Evening Star Newspaper, November 9, 1927, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY. .November 9, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Oftice: nta E it Offiee Tower Buik Mce: 14 Regent St.. 1eako European Of England. b, Ordors may be sent by mail or lephone Maih SN, Colie: tion 1s made LY carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ity Sunday....1 vr $900: I mo. 75¢ ir. $6.00° 1 mol Bl andas” oniy. 133800 1 mo: 25¢ All Other States and Canada. §l|lv and_Sunday 1 vr. $12.00: 1 mo. $1.0 el 1 u $R00: 1 mo., T8¢ andas” v, 1vr. $400:1mo. 35 Member of the Associated P’ress. The Associated Press 1a exclusive!y eutitled 2 the ‘ums Tor repubiication of ews dis- atches credited ted published herein of special disvatel Political Straws. Flection day, 1927, proved scarcely a “warming up gallop™ for the coming national campaign. The difficulty Jay In the fact that few important offices were contested for yesterday. There will be a tender size a “personal triumph” for Gov. Al- fred E. Smith of New Yor abllities of their callers to reckon from the corner of the strest by counting the houses. But this is hardly fair to those who seek & location. Sometime: the numbers are irregular. A vacant lot may intervene, Or some eccentric- ity of enumeration occurs to throw things out of order. Each house should be marked so distinctly that its number can be easily seen from the walk, preferably from the driveway. The numbers should be large enough and plain enough to enable every person who passes to read them readily. The obscuration of house numbers : {causes many mistakes. Persons hunt- ing residences after dark are com- pelled in many cases to ring the wrong doorbells in search of the right one. Many a householder who has hLis front door properly marked with visible numbers has to act as guide to others who have not attended to this detall of convenience. Perhaps there can be no way of compulsion about this matter. It may have to remain the business of the individual householder. But assuredly it is an item of sufficlent importance to cause every occupant of 'a dwelling in Washington to go to the slight ex- pense of properly marking his house so that Washington will no longer have to play hide-and-seek after dark in order to find out who's who and where, The New National Gallery. Announcement that a site has been new National Gallery of Art is ac- THE EVEKING STAR, WASHINGTON sgaller. He attributes the low birth rafp to the exclusion of prolific for- eignt groups under the immigration laws and to the Great War, which'up- set the usual course of life among the young and reacted upon marriage and the family life. Modern liv'ng conditions are un- doubtedly far superior to those of other times, and yet it is true that the average number of children in the family is amall. Life in the cities is more highty socialized, with more di- versions and with less domesticity. It seems remarkable that with abun- dant prosperity and with medical sci- ence more highly advanced than ever before in the history of man, there should be this disparity between the rates of increase and decrease. -t A Wise Insurance. The daughter of a very wealthy New York man the other day married for the second time. The father be- stowed on the couple a gift of half a million dollars. But, taking warn- ing of the previous experience, he tied up the gift in such a way that if any rift should later occur there would be no basis for a claim upon his estate on the part of the discarded husband. In short, the bride's father insured himself against the predicament which occurred when his daughter's first ‘husband, upon being set aside as an undesirable, demanded and was given liberal compensation for his affiiction. This is a wise move and it might well serve as an example to the par- v, however, to eMPh | (o100 t0q in the Mall for the proposed | nts of heiresses who prefer impecu- nious foreigners for husbands to sub- - because of | onied by the statement that a|Stantial young Americans. Some day the victory of the Democratic constitu- | 0T HC B K b been identified, | Perhaps a researcher will collect sta- tional amendment program. The Re- publicans may take satisfaction from the manner in which they held their control of the Assembly and even in- creased their majority by three or four members. . Smith’s hold on the State, his personal strength, iz only emphasized Ly the victory he achieved while some of the Democratic candi- dates for the Assembly were falling by the wavside, It is this strength, disregarding party lines entirely, which has enabled him to run hun- dreds of thousands of votes ahead of his ticket many times in New York State. It is this that throws fear into Republican hearts in New York when they think of Smith as the Democratic nominee for President. The wets claim a victory in Ohio, ‘where the Anti-Saloon League was de- feated whila supporting a bill which would have put justices of the peace on a fee basis, with authority to try violators of the prohibition law. The drys, on the other hand, are believed to have triumphed in Michigan's wet spot, Detroit, where an avowedly wet mayor was defeated by a dry candi- date. In Kentucky, one of the two States electing governors yesterday, the Re- publican, Flem D. Sampson, has won over J. C. W. Beckham, Democrat, who would ban pari-mutuel betting at the race ‘tracks. With that issue in the campaign it was a foregone con- “clusion that party lines would be smashed. Golng to the City of Brotherly Love. the Vare political machine functioned relentlessly. Harry Mackey, Senator- elect Vare's campaign manager a year ago, was swept into the office of mayor of Philadelphia over J. Hampton Moore, who ran as an inde- pendent and protest candidate against the Vare machine. Doubtless the Vare supporters will take heart of grace has offered to erect the building at his own expense, at a cost, it is reported, of about ten million dollars. Specula- tion as to the donor of this munificent gift to the people mentions the name of Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, who, it is known, has been keenly interested in the develop- ment of art in America and particu- larly in Washington. While in the ab- sence of specific information it is pre- mature to express thanks to Mr. Mel- lon for this liberal