | murder cases, on the ground that the filth of the divorces will besmirch the minds of impressionable youth, and the notoriety of such mur erefs will confuse the youthful ideals as to what is heroic and what is cowardly. Few, if any. murderers there are, or ever have been, who were not impelled to crime by contemptible cowardice or weakness of self-control, with no ele; ment of the heroic, but it is con- tended that publicity exalts their deeds as if they had dared be great and noble. One criticism of the yellow press may well be taken seriously. It is against the publication of portraits of officers of the law connected with ar- rests. The less familiar the criminal public is with the identification of de tectives, the better may the officers succeed in contacts with the grime world. Detectives often seek clever disguises, but their make-up may easily be defeated if the men the: are seeking are acquainted with thel normal appearance. No detective who is worth his salt desires to betray his own identity by too much newspaper publicity of his portrait, although it may be his due to be given full credit for making important arrests, * Kk k ¥ The subcommission put up to ex- perts the following qquestion: “Do you think that the methods used by newspapers of securing and presenting crime news are in any way a factor fn the present crime situa- tion?" The replies follow: Non- o com- Yo mittal 5 Supreme 1 Other judges .. ... ¢ District - attorneys Chiefs of police. New Voik City police officials. . ... ... State troopers . 5 Total 5 42 The views of more than 100 experts, as’ shown above, are by no means unanimous in either supporting or condémning the publication of details of crime as to its effect on justice. Byt the other phase of the question is still more open to differences, both as to newspaper policies and the public’s attitude. R The report advises that police and attorneys have it in their own control as to what information they divulge to reporters, yei reporters quite often discover facts ahead of any detec- tives, for a trained reporter is himself a trained detective. As has often been testified by highest authority, no re- porter worthy of recognition ever be- trays a confidence when confidential information is given him for his guid- ance with the request that it be not published at present. Such betrayal is almost inconceivable in any decent newspaper office. 8 On_ the other hand, Woodrow Wilson threat of “merciless publicity,” there is believed by many to be no more efficient deterrent of crime than the fear of exposure. It is only the con- firmed, hardened criminal that dares defy that. s The subcommission’s urt Justices A G 6 9 report itself “The false impression created by ‘wavgs' of crime Mews can be cor- rected if public agencies seek a better method of reporting crime data. At the present time such darkness exists “De man dat plays wit loaded dice,” deses & fortune in ull-rupoot.& in the realm of criminal statisties that s a result of these recent |downward, the commission will prob- |said Uncle Eben, “gets de money, but | avery prejudiced agency seems to be able to count upon this ignorance to portcullis has given way to a small door, behind which stands formality in the guise of a severe butler. Tho butler's frown is no less a dead- 1y weapon than the battle-ax. It turns back those who are not wanted—and what more did the sword or pike? Men in possession of their own souls—how many in the world are not'—build themselves country places, where they may be driven at the day's end, there enjoy that sweet com- munion with their own natures which is held by some to be the greatest good in life. The more sensitive a person is, in the common acceptance of that term, the more he feels the rawness of hu- man nature. All is not gold that glit- ters, as the song said: humanity, in the mass, is not lilylike. Take but one instance. Familiarity breeds contempt’- even more, it breeds familiarity. Many men in positions of authority are held by underlings to be “stuck up.,” when these very lesser lights would be the first to take advantage of the others if the bars were let down. Any one with experience in the business world knows that men ir lowly positions like nothing better than' to call some one higher up by his first name. Give such a man a chance, he will hail you by your first name as if you were an old friend. The thing to do is never give him a chance. ¥ RS From these petty habits to the really nasty traits of humanity it is only a step. Malice, “office politics,” sneering ill humor, " unfair = criticism, various forms of temper—these are but a few of the traits. that make sometime misanthropes out of us all. Much as a man will run from a raging bull, so the man of discrim- ination will give those who possess these traits, named and unnamed, as wide a_berth as possible, secure in the feeling that discretion is, indeed, often the better part of valor, and that cowardice is such cases is en- tirely excusable. Men have been compared by vari- ous authors of antiquity to wild ani- mals. The traits of the pig, the wolf, the fox, have been freely at- tributed to mankind. Yet, in a larger sense, the malice of these animals is not to be held against them, for they know no bet- ter. Even the rat, despised by man, is acting in response to the dictates of its nature. Man, of all the creatures, does what he does in the line of ill will with more or less knowledge of just how mean he is, so that his nasty traits cannot justly be called “ani- mal,” since they are subanimal, or, more truly, simply human! 