Evening Star Newspaper, November 19, 1927, Page 6

B Jn‘HE EVENING ST AR]beycnd mere chronological considera- ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. ' WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY...November 19, 1827 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvanta Ave, New York Office: 110 East 42ud St. Chicago Offi Tower Building. *! European Ofice: 1% Regent St.. London. England. t ! The Evening Star with the Sunday morn- Ang edition ie delivered by cacriers Within ho city at G0 cents per month: daily only. 45 conts per month: Sundays only. 20 cents = moath, ~ Orders may be sent by elephone Main 2000, Collection is made by cartier at end of cach mouth. «~ Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. aily and_Sunday. aily only...... unday onlv. All Other States and Canada. d_Sunday.1 :1mo.. $1.00 Paily Guls i I S8 00 unday ok $1.00¢ 1 mo., . Member of the Associated P’ress. } 7 Tne Associated Press is exclusicely on ! Babished herein.. All rizhis 'of nunl 1ed ublished herein 51 ‘kpecial dispatehes her e !} Strengthen the Safeguards! |7 The Board of Trade committee on r'l':uhhc order urges the enactment of @ statute for the District of Columbia | | gimilar to the so-oalled Baumes law | of New York as a means of lessening “crime in this jurisdiction. It also rec Fommends an increase in the detective Pgorce of the District. A proposed meas- ure to define and punish vagrancy has been withheld for redrafting in order, |‘ms the chief of police expresses it, to put “teeth” into it. The strensthened measure will probably receive the ap- proval of the committee in season for Jts presentation to the Commissioners ‘Bs part of the program for greater | gecurity. The Baumes law—or rather series ' ot 1aws, for the new system comprises ‘8 large number ot amendments to the priminal code—has worked effectively In New York State to lessen crime through the increase of penaltles for Fepeated offenses and through Tre- moval of opportunities for the guilty o escape conviction by means of tech- picalities of pleading. Chronic of- fenders are now in fear of life im- prisonment and are either mending | 'their ways and abstaining from crime Bs a means of livelihood or moving "{nto other jurisdictions where the laws #re not so severe. The experiment is regarded as a tions, for, like that unearthed in Egypt, it contained the arms, helmet, cups and gold ornaments of the prince. This is, indecd, a treasure trove of importance, No description of the contents of the tomb is yet forthcom- ing, but doubtless in season the ar- ticles brought to light after fifty-five centuries, more or Jess, will be shown to the world and pictures of them will bo spread broadcast. Thus the knowledge of the present regarding the life of the remote past is being steadily extended throush | patient researches and explorations. | These expeditions are not chance ven- tures, but are guided hy definite prin- ciples of location. It is known that In the region lying east of the Medi- terranean are many buried cities. The relics of ancient civilization there lie in layers. There is no end to the pos- sibility of research. This latest find, which carries the record more than fifty-five centuries self be put into the shade by ing of even earlier souvenir: lization. may i the find- of civi- oo Insure Against Storm! Thursday’'s storm visitation has d Washington householders and merchants to realize that the ordinar: forms of insurance which they “carr on their properties do mot serve to protect them in case of damage or loss by a storm. While probably all of the properties injured in the cyclone of day before yesterday were more or less covered against injury by fire, it is to be questioned whether many if any of them were insured against the devastation caused by winds and rain. As a result of this discovery and of the proof that Washington is not immune to cyclonic storms, there is a general arousal of interest in the particular form of insurance which protects against loss of this nature. In the Middle Western part of the country, where tornadoes are compara- tively frequent and violent, this form of insurance is carried by most peo- ple. The rates there are higher than in the sections where violent, twisting winds and heavy downpours of rain are uncommon. Insurance rates are determined by the percentage of risk. A dwelling of brick is rated as a bet- ter risk than a building of wooden con- struction. Buildings in a section sub- ject to be swept by violent storms are poorer risks than those in a more pro- tected area. Thus the tornado rates in this part of the country are low as compared with those in the States west of the Mississippi. caus ccess. Its application to Washing- 'Ron is justified by the conditions that \iprevail here, which are similar to “those in New York which led to the tments. It is known that there |88 a large criminal population in this istrict. But the comparatively small 'prea of this jurisdiction permits the #asy inflow of crooks and cracksmen, old-up men and gunmen from the tates and that fact should be taken Jnto consideration in the framing of ny law of this character, Prior con- ictions in the States should be taken !4nto account here in the imposition penalties. % A stiffer vagrancy law is urgently in Washington. With such a w 1t would be possible for the police 2o round up people who are actual or otential criminals, who merely await portunity to commit atrocious es, who, having no legitimate eans of support, are a menace to e peace and security of the commu- | mity. Under the present laws it is dif- | fieult, practically impossible, to cope {with this class. _ —e—t———— i Tags for 1928, District motorists have been notified iy Wade H. Coombs, superintendent | of licenses, that 1928 tags for automo- biles will be ready for distribution on ' December 1. On that date it will also be legal to display the new plates on , District cars, so that there will be no meed for motorists to make a last- 'gninute midnight rush on the eve of ‘Ee New Year. The announcement from the License Bureau came as a welcome surprise #o the local motoring fraternity, which ill remembers vividly the confusion cident to the 1927 tag distribution 4n Washington. With the new plates it hand, however, and proper facilities for disposing of them worked out by the bureau, it