Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1928, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C THURSDAY. ....October 11, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office X nnsylvanta Ave. York Office: 110 East 42nd ‘St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. Buropean Office; 14 Regent St.. Londen, Englan: Rate by Carrier Within the City. Evening Star_...... 45¢ per month he Evening and Sunday St y8) . .60c per month in Dally and Sunday, Daily only Sunday only . All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l yr., $12.00: 1 mo., $1. Daily only .. 1 yr., $8.00: 1 mo., Sunday only 1 yr, $5.00; 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for rspublication of all 1 ews ais- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the .ocal rews published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. On Their Way. In a day of dashes and races and contests and non-stop flights of one sort or another there is something of assuring and solid comfort in the rather prosaic start yesterday of Comdr. Richard E. Byrd's expedition to the South Pole. There was cheering and the ships in the harbor dipped their colors in salute as the big whaler C.A. Larsen, mother ship of the expedition, left her berth and headed out from San Diego for the cvon sea. But that " 15 all over now, and today the C. A. Larsen is sailing over the ocean, “slow but steady,” while her crew takes up = daily and monotonous routine of hard work that will last for more than a year and a half. Some time next month the C. A. Larsen will pick up the fleet of three other ships of the expedition at Dune- din, New Zealand, and this expensive THE EVE N ber, should rise to record prices and that the advances should be in units much greater than the prices of the seats themselves a few decades ago. The present condition of the stock market is giving much concern to some, who feel that prices are too high and that a reaction is bound to come. But this feeiing has prevailed for more than comparatively slight reversals, the price average has kept up. The “public,” or non-professional buyer class, has con- tinued to demand securities, both for investment and for speculation. brokers have been kept busy supplying {their needs. The fact that a new “high” for an exchange seat has just been paid may be regarded as an in- dication that there is no grave appre- hension on the part of the professional traders on the score of a possible sud- den and severe slump. This optimism may be unjustified, but the price of exchange seats continues to mount and it is now predicted that before the close of the current calendar year the half- million point will be reached. ey The Express Strike. Yesterday morning about 9,000 em- ployes of the American Railway Ex- press Co. in New York City went on strike and tied up the deliveries of all materials handled by that organization, which reach a total of about 700 car- loads a day. This merchandise includes food supplies, and the stoppage of de- liveries, if continued, would seriously affect the provisioning of the metro- politan area. Efforts to carry on the work of distribution with non-union operatives were resisted by the strikers, but fortunately there was no disorder, although the movement of goods was seriously impeded and great quantities of perishables accumulated at termi- nals. This strike, which will probably be settled in short order, grows out of a jurisdictional dispute between labor or- ganizations. There are two brother- hoods in competition for the member- ship of the teamsters, chauffeurs and stablemen who handle express traffic. These are the International Brotherhood and completely equipped armada of present-day exploration and discovery will continue its leisurely voyage to the “bottom of the world” After a base is established in the Antarctic the ex- pedition will begin its real work of sclentific exploration, operating from there. Comdr. Byrd in his farewell message yesterday took pains to em- phasize the fact that this trip is in of Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks. Some years ago the American Federation of Labor ruled that the teamsters’ broth- erhood should have jurisdiction over the men who are in dispute, but the other organization refused to obey the edict and was ousted from the federa- tion] Last Décember a peace agree- ment was arranged and in May the no sense a “dash to the Pole,” as the headlines will have it soon, nor will there be any racing. From the start the expedition has been arranged and planned on a business basis. There may be adventure and thrilling tales -, may come out of this voyage. But the edventure and the thrills will be mere incidentals. The less there are of them, the greater will be the credit to Comdr. Byrd and his associates for their effi- ciency and careful planning. ‘The expedition is not seeking to “dis- cover” the South Pole. That has been « done before—twice. Comdr. Byrd plans to fly over the Pole, but he is not guided in this hope by sentiment alone. ‘The chief aim of the expedition is to procure scientific data for a dozen or more scientific societies and to make accurate maps of a region that, rela- tively speaking, is unknown. This task cannot be accomplished by haphazard methods. And from the first the plans have been drawn with an eye to detail never approached by any other expe- dition of discovery. The cost alone has been staggering. Equipment and the maintenance and salary of the eighty- two men who make up the party's per- sonnel require $1,150,000. The fact that the money -was raised by public sub- scription and came from thousands of large and small contributors in all parts of the country indicates the Nation’s :faith in Comdr. Byrd's ability and the soundness of his scheme. The progress of this expedition will be followed by & world that has grown blase from watching a succession of miracles, but will always clothe with romance the experiences of brave men in a strange land. { ———— Much comment has been directed to colloquialisms over the campaign radio. Gov. Smith pronounces the first syllable as “rad” in “radish.” It is a point of difference interesting to scholars, but dictionaries have become so liberal in optional pronunciations that philological considerations are not likely to subordi- nate farm relief and the tariff. ————— Racketeers loom obtrusively. But their methods are too abrupt to have much force in deciding an election. Recyrd Price for Exchange Seats. Ydjterday a seat on the New York Stock Exchange was sold