Evening Star Newspaper, September 9, 1928, Page 26

YTHE = EVENING STAR L3 With Sunday Mm“fir_': ‘WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY......September 9, 1928 ‘THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company 1 st N Senxvivania, Ave. New ‘York Office: 110 East 4ind t. y, Tower Building. Thicago Offi European Office Regent St.. London. England. te by Carrier Within the City. m veninz Star . 43¢ per.nonth Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) The Evening and St (vhen 5 Sundayt €5¢ per month The Sunday Star . .......5C per copy Collection made at the.end of each mcnth. Orders may Riain 5000. Rate by Moil—Payable in Advance. vland and Virginia. unday Star sent in by mall or telephone All Other States Daily only .. Bundas only Member of the Associated Press ssociated Press is exclusively entitled 0 the use for republication of all . ews dis- ghes credited io It r not otherwise ored: o ic this paper and also the Incal .ews oublishad hereln All rights of puniiiation of #pecial oispatches horein are also reserved == _ and Canada. . $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 $8.00: 1 mo.. 7i5¢ y 1yr. $5.00 1 mo. &0 Training for Flight. Announcement of & plan to establish ‘near Washington in Maryland a flying school and airport attesis to the re- arkably rapid development of aviation in this country. This virtually local enterprise is on a large scale, with an <extensive acreage which will be sdequate for all the activities of an instruction field and a commercial -airport as well. The principal promoter of the project, himself an accomplished pilot and widely known as a radio| expert, states that it is expected to ob- tain from the Department of Commerce 2 class A rating for the airport, the highest granted by the Government under the provisions of the air com- merce act. - A corps of competent in- structors is being organized and & com- plete course of training will be ‘established. There is, it is siated, @ great demand today for capable pilots for transport and passenger &ervice. Various schools ‘have been established in different parts of the country and it is proper that 80c per month | he-traveled much in third class rall- way coaches where he could observe childven away €rom the stemn eyes of the teachers. All the time he never saw a fight. He saw little boys and girls «livide their candy without & single sign of bad temper, because such had been their training as group members. He very seldom encountered.a child playing alone. ' He never saw one in a “tan- trum.” The eight-year-olds talked and behaved like adults—although the application of mental tests showed them no further advanced than .American children of the same age. Such a condition would be very pleas- |ing to a drill sergeant or a Victorian Sunday school teacher. But to nearly every one else it presents an extremely depressing picture. It means a future of narrow, fanatical, drab mediocrity— a long step backwards from the goal of, world-wide brotherhood of man. It | constitutes our most potent reason for being thankful that in these troubled times we live under the Stars and Stripes which symbolizes, if anything, free development of the individual. The good little boy whose whole «education has been to act blindly and automatically as a member of a group. and nover to raise himself above the level of the group is in many respects a pathetic figure. He becomes the godd, visionless man who kills other men and dies blindly himself for a cause he does not understand but which he knows is holy because his group leaders have told him so. There is a brighter side to the picture. Bad manifestations of individuality are Killed with the gocd. There is no op- portunity to develop within the group snobbery based on clothes or parental wealth. There is no opportunity to cultivate special favor with the teacher. Some of the means used to bring this about, Dr. Sherman believes, may be studied with advantage by American educators. ‘The group education policy very likely will produce & race of sober, industrious, patient, patriotic, moral adults. But at what a price? Is the stability of any state, communistic or aristocratic, worth ‘the price? ‘These countries of eastern Europe just now are places of direct poverty. But even if their streets ware of gold and every peasant had an eight-cylinder there should be one of this character 4n the neighborhood of Washington. “This city indeed should be & center of aviation activity. There are now twp Government flying fields in the District and a project for & municipal airport 4s-in- development. ‘The addition of a commercial air school with facllities for handling air tzaffic on @ large soale -will complete the equipment of the Cap- ‘ital in respect to this new and repidly eveloping imeans of transportation. Upon the quality of the personnel in -aviation depends dts success. There are many makes of planes at present, prac- tically all of thém ased on scientific | put off from Tromsoe, Norway, in & ‘Washington. 'After lagging in commercial aviation while European cousiries were advanc- ing ateadily, the United States ds now under hesdway in the promotion of this means of transpart for practical purposes, for passenger service and for the carrying of goods. In another decade the tzamsportation situation in the United Mates will be transformed. . There will be thousangds of accomplished pliots where now here ave hundreds. | “The standards of personnel as well as " of plang will be definitely fixed. It| zequires no prophetic vision to see ships of the air a-wing at all hours in the | conduct of business. practically invincible. Good Little Boys. Eastern Europe is a land of good little koys. The chiidren of Russia, Austria and Poland are obedient, industrious, | unselfish and orderly. { This direful report is hrought back to Washington by a trained, scientific observer of childhood, Dr. Mandel Sher- man, director of the National Child Research Center here. Dr. Sherman s a specialist in human behavior prob- lems. His aecount of what he saw this Summer is no stream of shocked or delighted platitudes, but the sober nar-| rative of a disappointed man. Here in America we might be able to condane or forgive broken faiths, bloody * ‘atrocities and meddlesome interference ‘with our own affairs. We can endure soornful indictments of our capitalism end our democracy. But this report