Evening Star Newspaper, December 5, 1927, Page 8

8 — —_ THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY......December 5, 1027 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th 8t flv xe o gt Popirante ‘hicago Office: Tower European Office: 14 Regent England, Ave. ast 42n1 St. Buil 8t.. The Evening Star with the Sunday marn- edition is delivered by carriers within the city ‘&t 60 cants per month: daily oIy, 45 cents per month: Sundave iy 26 oot Bone Main BO00, “Collection 16 made by olieciion 1s made carrier at end of each month " 4 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ally and Sunday -1 yr. $000: 1 mo. i1y only. . 13r 86000 1 mo unday only. «.1yr.$3.00: 1 mo., All Other States and Canada. aily and Sunday.1 vr. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 aily only. 1yr. $800:1 mo. 750 unday only. yr. $4.00:1 mo.. Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press fs exclusicoly entitind 2o the use for republication of all news dis- Bahes gredited b ted in this paver and published herein. All rizhts of nublieation of special disnatches herein are also reserved . = The Seventieth Congress. For the seventicth time since the beginning of Government under the Federal Constitution the Congress chosen by the people of the United States assembles today for session. It is faced with a heavy task of duties to perform. Its program is unusually long and the items in it are complex and difficult. There is doubt whether it can be completed in its entirety and some expectation is felt that the session will continue through the Summer, unless political expediency brings about a burst of #peed in June to permit adjournment on the eve of the presidential nom- Inating conventions. ‘There are three major items of busi- ness for the two houses to dispose of it the public expectations are ful- filled. One of these is tax reduction, the measure for whith has been pre- pared and will today be introduced in the House of Representatives. Its passage by that house is expected be- fore the Christmas recess, but even with unusual expedition in the Sen- ate there will be difficulty in getting the law enacted in season to affect the' current taxes for the calendar year soon to open. Farm relief is another item, about the fate of which there is much ques- tion. It is a difficult problem, in- wvolving political as well as economic eonsiderations. Various measures for the amelioration of the agricultural conditions have been advanced. There is no agreement between the teeming with game, with fish and with all manner of plant life. The boundary line between the two countries, nearly four thousand miles in length, is famous for the unique fact that nowhere along its extent can be found a vestige of a fortification; nowhere has there been the slightest symptom of friction for more than a hundred and ten years. To make in the interest of wild life and of those who love the out-of-doors an ap- preciable break in that line, thus merging the two now distinct sections of the tract into an integral unit, would be the crowning expression of confidence, trust and friendship on the part of both peoples not duplicated since the guaranteed sanctity of the scene of the Olympic games in ancient warring Greece, No detalls are as yet set forth as to ° | administrative plan for the proposed merged lands. Doubtless each nation would contribute to the supervising forees, which would arrive in time at a well worked-out code to govern those enjoying the delights of the forest park. Such regulations could be easily arrived at and gs easily enforced, for the Canadian and the American sportsmen speak the same language in more senses than one. Incidental expenses would undoubtedly be lower- ed. It is pleasant to think of the antlered moose stalking hither and yon, protected by precisely the same safeguards, no matter on which side of the former line he stood. It is pleasant to think of a mother partridge raising her downy brood under the aegis of the crossed banners of the two Commonwealths. It would be gratifying for the prospective out- door vacationist to realize that it mat- tered not from which side he entered the park; that his conduct must be invariable and that the theoretical dividing line was not represented by so much as a vestige of red tape. The Tong Iine stretching over high moun- tain and lush prairie and wide waters could then be compared to a cordon supporting an Order ‘of Amity with the joined parks as the bright jewel centrally suspended. The very break in the border would be its crowning glory. ———— The Army Fire Traps. Although nine years have passed since the suspension of hostilities in Europe, this Government maintains many relics of the period of intensive war preparations. Barracks erected in a hurry for the accommodation of troops hastily recruited are still in use. These structures are of flimsy char- acter, were put up in a rush and were considered at the time merely as make- shift quarters, to be razed as soon as possible after the close of the war. Some of them have been replaced by several groups of farm interests. De- spite its defeat by veto last session the McNary-Haugen bill is favored by some. Others urge a modification of that measure, designed to meet the Executive objections. There is no certain prospect of enactment, al- though the need of some form of leg- islation for the relief of the farmers Is recognized as urgent. -Flood ‘control will command the in- terested attention of Congress, per- haps to the close of the session. For the question is of magnitude, with technical and economic aspects that complicate it. The floods of last Sum- mer in the Mississippi Valley cost tremendously. It is felt that they can be checked, if not wholly prevented, by the adoption of a comprehensive project that will cost enormously and will cover several years in execution, but will serve as an insurance against disaster. The outlook for some such act of relief is brighter than for many another item on the congressional calendar. The appropriation bills will, of course, constitute an imperative fea- ture of the session. There is sufficient time to complete this task, without any such omissions as that of last session, which was permitted to end ‘without actlon upon