for a new rec- ord price, $450,000. This was an advance ©of $25,000 over the last previous sale of a week ago. There being 1,100 seats, or, in other words, members of the exchange, the value of the total mem- bership of that body is now rated at $467,500,000. ‘The advance in Steck Exchange seat quotations during the past few years has been remarkable. In 1924 the price was $101,000, in 1925 it was $150,000 and in 1926 it was $175,000. Thus it is to be observed that the rate of in- crease has grown extraordinarily. The reason is to be found in the figures of the transactions on the exchange. In 1924 the total transactions for the year from January 1 to October 10 amount- ed to 186,628,872 shares; in 1925, dur- ing the same period, the sales involved 325,722,881 shares; in 1926 they totaled 354,004,507 shares; in 1927 the total was 431,824,843 shares and during this current year there have been dealings involving 647,118,277 shares. ‘Thus nearly three and a half times the vol- ume of business has been transacted on the exchange this year ‘over that of four years ago. The value of a seat on the exchange 4s measured by the opportunities for the transaction of business. For each share of stock sold the broker gets a «commission. When the trading is dull the brokers make small profits. When 4t is active they make big earnings. A two-million-share day in 1924 was ex- oeptional. Now a two-million-share day is regarded as exceedingly dull. Four- million-share days are the rule rather than the exception. And the brokers federation council lifted the ban from the railway clerks and they were wel- comed back into that organization, this action to be brought before the federa- tion itself at the New Orleans meeting next month for final settlement. The president of the Brotherhood of Rail- way and Steamship Clerks has declared that the action of the New York ex- pressmen in striking is without the sanction of the brotherhood and has ordered the strikers to return to service immediately. This is in consequence of a realization that the starting of an unautherized strike seriously preju- dices the status of the brotherhood be- fore the federation. It is expected that the brotherhood executive, who is now on the scene of action, will secure a speedly resumption of work. But the incident has its serious effect in demon- strating the insecurity of contracts with labor organizations whoge status is un- certain. ‘The stoppage of the distribution of food supplies strikes at the health and even the life of the community. The delivery of necessities is a prime essen- tial and if interrupted it may cause a desperate situation, justifying the most extreme measures for correction. Un- certain relationships and unstable re- sponsibilities growing out of jurisdic- tional disputes cannot be tolerated. ‘The right of collective bargaining, as it is called, imposes the responsibility for faithful performance, under such agreements as may be reached through collective action. Any breaking of con- tract in a service which vitally affects the welfare of the community is an offense against which the law may be invoked. Applications of injunction writs would in such a condition be fully justified, although the inequity of the invocation of the law in restraint of strikes may be evident in other cases. —— e It is not possible to assume that op- posing candidates are personally as em- bittered toward each other as the orators filling minor speaking dates might make it appear. Helen Wills’ Feet. ‘Whatever else may be said about amateur sports, it ‘cannot be asserted. that the American public suffers from ennui in contemplation and. considera- tion of the various controversies that envelop them. Having just finished with the strange case of Tilden, who, according to the United tes Lawn Tennis Assoclation, violated the ama- teur rule and yet is not a professional, the public is again edified by the hulla- baloo raised in California because Helen Wills, the champion of champions, al- legedly broke an engagement to play before a crowd that would have netted a tennis club some thirty thousand dol- lars. It appears that the Wills exhi- bition had been well advertised and many tickets had been sold for the event. Miss Wills, however, found that injuries to her feet would prevent her playing on the concrete court on which the match was scheduled and wired the club of her decision. At this point the villain enters the plot. A club scout followed Miss Wills’ wire with his own, in which he stated that he had seen her playing tennis the day before the proposed exhibition. And then the scan- dal broke, notwithstanding the fact that the mother of the woman champion explained, logically, it would seem, that Helen played an experimental set to ascertain whether she could participate in the exhibition. Dispatches from California do not state what detective agency was em- ployed, it any, to shadow Miss Wills in her home before the match was to take place. They, likewise, do not state whether or not the club took out in- surance on her appearance in order to make sure that it would not lose the estimated thirty thousand dollars which this amateur’s appearance would bring. Neither do they explain the conception of amateurism that will permit a club to fill its coffers to overflowing by rejoice in consequence. It is no wonder, therefore, that the price of exchange the efforts of those who almost have to a year, and, save for occasional and | The | |tooth paste in order to remain amateurs. Of course, it is not polite to break engagements for anything without good reason, but it would appear that Miss Wills had ample excuse for declining to play. Even if she did not—and those who know her cannot conceive of this young lady being anything but cour- teous—the tennis club makes a spec- tacle of itself when it attempts to hold her in an unfavorable light for the breaking of an engagement which has the dollar sign written all over it, from its own selfish standpoint. It is prob- able that lack of public sympathy for the club’s stand will cause the initial outburst to be the’last on this subject, but there are probally plenty more | sport controversies of all kinds in the offing, and boredom is still a remote possibility for the public. . - o Long-Distance Stage Censorship. Mayor Walker of New York, who has recently begun a crusade against inde- cent plays in that ecity, has a plan to prevent the presentation of objection- able shows in metropolitan theaters. It is the practice of producers to try out their performances