of Dr, Sherman’s is something else again. I is, perhaps, the most uoanswerable indictment of Communism, Fascism and all the intermediate isms employed as synonyms for militant nationalism avhich hes yet come out of Europe. It is very difficult indeed to be tolerant] of any system which is producing “good little boys.” Compared to this crime, the murder of & few corpulent grand dukes or the rending of & few sacred “scraps of paper” are minor offenses. #or hexe we have the murder of millions of individyalities—and in the eyes of Americans individualities are sacred above anything else in the workd. Not that good little boys and good Uttle girls are in themselves necessarily evil things—although it is well to be suspicious of them. But the objection- sble feature consists of the means used tp make them good. ‘This is sccomplished, in large part, by the education of children as groups wather than s individuals. The child 19 the eastern European countries—the particular brend of politicai economy represented by the government is of no great consequence—is not taught to be himeelf but & member of 8 group. The group, in turn, is not taught to be ieelf but & component part of the state. The brilliant—and hence the highly individualistic—child actually is Jooked upon with more or less disfavor He or she 15 not & congruous companent of the group, and an incongruity is something to be reduced rather than elevated. Dr. Sherman found this condition in limousine they still would be undesira- ble places to live in so long as they remained the habitats of impeccable «children. Young clams, young oysters ‘and young ants, for all ever heard to the contgary, are models of good conduct. But we Americans prefer to vear our children as mischievous puppies rather ‘than sedate clamlets. ‘The puppy, after all, seems to mean more in the scheme of nature. ———— Roald Amundsen. Nearly two and & half months ago Roald Amundsen and five .companions seaplane, in an effort to locate the | members of the Nobile North Polar flight party who had been carried away by the halloon part of the airship Italia after it had descended on its re- turn flight. Nothing has since .been ‘heard from these six men, although Nobile and several of his ¢omirades have since been rescued and returned to their ‘homes. Repeated searches have been made through the icy waters of the THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTON, D. (., SEPTEMBER 9, 1928—PART EVERYDAY RELIGION BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, hands, and, at the same time, involved ideas too complicated to -be espressegl by gestures. Necessity oreated spoken words—which, in their turn, by mak- ing communication easier led to a broadening of interests responsible for more words. Thus language was born—which re- mains to this day man's greatest in- vention, his most magnificent triumph over nature. It has been a vital factor in all his other triumphs. It sometimes has been possible to demonstrate very clearly the evolutionary origin of lan- guage in gestures. In mental pathology there are cases of persons unable to speak when their hands were tied. Notable results have been obtained in improving the speech of the allegedly feeble-minded by improving their facil- ity of movement. What a difficult hurdle the conquest of speech formed in the upward path- way of evolving man may be appreciated from some of the experiments of Dr. Yerkes of Clark University with chim- | panzees. These advanced anthropoids, | he has found, can imitate man very | creditably up to the point where use | of words becomes mecessary. There they stop. ‘Their advance over other mammals in this xespect has been very' slight. “They have encountered a hurdle | which ‘they cannot cross—and without crossing it they can advance no further in the direction of man. But the creation of language is pro- gressive. It moves slowly through the | long centuries. No human tongue is as yet an entirely adequate medium. | There are thoughts which flit across the consciousness of all of us which no man ever has found words to ex- | press, simply because such words and combinations of words have not been created. Sometimes they can be ex- pressed vaguely in music, or too precise- ly in mathematics. Considering the lowly origin and the magnificent possibilities of language one may apply to it Browning's charac- terization of music in Abt Volger: | “And I know not if, save in this, such | gift be vouchsafed to man, Out of two sounds to form, not & third sound but a star.” e ————— | In the opinion of Gen. Smedley But- ler, Philadelphia wants vice. The ex- travagant prices charged in big towns for delirious nocturnal entertainment and surreptitious alcohdl are, in large measure, collected from visitors and not from the local population. As usual, the law-abiding element does not get into the electric glare. = e = 4 clal.: s mnade by Haury Sinclair, in the course of tax accounting, that in one year he lost half a million through bad debts. There are confiding multi- millionaires whose canfiding natures cannot be shaken even by the harshest experiences. e—a—— Some efficiency expert may yet be found who will preserve the hours of occupation lost to the world daily by | the man who is compelled to leave hlsl desk and shift his automobile to a new Jparking place. e As mercantile enterprises combine with enormous capitalization, another adage goes into the waste basket. There is no longer the old reference to competition as the life of irade. Py When ancient political contenders marshaled their forces, the men made Arctic north and east of Spitzbergen. Several rescue parties ‘have gone forth and returned without the discovery of & trace of the Amundsen group. Re- cently & Norwegian fishing boat put | into Tromspe with a float or pontoon which was recognized as having be- longed to the Amundsen plane, a large ship thai had been prepared by the French government for & transatlantic flight. This discovery is accepted as evidence that Amundsen and his five companions have all perished. “They probably crashed to the surface of the sea, or, landing safely on it, were then | destroyed by ice or high wind. “This plane carried a radio equipment, and for several hours after departure signals were received from it, indicating | that all was going well. Suddenly they stopped. It is not known whether the fuel was exhausted, or some part of the