Evening Star Newspaper, March 1, 1928, Page 8

WHE EVENING STAR i With Sunday Morning Edition. " WASHINGTON, D.C. THURSDAY......March 1, 1028 \ | THEODORE W. NOYES. . . .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company . Iiull‘l\:: (]lfi;‘l _ 11th St and nnayivanta Ave. ' Nrw‘ York Office. 110 Fast 42nd St. 1 Chicazo Office: Tower Bullding. Furopean Office. 14 Regent St. London, Engtand Rate by Carvier Within the City. The Evenng Siar. ... oo 43¢ per month The Evening and Sunday 8 “U\knrmonm Star 3 68¢ per month The Sunday St . 5e per copy. Collection made at (e end of each month Onlers mas be sent 1w by mail or telephone. Main 5000, 00: 1 mo. 3be Canada, 00:1 mo., $1.00 r.oSRo01mol” 35 T $100 1mo. 3de All Other 1 Sandas Iv Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 18 exclusively entitled to the ase for republication of all news dis- hes creldited to it or not otherwise cred- paper and also the local news rein Al richts of publication atches herein are also reserved Abandon Lump-Sum Experiment. The lump-sum appropriation practice should be abandoned, and the definite proportion payment plan, on the 60-40 Tatio, in accordance with the substan- tive law of 1922, should be automatical- 1y restored, for many reasons. Thes lump-sum payment plan is un- sound and viclous in principle when applied to the peculiar relations of national and local partners in the Na- tional Capital partnership. It destroys the unrepresented impotent partner’'s safeguard against excessive | and unjust exaction of contributions for Capital upbuilding by the all- ! national partner. It teaches & false and hurtful theory eoncerning the relation of Nation to Capital It obtrudes annually upon the attention of Congress the suggestion of a Jarge cash donation to the Capital, as 4 the primary obligation of National City upbuilding were upon the local taxpayers and the Nation were only an incidental contributor, a voluntary and benevolent donor. As long as all the assets and revenues of the national and local joint contributors toward Capital upbuilding are in the hands of the national joint contributor, and as lonz as all decisions concerning the amount to be paid by the joint contrib- utors respectively and concerning the expenditure of the joint revenue are to be made by the national contributor, the latter must, in equity, and will in fact bear the primary responsibility ©of Capital upbuilding, and the local taxpayers will be recognized in their true relation as merely incidental con- tributors of tax money, not fixed in amount by themselves, but exacted at the pleasure of the other joint con- tributor. Since all the taxing power remains in the hands of the national partner, no limitation upon the amount of national payment is re- Quired but the self-imposed limitation upon the amount to be exacted from the impotent partner is essential. It taints with unfairness or bad faith nearly every understanding or transaction which it touches. For ex- ample: (1) Born under the auspices of the Holman rule, it causes that rule to facilitate repudiation of legal and just obligations and to invite and tempt to such repudiation; (2) in appropriation of the District’s accumulated tax sur- plus it caused only maimed, crippled and half-portion equity to be done; (3) in appropriations for Park Commis- sion uses it turns an intended and ex- pected blessing into a curse; (4) It paralyzes all great proposed improve- ments and loans for such improvements by creating reasonable distrust whether the pational partner will not exact every cent of payment for primarily national or semi-national projects from the impotent local partner, the District { taxpayer; (5) it taints with bad faith and hurtful injustice the new organic act of 1922, and (6) it has caused by s vicous influence the final appropria- tion for the parkway connection be- tween Potomac and Rock Creek Parks! % be made solely from District tax money in violation of every principle of equity. There are no offsetting benefits to the injustices inflicted by the lump-sum peyment practice. All the predictions of evil concerning it have been 100 per cent £ Not one of the benefits promised for it has been enjoyed. renewed energy in hope | of crowding the homicldal moron out of the prominence he has been having in print. Even a little old-fashioned oratory might he welcomed in place of tne insincere sobbery with which public | aitention has been saturated. | e | In omsidering foreign relations Mus- | wilinl may be justified in thinking over | the large amount of work It may be Possible for him v do in Italy. e | The Williams Gymnastics | Lieut. A¥ord J. Willlams, jr, the| eruck racing pilot of the Navy, has been | giving Washingtonisns & thrill during | the pest few days by his gymnastics in | the skv. To some the fact that Wil- lams hss bren rieking his e v per- form mancuvers never hefore executed Las meant e or nothing, and they heve Gismissed the mater with & sol- i snske of the head, a8 much as o ser dare-devil showing bt v those Interested In aviation £nd the vast majority of laymen, Wil- Hams' fen's shove the city have had & @eey cignificance, IV has mesnt o them that one of the hest pllots in U service was staking his Iife W expen- ment with the shility of the modern fiphiting plane, Just a8 he has been one of the ploneers in buzsrdous explora- | PETIECt gourmet, hut his wife has low | 100 i speeds 0 the air upward of two hundred snd fifty miles an hour, Pursuit plenes of the gervice must b of exceptionally eturdy oonstruction Militery maneuvers demand that they be capable of resisdug the strains incl- dent v tumbling through the skies. The ebility of & fighting plane v withstend punishment hss its effect on e eom- struction of other types of planes of the service, end siso on commercial mschines. It wes o dlscover the in- Yerent quslities 1n the new type pursuit shipe that Willlems hes been perform- Sug the extieordinery maneuvers, and Lis experiments have resulted in knowl- fish & of serpentine form, walodorous hat THE edge of incalculable use for plane con- (and of unpleasing physiognomy. Dele- struction. gates to a recent convention of the Cin- By his outside loops, inverted barrel | cinnati Conservatory of Music heard an rolls and upside-down spins he has|Alaskan Indian sing an aboriginal song solved the mystery relative to loads, | entitled “My Love Is Like g Fish.” May- stresses and strains which aircraft must | be, but even an Indian would hesitate sustain