Evening Star Newspaper, September 15, 1928, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR, WA SHINGTON, D. €. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 1928." MW ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR " e Ea With Sunday Morni WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY. .September 15, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newsnaper Company York Offce: 110 Chicago Office: Tower Butidine. European Office 14 Regent &t.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star.. 45c per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) .. .60c per month ‘The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays) ..65¢ per month ‘The Sunday Star ...............5¢ per copy Collection made at th> end of sach month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. and Virginia. 9.00; 1 mo.. 85¢ 0., 50c Daily only 0. 40c Sunday only ... All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l yr., $12.00: 1 mo, $1.00 Daily only 1 yr. $800: 1 mo., 75¢ Sunday only . 1 yr. $5.00; 1 mo. 50¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Assoctated Press 15 exclusively entitled | to the use for republication of all news cis- atches credited 1o it or not otherwise cred- | ted in this paper and also the incal news published herein. All rizhts of publication of #pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. Porto Rico's Need. While thus far no official call for help has come from Porto Rico. descriptions of the devastation wrought in that is- land by the hurrican> of Thursday | leave no question that material aid, in | funds and especially in supplies, 1s | urgently necessary. Gov. Towner in | his brief report to the War Depart- ment states that the damage done by the storm has been widespread and heavy; practically all frame structures | are destroyed; tens of thousands of | people are homeless; full relief and re- | construction will probably reach into | speed is gained in part through a more stable submersion of the screws, which in high seas are often brought out of water by the plunging of the bow. ing it will win the approval of sea- farers, to whom the swooping motions of a steamer in midocean are anath- ema. The uncomeliness of th: bulg- ing nose will be forgotten in the greater serenity of life on board. Nobody really cares, anyhow, how a ship looks from the outside, so long as it main- tains a fairly steady keel and life is' not rendered agonizing by the constant churning of the human organism. If this experiment succeeds the ships of the future may not be the things of | beauty they have been for a long time, | but they will not be the scenes of tor- | ment that they are to a great many | travelers. { e The Passing of the Stool Pigeon. Prohibition Commissioner Doran and Civil Service Commissioner Wales have joined United States Commissioner Turnage in his denunciation of the “stool pigeon” for making purchases of liquor. Commissioner Turnage's stand was made known on Thursday when he dismissed a charge against a woman for selling after she had proved that she was out of the city on the day the sale was alleged to have taken place. This case marked the eighth in which a “stool pigeon” had had charges filed against him. Four informers have already been convicted of perjury during the past year. Yesterday Commissioners Doran and Wales, taking cognizance of Commissioner Turnage's suggestion that stool pigeon work be taken over by a corps of men under civil service, an- nounced their hearty support of the plan. There can be no disagreement with a system which would substitute an alert, the millions. Chancellor Benner of the University of Porto Rico fears famine | and disease. Other reports indicate | that while the sugar cane, the islsnd'si greatest and most valuable crop. is not | geriously damaged, there has been a | considerable loss in fruits, a large loss | in tobacco and a very great loss in coffee. Bananas, upon which the poor- er people largely subsist, being grown in small plantations around the dwell- ings, have been heavily hurt. In one respect there is the most seri- ous need of immediate assistance. The supply of building materials in the is- land is small and utterly inadequate to meet the present emergency. Large stocks of such materials must be sent down from the mainland with speed. Fortunately the climate in Porto Rico 15 mild, but even so it would be dis- astrous to leave the thousands of home- less ones unsheltered. Sickness would develop on a heavy scale and many deaths would ensue. Already the Red Cross has acted, sending a special group to the island to make an immediate survey, upon the reports of which will depend the nature and extent of the assistance sent from here. The problem of transportation of supplics is a scrious one. Five days are required to make a voyage from. New York to San Juan and a shorter time from one of the more southerly ports. There are no dependable sources of supply nearer than the mainland. It is incumbent upon the people of the United States to render the fullest possible assistance to th# stricken is- landers in this grave emergency. For thirty years now Porto Rico has been a part of the American commonwealth. It has been administered in the inter- ests of the people, who have been edu- cated and advanced from their former state of complete dependence, from ‘widely prevalent illiteracy and ignorance and from economic backwardness. They have been rescued from disease, have been strengthened in mind and body and have been given the blessings of American civilization. Now that they have been stricken by storm to an ex- tent beyond thsir own resources of re- covery it remains for the people of the States, their political brethren, to suec- cer them from their sore position. As- suredly if call is sounded for funds for the rescue of these unfortunate people from their present plight it will be heeded in abundant measure. ———r————— Mergers in the amusement world may yet result in a theatrical situation cor- responding to the circus control which leaves the big time entirely dependent on one combination show. e A campaign every four years causes #ome regret that there are no political game laws for the protection of lame ducks. —_— e Snub-Nosed Ships. German marine designers have brought forward a number of interest~ ing innovations during recent years. ‘Therz was first of all the rotor ship, which made its way across the Atlan- tic under its own power, furnished by the wind, but not in the age-old meth- od of blowing directly upon a sail. The - rotor ship, incidentally, has_ just been remodeled with engine power and is to return to Germany by the more con- ventional mode of