Evening Star Newspaper, October 10, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Senday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. # MONDAY.......October 10, 1027 THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening, Star Newspaper Company Business Office: and Pennsylvania 110" East Editor L1th 8t New York Office: Chicago Office: Tower Ruilcine. Europen Ofice’ 13 Reent St.. London. Engiand. The Evening Star with the Sunday’ Morn ing edition is delivered by carriers -within the city at 60 ceats per mont 45 cents per month: Sundavs ver month, Orders telephone Main 5600, cartier at end of sach month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland erd Virginia. 1vr. §0.00: 1 mo. 1 vr.. $6.00: 1 mo.. 1 7. $300° 1 mo.. Daily and Sunday. Daily on'v Sundas oul¥ 78e Boc 25¢ All Other States and Canada. v and Sund 1 vr.. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1 .00 $400:1 mo.. 85¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the 1 for republication of all newe dis. tches credited 10 1L oF MOt Otuer<ise cred- ted in tois naver and also the local news published herem. Al rizhts of publication Bf kpecial dispaiches herein are also resorved Do Not Obscure the Issue! Announcement of some of the results of its preliminary survey of the tax situation In eighty of the largest cities of the United States convinces the Board of Trade that the tax rate here ®hould not exceed its present figure of $1.70. Through its municipal finance committee, the Board of Trade, in keeping with its fine and long estab- lished record of forwarding the de- velopment of the Capital City and protecting at the same time the in- terests of its residents, is secking to | ‘demonstrate anew a fact that becomes more apparent every year, namely, that Washingtonians are not under- taxed, but, on the other hand, if there must be resort to comparison, they are overtaxed. To prove this, the figures so far announced by the board St. Louis. Wonder whether Yanks will win again next year. It was only twelve ‘days ago that news of a tornalo’s terrible achieve- ment in the capital of the lower Mis- sissippi Valley reached the rest of the world. Of dead there were nearly a hundred; estimates of the property damage ran to nine figures. For a day—two days—there was a vivid sense of horror and sympathy in the minds of all of us. How is it today? Word comes to us and is carried on the inner pages of our Eastern press of the steadfast and undismayed spirit with which St. Louis has gone about the business of repairing the havoe wrought upon it. The story is one typical of the afflicted city. Dis- aster is not new to St. Louis; it has faced it before with a fortitude and gallantry born of its unshakable faith in its destiny. It is triumphing and will ultimately completely triumph over this latest savage blow. To St. Louis there must seem, in the surface casuality of the rest of the Nation, something inhumanly un- ympathetic. Facing the stupendous task that is hers—facing it with the ruins of ten thousand homes about her—the outward indifference of those but recently so articulate in their ey pressions of sympathy must be diffi cult of comprehension. Yet this she must know: That the surface is not the heart. And that deep within us is a definite sense of pride in the in- domitable spirit of a gallant Ameri- can community, which, by its quiet courage, lends new significance to a phrase already dear to the world— The Spirit of St. Lou — e Another Pan American Conference. The conference on simplification and standardization of consular pro- cedure which opened in Washington today. is another of the many steps taken ‘under the general guidance of the Pan-American Union to overcome the natural obstacles now impeding the smooth flow of commerce between the American republics, Consular pro- the indicate that the true value assess- ment system in Washington more than makes up for the actual differ- ‘ence in tax rates between Washington and other cities—a difference so often ... ecited by those who possess only casual ‘“'mequaintance with actual conditions. All of this is interesting, and the figures compiled by the Board of Trade will no doubt have important . bearing upon what promises to be & lively rediscussion this Winter of the troublous problem of District finances. Higher assessments on District of Columbia property with no correspond- ing decrease in the tax rate resulted + -during the last Summer in renewed ~ discussion of District finances by trade organizations and civic bodies, and the ‘Commissioners have already indicated . ‘their intention of again bringing the matter before Congress this Winter. This preliminary discussion, however, “has been marked by a tendency to _forget the real issue involved. In con- nection with the proposed airport, for instance, the suggestion came from ‘one source that Congress should “help” the District purchase the site, but if Congress declined, the site should, nevertheless, be purchased by the District. From another source the suggestion has been revived that the intangible tax be abolished, and an Ancome tax substituted. From another source comes the suggestion that the whole matter of raising revenue in {“'the District should be looked into, with the thought in mind that somie ‘potential sources of revenue now ‘escape their share of taxation, while others are taxed disproportionately to the ue’ure or the amount of the business they transact. In addition, the bond issue proposal has again come to the front as a panacea for hard times. None of these propositions, whether sound or unsound in the abstract. strikes at the root of the difficulty. For example, unless the Nation is _bound unmistakably and inescapably to participate substantially in the re- payment of a Treasury advance or bond issue, the latter becomes a vital Injury instead of a blessing. The District’s program in placing its plea before the coming session of Congress should be devoid of these _mide issues and counter proposals. ‘They tend to become red herring drawn across the trail. Let there be a united front; a determined stand on the question of fixing a fair system of ipportioning expenses between the District and the Federal governments wsfor the maintenance of our Capital. #»-o.Find the equitable relation, mark