Evening Star Newspaper, October 19, 1928, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY October 10, THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star Newspaper Compan: Business Offize: | y | 11th St. and Pennsylvania A New York Office: 110 East 47nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. Furopean Off-e._14 Rezent St.. Londen, England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star_ .. 450 per month | The Ev and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) The Evening and Sunday Star Twhen 5 Sundays).. ... | The Sunday Siar : Sc per ccpy | Cotlection made at the end of each mo Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000 | 60c per month | | 65¢ per month | Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday . .1 yr.$10.00: 1 mo., 88¢ | Daily only 1 v, $6.00: 1 mo. Goc | Bunday only $4.00: 1 mo.. 40c Si ’ d Canada. All Other tfitfl arl. ; R 3 Member of the Associated Press. { The Associated Press is ¢xclusively entitled to the use for repnhlication of all 1ews ais- d to it or not ctnerwise cred- per a 150 the .ocal rews 1 ts of puhlication of | are also reserved | A Regular Dirigible Service. The establishment of a regular dirigi- | ble service between Europe and the United States, with at least four giant | airships in a fleet which would make | sailings from both sides possible every | four days, is visualized by Dr. Hugo Eckener, who brought the Graf Zep- pelin from Germany to Lakehurst in the spectacular flight terminated on | from France to America. | jective. In September Bertaud, Hill and Payne perished in their attempt to fly | the Hon. Elsie Mackay left England in ! Mellon goes to Pittsburgh and, care- Roman and Mounevres, French officers, started from St. Louis, Senegal, for Buenos Aires and were never heard from again. The same month Nungesser and | Coli, also French, perished in a flight In August Hamilton Minchin and Princess Lowen- stein-Wertheim were lost in a flight from England with Ottawa as an ob- from Old Orchard, Me., to Rome. The next day Tully and Metcalf disappeared | in an attempted flight from London, Ontario, to London, England. That made twelve deaths in five attempts during the season of 1927. This year there have been but two Atlantic air disasters up to this late flight of Mac- | Donalds. Capt. Walter Hinchliffe and March for a flight to these shores and were never heard from later. Subse- quently Mrs. Frances Grayson and | three companions, Omdal, Golds- | borough and Koehler, were lost off Newfoundland n a flight to that island | en route in an Atlantic crossing. There will be other attempts and | other tragedies, for the lure of the At- | lantic is resistless. MacDonald’s self- sacrifice may not have been in vain, It may have served to indicate the limit | that in the prosent state of aviation sclence is imposed upon solo flying over the sea. Words of a Friend. With the smoke and the noise of the | campaign at thew height, Secretary | fully avoiding even brief reference to Monday. A capital investment of about $10,- | 000,000 would be involved in the proj- | ect, according to the noted German | airman, and it was hinted that this, sum was already in sight. Seven- | engine dirigibles, considerably larger | than the great ship which recently cir- cled over Washington, would be em- ployed. The location of the American terminal near Washington or Baltimore was predicted. | An interesting phase of Dr. Eckener'si scheme was his belief that the service | would be largely devoted to transporting | mails, with only incidental emphasis | placed upon passenger accommodation. ‘Whether or not his recent experiences with the Graf Zeppelin and the report- ed reactions of some of his passengers | to the air crossing play a part in this decision was not stated, the revenue obtainable from carrying mail being the point stressed. But there can be lit- tle doubt, even with no disposition to minimize in the slightest the success of the flight recently achieved, that for the immediate future dirigibles are more likely to be used for carrying inanimate | rather than human freight. There are a variety of factors point- ing to this conclusion. Even with larger ships the space available for passenger occupancy must necessarily be relatively cramped. The time saved | by an air crossing, even on a more di- rect route than that followed in the re- cent flight, is, when compared with the run of fast passenger ships, mo very great matter. No cost figures are avail- | able, but it is not probable that air| transportation would compare favorably with the standard transatlantic pas- senger rates. The mid-Atlantic accident suffered by the Graf Zeppelin em- phasizes the considerable risk which will for some time be involved in pro- tracted air travel. From the standpoints of comfort, safety and cost the ship of the sea will undoubtedly for many years hence en- joy an advantage over her sister of the sky. Where speed is imperative, as it is in certain human instances and in gen- eral with the world's mails, the dirigible ; should come into its own. Dr. Eckener's project is still in its | formative stages. That its development | will be watched with deep interest by a public more than ready to salute his | genius as probably the greatest lighter- | than-air expert of the day is assured. That it may succeed to the utmost will be the wish of millions who thrill to | the achievements of one possessed of broad vision and vast technical ability. | et A trick of rhythm made “S&dewnlks; of New York” popular. Every town has | sidewallss, but so far it has been !ound‘\ difficult to adjust them to the lyrical| possibiliti ————— | While Mayor Jimmy Walker has not{ made himself conspicuous in the pres- ent campaign, it is only reasonable w" assume that he finds ways of enjoying | himself, none th> less. r—————————— Oil sensations made a stir in print, but are no longer regarded by astute| politicians as “best sellers.” e The Nineteenth to Die. { Unless by a miraculous chance Lieut. | Comdr. MacDonald has landed on an | fsolated island off the coast of Ireland | | There is no manufacturing, and the en- the political struggle, delivers an ad- dress upon the beautification of the Na- tional Capital. His description of what has been done and what remains to be done to give Washington “that beauty and dignity to which it is entitled” is devoid of partisanship. He approachcs | | { | rthc subject as an American statesman, not as a Republican Secretary of the | Treasury, and he conceives of the task | confronting those Secretaries of the Treasury who will succeed him as a pa- triotic duty and not as a source of political capital. His picture