propulsion. Next came, a few wecks ago, a device for | wireless control and actuation, the de- tails of which are 'mot disclosed, but which promise interesting develop- ments in the event of another war. The latest indication of German in- genuity in maritime construction, just reported, is a reversion to the old-time blunt bow as a means of preventing the pitching of the ship and inci- dentally to increase speed. In former times the bows of ships were nearly square. The old “wind- jammers” had no sweetly tapering noses, but presented bluff fronts to the scas. As time went on the tendency was toward the refinement of the bow. ‘The “cut-water” was followed by more and more slender lines, with the idea that the narrower the prows the less the resistance and therefore the higher the speed. But it is now reported that in designing the new great liners, the Bremen and the Europa, recently launched in Germany, the experiment Bas been tried of bulging out the bow of the ship. giving it a snub-nosed ap- pearance from the front. A pear- ghaped surface, widest at the keel, rises to the water line. il This abrupt departure from the long- established principles of ship design- ing is said to have been the result of extensive tank tests, which have proved that the bulged bow offers, in fact, less resistance than the sharp feym and furthermore that the extension’of the | disappearing. intelligent and honest body of men for an irresponsible group that is shown to have gone to any lengths, even to per- jury, for the sake of the small re- muneration paid by the Government. Informers of the latter class are paid | for their efforts only upon conviction and it is patent that many injustices have been worked by unscrupulous stool pigeons in their avid desire for the coin of the realm. It has long been an accepted theory in the courts of the country, especially in trafic cases, that no judge should try a case in which he was financially interested. In other words, the old fee system, wherein the justice makes his costs only on convictions, is rapidly This plan to do away with the informer paid case by case is a following out of the same principle Commissioner Wales has stated that if informers are subjected to examina- tion, the Civil Service Commission would furnish a class of men with mental alertness and clean records and such a group is assuredly preferable to some of the disreputable characters that have been used in the past for stool pigeon work. Furthermore, it would do away for all time with the case-by-case payments and put each informer on a straight salary, thus re- moving temptation to fabricate evidence to secure remuneration. With Commis- sioners Turnage, Doran and Wales unanimously in favor, steps should be taken at the earliest possible moment to put this desirable plan into effect. et Big Bill and King George. A few months ago Mayor Thompson of Chicago, known throughout the country also as “Big Bill,” was engaged in a series of fulminations against the King of England. During the cam- paign for the municipal primaries the city executive carried on almost con- tinuously in a series of scornful refer- ences to the British monarch, in prose- cution of his drive for “America first.” Shortly afterward he went into retire- ment, suffering from severe indisposi- tion which some think was induced by the results of the primaries, in which he had been rather badly worsted. He has been strangely silent for many weeks. Now it would seem that the| mayor really belied himself in this series of outbursts against the King of England. The Commercial Telegra- phers’ Union, including numbers of Canadian keymen, is holding its annual convention in Chicago. Mayor Thomp- son designated an assistant corporation counsel to act for him in welcoming the delegates. In honor of the representa- tives of the Dominion the Union Jack was hung on the walls of the meeting place in conjunction with the Stars and Stripes, and, standing under one of these British banners, the mayor's representative assured his hearers in his speech of welcome that throughout the campaign last Spring the mayor really “had his tongue in his cheek.” ‘The mayor's spokesman ' said: “The name of King George was used merely as a symbol in the campaign; the mayor has no personal hatred against his majesty.” It is said that the Chica- g0 delegates present exchanged glances of amazement at this statement by Big Bill's mouthpiece. Well might they, for it there was anything specific in the mayoral outpourings of a few judgment the King of England was al- together an undesirable person. Prob- ably King George will be relieved at If the blunt-nosed ship is non-pitch- | months ago it was that in Big Bill's| tional League three teams are closely bunched at the top of the list, St. Louis, New York and Chicago, the first-named with a lead of seven per- centage points over the second, which has in turn eleven points margin over the third. One game separates the first from the second and two and a half the first from the third. Any day may bring about a shifting in the stand- ing of these three teams. In such conditions public interest in the contest for the honors of the two leagues and the identities of the two teams that will meet in the world cham- pionship serics reaches an unusual height, Every game that is played is an important factor in the outcome. It is possible that the final results may not be known until the last game is played in each league. Arrangements for the world series, therefore, cannot be made definitely in advance as is sometimes possible when the races are less closely contested. Washington's interest in this situa- tion is that of a bystander. It has no concern in the outcome as a partici- pant. After having two lezgue cham- pionships and one world championship the Capital feels some chagrin at not being permitted by the fates of the sport to be now in the running for these honors. The local team has had an unfortunate season. Accidents and illnesses have taken their toll of the organization. Disappointments have been numerous. Failures have been shocking. But now comes the annual talk of “next season.” Promising ad- ditions have been made to the roster, unusually numerous, and, it is reported, expensive. Hope springs eternal in the base ball breast and the loyal support- ers of the game in Washington are now reckoning the chances for 1929 in brighter terms than seemed possible a few weeks ago. S, Weather experts are powerless to pre- vent a hot wave on Labor day or a blizzard on the Fourth of March. Public enthusiasm is willing to take its chances and guarantee that both occasions will be a success. yThus far in the campaign Gov. Al Smith’s managers