Evening Star Newspaper, June 23, 1928, Page 6

{THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY.......June 23, 1028 THEODORE W. NOYES. ., .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business \ce: 11th 8t and Pennsylvania Ave M Eers Omes. Tower Bldiee ;14 Regent St. London, Enn e Within the City. % 48c per month Sunday . Collection made the Orders may be sent in by mail SMain 5000. Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance. Maryland .‘nl Virginia. i 1., 810 s\k onls . 00: undas only . s E*:s and Sunday. nday onl: $4.00: ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled 4o the use for repuslication of all news dis- atches credited to it or nct otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the ‘ocll ews published herein. All rights of publieation cf #pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. — The Tiger Tips His Hat. Tammany, the “new Tammany,” has gone to Houston with its best foot foremost. No longer is the Tammany “Tiger a beast roaring from the jungle. His tail does not swish. He tips his hat politely and wonders what all this political fuss is about. Judge George 'W. Olvany, head of Tammany Hall, suceessor of Murphy, Croker and other Tammany braves who have passed, is making & bid for popularity in the Southwestern city, and making it ami- eably and openly. He does not' retire to an inner chamber, summoning lesser leaders before him and giving them orders. He mixes with the crowd. He even has interviews with the newspaper correspondents. This is nothing new for Olvany. to be sure, but it is some- thing new for a Tammany chieftain at s Democratic national convention. Tammany is intent upon things at this convention, the nomination of Al Smith, one of the sachems of Tammany Hall. It is on its best behavior, believ- ing that to be the best policy. It tried the rougher stuff at the Madison Square Garden convention four years ago.and about all it got out of it was the cordial dislike of many of the delegates from 1 mo. 1y 1 mo. levard streets the amendment means two things—that it is now so worded that there is no-possibility of misunder- standing it and that the -police have been instructed to enforce it rigidly. To those who have been in the habit of jamming thelr front bumper solidly against the car parked ahead, with no consideration for the fact that the other man may want to get out first, the new regulation means that this practice is forbidden, under penalty. In connection with the regulations which affect pedestrians a needed im- provement in conditions will be effected. Turning motorists must give right of way to walkers, and parking motorists must not clog bus stops or car stops to harass those who are waiting for trans- portation. The police have been or- dered to watch carefully for violations of the six new amendments. Inasmuch as they are all reasonable and designed to better conditions, those who violate them must expect a full dose of justice when their cases are heard in court. The Law’s Last Warning. Three young men were put to death yesterday at the District Jail for the murder of a policeman in this city, September 26, 1926. They had been given a fair trial, were accorded the fullest chance of appeal, had been sev- eral times reprieved for the sake of taking advantage of every opportunity the law permits for reconsideration of their condemnation, had petitioned the President for commutation of sentence and had been denied. They dled as the law directs, in punishment for a crime for which there was no passible con- donement. It is a shocking spectacle deliberately to take the lives of men for having themseltes taken life. The community’s hope is that it will serve as warning to others who are inclined toward criminal ways, that it will demonstrate that the law against murder is effective and that the severest punishment of all awaits those who thus transgress. If the example set yesterday in the inexorable execution of the most severe sentence persuades others that the path of evil living leads to shameful death it will have been fully warranted. The crime for which these young men paid the highest penalty of all was without the least justification. They were marauders, engaged just prior to the tragedy that finally sent them to the electric chair in an enterprise of banditry. When accosted by policemen and taken in custody for inquiry they determined to shoot their way to liberty. One of the policemen was slain and the other was wounded. The members of the gang were caught, were tried and were executed. They had forfeited all <laims for consideration by the cold- blooded nature of their crime. Yet efforts were made to arouse sympathy Traffic Amendments. Bix important changes in the District traffic code go into effect at midnight tonight. and it behooves the motorist to familiarize himself with them and to watch his step lest he run afoul of the police. ‘The new regulations standard- 2e the left-hand turn at intersections controlled by police and trafic lights, make more rigid parking rules at bus and car stops, grant right of way to pe- destrians over vehicles making a right turn, require a three-foot distance be- tween all parked vehicles, put teeth into the boulevard and arterial right- of-way rule and forbid the parking of cars for repairs on public highways. One of the most important of these amendments is that governing the left- hend turn, When the trafic lights were first installed it was decided that center-of-the-street left-hand turning would clog traffic and motorists were or- dered to pull over to the right-hand curb and wait & change of signal before eompleting the turn. This system worked with such complete success that the question arose as to whether the curb method of turning should not be applied to intersections at which traf- fic officers were stationed. After con- sicerable deliberation the traffic office recommended t the Commissioners that the turning be standardized for both lights and policemen, and it is this regulation that goes into effect tonight, ‘There appears 1o be no reason to be- Jeve that inasmuch as the system has &hown itself to be & siccess with the au- tomatic signals, it will not be with man- us! direction of traffic. Motorists of Washington, however, must remember that the right curb left-hand turn is o be made only when traffic is con- wrolled