in other cities be- ifore presenting them on New York stages. After privately rehearsing the shows in New York, they take the com- panies out to the “sticks” for what are virtually final “shake-down” rehearsals before audiences. Some of the cities that are selected for this procedure ob- ject seriously to being classed as mere try-out towns. For instance, Philadel- phia has occasionally been used for that purpose. Its metropolitan spirit is of- fended at the implication of being classed in the theatrical category of Trenton or Hartford, Utica or Scranton. However that may be, Mayor Walker is now going to send the secretary of the Police Department, who was a dramatic critic before taking public office, out on the read to inspect shows that are being thus rehearsed in public, and so get a line on them before they open in New York. He believes that this will prevent some of the more salacious and objectionable offerings from appearing in uncensored form on the metropoli- tan stage. If the managers are dis- posed to make the changes which the mayor’s dramatic critic suggests before the show is brought to Broadway, there will be no occasion for police interven- tion. . This would seem to be a sensible arrangement. It would cut out the un- wholesome advertising of a performance incident to police supervision in Man- hattan. The publicity caused by the giving of police orders to eliminate ob- Jjectionable features has had the effect of crowding the houses. Mayor Walker thinks that this is an undeserved pros- perity, and he is going to try by this method of pre-production survey to stop box office rushes inspired by re- ports of naughtiness which may escape official supervision. ———————— ‘Tennessee is favored by circumstances. “Evolution” thrust the old Magnolia State into attention. As interest in this topic subsides, politics turns on the searchlight. —— e Mergers assert so much influence that Judge Gary's idea of a “gentlemen’s agreement” promises to become the dominating social force of the world. The coming election has stimulated into action that large element of social impatience that wants to settle every- thing at once. ——ee— Motion pictures can talk. So can a campaign speaker. The important con- sideration is supplying something to say. —— e Each Summer produces a number of “don’ts.” 'This year they have related more to politics than to health. Politics, like the movies, joins Cali- fornia and New York in making the big display. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Sweet Relief. “Efficiency” is in the air. You find it mentioned everywhere. Each man proceeds, with mind serene, To be a part in a machine. ‘What gentle bliss may we attain When we all impulse can restrain, And simply work, to meet the test, Because a lever has been pressed! Impulsive “Ego” causes grief. “Efficiency” brings sweet relief. The Hope, the Fear, are needless quite, If the machine is working right. Safe Salutation. “Why do you prefer to speak from the rear platform of a train?” “I do not have to commit myself,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I delay the falk until the engineer pulls out and then take off my hat and wave my hand to the crowd.” Unrewarded Talent. The many things that Histories teach May leave us quite dejected. The man who makes the finest speech Can't always get elected. Jud Tunkins says one mistake a woman is likely to make in politics is thinking that all the rest of the world is as easy to convince as her husband. Into the Machinery. The world machine is all serene. Some politician bold will clench His fist and cry, “LJl spoil the scene! I'm going to throw a monkey-wrench.” Among Those. “You danced with the Prince of Wales?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “A glorious experience!” “Only a disappointment. There was no printed mention of the distinction, I was only one of the many who had lingered for hours on the waiting list.” “Old superstitions were comforting,” saild Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “There is little to be feared from a demon who can be scared by a pack of firecrackers.” ; “Hidictifiorum.” Brief words have into favor grown, As men discuss the news. A pugllist polite, alone, ‘The longest words may use. “I votes de way I thinks,” said Uncle Eben, “but some o' dese politicianers sho’ do have a way of mixin' up de seats, which are strictly limited in num- account for the money they spend on thinkin'." ) v 4 ‘THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A man's library is to be measured not by the books in it he has read, but by the books he has not read. The store of reading matter in®re- serve is what counts with the discrimi- nating. Let no man boast of the books he has read, but point rather to the works he hes purchased to read scme time or other. Unread books are the true measure of a collection, yet many a good house- wife nags at her husband for bringing home so many books to lie unread on the shelves. Such erring husbands are right. They know one of the greatest satis- factions of bookdom—the having a good store of reading matter as yet unread, to which one may turn on those querulous evenings when nothing else will do. The radio sounds distinctly below par. Maybe the owner has a new elec- tric set which requires 110 to 120 volts to operate it, and the dear electric light company is giving him 94 volts from 5 to 9 pm. Perhaps conversation is lagging, as it will now and then. Maybe bridge sounds unprofitable and stale. It re- quires too much energy to go to the theater, One's friends are all out of town. In such a situation what good is a set of Dickens if one has read all of Dickens? On such a night a good book still unread is_a Godsend. This is better than any Dickens that ever was writien. So, of course, until read! After that it may prove better or worse. One has to take a new book as cne takes a bride. * K K X ‘When one is in that apathetic state when it is almost too much trouble to raise a hand, a book in the house is worth 10 in the book store. No one is going to go downtown at night to buy a book. As a matter of fact, the stores are closed. If one pines for a certain volume, he must wait until tomorrow unless he had the fore- sight to have purchased it yesterday. To keep ahead of the reading game one must do two things: 1. Get over the idea that unread books are an extravagance. 