Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1927, Page 14

i ‘THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D.C. SUNDAY.....December 25, 1027 THEODGRE W. NOYES. ... Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office 11th St and Pennavlvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 43nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Ruilding. European Office 14 Regent St.. London, England, The Evening Star with the Sunday morn- ing edition s ered by carriers’ within he city at 60 cents per month: aaily only 45 cents per month: Sundave only. 20 cents yer month. Onders ‘may be sent by mail telephone Main £000. Collaction 18 made } ter at ond of each month. Rate by Mail—Payable In Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dailv and Sunday Daily only . Sunday only All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday 1yr. $12.00: $1.0¢ . 1vr. " $R.00% 1 mo. Daily onlr. | Sunday only J1yrl $4.00:1mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusivelv entitled 1o the use for republication of cll 1.ews dis- patches credited 10 it or not otherwise cred- Tted in this paper and aleo the local mews published herein. ~ All rights of publication ot epecial dispatches herein are aleo reserved cas The Star Still Shines. The Skjellerup comet, which in this Christmas week glows faintly in the east at dawn, will soon fade away into tne mysterious and trackless wastes whence it came. When it re- turns to the sight of men again those who have seen it this time will have gone. Most of them will have been forgot. Probably because of the sea- son, possibly because there is no par- ticular ground for argument, some scientists allow themselves to be quot- ed in connection with the interesting thought that the comet may have been the Star of Bethlehem. But it is one of the peculiar phases of present-day journalism which attaches a certain weight of authority to this thought by linking it with the names of scientists whose greatest contribu- tion to strengthen it is an avowal that they do not know whether the Skjellerup comet is the Star of Bethlehem and that there is no way of knowing. Of course, all things are possible. St. Matthew says of the star: ‘““Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came three wise men from the east to Jerusalem, say- ing, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to wor- ship him?" ® ¢ ¢ Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star had appeared. * * * When they heard the king they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great Jov St. Luke does not mention the star, but tells the story that also has come down through the years; the story of the shepherds wnose quiet vigil over their grazing flocks was broken by an angel and a heavenly host saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The star that shone over Bethlehem is not a star that fades and goes away. Sometimes a cloud passes be- fore it an1 darkness takes its place. But on this Christmas day it remains as a beacon in the sky, holding out to those who follow it the promise that beckoned the three wise men out of the east. On this Christmas day, 1227, the hallowed path they followed is 2 road that millions tread. ——— Mexico welcomes Lindbergh as a man who has lived much in the clouds and who has no inclination toward political intrigue. He enjoys the im. mediate respect which the world is often late in according the consistent idealist. et Bome hard work has been done by Clarence Darrow. But no one man can be expected to take care of all the psychopathic specimens that develop in the annals of crime. e The Giftbearer. It may be wondered whether those who during the past few days have been receiving parcels and cards of Christmas greeting by mail have ap- preciated the tremendous task in- volved in the transport and delivery of these seasonal tokens. They have been handied almost in the ordi- nary line of postal business. They bhave been delivered promptly. Few mistskes have been made, although the regular force at the local post office has been augmented by several hundred extra workers. The great mail machine has functioned under the highest pressure as competently as in ordinary tmes, Between the 15th of December and the 234, & period of only eight days, four- teen million letters and cards pas through the cancellation machines in the Washington office, an increase of twer'y five per cent over last year, while parcel post packsges mafled bere and received here from other “itien showed sn increase of 30 per oent. Though statistics sre not avallable It ie safe 1o say that the postal vol ume handleq Warhington during Those eight duym wam grester thun that for the whole United States ffty years sgo Wednesdny inst the cancellstion machines hanaled no less than 2,656,000 levters and cardn On It in & wimple matter 1o molsten n AP 6ud aMx 1t 1o & plece of mail matter wnd then drop it in the hox but it s not 8 siple matter 10 get | 1hmt plece of mull mstter 1o e dest nation, It 1eq 10 the centis) with nands of st be oo taken office thou put ohers ot a hopper, run throukh the canceling muchines, sort €4 a8 to dentinetion of the right it placed in the big I sddressed 1o Hight beg I it is “ity. The carrier must tske 3 1o e destination with hundreds, perbaps thousands, of Olhers in the course of the day, i must be sure 1 lesve It Bt the right Fidel carrier cally or the golng 10 snother wadrenss freq kil a0 fntellivence uie res wep and wer e The men w the men Abels sounds n el conditivne uf " Forperience sre factore in gond ma)l ' the Theas st ke e ) colles mails weather, must go from box to box and house to house on time, must remem- ber names and numbers, must carry heavy weights and must make no mis. takes, It is a gigantic feat that has been performed during th past few days by the Washington City post office, and similar feats have been performed by post offices all over the country. They have heen helped in meeting the situation by the assistance of the public. Year after year the people have been enjoined to “‘mail early,” and