5 Mankind is, then, the epitome of all the good and bad we know. Our dreams are built upon the best, our fears upon the worst. To be less than a decent man is to be much less than an animal, to be better than a good man is to become an angel. Shall one, then, because he sees and dislikes many traits in humanity, shrink from his fellow men? No, the answer must be, only such shrinking as will allow him to be himself. One may dislike humanity, en masse, but love many individual specimens. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. protect them in publishing biased and incorrect accounts of the amount of crime. * * * We may vet be forced to the conclusion that news- paper censorship, although undesir- able, is not the worst of evils.” As if newspaper censorship—by a discriminating public of readers—did not already exist! The remedy of ignorance of true conditions is not the act of the ostrich in hiding facts, but greater and more “pitiless publicity,” provided the aim of the publication is “pro bono publico.” * x k X At a meeting of circulation man- agers held in Chicago last month the experts discussed the question of sex serial storfes as builders of circula- tion. and one speaker stated: “We used samples in small towns last Summer, just before a new serial story started in odr paper. We played the story well and ran off a suppl ment of three or four chapters to di tribute to rural non-subscribers. A day or two later we solicited subscrip- tions in the various small towns where the samples were left, but failed to receive enough new subscribers to pay us for our time and labor.” * % * The Editor and Publisher, March 27, contained a report of a case in court in which the New Bedford (Mass.) Standard was accused of at- tempting to influence a jury by pub- lishing court proceedings in a trial of rum runners. The Standard, which had published five or six columns a day about the case, was excoriated by the defense atto who, in his final appeal to the jury, said: “The newspapers of this city studied and continued efforts, use of scare headlines, by stor sob artists, have filled the minds of newspaper readers within the last three weeks. * * ¢ That is the one thing 1 fear in this case—the attempt that has been made to poison your minds against the defendants.” The jury listened then to the charge | of the Superior Court justice, which i here is no real freedom in those countries where there is no freedom of the press. Rather, there is less freedom, as we see in Soviet Russia and in Italy under Mussolini. You can trust the court to care for any instances of abuse of the freedom of the press as do sometimes happen. There has been no such instance in the trial of this ca “The press is obligated to the pub- lic to tell the people, the public, what we are doing here. We are the serv- ants of the people and they have the right to know what the district attor- ney, the jurors and the judge are doing here, whether we are perform- ing our duty.” * In an address before the Academy of Political Science, last week, the eminent journalist, Edward Price Bell, delivered this summing up of his views on the mistakes of modern pub- lishers: “I give it you as my conviction that many editorial chairs creak under their load of misunderstanding of the public. Occupants of these chairs think the public is shallow. It is deep. ‘They think the public wants trash. It wants the best that nown and thought in the world. es are all right in their w; Jazz is all right in its way. Comic strips are all right in their way. In moments of excep- tional penetration, even I can see the fun in them. But I say to you that all these are light diet. I say to you that we cannot build up a great and safe democracy on movies and jazz and comic strips. Give us these by all means—for we'do not want to draw faces overlong—but give us also more of the sentiment and the phi- losophy and the facts that are preg- nant with the fate of human society." Copyright, 1927 by Paul V. Collins.) ek e L unch Is Defined.