have not seen fit to allow the speeches to be as energetically entertaining as those of the Houston convention. ————————— Police affairs in Washington, D. C., call for attention with a view to uphold- ing this city’s reputation as about the best governed community in the country. ————— The dignities of official title do not serve to curb Col. Lindbergh's urge for dangerous flying which would probably persist if he were elevated even to the rank of gener: e ‘Wall Street rates on call money bring many disappointments to speculators who take the credit and finally let the cash go. ar—— Philadelphia is looking for some way to persuade the rum factions to outlaw war. s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Ancient Joy-Ride. In Mother Goose's time, A bit of romping rhyme Told of a street so wide And lane so narrow, A good man brought his bride In a wheelbarrow. ‘Today, the bride serene Demands a limousine. A man would find his pride Chilled to the marrow Should he propose a ride In a wheelbarrow! Adaptability. “Some of our friends are now cele- brating their own New Year.” “I'm with 'em,” answered Senator Sorghum. *“I can, if necessary, dig up a-good resolution for every day in the three hundred and sixty-five.” Early Economies. The laundry leaves me all forlorn And minus many dollars. I sometimes wish I had been born ‘When folks wore paper collars! Jud Tunkins says telling your troubles to a politician is only adding to the burdens of a man who already has more worry than he can attend to. From Wall Street to Broadway. “I understand that Mr. Dustin Stax has put all his stock market winnings into a big musical show.” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne, “The stock market is frequently a wonderful adjunct to the stocking market.” “Benevolence has caused many wars,”, said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “since every nation is eager to civilize all others, according to its own stand- ards.” Agaricus Delicatessen. 1 have a skill incredible, “Mid culinary plans. In choosing mushrooms edible, I gather them from cans. “A friend does wrong to tell you of learning that the mayor of Chicago is, after all, his friend. He doubtless |grieved sorely over-the evidence of ani- 1muxlty toward him on the shores of | Lake Michigan. | e Tornadoes cause distress to farmers | which even high-power statesmanship cannot be expected to remedy. .- A Rousing Base Ball Finish. Usually the two major base ball league races offer differing spectacles in the closing period of the season. If one of the contests for championship 1is close the other is a walkover for the leading club. Rarely do the two ore ganizations close the season with their respective leading teams near together. This year, however, in both leagues there are hot fights for final honors. In the American League, in which the New York team has led virtually from the start save for a single day quite recently, there is now a difference of only twelve percentage points, repre- senting a game and a half, between that team and Philadelphia, its nearest rival. This close standing is the result of a protracted slump of the “Yan- kees” and a consistent uphill fight by the “Athletics.” The former have now yoh faults,” said Uncle Eben. “He kin leave all dat to yoh relations.” —————— They Don’t Know Him. From the Nashville Banner. Mayor Jimmy Walker. went down to Coney Island with a million other per- sons and only two of them recognized him, which is what he gets for being away on trips. S R Too Fast to See. From the Springfield, Ohio, Sun. That Springfield, Missouri, man who told the judge he was driving faster than the “traffic officer charged must have been trying to sell the old car. B Expensive Luxury. From the Roanoke Times. A local man went to an exclusive Summer resort for his health. After re- cetving his bill he had a terrible relapse. et Mercury Held Up. From the St. Paul Ploneer Press. Spain and Italy have combined to re- strict the export of quicksilver. It should be a mild Winter. Mercury will go up. r—ar—e Henry Ford's Citizens. From the Portland Sunday Bregontan. A resident of Henry Ford’s “mussum bulge helow the water line serves tolfifteen games to play, including today, ' yillage” could hardly avoid feeling & and the latter thirteen. In the Na- close kinship to a goldlish. s Pprevent the ship from pitching. Greater THIS AND THAT Along with most people we had al- ways wondered what a window dresser looked like. So when we saw one of these artists standing on the sidewalk. admiring the work of his hands, we stopped and looked at him. Every one knows that a window dresser is a male person who is sup- posed to receive a larger salary than the general manager because he pos- sesses the ability to attract the dear public. According to what we had always heard about window dressers, without them business would perish, or almost perish. Unless it were for their delicat> touch in the display in show windows, commodities would not move. Commodities would simply sit store shelves, waiting for buyers who would not come, if it were not for the brainy window dressers, who know how to combine articles with velvet and other decorative materials in just the proper way to seduce the passerby. Little does the average purchaser know, according to what we had read some place, that he does not shop of his own free will, but answers to thz masterly and subtle direction of the window dresser, who calls to him, “Halt! Look here!” Lixe most readers, too, we had never known a window dresser existed, until we read about him in one of these mag- azines which specialize in making read- ers feel uncomfortable by telling them how wonderfully well every one else in the world has done. How uncomfortable those magazincs make one feel! If you are a clerk you are forced to read about another clerk who became a millionaire in about six weeks, If you sell pies, and do a fair business, you ‘are confronted with the picture and deeds of a man who sells enough pies to go around the world edg2 to edge. If you are doing fairly well as a_merchant, you are told of the deeds of some innocent schoolgirl who man- aged to build up a mighty business as the result of pining for a new dress (o wear to a dance. 