they have responded with com mendable co-operation. But even with the best of dispositions in the matter there are tardy mailers, and it meet the demands of these that the t office increasos its roster and works overtime, and when the tide slackens it feels proud of having done its bit to make a me Christmas for millions. ery Christmas package and card that has been opened this morning a proof of the remarkable efficienc of Uncle Sam’s greatest service to his people, the service of the mails, which enables them to give cheer to one another on such occasion and on the other days of the year to keep in constant communication. So every- body will join in wishing the faithful servitors of this branch of the Gov ernment & very merry Christmas, with heartfelt thanks for their contribution to Yuletide pleasure. e The Navy Accused. The harrowing details of brave men buried alive under the sea and slowly surrendering to a horrible death that seemed to mock the puny efforts of helpless comrades to save them have whetted the imagination and aroused | the sympathy of the Nation. It is only natural that much of this sy pathy should express itself in indig- nant demands to know why the United States Navy is so utterly unprepared to cope with an emergency which it must always anticipate. The shock of the S-4 disaster has made itself doubly felt because of the realization that the wreck of the S-51, under almost identical circumstances, carried with it no tangible lesson outside of addi- tional perfection attained in lights car- | ried by divers. The Nation is de-| manding of the Navy an explanation of why various safety devices, adopt- ed by the navies of other powers, have been cast aside as impractical. It is ing whether the Navy has been guilty of putting all of its attention on development of the submarine as a military weapon for use in war with- out devoting equally serious thought to safeguarding the lives of men whom it charges with handling this weapon in time of peace. The Navy has already answered some of the questions by explaining the impracticability of various safety devices suggested. It has reviewed the history of submarine disasters in the United States and pointed out the varlous conditions accompanying them. Death in some instances might have been averted by resort to cer- tain methods, but in other cases these methods would have been futile. And for the Navy it must be remembered that most of the suggestions put for- ward from outsiders come after the | emergency. The layman will soon | forget the emergency and devote only | passing thought to the danger which | always hovers over the occupants of a submarine. But in the Navy's eyes knowledge of this danger is never ab. sent. To believe that the Navy has| deliberately made light of it is to ad. | mit an entire lack of faith in those | charged with administering the Navy. There are no reasonable grounds for such a lack of faith. But the Navy is on trial. It is a unfair to the Navy to presume a ver- dict of guilty as it is unfair to the brave men whose lives are gone to presume a verdict of innocent. The public’s interest at this time is not greatly concerned with the routine review by a board of investigation of the S-4 disaster. There are technical phases of the case which must be gone into, but even the lay mind can grasp and understand the fundamen. tals, which already have passed into history. Under existing conditions the wreck of the 8.4 meems to have been an accident for which no one can be blamed. What the Natlon should demand now is an inquiry to deter. mine whether conditions which now exist whould exist; whether the Navy has been gullty of neglect in the past which accounts for the present, or whether every fatality aboard a sub marine must be accepted as an act of God. The Nation should demand such an inquiry to restore its faith in the Navy The Navy should de mand it to restore the confidence of the Natlon, ———— e In trying to stand in Lenin's shoes Trotsky mubjects them to much travel a% he goes in and out of office. — P — Lenient Parents. Children’s untics amuse thelr parents and leniency ix almost always tended when they really hecome naughty. It is a stern parent, indeed, who will spunk a child for upsetiing a prized vase or playfully bouncing a phonograph record upon the floor It im wll dn the wpirit of youth, reason the parents, and Jttle Winifeed's or |little John's development should not Lo muppressed by too much diseiplin | Ko i most cases when s ehild goes on a rampage in his own home he {¥etm oft with mild punishment, bt it | Lix bardly 10 be wupposed 1hat every | will ook upon chtldish [ pranks of the nelghbor's child with is to pa ex- one eleo the same complacency, All of which brings us 1o the point A fona took Whelr ten year-old boy bis wunt In Kast Orange, N While his elders w of this story mother ana 1o ’ chatting ahout [ the weather and sundry other mat &m- the young lsd wandered out of | the door snd 1nto the next wpariment Belng of an inquisitive nuture, he put tered wround bere and thers and L undoutedly said 1o Wimself, “Looky, | looky st what I have found?” when bateh of Fina Immediately wild ani ! father visit | e came worors w whule L vspern it luoked ke money ing & pair beksn (o make pepor [ nte wna wll worte of ings out of fnd. When the af the Lapaitment veturned from a vist down the hall she found of whearn, he dolls, | iw awner her caretully THE SUNDAY hoarded securities, slx thousand dol- lars' worth, cut to shreds. It is now reported that the parents will not spank the Iad on account of the Christmas season, but if ever a boy deserved a first-class tanning he the one. It may be all very well for the son of the family to tear up papa’s money and securities. Papa is the loser in that case and he can do whatever he wants about it, but when it comes to invading a strange apartment bent on mischief, then stern mensures are in order. If the parents of this precocious youngster will not punish him, they shouid turn him over for a few hours to the neighhor who is now bemoaning the loss of her