behooves motorists to "¥ghop early” for the 1928 tags. So, By time after December 1 an orderly Procession should form to set about Jorder for the 1928 season. $utting the house on wheels in legal ——————————— Arms are desired by Mexicans. fOncle Sam might humanely decide %that weapons must not be permitted ,Jwhere their use may be emotionally mpted. } After Fifty-Five Centuries. A few years ago the world got a @nrill out of the announcement that P varty of explorers had uncarthed ghe tomb of King Tutankh-Amen %of Egypt. For months the details ;or that find filled the pages of “the press and found eager readers. he history of the young monarch vas retailed, and the treasures re- covered from the tomb were described, | with illustrations. There was a verl- table revival of ancient Egyptian art. The discovery was remarkable, not jpecially for the antiquity of the con- tents of the tomb, but for the rare dbeauty of the treasures brought to view after centuries of entombment. kul-am\h-Amfln reigned during the ipighteenth dynasty, and his time was ‘epproximately about 1350 B.C., or 3,277 'years ago, which is a fairly long per- gppective, and yet that stretch of time As only a short span in the world's ‘history. Now comes arnouncement of the finding of the grave of Prince Mes- “)kalamdug of the city of Ur, who was| ‘of a period prior to the first dynasty of that ancient land, which is dated ebout 3500 B.C, Just how far back beyond that dynasty this ruler of the peculiar name lived is not stated, but taking the last basis it may be deduced that the grave yepresents an entambment approxi- mately 5,500 years ago. This puts the ftomb of Tutankh-Amen almost in the class of the moderns by compari- known date as the | ‘Whila the law of chances may seem to indicate that this recent experience is not likely to be repeated soon, it is not safe to rely upon such a security. The old adage “Lightning never strikes twice in the same place” is as a fact not true. Nor is it true that because of a cyclone here on Thursday Wash- ington is probably safe from another such experience for some years to come, There is nothing certain in na- ture, Another tornado may occur within a few weeks or a few months. The chances, of course, are that it will not inasmuch as this city is not in the area of frequent tornado formations. But the simplest business precaution suggests that all householders should at once have clauses written into their policies covering losses by wind or rain and pay the slight additional charges for the protection. Had the insurance policies held by the owners of the buildings damaged by Thurs- day's storm all held such clauses there would today be no occasion for financial distress in the area of the great blast. —_———————— . After being photographed many times in evening banquet clothes Lind- bergh shows an irrepressible longing for the old aviator togs. ———————— There is very little discussion of the original Constitution of the U. S. A. as compared with discussion of its amendments, Sit Still and Sit Safe. The training of children on how to act in fast-moving motor vehicles can scarcely be begun too early. How often does one see a tonneau load of youngsters bouncing around, this way and that, leaning against side doors, or, more often, kneeling on the back seat and peering at the traffic left behind! In such a posture a star- tlingly sudden necegsary stop often entails injury to the restless little body. Modern children are so used to automobiles that it seldom occurs to them that they cannot do as their restless physical energy directs. But grown-ups know better and should see to it that a course of training, as intelligent as it is rigorous and con- stant, is undertaken for the good of all concerned. The average child will be driving, or trying to drive, a car in a span of years. which, to the parent, goes by like a flash. It would not be a bad idea deliberately to place even those among the youngest of pas- sengers on the front seat now and then. In that situation, through at least occasional observation of the driver's actions, they absorb a cer- tain amount of traffic sense and even of mechanical sense. They learn when it is advisable to halt suddenly or to speed up suddenly; when and how to signal, and a dozen little actions on the part of a pilot which | must of necessity be involuntary and automatic. It might be ‘well to let the youngster on suitable occasions for a while act as does the pilot of a ship in a tortuous crowded and dangerous channel, offering him or her the privilege of giving low-voiced and intelligent anticipatory orders. Not every driver can submit with | but some can, it the time and place | be chosen with care. Every driver, however, can and | sengers be made to realize that they are in a powerful, heavy and often | fast-moving vehicle; that there are ways to protect their own limbs and skins in any contingeney short of an actual collision or accident, and I &hav1q gea ta it that said passengers | conform to the regulations laid down as strictly as they would it ill, to a |doctor's orders. A motor car is ®on. It would seem, however, that the neither a gymnasium mat on which to tumble nor, except incidentally, an v ipew find in Palestine is of tmpc't‘uyeo obseryation post, It is a means of composure to such an arrangement, | | should 'see to it that juvenile pas-, ... THE EVEN !'mnlpofl!l!on and it is absolutely necessary that all concerned strive to make it a one hundred per cent safe one. Every communiity suffers far too much from fool drivers. The fool passenger of today may be the untrained, unconcerned driver of to- morrow. ) The True Spirit of Adventure. Lest the world be convinced that the mad scramble for fame and for- tune, particularly fortune, in mean- ingless exploits during the past two years has sounded the death knell of real adventure for adventure's sake, nsider for a moment the Dyott ex- pedition to the B ilian jungles in {an effort to rescue a British explorer, Col. P. H. Fawcett, who three years ago set out in search of the ruins of lost civilization and has not been heard | from sine May, 1025 Last Sunday Comd Geo e M. Dyott, organ r of that he wanted a fourth man for his expedition, e described the duties of whoever should volunteer to accom- pany him and pointed out that the de- sired type of man would not