of Washington stands be- | fore the country in comforting contrast | to some of the smears and daubs with | which we, in Washingion, have grown | familiar. He emphasizes the position of the Capital City as the common prop- erty of every American citizen. “ * ¢ ¢! Washington has many advantages in so far as its future development is con- cerned,” he says. “Its life centers | around the Government, as those who | planned the city intended it should do. | gineering and industrial problems, | which have to be met at such expense | and effort in great industrial centers | like Pittsburgh and Chicago, are en- | tirely absent. Washington is still a city of moderate size, notwithstanding the fact that its population has grown from | seventy-five thousand at the time of the Civil War to about half a million today. But so long as it remains chiefly a seat of Government it will retain its unique character among the cities of the coun- ! try. More and more it will be vmteds by people who will go to Washington because of its beauty and their feeling | of pride and ownership in the Nation's Capital. * * * As it becomes more beautiful, and its fame grows, peoplel will visit it from all parts of the world, and Washington will find, as Paris has done, that architectural and landscape beauty can be a source of profit, as well | as pride and satisfaction, to a city. * * * We should remember that ‘Washington, as President Coolidge has said, should express the soul of Amer- ica. We do well, therefore, to give it that beauty and dignity to which it is entitled. In doing so we are not only carrying out those plans which Wash- ington made so long ago for the city he founded, but, at the same time, we are justifying that faith which he had from the beginning in the future greatness of America.” ‘This is spoken by a friend of Wash- ington, and reflccts a view of the Na- | tion’s Capital that is gaining ground | steadily. Washington can never be| compared with other cities of the Na- | tion, unless there is considered, in this comparison, its unique position as the | Federal City, the common property of | every American, the seat of the National | Government. When this conception takes firm root, and becomes the uni- versal conception, many of the prob- lems which have retarded the develop- ment of the people’s Capital will have been solved; many of those wrongs which those who live in Washington have come to know will have been righted. Those advantages. of which Mr. Mellon speaks will be realized. In choosing and developing this sub- ject for discussion the distinguished Secretary of the Treasury, who enjoys the confidence and the respect of the Natlon, has immeasurably aided the| cause of the Capital City. ] or Scotland or has been picked up at | sea by a ship not equipped with radio, he has gone to his death in what would | appear to have been one of the most daring and desperately dangerous at- tempts of all to fly the Atlantic. In| that event he will be the ninetcenth person to die in the endeavor to cros: that ocean in the air The relatively small size of the plane in which MacDonald set forth from | Newfoundland reduced his chances be- Jow the average. He could carry a fuel supply for only thirty-five hours of fiying, so that without allowance for head winds that would cut down his pace, he would b2 at the necessity of | making the utmost possible speed to get | 5 His craft was not equipped with | pontoons, so that in the event of a Janding on the surface of the sea he could keep afloat only through the buoyancy of his emptied gasoline tanks. It has been estimated that this buoy- ancy would, in a calm sea, keep him afloat only about nty minutes. He had no wireless, thus being incapable of sending messages. He could, in case of a forced descent, merely send up flares which could be seen only a short distance—shorter by day than by night —in the event of the presence of a ship within a few miles. In short, Mac- Donald’s chances, with-a small fuel supply, a machine incapable of remain- ing aflo: munication, were about the smallest of If this flight of MacDonald’s has and with no means of com- ! It has been the valuable mission of | radio to prove that a serlous discussion of statesmanship can eastly hold its own in competiticn with a popular orchestra. a——— Improper Enforcement Methods. A near repetition of the tragic case | of Jacob Hanson of Niagara Falls, who | was shot and fatally injured by un- | uniformed Coast Guardsmen when he | failed to halt at night on a lonely coun- try road, and thet of Miss Botty Hey- wood, who was wounded in th= head by a bullet from the gun of an enforce- ment officer under similar circum- stances, occurred recently near Long Branch, N. J. A prominent investment broker of New York was returning to shore in a dinghy with his family and friends after a trip on his yacht. Pass- ing ‘under the Highlands Bridge, the captain noticed a man in stocking feet and shirt sleeves menacing the party with a rifie. Promptly turning to land, the yachting party was thoroughly searched by the armed man, who, al- though he had no badge of authority, turned out to be a Coast Guardsman. After the search was completed, and no contraband was found, the Coast Guardsman was asked what he would have done if the captain had not caught sight of him on the bridge. He an- swered, “I would have shot to kill.” | And later when the menaced yacht owner indignantly reported the matter to Coast Guard headquarters he was blithely informed by the commander of | the station that “I have no apology to ! boy, used to carry a chip on his shoul- | THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D O FRIDAY: OCTOBER 19, 1928, stop and search all vessels coming in from the sea.” 1t is obvious that this incident should be investigated by higher officials than the one who < so lacking in concep- tion of duty us to say to the head of a family who had been enjoying a harm- less yachting trip that he had ‘“no apologies to ofler,” and who would give orders to his men to “shoot to kill." Undoubtedly, Coast Guardsmen along the New Jersey shore have tough cus- tomers to deal with in the smuggling of liquor, but indiscriminate and poten- tially murderous enforcement methods are not to be tolerated by a civilized Government. In the killing of Mr. Han- son the enforcement officers have much to account for, and it is passing strange that this agency would risk further investigation into its methods. An in- vestigation should be begun at once, not on complaint of' the outraged vic- tim or because of public indignation, but because all Government agencies should purge themselves of those who bring shame on their name. e