an important budget measure, the failure of which caused complications and wrought ‘much distress. It is expected that a record-break- ing flood of proposals for legislation will be loosed today, in both houses— public bills, private bills, resolutions, msome of them meritorious, some un- worthy, many proposed without ex- pectation of action. There is no way to stint these offerings to the con- gressional grist mill. With a cam- paign year ahead, they will be printed by the thousands, distributed by their proponcnts as evidences of political good faith, serving, with the speeches to be delivered—or printed by consent In the Record—as campaign material. Tax reduction is assured, in one form or another. Flood control is likewise well assured. Farm relief 4s not so certain, but it is probable. Appropriations are requisite. Other- wise there is no possibility of fore- cast of the outcome of the session. It the three major items, together with the appropriations, are worked out to satisfactory enactment, the Congress will have done well by the country, however long it may remain. ——r———————— The drop predicted in the motor market makes it difficult to see how a juror would regard an automobile as worth considering. —_—ate TUnder Two Flags. Seldom has a happier thought oc- curred than that behind the request of the Izaak Walton League of America for the union of two national parks, one in the United States and the other in the Province of Ontario. These two tracts of land, set aside for the public welfare, are already adjacent, though technically divided by that line described by the old-time Indian as so small no eye could see it and 5o strong no power could break it. The plan of the league, which has already accomplished so much for con- pervation and the preservation of wild life in the United States, is that this country and the Dominion shall make . @ treaty joining the two districts into one international forest preserve and wilderness ploneer monument. The two now separate tracts are the Buperior National Forest of Minnesota and the Quetio Provincial Park of permanent buildings, on sites chosen as headquarters and posts. Others have burned or have collapsed. But still there are enough in use today to constitute a grave menace to the lives of the enlisted men and the officers of the military service. A fire occurred Saturday at Fort Sam Houston, Tex., destroying the building used as the barracks of a company of the Ninth Infantry. So swiftly did the flames spread that one soldler was burned to death and an- other was seriously injured. This tragedy may be repeated at any time, and on a larger scale. The maintenance of these shacks for the housing of the troops is a national disgrace, and should be ended as quickly as it is possible to provide ap- propriations and to erect substantial permanent structures. Attention has been called repeatedly to this condi- tion. Pleas have been made by Army officers for the correction of a condi- tion that has no justification in emer- gency or in economic stringency. Even with expedition in making pro- visions for the clearing away of these fire traps casualties are likely to occur. ‘With the utmost care and the enforce- ment of the most stringent regulations fires are likely to occur at any time, and when they come, especially at night, the lives of all occupants of these tinder-box barracks are im- periled. Let there be no more delay in the correction of this shocking con- dition. ————— Mussolinl may have to suspend operations to restore the glories of ancient Rome, in order to settle a neighborhood row. Cruelty to Animal Mrs. Irene Castle McLaughlin, widely known for her introduction to the women of the United States of the bobbed hair style of coiffure, is known to a lesser number as an in- variable humanitarian and true friend of animals. Her latest crusade has been against the use of iron “tail sets” in producing a high arch in horses’ tails. Seizing the opportune moment of the Chicago horse show, Mrs. Mc- Laughlin, well known to friénds of animals in the District of Columbia for her humane efforts, attacked the practice as cruel and unnatural. Whether or not her strictures suc- ceed in abolishing the “tail set” and its use, her efforts will not be wasted. It is one of the highest tributes to the civilization of any nation that there exist in it those who feel indig- nant at the sight of cruelty practiced toward the so-called dumb creatures. The history of civilization might well be measured by the successive aboli- tion of such cruel practices, which also might include slavery, man's in- humanity to man. In England the crude sport of bull baiting by dogs had its day and went out of existence through the bullding up of humane public opinion, In the United States, dog fighting, as a sport, has gone through a some- what similar course, with the prac- tice decidedly on the wane. The cus- tom of cropping the ears and tails of bulldogs is in the limelight just now, with every evidence that the practice will be abolished among pedigreed animals. These evidences of better taste and more humanity, in the large, are happy forerunners, perhaps, of a day when cruelty to animals will be re- duced to & minimum. The appeal of helpless things, whether they be chil- dren or dogs, cats or horses, is a pe- culiar one, finding its largest scope in the humanitarian care of children, Both are in a desirable ontario. flgrnf‘fis which includes a veritabl:s who, by nature and parentage, fail rinth of connecting waterway to receive the sturdiness which every THE ENING child needs in the struggle for success. In a peculiar sense, all four-footed creatures are helpless, under the con- ditions of modern civilization. They are, indeed, relics of otheg ages, when they were the acme of speed in mo- tion. Thelr condition iy modern civ- ilized cities, in particulgy is lament- able, unless those whe appreciate their honesty and simplicity are will- ing to stand up for them and to do battle, if need be, in their defense. Such good humanitarians as Mrs. Mc- Laughlin point the way to a better world, not only for the furry friends of forest and fleld, but also for hu- manity, which will never prove its right to its own name until it becomes entirely humane, ———— e Justice