when put into different positions. | to entertain the idea that his love was He has shown, for instance, that when |like an eel. Vitamins or no vitamins, it fiying upside-down his two-hundred- |is thought that cod-liver ofl, disagree- pound weight was converted into onc|able to the taste as that may be, will thousand pounds, and that the entire | not soon be displaced by eel meat in ¢ | similar accidents in this country due welght of his plane, about twenty-six hundred pounds, under normal condi- tions, was transformed into a weight of some thirteen thousand pounds. He demonstrated that even under this ter- rific pull the safety belts were strong onough to hold him in the plane and the plane itself was sturdy enough to remain intact. In the World War there were cases of a plane falling to pleces while in flight. Since then there have been to far less strain than Willlams put upon the modern fighting plane during the past week. Such maneuvers as he has undertaken may never be used in war time or in peace time, but that a plane is capable of withstanding them is knowledge the worth of which is dif- ficult to estimate. Sturdiness of con- struction and infallibility of engine are components of the perfect plane, and if the point has been reached, as Williams® tests seem to indicate, when it is im- possible to break up a plane in flight, then the time is ripe for renewed con- centration on the problem of the per- fect motor. ————e——— Police Efficiency. A scathing indictment of the effi- ciency of policemen in apprehending criminals and of the lack of intelligence of the individual guardian of the law is contained in the report of a subcom- mittee of the National Crime Commis- slon, of which former Gov. Frank O. Lowden of Illinois is chairman. Tak- ing the city of Cleveland as an illustra- tion, the report states that only thirty~ three per cent of the patrolmen have average intelligence, while twenty-five per cent are classified as belonging to ! the moron grade. “How can such men,” the report asks, “be expected, or even |ifained, to apprehend criminals?” While the report admits that courts and parole boards have also been re- sponsible for crime in this country, the major blame is put upon the police for the comparatively small number of criminals brought before the courts. the esteem of those who have made even the slightest study of the eel's —————————— Honesty. ‘That honesty is the best policy has just been strikingly demonstrated in New York City. Out of a job, penni- less and with small prospects of the wherewithal to provide sustenance for his wife, two children and himself, Alexander Lubowsky, an illiterate Pol- ish immigrant, stumbled over a canvas sack lying in a gutter in Brooklyn. After looking it over curiously he picked it up and carelessly carried it to a gasoline station owned by two of his friends. There the sack was opened and three astonished men gazed at fifty-two _thousand dollars in cash. After consultation and an examination of the bag, which disclosed the name of the Bowery and East River Bank. Lubowsky hurried out to impart the story of his lucky find to another friend, but before he left he asked one of the gasoline station owners to notify the bank that its money had been found. And yesterday a proud Polish painter heard words of praise for his honesty from the president of the trucking concern which had lost the morfey while it was in transit and from the cashier of the bank which had sent it. He was presented with a check for one thousand dollars and the offer of a job from the former and a check for five hundred dollars from the latter, who said that although the bank was in no way responsible for the loss of the money, Lubowsky's adhefence to the ideals of citizenship should be rewarded. Of course, every one cannot walk on the street and stumble across a bag of money, but every one can certainly realize the temptations of a man in Lubowsky's circumstances who makes such & lucky find. It was a large for- tune and if he had not had a fine conception of honesty he could have lived the “life of Riley” for the rest of his days. For a time it looked as Important as is the work of the com= mission and valuable as are its find- it neither the bank nor the trucking company was going to reward him, ings, it would appear that in this par- (but even then he did not complain. ticular matter it has taken a divergent | Honesty, however, has brought Lubow- course from the road of best accom-|sky fifteen hundred dollars in cash, a {of vitamin A as cod-liver ofl, | the slogan | “plugged,” l plishment. Some policemen are un- doubtedly lacking in intelligence, but 5o are some members of every trade or profession. Policemen cannot be draft- ed. They must join the various police departments of their own volition, and if the average of intelligence of those who would risk their lives for small re- muneration is low, then there must be something wrong with the qualifying requirements and the scale of com- pensation for this line of endeavor. ‘The trite saying that “A man would not engage in this or that profession or labor unless he was dumb” has long since been disproved, and it can con- fidently be asserted that the average grade of intelligence of the police is comparable to that of any other work which receives the same scale of com- pensation. As a matter of fact, most of the police departments are under- manned and are unable to get even the dumb species of patrolman, and it fol- lows that lack of personnel instead of lack of intelligence is in a good many cases responsible for the small percent- age of criminals apprehended. It is unfortunately the fact that the qualifications for a patrolman must be kept within reason to attract men to police work. If, in addition to the low salary, a stiff examination were con- ducted, few persons capable of police work would apply or be capable of join- ing the force. It would appear that a rigid examination would be compatible with adequate remuneration, and that such procedure would result in the elimination of the dumb policeman. As long as men can make twelve to sixteen dollars a day in working with their hands instead of their brains in a safe occupation, there is little incentive to take up hazardous work for a hundred or two hundred dollars a month. When the pay question is properly adjusted the right kind of men will apply for police work and be sble to pass the kind of examination which would insure efficlency as the guardian of the