‘ from the Boston Herald. A “hunch” is just a man’s counter- part for a woman's intuition, L THE LIBRARY TABLE _ By the Booklover. The publication of “Everybody’'s Pepys,” a skillfully abridged edition of the lengthy ‘“diary” of Samuel Pepys, has stimulated many former and new readers to dip into the record i of the daily life of that diligent em- ploye of the British Navy office and assiduous man-about-town during the reign of Charles II. The son of a poor tailor and an ex-domestic serv- ant, Samuel Pepys managed, by in- dustry or luck, to take a degree from Cambridge, to become secretary to the Earl of Sandwich and later, under the earl, clerk of the acts in the navy office, and to attain a capital of over £5,000 and keeb his own coach. Thrift and love of luxu were mingled in the character of Samuel Pepys. A handsomely furnished house, good eat ing, abundant wines, fine clothe music, dancing, books, the theater, soclety, were all loved by Pepys. He spent lavishly and drank too freely at times, then had fits of economy and remorse, when he made “vowes" which, like many another man, he did not always keep. On January 2, 1664, he wrote: “I come to a new vowe, that I will not see above one in a month at any of the publique es till the sum of 50 shillings be spent, and then none before New Year's day next, unless that I do become worth £1,000 sooner than then.” On July 26, 1661, he writes: “Having the beginning of this week made a vowe to myself to drink no wine this week (finding it to unfit me to look after business), and this day breaking of it against my will, I am much troubled for it, but I hope God will forgive me.” * x Bating was one of the most popular recreations in the reign of Charles 11 and Pepys was in this respect, others, a man of his time. He feasted, both at home and abroad, and all the delicacies of the day were familiar to his palate. The pages of his diary are full of references to barrels of oysters, lobsters, trout, prawns, cray- fish, eels, carp, herrings, sturgeon, pullets, pigeons, larks, rabbits, ribs of beef, legs of mutton, sausages, veni- son, neat's tongue, hog’s harslet, ba- con, meat pies, radishes, cowcumbers, sparagus (sombtimes sparrograss), car- rots, pease, onions, strawberries, plum- porridge, mince pies, cakes, tarts, custards, chocolate, cream, cheese and cheese cakes, sugarloaf, sweet-meates, nuts, syllabub, brandy and wines. Certainly he hdd no restricted menu. He writes: “Home to dinner with my wife, to a good hog's harslet (heart, liver and other edible offal), a piece of meat I love, but have not eat of, I think, these seven years.” He was proud of his own table entertainment. He says, “I had for them, after oysters, as first course a hash of rab- bits, a lamb and a rare chine of beef. Next a great dish of roasted fowl, cost me about 30 shillings, and a tart, and then fruit and cheese. My dinner was noble and enough.” Sometimes his fastidious taste was offended, as when he dined at Sir W. Pen's “on a damned venison pastry that stunk like a devil.” At least during the period covered by the diary Pepys was not on a reduction diet. One of his dinners he itemizes as follows: dish of marrow bones, a leg of mut- ton, a loin of veal, a dish of fowl, three pullets and two dozen of larks all in a dish, a great tart, a neat's tongue, a dish of anchovies, a dish of prawns and cheese.” * K K Samuel Pepys at 22 married a ga capricious girl of 15. It seems to have been a genuine love match, in a time when marriages were usually ar- ranged for economic @nd social rea- sons. Their married life of 14 years was enlivened by frequent quarrels, which were always quickly over. En- tries are common in the diary such as “finding my wife's clothes lie care- lessly laid up, I was angry with her, which 1 was troubled for” and “I took occasion to be angry with my wife before 1 rose about her putting up of half a crown of mine in a paper box, which she had forgot where she had lain it. But we were friends again as we are always.” Pepys, though himself fond of kissing elegant ladies and pretty “wenches,” had a Jealous dispesition and demanded great circumspection of his wife. Sus- pecting her of too great interest in her dancing master, he discontinued her dancing lessons, but was chagrined that the dancing master knew of his Jealousy. He writes: ** my trouble that he knows all, and may do me the disgrace to publish it as much as he can. very ill, and if too mu provoked shall witness it to her.” His wife spent shillings for a pair of ear- rings “which did vex me and brought both me and her to very high and very foule words from her to me, such as trouble me to think she should have in her mouth: and reflecting upon our old differences, which I hate to have remembered. He vowed to break them or make her sell them; but, finding that she had sent her maid to return them to the jeweler and get her money back, he inter- cepted the maid and sent the earrings back to his wife, “being satisfied that she yielded.” Occasionally Mrs. Pepy: took the offensive, as when she de- manded that Pepys cease ‘“keeping compal with a certain Mrs. Knipp in return for her giving up powdered hair. Pepys preferred being the dic- tator himself, for he