Loudspeaker Nuisance. | The announcement by the superin- | tendent of police that he is about to] make a test case to ascertain whether | the operation of radio loudspeakers in | front of stores can be dealt with un- | der the existing regulations prohibitin | unnecessary noises il be gratifying | and word it surely is—it possess news to a vast majority of Washing- | tonians. It is high time that this nuisance be | abated; indeed the wonder is that it has been permitted to develop to the proportions it has attained. The em- | ployment of a loudspeaker as a means | of disseminating valid subjects of large | popular interest is undoubtedly a fix- ture in Washington as elsewhere in the country today. But just why any one, | for no better purpose than to advise the passerby that radio equipment is for sale in the vicinity, should be permit- ted to drive a blockful of workmgl Washingtonians into that state of near | insanity which two or three hours of badly rendered syncopation induces, is | beyond understanding. If such a noise is not unnecessary there should be no objection to the dealer in automobile accessories putting a new-fangled Ga- | briel horn over his doorway and Ii paperweight on the button which oper- | ates it. Or what's to prevent some up- to-date vendor of the succulent and calorific frankfurter from hiring a couple of aggressively noisy terriers to advertise his wares for him through the rush hours of the day? ‘The abuse of the privately owned and operated loudspeakers, anent which The Star has expressed itself in the past, .can perhaps only be corrected through appeals to the courtesy and thoughtfulness of the radio-owning public. But the employment of dis- tracting noise for the purely commer- cial purpose of advertising one's pres- | ence in the vicinity is surely controllable in the interests of those who have a ciently nerve-wracking age. -t A 10-cent car rare would at least save much of the valuable time lost by passengers in searching for small change. In a time of unusual luxury the trans- portation problem is likely to be com- plicated by a demand that the conductor be empowered to collect’a slight addi- tional price for reserved seats. ————————————— Tragedies of the air become so numerous that the public, in contem- plating spectacular endeavor, forgets the plain flying man who safely and methodically covers his route as a part of the day's work. e e—e— A difficult factor in the political equation is the person who pretends to be talking politics when in reality he is thinking about something else. R SR e S A candidate is sometimes endangered by unsolicited support from smart talent which cultivates the art of making enemies instead of friends. —— vt A “whispering campaign” was feared. The presence Yof so many amplifiers render such a thing impossible. S e SR SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, National Sport. “I'm going in for polities,” Said Hezekiah Bings. “The politicians with their tricks Have done a ot of things; And helped to bring some mighty land To manners gay or grim, Sometimes with an oration—and As often, with a hymn. “I'll think about the old-time scenes That patriots love to note. The Courage of Conviction means The Courage of a Vote. So, let the golfers wield their sticks! Let aeroplanes take wings! I'm going in for politics”— Said Hezekiah Bings. Limiting Debate. “A man should never express an opinion on anything he does not clearly | understand.” “What do you want to do?” asked | | Senator Sorghum; “stop the campaign argument right here?” In the Age of Billions. He who for wealth his course had steered, In sorrow spoke; “A million dollars, once revered, Is now a joke!” Jud Tunkins say a campaign button is used by the man who, as a small der. Fully Informed. “Do you understand the issues in this campaign?” “Tll say I do,” answered Mr. Meek- ton. “Henrietta makes me listen by speeches.” “We who flew kites,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown—"were we not ihappler in our modest way than these who fly airships?” Eagle's Running Mate. When all the arguments are heard And doubts are swept away, I'm looking for. that Turkey Bird | Upon Thanksgiving Day! “Men is natchelly sot in deir ways o' thinkin',” said Uncle Eben. “An failed it is the cizhth fatal atitemnt at & Atmtic cro offer. Our men are not required to wear honest opinion is hard to change and In May, 1927, St. unlforms, and we have the right to a dichonest one is still harder,” a |ards. day’s work to do in this already suffi- | | | | | | the hour while she rehearses all her | to Smith. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A characteristic of the elder authors which many modern readers like is the broad scope of their narrative canvases, so like life and the world, in sheer extent, that one mhy go back to them time and time again without running the risk of remembering it all. This result is achieved by two easily understeod methods, or devices, rather, the first that of including such a wealth of people, places and actions that no reading mind can recall them ell, and second, that of stretching the novels out to some real length. Today a novelist thinks he is doing something big when he turns out a book of 80,000 words. Many successful ones are far below that in total number of words. “Jalna.” one of the present best sellers, is probably not more than 60,000 words in length. No doubt this laconic method meets a demand of the age. Not every one | actually cares to read, despite the prev- alence of universal education. Certain temperaments shrink from reading once they grow to maturity their mental demands The cry of the sge is for speed, “punch,” which qualities are per- served best by condensation in ing. In this conse there is li ed to be found in “Pickwick. masterpiece certainly has some- which no one can or would take from it. If it lacks “pep” as today know that curious word— 'S many charming pictures of days, manne customs gone beyond recall. If “Pick- wick” embodies no particular punch it yet has innate humor of the best type. If it cannot be labeled “snapping read- ing” even the most lethargic reader would be forced to admit, after plowing through half of it, that it does make a certain impression. Yes, a very defi- nite impression! spet that thi away we of % This old-fashioned way of writing is still the style of the best foreign au- thors, it is significant to note. Even an American writing in the French lan- guage, young Julian Green, saw fit to make his “Closed Garden" a rather long book, according to modern stand As for the German authors, they unanimously stick to lengthy Surely, this is no caprice on their part, but an