law. S S —— There 18 no way of compelling public favorites to show what seems only a reasonable regard for life and limb. Lindbergh insists on flying and the young men of the British royal family insist on riding to the hounds, D T — The question of capital punishment for women 18 one of the most distress- ing that civilization has to meet. Much of the difficulty might be effaced i) romen impetuously inclined would be more careful. R The Inelegant Eel. Every once in a while some chari- table mind finds something to say in favor of the lowly eel. The latest, emanating from London, is to the ef- fect that two eminent sclentists have Just found out that eels are very rich in vitamin D, and also contain as much In fact, “Eat More Eels,” 18 heing a8 the song writers would put i, Vitamins A and D are admittedly es- sential food factors and 3t would be nice v huve more of them, but the habits of the eel Ao not commend them- selver 1o the fastidious. AU Jeast this 15 true of Mrs, Kel, for the sizable sni- wals found in fresh water or headed !11) that direction are sald always to he |females. Mr. Kel, who spends his 1ite fout sn the Bouth Atlantie, may be & L gormendizing tastes; she 1s a scavenger, | us every one knows whno hus done much {eel fshing or who hus observed the long, snakelike hody of this fish at work salistylng her appette. As is well known, she prefers stagnant and wiclean waters and is often caught off the mouths of sewers and other un- savory disposal vents. Kel mest, properly cooked, 18 not half bad. Indeed, many persons are ex- tremely fond of 1L, But the deep-root- {ea snd perststent prejudics mgainat it job and, whether he realizes it or not, his own' self-respect and the respect of his fellow men. ———————_ Complications arise in politics, but the early and serene assurance is given that base ball will go on as usual next Summer, with every city in each league confident as the season starts that this time it has a pennant in its grasp. ——oe—s. Los Angeles is a fortunate city. made famous by a great dirigible as well as by film artists. It claims not only earth's beauties, but the splendor of the skies. ———— Whenever John D. Rockefeller cele- brates a birthday he conveys a reminder of how easy it used to be to organize a gigantic ofl business without getting into trouble. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Infinitesimal Tyrant. When life seems bright and all serene, ‘Who comes your way and acts so mean And swiftly renders you infirm— A germ! Who twists your smile into a frown, And turns the whole world upside down With just one microscopic squirm— A germ! ‘Though human greatness we may see, To whom must all men bend the knee And imitate the humble worm— A germ! Refuge in the Big Noise. “You are expected to say a few words of wisdom to the admiring citizens of your home town.” “I don't feel very wise of late,” an- swered Senator Sorghum, “I have no Ideas at all.” “But ‘you must not dissppoint your friends.” “Of course not. I'll tell you what T'll do. I'll talk to them over the radlo and in the meantime pray for statle.” Occupation, He who thinks his task is great Tolls along and laughs at fate. He whose task is very small Mopes and has no fun at all, Jud Tunkins says he never lends an umbrella to & friend who 13 not ready to return the kindness immediately by lending him a couple of dollars. Deep-laid Plan, “I think I'll get a job as a trafc officer,”” remarked Mr. Meekton, “Any special reason.” “Yes. Henrletta has a new car Maybe T could get a chance of telling her a few things and be sure of having the last word.” The Piper. | The pled piper, long ‘With melody alluring, | Led many worldlings, as we know, Strange lives to be enduring. 1 As April promises draw near, | “The robin, gentle wizard, | Will charm with song of skies 8o clear-— And land us In & blizzard, “When you stabts out to find fault,” | sald Uncle Eben, “you ain’ got much | chance of discoverin’ anything dat's | gineter he appreciuted.” + oo Flapper Is Passing. The flapper 18 no more, according to the Junior Lengue Magazine, | ylelded to a young woman who plack satin instead of cerise, bl ronge evenly and inhales her ‘wurmua. pufting furlously.” e Donble Afic From the $an Diego Union Knock-knees cannot he cured, nsserts | & Philadelphis physictan. Worse than that, though, they spparently can't he concesled { - = = -ve- Up 10 Date, From the Atlanta Constitution lu Lased on something deeper, more fun- dumental then just the fact that this ‘The modern g} helleves she can g900d time if she s up W date, EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.,.THURSDAY, MARCH 1 BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘Well, Spring is on its way! One may successfully defy any one t8 say that it is not, for the row of early tullps just sticking their tips through the oil gives him the lie. It may be many weeks yet before the true vernal season, loved by man and beast, is here in all its glory, but no one may contradict the plain fact that it is on its way! The very dawn itself, coming into the windows an hour earlier than at Christmas time, speaks louder than words of the coming of beloved Spring. It was not so many weeks ago that it was pitch dark at 7 a.m., but now it is light at 6 o'clock, and quite so at half past the hour, These signs are more authentic than the robin, which rumor sald was seen in Washington one day last week. One may believe the tulips and the dawn, if not the fairy tale of the robin! * ok ok K ‘The early tulips stand in a long row, with 86 of the 100 poking their noses ligh through the dirt. The ups are a dark brown, yet look quite healthy enough. ‘Tulips, flowers from far-away Hol- land, where cold ocean breezes swept their ancestors in their early beds, know better than human beings when Spring is on the way. Yet they are trusting flowers, sure enough! Frost and freeze mean little in the life of one of these queer gnomes. The snows of the year blow over them, and they sleep snug and warm. At the very first urge of even slightly warmer weather they send up their shoots, anxious to fulfill their mission, eager to burst into the sunshine of a better world than that which they have known. If a tulip had a soul—and perhaps it | may have one, after all—this world of ours, with its sunshine and shadow, its laughter and tears, would seem ltke Heaven itself to one who had lived un- derground. With what divine ability does the tulip choose the most wonderful time of the year