it © " plainly and establish it, and then let &ttention be focused on the tax rate, <the sources of revenue and the ‘methods of collecting it. Pending the establishment of a permanent equitable system of financ- { ?ing the District,” every effort should "_be made to reduce the injurious in- justices of the temporary lump-sum “payment plan. As an immediate)| practical step, push vigorously for in- crease of the basic lump sum pay- ment of nine millions; for a general 1 _lncrease corresponding approximately " to increases in total appropriations, "l and for specific increases well known $ito us all as demanded by the law or | by equity. ———————— Mexico never touches the light ‘guttar and mentions manana when the man who has the situation in hand decides to suppress political rivalry. s The Spirit of St. Louis. It is an extraordinary quality of that vague amalgam popularly desig- nated as the public mind that the lesding topic of popular interest of today is, almost literally, the inspira- tion for day after tomorrow’s yawn. Events crowd thickly about us—so thickly that the predicament ‘of a seven-year-old lad at a three-ring cir- cus, with the lovely lady in pink tights on his left somersaulting upon the back of her prancing steed; the trained seal band playing “There'll - Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To- night,” on the extreme right, and the muscular lion tamer facing imminent mastication in the center, is, to our more mature bewilderment, relatively simple. There was a flood on the . Mississippi and an announcement dealing with somebody’s choice of fction; a lad with a vivid smile flew cedure, determined as it is by each nation to meet its own requirements, becomes so technical and complicated at times that its mastery and under- standing by shippers react to the dis- advantage of all concerned. That these requirements differ widely, and often conflict, causes further difficul- ties. The purpose of the present gathering, in which twenty-one re- publics of North, South and Central America and the West Indies are rep- resented, will seek a standardized and simplified procedure which may be adopted by all the countries. The rec- ommendations of the present confer- ence will be transmitted to the gov- ernments concerned and submitted for adoption to the Sixth Interna- tional Conference of American States which meets in Havana, Cuba, Jan- uary 16. The conference meeting at the Pan- American Union is an outgrowth of the Third Pan-American Commercial Conference from the meetings of which in the past have grown a number of commercial conventions relating to trade marks, customs procedure and kindred subjects, all of them designed to make the business of commerce be- tween the meighborly republics of the two American continents flow unim- peded. Devoid, as they are, of political complications or radically differing points of view, they have been success- tul. Continuation of conferences be- tween the American republics is indic- ative of mutual striving toward the friendly relations to which they are dedicated. Removing the barriers of trade and commerce takes down, at the same time, obstacles in the way of friendship and good will. ——————te Financial authorities report that business is good. Nevertheless, the time-honored game of guessing the market is as perilous as ever. The best business is still based on con- servative intelligence and honest in- dustry. ————— A diplomatic position used to be regarded as a polite social distinction. It is now regarded as one of the hard- est jobs on earth. —_—————— Progressive Dreams. Republican Progressives will con- tinue to “bore from within.” Even those who stepped outside the party lines three years ago to support a third, hybrid ticket, with the late Rob- ert M. La Follette at the head and Senator Burton K. Wheeler, a Demo- crat, at the tail, appear now to have abandoned all idea of a third ticket or third party for the national campaign of 1928, But the lesson, so clearly demon- strated in recent years in this country, that organized minorities can be made powerful politically, has not been lost on the Progressives. The Progressive group in the Senate is planning to launch a presidential boom of its own, with Senator Norris of Nebraska as the likely choice of the group. Sen- ator Norris, however, is proposing the nomination of Senator Borah of Idaho, who has remained somewhere in the No Man’s Land between the ultra Pro- gressives and the regulars of the party. The Progressive group does not ex- pect to be able to nominate the presi- dential candidate of the Republican party. What it does hope, however, is to show such a formidable front that its wishes will have to be con- sidered in the Republican national convention, both in connection with the nomination of a candidate and with the drafting of a platform. Already Senator Norris and others of the group are predicting dire re- sults for the Republican party if it Aares to nominate a ‘reactionary”— President Coolidge, for example, or Charles Evans Hughes of New York, They visualize the great States of the West turning from the Republican party to support a Democrat for Presi- dent under such circumstances, even Gov. Al Smith of Tammany Hall, New York. The Progressives in their ef- forts to frighten their more regular brethren of the G. O. P. are over- playing the role of prophets of evil. Probably they know as well as an- other that the Democrats of the West themselves hate no such hope, It is no secret that the Progressive group does not like Mr. Coolidge or across the Atlantic; a fight in Chicago ?d five minutes of hell on earth in his administration. It is not difficult to understand they would be glad to have the count' believe that the THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, great majority of voters in their own States are so opposed to Mr. Coolidge they would turn him and his adminis- iration Gown in 1928 if the opporiunity presented. But it is_quite true that these same Progressives in 1924 were just as violently opposed to Mr. Cool- idge. It is quite true that they as- serted Mr. Coolidge could not and would not carry these Western States. It will be recalled that Mr. Coolidge carried them all, with the exception of Wisconsin, which remained faith- ful to Senator La