Needed. The brazen effrontery of the Illinols youth who, after attempting to kill his school-teacher sweetheart by placing dynamite in the stove of a school- house, calmly remarked to police of- ficers that his victim was “too crazy about him to prosecute him,” should not go unmarked when he is brought before the bar of justice, Imperiling the lives of fifty children in a mad en- deavor to get rid of his afflanced bride, the youth who asserts that “a young fellow should not marry too early, but that he supposed when his maimed sweetheart recovered he would have to marry her to prevent going to jail for his act,” has evinced little con- cern except selflshness in a desire to save his own hide for one of the most dastardly deeds in the annals of crime. It by any miracle of the feminine mind this lad is forgiven for his act by his victim, the State will be derelict it 1t lets this potential murderer go free to conjure up other diabolical schemes to extract himself from dilemmas in which he might find him- self in the future. In placing the dynamite in the stove of the school- house he showed himself perfectly willing to kill fifty children and the teacher to rid himself of the girl who had given him everything and whom he was to have married within a few days. An interested public, therefore, will watch the conduct of this case. ————— December is the month when the world forsakes responsibility. The holiday dates are not identically re- lated, but the classic spirit of Winter cheer still survives, and, in accord- ance with custom, centuries old, the tired business man decides to take a real holiday. ———e—————— Threats of a railway rate war used to worry the financial world. Interest in the old iron horse becomes pic- turesque and sentimental as the pos- sibility looms of competition in the price of flivvers. ————————— The art impulse is sadly hindered by automoblle restrictions. There is not a license plate in the country that can be seriously commended for com- position or color scheme. —————— Anybody who doubts the existence of Santa Claus can calm his fears by backing up to a corner in a depart- ment store where he can listen to the cash register. Henry Ford s presenting automo- biles as Christmas gifts. This is carrying the idea of underselling the market to an fllogical conclusion. German laboratories issue state- ments which indicate an, opinion that in the future world politics must reckon with its chemistry. Mention of Devils Island crops up from time to time, with never a con- vincing intimation that it is serving a useful purpose. —————— ‘When the box office revises the sit- uation it is usually found that a great opera singer is also something of a financier. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Supercilious Human, The rain dropping lightly, The sun shining brightly, Arrive in the year's mighty plan. We blame or extol them. But cannot control them. We just do the best that we can. Man thinks he's a wonder, ‘With lightning and thunder Brought under restraint by his plan. Of the world and its glory He tells the old story— “It’s doing the best that it can.” Of conquest we chatter— Such has been the matter For discourse since life first began. The world rolls securely. A man says, demurely, “It's doing the best that it can! And still we are hearing The strange voices nearing That tell of the manners of man. Mysterious forces, In infinite courses, Say, “He's doing the best that he can.” Eyes and Ears, “The eyes of the world are on a statesman like you.” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “And there are a lot of ears at the keyholes, too.” Discouraged Sentiment. “I used to hang up my stocking on Christmas eve.” “Why have you discontinued the custom?” “Too many burglars around. Last year some one sneaked in and hooked the stockings.” Said the Hunter to the, Motorist. The various license tags proclaim My right earth to encumber. Though sometimes I forget my name, 1 always know my number., “An idealist,” saild Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is too often a white- whiskered man who still believes in fairies.” Self-Defense. “The cook has left,” said the house- wife. “I don’t blame her,” answered the tired business man. ‘“‘She couldn't be expected, to go on eating the food she was delivering from the kitchen.” “De world owes me a livin’,” said Uncle Eben, “but I's de one dat's got to @ de worryin' 'bout its debt.” STAR, WASHINGTON. b. C THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. How few really distinguished-look- ing persons one meets! The connolsseur of humanity has to wade through a thousand men to find one who really stands out from the crowd. The exceptional “person—he is as hard to find as the proverbial needle in the haystack, and the sad part of it is that even when you find him the chances are you won't recognize him! The trouble is, probably, that we expect too much. Our ideals of what a man or woman might be are too high. We look for angels, and find—men and women. Our idea of distinction is one thing and the reality another. We find it difficult to work the matter out in life. There is mno question here of eminence, such as that of some great artist, whose work is recognized around the world. Nor do we expect that greatness must be heralded in- variably by a distinguished appear- ance. We speak only of the everyday walks of life, in which one meets the men and women who do the world's work in high places and in low. In such paths, we claim, there is sad lack of the conspicuous man, the fellow who figuratively and actually stands “head and shoulders” above his compantons. * KoK X M Take the college foot ball player, for_instance. During undergraduate days he is a marked man. picture, in various absurd poses, is played up in the sporting pages of all the newspapers. If he happens to be able to kick a ball farther than most similarly brawny young men, he is called a “star.” His name gleams back at him in the largest and blackest type. He is one of the “big men” of his institution. He wears a vivid sweater with a huge “letter” emblazoned on his mighty chest, He excels in a truly wonderful sport. A man has to be a man to play foot ball, there is no question about it. Here is no game of chance, but one in which the best player proves to be the best player. The older person, whether he be graduate or not, looks at the conspicu- ous young fellow with awe and amaze- ment mingled. ‘With this flying start in life, how can he fail to stand out later in busi- ness or professional life? It would seem impossible but that he must go crashing down the flelds of life, scoring goals easily from all angles, while the rest of us poor mor- tals hang on the sidelines, grateful for a few crumbs left by him in his swift progress. 