plane gave way, or an adverse wind developed, or, In making & landing, the plane was wrecked. The offer of Amundsen 10 go to the rescue of the Nobile party was an in- stinctive action, although there had been ill-feeling between the two men | following the return from the polar flight of the Norge in 1926. Much bit- terness developed when Nobile in lec- tures assumed & higher degree of credit far that successful voyage than Amund- sen believed was his portion. But in| the stress of his former comrade’s situ- ation Amundsen did not hesitate to hasten to his succor. He offered his own life for the sake of the men of | the Italia, and with him went another Norwegian and four Frenchmen, all eager for the chance to aid in rescue. Amundsen has been already mourned 85 dead, in view of the extzeme im- probability of his having survived the ice-filled seas north of Spitzbergen. The discovery of the pontoon of his plane| mekes practically certain that he and | his companions have perished, for there is no conceivable possibility that they could find succor from the sea in that frozen waste of waters. Thus gallantly | has passcC one who repeatedly risked his life for scientific advancement, the only man who, thus far, has visited both the North ang the South Poles, a dar- ing explorer, a scientist, a true Viking of adventure and accomplishment. A sad Joss indeed! sl TS Qccasionally a metropolis decides on being wncompromjsingly “wet” without waiting for an election. et = The Speech of Man. Sir Richard Paget, who was a dis- tingui-hed visitor at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences here last May, explained with mechanical dem- onstrations the origin and evolution of buman speech before the British Asso- clation for the Advancement of Science, in Glasgow, Thursday. With a reed and a cork he was able to produce sounds with & curious simi- larity to simple spoken words, illus- trating thus the lowly foundations of those sublime structures of language which man has reared through the ages. known their allegiances by carrying ban- ners. Now they decorate automobiles with campaign tags. - —e—— As civilization progresses, woman not only has the right to vote, but is in a falr way to exercisé most of the politi- «cal influence. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Laughter Land. In Laughter Land, where hearts are gay, Each for a little while may stay, And dream that memories so dear Must fill our lives with future cheer. The smile gives place unto 4 tear. Some cherished voice we long to hear, And fond regrets like shadows stray From Laughter Land, so far away. Formidable Publicity. “You seemed nervous during your conversation with that eminent states- woman.” “J was nervous,” answered Senator Sorghum. “She reminds me of a micro- phone. She has no facial expression whatever; but, Ye Gods! how she can broadcast!” Ballyhoo's Who. At all the ads I take & look With buoyant hopefulness alert— I pever yet have read a book As good as publishers assert. Jud ‘Tunkins says some folks expect 0 much from e candidate that you might think they was votin’ for the next man to play Santa Claus. Prudence. “Did you ever speculate in Wall Street?” “No,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax. “I| disapprove of gambling. I never risk a dollar without knowing what is go- ing to happen and without being in a position to facilitate the procedure.” “He who prays for rain,” said Hi Ho, | the sage of Chinatown, “should not neglect his field and go to sleep on his knees.” Up to the Manager. The “artist” argued with much force With very wise advisement: “Why should I pay for this divorce? 1t is an advertisement.” “Dogs is mind readers,” said Uncle Eben. “If dey takes a natural dislike to you, you may be lucky because dey can't talk an’ describe deir suspicions.” o Stopping Cars Needful. Prom the Indianapolis Star. It is just as important to have a car fiu ul{ stop when you want to as to ve one that will start when you wish. b Peace Held “Idea to Fight Over.” Prom the Omaha World-Herald. An international peace holiday is proj . “Another new idea to fight ovea?'seuhurvea the office cynic. The birth of speech was both a re- sult and a contributing factor in the ! From the San Francisco Chronicle. There really is @ mechanical man terests which required the use of !he! Bishop of “The branch cennot bear fruit of itself’—John xv:d. The Source of Supply. Some one has wisely said that “no one becomes great by his own individuality, he reaches greatness by the life of an- other." clency of genius, it does imply the ab- solute need of co-operation and fellow- ship in life's accomplishments. “No man liveth to himself.” Very frequent- ly we think of a man as being the sole architect of his own fortune, but upon more careful observation we discover that this is not true; that he is, in reality, one of the factors, and a very large one, In the making of what he is. ‘When Mr. Carnegie operlid - the Pittsburgh Institute he magde the fol- lowing statement: “My banker tells me that I have so many bonds; I have never even seen them. Did I earn them? Well, I started the machinery g and they came to me. When the institute project was first mentioned I wrote my name to a little piece aof paper. That completed my task. I do Mot know even how many bonds they took, because I do not know how many I have. Still I get the credit. It does not belong to me. That sizes up my position exactly.” Here was the frank statement of a so-called “captain of industry,” of the part he had played in the making of his vast fortune. He was one of the factors, and we credit him with being one of the large ones, but apart from his relationship to others he believed his life wo) have been marked with failure. In the figure that desus here uses of the Vire and the | ‘branches He is insisting upon one of the fundamental principles of life and its development. He is simply main- taining that, the branch, as such, is utterly insufficient and that its whole development is conditioned b; tion to the Vine. He is further main- taining that the branches are to draw their sustenance from contact with His own givine life. To “abide in Him" is a condition necessary to spiritual power and enrichment. The principle He here enunciates is universally true and ap- This does not imply the insuffi- | y its rela- | W ashington | plies to every experience of life. Our intellectual