Follette. What has occurred in the last three and a half years to rouse the country against President Coolidge or a candi- date of his kind? Never in.any sim- ilar period has the country been more prosperous as a whole. Even in the farm districts where there has been distress, this distress has been allevi- ated. The Progressives are giving the American people credit for little com- mon sense when they insist they are now rehdy to kick over the apple cart. B Honking Pedestrians. A new scheme for pedestrian pro- tection in crowded present-day 1“flflk’ has made its appearance in London in the shape of a small horn carried in the walking stick. The other day in the busy metropolis pedestrians and motorists, too, stared with amaze- ment at a nattily dressed man from whose cane, at every intersection, a prolonged blast issued. If this unique walking-stick horn should become a fad, it is logical to believe that the next step on the pro- gram would be to equip all pedes- trians with lights and possibly bump- ers front and rear. Then they could wander at will through the streets honking at each other and immune to all ordinary collisions. It would, indeed, be a strange sight. . N Many a speaker in a school reminds the boys that each has a chance of becoming President. No one who addresses the class ventures to ask all who would prefer to be Babe Ruth to raise their hands. r—or—s Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel. Unfortunately, she could not copy- right the act and prevent imitators from hurting the value of a promising vaudeville career. ———————— The manner in which radio and films evade the payment of ringside prices is all that prevents pugilism from being recognized as one of the leading industries. & ——— e Washington, D. C., is again men- tioned as the “City of Magnificent Distances"—distances that extend far along the splendid highways of Mary- land and Virginia. —————— ‘While an army's strength is neces- sarily dependent on numbers, Calles has succeeded in giving great impor- tance to the strategic movements of a firing squad. ———— Any interview with Mussolini now consists of a hand-shake and a modest manner, intimating, “We hope we do not intrude.” Tiscussions of evolution continue. The monkey claims some respect by remaining aloof in-dignified silence. —_—————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Why Be an Exception? We're told to seek for brevity, both serious and sensible; That any sort of le¥ity is highly repre- hensible. And yet across the lawn Whlc)l we have raked with care meticulous The Autumn leaves come dancing In a riot most ridiculous! The rivulet is bubhlelon,le. Its tune is never serious. The pranksome breeze is troublesome. Leaves shiver, all delirious, And everything in nature seems from grief to hold indemnity. So, why should man assume a con: stant air of great solemnity? Eloquence Against Arms. “Do you think there will be another war?"” “I hope not” answered Senator Sorghum. “Before a war, it would seem positively necessary to have some argument. And that’s where our talents for fillibustering ought to come in.” Compulsory Jazz. “Life is real. Life is earnest.” ‘The poet’s words are true, The merriest tune sometimes is played Because the rent is due. Jud Tunkins says his commu- nity’s gretting rough. Wheye they once threw an old shoe after a bride and groom, they now throw a hip flask, . Un-Modern. “Would you marry for wealth?" “No,” replied Miss Cayenne, “I still have a little old fashioned sentiment that resents regarding matrimony merely as a getrich-quick scheme.” “We become weary of the friend who irritates us,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and trust ourselves to a stranger who betrays us."” Approximate Slaying. The airplane was intended for An implement in case of war. And even now we hold our breath— The airman scares us 'most to death. “Good intentions allus fall short,” said Uncle Eben. “Nobody Is quite as good as he thought he was gineter be durin’ camp meetin’.” ——— o That Classic Calm. From the Baltimore Sun. A philosopher is a fellow who can watch his favorite team lose the pen- nant and not blame it all on the idiosyncrasy of the umpire. ——————— A Healthy Pursuit. From the Wall Street Journal. Motoring is good for the heaith. Only pedestrians get run down. Extraordinary Coincidence. From the Richmond Ttem. One of the oddities is that every centenarian has either used:-whisky most ef his lite or let it llc\ THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. This column is indebted to E. W. W. for a clipping from the current issue of Science, as follows: “During recent tests made in Berlin by Dr. Victor Mendel, animals and birds showed a rather surprising lack of response to moving pictures. “The pictures were especially selected for each animal and animal group, and the experiments were made in an exhibition room especially adapted to the purpose. “The response of dogs was prac- tically nil. Only a little mongrel of doubtful origin evinced a momentary interest by sniffing at the human figures on the screen. “The experiments with cats were much more favorable. Of five sub- Jjects, three responded actively, show- ing fight upon:the appearance of a big dog on the screen. “Experiments with birds were rather negative. Geese and ducks, chickens and pigeons paid some at- tention, while owls showed great in- terest. Small birds and barnyard fowls showed anxiety when a hawk appeared in their line of vision, “A squirrel displayed interest when a weasel made its appearance on the screen, but reptiles and fish were, as might have béen expected, quite indif- ferent.” K K X The surprising thing, it seems to us, is that any of the creatures paid any attention at all to the pictures. Human beings of today are so used to going to the movies that they com- monly forget how new a thing in crea- tion they are, with their use of a flat surface to depict both depth and move- ment, the latter by the consecutive throwing of slightly different poses upon the screen, giving the illusion of motion. Mankind has been bred up through the centuries to contemplate the flat page, both in reading and writing, and in pictures and drawings of all kinds, so that even children have a sort of instinct for- perspective and that sort of thing. The animals, birds