by either & policeman or auto- matic lights and never at an unregu- Isted intersection. In other words, there will be two distinct kinds of left-hand twns 1o be made henceforth in the Na- tional Capital—curb turning at regu- lated crossings and center-of-the-street uenings when there are no policemen or signals. While the new turning regulation is eonceded 1 be the most important, be- - cause It drastically forces a change of habit with every driver in the city, the five others demand thelr share of at- tention, ‘To those who have flou the P s goesnicg s compiete sap o tou- for them, on’ the score of their youth, on the score of their deficient men- tality, on_the score of possible doubt as to which of the trio actually fired the shot ‘took life. Much harm is done by these displays of ' sentimentality for men, whatever M}*,"“h_: slay and seek exemption from' the laW. They are to be pitied, of course, for thelr possession of evil dispositions, but they are not to be their chances to lead upright lives, and they threw them away. They gave no thought for their own families, their| now sorrowing mothers, when they de- liberately engaged in a career of crime. They gave no thought for the families of the policemen whom they attacked and one of whom they slew. Society demands, under the law which prevalls here, that those who take life shall forfeit life. These men, who had the fullest opportunity to be | respectable, well behaved citizens, chal- The crime for which these three were executed - was committed twenty-one months ago. That is too long a time for the operation of the law to be most fully effective in deterring evil deeds by example. This case was not complicated. It should have been pressed to conclu- sion within a year, at the most, from the %ime of commission of the crime. Capital punishment, to justify its con- tinuation, should be prompt as well as inescapable. e ‘When & motion picture star Is called to account by customs authorities she asserts her screen personality and makes it plain that %t is no fault of hers if European dealers insist on giving her | extraordffiary bargains, to be declared according to involce regardless of actual value. The charm of the ingenue is by no means limited in effect to her artistic endeavor when “on location.” ———————— Mr. Vare of Pennsylvania has unde- nisbly asserted a point of superiority. He 1s & better spot-light grabber than Sec- retary Mellon. —— e Children at Play. ‘The American Automobile Association has just issued & timely warning to motorists to take extra precautions in driving during the Summer months to avoid running down children in the streets. Hot weather makes every one seek relief In the open, especially chil- dren at play, and the Summer season is prolific in sccidents. It is with a view to preventing some of these heart- rending fatalities that the assocjation has acted at the present time. With the motorists being importuned 0 use extra care in driving, it is up to the parents of children likewise to im- press upon their offspring the necessity to confine their activities to protected places, such as playgrounds and the sidewslk. The sireet is no place for a | game of base ball or tag or hide-and- seek. Automoblle traffic is too heavy to permit such use of the thoroughfares. Parents are entirely responsible if they allow their children to run heedlessly into milling motor traffc. The motor- ist will invariably do all he can to avold accident, but it is not enough if a child appears unexpectedly from bghind = parked sutomobile. It 4 unfortunate that playground {space in Washington is not adequate | tor the needs of the entire city, but in & good many cases, even when a play- ground is available, the fyllest advan- tage is not taken of it. Rather than sion they can on the street, sidewal or lawn. It is a fairly common sight to see a group of youngsters playing tag around parked automobiles within a few hundred yards of & first-class playground. 1t is normal and healthy for children to indulge in athletic activities, and parents the world over are sympathetic with this prerogative of youth. Unfor- tunately, however, the fast pace with which the civilization of today moves, especially in the congested centers of population, makes it necessary to cur- tail these privileges to a certain extent in order to preserve life. 1f a child had sound judgment it might be reasonably safe for him to use the street to work off excess energy, but, engrossed in his game, the child, in most cases, becomes entirely oblivious to death bearing down upon him. It is to be devoutly hoped, therefore, that parents and motorists will work together this Summer to establish a new record for safety on the streets. The motorist must follow the Golden Rule of driving, the parent must do his share in keeping his child from dangerous places where even the skill of the mo- torist will not save him. " .- Chain Bridge and Lee Highway. Motorists of Washington and ad- jacent Virginia ‘are hopeful that the 0ld Dominion road authorities will heed the implied suggestion of the District Engineer Department to postpcne the closing of the Lee Highway until repairs on Chain Bridg: are completed and it is open to trathic. According to infor- mation received in the District. the Virginia State Highway Commission is planning to start work on the Lee/ Highway about July 15. This will ncces- | sitate the closing. of the road between | Rosslyn and Cherrydale with traffic de- | toured over the already congested Wil- son Boulevard. Inasmuch as August 1 is the date set for the completion of the new south abutment of the Chain Bridge, District authorities believe that Virginia ‘would be willing to wait two weeks for the Lee Highway work in or- der that trafic congestion and hazard might be averted. * It is necessary, in such a matter as District work together. Many Virginia residents commute daily to Washington and the highway systems of the State and District are closely Nnked. It is therefore to ‘be desired that Virginia should, if-the exigencies of its road pro- gram permit, postpone closing of this important thoroughfare until relief can be afforded through the opening of Chain Bridge. . Predictions are freely made that the coming campaign will be one of extraor- dinary bitterness. Forewarned should be forearmed. Nothing important is likely to be gained by acrimonious con-- troversy. ——— In less convivial imitation of the an- clent greeting between the Governors of North Carolina and South Carolina, the Governor of Texas may remark to the Governor of New York, “It is a long time between drinks.” ——— ‘There are impressions among those who were at Kansas City that President Coolidge, though asserting no personal claims, had considerable latent influence in the choosing. 