balk at hard labor in the stifling tropical wilderness, the dangers of hostile In- dians, of wild animals, of tropical fever. He offered a merely nominal recompense to the man “to whom money, the comforts of life and life itself mean very little.” Comdr. Dyott was not very optimistic that he could fill the position, but he hoped for the best. Almost immediately, however, there came indisputable proof that the spirit of adventure still lives. Up to last Wednesday night more than fif- teen thousand persons had volunteered to accompany the explorer into the Jungles. The applications came hy cable, tele- graph, air mail and by special de- livery. and parts of Canada and from several European countries. High school stu- dents, established professional men and those in the highest and lowest walks of life rushed to volunteer. In spite of this unexpected avalanche, Comdr. Dyott intends to pick his man carefully. He will read every applica- tion and will select the person best qualified to fill the vacant place in the expedition, The remarkable part of the public response to the invitation to undergo a hardship, to endure at times priva- tion and to be faced with dangers on all sides is the fact that practically no publicity, fame or fortune will come to the successful applicant. To a great majority of the public, busy with its own interests, the thought of pene- trating Brazilian jungles to search for lost civilization, or even lost men, is not particularly romantic. But to those who love adventure—and from Comdr. Dyott's experience, there are at least fifteen thousand ready to step out at a moment’s notice—the prospect of being included in the party, which will take its life in its hands, spells adventure with a capital “A. Truly the spirit of adventure still lives. It has not been lost in the fast pace that has been set by present-day civilization. —— American base ball claims intense interest abroad. It is still regarded in many countries as a kind of national idiosyncrasy rather than as a highly refined development of sport. N ‘When Gov. Al Smith is mentioned the hand organists all begin to play “East Side.” The musicians’ union may yet assert themselves in his cam- paign. —————— It is hard to amass a colossal for- tune; still harder to know eventually how to dispose of it for the benefit of mankind. —— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, What Is a Song? What is a song? An echo from the heart, Whose throbbings are so strong That they defy the mart. ‘What is a song? A queer commercial thing, Though art says “right” or “wrong” Still self-compelled to sing. ‘Temporizing. “Are you a wet or a dry?” “I'm a dry,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “But I am not obstinate. No sensible man expects to have his own ‘way about everything.” Comrades. ‘The politician says he knows Just how the votes will go. The fortune tellers still disclose Their views on so-and-so. Jud Tunkins says kind words should be spoken to the living. They do no good on a tombstone. Early Training. “Our forefathers gave us much wise advice as to laws."” “Yes,” commented Miss Cayenne, ‘put our foremothers gave us no re- liable suggestions whatever as to mod. ern costuming.” “Digging into the tombs of the past,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “reveals no wonders comparable to those disclosed by laboratory res search for the futu The Winner. Gentle and serenely dutiful, She led a life by taste restrained; She is esteemed most beautiful, Although no beauty prize she gained. “We go to camp meetin’,” said Uncle Eben, “an’ remembers dé shout- in’ mo' dan we does de lesson.” ——— To Avoid Overripeness. From the Topeka Caital. “Criminal justice,” Chief Justice Taft told the National Crime Commis- sion in its convention in Washington, “is ripe for reform.” So many able organizations are working on it that | there is hope of harvesting a good | crop of reform of criminal procedure before it gets too ripe. ———— No Sweet Melody. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, From what we have heen reading ahout Rumania, we judge Carol to be no sweet melody. SR Certainly Bears Her Share. From the Boston Herald, “Man that is horn of woman is of the rescue party, announced publicly | They came from every State|* Recently we heard {wo youn men in a public vehicle discussin, the characteristics which a ‘*real rirl” should poss Now_there part of many people to believe no young man or woman of today' think seriously about anything. It may come somewhat as a @ | prise, therefore, a disposition on ‘he at n for them to kn@ | that the following mental characterh tics were held necessary for a ‘“rea Discrimination, Appreciation, weetnes Sympathy. Understanding. Ability They were not set ledger book s down in such le, of course, nor were hey always stated in such a brief way, but ‘we, who have a bent for order in ideas, managed to jot them down so, and therefore serve them up here as the notebook carries them. It was and is noticeable that the physical characteristics of the ‘“real girl" were rather taken for granted | as being the heritage of every Ameri- {can girl who lives right, The serious consideration was given to those traits, the resuit of right thinking, breeding and training, which ¢ attempted to s up as mental. “As a matter of fact, they are as much of the soul as of the mind and have many reactions upon the physical. A “real girl,” even as younger men see her, is something distinctly more than a pretty somebody to be “toted” to a dance or taken for a ride in the rumble seat. = She is a personality, and, as such, must have Something more than a face and a pair of silk stockings., She must have character. * K K ok The young lady under discussion must have, in the first place, a well developed sense of discrimination. It was the unanimous sense of the young gentleman that a girl who did not possess the ordinary horse sense to pick and choose her male compan- jons could not possibly be entitled to the good title of “real.” A girl who would get as much plens- ure from the company of an ill-bred, uneducated man as she would from that of a cultured, successful feilow was held to be lacking in fundamental things, notably discrimination. A girl too free with her smiles, for instance, who did not seem to have enough brains to prefer accredited in- telligence, was