life's savings. In any event, some- thing should be done to impress upon the child the extent of his mischie- vousness. et Transatlantic Telephoning. High hopes that the innovation of transatlantic telephone communication would prove a financial success, or at least pay its own way after the prop- aganda period was over, seem des- tined to disappointment, according to a dispatch from London. The station at Rughy, directed by the post office, cost more than two million dollars. Cost of service since the inception has been six hundred taousand dollars. The receipts have only been two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. Dur- ing January, when the service hegan, an average of slightly more than four calls a day was reached, while from June 21 to November 14 the average has been slightly over two calls a day. The cost of telephoning from New York to London is seventy-five dollars for the minimum of three minutes. It is a high rate, but 1s well worth the price under conditions that demand im- mediate communication by the spoken word. It is exceedingly probable that if the service comes into popular favor the cost will be reduced, but the tele- phone company, at least the British end of it, is apparently having tough sledding at the present time. It would be exceedingly unfortunate if trans. atlantic telephoning should have come before the public was ready to em- brace it, with the possluility of a shut. down. It marks too great an advance in the art of communication to be abandoned after it is once fairly under way. o Compulsory Church Attendance. Compulsory church attendance has often been suggested, but it remains for a justice of the peace in a small town in Tennessee actually to put the plan into operation. Surveying a crowded courtroom recently, the judge ordercd the doors closed and an. nounced that inasmuch as many of the spectators had not been to church in more than five years he proposed to see that they attended a service then and there. “Any one who leaves the room wiHl be cited for contempt.” the enterprising jurist said, and call. ing upon the constable who had made the arrest in the case which was about to be tried, who is a minister of the gospel in private life, settled back for the sermon. Discarding his badge and side arms, the minister launched into a dissertation on the evils of bootleg llquor. It may well be that most of the spectators had been ahbsent from church for five years, but such meth- ods as those employed are not likely to cause them to attend voluntarily for the next five years. It is impos. sible to legislate religious tendencies into a man or woman, and when it comes to a question of compulsion, a feeling of antagonism will replace a passive interest which might under normal conditions blossom into a re- liglous fervor, ————— In criminal circles there fs an evi. dent ambition to outdo Leopold and Loeb. R Only & pessimist will compare Jan. nary price tags with those of Decem- ber. D SHOOTING STARS BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Spirit of Santa Claus, In Memory Land I fain would greet 014 friends, in courtesy complet And so T walt, on Christmas day, Upon Friend Santa and his sleigh. The gifts he brings are pleasant toys, To cheer the hearts of girls and hoys. And when his generous task s throug He says, “I'm ready now for you. “Step nto my old-fashioned sleigh, Awd I will take you far away, Where friendships old thelr charms expand. I'll take you back to Memory Land." Still Prominent. “Your public must not be permit- ted to forget you." “I mm attending to that matter,” unswered Benator Horghum. I have arranged to be photographed with a tenthnonial for clgarettes 1 never wmoke and my wife 1x sponsoring u beauty preparation for which, in my admiring opinion, she hus not the slightest ue. Inevitable Dissension, They way that love is something that Bhould relgn in every house. And yet the dog will chuse the eat, The cat pureues the mouse Jud Tunkine wayw a sl Chiist man gIft from the heart Ining more happiness than o large one from the poclethook Nlight Ohstacle, “How your boy Jowh along e kchool 2 e, “The ows n Ketting answered Farmer Cornton way he talks shows he 1 more than the perfessonn Only the perfessors won't admit 16" “He who has Al vegulated hiw lite,” wald 11 Ho, the sage of Ching town, “ls often euger try again and regulate the lives of others," Anxlous ¥ By current ite The news Is | You wonder wh Tu the electifo wi to pectuncy. we are vexed 1o bhear 1o golig next chaly prien Nt ey sald tncle Bings bnomo ek Eihen, “dat i Aot seen wensible (o let yoh nngiy STAR, WASHINGTON. D. €. DECEMBER 25 EVERYDAY RELIGION BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D., Bishop of Washington “Let us now go even unto Beth- lehem.”—St. Luke, ii.15. “Bethlehem.” fld's civilization has regis- development and advance largely through the instrumentality of great citles, Anclent Tyre and idon speak to us of commerce; Ath- ens, Corinth and Alexandria of cul- ture and Intellectual development; Rome of jurisprudence and the might ot arms. we think of London, Berlin and New York as the exponents ot a highly developed industrial life. Paris, Vienna, Florence and Venice still suggest to us that which makes for the artistic and the beautiful. As a mere historical fact nothing is more striking or amazing than the place of supremacy that the little town of | Bethlehem holds in the affections of the world. This small lebrew vil has been lifted to & commanding place hecause it was the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Marked by simplicity, born of a_humble Hebrew mother, the birth of this child has so focused the vi- slon of mankind that no known fact of human history may be regarded as comparable to it. Even the “grandeur that was Rome" and the “glory that was Greece” seem to fade into ingig- nificance in comparison with the sa- cred events that cluster about Bethle- hem. The story of this humble birth has fired the imagination of artists, poets and minstrels, and many of the rarest gifts we cherish today find their