and fishes, how- ever, know nothing of books. Their school is the forest, the uncharted sea and the limitless air. Such things as humanity deals with as common: place are utterly outside the knowl- edge of the creatures. * ok ok K If they display any interest at all in motion pictures, then it is striking to a degree. There are popular legends to the effect that a dog or cat tried to eat some article of food depicted in a painting, but such tales are of doubt- 'ul authenticity and scarcely come within the scope of common knowl- edge. One may rather suspect that they are clever bits of propaganda put out in favor of the individual artist by his loving friends. Certainly the dogs and cats we have been privileged to be acquainted with never displayed the slightest evidence of a taste for art, either pure or ap- plied. A picture on the wall to a dog is nothing, or less than nothing, if such there be. Even the mirror leaves an impres- sion upon the average animal which may be properly termed negative. As far as our observation goes, neither a dog or cat really seems to grasp a “looking glass,” The animal, while he sometimes will condescend to look at himself, does not really see himself, we are con- vinced. Once we saw a dog turn, at the sight of another dog entering the room, as he viewed the entry in a mirror, but we are convinced that it was scent of the second dog, and not the sight of it in the glass, that caused him to turp. X oRE Perhaps there is no owner of a pet who has not wished that he migit take the creature to a motion picture theater, especially when one of the popular dog actors is on the screen. Similarly, many a_fond owner of dog or cat has wished to take the pet to the Zoo, in order to watch the re- actions of the animal as it was led or carried past the caged creatures of many lands. Once we saw a domestic cat at large in the Zoo. Evidently it could not read the signs. As far as we recall, it paid no particular attention to the crea- tures, but went on its solitary way, which way evidently was a stalking expedition. * k ¥ %k As to Dr. Mendel's experiments, the brief account given leaves many in- teresting details to speculation. Showing of a “big dog” on the screen was well done, in the case of cats, but one wonders if the dogs were ated to-the sight of a cat in full t? If such a picture was shown, and tie dogs failed to respond, certainly it showed hevond peradventure that dogs are no movie fans! 1t is to be presupposed that the ex- perimenter took every care to make the animals feel at home at their firat “movie.” Certainly animals suffering from fright or even plain_embarrass- ment comld not be expected to display much interest in the flittering figures of the silver sheet. One also wonders if the dog spec- tators were mnot a bit handicapped through the. universal necessity of showing the pictures in a darkened or_scmi-darkened room. Would not this give the cat a de- cided advantage? * k *x * That the house cat seemed rather the winner in the novel experiments will mot be surprising to the lovers of this creature. A dog at a movie, one might imagine, would act the part of a naughty child, running up and down aisles, barking at the operator in his loft, and probably displaying a great deal more interest in the path of the light than in the picture itself. The dog would want to caper up and down, just as a child who is taught toe dancing is forever pranc- ing in public. The cat, on the other hand, finds quiet contemplation more in its line. and gazing at the leaping flames for hours at a time. Perhaps it even sees pictures there. So it is only natural that cats at a movie would outdo the dogs as specta- tors. For all the prating that has been done about the companionable- ness of the dog; the cat is just as com- panionable to its friends, and since a theater resembles a home more than an open field does, the cat would be more at home in the former than in the latter. Towser, on command, might sit quietly enough in a box at a play, but Puss-in-Boots, if he were there, really would enjoy the performance. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. It's not going too far to say that the Coolidge administration is pro- foundly shocked by the reign of terror in Mexico. Shock is tinged with keen disappointment. All concerned were inclined to believe that Dwight W. Morrow's appointment to the United States ambassadorship in Mexico pre- saged the dawn of a new era in our tense and tangled relations with the Calles government. Now all is more or less up in the air again. No one knows what next may happen. If President Calles should be overthrown by revolution, we might be on the threshold of an even more hopeless situation than already confronts us. The United States has adopted the policy of withholding recognition from any Central American government that accedes to power by unconstitu- tional means. -Thus, if Calles were driven from office by a coup d’etat, the chances are that Uncle Sam would boycott his conquerors. Americans acquainted with actual conditions in Mexico assert that the revolutionary movement is strong enough to be.as- sured of success the moment the United States permits Calles’ foes to secure American munitions of war. But the State Department to date has resolutely frowned upon lifting the embargo which prohibits exportation of arms across the Rio Grande. * K K K The First Lady of the Land has just done another one of those grace- ful things for which she is celebrated and beloved. The latest addition to Washington's ever-grownig number of restaurants and teahousés was re- cently opened by Mrs. James Haley, the voung wife of the United States secret service operative who was until a few weeks ago Mrs. Coolldge’s per- sonal bodyguard. As soon as the President’s wife heard of Mrs. Haley's new business venture, Mrs. Coolige sent word that she'd like to be the first customer. * % ¥ X Federal finance authorities are in- terested in New York's latest move in the direction of world monetary su- premacy. The New York Stock Ex- change, for the first time in history, is now listing shares and securities of foreign corporations, just as domestic stocks are listed. This innovation places Wall Street on a level with the London Stock Exchange, which for many years has enabled