contribution to the National Capital, it is in order to say that if it is in fact he who has made the proposal he has manifested his concern for the early provision of a proper place for the Nation's art treasures in a most practical manner, that will solve a problem that has long vexed Capital planners. The site selected is the Mall area which lies opposite the Department of Agriculture, a short distance west of the National Museum, which now houses the National Gallery. This site was originally proposed for the new home of the Department of Com- merce, which has now been definitely placed in the western sector of the Mall-Avenue triangle. At one time it was contemplated that the new gal- lery would stand in the space to the east of the National Museim. The site now selected is probably more suitable, as it will place the gallery on the flank of the Ellipse in close re- lation to the Corcoran Gallery and within a short distance of the Freer Gallery. Thus visitors to Washington can with little difficulty reach all three institutions on the same day without material loss of time in tran- sit from one to the other. ‘With the Nagional Gallery suitably housed, as now appears to be assured, ‘Washington will indeed be an art cen- tistics on this question of the cost of foreign entanglements. Enormous sums have gone overseas from this country in the form of marital settle- ments and unsettlements. It would seem as though American heiresses have had sufficient warning of the in- stabllity of the characters and fideli- ties of fortune-hunting suitors. But the lure of a title, however tarnished or dubious, seems to be as strong as ever. In this latest case the alien bridegroom is not titled. There are some evidences that the marriage was based upon genuine affection. But the bride’s father is taking no chances and the form of his wedding gift shows that he is wise to the possibili- ties. Having been seriously mulcted once, he does not propose to be stung a second time in the same place. ——————— Mayor Thompson has not yet been heard to denounce the newly discov- ered “crime school” in Chicago on the score that it is an imitation of an es- tablishment celebrated by a noted British author. ————————— In even 80 mighty a drama as the Fall-Sinclair trial an obscure juror eps forward and takes the center of the stage. The ways of publicity are as erratic in courts in the play- house. ———te— So many complications have de- veloped in the naval ofl scandal that it is sometimes necessary to recall that it all started under Teapot Dome. —_———— A point has been reached in his career when Charles Lindbergh will regard a twelve or fourteen hour working day as a comparative rest. —.—————— Mexican firing squads may be sub- ject to suspicion as partisans, but from this victory in their fight to have | ter of importance. The present col-| gy jeave little to be done by “slush Mr. Vare seated in the Senate. They lection of the Government far exceeds | ;nq» inquisitors. Will point with pride to the “faith” | the space now available for its exhibi- the voters of Pennsylvania have in their Senator-elect. It may, be recall- ed, however, that it was this same Philadelphia organization which saved Vare from a defeat last year, when his Democratic opponent, William B. Wil- son, ran ahead of him outside of the eity. Three vacancies in the House were filled yesterday—in Pennsyl vania, Ohio and New York—and three Re- publicans were elected, succeeding other Republicans. So the political complexion of the House undergoes no change, with the Republicans in control. »otrs————— A California judge granted a divorce to a woman despite her husband’s countercharge that she is an invet- erate poker player. Doubtless the wife's contention that she always won convinced the court that she was no gambler. ——a— +Yesterday's elections were hardly | of enough importance to be rated as preliminaries to the big 1928 hout. . rooe—s A Buffalo policeman was held up | and robbed. Rather a case of forcing the fighting. SR House Numbers. While the matter of the proper marking of the streets of Washington is under consideration, in behalf of the motorists both of this city and elsewhere, attention might profitably be given to the question of a better system of marking the residences. It is only the exceptional dwelling that can be identified after dark. Having found the proper street, after some dificulty in many instances, the seeker is hard put to find the right house. As a rule the numbers are placed on the top of the fanlight or transom of the outer door, out of the range of fllumination from within. Unless the rays of ‘a street Jamp chance to fall upon this space the numbers are in- visible from the sidewalk. Even when the searcher ascends the steps he may be unable to read the obscured desig- nation. In some cases, also, the num- bers are fastened, in metal form, to the brickwork alongside of the door, where they are not illuminated at all, or they appear in paint or metal upon the face of the solid door, and there they are similarly invisible from the street. The only place in which the house number can be surely seen from the sidewalk is on the fanlight of the in- ner door, it there is a vestibule, or on the glass of the door itself, and then the visibility depends upon illumina- tion from within the hallway. Num- bers painted across the glass panel of the door give the surest informa- tion. Householders may prefer eertain number placements for artistic rea- ble. | ily, says the New York health eom-! A horse is man's most tr ’& They may rely upos the arithmyjcal missioner, is constaptly becomgipg = Pimel sons which are wholly impracti | exhibition gallery for the Nation. tion. The rooms devoted to it in the National Museum Building are suit- able as regards lighting, but they lle on the second floor, and those who visit them must ascend by stairway or elevator. The new structure may be erected on a two-story plan as !s the Corcoran Gallery, with the lower story devoted to sculptures and the upper to paintings, but in its design- ing attention will doubtless be given to the detail of easy access. There is abundant space on the site chosen for a large expanse, and presumably ef- fort will be made to evolve a model ————————_ A nice question arises as to when a delegation of citizens asking & hear- ing before a congressional committee becomes a “lobby,” just as when | congressional investigating tour be- comes a “junket.” ———raee. Big Bill Thompson offers a prize for the best ‘“‘America First” history, modestly declining to write one him- self. —_—rate New York's Lower Birth Rate. Vital statistics for the year 1926, just issued by the health commissioner of New York City, are calculated to glve some concern to the thoughtful dwellers in the metropolis. According to Dr. Harris' compilations there were last year 125,516 births in New York, or at the rate of twenty-one per thou- sand of the population. Fifteen years ago the rate was twenty-eight per thousand. This is a reduction of twenty-five per cent in the rate. Dur- ing the same period the death rate has been decreasing, but at a smaller rate, only eighteen per cent. This disparity has caused the health com- missioner to sound a warning of an impending upward trend in the death rate by reason of the incre: in the average age of the population. The significance is that if the birth rate continues to diminish in percentage, the death rate will eventually increase. ‘Commissioner Harrls points out that the great gains in the saving of life in the past twenty-five or thirty years have been in the group of the popula- tion under twenty years of age. Dis. eases that affect those of middle age and old age are, he notes, continually ———— Floods are ruthless and inanimate. They disclose no trace of New Eng- land consclence. Flood relief is no longer a question of limited geographical application. —— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. His Theory. “Why is it you never admit that you have been wrong?”’ “Because,” answered Senator Sor- ghum, “In politics, as in anything else, there is no use of making a bad mat- ter worse.” i Sad Story. Some consclence and some cash in hand ‘Were his, beyond a doubt. He took a chance in high finance. Now both have been wiped out. Unavalling Wisdom. “Experience,” says the man who in- fs the best the racetrack “but it usually leaves a man broke so that he can't play his information.” A Doubtful Definition. “What is your idea of prosperity?” asked the argumentative person. “Prosperity,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax, “is any state of affairs that en- ables you to remind the parties con- cerned thes this might bs worse.” Finsnetal Fluctuations. “Mr. Feathergilt says he never knows exactly how much he Is worth.” “Of course, he doesn't,” replied Miss Cayenne. ‘‘His wife plays bridge.” A Firm Position. “What is your position on this ques- tion?"” asked the man of statesmanlike instincts. “My position,” answered the man of legal qualifications, “is one that pays forty thousand a year. ‘The Horse. A horse it was that made me lose My coin In days gone by. My mind I thought it might amuse The tipster’s hint to try. And yet they're saying everywhere, showing higher death rates, and he calls attention to the fact that as success is scored in preventing sick- ness and death among infants and children, many who would otherwise have died in infancy, being handi- capped physically already, succumb more readily than their hardier fel. lows to diseases that threaten middle Usually the prosperity of the eoun. try is reflected in a high birth rate, but in the United Btates, after a decade of general and exceptiomal prosperity, the typical Ameriean fam- “A horse is honest, good and square!” Nonsense! A horse 1t was that swiftly made Life's honey turn to gall, ‘When once I ventured on a trade And’ sank my little all. And yet they're always telling you A horse is noble, stanch and true! ‘Tommyrot! A horse it was—oh, saddest blow! That robbed me of my piace, Because I rode a bit too slow Once In a colonels’ race. And yet -some people will contend triond! ' 3y the cmsn DOERI SODSUISIORD 0, oM D. C, WEDXNE THIS AND THAT The first cold morning of Autumn did more than push the mercury in the tube down to a scant 30 degrees. It stirred memories in thousands of minds, registering impressions anew that were first recorded yecars ago. There is something about the first really cold morning of Fall that sets it apart from the many cold mornings that are to come later. Heretofore we had been basking in an artificial clime. We had enjoyed Spring weather in Autumn, not know- ing or caring whether it was to be called Indian Summer, only appreciat- ing the mildness of the days. Temperatures of 50 and 60 degrees at 6 a.m. kept the furnace going, but later in the day there was no particu- lar need for artificial heat. ‘The first cold morning, however, changed all that. One now feels as if he is getting his money's worth from the favorite furnace. EE R This salutary cold makes the house- holder appreciate to the full the home heating system. Nothing makes a home a home more than the furnace. Think of this when next you feel inclined to curse the necessity for burning so many tons of coal per Winter, Winter comes without heeding our pleas for a postponement. Neither lack of money in the bank nor coal in the bins will postpone Winter one day beyond the appointed time. It is well, then, to realize that when the season of cold actually comes, the old reliable furnace will be there in the basement waiting for the touch of the shovel or the caress of the oil. Surely momey spent for heat is one of the wisest expenditures a man can make, If one looks into the philoso- phy of heat, he actually may work up an_enthusiasm for buying coal. Some may not believe this, offhand, but let them visualize a home with an interior temperature of 55 degrees, or less, then will they come to our way of thinking, that the purchase of the annual coal supply is an actual pleasure. How much better, ever being equal, to rejoice o bill than to frown over it! Consider the two methods of ap- proach. The first dismally groans over the cost of coal, and declares: “Well, darn it, I guess I will have to start the blankety-blank furnace at last! Think of all the good money I am wasting! Think of all the good times I might have with it! I wish Winter would never come!” The other smilingly says: “How happy 1 am, since Winter is inevi- table, that I have a good heating system in my house, and enough money in my pocket to supply this ! good old iron monster with his an- nual rations! Think of all