2, Purchase on .a basis of likes and dislikes. An unread book in a shelf is no more extravagant than 10 gallons of gaso- line in the automobile tank. You must have the gas to get any- where, and you must have the book to get somewhere. It is all a question of reserve power, only most of us are not so used to locking at books in the light of mileage. There is a mental mileage, however, quite as important in its way as the sort which is measured off by reeling miles of road and little numbers show- ing up at intervals in a round instru- ment called a speedometer. Our mental mileage may be meas- ured in more ways than one. Ideas are its speedometer. Many a thinker who never moves from his seat travels to the stars and back in a single night. ‘There is mileage for you! Good books also measure the mental miles. ‘Theodore Roosevelt not only was a great physical traveler; he was an even greater mental traveler. His recorded and unrecorded intellectual mileage was tremendous. Some temperaments must fight against the temptation to let the miles stay entirely in the books. Every book must be read some time. Let no book, therefore, remain too long unread: Too long unused, it might as well have stayed in the book shop. Above all, the book lover must see to it that he chooses his-dormant read- ing strictly on the basis of his own likes and dislikes. He must make sure that no one selects his books for him except himself. He should censider himself the best judge in the world of what he ought to read, of what he wants to read, if he is to reap the full benefit and pleasure from books. No one can pick a book for you any more than they can choose a wife for you, Tastes never agree on wives or books. The happy thing' about books is that 2 mistake is not very costly, after all. Suppose you do buy a poor book now and then, what difference does it make? Every one has had the experience of paying $4 or $8 for a show and coming away intensely disappointed with the piece. Yet most persons re- fuse to be turned from their love of the drama just because they make a “poor pick,” ‘as the saying is. No one is going to make a perfect selection of books, either old or new. One cannot hit the bull's-eye always. It is better to miss it now and then than to turn the matter over to some self-appointed critic who solemnly as- sures the world of readers that his choice is infallible. 0 ek e The reason why every reader must be his own judge is simply that no other person can get right into a man’s mind and heart and know exactly what he likes and what he does not like. A good book today is not cheap as a general rule, especially if it be a new one, hot from the roaring press. It behooves the average book buyer to make as sure as possible that the volume he selects is actually one he will like, He can only do this if he refuses to be lured aside from his own lixes and dislikes by the push and pull of adver- tising and the urgings of other readers. What is it to me if Sam Jones likes a book that I know to be distasteful to me? . Why should I read a story whose very title leaves in me a sense of distate? If a novel deals with a theme that bores me, why should I waste my money, to say nothing of my time, in reading it? Even at the best, no reader can ever be sure that he will enjoy a book, no matter how carefully he has selected it. Just as the skin changes from year to year imperceptibly, but none the less surely, just as the man of today is not the same man of 10 years ago, so the books of ome’s present selection may grew cold on the shelf. % A reader must run the danger. That is why he should not wait too long be- fore reading most of the reserve vcl- umes. He can always keep a futures section by constantly adding to it, by keeping ahead of his reading by his buying. > ‘Thus he may have in his cases un- read such a volume as the fat “Great French Short Stories,” containing, with other stores, the original “Cin- derella,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and *Puss-in-Boots.” No sooner does he read this tome then he buys Emil Ludwig’s “The Son of Man,” and George Bernard Shaw's “The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Soclalism and Capitalism.” Maybe he comes home the next week with “Bertrand Russell's “Philosophy” and Stark Young’s “The Torches Flare,” or a copy of the: play “The Front Page.” Unread but not unhonored, they wait patiently on the shelves for the explor- ing hand and mind and the under- standing heart. Borah’s Part as Campaigner Subject of Political Debate Senator Borah's speeches for the Re- publican ticket are the subject of hot partisan debates. Democratic spokes- men resent particularly implications against Gov. Smith on account of his connection with Tammany Hall, while on the Republican side great satisfac- tion is found in the Idaho Senator's attack on Gov. Smith's attitude toward the farm problem. “Senator Borah met Gov. Smith upon a fleld which the la.er had recently visited, in something of the governor's own caustic manner,” says the Madison Wisconsin State Journal (independent), referring to the addresses of the two men at St. Paul, and expressing the judgment that “as far as Wisconsin is concerned, no doubt Gov. Smith’s power and strength climaxed at the Milwaukee meeting.” That paper holds that Mr. Borah’s speech probably marks the be- ginning of the recession of the Smith wave in these Northwest farm States.” “The deflation of farm values, which the governor charges against the Re- publican party,” according to the Bos- ton Transcript (independent), “Borah shows to have been the stubborn act and obsession of the Democratic Sec- retary of the Treasury, against which distinguished members of his own party pleaded in vain. Nor did Senator Borah overlook the fact that Herbert Hoover would hardly have tendered the tribute to his cabinet associate of Tea- pot Dome fame which Gov. Smith paid to Charles P, Murphy when that chief- tain died.” * K K * “Senator Borah went back several years into Gov. Smith's farm-relief views,” remarks the Indianapolis News (independent), “and concluded that he knew nothing of the subject, was neither for nor against the McNary-Haugen bill, and that the only thing certain about him was that he promised to appoint a commission. Likewise, in the waterways problem, the governor pro- poses to appoint a commission of engi- neers to tell him what to do. Whereat the Senator remarks that Hoover, as an engineer and as President, will meet the requirements of the situation.” The News feels that the Senator “cleared up some of the rubbish of the campaign,” speaking at Minneapolis. Speaking of corruption, the Cleveland News (independent Republican) says #plain speaking is not an