profit, and indeed our in- tellectual development, are wholly con- ditioned by our relation to the. educa- tional and cultural elements that in | themselves constitute the Vine of all intellectual progress As applied to commercial and industrial matters, here again it 'is axiomatically true that all progress and development are condition- ed by the relation we bear to the in- dustrial or commercial enterprise of which we are a part. The same holds true concerning our social relationships and the conditions of the domestic and sacial life under which we live. “Proud isolation” is impossible in a world as complex as the one in which we live. ‘The application of all this to.aur reli- gious experience, and to our religious development, is intimate and immedi- ate. How many of us live lives of recti- | tude simply because we have worked out an ethical scheme that commends itself peculiarly to our own judgment? Most of us are what we are, morally and ethically. because of the conditions of life that .environ us. Some of us are what we are, morally and ethically, be- cause some splendid personality whose influence inspires us to high-minded service. life’s inspiration resided in himself and that the disciple, who would feel His bower, must keep in intimate touch with Him; he must feel that the source of his strength proceeds not from what he himself possesses, but rather from intimate communion with the divine source of inspiration and power. In {fine, the branch can have no strength, save as it continues in the Vine. e sole purpose of the church. and indeed | of all devotional practice. is to empha- size this supreme fact. It is not designed that we should be merely members of | an institution. It is rather that we | tshould use the institution for the pur- | | Pose of making more real to our con- | Sclousness our abiding communion with Christ. It 15 conceivable that al times | the institution may fail us, it may fall | far short of our hopes and expectations; |1t is inconceivable that He should ever | fail us who has assured us of His abid- | ing presence and guidance. OVER.THE_PHONE FRAGMENTS OF | HEADQUARTERS CONVERSATIONS BY WILLIAM HARD. Scene: Any national political head- quarters in any presidential campaign. Character: ‘The telephone switch- board. * Kk Kk “I tell you there is no woman in this whole State who will work with that woman.” * Kok K “No, I mever believe in buttons. What? Eight million buttons? Just with the candidate’s name on them? Are you crazy? They're all ordered? Good night! Can't you realize that one motor car plate with the candidate’s name on it is worth a hundred million buttons? I tell you this is a motor car plate ‘campaign.” * xE W “Yés. I'm speaking for County. No, I don’t want any speakers. No, I don't care what the issues are, I want money to haul the voters to the polls. Speak to ‘the county committee? T've spoken. Speak to the State com- mittee? I've spoken. Say, I'm speaking to you. I want money to haul the voters 'to the polls. Do I get it? Oh, very well. Suit yourself. Run it your own way. Only don't blame me. I've tald you" wx * “Of all the bunches of amateurs that -«over ran a presidential.campaign, this is the prige package.” * & % ¥ “Have you put my name on that door or have you not?"” * k k% “Who authorized him to go out and hold meetings? What you say? He's holding them on his own responsibility? Who wve the responsibility? Zou can't stop him from speaking? Why not? I tell you, if he speaks around ‘here, we're lost. I'm just telling you. Yes. That's all. I'm just telling you.” * Kk %% “Squawkopolis speaking. Say! Has our candidate gone and lost his wits absolutely. What did he mean by 8| the veterans of th2 Spanish War? He did, too. It couldn’t have eny other interpretation. Yes, he did siam them. I tell you, if he can't do any better than that, he'd hetter shut up altogether. He thinks of never making another speech again? That's fine. " Congratulete him from me. I he'll just say nothing from now on, perhaps we can elect him.” * Ak “Let me tell you something. No na- tional committee ever elected anybody be President, but lots of national committees have kept their man out of the White House. Think that one over.” Square | i | “All I want to know is who sent that man into my territory. Yes, it's my territory. I was tald I could run it. I's mine. I just won't have him around. What do I think a national committee is for? TI'll tell you what a national committee is for. It's to butt in everywhere and clutter up everything. Yes, that's what I said, Cool off? Say, if 1 felt any you than I do now, you'd ne Panama.” | older to a trip to * w ok % “Aren’t you ever going to do any- thing in this campaign? We've beZn waiting to hear from you. We're all set to go. Nothing stirring. Age yeu sound asleep? Let's hear from you. Give us the wore What is it> Well, how do you expect anything to starf if you never do anything?” * ok % x “She's just too sweet for anything. Only people don't like her. Funn{y, islrll"! it? 1 just adore her. There's Just something or other about her that an- tagonizes. ‘The whole town is off, Just | because of her. Couldn't you Just is- sue a little statement sa ‘the mittee is not behind her? I wouldn' hurt her feelings for the world. I only mean, something tactful, you know. | I should think the chairman of the committee would know how to do it. What's he for? All I'm asking you to do is to get rid of the wrong woman and get the right woman without hurt- ing anybody's feelings at all. Well, I think he’s a great big coward.” * ok X % “Does the woman colored vote come under the colored vote or under the woman vote? Who has charge of it? Oh, that's what you're trying to find out ‘yourself? Both bureaus think they have charge of it? I thought so. Why doesn't the chairman settle it? Well, tell me anyway, which bureau is he mcest afraid of the head of?” * ok ok ¥ “Do_you know what saves the coun- try? Listen. I'm talking serious. The country is saved because there ain't no permanent national political machine to grab it. Each presidential candidate as he cames along makes a new machine of his own to take the place entirely of the old one there was before, and the new one’s naturally rotten and couldn't grab a snowflake in a blizzard. Listen. You're 50 rotten you're good. You're no dan- ger to our institutions. What? I'm vour first friend. I've given you some- thing you can say for yourselves? I'm certainly sorry. Il hang up right away." 