the British investing public to deal in securities of leading countries of the globe with the same facility that it buys and sells British shares. The New York Stock Exchange will subject foreign issues to the rigid tests that govern the list- Ing of American obligations. Prefer- ence will be given to gilt-edged secu- rities. None will be approved which does not originate in a gold-standard country. - This provision bars French, Itajian, Japanese and Polish stocks. Uncle Sam's pre.eminence as Mother Earth’s banker is exemplified by the recent revelation that the amount of foreign loans now currently placed here is greater than the combined to- tal of foreign financing in England, Holland and Switzerland. * ok x Adherents of Senators-elect Vare of Pennsylyania and Smith of Illinois have bheen exploring the possibility of cheating the Senate hangmen by having them sworn in before Con- gress assembles by some official other than the presiding officer of the Senate. The bright idea seems to have orizinated in the circumstances under which Calvin Coolidge toek the oath of office in 1923—by lamp- light and at the hands of his father, a justice of the peace. Senate au- thorities say there's no case on rec- ord whereby the upper house has recognized as valild an oath admin- istered by . an outsider.. There've been three or four occasions on which Senators-elect have actually sworn the statutory oath before a non-Sen- ate oficial, but no precedents for re- garding such caths as entitling & Sen- i i ator-elect to take his seat. The Sen- ate has simply ignored the procedure. Senate standing rule II, providing for' oath-taking, is based upon sec- tion 28 of the Revised Statutes, spe. cifically requiring the President of the Senate to administer an oath befors a Senator-elect can qualify. * Kok % Emile Berliner, veteran Washing- ton scientist-inventor—the maker of the microphone—has been spending the Summer and early Autumn in his ndtive Hanover, Germany, and there installing some specimens of his discovery, acoustic walls. Berliner writes this observer that it takes three times as long in the German cli- mate to dry a cement wall as it takes in the United States. “But,” he adds, “we are, of course, a dryer country!” * ok ok % Baron Shiba, Japanese aeronautical scientist and director of the imperial aerodynamic research department at Tokio, has arrived in the United States to study aviation developments. Incidentally he comes to arouse inter- est in the first World Congress of Engineers to be held in Japan in 1929, Baron Shiba is about to turn up in ‘Washington, to invite Herbert Hoover Lo be a special guest of honor at the congress. The Japanese savant is hearing on many hands that Hoover may have more important preoccupa- tions about that time. Shiba brought to this country a set of amazing films, which he’s just presented to the Guggenheim School of Aeronautics at l\e:xv ‘Y"nrk University. They were made by a camera developed in the Shiba laboratories, and V\'I?Ie;'h is ca- pable of taking pictures of the air at the rate of 20,000 a second. * ok ok % Representative John N. Garner, Democrat, of Texas, now heading this way for the ways and means commit- tee meeting called to hold hearings on tax revision, has several claims to fame unbeknown to' the world at large. He's the only Representative in ‘Washington who never sends out copies of his speeches to more or less admiring constituents. “Jack” Gar- ner’s idea is that if the voters of the fifteenth Lone Star district want to keep track of his outgivings on Cap- itol Hill they'll manage to do so some- how. Another of Garner’s political ec- centricities is a consistent refusal to recefve delegations of favor-asking or browbeating citizens. The 23 vast | counties comprising Garyer's district produce more honey and goats than any other region in the republic. Gar- ner will be the next Democratic lead- er of the House, in all probability, and certainly the next chairman of ways and means, if his party obtains con- trel of the Seventy-first Congress. (Copyright, 1927.) UNITED STATES N WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. Secretary Lansing produces mes- sages showinz that Germany was en- | gaged in acts of war against this country and was officially encouraging and directing sabotage here 15 months before the United States entered the World War. * * * President is- sues proclamation setting forth the terms under which the Food Adminis- tration, after November 1, will con- trol the manufacture, storage, im- portation and distribution of prac’ tically all of the essential foodstu e #" % News just leaks out of a recent mutiny of the crews on five German warships in a widespread plot for peace. It is thought that drafting for submarine service may have been a leading cause, with morale further affected by war weari- ness, * °* Col. House confers with President and cabinet officials regarding the systematic collection of data to be used eventually in n:filmwm. Staff ot experts u £ It is used to sitting by the fireside | peage “to Be . MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1927. History Is Quoted In Capt. Kidd’s Favor To the Editor of The Star: The picture entitled “A Pirate Couple at the Carnival—Capt. Kidd and His Wife,” appearing in a recent issue of The Star, seems to afford an- jother example of how often we study tradition rather than fAtts, even in schooi text books, and it is hoped that The Star may publish this letter as an act of simple justice to a patriot | whose name has for so long been as- | sociated with a crime that he did not | commit. , There is scarcely a_schoolboy who Has not heard how “his name was Capt. Kidd, as he sailed, as he sailed,” and one of the favorite outdoor sports of early adventurers was to seek his buried treasure. “Barnes’ Histary” informs its students that “for many years the Atlantic Ocean was infested by pirates, and Willlam Kidd, a New York shipmaster, was sent to cruise against these sea robbers, but turned pirate himself and became the most noted of them all. Returning from his cruise, he was at-length captured while boldly walking in the streets of | Boston, carried to England, tried and hanged.” According to the New International Encyclopedia, however, Kidd, after voluntarily returning to Boston to