records: “This vexed me, but I restrained myself from saying anything, but do think never to see this woman (at least, to have her here) more. But by and by 1 did give her money to buy lace and she promised to wear no more white locks while T lived, and so all very good. friends as ever.” * ok K Kk The beautiful drawings, some of them in color, explain and justify the relative expense of George Wharton Edwards’ “Spain.” The text is an ex- cellent discussion of Spanish archi- tecture and painting. The medieval and more modern sculptured beauties of Burgos, Madrid, Toledo, Tarra- gona, Zaragoza and Barcelona, and the treasures of painting in the Prado Gallery in Madrid are enthusiastically described and artistically portrayed in text and pictures. Mr. Edwards gives only casual attention to the Spanish people and the life they lead, but he does occasionally turn aside from art to relate some pleasant experience or to eulogize some Spanish traits. Es- pecially, being a human man, does he grow eloquent over the delights of a Spanish dinner at which he was a guest in Cadiz, where the chicken, broiled over coals after being rubbed with olive oil, the various spiced meats, the strawberries and cream and the wlnt‘s*\\':l'(; lgell\or‘dble, Adventure and romance coniing late, but not too late, to a spinster, who has devoted her best years to aged parents, enlist sympathy in_Phyllis Bottome's novel, “The Belated Reckon- ing.” Ellen McDermott at 42 finds herself free and with sufficient means to do what she chooses. Fortunately her life of suppression has not yet deprived her of all initiative, all de- sire for experience. She ‘goes to Italy and finds there not only beauty of nature and art, but a personal ad- venture which acquaints her with the Fascisti and involves her in the matri- monial difficulties of an American girl married to a Sicilian. et Worse and Worse. From the New York Herald-Tribune Now scandal has crept into chess. Soon we shall hear that somebody has thrown a croquet game. G- Avoiding the Ballot. From the San Francisco Chronicle. ntry is the one never get mad where the pedple enough to vote, perceive to | Which I take | Q. Is Kipling related to the British prime minister?—C. A. W. A. Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin are cousins, their mothers be- ing sisters. t Q. When did the Harrison die?—G. A. Her death is variously recorded in different publications, but the D. A. R., of which Mrs. Harrison was first president general, gives the date, Oc- tober 25, 1892, as authoritative. first Mrs. Benjamin Q. Are enlisted men of the Artillery regiments of the National Guard still sent to the Communication School at Fort Sill?>—J. T. A. The Army has not discontinued the practice of sending selected en- listed men of the Artillery’regiments of the National Guard to the - munication School at Fort Sill, Okla. This school is held under the super- vision of the chief of Field Artilles It is held annually from about K ruary 7 to June 7 of each year. Q. What is a Pyrrhic victory?— R.B.G. - A. It isa victory gained at too great a cost. The allusion is to Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, who lost the flower of his army in his victory over the Romans at Asculum in B.C. 279. When congratulated on his victory, he said, “One more such victory, and Pyrrhus is undon; Q. Was the money asked for to maintaip a mail guard appropriated by Congress?—C. H. A. It was not. Q. Has an estimate ever been made of how much cultivated land must be allowed to support one indi- vidual?—N. E. C. A. On the present basis of agri- culture, about 2 acres of land has to be cultivated in order to maintain one unit of population, man, woman or child. The amount is somewhat lower for the intensely cultivated countries. Q. Was Capt. William Kidd really as great a pirate as he was painted?— J. B. L. A. Information has recently been brought to light which would indicate that he was not. It is said that a letter from Lord Bellomont has just been brought forth which would have exonerated him if it had been ad- mitted to evidence at the time' of his trial. His enemies, however, would not permit its use. Also the forged French passes under which the Moor- ish vessel which he captured was sail- ing have been found in the archives of the British Public Record Office. He was not allowed to submit these in evidence. Q. What purpose do the sacs be- low a deer’s eyes serve?—W. E. B. A. The bags below the eyes of deer are called “larmiers,” and are tear bags, which contain glands that secrete tears. Q. When was daylight saving first used abroad?—N. G. B. A. Daylight saving was suggested as early as 1907 by an Englishman named William Wyllett, in his book entitled “Waste of Daylight.” The following year a bill for daylight sav- ing was introduced into the House of Commons, but failed to pass. The subject was brought up in Germany in 1916, when the German Federal Council passed a measure to set the clock ahead one hour. Within three months 12 Kuropean countries had followed, namely, Holland, Austria, Turkey, England, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. Q. How tall is the modern perfect woman?