the happy, warm evenings we are going to have together, this old friend and I! Think of the books we shall read, the cozy comfort of hom Think of the free- dom from illness!" * K K ok A little warmth increases every other home pleasure. A cold home is not a home. Blessings upon the man who first invented home heating! We do not mean the ancient cave gentleman who built a fire at the mouth of his den. i ‘thing else r the coal BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. the modern heating of homes rates our sincerest blessing. Every shovel of coal is a tribute to his genius, He probably was a fellow who liked to sit around in his shirt sleeves, who felt something lacking in the old-fash- foned heaters, and who suddenly de- cided to make himself comfortable at all costs. As the result of his genfus, the modern home is more or less com- fortable from basement to garret, with a minimum amount of pother, and also a minimum amount of fuel, in whatever form it i3 consumed. The actual drudgery in connection with this home heating is surprisingly small, when compared with the re- sults enumerated above. What a satisfaction it is, one of the homely but durable satisfactions of life, to look out the window on a cold Aufumn or Winter morning and see signs of freezing without, but all the time to be standing half-clad in per- fect warmth! How cold and shivery the few birds look as they sit hyddied on the tele- phone wire, evidently unable to make up their mind to fly South, although every blast from over the hill must convince them that this is no place for_such small creatures! The birds know not how to bulld fires, they must work up their warmth with their song, and depend upon their human friends for inner sus- tenance when the days grow cold. Suet and seed will help them. ok Kok A great gain in an inside equable temperature in Fall and Winter lies in its health value. The keen contrast afforded by snap- py weather puts “pep” into the human system, according to the doctors, and helps make us what we are, as a race, according to the anthropologists. Inside, however, a temperate zone should prevail. Such evenness in temperature is not only soothing to the body and mind of man, it induces spiritual reactions which are no less tangible, although more difficuit to place the finger upon. Compare the household attempting a home life in a cold house to the amily actually attaining a pleasant family circle in a warm one.: Who can say that a great deal of the success of the latter home does not depend largely upon the heating sys- tem? And the success of a home, after all is said and done, rests solidly on the spiritual factors that repose in human hearts, minds and bodies. Whether it be a home of many persons or few, the same factors hold good. They not only hold good in the sense here meant, but also they hold good in themselves. Other things being equal, the prop- erly heated house is not so likely to harbor quarrels as the cold one. The freedom from colds and other Winter- time ills makes for peace and quiet in the househo!d. These latter quali- ties redound to the benefit of all. Home: heating, one might think from our recital, 1s a sort of panacea for all ills. It is not. It cannot make up for a quarrelsome disposition, or a bad heart. It will not cause smiles to bloom from sour soil, nor will it make & kind person out of & mean one. The furnace, however, by keeping the home comfortable, tends toward happiness and health, and is distinctly He deserves praise, but the man who actually first drew up plans for Charles Gates Dawes will be a pres- ident before 1928 is over, no matter what the Republican national conven- tion next June does to or for him. The Vice President has just been nomi- nated for the presidency of the Soclety of American Military Ingineers, a hody organized after the World War. It consists of hetween 7,500 and 8,000 members, recruited from among en- gineers of the Regular Army, the Re- serve, the National Guard and the civil professions. Maj. Gen Edgar Jad- win, chief of the Army Engineers, is now president of the society. His predecessor was Brig. Gen. Cornelius Vanderbilt, I1I. Vice President Dawes expects to reach his office in the C: itol on December 1, four days before the Seventieth Congress convenes. The man who received popular credit for putting Dawes on the Coolidge ticket in 1924 at Cleveland—Col. Edward Clif- | ford of Illinois, former Assistant Secre: tary of the Treasury—insists the gen- eral is in no respect whatever a can- didate for the presidency in 1928. But | on cross-examination Clifford deposes he’s without authority to say Dawes wouldn’t choose to accept the nomi- | nation If offered it. * ok ok ¥ The National Council of State Leg- | islatures, just formally organized in Washington, has elected as its first president John Henry Kirby of Hous- ton, Tex., a noble Roman in appear- ance, who could play a Senator in “Julius Caesar” without a make-up Kirby is sometimes called the “lumber | king of America.” He is a past presi- dent of the National Lumber Manu- facturers’ Association and heads a $10,000,000 timber company, which owns 10,000,000,000 feet of standing pine and manufactures about 350,000, 000 feet of lumber annually. Kirby has the natural eloquence of the typleal Southerner. Upon taking office as president of the National Council of State Legislatures, he delivered a panegyric on_the Constitution, which Borah himself might have envied. Tn- cidentally Kirby revealed himself as so fervent an admirer of America's Magna Charta that for 30 years he has carried in his pocket a copy of the Bill of Rights, and for the past 10 years a copy of the entire Constitu- tion. * ok K X This is the annual season when any- body with a pull in Washington—ac- tual or assumed—has life made a bur- den for him (or her) by persons in eleventh-hour quest of Army-Navy foot ball tickets. These priceless paste- boards have just been distributed by the respective athletic associations at ‘West Point and Annapolis. They were allotted aeons ago. With the Navy tickets the following notice was sent out: “Owing to the excessive demand for 1927 Army-Navy game tickets by members of the Athletic Association, who requested and paid for them by 10 p.m., October 15, it was necessary to make the maximum allotments as fol- lows: Classes 1859 to 1923, 4 tickets per member; clapses 1924 to 1927, 2 tickets per member.” The Polo Grounds in New York will hold ap- proximately 75,000 persons. About 680,000 applied for seats for the Army- Navy classic on November 26, L Ilenry Mason Day, Sinclair oil man at liberty under $25,000 bond in_the jury-tampering scandal in the Fall- Sinclalr case, is known in Wall Street as a “supersalesman” in the fleld of foreign oll concessions. Day has just been described in these Who's Who terms: “Forty-one years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds, swarthy and energetic, he belongs to the almost fabulous group of post- war international congession-hunters, who trail their game—which involves hundreds of millions of dollars of at least potential wealth—across conti- nents the way a stalker trails a moose over a hill. Internationally minded, multi-linguistie, their fame is based less upon their practical experi- ence as oil men than upon their super- salesmanship and the glow of mystery and power that surrounds them.” Day conducted the negotlations with the Soviet ernment at Moscow, whe Sginciairs hoped to obtain worth the money it costs. Home heat- ing is a pleasure, not a nuisance. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘When “Boss” Vare's henchmen hooted and jeered Senator Reed Smoot at t recent Republican “business men’s” mass meeting in Philadelphia, on the eve of this week’'s municipal election, they turned a trick that may cost Vare dearly, Smoot returned to Washington, according to his friends, “red hot” over the ignominious recep- tion he received. At one juncture, the Utahan was howled down with shouts of “Choke him!" When he attempted to discuss taxation, revenue and other serious national topics, the meeting booed him and gave vent to mock cheers and applause. Senator-elect Vare sat through Smoot’s ordeal, as one of the stage dignitaries, without the slightest attempt to mend his gang's manners. When Vare's case is before the Senate next month, there’ll come a time when the good will of Reed Smoot will be all- powerful. Prediction is made that the Pennsylvanian's supporters may seek it in vain. * ook % The T'nited States Bureau of Mines recently completed a six-reel motion pleture entitled “The Story of Petro: leum.” It's going to have its * run” at the eighth annual meeting of the American Petroleum Institute in Chicago during the first week of De- cember. The convention is heralded as the most important one of its kind ever held. The oll industry, with prob- lems of overproduction and conserva- | tion_confronting it, faces many criti. cal conditions. These will be discussed from every angle, including the view- point of the Government. An entire &roup program will be devoted to the subject of regulation—Federal, State and municipal. Pronouncements are expected from all sides—official, oper- ating and consuming—destined to be of paramount influence upon the im. mediate course of future events. * ook X Not long ago Mrs. Mabel Walker Willebrandt, Assistant Attorney Gen- eral of the United States, having fin- ished an argument before the United States Supreme Court, decided to re- cuperate by strolling down Pennsyl- vania avenue, Instead of stepping into the Department of Justice car that was waiting for her, “Portia” slipped out of the Capitol through an- | other exit and trudged down the hill. Passing one of the numerous Chinese junk shops that adorn the Avenue, Mrs. Willebrandt went in and bought a pound of jasmine tea. While in Oriental mood, it occurred to her that a chow-mein lunch wouldn't be so bad, ‘whereupon she popped into a door- way with an overfiead sign indicating there was a “‘Chinese restaurant” up- stairs. But the rooms were empty— and padlocked. *“Those —— prohibi- tion authorities closed this joint up,” a bystander volunteered. Mrs. Wille- brandt has charge of padlocking and other prohibition punitive activities in the Department of Justice. (Copyright. 1027.) UNITED STATES N WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today Steamer Rochester, one of the first American steamships to run the Ger- man _submarine blockade following the declaration of unrestricted sub- marine warfare, submarine, ® ¢ ¢ Nation-wide pro- tests ure registered against Secretary Baker's decision that only one-half of the officers’' commissioned in the sec- ond training camps shall be assigned to duty when they are graduated. Military experts object to any gradu- ates being held in reserve and say the Army needs all new officers for active' duty. ® * * British statesmen, lament- ing the loss of Russia to the allie: hail entrance of the United States a: the greatest weight in the scale. | t \Y. NOVEMBER 9, 192T. Politics at Large . By G. Gould Lincoln, The Vare victory in Philadelphia vesterday, when Harry Mackey was clected mayor and James M. Beck, former Solicitor General of the United States, to the seat in the House for- merly held by Mr. Vare, was on the card. An organization such as that built up by Senator-elect Willlam S. Vare and his brother is not to be ov! thrown in a day, or a month or even A yvear. The supporters of Mr. Vare, who demand his seating in the Senate, notwithstanding the charges of politi- cal corruption and excessive expendi- | tures brought against him by the Reed slush fund committee and his old op- ponent, William B. Wilson, will assert that he has been “vindicated” in the Philadelphia election. His opponents, however, will point to the fact that Philadelphia, his stronghold, alone voted in the Mackey and Beck elec- tions yesterday; that the rest of the State, which turned Mr. Vare down in the general election last year, was not participating. Philadelphia saved the Vare bacon last vear. It remains to Senate meets next month and Mr. Vare presénts himself to take the oath of office, * K ok K The election of Mr. Beck. who de- fended the right of Col. Frank L. Smith of Illinois 1o a seat in the Sen- o last Spring, when his right to be seated had been challenged by the Reed committee just as Mr. Vare's right. has been challenged, is not surprising, to say the least. Mr. Beck not only appeared before the Senate committee, but also published a book isetting forth the rights of the States {to be represented in the Senate and in the House by the members they elect. The Smith