instinctive under- standing that the best narrative art calls for a certain scope which in itself gives the reader 2 sense of life and liv- ing not to be secured from a cramped, niggardly use of words. A shorter work may be a masterpiece, of course. Mere length will not make a masterwork in literature any more than it will in music. Something more is necessary. But it may be submitted that, every- thing else being equal, the long novel has a better chance for real success than the short one. By piling words on words the artist can make his people seem real and give his locations permanence and put life into his action, so that the total result to the reader is a sense of having seen and heard and been pres- ent. Again, it must be stressed that mere length will not achieve these re- sults. Who has not waded through some tome which bored as much at the end as at the beginning? And who is there who has not read a short-story masterpicce which, despite its brevity, became a living, breathing thing for its duration? The trouble with all such short mas- terpicces is that they are short. The reader feels afterward that he has had a mere taste of something great. The great novel, grand in proportion, leaves almost novels. true him with a feeling of not only having | tasted something good, but of actually being in_possession of that same good afterward. It is the difference between a single piece of high-grade candy and a full meal. The first has a sparkle to WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC Gov. Smith, in accordance with his time-honored wind up his fight for the presidency in whirlwind fashion. “Al" has always described himself as “a slow starter, but a strong finisher.” There is never any lack of punch in them. They usually contain surprises. | Many an antagonist. who has stood up unflinchingly in earlier portions of the battle, has reeled under the eleventh- hour jabs and jolts which Smith un- failingly turns loose. Democrats clo: to the managerial throne at New York have been hinting for some time at “certain developments” which were to be sprung at psychological moments be- tween now and November 6. Perhaps the Hoover “British citizenship” myth was one of them. As to Gov. Smith himself, no secret has ever been made about his closing tactics. If he runs true to form this time, therell be a practically incessant speaking program during the final week, a_constellation of some of the most forceful utterances of the campaign, and generally a super- lative exhibition of the Smith fighting temperament. Massachusetts, New Jer- sey and New York arc the prospective arenas of th> governor’s parting shots. * ok oK Now that the country at large has had liberal samples of Smith’s oratorical style, opinions differ widely as to its effectivencss. The governor’s partisans naturally are enthusiastic over it. His opponents are as naturally eritical. Many of them pretend to believe Smith has don2 himself more harm than good by his “radio” performances. What- ever else the governor has or has not done, he has not attempted to be any- thing in the world except himself. He has adhered faithfully to his opening pledge at Omaha, to talk “understand- able English.” His appeal has been to the common man and the common woman. Smith does not waste much time on details of controversial ques tions like the tariff, preferring gene: alities that he can more easily “put across.” The inevitable result is a lack of preciseness in statement, which in- vites rebuttals such as Secretary Mellon has just given to some of Smith's econ- omy" jibes. This observer has heard from both the West and the South that Gov. Smith acquits himself far more favorably before his visible audiences than the radio public may think. His “Billy Sundayisms,” as one commenta- tor calls them, usually score. * & X 4 Smith is entitled to feel himself high- ly complimented by the fact that the Republican national committee is send- ing its biggest guns out to “trail” the governor. ~Senator Borah “trailed” the Democratic nominee through the North- west, and now the Idahoan is following him up through the South. Next week another G. O. P. 16-inch cannon will bark on the Smith trail—Charles Evans | Hughes, who will begin undoing “Al's” missionary work at Sedalia, Mo., where the governor held forth on’ October 15. A day later—again in Smith's immediate wake—Hughes will be heard in Chicago. Then, pushing the governor into his own | native lair, Hughes will talk at Buffalo, and finally in Massachusetts, where the Democratic leader will have been shortly before. Borah is undoubtedly “‘poison™ ‘This observer can recall no deadlier refutation in a political cam- paign than the gentleman from Idaho uniimbers every time he tackles the gov- ernor. The radio brings vivid evidence of the delight Borah’s actual auditors take in his solar-plexus thrusts at “AL" o e Chairman Work and the other Re- publican managers had their own troubles inducing Scnator Borah to campaign in a private railway car. Plain as an old shoe in his personal habits, and modesty personified, the Idahoan said in effect that private cars are too rich for his blood, and bluntly expressed a preference for day coaches. Finally he yielded when the committee bosses put it on the ground of conssrving his rest and his health. When Calvin Cool- idge was campaigning, as a vice presi- Pictures satisfy | campaign custom, will| He reserves his | knockout blows for the final round.| i some political orators are repeating| | 1t the latter may lack, but the dinner is much the more filling of the two. One remembers the bon-bon because it was tasty and the dinner because it was good. It is the difference between clev- erness and goodness. * ok ok ok Our position, in other words, is that cleverncss, no matter how clever, is something “less than sheer solid worth, if the latter lives up to its designation in both deed and word. Dickens' “Christmas Carol” be if it were cut to 2,000 words? It is good pre- cisely in proportion to its length, which takes it out of the class of short stories, puts it into the categqry of novelettes. “A Christmas Carol” is, in effect, a con- densed novel rather than a padded short story. It retains all the vigor which the great novelist put into his novels. It is physically big enough to put its complete mastery beyond the reader at one reading. A score of read- ings, especially if they be at least a year apart, as they should be, will not exhaust it. One Wwill continually find something new in it—some curious fe- licity, some phrase, some good Wor( maybe, which hitherto escaped his notice. This effect cannot be secured in 2,000 words. The marvelous short stories of