7 Our window dresser was balancing himself on the curb, teetering back and forth with his thumbs stuck into his belt, as he surveyed the work of his hand and brain. He was a sizeable fellow, with thick lips and protruding eyes. No doubt the latter helped him in his task. He wore gray trousers, and a shirt of lighter gray, festooned with a still lighter gray necktie. Cocking his head on one side, he looked fixedly at the window. We looked, too. Everything looked fine, to our way of thinking. He, however, saw things we did not. Maybe the tenth rule of the nineteenth article of the “code” had been violated. He left his post at the curb, and hur- riedly entered the store. We waited to see what would happen. Soon the wal- nut panel swung back. His head came through. He fixed his eyes on two articles, glared at them. then moved the one to the east as much as half an inch. Then he nodded his head approving- ly. He was satisfied. The public would be better satisfied. He knew, even if we didn’t. He was a product of mod- ern business, whose ramifications leave the layman gaspinz. There are a thou- sand and one details in business which the average customer never even realizes exist, vet they plav a surprisingly large part in the sum total of any business endeavor, and have their ins and outs quite as much as the more manifest and apparent activities. * kK X We know a man who buys women's hats for a large department store. He draws a fabulous salary. He is a tall, rawboned man who you would think knew nothing at all about women's hats. ‘Women's hats are such delicate crea- BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. tions, of so changing a variety and scope. that it is a wonder that any man in the world has any idea what they are all about, as the saying is. Most men don't. They know when a woman looks good in a hat, and w] it is not becoming, but the why and the how is utterly beyond them. Most men have a comforting fecling that their wives can purchase hats nowadays that are chic yet cheap. While a woman may pay $25 or $45 or more for one small hat, she can get a very good one for $5 and in many cases even less. The masculine hat buyer prides him- self on his “turnover.” This is a busi- ness word that means, as far as we cen find out, selling as rapidly as pos- sible. We have forgotten whether our particuiar buyer turns his hats over forty times a year, or only four times, but whichever it is, it is doing pretty well, we gather. “How does it happen,” we asked him, “that you get a larger salary than many eminent men who have gained the esteem and veneration of the world?” He smiled. It's my turnover,” he admitted. Fur- ther than that he refused o go. The discussion was so puerile, we felt he felt, that he could not dignify it by dis- cussing it. He turned his hats over, and that was all there was to it. We had an absurd and no doubt childish fancy that his hats went spinning over and over, while his salary kept going up and up. ¥ pPlls ssls’;_v, however, had not turned over enough to keep up with his hats. Drawing him out delicately, we dis- covered that he had turned over his hats so speedily that he thought his salary ought to turn over, too, and somehow it hadn’t. His fabulous pay had stood still! He was going to see about it. He was going to tell 'em that he must have just twice as much, or he would accept the offer of a rival firm. There was no_ particular discon- tent or misgiving about it—he put it on a purely business plane. He turned 'em over—his pay ought to turn, too. It was that simple. PR ve have always felt a hankering to bewac f‘r‘oorwalkcr.) They are not called that, any more, we understand, but we have forgotten what they are called, so will use the time-honored and time- tested title. A floorwalker gets to work in an atmosphere of pretty ladies, and there is nothing that would suit us more fthan that. They come at a floorwalker from all angles, and because he is all dresscd up they smile sweetly at him, and ask him where the furniture is, and on what floor one may find the towels, and whether the notions are on the first floor or the fifth, and how much that pretty dress in the window costs. ‘A floorwalker, as far as we can make them out, has a double duty imposed upon. him, to smile gently at the ladies and to frown mightily at the men. We have never exactly understood this treatment of their own sex by floor managers. Al the ladies they smile so nicely at have husbands or beaux, and they might at least look pleasant when confronting a lone male on the search for a spool of thread. Floorwalkers, like window dressers, however, have their problems which are not known to the customer, so we forgive them from the bottom of their heart, especially the dressers. Secretly, we know a couple of floorwalkers we long to punch in the nose and then run. Maybe we shall do it, some day. If you, kind reader, happen to be in a certain store, and suddenly see a gentleman in a gray suit assault a tall man in a frock coat, know that we have given in to that impulse at Jast. Conservalive Republicans find com- fort in the outcome of the Wisconsin primaries, notwithstanding differences of opinions among observers generally as to the significance of the nomination of Walter J. Kohler, conservative, for governor, while young Senator La Fol- lette was winning his battle for renom- ination. “The outcome is hardly to be taken as any distinct sign of how wisctlmsm may go in the national election,” ac- cording to the Albany Evening News (independent Republican), “but if it shows anything at all, it indicates that the conservative Republicans are assert- ing themselves. * * * Wisconsin shows signs of coming back to the ranks of the regulars, although there were so many ‘questions involved that the result is not a decisive sign in the national election.” “It is to be hoped.” explains the Ak- ron Beacon-Journal (Republican), “that, no% that the primary contest is over, some of the leaders in Wisconsin poli- tics will find their voices. Hitherto they have taken little notice that two national political conventions have been held, and have chosen candidates for the presidency. One cannot tell from or Hoover.” “Nomination of the millionaire man- ufacturer, Kohler, for governor,” in the opinion of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (independent ~ Republican), “must, be considered in view of the fact that the La Follistas were divided and that, had the vote of the rival pro- gressives been joined, it would have topped that of the conservative Kohler. * s * His vote is a substantial assur- ance of the first seat of power that the conservative Republicans have had in the State government of ‘Wisconsin for many years, and it is encouraging to the Hoover managers.” * kK X Kohler's position as a minority can- didate also is mentioned by the Newark Evening News (independent), which contends that “unbiased experts fear to make a prediction at this stage as to whether the result in Wisconsin is fa- vorable to Mr. Hoover or Gov. Smith. The Duluth Herald (independent Re- publican) holds that “about all that can be safely drawn from the primary election is the