held up to proper scorn. She held herself too cheaply, and therefore would not do for a man who held himself highly. Lacking _discrimination, it would follow as the night the day that she could not appreciate any of the finer qualities of either men or women, or of business or artistic ventures. The fact that many fine-looking women are seen to be married to “roughnecks” was not lost for a sec- ond upon these two dapper hut intel- ligent young fellows. They realized that any man worth while has a well developed ego, and that a woman can make no greater mistake than to rate all men alike in her own mind. “All men are born free and equal” was only a theoretical statement, a pleas- antry of great men who knew the particular sense in which they in- tended it. Unusual unanimity of opinion among Americans followed the sharp note of criticism of* German finances by 8. Parker Gilbert, agent general of repa- rations. The American official's warn- ing against policies which may en- gender extravagance and threaten the reparations plan is echoed by editors keen to its importance as a stabilizer of European peace. Quoting the reply of Herr Koehler, the finance minister, “that the repara- tions surplus is in sight at present and that he believes it will continue to be,” the New York Herald-Tribune remarks: “This might be taken as merely a justifiable difference of opin- fon were it not for the political back- ground in Germany, Wwhich consti- tutes a powerful urge toward exactly the kind of extravagance which Mr. Gilbert fears. The ‘impossibilities’ are still strong in their hope of demon- strating that the Dawes plan ‘will not work,” while German politicians, no less than those of other countries, labor under the popular pressure for ‘expansion and spending.’ The note, in fact, contains some hints that it was intended less to attack the lead- ers of German financial policy than to support them against the political demands of their publics, * * * It remains a dignified reminder to the German people that they are under a contract which they will not be permitted to endanger by mismanage- ment of their affairs.” “If the Government could plead in- ability to meet its supporters’ wishes, according to the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, “it might be politically cov- ered. * * * Mr, Gilbert's role in any case Is beyond criticism. He had pointed out evils in German govern- ment financing in his official reports. Duty and consistency required thgt he should give a plain answer @ of- ficial German inquires. Even if it were apparent that the German gov- ernment planned to use his letter to cover itself, there was no reason why hfll should refrain from honest coun- sel.” * ok kK Recognition of the fact that “some politicians in Germany desire to bring about the collapse of the Dawes plan next year, when the maximum annual payments will have to be met for the fivst time,” is, given by the Chicago Daily News, which adds: “But the im- partial view of sincere statesmen is that no such collapse is inevitable, and that to precipitate it by padding pa rolls, paying unnece: subsidi and making other available expendi- tuges would be most unfortunate. Mr, ilbert, a sincere friend of the Reich, s trying to help its statesmen and its intelligent industrialists to avoid dis- aster.” 2 at least will call Finance Minister Koehler's attention to the responsibilities resting upon Germany in this matter and the seri- ous consequences which would be like- ly to result from a default in the exe- cution of the Dawes plan,” says_the Salt Lake Deseret News, and the New York livening Post holds that the at- tention of Germany has been directed “to certain facts which had been over- looked” and especially that the note, with “its repercussions in other coun- tries,” has brought home a realization that foreign credit is to a certain ex- tent dependent upon good faith in carrying out the Dawes plan. If Ger- many hecomes more conservative in its program of expenditures, the note will have accomplished its purpose and will in the end react to Germany financial credit. “It is both courageous and consid- erate,” states the Louisville Courjer- Journal of the document, with the added comment: “They may protest that the sovereignty of the nation has been invaded., but the nation's sovereignty was invaded when the scheme for collecting reparations was launched. The Providence Journal concludes that “there certainly can be no dispute over the fact that Mr. Gilbert is discharging his duty both to the creditor allies and debtor Ger- many with meticulous care,” and the o warning few days and full of trouble.” Wom- an's lot is evidently left to be in- tervedy § Kalamazoo Gazette declares that “the insinuation that Mr. Gilbert has been ‘meddling’ in the private domestic THIS AND THAT BY CH. RLES E. TRACEWELL. Without either discrimination or ap- preciation, how could a. girl be expect. ed to have that certain sweetness of mind and heart which makes the | words “sweetheart,” “wife” and “mother’ the best in the dictionary? So the young men wanted to know. They did not call it “sweetness"—they rather shied from such a word; but that was the one word they wanted, nevertheless, and the exact quality they designated. They picked it as the corner stone, 8 it wer of the character of the @l American girl. Without th veetness, they said, a woman is only wething to be dragged around in a tor car, or paraded before other +in furs and diamonds, “for all boys to see,” as one of the pop- songs had it. ;al girl would never wound, word_or act, in the first ‘Vecause she would he too well 0 intelligent, and in the sec- jause it would be contrary to osition. uld have, as a result of these that tender sympathy which gives, whose mere name the power to still the save crudest of men. wathy, in the real girl, they ot be a theoretical posses- gion, but \ actual quality which Would be © en into her life and into the lives 0. those whom she honored with her friendship and love. 1t would follow again that such a girl, given these fundamental char- acteristics, would possess two more, the crown, as it were, of life in a world where ignorance is called, and rightly, the mother of all evil. She would have keen understanding, firmly based on discrimination and sympathy, aided by sweetness and a preciation. She would