Evening Star Newspaper, August 4, 1928, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. __ " WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY......August 4, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Offce: 11th St. and Pennsyvivania Ave Now York Offce: 110 Ea. o | | | 4 | nday Star 60c per month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Sunday... 1 yr. $1000 00 B All Other States and Canada. av..1 yr. 312 Daily and ciated Press. ely eutitled = | n Goes Overboard. h caused e McNary ed down accord- The Fee Pla Congress, was the who | | as 8 | of the air mail chair Com- A few hours be- turned his lization fee, Mr rence with Smith, nce the Demo- | 1 ticket and promised to ection of Smith. Prob- Smith was able to convince ' support of the aqualiza- n fee was not sential Democr in a ublican candis The governor has backed away from the equalization fee, which his cam- | manager, Raskob, has declared to be economically sound. If Mr. Raskob ba idea of handing the farmers who support the equalization fee plan | encouragement and promises which might, after not be fulfilled, Gov Smith has vetoed the plan. He must be given credit for a straightforward denial | that the equalization fee will do. But Gov. Smith has declared himself | in favor of having the surplus crop | problem handled and the expense dis- | tributed among the producers. This is Just what the equalization fee plan con- templated. It is the only plan so far| evolved to do just that thing. Gov.| Smith frankly says he has no other| plan. But he adds, optimistically, that | he will work one out. of Ilinois, after years of study, ex-t claimed recently in Kansas City, “If any one can produce another plan just as good, for God's sake, let him do it, | and I will support it Surely, Gov. | Smith sounds a bit overhopeful in his | declaration that the problem shall be | solved. | 1t did not appear o be on tha cards | Peek. to any { that Gov. Smith would come out for the | to the efficiency of American business | equaization fee, even after Raskob, his campaign manager, had practically | given his assent to the fee plan. The | New York governor is sound, politically, | whatever may be his judgment in re-/| gard to the tarm problem and prohibi- | tion. A declaration for the equann(wn{ fee would have lost him strength in the | industrial East and might have gained | him little or no strength in the West. e Democrats are full of hope, it ¢ appears, when it comes o handling the | the severity of which might well daunt | in which more of the are interested today than a the farm probicm and the liquor problem. Gov. Smith has| turned his back on the equalization fee | in the one instance and, in his telegram | % the Houston convention, on the sa- | Joon in the other. He has expressed | his confidence that if the Democratic | party is placed in power, with himself | at the head of the Government, he will | be able 10 solve the surplus crop prob- Jem and give the people glcoholic bev- erages in those States @ich are “wet,” | aithough he has no specific plans to bring about either of these ends, If there is 1o be no saloon, perhaps the governor has in mind the dispensary n use in parts of Canada and ago in South Caro- he dispensary W and was do the same tso problems Americ something than s to accomplish. They are They would like, te statement from the Repub- President regarding Both still have thelr ideas their speec - 100, ture and liquor value for his ex- All the claims can be s 1o make the worta proved hari whie appear A Minimum Speed Limit. between Chief Director of estab H at it might be a v d idea Mr. Harland can see no merit Hesse 15 quoted B saying. peed traffic while Jikewi quoted 1o the would “handicap motnrist it the 10 find support it h Evide he for & minl W see how police I be able for de of the argument correctly represented ly confused limit ¢ propossl in the open country ¢ In a com- we size of Weshinglon it would only impractical but impossible ce a minimum limit Maj Hesse sug ation only between biocks and wilh pedes- the streels at all points suddenly darting out from b shd children rushing from peiiing parked cars, & sus'sined mind- p for city drivi Of course new reg intersections, but { thing for | intrepid pilots. who fiv with clocklike | | per cent { tion of the appreciation of the public local e K mum speed of twenty miles an hour does not appear to be synonymous with safety. It s gratifying to note that Ma). Hesse desires to speed up traffic. It can be accomplished in a comparatively simple manner. All he has to do is to detail a few of his motor cycle men, first to warn and then arrest that un- mitigated pest, the slow-moving, mid- die-of-the-street driver. These motor- and they are abundant in Wash- ington—do more to congest traffic and cause accidents than even the driver who occasionally violates the maximum speed limit A minimum speed law Aty ists cor tively ons are few and far between. is one but a minimum law for the city, with all kinds of unexpected obstacles driver overcome, s de- another In sections of Distric r'e the maximum is thirty miles an hour the yroposal to establish a twenty-mile minimum would doubtiess find support, but certainly in the congested sections there could be no reason for such a astic regulation. Nothing could be ed and much might be of a heavs tol! t may be predicted that this is one Yic proposal which will never reach » Commissioners in the form of a ommendation the to 8 P & The New Air Mail Rate. has responded enthusi- ic cut in the rates On Wednesday last the new rate of five cents for the first ounce and ten cents for each additional e or fraction, instead of the regular n-cent rate for each one-half ounce, went into effect. Immediately the vol- ne of air mail carried by Uncle Sam’s | publi to the gularity night and day and (hr(\ugh[ and fair weather, increased from one hundred to three hundred It was a splendid demonstra- storms to the Government for furnishing fast | mail service at a rate which every one | can afford | There appears to be no reason to| believe that the big jump taken in vol- ume will be only temporary. It is now | possible to put an air mail letter in any | box with any stamps, provided, of | course, the letter is marked “Air mail 3 and carries the required postage. Al- though the Government prints special | atrn mail stamps, their use is not man- datory. For those who desire the maximum of speed in ‘transit for their