attribute of Gov. Smith alone,” and concludes: “We can heartily agree with Senator Borah that every Republican is not responsible for the acts of every other Republican, and likewise with Democrats. If a man had to get out of his party every time somebody in it was caught in a dis- graceful act, where could he go after the first two or three scandals? The supply of Tammany Hall is also lim- ited to one, and adherents of the gov- ernor might candidly point out that he simply had to assoclate himself with it if he would get on in the Democratic polities of New York, little as he may have liked its record.” It is noted by the Lincoln State Journal (independent Republican) that in one speech “Senator Borah showed that when the Democrats criticize Hoover for anything he did during the war they are criticizing the adminis- tration of President Wilson, a Democrat, the great war President. Borah and many of his hearers conclude that the Democrats had best stick to the issues of the campaign.” * K ok % Replies to Senator Borah's statements on Tammany and the price of wheat under the food control act are made by the Portland Oregon Journal (inde< pendent). Of the former it says: “Hoo- ver appeared before committees of Con- gress and recommended a ‘fixed price.” Congress rejected his ideas, believing the market should remain open. In the same act it granted licensing power to the Food Administration. Hoover, as soon as appointed, turned that authority to make the ‘minimum price’ @ ‘fixed price.’” Of the Tammany issue, the Journal declares: “Tammany was not Governor of New York for four terms. Tammany has not been put forward by a great political party as its candidate for the presidency. Why not talk about Mr. Smith's record as gov- ernor? Where does Tammany appear in that record? Where is the graft in that administration? * * *' No man in New York was compelled to ask for public subscriptions to pay back tainted money received by Mr. Smith's party, as Mr. Borah himself was compelled to ask for public subscriptions.” “No grafting has been charged against Tammany Hall during Smith’s connection with that organization,” states the Sioux City Tribune (inde- pendent), with the added comment, “Many New York critics of Tammany Hall, on the other hand, have cred- ited him with helping to improve the political standards of the city Demo- cratic organization.” T g “It would have been fairer of Senator Borah,” urges the Canton Daily News (independent Democratic), “to compare the administration with which ‘Secre- tary Hoover was connected with the administration of Gov. Smith. He was the ‘Tammany’ Governor of New York. Was there any scandal? Miraculously, not a bit. New York has had honest and notably efficient government. Mr. Hoover was a part of the Harding- Coolidge administration at Washington. Was there corruption in that adminis- tration? The most fearful the country ever sdw." Referring to Senator Borah's cam- ificent in its bravery and " to collect $160,000 for re- orruption money which Sin- clair had paid to the Republican party,” the Omaha World-Herald (in- dependent) suggests, “Not as an im- pertinence, with not the slightest desire to embarrass him, but that the people may know, we most respectfully sug- gest that Senator Borah reconcile his gzrtls-n pleas with his brave denuncia- i Taking up responsibility for “the fixing of the price of wheat during the war, while other prices were permitted to go sky high,” the Great Falls Trib- une (Democratic) says: “Congress in- tended to guarantee that the farmer should get no less than $2 a bushel. Herbert Hoover used his power so that ;;Aezo("nmer could get no more than UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. Americans clear Argonne Forest, effecting one of the most notable achievements of the World War. They have taken what was regarded as an impregnable position and one for the possession of which hundreds of thou- sands of men have died in the last four years and two months and its loss is most serious for the German command. * * * Gen. March, Chief of Staff, announces that the War De- partment has now passed the 1,900,000 mark in shipping troops to Europe. * * * Germans retreat on the Douai and Laon fronts and are cvacuating the Chemin des Dames under pressure of the converging attack west and south of it. * * * The enemy quits the Suippe front as the French force evacuation of 37 miles in a 6-mile thrust. The Ger- mans are abandoning their whole line along the Sensee River. * * * Marshal Haig closes in on Douai and captures several villages to the west and south, cutting the German rail communica- tions. * * * Trdvelers arriving from Germany assert they encountered con- siderable risks because American and French heavy guns were bombarding with real effectiveness the railways con- necting the southern Rhine cities. * * * Herole troops stand at attention as American transport Otranto sinks in a collision in the North Channel. Three hundred and seventy-two are till miss- ing. * * * Seven hundred and forty-four names on casualty list given out today, including 376 dead and 315 wounded. PHILOSOPHIES BY GLENN FRANK 1 have just had an experience with a dictionary that had lost its soul; the life of the time had walked past it since its last revision in 1911. Magnificent product of patient schol- arship, its 1911 edition stands as Vivldl testimony to the rapidity with which a living language can change. Not only does the choice of words | change with the years, but the content | of words changes with the years. “I take it that all the departments of human life have to be rewritten by men under the influence of the spirit of science,” said F. W. Sanderson, the schoolmaster extraordinary of Oundle. “Our books have to be rewritten, our very dictionaries. I have often amused myself with the Oxford Dictionary, or found it necessary to send a boy to that authority for a definition, and it has pretty nearly always been false. Take such a simple case as the word ‘democ- racy.’ The Oxford Dictionary hasn't a thing to tell you about the meaning of democracy as we use it today. It tells you nothing of the living use of words."” This is not, of course, a special crit- icism of the Oxford Dictionary; it is simply a statement of the fact that hirngunge tends always to lag behind e. Muych of our leadership—in politics, in education, in religion—is talking to us in a foreign tongue, not the foreign tongue of another people, but the for- eign tongue of another generation. Leadership becomes wedded to old words and resents attempts-upon the part of mankind to get-at the meaning of politics, religion and other fields, in terms that mean something vital to it at the moment, and yet life grows sterile if men are slaves of their dictionaries. There is nothing irreverent in the Christianized African whose involuntary imagination pictures a black god. There is nothing irreverent in the Chinese mind that pictures the Prodigal Son with a pigtail. I have seen an audience of rough and rebellious men moved to tears by the story of the crucifixion told in the argot of the modern under- world of thieves and thugs. Words are not sacred. Words are tools with no meaning apart from their efficlency or ineffi- lency in what they do to the person who hears them. A gunshot in a vac- uum would make no sound. And just as a sound that meets no ear to receive it is soundless, so a word that meets no mind lbo which it has no meaning is meaning- ess. ‘We must not become too closely wed- | ded to our words, our slogans, our for- mulations of truth. (Copyright. McClure Newspaver Svndicate.) —— e Poison Guards Gems In New Guinea Island BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. The legend of a poisonous valley in the island of New Guinea, where vast treasures of diamonds lie openly on the - ANSWERS TO What do you need to know? Is there some point about your business or per- sonal life that puzzles you? Is there something you want to know without | delay? Submit your questicn to Fred- eric J. Haskin, director of our Wash- ington Information Bureau. He is em- ployed to help you. Address your in-| Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, | Washington, D. C., and inclose 2 cents | in coln or stamps for return postage. Q. In early days did Egyptian womery weave materials?—N. N. A. Herodotus says that the Egyptian men remained at home and wove while the women trafficked in the markets. . When was the Authors' League of America formed?—D. G. A. It wal founded in New York City BY PAUL V. Some trustful Americans regarding the menace of Soviet Communism in the United States would be shocked to read a certain official book issued by the Communist party of Great Britain within the last few weeks, which has just reached America. It is entitled “The Communist_International Between the Fifth and Sixth World Congresses.” It is a review of recent communistic ac- tivities in all countries of the world. What interests us Americans particu- larly is what it tells about communistic plans to overturn the United States Government. Too many Americans, con- ceding that there is danger to distant countries—such as those of South Amer- ica and Asia—refuse to see any pos- sibility of danger to the United States. “God reigns and the Government at Washington still lives!” Long mayeit | live! < * ok kK Socialists are fond of claiming that they have no relation to communism. This review officially defines “Differ- ences in the Organizational Structure of Socialist and Communist Parties” as fol- lows: Z “The Communist parties in the capi- talistic countries have been formied out of the Left Wings of the Socialist parties, * * * “In the Socialist parties only the leaders constitute the guiding force. * » ¢ In the Communist parties it is just the contrary, all work is carried on through and based upon the activity and self-initiative of the rank and file mem- bership. “In the Soclalist parties there is no regid discipline. The Communist parties, on the contrary, must be built on the basis of iron organizational discipline.” * oK oK K Describing the martyrdom of Com- munists, the book says: “In Italy one- third of the Communist party are in prison.” So it confesses that the in- ground, but are unreachable because of some mysterious death-dealing 'poison which strikes down any one who ven- tures near, is to be investigated by the methods of modern science, Many times repeated in native folk- lore, this story has more definite sup- port from the account of one survivor of a pair of European prospectors who penetrated to this valley some years ago. When he had made his way back to civilization, this man described how he and his partner found the valley partner fell dead while stooping to pick them up. ‘The lucky survivor who had not stooped to reach the treasure was Irish {and not without the superstitions of his race. He incontinently fled. Geologists to whom this form of the story is fa- miliar have long suspected that it is quite real, the cxflmaunn being the presence of some dangerous gas, prob- ably either carbon monoxide or carbon dlr_:;t!de. ose grou to n the unwary visitor or to de- prive him of oxygen and thus insensibly to suffocate him. Similar instances have been encountered in caves, abandoned mines and near volcanoes. It is now reported in the East Indies that a corporation plans renewed search for the poison-guarded treasure, the prospectors to be equipped with the newest types of gas masks, which are rélied upon to stop any poison, as well a8 with instruments to detect the dan- gerous gases and to counteract them if they are found. r—o Hazing Death Blame gases probably seep out of the into the treasure valley, either To the Editor of The Star: Recently your paper published news items and photographs of hazing or initiation pranks, perpetrated by some of our college students. One can only have a revulsion of feeling when reading or hearing about such actions on the part of young men, who, we are led to believe, are seekers after cultural knowledge. Such conduct is neither clever nor amusing, rather it is stupid and pa- thetic. However, let us place the blame where it belongs. The faculty body—in its entirety—of any institution of learning in the country, that permits hazing, is blameful and deserving of condemna- tion from self-respecting citizens of America, who desire all that is best for their sons and daughters. An effort to elevate the morale of students through suppression of hazing lwou:d be a laudable one, to say east. & ‘When we read of the death of a youth from hazing in a Texas college and re- call similar tragedies, it does not seem Jossible the thinking people of the coun- try, who patronize colleges, are going to countenance these outrages against lawv, order and helpless youth. 