't | | MERCURY COMBINE A OF INTEREST TO THE U. S. BY HARDEN COLFAX. American industrialists, sanitarians, médical men, miners, chemists and | Uncle Sam himself are turning eager eyes toward Southern Europe to watch developments in the recently formed combination of Spanish and Italian mercury interests, which is scheduled to_become eflective October 1. Tae supply and price of this rare metal—known most commonly as mer- cury, but called quicksilver by the miner, and quoted on tie market under the latter name—affects the well-being and the pocketbook of practically every man, woman and child in the United States, for this is the greatest con- suming country. And, in the meantime, the diminish- ing supply of mercury and the advanc- ing price during the last few months have brought about a revival of the dom- estic mining industry in the several West- ern States where the sulphide ore, prin- cipally cinnabar, is found in this coun- ITED STATES IN WORLD WAR | Ten Years Ago Today the Vesle in force, American mfantr men today advanced at certain points io a curved line exten from Glennes to Vieil-Arcy. that the Germans intend to cling to every foot of ground south cf the Alsne as long as possible, using machin: ?uu until their gunners are ulested rom their positions. © ¢ ¢ News from the battlefield, reaching Paris tlus aft ernoon indicate that the German ar- tillery has begun to react o a marked extent along the whole line of ‘he front from east of Arras to west of Reims. The thunder of artillery is greatér than for several weeks past ¥ ¢ * The German retreat is slowing up as the enemy stiffen their defenso on the old Hindenburg ‘in: Rein- forcements, which have been manning the Hindenburg line, reach vhe cnemy's battle-tired Tear-guards and strengthen them. * * * Washington military ob- servers look for ~n early counterstroke by the German ¢ » * Seven hundred and eighty-four s Indieations are | at Pershing's Army | 50 as to relieve pressure from allies. | BROAD sec + Carolin: | with the presidential candidetes’ sig- |netures especially sought after. One of these | How two Zoo o Capital Sidelights Herbert Hoover's one speech in the South is to be at the historic little town of Elizabethton, Tenn., where was form- edin 1772 the first free and independ- ent government established by Ameri- cans on this continent. Representative J. Will Taylor is today the hero of that section for having persuaded the Re- publican standard bearer and his ad- visers to select this particular r which is to be a mecca for voters from nine States for his outstanding address in_the campaign. Elizebethton is in the extreme eastern tion of Tenmessee, near the North a and Virginia boundary lines. Its ‘history goes back to 1772, when pioneers who had crossed the mountains from Virginia and the Carolinas form- ed the Watauga Association. Written ar- }&c]es 1'xere drawn up by the sssoc;;t:un or the management of local .affairs. ‘The community was wholly self-govern- ing, making treaties with the Cherokees and a¢ tering municipal affairs, un- til 1777, when the North Carolina Gen- eral Assembly took over the territory. Later it became a part of Tennessee. Elizabethton thus lays claim to beinz the first place on the American conti- nent where Americans established their own free and independent government. ok ok X RS e g o r 3 at Rose- bud, S. s the Great Res Jesus maiutained that the source of | plains This is autegraph-collection s°gso of the bunters is Rudolph , 17 years old, from Park ¢, Hll., who has the distinc- tion of obtalhing the first autograph of Herbert Hoover at the latter's per- sonal headquarters, 2315 Massachusetts avenue. Young Olson is to enter Harvard University this Fall. He first wrote to the Republican candidate for his autograph, which, he said, he ex- pected would bring him good luck in his collegiate career. ‘Then he ecalled in person and wished Mr. Hoover “Juck.” EE I Just now when all members of the | House and one-third the members! of the Senate are before the peoj seeking re-election, it is timely to em- phasize the imnortance to any district of keeping a respresentative for a long time on the legislative job here, be- cause the longer he is here under the seniority system the more influence he wields. Here is how it works out in the present Congress: Thirteen Republi- cans and 16 Demacrats have served nine terms—18 years or more. Of these 13 who have served 18 years 1 is Speaker, 1 Repub- lican floor leader, 7 are chairmen of important committees. These commit- tees are: Appropriations, ways and means, agriculture, naval affairs, office and post roads, foreign affairs and subcommittee of appropriations for the Navy 3 That accounts far 9 out of 13 in that «class. ©Can you beat that for the influ- ence of seniority? If you drop down into the next class 15 e "o et 15 Repiticans 16 years—you wi DI 7 Of " these, 8 hold committee = manships. And that, I think, accounts for most of the committees of much importance. If a strange and unusual election should occur some time that would re- turn & majority of Democrats in the House, you can make up a list of the or the Congress 4 l;'_pmw well ass that the ranking Democrats on each committee—the one who has served on that committee longest in continuous service—would be immediately advanced to the chairman- ship. And you can be equally assured that they will be members of long serv- ice in the House. Captive Apes Fear Open Door as Trap BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. great apes in the London by which they been caug! native forests that they refused venture through the door of their house into the air and sunlight outside, evi- dently believing the door an emtrance to some trap, is deseribed by Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, secretary of the Zoological Society of London. in discussing recent criticisms of the cruelty of keeping these animals in captivity. Many specimens of the kind of great ape called the orang-utan have come on the European animal market re- cently as the result, it is reported, of a new way of capturing these apes in- vented by natives of Borneo and Ma- laysia. The trees in which the ape families build their nestlike homes are cut down so that they fall into nets, whenge the unfortunate apes rush into boxlike traps. Many oranes have been