and Vare contests seem bound to come before the Senate for consideration immediately after the opening of the session at noon De- cember 5. Neither Mr. Smith nor Mr. Vare has had an opportunity to take the oath of office, When the Senate assembles, after the prayi and the call of the roll to determine a quorum, the Senators-elect must present themselves to be sworn in, according to the rules of the Senate. The right of Vare and Smith to take the oath will be challenged and a showdown may come much sooner than has been expected. The Demo- crats who have backed Senator “Jim" Reed of Missouri in his work as chair- ready to prevent Smith and Vare from being seated. They will be join- ed by a group of Republican Sena- tors. Some of the Democrats would prefer to have the right of these Sen- ators-elect challenged by the Republi- cans, and Senator Norris of Nebraska stands ready to make the issue, if it is not made by Senator Reed of Missouri himself or another Demo- crat. From time to time there have been reports to the effect that the opposition to Vare and Smith had re- lented so far as to permit them to be seated with the understanding that later a vote would be had on turn- ing them out of the Senate. But these reports appear to have heen considerably exaggerated if Senators now returning to Washington are to be believed. L Pennsylvania is going, it is reliably reported, to cast its vote in the Re- publican national convention for Sec- retary Mellon for President. It is re- ported, too, in some quarters that Mr. Mellon would not be av:rse to enter- ing the White House. But, speaking from a purely political standpoint, no man as wealthy as Mr. Mellon is likely to be chosen President of the United States. Rockefaller, Morgan and other men of enormous wealth have been great builders. But that they could be chosen Chief Exccutive through the suffrage of millions of their fellow citizens is open to dou Even Henry FKord, another of the world's richest men, with all his ap- peal to lobor and the man of mod- | erate means, could not make the grade. The late Senator Boles Pen- rose of Pennsylvania, a man of means himself and boss of the Republican party for yéars in the Keystone State, once said, in connection with the candidacy of former Gov. Frank O. | Lowden of Illinois for the Republican nomination for President, “Who ever heard of a man riding into the White House in a Pullman car?' Mr. Low- den was the son-inJaw of George M. Pullman, head of tke Pullman Car Co. Senator Penrose was looking at the matter from a practical political { point of view, as he viewed most | things. This same criticism, by the way, is hurting Mr. Lowden's chances of the nomination next year. It ha: | aroused the Progressive Republic: | group in the Senate to oppose him in the farm States of the Northwest | and Middle West. | * ok ok ok | Where Pennsylvania will go, In the cvent Mr. Mellon cannot be nomi- nated, is a matter of much interest in political circles. Mr. Mellon has himself announced he believed Pres- ident Coolidge was reaily out of the presidential race, through his Black Hills statement. And Mr. Mellon is believed to have a preference for Judge Charles kvans Hughes of New | . If Mellon swings the Penn- sylvania delegation in behind Hughes | the New Yorker's chances for the nomination mount perceptibl: There is, of course, the chance t Yenn- sylvania, playing the game With a favorite son, will yet fall in_line behind any movement to draft Pres- ident Coolidge, it the President does not- make it so clear he will not accept the nomination under any cir. cumstances that the movement w die a-borning. The candidacies, which are bein vanced more and more, combineq plans for uninstructed delegations, give impetus again to the idea that the President is to be drafted. The | Republican national committeeman from Texas, Creager, has declared the Lone Star State will send a dele- gation to vote for Coolidge for Pres- ident “no matter what” And other Southern Republican leaders are by no means aversa to this idea. Cer- tain Progressive Republicans look askance'at all this talk of favorite- son candidates and uninstructed delegations. What they fear is a national convention controlled by a few leaders as was the Chicago con- vention which nominated the late President Harding in 1920. If the jam comes in the convention and the President is definitely out of the pic- ture, as so many now claim he is, no one can tell what will happen. * ok ok ok As things political look today, the three leading candidates, or so-called candidates, for they deny the soft impeachment, for the Republican presidential nomination, are likely to go into the convention with approx- imately equal strength. They are Hughes, Hoover and Lowden. Dawes, the Vice President, must play a wal ing game. He is “first alternate” for Gov. Lowden, his Illinois friend. Hoover will have real strength, be- ginning with the California outfit, But Hoover's nomination will probably come only in the evemt there is a wave of popular feeling for the Secre- tary of Commerce, who has performed so efficiently in all the jobs given him in the past. . He still Jacks the support of the politiclans generally speaking and of the big moneyed in- terests of the country. * ok Xk % Clarence F. Buck, State Senator in Illinois, and a manager of the Low- den-for-President campaign, is out with the statement that Lowden is gaining strength in the East. He had plenty seven years ago. But his advocacy of be seen whether it can do it when the | man of the slush fund committee are | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. Is Thanksgiving day observed in England?>—T. N. ~ A. Thanksgiving day is not observed in England by the English. It is pure- 1y an American festival. The Harvest Home is celebrated in England on September 24. Q. Tlow does a pedometer register the distance covered?—N. G. A. In one form of pedometer an os- clllating weight affected by the motion of the body causes the index to ad- vance a certain distance at each step. In many instruments an adjustment is possible to the length of the ttep and so the distance is directly meas- ured. Q. How long does it take the 1'ght »f the North Star to reach the earth?— J. H. V. A. Tt reaches the earth in about 300 years. Q. What national monument has the most visitors?