not be a mere doll, but would be a human being, abla 1 n t uk " ¥ bred ond, her 4 She qualith a moti possessy age in t This 5y felt, woul business. She would be fit to take her placs in the worka-day world alongside that inferior creature, vet in many ways hitherto more capable, the male of the species. Gifted by nature with the power of creation, she would be destined to the full heritage of her womanhood. She would possess all the lure of her at the same time she would he . physical or mental, and would be the proud possessor both of “‘book learn- ing” and ordinary common sense. in equal degree. She would combine, even better than a man, the desirable qualities of the race, for out of her keen understand- ing and her superability in the realms of memory zhe would evolve that test of mankind on this globe: Ability. She would be able to think, to do things, to act, to sway, to command ary, to direct, to make things . to throw herself into the ch, to outdo man, yet do it with a e which would not offend him. In the home she would make a rcal home for a man. It would be clean from attic to basement. The dinner would be ready. In business. she would make a real helper, not a mere fritterer away of time at a poor sal- ary. Her pay would indicate the ex- tent of her brains, because she would have plenty of both. Such, and such only, these young men indicated, would be a “real girl,” a woman in the true sense. Gilbert’s Reparations Note Approved by Press affairs of Germany hardly can appeal to fair-minded Germans, who know very well what his duties are” * ok ok K The Fargo Forum remarks that ‘“the German press, for some reason, has seen fit to attack Mr. Gilbert” and has called him a ‘“‘coldly calcu- lating financier,” and that paper as- sumes that “Mr. Gilbert has a great duty to the allies as well as to Ger- many, however, and is not likely to let those criticisms affect or influence him.” The Springfield Republican hopes “that no dispute will now arise which might provoke an untimely fit of balkiness before the calculations on which the Dawes plan was based have had a full test.” “If Germany falls down on repara- tions,” in the judgment of the Ogden Standard-Examiner, “then all u- rope once more will be upset and filled with animosities. How to get away from a bitter distrust which will break forth in threats ‘of war is worrying European statesmen who turn in the direction of America for leadership.” The Detroit Free Press feels that “of late, and in most cases without very good ground, misgivings about the future of the Dawes plan have been cropping up. The prophets of doom point, on the one hand, to Ger- many's alleged failure to live up to the economy requirements long urged by S. Parker Gilbert as one of the main conditions of further successful functioning of the plan; on the other, to the approach of the first year of maximum payments to be made hy Germany, with no source in sight for the present from which the additional money can be taken.” The Free Press believes that this may be the psychelogical moment to “raily to the defense of the plan.” ———— Whittling and Sawing. From the Detroit News. Mr. Coolidge says that when his term is over he will return to Ver- mont and whittle. This is a variation of his regular diet of saying nothing and sawing wood. —————— Penalty of Patriotism. Froy the Cleveland News. National Guardsmen evidently don’t have it any easier in Maine than any- where else, if they have to turn out to hunt for lost hunters from every other State. e Good Opening Reported. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, There is an opening for the political efficiency expert who can design a dry platform for a damp candidate, UNITED STATES N WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today Another clash between American and German patrols in No Man's Land. Full retails lacking, but at least one American soldier was killed. Artil- lery firing on the sector continues more active. * * * Government re- ceives news that three _submarines were destroyed by the allied naval forces in one day. Thought that a !plan of campaign which has been worked out in elaborate detail is heginning to get results, * ¢ * United States Ambassador Francis ad- vises all Americans to leave Petro- grad at once and obtains railroad ac- commodations for them. * ¢ # President appoints Daniel Willard | chairman of recently created War Industries Board, * * President issues sweeping proclamation to gov- ern the conduct of enemy aliens in this country and protect shipping and other property from the outrages which have greatly crippled the ener- gies of this nation at war. Provides for the most drastic action yet taken agginst enemiss m‘ux the cougly. to rear a family o dirct a mercantilf ¢ fits rights from secular NG STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1927. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover Roger Willlams, the founder of sland, “was primarily a politi- opher rather than a theolo- * * one of the most notable thinkers that the English ccording to Prof. gian, democratic 3 race has produced, X Vernon 12 Parrington, in “The Colo- nial Mind, 1620-1800,” in which he links Roger Williams with Renjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as the three great names in the line of lib- eralism in colon Roger Williams was sent to earth before his time, since in his “intellectual intel ests he was cotemporar su tions of prophets from his own days to our: He was a forerunner of Emerson and the Con- cord school as a transcendental mystic; forerunner of Channin ns in the practice of the open mind, and a forerunner of Thomas aine as political philosopher. Mr. ington describes him as “the one al thinker amongst a number ble social architects” and says that Cotton Mather, his_antagonist, was right in reporting Williams as the “first rebel against the divine church order established in the wilder- ness,” but more than that “he was a rebel against all the stupidities that interposed abarrier betwixt men and the fellowship of their dreams,” since “out of his long speculations emerged a theory of the commonwealth that must be reckoned the richest contri bution of Puritanism to American po- litical thought.” Ile accepted the compact theory of the state—'“that government is a manmade institution, that it rests on consent and