our own O. Henry may be instanced. Who, having read them once, ever vants to read them again? Depending, as they do, upon a keen flash of plot wit, if such a phrase may be used, usu- ally at the very end, they have gone up in intellectual smoke, like the mag- nesium powder from the pan of the flashlight photographer. Their keenest enjoyment, this very same unexpected- ness, this bit of essential cleverness of the unexpected, can never be experi- enced again. It is different with the master works of the great novelists. Lew Wallace's “Ben-Hur” would have been forgotten, the chances are, many vears ago, if it had not taken him 600, or 900 pages, however many it is, to tell the tale. There is a solidity and breadth to that |great story of Jerusalem (which grew into being in a small Indiana town) which no other treatment could have achieved. It is impessible to think of “Ben-Hur” in terms of iittleness. It is not a miniature, but a panorama. Whes an olive grove is described, the read gets not just the words “olive grove, but actual details, the very appearance of certain particular trees. And this has’ its effect, whether the reader be aware of it or not. (It is best, of course, if he be not.) Where so many of our modern novels fall down, it would seem. is in the lack of this very inclusivenes: ‘The average reader is too busy follow |ing the swing of a narrative to paint | in pictures of his own between the lines. | If the writer will not do it for him, the | thing is not done, in the vast majority |of cases. Hence many bright, clever ir‘.ovels have a sketchiness about them | |that keeps them out of the masterplece |class. When the reader closes the book {he begins to realize that he hasn't the slightest idea of how the herojne looked! He has been locking at her all the time, yet never once saw her, be- cause his writer was too much occupied with the plot to condescend to tell him much about the appearance of the lady. In the old books, however, the reader is never left in doubt. If the heroine has a haughty look, the reader is told so; he is not left to guess at it through a chance remark of another character. It is this amplitude of form, content and intention, above all, which makes | the novels of Dickens, Dumas, Balzac. | Scott, Conrad, Theckeray, Zola, Cooper | and many others, different though they | may be in most qualities, one in spirit, ‘the same in giving the reader a feeling, |a perfect sense, of life and of living, | and of this great universe in which life 'exists and living goes forward forever. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. | dential candidate in 1920, the late G. O. P. treasurer, Fred Upham, once told how the national committee failed to per- suade “Cal” to travel in lower berths. | He explained that as ‘“uppers’ are cheaper, he didn't see any reason why the party treasury should be subjected | to unrecessary Pullman expens> on his . “Anyhow,” said Coolidge?, “I sleep better in high altitudes.’ * K ok % There is now on the stump for Hoo- ver one of the most distinguished Ro- man_ Catholics in_the country, Joseph | Scott of Los Angeles. A lawyer by pro- fession, and former president of both the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Board of Education, Mr. Scott has received the highest honors which the Pope is accustomed to bestow upon Catholic laymen. He came East recent- ly at Hoovers invitation and accom- panied the Republican nominee to Massachusetts this week. Scott is now speaking in New England for the Re- publican presidential ticket, and before | election time will be heard in the Middle West, including Chicago. At | the great Eucharistic Congress two years ago Scott was one of the three | | non-clericals invited to speak. He sec- ! [onded Hoover's nomination at Kansas City. | * ok ok K Senator Carter Glass’ sistes Mrs. Blair Banister of Virginia, is now editor | of the Mayflower Log and Washing- | tonian, the Capital's newest and most sprightly weekly. The other day her | sister-in-law, Mrs. Glass, wrote Mrs. | Ban| : “Here's my check for $2.50. Will you accept a subscription from an Al Smithite?” Mrs. Banister and her distinguished _ brother, the peppery junior solon from the Old Dominion, don't see eye to eye in this campaign. * k¥ ¥ Politicians wish the Graf Zeppelin | had chosen some other time than the last act of the drama of 1928 for usurp- ing public attention and American | front pages. The German dirigible ab- solutely stole the show the day Hoover vas in Massachusetts, and now she threatens to monopolize the limelight while pirouetting through the Mid- western heavens. So far the national committee dopesters in neither camp have been able to discern party advan- tage for t Zeppelin's t. Both Hoover and Smith hastened to send congratulatory wires to Dr. Eckener. As both sides are eager- i | | | | | | | | gone out to party workers to join in the Zeppelin furore all along the line. (Copyright. 1928.) r—ee—s AP Running Short. From the South Bend Tribune. The election is going to be a month | too late, judging by the way in which | | themselves. ——— Wrong Number! Prom the Kalamazoo Gazette. A telephone operator inherited a for- tune and lost it at Monte Carlo. That's what the habit of wrong numbers will do for a person. Losbegl A Stout Old Friend Traduced. From the Detroit News Probably nothing else has been more maligned in this torrid campaign year than good old, honest bologna sausage. vt Expert. From the Dayton Daily News. ‘That toreador who is running for of- fice in Spain ought to be right at home handling the political bull. St P Safety Lanes, From the Dayton Daily News. Those Europeans who are here to study traffic conditions had better study them from the side‘}-‘nlks. What would | as we today know that medium, and | ir respective selves in the | | ly angling for the German vote, word's | UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. The flood of subscriptions to the fourth Liberty loan on closing day is so great that the banks find it impossible to tabulate the late subscriptions. It is estimated that there were at least 2 1000000 individual subscriptions to the loan and the six billion quota ma: be exceeded. Wild enthusiasm ever | tered German hordes all day long con- tinue to give ground under the sustained re by British, Fren an and an (roops. Indications are that | the German army is being withdfawn entirely fro ed French and Bel | gian te # * * In the area north and south of Le Cateau fighting of the most furious nature is reported and | the Americans have a2gain distinguished | themselves. The Germans here had | orders to hold the line at all costs and the Americans and British literally