learn the truth of the rumors against him, was arrested and sent to Eng- land, where he was tried, and, though the evidence against him was incomplete and the proceedings marked by gross injustice, he was found guilty of piracy and of murdering a muti- nous gunner on board his vessel. Al- lowed no counsel and his explanations ignored, he was hanged in London, protesting his innocence to the last. And the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which would hardly be likely to exag- gerate the case against its own coun- try, after telling of the award made him by the Council of New York in appreciation of h services to the colony and his commission to cruise against pirates, goes on to say that after his arrest he was “convicted on nothing but the testimony of two members of his crew, who turned King’s evidence.” In Congress Hall (a part of the old Independence Hall), in Philadelphia, there hangs an oil painting portray- ing the ovation extended to Kidd upon his return to Boston after hearing the rumors of the plot against him, and below the picture there hangs this printed legend: “Unquestionably the most unfortu- nate man in history. Respectable citizen of New York. courageous sol- dier and man of family, political expe. diency has given him a reputation as a bloodthirsty pirate which can prob- ably never be wiped out. A scheme was set on foot by leading citizens of New York, headed by the King of England, to fit out a ship, commanded by 'Kidd, to suppress piracy, but it would appear that the true object was to plunder the pirates themselves, However, Kidd refused to turn pirate, His failure to gain treasure made his crew mutinous, and in the meantime the scheme was exposed at home. A scapegoat was needed, and Kidd, be- ing absent, was selected for that pur. pose. He was trapped on his return, his papers proving his innocente sup. pressed, denied counsel in England, whe.= he had been sent for trial, and on a trumped-up_charge of murder yas hanged at Execution Dock in 7 Is it any wonder that Napoleon once defined history as “fiction agreed upon”’? GERTRUDE E. MACKE Invites Open Fight on Prohibition Issue To the Editor of The Star: A statement something like this is frequently seen in the press: ‘Pro- hibition is not, and should not be made, ia!' political issue in the campaign of 28" In some instances the person using the statement is evidently confused as to its real meaning. In other cases the writer is endeavoring to quiet the drys in his own party while encourag- ing the wet element everywhere to proceed as though there were no such thing as the eighteenth amendment. Senator Walsh of Montana is mors rational in his views, as expressed in the interview with him published in The Star for October 3. This out- standing dry Democrat says: “One need only refer to recent tests in both houses of Congress to satisfy himself that, in so far as public senti- ment is reflected there, the country is overwhelmingly dry. An exception- ally accurate correspondent says Con- gress is as dry as 6 to 1, and that in four Congresses since constitutional prohibition wis adopted there has been no retrogression. There must be, therefore, a very substantial change of sentiment before repeal be- comes a live issue. The wet and dry question undoubtedly will enter many congressional contests, but it is un- thinkable that either party will de- clare in favor of repeal in whole or in part or for reversal of the policy.” It may be true that no one party will venture a plank calling for re- peal, and that no other party will do more than to incorporate in its plat- form a general statement favoring enforcement of all laws, But these two policies will still leave large sec- tions in both parties unsatisfied. If there is a considerable group of citizens that is determined on the re- peal—or at least the nullification—of the eighteenth amendment, let that group so declare, making its nomina- tions and conducting its campaign in | the open. At any rate, in view of the activi- ties of the wet group, it seems im- perative that any party expecting to make a successful appeal to law- abiding, moral and temperance voters should unequivocally declare, both in its platform and in the persons and characters of its nominees for office, that at this particular stage of the prohibition fight it stands for the eightcenth amendment. Senator Walsh is undoubtedly cor- rect in his judgment that the country is overwhelmingly dry, but the sense ill get to the wets much more lly through the right sort of platform and candidates, especially if the wets themselves are in the fleld with a wet platform and wet candi- dates who go down to ignominious and deserved defeat. LUTHER K. LONG. Pearson, Md. . ] New Traffic Light Proposal Is Opposed To the Editor of The Star: If an outsider may be permitted an opinion I wish to state that if the proposed new traffic light program as recently set forth in The Star is put in force, it will materially clog the wheels of business in Washington and put an added burden on transporta- tion, which must be passed on to the “ultimate consumer.” Already the cost of delivery has been increased by the numerous (many unnecessary) “stop” signs with which the ecity is dotted. Through traffic has been dé- flected from Massachusetts avenue to Connecticut avenue and K street. Sixteenth street traffic goes up Fif- teenth. Now it is proposed to block- ade both these as well as Rhode Is- land avenue and Sixth street. ‘Washington was once called a city of “magnificent distances.” It should now be dubbed “the city of unneces: sary stops.” The synchronized idea will not work out in heavy traffic. Mr. Harland can fearn this any morning or evening on. Massachusetts avenue. He can also see cars make right-hand turns on the red light and see cars run by his stop signs. I believe in sane motoring and in ‘reasonable lations. But I ‘can't see the necessity of relegating Wash- ington traffic back to the days of ‘horse cars and the speed of horse- drawn vehicles. A. D. PHILLIPS. Q. Why is called?