inspiration in the homely setting of this little hamlet. With each curring anniversary of the birth of Christ, we return to the scenes that marked His advent. Our hearts spond to the call of the simple life. No matter how alluring the modern ways of living may be, nor, indecd, what its complex habits and practice. may entail, there is something within each one of us that answers the call of the Bethlehem story. Drawn as we are today by the splen- dor of great cities, environed as we are by every manner of luxury that the mind of man can conceive or fash- ion, nevertheless there is that within each one of us that makes a glad and ready response to the deep realities of life that Bethlehem stands for and suggests. One great reason why this Christmas scason makes an unusual appeal to us is that it calis forth from our. nature those finer impulses that vepresent our fdeals at thelr best Stripped of all the adornments of life, freed from all its conventions and practices, we yearn in our better hours for those things that speak of simplic- ity and the truer values of life, and The we tered its these values find their highest realiza tion in the story of the first Christmas day. Away from the attractions of the outer world, we turn to those finer things that belong to home life and to childhood. We cherish anew the mem- ories of our own call scenes that largely faded from our vision. The very merriment that characterizes the Christmas sca- =on grows out of a deep desire to re- habilitate and restore the spent forces of life and to renew a youth now long since departed. We would go hack to Bethlehem again and there in that quaint, homely scene recover the old ideals and bring back to mem- ory the old assoclations that marked the period of our childhood. Bethle- hem 1 the font of the world's renewal. It speaks to us of the life abundant, it tells us of the possibilities of re- newal when the forces of life ave spent and its energy no longer respon. sive to the call of &wift action and en- durance. Somehow in this humble hamlet we seem to find that refresh- ment and rejuvenation that make us feel once again the pulsings of youth and a quickened desire to fulfill the betier and nobler things of our nature Travel as we will over this whole world to discover new scenes, search as we may for new experiences and to grat-. ify old appetites, when it comes to meeting the demands of our finer na. ture, we shall inevitahly turn to Beth. lehem apd there, by the manger-cradle of the Christ, catch new vision of the meaning and reality of life, of its aim, its purpose and its final destiny, and in fresh courage to press on to that eat accomplishment wherein we shall be worthy to stand before the Son of Man. To Bethlehem, then, lot us go. With all our dear ones about us this blessed Christmas day, and amid, all the joyous reunions, and imid all the expressions of love and z00d will, and amid all the outpour- ing of generosity, let us not forget that Christmas is the day when. away from the crowding. pressing thinzs of life, we turn our feet once again in the direction of Bethlehem, there to join With humble shepherds about the in. fant Christ, and to recognize anew in ITis birth the evidences of a love that speaks a language our hearts unde stand and to gain assurance of an evergrowing ' and enriching lite of which the foys of Christmastide are but a foretaste, “0 Holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, Bo born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell; Oh, coma to us, abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel” THE UNWELCOMED ALIEN BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Current fiction and newspaper stories as well have indicated that the business of smuggling Into the United States foreigners who cannot gain entrance lawfully is a growing one. This is not to be denied. What is equally true, however, is that it is a business that is growing less success- ful and less profitable. The unwel- comed alien is finding it increasingly QiMcult to get across our borders with any prospect of being able to remain here. During the last fiscal year 12,008 smuggled foreigners were captured by immigration authorities as compared with 3,382 for the preceding vear. That {s a measure of increased effi- cieney in the Government service that the Department of Lahor takes no little pride in reporting to the new Congress. 1t will probably result in an increased appropriation for the immigration bureau that will make possible a still greater record” next year. " During the yeay covered by the re. port, 19,342 persons were arrested and delivered to other officials as com- pared with a total of 5,580 for the pre- vious year; 786 automobiles were seized as compared with for 1926; 303 boats and other vehicles as com- pared with 241, The unwelcomed alien is he who persists in coming into the United States in the face of laws that ex- clude him. He knows or is told that this country has thousands of miles of seacoast and land border, and he is easily persuaded that it will be comparatively a simple matter to smuggle him in, provided he has suffl- cient money to make it worth while for the smugglers. Sufficient money usually means all that he has, above & minimum sum. known rates that have been charged yanging all the way from $300 to $1,000, and it is reported that in xome cases the foreigners have been mulet- ad of mums as large as $2,000. The smugglers have learned that the alien who s determined to get Into t United States will stand and deliver all the money he has, and they have no scruples about exacting all that the victim can produce. Three Avenues of Approach. There are three main avenues of approach for the unwelcomed alien. smuggled across to Florida by boat, He can go to Canada and attempt to effect entry by hont down either coast, or by mitomohile or afrplane at any place along the 3,700.04d miles of horder hetween this country and Canada, He can go to Mexico and similarly take his chancos of & in by hont, automobile or airplane. The Mexican route ix xld to be the one