deduction that Wiscon- sin is still something of a political puz- zle, and that ‘La Follette’ is still a name to conjure with in that State.” “The probable explanation is that of personality of the candidates,” declares the Spokane Spokesman-Review (Re- publican), “La Follette is renominated by a vote of approximately two to one, but his running mate, Beck, was de- feated.” The Washington paper thinks “it would seem that a majority of the Republicans of Wisconsin want to be radical in the Nation but conservative at_home.” In the opinion of the Jackson Citi- zen-Patriot (independent), the La Fol- lette strength has waned. “Senator La Follette had a weak opponent and he won the nomination easily,” says the Michigan paper. “He was the bene- ficlary of sentiments of loyalty inherited from the leadership long exercised by his father. But those sentiments were not strong enough to put across the nomination of his candidate for gov- ernor against an avowed conservative. ‘““The outcome proves conclusively, according to the judgment of the Sy cuse Herald (independent), however, “that the La Follette ascendancy re- mains unshaken. Aside from the three- sided contest for the gubernatorial nom- ination, the La Follette faction swept the fleld. Senator La Follette himself, a candidate for renomination, led his conservative Republican opponent, George W. Mead, by a majority ex- ceeding two to one, and the minor progressive candidates for State offices were all successful A general review from the Houston Chronicle (Democratic) places Wiscon their words whether they are for Smith | b Wisconsin Primary Results Give Conservatives Comfort sin in the position of “apparently feel- ing that young Bob is well qualified to weer his father's shoes,” and that “his political apprenticeship under the tute- lage of his father and George Norris of Nebraska has fitted him for leader- ship,” although that paper makes the reservation that “whether or not young La Follette can retain control of the State government in Wisconsin is doubtful.” Wk ¥ Kohler's- nomination, as viewed by the Rock Island Argus (independent), “will greatly strengthen the chances of Herbert Hoover in November,” while the New York Evening Post (independ- ent), conceding that “it cannot be con- sidered as deciding the larger contest,” avers that “it is clear that La Follette’s wing of the party is no longer in abso- lute controi,” and the New York Her- ald Tribune (Republicar) says: “The extraordinary run made by Walter J. Konler, the conservative Republican candidate for governor, is significant. It carries forward the gradual return to political normaley in that State, which has been registered for some time. It furnishes solid ground for expecting a Hoover victory in Wisconsin in Novem- er.” “Some people have learned that there is a citizen of the State by the name of Walter J. Kohler, and that his capa- bilities are so_well known that it is believed he will be an acceptable gov- ernor,” remarks the Madison Wiscon- sin State Journal (independent). The Tulsa World (independent) sets forth that “Kohler is described as a broad- minded man, of unusual ability in pub- lic affairs. For many years he has been agitating the matter of bringing indus- tries into Wisconsin.” g “The nomination of Mr. Kohler is perhaps a sign,” states the Springfield Union (Republican), “that the Repub- lican voters have at last regained con- trol over their political ‘destinies.” The Beloit Daily News , (Republican) feels that “a second slate-smashing indicates that swatting the Madison ring at bi- ennial intervals is coming to be regard- >d by the Badger electorate as a healthy civic habit.” ‘The St. Louis Globe-Democrat (inde- pendent) concludes, “Mr. Kohler is a new figure in public life, who may draw no small attention to himself in the next two vears, and it may be that Wisconsin is about ready for a new leader.” NITED STATES: IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. Gen. Pershing’s Army is making fine progress. This afternoon it had ad- vanced 2 to 3 miles on a 33-mile front since yesterday afternoon and th2 fortress guns of Metz have come into action against it. American patrols are advancing at various points a couple of miles beyond the general advance. * « ¢ Germans begin digging in, and apparently they intend to resist on that part of the Hindenburg line running through this sector for the purpose of protecting the rallway communications of Metz, already under long-range gun- fire of the Americans. * * * Austria appeals for a general peace. German leaders consented to it in the hope that such an appeal would catch the entente pacifists and, through rejection, would silence the cry in Germany for peace. * * * London regards the pro- posals as insincere maneuvers by the enemy and holds that no peace re- quirements have been met. * * * Allied airmen rain bombf on Metz and nearby cities and in hours cause havoc with 27 tons of explosives. * * * Only 89 names on the casualty list given out today. THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover Joseph Conrad wrote several books of a frankly autobiographical nature. “A Personal Record,” originally pub- lished as “Some Reminiscences,” Con- rad called “a bit of autobiography—and a bit of good writing as well.” He de- scribed it is “the story of his first book (‘Almayer’s Folly’) and of his first contact with the sea.” “The Mirror of the Sea” was characterized by Con- rad to his publisher as “an imaginative rendering of a reminiscent mood” and “an attempt to set down graphically certain genuine feelings and emotions born from the experience of a respec- table and useful calling, which, at the same time, happens to be of national importance. It may be defined as a discourse (with a personal note) on ships, seamen and the sea.” Of "“The Shadow Line Conrad said, “That piece of work is not a story really, but an exact autoblography.” It relates the circumstances of Conrad’s first com- mand of a sailing vessel, after follow- ing the sea for nearly 14 years. In January, 1888, Conrad had left the ship Vidar at Singapore, with no other berth in view. He was preparing to re- turn to Europe when the marine super- intendent at Singapore offered him the command of an English ship then at Bangkok, whose captain had recently died. Conrad accepted and immediate- ly took passage for Bangkok, where he took over his ship for a voyage to Mel- bourne. This first command brought many difficulties and dangers, which are related in “The Shadow Line.” R Apart from these admittedly autobi- ographical works, nearly all of Con- rad’s romances are to a large extent autoblographical. The first book he ever wrote, “Almayer’s Folly,” draws