in which to bring forth its beautiful blossoms! Were it gifted with a brain akin to ours, it could select no finer season than the Spring. One wonders how the tulip does it. It is part of that great gift of life which inhabits this globe. It is a little thing, yet as filled with the divine spark as we are, in its lowly degree. ‘The tulip has not learned suspicion, and it may be congratulated on that, of course. There is some advantage in being a tulip, after all. * ok k% ‘There they are, 86 of them, with their little noses seeking the sunshine. It is easy, looking at them in the light, to animalize them, and to belleve that they smff the air eagerly. They stand there like a row of floral soldiers, marching to the beautification of a cold, colorless world. The grass is brown, with green min- gled here and there; the shrubs are brown, almost gray; the sprigs of ever- greens are touched with brown. ‘The very air has a lifeless look, com- pared with what its appearance will be n the Spring. Surely the air has an appearance) ‘The “look” of the air in Winter is en- tirely different from its aspect in Spring. Now it strikes the sensitive as cold as steel, gray as gray skies, but then it will be soft and tawny. ‘The complexion of Summer air is dif- ferent, too, from that of the atmosphere of Autumn. One would call the Sum- mer air rosy, even blushing, whereas the guise of Fall is in nut brown, with vertical stripes of red oak leaves. d ok kK Roses, too, are “r'aring to go.” Some canes are as green as they were before the leaves fell, while along others appear tiny buds. Are these the first leaf buds? One scarcely dares to hope that they are, for rosébushes also belong to the trusting tribe of Nature’s daughters, | PArk. who ask but a few warmer days—not warm ones, mind you—to begin to put on their Spring dresses. ‘The leaf buds of the lilacs have been visible for many days. They are hardy garden denizens, however; the cold will not hurt them. It was only the other day that we heard that lilacs cannot be expected to bloom well until they are about 6 years old. One learns something all the time in gardening; that is one of its de- ‘The lowliest old colored man in the world may be the bearer of glad tidings in that occupation for which, as it has been so well said, no man is too high or none too low. * ok K K These considerations take us back to Nature, and to Nature worship in its modern form, for Nature worship in the twentieth century is not what it was when Rome fell. As G. K. Chesterton points out in his monograph on St. Francis, the Nature worship of old put men in the way of deflling both earth and heaven, but the more sane worship of later days has put man back into clean contact with the universe in which he lives. His worship now takes the form of that communion with Nature which our elder poets, notably Bryant- and Longfellow, sang so well, the pleasant feeling that one is near to. the Great Mother, but is not awed by her. What is left of Nature worship in the world today blooms into quiet walks in the woods, in collections of flowers, in the interesting study of bird life, in the portraiture of wild creatures, in the making of gardens and the caring for the same, in landscaping, and, by nat- ural growth, the building of great buildings in a new form. The most significant thing in archi- tecture today is the new style “sky- | scraper,” specimens of which may be | found in several of our largest citics, which seem somehow to be outgrowths of sky,’clouds, sun and stars, one with storm and stress, as well as blood brother of sweeping ocean gales. These great buildings—or, had one better say, these great architects?—have taken Nature for model, and have evolved into modern conditions straight out of towering mountains and phases of the Grand Canyon. ‘They satisfy the mind and heart of the beholder as great natural spectacles satisfy him. If a picture of one of them is in a magazine with 79 other pictures of as many different men or things, the swelling majesty of the building wilk be the one vision to re- main when all the rest are forgotten. So, as our tulips brought us around to buildings, our building must take us back to flowers again, for these are the latest flower of a great art, as those are the humble Spring buildings not made by hands. Spring, let us assert (fortified by architecture and tulips), 1s on its way! Views of Senate Mine Probe Held Tinged With Pessimism Surveying Ineffective attempts in the' past to cure the ills of the bituminous coal industry, the public gives evidence of a willingness to which may be achieved by the investi- ation recently undertaken by the {Jnlma States Senate, though many ob- servers are frankly pessimistic, “There is significance in the fact that no voice was raised in the Senate of the United States against an investiga- tion of conditions in the soft coal flelds, where the strike s in progress,” de- clares the Boston Transcript, which di- rects attention to the fact that “it came before the Senate at a time when pro- test was widespread against the sena- torial propensity for plunging into in- vestigations.” “The general welcome” in the Pitts- burgh district to the Senate investiga- tors is interpreted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as “emphasizing the seri- ousness of the plight into which the bituminous industry has fallen and the eagerness for light that may show the solution.” That paper adds: “The public earnestly hopes that this inquiry will prove to be more than merely ‘an- other investigation,’ reporting, but bringing no action. Tt is felt that Con- gress can do something to put the in- dustry upon a better basis. If it can, it is high time for such action.” “The power of the Federal Govern- ment is to be employed, perhaps,” says the Portland Oregon Journal, “to bring order out of chaos. And while the Government is working in this par- ticular instance, it would be well for Congress to glve executive officers some power to regulate the coal industry, an action that has been recommended by commission after commission which has investigated the coal industry, and by the President of the United States, after experiencing futility in dealing with coal strikes under present conditions.” ok N “Can anything justify what is sald to be going on in the soft conl felds, where this bitter fight s raging?” asks the Duluth Herald. “A hundred thousand miners' familles are living on an allow- ance of $3 a week or less from the union