that it is founded on the assumed equality of the subjects.” His idea of the state is that “it is the political machinery devised by the sovercign people to * * * serve the common weal, Te- sponsible to the sovereign people and strictly limited by the terms of the social agreement.” lIle argued that the legal status of the church was that of a corporation not differing in institutions. This doctrine was, of course, abhor- rent to the Massachusetts theocrats. But he carried his principle of toler tion to the point of religious liber as a fundamental right, in no w answerable to the civil power. Founded on such ideas, Rhode Island became with him a great experiment in democra to which he devoted his life. “In his own day he was ac- counted an enemy of society, * * * vet, like so many unshackled thinkers, he was seeker after a better order, friend to a nobler and more humane society.” Un * ok ok K The analysis of the political theories of Roger Williams on which the fore- going paragraph is based forms a brief chapter in what is a new and most interesting kind of history of American literature. . “The Colonial Mind, 1620-1800” is the first volume of Main Currents in American Thought: An Interpretation of American Liter: ture From the Beginnings to 1920.’ The second volume is entitled Romantic Revolution in America, 1800-1860.” The third volume, still to be published, will be called “The Be- ginnings of Critical Realism in Amer- lca, 1860-1920.” The author, who is professor of English in the Universi of Washington, at Seattle, treat of a_ field of Ameri 'S which has been pretty largely neglect- 2d. The special purpose of the work can best be given by quoting from the author’s mtroduction: “I have under- taken to gi some account of the genesis and development in American letters of certain germinal ideas that have come to be reckoned traditiona American—how they came into being here, how they were opposed, and what influence they have exerted in determining the form and scope of our characteristic ideas and institutions: In pursuing such a task, I have chosen to follow the broad path of our political, economic and social develop- ment, rather than the narrower belle- tristic; and the main divisions of the study have been fixed by forces that are anterior to literary schools and movements, creating the body of ideas from which literary culture eventually springs.” In the two volumes, recently published, the author has given a most interesting and reliable history of American thought of the earlier period. * ok ok % Doubtless the sentimental novel sells better and thus pays better than the epic novel of manners, but “Cer- tain People of Importance” has done more for the literary. reputation of Kathleen Norris than her last novel, “Barberry Bush,” or any of her others of the same type will ever do. “Bar- berry Bush” is saturated with senti- ment, rather preachy, and has not merely one obvious moral but two or three of them. Yet it has a modern note withal. The strings controlling the plot are pulled delicately or vigor- ously, once at least with a surpris- ing_Jjerk, to regulate the fortunes of Barbara and Amy Atherton, Mari- anne Scott, the lady with a past; Barry du Spain and Link Mackenzie. * ok kK Much as Boswell haunted the pres- ence of Dr. Johnson, with note book and pencil in hand, so L. White Bus- bey played the part of recorder of words and deeds for Joseph G. Can- non. The result is “Uncle Joe Can- non. The Story of a Pioneer Amer- ican as Told to L. White Busbey, for Twenty Years His Private Secretary,” which recently ran series of articles in The Evening Star, and is now published as a book. During the years of his secretaryship, Mr. Bus- bey kept a diary in which he en- tered what Cannon said of his long life in polit: and now that both subject and bicgrapher are dead Mrs. Busbey has correlated the diary en- tries into an autobiography. Cannon appears first as the least important member of the congressional ring, of which Reed and McKinley were the other two. As chairman of the ap- propriations committee, he wielded much power and, when McKinley had become President, at his request in- troduced into Congress the bill pro- viding for an appropriation for war with Spain. From 1903, when he be- came Speaker of the House, until the insurgent movement divested the speakership of most of its powers, he was a species of dictator. Before the end of his long service in Con- gress he had become almost a na- tional institution, a representative of a political type that was nearly ex- tinet, * oK oK K The statesmanship of Queen FEliza- Leth, especially as applied to the in- trigues centering about Mary, Queen of Sebts, to the Irish question, acute even in the sixteenth century, and to the conflict of religions in that period following the separation of KEngland from the Church of Rome, is analyzed by Sidney Dark in his book, “Queen Elizabeth, The author calls Eliza- beth “one of the great nation makers’ ‘and sa. “For her the end justified the means, and the end that she had in view from the beginning of her reign until her dying day was the creation of an England that should be at least the equal of France and Spain, an England prosperous at home and feared abroad, an England worthy to be the fatherland of the people whom she knew with an intimacy rare among monarchs and for whem #he had the only love experienced in her long life,” * ok ok ¥ Collectors of antiques who are not too sure of identification and values might with benefit secure a copy of Esther Singleton’s “The Collecting of Antiques.” It is a most practical book. The standards of heauty and taste are applied to all objects wh attract the collector—furniturs silver, bras: pewter, Some types of all of thes forms which are popular with certain collectors are frowned upon by Miss Singleton as never having been beau- tiful and, therefore, not being worth collecting merely because of their aptquity, = v k) 05 JRE .0 BTN and the | BY FRE Q. Have radio recciving sets reached the so-called saturation point?