most often attempted Gruesome storles are told of the ruthless practices of the smugglers, who are sald to have little regard for human lives other than thelr own There nre tules of smugglers who have Jettisoned thefr boats of thelr human cargoes when In fmminent danger of being apprehended by the authoritios, and of smugglers via land routes who have abandoned thelr charges in places where death or capture was inevitable The smuggler 18 actuated only by two consldgrations—Hist, money, and sec. ond, saving his own skin. He gets noney in advance, and he saves his own #kin by whatever methods seem to him to be necessary In an emor ney. S Mo, the unwelcomed allen, could e but know 1, has but s splitsecond chance of getting It the United Htatew and remaining heve, und when he does attain his tive It s [re quently ot an cost Indescribable hardship and suffering. Chinese who ook unlawful entry into the United Htaten ure mnid to o the most numer Sl group of vickins of (the smugglers, o “nllen bootlegkers” an they are o fmen destgnated ‘I'he hinese piay higher than uny others for the Chinee of Ketng into this count and they are sacrificed more mer Jewnly In critieal situations, “What's another, Chink, more or leas? in mald to e the favorite expression of the winugklers The wmugklers are falily fmmune from thelr colmen agatint the unfor funute nllens, Government authorities, nturally, are not sympathetio fn thel attitude toward forelgners who seek o evade or break our laws, wnd nelther the victims nor thelr friends Jiuve legal vecourse againat the opera: tors In this nefarious traMe The sinngglers, therotore, can tob and kill with comparative impunity Growth of the Patrol Nervice, PThe horder patrol of the tanigra Hon wervice fn but & yoars old wnd accordingly 1n barely odt of its swad Ak clathes an anatm of the Guy crmment Last yoar I numbered 612 t panelons siae an' persasde you wiage u froe wiatour eahibition.” e, Thin year the authorleed force wan T8 consisting of 1 superyison 4 amsistant superintendents, 30 chief He can go to Cuba and get himself | -l patrol inspectors, 170 senior patrol inspectors, 537 patrol inspectors, 24 clerks, 13 motor mechanics and 2 laborers. It will be seen, accordingly, that the increase in efficiency of the patrol is far beyond the numerical increase in the force. Secretary Davis says the increased efficiency results from several outstanding causes, principally the increased appropriation, thereby permitting of a larger personnel and thore and better equipment, including automobiles, “However,” adds the Secretary, undoubtedly the most direct cause for this vast improvement is the fact that the force is growing aut of fts infancy, having just completed its third vear. In the three years of its exlstence it has been necessary for It to go through a sifting process for the purpose of weeding out unde. sirable members who were totally unfit either morally, mentally or physically for a service of this nature, and filling thelr places in the hope of securing as nearly as possible a 100 complement of the proper pe of men. The results hoped for e being accomplished with great rapidity.” Could foreigners who become pos. sessed of the idea that they can get into the United States in spite of our laws and our enforcement agencies be informed as to the very real difficul. ties—not to speak of the dangers— that confront them, it is belleved that far fewer attempts would be made on our borders and that the business of the smugglers of allens would drop off untl it would no longer interast the daring and the unscrupulous. But Congress, as yet, has not seen fit 1o make it possible to warn forefgners aEalnst exsayving the forhidden entry preferrin, it appears, to provide force wholly Inadequate to guard our tremendous horders and trust to Juck for the results, During the last flscal year 538,00 allens were welcomed to the United States, 336 of them being im- migrants, or newcomers fo perma- nent residence, and 6 being non-immigrants’ returning from temporary visit abroad or coming here for a visit. In the same period, 3,508 allens departed from the United States, 180,142 of them with the expressed intention of returning, and 73.366 of them without indicat- g their future plans, Canlida and Mexico turnished the Kreatest number of immigrants, about 45 per the total. Europe sent 18 st con tribution helng 13, the Trish I eat Rrit- an, 23 Scandinavin, 16,860, and Italy, red with the nadian immigration ¢ per cent, whereas Mexican ned 66.3 per cent and I xed 8.2 per cent previous in. iropean in s Europe Concerned Over American Naval Plans BY DR ‘W PEARSON. Dispatches received by the United States Government from diplomatic representatives abroad veport that Kurope has hecome considerably con cerned over the huge nuval bullding Program now under discussion by th naval affales committes of the House of Representatives. h only do France and Germany weo tho powstbIY of dand disnima ment under the League of Natlony werlously infured by the proposed ex- panston of the American Navy, but nothe Beitish kovernment, deat to A of naval lmitation at’ Geneva Tast Bummer, now appears concer ned over the Anierican program Bofore detutling the rathe able change which haw com Girent Mhitaln it should by fur the most important e part of Ewope b American participation the securlty of Europe. han not yet been made, but now s helug discussed e connection with the ke of the security committee, whivh I tryving o work out some means of Kunranteeing the peace of Kurope that ita members can then p to lay down thelr arms, CRUR What Kuwope 1s concernsd about Is helefly thin' 1 the Leagus avianges an apreenant whorehy aiy agsiossor nation shall be blockaded and hoyeot the other Leakus 1 s, Wil b (ho attitude of the United Htates? WAL U (hen proceed o trade Wit the outlawed hation veaplng wll the henefits wWhich the ather nations lave suenderod* Will IWHH it gt Navy, escoit s mer W vessels Dwough the blockading porte of the vutlawed Dl remark move un e (o net I pledging This move Huea (o the 1927—-PART 2 Capital Sidelights