'R The truth of the matter. is that the eminent foot ball player, once he takes his place in the workaday world, neat- ly merges into the rank and file. One would not say that many fine foot ball “stars” have not made con- spicuous successes. They have. But so have thousands of men who never played foot ball. Take yonder little runt, who was the worst sort of “grind” during his un- dergraduate days. Today he is as runty as ever, but he holds down a big position with his firm, and directs the activities of several who were “big men” when he was scarcely regarded. The “bigness” of the former “big men” melts away. There are thou- sands_of successful men who never played foop ball, but who kept them- selves in condition, and today find no handicap whatever from the former gridiron activities of the old “stars.” So it goes in every sphere. The Greek letter fraternity pin loses that magic which it had on the campus and in the small college town, and turns into a neat jewel to be worn upon occasion. These artificial badges take their proper places. All that a man is and has comes to show in his face, as he has stamped ft there, unknowing, by his thoughts and actions, by his very life as he has-lived it. * * X ¥ % Even granting so much, the lover of his species must bewail, now and then, the paucity of unusual persons. Men are so much alike. Women handle this better than men. There are five times as many distinguished- looking women on the streets as men. Their faces have more verve, or whatever one chooses to call it. ke a walk down F street, some day between noon and 1 o'clock, and note the number of men who really stand out from the crowd. Your hand will not be made tired by handling pencil and notebook. Your scrutiny, no matter’ how many minutes it is carried over, will force you to say, a “The world esting. “They all look alike! “To save my life, I couldn’t pick the unsuccessful man from the suc- cessful one just by looking at them. “There are no more heroes left— or, at least, even the heroes look like the rest of us!" * kK Xk This is the happy part of it all. Suppose modern life resembled that in the old Norse sagas, wherein lead- ers were chosen because they were the largest and best appearing men in the_tribe. The ruck of humanity would be distinctly “out of luck.” As it fs, modern _ clvilization actually comes near to approximating the poet’s words: “Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood.” This verse has had so much fun poked at it that it is hard to realize that it is more or less true. Nowadays civilization in _such countries as our own has reached a plane wherein results count. The man who-can produce, the fellow who can come across, is the man of the hour and the minute. He may be no more distinguished looking than an old board fence, but, like the fence, he can be depended upon. His batting average at the office is high. We shall never forget first meeting the late Dr. Charles Proteus Stein- metz in a hotel lobby. A little man, not much over 4 feet high, utterly undistinguished in appearance—but when he began to explain his arc light, we realized that we had met a superior person. t last: of men is drab, uninter- WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘Washington is itself again. Con- gress is in session. All roads lead to Capitol Hill. Talk and thought, hopes and fears, center exclusively around events beneath the Liberty-capped dome. The functions of Congress are given pride of place in the Constitu- tion of the United States. Article I is devoted to them. The founding fathers intended that the activities of House and Senate should be first in the minds, if not the hearts, of their countrymen, The Seventieth Congress embarks upon what is known as the “long session.” It is terminable at Congress' own will, as distinguished from the second or “short session,” which, by law, ends at noon on the succeeding March 4. House and Senate, because of magnitude and multiplicity of business, will proba- bly be on the job until mid-June, 1928 —perhaps longer. The session may extend over both national conven- tions. In that event, in the words of an immortal Irish bull, Congress will “fairly swarm with absentees.” * ok K ok Republican national committeemen now in session at Washington are deeply impressed by a presidential poll said to have been taken at the recent dinner given by Charles D. Hilles to the Republican members of the New York delegation in the House. Of 16 ‘“upstate” Representatives, 14 de- clared for Hoover, and 2 for Hughes. The reported result must have jarred Hilles, who is custodian-in-chief of the Hughes boom. * X k¥ One of the stories tittlé-tattled at the outset of the annual Washington gossip session concerns Gen. Leon: ard Wood. It's alleged that the Cuban government recently voted Mrs. Wood a $6,000 pension because it heard she was left “destitute.” That condition 1is ascribed—so the yarn runs—to the fact that when Wood last Summer sought remuneration for a considerable outlay of official ex- penses at Manila, Washington “dis- allowed” it. Wood's friends believe the tale is without foundation. They say his estate was probated for $100.