4 —— e One thing in national affairs is made clear: If the presiding officer of the United States Senate expects to carry through all his contemplated reforms, ! he will have to hurry. RS, Admiring comment on La Follette's Kansas City speech is abundant, al- though there is a disposition to forget it as an argument and applaud it as a monologue. ——— et ““There is a perverse inclination on the part of convention managers to prevent 2 nomination from being only an inci- dent of enlivenment for current humor. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. 01d Band Wagon. Airplane comes’a-hummin’ by! Dirigiblé, too, Splendidly salutes.the eye From yonder distant blue! But Here’s a vehicle we greet With a remembering smile— ‘The old Band Wagon rolls complete, In 'bout the same old style. Trottin’ hoss we seldom see, Save in some special race. Big canal boat seems to be Entirely out o’ place. But let us sing and not be sad, Although of much bereft; We'll join the crowd and still be glad ‘That old Band Wagon’s left. Midnight OIL “Have your associates been burning the midnight ofl in study of this situa- tion?" “If you mean fusel oil,"” sald Senator Sorghum, “some of them haven't burned it. They have swallowed it.” Puzzied Publie. ‘The Public murmurs in surprise, “I'm sure I am not quite a dunce, A hundred issues now arise. Can 1 decide them all at once?"” Jud Tunkins says the organization of conventions may become so thorough that future delegates may be able to deliver their votes on a mail order basis. The Stay Home. “Your wife 1s busy with politics?” “Brilliantly,” answered Mr. Meekton. “You have to do a great deal of read- | ing to hold your own?" | “Ido. And I find it difficult.” “What do you read?” { “Mostly the cook book.” | “Eloquence,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, ables the possessor to convince the people without flrst sat- isfying his own consclence,” Harmony. The firefly shines, The bullfrog sings, The rose her perfume lightly flings. They signal gayly, “What care we For politics? We all agree!” “A happy man,” said Uncle Eben, “is one dat is willin’ to tend to his own | business wifout makin’' it big enough to git mixed in no merger plans.” o Spoiling the Enigma. walk the two or three blocks necessary to reach a protected inclosure, children will, 18 some eases, Ad whslever diver- this, that the State of Virginia and the | & “What can you do with ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud?” he asked, pen- sively. The other laughed, but after they parted he got to thinking what hap- pens to Worcdsworth’s famous pocm after scheol days. The discussion had been about the large amount of time put by teach and scholars on literature, espec poetry, and how little practical u: may put poems to in the busl world. The time so spent, the pensive one had said, might better be put to learn- ing practical things which would be of real value later in life. This speaker did not over] tural value of great poems or other art works, but simply asked a ques- iness sons at some time or other ‘What can you do with “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”? ‘A salesman who should accost a pre pect by talking of the cloud which floa on high o‘er hill and daic would be garded by his firm and by his prospec as something of a nut The honest groc taking that host o store would run k of being snubbed by housewlves for less temper- amental but more practical merchan- disers of foodstuffs. He who pilots a public vehicle through the difficult traffic lanes of our fair city would be summarily dismissed from his position if he insisted on quoting Words- worth to the inspector. “Say, buddy, you are three minutes late. What's the matter?” Our poetical driver casts heavenward. “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” he beu;nl ho insisted on an eye wandered once too often,” snorts the inspector. “That floats on_high o'er hill and dale,” continues the chauffeur “You ain't no airplanc. You better hump yerself and make it up going east.” * K kX rank failure in the busy streets. A poetical traffic cop would be a total loss to the community if he insisted on bringing his love for verse into the box with his waving hands. i Longfellow, official poet of American schools, is not quoted much on the Stock Exchange; even Browning, regarded by some as divine, and by many as stufly, proves out of place at a directors’ meet- g. Except for the training they give the mind, and because of the bent toward higher things which they may give, the works of the great poets offer little to the world of business j The great, striving crowd in which al- most every one- takes part today, out in the channels of daily toil of one sort or another, asks for little poetry. Of course there are rhymes of a sort, laud- ing various foods or whatnot, but even the manufacturers can hardly call these things poems. They realize that a jingle has a cer- tain power to intrigue, and that an in- triguing advertisement, everything else being equal, is a better “ad” than a staid and proper one without lure. ‘The cherub that sings of soup scarce- Iy ranks as a poet; he will never get his nome and complete history into the school books, or compel numerous ur- chins and urchinesses to stir their brain cells to unwonted activity in mastering his _odes. When one stops to think of what a “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The Department of State has taken two epochal steps within the past 24 -hours toward peage on edrth, one applying to all men of good will and the nations they represent, the other limited to the 21 nations of the Western Hemisphere. Never in the history ' of civilization has the will for peace been so mani fest as in the statesmanship now domi- through the initiatjve and leadership of the State Department of the United international differences. ‘The most striking feature of the tendency is that it is absolutely apart from the