mail matter, & special delivery stamp | can be attached, so that there will be | no delay in delivery. So for fifteen | cents one ounce of mail matter can be | rushed through the skies, dropped at its | destination, and speeded, by special delivery, to the recipient. The United States is justly proud of Yet Gov. Lowden | its far-flung air mail service. From a small beginning, with daylight fying | only, the service has grown to include night flying schedules. which fling the mail across the country in a little more | than thirty hours. Its growth has| been conservative and well planned. There have been no reckless and ill- advised experiments. The United States air mail service is a monument methods. The pilots of the air mail compose a loyal and competent corps. to get it through they fight raging bliz- zards and all the obstacles that nature places before adventurous man in his conquest of the skies. An amazing rec- ord for efficiency has been marked up by these pilots, and they have main- tained this record despite air accidents the bravest. Pilots have been com- pelled by engine failure to take to their parachutes, but their first thought on landing, perhaps with stained backs or bruised legs, was for the mail which | crashed to earth with their ships. Forced landings have been made with the imminent prospect of fire breaking out on the plane. Disregarding this menace, sometimes at the risk of their lives, the air mail pilot always drags his precious ca.go to safety. The Nation mourns that this great service has been built at the inevitable sacrifice of life of its personnel, but glories in the thought that through these sacrifices and through the effi- ciency and loyalty of those who carry on, the United States air mail service is without a peer. —————— are effective in protecting and animals: but the Che:a- crab becomes scarcer and more | each Summer, .- Hot Weather. Certainly this is not the “Summer hout heat,” prophecy of which has been attributed, falsely, it is declared some, to a French clerical meteor- ologist. Last season was by no means devold of fts normal share of calories by {in the atmosphere and this season is far from heatless. In fact, it is rather hotter than usual, if the present period 1s a criterlon. During July there wer some very hot spells, and August seems to be bent upon making a record for high temperatures. Washington is not alone in this experience, by any means. From the larger cities of the country come reports of excessively hot days, with numerous prostrations and deat attributable directly to the exception- ally heated air. Here at the Capital with its greater number of trees—not %0 many s in former years, but still encugh Lo afford protective shade—and ¢ it suffering 1 other places not as severe as in some Yet it is not altogefher agreeable and prayers for velief are fre- | quent and fervent “The usual “hot weather advice” s, of in order rybody knows what ought 1o be done and what ought not 10 be done at such a time #, espectally in the unshaded spaces, 1s 1o be avoided, Care is o be taken with the diet and especially with the Calmness of demeanor s e Placidity 15 the best defense ugainst the mounting thermometer, ourse exere potations chinged with the temperature, People not likely o alter their habits be- of the number of degrees regls- tered by the atmosphere, ‘They will persist in talking shout the weather {even though 1t Is wiser to put the sub- Ject out of mind, Conversation will Cause in the open | where the roads are compara- | narrow and where the intersec- | be lost in the | se in the acei- | | that even a “The mail | must get through!” is their slogan. And | lusge expanse of open spaces, the | Vigorous | ntial to comfort if not to satety. | Human nsture, however, cannot be | persistently touch upon the common de- nominator of experience and feeling. ‘There is one aspect of the Midsum- mer sorrows that is somewhat amusing. A competitive spirit prevails, Has the night before been a trying one? Then follows a flood of doleful tales of sleep- lessness and suffering. Only rarely does | one come forth with a somewhat boast- | ful account of slumber beneath covers, even blankets. It is surprising to find how callous certain suburbanites are to the temperatures and how addicted to bed clothing. After a certain period of the season it is possible to look forward with cheer to the cooler days that are certain to come. ‘The calendar tells that the me- dial point has been passed. Four more weeks of intense hot weather may now be expected, in the ordinary course. And every day shortens the perspective, The calendar assumes a significance that is | comparable to that of the tables of time | six months later--or earlier—when the | Winter is causing distress and In its | waning is losing its terrors. Looking at the matter from every | angle, considering all the handicaps of {extremes and all the discomforts, this ! is after all & very good world in which to live, and this particularly is a very good city in which to pitch the tent of everyday subsistence. ‘The hot weather is only a passing phase and to most peo- ple it is but a discomfort and not a menace. To others, whose lives are cast {iin less comfortable lines, who cannot |escape the heat, who lack the facilities J for relief, these heated days and nights are terrors, and it is for them that sin- ! cere sympathy is to be expressed, and | if possible to them should be extended ] the means for relief. The campaign of Gov. Smith has re- | minded New York City that there is {an immense amount of territory to the | west that will have to be considered in the affairs of the country. e There would be more comfort in life | for our ancient friend, “Miss Democ- | racy,” if she could, in preparation for a night's sleep, contrive to put the Tam- many cat out before locking the door. o A multilateral agreement may suc- ceed in showing that, after all, there re, in international affairs, more than two sides to a question. ) The organization of Congress is such “Jame duck” may have several kicks left in him. e Turkish women who have been veiled for centuries now show their faces free- ly. Yet the world is not at all dazzled. Some argument may arise as to whether Tunney is to be more esteemed as a pugilist than as a financier. s o One of the thrilling moments of the | prize ring was that in which Tex ka-’ ard took the count of the gate receipts. — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. What