- 000. The expense-account affair also is scouted by Representative Robert L. Bacon, of New York, who has just Introduced a bill to grant Mrs. Wood a Federal pension of $5,000 a year. * X ¥ % None of President Coolidge’s Pan- American Conference delegates at Havana will set foot on Cuban soil with livelier interest than Henry P. Fletcher, Italy. Not only was Fletcher one of Roosevelt's Rough Riders, but he be- gan his distinguished diplomatic career as a secretary of legation at Havana 25 years ago. Following the Spanish- American War, the young Pennsyl- vanian spent three years in the Army and had more fighting in the Philip- pines. It was through his comrade- ship with “T. R.,” then President, that Fletcher entered the diplomatic serv- ice, in which he has just celebrated his silver jubilee. Cuba, Portugal, China, Chile, Mexico, Belgium, Italy and the State Department are the fields in which his diversified talents have been displayed. Fletcher is a youngster, as diplomats of long ex- perience go, having just turned 54. * x %k X Gov. Smith’s bold avowal of citl- zens' rights to advocate abolition of the liquor laws interests Republican politicians, quite as much as it thrills “Al's” Democratic supporters or dis- tresses uncompromising drys. G. O. P. leaders don't say it aloud, but the real “Smith menace,” as they see it, is the appeal the governor makes to Repub- lican wets. In their confidentlal mo- ments Republican spokesmen concede that Smith would receive an immense “protest vote” against prohibition from men and women who ordinarily would not support the Democratic presidential ticket. It would be large enough in many districts, these per- vous Republicans fear, to overcome any losses Smith might suffer on ac- count of wet, Tammany and religious disabilities. In other words, when Re- publicans call the governor a ‘‘vote getter,” they mean a getter of wet votes in both parties. ERE N Senato: Carl Hayden, Democrat, of Arizona was inadvertently omitted American Ambassador to! from this observer’s list of House graduates translated into the upper chamber of the new Congress, Though still a political youngster, Senator Hayden's been in Congr ever since Arizona became a State, having been sent to the Sixty-second Congress and to all succeeding Houses of Repre- sentatives. Arizona, which has only one member of the House, has just kept on voting for Hayden out of habit. The new solon is a native of his State. Before he was 30 Hayden was sheriff of his home county and lived the picturesque life that Bill Hart's pictures have immortalized. Senator Hayden is a Stanford Univer- sity fellow alumnus of Herbert Hoover. * ok ok ok It's been mooted around Washington that a scheme is afoot to wind up the Anti-Saloon League and merge it with a certain national religious or- ganization. Resolutions to that ef- fect, 'twas said, would be submitted at this week's biennial of the league in the Capital. The underlying theory is that the league's work is done, with prohibition the law of the land and National and State Governments pledged to its enforcement. Dry lead- ers not only deny the story, but dis- pute the premise on which it rests. They contend that the league’s work is far from completed—that, on the contrary, like John Paul Jones, it's ‘“‘only begun to fight.” From the drys’ standpoint, the need for militant, or- ganized vigilance was never so urgent as now. * K ok ok It won't long now! A Republican in Grafton, W. Va., has it all worked out. “Renominate Coolidge and Dawes,” he writes to a New York pa- per. “The President to accept, but with the definite understanding that, if elected and he lives, he will resign after serving no longer than eight years in all. Thus two things would be settled—(a) spiking the third-term issue; (b) in place of one, two candi- dates for the presidency on the same ticket, one East, one West, both ac- ceptable.” (Copyright. 1927.) Vice Presidency and the Man. From the Baltimore Sun, The Vice Presidency is not, in theory at least, a very gay job. It is an office and it has its dignities, its silences and its precedents. But no lights are trained upon it, and it doesn’t often line out decisions that will startle millions or please them or frighten them. No, it is not very gay. But a Vice President is another thing from his office. There is Mr. Dawes. He, too, has his dignities and his honors, but he doesn’t enjoy silence and he doesn’t care for precedents. oo Coolidge Way Not Simple Way. From the Topcka Capital, However, a simple way for President Coolidge to stop movements for his renomination would be to state that he will not be a candidate or accept a nomination. Until he does, such move- ments will go ahead. And if he never does maybe he will be a candidate after all. o Openest Mind, Closest Mouth. From the Toveka Capital. President Coolidge in a White House statement declares that he has “an open mind” on the subject of farm relief. The present Chief Magis- trate has the openest mind and closest mouth of all the Presidénts, s e Borah’s Position. From the Boston Transcript. As we understand him, Senator Borah takes the position that raising the limit from one-half of 1 per cent to three-quarters of 1 per cent would not change the Volstead act in a man- ner to make it popular to & man with a pronounced thirst. — et Effort for Harding Not Wanted. From the Topeka Capital. “Forbes will seek to clear Harding’s name,” according to a_ Leavenworth report. “The friends of Harding, how- ever, will hope that I ter of it and leaves Harging's name alone. L orbes thinks bet- | MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1927. PHILOSOPHIES BY GLENN FRANK Truth is a flower that does not grow on battlefields. Physical welfare kills men’s bodles. Intellectual welfare kills men's minds. Spiritual welfare kills men's souls. I mean by this that the spirit of truth flees from propagandist arenas where men are fighting to maintain their respective positions. The laboratory is the womb of truth, for there men investigate with calm impartiality. The battlefield is the tomb of truth, for there men fight with bitter fa- naticism. 