chronic pacifist’s idea of first destroying means of self-defense by abolishing armies and navies necesary to assure the peace that passeth the understanding of savagery. The keynote of the movement is the abolition of war as a legitimate method of asserting national contentigns of policy. But that does not in the slight- est degree modify the right of nations to self-defense. * oK K K ‘This week, the culmination of the ef- forts of Secretary Kellogg to achiete a multilateral treaty -cc:fi:ble to the great, powers, first, and to all other powers and nations, whereby all would agree to discard war as a national poli- ¢y in settlement of international differ- ences, became so tangible that the per- fected treaty- was cabled to 14 nations, which had signified agreement to its vital protisions, and they were invited to sign on the dotted line. In some cases the acceptances had been coupled with reservations, but it is believed that these reservations will not prove insurmountable obstacles to the essential agréement. The fact that 15 Jeading nations of the world will now agree that war shall no longer be con- sidered the means of sustaining diplo- macy is of such tremendous importance that details of minor reservations cease to be serfous. Even the fighting Balkans are eager to accept the treaty. * K K K Objections are raised by the public that no adequate means have been described as to how such a worid-wide treaty 18 to be enforced. It is provided that in case any signatory violates it. by warripg upon another signatory, all shall be released from their oblig: tions. What then will follow? Ostr: cism of the provoker of discarded war will be no small penalty, but ostracism will not end in mere verbal manifesta- tion of disapproval. No nation which finds ftself cut off from the supplies and respect of the rest of the world can hope to prosper. Ostracism is not a mere “Tut! Tut!” slap on the wrist It is a noose around the neck of the offender, Inescapable, for it is & world denunciation of a violator of the world agreement. * % K Undoubtedly a clearer understanding of the proposed method of enforcing the world-wide “multilateral treaty abolishing war as a national policy” may be discerned in the tangible pri visions in the Pan-American rapproche- ment, indicated in the call made by the Secretary of State for a conference of all the nations of this hemisphere, to be held in Washington, next De- cember 10. ‘This conference is the outcome of a resolution adopted at the sixth _Pan-American conference, held Iast_ February, in Cuba, attended by President Coolidge and former Secre- tary of State Hughe: ‘That resolution 1s as follows: “The sixth international conference of American Stgtes, considering “That the American nations. should always be inspired in solid co-opera- tion for justice and the general good: “That nothing is so u?pflud to this co-operation as the use of violence: “That there is no international con- troversy, however serious it may be, which cannot be peacefully arranged if the parties desire in reality to arrive at a pacific settlement: “That war of aggression constitutes an international crime against the human species: “It resolves: “1. All aggresston 1s considered fllfeit and as such s declared prohibited. “2. The American States will employ How Ivin Coolidge * pertac 1y mond e | From the Boston Herald ! to spoll all %-rmr means to settle conflicts which may arise between them, “Fobsunsy 10, 1048 . .. ... BY CHARLES E. TRACE se one | look the cul- | tion which must be asked by all |)<‘|'-\ ils into his | Wordsworth thus turns out to be a| nant in the efforts of the natlons | of the whole world, and pre-eminently | States, to discard violence in settling| THIS AND THAT WELL, complete vacuum, as far s great poetry goes, exists in the everyday life of the business world, he is forced to wonder it the time put on the poets in the | school is really worth while. | Might not that fleeting time, so he | asks himself, be put to better use in | the study of human nature, so that | boys and_girls may enter the success all primed for the end Why waste so much time over | wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” when | there are so many hard facts to be |learned, shrewd propositions to be mastered, e'er Buddy becomes an ac- | complished business man? ' The big use of poetry, it would seem, is simply that it helps tone down the | savage mind of man. | There is no danger of mankind being | effeminized, but there always has been | large risk of it becoming completely masculinized Certain tribes at certain periods were just that ‘They thought nothing of skinning s alive and turning them loose their quivering flesh to death s of human merriment. | The history of mankind is replete with fiendish deeds which leave wolves, | by comparison, kindly gentlemen going on four legs to afternoon tea parties. Humanity has sullied itself forever with dastardly deeds that the waters of all the world can never wash out And every human being alive today bears in his mind and heart some traces of those terrible, sub-beastly things. It is because we need help against our ancestors—or the worst of them—that we need poetry, representa- tive of the other cultural influences which soften the crudity of man and | ameliorate his harsh manners. Poetry i5 representative because, like | the chureh, it dares to speak out calmly, | faithfully, of the best in human nature. 1 It takes soit-sounding sentiments, which |are out of place in the street, and makes them live for the duration of a.page. So short is the page, so little the time consumed—is this the most that | humanity can give, even in 1928, to the highest sentiments of the human heart and mind? Yet the warld is surely pro- gressing in this respect. Sound busi- ness men, at their chib luncheons, are o longer ashamed to listen to the good work reported by the committee on car- ing for crippled children. What have crippled children to do with poetry? Nothing, except that the spirit which prompts their care is the same spirit of goodness and human de- cency which lives in the best poetry of the ages. One finds these sentiments mirrored better in poetry than in any other writ- ing. since, by tacit consent of the peo- ple. the poet has been given what is commonly referred to as the poet’s license. ‘This term means, among other things, that he may write of feelings of the human heart which in cold prose might bring a blush to the cheeks of all those who wish to appear sophisticated! This means that a man, Wwri poetry, may set down the essential good feminine thoughts of the ra feminine because they are kindly with- out shame. good without appearing | namby-pamby. “do” little if anything with “I Wan- dered Lonely as a Cloud,” and similar poems, he may still believe, at the same time. that he is a better man for hav- ing learned them as a boy. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The movement goes back even’ be- fore that conference—back to the Lon- | gress of Jurists held in Rio de Janeiro |in April, 1926. And that Congress of | Jurists owed its origin to the fifth con= | ference of Pan-American delegates held in Santiago, Chile, in 1923, The work of the Congress of Jurists in 1926 did little in changing the sentiments ex- pressed by the Chile conference of 1923, beyond editing the forms of ex- pression. So the great movement to- | ward abolishing war as national policy | throughout the Western Hemisphere must be recognized as deep-seated and continental in extent, even antedating the discussion of the Kellogg-Briand multilateral project for all the world. The Congress of Jurists formulated the plan to be incorporated in Pan- Anterican international law, to be dis- cussed at the sixth conference in Cuba last February, and as a resuit of that Cuban discussion it was agreed that a special conference should be held in Washington within one year, to perfect the form of agreement to be adopted by all the 21 nations of the Western Hemisphere. That meeting is now called for December 10. o W At the Havana Pan-American Con- gress last February the report of the | jurists’ congress was referred to a l.subcnmmmee headed by Dr. Alfaro of Panama. Dr. Alfaro produced a most able analysis of the project. He said the project for the peaceful solution |of international conflicts contains five methods, to wit: 1. good offices and mediation; 2, the investigating com- mission; 3, conciliation; 4, friendly composition; §, arbitration It is proposed that whenever two states come into conflict, likely to pro- voke violence, any friendly state may offer to mediate between them, and the offer shall not be taken as an unfriendly act, even though acts of violence shall have already occurred. The second provision—an investigat- ing commission. to inquire into the facts of any Internatignal dispute—was first introduced in proposed American law, by Senor Gondra of Paraguay, at the Chile conference in 1923. The same principle had been approved in confer- ences at The Hague in 1899 and 1907, but had never become effective, In the Pan-American conferences, this is known as the “Gondra Convention™ and it is counted as of prime impor- tance, in bringing suspension of hostili- ties while the facts are being impartially inquired into, whether the inquiry re- sults in direct settlement of the dis- pute or becomes the groundwork of later arbitration. It covers not only facts but the judiclal interpretation of international law applicable to the dis- covered facts. Pending the investig tion neither party shall mobilize forces nor do any other provocative act, but | all shall maintain the status quo. It is conceivable that even when na- { tions have treaties of arbitration in ad- { vance of the dispute, one or the other may set up & claim that such treaty does not apply to the present question of disputo, hence deny arbitration. In such case, the unblased outside investi- gation may intervepe and halt hos- tilitles while ascertaining facts, both as | to the dispute and the application of the treaty of arbitgation or of other means of settlement The permanent investigating commis- | slon as proposed by the jurists was to be made up of the three oldest diplo- matic residences in the country i which it has its seat—presumably the three oldest in service of the Ministers or Am- bassadors residing in Washington, in rep) ntation of Eentral and South American countries, In case any of them represented a nation in the con- troversy, he was disqualified, and the next oldest in service was to take his place. But Dr. Alfaro amended this repommendation by proposing that each of the contending ‘ovrrnmmm should name its representatives on the investi- gating commission, but no diplomatic agents shall be eligible. “There were several projects of inves- tigation and compulsory arbitration sub- mitted to the Havana Sixth Conference, {ast February, but they came up for con- sideration at such a late hour that, upon the recommendation of former Secretary Hughes, they were postponed until they could be more maturely considered at the coming meeting to be held next De- cember 10. To that meeting each na- Hop Wikl send two delegates; Q\ | While one may admit that he can| LIBRARY TABLE By the Kooklover THE “Read with a purpose” is the con- scious or unconscious motto of an in- creasing number of people who desire to carry on their education and who consider that they can best do so through reading the books most suited to their needs. But in the face of an ever-increasing flood of new books con- stantly being added to the countless number of those previously published, readers with limited time are often at a loss to know what books are best worth while, what will prove most help- ful and stimulating on the subjects of their interest. To meet the need for guides to most-sought subjects, the American Library Association has pre- pared a series of booklets, ~ach of which is in itself a brief and interest- ingly written introduction to its sub- ject by a trustworthy authority, who in each case recommends a half-dozen or more of the best books designed for a brief reading course. This series is en- titled “Reading With a Purpose.” *ex ¥ A recent number in the “Reading With a Purpose” series is entitied “Pivotal Figures of Science,” by Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick, long the editor of the sclence department of the Literary Digest and librarian of the St. Louis Public Library, whose purpose in writ- ing the pamphlet is to help people to “discover a few readable books on the lives of famous men of science,” who, he says, “have devoted their lives to untangling the riddle of the world.” In his brief story Dr. Bostwick tells