—P. B. A. The height of the perfect wom- an, based on measurements of various college girls, is 5 feet 6 inches. Q. How large is the nine-hole golf course in West Potomac Park?— F. J. "A." It contains about 25 acres. Q. Where are the Olympic games of 1928 to be held’—G. E. A. At Amsterdam. Q. Give statistics showing unem- ployment conditions in Russia.—F. B. A. Kerensky states that there are 2,000,000 workers out of employment in Russia at the present time, and 16,000,000 peasants, living by agriculture, are flocking to the cities, which are unable to absorb them. These two classes have at least 18,000,000 people now idle. Q. How many whales are thers in existence at the present time?— C. E. 8. A. A report made to the League of Nations committee of experts by M. Suarez in December, 1925, on exploil tion of the products of the sea, tenta- tively estimates the remaining number of whales at not over 12,000, with at least 1,500 killed in the Antarctic area by Americans each year, Q. What is the difference between sleet and hail?—J. A. D. A. Sleet is a drizzling or driving, partly frozen rain, or rain that freezes on the trees and ground. Hall falls usually in connection with thunder- storms. It is frozen rain, falling in pellets or hailstones of varying sizes and shapes. Q. Is there an authentic picturs of Nathan Hale?—M. B. A. No portrait of Hale Is extant and neither is there a cotemporary description of the young hero. Q. Where 1s Gen. Robert E. Lee buried?—K. P. A. The tomb of the Southern leader is in the cthapel at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va. Q. When sheep are sheared, is the fleece in one piece?—P. L. A. If the shearing has been care- fully done, the fleece should be in one piece. Tag ends are then cut off and the fleece rolled up neatly, with the flesh side out. Q. Why does women's halr longer than men’'s, when it is per- mitted to grow?—C. S. A. This Is a sex characteristic. Q. What animal has the keenest eyesight, and which is the most cun- ning?—P. S. - A. The Blological Survey says that mountain sheep probably have the keenest eyesight of all animals. Wolves and foxes are among the most cunning. Q. Has an amendment to the Con- stitution ever been repealed?—B. F. B. A. Up to the present time mo amendment to the Constitution has been repealed. Q. What treatment is given a white dogwood to make it pink?—J. V. D. C. A. It is necessary to propagate the pink form by grafting or budding on seedlings of the common white variety. Q. How long has the British Empire been known as the “Commonwealth of Nations”?—G. F. A. It was styled the “British Com- monwealth of Nations” for the time officially in the Irish treaty of 1921. Q. How is silica found and what is it used for?—F. 8. F. A. The Geological Survey says that silica occurs in nature as a mineral of economic importance in quartz, sand. ete. Good grades of silica are used for glass making. It may also be used in paint, as a wood filler, a wood pol- isher: in the manufacture of china and porcelain, as an abrasive, a scouring and cleansing agent, and as a heat and sound insulator. Have we had the pleasure of serv- ing you through our Washington In- formation Bureau? Can’t we be of some help to you in your daily prod- lems? Our business is to furnish you with authoritative information, and we invite you to ask us any question of fact in which you are interested. Nend your inquiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Inclose 2 cents in stamps for return postage. 2 Centralized Power Control Attracts Increased Interest Growing interest in the possibility of centralized and pyramided control of hydro-electric power in the United States is revealed in recent press com- ments on_the efforts that are being made by Gifford Pinchot and others to bring the matter to an issue before the country. It is even suggested that the power question may play an important part in the next national campaign. That Mr. Pinchot “has hold of a very real issue’ is the belief of the Harrisburg Telegraph (Republican), which says of such combinations that “in the long run not only the outside investor is bilked by overcapitaliza- tion but the consumer is made to pay the freight in rates high enough to guarantee a return on the face value of the inflated stocks. One of these days,” continues the Telegraph, “the electrical power issue is going to loom very large in the public mind.” The Indianapolis Nelvs (independent) ob- serves a tendency on the part of the public to assume that ‘“the merger policy and attendant recapitalization are designed to avoid sharing ade- quately with patrons the benefit of cheaper generation of current. Nor can there be any question,” adds that paper, “as to