1 have lately been reading in fas- cinating history of the Renaissance and the Reformation. I saw again the way in which the Reformation, for all its high intent, withered the finer flowerings of the Renaissance, that glowing movement in which a fresh advance of the human spirit seemed certain to endow the world with a whole set of new values. There have heen many explana- tions of this, each explainer revealing his own prejudice in his explana- tion. Religlon, says one man, is always the enemy of culture and science. Protestantism was wrong, cries a Romanist. Romanism was at fault, cries a Protestant. Most of the explanations given seem to me heside the point. Dean Inge has, I think, given the real ex- planation: “The truth is,” he says, “that the Reformation not only checked but obscured the scientific progress which had begun in_the century which preceded it. * * * The out- break of fierce religious wars in the sixteenth century destroyed the hopes of the humanists. “It is useless to ask whether the Catholics or the Protestants were most guilty of this setback to civilization. It was not Catholicism or Protestant- ism, but the state of war between them, which had this evil consequence. “Christianity,” when unmenaced, is no enemy of culture; but as soon as war is declared, every nation or insti- tution must subordinate all other con- siderations to the necessity of victory. “It must curtail liberty of action, speech and thought. “It must devife and publish a fight- ing propaganda, in which the claims of truth and fairness are cynically dis- regarded. “It must rest its claims on very clear and simple issues, which all can understand. “When two_religions are at war, there_is no call for deep philosophers or subtle theologians. Both sides will rest their case on some external au- thority; their dogmas will be coars- ened and materialized; they will both, while the ‘struggle lasts, become reli- glons of a narrow and brutal type.” In our struggles for truth in rell- gion and politics, it is well that we remember this. (Copyright, McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) Seek the Restoration Of Ancient Cathedral To the Editor of The Star: May we crave the courtesy of your columns to explain to American people the object of our mission to this coun- try? Scottish people have ever remem- bered with a peculiar pride that in the days when our Episcopal religion was persecuted and proscribed the first American bishop was consecrated by our Scottish bishops in an upper room in Aberdeen in the year 1784, and the concordat was signed which left its abiding mark on the liturgy of the American Episcopal Church. That event created a unique and imperish- able tie between Scotland and Amer- ica and further it led to issues greater than seen at the time, for when Bishop Seabury returned to America he was the first bishop of the Anglican com- munion to found a diocese beyond the shores of Great Britain, and the first stone of the vast structure of the An- glican communion throughout the world was laid in that upper room in Aberdeen. b That room has long since gone and the congregation which worshiped there. now worships in a building which has the reputation of being the poorest and plainest cathedral in the British Isles. Its architecture is en- tirely unworthy, alike of its history and its rank. No better memorial of the. consecration of America’s first bishop could be devised than a recon- structed cathedral which would always be connected with his name and bear upon its front, carved in stone, the historic scene of his consecration. In seeking to interest the American pub- lic in this memorial we have the pow- erful support of the American Episco- pal Church whose cordial welcome to us was expressed in the following words: “The Episcopal Church in the United States gratefully recognizes its immeasurable debt to the Episcopal Church of Scotland not only for the consecration of Dr. Samuel Seabury as the first American bishop, but also for the Scottish liturgy, which has so profoundly affected our American use, and commends to the favorable con- sideration of all American churchmen the proposed Seabury Memorial.” FREDERIC L. DEANE, D. D, Bishop of Aberdeen. H. ERSKINE HILL, Provost of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen. UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today ‘Without opposition, House commit- tee on foreign relations votes favor- ably on resolution declaring that state of war exists between the United States, and Austria-Hungary. In deference to implied wishes of the President, Turkey and Bulgaria are not included. * * * Gen. Pershing re- ports casualty list of 13—2 killed in action, 7 wounded severely and 4 slightly. * * * American engineers, captured in the engagements before Cambrai, turn on their foe and fight them bare-handed until a rescuing party arrives. * * * Secretary Me- Adoo, submitting annual report to !(‘ongresa today, eu:imatu that the Wo years’ war cost to this count will total $36,000,000,000. Nafl\g must provide $24,000,000,000 more rev- enue by July, 1919. * * * Interstate Commerce Commission tells Congress railroads must be run as a unit and they suggest either that Government let roads pool their resources or have President take control. Assert rate increases are futile and Federal loans and regulations are necessary if rail- roads are to give adequate service in war time. * * ¢ German subma- rines sink 16 British merchantmen of 1,600 tons and over during the past week and unsuccessfully attack- ed 8 others. —————— Gift Houses and Hoodoos. From the St. Louls Post-Dispatch. The citizens of Atlanta have pre- sented to Bobble Jones a $50,000 house as an expression of esteem. It is a nice home. Watch your step, Bobble. Admiral Dewey got a free home, too. The Seasonable Query. From the St. Louls Post-Dispatch. If he is inclined to brag that he al- ways puts things where they belong, ask him where the Christmas tree ornaments are. To Be Campaign of Men. Fiom the New York Herald-Tribune. Next year will be & campaign of men instead of issues. # Q. Please give a list of negroes who are in our diplomatic and consular services.—E. M. A. The following is the complete list: Willlam T. Francis, Minis- ter resident and consul general to Liberia, American Legation, Mon- beria; Clifton R. Wharton, third" secretary, American _legation, Monrovia, Liberia; Willlam H. Hunt, American consul, Guadeloupe, French West Indies; James G. Carter, Ameri- can_consul, Calais, France; William J. Yerby, American consul, Oporto, Por- tugal; Carleton A. Wall, clerk, Ameri- an legation, Monrovia, Liberia; Lo- venz B. Graham, consular clerk, at- tached to the American legation, Mon- rovia, Liberia; Napoleon Bonaparte Marshall, clerk, American legation, Port au Prince, Haiti; Charles Al foore, clerk, American legation, Port au Prince, Haiti; Miss Lillle Maie Hubbard, clerk, American consulate, Oporto, Portugal. Q. Did Walter Johnson ever win three base ball games on three suc- cessive days? S A. He did York. Q. How high is the Pecos Bridge on the Southern Pacific?’