an exact picture of a half-caste Dutchman, whom Conrad met at Bulungan, in Borneo, on one of his early voyages. He was married to a Malayan woman, had a son (whom Conrad made a daughter in the story), cherished ambitions to the end of his derelict life, and finally died from a wound received in a python hunt. During five or six voyages made between Singapore and Bulungan, Con- rad met the originals of Willems, the Dutch sailor wrecked by drink, Abdul- la, Babalatchi and Lakamba, two na- tive merchants from the Celebes, and Tom and Jim Lingard, characters of 's Folly,” “An Outcast of the “The Rescue” and “Lord Jim.” The real Tom Lingard was captain of a trading schooner, visiting Singapore and Borneo ports. “Lord Jim” was his nephew, who served for a time on his uncle’s ship and then became a trader at Bulungan and married a Malayan woman. The places visited in these voyages also furnished Conrad the Malayan settings for the best two short stories in the collection, “Tales of Un- rest,” “Karain” and “The Lagoon.” Fromi the captain of the Vidar, in which Conrad made his Malayan voyages, and from the first and second engineers, he learned all he could about the natives and the foreign sailors and traders. and collected many a story of the clash of races, religions and passions. This ma- terial was used very fully later on, when Conrad began to write. *.% x The most romantic: period of Con- rad’s life~was responsible for one of his best romances, “The Arrew of Gold.” His first departure from his Polish home, when he was only 17, was to Marseille, from which he hoped to go to seg. There he met the Corsican, Dominic Cervoni, officer on the St. Antolne, on which Conrad embarked, and by him was so much influenced that under different guises Dominic ap- pears in “The Arrow of Gold,” “The Mirror of the Sea,” “Nostromo.” “The Rover” and “Suspense” (left unfinished at Conrad’'s death). At Marseille in intervals between voyages, Conrad fell in with a group of Carlist intriguers, became involved in the arms-smuggling adventure described in “The Arrow of ‘Gold,” and met the adventuress who figures as Rita de Lastaola in that ro- mance. With her he was violently and briefly in love. Years later, when, as a family man, he was staying at Mont- pellier, he used to loaf about the cafes, as he had done at Marseille in the early days, and in one of them came across the chief character for “Victory” and one of the striking scenes in that romance. “The Nigger of the Narcis- sus” is a realistic story of Conrad's ex- perience of six months as second mate on the Narcissus on her voyage from Bombay to London. 20 A In “The Heart of Darkness” Conrad gives a faithful account of his period in the Kongo—a periad of disappoint- ment_and hardship, which left lasting ill effects on his health. *“An Outpost of Progress” also grew out of this ex- perience. When he was a child of 9 in Poland he had seen a map of Africa and determined to visit the unexplored center of that continent. In 1889, when King Leopold of Belgium and the Kongo were being much discussed on the streets and in the press, and Stanley had gone to find Livingstone, Conrad suddenly. determined that he would like to run a steamboat on the Kongo. He had lit- tle trouble in finding such a command, as it was not considered very desirable. “What makes me rather uneasy,” he wrote to his cousin, “is the information that 60 per cent of our company’s em- ployes return to Europe before they have completed even six months' serv- ice. Fever and dysentery! There are othsrs who are sent home in a hurry at the end of a year, so that they shouldn't die in the Kongo. God for- bid! It would spoil the statistics, which are excellent, you see! In a word, it seems there are only 7 per cent who can do their three years’ service.”- The long journey into the interior from Ma- tadi to Kinchassa was made to the a companiment of feverish illness, ag- gravated by the scorching days, the miasmic nights, foul drinking water and swarms of mosquitoes and other insects. After reaching the Kongo, Conrad made but cne voyage from Kinchassa to Stan- ley Falls and back. Fortunately, for his health was already suffering from fever and dysentery, the manager of the steamboat company refused to promise him any advancement, so Con- rad abandoned the Kongo. This Afri- can adventure was followed by a long illness, with a slow convalescence, and the frequent and severe attacks of gout which Conrad endured all the rest of his life were attributed to African in- fections and the resultant lowering of his resistance. * ok kK Joab Banton, district attorney of New York City, wrote in a recent letter that his father drew up the will of Sam Houston, mentioned at the close of George Creel's biography, “Sam Hous- ton: Colossus in Buckskin.” The will, writes Mr. Creel, “written at the time when Houston knew that he had not long to live, contained the curiously characteristic gmv!.slnn that his sons should be ‘taught an entire contempt for novels and light reading,’ together with the further instructions that they ‘should receive solid and useful educa- tion and that no portion of their time be devoted to the study of abstract sclence, I greatly desire that they may possess a thorough knowledge of the English language, with a good knowl- edge of the Latin language. I request that they be instructed in the Holy Scriptures, and, next to these, that they be rendered thoroughly a knowledge of eography and history.’ ” Houston died n 1863. Mr. Banton remarks: “The book is as fascinating as any romance and yet accurate in its historical details. I do not know when I have enjoyed more the reading of a book. My enjoy- ment, of course, was increased by my contact with Gen. Houston's family.” * ok ko Having done little with Europe in his “Travel Diary of a Philosopher,” Count Hermann Keyserling now devotes a whole book, “Europe,” to the subject. He ap- parently thinks very ly of most of the European countries, though he throws an occasional compliment. The Englishman he considers a “skillful an imal er.” The Swiss role of fur- nishing,, :Re background and auxiliary ' the There is no other agency in the world that can answer as many legiti- mate questions as our free information Bureau in Washington, D. C. This highly organized institution has been built up and is under the personal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By keeping in constant touch with Federal bureaus and other educational enter- prises it is in a position to pass on to you authoritative information of the highest order. Submit your queries to the staff of experts whose services are put at your free disposal. There is no charge except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. Is the Titanic still intact?