of the Curies, husband and wife, who, work- ing in a little shed with the poorest kind of apparatus, extracted from the pitchblende of France a substance now valued at $70,000 a gram; of Benjamin Franklin, who “snatched the thunder- bolt from heaven” with a child’s kite, and of Parwin, who, though he did not attempt to connect his theory of natu- ral selection in any way with theologi- cal dogmas, has come to be regarded by some as an enemy of Christianity. He tells of Pasteur, whose pioneer work in inoculation reached a climax when his first human subject, a little Alsatian boy bitten 14 times by 3 mad dog, was saved from death by “Dear Monsieur Pasteur,” as the child called him, and of Michael Pupin, a Serblan peasant boy. who landed in America with 5 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Any reader can get the answer to any question by writing to pur Informa- tion Bureau in Washington, D. C. This offer applies strictly to information. The bureau can not give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles, nor undertake exhaustive re- search on any subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and address and inclose two cents in coin or stamps for return post- age. The reply is sent direct to the Inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- kin, director, Washington D. C. Q. 1 notice: that Senator Moses, chairman of the Republican National Convention, pronounces national with a long a as in nation. Is this correct? A. The various dictionaries give but one pronounciation for the word, and that is with short a as In cat. Q. How Insurance accidents?—M. E. R A. Last year claims for nearly $100.- 000,000 were paid for automobile ac- cidents. Where 1s Wrangell Island>—R. much money is paid out by companies on automobile A. Wrangell Island is in the Arctic Ocean, about 109 miles from the Si- berian coast. A harbor in the south- eastern part is in latitude 70 degrees 57 minutes North and longitude 178 de- grees 10 minutes West. The island is about 70 miles long and 35 miles wide. It was sighted in 1867 by the captain of a United States sailing vessel. In 1881 officers from the United States naval vessels landed on the island and claimed it for this country. The ques- tion of ownership is unsettled. Q. What is an omnibus charter?>— A 'A. This is a charter that permits a corporation to @o any and all kinds of business as well as the specific business of the corporation. There are few of such_charters still in existence and they are very valuable. Q. Was Adams the real name of the famous actress, Maude Adams?—M. cenis in his pockets, worked his way |E. A. into college and has become a professor at Columbia Universitv and a distin- guished scientist in the field of electro- mechanics. For these and a number of other scientists Dr. Bostwick has sug- gested seven books. Of collective bi- ography he recommends “Makers of Science.” by Ivor B. Hart; “Heroes of the Scientific World,” by Charles R. Gibson, and “Leading American Men of Science,” edited by David Starr Jor- dan. Four individual biographies are included in his list, “Charles Darwin,” by Gamaliel Bradford; “The Life of Pasteur,” by Rene Vallery-Radot; “Pierre Curie,” by Mme. Curie, and “Prom Immigrant to Inventor,” by Michael Pupin. * oy . Readers of this column will be glad to know that during the last two or three years more than 30 booklets have been issued by the American Library As- sociation in its “Reading With a Pur- pose” series, and that others are prom- ised "for publication. Some of them have previously been commented on in this column. Among the titles which appeal to. very diverse tastes and inter- ests are the following: Vernon Kellogg: “English Literature,” by W. N. C. Carlton; “The Physical Sciences,” by Edwin E. Slosson: “Psy- chology and Its Use,” by Everctt Dean “Our Children,” by M. V. y Lora Europe of Our Day,” by Herbert Adams Gibbons; _“American _Education,” by William F. Russell; “The Modern Es- say,”’ by Samuel McChord Crothers; “The Founders of the Republic,” by Claude G. Bowers; “Twentieth Century Amerjcan Novels,” Phelps; “Adventures in Flower Garden- 5 B Vingun : Bacon. and -Georse ish,” by z n, and “George Wuh\nzto:" b.y Albert Bushnell Hart. * EE phen Gwynn, author of several books oh Ireland, has contributed to the Kit Bag Travel Books & volume entitled “Ireland: Its Place of Beauty, Enter- tainment, Sport and Historic Associa- tion.” Mr. Gwynn is an Irishman who knows Ireland and also knows how to make it interesting to others. It is not Ireland of political factions which con- cerns him, but Ireland of velvety green hills and deep valleys: of chains of lakes and tumbling streams, full of fish: of stretches of moorland, haunted by game; of " irregular, jagged, black coast line, with many bold headlands; of ruined castles and towers; of thatched peasant cottages. For purposes of description he divides Ireland north and south. into the east toward the channel and the west toward the Atlantic. R All the romantic characters of litera- ture and history are being novelized, and E. Barrington by no means has a monopoly of the process. J. A, Steuart, after writing a blography of Stevenson, put him into a novel. “The Cap of Youth"—not a particularly interesting novel nor one which added anything to our knowledge of Stevenson. Francois Villon, whose personality as revealed in his poetry arouses curiosity about his life, has been made the subject of a novel, “For Love of a Sinner, Being a Tale of the Love and Sorrows of Fran« cois Villon,” by Robert Gordon Ander- son. In the story Villon appears as the viess vagabond, the reckless leader of & reckless crowd, the seeker for joy in a life which he never forgets is short, the pursuer of women, the poet who catches occasional moments of spiritual rapture. Sentenced to death, like Shakespeare's Bardolph and Nym, on the charge of robbing a church, he is rescued at the last moment and exiled from Paris for h year instead. But the witchery of Paris has so taken possession of his soul that he looks upon exile as almost equal to death. The picture of Villon drawn by Mr. Anderson is one of mingled gayety and pathos. R The name of Borgia always sends a shiver through one, something akin to that produced by a good mystery story, for the crimes of the Borgias have come to seem to most of us today about as real as the