—M. S. A. As to the origin of the expre sion “Indian Summer,” Mr. Albert Mat- thews has shown that it does not oc- cur anywhere either in printed books or manuscripts until the year 1794, but at that time it was in use throughout the Atlantic States. The popular be-| lief that Indian Summer weather was predicted by the native Indians in con- | versation with the first European R\‘l‘i tlers finds no documentary corrobora- | tion, and the idea that the term “In-| dian Summer” was employed by the early settlers Seems to be a myth. In general, neither this term nor any- thing coriesponding to it is to be| found in any Indian language. The | term “Indian Summer” in its present | usage was introdueed into England | from America. 1a 1778 Horace Wal- pole used the same expression, but he evidently had in mind the intense heats of tho Midsummer weather in India and the \West Indies. “Indian Summer” so Q. What is a telega?—E. C. T. A. A rude four-wheeled, springless wagon used by the : Q. By what name was Boston, Mass., - |originally known?—A. T, A. The name of the original settle- ment made in August, 1630, w mountaine.” This name cause of the three peaks of the most prominent hill, later called “Beacon Hill.” The name “Boston” was formally given the colony in was derived from the English town of Boston, the home of some of the lead- ers of the colony. The Indians called the setitement “Shawmut.” set Py crystallize’—G. F. T. A. Nearly all varieties of honey will_crystailize, but the extent fo which this takes place varies, due to | the variation in the relative amounts of dextrose and such as alfalfa and crystallize nearly com- pletely while others, such as sage and tupelo, remain liquid under practically all conditions of tempera- ture, etc, 1 Q. Tlow much did the Shenandoah we How many motors did it hav . AL W, A. The dead weight of the Shen- andoah was about 75,000 pounds This airship was: equipped with five 300-horsepower engines. Q. Who was Lothario?—B. C. M. A. Lothario s the namegof the principal male character in "Rowe's play, “The Fair Penitent.” Q. Are Hawaiians and_Filipinos eligible to Annapolis?’—J. F. O'B, A. Natives of Hawali are eligible for appointment to the United States Naval Academy as well as to com- issions in the United States Navy. Filipinos are allowed to receive in- struction at the Naval Academy, but are not entitled to appointment to any commissioned office in the United States Navy by reason of their graduation from the Naval Academy. Q. Are there any French sailors buried at Yorktown?—W. R. A. French sailors and soldiers are buried on this Virginia battleground. Q. What are crocodile tears?—B. S. W, g A. The expression “crocodile tears” is_ used in reference to insincere erief from the legend told by the old Trl-| J4th of April, 1874, at the home of a This name |. kinds of honey do not| + R T levulose in them. | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. travelers that a crocodile wept over those it devoured. Q. Where are the De Autremont brothers imprisoned?—C. L. A. All three are now serving life sentences in the State penitentiary at Salem, Oreg. They blew up a mail train near Siskiyou, Oreg., October 11, 1923, killing a mail clerk and three train men. They were apprehended after a world-wide search lasting three years. ’ automobiles stolen, how many are recovered?—H. P. §. Basing computations on reports from 23 cities, 81 per cent were recov- ered in 1926. There were 95,225 stolen and 85,114 recovered. Q. ralle Q. Of the acres mp ground and con- y Forge Park, con- | taining Washington's headquarters and other historic landmar! have been preserved or T 1 Q. To whom w Jesse James, the ‘lmrl'n\'. married?—P. | A Jesse James was m: first cousin, Zerelda Mimms, ied to his on the shbor, near Kearney, Mo. Q. How did the expr jon “Better knock on wood” eri ? 1. G. C. A. It came from the placing of the hand on the statue or effigy of a deity {to ward off misfortune in event of boastfulness. How ma languages and dia- 2. M. there are o guages or dialects in the world. di tributed as follows: North and S America, 1,624; Asi Africa, 276, Q. How old is Gene Tunney?, When was he in the service’—C. E. C. | "A. Gene Tunney is 29 years of age. | Ho enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 17, 1918, in New York, was train- ed at Quantico, and went overseas, He was discharged at Quantice, Va., on July 29, 1919 Q. I have heard t once a per- | son reaches 50 years of age he has passed danger of contracting tubercu- losis. Is this true?—A. W. D. A. No age is immune to tubercu- losis. Young infants succumb rapidly to it, and, contrary to the general be- lief, persons over 50 years of age are often victims, while deaths from tuber- culosis are frequent in old age. Q. Has camouflage been used wars other than the European War ~'A. Camouflage has been practiced in'all wars, but was highly developed in the World War. d Stop a minute and _think about this fact. You can ask The Evening Star Information Bureau any question of fact and get the answer back in a per- sonal letter. It is a great educational } idea_introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people in the world— American newspaper readers. It is @ part of that best purpose of a meiwcs- paper—service. There is mo charge ezcept 2 cents in stamps for return postage. Get the habit of asking ques- tions. Address your letter to The Evening Star Informabon Bureau, Frederic_J. Haskin, Director, Wash- ington, D. C, fn Reqalled »-Death and destruction- inflicted upon St. Louis by a mighty storm so soon after the devastation of “thec lower Mississippi Valley by flood 3urns the thoughts of ths country again to the terrible powers of Nature in her ang: meods and to the heroism of humanity, in meeting such crises. % “Cities are heroic _when crises come,” declares the -Oklahoma City Times, which reviews St. Louis’ ex- perience with a more damaging tor- nado-in 1896, and says: “A greater city followed that earlier disaster. Finer homes and greater industries will be reared above the ruins str by this latest blast. St. Louis is that. Most American cities ar Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, built to mew glories after sweeping fires; Galveston, razed by hurricane and tidal wave, rebuilt and ,with a sea wall for defense against the angry elements; Miami, beating back, after a Caribbean storm.” & With tie statement that “the spirit of St. Louis is now being tested.” Lexington Leader predicts that “it will rise to the occasion as Lind- bergh's plane rose in its epochal flight over land and sea, carrying the fame of the great ity on the banks of the Father of Waters to/ the ends of the earth.” 