to Say? ‘We'll have the Movies that can speak, And so enact a play. We beg to ask, in tones so meek, ‘What will they find to say? We've had Bill Shakespeare moons. And even radio Keeps working hard with various tunes That we already know. many The lecturer comes to recite Some facts long kept on hand, Or theories new too erudite For us to understand. In theme and phrase in vain we seek Some novelty today. The Motion Picture soon will speak-— But what is left to say? One-Sided Interview. [ “A reporter wishes to talk to you,” | said the secretary. | “He may have some valuable idea: “But 1 | don’'t want to run the risk of having to complain that I was misquoted. am glad to have him talk to me, but | warn him against any publication to the effect that I have talked to him.” | answered Senator Sorghum. | A Real Scrap. | Our Champion is bold and strong— And, with the prize ring discontent, | May heed the summons of the gong To Shakespeare-Bacon argument. Jud Tunkins says it's funny how a ! bunch of men in a penny ante game | talk more about high finance than the | big boys who regard a million dollars | as merely the price of a white chip. | Moral Elasticit t is wrong to gamble. “The odds in favor of Hoover are more than three to on>."” “In a case like that, you have to walt | till atter election to make sure whether | gambling is a fault or a patriotic im- ! pulse.” | “We are ruled by superstitions,” said | Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and | yield less to our own bellefs than | those of the many whose imagination | makes heroes.” What Could Be Fairer? When friends a-rusticating go, They send us picture cards 10 show That they have found some charming spot, Where Comfort is and Care is not. | And they who in that spot reside | Fare forth; and cards they mail in pride | Back home, to illustrate with glee | Their trip to Washington, D, C. i g modgrn times is better,” said Uncle Eben. “If Gollah could have waited till now, he could have had a fine job in a sideshow, instid o' gettin' slew by David.” v—ee o A Hopeless Wish Prom the Kownvke World-News 1 only the reformer would labor among those who need 1t instend of scolding people already somer hat bet- | ter than he s s An ldea. Prom the Bouth Bend Tribune It seems, after all, that Willlam Til- den isn’t & professional. To play safe, however, he ought to let somebody else change his typewriter ribbons, v oo The Know-Ii-All, From the Columbus Ol Btate Journal There 15 & man in this nelghborhood who knows exactly how the election is #0ing_to come out by Btates, but he also believes In the weather forecasts tor the ensulng week, Shbiestianiy i STAR ‘“w&'serbfi . c THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. | 1 Truth is stranger than fiction. —Old saying. Here is a story probably no one will believe, but it is true. nevertheless. It was nothing more nor less than a modern miracle—a modern traffic mira- cle, if you will. He came along F street, at Twelfth, with a book and & newspaper under his arm, and as he crossed the busy thoroughfare the book slipped silently to_the asphalt. The pedestrian, blissfully ignorant of his loss, walked on a block farther, hug- ging his paper tightly. He stood for 10 minutes waiting for his bus. his book. When he discovered that it was gone he got out, walked back to the bus stop, and then retraced his steps. ‘Thousands of automobiles, thousands of pedestrians, had passed that way since, but he was hoping against hope that ‘he had dropped the book in a store and that the management would be able to restore it to him. As he crossed north on F street at Twelfth, he looked down, and there, squarely in the center of the automo- bile lane west, he saw. Sure enough. it was his book. Swiftly he picked it up and examined !its cover and pages. Not a corner was | dog-cared, not a page crumpled. Me could scarcely believe his eyes, as he stood on the curb, examining h book., which was lost and was now found. . Not a pedestrian had looked down and picked it up, not a balloon tire had run over it It had reposed in the middle of F street on a busy afternoon as safely as if it had been tucked away in a ma- hogany bookcase behind clear glass. * ok %k book was the Bible lent a poetical | story. It was a very good book, however, none other than Rabindranath Tagore's | “The Gardener,” that fine collection of | poems in the prose manner which in 1915 was quite the vogue. Surely Heaven protects the good and beautiful! Some day the gentleman whose book behaved in this peculiar manner pro- poses to drop another one in the same spot, then stand on the curb and watch what happens. ‘There is no doubt in his mind, he says, what will occur. First, a big truck will smash the vol- ume flatter than a pancake. Then a small boy will give it a kick lonto the car tracks, where a roaring, grinding car will pass over it. Or some one who never read a book in his life will pick it up, the moment it is dropped, and take it home for the children to play with. Yet his Tagore book remained spot- |less for fully a quarter of an hour, and was restored to fits home case abso- lutely untouched. Belleve it or not! ‘We do, because we have seen the book and held it in our hand. The owner says that he cannot blame any one for not believing a word of his narrative, the book so shamelessly gives it the lie. | " “It might have had a good dent put lin it, at least,” he sald. ““You might put one in,” we replied. “No.” he rejoined. ““Truth is stranger than fiction.” That would have He rode two blocks before he missed | We are sorry we cannot state that the | conclusiveness to our | Milton, in his “Comus,” we believe, has a couplet running something to the ef- fect that if Virtue were in sore straits Heaven would stoop to her aid. It is pleasant to believe that if the booklover's remarkable volume had been a bad book a thousand remorseless wheels would have battered it to a pulp in short order. Perhaps that is the truth, ‘There is a disposition today to ques- tion everything. especially the old truths (“hokum,” the sophisticated call them) which have done loyal service for hundreds of years, Yet nothing is surer than that where there is so much smoke there must be some fire, The moral truths are not stuff and nonsense, although a million men may violate them and “get away with it.” 1t is because this is trie, as we see it, that we have never felt the slightest resentment at being “preached at.” Many