crimes in the Sherlock Holmes stories of Conan Doyle or the stortes of Herbert Adams, Carolyn Wells and J. S. Fletcher. S0 many modern writers have whitewashed the Borgias that we are often made to feelthat they are badly slandered persons of es- timable character. Whitewash is not a medium with which Signor Giluseppe Portigliotti deals i1 his book “The Bor- glas,” which 550 well documented as that to carry conviction. He considers that the criminality of the family must be considered historical, and points out in- cidentally that the Borgias were not native-born Italians, but were of Span- ish origin, coming from Valentia. It is rlennm to know that Lucreaia Borgia became a reformed character after her third marriage. She was esteemed high- ly at the court of Alphonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, where she then went to re- side, and was celebrated by the poet Arlosto. ko ow Northern New Jersey has furnished the background for as thorough an ad- venture story as ever came out of the West, in Albert Payson Terhune's “Water.” Gavin Cole, the big hero, falls in with an esca) convict who s %mwllu‘ around the hills and, of course, as the better of the. fight. This'is but the prelude to a bigger fight, with a ruthless water company, which plans to blot out the lovely hills and valleys in the Interest of commercial water supply. A beautiful and clever girl helps to soothe the hero in his free moments and to encourage him in his campaign to preserve beauty. expert knowledge of international law, to discuss and decide upon the methods ‘The representatives of the United States will be Secretary of State Mr. Kellogg and former Secretary Hughes, (Courriebt. 1088, by Fawl V. Coluns.) “Blology,” by | by William Lyon | "A: It was her mother’s maiden name, which she substituted for her family name, Kiskadden. Q. Why was School discontinued?—H. A. A. The Indian Office says that the Carlisle Indian School was originally an old Army post which the War De- partment turned over for a school in the East for Indians about 1880. The agreement was that when needed the Indian Office woulid give back the post to the War Department. This was done in the latter part of the war and the school was used for rehabilitation work. The date was December 21, 1918. Q. In surveys is the curvature of the surface of the earth taken into ac- count?>—H. W. H. A. The Geological Survey says thgt in surveys of small tracts of land no account is taken of the fact that the surface of the earth is spherical. The irregularities of the surface more than make up for the curvature. True north and south lines are not parallel, but get closer and closer together as they go north or south from the equator. For large areas the curvature of the earth is apparent. In the General Land Of- fice surveys the curvature shows. The blocks of a square mile are made as Comment on the platform adopted by the Republican convention at Kansas City has centered about the farm reliet and prohibition planks. Mamy editorial | writers discount the of plat- | forms, anyhow. agreeing with the view of the Nashville Banner (independent) [“that platforms are rarely seriously | taken” and that “the man is the rally- | ing paint.” | together by some specific promises and many performances by those who prom- ise,” says the Toledo Blade (independ- | ent Republican), while the Muncie Star | (independent) calls it “the program of | a party that knows the problems of the present and is prepared to deal with them in a conservative and orderly way.” lican), recognizing that farm relief and to the latter “the party is by no means unanimous,” though “the drys are in a majority,” holds that “a clear-cut dry declaration is safer than any t That paper, however, contends that “law enforcement and farm legislation, important though they are. cannot be regarded as constituting a basic differ- ence for the two national parties.” ‘The stand that “it is not a party issue whether prohibition shall be repealed or altered,” as there are “wet and dry Democrats and Republicans,” is taken also by the Grand Rapids Press (in- dependent). which believes that “the test of & party has come to be not the words of its platform, but the deeds of the administration.” *ox o ox “The platform offers the farmer everything within reason,” says the New York Sun (independent), but after enumerating the things offered, this paper remarks: “Whether this will dle West cannot yet be known." The Sun continues: “The plank on prohibi- tion is drier in appearance than in re- ality. * * * The question really was whether the eighteenth amendment should be retained or repealed. The answer of the convention is to call for observance and enforcement. * * * At any rate, the plank looks about dry as Senator Borah dared to make it. The enforcement plank is called freshingly clear, definite and coura- geous” by the Rochester Times-Union in- | dependent), which also states that the farm plank “repeats the offer previously made by the administration through Secretary Jardine” and that “the Me- Nary-Haugen bill was unsatisfactory to the country as a whole.” Affirming that “the most fundamentally significant thing” done at the convention “was the | singling out of thé eighteenth amend- ment for special mention in the plat- | form and the pledge of vigorous en- forcement of that provision of the Con- { stitution,” the St Joseph News-Press (independent) believes that “this may make prohibition the paramount issue for 1928." Commendation for the dry plank comes from others, including the Lan- sing State Journal (independent). the Butte Daily Post (Republican), Chat- tanooga News (independent Demo- cratic) and Ann Arbor Daily News (in- dependent). The Minneapolis Tribune (Republican) considers it _important that, “for the first time in & Republican platform, the amendment is mentioned by name or number." | R “Since the platform elsewhere in- dorses ‘without qualification’ the record of the Coolidge administration,” re- marks the New York World tinde- pendent), as to the prohibition plank, “the only possible conclusion to be drawn is that the mode of in the platform” ‘The Raleigh News and Observer (Democratic) Little Rock Arkansas Democrat cratie) ask “how" the party would en- force the amendment. The Hartf Courant meet the real is plled hfilhn:r‘ mg‘ 1t Tests on Weasel words. On farm legislation. the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (Independent Repub- lean) says: “The American farmer may be relied on to use his common sense and rull\ ?