had to hack their way through *° < = French troops are victorious in all their { combats. In the Champagne sector they have reached the Hunding Line, attacked it and captured St. Germain- | mont, taking 700 prisoners ¢ * * There | now remains but little of German con- in France save the comparatively fronticr tract between Valen- ciennes and Metz, within which are two small but important salients. On the cast the American and French troops are pounding away at the German po- sitions in the Grand Pre Hills and | around the other, between Le Cateau {and Rethel, the Germans are be { forced to sbandon it or be surroundes by French troops * * * In the recent | bombing expeditions our aviators brought down 18 enemy planes without the loss of an American plane * * * 1440 casualties on list given out today, | including 467 killed in action and dead from wounds, 761 wounded and 195 missing. S {Hopes Bill to Aid.D. C. Disabled Will Pas: { To the Flitor of The Star: notice in your paper hts) speaks of the “voca- fon of disabled resi- dents of the District of Columb as if the law under which this work is undertaken was now in effect. Un- fortunately this is not yet the case. Through the efforts of Representative | Summers of Washington, with the ac- | tive co-operation of local social work- ers and the American Association for Labor Legislation, such a measure, in- deed, passed the House in the closing days of the last session. Many per- sons are known to local social workers who could be restored to lives of u fulness and happmess by such train- ing and it is greatly to be hoped that the bill may pass the Senate at the coming short session. MARGARETT R. JAMES, Washington Representative American Association for Labor Legislation, C—— Dire Forecasts Made For American League From the New Castle News. Many doleful predictions are being made as to the future of the American Base Ball League. Some pessimists say that unless the domination of the New York Yankees is ended every other team in the league will show an annual treasury deficit. It is argued that the New York club has been winning too consistently during the last eight sea- song for the gobd of the league. Following out this line of reasoning, it has been suggested that Col. Jacob Ruppert, owner of the Yankees, s scatter his stars among the other teams in order to restore th> proper balance. Col. Ruppert, who prrchased the club when it was a hopeless second-division team and who by the expenditure of much time and money made it virtu- ally invincible, has given no indication of taking any such advice. At midseason fan interest in the league dropped disturbingly because the Yankees seemed to have clinched the league pennant. The subsequent Yan- kee slump and winning streak of the Philadelphia Athletics was the second best thing that could have haopened to the leagus. The cnly thing the league needed more was first place occupied at the end of the season by a club other than Col. Ruppert Next year the fans hope the other seven American League teams will pro- duce teams that will put up a good fight against the New York club, so the chempionship will be in doubt until the season's end. If they fail agein, the league will lose more fans to the Na- tional League, which this year staged a good fight to the last di i vt | Fall of Autogiro Held Not Failure From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The fact that the autogiro, newest development of aviation, the invention of a Spaniard, Juan de la Cierva, was smashed at the end of a trial flight in Paris does not indicate that the idea is a disappointment. The machine had performed too much befcre the accident to be discounted so readily. The inven- tor was at the controls at the time; h said a cable which held the landing| gear in place broke on leaving the ground. When the emergency landing was made, the machine fell on its side, the four saillike propellers which ro- tate on a vertical mast above rendered useless. It is these superimposed propellers which make the autogiro individual among airplanes. They permit the ma- chine to take the air after only a short run, and allow it to come to earth al- most in a straight line from heights of over 1,000 feet. It is not the helicopter, the ideal machine which needs no ru way and comes to a stop right where | it alights, but it seems to be something | closer to it than anything yet invented. | Before its accident, the new plane | a public trial which was so impres- | representatives of American sts were dispatched to watch the machine and secure the rights if it passed criticism. On th2 first test it went from London to Paris, across the English Channel, in four hops, never failing to rise after an ab-( breviated run and always grounding after an almost perpendicular drop, coming to a halt very close to the place of landing. The machine is described as ungainly, but then the early planes of the conventional model were not things of beauty Even if the test during which the mishap occurred had been as con- spicuous a success as the Channel flight, much more would have to b2 known of the new type before it could be accepted. Even with this black mark | on its record, it would seem to mark a step in advance and may be taken to give an indication of the coming phase of the conquest of the air. If the heli- copter evades invention, something ap- proximating its functions may b» evolved and in the comparatively near future. American | ] A Way Out. From the Dayton Daily News. That Frenchman who complains that inheriting a fortune has caused him a lot of annoyance could stop it all if he married one of the g oo Shocking! From the Toledo Blade “London tailors American golf clothes.” be? are horrified at ‘Who wouldn't v ae— A Miracle. PFrom the Atkansas Democrat. Modern miracle: We have found a (in | the | ing total this year by several millions. fuselage being broken and the machine | Ideal democracy for a body politic of ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This is a special department devoted | to the handling of inquiries. You have |2t your disposal an extensive organiz | tion in Washington to serve you in a | capacity that relates to information. | | Write your question, your name and | your " address clearly, and inclose 2 cents in_coin or stamps for reply | Send to The Evening Star Information | | ‘KW:L hington, D. C. | Q wnat {in onions which have been stored four ‘munihs"f"/l. J. R. 3 A. The usual storage period of onions is about six months: in this time the shrinkage should not exceed from 10 to 12 per cent. is the percentage of loss Q. Can you describe for me the | Australian flag>—E. J. S. | A. The Ausiralian flag is a blue en- | sign, the description of which is as | follows: The Union Jack in the top | left-hand corner; in the center of the lower canton next the staff and point- ing direct to the center of the St George's Cross in tho Union Jack. a white seven-pointed star (representing | the six states and the territories of the commonwealth) ; in the fly, five smailer | { white stars, representing the Southern | Cr A red flag, carrying the same | markings, is used by the Australian | merchant shipping. | Q. -Please give me a brief sketch of | the oldest negro Baptist church in America—S. H. B. | A. The first negro Baptist church in | America was organized in 1773, at Sil- |ver BIuff, just across the Savannah | River, at Augusta, Ga., by a Mr. Pal- mer, largely for the benefit of negro | slaves of the community. Q. What is meant by the spoils | tem?