1. G. DEXTER. Safety Light Favored On Monument at Night To the Editor of The Star: Speaking of having the dirigible Los Angeles properly lighted, why not con- sider a stationary or revolving light on top of the Washington Monument? This no doubt would mean consider- able expense to erect, but think what would happen if an aeroplane or diri- gible would crash into this tall and im- posing shrine and mar its beauty. ‘The Arlington and navy yard towers have their danger signals, and as traffic in the air at night is continuously grow- ing, I believe this article should have some consideration before it is too late. WALTER J. RECK. You'd Expect This. From the Detroit News. A local young bride called up the meat market yesterday for some vita- mins without the liver, not caring a great deal for liver. ———————— That Helps Some. From the Dayton Dally News. Motorists are so well trained these days that no matter where they hit a pedestrian they know just where the nearest hospital is. Maybe It Was a Nice Hat. From the Akron Beacon Journal. ‘Thieves broke a large plate glass window at a store and stole one hat. Next they'll be shooting up some res- taurant to get a toothpick. They Both Eat, However. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A California child, 22 months old, and saw the diamonds, but how the | Imputed to Faculty [part is said to have a vocabulary of 300 words, or about the same as the chair- .man of & luncheon club. crease of Communism in Italy has come to a standstill, through “the never- ending arrests, which are depleting our ranks.” It adds: “In regard to re- pressions against the Communist party, a number of other countries do not lag behind Italy—for instance, Poland, Bul- garia, Rumania, Jugosiavia and Hun- gary. Brutal extermination of any one suspected of Communism is going on in China and Indonesia. In Japan, and particularly in Korea, being convicted of Communism is tantamount to being handed over to the executioner. In India people are sentenced to years of imprisonment simply for a trip to Mos- cow.” Now for America: “According to the ¢. P G,C P F, CP G B and the W. C. P. of America and other countries, all new workers (in factories) are subjected, before being engaged in big enterprises, to a minute examina- tion as to their political reliability.” (“W. C. P.” means Workers’ Communist Party in the. United States.) “As soon as a worker is suspected of sympathy with Communism he is dis- missed and a secret mark is made in his documents which prevents him getting employment. Provocation is develop- ing.. This is the charge against employ- ers in capitalistic United States. “In its work in reorganizing the par- ties on the basis of factory ps, the organizing department chiefly concen- trated its attention on the Commun- ist parties in the major capitalist coun- tries, namely, Germany, Prance, Czecho- slovakia, Great Brita*a and the United States. . 2 “As a result of the reorganization of the Workers' (Communist) party of America on the basis of factory groups, the ground has been prepared for a rad- ical organiz reconstruction of the entire y. Formerly the Workers’ i)‘:ny was a federation of 19 practically pendent Communist parties w{:h their own central committee and local organ- izations, their own party press, etc. After their orgnnlmtlon on the factory basis, this federation of 19 par- been transformed into one cen- tralized Communist, LS . “The reorganization of the Com- munist parties on the basis of factory groups was confronted with tremendous difficulties. For a long time the pro- posals were misunderstood everywhere and therefore met resistance inside the party. Many serious blunders were made, as a result of which it became necessary to start all over again. The reorganization on an international scale has not yet been completed. But it can be definitely said that a decisive change has occurred and that serious progress has been made. “The reorganization of the Commu- nist parties on the basis of factory has, to a considerable extent, to proletarianize the social com= position of the Communist parties.” * ok ok % In citing “chief shortcomings” of the reo) ition, it is declared “the work of the factory groups must be closely linked up with the work of the trade union fractions. As a rule this is not; the case at the present time, and this is | one of the greatest shortcomings in the | entire work of the factory groups in all countries.” The American Federation of Labor, which has fought Communism from the beginning, will smile at this confession that the reorganization has failed to “link up” with it. * ok k% National defense is almost as “wicked" in the eyes of the Communists as trade unions. On page 29 it is stated: “The organizing department paid considerable attention to questions con- nected with anti-militarist work. The organizing department has elab- orated material in regard to individual countries and has held a series of con- ferences with the representatives of individual countries and groups of countries.” Americans will recall the recent ar- rests within the Regular Army of men who had sought to carry out the plnns' above indicated, to subvert the loyalty of our soldiers. The department of agitation and propaganda is reported to be very ac- | tive in supplying newspapers with communistic propaganda and “ 8,” even through telegraph and cable. “The British, Czech and American parties have also held central schools which are supported by the propaganda sub- department of the E. C. C. I, by the drawing up of syllabuses on various subjects in the sphere of Leninism and by instruction on organism and method.” ‘The present writer had an illustra- tion yesterday of what ‘“educational work” the Communists are doing, upon being shown proof sheets of a book edited by a professor of Yale Uni- versity and a press notice of the plans of a group of young woman graduates of Smith College, who are to go to Russia “for investigation.” Much of the matter in the aforesaid book could never be printed in a family newspaper, nor could some of the text in their sex teachings, as used in select colleges for yoang ladies, their open indecencies being too shocking for dis- cussion and absolutely unmailable. cuiry to The Evening Star Information | S. NING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1928. QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. in 1912. Its main puTl- are to procure adequate copyright legislation, protect copyrightable material and as- sist its members in the disposal of their work. s Q. What means of propulsion does the porpoise use when swimming?— W. A. A porpoise propels itself by means of its tail. The dorsal fin is used in guiding. Q. How many boilers has the Levia- than?—E. E. B. A. This steamship is equipped with 46 boilers. Q. What part of a cork remains above water?