treasury. In Pittsburgh, the center of the contest, the allowance 1s a dollar & head for adults and 35 cents for chil- dren—$3.08 for a family of five." The Rochester Times-Unfon comments on “want and misery for the families of the miners, near-bankruptey for many of the operators, an excessivo number of mines and miners, eviction of fam- flles from their homes in Midwinter-- these are conditions,” says the Roches- ter puper, “totally unsatisfactory in any Industry, and especially in one whicl lles at the very foundation of our in dustrial and business structure.” “As to the strike,” in the opinfon of the Harrisburg Telegraph, “the thing to be determined there 18 whether there ! uth In the often-repeated churges that operators have been cruel in treatment of helpless women and dren and public officials neglectful of thelr duties In the dispensing of even- handed justice, After all, people as a whole are more in sted In the hu- manitarian feature of the mine situ ton than in its sconomic phase, Impor- tant as that is to the prosperity of the Hlale ut large.” he hope that the Investigation will “hnsten the urgently needed reorganizn- ton of the oralized bituminous conl Industry” 1s expressed by the Chicago Datly News. ‘The industry, as the Mil- waukee Journal sees 1, “has demon- strated utter dmpotence to eure itself from with and the Unfontown Her- ald enumerates as the desired results, “Blabilization of w prostrated Industry, | renubllitation of productive mines, op- portunity for m fulr profit to operative enterprises, steady operation and em- ployment, and, mbove all, & wage rate oonsonant with American standards of Iving.” CRCR “The situntion, from a political stand- polnt, has dynmimite in 1L suggests the eruuum Times, wnd the Hloux City Tribune goes further with the statement that “agltation In favor of getting this Investigation under way Imflum that tmminence of an electlon might have inapired some of that interest.”” ‘The Rock Island Argus, however, inaslats that “what the public wants 1s & secital of applaud results | ascertained facts free from all politi- cal bias.” “Another fuvestigation will do no harm and every one will hope that it may accomplish some good,” remarks the Willlamsport Sun, but the Nash- ville Banner is doubtful. “The coal business, rves the Banner, been investigated ad nauseam and noth- ing much come of it except the solemn conclusion that the industry was in a rather bad way and the investigators did not know what could be done to bet- ter it. The sensible thing would be for operators and miners alike to get their heads together in a spirit of sanity and settle thelr own differences in an equi- table way.” Two outstanding lessons are pointed out by the Chattanooga Times, in con- sidering the strike: “First, that it is possible for a unlon to ratse wages un- Ul 1t raises itself out of a job, provided it faces strong non-unfon ‘competition; second, that the coal mining industry in this country s tremendously overde- veloped.” “Northern West Virginia,"” asserts the Morgantown New Dominfon, “has no reason to oppose the most rigid inquiry into the coal business. And if some so- lution can be found that will double miners’ wages and make coal operations yleld a profit, everybody will rejoice. In the meantime, let no attempt be made, either by unfon leaders or operators, to paint the situation other than as it ac- tually is. Resumption of picketing on Scotts Run s certainly doing that very thing.” The New Dominion emphasizes the statement that “the mines have be- come open-shop mines." UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today American German attack 8t troops repulse A strong this morning n the Mihiel sallent north of Toul, dis- playing the greatest courage, bravery and energy throughout the engage- ment, and outfghting the enemy from the very beginning. * * * The ratd was a complete fallure and the ground in front of the American trenches was strewn with German dead. Americans also lose many kitled and wounded, - cluding one “captain, the first West Pointer to be killed in the war, * A driving wet snow was falling when the Germans opened fire with e weapon at_ thelr command. Great quantities of polson gas let loose, but 1928 Defends Great Falls For Natural Beauty To th Editor of The Star: ‘There is much in Mr. Kernodle's pro- gram for Capital improvement which meets general approval, but the point which apparently was the chief occasion of his writing cannot, in my view, be so spokén of. Mr. Kernodle wishes to see the Potomac anlefi to Great Falls utilized for the produc- tion of power, and In order to make that view acceptable enlarges upon the esthetic attractiveness of that plan. A high dam would be more impressive than Little Falls, and, though the bulk of the valley is to be taken up with a vast mass of water, still he sees room for the development of a magnificent Some people have little feeling for natural scenery, and I dare say there are many residents of Washington who would be more impressed by a big work of man than they are by palisades, islands and diversified flats. So far as the esthetic result is con- cerned. however, the facts are against Mr. Kernodle and his party. I have no doubt the dam project could be so car- ried out as to secure some impressive and pleasing result, but the net result would be a vast loss. I believe that 10 out of 10 landscape artists would agree with this statement, as well as a large majority of persons at all qualified to judge. The key to Mr. Kernodle's plea is found in the last paragraph: ‘“The immense water power going to waste near Washington.” The like is true of all other pleas on that side of the ques- tlon. Practically no one really be- lieves that, from the point of view from which parks are created, the flooding of the valley would be a gain. If there were any money in the scheme we should be told what a beautiful place Rock Creek Park would be if only some one would build a dam across and fill it up with water. There are many situations in the country where the presence of a dam adds greatly to the beauty of the scene. In the southern Alleghenies and Blue Ridge there are almost no natural bod- ies of still water, and excellent results can be obtained by impounding the water of a stream. Probably many Washingtonians the coming Summer will visit by auto the Deep Creek Res- ervoir, near Oakland, Md., which stretches out many miles through the hills, and adds much more to the scene than it takes away. I