>—s. J. A. By the spoils system was meant | the practice whereby an incoming ad- | ministration distributed the patronage and offices of the Government to those who had supported the party coming into power. Office holders of the out- | | going administration usually were de- posed from office or their resignation | |asked for and their places filled with | | patrons of the incoming Government. . What do song writers mean when | thev sneak of a “nut song"?—F. A. W. | A. Probably the first song of this type was the famous “Lily of the Val- lev,” and probably the biggest seller {of this tvpe was “Yes, We Have No Bananas.” Q. How much money has Germany | been spending on her army and navy during the past few years>—E. J. C. | A. The governmental expenditures | on th> German armyv _and navy"are as ¢ 459,000,000 reich- . 588,000,000 reich- 647,000,000 reichmarks; (esti- reich- | | sys- | 18 1926-27, 1701,000.000 reichmarks 1928-29, 706,000,000 rks (estimate). Q. Doss the word “sterling” have a certain fixed quality when we speak of silverware?—J. M. A. The word “sterling” as applied to silver signifies that the alloy is in the ! proportion of 925 parts silver to 75 parts of copper. This proportion is regularly fixed as the standard of fine- ness of British silver coinage. Standard United States silver bullion contains 900 parts pure silver and 100 parts | copper alloy. . Can walls that have already been | painited be whitewashed?—I. B. F. A. It is not advisable to whitewash painted walls, as the mixture does not adhere well to oil-painted surfaces. Q. How many people in the United States attend the movies?—L. J. A. It'is estimated that 250,000,000 1 people attend motion picture theaters weekly throughout the United States. The gross revenues of these theaters, in 1927 were 60 times that of the legiti- mate theaters. Q Does the United States make a $1 gcld piece?—J. F. L. A. These coins have not been minted for general circulation since 1889. Since that date some have been issued as memorial coins, the last being the Grant memorial coins, in 1922. The smallest current gold coin is the $2.50 gold piece. mal ma department organized?—F. A. Volunteer fire companies have existed from early times. In 1667, after the great fire, London was divided into | . | b e | Q. When and where was tgc first fire four fire districts, with established offi- | cers having authority to take charge. These were the first English fire depart- “nts that we know of. The first fire ¢ jartment in the United States was organized when the first engine made its appearance in Boston, in 1678. Q. How is storage oxygen produce: where * ¥ ® The bewildered and shat- | Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, | for submarine use?—J. J. B. A. The Bureau of Standards say: that the two commercial methods fo the production of oxygen which ar is=d at the present time are the electrc "tic method and the fractionation « air, . Q. What is a Cartesian diver an how does it work?—B. H. A. A Cartesian diver is a small ho! low glass figure placed in a vessel o water that has a cover so arrangec that by compression the water can b forced iInto the figure, producing th effects of suspension, sinking and float- ing according to tha degree of pressurc Q. Ts there any nourish: mushrooms?——J. . H. o i edible _A. Mushrooms are a good soures of vitamin B. " Aside from the vitamin tent, the nutritive val - Tooms is small. e Q, I Turkey interested in athletics?— A.” As a feature of the West movement, Turkey is abou o e ion vigorously for athletics, beginning. with state-supervised gymnastic training, after the Swedish and German models, Q. What is Indian Summer a ¢ dl(‘:i!l its name?--H. P. s . Indian Summer is a name a d to a short season of pleasant ";D!lllfel’ | which occurs in the Central and Atlantic coast States usually during the mont! of October and Novembegr‘ but mo’x:: rarely in December. Indian Summer is characterized by an almost cloudless sky, calm or light air, hazy atmosphere, 2nd a mild temperature in the day- time although cool at night. This period may last two or three weeks and may occur two or three times during a sea- son. The theory has been advanced that early settlers may have given the right warm days of Autumn the name of Indian Summer because it was as gaudy as the Indians in their war paints. Another idea is that at this season the Indians often went to war because the bright Autumn coiors served as camouflage for them. There is no actual record of the use of the term until 1774, when it was in general use throughout the Atlantic States, . Q. Please give the name of the largest canyon in California—C. B. +A. King's Canyon is the largest can- yon in California. Kern Canyon is the next in size, Q. Why was the thistle selected as the national flower of Scotland?—F. W. A. The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, was adopted during the reign of Malcolm II, in 1010. At that time the country was invaded by the Danes, who attempted to storm one of the largest and most powerful fortresses, The enemy advanced stealthily at nigh’, and on reaching the castle removed their shoes and plunged into the moat, | expecting to swim across. The moat was dry, however, and filled with a growth of thistles. The cries of the enemy aroused the inmates of the castle, <o that Scotland was saved. In grati- tude the Scots adopted the thistle as their national flower. | | Q. will you please give me some in- formation on how a parachute works?— A. E. McN. A. A parachute jumper leaps from the plane, waits two or three seconds, in order to be clear of the plane, then pulls the rip-cord on his parachute. This cord releases the canvas pack and the parachute opens automatically. Q. Why did the churches and mon- asteries of the Middle Ages face the West?