persons affect to hold up their mental hands in horror when any one writes or talks with a moralistic slant. They say that they prefer novels in which there are no pointed morals, and want their children to have stories free from such crassness. Yet we cannot help thinking that a little moralizing, now and then, is rel- ished by the most foolish of men. In the first place, preaching is a | fundamental form of human expres- | sion. To preach, in the Latin, meant to cry in public, to proclaim. Preachers of ancient days were the first orators In our Bible they were called prophets Today a preacher (in addition to the primary usage of one who discourses publicly on religious subjects) is any one who attempts to inculcate ear- | nestly |~ Earnestness is the key word. * ok Kk To be carnest about what one be- s is frowned upon by some mod- To laugh and joke at everything is held by them to be the ultra-attitude toward life. Their slogan is the couplet found on | the old tomb: “Life is a joke and all things show it, | I thought so once, and now I know it.” So it 1s easy to see that their attitude | is not so all-fired “modernistic” as they | think it is. | The attitude of earnestness has an ancient and honorable lineage. too. | He who believes in the old truths, | especially the one about Heaven taking | | care of the good and the beautiful, will | |be held firm in his faith by many | events which he knows about and | | which history will tell him about. He will be willing to admit that there {have been many incidents which point which jeave a bad taste in the mouth, and which are incontrovertible in their authenticity. | Despite these exceptions, the rule still | stands firm, ‘This rule of faith sings triumphantly from the Psaims. It shines forth again in the works of Rabindranath Tagore, one of whose books lay unstained and spotless for a quarter of an hour untouched by the traffic of a great city rolling over it. | And this was in 192 Faith without works is dead—well, | we have presented a little work in sup- | port of an ancient doctrine. May it { help some one! An epochal diplomatic move is seen by the American press in the new treaty negotiated by the United States { Government and the Nationalist au- thorities of China, by which the Uni‘ed States takes the lead in favoring full restoration autonomy for China and in recognizing the existence of a new order in Chinese affairs. “Historically, the United States has stood for a China ruling its own land and offering equal opportunities to the people of all other lands, and its pres- ent moves are in accord with its rec- ord,” says the New York Sun. The Wheeling Intelligencer recognizes “one of the most lmgorlll\l diplomatic achievements in the history of Orient or in international politics,” and the probable end of “‘foreign dictation in Chinese affairs.” “There will be general satisfaction among Americans that their govern- ment is the leader for recognition of the new order in China,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, while the Waterbury Republican observes a de- velopment “in which Americans may well take pride.” The Illinois State Journal feels that “our proverbial friendship for China has never been better expressed or described than it has been in Secretary Kellogg's ad- mirable letter.” “America is slowly reaping in China the reward of her friendly policy of non-interference” declares the Rich- mond News-Leader. “Chinese realize that, as far as any Occidentals can be disinterested Americans are. This is the proper country. therefore, to take the lead in recognizing the Nationalist govern- ment of China. If peace holds, every other power will have to do the same thing, less graclously.” The Milwaukee Journal hopes that the question of tariff autonomy and other changes from alien control “will be so well han- dled as to Increase our prestige in the Celestinl republic, and to make any but a straightforward solution Im- possible to less willing powers.” * Referring to “the discomfiture in Eu- ropean capitals because of the quick ac~ tion of the American Government,” th Dos Molnes Register suggests: “Yet all the powers, Including Japan and Great Britain, are committed to the principle of China’s right to autonomy, as soon as a Chinese government Is t up that seems competent to exerci tonomy.” i “The political institutions of China have hitherto been its main drawback If the 16-year revolution has demon- strated one thing, it has shown that these are radically changing to a mod- ba; avers the Schenectady hich is confident that, “rich in raw materials and rich in day labor, China is expected to take its place among the nations of the earth " Under the new tariff policy, the Buf- falo Evening News expects “Increase in revenues needed for reconstruction and development,” while the Rochester Times-Unfon thinks that the leadership of the United States is “likely to prove | gaining control of its own house.” ple of that country is urged by the Chi~ eago Dally News, Chattanooga Times, Lexington Leader and other papers. In fact, the significance of the Kellogg note is held by the Youngstown Vindi- cator to be in the fact that “it treats the Nationalists as the one government fn China* The Toledo Blade finds satisfaction in the view that “whatever is done, whatever assistance 1s offered, it will not be with thought of domi- nating Chinese policies.” And the San Antonlo Express exclaims, “How unlike the treatment which China so long has | been ‘enjoying’ in the matter of tarift rates, not of its own contriving, which must be imposed in its own portst” “A wurnlnu that this country cons tinues to uphold the principles of China's sovereignty and territorfal in« tegrity” 15 seen in the incident by the Springfield Unfon, Apprehension Japan, “which depends considerably on its trade with Chiha and the property of Japanese-owned industries in China, fs met by the assertion from the Hous- ton Chroniel However, China,’If she be unified and properly governed, 1s entitled Lo soverelgnty-—not to mention the | in dealing with them, | of decisive advantage to China in re- | That the new move will strengthen the Nationalists of China with the peo- | in| 'New Chinese Treaty Regarded As Epochal Diplomatic Move | the fact that she probably would re-| laim her sovereignty in any case.” | he action taken is in strict accord | with the spirit of ple given both by this Nation and by others participating | in a conference on