The Caplitol has had its Christmas rush, just as big in proportion as that at the city post ofice, and it has been handled efficiently and without em- ployment of any extra “help.” Frank Collier, postmaster of the House, has had a larger problem than ever before in keeping a record- breaking volume of both Incoming and outgoing mail moving with his gular force, which has been com- pelled to do double-time duty. There is a mail goes out every hour from the House Ofce Building, and on each of these malils for the st two weeks there have been from 10 to 20 sacks of parcel post matter and t the same quantity of incoming parcel post mail. But the higgest Christmas-time load comes from hundreds of thousands of Christmas greeting cards, which are being mailed to every State, ecity town, village and hamlet in this coun- try and throughout the world. Into far remote outposts in Alaska, where a letter rarely goes, these Christmas cards carry their note of cheer. It is impossible to form any estl- mate of the number of Christmas cards that have been sent out from the Capitol this vear. Some Senators and House members send out as many s 20,000, others 10,000, and practi- ally every one of the 96 Senators and the 435 House members sends at least 500 of these cheery cards. This vear, as usually, the Speaker of the House has probably held the record for mailing the largest num ber. This is because the office of Speaker is according to unwritten tra- dition the Government's greeter to all the people of the United States at this season, hecquse he speaks for the numerically largest unity of the Gos ernment, which is also closest to the people who are called upon every two years to express by their votes their approval or disapproval of the service rendered in law-making by each in- dividual member of the House. While members of Congress are ually looking pretty close to the ad- antage that may come to them from any mail sent into their home dis. tricts, and while they send birthday greeting cards to ingratiate them- selves, the spirit in which they send out Christmas cards is entirely dif- ferent. They send them with r feeling to friends whom they wish to give assurance of their affection and best wishes. They studiously avoid a suggestion of politics or self- ivantage. For example, one New House member, who has sent out a record-breaking number of cards vear, positively and emphatieally ¥_publicity being given to the fact or his name used. * ko ok Edmund F. Erk, clerk to the House committee on foreign affairs, has held his prestige of producing the most elaborate Christmas greeting folder. For the last eight years Mr. Erk's greetings have been eagerly watched for, not only by friends ahout the Capitol, but thousands of persons in. all parts of the country. This year he has sent out 13,000 copies and schools, libraries and hun- dreds of organizations and individ. uals have written in urging him to have another edition printed. He could have sold more than 50,000 copies, but this was not a commercial enterprise. It was his personal greet- ing to friends, educative and con- tributing to the Americanization and patriotic spirit. It cost Mr. Erk more than a dollar apiece to publish these booklets which contain the “First-born Docu- ments of Popular Constitutional Liberty.,” with photostatic reproduc- tions and famous paintings and steel engravings of the most important events in our national history. These documents include: “The Mavflower Compact,” the “Log of the Mayflow. er.” the “Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress.” the “Virginia Rill of Righ the “Decla- ration of Independence.” “Articles of Confederation,” the “Constitution of the United States,” “Washington's Farewell Addres: “The Monroe Doctrine,” “Lincoln’s Gettysburg Ad the “History of the Liberty the “Rirth of the Stars and Stripes” and “The Arierican’s Creed.” These documents are the precic heritage of free institutions and American ideals which have come down fo us from out of the service and the sacrifice of those who, with the love of God in their reared a government on the founda- tions of freedom, equality. justice and humanity. With confidence in the right, undaunted in their might, they conceived and dedicated a leg- acy—the greatest nation on God's reen earth, Mr. Erk's Christmas message emphasizes. This is one of the most compre- hensively compact symposiums on the formation of our Government that was ever compifed and printed. After the Christmas holidays, several mem- | in mind to se his copy- hers ask of Congress have Mr. Erk to rel vight and permit this compilation to | be printed as a public document, to spread a knowledge of the funda- ments of our Government and to pro- mote patriotism. nation? become a party to the blockade? The question i tied up with the roots of the American tradition of free dom of the seas. Upon it alse de. pends the question of disarmament in Kurope, and to a considerable ex tent the size of the American Navy This country entered one war—that of 1812 to trade Britain. with the enemies of Great And fudging from the teno of the notes which S Lansing wrote the British in 1915-17, this country vy entered the Iast war with, rather than against Germany for exactly the same teason At the Geneva naval conference this observer can state, {t was not the fear of war between the nilish speaking peoples that shat. tered the attempt at naval lmitation, but tho need felt by Great Rritain to he able to enforce a boyeott in ware time, as opp the United States to guarantee he merchant vessels the right to trade in_ wartime despite that boyeott, diplomats recognize that momie boveott would be ab. futile without, at least, the acquiescence of the United hey nefther want to run th o solutely pansive ates visk of a squabble with States over the freedom of the seas nor to throw to the United States the trade they would gfve up with the outlawed nation. WIthout some agreement to boyeott an uggressor nation Europeans be Heve that security and disarmament ave possible Consequently the question of what