know, however, a case of a very different kind. When T was a young man I once visited the dells of the Wisconsin River at Kilbourn, where the river has worn a winding canyon throgh the sandstone rock. It was one of the finest pieces of scenery east of the Mississippl. I visit- ed the spot again in 1911. A high dam had been built for the benefit of Mil- wankee, piling the water up around the base of the cliffs. The scene is still plc- turesque, but no éne would dream of saying that its charm has not been diminished. Something is gone that can never return while the dam re- mains. ‘The case of the Potomac is of the latter order. Washington has already a liberal allowance of waterscape, but we have nothing else like the Potomac Valley with its high cliffs. running water and falls, its islands and wooded flats. from Chain Bridge ‘This is a special department devoted to the handling of Iquiries. You Lave at your disposal an extensive orginiza- tion in Washington to serve you in any capacity that relates to Information. Write your question, your name and your address clearly, and inclose a 2- cent stamp for reply. Send to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. When was the Lincoln Highway started?—H. R. A. The Lincoln Highway was lald out by the Lincoln Highway Associa- tion in 1013 as the first interstate highway connecting the two coasts of America and as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln. Q. Why Is it that sulphur which has no taste or odor can be given an odor and taste merely by rubbing it?—J. B. 8. A. This friction causes a small amount of sulphur to oxidize, thus forming sulphur dioxide, which is pun- gent to the sense of smell. Q. Is it true that many ministers of the gospel were confined in she Atlanta Penltentiasy in 19267—M. W. “During the past 26 months of my term as chaplain of this institution, there have been over 3,100 prisoners confin- ed. We have only received one minis- ter of the gospel and he had not been in active ministry for some time pre- vious to his sentence.” Q. When was the first upright piano patented?—J. P. was patented in England and_the United States in 1800 by John Isaac Hawkins, an Englishman, who at the time lived in this country. Q. How much does a railroad track cost per mile?>—E. C. M. A. It is cstimated that it costs $9,380.43 per mile, using 75-pound rails. Q. What is the magnetic declination of Washington, D. C.”—J. P. Al ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A. The chaplain of Atlanta says: | A. The first genuine upright plann’ W THIS AND THAT in the Brown University campus et Providence, R. 1. Q. Is Israel Zangwill living?—N. C. A. This celebrated playwright died on August 1, 1926, in Midhurst, Sussex, | England, at the age of 62. Probably his | plays that are best known are “Children “Merely Mary Ann” of the Ghet and “The Melting Pot Q. Is a milk cure a modern remedy | for various 1lls?—S, A. A. Milk cure—that is, a diet consist- | ing at first of milk only—1s a very old emedy, since it 15 mentioned by Hip~ g:;r;'fl. who Mved from about 460 w0 1357 BC. Q. Who conceived the idea of & bridge of granite across the Potomac at | Washington, which would symbholize the |unton of the North and Bouth?— |W. A. B, A. This was a cherished hope and |plan of President Jackson's. The present construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge will make this dream |a reality. ! Q. Did Edwin Austin Abbey, the artist, become a British subject?— D K. W. A. Although Edwin Austin Abbey lived in Engiand for many years and i died in London, he never gave up his | American nationality. | . Q. How high do ocean rollers get and { how long are they?—S. A. G. | A. The extreme height of ocean waves has been estimated at 30 feet and | their length at from 600 to 700 feet. Q. Wher should tulips and hya- cinths %) “aken out of a cold frame and | subjecie@ to a temperature between 60 and 65 degrees in order o bloom for Easter?—L. S. |. A. Tulip and hyacinth bulbs should be taken in about four weeks before | Easter if they are submitted to a tem- i perature from 60 to 65 degrees. It is | better to bring them in six weeks be- fore Easter and reduce the temperaturs |to 55 degrees. A. The Coast and Geodetic Survey | says that the normal magnetic declina-| Q. How many commercial sircraft tion in the District of Columbia is about | accidents were there in the last year? 6 degrees 30 minutes W. The isogonic | What were the main causes? What line which passes through Washington | percentage of pilots were unlicensed?— has the general direction about north M. S. by west. It passes clos2 to Cape! A. According to statistics compiled Charles, Va., and Buffalo, N. Y. {by the Depariment of Commerce for a the 10-month period from January 1 Q. Are there any modern examples ' to October 31, 1927. the total numoer of the campanile or bell-tow - | of commercial aircraft accidents was 163. A. Modern examples are the campa- | Forty-two pilots and 67 passengers were nile of the Capital at Rome; Victoria | killed. Of the 165 pilots, 33 were lle Tower, by Barry, at the houses of Par- ccnsed. 132 unlicensed. Structural de- Hament, Westminster; the Great Tower | fects caused 23 of the accidents. ma- of the Basalique du Sacre Coeur, Mont- | chanical defects, 41, and in-fcient martre, Paris, and the memorial tower | piloting, 79. BY PAUL BACKGROUND OF EVENTS Forty years ago, Great Falls was a long way off to most Washingtonians, and | even Cabin John was not very near. Now our population stretches with little inter- | ruption up to Cabin John, and the whole arca is at our door. It is our natural playground and ought to be made & thing of beauty, not alone for our grati- | fication, but for the entertainment of | innumerable visitors. The real quesl&:‘m lst rl;ot rh'if,hfl';o% would be a sacrifice of beauty h ; the valley, but whether the sacrifice |bad example to modern dnrsmen o:‘;lh ought to be made on economic account. | pumps—nct dancing gaiters. but wooden I beg to call attention to a fallacy in | Pumps whose mouths water whenever a the economic argument, “Immense cow bawls. Daesdalus invented the power now going to waste” sounds as if | Labyrinth where the Minotaur was shut this power could be had merely by going | up, and that angered Minos. so Daeda‘; and scooping it up. As a matter of fact. | lus next constructed wings for himself the power can be utilized only by the ! and his son, Icarus. to escape Minos by expenditure of millions of