— H. P. B. "A.'Salvage experts are of the: opinion that it has probably been broken up by the pressure of the water. Q. Is Solomon's Song properly part of the Bible?—L. G. A. The Song of Solomon was incor- porated in the earliest Jewish Scrip- tures. Selections were sung at certain festivals in the temple at Jerusalem prior to its destruction by Titus. It was first declared canonical by the Synod of Jamnia 90 A.D. Q. What railroad is called the “An- thracite Road"?—K. J. A. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western is often called the “Road of Anthracite.” . Q. How many Army men are engaged in giving instruction in civil educational institutions?—A. H. A. In 1927, there were 1,756 military instructors detailed to civil schools. There were 280 such schools giving drill. Q. To what nation does Courland, formerly & province of the Russian Em- pire, bélong?—S. W. D. A. This province on the Baltic Coast, after the collapse of the empire in 1917, was_incorporated in the new Republic of Latvia. Lithuania claims a part of Courland. Q. When was Wanda Queen of Po- land?—H. M. B. A. Wanda is the name of a legend- ary Queen of Poland who is said to have reigned about 700 A.D. Q. If I draw a straight line along the ghadow of the sun at 12 noon, why does the shadow vary one side of the mark or the other on other days?>—R. F. A. A. The Naval Observatory says that the shadow of a perpendicular object cast by the sun always extends due north and south at 12 o'clock, noon, local apparent time, while the time in ordinary use is standard mean time. The difference between local time and standard time depends on the longitude, and the difference between apparent and mean time is the equation of time differences must be taken into account in determining the time by means of the sun’s shadow. Q. Who was the founder of home-¢ opathy?—J. F. H. A. Samuel Christian Hahnemann was the founder of the homeopathic system. is German physician was born at Meissen, Germany, April 10, 1755, and died at Paris, July 2, 1843. In 1775 he went to Leipzig and studied medicine. At a later period he went to Vienna. After some years he re- turned and completed his studies at Erlangen. He afterward practiced med- icine at different places. He re- mained at Hofrath until 1833, when he proceeded to Paris. Q. What will be the area of !hen-‘ andoah National Park?—E. S. A. About 330,000 acres will be in- cluded in the Shenandoah National Park. The land will cost around $5,- 000,000, over $2,000,000 of which has already been subscribed by the State of Virginia. Q. What was meant when a girl was described as a “regular Gibson girl"?—B. T. A. The “Gibson girl” stood for a type of healthy,”vigorous, beautiful and re- fined young womanhood. In fact, Charles Dana Gibson made a place for himself as the delineator of the Amer- ican girl, at various occupations, par- ticularly out of doors. Q. Who wrote the “Anatomy of Mel- ancholy”?—L. N. A. This was written by Robert Bur- ton (1577-1640), an ecclesiastic, a re- cluse and eccentric. After 30 years of reading and study, it is said that he wrote it to amuse and relieve himself, and it is an enormous medley of ideas, musical, medical, poetical, mathematical and philosophical, every page garnished with Latin, Greek or French from rare and unknown authors. It is the only book which interested the famous Dr. Johnson to such an extent that he arose two hours earlier than his wont in order to read it. Q. What kind of animals produce shoemaker's bristles>—K. E. A. The hest shoemaker’s bristles are produced by pigs that inhabit cold countries. Formerly most of them came from Russia, but now China and the United States are supplying a large part of the market. Q. What is the size of the average family in the United States?>—M. G. A. According to the 1920 census the size of the average family was 4.3. Q. Why is a manservant called a “flunky?"—G. G. A. This term, which is sometimes used to designate such servants as “footmen,” is from the French “flan- which varies from day to day. These quer,” meaning “to run at the side of.” 'BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The American Tree Association has a mew object to be commemorated by the planting of trees. It is in com- memoration of the world-wide agree- ment of the nations to abolish war as a national policy. Never in the history of the world, say the officers of the association, has so great a step been taken toward peace as the Kellogg- Briand multilateral treaty signed this month in Paris, forever outlawing war except in self-defense. Hence the'mag- nitude of the cause lends dignity and significance to the trees to be planted in_memoriam. By a tree in the Garden of Eden man fell, but through no fault of the tree itself, and by the rejuvenation of Winter-sleeping trees every Spring we are ever reminded that life does not end with the frosts of “death.” but be- gins over again with rejuvenation at each return of the warming spirit of Nature. B * kK ok So the tree' is a natural symbol of memory never fading. The American Tree Association wants this thought em- phasized in patriotic organizations so that, instead of memorials built of dead stone, they will be erected in the form of trecs—memorial trees alongside of roads, memorial trees upon the lots of city residents as well as upon idle land of farms, memorial trees everywhere, replacing cold marble and bronze. 1t is not a new idea, but its applica- tion is greater than ever before. The City of Washington adopted the idea when it planted nearly 2,000 memorial trees alang Sixteenth street, in memory of the soldiers of the District who fell in the World War. Each soldier has his own mewmorial tree, marked with a stone tablet bearing in bronze his name and other identification. As the years go by, each arboreal monument will grow more and more beautiful, and it is known as honoring the individual whose name it bears. ‘There is a famous tree in Towa which was planted—a sapling—in honor of President Lincoln, on the day the planter learned of his assassination. Today it is a magnificent memorial, to which thousands of visitors come in admiration every season. The American Tree Association has begun the development of a Hall of Fame for trees of special significance, and this Lincoln memorial tree is one of the first to be so honored. There is a tree in Jackson Park, opposite the White House, which was planted by Gen. Pershing on the first armistice celebration one year after the close of the war; it will be historic 50 or 100 years from its planting. There are many memorial trees about the Capital, especially on Capitol Hill. It