participation the United States will give to such i boy Cott must fneviably bo asked of this Government DY Moanwhil tohe awa Pamsed up o disarm states that the chance last Summer Datly Nows influential g (o Geneva o London A lavge nad vward boklly 1 the past week favor of (nternational disavmament The Manchester Guardian points out that “dueing the last few Weeks there has been a most » ifcant and soomingly wpontanecus dovelopment I Bsh publio opinion (hat con tinued adherence to the narew and Wl tushioned poliey of naval defense Would be one of the costliest and most Alsantious Blunders that this country could mke The conmervative London Advises hat “the step that the bl sl goverament shoull take (o ket W toueh with - Amerloa, o sound Washington an (o & precantionay measure (WAt can e oancerted Anon, and above Al o end the in Naale appeatance of naval vivalioy that ennces Anglo American feiend ahip, n i (Womriish hearts, | Or will the United States also | because it claimed the right | two | 1 to the need felt by | the United | the Hiltish public seems | fon ot the Bitsh press has come | BY BEN McKELWAY. The importance of a job is not to he Ighed by the notoriety it attracts. Sometimes the most lmportant, a though importance in relative, is the least known because it is taken for granted. And while the Jife of a city 12 4o involved and so complex that no ona man can hold it in the hollow of his hand, there comes to mind the picture of two men who stand in watches for 24 hours a day of every day In the vear between two long switchboards in a room at the Benning power plant, forever testing and feeling the tem- peratire and the pulse of a big city, stimulating ita throbhing heart at times, slowing it down at others, noting the flicker of red and green signal lights and the nervous tremor of hands on dials to see that life blood is flowing strongly and freely and that all is well in toes and fingers and | digestion. There is nothing heroic in th job, and whatever romance there fa to it fs lost in their eves, for eight hours a day is eight hours a day. But should their senses fail them, should their minds wander while their hands are busily at work among swi and buttons and levers and thing life blood of the city would cease its | pounding course thronsh big arteries, and for a time the city would “die Lights would flicker and fade aw “levators would stick between floors with high-tension loads of bundle- laden shoppers, whirling wheels would ccase to sing and become inanimate metal again, while thousands who curse their street cars alive would mournfully eulogize them dead. Tt has happened. Once a man pulled the | wrong switch. To the untrained eves of the layman, these switches are alike as two peas. But there is always a right one and a_ wrong one. TI wrong one was pulled, a life was for feit and the city slipped back nearly half a century for several hours. There have been other lapses. One time a man thought he had his hand on one thing, and he had it on an- other. T have a hazy idea of what it was, but the explanation is too in- volved. He kept punching this wrong | thing and in a few minutes the dy- | namos that pump their fluid into | The city was dead as a door nail. Mil- lions of dollars’ worth of costly ma- | chinery threatened to run itself to | death.” And only when the company’s i chiet electrical engineer, responding | to the alarm like a specialist rushing tangled the mess did the city come to lifs again. That mix-up is still pro- | Benning. Nothing out there is entire. Iy foolproof. But accidents are few and far between, a credit to the train- ing of men upon whose skill so much depends. * x % % You blow a fuse in your home. With flashlight or candle you grope your way to the fuse box in the cel- | the array of copper switches and por- celain insulators and the rows of | fuses, some of themi still good. You tentatively unscrew one. Immediate- Iy there is uproar and clamor upstairs. Instead of righting things, you have | brought about confusion worse con- founded. Instead of supplying the | the whole establishment in darkness. | You think of short circuits and fire as edictions of persons who allege your | shortcomings. Finally you locate the burned-out fuse. You screw another one, nona too confidently, into its piace. Triumphantly you ascend from the cellar and continue the pleasant reading of T tar. The thought flitters through your mind that you should have gone in for electrical en- gineering. for vou always had a talent in that direction. *xox o* At the main switchboard at Ben. | ning the operators know the city's | habits, for their business is to watch i them. They know that the of be- | ®ins to need more blood begins to increase in a ng curve from some time after mi | night. They anticipate the nsed by | having the additional supply of cur. | rent ready long before it:is needed. | but if they did not thus anticipate it | the city would begin calling for it by i lowly ascend- | midday, | Washington's veins were running wild. | anely, though eloquently, described at | lar and survey somewhat hopelessly | | light that failed, you have plunged | there descend upon your head the mal- | City’s Heart Throbs at Benning In Supplying Light and Power 1ittle jabs that push ammeters higher and higner o arow that more power s being used. Srme- timen thers is an unexpactsd d-mand. In the Summer a dark cloud »1i] cover the city, with littls warning, nr & thundarshower necessitate mora jight in officen. Then thers must b «ick work at the switchhoard, Thers is always an excess of current ye, hand. but the margin must n, too thin. Some of the big that grind out their 125000 require half an hour of warm ng hafore thev can get in = in step with the madlv roar of the others. And all of +h be in step. The operators switchboard wateh them e, that none ia IaggIng or none is ahead As the city wakes up and goes to work it cr the hand« on thrown into the parade tr % The peak load on an avera and then, if tha sun the weather is good. the d; xinm to slacken until some when the cury ward again, reac| A