dollars. When | flying to Ita They started there, but the figures for the general scheme were | Icarus exceeded the speed limit, and. Now science is “up in the air” as to who invented aviation. Was it Wilbur and Orville Wright, or was it Dr. S. P. Langley, the Ilate secretary of the Smithsonian Institution? Was it Da- rius Green? In any case, it was an American—parhaps. There was Daedalus of Greece, who, according to Greek my thology, made a wooden cow and set a presented a few years ago, unless my | dodging a cop. detoured so near the hot | memory is much at fault, it was not | sun that his wings melted off and he claimed that the investment would yleld | {°1l into the Potomac River near Quan- more than a moderate return, 8 or pos- | tico—or somewhere into the briny deep. sibly 9 per cent. There are other ways | Upon second thought, it was Prof. Lang- of investing money, but, granting that | ley's “aerodrome” which ducked into there would be a moderate loss. the | the river with no better success in flying country can well afford to meet it for | than had Icarus. the end in view. An ideal treatment ! President Roosevelt once had great of the valley would yleld a porpetual public interest in his Ananias Clud— satisfaction, the value of which cannot ' its membership grew rapidly. A more be cstimated in dollars. A while ago!modern club might be made up of the some one suggested the use of Frank- | Darius Greens. the Icaruses and others lin Park as a public garage! The city | who tried to fly and didn't. It will in- could better afford to lose $25.000,000 | clude as active members everybody who than give up Franklin Park. It would | had dreamed of riding the clouds. o it be a national disgrace to surrender the | will take in “Arabian Nights” travelers Potomac gorge to an industrial plant. | with their Magic Carpet. It will in- Athens, | pa Americans quickly donned thetr mnsks, Flerce hand-to-hand fighting took mans greatly surprised At the vigorous del e and quickly routed. ¢ * ¢ Ground lttered with enemy hand grenndes, boxes of explo- slves for destroying enemy dugouts, and Incendlary bombs which the Germans had no chance to use, * ¢ Our men alio engage i hand-to-hand com- bat at Chavignon in the western tor of the Airne front. Germans v pulsed by Ani wn and French troops. Claim 10 Amerfcan prisoners, ¢ ¢« Cermuns break off peaco parley with Bolshevikl, and Petrograd prepaves for A plege, ¢ ¢ ¢ Poshing reports canualty lst of 25 wounded. vaom o 50-50 on the W From the Nashville Foimossean An Englishwoman nays she doesn't see how the slender women of America manage to dominate thelr husbands so well But it always seemod to us a slender lady could weep just as much and as often as a fat one, - e < No Tnsinuation, of Course. From o Atlanta Constitution Oongress Nnishes consldering the ‘Tea Pot Dome it might take under advisement the tvory dome, . " ave Didn't Afect Hia Head. From the Atlanta Constitution Ool l.nuflmrrn 18 one of the few men who have attalned the top of the world And 1L didn't ke hia head awim, Finally, the development of water power at this point would encourage the industrialization of the region, and that is incompatible with the creation of an fdeal capital. All arguments to the contrary are of the same order a: those in favor of the proposed dam. EDWARD S. STEELE. onservatory Plan Is Indorsed To the Editor of The Star ‘The bill, H. R. 352, recently intro- dueed in Congress by Representative Weller of New York, “lo establish a National Conservatory of Music for the education of pupils in music in all its branches, vocal and instrumental, and for other purposes,” is an effort in the right direction. Music has yet to be given its rightful place in the National Capital. It is to be hoped this school will pave the way to several things. 1t is hoped this National School of Music will open its dod o the enlisted men stationed in the Capital in the Music C Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Strong, | healthy young bodies such as we find in these services should produce reso- nant volces. Male choruses composed of enlisted men with trained voloes would be a delight to the men partici pating, as well as to their audienc Free vocal instruction and choral - struction would make enlistments more worth while, and young men with volees would welcome assignments to service I Washington, which should be the seat of all culture 1t is hoped this school whll eventually pave the way to the establishment of a musical concourse in Washington where music may be heard out of doors in comfort, The Capital affords scarc accommodation where the hear in Summer, comfortably seated, the music of our bands. Visitors search I vain for a bandstand with acoustic ‘muwuu, where they may sit nearby n comfortable chalrs, for n small fee, and listen to the music, enjov the afr, chat and watch people promenade, when are weary of slght-seeing, ‘They search In vain for a place with even somewhat of a sounding board. They crave in vain policemen who will put up “quict one” stgns to prevent olsy autolsts from drowning out the strafng of music Would it not be well to consider the employment of some Americans pre- emlnent in the construction of proper for outdoor musie, ote, (o make v of Washington's out-of-door musical factlittes® W t not be well to let them recommend the most worthy and logleal locations the Capital affords from a musical standpotat, so that we may hear what musie we do hear in Hummer under the best acoustie condt- tHons possible® Would 1t also not be well to tder the deslgnating of a site for an out-of- door musteal concourse where the sorv- fee and coivilian bands and choruses could be heard by thousands tn comfort on Hummer evenlngs® Sueh W oon- course might be made I the new Cap- ftol-Unton Statlon Parkway, where » properly equipped and construoted Datiatand Would be welcome to people from all sections of the eity as well as to arriving and departing visitors and accensible on all car lines ¥ M. DAVISON, [ Senatorial Froth, From the Worton Heratt Tt ds the froth of (he Henato disous- alona that 1a blown favthest fram Wash- ington, | Setre | dorse the prophecy of Bishop Wilkins | who, nearly a century ago, foretold that “the time would come when gentlemen. when they were to g0 on & journey. ould call for their wings as regularly s they call for their boots.” Tennyson dreamed of “nations with | afry navies, grappling with the central | blue"—unable to get a flect of cruisers iun a 