>—N. M. A. Muir Woods, California, is far in the lead. In 1927 it had 101514 visitors. The next in number of vis- jtors is the Petrified Forest in Ari- zona. Over 61,000 people saw Its mar- vel last Summer. Q. Does the age limit of 35 vears in service men?—P. W. M. A. In the case of an ex-service man the age limit is walved. | Q. I noticed in the paper with ref- erence to Gen. Dickman’s death. hat | he was one of the three Americans to command an army during the World ‘War. What does this statement mean and who were the other two com- | manders>—F. C. A. The term “army” is applied to a | military organization which is made up of a certain number of divisions. There were three United States armies during the World War. The Ist Army was commanded by Gen, Hunter | Liggett; the 2d, by Robert L. Bul- T | lard; the 3d, by Joseph T. Rickman. Please give some information Q. ‘who wrote the L. about Margaret Sidney “Little Pepper” hooks. . A. Margaret Sidney is the pen name { used by Harriet Mulford Lothrop, who i died on August 2, 1924. She was born !'at New Haven, Conn., and married Daniel Lothrop, founder of the pub- lishing house of D. Lothrop & Co. In 1895 she founded the National Soclety of Children of the American Revolu- tion, and was its national president from 1895 to 1901. She is perhaps best known for her series of books on the “Five Little Peppers.” Her home was the Wayside, at Concord, Mass., | the house in which Nathaniel Haw- | thorne formerly lived. Q. Please give the comparative weight of men’s and women's brains. —M. W. A. The brain of man is usuaily heavier than that of woman, although at birth and at the age of 14 the fe- male brain is heavier. The average weight of the adult male’s brain is about 48 ounces and of the female about 4313 ounces. Q. When did the House of Lan- caster originate? Who holds the title now?—F. M. L. A. The House of Lancaster refers to the line of English Kings immedi- ately descended from John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III. The his- tory of the title, however, goes back to the reign of Henry III, who cre- ated his second son, Edmund, Earl i of Lancaster in 1267. The direct male line of John of Gaunt became ex- tinct with the death of Henry VI. There are no Earls of Lancaster at the present time. Q. What is the longest road in the world?>—T. R. A. The Lincoln Highway is the longest. It has a length of 3,331 miles. Q. What language is used by the League of Nations’—D. T. A._The League has adopted French and English as its official tongues. | | Mayor “Big Bill” Thompson of | Chicago, having launched an organi- | zation which he commends to the | country under the slogan, *“America | First!” has been greeted with a broad- | side of ridicule from the press. Never- theless, his attack on school histories and historical publications generally has started a_more or less serious discussion of the need for some revi- sions even though the editorial writers point out that hate of other countries is not unessential to patri- otism. As the Houston Chronicle expresses it, “The great hullabaloo may attract the attention of the country to the importance of truthful and unblased histories. Those of all the world are being rewritten,” continues the Chron- icle. “The spirit of science—the ideal of finding the exact truth, no matter whom it may hurt or help—now pre- vails among all reputable historians, and, as a result, we are being told things that some of us don’t like any too well, and we are likely to be told many other things of the same kind.” Commendation of the Chicago cru «ade by a Minnesota mayor is quoted by the St. Paul Dispatch, Which points {0 the suggestions that the importance of teaching more history in the schools should be recognized. and that the object should be “to develop a citizen who can love his country without hating any other nation.” The Dispatch observes: “Here is a sound definition of patriotism. Fundamental dignity and strength characterize such a sentiment. It cherishes the tradi- tions and the background of one's the railway mail service apply to ex-| Q. What is the part of the grai called that is left after the ’u‘l;r.P; extracted?—M. M. K. A. The residue to which you refer is called ‘‘pomace.” Q. How long have prepared break- fast foods been on the market?—F, W. A. Until a few years ago porridge and mush were about the only forms in which grains were commonly served 18 breakfast food, unless pancakes ould be classed under this head. Today cercals are propared for the breakfast table in many artful ways. They are puffed, rolled, cracked, ground, shredded, malted and flaked. Q. Are the names and events in “Hamlet” true historically or are they fiction' . E. R. A. The story of “Hamlet” is haif mythical and halt historical. Accord- ing to ancient legend, Hamist was & Prince of Jutland. The King, his ther, was murdered by his brother, engo. The latter seized the throne. Hamlet feigned madness and saved | his life. His mother helpad avenge his father's death by putting Fengo to death. Q. How does the oll reach the top | o the wick from the bowl of an oil |lamp?—L. W. | A. Wicks used in ofl lamps are made of cotton fiber, which is com- | posed of microscopic tubes. The, ofl passes up into these tubes by cap- illary action. Q. Dia C: arl Sandburg go to ool leg W. A. Affer serving with the 6th - | linois Volunteers in the Spanish Amer- lican War, Sandburg studied for a [time at Lombard Coilege, Galesburs, L. Q. Name some countries where women outnumber the men, and some where men outnumber women.— H. E. H. A. In the European countries the females generally outnumber the males, the figures ranging from 1,002 females to 1,000 males in Bulgaria, to 1,224 females to 1,000 males in Russia. | These figuresare for 1920. In Cana- da, Egypt, South Africa, Japan, India and Australia_the males outnumber the females. In the United States in 0 the ratio was 104 males to 100 Q. In_what States may children leave school and go to work at the age of 147—A. D. R. A. Children are not required to at- | tend school after the age of 14 in | Georgia, Loulsiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Q. How many parts are there fn an automobile?—S. D. A. The number may vary. In a recent exhibit in London a complete car was taken to pieces and its 12,000 parts displayed. | Q. Who designed St. Paul's Ca- |thedral in London?