captured, especially mothers handi- i try. Home production, thevefore, is on | the increase, but much of this addi- tional production is from dumps where ore originally mined was cast aside as being . too low in quickstiver con-' tent to justify reduction. This glimpse | at the situation is sufficient to indicate | how dependent this country is on for- eign sources of supply. * ok ok ok quinine were part of the daily diet of the people in certain sections of the country. Science, overcoming the caus- es of malaria and advancing other- wise to prevent and cure the ills of man, has done much to reduce use of bath of these medicinals, but they still are presoribed often. Calomel, which is about 85 per cent mercury, is, however, ouly one of the sources of medical preparations of which quicksilver is an essentlal ingredient This js nat to mention corrosive sublimate, or mer- cury bichloride. which s used not only in professional medicine, but is one of the outstanding antiseptics. There are many antiseptic preparations fmportant to the surgeon and fo the sanitarian jand sources of medicinal soaps which contain mercury, which, incidentally, is one of the most poisonous substances known to science and must be con- sumed, or used otherwise, only under expert advice. * o ok Here is the mercury situation in a nutshell: The United States consumed |over 30 per cent of the mercury pro- duced in the world. It has been pro- ducing, recently, only about a third of !its consumptive reguirements. Italy and Spain, combined, produce approxi- ‘mately 90 per cent of the wonld's out- ut, and, because their ore contains a r percentage of quicksilver, they | can do it more cheaply. In Spain the | government owns the principal mine; 1in Italy the principal producing area is owned privately and the government owns the secondary holdings. Sales in | Spain _have been contralled by a | privately owned society, while in Italy | they have been through the separate | producing agencies. Now, the Spanish and Italian interests have reached an | agreement for unified control of output (sold at A uniform price. Full details | of this international cartel have not | been received in this country, and are awaited with much interest. Experience with other governmentally supported trusts control capped by trying to save the babies car- ried on their backs. The captured creatures usually be- ’have much as human beings might were the circumstances reversed. ey sel- dom recover from the fright and dis- may. Most of . The Zoological Society of London has de- cided, Dr. Mitchell fortable cages and plentiful food which Vi There was a time when calomel and | vide. and prices have been adv: in gen- eral. In the last three . since hints of the impending ish-Italian agreement have been circulated, the i price at New York has advan : $123 to $128 per flask of 76 pn;ul”ed-:mm * ¥ k ¥ Uncle Sam himself is interested in ‘the supply of mercury in several differ- ent ways. The metal is an essential in explosives. It also is an essential | in certain processes in the fur trade; | {and the Army campaign hat is made of felted rabbit fur. It is worth men- tioning also that the Department of Justice some months ago filed suit, un der the apti-trust law, aimed a French-German potash combination in the interests of American business men consumers. This suit, inci- dentally, bas important ramifications because foreign gover:ments are aTect- ed indirectly and “nationg! honor" may be_touched. The big point about mercury is that while its volume is relatively small it is essential in many avenues—medicine. scientific instruments, national defense and industry. Its uses have been ;fi:flu restricted only by supply and | * k¥ X As in all similar cases, the chemist been busy trylng to develop a sub- has stitute for mercury for various specific |a purposes. Diphenyloxide, “artificial oil of rose,” is the discovery of one Amer- ican company. Experiments are being conducted with this ip special reference to heat transference. The mercury botler has been established as the most efficient power unit yet developed, but mereury is too scarce to permit its gen- eral use. A substitute liquid with sim- | those ilar characterics of heat transference without change of phase and conse- quent loss of the origina) material prob- ably again would revolutionize power. Congress last Winter rejected a bill to | legalize imy which | y | Rico many times the total of the island in pre-American days. 13 | stripes, touched noses Porto Rico Afte The territory of Porto Rico is cele- brating this year a series of anni- versaries 30 years after the occupation of the island by the United States. On July 25 the anniversary of the first ion, | landing of American troops was com- memorated. Other dates mark the an- niversary of the various steps of Amer- ican occupation and subsequent setting up of the civil government as an Amer- iean territory. Oddly enough the first ‘celebration was also a Spanish feast day, Santiago, and in Porto Rico, near the town ‘of Yauco, a -eeremony took place at the tomb of the unknown Spanish soldier, one of the few who fell in the scattered fighting which accompanied the American occupation. These anniversaries have given the people of Porto Rico an occasion -to take stock of what 30 years as an American territory have meant to them. On the Bay of Guanica, where the first American soldiers landed in 1898, there stands today the sugar mill of the Guanica central, which produces more than 90,000 tons of sugar a year, or one and one-half times the total sugar output of Porto Rico in 1898. It is but one of the many large mills of today, by Americans, some by Porto Ricans, Spaniards and French- men. In 1901, when the first com) 1| figures of trade were made .vum the whole export business of Porto Rico was and one-half million dollars. In 1927 the sugar export to the United States alone was $55,600,000. ©On the n | commercial side of the island'’s life a single industry today brings to Porto foreign trade Densely Populated. Before delving farther into statistics | i of trade, it is worth observing that | Porto Rico is a densely populated tropical island, whose people must either develop indusirjes in addition to | agriculture, or suffer from the pressure inevitable to large populations on limit- ed acreage. The 1400,000 people occupy a land of 3,600 square miles. To rise -above a condition