Oriental problems in 1921 and 1922,” recalis the Indianapolis News, with the added statement that “our State Department has chosen an | opportune occasion to reaffirm our sin- cerity.” ““The United States is prepared to ad- vocate and to grant many concessions for which China has been contendin; provided China reciprocates by show- ing ftself able and willing to meet its | obligations as a power,” is the interpre~ tation of the Pasadena Star-News. The {need of caution is emphasized by the | Detroit. News. The Fort Worth Star~ Telegram is of the opinion that “the relinquishment to the Nationalist gov- ernment of tariff autonomy will help it to increase its strength.” The New York Times concludes: “The Nationalists have their opportunity of demonstrating by their acts well as their words that they are preparec and able to carry out their part of such new agreements as may be made. Nothing | would so greatly strengthen the Na- tionalists’ prestige abroad as proof that they are masters in their own house- UNITED STATES N WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. American troops take Fismes by as- sult and hold the south bank of the Vesle in this section, Gen, Pershing re- | ports late tonight. Instead of making | & stand at the Alsne, it is more than possible that the Germans are going back as far as the Chemin des Dames. It was Pismes, with all the roads between the Alsne and the Vesle converging into it, that was to have been held by the enemy at all costs * * % American guns are shelling the imemy and urudlnz their retreat on | | roads north of Fismes as they flounder | through the mud. One American unit | complains that the Germans are re- trealing too fast. * ¢ s The story of | America’s part in the great allied vic- | tory Is a glorious one. The distance traversed by the Americans since July 18 is greater than that covered by any | other army except the retreating Ger- mans. * ¢ ¢ The Germans are sys- tematically looting and burning as they withdraw, taking all food with them. Chateaux and pretty farmhouses are | gutted by fire. * * ' Ludendorff re-| | ports that “the enemy envaded us,” so ‘hr roke off operations,” but |, still claims to control the erman troops have withdrawn their lines between ' Montdidler and Moreuil, a distance of 10 miles. * * *Casualty list given out | | today contains 285 names, the largest | [so far announced. Ninety-two men killed in action, B e Needed Instruetion, | From the Sioux Falls Daily Argus-Leader. { Coolidge’s visit may enlighten some persons who believe that the Minnesota ron range is a cookstove, e i Something to Do. From the Indianapolis Star Comdr. Byrd has ordered a half tcq of Hoosier popcorn for his trip to the South Pole, which surely will help to while away the long Antarctic evening. - - Additional Knowledge. the Cleveland News, Certainly knowledge is power, We see by the want-ad columns 11t youn, men with college educations are wante to learn the chain-store business. ¥y Film Actions Speak Loudest. From the Beloit Daily News, ‘The trouble with many movie stars in the “(alkles" seems to be that they have accustomed themselves to making actions speak louder to the other side of the theory. some of | - SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, o8 THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover Katherine Mansfield, whose reputa- tlon as a short story writer had just been achieved at the time of her death in 1923, was born in Wellington, New Zealand, October 14, 1888, the third daughter of a family which had lived in either Australia or New Zealand for three generations. She was married in 1913 to John Middleton Murry, formerly editor of the Athenaeum, now editor of the Adelphi. Mr. Murry has re- cently edited and had published the “Journal of Katherine Mansfield,” which extends from February, 1914, with frequent long breaks, until within a short time of her death. Mr. Murry's introduction tells many interesting facts Many readers send In questions signed only with initials, asking that the an- swers appear in the newspaper. The space is limited and would not accom- modate a fraction of such requests. ‘The answers published are ones that may interest many readers, rather than the one who asks the question only. All questions should be accompanied with the writer's name and address and 2 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send | your juestion to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. director, Washington, D. C. Q. How much fan mail is received at Hollywood?—T. §. P. about the life of one who was always something of a sensitive recluse. Most of her childhood was spent in the small town of Karori, near Wellington, where she went to the village school and “shared what education there was with the milk boy and the washerwoman’s daughters.” * At the age of 9 sh won the first prize for English com- position at the viliage s with an essay on “A Sea Voyage,” and at about the same time had her first story ac- cepted by a magazine, ‘he Lone Hand." England to attend Queen’s College and remained there until she was 18. Here and became very skillful as a musician, { with the violoncello. She has grown so | fond of London, with its opportunities for the artistic life, that she was very antagonistic toward the return to New Zealand, which was necessary. The next two years were spent there and, cause of her dislike for what she con- sidered the narrow, provincial life, they were very influential in her ment. Many of her best stories, such as ‘“The Garden Party” and “Preiude,” are based on experiences in New Zealand Finally she secured a small allowance turn to London. Earning money by writing proved difficult and at mes she forced to take minor parts in tray- g opera companies. At last the edi- tor of the New Age recognized her ability and accepted much of her work fx‘x‘rtnglm\‘r\awuh 1909-1911. In 1911 she e r. Murry at the house of 3 George, the novelist. s, 16 and Michael Sadleir were editing a smail _magazine, Rhythm, and Kathe- rine Mansfleld became a regular con- tributor to it. Rhythm became the Blue Review and then died in 1913. Mansfield, now his wife, and D. H. Lawrence edited a little periodical called the Signature, for which they wrote all the articles. When Mr. Murry be- came editor of the Athenaeum in 1919, Katherine Mansfield had a me- ‘(!