1In the optimistic view of the Daytom Daily News, “such is the vitality of the modern large city tha: hardly a year will pass before the scars of this newest destruction shall have been wiped out. Nations come an! go,” the News adds;, “but cities cuch as St. Louis are where they ars by virtue of natural forces which sur- vive ordinary human vicissitudes.” Enthusiastic over the power of man, New York Herald Tribune muses: ature can crack humanity between her Jittle fingers; but. humanity can despise Nature, and Nature cannot de- spise humanity. Mankind sets her to ripening his flelds, feeding his herds, carrying his ships, driving his trains. running his errands, building _his houses and weaving his clothes. Na- ture can make her sudden wild re- sponses—she can send earthquakes, floods, tornadoes. tidal waves, confla- grations, pestilences—but they pass and, when they are over, the men who are’ left sot themselves to repaifing the damage, reharnessing her forces and devising ways to teach her better manners next time."” * ok ok K “Science is unable to find a way to check or control the wild whims of the wind, but humanity has found a way to alleviate suffering and repair damage after it has been done,” ac- cording to the Flint Daily Journal, while the Topeka Daily Capital points to the cities which “overcome the rav- ages of fire, flood and storm and are more firmly rooted than ever in their stability and prosperit “This crippled giant—St. Louis,” says the Birmingham Ne “will build statelier and stronger edifices over these wrecked and calcinad acres that were just now filled with teem- ing hives of men and women and chil- dren. jeving, they will bury their dead. But tomorrow amd tomorrow they will go back to tha old wrestle with Nature. They will not lose heart. Not for long will they be discouraged. Man's genius for recuperation is what gave him the power and will to evolve from lower forms. He.may seem to be broken ard epent, but something there is in the going spirit of the races that makes man-erect at last the cap- tain of his own soul,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is sure that “in St. Louis, now bowed with grief, the sun will shine more kindly another day”; that “on another day rugged hearts will turn, confident again, to rebuilding the shattered homes and broken lives.” “But the malevolence of tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, the hatreds and destruction of wars, ‘the malice of never-glutted oceans,’ the storms and the havoc in man’s own soul, the pestilence- that strikes unseen—in the face of these things man is troubled i Heroism of Cities in Disasters by St. Louis Tornado ! tower’of the mind and soul that may give him a connected and harmonious view of his human life.” * ok ok x The Providence Bulletin suggests that “against the sudden might of these spiral storms there is scant protection that startled man can erect.” but the Ann Arbor Times-News concludes: “Nature has been conquered in many spheres; there remains this challenge to man's inventive genius. The sorrow attending such storms as that which struck St. Louis ought to be sufficient incentive.” The Santa Barbara Daily News assures its fellow community that “when the damage causéd by earth- quakes is compared with the havoe ) that a tornado ean produce in a few seconds, the quake seems a trifling thing.” The Columbus Ohio State Journal finds that “a spocial herror attaches to such a visitation, it is so | sudden, o unforeseen. so relentless,” and the Binghamton Press offers the judzment that “no terror of Nature on this continent is more to he dreaded than the tornado before which man's :lrn:,: ’:)uildlngs erumple. “Such catastronhes,” it is suggested by the St. Paul Dispatch, "nnf’o‘r fail to rocall Voltaire. who, without a thought of frivolity and in real earnestness. protested against the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 as an offense against reason. Nature has blind forces against which all the proud little devices of men. who like to plume themselves on their mastery over circumstance, amount to just nothing * * ¢ There fia little drama in these great cat: ro- phes, rot half as much as there is in the loss of a sinele aviator who :n:o::; glr:‘wpl( out into oblivion, and nd does not easily human meaning.» - £TP their Nese e Stronger Protection Asked for Pedestrians Te. the Editor of The Stars In a recent editorial on careless automobile driving, you mention the flagrant case of the Countess Kin- noull, which is said to have happened in London, and in which the counte: presumably gentle by birth, but fn- different to polite verbiage, was ar- rested for nearly running over a pe- destrian, after telling him to go to the place where fires burn fiercely. Pedestrians in Washington have an equally difficult time. They are sup- n(?sed to have the right of way in crossing P:'Atwem two lines called by courtesy, “parallel.” Here are ‘waiting :mquemly children, or older people, 0 are not so activi ml’;.\'e paiv il ive and cannot © hold up one's hand for drivers ta stop, and advance boldly, invites a 4 near Heaven, or, at least, mutilation. In most cases the drivers do not at all, but drive recklessly past, with a look on their faces, impatient, vin- dictive, patronizing, which, seems to say, in many instances, :what the countess expressed in bold words. Will not Maj. Hesse consider a stronger protection for the“pedestrian. where the law gives proteetion to him? = The pedestrian does not wWalk as much as formerly. His -eondition Sseems more often a static one be- tween parallel lines. The driver of the automobile, on the other hand, has a more wildly happy time. His interest is to find a place where he can rest—and park! If the rigid authority of the law ! would support the uplifted arm of the pedestrian in places which should be safe for him, better conditions would result. OTTO TORNEY SIMON. —_———— It Can Be Done. From the Seattle Times. ' ' and cnnlgfie’d Times., as he can, on,. the stairs of eeking some high exclaims the Asheville | Coolidge talked to President Well, it can be done; when President 9 Calles on 4 eititer, said & W about the weather,