of relative poverty, such a population must, of economic | certainty, adopt intensive methods of cultivation of the soil, and establish manufactures and trade. The ease with which a tropical people may drift along in conditions of poverty, ignorance and disease has been well enough illustrated in other portions of the West Indies. The tale of American leadership in Porto Rico, summed up in the cold figures of commercial wealth, is one of progress in health, education and industry. Porto Rico was almost as populous, and certainly as naturally fertile, 30 years ago as it is today. It then enjoyed a total commerce valued at less than $17,000,000. This has grown to a business of $200,000,000. The sugar industry, selling almost its whole output in the United States, makes up about 60 pe: cent of the export trade. A visitor to the islands is certain to see some of the sugar mills and realize the and the business. Tobacco, the second largest export product, is more iargely raised inland, with Cayey as the center of the business. In 1927 the tobacco exports were $24,891,381, chiefly made up as rs and rettes, almost all to the United States. Women Are Expert Needle Workers. ‘The third largest item of Porto Rican export trade would astonish any vet- eran of '98 who remembered the island of that year. It is textiles, chiefly handmade by the skilled needleworkers of the tight little island. The women are the powerful force in this newer and fast-growing industry, which pro- duced more than $9,000,000 worth of exports last year. Handkerchiefs, "cot- ton embrojdery, women's wear and a variety of men's and children’s wear were included. The product of skilled handicraft has developed untll its wealth-producing power exceeds _that of the coffee or fruit crops. Its growth r Thirty Years BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. v %t illustrates the working of the same eco- nomic law demonstrated in the smaller, crowded countries - of ., like Switzerland, Holland and Belgium, where handworkers in laces, embroid- ery other products have developed their highest skill. ‘The coffee exports of Porto Rico, un- like most of her output, go chiefly to countries other than the United States. Ouba is tne best customer. with Ger- many, Italy and Spain taking most of the rest of the $6,000,000 croo. The fruit shipments. with about the same total value as the coffee, go largely to the United States. The banana and the plaintain flourish in the same lavish abundance which greeted the occupying troops in 1898. They remain a great factor in the native diet, especially in the mountain regions. With all of this material prosperity. have the Porto Ricans been able to abolish poverty, filth, wretchedness and disease? To a large extent they have— entirely, perhaps not. The slums of the capital city, San Juan, in the old bar- rio of Salsipuedes (Get-out-if-you-can, bave shrunk to perhaps one-tenth their old proportions. The newer. modern, cleanly Barrio Obrero houses in com- fort great numbers of working peopie This change is observable in varying de- grees elsewhere on the island. New Public Buildings. Meanwhile the new schools, hospitals, roads and other improvements are st the life of the island. Raising an annual budget in excess of $10,000,000, the Legislature has gone in for improvements, The new Capitol Building, now almost finished on the neck of land which reaches out to the promontory and old fortified city of San Juan, would ornament the capital of any state or nation. Some of the older taxpayers complain a little about it, saying it was planned in the boom years when the World War shot sugar prices to crazy heights and gave Forto Rico too quick a boom. It will be com- pleted and occupled in Febryary. The new Medical Building of the University of Porto Rico, on the great highwav leading out of San Juan and across the island, is a pride of the island. A new roup of penal and free hospital estab- ents is being finished one unit at a time. More than 35 per cent of the revenue of the territory goes for educa- tion. Exeepting for the governor and = handful of officials, the territory is self- governing, under its own Legislaturc. ‘This is election year and a merry cam paign ‘is under way. Maj. Gen. Frank McIntyre, veteran chicf of the Bureau of Insular Affair under the Secretary of War, with juris. diction in many territorial matters, re- turned to Washington recently after his sixth trip to Porto-Rico, the first' be- ing with the expeditionaries of 1898. Summing up the 30 years of "progress which he has been able personally to observe and take part in, he declared that in agriculture, health, public works and education Porto Rico' has establishments which would be a sourc of pride to any State in the Union. Trade With the Island. ‘This summary of 30 years’ econom: has not considered the oth:: of the picture, the value of Porto Rican trade to continental Unitex States. We sell to the island from the mainland almost as much as we buy. The balance of trade remains dach year with the island. to the extent of from 3 to 10 millions, the latter being the boom figures of 1920, but sales of Amer- ican products there run between 80 and 90 millions a year. Rice is the great Porto Rican food import, but the island buys almost everything which is traded in anywhere. Shoes and automobiles and meat products are bought in about equal values, and.the list of . imports looks like a department store inventory on a grand scale. It demonstrates clearly that the benefits of 30 years of American effort for the good of Porto Rico have been mutual. This and That By Charles E. Tracewell. Rhoda disappeared as mysteriously s she came. ‘The last that was seen of the dappled |kitten was one morning, when she had climbed to the top of the arch over meshe a:dnkzim he of the tiger there. las ‘The top of the arch had been Rhoda’s ambition, evi ly, ever sinee she had appeared in the alley back of the al- thea bushes Until that morning, however, the seven-foot structure with cross pieces had been more than her short legs could manage. ‘That morning she tried it again. Her light tan, gray and white splotches gleamed in the sun, as she ly placed two white paws on first bar above the fence. Through the Maderia vine she scrambled, to come out 1y beside young Nipper, who peered at her | with round eyes. * & % x We hope inat Rhoda went back to the home she came from. or