—L. E. A. The cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was begun in 1675 and was completed in 1710 at a cost of 747,954 pounds. Q. What was the Webster-Ashbur- ton treaty?—E. I. C. A. This treaty between the United States and Great Britain was negoti- ated in 1842. By it the frontier line between the State of Maine and Canada was definitely fixed, provi- sions were made for putting an end to the African slave trade, and an agreement was made for the mutual extradition of suspected criminals. Did you ever write a letter to Fred- eric J. Haskin? You can ask him any question of fact and get the answer in & personal letter. Here is a great educational idea introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people in the world—American newspaper read- ers. It is a part of that best purpose of @ mewspaper—service. There is no charge except 2 cents in stamps for re- turn postage. Address Frederic J. Has- kin, director, The Evening Star In- formation Burcau, Washington, D. C. Ridicule of Chicago Mayor - Mixed With Serious Tliought cerned In image-breaking than in the presentation and interpretation of the facts in their true perspective and sig- nificance. It will probably do no harm,” continues that paper, “to have American history brought to general public attention by even such an ex- hibition of unreasgn as Big Bill Is giving.” On that point the Des Moines Trib- une-Capital holds that ‘“‘the mayor of Chicago would devitalize American history by denying it the reality to he recognized only through criticism. There is such a thing,” says the Des Moines paper, .“as making historical personages too perfect. making his- tory itself too perfect. The fuller serv- ice of history is to make possible learning from errors and shortcomings as well _as learning from achieve- | ments. But the Chicago mayor wonld limit the service of his country’s his- tory. He would make it mythical.” * ok ok x The Birmingham News is less toler- ant of the Chicago executive's pyro- technics. “Mayor ‘Big Bill' Thompson is running loose again, snarling snapping; getting resol ons pa: at Toledo, condemning British propa- ganda; seeln’ things by night and day.” remarks the News “But most of the dangerous and fearsome things he sees are lurking in the bookshe of the Chicago libraries; perhaps in New York libraries, or in the Birming- ham libraries, God save the mark! So there you have the candldacy of Rig country, but it leaves room for con- sideration of the facts of history. 1t respects the aspirations and_ac- complishments of other peoples. This concept stands in sharp contrast to the jingoism and bigotry, drawing their fervor from hate, which some- times pass for patriotism in America.” * ok K K “There is no reason,” in the opinfon of the San Diego Union. “‘why history and patriotism cannot be fostered side by side without either interest con- flicting with the other. A child can be induced to love and respect his father, even though no effort is made to teach him that his father is a com- pendium of all known virtues. An equally clear-sighted love of country is attainable—and highly desirable. We are in favor of pro-American propaganda. People who want it in the history books, however, are really ashamed of it nce they desire to camouflage it and call it history.” *The outbreak of Jefferson Brickism in which Big Bill is indulging” is in- terpreted by the Springfield Republi- can as “in some degree a manifesta- tion in an extreme form of & reaction against the new school of muckraking writers of history who are more con- Sp——— yet given up the idea that it may have a candidate of its own, and cer- tainly the East is to have an important voice in the final selection, it for no other reason than the big vote which it will cast in the national convention. Mr. Buck Is optimistic, too, abqut the Illinois delegation, which he says will be in the end for len. Unless Mayor Willlam Hale Thompson of Chicago is engaging in mere rhetoric when he speaks of Mr. Lowden, Mr. ¢ & ¢ Creation of a permanent inter- |the McNary-Haugen farm relief bill | Buck is deceiving himself in this mat- allied military committee consisting | has alienated some of this support. | ter. of Gens. Foch, Wilson and Cadorna is considersd by official Washington as one of the most important achiev = be The East, it is conceivable, might be willing to accept Mr. Lowden if it be- came npn‘rum 'I'u \;Vuurn men must The mayor, with his American first slogan, is doing a litt) ing just now for “Big Bill he says about Bill Thompson in the borning. Of the mayor's threats against the books in the libraries, the Providence Journal says: It is not the books that are on trial, but Mayor Thomp son and the city of Chicago itself. We refuse to believe until we must that Chicago has wiped itself off the map of America.” “Mayor Thompson's ‘Foundation.’ of course” advises the Seattls Dally Times, “should fight for the abolition of English on pool balls and banish English plum pudding from the festi- val board of American homes. Eng- lish breakfast tea and the English walnut will have to go. Under Mr. Thompson’s guidance we could Irarn to dislike the English violet. In th fullness of time we could turn our a tention to the ‘King's English.’ whic! the Chicago mayor occasionally ders even now."” Thompson evidently de- suggests the Charleston Dail to concentrate the elements of ignorance, passion, prejudice, and t form an association of morons that b mere force of dead weight will hold the Nation down to the level of their grade.” And the Columbia Record dis- misses the matter with the statement “In addition to knowing his Chicago onfons, his mewest scheme to launch an ‘America Wirst’ organization, at $10 per throw, indicates that he is fairly well acquainted with the other onions of the land of the free. He should be able to put this over in a big way, and probably he would be able to do so were it not that the Ku Klux Klan beat him to it.” The conclusion drawn by the Fargo Forum is that “the idea of the ‘Amer- ica First Foundation' is an excellent one, but very few believe for a single moment that ‘Big Bill' Thompson is sincere in promulgating it. His drive against pro-British propaganda in schoolbooks was & campaign L the only co + 1o nang Bis objection to Mr.- McAn