“R’hw&em of the situation. the Carlisle Indian | | “It is a piain platform, firmly spiked | The San Francisco Bulletin (Repub- | prohibition are paramount and that as | soothe the heaving breasts of the Mid- |7 BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. nearly square as possible, the o from curvature being all thrown inf the northwest corner of each six-mil block. i Q. What are hellgramites?—PF. P. A. They are the larval form of 't Dobson fly (Corydalis cornuta). The are found under stones in swift stream and are an excellent bait for basj Hellgramites can be kept alive for considerable time in floating bait box: or in wet grass. Q. What is the derivation of pollof?>—R. E. B. A. It is Greek, and means the m: or the herd. Q. Who signs the land grant pat- ents?>—B. H. R. - A. The appropriation ‘act of March | 7. 1928, calls for one clerk designated by the President of the United States to sign all land grant patents. At the present time Mrs. Viola B. Pugh of the General Land Office holds this position. Q. How did marmalade get fits name?—A. S. A. The word comes from the Portu- guese marmelada, meaning a quince jam. The modern conserve is not nec- essarily made from quinces, as the name suggests, being often a jam of oranges, apricots, greengage plums or grapes. Q. How do Brazil nuts grow?—D. R. A. The Brazil nuts are contained in a round, woady pericarp, or seed ves- sel, almost the size of a man's head, within which there are many of the seeds or nuts. These are packed so closely that it would be quite impos- sible to replace them, once they were removed. Q. What is the meaning of suttee?— N. M. A. Suttee is the self-burning of widows. The custom began in India when one of the wives of Brahma, the Son of God, sacrificed herself death that she might attend him in heaven. Seventeen widows have burned themselves on a funeral pyre of a rajah, and in Bengal, alone, over 700 have been known to perish in this way in a year. The English government abol- ished suttees in December, 1828, but fllaey have since occasionally taken place. Q. Does the term “unmarried” ne- cessarily mean that a person has never married?>—P. E. N. A. This word may also be used by a person who has been married, but whose husband or wife is not living at thecégu,nrbyom who has been di- vorced. . Q. Does the Bureau of Census com- pile statistics on the cost of city governments?—McD. H. A. It does for cities having popula- tion of 30,000 or over. Q. How many people belong to the American Nature Association?—E. S. M. 120AWI)‘ has a membership of about Q. How do illiterates in Germany, Denmark, Finland, England. France and the United States compare?— L. McL. A. Six per cent of the population of the United States is illiterate. Ger- many and Denmark have only 2-10 of 1 per cent illiterates; Switzerland, Netherlands and Finland have less than 1 per cent; Scotland and Great Britain less than 2 per cent; France less than 5 per cent. Platform Comment Centers on Farm and Prohibition Planks Ieomhml and whole-hearted execu- tive support.” The Pasadena Star-News «Republican) calls the convention state- { ment “a plank that should grow upon the farmers of the country as they study it and think calmly of the problems | that confront them.” That paper re fers to the platform as “essentially con- servative, but not ultraconservative.” * x % % “Hoover is much more open to argu- | ment for the farm than any of the men the East would have named, and | will do far more to equalize the jwith industry than any of them.” i the judgment of the Des Moines Trib- | une-Capital (independent Republican) |and the Topeka Daily Capital (Repub- lican) says: “It is a fair comment on I!.hz plank that it clearly lets in ex- periment and that it fulfills Tom Reed's | famous summing up of the spirit of the Republican party and its best tradi- tions that it is ‘the party that does things. It has itself made economies in some matters, and its hand has not lost its cunning.” The s tion is made by the Capital that “the cateh- Speak tht “I:: iple of e principle of farm rel ‘hxuun City Star (inde- pendent) : “The question is eco- nomic. It‘md not be political. The fetich that has the fight and . | defeated accomplishment is out of the = | way, at least so far as the Republican KITL\ is concerned. But the farmer as made his case. In all justice he should be given his relative place it | our economic system.” - % % x From the Davenport Democrat 1 Dem- ocratic), however, eomes the criticis: that the g:nk “amounts to an Msul ing reflec on the intelligence of th: agricultural interests of America.” T St. Louis Globe-Democrat (independent) : “It presented the gravest prob- lem with which the committee had to Silently Souid h s pledges of legila- lently col n tive aid for the farmers 'W’:‘:\u- ting the Government into business.’ ™ The olatform appeals to the Sche- nectady Gazette (independent Demo- cratic) as a “catch-all.” while to that paper also, “the known beliefs of the nominees on vital matters, -the known :;;nd‘plol a wg as basic nciples, are things to be con- sidered.” On prohibition the New York Times (Independent) notes that “the Repubd- lican party is not in favor of a repeal {of which there is at present no chance.” and that “the differences on methods of farm relief were irreconcilable.” ;Oklahoma City Times (independent concludes: “A farm measure, possibly a helpful and practical farm measure, might have been at the last Congress, had mot the professional friends wanted the issue held over for convention purposes, It idn't work very well™ 3 IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Todey. French generals commend our troops on the Toul sector for. their rocent fighting. They say: “The brilant a tion does the greatest hopor to the divi- sion and demonstrated uestionably the superiotity of the Ame: solgiet over the German.” * * * ‘The Austriany | flee in disorder across the Piave, trom Montello to the sea, chased by the Itallans. ‘They are estimated.to Dave resent enforcement is the k?n\ contemplated | ished and many b dodging sentences | For Bmldmt of the French repubdlic gt 1o the regiments of the Puli national army, no longer the n ty e 4 a- 1 é ’ )