(um for her work. Before this her Prelude,” based on reminiscences of her own childhood, had been published. At about the same time she had an at- tack of pleurisy, probably the effect of the damp London climate on one never robust. To recuperate, she went to a { favorite place in the south of France, | Bandol, but she found the place war- { devastated and, ill and discouraged, im- | mediately started back to England. She reached Paris just at the time of the long-range bombardment and .“ere be- came seriously ill. Tuberculosis devel- oped and from this time her life was & losing struggle against disease. Her courage was unconquerable and she continued to write, with ever-increasing sureness. Publishers began to collect her stories; in, 1920 “Bliss" was publish- ed. and in 1921 “The Garden Party, and Other Stories.” In October, 1922, she abandoned writing, she had hoped for a tme oniy, and went to Fontainebleau for her health. - There she died of a lsudden hemorrhage January 9, 1923, * ook ok “The Journal of Katherine Mans- fleld” is a sad record of the thoughts of a sensitive mind overwhelmed by ad- verse external circumstances, yet keep- Ing its will to create. When depression was greatest her mind frequently di- verted to scenes of her childhood in New Zealand—a ' childhood which, in retrospect, seemed very happy. “The only adorable thing I can imagine is for my grandmother to put me to bed milk, and, standing with her h: folded, the left th o 3 umb over the right say in her adorable voice, “There, ‘gar: ling, isn't that nice?’ Oh, what a gahlcle of happiness that would be!” Mother’s .birthday. I wrote at 2 o'clock and got up and sat on the box of the window, thinking of her. I would love to see her again and the little frown between her brows and to hear lni;; vnlceo.‘_ B}nl) I don't think I will. memory of her is so complete th: I don’t think it will be dlslurb‘;d 4 Sk?: loved & commonplace, normal life, and often longed for the privilege of enjoy= ing one. “I am in the sitting room downstairs. ‘The wind howls outside, but here it is so warm and pleasant. It looks like a real room where real people live. My sewing basket is on th.t’ table. Under the bookcase are poked J’s old house shoes. The black chair, half in shadow, looks as if a happy per- son had sprawled there. We had roast mutton and onion sauce and baked rice for dinner. It sounds right. I have run the ribbons through my under- clothes with a hairpin in the good home Wway." Part of one of the last entries is. “I want a garden, a small house. grass, animals, books, pictures, music. anm[mlknd mt’tlrll‘rrhol}'~ and —marks most of the Journal. “I se to spend half of my life 1|rr|\'m|z(‘:|'l1 stragge hotels, and asking if I may g0 to Bed immediately. And would you mind filling my hot-water hottle> * '« Thank you, that is delicious! No, shan't require anything more. The strange door shuts upon the stranger and then I slip down in the sheets, waiting for the shadows to come out of the corners and spin their slow. slow heh over the ugliest wallpaper of all." ‘Tidied all my papers. Tore up and ruthirssly destroved much. This is al- :‘:e‘p«: grlll ,\al’lsfl(‘llml Whenever 1T Prepare for a journey I prepare as :hnuul\"f(';l' fmu:i Should xp n?\»r r:: urn. all is in order. v DAk AGRRE b, This is what life ning star shone through the side win v and the mountains wfn- so lovely, 1"’13.“: there thinking of death. Of all there was to do-—of life, which is so lovely— and of the fact that my body is a prison.” But nearly always there is a courageous note at the end, as “I do not want to die without leaving a rec- ord of my belief that suffering can be overcome. * * ¢ Ope must submit. Do not resist. Take 1. Be over~ whelmed. Accept it fully Make it part of life.” And the last entry in the Journal 15 the one of serene accept- ance, if not of hope: “We all fear when we are In the waiting rooms, vet we must pass beyohd them, and if the other can keep calm, it il the help we can give each other. * * * And thi All sounds very strenuous and very ser ;\'u.\" But luow that I have wrestled with . 1t's no longer so. 1 feel happy 3 down, All is well adeie ok A story of the ready wit which en- deared Willlam Jennings Bryan to his audiences is told by C. Long in his new blography of “The G Com- moner.” “He' was not," writes Mr, Long, “without & sense of comedy, and once went so far as to ally himself with the G. O. P. The incident oes curred at Beatrice, Nebr. Mr. Bryan was speaking at the chautauqua in this Httle town. The tent provided could not begin to hold -the thousands who had come to hear him. The committee In charge transferred the meeting place to & hillside. They improvised a stage by taking A large four-horse fertilizer machine and covering it with planks, As Mr. Bryan stepped on this rural stage he turned to the audience, glanced downward at the manure spreader on which he stood and sald, “This is tb first time I have spoken from a Repub- lican platform, v—.- Good Do Not Die Young. From the San Francisco Chronicle. The good don't die young. It just seems that way because they get over v while young. When she was 13, she went to | she was editor of the college magazine | though they were not happy years be- | velop- | from her parents and permission to re- | At that time, he | For a brief period Mr. Murry, Katherine 1 S and bring me a bowl of hot bread and | wonder | ‘Tonight, when the eve- | A. It is estimated that 400.000 fan letters pass through the Hollywod post | office monthly. " Q. Do the stars emit much light?— E. N. | "A. The total of starlight is a very | small amount. Up to the twentieth { magnitude the total | equivalent to 687 first magnitude stars, | equal to about the hundredth part of full moonlight. Haskin, | light emitted is | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. mate, the richness of the sofl, and their great wealth, the inhabitants soon were noted far their luxury and voluptuous~ ness. The city was destroyed by the Crotonians in 510 B. C. Why are candies so much used Q. in ritu: . 8. A. Candles are used so extensively }wra]ldlsc they symbolize the light of the world. When were the wonders of Yel- Iowstone National Park first known to the world?—M. K. A. The Yellowstone region was orig- | inally occupied by peaceful Sheepeater Indians. There are evidences that white trappers had entered the region as early as 1808, but the rumors of its wonders, which from time to time reached the civilized world, were given | little credence until Henry D. Wash- burn, surveyor general of Montana, published the first real account of it in 1870. 