>—J. R. W. A. 1t is estimated that 18,000,000 radio receiving sets now are in use. They provide reception facilites for about 90,000,000 people, but this num- ber represents only 9 per cent of the population of existing zones of con- stant _reception. If the zones were extended to include the whole world, 350,000,000 sets would be required. Q. Were any of Dolores~Del Rios pi tion” taken in Russia’ T A. Two complete Russian villages were built on a 100-acre tract of land \bout 20 miles from Hollywood. It | took 0 men almost two months |vvk v the grounds, find the proper woods and thatch, dig a stream and supply it with water, and to secure all the minute details peculiar to Russia of the ecighties. These villages are exact duplications as their construction w supervised by Count Tlya Tolstoy, son | of Count Leo Tolstoy, author of the story. Q. In what part of the United States are the most turkeys raised? TSR 'A. The most important sections of production are the Middle Western and Southwestern States. In these States large numbers of small flocks are raised annually on the grain farms and there are also many large commercial flocks. The census of 1920 shows the six leading States in produc- tion of turkeys to be Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Califorina, Kentucl Virginia. = Formerly large numbers were raised in New England, but in recent years there has been a decided decrease, Q. Is the profession of engineering open to women?—V. G. A. As yet women have heen at- tracted to the study of engineering in only small numbers. Of the 41 wom- an technical engineers reported in a recent United States census 18 were civil engineers, 12 electrical engineers, and 11 mechanical engineers. scenes in ‘Resurrec- the re Q. How does one acquire an oyster farm?—W. F. A. A man may rent, lease, or buy an oyster farm from the States much the same as he would a dry land farm. The boundaries are plain and definite, even though the crop lies from 20 to 100 feet below the surface of the water, 5 Q. What is the derivation of the name_ Tennessee?’—R. E. C. A. Tennessee is an_Anglicized form of an Indian word—Tenasse, said to mean either a curved spoon or river with the great bend. Q. T« it good policy to use immature fruit in making grape juice?’—E. T. C. A. Only fully ripe, sound, clean fruit should be taken in making grape juice, as the use of immature fruit will result in the production of juices having a harsh, unpalatable quality, while decayed or unclean fruit will ERIC J. HASKIN. produce juices with undesirable for- eign flavors. Q. How were the railroads affected by the Mississippi flood?—A. F. B. A. The American Railway Associa- tion's flood committee reports that 000 miles of railroad were destroyed v the flood, and of the $10,000,000 total loss sustained by the carriers the Ilinois Central, with $2,700,000, suf- fered the heaviest damage, while the Missouri Pacific was next with §1,002,- Q. What tvpe of literature was printed by the Minerva Press of Eng- |land>—M. A. s. A. The Minerva Press was a print. ing house in leadenhall street, Lon- don. which was noted in the eight. eenth century for the pulication of ashy, sentimental novels, Q. What was the native name of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces?— | R. Chiet Joseph's Indian name was Hi:@naton-yalatkit, which means liter. all* “Thunder coming from the water up over the land Q. Does the Tnited States import stuffs to any great extent?.—A. The report of the Department of ulture shows that the United States now imports foodstuffs of great- er value than it e Q. Does the nent buildings at State fairs?- A. Indiana is the first State provide a_permanent emergency hos- ital for the Red Cross. It was opened in September for the fair, and 844 cases were treated. Q. Please describe the Code Stone of Hammurapi?—F. F, A. The Code of Ian graved on a block of ck diorite nearly eight feet high. It was discov- ered by De Morgan on the Acropolis of Susa in December, 1901, and Janu- ary, 1902, broken in three pieces. Under a basrelief showing the King receiving the code from Shamash, the Sun God, there are 16 columns of tex The code contains 252 paragraph These are in the main arranged under two heads, dealing with property and person, respectively. nmurapi is en- pared a constitution for the Confed- eracy, for how long a term was a A. His term was fixed for si and he was ineligible for re-ele Take advantage of this free scrvice. It you are not one of the thousands who have patronized the burcau since its establishment 1we want you to start now. This is a service maintained for the benefit of the readers of The Eve- ning Star, and we want you to get wour share of benefit from it. Send wour questions to us. Inclose 2 cents stamps for return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bu- reau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Now has not Dr. John J. Tigert, United States Commissioner of Educa- tion, “let the cat out of the bag,” upset the—well, upset the conceit of New Yorker: He deliberately told those New Yorkers that they “didn't Kknow beans,” as compared with the en- lightened mountaineers of the South? At a conference in New York City, last Wednesday, he reiterated that strange statement, while confessing that he had already been ‘“roasted” for venturing to make He declared that there is more illiteracy in New York City than among the “moun- tain whites” of the South—the *pore white trash.” That is why apoplexy has suddenly become epidemic in the Nation’s metropolis. Next thing we hear, that Tiger—t will be talking that way in Boston—Boston itself! He's not even afraid to beard Dr. Winship or Dr. Eliot right in their very dens. * ok ok ok But then, remember, Dr. Tigert is from the South, and so he may be prej- udiced. Only last week I fell into the trap of accepting a boast from one of the Southern States. to the effect that it had been so active in reducing illiteracy therein, since the war, that now, instead of 25 per cent of its people being unable to stand the Alpha test, which had played havec at the time of the army draft, the per- centage had been reduced to 18. Un- thinkingly I fell into that trap of ac- cepting that reduction, although, on second thought, I should have recalled that one company of white soldiers from that State had been tried in 1917, and showed that 62 per cent could not pass the test of literac; could not read a newspaper nor write a letter. Besides, there has been no official census nor inquiry made since 1920 as to literacy, anywhers; so who vouches for the accuracy of that al- leged reduction, in the last five or seven years, from 