chart me o'clock, 65,000 kilowatts: 5 000 kilowatts: 5:30 o'clock, watte, and then it hegi again, %o that his ohms may one stop work, rush home yawns as it gradua)l: A very cold day finde th | for more current thar | warm da A rainy da asking for more than on and since the ra crazier and crazier { up later at night electricity. The latter | lieved to have caused | on the part of stock | eleetric light company to ¢ | * % x | The switchboar: | Street cars become stalied in a | More and more of them Then the jam is straight they all begin to mo |a lot of e |board at teeders, each of them carryi to the bedside of a sinking patient, un- | | power. The street cars {in one or two block on one of the r : shows itself as the hand of an a | meter begins to climb. More ct must be shot through the big to the substation. or + | station must be cal m| {in and help carry the load. Wha | do depends on conditions and rests with Benning. | A red light on the shows that all is well, i closed and current is rushin, |a feeder to a substation. | light fades and a n ligh on, it means that current has ceased {to flow. It may be an open s It may be a short circuit, or a brok i A short i I as other tricky beha of various meters. trouble is hard to locat it is found. in all the miles of tension feeders, by an uncanny chine at Benning that puts work without r adding and multiplying, di Scandinavian | sore spot mil | der the pavement. . | From the su ons the current from Benning is stepped down and flows out through hu | feeder cables at the rate of 4.000 volts, It encounters othe 220 volts. A break in o smaller feeders boards at the | most as quickly—two | most—it makes - | phone message fr who w3 1 | Jones'., This and That By Charles E. Tracewell. “Peace on earth, good will to men,” sang the angels. ' “We seem to be left out,” lion. “Probably it is transiated incor- rectly.” declared the tiger. | Most of the animais then gave over | |any attempt whatever at being friends to mankind, and have remained his | enemies to this day | Several, however, decided that they would live peacetully with him, it it | were possible. | “This fellow, | much for u said the dog. evolved himself clubs to | with, and sharp implements of rock to pierce us with “It is about t thing ~for Placdly. said the | | man, is getting too ne that we do some. | him," mooed the “That surest way.’ - e ew is Fifty Years Ago In The Star Half a century ago t some form of edu g Industrial Education. The Star in i 1 here ar issue of thus considers the he extent to whi educate its citizens & cussed in all parts of the cir: world, and this decision involves portant national consequ T result of the world's deba have been the crystal ¢ OPpnion at feast, generaily concelat be sound, viz.: 1f t should carry : the amount which necess in its citizens for the Pe its existence, then no fixed to the extent to w may rightly attem | She chewed her cud T will give him milk,” she said, | fnally { ! "1 will take him there and bring | [him back,” neighed the horse. "1 will guard his house,” barked ! | the dog. | |71 Wil cateh mice.” meowed the | | cat | |71 will give him my wool for cloth. [R." said the sheep. | I will lay him eggs.” cackled the | hen. | “ e | | 1 S0 they all started in to be of hene | A€ 1o man, and have been at it sver | since, With more or less success, ac- [vording to the nature of the animal| and his contribution | The cow readily gives up her milk, | fometimes at & cost to herself, and in jreturn gets Winter shelter and food. She holds today & very fmportant [ Mace tn every countey, where daivy | sctence constitutes & major industry. | ‘the horse. after centuries of glory 1 comrade and hale fellow of wan, sems at last (o have come to the Mrtng of the wavs, with the advent o€ the automobile as the supreme fmotive force, The faithful sheep still gives up its Wool, the hon, her e As long as jmen wear clothes, and preter eggs tor | Breakfast, the place of the hen scems | uve LR { Yot it vemained for the dog and | Cat 10 make the best chawe of serv | [lves, for these two alone, of Creatires, tender A service to [Rind by dolng exactly what pl them best, A dog gets more CRiok" out of [EUARding & house (han anvihing elwe LIt can doc In fact, (te entive sery ive {0 us i along the lines of ts natural activity Whather 1t guard homes, hunt in feld o vepose on soft pillows, the [0E e doing what it likes o do. se Cording 1o its vaviety and type. Aan, ever appreciating & foke, secretly applatds the dug (or making {18 service one with fts likes, L the | man s | | The house cat, even wmore than the | [0os, haw vondersd man 4 service PWhich s precisely the one thing it Woves G @t all the warld To WK for & wouse, and (o catoh s 18 At Once apart ARd bus dess 1 | ment of the ¢ | course | ate make its citizens wiser, b happler: it more than the = be taught. the follows logically stances may se inexped “Now, the great ohfec public instruction h branches of Knowledge fs © fits the student for any bu Work and makes b Y fleld of labor o called learned majority yours men. whose ! are destited (0 be spent in the waork of developing the Na tevial resources of men < and prejudiced in respect to the work. nd ane ot tial education s obfection by e men for mec al indus they are now prepared fo cine and thealogy Which is app pecifte indus foundat i 1t wonder fu hand, o And raises human man the exertion of were b In the professians wh trained band, skt as I (he past By the apy tem. tn which the pup far fom the elemer dungling By ANl tival method of APRHCY ARl fhase mani Of the hands and the tse ols Are (o be tauEh: whieh eral WAy Tun (rough Al mes Pursuits ————— e WAt ta vovation ton, its daily hobty Puss has been true ta man ancient pledae. Without her Ktanarien of the workl, tha f farwh and hames Baine SYPRN NINE A mouse ‘s the A% well as i aveoa WK As well as s n her aft the by AN | o " the b he el L dady woanvlaud ot hat vk vendervd agrien RUCTIEE TR “ And wan M s belter wamcnts, Agnitod wuccens. \akes W the cat whoese wet s L bery witha Work Nis Lespestivl Query e, “New @ you de Wt w