has found u":ew ‘home, and a good one, by this time. . She deserves nothing else. During her stay as our guest she demonstrated the most exemplary con- duct, along with an assortment of typi- cal kitten tricks. Her prize feat, as detalled here last week, was drinking coffee. While she never drank as much as at that first trial, she always consented to sample B 0 e cio'a of fudge, One day a udge, as #f to say that her w'u catholie to a degree. She would eat cottage cheese, beans, meat of -all breakfast foods, or_what have you. Her best mood in play seemed to be one in which she hid behind a door or curiains. and leaped out at the unwary passerby. # Her 1¢ would twine around the victim's . as made out to bite, which she never did. * K ¥ X Rhoda had an unerring eye for the best chair in the room. Nothing less than the Coxwell chair with the softest eushion would do for Rhada. If removed from this, she would select the second best chair, and im- nadiately make for it. When summarily hauled out of the second best, she would make a bee-line for the third most comfortable. Her ability along this line was un- canny. If she had made chairs herself | she could have been no more knowing. ‘When the chairs were exhausted. she would begin all over again, and jump i up in each one. where she would settle | down with real content. The only thing that would stop her | was to put her down in the basement : and shut the door. { * * ¥ ¥ Rhoda perhaps had more fleas upon her ldlm' her size thap any cat in the world. They were the largest fleas, for such | small kitten, that ever lived. Having personally removed more than 50 fleas from her coat, we are in a position to know Some of those fleas were a quarter of an inch long—believe it or not—and most of them were fully an eighth of an inch. While Rhoda stood shivering—from | fright—in her first bath, we immersed fleas, one by one, in a basin of | | water. Owing to their size, it was necessary ‘o watel tll':m all the time, since the; possessed the energy to climb out. Finally they were placed in boiling water, which ended their activities. Fifty Years Ago How completely the nature of yellow fever and malaria was mistaken 50 years Malaris and 52,00 b0, the duscovery that these i Yellow Fever. -0 itocs, attested by the following letter signed by a ‘well %\1 physician of this city, 'printed in Star of September 5, 1378, regarding the outbreak of fever in the South: “This terrible disease is most formi- dable in a tropical climate and makes its appearance in Midsummer and con- tinues until the temperature of the at- mosphere falls to 50 degrees. It is most active in a climate the mean range of which is continued for days and weeks between 75 and 80 degrees and principally confined in its habita- tion to places situated 40 degrces north and 20 degrees south. The cause is admitted to be a malaria or bad air, generated by the fermentation which ensues from a compound of heat, mois- ture and septic agents. These agents must be dead vegetable matter. This ocess of fermentation ceases if the mperature rises to a hundred or falls to 50 degrees; but while in operation yields the noxious product known in medical language by the name of malaria. This laria poisops- the atmosphere in the vicinity in which it is eliminated and when inhaled by an individual who is susceptible to it produces the charac- teristic symptoms of this terrible. mal- ady. The poison is gaseous and, 'like other poisons of the atmosphere kwown to produce disease, is not to be deteeted by either the senses or chemistry. “Yellow fever is probably nething more than an intense or malignant form of our common bilious fever and mild and inflammatory cases begin- just as an ordinary bilious fever be; ‘Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that bilious fever of our climate is yel- low fever in the tropical regions. It is , hot contagious and an individual passed through an attack. rarely has a second one and is said to enjoy an immunity from the disease the bal< ance of his life. As heat and moisture, combined: with septic agents, favor that character of fermentation which evolves the deadly gas that corrupts the at- mosphere to such an extent that When taken into the lungs it poisons the blood so much that death is the result in the space of a day or two, it should be an object of the first importance in all well regulated sanitary measures to seek out those portions of a_city Hable to a visitation of yellow fever -most likely to favor this fermentation, caused by a combination of heat, moisture and filth. It is a characteristic of the dis- ease that it likes localities and al confines its most deadly work to gertain Pportions of a town or city.” * * ¥ “Under the new order of things con. sequent upen the passage by Copgress e at the last session of District bill for the ;nver’x‘m‘:enz Finances. Fumbia says' The Siae " says Star of September 5, 1878, “the District Zommissioners yesterday made their first requisition upon the Secretary of the Treasury for money. The requisition was for $550,000. It was honored by Secretary Sherman and a warrant for the amount made out on Treasurer Gilfillan. Against this amount the Com- missioners will make out checks for funds as needed. At the end of each qummeyflwm m:'al':;‘ a return to the account officers of e Treasury of all their expenditures. This will her"nlccnm- | banied by vouchers showing exactly how Y the money was expended. From the Treasury accounting offices these vouchers, etc., will go to the first con- Copumunist Russia, in the Italian Tyro! At talkn” We'we secn hiw. Bul he under Fascist control, in Poland and 'emerging intelligence of the brute. The | doesn’t say anything except “Yes, my in Austria. Besides visiting the schools growing brain found new Interests—in- dear.” [] troller, where they will be again closel scrutinized before final approval. Thky of course, is an entirely different method from that in vogue under the old law.” porting combinations applied in such situat; the mercury agreement. (Copyright. 1928.) ling tial casualties on lists released today—136 | raw materials abroad hns‘ r::tm;ee‘n dead and killed in action, 462 wounded | happy for American consumers. Ship- and 186 missing. ments of mercury have been declining, would have jons as| It is needless to say that Rhoda was | a very clegn kitten when she finished her first acf, maybe her last bath.