1In 1871 the region was explored land mapped by the United States | Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, and in 1872 Congress Q. Are there any round churches?— D. E. D. g A. There are five remaining in Eng- land, the largest being | Chureh, in London Q. What is the origin of the term “sybarite”?—L. T. A. Sibaris was an ancient Greek colony and city of lower Italy, in Lu- cania. ‘Tradition ascribes its building to a colony of Achaeans and Troezen- | jans about 720 B. C. It rose to a high | degree of prosperity, but, becoming | enervated by the mildness of the cli- BACK | | | The world is talking of outlawing war as a national policy and even listening considerately to the pacifistic proposal | to disarm, both as to naval and land | |defense. If all the world were like i Switzerland nothing would be more nat- | ural than to abolish both the Navy and the Army. The Swiss “navy” is a standard joke, for she has no contact with the Sevel but how about the Swiss army i es of peace it consists of 230 offi- | cers—no soldiers of the line. No other paid officers. Within 24 hours after the | command for mobilization it consists of 240,000, all armed and trained officers and men, organized and marching in another 24 hours there comes an- other line, another army of 250,000. Within three days of the menace “un- a million trained and organized men— all sharpshooters, too—stationed and intrenched behind every gateway of her frontiers. F ik days' training for the soldier is 80, for {a corporal 169 and for a lieutenant 318; increased length and intensity of train- {ing for higher ranks. Every citizen owes military duty from the age of 20 up to 48 and must present himself during his | twentieth year for physical and mental examination. During periods of train- !ing they are paid enough to cover ex- | penses. but neither men nor officers re- ceive wages. This expenditure amounts to a total of about $7.000,000 & r— |an average received by each, including officers, of about $35 a year. sol- | dier takes his arms and uniform home and is held accountable for them. | All of this $7.000,000 annual cost is in connection with the training of the first line of defense. The second line, being | previously trained, requires no expense. All of these soldiers are civillans, en- gaged in “gainful occupations” outside of training days. just as are our boys | of the training camps. The officers are edacated and successful business men, graded according to ability. ‘Throughout the year the national rec- reation and sport and patriotic passion in Switzerland is in_target shooting. | The crack of the rifle is continuous. Every man holds ssfon of a govern- | posse {ment rifie and is fined if it is ever left out of order for instant use. Shooting | galleries and long-range galleries are | everywhere and always occupied—crowd- ed on Sundays and holidays. | though using a modern weapon in place tof Tell's bow. | * ok ok K The American Army costs in propor- tion, or per man, 28 times as much as |the Swiss and is no more thoroughly trained. Quoting from Senate document | 360. page 75: | “Switzerland can mobilize an army corps in three days, ready in every par- ticular of organization, equipment, mu- nitions and transport to march against the enemy: they can mobilize four such corps at one and the same time. Just | how many days it would require to con- centrate in one place 30.000 of our Regulars, with all their baggage and transport, or how long to assemble four such commands of Regulars and militia, {it_is difficult to say, but prohably it would be nearer three weeks than three The above was written by an n officer, military attache. * ok % % Last Wednesday Switzerland cele- | brated her anniversary of independence |and liberty! Is it any wonder that she was not invaded during the World War, i like Belgilum? For more than six cen- | turies Switzerland has been free and |safe from foreign invasion, independent jand wonderful. Yet it comprises 19 | cantons (states) and 6 half cantons, | peopled by races which cannot under- (stand each other, of different religions and different ideals outside of the one { motivating ideal-—patriotism. Switzer- {land is the enigma of civilization, yet |1t is the concrete demonstration of what jall civilization might be if all lI\eJ:eo- |ple were patriots and_self-dependent, | prepared, lberty lovers like the Swiss. i It is the style now to scoff at tales of Willlam Tell. He never existed, he never shot the arrow off his child's | head, he never hid a spare arrow with | Which to slay the tyrant who had bade | him shoot at the apple. “He was a myth.” There are 3,700,000 such “myths"'| in Switzerland, for the loved story of | liberty which 1s thus denied by lteral iconoclasts springs reincarnate in the character of every Swiss patriot, male It is en- immaterial, therefore, whether istorical Tell ever lived or not: hl.ulr‘)\m'm‘lrr is multiplied, and is very | real | da | America | * %ok X All but six eantons have a German- | | Sbeaking majority; of these six, five i.ipfl\k French and one Itallan. By per- | centages, 69 per cent speak German, 22 | French and 7 Italian and 2 per cent other vernacular. There is no “Swiss” language. Other nations make great ado about compelling conquered peoples to adopt and use the language of their | conquerors, n order to subdue in gen- | erations to follow_the love of their na- tive alleglance. But Switzerland rises above such natural ties. Language I.\] | nought; patriotism is everything. A German-speaking Swiss—-a French or, Ttalian Swiss—all are Swiss patriots. Said an Amevican Army officer lec- turing to a field officers’ class before we entered the World War “The Swiss are very loyal to their country and its democratic institutions. Very few emigrate to other countries. Those who do generally come to the United States, 90 K{ cent of the total annual emigration being credited to this country.” * ok % ow The history of the Swiss, who cele- brate August 1 as their Independence day, Is romantie and at fimes thrilling. In the earliest times the country was inhabited by Keltic tribes — Rhaetians and Helvettans. In 58 B.O. Caesar be- gan & conquest of them, and thelr pros perity increased through Roman traffie, though their independence ceased. Early in the ninth century Switserland be- came a part of the Clerman empire. In 1373 Rudolph of Habsburg was on the A 1 the Temple | against whatever enemy appears. With- | | armed” Switzerland has an army of half | Military duty is compulsory. The total | Every | Swiss is a William Tell sharpshooter, | | vas the Habsburg dynast: | made it a national park. | psthor | Q. Why does the wind blow so fu- | riously around some of New York's tall buildings in the Winter time?