5—5—3 ratio. | In fact, since the days of Ovid. traffic conditions have been growing worse and | worse in the heavens—judging from the | boasts of the alleged inventors of aero- | dromes and airplanes and wings, so tha |today “vitaret coclum Phaeton, | viverat. | R Nobody cares who ed Cock Robin. but there 1s great excitement now as t who first really outflew the bird. 4 cording to the savants of the Smith- sonian Institution, Secretary Langley | fakirs™ (as James | called the Wrights, telegraphing from | Parts to direct a Herald reporter € pose them), and so tho reporter actu- ally went to Kitty Hawk, N C. in De- smber, 1903, to get the “dope” on then and the plane flew almost over his hes bearing Orville Wright upon the i actual man-fiight ever achteved A had made glider fights there fn 1900 The Smithsontan vants say that ry Langley had been working selentific principles for years., s acrodrome almost flew—in fact s later (1914 named Glenn H. Curths, whom Wilbur Gordon | ment of their patents (and gotten juds- ment), arranged with the Smithsonian Institutibn to ship the wreckage of the Langley model up to his works in Ham- jmondsport, N. Y., and there, after the wings had been fixed and the center of other parts restored, on May U8, 1914, 1t flew nearly 150 feet laterally over a | lake. It i3 8o reported in the 1914 An- nual Report of the Smithsontan Institus thon. Mr. Curtiss was then authortzed 1o equip the Langley witha 1914 “stand- ard Curtiss motor and propeller.” The aerodrome that was begun in 1898 for the War Department, and “the tests | thus far made have shown that the late Secretary Langley succeeded i butlding the first aeroplane, or ‘acrodrome.’ as he named it capable of the sustenance of fice flight with a man. What Is the dittercnce “eapable” and performance ! No Langley machine ever did v with betwoen ventor, while an July 30, 1909 durin, the experimental tests, the Wright plan actually did dy across country, fiom | Fort Myer to Alexandria, Va . and re- turn, That was not a glider teip. but a an_hour according o the official te port of the sSmithsantan Instdution ’\'l\nl WA SIX years before Mr. Qurtiss, With the repatred and vetuned and ve- winged lunah‘y machine, flow 130 feet at_ Hammondsport, N. Y It was i October, 19008, that the Langley plane had fallen nto the viver, owing, as clatmed, to the fatlure of its catapult to start it properly upon the alr. 1t was badly wrecked, and as the War Departinent, whioh had been Mnanving the experiments to the total of 100000, then withdvew further Ananctal sSupport, the wreckage was put to atorage At the Tustitution and lay there until the Curtiss telncarnation i 1 L I an epoch-making letter by Qrville got the start on the Dayton “Yankee | Bennett | and Orville Wright had sued for infringe- | equilibrium had been adjusted and some | report remarks that this was the same ! A passenger duriig the lite of the - | flight, at an average speed of 43 miles | V. COLLD | Wright, which has been written for the | magazine the United State Air Serv ice, the inventor for the first tims makes a statement to explain why he | has sent thd orizinal Wright plane to the British Museum instead of to the | Smithsonian Institution. He says, in “While Prof. Langley was secretary of | the Smithsonian ali of the rellm:::ybe- | tween that institution and ourselves | were friendly. At that time Wilbur and I were universally given credit not only of having made the first flight, | but for having produced the first ma- | chine capable of flight, and for the | Sclentific research from which this | first machine sprang. Our 1903 ma- chine was based entirely on our own | scientific tables and none other. Lange 's published work in aer cs consisted of measurements of air pres- sures on flat surfaces only. By an entirely different method we had made | measurements of a great number of | cambered surfaces as well as of flat surfaces. Our measurements of flat | surfaces did not agree with those made by Prof. Langley. Although we were not able to use any of Prof. Langley’s | measurements, because we had found them far from accurate, yet on every occasion where opportunity was offered we expressed our sincere appreciation for the inspiration and confidence Prof. Langley's standing in the scien- tific world had given us when we were starting. “After rh‘r’x!' unq!g;\sn&nm the at- of the Smit N began to The institution began a subtle campaign to take from us much of the credit then universally accorded us and | to bring this credit to its former sccre= tary. Prof. Langle Through some | clever and some absolutely false state- ments it succeeded in doing i people who were not acqu the facts. - xow When it & ceded that Prof Lang- ey made ab research of the dynamics of air pressure in lift- ing inclined planes, found that neither L W were the ori res that fiv are heavier s 0 the view hod | mate ¢ alr machi can be made think of an invention is & 1 effort, and there are few of the nventions or discoveries of mod- es that cannot be found fore- shadowed {n the records of the past. A Greek poet deserides in set terms the ny ntion of submarine warfare, when us and his daughter. expert swim- mers, dived At the sides of Xerwes' ships, cut the mooring cab! thus catised many ships to deift (o thetr de- |, CAbout the time of the discovery ot {America that remarkable and versatile senius, le rdo da Vinel, wrote an j essay on the irds and referred o the posability of human tght, (See Da Vinetrs Note Book translated by ¥ 1906V atd L Remember that bird ™ 1 have no other mode! than that af the dat, bevause & 1S SCTVE AN ATIOE, OF Tat 18 Of binding togetlier (he pleves of A * % ¢ Diaect the bat [ Uy and an (i model et the machine The bird 1 have hed ought 1o be able by the help of the wind 10 e 0 & gieat heighi, Pand s will prove s satety, snce even 110 all the above revolutions were (o de- fall £, 1 would still Bave thne to regain My equilitriem, provided the various [ parts have A great power of resiste fance " | Even the champlans of the Langlev work credit (he Wrights with the - ventton of the equilibrium devivea My [Leftner. In his essay tepublished by the [ latituthn, fomarks of Pt Langley [“Ho wade & study of the fight of | bivds, But NS fnferences were 10E oo Ol I sune portant tespects, and While We Ay give him oredit for sl entine methad, 1t I8 appatent that he thatght o Tather than thought e’ the probtem of huwan fight S did Da Vinet four eenturies eartier WenaRL SR By VAl Vo Cutieed