is a distinctive characteristic of Washington that its streets are lined with more trees than in the average city, yet there is room for great addi- tions thereto. At present, the main feature of the new tree-planting movement, instituted by President Pack of the American Tree Association, is toward their more extensive use in memoriam along pub- lic highways. All roads leading out from the National €apital, where the world-wide peace treaty has been de- veloped, he believes, might well com- memorate that event, with miles and miles of trees along both sides of the roads. according to the urge of the association. Europe is far ahead of America in its avenues of trees guard- ing every road of importance. * ok ok K The American Legion went on record | in behalf of tree planting, at its third | national convention. held in Kansas City: again at its fifth national con- vention, in California, and at the sixth convention, held in St. Paul, in 1924. At all these meetings of the veterans they passed resolutions for the safe- guarding and cultivation of forests or specially beautiful trees. The Legion has done something very tangible in tree memoriums, by the planting of a 5.000-acre forest in Herkimer Coun! New York, the work beginning in 192 This enormous enterprise, begun seven vears ago to commemorate the war, is now nearly completed. with the entire 5,000 acres covered with young trees. Leglonnaires of Minneapolis have adorned Victory Memorial Driveway with 1,000 trees planted two on each side of the drive, so that they stand “right by fours,” in grand parade down the boulevard. In Newport News the Leglonnaires made a house-to-housecan- vass of the citizens, to “sell the idea the League of Nations and the Red Cross, he has little respect for. It is Germany which is “the laboratory of the world” and from which “the over- whelming majority of all great Euro- peans have come.” Count Keyserling has much to say about “psyches” and “conditiongng” and “the mother "prob- lem” angPof course about beautiful of planting trees upon the lots of the homes of the city. In Sigourn~y, Iowa, .a Legion post of only 100 members bought a 30-acre field in which to de- velop a city perk, adorned with trees, in memory of their deceased “buddies.” ‘What more fitting? Not “storied urn or animated bust” so well betok-ns living memory. Cedars and other evecr- greens may be planted on Armistice day, in all localitis where thy grow. There are 11,000 American Legion posts in the United States, and of these, ac- cording to the records of the American Tree Association, fully 2,500 posis have :aken an active part, or leading initiative in tree-planting. * K K K ‘Women's clubs throughout the coun- try have long made tree-planting a fea- ture of their work: so do the Boy Scouts —half a million of the most energetic and patriotic boys in the country. Some railroad companies have planted shade trees along many miles of their rizhts of way. In Michigan and some parts of Pennsylvania—probably other States as well—apple trees, instead of shade trees, have been planted aleng high- wayvs for many miles. From Detroit to the Indiana line there is a magnificent highway so lined on both sides wit apple trees, not only planted by the State, But annually sprayed and cared for by county foresters under State direction. When sonie one asked who was to get- the apples, a State official confided the secret that it hoped that they would all be confiscated by automobile tourists from outside of Michigan, who would thus discover and tell the home folks how excellent are Michigan apples. Why not apple trees as well as shade trees— they supply both shade and fruit. In this age of millions of Americans taking long tours every season, in automobiles, the beauty and attractiveness of public highways become of greatly enhanced interest. We are becoming an outdoor people, and will think more and more of what is to be scen as we ride the moiles. The glory of outdoors is in trees. * K % % Not only may trees be used to com- memorate heroes and great events; they may become one's own memorial, more lasting and more beneficent than marble shafts. Years ago Mr. J. Sterling Mor: ton went West to live in Nebraska. There he looked upon the treeless prairies, and, knowing that the broad ranges of grass had once supported for= ests, he began to plant trees. It became his hobby, long before he became United States Secretary of Agriculture. In 1872 he established Arbor day for the encouragement of tree planting. His own forestry developed and the trees be- came great as well as numerous. Toe- day at the entrance to that prairie grown forest is a bronze tablet in mem- ory of its planter, bearing the injunc- tion, “If you would see my monument, look about you.” * ok ok % There is no one who has done more for American forestry than has the president of the American Forestry As- sociation, Charles Lathrop Pack. It is not generally known that Mr. Pack not only founded the association, but that he alone supports it financially; it has no income except from him—not even dues. Yet it maintains offices occupy- ing an entire building on Sixteenth street, and is astonishingly active in tree propaganda not only in America, but over battle-scarred Europe, to which, at Mr. Pack's expense, millions of tree seeds were sent immodiately after the World War—especially to France. These seeds have been propagated in French nurseries and are now ready to be " planted. It supplies free to schools and individuals “primers” on forestry— printed by the million—and other pub lications on trees, of very great inter- est and value. What a memorial to Charles Lathrop Pack! In Colonial days, a man with a hobby for apple trees tramped across Ohio, scattering apple seeds as he journeyed. Those seeds grew into wild apple trees in forest and field, and the Buckeye people remember to this day their debt to “Appleseed Johnny.” Wil not future generations of the PFrench ever associate their forests with the Yankee, Mr. Pack. and his millions of seeds? In 10 of the leading American forestry schools, there is a Pack Foundation giving annual prizes for forestry efficiency. Surely the day will come when the Morton sentiment in bronze must be repeated for this later champion of trees. There is much to be said on behalf of reforestation from a standpoint economic, but today the theme is not lumber, but memorial forestry, or road- side trees. They give rest and peace to man and beast. Give fools their gold and knaves their wer; Let }:’nune’a bubbles rise and fall; women, whom he was said to demand in w at his lectures the Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is all. “Coprrighy 1084 by Faul V. Collina) .