—L. W. A. The Pecos Bridge over the Pecos River, Texas, on the Southern Pa- cific Railroad, is considered among the highest in the United States. This bridge has a height of 326 feet. Is it correct to say “We will have a friend for dinner’’?—S. D. A. “We will have a friend for din- ner” would imply that the “friend” is to be eaten. Say: “We will have a friend at dinner,” or, “We have in- vited a friend to dinner.” E. P. 8. in 1908 against New Q. What are the most common types of rugs”—S. E. S. A. The majority of modern textile rugs and carpets are woven on power looms perfected by American manufac- turers. Ingrain, Brussels, Wilton, Vel- vet and Axminster are the most com- mon kinds. In addition to these, there are Oriental rugs and various. adapta- tions of the old-fashioned rag rug now manufactured on a large scale in fac- tories, as well as fiber and grass rugs and mattings. Q. What is the difference between whole wheat flour and graham flour? A. The difference between whole wheat flour and graham flour is that there is less coarse bran in the so- called whole wheat flour than in the graham. Alexander Graham was the first to advocate milling the entire wheat, adding nothing to it and sub- tracting nothing from it. In some mills the whole wheat flour s a prod- uct of the whole wheat put through ; process to take out the coarsest ran. Q. What is the origin of the Great Danes?—S. E. T. A. A number of theories have been advanced and considerable controversy has at times arisen regarding the source_and method of origin of the Great Dane. The name indicates that this dog is native to Denmark, yet it is common knowledge that the breed’s more recent development is directly traceable to the efforts of German fanclers. Great Danes have been bred for centuries abroad and records as far back as the Egyptian period prove that a dog of this type was then in ex- istence. It is presumed that the breed descended from such dogs and that possibly the ancestral Great Dane stock spread to Germany, where it crossed with the blood of the Ulmer Dogge, Rottweiler Metzerghund, etc. The name “Deutsche Dogge” was adopted as the official title for the breed in Germany late in the nine- teenth centry and as such it is now known in that country. Q. Who is the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad?—E. B. A. Willam Wallace Atterbury fis its president. Q. What literary prize is given only tco )i:ornen by the French Academy?— A. The French Academy bestows the Prix Jules Favre only upon women. It was given to Helene Va- caresco for her “Roumanian Ballards.” Q._Did Harry Atwood ever land on the White House lawn?—H. E. M. A. Harry Atwood, aviator, made a skilliful landing on the White House lawn in the rear of the President’s {esld:nca at about 2 o'ciock on July 1911, Installment buying, for a long: time watched with suspicion and uneasi- ness by students of economics who feared that the tremendous growth of the practice actually threatened national disaster, is given a clean bill of health almost unanimously by the press in commenting on a recent fa- Columbia University. “Those of us who have opposed in- stallment buying,” says the Kansas City Post, “may have been foolish for doing so, but we are at least art enough to know when we are l!'g:lted. Wg are willing to publicly admit that the other side has won a decisive victory, The fact is, it looks as though there no longer is any other plan. It seems to be an install- ment age, and even those who have money insist upon using this plan. Then, too, there is something in the argument wife makes to an old-fash- joned husband. You save your money, she says to him, and when you put it in the bank it is immediately loaned to some one else and this some one else buys a car with it. The re- sult is that you are working your life away and other people are riding on your money. Many of us still think people are foolish, but with most foreign countries adopting the Ameri- can plan of enjoying it while father pays for it, there is no use fighting the installment plan. We just simply are whipped.” “It is not to be supposed,” accord- ing to the Syracuse Herald, “that Prof. Seligman’s answers will wholly satisfy the unfavorable critics. will claim that he lays too much stress upon the utilities of the new system, and too little upon the pos- sible dangers and abuses revealed in the course of its administration. Yet he can easily show that the ordinary system of bank credits has en- countered similar difficulties in the past. and has bravely weathered the storm. In this respect, he need only point to the severe bank ordeals of 1873, 1884, 1893 and 1907 in confirma- tion of his comparison.” The Herald, however, advises that “the adminis- trators of the new system must guard | result. against the abuses and temptations | Sound. in its operation, which the present |Method, we need not coming developments. period of national prosperity is likely to engender.” ok ok ok “Bankers have expressed the fear,” ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. Name some bells of Charleston, 8. C., that I will find interesting while visiting the city—C. C. M. A. St. Michael's bells were bought from England in 1764. The Brit- ish took them back to England when Charleston was evacuated in 1782; they were purchased and re- turned in 1783. After many sad ad- ventures, what were left of the orig- inal bells were sent to England, re- cast in the original molds and again set up in St. Michael's spire, Charles- ton. Q. What' are “marsh tackies’ H. V. A. Dubose Heyward says they are the “poor horse trash™ of the Caro- lina coast country’s swamps and sea islands. “Early tradition says these horses were found by the English when they first came and that they are the descendants of runaways from the Spanish settlements to the south about St. Augustine, or horses turned loose by De Soto upon his ill-fated march to the Mississippi.” Q. Please give the traditional dates inhlhe life bty fmiotiax of Jesus A. Elizabeth C. Vincent in her “The Madonna in Legend and His- tory” gives the following: Birth, Se, tember 8, year of the world 39%5. Presentation in the Temple, 3988, Espousal, January 23, about 4000. Death placed from 48 A.D. to 65 A.D. Q. Is the practice of “greening” pickles by placing them in copper vessels recommended?”