>—R. A. A. The altars of the early Christian churches faced the East. The princi- pal entrance to the church faced the West. There is a tradition to the effect that the altar was so placed in order that the priest could face the direction from which came Christianity. Q. What was the route of the first passnger railway in the world?—J. M . B. A The railway buii. by George Stephenson in 1825 ran from Stockton- on-Tees to Darlington. Record Balloti Unprecedented registration figures re- | ported from all sections of the country give rise to much editorial speculation as to the part that will be played in | the presidential election this vear by I new voters and former_ stay-at-homes. |1t is generally assumed that most of the additions to the rolls are women {and that a record national vote is in prospect. “Never in the world's_history” as viewed by the Providence Bulletin, “has there been anything like the promised expression of popular will. Seldom if ever in our own history has the aroused clectorate_displayed such widespread interest. In 1924 there were 29,000,000 votes cast. We shall better that amaz- such vast and heterogeneous propor- tions as that of the United States is impossible of attainment. But we ap- proach it closely enough to catch glimpses of its form in such demon- strations as November promises.” The Oklahoma City Times feels that “the diligence with which registration is pushed may even prove the deciding factor in the campaign,” and states that, while there are new arrivals in Oklahoma, “most of the thousands who have merely neglecied registration are women.” These new voters have never ex- pressed themselves at the polls. How are they going to vote? What are they inter- ested in? What is causing them to| come out in such number with the very | evident purpose of casting their ballots | on November 6°" asks the St. Paul Dispatch. “These questions are worry- ing the politicians. Spellbinders are making frenzied efforts this month to convince the women that their cause is the holy one and deserving of femi- nine support. Women this year are going to justify the nineteenth amend- ment. They are going to assume their share of the responsibility of gov- ernment.” * K % % Declaring that “this year there is a race and no walkover,” the New York body salient to vote for or against.” The Times continues: real ‘silent vote’ that will not break its silence till election day. Then our ears will no longer be deafened by the trumpets of prediction. Nobody knows, and one man's guess Is as good and bad as another’s. The swollen regis- tration should at least convince the ex- cellent persons who are always be- wailing that so many million persons don't vote as often as the excellent persons think they should, that there will be voters enough when there is enough to stir them deeply. Whoever is buried under the snowflakes that fall, * * * there is a great awakening and quickening of the American peo- ple.” “Participation in primaries and elec- tions—and in particular elections—gives notice,” according to the Utica Ob. server-Dispatch, “that the people are awake and are watchful of their in- terests. It is as true of public business as it is of private business. The watch- ful director in bank or industrial cor- golfer who dubs a shot and doesnit cuss. No, he's not a deaf mute and his name will be furnished on application. poration, the stockholder in any en- terprise who wants to know and take acceunt ¢f quarterly reports, the in- N “This is_the | Big Registration Foreshadows ng in November dividual who makes inquiry as to the whys and wherefores of steps in the progress of his local administrations, {and who gives an intelligent and un- biased vote in national political con- tests, is doing large service for those who are associated with him in either | finance, enterprise or government. The { wider this watchfulness and participa- {tion extends, the better for all con- | cerned.” * ok k¥ | Discussing the situation in Chicaso | the Daily News of that city declares: | “No one. issue was responsible for the huge gains in registration. There is unusually keen interest in the presi- dential nominees and what they stand for, and hardly less interest in thc State campaign.” Similarly the Philadelphia Evening | Bulletin, pointing to the very great in- crease in that city, draws the conclu- sion: “The importance of civic duty in the coming naiional election is no | whit greater than is the interest in | good local government for every man |or woman in the city eligible to vote.” | _The Springfield Republican stat: “While party workers may be credit with the results in Massachusetts | part, it is generally believed that th can be fully accounted for only by th heightened public interest in this cam- paign, as compared with the several preceding campaigns.” “It looks as if the pedestals wer being pulled out from under the pomp- ous figures which have set so much | store by themselves as shepherds of the | party flocks,” in the judgment of the Baltimore Sun. “Perhaps, after all, they are only figurines. When some- thing that really concerns and interes | the people arises they brush these poli- ticlans rudely aside and proceed to attend to the matter themselves.” The | Binghamton Press remarks: “That a | part of the increased registration is due to growth of population may be be- lieved. but this factor does not account for all the increase. The unusual in- terest aroused in the campaign prob- Times views the situation as one in ably is chiefly responsible for the out- which “there is something and some- | pouring.” * ok ok ok |, “The politicians, in trying to calcu- i late the women's vote, are dealing with {a relatively unknown quantity,” re- | marks the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, while the New York Sun records that “the | politicians have come face to face with i something they admit they cannot analyze,” and the New York World advises that “politicians who figure on votes will have new bases of reckoning to deal with in the future.” Speaking of the condition which | seems to have been remedied so far as | this year’s election is concerned, the Rochester Democrat-Chronicle says, |“One of the most serious defects of jour form of government, one that drives ughtful leaders to despair, is ilhe indifference which a large portion | of the population feels toward its obli- gation to vote. Even in presidential | elections, scarcely more than half the | eligible voters take the trouble to vote. ©The ‘silent vote.' made up of stay-at- homes who shirk their responsibilities, while enjoying all the privileges of & democratic government, would be suffi- clent to change completely the result of an election.” . —1