—C. G. A. The Weather Bureau says that {this is because (1) the seneral wind | over the city and round about is strong | during the Winter, and (2) because the | buildings obstruct the free flow and | shunt it around their sides and between | themselves and other buildings where it moves faster for much the same reason | that a stream of water filling a plpe is | fastest where the pipe is constricted or | smallest. GROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. itl- Austrian throne (of the German em- pire) and held great feudal holdings in Switzerland. He continued to buy other Swiss feudal rights, which brought féar that his intent was to surround the three chief cantons with his feudal | rights and cut them off from the Lake Luzerne. King Rudolph died and his son Albert succeeded—Albert the Cruel. Thoroughly alarmed at this succession. the three threatened cantons bound themselves together into a ‘“perpetual league” of mutual defense. That was August 1, 1291. They did not then de- mand independence, but the preserva- tion of ancient liberties threatened. “Cautious and informal as were the terms of the league, often as its over- throw was menaced both from within and without, it nevertheless remains the starting point of all subsequent political development in Switzerland. The his- tory of the country since 1291 may divided into the following periods: 1. The old confederation (1291-1798). II. The Helvetic republic (1798-1803). III. The act of mediation (1803~ 1815). IV. The pact of 1815 (1815-1848; V. The period of the federal tution (from 1848 to the present). * % k¥ The fears of the Confederates regard- ing the tyranny of Albert of Habsburg culminated in 1292, when the Swiss joined with a rival, Adolph of Nassau, | seeking the throne, but they were de- feated, &ut Ha‘v&rgu:weqmnem n.m(‘ against the league and eventually brought alliances other cantons. The le of the centuries was against Habsburg tyranny. Quoting from a United States Govern- ment handbook. “Government and Poli- tics of Switzerlan by Robert C. Broeks: “An attempt by the Emperor Maxi- milian in 1499 to reassert German au- | thority over Switzerland resulted in a | short but bloody war, in which the Con- | federates were again victorious. The influence of Germany, which had been SV 5 B now y. ug| % land from the em- 5;' lly recognized until the peace of halia in 1648." * k% ox Space forbids much reference to the Napoleonic conquest of Switzerland (1803-1815), but the July revolution (1830) in Prance was reflected in revolt in Switzerland demanding a new con- stitution and total independence. A decade later came an expulsion of the | Jesuits and a civil war between Catho- |lics and Protestants which_threatened to involve intervention by Prussia, re- | strained by Great Britain. The present constitution, based largely upon the American Constitution, with liberal | mocifications, in initiative and refer- endum rights retained by the people, wsn'_s adopted in 1848 and revised in 1874. “Controversies over the Jesuits, it will be remembered, were largely responsible for the Sonderbund War. Upon its con- clusion the triumphant secular party wrote into the constitution of 1848 a provision that ‘the order of Jesuits, and the societies affiliated with them, shall “‘“d'?',. received in any part of Switzer- This anti-Jesuit provision was | strengthened in 1874 by “This prohi- bition may be extended by means of a federal decree to other religious orders whose actlvities are dangerous to the state or disturb the peace beteween re- | ligious denominations.” * ok % % The reference to the Emperor Maxi- milian of 1499 recalls the critical com= | ments of readers of last week in reier- | ence to the later “Emperor Maximilian,” usurper of the Mexican throne, and the denial of some of my critics that the United States had been active in over turning that ¥rench and Austrian con- spiracy against our Monroe Doctrine. Even though in answer to challenge I cited Gen. Grant's own memoirs con- firming military action by the Union Army under his orders, it may be apropos to cite also a book just trans- lated from the German, “Maximilian and Charlotte of Mexico,” by Egon Caesar Count Corti, translated by Cath- arine Allison Phillips, volume II, page 630: “On June 29 he (Maximilian) again expressed in a letter his satisfaction that the Emperor's (Napoleon III of France) personal feeling towards him had not changed. His overestimate of Napoleon and his strength was shown by his expressing the hope that in order to solve the problems outstanding in Europe a European congress would meet, with Napoleon as its president, and draw ur & declaration against the United States and the Monroe Doctrine at the Emperor's (Napoleon's) instance.” Page 579: “At the end of December (1865) Seward unambiguously demand- ed the withdrawal of the French troops, without giving any sort of reciprocal pledges. But to avoid swallowing such a humiliation, the French government behaved as if the United States had pledged itself. if not to recognize Maxi- milian, at any rate to a sort of neu- frality. Aa a matter of fact, nothing of the sort had been promised. Naj could have no (un‘m‘ doubts. It was perfectly obvious to him what a catas- trophe might ensue for his troops in the evont of a collision between them and the victorious Army of the United States, which was clearly unavoldable it they remained in Mexico." In Dbrief, Secretary Seward notified both France and Austria divectly and “unambiguously” that unless they got out of Mexico immediately they must face war with the United States. It which op posed liberty, both in sm{nrlum and America. 3 he United States was i 4 g to place the overnmen wer :rln i Mexico. a'my no nuomrgud the conclusion of the new -t;« instructions Mr. Motley, the Ameris can Minister to Vienna, to ask for his Passports as soon as the Austrian troop- ship ‘eft for Mexico. He also declared to Romero in the presence of several Komm that in future intervention y & Buropean power in internal af: fairs of Mexico would be regarded by the United States as a casus belll."™ (Cobyright, 1933, by Paul V. Colling).