—T. 8. T. A. Experiments have shown that when pickles are heated with vinegar in a copper vessel copper acetate is formed, and that the pickles take up very appreciable quantities of it. Cop- per acetate is poisonous. By a ruling of the Secretary of Agriculture, made July 12, 1912, foods greened with cop- per salts, all of which are poisonous, will be regarded as adulterated. Q. What was the origin of the name which is applied to bed coverings?—L. T. P. A. Thomas Blanket was the sur- name of an early English manufac- turer of woolen cloth. He was per- secuted In 1342 by"the magistrates of Bristol, England, because he had set up looms and hired Flemish weavers to make such cloth. On appeal by him to King Edward III the latter instructed the mayor to cease inter- fering with the manufacturer. Q. How many woman physicians are there in the Unitgd States?— H. T. A. The number of students and graduates enrolled in medical schools for the last 20 years shows that wom- en make up between 4 and 5 per cent of the entire student body and the totals of medical graduates. A rough estimate, therefore, based on the 149,- 521 physicians in the United States proper, would be in the neighborhood of about 7,476 woman doctors. Q. What does “Pantheon” mean?— T. A. The word “Pantheon” means & “temple or a shrine dedicated to all the gods.” It is specifically applied to a magnificent building _erected at Rome by Agrippa in 25 B.C. Q. How many mermorial stones are there in the Washington Monument? V. A. There are 190. Q. How many lamb chops does it take to make a crown roast?—N. M. A. Tt usually contains from 16 to 13 chops. Q. What were the total receipts for foot ball games for the 1926 season?— H. E. V. A. They amounted to $26,500,000. There is mo other agency in the world that can answer as many legiti- mate questions as_our free Informa- tion Bureaw in Washington, D. C. This highly organized institution has been built up and_is under the per- sonal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By keeping in constant touch with Federal bureaus and other educational enterprises it is in a posilion to pass on to you authoritative information of the highest order. Submit your que- ries to the staff of experts whose serv- ices are put at your free disposal. There is no charge except 2 cents in They | stamps for return postage. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J, Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. Given Installment Buying Vote of Approval by Press most of them are now driving more costly cars on the same plan. More- over, Prof, Seligmn finds that install- ment buying has awded millions of dollars to trade, inckeased employ- ment, added to thrift ‘and benefited hundreds, where one maj* have been harmed, by losing a chance tu.keep Vorable report by Prof. Seligman of |in the road. For this reason it ds, predicted that the installment plan is here to stay, and we think the con- clusion is sound.” The strongest point in favor of the economist’s decision, in the opinion of the Topeka Daily Capital, is that re- ting to stabilization of business. ‘While the steel and automobile and some other industries have slowed down to some extent,” says that paper, “yet business forecasts univer- sally point to the fact, as a reassur- ing condition of business, that neither merchants nor factories have large supplies on their shelves. This is due to hand-to-mouth buying and that is due to installment buying by con- sumers. If business should decline, it would have no such disastrous conse- quences as in 1921, when shelves were stocked high with goods, inventories of factories were high and goods had to be sacrificed for what they would bring. Prof. Seligman’s elaborate re- port has strengthened confidence in installment buying among the doubters.” * ok kK It is pointed out by the Minneapolis Tribune that “the laws governing bankers’ and producers’ credit have been codified, one might say, in the course of many years' experimenta- tion. There has been,” continues the Tribune, “no analogous codification of the laws governing consumers’ credit because of the lateness of its appear- ance on the scene. One would judge that consumers’ credit, intelligently directed and not abused, aids greatly in the stimulation of general prosper- ity and diminishes the likelihood of sharp fluctuations from good times to times. We may, at some future period, overdo consumers’ credit, and find it necessary to pay the penalty as But the principle itself is With proper care as to the orry about the Proposed credit. under the newly ap- proved system. as applied to honey- moon _trips interests the Buffalo Eve- ning News, which observes: 'he way he Yakima Morning Herald remarks, | to matrimony is thus made more than ‘that the installment system would |ever easy. gnca the boy gets the girl Leadmto extravagance and a back: | to agree to his proposal he has little to reaking load of debt to be carried | worry about. The fact that he is out by l!l@ American family. Prof. Selig- |of pocket does not deter him from pop- man's study, the result of 156 months of | ping the question; he knows that on investigation with a staff of research |the deferred payment plan he can get assistants, offers evidence to the con-|the ring which every girl has a right trary.” The Columbia Record finds|to expect as a sign and symbol. He that these conclusions are in agree-|has long known that the plan would ment with experiences in the buying | provide him with the things of motor cars. “A few years ago, necessary for a rooftree. All that has held him the Record udds, “so many drivers |back, as he has counted his coin, has were paying for cars that some of the [been the thought of honeymoon ex- people said there would ultimately be a tremendous crash and racing to the poorhouse in mses. Now that question is settled. o simply walks over to the office of year or two—or when | the tourist agency and on the pledge the payments on the cars were auto- |of his good name—with perhaps some matically deman; Those car buy-|other formalitie: ers of that day still smiling and two for & cruise. he gets tickets for