production costs having declined. “Power interests have literally linked the power lines of the Nation into one great net,” says the Houston Chron- icle (independent), with the comment ““That all this represents a great scien- tific and economic advance and offers the opportunity of development to many sections of the country no one can deny. But it seems that along with the concentration of the plants has gone a concentration of control even greater. * ¢ * The concen- tration of so much power in the hands of persons whose own wealth is not greatly involved in the properties that they control raises a question of pub- lic policy about which there probably will be a great deal of discussion.” struggle of Gov. Smith the same fight that was made by Theodore Roosevelt in his day as President. By veto,” that paper recalls, “he killed a power bill granting water rights in California, accompanying his message with a warning that monopoly of water powers would be the rmost powerful and colossal monopoly known to his- Pinchot’s appeal to the gov- ernors of all the States is viewed by the Peoria Transcript (independent) as unlikely to produce results. “He need not be surprised.” states that paper, “if the governors find it exceedingly difficult to establish their facts as the basis of legislative reform. If the electrical trust needs ‘busting,’ Mr. Pinchot and his associates have post- poned their campaign until it is too late for effective regulations. Certain it is that the next Congress will be indisposed to attack a giant industry which boasts of customer-ownership and which has been known to finance political campaigns upon a reciprocal basis.” * ok ok ¥ On the New York phase of the sub- ject the New York Herald Tribune (Republican) says: “The mind of the voters is set against bureaucracy and socialistic invasions of the field of private enterprise. The disastrous conduct of the Nation's railroads un der Mr. McAdoo's governmental opera- tion is still fresh in the public’s mind. Mr. Smith has already been driven back a long way from his original water-power plan. If he persists in his present folly, he will end in a rout. The Elmira Star-Gazette (independ- ent). however, referring to both Boulder Dam and New York, declares: “If the Government undertakes this great constructive project (Boulder Dam), as it assuredly will, it should control the switchboard. * * * The spectacle of the great power interests working to block this great undertak- * ok ok A “Before very long.” in the opinion of the Providence Bulletin (independ- ent), “the entire country will be sup- plied in some w: with power from huge central plants. It would sur- prise many people to know what ex- tensive connections already exist. Sooner or later the decision of control will confront the voters. It behooves us all to give the matter earnest at- tention.” The Buffalo Evening News (Republican) suggests that - “Senator Norris and his friends are likely to talk the question of power policy into the platforms in the 1928 campaign,” and that paper holds that “it is not a pleasant prospect to contemplate, for the issue is not one that lends itself easily to a reasonable public decision.” Senator Norris is quoted by the Day- ton Daily News (independent Demo- tic) as stating that ‘“the average price of household electricity in the United States is four times as high as in Ontario, where they employ the system favored by him for Muscle Shoals and by Gov. Smith for New York power. Of course, that compari- son i8 questioned,” admits the News. “In the questioning there is evidently room for a hot political issue. Into that issue the country, whether on party lines or some other, is evidently headed.” The Portland Oregon Journal (independent Democratic) sees in “the ing because the bill gives the Govern- ment the right to develop the power # has a direct bearing on the effort to wrest from the people of this State their control of the St. Lawrence.” Among the individual States, Ala- bama is deeply interested in its loeal power problem. The Birmi News (independent Democratic) to the Alabama Power Co. as “a gor- poration which is’ enabling thousands of other great and small concerns to make money and at the same time create here in Alabama one of the greatest industrial regions in the world.” The News adds: * opinion in Alabama has evolved from the provincial idea that cor wealth means tainted wealth to point where it demands only great public utilities, such as - Alabama Power Co., shall be regulated by the Public Service 8 mission without_throttling it, leay it free to go ahead and de splendid resources of the Sth mately. " 3 Of the problem In Maine, Which is land involved in general New pret t plans, the Portland Express can) says that “the basis of t! power agitation n be well to the Waestern co movement,” but it contends water-power situation is peculiar to us, and must be according (e AUT OWR nesds"" unable to make & ‘