—S. M. A. Cork is so buoyant that 76 per cent is above water. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS . COLLINS. Speaking of work among co-opera= tives (page 71): “In the United States of America, the party controls com= paratively strong positions and uses them successfully to spread its ideo- logical influence. The sphere of ac- tivity there remains, so far, resiricted to national minorities.” As to tactics in the United States (page 337): “The majority drew the conclusion that the former chief slogan of the party, ‘For the formation of a Farmer- Labor party!’ had to be abandoned as useless. This conclusion was incorrect. The minority was right in having con- fidence in the vitality and future of the Labor party movement. The Com- munists need not demand, nor even expect, that the Labor party will im- mediately be a revolutionary, 1adical party of workers, in which the Commu- nists will have to take the lead. * * * As to the slogan the resolution states: “* Our slogan itself should now be re- vised, in so far that we no longer agi- tate for a Farmer-Labor , but only for a Labor party, since, in the changed conditions, the premises for the forma- tion of a joint party of workers and small farmers is lacking.’” Under “General Activities“and Cam- paigns”: “A vigorous campaign was launched against the American war on Nicaragua, under defeatist slogans, in which for the first time in American labor history the Marines were appealed to on the necessity of fighting against their own Government. Attempts were made to reach the forces in the navy yards, and a number of W. Y. L. were arrested. ‘The party supports the All-American Anti-Imperalist League, a united front organization with its headquarters in Mexico City and a branch in the United States, as well as in the chief Latin American countries. This o1 ition is concentrating its efforts on iting the spread of the influence of the Pan- American Federation of Labor, snd is mobilizing - anti-imperialistic sentiment throughout Latin America to resist the encroachment of Yankee imperialism.” (Somehow that seems to explain Gov. Al Smith’s attack on the Wood- row Wilson policies of intervention in Haiti, Santo Domingo, Mexieo and Nicaragua, which he promises will not be carried out if he be elected. This declaration of Candidate Smith was discussed in this column last Saturday and Tuesday—before this official book of the Communists, had been- discov- ered.) * K Kk ok ‘The official book also discloses: “The campaign for the protection of the foreign-born is conducted by a large, Nation-wide front organization in which the party plays an t role. Its aim is to fight all exceptional laws against the foreign-born workers. At the Second National Conference of this organization, held at Washington, D. C., delegates were present nt- ing 400,000 workers. a special department for work among the foreign-born, in the central apparatus, as well as in every district. * * * The unemployment o wid in erica is the sul of a special party campaign. ‘Unemployment councils’ have been formed in a number of towns, notably New York, where open- air demonstrations have been held and relief kitchens established; in Cleveland, where “the unemployed invaded the meet] of the city council and de- manded work of relief; and the same is true of San Francisco, Denver, etc. ‘The unemployed are being drawnm into trade union organization campaigns, and since its last convention in Decem- ber, 1927, also into the organ of the Trade Union Educational League.” There follows a report of communistic activities in the coal strikes and the textile strike at Passaic and the furriers’ and cloakmakers’ strikes. For agitation in these disturbances the Communists expended $600,000. * K ¥ % It adds: “Four years ago there were not more than 200 students in ‘workers” schools, divided between New York and Chicago party schools. Today, there are schools established in 12 citles, with a student personnel of close to 4,000. All important street nuclei in New York, for example, have from one to four neighborhood courses, as have also various outlying districts. This is also true of other centers. * * * In the Buffalo district (upper New York) s traveling instructor was furnished for six study classes which have an at- tendance of 108 students. In some of these cities, there has never been any form of educational activity before. The Agitprop department has just establish- ed a national party school, consisting of a three-month course. It has 30 students, 3 of whom come from the Canadian party.” * ok ko “The party has 11 dailies in 9 differ- ent languages and 12 weekly publica- tions, besides a number of papers and magazines over which the party has a big influence. The total circulation of the party press is estimated at over 170,000.” The official statement reviews efforts to influence the negroes of both North and South, but without significant suc- cess, for “many timid elements were frightened away by the vicious attach launched against the Congress by the American Federation of Labor official- dom. * * * At the present time the party and the A. N. L. C. in Chicago are aiding in the building of & negro central labor body, which seems to be developing successfully.” ‘The work among housewives in the United States shows: “In Pebruary, 1928, the Workers" party had 12,000 dues-paying members and about 14,000 members on its lists.” * ok ok x B ‘These quotations are but samples of the disclosures in the official review published by the Communists in Great Britain and never intended to reach the general public. ‘This week's issue of the Soviet Union Review, publiShed in Washington, D. C., publishes a long article con the protest of M. M. Litvinov, acting peo- ple’s_commissar for foreign affairs of the U. S. S. R. (Soviet Russia), ad- dressed to the Preparatory Disarmament Commission of the League of Nations. Litvinov_ analyzes and criticizes the Kellogg-Briand multilateral treaty out- lawing war as a national policy except in self-defense. Litvinov presses argu- ments for immediate and total disarma- ment of all nations and ridicules the signers of the treaty against war. The absurd inconsistency of the Sowiet atti- tude in pretending to want all nations to disarm, even while its official go;'.u‘:l;s dtn thm demonstrate its ed cons) to stir and treason in all emmm-—w Juding the capitalistic leader, the ~Unif States—was never more baldly exposed. Yet many Americans are yet to the subyersive influences and within our own gates! % (Copyright, 1928, by Paul V. Colling.)