25 (or 62) per cent in one State down to 18 per cent? Personne! * ok ok ok The United States census records only 6 per cent illiterates, but the joker in that record is that that means that only 6 out of every 100 people confessed (and no enumerator ever made any test at all) that they could not sign their own name nor read “C-a-t” and know what animal it was. What is an_ illiterate? The Army draft-test was based on ability to read a short paragraph in a newspaper or book, and write a short letter to the homa folks explaining that the writer was sick and hoping that the recipient was enjoying the same blessings. And a quarter of the American people were thus found too utterly ignorant to be of any use chasing the Kaiser. They could not read orders nor send back a report when they caught him. So the American national defense was reduced as effectually by illiteracy as it the enemy had captured a quar- ter of our territory, a quarter of our Navy and Army and a quarter of our ammunition and transportation and rations before we had fired a gun. We managed 1o ¢ an Army of about 4,000,000 men, by eliminating that quarter of fgnorant men; otherwise that Army would have been 5,333,333, Besides, all business activity, ail trades and all industry are affected just the same as the Army. The cost- liest luxury of this most enlightened Nation is its utter ignorance; so testify teachers and statesmen and Army ex- perts. According to the Bureau of Indus- trial Research, when the Army sought 40,000 specialists in some 714 different occupations, it had 250,000 applications of men who claimed to know their trades. Of these, 6 per cent were ex- perts, 24 per cent were classed as “journeymen” (men who journey from one discharge to another because of in- competency), 40 per cent were appren- | tices and ‘the last 30 per cent were “punk, The Government wanted chemists— chemists of varieties of efficiency. It almost found varieties of pickles,” for, out of 100,000 applcants, only 181 qualified. * K K K The United States—this most beau- | tiful and most prosperous Nation in the world, this haven of all ambition, land of free schools and compul- Germany and Denmark have only two-tenths of 1 per cent illiterates: Switzerland, Netherlands and Finland have less than 1 per cent; Scotland and Great Britain less than 2 per cent rance less than 5 per cent and the “Land of the free and home of the brave” confesses to 6 per cent, while proving 25 per cent average for the whole 48 States. * ok %k % Touching again on that raw state- ment by the Commissioner of Educa- tion, Dr. Tigert, that New Yorkers are mere illiterate than the ‘“por whites of the Southern Mountain: the only way to test its accuracy is to appeal to the War Department now, Jjust as was done in 1917 in the Army tests. It tra ires that in the Army a new test is being tried experimentally on all recruits. It is not so severe as was the “Alpha test,” used in the 1917 draft, but it applies equally in all sec- tions, so it is fair for comparisons. At least it is not sectional, although it has been in use too short a time to be actually accepted as standard. Dr. Tigert’s challenge applies to com- parisons between New York City and the Southern mountain whites. Let that comparison be tried by Army re- sults of the modified test, which has been in use from October 23, 1926, to the present v. Repor are_avall- able only from October to Febru- ary 24, NEW YORK DISTRICT: Total applicants for original enlist- ment . 1 Total rejected” by ‘surgeons. ... Total accepted Total rejected bec mentality _test. Total reiected by on verbal vocabulary physically. ting offi et aags .. 18 Percentage rejected because of Tow men tahty, 12.3 per cent, In addition, two applicants who had had prior service were rejected be- cause illiterate. The commanding of- ficer commends as follows: “It is believed that virtually all, if not every one, of those rejected on mental or verbal vocabulary tests would have been rejected without the use of the formal test, the latter as illiterates,” Number o TENNESSEE DISTRICT. Number of applicants... 203 Passed test by 165—51.7 per Mental Tejections s res 16— 1.5 per cent The commanding officer remarks: “It is estimated that of the number re- jected on mental tests, approximately 70 per cent would have been rejected under previous regulation There you are, New Yorkers! Twelve and three-tenths per cent of New Yorkers illiterate; less than 8 per cent of the people in the great State of Dayton, where they know too mueh to make monkeys of themselves! Amazing! On behalf of Dr. Tigert, let us rise and sing “Who's Looney Now?” * ok ok ok The defense of New York Is that its illiterates aro largely aliens by | immigrants—lodged in the metr and that if the whole State taken, instead of just the city, result would be very different. The serious part of the situ not sectional, but is the national dilemma. That the proportion of illiterates is being reduced may be argued, but the fact remains that since 1910, when our rmmrgrants shifted from northern Europe to the Mediterranean Coast, they stopped our improvement, for in place of com- ing from countries where iliteracy was almost unknown, they began to originate from countries where 30 to 70 per cent were illiterate. Since 1921, we have undertaken to limit immigra- tion by quotas, aimed especially again: illiterates and undesirable immigration, but the quotas are the least part of our actual immigrant increase, which in tetal runs up to over 3.000.000 a year, instead of the nominal 150,000, ““But that's another ory. We hold 00,000 adults in Amer- ica who cant read a newspaper, can't unde a speech, can't rite a thoug an in- v. But Half the Americans and write neglect to here no national nor con- gressional election nor local election h _conld not be controlled abso- were th ion is v can vote! can read schooling—has the highest pro- portion of {lliterates, even by the joker records of the census, of any “eniight- ened” nation in the world. The whole world, including Darkest Africa, aver- ages about 60 per cent illiterates— the lrm State showed in 1917, 3 “lgnorants,” who would not have any idea what they were voting on. And when danger confronts the Nation, as in 1917, they could not help to defend the country which tolerates their illiteracy. (Copyright. 1027. by Paul V. Collins.)